Sakura wasn't sure how to feel about Karin. There was something... off about her. Something about how she interacted with Sasuke got her hackles up, making her uncomfortable in the woman's presence. His 'little shadow'? What was up with the nicknames? They were supposed to be old friends; had Sasuke not told Karin about her at all? She would have thought they'd have kept in touch.

"This is Sakura," Sasuke introduced, resting a hand on the small of Sakura's back in an attempt to coax her forward. Karin was harmless, that much he knew; she was just quirky sometimes. "My... partner." Was that the right way to describe it? Life partners made sense, and they were work partners. Partner had to be the most accurate description.

"Partner, huh?" Karin looked at Sasuke and wiggled her eyebrows, giggling. "I see. That's what partners do nowadays, hmm?" She pulled out a glass and turned on the tap, adding a couple of ice cubes before taking a few sips. "Well, either way, you two need some way to pass the time. Who am I to judge?" Another shrug, and she'd downed her glass of water, setting it aside.

"So. I knew that you were in trouble with the message you left, but you didn't leave much room for explanation. Shit, I'm surprised you invoked the hawk clause. Never would've thought we'd have to use it... at all." It was something that they'd come up with in high school after they'd started to go their ways in life. It was a clause that meant whenever they were in trouble, big trouble, they were reaching out for help. Suigetsu and Jugo knew it too. In high school, they'd referred to themselves as hawks: people who were outcasts, away from the main popular groups, whose watchful eye knew just about everything that was happening.

"Yeah. We... had to take things carefully and be on our guard." His fingers were absently tracing up and down Sakura's spine, noticing the tension in her posture. He could tell something was up, and he wanted to reassure her. Sakura was glad for the gesture, though it did little to alleviate her concerns. She remained quiet and withdrawn, opting to listen to the conversation between Sasuke and his old friend.

Sasuke launched into explaining the events as best he could; he covered the Akatsuki investigation, though he left Sakura's trauma out of the equation. He figured Sakura best told that rather than him. He covered what they'd found out, the number of victims, and how ROOT had come for them. By the time he'd finished explaining, Karin was rubbing her temples, eyes wide as she let out a hefty sigh.

"Damn. You got yourself in a real hellhole of shit, didn't you?" Karin sighed. "Well, no wonder you came all the way out here. You're just damn lucky Oto won't extradite you to Konoha even if they ask. Granted, I don't know if you'd be safe here, but for now, you should be fine." That much was a relief. Sasuke had come here on purpose because of that. Wherever was safest for Sakura was where he wanted them to be.

Sakura couldn't listen to the conversation any longer. "I... I'm going to go take a shower, okay?" Their day yesterday had been long and arduous, and today they'd worked up a sweat she wanted to wash off sooner rather than later. Sasuke frowned at her, concern brimming in his gaze as he did, but nodded and let her go. He'd check on her later. For now, he had things he wanted to iron out with Karin, who would be able to help them, at least a little.

Once Sakura had closed the door to one of the bedrooms, she let out the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. Something about Karin was making her tense, and she needed a moment away to clear her head and figure it out. A shower was always good for that sort of thing. She picked out some comfortable clothes and ducked into the bathroom, finding the shower and turning on the hot water. With her clothes off, she surveyed herself in the mirror, her eyes lingering on the scars left on her chest.

Closing her eyes, she could hear that sound again—the bang and then the deafness and ringing afterward. The searing pain, followed by numbness and confusion. But what stuck out to her now wasn't any of that. It was the look on his face when he'd found her, the expression he wore as he practically begged her to stay conscious. The way he talked her through everything as best he could, trying to maintain his composure. She'd seen it then in his face.

Fear.

Here she'd thought Sasuke Uchiha was fearless, but there was no mistaking it. She'd seen it in his eyes last night, too, when he'd tried to tell her that she had the right to make her own decisions. He'd been afraid, and she knew why. She understood why. All of these emotions were new not only to her but also to him, making their song and dance all the more passionate and loving in a sense. She'd thought then that there had been no other girls, but now she wasn't so sure. Why would Karin act that way toward him? Did she still harbour old feelings for him?

Sakura continued to contemplate as she stood under the hot water of the shower, glad for the warmth to clear her mind.

Karin scrutinized Sasuke in the kitchen, eyes narrowing at him as she strolled up, a sly smile on her features. Like before, she walked her fingers up his chest, like she was trying to be seductive. "So... when am I going to get a piece of this, hmm?" Sasuke was... confused. Did Karin not get it? Was she still hung up over him after all these years?

"You're not." His tone was firm and blunt, reaching for her hand and grasping her wrist firmly to pull it away. "There's a line, Karin. Find it." He could handle some of her flirting or teasing comments, but this was going over the line. Had he not been clear enough? That was a possibility.

"But you said she's just your partner," Karin pouted. "If your partner can have some of you, can't your old friend?" That right there confirmed it; Karin wasn't a disrespectful person, not like that. Heaving a sigh, he released her wrist and stepped back, pursing his lips.

"I didn't mean like that." The detective pinched the bridge of his nose. "She's..." Now he understood what Sakura meant that day when they talked about putting labels on their relationship. Nevertheless, it seemed there was only one way to describe it to Karin for now.

"She's my girlfriend." He didn't like how that sounded. Their relationship was so much more than that, although he'd yet to put anything more fundamental into it. Marriage was the last thing on his mind right now, and he was sure it was one of the last things on her mind, too. Perhaps once they reached a point that they could go back home, they'd be able to look at that.

"Your... did I hear you right? Did you say, girlfriend?" Karin's expression showed her surprise like she didn't believe a word that Sasuke was saying. "You? Sasuke Uchiha, the heartbreak king, has a girlfriend?" Oh, god, he'd hoped never to hear that nickname again. Girls liked to flirt with him, and he was never interested; he always kept them at a distance. Karin got a pass because she was also a friend, but even she went too far sometimes.

"Yeah. Girlfriend. Laugh it up, Sasuke Uchiha has a girlfriend." Now that he thought about it. "Wait. Suigetsu didn't tell you?"

Karin barked a laugh. "Suigetsu can't even remind himself to do his laundry. What makes you think he'd remember to tell me you had a girlfriend? And-wait, you told him, but not me?" Karin pretended to act offended, scoffing jovially. "How dare you. I am your closest female friend, and you can't even tell me you've got a pretty girl hanging off your arm!"

"Well, it's not like I planned it, and..." Sasuke sighed. "Things were... a little complicated, and still are." Which reminded him... he and Sakura had been effectively interrupted by Karin's appearance, and he could tell Karin's appearance, and subsequent flirting had put Sakura on edge.

"Well... Good for you," Karin replied with a smile. He could see her feelings were a touch hurt, but she seemed to understand. Had she still cared about him that deeply even though they'd been separated? He felt a little guilty about that, even though he knew he'd never return her feelings. Karin wasn't his type. Back then, he hadn't thought any girl was his type, but then Sakura came along.

"Thanks." He shifted awkwardly, hearing the shower water turn off. "Look, I... I want to chat and catch up, but-"

"You're worried about her." Karin smiled. "I can tell. I, uh... I'm sorry if I gave her the wrong impression. If you need anything, you know how to get in touch with me. I'll see if I can get in touch with Suigetsu and Jugo, and we'll see if maybe we can move you to somewhere a little less out of the way and maybe a bit... safer? More comfortable? I don't know. Either way, I'll try and come up with some more supplies." Of course, Karin didn't seem inclined to take her leave without one last thing. She stood up, reaching around to embrace Sasuke in a hug. "You two look after yourselves, okay?" She released Sasuke, moving around to approach Sakura, who was standing awkwardly in the hallway.

"Hey. Sakura, right? Do me a favour and look after this knucklehead. He might not look like it, but he's a reckless little shit when you let him." Karin chuckled as she could hear Sasuke groan behind her.

Sakura smiled at the redhead. "Yeah... I've seen it a few times." Despite his occasional recklessness, she still found him loving and protective. "You take care too, okay? And thanks for all the supplies." Karin nodded at the pinkette before moving to the door to put her shoes on, giving one final wave before she was off. Sakura felt... A little better after Karin had spoken to her. Sasuke must have talked her down and told her more details about their relationship.

Seeing Sakura standing awkwardly in the hall, Sasuke tentatively approached, hands in his pockets as he locked his gaze on her. Once he was in front of her, he reached a hand out, gently caressing her cheek and running a couple of fingers through her wet hair. "Everything okay?" He could sense she was still tense, and it was making him worry.

Sakura leaned into his hand, closing her eyes and fighting to hold back her emotions. Seeing Karin had reminded her that she was without her best friend. It'd reminded her that she wasn't going to see Ino and that she might not ever see her best friend again, depending on how things went. She would have to start a new life.

"We're never going to make it home, are we?" The reality was sinking in, and she hated it.

Sasuke gently shushed Sakura, reaching around to pull her into a tight hug. "We will, eventually. I don't know how long, but we will." He kissed the top of her head, then reached down and lifted her into his arms and carried her to the futon. "For now... Let's enjoy the warm fire, relax, and watch a movie." He wanted to do something to cheer her up... and he knew all too well how much she loved watching movies.

Of course... It wasn't long before the both of them fell asleep mid-movie, nestled together on the futon by the warmth of the fire.