"Brother Choji! Shikamaru!" The seven year old girl yelled as she ran after her cousin and his friend. Even running full tilt, the girl's speed was more akin to a power-walk than a sprint.
She was small for her age. So short most people mistook her for being five years old instead of the more mature seven. She was very skinny - Choji remembered his mom had described her as "skeletal" once. Because of her size, those who did not know her would have never guessed she belonged to the Akimichi clan. But the markings on her chipmunk cheeks gave her away. Two white, lightning bolts ran from the apple of her cheeks to the back of her jaw. She had the same red hair as both her father and her uncle, but had her mother's bright golden eyes.
"Yes, Hotaru?" The nine year old asked as the pair turned to face her. The little girl struggled to catch up to the boys. She was not athletic in the least, and most activities put a lot of strain on her tiny, fragile body.
Hotaru managed to hurt herself a lot. Not because she was clumsy - which she was - but because she kept pushing herself despite some of her physical limitations. While endearing to her family, her determination in combination with her inability to perform strenuous tasks made her a target for bullies. Some days the bullying was so bad she almost believed what they told her; she would never become a powerful shinobi like her father. Almost.
In an act of kindness, the pair walked over to her. Panting, she replied "Can I play with you?" It was a fact that Choji was really her only friend in the world. Shikamaru tolerated her, despite her hyperactive ways because she was Choji's family - practically Choji's sister. Hotaru never knew her mother. She died shortly after Hotaru was born. Her father was killed while on a mission when she was five. After his brother's death, Choza took his niece in to be raised as his own daughter.
Shikamaru and Choji looked at each other dubiously while carefully considering their reply. Shikamaru finally spoke, "We're going to have a foot race with Kiba and some of the other boys. It would be troublesome for to try to keep up."
"Can I watch?" Hotaru responded, pulling on Choji's sleeve. "Please, Choji?" Quietly, she added "…I don't want to be by myself again."
"Okay. But only to watch. No running!" Choji said, as he helped his cousin onto his back. He carried her in a piggyback until they reached the clearing that marked the start of the foot race. Kiba Inuzuka, Naruto Uzumaki, Hibachi, and Unagi were already waiting for them when the trio arrived.
"Candy?" Kiba demanded as he pointed to the sheet that held the others' candy. Akamaru popped into view with a short bark, demanding payment for the race as well. The candy functioned as the race's entry fee and prize. Shikamaru dropped his candy on the sheet, followed by Choji.
"All the delicious candy!" Choji exclaimed as he set Hotaru down. She could hear his tummy grumble in anticipation; waiting for some delicious sweets. Quietly, Hotaru walked over to a fallen log and sat down.
"What's the Weakling doing here?" One of the boys, Hibachi remarked, pointing at Hotaru.
"Watching the race, Idiot!" She yelled back. He and Unagi were two of her many bullies. Normally, she would have scurried away from him, but having Choji and Shikamaru with her made her bold.
"Shut up, Weakling! What makes you think you can ever become a ninja if you can't even run a race? I bet your dad was weak like you…"
Hibachi's comment hit Hotaru like a punch in the stomach. Everyone was shocked at his cruel taunt. That was a low blow, even for him.
Hotaru was normally a quiet, peaceful girl. She enjoyed simple activities - like watching Shikamaru try to teach Choji how to play Shogi. But when she heard Hibachi's words, something inside of Hotaru snapped. Her father was her hero. The bravest, kindest, most caring man she had ever known. He died protecting the village, and no matter how much she missed him, she was proud to call him her father. Hotaru pushed herself off of the log and began stalking towards the boy. She was determined to beat respect into him - her size be damned.
Choji and Shikamaru were about to tell Hibachi off, when a fist connect with his face. The boy plummeted to the ground. A dark shadow came over him as the person who punched him stepped forward.
"Don't talk to her like that!" Naruto hissed through his teeth, fists clenched ready for a fight. He stood menacingly over Hibachi, on the edge of punching him again. "Don't talk about her dad like that, either!"
Hotaru stopped in her tracks. The other boys looked on, eyes wide with shock. Shikamaru smirked at Naruto. He was not friends with Naruto, but that punch earned him some points in Shikamaru's book. Hotaru may have been a troublesome girl always trying to play with Choji and him, but she was still someone he cared about a little. He had to admit the girl had grown on him in the last two years.
"No fighting!" Kiba yelled, after a moment of shock. "You can either fight or race. If you fight, you forfeit your candy, got it?" He continued. Kiba pulled Naruto away from the downed Hibachi.
"Fine with me." Hibachi said pushing himself off of the ground and dusting himself off. Shikamaru drew a line in the dirt.
"Finish line is the tree." He said lazily, pointing to the tallest tree in the distance. Shikamaru collected the candy and ran off toward the tree. "Start on my mark!" He yelled behind him as he continued further into the forest. The five boys lined up at the starting line and readied themselves for the signal. As Hotaru sat back down, a red flare shot into the sky. The boys were off at full speed.
After some time had passed, Kiba was the first to come back triumphantly sucking on a lollipop. He lifted the candy to his head, where Akamaru took a slobbery lick.
"Congrats on winning the race!" Hotaru cheered as she happily clapped. Surprised, Kiba looked over at her. He had forgotten she was there. With a toothy grin, Kiba shook his hands triumphantly. Hotaru giggled. She had always liked Kiba. He made her laugh even if he didn't mean to. Kiba came over to the log Hotaru was sitting on.
"Here." He said, handing Hotaru a couple pieces of his winnings. Kiba had always felt kind of sorry for, but strangely proud of Hotaru. She was a runt who needed a little extra attention and care. But like most runts, she didn't seem to care that she was smaller and weaker than everyone else. She just kept doing what she wanted to do, consequences be damned. Kiba could respect that. "See ya around, Kid." Kiba said confidently as he walked away. Akamaru yipped at her as the pair slowly faded away.
Naruto walked by shortly after Kiba had disappeared into the forest. The two made eye contact, but said nothing. After looking at her for a moment, Naruto turned away. Head down, hands in his pockets, he was just going to walk away.
"Naruto?" Hotaru asked quietly. He was nearly out of the clearing when he turned around to look at her. "Thank you… for standing up for me." She said hesitantly.
She didn't know if it was right to talk to him or not. Everyone seemed either scared of or angry at Naruto all the time, but she didn't know why. Uncle Choza had never expressly forbid either her or Choji from talking to him. But she never did because no one else ever seemed to want to be friends with him. She couldn't imagine why, though. Yeah, he was loud, and kind of annoying, and was always pulling pranks, but from Hotaru's perspective he seemed like a nice boy. She could tell he didn't like seeing other kids get picked on, and he had actually defended her a couple times before today. But she had never thanked him.
"Huh?" Naruto asked. He hesitated to move. Hotaru looked at him with her innocent smile and repeated her gratitude. "Oh…" He replied. It took him a moment to process Hotaru's words. "You shouldn't listen to them. You're gonna be a great ninja someday! Believe it!" He flashed Hotaru one of his giant smiles and scratched the back of his head.
*** 11 years later ***
A loud knock on his door violently woke Choji from his sleep. The curtains were drawn, throwing his bedroom into absolute darkness. It was too dark to read the time on his alarm clock, but he could guess it was close to three in the morning.
"Choji!" his mother's voice called urgently, pulling open his bedroom door. His room was filled with a glaring light from the hallway. Choji winced in pain, his eyes adjusting to the brightness.
"What is it?" He replied groggily, rubbing his heavy eyelids. He rolled over to face his mother's silhouette.
"They found her… They found Hotaru!" Choji sat up with a start. Deftly, he sprang from his bed and grabbed his mother's shoulders.
"Where is she?" He asked in an excited panic.