A/N- Just in case anyone's curious, team Hebi is in an abandoned house in the forest. It has running water, and the plumbing still works (though sometimes it fails), but there's no food, no lighting and no windows.
Ahehe... w00t to more Karin and Suigetsu attention?
Also...Sasuke strikes me as the type to take showers at night. He doesn't do so here, as evident, but that's because...well, when you feel icky, you feel icky. Suigetsu and Juugo are more "bath" types, while Karin and Sasuke are more "shower" types, but they all take ridiculously long amounts of time doing so. And they're proud of it, muahaha.
Er...yeah. Kid!Juugo is adorable. Seriously. Someone should put a cavity warning on him. Seriously.
...-coughs-
Without further adeu, I present the third chapter of;
The Ninja Whisperer
-you hear a demented person whistling the Batman theme-
-you shudder in fear-
--
"And you haven't lost it yet, right?" Naruto asked excitedly.
Kiba twitched sporadically. "No. I haven't lost it yet. For the eighth time..."
"And we're getting closer right?!"
"Yes. We're getting closer!"
"ALRIGHT!" Naruto cheered, jumping up extra high and pumping his fists.
Sakura smacked him. Idiot... She glared at him as he massaged the growing bump on the back of his head, complaining about mean people.
--
Karin muffled a scream of frustration, kicking at the door again. "SUIGETSU! Damn it! I need a shower, you ass!"
"So take one with me!" He called out cheerfully.
Her face colored, and she stammered for a moment before anger overtook shock and embarassment. "HELL NO! Pervert!"
"Then go away!"
She growled dangerously, narrowing her red eyes. Without further warning, she turned crisply to her side, kicking in the door. She stormed in, then... froze. Her lips parted, but no words would come out.
There sat Suigetsu, frozen himself, not daring to look Karin's way. In his hands were two yellow rubber ducks, held a few inches above the water in the tub.
Slowly, Karin backed away.
"It's not what it looks like!" He shouted after her.
--
"I TOLD YOU! They just dropped in from the ceiling!"
"And you picked them up to, what, throw them out?"
"...well, no..."
Karin smirked victoriously, and continued brushing out her wet hair, tucking her legs in to sit indian style atop the counter. In the background, the shower started up again.
"Hey, isn't Juugo still-?"
"Yeah," Karin answered automatically, smiling fondly at the idea of the Uchiha in the shower.
Suigetsu's eyebrow twitched, and he tried not to gag. He quickly occupied himself with the freezer, seeking out leftovers. Finding nothing but chunks of ice, he irritably grabbed one and hopped up onto the counter with Karin. He munched on it absently.
Karin scooted a couple inches away, and continued her fantasies.
"Bitch." He snorted, rolling his eyes.
"Duck-man." She retorted, smirking once again as he glared at her.
"I TOLD you-!"
"Nananananananana, nananananananana, Duck-man!" She sang, voice cracking as she grinned.
He threw his leftover chip of ice at her and stalked away, grumbling obscenities and hunching his shoulders. Karin grinned all the wider as she caught sight of his faint blush.
--
Some time later, Karin stiffened, sitting up. "Something wrong?" Suigetsu inquired flatly from the living room, still glaring at her.
"There's a large group of shinobi coming this way... the same one that was following us before."
"You're sure?" He asked, annoyance forgotten.
"I'm positive, you idiot!" Karin snapped, sliding off the counter. She turned around just as Sasuke walked through the door, and halted entirely, eyes widening as she watched him walk in merely a towel. And wet. "Er..."
"No," Sasuke said simply, knowing what they planned, "You two go ahead. I have something I need to do, and I need to be in Konoha to do it."
Karin shook her head abruptly, eyes closing tight as she gathered her thoughts away from nekkedUchiha. "N-no! I'm not leaving you behind! They could kill you!"
"They won't."
Suigetsu shrugged, not even seeming to notice Sasuke's lack of attire. "Juugo has to stay with you, Karin isn't going to leave your side, and I'm not risking going it alone with a group of shinobi nearby, who knows who else tracking us, and probably a bounty on my head."
After Karin nodded, he went on. "You're stuck with us, mate."
Sasuke looked from one to the other, "You realize that they're going to be guarding us, very carefully, and taking us into Konoha?"
"...you'll tell them I'm your friend, right?" Suigetsu asked, shifting his eyes to and fro.
"Juugo won't be harmed; at worst he'll be submitted to a mental hospital, perhaps tested on... but you two are likely wanted criminals by now." He said gravely, staring them down.
Karin shifted from one foot to the other nervously.
"You could both leave together. You would have a source of warning from attackers, and a means to cover your tracks." Sasuke looked at Karin in particular, "You're still somewhat loyal to Orochimaru, if I recall correctly, despite him being dead. Would you continue to be loyal as they interrogated you? Even tortured you?"
She bit her lip.
"If the both of you stayed with me, you would have to defect to Konoha, or become a prisoner."
Suigetsu twitched.
"I'll cover for you if you leave. I have no reason not to."
Karin looked to the doorway as Juugo stepped in, rubbing at his left eye with a knuckle. He appeared young, younger than any of them, and confused. "Sasuke?" He asked tiredly, "You're up already?"
He glanced in the direction of the boy's voice, but did not turn his head. "I'm not fully recovered yet, but I'm just about there. You didn't have to save me." That was the closest anyone could get to a 'thank you', it seemed.
"Yes I did. If I didn't, nobody could have stopped me from hurting people."
The ghost of a smile played upon Sasuke's lips (no pun intended), but he returned his attention to the other two. Karin's own attention was focused on Juugo, and some strange form of emotion played on her face. She looked to Suigetsu (who was picking at his ear), then, and though she faintly scowled, the emotion did not leave.
She then looked at Sasuke. "If Suigetsu wants to leave," She spoke slowly, uncertainly, "Then I'll leave."
But if not, I'm staying.
Sasuke blinked, but said nothing.
All looked to said Mist-nin.
"Why would they leave?" Juugo inquired curiously, confused.
"We're taking a little trip." Sasuke stated blankly.
Suigetsu made a long, drawn out sound that was a cross between a growl and a whine, tilting his head back. "I hate you guys so much right now... they better give me water, or I'm gonna kill somebody."
Karin smiled.
"What kind of trip? I like trips..."
Some strange form of creature possessed Sasuke at that moment, for he reached behind him and ruffled Juugo's hair with a small smirk. He thought a moment on the question, then sighed.
"Quite likely a colorful one..."
In the corner, Suigetsu's mother sipped on ghostly tea, staring directly at the oblivious Karin. "This had better lead to grandchildren." She said briskly, before dissapearing from the room.
Sasuke twitched.
"I thought I was the only one who saw it," Itachi said to himself, bemused.
There was a small pause.
"Sasuke," Juugo began, "Why are you still in a towel?"
There was no answer.
--
A/N- Suigetsu strikes me as the type to splash around and play shark in the tub... Karin strikes me as the type to like showers because they cover up the noise of her, talking aloud during her various fantasies. Sasuke stripes me as the type to just sit there and stare at the wall. Because he can.
Juugo...he stripes me as the type to be surprisingly silly (especially Kid!Juugo, AMIRITE?!?!), and be like... "IMA PIRATE!" ... with his special boat. ...it's red. And shiny. And it will eat you if you smell like chicken.
For random information that nobody really cares about (be honest, now); in this story, Sasuke favors night showers. Or, yknow, after training. Karin favors morning showers, and midday ones on Thursdays (don't ask). Suigetsu doesn't really care. Juugo...uh... let's just say he doesn't care either. -scratches head-
Really, what would he like? I'm...I'm not really sure.
(PS: I like KarinxSuigetsu. I also like KarinxSasuke. -grins-)
And as to why Karin and Suigetsu decided to actually defect to Konoha (well, eventually), in case it wasn't obvious, is because they're both grown rather attatched to their little team of four. Plus, I don't think they really want to risk going at it themselves. They're both powerful in their own rights, even moreso together, but as a group of four they're a whole lot stronger.
Uh...I talk too much. D: Ilovereviewsplz.
(PSx2: Sasuke is still in a towel because he came down to get his shirt/pick-your-object, and then forgot about it. Entirely.)
