Chapter One

Hotaru sighed. "Another day…another mission." she mumbled as she staggered on down the dirt road. Her teammates were nowhere to be seen.

It had been years since Hotaru had survived the tragedy of the Uchiha clan. She was the last remaining member that she knew of…except for Itachi. But she had never seen Sasuke. Ever since that dreadful night, she had tried not to think of him at all.

Now, Hotaru lived on with her team in the Land of Wind, in the Hidden Sand Village. Her teammates, Zeon and Arc, were from this village. They were cousins from the Arashi clan. Their sensei, Koji, was from the Okami clan.

"Where could Zeon and Ar be?" Hotaru asked herself, glancing all around. Her team had always gotten really easy missions. But things were about to turn around. The Chuunin Exams were just ahead. They were eligible. But most of all, it was in the Hidden Leaf Village, the very place she was from and hadn't been since she left years ago.

Treading through the sand, Hotaru made her way back towards where Zeon and Arc lived and knocked on the door.

No one answered. She opened the door and found a note on the table.

Hotaru,

Ar and I are out training. Koji-sensei is taking care of the mission. If you want to join us, you know where to look.

-Zeon

P.S.- We're heading to the Leaf Village tomorrow for the exams. Can't wait!

Hotaru left the note where it was and headed to the training grounds.

"I don't want to go back to the Leaf Village…too many bad memories…" she muttered as she made her way. Soon, Zeon and Arc were in her sight. They waved to her and she waved back.

"Glad ya showed up," said Arc.

"We were practicing wall-climbing." Zeon informed Hotaru.

"Aww, come on! We've got that down," she laughed.

"Can't hurt practicing," said Zeon with a shrug. Then he gained up speed and ran at a cliff wall.

Arc walked over to Hotaru and asked, "Hotaru…are you sure you're okay with this? I mean, we all know how many times you've talked about 'never returning to the Leaf Village', and we're just worried that-"

"Ar, I promise you. I'll be fine…" said Hotaru with a tiny smirk. "I won't let things get to me. The whole thing's in the past now."

"But how can you say that?!quot; Arc demanded, all the more concerned. "How are we supposed to believe you've honestly just let everything go?"

"Ar…I know I went through a lot. I know that everyone once close to me is gone. But…I'm trying so hard to forget it ever happened. I wanna forget Sasuke…and I never wanna think of Itachi again…" Hotaru's voice became softer with every word.

Zeon back flipped off the cliff and landed next to Arc and Hotaru. "What's going on?" he asked, glancing back and forth between them. "You both look…sad."

"I'm just worried about Hotaru going back to the Leaf Village." said Arc.

"Yeah, Hotaru. You gonna be-" Hotaru cut Zeon off.

"I'm fine! I just want to forget that anything ever happened!! And I hope this damn left eye of mine never sees again!!quot; she shouted. Zeon and Arc stared. Hotaru rarely showed a temper towards them. They sighed, and Zeon went back to training with not more than a shake of the head.

Arc, however, looked back down at Hotaru. He worried about her often. But then he sighed and joined Zeon.

Hotaru just stood there, the wind kicking sand into her shoes. Was she really ready for whatever might happen?

The next morning, Hotaru sat up in bed and swung her legs off the side. Across the room from her was her mirror. She stood up and walked over to it, taking a good, long look at the tape over her left eye.

The last thing that eye had ever seen was Itachi. Even if the wound had healed long ago, Hotaru didn't care. Hotaru wanted the very next thing that her left eye would see to be Sasuke. Even if it meant never taking the bandage off.

But after a while, Hotaru gathered her things and headed to the training field. Once she arrived, she noticed she was early. Zeon, Arc and Koji wouldn't meet her for a while. She sighed and looked to the skies, nervous.

"Things will be real different, now…" she muttered. As much as she denied it, she was really thinking about Sasuke. "I wonder if he still lives there. Or if he remembers me…What Itachi said to me couldn't have been true. Sasuke was my best friend! There's just no way…"

"Wow. So much for never thinking of them again," she thought.

"Heeeey!" a voice called. Hotaru knew that it was Zeon. She turned to see him, Arc and Koji heading her way.

"Ready to go?" asked Koji. Hotaru nodded, yet not so sure of herself. She turned to Arc and said, "Sorry about yesterday…but really, I'll be okay."

After a pause, Koji said in a low voice, "Let's be off, then."

With that, Hotaru and the team set off for the Village Hidden in the Leaves.