The thick file folder fell with a loud thud against the wooden table, but Karin barely looked up from her cursory inspection of her fingernails. She had been detained for nearly eight hours now, and though the boredom was getting to her, it was amusing to see interrogator after interrogator leave the room flustered and, more importantly, without the answers they were looking for.
She smirked. Karin prided herself on her ability to manipulate others with her helpless girl routine, and if that didn't work, flirty-head-over-heels-in-love-damsel-in-distress was always a hit with the boys. It was pretty easy, especially considering her skill to read other people's chakra signatures. She could always tell when the interrogators were bluffing, and that didn't help their case any.
Yawning, she stretched her arms out in front of her. They could keep her in the small room for days, and they'd never get a word out of her; she swore as much to the portrait she kept in her bra. Ooh, speaking of the portrait, if only Sasuke-kun could see how incredibly loyal she was, maybe he would—
"Oi! I asked you a question!"
Karin begrudgingly looked up at the new person in the room. The Torture and Interrogation Squad had cycled through three or four of their members, and they had all been wearing the same frumpy coat and stern expressions. It got boring after a while, so she'd stopped caring after the third cycle. This one, though, was different.
Way different, and definitely demanded all her attention.
Karin adjusted her glasses with her middle finger and tried not to widen her eyes too much. Damn, she thought, as her eyes roved over long platinum blonde hair, icy blue eyes, glossed pink lips, long neck, slim physique, and muscled arms of her new (and vastly improved) interrogator.
Karin leaned forward and rested her chin on her folded hands. Now, this was interesting.
"Didn't you hear me?" Blondie all but yelled at her. "I said, what can you tell us about Orochimaru and Yakushi Kabuto's experiments? What is the nature of their research? Where is Uchiha Sasuke headed? What are they trying to—Dammit!" Blondie slammed her fists on the table, making it crack slightly under the assault. "Listen to me! I'm talking to you!"
Ooh, impatient. Karin liked impatient. She smiled up at the girl. "What was that, Blondie? I couldn't hear you over the sound of my blood rushing… down there." Karin winked, for good measure, and leaned back in her chair, still grinning.
She could dispense with the helpless girl act with this one.
Blondie looked confused for a spell. "Excuse me?!" she boomed afterwards, flushing and frowning. "Oi, Redhead, this is torture and interrogation, not a speed dating gig, got it?!"
"If that's the case, then why'd they send you in here, Blondie? Hm? Care to explain?"
Licking her lips suggestively, Karin rejoiced at the flustered expression on the girl's face. Hell, this was easier than beating the previous guys, and five minutes hadn't even passed since Blondie came in.
The girl's chakra signature was also wavering, which was always a good sign. She was disturbed – good, good, good. That boded well for Karin, because disturbed interrogators were bad interrogators, and bad interrogators were easy to dispose of. She would make quick work of Blondie, then the first guy would return, and she'd get rid of him too, as well as everyone who would dare to come in through the only door in the room, until the whole of Konoha got fed up with her, and then, in no time at all, she'd be back in Sasuke-kun's arms and—
"You… like me?"
Karin looked up, startled. It had been said in such a soft, gentle voice – a great contrast to the angry, demanding voices that the previous interrogators used on her – that she almost thought she was dreaming. Almost, because Blondie's hand on her right arm was sending shivers down her spine, and that quickly brought her back to reality.
It only took Karin a second to regain her composure. "Sure, darling," she crooned, batting her eyelashes bashfully at the blonde. "You're gorgeous, and you have a body to die for. What's not to like?" She bit her bottom lip, as you would, and the girl trembled, ever so slightly, at the sight.
"You… think I'm hot?"
Gotcha, Karin thought, celebrating inwardly. Just a little more to push you ever the edge…
She raised her hand, and, as predicted, Blondie's eyes fluttered open warily. But when Karin offered her a saucy grin, her features softened, and her breathing returned to its ragged, goddamn sexy state as Karin drew spirals down her arm.
"You know what, Blondie," Karin whispered, low and sultry. "Ever since I laid eyes on you, I was so ready to jump your bones. You wanna know why?"
The girl nodded, almost eagerly, blue eyes hazy and half-lidded, and Karin tried very hard to quell her rising excitement.
"Well, you come waltzing in here like a goddess in that skimpy purple outfit, and damn…" She grabbed the girl forcefully by the hips, and lowered her to face level. "I just knew I couldn't keep my hands off you."
The look came over Blondie's features, and Karin knew the game was over. This was super easy.
Way too easy, in fact, but she had no time to process this because Blondie was, again, demanding her attention as pink lips captured her own in a needy, searing kiss.
"Then, don't," Blondie murmured against her lips. "Don't keep your hands off me." The girl punctuated this statement by placing her small hands over Karin's and guiding them up her delicious anatomy. Karin widened her eyes, but only slightly. She liked them hungry and desperate, and this girl was all of them.
It also helped that Blondie was unequivocally hot, and Karin was feeling simultaneously hot and cold, as the girl slid onto her lap and started to rock her hips in just the right way. Karin was not at all ashamed of the throaty growl that that elicited from her.
She trailed her hands over the girl's creamy thighs. Shit, she was going to lose herself to the beautiful and aggravating blonde, but didn't she deserve some fun too? Karin did almost die, like, yesterday (at the hands of Sasuke-kun too – that handsome, traitorous dickhead), and she'd been in the small, dank room since five in the morning. If Blondie wanted to have a good time, hell to the yeah, she was gonna grab that opportunity!
Besides, if they were going to do it, no interrogation would take place, so that was a double win for Karin.
And, hey, speaking of grabbing…
She ran her hands down the girl's backside and squeezed, firmly. The blonde arched her back and moaned in such a loud, vulgar manner that Karin was sure anyone outside would have heard. She grinned. Yeah, well, let them hear whatever – she was always good for a show.
When the girl wrapped her arms around her neck, Karin felt a strange pricking sensation begin at the edge of her mind, but she paid it no mind. How could she, after all, focus on anything else when Blondie was alternately licking and nipping at her lips, muttering dirty phrases at her in such a – dear gods – breathy voice?
They kissed again, deeply and passionately and just full of desire, and Karin really stopped caring if anyone walked in on them, not when Blondie was making those sounds and running her fingers – light as feathers – over her hair. But why was she paying more attention to her temples? Geez, did the girl have a fetish or something? She'd met guys who liked feet (gross), but nobody she encountered ever talked intimately about foreheads, or whatever…
A sudden thought struck her, and Karin pulled away from the blonde, her gaze fiery and accusatory.
"Oi, what are you trying to do?!"
But the girl only looked slightly disappointed, and in the most innocent, child-like tone, whispered, "I'm... I'm sorry… Did I do something? Did I… hurt you?"
She didn't – hell, she was better than most guys and definitely talented with her tongue – but there was something… wrong; Karin couldn't just figure out what. She focused on the girl's chakra, but there was no discernible change – well, aside from the large swaths of passionate red, that is.
Karin frowned and mulled it over some more. There was a trick somewhere. She gave Blondie, who was looking apologetic and teary-eyed, a sidelong glance. The girl was a kunoichi, obviously, else she wouldn't be there; but she was definitely too young to be an experienced interrogator, so maybe she was a… trainee?
But why would the Torture and Interrogation Squad send a rookie to question her, an accomplice to several S-Rank criminals and Konoha missing nins? It just didn't make sense. Unless…
Karin stared at her again. She was sure of it; she'd seen those features – blond hair, blue eyes, high cheekbones, porcelain skin, sharp chin – before, possibly in a bingo book, but it was not the girl's picture in her mind. Instead, it was—
"I'm sorry," Blondie murmured, effectively interrupting her thoughts. To Karin's dismay, the girl climbed off her lap and stepped back. "I'm really, really sorry… That was incredibly… unprofessional of me. I shouldn't have…"
Grabbing the file folder from the table shakily, the girl ran out of the room, tears streaming freely down her flushed cheeks. Karin watched her go – half of her wanting to call Blondie back and resume the foreplay (that she – curse herself – interrupted), while the other half still wondered at the picture in the bingo book.
Whose entry had that been again? And why was this recollection causing her to shudder in fear?
Instinctively, Karin wrapped her arms around herself, and felt, for the first time since her arrival in Konoha, truly alone and uncomfortable.
Ino slammed the door behind her. She sniffled and sobbed against it a few times, just to make the act a little more believable. After a few moments, she slowly walked away, her heels clicking loudly in the silence of the dim hall.
When she was a safe distance away from the room, Ino straightened out her ponytail and skirt before re-applying her lip gloss. Then, smirking, she flipped her hair over her shoulder and sauntered confidently up to the scowling chuunin waiting for her around the corner.
"Got it," she trilled, brandishing a finger at the young man. "And you said I couldn't do it!"
Her excited, high-pitched voice caused Shikamaru to wince in pain. "Took you long enough," he grumbled as he swatted her hand away from his face. "So? What'd you find out?"
Ino placed a hand on her hip and tilted her chin upwards haughtily. "Ooh, wouldn't you like to know?"
He rolled his eyes tiredly. "Of course I want to know. How many times do I have to tell you: the war council needs the intel to determine our next strategy."
Blatantly ignoring his peeved expression, Ino shook her head and winked. "Just admit it."
"Admit what?"
He scoffed. Why was Ino being so troublesome? The council couldn't possibly wait forever, not when S-Rank criminals were running free and doing as they pleased. They were out of time, dammit, and the blonde's silly antics were doing nothing to help the cause whatsoever.
"That I'm good."
Shikamaru sighed. Why in the hell did Morino Ibiki approve of this plan again? "Fine, Ino, you're good," he ground out, fingers twitching slightly "Now, can I have the intel?"
Ino held up a hand impatiently, but the smile on her lips told a different story. "Hold it, Shika, I want to hear just how good I am."
Oh, dear god, he was exhausted. "Ino, you're really, really good, blah blah blah, someday you're going to surpass your father, blah blah blah, greatest kunoichi ever, blah blah blah," he babbled before glaring at her intently. "Intel. Now. Please."
Giggling, Ino poked at his vest. "Thank you, kind sir, for your compliments," she simpered with a mock curtsy. Then, she straightened up, and immediately schooled her features into brisk seriousness. "As for your intel, I didn't get to spend a ton of time rifling through her mind, so you're gonna have to work on a bunch of mangled memories. They're substantial – don't worry – but some parts might be incomplete. I hope that's okay."
Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "Something happened during questioning?"
"She saw through my ruse pretty quickly," Ino explained, shrugging, and started walking towards the exit. "Not fast enough for me not to read anything, but, you know, quicker than most." She threw him a playful look over her shoulder, and smirked. "Quicker than you, anyway."
Determined not to fluster, he scowled as he ambled after her. "Geez, Ino, that was one time," Shikamaru retorted indignantly. "Stop holding it over my head, dammit."
He could hear her lilting laughter echoing all over the darkened hall. "Not a chance, Shika! Not a freaking chance!"
A/N: The original idea for this involved the two girls gushing and bonding over Sasuke's pig-headedness and ~ general hunkiness ~ and Ino tapping into Karin's mind that way, but eh, I liked this one better. I really don't know how believable her characterization is, considering I've never written Karin before, but I hope you liked it. Also, writing citrusy stuff is not my forte, so sorry if it shows.
Lastly, I know I wrote in Finding Santa that work is keeping me busy, but this story just begged to be written – from 11 in the evening to 2 in the morning, go figure – so here it is! Thank you, kind sirs and madams, for reading all the way to the end, and don't hesitate to drop me a line! Toodles~