A/N: Oh my God…0-0 it's 3:54 AM right now…I just couldn't stop writing this. Hurrah for my random bouts for insomnia, right? Anywho…I really, really hope this chapter is okay. So many things happen in it and I could've screwed it up really bad…crosses fingers well, here we go SuiKa fangirls and boys…
Dedicated to (as long as it's a good chapter) Iia, My Chemical Romance Dude, Shadows08, and Hzleys87 for yet again speedily sending reviews that gave me Rock- Lee- hard- determination.
Oh, and for those who don't know—Suika doesn't only mean "watermelon"--it means "fire and water" as well…XD How perfect is that, especially because the "ka" part is fire while the "sui" part is water?
--
"Jeez…I need to get bigger thermoses," Suigetsu grumbled, tipping his second empty cup out in vain.
"I'll be right back," he muttered, and Juugo gave a single nod. It was strange how passive the man was around the small birds perched on his shoulders…how did those things get inside anyway…?
Just a few steps out the door, and the Mist Ninja's ears perked. Someone was rushing down the hall…had Sasuke returned…? No…he was much quieter and calmer…
He turned his gaze just in time to capture Karin's nurse—
Well, crap…that was not a good expression…
"What's going on?" he almost demanded, but the woman kept going.
"God damn it," he growled under his breath, and the boy picked up his speed until he had fallen in quickened step.
"Seriously, what's wrong? Don't tell me this has something to do with—"
"I'm so sorry, but your friend…she may…"
Something very close to panic whipped through Suigetsu to constrict his throat and chest.
"She may what?"
The woman simply shook her head before moving out even quicker, and he fell behind, slowing to stop…
--
"So…what exactly happened here?"
Izo grimaced at the voice, the figure hidden in the shadows far from the bed he was resting in shifting slightly.
How the man had gotten in here, known exactly where he was and when he would be alone was beyond him.
"You lied about Hebi—they're incredibly powerful. We were an assault formation of five four man teams and we only got one of them down from what I heard," the man growled, his light brown and almost grey hair practically bristling. "As for the rest of us, I'm one of the few and lucky survivors."
"Who'd you bring down?" The Wave chunin was beyond pissed off as the sentence casually reached him.
"You little bastard…we hit one with the Howaido poison you supplied us, but she—"
He stiffened from his new position at the edge of the bed, the kunai that had only missed him from years of training and reflexes giving a loud "thunk" as it hit the wall.
"What was your Captain thinking? I demanded that two members be kept alive for...my own ridding—one of them happened to be that girl," the voice commanded in what sounded like a loud hiss.
Izo couldn't help the low chuckle escaping his throat as he plucked the knife from the wall, sitting back up as he tossed the blade away. "Don't you know a madman when you see one? Our "beloved" Captain Maru was on the verge of snapping. This was to be his last mission, his sanity's final test…to say the least, he failed."
The dim ribbons of light were suddenly illuminated a black cloak, and protruding from it a pale arm, its hand gripping shurikan. "If she's dead…"
The lethal steel tore into the man's shoulders and ripped the skin going past to embed in the wall, but he refused to let loose the sound of pain.
"I'll personally make this village a living hell. I've got plenty of other squads on the move for Hebi, but they're from villages that'd be more than glad to have a chance at your people."
There was a creak as whoever it was moved towards him, the bars of shadows further enshrouding him except for a single, eerie glow.
Izo's eyes strained, his body freezing…My god…is that light…is it an eye…?!
His thoughts were broken as his now assailant spoke again, this time a cold and morbid laugh gripping the darkened room. The lethal glint crinkled with some sick, unseen grin.
"Speaking of madmen…"
The hand crept up to tear away the thick cloak's hood, and Izo's face contorted with a horror he had never experienced before, his body immobilized…
"I am a madman…"
--
She knew where she was…
…But Karin hadn't fallen into the darkness of this room…no, she did not belong here.
It had happened too long ago…
"Kill him, damn it!"
Kabuto's voice rang throughout the room, shrill and panicked—it drove past Karin's frozen state of terror, driving her arms down with a strength she didn't know she possessed—
The struggling, livid man she had pinned to the floor made a horrendous gurgling noise, his eyes bulging as the blade in her hands sunk through his ribs, driving itself slowly into his chest as she crushed all of her weight down.
Blood spurted across the girl, some even landing in her eyes… but she held on to the hilt none the less, trembling as the failed experiment's grip began to weaken on her nearly broken wrists.
And then he suddenly stilled with a hollow, rasping exhale, eyes rolling back, body limply slumping to the floor.
It was only then that she let go, staring…the dark crimson staining the trembling hands held to her face, pooling beneath the body.
She had just killed a man.
Karin somehow staggered out of the room before emptying her stomach in the hall, gripping at the stone walls, shivering violently. It had happened too quickly…
"That must've been your first time taking a life," Kabuto murmured, leaning against the doorway she had pushed from.
She glared at the almost wry humor in his voice, and it only narrowed as something venomously indifferent entered his next sentence: "Get over it. You'll have to do that a lot around here, especially if you screw up experiments again—"
"Shut…up," she snarled, cutting him off with just as much resentment. He blinked at the sudden harsh growl—it must've been a drastic change to the fearful look she was now hiding.
She shoved away from the column she had been holding herself up with to whip the blade from her hand, its bloodied glint stabbing into the floor by his feet, hilt quivering in air.
He opened his mouth to say something else, but she suddenly couldn't hear him…everything was fading away…the snakes carved and molded into the cold walls, the eerie lantern light, the smell of dank air and fresh blood…
And from wherever she had been, she was jerked harshly back into her own body—
Crimson eyes tore open, her body jolting as she gave a loud gasp.
Something was pounding in her ears…her heart…?
I'm…Am I…alive?
The feeling of sheets tangling themselves around her, cold and crisp, sent a shiver through her, bewildering her more than the dim room slowly beginning to fill her blurred vision…
…Where the hell was she? Fearfully, her eyes flickered about, but it was too dark to tell…dark like the place she had just come from…a small noise escaped her, tightly clinging to her throat.
Shaky arms slid back to push up, but one exploded so keenly with pain that she hit the mattress the second she tried.
Grimacing, Karin slowly twisted her head, quickly finding the agonized limb.
Its middle was wrapped tightly with gauze…
And she suddenly remembered.
The Wave squad captain falling back, clawing at his throat as blood spurted past his fingers, her glasses crushed into his throat…feeling as if she was being drained with every drop of her blood leaving and being helpless to it…slipping away into the crushing black with fear and agony—
Her stomach lurched dangerously, and the girl closed her eyes, struggling to keep the stomach acid down as she tried to calm the fragments being thrust forward too quickly.
And she was trembling; covered in a veil of cold sweat…both her breath and pulse were uneven, ragged…
The Howaido poison must've done damage…
Breathe…obviously, we're alive…he did his damage, but we killed him, remember…?
Gradually, the pieces stopped hurtling around to softly click in the back of her mind, and careful to keep her right arm limp, the girl pulled up, wincing. It felt like something had stretched up leisurely to drag its burning claws down her insides.
God damn it… Anything a little over a foot away from her was unrecognizable, and as the throb in her temples flared, she gave a mental groan for her glasses, pinching the bridge of her nose.
The sheets slipped, and at the cold combating the feverish heat beneath her skin, she glanced down. Only the bandages around her breasts greeted her. She shifted the thin cover further back. Well, at least she was wearing shorts. But they weren't hers…they were longer, looser…
She must be in a hospital…or an inn, or somewhere…how the hell did that happen? Then again…she remembered an incredibly short conscious…there had been an unfamiliar chakra…but it could've been a dream…
"…Hello…?" It was useless—the second syllable died away as she heard just how hoarse and weak her voice sounded. But still…someone had to hear it…unless…
I'm alone…The tiny thought suddenly brought another—where was the rest of her team?
There was no way she was going to attempt her senses…they were too groggy and stumbling for her to trust…
We don't need to worry about Sasuke…he's got the sharingan. And Juugo…well, he's Juugo. And Suigetsu—
Suigetsu…
Her light feeling head slowly rose from its resting place in her palm, her dull gaze softening as the name recalled something else. Because despite her unstable conditions…
One of the things she could fully and clearly recognize was what he had done…
What the boy had done for her… breaking free of his merciless and asshole-like "philosophies…"
To save her.
Well, by sticking a needle into her chest and threatening to kill her himself if she didn't make it, but none the less…
The last thing she had seen somehow swam back…the expression that had been contorting his face, the emotion that had been revealed when the end of that threat reached her fading hearing…
…Fear…? Suigetsu, the bastard-kappa-sword-craving-indecent-water-freak…had been afraid to lose her? And had saved her?
"…He…that bastard…" she murmured past the small, impulsive tug of her lip, and something shifted in her chest, just like it had when he had gripped one of her arms around him before falling asleep; just like it had when he had pulled her against him when she had broken down and neither of them knew what had been attacking them so relentlessly inside about the other; just like it had when he had kissed her on that drunken night.
And suddenly, being alone was unbearable, more so than the aches of her fevered and poison ravaged body, the agony of her arm, the fear of not knowing what was or had been happening…
For the very first time in her entire life of knowing the Mist ninja…Karin wished that he was there…
The bed felt too warm for her, and the room around it too dark and cold…
I got to…get out of this room…
--
The nurse glanced back as someone ran down the hall—
So she hadn't lost him…she had been hoping at least to solve the problem somewhat before telling him.
There was something between those two…she could feel it.
"I'm so sorry—she woke up just a few minutes ago, but then she…"
"Then she what!? C'mon, just tell me already!" he pushed impatiently, and something gripped in her chest for the boy.
"Oh you must be so worried—she passed right back out, but when she was awake…she…she couldn't see me! I'm sorry, but I think the poison's--!"
It took all Head Nurse Shiro had to keep from stopping and slapping the light haired shinobi, his bark of laughter echoing from when it had cut her off.
"What, may I ask, is so funny?" she all but snapped, her high expectations of the once seemingly wonderful boy beginning to crumble.
"No, it's not like that…she just needs her glasses to see and those are…my god, you had me—" he quickly glanced further down the hall, but it was soon a double take, his body stilling, the humor fading from his face.
She curiously followed his stunned gaze—
Could it be…?
Karin was leaning against the doorframe, strands of red hair straying across her flushed forehead as her eyebrows gave a subtle dip…she must have recognized his chakra…
"…Suigetsu…"
Her voice was husky and feeble, but he heard it anyways…maybe it was because all of him was straining towards her at the moment…
His eyes softened from their shocked stare.
She…she's awake…that's her…that has to be her…
And the girl somehow straightened up, pushing from the wall and limping the few last steps, because he had already covered the distance between them, his heart squeezing. Was she really…? Was she actually standing there…?
Her good arm broke his bewildered thoughts as it suddenly wrapped around his neck, surprising him almost as much as the strength she had as she pulled herself against him.
"Suigetsu," she murmured again, and something trembled in her quiet voice, her head burying into the crook of his neck.
It was…it really was her…the smell, the softness of her hair…
He closed his eyes, slowly taking in her scent and warmth, forgetting the nurse even as she made a quiet sound of gleeful approval from far behind.
Karin was starting to say something, and his chin tilted down to hear her, not wanting to miss a single thing…
"Thank you…"
He didn't need to ask to know.
His hand was surprisingly gentle as it slipped under her limp right arm and curved to touch the square of her shoulders, to push her, if it was possible, further into him. He had to…just to make sure she was really there. It felt like he was dreaming…
And he wasn't…the feeling in his chest was overwhelmingly close to spilling. But somehow he contained himself enough to simply press his mouth to her cheek roughly before keeping it near her ear.
"You bitch…scaring the shit out of me like that…"
--
Again…I really hope I pulled this all off okay…everything that I wanted to happen had to be put in just the right order in just the right way, so I hope I didn't screw it up! XD Kudos to those who figured out whose after Hebi…I probably (and stupidly) made it too obvious…
