Aria Namikaze took pride in the fact that she was the younger sister of Minato Namikaze. He was one of the greatest Shinobi in the village and on the fast track to become Hokage. Of course, she had fast tracked too, right along with Kakashi Hatake. They both rose through the ranks together. This put them both a Jonin at age 13.

"Mina!" Ari yelled, racing into the clearing.
"Aria, what are you doing here? We're about to step off on mission," Kakashi answered, annoyed.

Ari rolled her eyes. He thought everyone that wasn't him was annoying. If you were too loud, too excited, showed too much of any emotion, you were branded as annoying.

"Yeah, Hatake thats why I'm here. Kushina sent me with some stuff... Wheres Obito and Minato?"
"Minato-Sensei said he'd be right back, but you know Obito, late as always," Rin giggled.

Aria smiled. Obito was always late for one reason or another. The excuse was different almost every time.

"Okay then, I guess i'll start without them," Ari said distractedly.

She pulled her bag off of her shoulder and dropped it to the ground, then started rooting through it.

"Alright! First up, Hatake!"

The silver haired ninja looked over at Aria just in time to catch something out of the air.

"Gloves?" he asked, unamused.
"Yes! Its a gift for your promotion, congrats on making Jonin. They're fingerless to make it easier, and the armored piece on the back makes it so if you have to, you can block a blow from a kunai or katana or something with just your hand."

Ari heard him grunt a whatever, but he pulled them on anyway. She smiled at him then grabbed the next thing. Before she could pull it out, however, a gust of wind swept through the clearing and a blond haired shinobi appeared.

"Ari! What are you doing here?" He asked.
"Well for starters, dummy, Kushina sent me with some stuff you forgot," Ari glared.

Her older brother grinned sheepishly and scratched the back of his neck, "right... what did I forget this time?"
"Your brain if it wasn't inside your head," Ari mumbled, pulling out a small wrapped box that her Sister-in-law had given her.

She casually tossed it at the tall blond with another eye roll then grabbed the previous box and looked over at Rin.
The brunette deftly caught the gift and unwrapped it.

"I found this the other day when i was out on my mission. They're chakra tabs, kinda like food pills, and super potent. You're only supposed to use one per ever 24 hours and only if your chakra is dangerously low. Since you're the medic, I thought you'd find these useful!"
"Oh my goodness! Thank you Ari! These will come in handy with these guys," Rin laughed.
"And last but not least-"

There was a crack in the trees and then a boy wearing goggles came flying out of the woods. He crashed and rolled, but sat up quickly. Almost immediately, Kakashi laid into him about being late and how useless he was. It made Ari's ears heat up with anger. However, before she could say anything, Minato cut in, calming the argument.

"Are you almost done, Aria? We have to get going," Kakashi rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.
"Yes, you grump, I have one last gift," Ari turned to Obito and smiled. "This is for you, your birthday is right when you get back and I wont be here, so I thought it would be useful now!"

Ari handed a small, odd shaped package to the Uchiha boy. He looked confused, opened it, then looked even more confused. Ari giggled.

"It's a lense for your goggles. It helps to detect heat signatures. Happy early birthday, Obi!"
Obito's face heated up and he pulled Ari in for a hug, "Thank you so much!"
Ari's giggle turned into a laugh as she returned the hug, "Of course, Obi! I wouldn't forget!"

Ari watched him replace the old lense with this one and look around the clearing. He gasped and yelled about how awesome it was. Ari just smiled.

"Alright, if you two are done, lets go," Kakashi said.
"Right of course. Good luck you guys!" Ari told them all.

She watched her former classmates take off and suddenly it was just her and Minato in the clearing. He smiled at her and ruffled her blueish black hair, avoiding a swat from the younger Namikaze.

"Watch Kushina for me, alright? We'll be back as soon as we can."
"You know she's stronger than you, right?" Ari teased.
"Yeah well, she's my wife, I worry."
"I know, you goof. We'll be fine. Don't worry so much."

Minato smiled and took off, leaving Ari in the clearing alone. She had her own mission to get ready for snd some sleep to catch before her team's early departure the next day.

~~~3 weeks later~~~

"Asuma!"

Ari raced through the forest, tracking her teammate's chakra signature. It was low but strong and steady. He had gotten Kurenai away, Ari realized with relief.

"Aria!" she finally heard back.

Ari used a small boost of chakra on her feet to rocket through the trees. In a small clearing, Asuma was kneeling next to an unconscious Kurenai. She landed with a soft thud and ran over.
Kurenai had sustained substantial damage to her chest and stomach, but with a quick sweep, Ari decided the attack was mostly to her chakra points than her actual vital points.

"Mishi is gone. Its just us," Ari spoke quietly.

Their team's leader, Mishi Aiko, had sacrificed herself so the team could get away. They had been grossly outnumbered and even with the skill level of the team combined, it was too much. She had used a consuming fire jutsu which not only caused her to die, but everyone within a 50 mile radius to combust.

"You're Captain now, you're the Jonin," Asuma said.
Ari sighed, "I know, but I don't know what to do..."
"Help Kurenai as much as you can, then we'll go back to the village. The mission was an overall success, we just had a rough trip back," Asuma said.

Ari took a deep breath. He was right, they had accomplished the escort. But the Mist ninja had attacked them on the way back. They had ventured too close to an encampment and paid the price due to curiosity. It was stupid, Ari had told Mishi that, but Mishi outranked her. Mishi wasn't even supposed to be on this mission, but their Sensei had been sent on a solo mission.

Letting out her breath, Ari preformed the hand signs for the limited medical ninjutsu she knew, and rested one on Kurenai's stomach and one on her sternum. The light green chakra funneled into the Yuhi girl and slowly, Ari started untangling the mess of chakra. After about an hour, Ari stopped and wiped her forehead.

"That will hold her til we get back. Lord Hokage needs to know how close they were to the village and she needs a real medic," Ari stated.
"I'll carry her, you report to the old man," Asuma stated.

The nodded, loaded Kurenai onto Asuma's back, and took off. Within hours they were running through the gate to the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Home.
Asuma headed towards the hospital and Ari towards the Hokage's tower. She was there in minutes and slowed her breathing before knocking on the door.

"Enter!" She heard from the other side.
Ari pushed open the door and closed it behind her. She made her way in front of the Hokage's desk and kneeled.
"Stand and report," he said.

Ari stood up and sighed, "Lord Hokage, the mission was a success. Lady Komiko is back home. However on the way back, we were ambushed by Mist ninja. They were too close for comfort to the village, sir. They outnumbered us, Asuma, Kurenai, and myself made it back, however Mishi Aiko sacrificed herself to allow us an escape, there was just too many of them."

There was silence. Ari noticed her brother was sitting in the corner of the room. He didnt meet her eyes and something felt off. She ignored it however, and focused her attention on Lord Third. Ari knew she shouldnt sound so cold when informing the leader of their village about the death of one of his shinobi, but honestly she was just pissed off.

Mishi was seventeen. She had been a Jonin for three years now. She should have known better than to investigate an element that big with just the four of them. Ari wanted to send word to the village, but Mishi said they would just look. Then she stepped on a trap wire and it was downhill from there.

"And where is Asuma and Kurenai?" Lord Third asked.
"Kurenai sustained damage to her chakra points in battle. I healed her as much as I could, but we decided to head back. They're both at the hospital sir," Ari explained.

Asuma was Lord Hokage's son. She cursed herself with not leading with that information. The old man was probably worried.
The Hokage breathed out a puff of smoke and nodded.

"Very well, attend to yourself and your teammates. Please hand in your report tomorrow morning, first thing."
"Yes, sir," Ari bowed again.

A shift in the corner drew Ari's attention. Minato had stood. He motioned for her to follow him and he still wouldn't meet her eye. It was suspicious and Ari felt her stomach start to churn with anxiety.
The two siblings walked in silence as Minato lead them to the roof. He walked over to the balcony and Ari hung back a few paces. She placed her hand on her hip and cocked her head to the opposite side.

"Alright Mina, you're being weird. Could you say something? Im dirty, tired, and need to check on Kurenai."
"Obito is dead."

Ari's blood ran cold. She slowly moved to stand straight, trying to comprehend those three words. A strangled laugh escaped her, involuntarily.

"You're messing with me. Seriously, Minato, that isn't funny. What's going on?"
Minato only turned. She could see the pain and concern in his blue eyes. He looked tired, dark circles hung under his eyes.
"You- you're not..." a thousand emotions ran through Ari in that moment. She didn't know what to feel. Her eyes burned, her heart raced, and her stomach flipped. Finally, out of all of the emotions, Ari decided to settle on angry. She could hurt later when she was alone.

"How."
"He sacrificed himself to save Kakashi. He was crushed by a boulder. They couldn't save him. Aria, I know how much he meant to you... Im so sorry..."
Ari angled her head down so her black bangs covered her eyes. He wouldn't see her cry. Nobody did.
"Is Hatake alright?" she asked, her voice dangerously low.
"He's in the hospital, but he will be."

Ari scoffed, her eyes shining with unshed tears, "We're just kids. We're playing a game we have no business playing."
"I know."