Hotaru sat on the back veranda listening to the noise emanating from the village. The Star Festival was carrying on and she could hear the sound of happy people walking the streets; buying goods from vendors or playing games. The sounds of the village were caught by the rocky cliffs behind her home, and reverberated loudly back at her. The echoes of life happening outside her family estate made the girl feel lonesome, but oddly content. Despite not being able to take part in the festivities, just hearing the village and its happiness was enough for her.

'Happy birthday, Kiba…' Hotaru thought to herself.

It was early August, but the evening was turning out to be surprisingly chilly. A light blanket was carefully draped over her shoulders. Hotaru looked up to see the cat mask staring down at her. She nodded her head in thanks, then looked back towards the mountain cliffs. Hotaru didn't talk much these days.

After Hotaru's discovery of Hajime's potential betrayal, the girl had shut down completely. She wouldn't eat, she wouldn't talk, and she wouldn't move from the fetal position on her bed. In the days that followed, Hotaru's therapist would make house calls. Keiko fully understood the young woman's need to be in a comfortable place while she processed the information Tsunade dealt her. But after 5 days, Hotaru started becoming more responsive to life around her. After a couple weeks, her emotional state was almost back to where she had started out. The therapist would have been lying if she said she wasn't surprised by Hotaru's seemingly fast recovery.

The only people in the house during the festival were the young Akimichi and her ANBU. The others had decided to go into the village for the festivities. Choji had already had plans with his friends - even though he would have been more than willing to stay home with the lonely girl. Despite Mrs. Akimichi's protests, Hotaru managed to convince her that she would be fine home alone. She had her ANBU, after all. Hotaru and Yamato had silently bonded over the last couple of weeks. Both of them somehow understood that the other had survived difficult times without so much as uttering a word to one another. In that time, the man had become more of a silent protector than a guard. He actually seemed to guard the girl from angry villagers more than protecting them from her.

On multiple occasions, the poor Akimichi had been accosted on her way to her therapy sessions by villagers who wanted her out of Konoha. Most of the time he was able to scare them off merely by looking at them. Once, a brave soul assaulted Hotaru while Yamato was trying to prevent another villager from shouting abuses at her. Hotaru didn't fight back, but then again, she couldn't fight back. It got to the point that a couple jonins had to intervene and pull the man off of the young woman. Because of the attack, the girl developed a black eye, a busted lip, and a fractured jaw. She would walk past the villagers everyday to and from her sessions wearing those bruises as proof that she would endure whatever they could throw at her.

After that attack, however, Yamato started to notice more and more shinobi of all ranks congregating along the path that Hotaru had to walk. The ninja did not acknowledge the girl, but Yamato knew they were there to try to protect her. She had been one of their own before she was forced to retire. They understood better than the civilians that Hotaru had endured too many hardships to be treated with such blatant disrespect.

The girl had lost a considerable amount of weight in the few weeks Yamato had known her. She had always been particularly skinny, but she had always looked healthy. Now she was gaunt and, frankly, she looked like death. Her chin had thinned out so much that she no longer had a round face, and her high cheekbones gave her face a hollow look. The vibrant yellow of her eyes had slowly dulled to the point that they appeared nearly white and her skin was starting to take on a grey look. She tried to hide her coughing fits at first, but they were happening to frequently to deny their existence. The coughs were hollow, rough barks that reverberated in her chest. Sometimes, Yamato could hear fluid and phlegm trying to dislodge itself from her airways. When the coughs would start, the ANBU would only leave her side for a moment to bring her a glass of water.

"ANBU?" Hotaru asked without turning to face the man. He stepped forward to acknowledge her. "It's almost time for my evening meds. Can you get them from my bathroom?" The girl's voice was rasped from lack of use. Yamato nodded and retreated into the house.

It bothered Hotaru that she didn't know his name. Even though she had bonded with him, not knowing his name or face made the loneliness she felt seem much more immense. Ever since the fight between Choji and Shikamaru very few of the people she called friends came by to see her. She could understand their wariness of her. If she had tried to hurt Choji, the most important person in her life, how safe could they be? But it was lonely being in this big house everyday with only a silent ANBU to keep her company.

As soon as Yamato had vanished inide the house, a swarm of insects flew into Hotaru's back garden. They hovered a few feet outside of the veranda before forming simple words before her.

"Star festival?" Shino asked via the insects. Hotaru shook her head 'no'.

"Can't." She replied, happy that she was finally communicating with someone, even if it was through bugs. The swarm rearranged itself.

"Banned?"

"Yes."

"We come to you?"

"We?"

"Konoha 11."

"… Are Choji and Shikamaru speaking?"

"No. Shikamaru on mission." The swarm suddenly dispersed as Yamato could be heard walking toward Hotaru. The girl felt guilty that she had been the cause of a rift between the two. They were best friends. She was just some girl. Yes, Hotaru was important, but when it came down to it, their friendship mattered more to her than the girl coming between them. If she had the strength to knock their heads together, she would have.

Yamato stood beside Hotaru to hand her a palm-full of pills and a glass of water. She nodded her thanks and swallowed her medicine. Instead of returning to his post behind Hotaru, the ANBU sat down next to her.

"I cannot tell you my name, nor can I show you my face," the ANBU spoke, causing Hotaru to stare at him wide-eyed with shock and wonder. "But, know that no matter what happens to you, Hotaru, I will not abandon you. I know what it is like to live on as you watch everyone around you die, and I understand the guilt you feel knowing that you have had the misfortune of being strong enough to survive. I know what it feels like to be manipulated by someone you were meant to trust. And I would never wish that kind of betrayal on anyone. I understand you, and I do not judge you for the acts that you have committed. I do this not for your sake or for mine, but because I once felt lost like you. I had the fortune of having a senpai that would never abandon me, because he too knew how it felt to survive when all those around him died… As for your friends' creative way of asking if they could come over," He yelled out into the distance, fully aware of their distinct chakra presences, "all they really have to do is knock on the door."

"What about Naruto?" Hotaru asked. "The council banned me from seeing him; said he was too important to the village."

After a moment of silence, Yamato whispered, "I won't tell if you won't."