Naruto sat at Ichiraku Ramen, shoving bowl after bowl down his throat without pausing. Sakura sat next to him, scowling in his general direction with her elbow on the bar and her palm on her cheek. It had been seven days since Naruto had woken up. "Are you done yet?"

Naruto slurped up another bowl full of noodles in response. If she didn't know better, Sakura could have sworn Naruto was inhaling them. "So...recovery's going well, huh?"

Naruto let out a loud sigh, dropping his chopsticks at last and signaling for his bill. "Ah...nothing like twenty-seven bowls of ramen right before lunch...yum."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Why don't you eat something else for a change?" She swatted him in the belly, and Naruto grinned at her. "You're going to get fat eventually!"

Naruto payed the bill and grabbed her hand, leading her away from the bar. "Aw, come on Sakura-chan, you know that's not true! Not with all my ninja training!"

"Whatever. Those calories have to add up sooner or later."

Naruto shook his head, giving her another grin and pulling her faster down the street. "C'mon, we have to meet everybody for lunch, remember?"

Sakura looked around for a nearby clock, finally spotting one and checking the time. "You're right, where are we supposed to go again?"

Naruto stopped suddenly, looking at her. "Huh? I thought you'd remember."

Sakura's expression twisted into a grimace, and she clapped a hand to her forehead. "Ugh, I should've known you wouldn't remember either...help me remember what Hinata told us. It was called... Araki something!" She looked up at him. "Araki...Araki...oh, of course! Araki Sushi!"

"Great!" Naruto exclaimed. "Now where do we go?"

Sakura glared at him.

.

Seven days had passed, judging by the positions of the sun. "Stupid woods..." Karin mumbled. "Who knew the training grounds was surrounded by so much forest?"

She was lucky. Only after a few hours of being lost, Karin had stumbled across a few bushes of non-poisonous berries, along with a small river nearby. Perfect living conditions for the outdoors. Karin looked around. If she had calculated correctly, the training grounds were probably less than a half hour away. The problem was, if she went in the wrong direction, she could end up even deeper into the forest. So which way led back to Konoha?

Karin shook her head, helping herself to another berry from her spot on the ground. Feeling her throat dry up again, she crawled to the river, helping herself to a handfull of water. She looked up and raised her eyebrows. "What the...?" Someone was coming; she could hear the soft padding of feet getting louder and louder. Could it be someone that would help her? Karin frowned, weighing her odds. If it wasn't someone friendly, she wasn't exactly in the best shape for a fight. She quickly rose to her feet, dashing to hide behind the nearest berry bush.

From her position nearby the river, she could see a shadowy figure getting closer and closer. It was a boy, she could tell. The boy bent down by the river, copying Karin's earlier motions and slurping water from his hands. After a few more drinks, the boy stood up straight, facing her. She held back a gasp.

What was Sasuke doing here? How had he escaped the others? Was Naruto okay?

Karin's train of thought ended when Sasuke's eyes moved across the scene in front of him.

His eyes reached the bushes, and Karin's eyes widened as he stared straight at her. Could he see her?

The Uchiha seemed to study her for a second, before he took a step forward. Karin held her breath. If he wanted a fight, she most definitely couldn't win. He was getting closer. With one last small thump, Sasuke stood next to the bush she was hiding behind. His arm came forward...and he picked a berry off of the bush. "Hmph," he said, popping it into his mouth. Karin remained silent.

"Hello, Karin," Sasuke said suddenly, leaning over and looking down at her. She froze, looking up at him slowly.

"S-Sasuke..." Karin stuttered, getting up after a moment and backing away from him. "What are you doing here? What happened with the other ninja?"

"Eh..." Sasuke picked another berry and put it in his mouth. "Used shadow clones to fool them. I fixed them so that when one was defeated, its chakra would go to a certain shadow clone and make it stronger. That made it appear as though that certain shadow clone was the real me. Meanwhile, I escaped into these woods, and I've been hiding here ever since." His eyes narrowed. "By the way...you tell anyone I'm alive, and I'll kill you." In a second, she was pressed up against a tree with a kunai against her throat. "Clear?"

.

"Finally!" Kiba cried as Sakura and Naruto ran up to the large group. Hinata gave them a shy smile.

"You're ten minutes late," Neji deadpanned, looking down at his new watch.

Tenten rolled her eyes at Neji, hitting him lightly with one of her crutches. "Ignore him," she said to Naruto and Sakura, who grinned and took a seat next to their friends.

"Ready for lunch, babe?" Ino asked, opening her menu and raising an eyebrow at Shikamaru.

"Don't call me that, Ino."

Sakura and Ino shot each other grins as the waiter arrived.

"May I take your orders?" he asked, looking around at them.

Naruto cleared his throat, looking at his menu. "Do you have ramen here?"

"NARUTO!"

.

Karin gulped, looking at Sasuke's hardened face. "Clear."

Sasuke pulled away, twirling the kunai around his finger absentmindedly. "Good." He jerked his thumb in the direction to Karin's right. "Village is that way."

Karin stared at him, unsure whether to believe him or not.

"I'm not lying. If I wanted you dead, I could just do it right now." Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "No doubt you'll probably tell. And when you do, I'll come back. Like I've always said...I'm an avenger. And now I have a new purpose: to kill Naruto Uzumaki and claim Sakura as my own. I'm going to leave this village and get stronger. Strong enough to take out every shinobi and kunoichi this village has got."

They stared at each other. "You're crazy," Karin finally said, shaking her head.

"You're probably right." Sasuke grinned at her wolfishly. "But I like being crazy." He leaped into the nearest branch, staring down at her. "Remember, if you tell...I'll find out. And trust me, you WILL tell eventually. That's when I'll come back...for both you and Naruto. Have a nice life, bitch." He sped away before Karin could blink. Slowly, she slid down against the tree until she was sitting on the ground.

"All of the others put together couldn't kill him..." She blinked and shook her head. "I can't believe it...Sasuke's still alive, and I'm the only one that knows. And he'll kill me if I tell..." She frowned, standing up and heading in the direction Sasuke had pointed in a daze. "I don't want to die..." She continued walking, looking up at the sky silently.

So she was the only one who knew what had really happened to Sasuke. And...wait...he wouldn't come back if she didn't tell anyone! Karin shook her head in disbelief, holding back a grin. She could just let people THINK Sasuke was dead, and he would never bother anyone ever again. She wouldn't have to die, and neither would Naruto.

Karin set her jaw. Her mind was made up. No matter what, she had to keep Sasuke's secret, down to the very end.

The End!

A/N:

Sequel:... Er...I don't know. I left it open in case I wanted to continue this, and I have a good idea of what could happen...but I just don't know. Anyone want a sequel?