Prologue

12 Years Ago

After a hard day of training, Keiko Sarutobi aged 12, was going to see her close friends, Rin Nohara and Obito Uchiha. She never forgotten the day they were both put to rest, Rin was like a sister and Keiko had developed romantic feelings for Obito- Obviously he couldn't quite catch on to her feelings, mainly because he was too oblivious to realise it and he had feelings for Rin but everyone could see it. Keiko never envied Rin for that particular reason, she was always known for being a "pure, innocent child of beauty" so she was never really angry or treated people in an ill-manner. She was so kind to anyone and was always so helpful, she was very smart too; graduating from the academy at a very young age, she was put on a pedestal within the Sarutobi Clan. She admired Obito since the day Team Minato rescued her from Orochimaru at the age of 8, although they were too late to deter Orochimaru from completing the experiment; Obito was hero in her eyes as he carried her home to the village.

Her shoulder length brown hair was swaying in the warm gust of the autumn wind. Her now emerald green eyes glistened in the light of the sunset, Adjusting her pastel lavender shinobi kimono as she knelt down to the small, grey gravestone. "It's been awhile, sorry I haven't visited Nee-chan, I known you want me to train really hard but its nice to visit every so often" she stroked the engraved name of 'Rin Nohara' with her index finger, a flash of memories flooded her mind of the great times they all had together, Kakashi, Obito, Rin, Minato, even though she wasn't on their team officially, she still was assigned missions with them so they had spent a lot of time with each other. "Kakashi says he's fine and I know for a fact he isn't, so I'm not going to pry; leaving him to his own thoughts and feelings is something I think he needs, although, its getting to the point where I can't help but feel compelled to help him out, am I doing the right thing? I wish I could do something…" Kakashi was also someone who Keiko did understand, she could see past his mysterious demeanour and see that he is struggling to cope with the loss of two friends and a broken promise. No matter how much Keiko tells Kakashi its not his fault, he won't listen. "On a more positive note, Minato- Sensei's and Kushina-san's baby is due very soon, next week maybe, i have a hard task off helping to deliver the baby in a secure location, hopefully nothing will go wrong and everything will go smoothly" Keiko has the tendency to notice when something doesn't sit well with her, butterflies would gather round her and would start to flutter frantically. "Good to see you, Keiko, or should I said Lady Butterfly?" she smirked knowing full well who's voice that was, she turned around to find herself looking at the masked man with silver hair "Kakashi, what did I tell about calling me that, you don't need to, just stick to Keiko" she giggled. She has a special Kekkai Genkai which allows her to use butterflies in any shape or form, it was due to the experiments Orochimaru had performed. This Kekkai Genkai was particular to a clan which were around a 100 years ago but was annihilated by neighbouring villages, the residence of this clan all have particular features such as emerald green eyes and butterfly markings along their limbs, hence why her brown eyes are now green and has markings along her left arm. "Are you visiting Rin and Obito today?" she knew he was busy with ANBU duties so he would often visit either one of them depending on how much time he's got. "I visited Rin this morning, I'm on my way to visit Obito now" Keiko stood from where she was kneeling down and took one last bow, setting down the flowers she had bought for Rin "Well that's great! I will come with you" she said smiling, Kakashi's visible cheeks were now blushing a crimson red. As they walked to Obito's Memorial stone, Keiko couldn't help but feel concerned about Kakashi's wellbeing " Look, I know I shouldn't pry but I spoke to Minato- san about you being part of the ANBU Black Ops, I can see your suffering Kakashi, you need help" Annoyed, Kakashi stood in silence once they arrived at Obito's memorial Stone, "I appreciate your concern Keiko but please don't talk about it anymore, you understand how I feel about the matter" she knew it, she pushed him too far. " You know, you can talk to me about anything, I'm here for you, we've both been through a lot, you in particular, but please don't forget about who you are- You're Kakashi Hatake, my best friend, an excellent shinobi who cares about his friends and the people he loves" with that said, they both stood sliently in front of Obito's grave paying their respects "I know you're right, Thank you, you're too kind you know that right? Obito used to say it all the time" they both laughed. " A lot of people say that, but I just can't help it, I can't stand seeing the people I love in pain" with that being said, they both said their goodbyes and parted ways. She had some speckle of hope that Kakashi was finally coming around.

1 week later

"Lady Keiko, its time" Keiko turned to see her mother with a heavily pregnant Kushina with ANBU members. "Alright then, let's go" They walked out of the Sarutobi Clan Estate, passing through the streets of Konoha, weaving through the crowded streets of civilianisation. Something didn't sit right with Keiko, she got a sense of danger- she continued to walk;

"thats one butterfly"

"another butterfly"

"thats the third butterfly Ive seen within half a minute… Something bad is going to happen, maybe I should war-"

"Mikoto is that you're baby boy!" Kushina cooed over the newborn

"Haha, yes his name is Sasuke"

"Wait, you mean as in Sasuke Sarutobi? My grandpa?" Keiko said with joy and enlightened by the name,

"Well yes of course, your grandpa was a miraculous ninja after all, hopefully my boy will be just as splended as he was" Mikoto Uchiha said with glee, Keiko and Kushina both had big smiles on their faces "Come on you two, stop wasting time, we have a busy schedule ahead of us, theres no time to mess around. Keiko, this is an S- Rank mission you should remain focused at all time- and you, Kushina should know better" Biwako stated sternly. "Yes you're right mother, my apologies" Keiko bowed.

"You're right Biwako, I just got so excited, to think my child will be here soon y'know?" They all said their goodbyes to Mikoto and the newborn Sasuke and they proceeded to the secret location to rendezvous with Minato- Keiko got the same feeling of danger she had before, something was not right and she couldn't get it out of her head. They prepared the birthing table while Minato was setting himself up, ready to seal the Nine-Tails in Kushina; Keiko was there as back up just incase it didn't go as planned- Keiko specialises in medical ninjutsu and sealing jutsu due to the Kekkai Genkai. When Kushina began crowning during the birth, Keiko had received a transmission from one of the butterflies she left outside the perimeter of the location, no ANBU black ops members chakra could be sensed; as soon as Keiko was about to mention it, the boy was born, the sealing was in progress and a masked man appeared, Taji and Biwako was attacked fatally "Mother! Taji- san!" before she could protect the newborn Naruto and his Mother, she was knocked out by hard kicked to the abdominal region and was left unconscious.

Keiko finally regained consciousness, however only to have woken up to a dead Taji and her beloved mother "Ka-san… Ka-san! please wake up! PLEASE!" she wept into her mother's lifeless chest, tears ran down her face falling on the dull coloured kimono that her mother was wearing. "its my fault, its my fault, its my fault, I should have done something, I should have been more alert" she gripped her hair in frustration and then slapped herself; "whats wrong with me, I need to find Minato-san and Kushina" she stood up, emotionless, stern and angry- she then dissipated within a cloud of butterflies and teleported herself to Konoha. Chaos was the only word that could describe the village in its current state, the smell of fresh blood, burning bodies, buildings had suffered mass destruction. It was hell on earth. "KEIKO, KEIKO! ARE YOU ALRIGHT? WHERES MINATO-SENSEI AND KUSHINA-SAN?" she turned to see Kakashi and Gai running towards her, both of them noticing her serious and emotionless demeanour- Something that Kakashi knew all too well

"Keiko, are you okay what happen-" Kakashi began, concerned for Keiko as he saw the blood on her hands.

"have you seen Minato and Kushina-san?"

"we've not is everything alright"

"I can't talk now I need to find them, meet up with Yūhi-san he will tell you what to do next"

"Wait Keiko aren't you coming with us?" Gai questioned, confused by her emotionless demeanour.

"I still have a mission I need to complete" with that she disappeared to find Minato and Kushina, searching frantically for the two and the newborn Naruto, she decided to use the wild butterflies to communicate and locate the new parents. After two minutes, she found their location, by the time she arrived it was almost too late. They were both still alive, however barely; she couldn't help them due to the barrier, she spotted her father with his men "Keiko, are you alright? what are you doing here?"

"Im fulfilling my mission I was assigned to, Is it too late?" just as she was about to get a reply, Both of the new parents were impaled by the nine-tails. Keiko's heart dropped, she felt sick, she couldn't believe that she was entirely useless, unable to help her mentors "KUSHINA! MINATO!" she screamed, pain was visible in her eyes, she couldn't lose them, not just after she lost her mother. "Don't worry Keiko, everything will be alright" Minato began, he started to form hand signs- Keiko's eyes widened in shock "No… It can't be… He can't be using that jutsu…" Minato performed the Dead Demon Consuming Seal. After they both said their final words of wisdom and joy those two had together to Naruto, they both made eye contact with Keiko."Keiko, we're both going to ask you to do something which means that its going to be a huge responsibility for you."

"Keiko, you have grown into a beautiful, young woman and it was a pleasure spending so much time with you. You are mature yet pure and kind-hearted, which is why we want you to take care of Naruto, so that he doesn't grow up without any guidence or loneliness"

"I can't do this, its too much. Just hang in there we will come help you no-"

"No, our time is up, you need to be strong, you are strong. We have chosen you because we have faith in you y'know" Kushiana coughed, blood pouring from her mouth.

"We want Naruto to grow up feeling loved by someone who is helpful, pure-hearted. Make sure you tell him lots of good things about us. Thank you so much Keiko"

"No wait please!"

"you're going to be a great kuniochi one day"

"Stop it! SOMEBODY HELP THEM PLEASE!" She began to breath heavily, she felt her chest caving in with harsh deep breaths.

"Thank yo-" Once the barrier was down, she ran over to their limb, lifeless bodies and held both of their hands, she looked down to see her hands stained with blood- Kushina's, Minato's and her mother's. Keiko dropped to her knees, all she could see was darkness…

Two weeks later

Emotionless, eyes were as cold as ice. Her kind and pure personality was now a cold-blooded and emotionless personality. Everyone could see the change, people were worried, however they let her be. It was the Funeral of those that were killed during the attack; Friends, Family, Teachers, Teammates all gathered together to put there loved ones at rest. she had lost everyone she loved, Minato, Kushina, Obito, Rin and her mother: thinking about them made pain flicker in her eyes, she looked down to the newborn who was in her arms. She smiled seeing the resemblence of her mentors, suddenly her smile faded feeling a stare from someone unknown, she decided to let it slide, she payed her respects and visited her father in the Hokages office; she knocked on the hollow door "Enter" came a horse, dry voice. "Father, I want to speak with you about a very important matter" she handed Naruto to him, he then began to cry, Hiruzen calmed the boy down after a couple of minutes "What quarrel do you have my child?" she hesitated, knowing full well that her father will reject her request with a blink of an eye; however she had to try.

"I would like to become part of the ANBU Black ops-"

"As I thought, which is why I already filed your application and you're ready to begin" she was shocked, she never thought he would even considered it. "However, I have a mission for you which you need to start right away, this requires you to be away from the village for a very long time, years for that fact" This was her chance, her chance to leave this place full of painful memories of all the hurt she's been through

"Continue" she pried

"this is a request from Kumogakure, I know this is strange, however since we are trying to start an alliance, I couldn't refuse" Keiko raised a questioning eyebrow, Hiruzen continued " There is a clan called the Shōei Clan, by the name you can see that they specialise in the Crystal Style Jutsu, one which is very useful when sealing tailed beasts. Since they can do this, they have come under threat by the neighbouring lands. The heads of the Clan- Kiyomi and Tatsuo Shōei and the Third Raikage, Have requested a highly skilled shinobi to help defend them against attacks and mostly to guard their child, Mariko."

"Why couldn't they choose someone from there own village?" She questioned.

"Like I said, this is a test to see if we can form an alliance. Obviously, if you accept, it means you can't care for Naruto" Keiko was pained by this however she just couldn't have the responsibility of looking after Naruto. She lost her mother and mentors because she wasn't strong enough "How can I care for a child if I can't protect my mother and mentors" her eyes went cold and emotionless, the Third Hokage looked up to see Keiko staring at him with heartless eyes.

"I accept"

She made her way to the gate, the moon was high in the sky, illuminating the streets, it was quiet and Keiko was content with the silent streets. She arrived at the gates, she was about to set foot on her path to Kumogakure "Kakashi I know you're there, come out" she whipped her head around staring at the tall teen in front of her.

"Where are you going?"

"Classified" she stated dispassionately

"Where to?"

"Classified" she retorted.

"how long for?"

"Years for all I know, what of it?" annoyed by her lack of information and sensitivity, he began to pry.

"Keiko, what has gotten into you? what happened to the kind hearted girl I knew, the one who strived me into moving on with my past, what happened to the pure girl I kno-" frustrated by the questions and statements Kakashi had began to confront her with, her fuse was blown.

"What happened? I failed thats what? i have blood on my hands, my mother's, my mentor's, Rin's, Obito's… I scrub and scrub my hands every night trying to get the fucking blood off of my hands and then I have to protect a newborn baby. I can't, I just can't I need to leave this hell, all there is here is painful memories" Kakashi felt hurt yet he could empathise with her, he too did have blood on his hands however he knew she didn't, he looked up to see her face covered in rubbed off tears; the one thing he noticed was her cold, emotionless eyes. He walked up to her and hugged her stroking her hair, "Okay, I understand, I will leave you to figure this out on your own, but don't take too long, ill be waiting for you Keiko" she wept into his chest, her tears soaked into his ANBU flack jacket, she moved back and kissed his cheek, he blushed as she said

"Thank you, I love you Kakashi" and with that she turned around facing the road ahead; pulling her mask up to cover her face which came with her new ANBU uniform and she turned around to flash one last smile at Kakashi and placed her Panda-like ANBU mask on.

"Thank you Kakashi-kun" Kakashi hovered his hand on where she had kissed him-she departed and walked on the path to Kumogakure.

Her new life was about to being.

So this is my first fan fiction I have wrote in a long time, so please bare with me on the grammar and spellings. The italics are Keiko's thoughts, and she is my own OC so I have full possession of her as well as Tatsuo Shōei and Kiyomi Shōei and the Shōei Clan, however I do not own any of the Naruto Characters as they belong to Masashi Kishimoto himself. the updates won't be persistant as this prologue took me 3-4 hours to write ahaha! I hope you enjoy the series, and feel free to comment and leave feedback at anytime. Thank You!