FKOL 29

Hee hee, you guys are probably going to hate Hotaru after this chapter. But love Kiba all the more!! Trust me, Kiba's gonna need some lovin'. ^-^

Well, enjoy this chapter, and fan, vote, and comment!

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Hotaru braced herself as she stood outside the Inuzuka's front door. She had been standing there for at least ten minutes now, just staring as the woodwork, her mind rapidly forming excuses as to why she hould turn around now and just go home. But as much as she wanted to, she knew she couldn't put this off any longer, hence the fact that the eighteen year old female was now rooted to the spot.

"Hotaru-san?" the redhead jumped at the call of her name, and turned to see Inuzuka Tsume, gazing at her confusedly. "What on earth are you doing just standing there?"

"Oh, um, I was just-"

Seeming not to notice the girl's discomfort, the eldest Inuzuka made her way to the door and pushed it open, before yelling, "Kiba! Get your lazy ass down here!!"

Hotaru flinched as she heard a loud thump, and scrambling along the landing. Tsume ushered the girl inside, shutting the door behind her, then rushing off and leaving Hotaru to her nightmare.

The redhead's heart pounded as the sound of heavy, tired footsteps echoed through the house, drawing closer to her with every step. She glanced around frantically, feeling like a trapped rabbit as she pressed back into the wall.

Kiba head poked round the door, and his expression soon lit up as he caught sight of the red haired chunin. The exuberance he expressed at seeing her only worsened the kunoichi's guilt.

"Hotaru! What are you doing here?" he asked, walking quickly over to her, a smile on his face. Hotaru attempted a smile, but in her own mind it seemed horribly false.

"I came to see how you were doing after your mission." she said, forcing some emotion into her voice. Luckily, Kiba didn't seem to notice.

"Aw, I'm good. Just tired, it was a long two months." the Inuzuka said with a laugh, then glanced at the redhead. "D'you want to go to my room?"

'It would be better to be in private.' the thought rang through Hotaru's head before she could stop it, and she nodded with a wince. Kiba eyed her with a strange look, and the redhead mentally cursed. He knew something was up.

Fortunately, the brunette said nothing of his girlfriend's strange behaviour, instead turning and leading the girl upstairs.

"Listen, Kiba, I'm sorry about before-"

"No, it's okay, I'm the one who should be apologising. I shouldn't have said what I did. I was wrong." Kiba's expression was earnest and his words were sweet and loving, but all in all, they just made the semi-flustered kunoichi feel even worse. What had they even been arguing about, that time two months ago? Hotaru couldn't even remember.

Once the door was shut behind them, Kiba eyed the girl suspiciously. It was obvious that something was off- she couldn't look him in the eye, and was extremely tense, when she was usually at ease around him. And what's more, she had apologised to him. Hotaru never apologised, she was the stubbornest person that Kiba knew! In a way, he kind of liked that about her.

But once again, he chose not to say anything, plopping down on his bed, and gesturing for Hotaru to join him. She did, but merely sat primly on the end, opposite him. The Inuzuka was growing frustrated now; they were completely alone in the room- Akamaru was out with his new lady-friend, a poodle from across the street (lol)- so there was no reason for the strict no-touching rule that Hotaru insisted upon in front of others. Frowning slightly, Kiba sat up and grabbed her hands, interlacing his fingers with hers. She could deal with this much.

"So what'cha been up to?" he asked, playing with one of her pinkies, which he noticed had chips in the teal nail varnish on it. Hotaru had, since coming back from her travels (and possibly the Akatsuki, he had never really attempted to clear it up with her on that subject) , quite taken to painting her nails, a different shade every week. As the brunette shinobi looked, he noted that the nails of her other fingers had chipped polish too. Clearly, she had been neglecting them, which was odd, for someone as rigidly routined as Hotaru.

"Nothing much." Kiba also noted the way that her gaze wandered the walls rather than focusing on him like usual, and how she didn't technically answer his question.

"Very specific." he teased, and a half-hearted smirk crossed the girl's lips. Kiba grinned in response; it was a start. He continued, hope rising in his chest from her small response, "So how about we go out somewhere to catch up? I've got some stuff to do tonight, but we could go out tomorrow for dinner, maybe see a movie?"

Immediately the smile vanished, and that glassy look returned to her eyes. As much as he wanted to, Kiba didn't say anything, knowing that if he pushed her, she would clam up, and refuse to say anything. She would tell him in her own time. What Kiba didn't know, was that what she had to tell him was worse than anything he could ever imagine.

"Kiba..." Hotaru fixed her gaze on his forest green duvet, eyes picking out threads of emerald in amongst the darker shades. She couldn't bring herself to look at the boy as she spoke the words that were what she feared to be the beginning of the end, "I... I have something to tell you."

The Inuzuka looked at her with such concern that her resolve faltered, but she bit her lip and stayed firm.

"What is it, Hotaru? You're not hurt, are you?! If someone hurt you, I'll-"

"No, I'm fine, Kiba. Well, not fine, but.." she leaned back and rose a hand to avoid his hands that had dropped hers to pull her into a hug, and hurt flashed in his eyes. The redhead took a shaky breath, the pain of regret and guilt tearing away at her insides.

"I-I... while you were away, I slept with Shino." she said quickly, fat tears rolling down her cheeks at his shocked expression. She wiped them away with her palms, but they were just replaced by more, "I don't know what came over me, I was so lonely, and angry at you, and we got drunk, and-"

"You.. you're joking, right? Tell me that this is a joke." Kiba said quietly, such a mixture of emotions in his eyes that Hotaru found him impossible to read.

"I wish it was! I'm so sorry, Kiba! It was a mistake, a stupid mistake, and I'm so, so sorry-" her sobbing was cut off by warm arms wrapping around her, pulling her into a firm embrace. She gasped.

"Shh, it's okay.." Kiba murmured, rubbing her back, but Hotaru pushed him away.

"N-no! This is wrong! You should be mad at me!!" she cried, but Kiba just stared at her blankly, "I betrayed you, don't you see that?!"

"I know... but," Kiba gazed deep into her eyes, "You may have betrayed me, but I forgive you. You could steal my life from me, take every one of my internal organs, and I still would forgive you. Because I love you. Every single part of me is yours to do with what you wish... especially the part right here." Kiba placed his hand over his chest and smiled a small, painful smile, "So no matter what you do, I will always forgive you.... because I love you more than I do myself."

Hotaru was astounded at the Inuzuka's speech, and even more so as he leaned closer to gently press his lips to hers. Reluctantly, she gently nudged her mouth back against his, and his teeth lightly nipped her bottom lip playfully in response. She giggled slightly, and though she still felt rotten inside, started to cheer up, little by little.

She pushed away carefully, and Kiba smiled at her with such warmth that she could have cried again. She looked up at the sky, then down at her watch. "I have to go now. Bye Kiba."

"Okay. I love you." he said, and Hotaru smiled weakly at him.

"Love you too." she said, standing up and exiting the room, shutting the door behind her.

She paused outside it just long enough to hear a pained, suppressed sob.