I'm not exactly sure how often I'll be updating this! But once a month I'd say, or at least until I get back into the habit of updating my fics...

But thank you so much for all the favs/alerts! O_O I can't believe how many I got... And thank you for all the wonderful reviews!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.


Flames & Whirlpools

~Chapter 2~

Karin's face reflected the pure astonishment she felt at Naruto's rash, sudden decision. They had just met, yet this boy was already so willing to help her.

What was with this kid, anyways?

But still, she found herself strongly attracted to his chakra. It was warm, inviting, soothing. She was simply drawn to it.

"Look, Naruto, that's real nice and all, but I don't think I'll need any help." She stood up, trembling slightly as she did, still a bit shaken up from her encounter with the giant bear.

He stood up with her, unsure of what to say after the refusal of his help. He knew at once that she was a stubborn girl, but he knew he could crack her. He wouldn't take no for an answer.

"You know," he murmured, moving closer to Karin, the smell of perfume invading his nostrils as soon as he was within arm's reach of her. "You're going to need help if you almost just got killed by a bear."

He swung an arm around her shoulders in an effort to show her that he was really a good guy at heart. "I'm going to help you whether you like it or not, Karin!" He flashed another wide grin at her and took his arm away from her.

Another sniff. What was the smell? He took more of the perfume into his nostrils and tried to figure out what kind of perfume she was wearing. It was nice. Floral scented, perhaps?

Karin recoiled back from him in trepidation, still a bit weary of his true intentions. She could trust him, maybe, but on the other hand she really shouldn't let her guard down. But once she took another good look at him, he didn't really look like the type of person to betray others.

He actually looked kind of like an idiot.

"Fine, I'll accept your help." She adjusted her glasses and lightened up the harsh stare she was giving him prior to what she said. "But I'll be the leader between the two of us." She crossed her arms and prepared herself to hear any opposition from the blonde boy.

"Alright, that sounds good enough for me!"

Silence stretches between them for a few minutes, before Karin, out of no where, grabs Naruto by the front of his jacket. "What do you mean 'alright'"? She began to shake him hard, almost violently, though the emotion she was feeling at the moment contrasted with the action she was doing at that moment.

Naruto was nothing like her teammates. He actually listened to her, obeyed her commands. Her teammates didn't listen to her, nor did they let her be the leader of things. Hearing the blonde so willingly go along with what she wanted gave her a feeling of exuberance that could only be expressed with brutality. In a way, it was her way of showing affection, or maybe even gratitude.

Karin did not appear to be that feminine in the way she dressed, or in how she acted. She was sporting an open tan jacket with a black stripe that went across it. Under the jacket was a fishnet shirt that was dark enough to cover her assets. A pair of black leggings covered up her nicely toned legs. And to top it all of, she wore a pair of shinobi sandals with heels on them, giving her a more tom-boyish appeal as compared to girls like Ino or Sakura.

As for how she acted at times, like she had with Naruto, she could have a temper at times, but she can also be sweet and caring. But on the other hand, she could be a bit obsessive. Her obsession only became apparent when she had a crush on a guy. She didn't have crushes much, but if they were big enough, she would obsess over them.

The only thing that stood out about her that was feminine was that she loved perfume. A lot.

So basically, Karin was the whole package; a tom-boy at times with a temper to go along, but had a sweet side that would bring out her true femininity.

To Naruto, she was a lot like Sakura. But... there was something more to her, something different; and he was beginning to like it a lot more than what Sakura had to offer...

Seeing Naruto look like he was about to puke was what made her pause her shaking. She promptly released her hold on him and brushed his now wrinkled jacket as if he had gotten dust on it.

"Sorry, Naruto..." Her voice trailed off, the feeling of regret sinking into her. He really was a nice boy, or, he at least seemed like he was so far.

The jinchuuriki threw his arms behind his head, laughing off the action in a carefree way. "It's fine!" He gave her a thumbs up. "My teammate, Sakura-chan, she always does that kind of stuff to me, so I'm kinda used to it already."

Karin was silent, not knowing how to respond. After hearing that he already receives some form of mistreatment from his teammates like she experiences with her own, she decided that she would never treat Naruto like this Sakura person does. She would try to tone down any violent mood swings around the blonde.

"Right, well, if you're serious about helping me, we should probably get a move on."

She blushed at how nice she was being towards him. She didn't usually soften up towards people, much less guys like this.

"Okay! Then let's go!" Naruto pointed in front of them, signaling that they should be going in that direction.

The red-haired kunoichi gave him a quick nod before she jumped up onto a large tree branch. She looked down at him and watched as he jumped up on to the same branch with her.

The pair soon jumped from branch to branch in perfect sequence as the trees began to zip past them in green and brown blurs, the wind flying through their hair, breezing against their bodies from the fast pace the two were steadily going at. Karin remained in the lead the whole time with Naruto right behind her.

It was refreshing for a female to be in the lead for once. With Sakura, she would blindly follow Sasuke and let him be the leader. But Karin had this controlling side to her, and he kinda liked it.

Another branch, then another. Everything was all just one big blur after about twenty minutes of going through the forest. But even so, he wasn't getting tired at all, and from the looks of it, neither was she.

Another branch. She stopped.

Naruto lost his footing on the branch she stepped on, as he was prepared to jump a few more branches. He felt himself begin to fall, but her hand shot out and grabbed his wrist before he could land on the forest floor.

"You're clumsy, you know that?" She hoisted him up to the branch she was on and raised an eyebrow at him as he tried to remain calm and act like nothing happened.

"Anyway," she said, lowering her voice down as she looked to their left where an opening between all the branches and leaves were. "I sense somebody's chakra over there."

What?

Naruto looked at her. What does she mean? I don't sense anybody. There's nobody around here. He took another glance at the clearing, seeing nothing but a large tree in it.

"But Karin, there's nobody-"

"Look, I'm a sensor-type shinobi. My ability is that I'm particularly good at sensing people's chakra, so I'm not surprised you don't sense his," Karin said, her voice rings flat.

Naruto could only nod at this, his mouth agape slightly. The question of what abilities she possessed never came across his mind, not even once.

She gestured for him to come down with her right before she jumped down into the clearing and landed near the giant tree. He followed after her, not hesitating in the slightest as she slid up against the tree. She reached into the pouch at her side and pulled out a kunai.

He followed her lead and slid up against the tree as well. She inched slowly across the tree trunk and stopped right before she was about to turn and face the person that was apparently at the tree.

Her hand gripped the kunai, whitening her knuckles from how hard her grip was.

Now!

She rounded the tree completely, a piercing scream soon echoing from the forest. Naruto rounded the tree as well and stopped when he saw Karin holding a kunai up to a guy's neck.

"What kind of scroll do you have?" She whispered into his ear, a deadly tone leaking from it.

"A H-heaven scroll..." He stuttered out. Sweat began to form at his brow and roll down the side of his face as the red-haired girl backed away from him slowly.

She looked to his side and noticed his other two teammates down on the ground looking as if they were knocked out.

"Y-you can have it! M-my teammates are out. W-we probably can't p-participate now..." He lamely held the scroll out to her in both of his hands, his head bowed down almost as if he couldn't look at her.

Karin snatched the scroll from his hands, but not without giving him a sympathetic look in return.

"Well, we got a Heaven Scroll, so let's go, Naruto!" She jumped high up on to a branch above them.

Naruto stood there, dumbfounded. They got a Heaven Scroll that easily? Just like that? He blinked, unsure of what to think of this prospect. That could of been him and his team getting one...

He grimaced, but shrugged it off. They could find one easily! He gave another look at the guy who was still shaking from having a kunai up to his neck before jumping up to where Karin was.

As soon as he got up there, he felt like he was being crushed, causing him to close his eyes. He opened his blue eyes and was met with bright red invading his vision.

"Thanks so much for helping me find a Heaven Scroll, Naruto!" Karin had her arms wrapped tightly around Naruto, but she quickly let go with the scroll held firmly in her hand.

Her face was slightly pink, and Naruto could also feel his face hot from being embraced like that. Come to think of it, it was the only hug he has ever received from a girl...

"Uh, you're welcome, Karin."

He wasn't exactly sure how he helped, though. He didn't really do anything, it was just her that threatened the guy and obtained the scroll. Naruto smiled. But... he'd like to think that he was the one who gave her the confidence to go out and find the scroll.

So maybe he helped her, in a way.


I apologize for how short the chapter is... I just didn't have the time to make it longer. I'm really sorry! D:

Sorry for any spelling mistakes I made!

Anyways, I don't have much else to say! So please r&r! :D