Chapter 14

Karin was cranky. Not only had she cried nearly all of last night, but she had stained her panties with her period that morning. As she attempted to wash the stain out, she felt nothing but bitterness. Bitterness towards Suigetsu for leaving her, bitterness towards Sasuke for existing, and bitterness towards herself for being a fool – and also bitterness because part of her had secretly hoped that she was actually pregnant. How fucked up was that?

But no, Karin now had to deal with the blood and the cramps, and every time her ovaries contracted she would have to be reminded of the fact that she had had drunken, wild sex with Suigetsu and that he had spilled his seed inside of her but she had prevented a baby from happening so she could experience the joy of period cramps a month later.

Karin knew that it was ridiculous to prefer being a single, pregnant teenager over the minor inconvenience of having her period, but she couldn't help but be damn pissed off. She would probably realize how ridiculous she was being once she stopped PMSing – that was her excuse.

Karin hung out her panties to dry and walked downstairs to make breakfast.

"Good morning, Karin," said Juugo nonchalantly.

Karin would've been startled, but instead she was annoyed. She mumbled and walked straight past him to the kitchen to pour herself a bowl of cereal. That's right. I got a new roommate, too. Well, at least he's quiet so I can pretend he's not there, she thought.A medical ninja named Shizune had created a pill that would stop Juugo's episodes and inhibit his cursed seal, so he no longer needed Sasuke's constant supervision. Initially, he was going to switch with Karin and she would live with Sasuke, but she really did not feel like being around Sasuke after what had happened yesterday—except she was going on a date with him later today. Whoop-dee-friggin-doo. Karin wondered if her period would be a good enough excuse to cancel on him.

Karin was reminded of the time when she had begged her mother for a chocolate chili pepper candy when she was five. Her mother had warned her that she would not like it, but Karin whined and begged for days. Finally, her mother gave in and bought her a pack – on one condition: she had to eat every single candy in the pack. A dry throat, tears, and several burning shits later, Karin learned her lesson.

Karin feared that history was going to repeat itself.

However, when it came time, Karin decided that she should at least give Sasuke a chance to redeem himself. She had chased after him for so long, after all.

She had to admit that Sasuke looked quite handsome when he came to pick her up. He was wearing a high-collared vest over a black long-sleeved shirt and cargo pants. Karin felt a little embarrassed that she was wearing the same purple shirt and shorts that she always wore since she had no other clothes other than prison rags and a Konoha uniform. Clearly Sasuke was judging her, but he didn't say anything.

"Hi, Karin," he said.

"Hi, Sasuke," she said back. There was an awkward pause.

"Are you ready to go?" he asked.

"Where are we going?" she replied.

"I thought we could hang out at my place and I could make you dinner," he answered.

"Oh…I thought we were going to go out. Like downtown or somewhere," said Karin. Making dinner was a nice gesture, but she had hoped that they would walk around the colorful hustle and bustle that was downtown.

"I…don't think that's a good idea," said Sasuke hesitantly.

"Why not?" Karin questioned.

"I just…don't think it's safe," he replied.

"How? Is Orochimaru-sama having drinks with Madara's ghost down there or something?" Karin asked sarcastically.

"It's not like that. Fine. We'll go eat somewhere downtown, if that's what you want," Sasuke sighed.

The two walked in silence on the dirt road that led from the Uchiha district to the more urban part of Konoha. Finally, Karin could bear the silence no longer and broke it.

"So, what have you been up to lately?" Karin asked.

"Training, mostly. Trying to get my community service hours done as quickly as possible," he replied.

"Do they have you doing stuff like gardening for elderly people and walking dogs for the aristocrats?" Karin teased.

"Yeah," Sasuke said angrily. He glared ahead. He feels that the work is beneath him. Maybe it is, but what does he honestly expect? Karin thought.

Karin felt two chakra presences. She looked up on the rooftops of the houses they walked past and saw Anbu there. That's right. He's being watched 24/7, Karin thought. As they walked on, more people seemed to be out and about. Shops and restaurants started lining the corners.

"So, what's good around here?" Karin asked.

"Nothing much here. Mostly fast food stands. The place I have in mind is a lot nicer; it's a grille I used to go to with my family on the weekends sometimes. I hope it's still there," he said.

As they walked closer to town, they passed the bar that Karin had arm-wrestled with Suigetsu in. She remembered how cute he had been, singing drunkenly on the table. Her stomach lurched and she tried not to think about it. She looked over at Sasuke, who seemed to be getting tenser the deeper they made their way into Konoha.

Finally, they stopped in front of a building that had been torn down. A sign read: The Blue Fin Grille is closed for renovations. Sorry for the inconvenience. Sasuke tsked and muttered, "Should've known. Looks like it was destroyed from Pain's attack. I'll find someplace else."

Whoosh! Karin nearly jumped when the rock went flying past Sasuke.

"What the hell—?" Karin yelled as she whipped around. She turned around to see a group of young kids –12- or 13-year-old genin probably— sniggering.

"Aw, I almost got duckbutt head," one of them jeered.

"Don't worry, I'll get him for sure," declared another one as he threw another rock at Sasuke. Sasuke, of course, caught it.

"Don't you have anything better to do?" Sasuke asked in frustration.

"Oh, Uchiha thinks he's so cool. Go on, fight us then," one of the kids taunted.

Are these kids fucking retarded? Do they even know who they're messing with? Karin thought.

Sasuke turned to Karin. "Come on. Let's go, Karin."

They started to walk away, but the kids started throwing more rocks and taunting, "CHICKEN! BOCK BOCK BOCK!" Karin couldn't take it anymore.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS YOUR PROBLEM?! LEAVE US ALONE OR I'LL BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF YOU PUNKS!" she roared.

"Who is this, Sasu-gay, your tranny prostitute?" One of them mocked.

"FUCK YOU!" Karin screeched as she ran towards them. Sasuke grabbed her arm roughly.

"Don't-even-think about it," he hissed, "they're just trying to get a rise out of me so I'll hurt them and be kicked out of Konoha. Plus, the Anbu are watching so you're at risk, too."

Damn. He's right. Karin bit her lip in annoyance as those fucking douchebags laughed and called her a man. And the Anbu are watching…wait, that's it!

"Hey assholes, don't you know the Anbu are watching? You could be arrested for harassment!" Karin yelled at them.

The juveniles just looked at each other and then started roaring with laughter.

"Like they care! Hell, I heard 'em laughing when those people threw vegetables at him the other day!" one of them said. The other punks slapped their knees and laughed even harder.

"Come on, Karin, let's go," Sasuke growled sharply as he dug his nails into Karin's arm. Karin followed Sasuke down an alleyway and then jumped on to the rooftops. They stopped when it was clear that those brats weren't following them anymore.

"That was crazy," Karin commented. "Who the hell do they think they are?"

Sasuke didn't respond to her question. Instead, he started walking on the roof of the apartment building. "We should be safe if we walk up here," he said.

"They said people threw vegetables at you the other day. Does this kind of bullshit happen often?" Karin asked angrily.

"Almost every time I go out in public," Sasuke said seethingly. "Look down there." Sasuke pointed down in the alleyway. "SASUKE SUCKS" was written in big, orange letters. A smaller yellow sentence added, "DICK." A rather unflattering picture of Sasuke sucking a big, hairy dick was drawn next to it.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" Karin exclaimed.

Sasuke didn't respond.

"I can, uh, I can see why you didn't want to go out," Karin said awkwardly. The two walked in silence until they reached a restaurant called Haru.

"This place is nice. Let's see how long the wait is," Sasuke said as he jumped down. Karin followed and marveled at the ambient atmosphere. She had never been to a restaurant this decadent in her life.

"A table for two," Sasuke said to the host. She looked at him strangely and then said, "Hold on." Karin's brows furrowed in confusion as she waited with Sasuke, who was tapping his foot in impatience. Finally, the host came back with the manager, a middle-aged man with a beer belly.

"I'm sorry, but we don't serve felons," the manager said gruffly.

"What about people who saved your damn village?" Karin spat back. Sasuke glared at her. "Karin, don't start anything. We don't want to eat here anyways."

"EAT THIS, UCHIHA!"

Splat! The dog shit hit Sasuke smack dab in the face. Karin just stared, horrified. She didn't see who had thrown it or where the hell it had even came from, but now a small crowd who was laughing gathered outside the restaurant. People were exiting the restaurant to witness the horror.

"SHIT-SUKE! SHIT-SUKE! SHIT-SUKE!" They started chanting.

Sasuke clenched his teeth as he wiped the shit off his face. Karin could tell that he was dying to punch someone.

"Sasuke, are you okay?" Karin asked in genuine concern. A few hours ago she had been pissed off at Sasuke, but now she just felt pity for him. She rushed over to try to help him, but she was yanked away by a large, strong man.

"Hey girlie, watcha' doin' with this queer? I could show you a real good time," he whispered into her ear. Karin felt his putrid breath and wanted to throw up.

"Let me GO!" she yelled, trying to break free of the strong man's grasp.

"You ain't gonna' wanna' be with this pussy after we're through with him," another weaselly guy said to her while holding her chin. It took all of Karin's self-control not to hit him.

"Let her go," Sasuke said coolly to the creeps.

"No! We're not done with you yet. Hey, Fujiwara, beat that girl until Uchiha snaps," the weaselly guy told the big guy.

With a huge wham, Karin felt all the air leave her body as the big guy kneed her in the gut. She tried to break free, but she couldn't move. The impact was just too powerful. She lost consciousness for a second; when she opened her eyes she saw blinding blue lightning coming from Sasuke's hand.

"NO!" she mouthed, but no scream would come out. Sasuke was going to try to kill her again so she would no longer be a burden. She needed to get the hell out of there; she didn't care if she got exiled. It didn't even matter anymore. At least then, she could search for Suigetsu…

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" yelled a voice. Karin turned her head with all her energy. An orange blur parted the crowd. Of course it wasn't going to be Suigetsu. Why would it be?

"SHIT! It's Naruto! RUN!" the weaselly guy told his cronies. The big guy dropped Karin and tried to run, but he became paralyzed. Karin saw Hinata, who had appeared suddenly, hit the chakra points of her tormentors, who were now lying helplessly on the ground.

"You're all scum! Not only you thugs, but all you people that just stood here and watched! You disgust me!" Naruto yelled. The crowd was dead silent. Many people snuck away. Hinata rushed over to Karin and asked her if she was okay. Karin was still shocked.

"And what are you doing just standing up there? Arrest these assholes or I'll drag them to jail myself!" Naruto roared at the Anbu watching on the roof, who sheepishly apologized to Naruto and dragged the thugs away.

"I could've handled it myself," Sasuke snapped at Naruto.

"You know that if you lay even a finger on a citizen you'll be exiled; no excuses! Until I convince the idiots in this village that you're not a threat, you need my help!" Naruto argued back.

Sasuke tsked and released his chidori. No, he wasn't going to kill me. He was trying to help me, Karin thought. Despite this, she still felt nauseated. Hinata felt her pulse.

"Her skin is cold and her pulse is weak," Hinata said. "I think she may be going into shock." Hinata laid Karin down and threw her jacket over her. Naruto removed his jacket and threw it on top of her too. Then everything went black.