A/N: Hello! I have another chapter for you :) It kind of saddens me to say this, but I'm not sure how much longer I'm going to continue this story for. I have around 2 or 3 lovely people who review each chapter, and as you all probably know, reviews are what motivate me most, so I'm finding it a little difficult to find the motivation to continue this story. I want to, though, because I have big idea's! It's just hard when you dont receive a lot of feedback, you know?
I'm still deciding whether to put this story on hiatus and post a few more knew ideas, or to finish this one for the three lovely people who constantly let me know they're reading before I start another project.
Either way, I hope you enjoy this chappy. Let me know what you think :)

The most inheritable trait of any Inuzuka was by far confidence.

Sure, most of the time arrogance, a mean temper and enthusiasm were all highly inheritable too, but confidence was basically their aura. Hotaru had known Reito for no more than ten minutes, and in this time he had taken it upon himself to hold her hand, lead her away from the party and manage to lift her on to a bathroom bench top. The red head sat there for a while, a little stunned, but mostly taken back by his confidence – the same confidence Kiba had always shown when they spent time together.

"Alrighty, let's see what we've got here," Reito said, using his hand to wipe Hotaru's hair back from her face. A smile crawled on to the corner of his mouth once he noticed her eyes. "Red hair and green eyes. You don't see that often."

"You don't see Inuzuka's in the medical industry often either," Hotaru replied. "Thought an Inuzuka loved nothing more than to fight?"

"Not this Inuzuka. I don't see much sense in destroying lives for a living."

Hotaru frowned – did he have any idea that he was actually talking to a Kunoichi in training? Was he aware that Hotaru was looking to enter the university as a Chunin?

"It's not about destroying lives," Hotaru replied, trying to control her sneer. "It's about protecting your village. It's about protecting the people you love."

"Each to their own." Reito flicked Hotaru a small smile, something she presumed was an attempt to get back in her good books. "So, back to your nosebleed. I'm gonna' need you to pinch the ridge of your nose that's in line with your eyes and lean forward."

"Forward? Shouldn't I be leaning backwards so I don't bleed all over Kiba's floor?"

"Nope. I need you leaning forward. Leaning backwards and letting the blood run back down can cause it to clot - we don't want anything affecting your airway."

Hotaru did as Reito asked – considering his medical nin status- by leaning forward and feeling the last of the warm liquid run through her nostrils and down her lip. She watched as he used a damp cloth to dab gently away at the base of her nose, wiping away the blood from her skin.
One thing Hotaru noticed was how smooth and scratch free Reito's hands were – it only made sense since he wasn't using them to make punches, block kunai or climb through treacherous terrain. Kiba's hands were always calloused, rough or tainted with dint's and grazes whenever he touched her face. Reito's were smooth, unscathed, and almost as soft as baby's skin.

"So," he started confidently once more. "I don't believe I caught your name?"

"Hotaru. And I believe yours is Reito, am I right?"

Reito nodded, smiling that familiar, Inuzuka grin. "So, where're you from Hotaru? I know for a fact that you're not from here. I'm going to take a guess and say… Suna?"

"Weaponry Canyons actually," she smiled. "About three hours south of Suna."

"Wow. That's quite the transition –I mean, to go from somewhere like the Canyons to Konoha, huh?"

She laughed, this time genuinely. "You could say that. There's about ten times the amount of people here."

"And ten times the amount of douchebags, as you've already figured out."

Hotaru's head tilted with confusion. Was his comment initiating something?

"Did you ever get these nosebleeds back at home?" he continued.

Hotaru was silent for a while, trying to think if she had ever actually had this problem at the Canyons. Her answer –to put it simply – was no. She told herself it was because her work load had increased. She had gone from one training session a week to training every day, as well as missions, studying and all the stress and worrying about Kiba, her new team mates and her family. She was just exhausted, that's all.

"I didn't, but I never used to do much training back home. I'm pretty sure it's happening because I'm fatigued."

"I don't know, I've never heard of nose bleeds happening because someone was fatigued." Reito ran the cloth underneath the tap, his blue eyes watching as the water ran red before circling down the sink.

"How long have you been a medical nin for?"

The Inuzuka continued to dab patiently at Hotaru's lip. "Two years of study, and one year in practice. The aim is to become a doctor by the time I'm twenty two."

"Wait – if you're in practice, does that mean you're in the university?"

"It sure does."

Hotaru raised an eyebrow. "How though? You don't look much older than me."

"I'm eighteen," he smiled. "The academy only offers two years of advanced biology and chemistry. I needed to complete my third year of study at the University - so, here I am. Treating nose bleed's in the bathroom at suburban parties."

Hotaru smiled through the curly strands of hair that fell over her face. "You Inuzuka's all have the same sarcastic sense of humor."

"You'll find my sense of humor is better than Kiba's."

Hotaru's voice caught in the back of her throat. Her lips parted, but nothing came out but the silent gasp of shock, of confusion and complete surprise. "Excuse me?"

Reito squinted his eyes closed, allowing a subtle grin to appear on his lips. He knew he had crossed some sort of line with his inquisitive comments. "Sorry, red. That's none of my business."

"What do you know about me and Kiba?"

Actually, here's a better question, Hotaru thought. How does he know?

"A lot of my friends – the guys I go to university with – went to the academy with Tora. They weren't studying to be Genin, but they had to take a few classes with her, so they definitely knew of her. Everyone knows how much of a heart throb Kiba is, so when it looked like he was beginning to settle with you - this little, wild firefly from out of town," he winked, "It kind of took everyone by surprise. But then Tora came back to town, and well… everyone knew what that meant for you."

Hotaru found her eyes rolling once again. "Oh my god. Could this dumping be any more humiliating…"

"That's what usually happens when you involve yourself with one of the biggest bachelors in Konoha," Reito started, lifting her chin with his index finger and thumb. "And hey, it's not all bad - it means that you're back on the market again and up for the taking."

Hotaru wanted to laugh - hell, she wanted her stomach to fill with butterflies, her face to blush and to feel wooed and nervous and everything you're supposed to feel when a guy is hit hitting on you. The problem was, she couldn't. The only thing she could manage was a shy smile as memories of Kiba came flooding back to her mind.

"I'm sorry to bring it up," Reito started once more, instantly noticing Hotaru's sadness. "I just wanted to confirm that you were single now. You know, us Inuzuka's can get pretty territorial. I wouldn't want to be cutting Kiba's grass now."

Hotaru sighed, narrowing her eyes to the sink before her. The alcoholic buzz from earlier had quickly started to fade, along with her good mood. "I was always single. There was never a relationship between me and Kiba."

"Even better," the Inuzuka grinned. The grin was short lived, however, as Reito's expression quickly changed from playful to serious, his nose twitching at the scent of something familiar. He looked towards Hotaru once more, who was feeling rather confused at the sudden change of atmosphere. "Brace yourself," he said, rolling his eyes.

Almost as if he was on cue, the bathroom door swung open, revealing a tall, agitated Inuzuka. It was obvious he was aggravated – the rising of his chest, the permanent scowl indented on his face – all of it meant bad news. Hotaru was left to figure out who was about to cop the blunt end of Kiba's anger… her, or Reito.

Kiba instantly noticed the small patch of blood on the bathroom floor, pooling on the tiles beneath Hotaru's feet. "Did that guy hurt you?" he grunted, his anger rising the longer Reito was in his presence.

"Hisao didn't cause the bleed," Reito replied, trying to interrupt the intense staring match going on between his two bathroom companions. "Hotaru's fine."

"I didn't ask you," Kiba growled in response.

It was quiet, suddenly, and so very, very awkward. Hotaru couldn't believe how much the two Inuzuka men standing before her looked a like – if it wasn't for Reito's deep blue eyes and Kiba's height advantage, you would not be able to tell the boys apart.

"Listen, Kiba… everything's fine here. Shouldn't you be looking for Tora or something?" The confidence of Reito had increased tenfold now that he knew Kiba and Hotaru never dated. He was beginning to get very brave with his words.

"And shouldn't you be mopping up piss from the hospital floors?" Kiba barked back with a sneer.

Hotaru felt as if she was the size of an ant, stumbling and tumbling between the vibrations of the two Inuzuka's massive egos. Was she suddenly the undisclosed object of affection of both Inuzuka men? Why was Kiba suddenly in the door frame staring jealous daggers in Reito's direction and not spending time with Tora? What the hell was going on here?

"Hotaru?"

"Uh, sorry- what?" Hotaru choked, blinking herself back to reality.

Kiba's eyes were focused on her green ones, though his fingers were fidgety and unsettled. "Are you going to be okay?"

"She's going to be fine-"

Kiba silenced him quicker than the words could leave his mouth. "Shut it Reito! I want to hear it from her mouth,"

Hotaru realized something as Kiba looked at her, his brows furrowed with what looked like anger and concern. She realized how desperate he looked. She had never seen him quite like he was now, swaying uncomfortably from one leg to another, clenching the beer can in his hand tighter and tighter as the moment ticked by. If she didn't know any better, it was as if his eyes were pleading for a response. He wanted to be with her, by her side, inches from her face, making sure she was okay himself. There was something holding him back, though, and Hotaru knew exactly what it was. Even if Kiba's interest was currently focused on Hotaru, she knew he was still romantically connected with Tora. And that was why he never entered the bathroom. That was why he couldn't touch her. Hold her. Like he wanted to.

"I'm fine," she finally said. Trying to keep her eyes focused on his was killing her slowly. "Reito has it all under control."

Then, it was as if something had finally frayed. The connection the two had shared over the past month and a half had been stretched to an extent, but the past two weeks had really been pushing its elasticity. But to hear his name come from her lips – and not just anyone's name, but Reito's name, specifically – was enough for Kiba to realize that maybe it was too late. He could smell her affection for his brother. It wasn't overpowering, but there was an obvious attraction and the drifting sweetness of her scent was driving him insane.

"You… You can't like him," Kiba mumbled, realizing that he had actually said it aloud. He slowly shook his head from side to side, stepping back in to the hallway behind him with a look of pure heartbreak spreading throughout his entire face like wildfire. One last gaze towards Reito and the way he intentionally rested his hand upon Hotaru's knee was enough to officially send his anger boiling, and without further ado, the brash Inuzuka sent his fist spiraling into the wall beside him. It crumbled and caved beneath the strength of his abrasive knuckles, and Hotaru jumped at the crunching sound it had made. She didn't even have the chance to check that the awful cracking sound was indeed the wall and not Kiba's knuckles, as he had disappeared before she got the chance to ask him.

Reito turned towards Hotaru wearily, raising a curious eyebrow as he processed everything that had just happened. "So… Never dated, huh?"

Kiba stirred to life at around midday the following morning.

Beer, was what he could smell. Beer and cigarettes and campfire smoke. Blood tainted the walls of his mouth, his saliva tasting metallic and copper-like as he brushed his tongue against the top row of his teeth. He hadn't a single clue why he could taste blood. He hadn't a single clue how the latter of his night had played out, either.

Kiba turned to his left. Beside him was Tora, entangled in a mess of bed sheets. Her hair was spread across both rows of pillows and the cherry flavored lipstick she had worn the night before had smudged against the corner of her mouth. She was shirtless – not to Kiba's surprise – and upon running his eyes across her sleeping body, he felt a pang of guilt engulf his chest. There was one part of his night that he did remember, though he wish he didn't.

There were still bodies passed out throughout his house as he dragged a trash bag from one room to another, picking up unfinished cups of vodka redbulls' and beer bottles from tabletops and benches. Silly string lined the ceiling fans and cigarette butts were stuffed into the drain of the kitchen sink. He was eternally grateful that his mother had given him until eight o'clock that night to clean up the house before she returned home. If she had seen the state the house was currently in, Kiba had a strong feeling she would render him unconscious for god knows how long.

"You need a hand?"

Kiba turned to see Shikamaru leaning through the living room window. The shadow nin looked somewhat refreshed - the complete opposite to how Kiba was currently feeling.

"I need thirteen hands and a liter bottle of whiskey to help me forget about this entire situation."

"The last thing you need is more alcohol," Shikamaru said as he entered through the back door, grabbing himself a black trash bag from the kitchen. "Nice jaw bruise, by the way."

"Huh?" Kiba touched the tender area below his jaw. He flinched at the contact his fingers made before glancing at his reflection in the closest mirror. "How the hell did I earn myself this?"

"You seriously don't remember?" Shikamaru asked.

"The whole night is a bit of a blur, Nara."

"That doesn't surprise me, actually."

Kiba rolled his eyes and continued to clean up the mess that was his kitchen. "So what does the other guy look like? Surely he came off second best."

"Not a guy. Try Haruno."

Kiba's eyes went wide with utter shock, dropping the beer bottle that was in his hand and causing it to smash against the kitchen tiles. "HARUNO GAVE ME THIS? 'The hell did I ever do to her!"

"It's not what you did, it's kind of what you said. To Hotaru."

"Hotaru?" Kiba sighed, clenching the black plastic within his hands. Reito briefly flashed throughout his mind.

"Everyone started to leave at about one thirty," Shikamaru started as he continued to pick up rubbish from the floor, "You saw that Reito guy and Hotaru leave together. Sakura was with them and you yelled some smart ass comment across the room that didn't really sit well with her."

Kiba could think of one thousand things he could have yelled out in order to embarrass, piss off or humiliate Reito in front of Hotaru, but none of those things included anything that would offend Sakura. His mind was stuck and his jaw was in pain – what the hell did he say to make her so mad?

"What'd I say?"

Shikamaru was silent, hesitating as to whether he should tell the Inuzuka or not. "You said… Don't go thinking that she's an easy lay, Reito, because if she was, it would have made my life a hell of a lot easier."

Kiba closed his eyes, sliding down the closest wall with his head in his hands. "Fuck. I am a fucking idiot."

"You're just working that out now?"

Kiba shot the shadow nin a sneer before sweeping up the broken glass. The Inuzuka did feel genuinely bad – it was a rude, sharp, unnecessary dig at Hotaru that wasn't even true. It was a vile comment that in no way represented how Kiba felt about her. It would have been intended to scare Reito away, though he could only imagine how hurt Hotaru would have felt after his comment fell upon her ears.

Almost as if he could read minds, Shikamaru spoke, interrupting Kiba from his thoughts. "That comment wasn't a directed at Hotaru, was it Kiba."

The brunette sighed. "Of course it wasn't."

"So what is it that you have against Reito then? Some idiot cousin of yours or something?"

Kiba's words hitched in the back of his throat – it was super rare for the young Inuzuka to ever be short of words, but in this case, Kiba had to be super careful with everything he said. Only one person was aware of Reito being Kiba's half-brother, and that person was Naruto. The loud mouth blonde discovered it when he was younger during a meeting with the Hokage. Apparently when Naruto was going through the whole fostering process, he would overhear the Child Services director talking to the Hokage about Reito Inuzuka. They would talk about Kiba's dad and discuss whether they would allow Reito to stay with his birth mother or place him in custody with a full blooded Inuzuka family. Kiba's family would be the first pick, of course, though because Tsume wasn't his real mother, she never once even considered the option.

"No relation," he managed to say as unsuspiciously as he could. "I just know him from clan meetings and stuff. He's an arrogant jerk."

"An arrogant Inuzuka? No way!"

"Watch your smart mouth, Nara."

Shikmaru grinned audaciously.

For the next half an hour, the two boys managed to clean up the majority of the mess. There was still the scrubbing of the carpets, walls, sinks and floors to do of course, though Kiba just couldn't focus. His mind was blurred, twisted, his chest full of guilt and sadness. With Tora still upstairs and asleep in bed, he wondered if now would be the perfect opportunity to quickly run to Hotaru's house and apologize for what he had said when she was leaving last night. He could apologize for everything, actually. For leaving her. For parading Tora around in front of her. For not apologizing sooner.

"Nara," Kiba started as he put on his favorite black jacket, preparing himself for the overcast weather outside. "I'm going to head across to Hotaru's. If Tora wakes up, can you tell her I've gone to get lunch?"

Shikamaru shifted, rubbing the back of his neck. He rolled his tired eyes, knowing full well that what he was about to say wasn't going to go down very well at all. "You can't, Kiba."

"What?" the Inuzuka responded with a raised eyebrow. "Why the hell not?"

"She's… Hotaru is currently with Reito. That's why."

And that was when Kiba put a second hole in the wall of his family home.

Hotaru's hands felt warm as they wrapped themselves around the large mug of hot chocolate. She glanced around at the romantic interior of the coffee shop, its dim lighting and charming atmosphere setting a comfortable mood for every customer to relax and unwind in. The weather outside was starting to turn miserable – the once overcast morning had drastically morphed in to a series of heavy wind and light rain. Hotaru was more than thankful that Anko had called training off. This weather on top of a hangover and dealing with Mai was not exactly Hotaru's idea of a Sunday morning recovery.

"I cannot believe you don't drink coffee," Reito continued from across the table. "I don't know how I'd get through my day without it."

"I could never get used to its bitter taste! I guess that's what happens when you're not brought up with the stuff."

"What? What kind of family doesn't have coffee in their house hold?"

"Mine, obviously," Hotaru laughed.

"Oh, that's right. Canyon kid. Gotcha."

It wasn't the first time Hotaru's home had been politely ridiculed by Reito. All morning their conversation had varied from Weaponry Canyon's rurality to its lack of infrastructure, to its minimal supplies and non-existent medical facilities. Hotaru hadn't taken any of the banter to heart – after all, she was more than aware of how pathetic her home was in comparison to Konoha. It wasn't until Reito had started making smart comments about the people that she started to become irritated. Comments about them not having many teeth, disfigured bodies due to inbreeding, drug addicts, alcoholics – all things that were not true but simply stereotypes that came with the label of a rural community. Hotaru had many friends who didn't fall in to any of those stereotypes. Her family sure as hell didn't fall in to the categories, either.

"So, besides coming from the sticks," Reito said with a smirk. "Tell me everything I need to know about you."

Hotaru stirred her hot chocolate slowly, watching carefully as the froth spiraled into a chocolaty abyss. "That all depends- what do you consider important enough to know?"

"Hmm. Family, ambitions. What you look for in a guy."

"Family…" Hotaru's arms rested upon the coffee table in front of her. "Okay. I'm the youngest of four children, and also the only girl. My mother, father and three older brothers reside back at the Canyon's."

"Why didn't any of them travel to Konoha with you?" he asked after swallowing a mouthful of his cappuccino.

"There's been rumors of invasion surrounding the village for quite some time. There were mild attacks on individual people during missions and things, so my parents thought it would be a good idea to continue my education in Konoha, away from all the drama. I wasn't exactly… erm, attending the Genin program all that frequently in Suna."

Hotaru noticed Reito squirm in his chair a little, the result of him feeling a little guilty about his earlier remarks regarding the people within her village. He smiled, however, pushing past it and hoping that she wouldn't remember any of his previous comments. "Ditching school, huh? You're quite the little rebel."

"Everything about the Canyon's is just so laid back. No one was harsh enough to force us to go, but believe me, I'm more than paying for it now."

"Oh yeah? How so?"

"Just skills that I should know by now. I'm really struggling with Genjutsu. I missed the whole segment on it and now I can barely form a single Genjutsu without almost passing out."

Reito's eyes were focused on almost everything but Hotaru. The clock on the back wall, the leg on his chair that was shorter than the others, a minuscule crack in the saucer beneath his mug – his interest seemed to lie in everything but anything related to becoming a Kunoichi.

"Well, that's what you get when your interests lie in beating people up and not in your studies."

Hotaru frowned, this time being the one to squirm in her chair uncomfortably. Sometimes she felt as if she was having coffee with a gorgeous, charming Inuzuka, and other times she felt as if she was sitting across from her father.

"Anyway, moving on. Ambitions?" He asked with a smile that appeared a little more interested.

She hesitated for a short moment. Her answer wasn't going to be what he wanted to hear. "To be accepted in to the university, for starters, and then undergo a degree in Anbu training."

"Anbu? Really?" he rolled his eyes as he sunk hopelessly in to his chair. "You do know that they make up at least seventy percent of the patients we treat in hospital, right?"

"Mustn't be as skilled as I'm going to be then," she said with a wink, cheekily smiling in an attempt to lighten the mood.

"No, seriously though. So many of the major orthopedic operations and organ trauma patients are Anbu. And it doesn't even end there – even the ones who are physically fit have severe mental and psychological damage that we spend months treating in the psych ward."

Hotaru swallowed. What the hell kind of date is this? She almost felt as if she was going to receive a detention for providing all the wrong answers.

"Sorry. I can smell that you're upset." Reito reached across the table, taking her hand into his. His blue eyes looked into her green ones, complementing the small smile he was offering as an apology. "I don't mean to sound like your dad or anything. I just think you could put your quick wit and determined personality in to something a little more safe for you in the long run."

"Oh, trust me. You don't sound like my dad. He actually supports me one hundred percent." She noticed that her comment caught him a little off guard, so she added a small laugh followed by a charming smile in return. "It's okay. We're two different people – you're allowed to think whatever you want about my career. Everyone has opinions."

"You're right. I just need to learn to control mine." Reito smiled before leaning back in to his chair again. His body was much more relaxed as he took another sip of his coffee. "I guess the final question would help me out a great deal in this current moment."

"You mean, what do I look for in a guy?"

"Exactly. You wouldn't by any chance have over opinionated medical jerks on that list, would you?"

Hotaru's head fell back as she laughed, her barriers from earlier slowly melting away beneath his humor. He reminded her of Kiba in a way. The same humor that Kiba used to captivate her heart was prominent in Reito as well. "Hmm, what do I look for in a guy… I like dark haired men, for starters,"

"Check."

"They also have to be taller than me."

"Check. However, that isn't an overly hard thing to accomplish considering your size."

"Hey, you know how the saying goes. Good things come in small packages."

Reito smiled his famous Inuzuka smirk. "Of course they do."

"And they've got to have a sense of humor," Hotaru continued as she dunked a marshmallow in her drink. "If they're not funny, there's no way the relationship will work."

"Become… stand up… comedian…" he mumbled as he pretended to write down a to-do list on the back of his napkin. Hotaru laughed once more.

"I think, also, that it'd be nice to have someone who's strong. Not just physically, but mentally – you know, someone who's strong enough to argue with you. To tell you when you're wrong." Her voice grew softer as she became more concentrated on the marshmallow melting into the form of an upside down triangle inside her drink. "Someone who stands up for you, who protects you even when you don't want their protection."

Reito could smell a change of mood. He couldn't pin point it, exactly; being a half blood Inuzuka, his nose was nowhere near as advanced as Kiba's. He could determine nervousness and exhaustion, and on the odd occasion sadness; however analyzing the scent and determining the exact type of change was beyond his control. Was she sad because she was uncomfortable? Was she sad because she was angry? Was she sad because she was grieving? Uninterested? It was moments like these where Reito envied Kiba and his ability to pinpoint the exact reason someone was feeling the way they were.

"Hey, you look tired. Did you want me to take you home?"

Hotaru looked up, smiling weekly. "I'm sorry. I think I just need a good night's sleep."

Reito smiled, nodding as he grabbed her coat for her before both exiting through the door and out in to the miserable weather. He hailed down the closest taxi, despite Hotaru's efforts trying to convince Reito that it would most likely be quicker for her to sprint home. "You're not being a Kunoichi on your day off," were his exact words before jumping in to the taxi.

One thing Hotaru liked about Reito was despite his outlook on Kunoichi and Shinobi, he was an old school gentleman. He would put on her coat for her, open doors, pay for meals, and even now as the two exited the taxi, he had politely offered to walk her to her apartment.
As the two reached the top of the staircase, they stood face to face in front of the door to Hotaru's apartment. He was the third guy since Hotaru had moved to Konoha to stand in her doorway; the first being Genma, the second being Kiba. It was different seeing his face, his figure. She didn't know if she could get used to it.

"I had fun today," he started, smiling politely and grasping both her hands in his. "Would I be pushing it if I asked you to dinner tomorrow night?"

Hotaru smiled before giving his hands a squeeze. "Sure. Beats eating toast for dinner."

A smile engulfed his face once more. Reito was a very straightforward and upfront kind of guy. There was no hesitation when it came to his words, his opinions and most obviously, his actions. He had known Hotaru for no more than twenty four hours and in that time he had spent approximately two of those hours holding her hands or having his arm around her shoulders as they walked. He looked down at her once more, her green eyes swimming in the pool of his blue ones. He gnawed on his bottom lip curiously.

"Would I be totally pushing it if I asked for a kiss?"

Hotaru's eyebrows shot up in surprise. A kiss? On the first date? She started to flick through her imaginary book of not-very-many morals, trying to figure out if she was the type of person who did actually kiss on first dates. It was then, she realized, that the nightclub incident involving Kiba a month ago was definitely not a date, however that resulted in them drowning one another's face with each other's lips anyway.

So why shouldn't she kiss Reito after he had basically done everything right in the most old school, by the book kind of way?

Swallowing, Hotaru's nervous eyes managed to hold themselves on his face, trying to look as confident as possible. Smiling, she said, "Not pushing it at all. Go for it."

Despite Reito not being as tall as Kiba, Hotaru still had to stand on the tips of her toes to be able to comfortably reach his face. His lips were soft, not to her surprise, and his kiss was slow, calm. It wasn't heated nor did it cross any of her boundaries. It was a good kiss, to say the least. The talent of kissing must run within the clan.

"I'll pick you up at seven tomorrow," he said as he pulled away, grinning from ear to ear.

"Great, I'll see you then." She smiled once more before closing the door behind her.

She let out a breath, or a sigh – she couldn't quite tell. She couldn't quite determine what her feelings were actually doing. She was happy, no doubt; though she was also happy to be back in the depths of her apartment. She didn't have the butterflies that she thought she would have, but her chest felt excited for the following night. Were there fireworks in the kiss? Not quite, but she was glad that it had happened, and she wouldn't be against it happening again – anything that was to help her get over her affection for Kiba was a step in the right direction.

Her happiness was short lived, however, as she felt a cool draft coming from somewhere within her apartment. She knew Genma was on a four day mission, hence why she had the nerve to actually attend Kiba's party last night without the fear of him showing up and dragging her away. She couldn't remember inviting Ino or Sakura over, and even if she had, they were sensible enough to use the door. This draft – the cool, icy breeze wisping throughout her apartment – was coming from a window.

The window in her bedroom.

Quietly, Hotaru grabbed her attacking chain from the tabletop in the living room. She griped it tightly within her hand, walking as quietly as she could across the floorboards and towards her bedroom door. Her heart pounded within her chest, her hands nervous as her mind tried to figure out who the hell it could be. With a gentle, quiet shove, Hotaru pushed the door to her bedroom open, revealing the body sitting within the frame of her bedroom window with a cigarette in hand.

"Well," Tora snickered as a smirk crawled into the corner of her mouth. "Aren't you a pretty little thing."