Disclaimer: Why, oh why can't I own Naruto? Oh, that's right; Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

Let It All Out

Chapter Six

"Tadaima!" Hotaru called out as she entered the apartment, closing the door behind her and kicking off her sandals. When she recieved no reply, she shouted, "Oi! Gaki-chan!" Again there was no response and Hotaru quickly made her way down the short hall toward the kitchen, frowning and reminding herself to remain calm.

She turned into the kitchen and stopped abruptly with a relieved sigh. Naruto was sitting at the table, his back to her, fiddling with her mask. "Naruto?" she asked gently as she came up behind him to lean over his shoulder and look into his eyes, which were firmly fixated an the mask.

His wide blue eyes flickered in her direction for a split second and he mumbled, "Okarinasai."

Hotaru gave him a close-eyed smile and moved around to the other side of the table, sitting in the chair stiffly as she debated how best to broach her topic.

This is just great. I finally got him to open up a bit and then that damn oyaji just up and assigns me a mission. How am I supposed to tell Naruto that I have to leave when I just told him that I wouldn't have any more missions? And how am I supposed to ask him to hand over my mask? He treats it as if it's his only lifeline.

Hotaru groaned frustratedly. Naruto was still playing with the mask. She took a deep breath and began. "So, I talked with oyaji. He had a super important mission for me. I know I said that I wouldn't have anymore, but he really needs me to go on this one. I'll only be gone for a few days. Maybe only three if I'm lucky..."

He still isn't looking at me. Gah! What was I thinking, just taking in a kid all of a sudden? I'm in no position to be demanding time off. Plus I'm no good with kids in the first place. I can't even bring myself to take on agenin team. What have I gotten myself into? Or more accurately, just what did oyaji Hokage manipulate me into? And why hasn't Naruto said anything? Don't tell me he's completely shut down on me. And just when things were going so well... Hotaru raved silently. Her fingers were drumming on the table top nervously.

She froze when Naruto muttered something so quietly she could only make out the end of it, "...Promised..."

"Eh?" she asked, leaning across the table so that she could hear him better. "What was that?"

"You promised that you'd protect me," Naruto whispered tightly.

"And I'm going to keep that promise," she assured him, "I've already made arrangements for you to stay with oyaji and his family while I'm away. I know it's kind of a round-a-bout way of keeping my promise, but nothing will happen to you while I'm gone. I mean, who better to look after you in my stead than the Hokage himself?"

Naruto didn't answer. His hands had finally stilled and the mask was lying silently in his lap. Suddenly he bit his lip and picked the mask up, quickly hiding his face with it.

"What's wrong?" Hotaru asked worriedly. "I'm really sorry that I have to leave, but I'll be back before you know it and--"

"Shinobi die on missions."

Hotaru abruptly stopped with her rambling attempts to pacify him and simply stared at Naruto, mouth agape.

So he's worried that I won't come back and he'll end up back at that orphange. I guess that means he hasn't shut down on me yet. Dare I think he might actually miss me while I'm gone? Hotaru stood and walked back around the table slowly. When she reached Naruto, she bent down so that she could see his eyes through the two small holes in the mask and placed her hand on his head as she ruffled his spikey hair. Smiling warmly, she said, "I promise I won't die on my mission. And I never go back on my word, Naruto-kun. That is my nindo."

Naruto sat staring at her wide-eyed for what seemed like ages before he suddenly shot up from his chair and latched his arms tightly around her neck. Hotaru laughed and hugged him back.

"Remember," Naruto mumbled into her shoulder, "You promised, onee-chan."

Okay, I absolutely can't ask for the mask back now. He's just too cute. He even called me onee-chan! Looks like I'll have to deal without it for once.

"Ah," Hotaru replied once she drew herself out of her thoughts. "I'll remember." She pulled herself away from him just enough to kiss the top of his head before she grabbed him around the middle to hoist him up and spin him around the kitchen. That was the first time Hotaru ever heard Naruto laugh.


Hotaru didn't even bother to assess her own injuries until she saw the mission target fall before her and one of her assigned teammates come up, check his pulse, and signal that the target was indeed dead. The mission complete, Hotaru allowed herself to sink to her knees, one hand clutching desperately at her abdomen. With a wince, she pulled her hand away and, somewhere in the back of her mind, registered that it was covered in blood. She tried to hone in on this thought, tried to focus on getting her arms to move toward her medical kit strapped to her belt and pull out bandages to stem the bloodflow. But no matter how hard she tired, her mind kept returning to the sensation of her rapidly draining chakra. It was flowing from her body as easily as her blood was flowing from her open wound. And both were refusing to stop.

And then the team's medic-nin was in front of Hotaru, poking and prodding and eliciting a pain-filled gasp from her each time. Then the medic-nin was gone and Hotaru was panting. She couldn't get her erratic breathing to even out. The blood and chakra-loss had both been stopped, but she'd already lost too much of both. One last thought surfaced amidst the frantic mess filling her mind before everything went black and she fell face-first in the dirt: I promised Naruto...

Glossary:

tadaima- I'm home

gaki-chan- Brat

okarinasai- Welcome home

oyaji- old man

shinobi- ninja

nindo- way of the ninja

onee-chan- older sister

A/N: This chapter has just been sitting in my notebook, waiting to be typed and posted. I'm so lazy. This chapter is late and I didn't even bother to make it any longer. I probably could have, but I wanted to end it here to give the story some suspense.

Is Hotaru dead? Just what happened to her? How will Naruto fare when he finds out? Is this fic 'to be continued', or will the next chapter be the last? Who knows...

REVIEW!

-mH

(After proofreading: Wow. This chapter is mega-short. To make up for it, I'll update super soon.)