A loud flop resonated through the chamber. The sound of water droplets trickled to the floor, creating a large puddle around her feet. The sound of a chair rotated with a squeak and round glasses glimmered, hiding the eyes of the silver haired man behind them, a smirk grew on his lips and he crossed his arms. Such a vile man. He looked the redhead standing before him up and down and licked his lips before peering down at the incapacitated man. White hair. Sharp teeth. She managed to retrieve Suigetsu Hozuki with the help of Sasuke Uchiha, not knowing it was all a ruse on the Uchiha's part. That sly devil.
"I've returned our test subject."
Karin bowed her head in respect of her superior, Kabuto Yakushi. She hated addressing him with such respect when really, she wanted him dead. Years ago, she was the test subject. She was his guinea pig. A guinea pig that was helpless and at his mercy. A guinea pig he could do whatever he pleased with and she could not say a word, because if she did, she would die. And if there was one thing Karin valued more than anything, it was her life. Self-preservation.
Two other lackeys were in the room as they awaited the return of Suigetsu. Immediately with the snap of Kabuto's fingers, the lackeys rushed to the water ninja's body and lifted it, taking it up some stairs and opened the water tank, dumping his body inside. Like dropping a fish in it's bowl. They locked the tank and were sent away. Dark obsidian orbs planted themselves to her. The silver-haired man stood up from the chair with a smile. He took some steps towards the redhead and stopped close before her. He was taller. She stared forward, at his neck, refusing to look him in his eyes. He raised a hand, bringing it to her cheek which he stroked softly, leaning down to speak into her hair, warm breath brushing her ear softly as ever.
"You did good, my sweet. But…"
His hand stroked her jaw before his wrist snapped, like a whip cracking the air, he wrapped his fingers around her neck and forced her to look up at him, his silver eyebrows were furrowed and he had a vehement look in his eye, eyes she could see behind the lenses now. She stifled a cough and instinctively gripped his wrist.
"If this ever happens again…Punishment will be inevitable. Am I-"
"It was my fault."
Kabuto aggressively released Karin's throat after hearing the deep voice come from behind her and she coughed into her elbow, stumbling back, before turning around. Sasuke. Kabuto glared at the raven-haired man who stood in the doorway, looking smug as always.
"Was it now? Well. See as it doesn't happen again. We can't afford losing this one."
Kabuto turned and scoffed, returning to his chair, and swiveling to face the computer screen before him, waving his hand for them to leave him alone. He cursed quietly, knowing full well he had no power over the Uchiha. The redhead rubbed her neck softly and obeyed, quickly exiting and shutting the door behind her, stepping into the hallway with her savior. Weak and tired red eyes looked up at him. He was so handsome…
Before she could speak, her wrist was grabbed and she was being dragged rather forcefully down the hall and to the living quarters wing. He took her into a room and closed the door behind them and she stumbled into the room after yanking her arm away from him, confused.
"W-what do you think you're doing?!"
Her cheeks were a shade of pink and her inner self squealed pathetically about being in a room alone with him. He began to approach her slowly, like a predator stalking it's prey, she slowly walked backwards until a thump was heard. Trapped. Her back was against the wall. Next thing she new, in one swift motion, Sasuke had his hands planted into the wall on both sides of her head, caging her in. Sinister obsidian eyes looking into her crimson ones. He was so close.
"Did you mean what you said?"
The redhead's lip quivered, and she stammered. "I say a lot of things…Be specific?"
"The river. If someone stronger than Orochimaru came along, you would follow them."
"O-of course. If…Said someone wanted me." Her crimson eyes went from his eyes, to his lips and then back to his eyes. Be normal. Be normal, Karin.
"Good." He said huskily, lowering his head closer to her face, now feeling his warm breath against her face. The only breath she didn't mind. He was the only one who could touch her without repulsing her. She bit her lip.
"Thanks, for earlier, by the way…I won't thank you for Suigetsu though. Don't ever leave me to carry a grown man by myself again."
The raven-haired man replied with a 'tsk' and pecked her lips but broke away before she could respond. He went to the door and opened it, looking over his shoulder, he spoke the last words she heard him speak for a long time.
"I'll come back for you."
A soft knock on the wooden frame of the sliding door woke the sleeping woman inside, waking her up almost immediately, red eyes cracking up and a yawn escaping her lips. Karin was a light sleeper. She always had to be, always having to be alert, but somehow, whenever she shared a bed with the Uchiha, he always seemed to escape her without any notice. He was nowhere to be found in the room. A female's voice came from behind the sliding door.
"Karin, are you awake? I wanted to know if you wanted some breakfast."
'Tamaki. Why'd you have to wake me up and pull me out of a precious memory…' The redhead sat up and and rubbed her head, brushing some unruly red hair out of her face and reached over to put her brown glasses on. Did she oversleep?
"Depen- I mean, yes. Yes please."
The redhead called out to the door. Be nice. Be nice. Be nice. She gave you valuable information that you still need to dig into! Karin rolled out of the bedroll and got up and got dressed as fast as she could. She ran a hand through her tangled crimson hair and decided 'fuck it', who needs a hairbrush? She gathered her stuff and tore the cloak from the hanger and slid out of the room, heading for the living area she was in the night before. Jugo was sat at the kotetsu with a cup of tea. 'Where the hell is fish breath? And more importantly, where's my soulmate?'
"Morning, Jugo."
The large man smiled at Karin and nodded his head in acknowledgement. She dropped her bag down and sat down, letting her legs slide underneath the kotetsu, the warmth clinging to her legs. It felt nice. She let out a sigh and crossed her arms on the table and rested her head on her arms, when the sliding doors from the kitchen slid open and Tamaki came out with two plates of food. Eggs, bacon, sliced apple and bread. That was fast. She slid one place to Jugo and the other to Karin before plopping down near Karin with a bright smile.
"A nice hearty breakfast, just as ordered!"
'I didn't order anything, you offered.' The redhead thought in her head but lifted her head and accepted it. It was the best looking food she'd seen since those sandwiches at the inn.
"Thank you."
Karin and Jugo spoke in unison, making the brunette giggled, waving her hands.
"No, no! It's my pleasure! Granny always taught me to treat guests with the upmost care."
So ordinary. Karin and Jugo ate their food in silence, being famished, it only took a few minutes to finish everything off. The redhead had poured herself a cup of tea and downed in within seconds, letting out a satisfied sigh. Tamaki watched both eat, slightly disturbed but brushed it off, sipping her own tea when the other woman addressed her.
"So, last night." The redhead swallowed and kissed her teeth. "You said you were surprised that Sasuke was over someone. Who is this…someone?"
Jugo lowered his head, wanting no part in this. Tamaki glanced over at the ginger and then back at Karin, raising a brunette eyebrow, tapping her chin and looking up at the ceiling.
"Jeez…It's been a while, I forgot her name…"
"Her."
"Yeah…Sa…"
The redhead leaned in, pupils dilated, waiting for her to answer the damn question. 'What are you, senile?! Gimme the name!'
"Sak-"
Karin leaned in more, now on her knees but before Tamaki could answer, just like the night before, she was interrupted by a rushing Suigetsu, barreling in through a sliding door loudly, startling the redhead and made her fall forward onto the tatami floor. 'What the fuck!'
"C'mon you two, we're leavin'. Orders from the head dick in charge himself."
Jugo obeyed, glad to be getting out of the tension filled room. One sided tension. Karin as a whole was tension. The ginger thanked the brunette girl and walked out of the room, wrapped in the purple curtain and his pack in hand. Karin wasn't finished though. She was not leaving here without at least a name.
"Suigetsu, you idiot! I was having a lovely conversation with Tamaki, how dare you interrupt her, it's rude!" She sat back up and her red eyes intently gazed at the brunette. "As you were saying?"
Tamaki's eyes were wide, and she swallowed hard. These people are crazy… Karin blinked. Suigetsu was walking over towards her and took her arm and tugged her backwards to get her to stand and come with him. He whispered, "You're scarin' her."
"I-I think her name was Sakura. Um…W-well, I wish you all good luck! Give my regards to Sasuke!"
The brunette shot up from the kotetsu and giggled nervously, quickly picking up the dirty dishes from the table and rushed to the kitchen, hoping they'd just leave, and they did. The redhead stood up and abruptly yanked her arm out from Suigetsu's hold. The name was ringing through her head and she was so distracted by it that she didn't remember to curse Suigetsu out for touching her. She growled under her breath and pushed the white-haired man aside and left the residence.
Sakura.
Karin and Suigetsu found their way out of the long maze of hallways without any trouble or even the need of the ninja cats. Karin had managed to locate Sasuke and Jugo's chakras outside on the street and used it to navigate her way out of the halls. They didn't even say goodbye to Granny Cat who was probably still sleeping, how sad.
The two stepped out of the dark entrance and into the hazy gray street of the abandoned city. The scent of the area was putrid and downright depressing. It was gross. The smell was even worse at it had rained during the night and the air heavy and humid. The group put on their black cloaks they'd acquired from Granny Cat and Sasuke began leading the way out of the city.
"Let's get out of here and then we'll discuss the plan."
The raven-haired man spoke in a low tone as team Hebi made their way out of the abandoned city. Jugo carried the heavier bag of supplies as well as his own while everyone else carried their own bags. At the speed they moved, it only took a dozen of minutes to get out and to get away from prying eyes and open ears. Sasuke was smart enough to know to not speak about his plans in front of common bandits who would sell their souls for money. They could take his information and run. Now they were out and in private, Sasuke gathered the team together and began to speak.
"We will split up and search for leads on Itachi's location." He looked his team over and saw the look in Karin's eyes. Splitting up and being left alone, it scared her and he could tell. He could also tell she was putting up a strong front, trying her best to hide the anxiety she was feeling. He averted his gaze and continued. "It's more efficient that way. Visit the neighboring towns and ask around. Get as much information as you can." He took a map from his pack and unrolled it, pointing to their location. "We are here. We will back up-"He slid his finger to a small town and pressed his finger on top. "Here. In a week. It should be enough time to gather leads."
The group nodded in agreement and Sasuke rolled the map up and shoved it back into his bag.
"Head out." He said in an authoritarian tone.
"Aye-aye, captain!" Suigetsu called out with a smirk, dashing out in a flash, followed by Jugo, leaving Karin alone with Sasuke. Just what she wanted. Now was her chance, no interruptions. She had been thinking all morning, she needed to ask her questions now. At least some of them. She shimmied over to his side and grabbed his arm, hugging it to her chest and looked up at him. Seduce. She went for it.
"Well, looks like we're all alone, Sasuke. Think we could… Spend a bit of time together before we go?"
The raven-haired man didn't push her away, but he looked down at the redhead on his arm and raised and sighed.
"No."
Aaand, crash. Karin released his arm and stepped out to stand before, her crimson eyes were lit up by the sunlight, making it look like her eyes were on fire. She truly wasn't an ugly girl. She looked up at him and sighed softly, biting her lower lip.
"We need to talk. Please, Sasuke."
Sasuke closed his alluring obsidian eyes and suppressed a groan, shaking his head slowly, annoyed with her once again. He was starting to think she was becoming more trouble than he ever expected her to be.
"I said no, Karin. We have a mission to do."
He turned his back to her and began to walk away from her, leaving her standing there alone and it was breaking her heart. Why couldn't he just give her the time of day. Five minutes was all she needed. Something.
"Sasuke! Who's Sakura?"
She had to do it. If he wasn't going to listen to her pleas, she would just have to ask. Karin called out to the man who was walking away from her. The man who just dismissed her for a mission that benefitted him only.
Hearing that name froze him in his tracks. He stopped any movement he was making, and his heart sank, he felt it. He blinked at the ground for a moment. Now HE had questions. How did she know about Sakura? What else does she know? Why does she even care, it doesn't involve her? At first, he felt sadness. It wouldn't be long for that sadness to turn to anger. Boiling hot anger. He dangerously glared at the ground and growled his words out from the back of his throat.
"None of your damn business."
Karin began to walk forward to get closer. Now she was starting to get angry, as usual. This happened every time she tried to conversate with him on a deeper level.
"No, it is my business! You can't just keep acting like we're nothing! That night you got me away from Kabuto, the night I brought Suigetsu back, I told you if someone stronger came along, I would leave Orochimaru for them, IF they wanted me. You came. You want me… We're not nothing!"
Sasuke began to walk away once again while Karin was speaking, clearly, he was ignoring her and wasn't interested in hearing her confession or anything she had to say for that matter. The redhead stared at his back for a moment, astonished that he was just brushing her off like this, when she's trying to pour her heart out to him. Her words were falling on deaf ears, in one ear and out the other. Dehumanizing. She wouldn't stand for it. The frustrated redhead dashed forward and grabbed his arm to stop him and he turned, facing her. Mistake. When he turned, he had blinked and his eyes had gone from the alluring dark obsidian to a blood red, His sharingan was activated and it frightened Karin, freezing her in place. He was pissed. He spoke in a cruel and brutal tone, highlighting the anger he was feeling. He took Karin mentioning Sakura's name as an attack and it was embarrassing. He had told her multiple time to stay focused on the mission and she was not listening.
"We ARE nothing. WE are on a mission where emotions have no place. I TOLD you this. I will say this one last time, Karin. Drop it."
He was seething and Karin took it as her cue to shut her mouth. She was smart enough not to keep pushing the boundaries. She knew he wouldn't harm her, but she was starting to strike a soft spot and for his sake, she would break her own heart for him to be okay. She was devoted to this man. He was all she had now, at the end of the day. She let her head lower and hang down, red locks falling over her face and hiding the tears that welled in her eyes. A defeated sigh escaped her lips and she shook her head. She was heartbroken, and Sasuke could see this.
The swordsman reverted his eyes after a single blink, changing them back from the sharingan back to his black ones. This was giving him a headache and he had some information to get. If one could dive into his emotions that were tucked away deep inside the dark heart of his, they would see that he genuinely cared about the broken woman before him. She was crazy, broken, annoying and troublesome but she was loyal. Karin would be loyal to her own derision, it was undeniable. He cared.
"Karin."
He whispered, looking down at her, he watched her lift her head up to look at him, her eyes were blood shot and full of tears. The man sighed and poked her forehead.
"Go."
The raven-haired man didn't smile or frown but he gave her the faintest of smirks before he made a hand seal and disappeared in a flash, leaving a cloud of smoke behind where he stood. He had poked her forehead. Affection? Karin didn't know how to feel after that. She was heartbroken that he wouldn't give her a chance to speak, but relieved that he showed her a small amount of affection and most of all, he didn't harm her. She took a deep breath and wiped the tears away and whispered lightly before she would set out for the neighboring village.
"I love you."