Emotional Silence Part II 1- Second Rescue
"There you are, Yuzu."
"Karin-sama, why do you remain in this vile place?" I look at the wall.
"That is not your concern, Yuzu. Did you relay the message to Sasuke?"
"Yes, ma'am, I did."
"Good. Thank you." Yuzu disappears and I sit down on the bench. This is annoying. I hate it here, but it uses too much energy to ignore the pain, keep the mark suppressed, and run at the same time. I can't leave. Not until someone manages to kill Orochimaru. I just hope that the next time I see Sasuke; it will still be him and not Orochimaru.
"Plotting another escape attempt?"
"No, Karin. I'm just thinking." She nods. I hate her, but she's the only one at this hideout to talk to. Orochimaru won't let me and Sasuke anywhere near each other for more than a moment at a time.
"Have you gotten that jutsu of yours finished?" I nod.
"Yea, wanna see how deadly it is?" She nods.
"Yea, but not against me. Our scouts have spotted a group of four from Konoha coming our way."
"No."
"Still attached to home?"
"I don't want to be here; of course I'm still attached."
"You said that your goal is revenge against this guy named Deidara. You won't be able to beat him if you keep your attachments."
"Quit quoting my brother. It makes me sick." I hate it when she does that, and I know that my stupid bangs are starting to turn red.
"Let's go take care of the intruders, shall we?" I roll my eyes.
"Fine, just don't be surprised if I get in the way when you attack them. If their lives are put in danger, you'll be the one dead."
"Okay, no need for death threats here, Uchiha-san." We walk outside and watch. I can hear footsteps. Four figures emerge from the shadows and I glare at Karin, my bangs are completely red now, bright, vibrant red. I'm that pissed at her.
*Neji's POV*
Maybe we finally found her.
"Hey, there are two people outside, just standing there." We get a bit closer and I can tell. I'd know her anywhere.
"It's her."
"Great, we can grab her and go."
"No, there's someone with her."
"Hey Neji, why wouldn't she come home? You never told us."
"I don't want to talk about it. It just matters that we've found her." It's been three and a half years since then.
"They've spotted us." I nod. And she's glaring at the girl with her.
"Karin! Just…let's just go."
"Uchiha-san! We haven't had any fun in a while!" Fun?
"Not against them! Now get inside before I show you exactly the effects of my new jutsu with all the intimate workings of my hand!"
"Whoa, stop."
"What?"
"She's arguing with the other girl."
"Get back inside, Karin. Now." Fire comes up around Karin.
"Oh god."
"NOW!" The other girl runs inside and the fire recedes.
"Karin-san!" She turns and smiles at us. I notice that her bangs are red, no blue. What the heck? She runs up to me and hugs me.
"I'm so sorry!"
"We came back for you." Karin kisses my cheek, and I notice that her bangs have turned white. That's really strange.
"That's what I'm apologizing for. I can't leave."
"Who's stopping you?"
"It's complicated." I stare at her.
"How so?"
"We'll start back. You can catch up right?" I look at them and nod. Tenten smiles and pulls Lee and Gai back.
"What's wrong?"
"It takes too much energy to suppress both the pain and that mark."
"So…you're stuck here then?" She nods; her bangs are slowly turning purple now.
"I'm so sorry, Neji. Really."
"When did you stop using my last name?"
"When you stopped using mine."
"Oh." That makes sense.
"I can't stay out here for very long."
"So take me inside. I'm not leaving you again."
"Do you have a death wish? If it weren't for the fact that Karin is terrified of me, she would have run out and attacked you guys on sight! Just…no. You have to go back."
"Is that confusing?"
"What?"
"Her name is Karin as well."
"I get pissed when they don't use my last name. Mostly for that reason."
"I'm not leaving you." She puts her hand on my cheek. She's as tall as I am now.
"Neji…I…I don't want you to leave…but…"
"Karin." She kisses me.
"Just go…please…" She backs up.
"Karin, I'm not."
"Don't make this harder than it already is." I can tell that she's trying to keep herself from crying.
"Karin…wait!" She shakes her head and disappears. I stare at the spot where she just was and sigh. She's not coming back out. I turn and run to catch up with the others.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing. Let's just get back." I run ahead of them and wipe my face. I'm not going to cry over this. I know that she doesn't want this.
"She's changed a lot."
"Only in looks."
"You know her really well, don't you?"
"Inside and out. We grew up together. She told me just as much as she tells Sasuke."
"I wonder how they're getting along?"
"By the look of it, they aren't around each other."
"Neji, what's wrong?"
"She sent him away again."
"Shut up! You guys can catch up." I run faster and get way ahead of them. She didn't want me to leave.
"Neji! Leave me and get away from here! Leave, before you end up hurt. Please." I can't stand it. She doesn't want me to get hurt because of this, I understand that. But if it really takes that much energy to ignore that pain. She was hurting so much that day…she was holding back screams. I shake my head and keep running.
*Karin's POV*
Damn! "Hey, I just got word from the Western Hide out! Rumor is, Orochimaru's dead!"
"Oh joy."
"What are you crying about?"
"None of your damn business Karin!" She backs off immediately, noticing that my bangs are changing from purple to red very quickly.
"So, that guy…the really cute one…he your old boyfriend or something?"
"Why don't you just shut up and leave me the hell alone?" If Orochimaru is dead, then most likely it was Sasuke that did him in. And if Sasuke finished him off, then he thinks that he's strong enough to kill Itachi! And that means that he'll come back for me before he goes home! Wait, if Orochimaru is dead, I can leave on my own! I can go after Neji and go home! I notice blue out of the corner of my eyes and frown. Stupid bangs give away my emotions even worse than my eyes. I can't keep my emotions out of my eyes or my hair now.
"You're not thinking of trying to escape again?"
"I thought I told you to leave me alone!" I separate my body into the familiar birds and fly out of the hideout. I land and recollect myself a ways away, not using the battle technique. I flex my hands. It's not hurting. Can I control the mark still? I concentrate on the mark and the reserve of chakra it seals. The mark starts to spread out from my wrist slightly. I smile and push it back. Much better. I start running towards home, north. This is promising.