Dawn has come and gone. And I'm betting 'Taru has the wish for a decent cup of coffee right about now.

The 3rd Hokage noted at how hard Hotaru was working. She seemed a little unnerved when she first arrived that morning but that uneasiness had given way to fierce determination. It was a little odd, making the Hokage wonder about how she'd handle the 2nd phase of the exam.

"Go prepare for the next half of the exam, Hotaru." The Sandaime instructed the girl. Hotaru did as she was told and left with a bow.

As she headed back to the barracks were the Islanders were staying, Hotaru picked up quite an unusual shadow that followed above her on rooftops. Everytime Hotaru looked up, she saw nothing so by the time she reached the barracks, she just shrugged it off as an Anbu black op making sure she made it home safely. She went up to her room and gathered up everything she would need for a shower.

The showers were deserted so Hotaru had them all to herself. After not getting a shower or much sleep the night before, this hot shower felt really nice. Her dirty clothes were in the hamper and Hotaru's bath things were set up on the rack hanging off the shower wall. Her long hair fell down her back, covering her scar and the mark on her neck.

0-0-0

Sasuke had followed Hotaru back to the Islander barracks and even to her room. He wanted to know why in the hell did she leave the Hokage's house after dawn. He followed her from her room to the showers and he blushed when he realized she was undressing. He ducked and hid as she went into the shower.

If I get caught, I'm going to be labeled a pervert and that's lower than Naruto. Sasuke thought to himself as he drew a kunai. Using it like a mirror, Sasuke looked in and nearly dropped the kunai out of shock. She had a scar across her back. Whoever gave her that scar had to be colder than his brother. To hurt someone…oh, yeah-he had pressed it earlier and it had hurt despite it being older than 5 years. It was probably at least 7 years old. Man, am I an ass. I'll have to apologize later. She must hate me for what I did.

"Huh?" Hotaru turned towards the doorway, forcing him to duck out of sight. "Hello? Is anyone there?"

Don't answer. Don't answer. Sasuke clamped his hands over his mouth. Hotaru shrugged and started washing her hair. He had to leave before he got caught.

In the meantime, he had to find away to apologize before he lived to regret it.

Sasuke: -VERY deep angry blush- WOULD YOU STOP THAT?