Pink hair gleamed in the sunlight as the young kunoichi jumped from the tree limb, slicing her attackers throat, "Sumi!" The shrill cry came from Rin who's green eyes were staring at her sister.
Kakashi was beside the frozen female in an instant, "Wake up Sumi or you'll get yourself killed!"
Blue eyes flitted up to the copy-nin as blood splattered on his silver hair, then her shoulders slumped as she stood. In one swift jump she was in the middle of the enemy ninja, blood splattered to the green leaves and trees as the cloud ninja fell in a heap of carnage at the kunoichi's feet. Both Rin and Kakashi's mouths dropped open, "S-sumi?" Rin squeaked past her dry throat.
When Sumi turned to face them, her face was streamed with tears, "I'm only 9, Rin. I haven't killed anyone before."
"Sometimes, we forget she's younger than us, Rin." Kakashi's voice was low, "We forced her into this."
Rin sighed and fell to the ground gracefully, "It was going to happen eventually. I'll heal your wounds, Kakashi." The teenage shin obi glanced at the two sisters as Rin healed his wounds.
The gap in age didn't change them much in looks, but the nine year old shouldn't have been on a mission with them. "She'll need some guidance, Rin. She's falling apart."
The pink headed kunoichi sighed, "My sister and I don't get along Kakashi; she doesn't speak and I don't know what she's thinking. I can't make it better for her because I don't know how." Her hands fell to her knees, "I can heal the outside wounds easily; but when it comes to the inside… I'm lost." Green eyes refused to look at anything but the bloody hands that had just healed her teammate.
Kakashi stood, and walked slowly over to where Sumi was still standing, "You need to clean your weapons."
She nodded and followed him to the creek where she knelt silently at the waters edge, the massive amounts of blood swirling in the water and turning it a sickening pale pink. "It was your first kill."
"Obviously." She sighed, scrubbing the shuriken of the skin and muscles that had gathered on it.
"It hurts."
There was a pause and the blue eyes met his gray one, "No, not anymore. It did; something inside died and it hurt then. But, now, it doesn't hurt as much."
"Innocence." He sighed and knelt beside her, "Your innocence died. I was four when it happened to me."
"Kashi, why didn't Rin - why are you here?" Her blue eyes were almost pleading with him to lie to her; to tell her that the only sister she had was busy. She whispered, "You always make excuses for everything."
He sighed and glanced at the shimmering weapons that were now spotless, "I can't on this, Sumi."
She fell to his lap, sobbing into his knees, then she whispered against the bloodied cloth, "Hokage-sama offered me a place as a hunter-nin last week."
"This is your first lethal mission." His voce was more than a little surprised.
Sumi nodded, pink hair starting to stick in clumps from the spattered blood, "He said that if I came out alive from this mission I would then be accepted." Her tiny fingers gripped his pants, "Kashi, you're in ANBU aren't you?" He nodded and she took the shift in him as a yes, "And Rin as well, I've seen her mask in the house. Hers is a cat, yours is a wolf - isn't it?"
"Sumi -"
"I don't want to wear a mask, but hokage-sama says I have to. I won't be an animal."
"We need to go back to the village."
With a few days, they were back at the village, Sumi inside the hokage's office and left with a new outfit and mask.
Kakashi sighed as Sumi sat next to him as the sun disappeared over the village. "And? What did you choose for a mask?" The short nine year old came from the shadows, her mask a porcelain white, except for the konoha symbol and blood red paint at the corners of the eye hole's that trickled as tears down the mask. His breath caught, "Sumi -"
"In honor of all shin obi's innocence."