Another Chapter is here!
Enjoy!
A lingering, agonizing ache made itself known to Karin as she slowly stirred awake in a room unfamiliar to her. Everything hurt at the moment, even her fingers grasping for something that wasn't there. But she had experienced far worse from the Seal of Subjugation, leaving her grateful that its markings no longer covered her body.
She took a moment to just breathe, letting the aches settle a bit. Then she sat up… or at least she tried to. Her hands were bound to the railing of the medical bed. They were the sort of straps that Orochimaru and Kabuto used to keep subjects pinned down so they could operate on them, usually after drugging them if it didn't compromise the purpose of the procedure.
Panic began to set it at the thought that they had claimed her and she activated her Mind's Eye. Numerous chakra signatures were close to her, some layered in shells and veils of Yin chakra to hide themselves. One had an intricate mesh of medically-refined Yang chakra covering their body in a pattern that she didn't think was possible, as if threading each cell of her body individually while connected to a point on her forehead.
Still, she recognized most of the signatures to an extent. One of them was the Hokage and the other was Gama, so she wasn't back in a Hidden Sound base. And, sending her awareness across the village further, she picked up the warm and sunny chakra belonging to the boy she had grown soothingly close to.
Karin let loose a breath she didn't realize she had been holding. She relaxed, giving her mind enough time to remember everything that happened—from the Invasion to the man visiting her Happy Place. That was when the door to the room opened.
Gama entered, wearing the Hokage's appearance in a Transformation. The disguise was flawless on the surface, from the height and frame of the body to the wrinkles on his face. Even that stern look that he was wearing seemed natural. "Can you speak?"
"Yes, Gama-san," Karin said.
He paused for a moment. Then he sighed, dropping the disguise to reveal his appearance as a man with big, white hair. "The name's Jiraiya, for the record, and it's actually a bit frightening how easily you saw through that."
"I can sense the Hokage's chakra signature on the other side of the mirror with someone else," she said. "It's a lot less than when I was last awake, but I recognize it. That's the one thing you can't change, even if your disguise looks perfect."
He looked towards the one-way mirror, where the Hokage was. "Huh. And who else can you sense?"
"There are five signatures besides yours and his that are close to me. Two are in the room with him, one in a hidden panel above this room, one in a compartment below my bed, and one in the corner, under a concealment technique." She gestured her head to the corner of the room. "That one I recognize as the one who watched over me the most often when I was staying at the Inn."
"That's quite a gift you've got at your age," he said, sounding slightly intrigued. "Chakra-sensing usually takes a long time to refine. Even then, there's usually a bloodline or medium of some kind, like a seal or device."
"It was a fluke I was born with," she said. "It used to be on all the time until my home was attacked and I started being able to turn it on and off. I wasn't lying when I said that happened to the Hokage. I just left out that Orochimaru took an interest in me because of my hair and killed the men who were trying to take me instead."
"A lie of omission is still a lie," he pointed out. "If we had known ahead of time about his other agent, Kabuto Yakushi, a lot of needless deaths could have been avoided. Why didn't you tell anyone?"
"If you were in my shoes, and it wasn't your home that was attacked, would you have done it?" she asked. "I've seen what Grass does with spies and Orochimaru told me about your interrogation methods. Would you really have offered me the chance to stay in the village if I confessed everything?"
"… Yes," he said, after a moment of thought. "We've already done it for one of his former agents. She was younger than you when we found her abandoned by him."
Her throat felt dry at hearing that. "Then why couldn't you have found me sooner? Before he found me? Maybe then I could have had a happy life."
A slight grimace formed on his face at that. "We can't be everywhere. Believe me, I've seen my share of orphans that deserved better than they got. It's an unfortunate fact, especially during wartime."
"I get that." She shook her head slowly. "It was bad luck that my home was destroyed, and then the one who saved me from being sold off was someone who was your worst enemy. It was good luck that Naruto decided to save me instead of someone else, showing me I had family. Luck and timing—those are what determines how things play out a lot of the time."
"…We're getting off-track," Jiraiya decided. "Despite what Orochimaru told you, we're willing to settle for talking at present."
She shrugged. "There's no reason for me to hide anything anymore. What do you want to know?"
"What made you decide to change your plans?" he asked. "Naruto's report mentioned that you had taken Byakko and fled before the Invasion began. He said that you were supposed to capture him but wouldn't."
"I didn't want him to suffer," she said. "Naruto has a way of worming into your heart by being so trusting and sweet, despite everything that he's been through. Kabuto gave me the details about his life. They're in the seal if you want to see."
He nodded. "I already managed to get that out when I sealed the Cursed Mark… It was a lot more detailed than we liked. But go on."
She fought off a yawn before she continued. "I… had a pretty good idea what they were going to do to Naruto if I went through with it, and decided I wasn't going to put him through that. But I knew the consequences of spying, so I didn't say anything. Since it was made clear that failure would get me punished as well, there was no home for me to go to either."
"So you decided to run?" he guessed.
Her red hair swayed as she nodded. "I figured I'd run when I got the chance during the chaos. I'd dye my hair, suppress my chakra, and start over somewhere else. I wanted Naruto to come with me, but I understood he loved this village too much to even consider it. It was just easier to disappear."
"With Byakko that would have been possible." He crossed his arms. "But I'm guessing you felt Naruto's chakra on the way out?"
"He entered my sensing range with several Sound shinobi after," she said. "Think about it. Naruto, a Genin for a few months, against Hidden Sound agents, fully-grown men trained to kill by Orochimaru and likely equipped to capture him. I couldn't just run away, and, while his group did well in fending them off, that last would have gotten him if I hadn't…"
Karin trailed off as she yawned. "I'm sorry," she said. "I'm still a bit tired, but that's the gist of why I came back. What else do you want to know?"
There was a tap on the glass before he could ask anything else. It was a signal of some kind. He nodded to it and then turned back to her.
"Get some rest," he said firmly. "We'll talk later."
"If you're going to send me back to Grass after this is over, tell Naruto there was a complication in sealing the Cursed Mark and I died," she said abruptly. "They'll kill me anyway, and I don't want him to feel badly about the village when he loves it so much."
"Grass has turned you over to the Leaf's custody with everything that's happened, so you don't have to worry about being sent back." He left the room with that said.
Karin laid her head down against the pillow and closed her eyes. Her Mind's Eye focused on Naruto's chakra in the distance. He was safe and sound after all of that, which was the best she could hope for. Yet, chances were they'd never let her see him again….
If he wanted to see her again, given everything she done. Tears began to trickle down from the corners of her eyes at the thought, only to stop when she fell back asleep. Back to the dreams that comforted her where reality wouldn't.
[0-0-0]
"Sorry about before," Naruto said to Hiruzen Sarutobi, in regards to running off when he learned of his teammate's fate.
It was a short time after Jiraiya's brief questioning with Miss Uzumaki. He had called it off after that because it had given him an idea on her sensory abilities, and how to deal with her. The rest of the information of value had already been obtained while she slept, courtesy of the Yamanaka Clan—not that she needed to know that.
"I understand, Naruto," he said. "Just don't make a habit of it. You do have to live up to the standards of being a Chuunin now that I'm lifting the restriction of keeping quiet on the subject."
The boy nodded.
"Now then, we have a few things to discuss regarding your promotion. Kakashi, once he has recovered, will take in a third member to replace your spot. Your training will be with Jiraiya instead. I speak from personal experience when I say that he has a habit of bringing out the potential in his students."
That much was certain. There were fewer he could entrust to the task either way. Jiraiya had the key to the seal housing the Nine-Tailed Fox. There was also the fact that there was a chain to be linked to it.
Sarutobi had been trained by the First and Second Hokages before becoming the Third. He had trained Jiraiya, who had trained not only the Fourth, but was experienced in his own right and on the verge of becoming the Fifth—preferably as soon as Naruto's training was up to par. Retirement was looking good right about now.
"In terms of missions you will be allowed to take, they will be low-C rank for the time being," he continued. "After all, you have less than a year's experience as a shinobi and, given how chaotic the mission to Wave was, I think you need more time to acclimate to standard ones."
That mission had gotten out of hand in a lot of ways. It could have been handled better on all accounts. Even if things ended smoothly enough with a bridge named after him. That was another mark on the boy's record in his favor.
"In addition, I would like for you to spend some time talking to Gaara of the Desert." That boy had been quiet and almost non-responsive since they'd captured him. "I'm hoping that as fellow Jinchuuriki, you will come to something of an accord."
Naruto nodded his head. "I've been wanting to talk to him myself, now that the fighting is over."
"I imagined so, but what you learn will no doubt be unpleasant from what we've gathered from his siblings." He wouldn't question Rasa's methods since each village has its own way after all. But he certainly didn't see the benefits of how he'd chosen to train the boy. "Lastly, there's the matter of Karin Uzumaki."
Just like that, the air became thick with tension. Naruto stilled, his breath caught in his chest. "What's going to happen to her?"
"Her circumstances are unique, Naruto." The Hokage sighed. "She has a long road ahead of her for everything that has happened, even if she didn't wish for them. She will be under observation and be restricted in the actions she can take for a prolonged period, without a doubt…."
Naruto trembled in place as he trailed off. The older man imagined he was bristling with the urge to plead for him to show her leniency if he gave too harsh a decision. The fact that he had remained so composed when he saw her the first time was another testament to his growth compared to before he graduated.
"However, we can sympathize with her situation and are willing to give her a chance," he continued. "If she behaves herself and shows that she can grow to love the village as you do, we'll give her a home here. Her records will be sealed to keep her part in things quiet, so that she won't be ostracized for it."
All the tension in Naruto's body melted at that. "Thanks, Old M—I mean, Hokage sir."
It'll take him some time to get used to having to say that, won't it? He fought off the urge to chuckle a bit before sighing. "An Anbu Officer will escort you to her location when she wakes. Get some rest until then."
He left out after that, no doubt eager to wait up until the wee hours of the morning now that night had begun to fall.
"I hope for both their sakes this works out well," Sarutobi said to the invisible figure in the corner of the room. "Otherwise, it may hurt them more in the end."
"It's for the best, Old Man," Jiraiya said as he dropped the Transparency technique he developed. "It might be because I'm a bit nostalgic, but her situation reminds me a lot of Nagato and the others."
The Ame orphans he'd taken care of and the boy who developed the Rinnegan, from what Jiraiya had told him. In all honesty, Sarutobi felt that Jiraiya should have brought them back to the village for safekeeping. But Jiraiya didn't on the grounds that Nagato had told him that his parents had been killed by shinobi of the Leaf, an unfortunate accident but not uncommon during wartime.
So he trained and left them to their own devices. Then the last he'd heard they died by Hanzo's hands. Jiraiya grieved as he always did, throwing himself into his work. The same thing happened later on, with Minato's death.
Sarutobi felt that this was his way of trying to prevent it from happening again. The third time should be the charm, right?
"I take it you have someone in mind for watching her?" Jiraiya asked. "You can't let her live in that place."
He nodded. "I'll have the files sent over to that person in the morning. She should be recovering as well and they have a lot in common, regardless of the tension that will be involved."
[0-0-0]
Naruto had been on the verge of falling asleep when there was a knock on his door. The Anbu Officer that had brought him before had come again, with word that Karin had woken up. Just like that, all his exhaustion faded away and a surge of energy coursed through him as she carried him through the dizzying motions back to the secure location.
He took a deep breath as he stood outside of the door to her room, guarding by two Anbu Officers he didn't recognize. Hesitation lingered in his chest and weighed down his feet when he recalled the day of the Invasion and her confession. He took a moment to just breathe again, gathered his courage into his limbs, and opened the door.
Karin was inside. She was sitting up in the bed with her hands in her lap, a band of slightly discolored flesh to show where her wrists had been bound before by the straps that were loose on the railing of the bed. Her head was down, her hair shadowing her face as though she wanted to hide her eyes from him.
"You came to see me," Karin said softly, without looking up. "Despite everything that's happened. Why?"
"I missed you," he said sincerely as he walked closer. "Are you okay now?"
"As fine as I can be given everything that happened. They haven't tortured me or anything, which makes it better than how it would have been anywhere else."
"Of course they wouldn't torture you." He tried to get a look at her face, but she turned her head away from him. "You didn't do anything wrong."
Her fingers clenched the sheet in her lap. "We both know I did."
"You didn't have a choice." He tried to reach out and set his hand on hers, but she pulled her hands back and pressed them against her chest. His shoulders sagged. "Will you at least look at me?"
"I don't deserve to," she said with a hitch in her voice. "I… If I had known they would have shown me mercy, then I would have said something. But I didn't, Naruto. And look what happened."
"Everything turned out okay though. That's what matters." He rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably at the resulting silence. This wasn't how he imagined the talk going. Maybe he should try bringing up what she said before she fled? "Karin, about what you said to my Shadow Clone—"
"Forget it!" She shook her head violently, her eyes screwed shut. "I shouldn't have said anything. I just wanted to get it off my chest, to know how you'd react before I moved on. But I didn't know you'd get the memories. "
He felt a weight in his chest at her reaction. "Did you…not mean it?"
"I meant it, but…" She curled up into herself, bracing her shoulders with her arms trembling. "You're still going to be the Hokage someday, aren't you?"
He frowned. "Yeah. I'm a Chuunin now."
"Then it'll look bad if you're seen associating with a former spy that worked for Orochimaru," she said. "I've caused enough problems for you as is. Besides, I'm sure they won't let me stay in the village after they've learned all they can. Either they'll send me to prison or cut me loose and I'll be alone again."
"You're wrong." He cupped her trembling hands in his own and held them tight so she couldn't break away. "The Old Man told me that you could stay. He said that if you're really honest about it and do what they say, they'll seal the records and keep quiet so that you can stay here, with me. You can have a home and family."
Karin's entire body tensed at that and her head rose. Her eyes were glistening wet, on the verge of tears. "You're not lying?"
He shook his head. "The Old Man wants to give you a chance because you didn't have a choice. And I owe you so much for everything you've done. I want you to stay here with me, in the village. Don't you want that too?"
"Mm-hmm…" She moved her head closer to his body. "I'll do whatever they say if that's the case. I promise. Just… just don't abandon me, or I won't have anything left. Okay?"
"I promise," he said as he pulled her into a hug. "I won't abandon you."
"Thank you, Naruto," Karin said as she wrapped her arms around his back. "I'm so glad I met you. I really am."
"Me too." In truth, he still wanted to talk about her feelings and what she had said back then. But it could wait until she had settled down. By then, maybe he'd have a solid answer on how to respond to her feelings properly.
So they stayed like that, silently embracing one another, until the allotted time was up.