Hello my Darling readers! I'm starting yet another fic...even though I REALLY REALLY REALLY should NOT be doing this. So many fics I already need to work on...ugh.

Anyways, thought I'd try my hand at writing one of those 'OC raises Naruto to be kick ass' fics...figured it wouldn't hurt?

I can't proise this fic will be updated very frequently, or it it'll ever get very far...but i wanna try?

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing but my OC. Not making a profit. Just having fun?

The kunoichi, currently off duty from her usual ANBU activities, took a deep drink from the bottle in her hand as she stared blankly at the wall in front of her. She knew she'd have to stop soon and get ready for her shift. It was her turn to watch the boy. Of course, she'd have to stop by the Hokage's office to make sure the old codger didn't have any 'side quests' for her to complete. Not that she minded. She loved the side quests. Those people typically deserved every second of fear they experienced.

For now, however, she could drink her booze and get lost in her thoughts. When duty called, she'd just burn the alcohol out with chakra. How some people never figured that out, she didn't know. How did they think that old lady, Tsunade or whatever, could drink a bar dry but still go into surgery not at hour later?

Chakra, people. Really.

She kept staring at the wall. It was white, with no decorations to be seen. There was a hole where a nail once held up a picture, but nothing had been hung there in...four years? Yeah. Four years.

She hadn't really been back here in four years either. For the most part, she stayed in the barracks. It was better there. Less stuff to remind her of her family. It wasn't that she had bad memories of them…it just hurt too much to think about them.

Her parents had been amazing people. Both had been shinobi themselves, her father a chunin and her mother a jonin. They hadn't been particularly talented, and as she grew up, they had spent more time at home than on missions. They were good parents though. They taught her how to fight and helped her with her academy work. They'd celebrated her graduation, even though she'd only graduated young because the war effort needed more soldiers fighting. Each of her promotions, from genin to chunin to jonin. When the Fourth had been chosen, they'd thrown a huge party for the entire block. Maybe that was where she'd gotten all her wildness from? They'd been party animals...

They could afford parties whenever they wanted, despite her parents not working full time. Her father had come from a well-to-do civilian family, and he'd inherited a large sum of money. He'd also inherited her family home. There had only been the three of them in that household, but the building had clearly been meant to hold a small clan at some point. She'd never asked her father where they'd all gone, because surely that hadn't all just died out, right? Still, growing up the place had been really empty. And now? Now it was just a great big empty shell of a home.

Her home.

She couldn't bring herself to sell it, even though she'd avoided the place since her mother had died. It had been hard enough for her to be there after the death of her father, who had taken a bad fall after a night of drinking on the town. A bad fall down a flight of stairs. He didn't get back up again. How did a trained shinobi die from a little fall, when an entire war couldn't kill him?

It had taken months before she and her mother had started to get over the loss. They'd finally stopped looking around the house for him, or calling him over to ask his opinion. They were healing. They bonded over his loss, and were looking forward to Konoha's bright future in the era of peace before them.

And then her mother died too, along with hundreds of other people, the night the kyuubi attacked. She could still remember the way her mother's eyes dim-

The house became too empty after that.

So, she'd taken up the Third's offer to become an ANBU operative, and here she was, four years later. She did stop by the old homestead from time to time...once a year or so...mostly to make sure there were no squatters and to clean up the dust that clung to things after a while.

Her internal alarm clock rang, jolting her from memories of the past. Time for work. The woman stood up, placing the empty bottle next to the spot on the floor she'd previously been seated. A gloved hand reached up to the side of her head, where she'd slid her mask. Once she put the Mask on, she knew she'd be like another person. The new her.

It was better that way. 'Risu' was much easier to handle than the real her. Arisa. When was the last time she'd been called Arisa? Must have been four years too. She'd never really been off duty since she joined.

The white mask was slid into place, and the woman's entire demeanor shifted into something more controlled and rigid. Risu's chakra flared to burn off the alcohol in their system. If the process was painful in any way, it didn't show. All anyone watching would have been able to see was a blank expression on a mask designed to look somewhat like a rodent. Little round ears were carved on the top of the mask, and the mouth and nose protruded forward slightly to mimic an animal's muzzle. The look was completed by a pair of swirls on the cheeks of the mask.

It almost looked cute.

Almost.

If one ignored the fact that the person wearing it was trained to kill another person in numerous different ways.

ANBU operative Risu raised a hand in a single hand sign and with a single burst of chakra, they disappeared, leaving nothing but a lonely acorn falling to the floor.

The acorn bounced a couple times, then rolled a short distance before coming to rest on the cool hardwood floor, next to the bottle half-empty bottle of booze.

"Reporting for duty, Lord Hokage." Risu said in a soft tone once they arrived into the office. It was empty save for themselves, the Hokage, and a small number of her fellow ANBU who were hidden around the room.

"Risu-san...I've been meaning to talk to you about something that has come to my attention recently."

The ANBU ignored the feeling of apprehension attempting to take root. There was no room for that emotion. It would only hinder their work. They didn't verbally answer, instead politely inclining their head for him to continue speaking.

"Recently I've been going over your file, and reports indicate that you have not taken leave since you started your time in ANBU. Is this information accurate?"

"Yes sir."

"I see."

Risu narrowed their eyes at their Kage from behind their mask. What was this leading to? So what if they hadn't taken leave? They didn't need it. They were perfectly capable of carrying out orders and seeing to their duties. Leave was for injured people, or those who couldn't cope with the demands being an ANBU put on your body and mind.

Risu was coping just fine.

"Would you be interested in taking a short break?" There was something in his voice. It sounded like he was testing them. Only Risu wasn't sure what he wanted them to say. No, they didn't need or want a break. If Risu said 'yes' the only thing they'd be saying was that they were lazy, or running away from their duties. If Risu said 'no'…well. Honestly, Risu wasn't sure what the harm of saying 'no' was.

Risu blinked behind their mask, "No sir. That is not necessary. I am fully able to complete my duties, and am in no need of rest."

The Hokage gave a loud sigh.

Wrong answer then, it seemed.

"I'm sorry Risu-san, but I must ask that you take a period of leave. While I'm sure you can perform your duties well, it is important that all members of ANBU take leave, so that they can rest their minds as well as their bodies."

By ask, he meant order.

Risu felt something almost akin to anger rise up, but they did their best to quell it, lest one of their comrades notice the fluctuation in Risu's chakra. It was bad enough that all of ANBU would know they was being forced to take leave by the end of the night. They didn't need to find out it pissed Risu off too.

But how could the Hokage do this to them? Didn't he realize how much they needed to do their duties? Didn't he realize that without Risu, Arisa was as good as dead? There was nothing for her outside of ANBU. No friends, no family. No hobbies. For all intents and purposes, there was no Arisa any longer. She'd been dead for four years.

And Risu knew for a fact there were other ANBU who hadn't taken leave in the entire time they'd been in ANBU. Several of them were in their squad. Operative Inu was the first to come to mind. He'd been ANBU longer than Risu had, and they'd never seen the man take a day off.

Part of Risu was tempted to bring up this argument, but they wouldn't throw Inu to the wolves like that. While Risu didn't know him outside of ANBU activities, they…understood him. He was just like them. Needed to work…didn't exist without it, since there wasn't really anyone out there who knew him.

"Risu-san?"

The voice of the Hokage dragged Risu out of their thoughts. Internally, Risu cussed. Had they really spaced out like that?

"Sorry sir," Risu bowed as they apologized, "I was…thinking."

"About?"

"I'm not sure leave will be as…relaxing an experience for me as you hope, sir."

The ANBU Operative took the moment to realize just how old the Hokage looked upon hearing those words. The old man raised a hand, making a gesture that caused the other ANBU in the room to leave, giving them some privacy. He heaved another sigh and his shoulders sagged, "Arisa..."

Risu stiffened, uncomfortable with the sudden change of address. Hesitantly, Risu reached up and removed their mask.

Arisa slowly blinked her pale blue eyes, adjusting to the change as she removed the mask.

"You know I'm doing this for your own good, right? You're young and have your whole life ahead of you. When I offered for you to join ANBU, I didn't expect you to become quite so dedicated."

"I know sir…it's just…I…I don't have a life, sir." Arisa tucked a stray strand of brown hair behind her ear. She struggled to explain herself without sounding as pathetic as she was, "I'm not…I…I'm…better when I work. If I'm not working, it's hard for me to…"

"Arisa, I'm sure you can find something to occupy your time. I'm afraid I simply cannot allow you to continue working in ANBU without you taking leave every once in a while. It's standard protocol."

She runs a hand over her face, rubbing at the bridge of her nose in frustration, "I understand that sir…I just…"

"Please Arisa, just give it a try. Try to find a hobby…make some friends who don't wear masks. We live in a time of peace…take advantage of that."

The woman only sighed and nodded. Her pale eyes looking anywhere but at him.

"Go home Arisa. Tomorrow I'll send someone over to give you the full details of your time off, including when you'll be starting back up again- If you still want to be ANBU. You never know, you might just enjoy the time out from under the mask."

With that dismissal, she gave a slow nod before spinning on her heel and leaving. Her head was held high and her back straight.

It was time to go 'home' and get nice and hammered.

"Oh," the Hokage's voice made her pause, "When you go to the barracks to collect your belongings, please notify Inu-san that he'll be covering your shift for the next week or two, alright?"

Collect her things? Did that mean she couldn't stay at the barracks?

She'd have to…

"Sir, are you sure I can't stay at the barracks?"

"No Arisa, you need to get away from the ANBU lifestyle. That includes sleeping in the barracks. You have a lovely home…use it."

She sighed once more, but nodded again, "Yes sir."

"And remember to give Inu-san your mask as well. You won't be using it until you're called in."

Walking down the hall, she slipped her mask back on, and let Risu take control.

The barracks weren't far from the Hokage building. A literal 'hop skip and a jump' with liberal use of chakra had them at ANBU HQ in no time at all. They entered the building, going through the necessary security checks to enter the barracks completely.

Risu entered the common room they shared with their squad, taking notice that only Operative Inu was in the room. He looked up from the book he was reading as Risu entered the room.

"You're back early."

"Hokage-sama has decided I need to go on leave. Something about ANBU needing to take time off from time to time." Risu said in a light tone, but they made sure he understood what they were saying. Risu was warning him that he might be next.

"Time off?" Inu made a weird noise in the back of his throat, something between annoyance, relief and…something Risu wasn't entirely sure of. Inu continued, "When will you be back?"

"That has yet to be determined," they gave a little shrug, but Risu was fully aware of just how heavy their words had been. The news was not something to take lightly.

Risu had worked with Inu long enough to recognize his body language, even with the use of their Masks. Inu was not quite alarmed, but nearly, by the news of Risu's indefinite leave from ANBU. Squads were close knit groups. Like any other team in Konoha, you trusted your life to your team mates. If Risu was leaving, it meant that Inu and the rest of the team would be receiving a new team mate sooner or later. They'd have to rebuild trust with yet another person.

"Will you still be considered a shinobi in that time?"

Again, Risu simply shrugged as they made their way towards their room, Inu following close behind, "It hasn't been confirmed."

"What are you expected to do?" Inu leaned against the doorway, watching as Risu pulled out a storage scroll and began piling items onto the scroll.

Risu paused, giving a little scoff, "I am to 'find a hobby' and 'make friends'."

"You have friends."

"Hokage-sama said 'Friends that don't wear masks'."

Inu shook his head slowly, almost in disbelief. Had the Hokage really said that? Was Sarutobi really so oblivious? How was someone who'd been in ANBU for four years meant to drop it all and become friends with people who had no clue what being in ANBU entailed?

"Why are you packing?"

"Why do you think, Inu-chan? I've been ordered to 'go home'."

This time, Inu really was in disbelief. He'd known for years that Risu hated their home, and that they did their best to avoid the place.

"That's…unbelievable."

"I know."

The words were spoken in a dead tone, like Risu had completely given up and resigned themselves to the fact that they'd be sleeping in the one place they hated most. After a moment, Risu turned to look at Inu over their shoulder.

He could practically see the smirk on their face as Risu's voice took on an all-too familiar lilt, "Maybe I could share a bed with you, eh, Inu-chan?"

It took all his will power not to roll his eyes. Risu had always been like this. To avoid a serious situation, they'd start teasing and flirting. Specifically with Inu, as they were closer in age. It sometimes made Inu wonder if Risu was really cut out for this line of work. They'd never told Inu or the rest of the team why they joined ANBU…only that the Hokage offered and Risu 'had no one left to tell me not to'.

"No."

The smaller ANBU let out a sigh, "Was worth a shot. Guess I'll just have to imagine being held tight in those muscular arms as I try to sleep in that cold empty bed of mine."

After a few moments of silence, Risu stood straight and sealed the scroll, hiding their belongings and leaving their room barren.

Inu could only stare in confusion as Risu reached up to their mask. It quickly dawned on him just what Risu was about to do, and he rushed to stop them.

It wasn't that ANBU didn't see each other without their masks. On the field, the mask had to be removed in some situations. It was hard to do CPR when both participants had their faces covered. No, it was accepted that when someone's face was revealed on the field, you forgot it. You did everything in your power to ignore what you saw underneath.

But taking off the mask?

Risu wasn't the type to show off their face. Risu didn't even like to show off their gender when on duty- and they were always on duty. Inu knew who Risu was, and Inu was nearly positive Risu knew who Inu was, but both had avoided showing their faces as much as possible, save one or two incidents over their four years serving together.

Avoiding Inu's hands as he tried to stop them, Risu removed the mask from their face, revealing Arisa once again.

Arisa could feel Inu's eyes on her face as he took in her appearance- now that it was allowed. She'd given him permission to know who she was. Part of Arisa hoped Inu would do the same for her…but she knew better. Inu was a private guy…and she already had a pretty good guess who he was. It wasn't like spiky silver hair was a common thing in their village.

"Hokage-sama has also ordered that Risu's mask be left in your hands until Risu has been relieved of their…leave." Arisa gave him an awkward smile, "Hokage-sama also wants you to know that you'll be covering Risu's shift for the next two weeks."

Inu stiffened, and Arisa gave him a sympathetic look. If she had any control, she would never have assigned the extra shifts on Inu. Not when the shifts were spent watching over…

"Anyways. I'll be going now. Gotta find myself a hobby now that I have all this…spare time…" Arisa pressed the mask into Inu's hands before disappearing right before his eyes. There was no smoke or leaves (or flower petals as some kunoichi preferred) left in her wake.

Only a single acorn, that bounced as it hit the floor before rolling to a stop.