A/N: Ha, puns. This was the Valentine's post. Enjoy!


The next morning was overcast, and for a while Karin feared that it would rain. They'd just gotten a good supply of firewood into a building that stood as a storehouse, and if it did then a lot of their hard work would be ruined, as the building had a very leaky roof they had yet to patch.

She heaved a sigh as she sat down on the fountain in the square, the broken stone digging uncomfortably into the back of her legs.

"So much to do in such little time," she mused to herself. "We've got to hurry and stabilize the village before a faction breaks off for the big plan, but supplies are already low and we can't really afford to spare many agents to pick some up from a trusted satellite village, given the ones on probation and the number of able-bodied people we need to work here."

She glanced up, seeing a few young women in trousers and ratty shirts working together with Sumire and Shizune to steady a new wall (likely for a makeshift clinic) while someone with an Earth Nature was sitting atop a sizable pillar of earth hammering away at some nails.

She smiled mirthfully. "I knew she would jump at the chance to help… She won't be a good candidate to go for supplies; plus we need all the medical agents we can until the villagers can be trained up and we can do a proper chakra nature test for the young ones…"

"Hi, Karin!" Hideki chirped, collapsing onto the stone next to her with a tired smile. "Whew, I'm beat."

"Has Boruda been working you too hard?" She chuckled, pulling a handkerchief out of her pocket and handing it to him. "Trust me, he likes to seem tough on the outside, but on the inside he's a total teddy bear."

"Oh I know that," he replied with a laugh, dabbing his sweaty face with the fabric. "He brings me lunch every day. He kind of reminds me of one of my uncles, he was big and muscle-y too."

"You have uncles?" She was genuinely surprised as she turned to face him.

"I used to," he shrugged with a frown. "But they all got enlisted to fight years ago when Konoha was fighting with Oto. They all died in an explosion."

"Oh," her voice softened and she stared at him in concern. "I'm… so sorry about that."

"Don't worry, it was so long ago that it honestly doesn't affect me anymore." He smiled, holding out the handkerchief. "Do you want this back? I can wash it."

"No, it's alright. Keep it." She nodded to him, a fond look crossing her face for a moment. "I have a feeling you'll need it more than me."

"You're a scout, right?"

She nodded. "I'm surprised you remembered."

"I- well," he blushed in embarrassment, turning away to shyly look at the ground. "I like to memorize things about… about special people to me. Like what they do, or what they like."

Karin blinked for a moment before her eyes softened at the boy.

"I like helping people," he continued to speak, smiling at the ground. "It feels good to make people happy, and… and if I can maybe make someone's day brighter, then that's all I need to make myself happy."

"Sato-san…" Her voice was quiet, a whisper afraid to break the atmosphere.

"If I can make people smile, then…" he trailed off, a wistful, sorrowful expression darkening his face. "... then maybe I can feel better about myself. Like I did something right."

"Oh, kid," she sighed, hesitantly reaching out to grasp his shoulder. When he looked up at her, she tried her best to smile at him. "You're doing great, okay? You're making the best of a difficult situation, and I know we're all proud of you for it."

The pink flush to his cheeks returned, and he shyly glanced down for a moment before meeting her eyes again.

"Besides, you can't be expected to be happy all the time. It just isn't human." She continued. "But I am proud of you for adapting so quickly and making friends. You've already befriended Akiyama-san, right?"

At the mention of the girl, his face brightened and his shoulders straightened. "Yeah! She's so strong. And kind. It's been real fun babysitting the kids with her; she has a way of calming them down when they get too rowdy. I really… I really admire her." He finished, looking down as his freckled cheeks lit up brighter.

"Aw, how cute. He must have a crush." Karin smiled to herself and squeezed his shoulder.

"I don't want her to get hurt… I mean, losing her entire family in one day? That's seriously messed up." At this, his face fell and he sighed. "It's been challenging to get everyone's spirits up, especially since the village is still broken. I'm really worried about her, Uzumaki-san. I don't want her to relapse… or worse."

"I feel you on that one, kid. I'm worried too," she confessed, letting go of his shoulder. "I can't tell you how many nightmares I've had of… awful, awful things befalling the group. Ayame-sama dying, my comrades getting jailed or executed… hell, even about myself dying. This village getting torched again is no exception. Once you've tasted death, it's hard to rinse out of your mouth."

"You too?" He questioned quietly.

"My parents." Karin got a grim look on her face as she turned her body back to a natural sitting position, her arms braced on her knees. "My father was a scientist and my mother was a medic-nin. One year a famine went through the area we lived in and the majority of us died. Only I was left. I eventually ended up in Oto, starving and homeless, until Orochimaru picked me up. I joined Orochimaru at age ten because of my own abilities because of my heritage, a decision which I'll always regret with every fiber of my being."

Hideki listened raptly, a horrified, sad frown on his face.

"He selected me as a spy and when I was seventeen sent me and another to Konoha, where I joined the royal household as a maid and my partner offered his services as a doctor," she continued. "On my very first day, I tripped over my own two feet and very nearly splattered a tray of cake on the floor, but the prince caught me and told me to be more careful. I was smitten. But he was three years younger than me, and the difference in our statuses meant it was never to be."

"I still pined for him, though he never returned my feelings. I actually found that one of my cousins, Naruto, was there, and it was comforting knowing I had at least one family member there." She chortled at the memory, nudging Hideki playfully. "He was a lot like you, y'know. Energetic, optimistic, full of youthful vibrancy."

"Really?" The boy perked up at that.

"Really." She gazed at him, a wistful smile on her face. "He would've really liked you. He made friends everywhere he went, even if he had to annoy the hell out of them first. My mother often said that Cousin Kushina was exactly like that in their youth, too."

"Wow…" he breathed. "But… but what about Mimei? If you were working for the bad guy…"

"It took me a few weeks, but I eventually met Aika, who was one of the queen's handmaidens at the time." She scanned the area until she could see the woman sitting alongside a small child, teaching her sign language. "She was the one who convinced me to defect from Oto and join Mimei."

Her eyes turned sad. "I remember she had the loveliest voice. She originally came from Wind Country, and before she was wounded she could use her chakra to enhance her voice in order to manipulate any who heard it. Shortly after we met, she was wounded… and thanks to the queen, she can never speak again."

"Why… why did she hurt her?" The boy looked confused and hurt. "I thought Queen Mikoto was kind."

"She is kind," the redhead agreed. "Which is why I just can't figure out why she'd do it. Aika refuses to talk- er, sign about it, but apparently she met someone she wasn't supposed to, and he threatened to kill her for real if she ever told anyone about him."

Hideki looked torn between sympathy and anger as he glanced back and forth from Karin to Aika, who was smiling at the child. "What… that… that's awful!"

"It's all thanks to Ayame-sama that she even lives now," Karin sighed. "She was able to heal much of the damage to her throat, but her vocal chords were ruined. If she tries to speak, she has horrible pain. Chakra doesn't help."

The boy stared at the woman until she looked up. She smiled at them and waved, and the little girl with her beamed, showing off her missing front tooth.

"All of you are so brave," he breathed, looking back at Karin. "I can't even imagine… the amount of pain you've all gone through."

"Which is why you can't give up hope," she replied, gently resting her hand on his shoulder again. "You aren't going through it alone, Sato-san. We're all here to support you when you need to fall back. Don't ever think you're a burden, alright? Because you aren't. And we'll all make sure that sticks with you until you can believe it wholly yourself."

He tried to smile, his eyes watering. "I… I'll try. Thank you, I'll try."

"It's not easy, but you'll have to fake it until you can make it." She encouraged with a warm look. "You're strong, I can feel it. I'll be there every step of the way to support you."

He rose his hand to cup hers, a smile of admiration brightening his face as he blinked away tears. "Y- yeah!"

Aika watched this exchange from several feet away, a serene smile on her own face. The little girl had run off a little before, having noticed one of her friends, and now she was alone.

"He's such a caring boy," she thought to herself, propping up her chin in her hand, balancing her elbow on her thigh. "Perhaps this will ease her into accepting the new recruits. Already I can sense a change."

She looked up when someone sat next to her, and she scooted closer to Shinji when she realized it was him, a content expression on her face.

"He's quite a kid, isn't he?" His voice was quiet, contemplating, as she folded her hands in her lap.

She nodded.

"Really gives me hope for the next generation," he continued, glancing down at her hands. "But he's just… so innocent. I can't imagine him fighting with us. It feels… kind of disquieting to have a kid on board."

She nodded once more, reaching up to sign to him. "(A dash of naivete is refreshing, yet it is also worrying. I fear his morale will plummet once he's forced to fight.)"

His face darkened, and he nodded slowly. "I remember the first time I watched one of my comrades die. I… really wasn't the same after that. It messed me up. And I was seventeen when it happened; I can't imagine a fifteen-year-old child having to watch his friends die."

She frowned, reaching for his hand. When she threaded her fingers through his, he flinched for a moment, but relaxed when she squeezed.

Something in his visible eye didn't feel quite right, but she ignored the feeling as he turned back to the two, his cheeks lighting up in a pink blush.

"I have faith," he murmured so quietly she almost missed it. "... but even now I fear it may not be enough."

"I can't afford attachments… but it feels so nice. This feels soothing. I only hope it doesn't hurt too badly once this comfortable atmosphere ends."


Ino sighed for the umpteenth time as they rushed through the trees together. "I feel horrible just leaving her there."

"Even if we could have taken her, she would fare better with Neji right now because one, he's her husband, and two, she is the only one who can reliably calm him down," Shikamaru pointed out. "Besides, she's pregnant. I highly doubt having a baby in camp would be a good idea considering the turbulent political climate right now."

"Ah, he's right," she thought glumly. "I hate it when he's right."

"Hey, at least we'll be in contact." He shrugged. "If she needs us, for some reason, we can always go back and get her."

She nodded. "I guess."

He studied his childhood friend for a moment before turning away.

She'd always been so compassionate, especially to her friends. Since Tenten was older and more mature, she'd latched to her immediately upon meeting her and the two were very close. Tenten treated her like the little sister she'd always claimed to want, and Ino found solace in having a big-sister figure in her life. Even after she got married, the two remained close. Ino was one of the first to know she was pregnant, and the blonde had been ecstatic for her good friend.

He supposed it was only in her nature to worry; after losing Sakura and Hinata, she was bound to be paranoid of losing the only remaining girl friend she had left. It didn't help matters that Tenten was only a month pregnant and that her husband was a part of an important clan. Should anything happen to force Tenten out, given her status beforehand as a no-name orphan adopted by Captain Gai…

He frowned. No, Neji would never abandon her. Sometimes he swore up and down that Tenten and Neji were soulbound to one another, the way they just clicked. While Tenten was upbeat and headstrong, Neji was silent and calculating. She had also garnered quite the reputation as the mistress of weapons; due to her not being very adept at ninjutsu, she'd trained herself in taijutsu and in weaponry, and was the best in her field. Neji was utterly smitten with her, even now; he found it hard to believe that he'd just leave her to fend for herself if their marriage were dissolved by the council of elders.

It was relieving to hear that any letters to her could be sent via one of the summoners at camp. He'd come to care for her too, in his own way. The last thing he wanted was for one of their own to get hurt in the crossfire.

"I hope we can end this quickly," he thought, staring at Kisame's back as they jumped from tree to tree. "Whatever the capital has brewing… it's not gonna end well unless we strike first."


A/N: Please tell me what you thought!