A/N: Whatever Kishimoto does, I will always love Naruto (or at least the concept of the ninja world established in the manga). So this will be a kind of homage to the best shinobi of them all, the legendary ANBU. Following will be drabbles about the various ANBU masks and the people that they belonged to.
I don't own anything and I don't earn anything either. This is fiction. Enjoy.
An ANBU's mask
Most ordinary shinobi simply thought that the masks of Konohas infamous ANBU were used to conceal the true identities of the ninja wearing them. It seemed to be common knowledge that the Black Ops of the Leaf hid their faces both to protect anyone who might catch a glimpse of them and also themselves.
Most ordinary shinobi however didn't know that there was more to the filigree porcelain masks than the need to protect secret agents from being recognized and civilians from being slaughtered for they had seen something they hadn't been supposed to see.
An ANBU's mask was their most prized possession, more so even than the handmade one-of-a-kind Katana they carried on their backs.
Much like their swords an ANBU's mask was an unique item and it belonged to its owner until said member of Konoha's Black Ops retired or died in the execution of their order - though it was a common joke among the Leaf's elite that one never retired from ANBU.
The oldest masks still in use were more than half a century old and had seen more owners than Konoha's Ninja Academy had students. They had been used in times of war and times of peace, in negotiation, in stealth, in assassination and in slaughter - and still even a seasoned ANBU veteran would have had problems distinguishing a few day old from a sixty year old mask.
They were passed from one shinobi to another, most remaining with the family that had first worn them for generations to come and some never touched again when the clan they used to belong to ceased to exist.
Father to son, mother to daughter, sister to brother, teacher to student... receiving the ageless mask that marked young shinobi as Konoha's elite was always viewed as an honor, the fragile looking piece of porcelain treasured as something that could never be replaced. If a mask was lost, broke - something that was nearly unheard of in living memory and considered a sign of disgrace - or was damaged in a way that made repair impossible, it and the codename coming along with it were lost forever, never to be used again by any ANBU with as much as a shred of dignity.
...because an ANBU's mask was more than a mere tool. It was an identity, a memory of times long gone and a reminder of times still to come.