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Missing

Suigetsu walked through a park in a small village he didn't even know the name of in silence. He was popular ever since the war, but here, no one knew his name or who he was. They just knew that he showed up once every couple days to put flowers at a specific memorial. And that was true. Suigetsu walked along the trail in the park, flowers in hand, not noticing the children pointing to him, or the parents giving him a sympathetic look. He didn't care what people thought anymore. He didn't care about a lot of things. He had turned down an offer by the Mizukage to join the Seven Ninja Swordsmen. After all, what were the point of dreams if there was no one to chase them with. Suigetsu stopped, staring at the stone. His eyes drifted over the names, as they always did, but they didn't need to. He knew where the name was. He could close his eyes and point to it.

He knelt, placing the flowers in the vase the people of the village had put out for them when they saw how regularly he came. He had figured out that he was the only one to go to the memorial. There were others, in other villages. More popular villages. But this memorial was special. This memorial had something the others didn't. Her name. All the other memorial stones had most of the names. But there were so many casualties, there was no surprise a few names had been left out. But what he found surprising, was the face that this one was the only one, in every village he had gone to, that had her name. He supposed that made sense. It had been at this same village that it had happened.

Suigetsu closed his eyes, placing his hands together and prayed silently. She would laugh at him if she could see him now. She would call him weak. Or a wimp. She would tell him he was a waste of space. And then he would come up with a retaliation and start an argument. He reached up, tracing a finger over her name, a tear sliding down his cheek as he did. Yes, they'd be arguing now. If she hadn't gone missing. It had been reported as a handful of Zetsu clones, not enough to worry about. So a group of shinobi had left and she had gone with them as a medical ninja. But when the search party reached the village, all they saw were dead Zetsus. Even the villagers didn't know what happened. And they searched the village thoroughly. But no one was ever found.

Another tear slid down his cheek as he remembered searching, finger tracing the name again. He had searched everywhere. He didn't stop searching for months. Though, it didn't matter. She was gone. He knew it. Everyone knew it. But when they told him, he had refused to listen, and eventually people just stopped talking. He missed it. He missed talking. He missed being around people that knew his name. He missed her. Her smile, her overly dramatic temper tantrums, her arguing with him every step of the way. He would even be content to have her ignore him, as long as he could know she was alive.

"What I wouldn't give to argue with you again," Suigetsu smiled sadly, tears running down his face as his finger continued tracing her name.

"You know, if you don't stop that, you're going to wear my name right off," a voice behind him said.

He froze, finger hovering over the name. It wasn't her. It couldn't be. She was gone. She had been gone for two years. It was his imagination standing behind him now.

He stood slowly, hand falling limply at his side as he turned, violet eyes widening as they met her red ones. She smiled at him, but it melted away when she saw the tears flooding down his face. Tears of her own began to roll down her face. Then, she leapt at him, throwing her arms around his neck, sobbing into his chest as his arm s went around her back. He sank to his knees, holding her against him as she cried and finally managed a real smile for the first time in years. He pressed his face into her hair, choking back his own sobs. She pulled away when she felt his chest heaving

"I...I looked...everywhere for you," Suigetsu said, fighting back his tears unsuccessfully.

"I know," Karin smiled reaching up and drying his eyes with her sleeve. "I met the others. They told me where to find you. They told me everything. They told me you wouldn't stop searching for me, even when everyone else gave up."

"Of course not," Suigetsu said. "You were still alive. But...where were you?"

"I was being nursed back to health in a small village not far from here," Karin stated. "I would have returned if I could have. I'm so sorry."

"I'm sorry I didn't find you," Suigetsu said, bowing his head. "If I had just searched longer-"

"It's alright, Suigetsu," Karin smiled. "It's okay. You looked longer than anyone else."

"Of course I did," Suigetsu smiled. "You mean everything to me. O course I'm going to keep searching for you."

Karin smiled, reaching up and placing her lips to his. He sighed, kissing her back instantly. It was gently and only lasted a moment, but it felt like it lasted much, much longer. She pulled back, smiling, and Suigetsu rested his forehead against hers.

"I love you Suigetsu."

"I love you too."

THE END

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