Second chapter up! I don't have much to discuss here but I hope you all enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, only my Oc's

CHAPTER 2

"Rei…"

"Reiko…"

Reiko mumbled as she felt a hand gently shaking her awake, opening her eyes blearily she saw Kushina smiling at her gently, she returned the smile as she sat up slowly. Rubbing at her eyes she looked around before gasping.

"Ah crap! Kushina I'm sorry I didn't mean to-" she began but stopped as Kushina held a hand up to silence her.

"It's alright, the company is always nice. I told your parents as well that you stayed over." She replied

Reiko sighed in relief, she had fallen asleep on Kushina's couch without even realising, she looked to Kushina who was kneeled beside her with a smile still on her face.

"You'd make a great mum, ya know?" she said randomly, shocking Kushina before she laughed.

"Ya think so?" Kushina said laughing as she ruffled her hair with a big grin of her own.

"I always like spending time with you Kushina, it's always fun." She exclaimed as she stood up and began to grab her things, Kushina now leant against the door frame casually.

"Your mother thinks you spend too much time with me, you've even started picking up on my verbal ticks." She said with a laugh.

Reiko scratched the back of her head sheepishly as she sat back down on the couch. "What can I say? You guys have been visiting me since I was a baby and heck you guys were what, like 8?"

Kushina shook her head "We were around 8 at the time, that was when we recently joined the academy, I didn't like Minato one bit. I did like you though, you were the most adorable baby too! You had taken a liking to me, especially my hair…always tugging and pulling at it. Minato also visited you because you were his friend's sibling, and later on teammate." She exclaimed.

Reiko looked down at her hands numbly "oh right….I forget sometimes that Ryoichi…was Minato's teammate…"

Kushina looked down at her in worry "I didn't mean to bring it up, I'm sorry." She said walking over and placing a hand on her shoulder.

Reiko continued to look at her hands "Death is one thing a ninja cannot escape, whether it's their own, or the death of a loved one. As long as this world is governed by hate there will always be death and loss." She recited as Kushina remained silent. Kushina stayed behind Reiko as she wrapped her arms around her and laid her head on her shoulder.

"But you forget there is always love in this world to battle that hate." Kushina whispered making Reiko take a sharp breath before she bit her lip.

"My brother said something similar in the past too…I never understood until now…" she whispered. After that the two sat in silence as the sun began to rise higher in the sky.

'I promise you, one day I'll end this continuous cycle of hate. We'll live in a peaceful world some day!' Ryoichi said giving his six year old sister a thumbs up as he readjusted his forehead protector.

A six year old Reiko tilted her head in confusion 'Big brother…I don't really understand…' Her brother merely smiled at her gently.

'You will someday.'

"Let's go find out if Minato and the others are back yet, yeah?" Kushina muttered softly after a long silence, Reiko nodded and grabbed her things along with the presents they placed in the basket. They both left in a somewhat sombre silence before Reiko scratched her cheek with a nervous laugh.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to put a damper on things! Not only that but I need to have my welcoming face on too!" she said determinedly "Because when the others return I'm sure they'll be happy to see us smiling and waving, and then we get to give them their presents as well…I just know they'll all like it!"

Kushina smiled at her and nodded "alright, then let's get going!"

Shutting the door to her parent's- no, her home she let out a sigh as she clutched the basket with the presents in it.

"Thank you so much Kushina for helping me move back in, it was a great help." She said gratefully.

Kushina waved a dismissive hand "Don't mention it, besides the hokage said that they would likely be back sometime after noon and judging by the sky and busyness in the street I'd say it's roughly past noon now."

She grinned "We better get to the gate, no mission would be complete without a welcoming party~"

The two women chuckled as they made their way to the gate, chatting animatedly and arguing about the best foods till they reached the gate. Minato and the others were nowhere in sight, nor had the guards by the gate seen them so the two stood and waited with Reiko clutching the basket with both hands as the wind began to pick up slightly.

She felt giddy "I can't wait for them to return!"

Kushina chuckled "You just can't wait to give them their presents."

Reiko blushed and chuckled as well "Guilty, but I can't wait to see their faces! I can imagine it now, Rin will smile brightly and she'll be super excited about it. Kakashi…heh I have no idea, he'll probably act all aloof saying how he doesn't need it so I'll have to yell at him. Minato will be smiling like usual." She said with a grin, the wind blowing her hair forward.

"As for Obito, I know he'll think it's a lame gift but when I explain its meaning to him he will-" she stopped mid-sentence as she stared ahead, unable to swallow the lump in her throat as her eyes widened.

"Reiko?" Kushina muttered worriedly before following her gaze and taking a sharp intake of breath.

The two women watched as Minato, Rin and Kakashi approached. Without Obito, he was nowhere in sight. Reiko waited for him to pop out of the bushes saying how he fooled them all as he had done multiple times to get on her nerves or to test out his stealth but the look on their faces... Minato looked serious, Rin had her eyes downcast whilst Kakashi…he looked like he was in a daze, his eyes- no…Kakashi now had a slash over his left eye that remained closed, whilst his right looked glazed over.

And Obito's chakra….she couldn't sense it…

She tried to focus more, broaden her range, maybe he was lagging behind?

When their team finally made it to the gates Reiko's lip quivered before biting her lip as she took a deep breath. "Where's-"

"He's dead." Minato whispered as he placed a hand on her shoulder, walking past.

Time seemed to slow down as her eyes scanned Minato's face, Rin's face and Kakashi's face for any sign of a joke, even though she knew it was true, his chakra was nowhere in the vicinity. She felt the basket slowly slipping through her fingers and hitting the ground on its side. She felt her body tense as her eyes continued to dart between all of them. She took a step back, her feet dragging on the ground.

Her heart beat irregularly, it hurt.

"…I have to go." she whispered, the anguish filling her tone as she darted away, running from building to building with the tears blurring her vision. It was impossible, Obito….He would never- he couldn't- he just…

No…..

'No….it can't be…' she felt a sob escape her lips as she landed by the training grounds that team Minato always trained at, falling back limply against a tree she slid down slowly as she felt the shock and grief begin to kick in even more. Raking her hands through her hair she clutched her head as she began to cry.

It just wasn't possible….not Obito…how could he have died? Where was his body?

It was all her fault, everyone around her was cursed to die so why did she even try to get close to him? Why did she think it would be okay?

'I'm gonna be Hokage someday ya know!' His words echoed in her head making her cry harder.

A small thud sounded beside her, not looking up she could sense it was Minato's chakra as she felt his arms envelope her, pulling her close. They stayed there for some time as she cried before she finally managed to calm down and pull away.

"I…I'm sorry…" she whispered, barely audible.

Minato gave her shoulder a squeeze "it's alright, it came as a shock to all of us but-"

"It's the reality of war." She muttered bitterly. Minato stayed quiet at this but motioned to the basket that held the presents in it, which explained the thud from before.

Reaching out slowly she pulled out the smallest packet, tearing the wrapping paper apart she pulled out the tooth necklace and placed it around her neck, clutching it tightly. "This was meant to be my gift for Obito…an Onbaa tooth, said to give luck and strength…" she trailed off.

Minato's grip on her shoulder tightened making her look at him, she could see the grief swirling in his eyes which made her feel guilty, turning to face him she wrapped her arms around him in a hug.

"I'm sorry, this is your loss too." She mumbled, Minato soon hugged her back before they both stood. Reiko grabbed the basket and shot Minato a side glance.

"I'll deliver these to Rin and Kakashi….i'm going to assume Obito's body was not recovered?" she assumed. Minato merely nodded in response causing her to sigh.

"His name will be engraved on the memorial stone. I've already arranged it with the Hokage." He responded.

She looked at him in confusion "Not much time has passed since you all arrived at the gate…you couldn't have given the mission report already?"

He sent her a smile "I'm the yellow flash for a reason, Rin and Kakashi were out of it so I relieved them of that duty." At this Reiko nodded before bidding him goodbye and jumping off.

Wiping at her tear stained cheeks she breathed in deeply as she stopped at one of the rooftops and closed her eyes, searching for Rin's chakra, it was delicate and kind. Her range never extended very far however thankfully she was close by. She reopened her eyes and ran in the direction of her chakra, finally landing atop one of the building's rooftops. This one much taller than most overlooked a lot of the village, she narrowed her eyes at this as she spotted Rin sitting at the edge of the roof. This place….

"It was one of Obito's favourite spots, coming up here to think, to let out some anger, to get away from the world…." Rin trailed off.

"I know…" she whispered, she had found Obito many times up here whenever he suddenly disappeared or didn't turn up for certain things.

Walking over to Rin slowly Reiko crouched down and rummaged through the basket, finally handing her the box with her present in it. Rin turned to look at her, her eyes still red from tears with her cheeks glistening slightly. She turned her gaze to the box silently before taking it with a small smile and nodding in thanks.

"These weren't exactly the circumstances I wanted to give you a present but…I still hope you like it." She said after a few moments as Rin opened the box and pulled out a new medical kit and medical ninjutsu book.

Rin smiled more brightly, although still a sad and tired smile it was less forced than the previous. "Oh Reiko, thank you. I love it…" she said sincerely.

Nodding to Rin she stood "I better get to Kakashi now and give him his gift as well…" she said more to herself than anything. As she turned to leave Rin grabbed her wrist, her grip weak as she looked back at Rin who had new tears spilling down her cheeks.

"What…what did you get Obito…?" she questioned as he voice quivered and her arm dropped to her side.

Reiko held up the tooth necklace now around her neck "An Onbaa tooth, symbolising good luck and strength." She replied, this made Rin smile a terribly sad one at that.

She gazed down forlornly with the smile still on her face "Obito would have loved that…" she whispered. Looking back to her she bit her lip "Rei….can you stay with me awhile?" she asked.

Reiko nodded with a gentle smile "Of course." She replied as she sat side by side with Rin, the two of them held hands tightly as they watched the sun begin to set gradually. For a time, no words were exchanged between the two until Rin began to explain what had transpired on the mission and how Obito died.

"In my eyes…he died a hero." Rin whispered, Reiko searched her face as the wind picked up.

"Mm, I agree." She said softly as she returned her gaze to the sunset once again.

Jumping from rooftop to rooftop she finally landed on the dirt path right by the bridge where she found Kakashi, it was nightfall by the time she left Rin to her thoughts and it took her some time to find Kakashi as well. She found him leaning forward against the railing, staring down into the stream that calmly flowed, it being one of the few sounds aside from the crickets in the undergrowth.

She approached Kakashi slowly but stopped when he began to talk, she stared at the side of his face that looked into the water with the same dazed eye as before.

"Obito and I…finally became a team. Right before he died." Kakashi said quietly as he gripped the railing. "It's all my fault. If I had put teamwork and the lives of my comrades first over the mission then this wouldn't have happened." Kakashi growled as he shook in anger. She could hear the bitterness and guilt in his tone which shocked her. Death and grief would forever remain a factor that changes people's lives.

"Are you really so sure about that? You could've used teamwork all along and still lost a comrade. Your team could have worked perfectly in battle and you still could have lost lives." She responded, Kakashi whirled around and glared at her.

"How would you know?! You wouldn't know the first thing about the loss of a comrade!" Kakashi yelled at her.

She averted her gaze to the ground as she gripped the last remaining packet in her hand. She grit her teeth "Wouldn't know…? My big brother died in battle when I was 6 years old. My genin team all perished in battle and we were a team. We worked in almost perfect sync, sure I can't talk because I still blame myself to this very day for what happened. I lost my teammates, my friends, and my sensei that day and I will always blame myself even though the truth of it is, is that our enemy just overwhelmed us….And I…wasn't strong enough." She trailed off into a whisper before glaring right back at him, to see his had faltered.

"And don't you forget, Obito was my friend and comrade too! Just because I'm not officially on your team doesn't mean I'm not a comrade." She shot back determinedly.

She was met with silence, silence that continued as Kakashi stared at her in surprise. She narrowed her eyes and tossed the package to him "That's your present."

"Present…?" Kakashi questioned after a few moments.

She nodded "I did say I was going to get you guys presents for being promoted to Chūnin and jōnin."

"Took you long enough…" Kakashi shot back weakly as he opened the box and looked at it for a few moments blankly.

She felt a smirk start creeping onto her face "Soo…?" she said as she had her hands behind her back, expectant for a response.

Kakashi turned his blank look to her "A recipe book?"

Reiko nodded "You live alone don't you? I thought maybe you should have a book on cooking so you don't have to eat out every time or buy bad food so you won't get fat-" A loud sigh interrupted her and her sparkling eyes as she explained her 'brilliant' idea, her eyes sparkled even more as she practically skipped over and plucked out the ninken keychain.

"And it came with a cute keychain!"

Kakashi continued to stare at her blankly before sighing heavily once again and grabbing the keychain from her fingers, placing it back in the box he closed it and exhaled tiredly once more "You never change…but thanks I guess." He said as he walked past her.

An irk mark appeared on her head as she spun around "Oi! I'm just looking out for your health ya know!" she growled as she shook her fist at him.

"I'm a ninja, I train constantly. Not to mention I already make my own food so I'm not going to get fat." Kakashi replied before disappearing.

Reiko's eyebrow twitched "That's because you're a bloody twig…" she grumbled before sighing and walking to the railing to look into the water below, her own reflection staring back at her. She blinked in surprise at her own reflection, bags under her eyes, glistening cheeks from tears, ruffled hair. God she looked terrible.

"At least I look as shit as I feel." She let out a mirthless laugh before turning back to head home. After all, she had done everything she could for her comrades, it was a good distraction once the shock of losing Obito lessened. But now, she had to face the rest of her grief. She hoped one day the pain of losing someone would be lessen with experience and age. Heading home she landed in front of the door and unlocked it. Walking in slowly she made her way down the hallway toward her room before she heard her name.

"Rei you're home! And quite late at that, why don't you come eat some food?" Her mother Mutsuko called as she peered out into the hallway.

"I'm not hungry…" she muttered just as she felt a hand on her head from behind, not even needing to sense his chakra she knew it was her father, she turned slightly toward him and looked him in the eye.

"Minato and Kushina have already informed us about what's happened." Ryo said with a heavy sigh, she remained silent as he continued.

"It's unfortunate timing too, I'm afraid I have been sent out to the front lines." At this she stiffened as he removed his hand from her head, she knew this meant it was entirely possible he would not return.

"But don't worry, I'll be fine!" he said with a light tone, but looking into his eyes she saw the uncertainty, she saw the tightness of his smile. Her father was an exceptional ninja, even though he was older, and had lived much longer than most ninja ever did there was still a chance. There was always a chance that he could die. After losing Obito….and a handful before him she wasn't ready to lose another.

She wasn't ready for the curse she had to become more and more true.

Her gaze cast down she still remained silent as she wrapped her arms around her father for what could be the last time as he rested his chin atop her head he grumbled "And I have to leave in the morning too. I'd prefer if this time you didn't see me off." She understood what he meant, he wanted it to be like any other mission he would be assigned, that he would come back. That everything was normal. Clutching on to his vest tighter she shut her eyes.

The ninja world was an utter nightmare.

Thank you all for reading!

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