Chapter Four

As they walked through the complex, then down the street, people hurried out of their way, gawking as they passed and chuckling nervously once they were gone.

Karin's vocal opposition stopped abruptly when they reached the clothes shop where her clothes were being made. Leaving Suigetsu to wait at the front of the shop, three women whisked Karin off to the back room for the next two hours. She was measured, and then watched as the ladies created clothes for her; just for her. Patterns were pulled out and consulted, materials were held up and compared, and alterations were made to suit her.

It was all very tiring.

The ladies finally gave her permission to leave, handing her over to Suigetsu with promises that the clothes would be delivered by the evening and admonishments to take it easy for the rest of the day.

With Suigetsu hovering at her shoulder, she headed back towards the resort, hoping and wishing that she'd be allowed to sleep. She hadn't realized how worn out she was until she'd stopped.

Before they reached the resort, they were called into a restaurant. Karin sighed and Suigetsu tried to leave, but they were offered a free meal and he couldn't resist.

Seated in the booth, with a tray in front of her, Karin propped her head on her hand and watched Suigetsu eat.

"Some things never change." She sighed.

He paused and regarded her. Then he smirked, "Yeah, you still look like shit."

It was a testament to how weary she was; her reaction being to roll her eyes and look away.

"You should eat something."

She glanced back at him, to find him regarding her in all seriousness.

"I can't be bothered." She replied, slumping against the backrest. She closed her eyes and shifted, trying to find a comfortable position on the hard bench.

"Geez, Karin, you can't fall asleep here!"

"Why not?" She asked with a tiny smirk, pleased to hear an edge of panic in his voice.

Her eyes snapped open and she spun to face him as he shoved her along the seat, grabbing her chopsticks and raising a piece of fish to her mouth.

"Because I'm not carrying you back." He hissed, "Now, wake up and eat something!"

She opened her mouth to retort but he shoved the fish in, and covered her mouth with his hand to stop her from spitting anything out.

"Chew."

She tried to pull away from him but ended up backed against the wall, with him looming over her. His thumb came round under her chin, working her lower jaw as he growled, "Chew."

So she did.

And when she was finished chewing, she swallowed.

And then she licked his hand.

He pulled back so quickly, a look of disgust plastered across his face, that Karin thought he'd fall off the bench.

"That was disgusting." He told her, reaching for another piece of fish while she sniggered.

"Serves you right."

"Open up."

She closed her mouth, pressing her lips into a firm line and shook her head. He growled.

She kept her mouth closed, mirth shining in her eyes as he held the fish out. Every time he moved the fish, she moved her face away. Finally, growling in frustration, Suigetsu clamped his fingers over her nose.

"GAH!"

As soon as her mouth opened, he shoved the fish in, smirking when she almost choked on it.

"I think you'd enjoy the food more if I didn't have to force feed you." He grinned. She glared up at him once she'd finished coughing. Opening her mouth to argue, she was cut off by yet another piece of food.

"Sui…" Karin's glare vanished when he shoved the chopsticks into her mouth again. Turning her face to the wall, she growled lowly. "You can stop now."

"You sure? I was just starting to enjoy myself."

Annoyed that she could literally hear the smirk in his voice, she snarled, "If you put anything any where near my mouth, anything at all, I'll…" She turned to regard him, only to find his face less than two inches in front of her own.

"Like this?" Suigetsu said in a low voice as he closed the gap, pressing his lips to hers. Karin's eyes widened in shock and she let out a muffled shriek when he bit her lip.

"You arsehole!" She screamed, holding her mouth as she bashed his head into the table. As his head splashed across the hard surface, Karin jumped over the top of him and raced out of the restaurant, her face burning a bright red, not only due to her anger. Suigetsu sat up lazily, smirking at the door before finishing off Karin's food and leaving.

Karin jerked out of her robe, angrily balling the material in her hands and imagining it was Suigetsu's face.

"How dare he?" She shrieked, slamming the clothes into the basket, before throwing said basket across the room where it struck the opposite wall and disintegrated.

"What is his fucking problem?" She wrapped the towel around herself, just as one of the inn-keepers' daughters entered.

"Are you alright?"

"No, I'm not fucking alright! He, He…"

"What happened?"

"He kissed me." She finished, shock mingling with embarrassment and confusion. The woman regarded her quietly for a moment before a small, knowing smile crept onto her face.

Ushering Karin out into the yard and over to her private bath, the woman's smile widened. "Relax in here. All that tension will just melt away with a good soak."

Karin grunted skeptically but did as she was told, taking a seat in the hot water and leaning back.

"Hey, this does feel nice."

"Now, don't stand up too fast or you'll faint. You can stay here until the chimes sound."

Karin waved her acknowledgement and the woman left. Alone once more, she found herself relaxing more and more, barely noticing that her eyelids were growing heavier and she dropped into a deep sleep.

"Karin? Karin! Wake up!"

"Huh? What?"

"Geez, Karin! You'd fall asleep anywhere."

Snapping to wakefulness abruptly, Karin shot to her feet, shrieking, before falling over. It took her a few minutes to regain her senses, but when she did, she almost had a repeat performance. It was only due to Suigetsu's strong grip on her that she remained conscious.

"Calm down. If you stand up too fast, you'll faint again."

"What are you doing here?" She mumbled. She could feel her cheeks growing red once again and confusion roiled in her stomach. "I thought this was a private bath."

"Yeah? Can you see anyone else using it right now?" Suigetsu replied, shifting his hold on her to a more comfortable and upright position.

Groaning she lifted a hand to her head, pulling away from him to take a seat some where other than his lap. "Why… what?"

"You know, you shouldn't let your guard down like that. If I hadn't come in to check on you, you might have drowned."

"And who would care if I did?" She murmured, looking at her lap and letting a piece of hair hang down, obscuring his view of her face.

"I would."

She glanced over at him briefly, only partially surprised by his comment. What she really wanted to know was why?

"What's it going to take to convince you, Karin? Huh?"

"You're confusing me. I don't understand." She whined, petulantly. She glanced over at him again before looking away quickly. But she couldn't escape him in this tiny spring, and she wasn't about to stand up again.

He lifted her chin up, gently, forcing her to look at him. "We're team mates. Partners even. Alright?"

She bit her lip, unsure what to say, when something caught her eye. The lamps were playing across his face, with the light catching on tiny glints on his skin. Raising her hand up, she brushed her fingers against one curiously.

"What?"

"You're all covered in spots." She said, in unabashed wonder and a bit of amusement.

"It's the spring." He sighed, not really wanting to discuss this with her. "I'm soaking up the minerals in the water. It gives me freckles."

He turned away as she began to giggle, taking up a position on the other side of the bath as her laughter became louder.

"Go ahead. Laugh your heart out." He crossed his arms and leaned back, reclining against the rocks. Inwardly though, he smirked, because if she was laughing, even if it was at him, at least she wasn't crying.

He made a show of sulking, trying to keep the atmosphere light. It was working too; her giggles would slow then she'd glance over at him and they'd start again.

A little bell began ringing, signaling the end of their reservation, and Suigetsu stood up slowly. He was in waist deep water and he was wearing a towel around his waist, so it amused him to see Karin's face turn red as she looked away from him. Pushing her further, he crossed the bath toward her, where it was shallower; an arrogant smirk on his face. With the towel riding low on his hips and the water level receding, it almost looked like he wasn't wearing anything.

"Indecent!" Karin squeaked, covering her face as he came to a stop in front of her.

"Come on, Karin. Time's up. We have to leave now."

She blushed scarlet. "You go first."

"Why? So you can watch me?" He leered down at her.

"Pervert! As if I would do anything like…" Her voice trailed off because she'd stood up too suddenly, once again, and had come close to fainting. Suigetsu steadied her, before wrapping his arms around her shoulders and under her legs and lifting her up.

Karin could feel herself moving but she was so disorientated by dizziness and nausea that she could barely bring herself to care how she was moving.

In fact, the disorientation didn't pass until Suigetsu carried her into their room and placed her onto the bed. Then her eyes snapped open and she shrieked as she sat up and swung at him.

"Keep your hands to yourself, jerk-off!"

"Only 'coz you ain't good enough." He sneered at her, pointedly looking at her body and not her face. Her blush darkened as she tugged, ineffectually, at her towel. Anger burned through her, mixed with embarrassment and a small twinge of regret that the almost easy atmosphere in the bath had been interrupted.

Suigetsu turned away from her, taking his pack and entering the bathroom. The door closed loudly and she flinched. Looking around the room, she found a parcel sitting on the table with her name on it.

After rewrapping her towel, she approached the table and dragged the parcel over. She removed the tag and glanced over it. The only word on it was her name, but there was also a symbol in the top right corner that looked familiar.

Disregarding it, she set the tag down and pulled on the strings, opening the package cautiously. The paper unfolded to reveal a pile of new clothes.

Her clothes.

She pulled them out, one by one, holding them up in wonder. They were beautifully made, and so much better than what she had been wearing. They were even better than the uniform she'd worn for the Akatsuki or Orochimaru.

Yet, for all that, she could tell they'd been made of material hardy enough for traveling in. Her shirts were long sleeved with high collars, so as to cover all of her scars, while being tailored to suit her shape. The seamstress had included a long, half pleated skirt, despite her refusal, but it was the only one. She now had two pairs of knee length shorts and a pair of ankle length pants.

The last few items in the package surprised her, however. She didn't remember being measured for them, or seeing the material. She held them up, puzzling over them while marveling at the texture.

"So, they gave you some too."

She spun round to see Suigetsu had emerged from the bathroom. He hadn't closed his robe and she could see he was wearing similarly styled clothes to the ones she was holding: a pair of short shorts made of satin.

"What? But… you're…" Karin looked from him to the articles in her hands.

"Hey, you don't have to wear the top." He smirked.

She turned away from him, folding the clothes up and replacing them on the table.

"Sometimes, I really don't like you." She huffed.

"Sometimes," Suigetsu breathed in her ear, having crossed the room in a heartbeat, "The feeling is very much mutual."

She blushed again: at his proximity, at the vibe he was giving off, at the thoughts and memories going through her head. Throwing caution to the wind, she asked, almost timidly, "Only sometimes?"

He withdrew slightly, surprised by the question. Then he knelt next to her, pulling her into his lap as he hugged her to his chest.

"Only sometimes." He whispered, nuzzling her hair, "Like when you're being a bitch."

"Argh! You bastard!" She snarled, tearing herself away from him as he fell back, laughing. "Way to spoil the moment, jerk." She grabbed the package of clothes off the table and stormed passed him to the bathroom.

Karin was hiding.

She knew it. Suigetsu knew it. She was still hiding.

The problem was that the person she was hiding from knew exactly where she was.

Knocking on the door was out. Suigetsu was not going to do that. That made him feel needy and clingy: totally not masculine.

Instead, he arranged their dinner, sitting on the opposite side of the table with the door to the balcony open and allowing a light breeze to blow the aroma of the food in the direction of the bathroom.

For her part, Karin was unwilling to leave the perceived safety of the bathroom. Her emotions had been in turmoil all day; actually since he'd turned up yesterday. Something was different about Suigetsu and his attitude was throwing her off kilter.

She hugged her knees to her chest, pulling the robe tighter around her, rocking slightly as her brain processed the last thirty-six hours. She closed her eyes, seeking outward with her senses. She could see him, sitting at the table with his chin propped on one hand. He appeared to be staring at the door. Her brow furrowed as she focused on him.

Something was different about him.

He wasn't eating anything. He was just sitting there. That was unusual.

She pushed aside her dislike for him and really studied him.

Suigetsu fell backwards as Karin flew out of the bathroom towards him.

"What have you done?" She screeched, scrabbling over the table towards him.

"What's wrong with you, banshee?"

He disappeared into a puddle as she lunged at him, then pooled himself under the table. She clambered down and crouched there, watching him closely as his head materialized out of the floor.

"What did you do?"

"What are you talking about, crazy woman?"

"Your chakra levels!"

"What about them?"

"You have more chakra!" Karin stated, incredulously. Suigetsu stared at her in confusion. "Your scent was awful before but something changed. Your levels are up."

"You're imagining things." Suigetsu responded calmly, as he materialized on the other side of the table and took a seat. Karin raised her head so she was looking over the table and stared at him as he began eating. Her unwavering gaze unnerved him and he lashed out.

"Stop staring and eat your damn food!"

The sudden shout gave her a fright and she jumped slightly, hurriedly taking up a bowl of rice. Risking his anger to glance up at him, she was most annoyed to see him smirking at his food.

"Jerk."

"Bitch."

"Arsehole."

"Moron."

"Lunatic."

Suigetsu snorted. Karin grinned.

They ate the rest of their meal in a comfortable silence.

I'm a little disappointed with you guys. Didn't anyone think the mineral freckles were funny? Seriously? And that was the starting point for the whole story too... tch.