Standard Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or Naruto. And here is chapter 15 early, just as promised, enjoy :)

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xXx-Chapter 15-xXx

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"Hey, can we talk?" Quinn asks quietly as she stands outside of her and her sister's room. She had been forced to stay two more nights in the hospital and today was the day she was finally allowed to come home. During her stay both Sakura and the Hokage had dropped by to visit her, as well as the constant presence of one of her parents, and even Iruka-sensei had asked to see her so that he could thank her, however both Ino and Naruto had been avoiding her lately and she was starting to worry about them. Ino had only stopped by to visit her while she was in the hospital once and it had only been for a couple of tense and awkward minutes. She hadn't seen Naruto at all since the fight.

"Sure, what's up?" Ino chirps with a forced happiness.

Quinn goes and takes a seat on her bed and looks up at her sister who is moving around the room, cleaning and tidying up, fidgeting around and basically doing everything in her power to not focus on her.

"Ino, please, this important."

Ino gives her a look and rolls her eyes, a fake smile in place. "I'm listening." She says as she goes back to organizing her dresser.

Quinn sighs, "Ino, are you mad at me?"

Ino's back tenses instantly. "No."

"Are you sure, I mean I could understand if you were." Quinn says softly.

Ino shakes her head, refusing to look at her. "I'm not mad at you." She says, her voice tight.

"Then how come you've been avoiding me?" Quinn asks gently.

Ino scoffs, "I haven't been avoiding you silly." She says, still refusing to really turn around and look at her. "I've just… I haven't been avoiding you. Why would I, and besides I'm here right now, we're talking aren't we?"

"Ino. You can tell me the truth." Quinn says, "It's okay if you have been, I know I probably scared you and I just want to know what I can do to make things right between us."

Ino turns and stares at her, she looks so torn up right now. Her features twisted in anguish. "What you can do to make this right? This is my fault!" She says before she starts to cry.

Quinn is completely dumbfounded. She stands up from her spot on the bed and goes over to her sister. "What do you mean this is your fault, what's your fault?" She asks as she wraps her good arm around her sister and pulls her into a hug, her other arm was currently resting in its sling.

Ino latches onto her and begins to cry in earnest. "You, you getting hurt, it's my fault… you went off on your own after Naruto and I didn't try to stop you or go after you. If I had been there, if I had been a good older sister and had been there, then you wouldn't have been hurt…"

"Oh Ino, no, this wasn't your fault."

"Yes it is! We're sisters, we're supposed to protect and look out for each other, and when you went after Naruto, who is supposed to be my friend too, I didn't go with you! I just went and told mom and… and then the next thing I know I'm at the hospital looking at you and… and you look so… so beaten up and pale… and you had to fight that traitor on your own and… I'm your sister… I'm the oldest… I'm supposed to protect you and I wasn't there… and if I had been then maybe you wouldn't have gotten hurt! I'm sorry, I am so, so sorry…" Ino cries into Quinn's shoulder.

Quinn rubs soothing circles up and down Ino's back as she continues to cry. "Ino, this wasn't your fault. Not in the least little bit. This is completely on that bastard Mizuki and… and it's a little on me. I… I was so determined that it had to be me that saved him that, well, I was reckless. I didn't know the whole situation and I put not only myself in danger, but Iruka and Naruto as well. I should have told daddy what I knew but I was angry at him. You were right not to follow after me and you were right to go and tell mom what I had done."

Ino shakes her head. "I should have gone after you." She chokes out.

"I'm sorry, I scared you and made you sad and that's the last thing that I would ever want to do. Please, please, I beg you, don't feel any guilt about what happened. You did absolutely nothing wrong, you didn't fail me, and you're a fantastic sister. You do look after me, but you know what, I look after you too. We're twins, it's what we do." Quinn says with a smile.

"I should have been there."

"We- We're entering a dangerous world and it hit us all just a little sooner than we thought. Something that we're both going to have to learn how to accept is that there will be times when we can't be there for the other."

Ino shakes her head again. "No, I don't accept that, I refuse, it's stupid."

Quinn smiles sadly. "I think it's stupid too."

"Then don't say it," Ino growls angrily, the effect lost to a hiccup as she continues to cry. Though her tears are starting to subside. "We never have to accept that, we should always look after and protect each other, always. I will never accept that I can't be there for you so don't you dare do it."

"I'm sorry."

"You should be… no more going off on your own, no more going where I can't be there to protect you okay?" Ino says softly.

"Okay."

"Promise me."

"I promise." Quinn says resting her head on top of Ino's.

"Good, and I promise… I promise that you'll never have to fight alone again, that I won't let you go off on your own, okay, I promise."

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xXx-Scene Break-xXx

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After Ino had calmed down and they had spent some time together, Quinn decided it was time to pay Naruto a visit. She was currently standing outside his apartment door waiting for him to answer. She had already knocked once but he still hadn't come to the door so she does so again, this time harder.

*POUND

*POUND

*POUND

"Naruto, I know you're there so hurry up and answer the door." She shouts. Not really angry or annoyed, just wanting him to hurry. She could sense the guilt radiating off of him and she was determined to nip this thing in the bud. Her desire to protect her friends on her own had backfired spectacularly and now it was time to fix it.

When Naruto finally opens the door he looks awful, like he hadn't slept in days and that he had been crying. "Rin…?" He asks meekly.

She smiles at him warmly before flicking him on the forehead. She could be sweet and sincere with Ino and Sakura, but Naruto was a bit of a hard head and would need a bit of a tough love approach.

"Ow!" He yelps, more startled than anything, stepping back as she comes inside.

"You jerk, I'm in the hospital for four days and my best friend doesn't visit me once, what the hell?" She asks, scowling with her hand on her hip.

"I- uh, well um…"

Her features soften. "I missed you and I was worried about you. I would have really loved to have seen you, the hospital was so boring."

Naruto doesn't say anything, staring intently at the floor and refusing to meet her gaze. He mumbles something quietly.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you." Quinn says, going over and putting a hand on his shoulder.

"I said it was my fault, you were hurt because of me." He says softly.

"No, I was hurt because of Mizuki and my own pigheadedness." She answers.

Naruto shakes his head, "It was me, I was so stupid and I let Mizuki trick me and then when you fought him I- I froze… I couldn't do anything… I just stood there like- like…"

"Like a good support team is supposed to. You waited for the right moment to strike and you saved my life." Quinn says with a comforting smile. She knew Naruto had been scared, and why shouldn't he have been, he was only twelve years old and he was watching two people try to kill each other, he had every right to be scared.

Naruto refuses to look at her, "No, I stood there like a coward."

Quinn sighs, "Naruto… it was your first exposure to combat, of course you got scared, it's only natural."

"You weren't scared…" He mumbles.

Quinn chuckles lightly, "You're right, I wasn't scared…"

Naruto's shoulders slump.

"I was terrified, scared doesn't even begin to cover how I felt." She answers him.

Naruto looks at her, surprised. "But… huh? You were scared?" He asks, not quite believing it. Rin had jumped right into action without any hesitation. She had been incredible, there was no way she could have been scared.

"Easily one of the scariest moments of my entire life." Quinn answers him.

"But you were so fast, you didn't hesitate or anything, you just went right in and started to fight! How can you say that you were scared!?"

"Because…" Quinn hesitates, knowing this would hurt the boy's pride. "Because my best friend was in danger and I didn't know if I could protect him."

"Me? You were scared for me?"

"Of course, Naruto…" Quinn pauses for a second. "I don't think you understand what you've done for me. I was so focused on getting as strong as I could, I was pushing away the people who mattered most to me, Ino, my parents, I was isolating myself from everyone and then…"

Quinn smiles warmly at him. "And then you came over because you thought I looked bored and you offered to play with me and be my friend. Now, Ino and I are closer than ever, and I also have you and Sakura. I have the greatest friends in the world and it was because of you, helping me realize that I needed to open up. You were in danger Naruto, and despite all the work I had put into my training it almost wasn't enough to save you, you better believe that I was scared."

"I should have acted sooner…" Naruto growls quietly, more to himself.

Quinn shrugs, "Maybe, maybe not. You entering the fight sooner may well have ended it sooner, or it was just as likely to have killed us both, we'll never know. What I do know is that when he was about to kill me you stepped up and saved my life. You didn't freeze, you didn't hesitate, you knocked him on his ass, he died and then you got us help."

Naruto frowns, "He was hurting you… I couldn't… it was bad enough I waited as long as I did, I couldn't just stand there any longer… I had to protect you."

"Exactly, you were scared, but when the moment came you acted. You saved me."

"Maybe…"

"No maybe about it, I'm here and I'm fine and so are you. I don't think we can ask for much more than that, can we?"

"No, I guess not. I get it now though…" Naruto says softly.

"Get what?"

"What you meant when you said that being a ninja was scary. I mean… I knew it already, we'd talked enough that I got it, but… that night, I really got it."

"Naruto…"

"I'm so sorry Rin, you needed me to be strong and I wasn't. You can say I did fine and you can make up all of the excuses you want for me but the truth is, I messed up and I froze and you got hurt because of it. But I promise you Rin, I promise, you won't ever have to fight alone again. I promise. I won't freeze, I won't hesitate and I'll get strong. Stronger than even you or Mizuki or even the old man."

"And then you'll be Hokage right?" Quinn says with a smile.

"Maybe, maybe not, that doesn't matter to me though… not anymore." Naruto says softly, almost more to himself than to her and Quinn can't recall a time she's ever seen Naruto this serious before. "When I get strong enough, I'll be able to protect you and then I'll be able to create a world where you don't have to be a ninja and that you and everyone can live in peace. That's my promise to you, I'll create a world where you don't ever have to fight again."

"Naruto I-"

"I promise Rin. Please believe me."

Quinn is silent for a few moments as she contemplates what Naruto has just said. That is so much pressure for someone to take on, it wouldn't be fair to accept a promise like that. Especially one that she knew could never be fulfilled. Naruto had the biggest heart of anyone she had ever met and accepting a promise like that was all but unconscionable. On the other hand, Naruto needed her to. He needed her to believe in him, he needed her to accept his promise and to forgive him. It would be the only way he could accept what happened.

Quinn goes up to Naruto, his eyes watching her nervously. She wraps him in a hug and she can feel him stiffen for a moment before relaxing and hugging her back. "Alright Naruto, I believe you and if anyone can do it I know that it's you."

"I will, believe it." He says quietly.

A couple of seconds pass before Quinn pulls away. "What else is it Naruto, you're still upset."

Naruto gives her a look. "You know that ability of yours is a real pain in the ass sometimes."

Quinn giggles and Naruto chuckles as well. "So I've been told. Do you want to tell me what else is wrong?"

Naruto is quiet for a moment. "You knew I was a demon this whole time." He says quietly.

"You're not a demon, you're a jinchūriki, you contain a demon, but you aren't one yourself, big difference."

"Still… you knew."

"I did."

"And you never said anything…"

Quinn can't help the laughter that bubbles up from hearing him say that. "I'm sorry but how exactly was I supposed to bring that up. Hey Naruto, want to go get some Ramen and tell me about the giant demon fox that lives in your belly? What's that like by the way, do you hear voices in your head, do you eat for two, does it tickle?"

Naruto chuckles. "Yeah… I guess there isn't a good way to bring it up is there?"

"None that I could think of and besides, it never mattered to me. You're still Naruto, you're still my best friend."

"It mattered to others though… actually finding out about it explained a lot, why some people were so cold, the looks I would get, why some people… people I'd never even met seemed to just hate me. Finding out made a lot of things click into place and I can't help think that maybe…" Naruto trails off uncertainly.

"Maybe what?"

"Do you think that's why I don't have parents… because they didn't want someone like me around?" Naruto's voice quivers towards the end of the question and it breaks Quinn's heart.

"Not a chance." Quinn says absolutely, leaving no room for argument. "I promise you, if your parents could be here they would be. There's no doubt of that in my mind."

Naruto smiles weakly at her. "You can't know that."

"Yes. I can."

"But how, how can you know that for sure?"

Because there was nothing that could ever make her not love Beth. "I just do. You just have to trust me on this. If your parents were able to be here right now they would be, I know that with all of my heart."

Naruto turns away from her as he starts rub his eyes, his shoulders shaking. "I'm not crying…" He says, his voice cracking. "I'm not."

Quinn does the only thing she can think to do. She goes up behind him and holds him tightly. "I know." She says softly.