If there was one thing Karin despised the most, more than Suigetsu, it would be Sasuke's carelessness.
You see, Karin never was careless. Ever. Whether, when she was out for some quick errands, in inevitable fights or with Orochimaru's suspicious kindness. That was a lesson she had to learn the hard way. So hardly anything could be a surprise, she prepared herself. She was always prepared.
Sasuke was, too. But when it came to fights, he would always end up injured anyway. While training for Orochimaru was always hard, and he always pushed himself over the edge, his injuries never have been bad. (And that wasn't the case because Orochimaru was kind to him - she supposed that Sasuke just knew what he was dealing with.) However, since the day she started traveling with him, he was almost always injured. Her healing ability came in handy for sure, but secretly she wished there was no need for that. But it was Sasuke. He wouldn't give in to an opponent; it wasn't because he was arrogant (even if she must admit that he underestimated his enemies far too much for a person who should always be prepared for the worst). He'd keep pushing himself until he won, for he could not allow himself to lose if he wanted to beat Itachi.
But.. would he be able to? When she saw the discarded bandages covered in dried blood, she questioned herself. Pondered whether he could escape death against his own brother. And if he did, how hurt would he be? Against Uchiha Itachi? She would be there to heal him of course, but there was only so much she could actually do. She would rather see him well than being bitten by him. With him it felt nice, but she did not need to feel nice, if the Uchiha was hurt. Sasuke shouldn't be hurt at all.
He should be smiling.
And then she asked herself: would he be able to smile if he killed Itachi? Would he? No. Sasuke didn't want to smile. His path wouldn't lead him into the future. He knew that. He didn't need that if only he could kill the man who put him into such misery.
When she caught a glimpse of his thoughtful expression as he stared at the river before him, she couldn't help but wonder if his softened eyes would once again look at her. These eyes which kept her going all the time. Eyes that showed her kindness, which could still be seen if you bothered to look closely enough. When he was staring at the sky, when he remembered his past; it could be seen.
It was moments like these when he was careless enough to let his emotions overcome his stern self-control. Moments in which she could understand.
Maybe, sometimes, his carelessness wasn't so bad after all.
But now was not the time for that. He thought so, too. Black eyes met her gaze as he started walking. He didn't want to waste another second.
"Let's go, Karin.", he says casually.
"I don't need you to tell me that.", she replies as usual, but follows him nonetheless.
Author's Note: A little experiment on Karin's (AWESOME) character for an upcoming SasuKarin fic.