A/N: Short, but a soft moment to cut through some of the angst. Plus, I like writing for Karin and Hideki. It's refreshing.
Later that night, Karin awoke to a sharp cramp and a parched throat. Bemoaning her horrible luck, she arose to both find water and to find a place to put in a tampon.
As she left the women's quarters, she noticed Hideki sitting in a tree a ways off, his head bowed. Frowning, she crept closer.
"Kid?" She asked, causing him to jump a bit. He looked over to meet her stare, wide-eyed. Already, he had dark circles forming. Not good. "What are you doing up so late? Nightmares?"
Shakily, he nodded. "Y- yeah, sorry."
"Don't worry, it happens." She brushed it off. "Do you need someone to talk to?"
"If it's not too much trouble." His voice was quiet and solemn.
Without another word, she hopped up into the tree, mission forgotten, and sat next to him.
"What's on your mind?" She softly inquired, noticing the haunted look in his eye.
"I've… been doing bad lately," he admitted. "The invasion… the deaths… they've been pretty triggering for me. It's been horrible for my own mental health. I can't muster up the courage to get out of bed in the morning most days because of my relapse."
Her eyes softened, and she wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "Don't beat yourself up over it, kid. It happens even to the best of us. We all have our triggers."
She paused before admitting, "Honestly, this experience has been wreaking havoc on me too."
He looked up.
She nodded her head. "I know, I know. Even Boruda has his bad days, you know. You and I have been lucky to have such a vast support system. For me, Tsunade was the best person to go to for help. Tough as she is, she's got some great advice for kicking away whatever's bugging you." Here, she got a solemn look on her face. "She would've been a great mom. Too bad she's stuck with a bunch of us kids to look after."
That seemed to do the trick for now, at least. Hideki giggled weakly at the wry joke, rubbing his eyes.
"I've been… feeling it for a while," he confessed, wrapping his arms around himself. "Up until a while ago, I've been… not so great to myself. I almost wanted to…" he trailed off, shaking his head. "But I've been able to push it down. I'm better now. Or at least, I want to be."
Karin's eyes widened a fraction. "You've been… dealing with suicidal thoughts all this time? And you didn't tell someone?!"
"I- I've been confiding a lot in Dai-chan!" He squawked, raising his arms in defense. "She's really been helping me stop thinking like that! And- and Boruda-san, too!"
Shaking away her initial shock, she sighed and patted his shoulder. "Don't worry, kid, I'm not mad. I was… real shocked, sure, but I'm proud that you've been taking steps to deal with that. That line of thinking… really screws up a lot of us. I'm glad you know you have people to talk to."
"It wasn't easy in the beginning, being new and all," he admitted, a shy flush to his cheeks as he looked up at her. "But… but I hope it isn't too forward of me to say that you're one of them, Uzumaki-san."
A sense of pride (and a tinge of gratitude) welled up in her chest at the remark. She smiled softly at him, squeezing his shoulder. "That means a lot. Thank you, Sato."
"I mean it," he insisted. "Our conversations have really helped me heal. Not just from my problems before, but… but with the present issues at hand."
She had to fight hard to push down the embarrassed pride she felt, but when she shifted and felt something wet on her leg, she remembered what she was out to do.
Cursing silently, she rose from the tree. "Sorry, kid, I just remembered I had something urgent to do. I'm not meaning to be rude, but…"
"No, no, go," he shook his head with a small smile. "Thank you for taking the time to talk to me."
"Any time. Any time you need to talk to someone, know you can reach out to me too. I know Daitan and Boruda have been real gems, but I want you to rely on me too." She said. "I care about you too, y'know."
"I'll take you up on that offer," he replied with a soft chortle.
She gave him a fond look for a moment before hopping down from the tree, hurrying away to the restrooms.
"Mom, are you watching?" She thought to herself with a sense of elation. "Are you proud of how far I've come without you? I really… feel more accomplished. Maybe I can help someone else overcome their obstacles, just like you always knew I could."
A/N: Please tell me what you thought!
