AN: Everything belongs to its rightful owner. Please excuse any gramatical and/or japanese errors (:
...X...X...X...
"We have no time for this"
"But we can't just leave her here"
Jugo looked down at the girl he held in his arms. She was small and fragile looking, like a porcelain doll. Her hair was long, matted and too dirty to determine its colour. Though her eyes were currently closed, when he'd first found her, dying in an alley, they were open, so he knew that behind those shut lids were the most sad-looking eyes he had ever seen.
Her eyes had looked duller than Sasuke's, and that was why he wanted to help her. She looked so lost and broken, he couldn't just leave her to die alone.
"I will say this one more time; leave her". Sasuke was cold and emotionless as he looked upon the girl in Jugo's arms. He had a goal to accomplish, and didn't have time to waste on foolish little girls. But upon thinking of her as foolish, he froze. That was what Itachi had called him.
His mouth set in a line; "Fine then" he consented suddenly, and to the surprise of Karin and Suigetsu. "But don't let her become a burden to us. Karin" she perked up when he addressed her, batting long lashes at him. "Heal the girl" he ordered, as her shoulders sagged. Not what she'd been hoping for. "Okay" she agreed.
Jugo carried her into a tent they'd set up by their campfire and lay her on a sleeping bed. She curled in on herself, thin arms encasing her protruding ribs. She was just so small and vulnerable, who could ever hurt her?
"Who do you think would do this?" Karin asked, undressing the girl. Jugo didn't feel uncomfortable at first, because he wasn't a pedophile or pervert and therefore had no need to turn away, but when he caught sight of full, round breasts, he decided to exit the tent. She was older than he'd thought her to be. "I don't know" he said to Karin's question, closing the flaps behind him.
As Karin worked to heal the girl, she felt pity in her heart. She could see the girls' ribs, and her hip bones protruded, her skin was a sickly pale colour, to the point the girl almost looked blue. A lot of girls wanted to be skinny, but not like that...that wasn't eye-pleasing.
The girls pale skin was bruised and there were open wounds, and Karin found her to have two broken ribs and a broken ankle. Walking would be difficult for the girl. She remembered feeling like the girl must feel; alone and scared. She remembered back to the Chunin Exams when Sasuke had saved her from that bear, and compared herself to the girl and Sasuke to Jugo.
She knew that when the girl awoke, she would be very loyal to Jugo, as she was to Sasuke.
-X-
As she blinked her large red eyes open, she didn't notice the sets of eyes watching her at first. When she did, however, she jumped and gasped softly, looking all around her and taking everything in, checking the people for signs that they would attack her.
But as their postures were relaxed and she could feel that there were bandages around her mid-section and right ankle, and for once, she didn't feel sore, meaning she'd been healed; she relaxed a bit. If they wished to harm her, they were doing it the wrong way.
"Wakey wakey~" Karin grinned down at the her, taking in the girls' eyes. They were red. Like hers. The girl was an Uzumaki, she could feel it. Knowing that they were somehow related, Karin chose to show her kindness; "You didn't sleep as long as I thought you would"
Suigetsu eyed Karin up. "What's up with you? For once, you're actually acting nice... Are you an imposter?"
Karin slammed her fist into his face; "SHUT UP!". Turning back to the silent girl with a warm smile she asked; "So sweetie, what's your name?"
The girls' face was impassive and emotionless, and for a moment, Karin wondered if her conclusion was wrong. At that moment, she looked more like an Uchiha than an Uzumaki. In the silence that followed, a breeze ruffled the girls dirty hair and she finally spoke.
"Haruhi"; her voice was mouse-like but clear.
"My name's Karin. What happened to you?"
This time, the girl made no move to answer, choosing instead to stare at her with blank, dead eyes. Looking away from the red-head, Haruhi looked over her shoulder and saw the impossibly tall man that was her saviour. She sent him a grateful smile.
"What happened to you?" Jugo asked her. Her smile fell.
Just as everyone was sure she wouldn't answer, she did; "There's this lady, you see. My Master. I have been in her servitude since I was little. But, my Master, she doesn't like mistakes. And when I dropped her expensive china tea-set, my Master, she punished me. She's a ninja, and stronger than I am, and if I try to fight back, it gets worse, and I'm not a ninja, so I can't, but, she was quite severe with her punishment, and I can't protect myself. Dead slaves are not good for her reputation, you understand, and so I...".
Haruhi tended to lapse into long explanations, not knowing what to say and what not to say. Sometimes, she remembered what she should have said, and added it in where it didn't belong. Her style of speech was unusual, though not purposeful. She tried hard to speak in a clear manner, though she wasn't all too successful in her endeavour.
"Was left to die in an alley, so as not to tarnish your Masters' reputation and uphold her social image" Jugo finished for her, his lips curling in distaste.
"Uh, how old are you?"; Karin tried to change the topic, to something less dark.
Haruhi answered "Sixteen" then frowned and looked thoughtful before nodding her head; "No- wait, yes, sixteen".
Sasuke watched her closely, leaning against a tree. The bark biting into his back didn't seem to bother him. He was watching her for signs that she was lying. She hadn't shown any so far.
Haruhi turned to look over her shoulder again, meeting Jugo's warm eyes; "What is your name?" she asked him.
"Jugo"
"That's a nice name" she smiled at him with her eyes, lips remaining in a line. Physically, Jugo remained the same, but inside, he melted. He was a sucker for adorable, fragile things, and his heart soared a little when he saw her gratitude.
Yep, Karin was right; the girl was now eternally loyal to the giant man.
"Ya hungry?" the red head asked, watching as Haruhi cautiously sat up. Her muddy hair stuck to her cheeks. She nodded, examining herself. She hadn't seen her skin look so harm-free in forever.
Karin wordlessly prepared the girl food, while Suigetsu crouched before her curiously; "Name's Suigetsu" he grinned, his sharp teeth on show; "Be careful 'round Karin, she's a bitch and might snap any moment". He was rewarded with that statement by a cooking pan to the head.
Haruhi made a strange choking noise, that sounded odd to everyone's ears. She was laughing, but it had been so long since she had done so, that it didn't sound right, even to her own ears.
Sasuke cleared his throat, all eyes turning to him; "After she eats, we take her to the nearest village and continue with our mission"
Haruhi said nothing, but met Jugo's eyes with worried urgency dancing in her red eyes. He knew she didn't want to be left alone. The normally quite Jugo spoke up for the silent girl; "Sasuke, we can't leave her".
Sasuke looked at him sharply. "I wasn't making a suggestion. It was an order"
But Jugo felt strongly about this; the small girl was tugging on his heart-strings. "If she leaves, I leave. I mean no disrespect but that is my word"
Karin felt that way too, for she was almost sure the girl was her kin. But she didn't dare go against her Sasuke's word. Suigetsu wasn't particularly caring towards the dirty girl; he didn't know her and felt no attachment to her.
"Very well. Make sure she's useful to us and doesn't get in the way" Sasuke concluded, and stood up straight, arms crossed, no longer leaning against the tree. "After she eats, we pack up and continue making our way to Granny Cat, understood?"
Everyone, minus Haruhi, nodded. And like that, Sasuke disappeared.
As Karin served Haruhi up a large bowl of steaming udon and broke the chopsticks for her, feeling that she would be too weak to do it herself, Haruhi turned to Jugo; "Thank you, sir. You are very kind".
His cheeks turned a little rosy. "You may call me Jugo".
"Okay Jugo-sama". She dug into her bowl, burning her tongue but not caring. The group had to admit that she looked cute, slurping up noodles. Jugo was proud to notice a spark of life in her once dead eyes. It was faint, but at least it was there.
-X-
"Jugo-sama?"
Haruhi was on his back, arms wrapped around his thick neck and legs around his waist, Jugo supporting her legs with large hands. She felt so miniscule on his back, like a baby bear hugging it's mother.
"Hai?"
"Is Granny Cat really a cat?". She had been wondering about that since she finished devouring her soup. Well, that among other things. She really was grateful to Jugo, he had saved her from hell. He was like her angel.
The sun hit his hair just perfectly, making his orange hair shine like a halo, just like the angel she imagined him to be. A surge of warmth shot through her heart.
"No" Sasuke surprisingly answered, from the front of the group. He didn't turn around to look at her as he spoke; "She's not". He continued to explain about her in rough detail; about where she lived and how she housed many cats and Tamaki, her granddaughter, and how he used to visit her as a child. He didn't mention Itachi.
Suigetsu grinned from ear to ear at Sasuke. "N'aww, he's got a soft spot for little Haru-chan". Karin bristled, but refused to play into his game of annoying her by saying her man loved someone else. Not this time.
Haruhi felt disgusting. The dried mud in her hair made her feel like a wild animal, and the bits of leaves didn't help either. She fingered through the tangles, but found it too painful to continue. It had been months since her hair had been brushed. Sighing quietly, she put her head in the crook of Jugo's neck, and fell victim to the sandmans powers.
-X-
"Hey, Haruhi-chan?" Karin shook her shoulders gently, thankful the girl was a light sleeper.
Haruhi awoke to find herself still on Jugo's back, her arms hanging limply around his neck. There was drool on his shoulder and she flushed pink. "Gomenesai Jugo-sama".
"Haruhi-chan, feel like taking a shower?" Karin smiled at her. In her arms she held fluffy white towels. "And afterwards, we can go into the hot springs!" she batted her lashes in Sasuke's direction, and Suigetsu gagged, saying "I'm going before I get sick!" and leaving.
Haruhi noticed they were in the hot springs, and was grateful for that fact. But she badly needed that shower, or else she'd dirty the water in the springs.
As she showered, at first, Karin made idle chat with her through the closed door. "So, Haruhi-chan, you ever been to a hot springs before?"
"No" came the faint reply. Karin had planned upon continuing the conversation, but upon sensing Sasuke's dazzling chakra enter the hot water, she slipped away and left Haruhi alone.
-X-
Feeling uncomfortable, Haruhi exited the bathroom in nothing but a towel.
Where was Karin? And then her mind shifted back to not too many hours before; when she'd been in that alley way, and had heard footsteps, her heart heavy with hurt. It was her saviour, picking her up gently and taking her away from her hell. Now she wondered where Jugo was.
Peeking her head out of the room, clutching her towel, she saw an annoyed Karin stomping up the corridor like a train, steam coming out of her ears and red-faced, mumbling something about Suigetsu ruining her chances with her Sasuke.
Haruhi stepped back just in time as the door came in.
"Ah, you're ready". Karin's anger washed away like rain and she beamed down at the malnourished girl before her; "Let's go~"
-X-
Haruhi gasped as the warm water engulfed her body. Instead of hurting the few open wounds she had left, it soothed them. Her muscles relaxed and she slipped further in to the water.
She wondered why it was so empty, but didn't care enough to spend time worrying about it.
"Hey, Haru-chan, your hair's cute now that I can tell what colour it is!"; Suigetsu formed in the water, and Karin attacked him, throwing him over the fence to the boys' side. "AND STAY OUT, PERVERT!" she called after him.
Suigetsu shouted "I'm not a perv! Who'd get turned on by you and a girl who's more adorable than baby kittens!" over the fence.
Haruhi's cheeks were already a rosy colour naturally, so her faint blush wasn't visible. What Suigetsu said wasn't much of a compliment, but it was the nicest thing she'd heard about herself. Ever.
"Jugo-sama?" she called over the fence, in a voice softer than a shout but louder than her normal mouse-like tone.
"Hai?" she heard. Jugo's voice was deep and had a calming effect on her.
While on Jugo's back, in the stage between sleeping and waking, she'd heard Suigetsu talking about his confusion about Jugo. He was big and a hot-head but cared about all creatures small and weak.
Jugo had begun to shake beneath her, but Haruhi lazily stroked his wide shoulders in her sleep, inhaling his scent; sweat and firewood. His sweat wasn't an over-powerful stench, and was strangely manly instead. That strange feeling returned again; that warm squeeze in her chest.
Jugo relaxed under her and she drifted back to the land of dreams.
"Are you having fun?" she asked Jugo, biting her lower lip. She felt embarrassed, asking him something she considered personal in front of his team-mates. But she wanted to know.
"Hai" was her reply.
"Good"; she smiled sadly, wishing to have met him sooner. Then she wouldn't be plagued with thoughts of what would happen to her if she was found alive. Her Master would not be happy. Her smile fell and her eyes were blank and dead again. This was her defense system; when things got too upsetting, she shut down her emotions.
"How's your ankle, Haruhi-chan?" Karin asked.
Tentatively, Haruhi pressed her foot against the floor of the springs. On the walk out of the bathroom and to there, she had hopped and hadn't put pressure on it. But now that she did, she felt sharp shooting pains and flinched.
"Sore"; she kept a brave face. "Will it take much longer to heal?"
"Because you're so" Karin thought for a description "malnourished and weak, it'll take longer for your bones to finish realigning and healing. I healed your ankle most of the way, but it's better for it to heal itself. It will make it stronger"
"Do you.." Karin licked her lips "have any family?". The silence on the other side of the fence showed that the boys were listening in.
"No, they're dead. I know I should care, but I don't, and everything's their fault and I hate them. Because they sold me to my Master, you see, and then they left, and they did it for the money. They were killed during a mugging, they're not ninjas, and I'm glad. That they died I mean" her voice was filled with so much venom and hate, that Karin once again wondered if she was an Uchiha, despite her red eyes and red hair.
"Oh" Karin said.
-X-
"Are you sure, Haruhi-chan?"
"Mhm"
"Alright then"; Karin shrugged her shoulders, then pouted immaturely; "Guess I'm sleeping alone tonight".
Haruhi had bravely asked to sleep in the same room as Jugo, because she felt safe around him. And comfortable. They all got their own rooms, except the two girls who were supposed to share one.
Haruhi, arms wrapped around a blanket and two pillows, knocked on Jugo's door in nothing but her pajamas which consisted of Suigetsu's spare pajamas; baggy shorts that hung off her small waist and a pale lavender top that hung off her shoulders. Well, at least the top made it look like she had boobs, instead of flat-chested.
"Huh? Haruhi?"; Jugo opened the door.
This time, her blush was very visible. She felt so stupid, just showing up with her blanket and pillows, expecting him to immediately let her in. She was so annoying and clingy; what grown man would want a teen bugging them? (Or at least she presumed he was grown, due to his broad shoulders, deep voice and height).
"Gomenesai Jugo-sama"; she bowed as best she could with her arms being so full and all; "I apologise for my disrespect, I'll just go". He stopped her and took the bundle from her arms.
"No, stay"; he set up the blanket and pillows on the floor while she stood awkwardly in the doorway.
"Come in. It's why you came here, right?" he urged, shutting the door. "You take the bed and I'll take the floor"
"No, you don't have to-"
"I insist". He knew she couldn't deny him and felt a swell of pride from that fact.
"Arigatou Jugo-sama! You're too kind and generous". She crawled onto the bed, and with her thin limbs, looked like a spider as she made her way under the thick blankets.
Jugo smiled a small smile at her, and turned off the lights. He hadn't planned on retiring so soon, but he wasn't going to stay up and keep the lights on while Haruhi was obviously struggling to keep her eyes open.
He presumed it was the malnurishment. Food gave you energy, and food was obviously not what she'd been getting enough of.
"Night Jugo-sama"
"Goodnight"
-X-
Somehow, though possibly accidentally-on-purpose; Haruhi had rolled out of the bed, and on top of Jugo. Though due to her weightlessness, he didn't know of this fact until he awoke, early the next morning.
Dull light peeked in through the window. Birds were singing faintly, heard from far away. There was a light weight on his chest, and he found it to be Haruhi.
Her mouth was slack, and her eyes fluttered beneath her lids. She was having a nightmare. Jugo memorised everything about her; the veins on her eyelids, the sharp point her heart-shaped face went into, making her chin look almost razor-sharp. Her ears were unpierced, and her pale skin tattoo free, though she did have numerous scars as decoration.
Her red hair reminded him of Karin, though it was somehow prettier. Karin's hair reminded him of fire, of danger. But Haruhi's hair fanned gently around her shoulders, falling over to pool on his stomach, like a red waterfall. She had him in a firm hold, fists bunched in his shirt. Her knuckles were white, thanks to the nightmare.
He wondered what she dreamt of; probably her old Master. Jugo wished he could erase all that had happened to her, and all that probably will if she remained with him and his team. But without her past, and that incident with the china set, he would never have met her. He couldn't place why, but he felt she was important somehow. Whether a key to his future or somehow someone from his past, he didn't know.
And didn't care all too much.
All he wanted was to stay that way forever;
The light bathing them, making their night-clothes look odd, as if drained of colour; Haruhi curled up on his chest, arms around him. Jugo gently kissed her forehead, memorizing the smell of her shampoo. Strawberry. Coincidentally, strawberries were his favourite fruit. Not too sweet, but sweet enough. He supposed they were like Haruhi in that sense.
No, whatever role Haruhi would play, he could not predict. But for now, he was happy and content, a full feeling in his heart. And he liked that warm sensation.
Kissing her forehead again, Jugo drifted back into a light sleep.