Alright, this is a bit of a filler chapter. I'm stallingggg.
It's the last interaction Karin will have with Sasuke before the Itachi fight, which I won't be writing over but I have something planned for the aftermath.
If you remember Karin vs Kiba, writing fight scenes are NOT my strength ^_^"

Now to respond to reviews!

Sage: Is Karin preggo? Hmmmm, maybe, they HAVE been having unprotected sex... ;)

Starfish20: Absolutely! I'm extremely appreciative of your advice and comments and I took them to heart. This story is basically just a bunch of strings of thoughts I've had rewatching the series but I also want to make it enjoyable for everyone else. Thank you so much for the support and I hope you're well and safe!

Gyuri97: Thank you so much for the support, like with everyone else I appreciate it so much you have no idea! It makes me so happy to share this pairing.
Your input is noted, thanks! 3

PM questions: Is English my first language? No, French is!

Why do I like this pairing when he hates her in the show? I don't think Sasuke hates Karin in the show at all. I like this pairing because they both have tragic pasts and I think if Sasuke was less focused on Itachi and Konoha, they could have found comfort in each other, like in this story. I also think they look really good together.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

xoxo

The sounds of kunai, shuriken and senbon clashing resonated through the atmosphere. The whistling of weapons whirling in various directions felt like sonic booms and shook the girl to the core. Large orange flames crackled, and smoke filled the air as civilians ran and screamed, from fear, death and pain. The village was slowly morphing into a sick and twisted inferno and the assailants were the demons. Even from the small wine cellar Karin hid in, locked herself in, she could hear each and every horrific sound as if it all happened in her vicinity. She sat in the corner of the cellar behind a couple barrels, silently sobbing into her arms that hugged her knees. She was a genin, barely a ninja. And she was powerless. Once again, she found herself at the bottom of a totem pole. She had resided in this village for a few months now and she had managed to make a couple friends. They were no more. These people would not escape extinction. The frail redhead would be in the cellar for hours and hours, noting that the cries slowly began to fade out. She closed her big red eyes and sniffled, focusing on tracking the chakra of the invaders and she could feel none. She slowly stood from the corner of the dark room and slowly made her way to the ladder, sending some chakra to her feet to soundlessly step over to the exit. Waiting a short moment, she climbed up and opened the door a little and peeked out and was hit by a cloud of smoke, stinging her already sore eyes. She opened the door and exited the cellar and was greeted by the view of burning buildings, a true inferno.

Hell, on earth.

Looking both ways, she made a break for it and ran down the road towards the exit of the destroyed village when she had failed to sus two ninja who had stayed behind for any survivors. One of the men dashed at the small redhead and kicked her hard in the back, knocking her down to ground, falling hard and lost her glasses while the other walked up before her and mercilessly kicked her in the face, sending her flying back against a pillar, she cried out loudly and begged them to stop, beginning to cry again.

"Ahh, lookit this little minx, trying to get away. Naughty little girl."

The man who kicked her spoke, a raspy deep voice. It was impossible to get a good look at him as her vision blurred and the smoke was heavy. He walked over to her and leaned down, grabbing her neck and lifting off her feet. Her hands shot to his wrists instinctively. Although her vision as blurred, she could tell he was smirking, enjoying this too much. He pulled a kunai from his pouch and slowly brought it to her stomach, about to stab her.

Karin had escaped death far too many times for a thirteen-year-old girl. From barely surviving what bordered medical slavery, death at the hands of a bear, death at the hands of other genin shinobi but this, there was no escape. Death finally found her.

Or so she thought.

Suddenly, like a miracle from the heavens, a pair of purple twin snakes shot out from the smoke and knocked the assassin away from her, making the man drop the redhead. She fell to her knees and moaned in pain, whimpering softly on the ground. Twin snakes shot out once again and beheaded the second assailant. Quickly after the two men were dealt with, a lanky man emerged from the smoke and stood before the girl. He smiled down at her and handed her her glasses which she weakly but swiftly put on to regain her vision. She focused and looked up, large red orbs staring up at her hero.

Long, wispy black hair, freakishly pale skin, purple eyeshadow enveloped reptile-like eyes and thin lips.

The man crouched before her and extended his long thin hands to her with a grin. She just stared at him wide-eyed, weary and frightened. She was in shock and traumatized.

"My, my…You've seen many things, haven't you, child."

The sinister man spoke softly, and Karin simply nodded her head faintly and sniffled, taking his hand and stood with the man. He had saved her. He was her savior. He was her means to survival and survival meant everything. Self preservation overall.

"If you come with me, no one will ever touch you again. I promise."

Karin watched the powerful man closely and her eyes widened at his statement, hopeful. He promised. Was this a blessing? Or a curse? Either way, it was an opportunity she could not turn down. She was completely alone. She had no allegiances. No one to go home to. No one to love her. She had to try. She had to be hopeful.

He lied.

A crimson eye cracked open anxiously from the dream and the other eye immediately followed once she realized she was laying on the ground, orange light shining in her face radiating warmth. The feeling of nausea hit her hard from deep in her gut. It was a dream, it's just anxiety, the redhead thought to herself... She shot up and whipped her head around, looking around frantically and was greeted with the sight of a sleeping Suigetsu beside her and a sleeping Jugo against a tree. Sasuke was nowhere to be found. Karin didn't even remember them setting up camp and falling asleep, next to Suigetsu out of all people no less. She felt around for her glasses and found them, putting the brown frames on to get a better view.

"What the…"

The redhead turned to the snoring water ninja and shook his muscular shoulder roughly, encouraging annoyed groans and curses from him. He ignored her, telling whoever it was that was brave enough to bother him to simply 'fuck off'.

"Suigetsu!"

The redhead had leaned over and shrieked into his ear, making him sit up roughly and growl, violent purple eyes looking at her.

"What the flying fuck is your problem, you damn psycho!"

The scream even managed to wake Jugo up, his eyes were open, but he didn't complain, he only let out a faint groan. Karin narrowed her eyes at her teammate and scooched away from the swordsman on the ground.

"What happened?! How the hell did I get here and where's Sasuke?!"

"Would ya quit yellin'?! Damn! First of all, you passed out on the way. And you say I'm lazy. Pft…
Second, I don't fuckin' know! Can I go back to sleep now or do I gotta knock you out?"

The white-haired man snarled at the redhead, dangerously glaring at her for having the audacity to wake him up from sweet, sweet slumber he so graciously earned after walking miles AND helping at setting wards and traps since Karin had apparently passed out on the way. The redhead returned the glare, completely unremorseful for waking her teammate up. She quickly stood up and stepped away from where she had been sleeping and crossed her arms over her chest. She wanted to know where her lover was. Where did he go? She couldn't feel his dark chakra anywhere, so unless he supressed it, he was gone. He wouldn't have left them to go fight Itachi by himself, would he? Of course, he would.

"Well, since you're so concerned with sleeping, I'll go find Sasuke myself then."

The redhead turned on her heels and turned her back to the sitting water ninja who rolled his purple eyes which soon softened, a little concerned gleaming. He sighed.

"Yeah, whatever. Just, be careful. Around him I mean."

Karin turned her head over her shoulder and narrowed her eyes, she seemed somewhat offended by Suigetsu's warning. This was the second time she had gotten a warning from the water ninja. Why was he so weary of Sasuke, he saved you!

"You and I aren't the same, Suigetsu. Sasuke would never harm me. You on the other hand…"

Sasuke would never harm her, she thought. Why would he? He had expressed some affection towards her, he always kept her close to him and although he never verbally stated it, he acted in ways that a lover would. She had read about it in books. She had witnessed it during her solitary travels. The subtle touches, the protective energy, the passion in his dark eyes, intimacy. He gave it all to her. This gave her all the evidence she needed to have to know he would never lay a finger on her. Never.

He needs her.

Suigetsu grumbled and scoffed, spitting to the side. The one time he tried to look out for her, she spat in his face.

"Whatever, let the guy fuck you up. See if I care."

He brusquely lied back down on his side with his back to her, indicating that he was done with the conversation as was Karin. Any conversation with Suigetsu was unpleasant for her. She had an unspoken bond with the sharp toothed man as teammates but on a personal level, they disliked one another.

The words 'be careful' lingered in the back of her mind as she began to walk away from the little makeshift camp to find her lover. It was still early enough that the sun hadn't rose yet and it was dark out. She focused as hard as she could to locate the smallest form of chakra around. Supressing chakra was easy to evade foes, but you could never truly supress all of it. Only death could completely hide someone's chakra, simply because it was no longer existent. The feeling of sensing chakra levels deplete until they were no more was one of the most frightening experiences. Just knowing, one day that could be you. One day that will be you. Karin feared nothing more than death itself. Because in death, you not only lose everything, but you lose yourself as well. That was something she had never experienced. Although Karin had lost everything and everyone dear to her numerous times, she had never lost herself.

Finally, as she was nearing his location, she felt the dark chakra, although very faintly, he had been supressing it. Clearly not using it. 11 o'clock. North-west. She turned in the direction and began walking at a fast pace. The closer she got, the more she could feel him and the closer she got, she could hear the whistling of his sword as it slashed through the air. And then she saw him, in a small clearing in the forest. He was training his form and his swordsmanship. Preparing for the fated battle between brothers. He was there in all his glory. His shirt was off, and she admired his back as he moved when he suddenly stopped and stood straight, stretching his neck.

"No one can hide from you, can they? Go back, Karin."

The sweat coated swordsman called out to her, his back always facing her. The redhead stopped in her tracks as she heard his voice. His voice was filled with darkness and a somber attitude. She frowned and resumed her approach, taking slow steps forward until she was in the clearing and could speak without shouting. He always did this. Always trying to push her away, but in the end, she always won.

"How many times do I have to tell you, Sasuke, quit ordering me around."

The redhead's pink lips curled into a small smirk before softening it into a small, genuine smile.

"I was worried about you."

It was true. Karin had been worried for a while now, witnessing her partner, her teammate start running down a dangerous and risky path of self destruction. He was losing it, she could tell. Something about him was off and it tore at her heart as all she could do was sit back and watch. Sasuke would be too stubborn and prideful to listen to her, he always had been. Damn that Uchiha pride.

The raven-haired man turned around to face his intruder. Although it was quite dark, Karin could see in the shadows from his dark hair that his sharingan was activated. Red orbs gleamed in the faintest of light despite the darkness that loomed behind them. The man took a few steps forward, his facial expression was hard to read as usual, his tone constantly neutral unless provoked. And right now, it didn't seem like he was, despite feeling his negative chakra. He approached until he was only half a meter away from her, his eyes clicked and shifted back to his dark obsidian orbs. With the faint light of the fading moon, Karin finally got a good look at her lover's face, and despite the tired and neutral expressions, he was handsome as ever in her eyes. He looked down at her with those eyes and unless her mind was playing tricks on her, she would swear she saw the faintest of frowns on his lips before he spoke. Karin raised her hand to place it on his cheek softly but was intercepted, he took hold of her wrist and pulled it away from his face and spoke.

"You fainted. Go back and rest."

The redhead was once again stunned by his words, he never ceased to surprise her… Was he truly showing concern for her? She opened her mouth to speak before the swordsman continued what he was saying.

"You're of no use to me unconscious."

Sasuke turned on his heel and walked away from her, leaving the redhead destroyed by his words. The brief hope of him giving a shit about her faded in just a second. It was like being hit in the stomach by the strongest of jutsus. She felt sick. He's sick. His words cut her deep nonetheless and she simply turned around. In frustration, she turned her head over her shoulder and spat her words out in a venomous tone.

"Open your eyes, Uchiha. Tunnel vision doesn't look good on you."

Karin wrapped her arms around herself in a weak hug as she fought back some tears and began to walk away after hearing Sasuke scoff at her words. Asshole. She made her way back to the camp in the cold early morning and found Suigetsu sleeping once again. Jugo was now sat at the fire, staring into the bright flames, awake. Karin walked over and sat across from the ginger-haired man and sighed. She lifted her crimson eyes, accentuated by the flames and she frowned at him.

"Sorry for waking you."

Jugo nodded in acknowledgement, never prying his eyes from the fire, not even surprised by the fact Karin of all people apologized. She wasn't known for being courteous, empathetic or even kind. She had a frozen heart and only one person could melt it. But she had a softspot for Jugo. His past resonated with her and she could relate a little. If anything, he had it worse than she did and she recognized that. He had also lost a lover and that also resonated with her, as she was somewhat losing hers. If she even had him to begin with.

"Are you alright?" He asked in a low but sincere tone. Karin nodded and lied down on her side, not willing to discuss what she just experienced with Sasuke. How she trekked all the way to where he was training for absolutely nothing, only to get turned away immediately. Always one step forward, two steps back with Sasuke and she hated it. The inconsistency frightened infuriated her. Karin's life was all but stable and for once, she wished she could have something stable. He was not the same as before. Karin hesitated when she opened her mouth and shut Jugo's question down, closing her crimson eyes and took in the warmth of the fire.

"I just…Need to rest."

It only took a few minutes before slumber took over her body and she drifted off, her strained relationship on her mind.

It had only been a couple of hours since Karin had returned to the little camp and fell asleep, the sound of chirping birds and daylight shining down into her face through the trees woke her up, not to mention Suigetsu loudly ranting about the lack of food. Hearing his shrill voice annoyed her but she couldn't logically complain since she woke him up herself in the middle of the night. She brushed it off, this time and cracked her ruby eye open before sitting up slowly. She noticed Sasuke was here now, sitting away from the team, Jugo was in the same spot and Suigetsu was pacing back and forth with a straw in his mouth, sipping on the last of his water, a groan escaping his lips. His purple eyes pondered on the bottle and then turned to the groggy redhead and debated berating her for waking him up in the middle of the night. But Karin was not one you messed with in the morning, so he stopped himself.

"Karin, get up. We're leaving. Now."

Sasuke's voice called out as he stood. Jugo followed and Suigetsu shot a water jutsu on top of the fire. Karin quickly gathered her bag and caught up to the team. It was too early, and she didn't feel well. Bad combination for an argument.

Tension filled the air as Team Hebi finally made their way to the hideout where Itachi was located.

Maybe once the deed was done, she and Sasuke would finally be able to talk.

She hoped.