Chapter 10

"Good mornin', darlin'," Suigetsu sang as Karin trudged down the stairs in her PJ's, her hair all disheveled. Karin didn't punch him, though. He said this every morning; it was part of the routine. Suigetsu would get up early, work out, say: "Good Mornin', Darlin' " to a half-asleep Karin, pester her while she made breakfast, and then clean the dishes. That was their arrangement: she did the cooking, he cleaned the dishes.

It was almost as if they were an old married couple. Almost.

Over some buttered toast and eggs, they talked about the usual: what they did the other day, where the hell the executioner's blade might've gone, what's going on with Sasuke, and who was who in Konoha. This usually led to a contest to see who could come up with the juiciest gossip.

"So Naruto and Hinata are official now. She told me yesterday," Karin shared.

"It ain't exactly a secret. Naruto's a celebrity," Suigetsu responded, trying to one-up Karin.

"Well, you have me to thank for that. Without my womanly advice, Hinata would've been waiting around for him forever," Karin retorted.

"You give yourself too much credit. Besides, Naruto's friend Kiba said he was the one who asked her to be his girlfriend."

This was true; Hinata had said so herself. Karin remembered how happy Hinata had been as she gleefully described how Naruto had confessed his feelings for her and their first date. Still, she didn't like losing arguments against Suigetsu.

"Then how come he waited such a damn long time to do it?" Karin shot back.

"He was apparently nervous."

"That's bullshit. He totally knew she was all over him; what would he be nervous about?

"I dunno, but based on the intel I've gathered, it may just be that up until verrrry recently he had a thing for Sakura and was deciding between the two. But everyone seems to agree that he picked the right girl in the end."

This was news to Karin. So now Naruto liked Sakura too? What was so great about that pink bitch anyways?Sure, she was pretty, but she was flat-chested and kind of a bitch. And kind. And talented.

"I saw how Sakura treated him and it wasn't pretty," Karin remarked.

"Kind of like how you treat me?" Suigetsu jeered.

"The difference is YOU deserve it. He's an idiot but he's not an arrogant, obnoxious asshole like you," Karin teased back.

"Ouch. But you know what this means, right? When one couple hooks up, especially a celebrity couple, others will follow. Sakura may see this as her chance to get back together with our tall, dark, and handsome friend."

Shit! He's right! That would NOT be good. Although they're not talking right now…but that was a week ago and things might've changed…I need to get to the bottom of this, but how?

"Karin? Watcha thinkin' about? A revenge plot to kill Pinky?" Suigetsu questioned, amused.

"No! Of course not!" Karin stammered nervously. In truth, she didn't plan to kill Sakura. Not at all. What she had planned was far more devious.

Karin gulped nervously as she stood outside Sasuke's apartment complex. Things could turn into an absolute disaster if she fucked up. However, she thought her disguise was convincing. She had spent enough time around Sakura to produce a convincing transformation jutsu and she could effortlessly mimic her chakra. Now she just had to get the acting part down – and in Karin's humble opinion, she was a damn good actress.

When she got to the door still guarded by Anbu, they didn't even question her.

"He's in. You may see him if you'd like, Sakura-san," one of them said to her. "We'll be outside if you need us."

"Thank you," Karin replied as she opened the door and walked in. The apartment was absolutely spotless; Juugo and Sasuke had obviously done a lot of cleaning since she had last been in there. Not surprising, considering how meticulous Sasuke was. Karin's heart thumped in her chest as she entered the kitchen area and saw Sasuke, who was sweaty and looked like he had just been training. He was drinking water and eating a tomato.

"Sakura," he uttered calmly.

"Sasuke-kun, I want to talk to you," Karin said. She tried to repress the blush that was creeping across her cheeks from smelling Sasuke's natural musk. His chakra was no longer hostile; it felt like its usual mix of fire and ice that gave Karin chills. And he just smelled so manly. She could just feel his pheromones urging her to take him then and there.

But she needed to be careful. She had a feeling that the pink bitch was not as lustful as she was and even if she was, she hid it well.

"Well, what is it?" Sasuke responded, a bit impatiently.

"I…ummm…about what happened…that time…" Karin felt herself sweating. She tried to sound meek and apologetic but all she could think about was Sasuke's blank stare.

"That was…I was not in my right mind at that time," Sasuke said quietly, not looking Karin in the eye. "I'm sorry."

It was a real sorry – not a "I'm sorry I accidentally stepped on your toe" kind of sorry. This was serious. There was an awkward pause.

"O-Of course you weren't! Don't worry, I forgive you, Sasuke-kun! It's all good now!" Karin said nervously, feigning a smile.

That's when Sasuke grabbed her by the shoulders, shocking Karin.

" 'It's all good now?' What kind of bullshit is that? No, it's not all good now. I was going to kill you!" he shouted angrily.

Karin was rendered speechless. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the Anbu peeking in. She looked back up at Sasuke. He was touching her. He was so close that Karin could just kiss him then and there if she wanted to. She felt her face get closer to Sasuke's; or was he moving his face closer to hers? She may finally get to taste Sasuke's kiss. Karin's heart was thumping like crazy.

But no. It wasn't Karin that Sasuke was apologizing to. It wasn't Karin that Sasuke was touching. It was Sakura. Karin needed to change her game plan. She originally intended on just evaluating the pink bitch's relationship with Sasuke by flirting with him, but that would only help Sakura's case.

She needed Sasuke to believe that Sakura hated him.

"You're right," she said coldly, swatting his hands off her shoulders, "I would be lying if I said I forgive you. Because I can't. I'll never forgive you for what you did." Karin swallowed and gathered more courage. "I may have loved you once, but you're not the person who I thought you were. You've changed, and it's for the worst. How could I ever love someone as cold and uncaring as you? How could I respect myself if I allowed myself to be with a man who hurt me? If you ever lay those filthy, blood-stained hands of yours on me again, you'll be sorry."

Sasuke was absolutely floored. After what seemed like a minute of silence he finally uttered, "I understand."

"No, you don't. Goodbye, Sasuke-kun," Karin sneered as she walked out the door.

As she exited, the female Anbu patted her on the back and said, "Yeah, you tell him."

It was certainly a victory for Karin, but why, she could not say. Yes, she had put a damper in the pink bitch's relationship with Sasuke. However, she also had gathered the courage and told Sasuke exactly what he needed to hear. But this only caused her to question her feelings for Sasuke, as what she told him seem to come more from her own feelings than Sakura's. Was she finally moving on? The thought made Karin feel uneasy.