Chapter Nine
They ran silently through the sparse trees, slugging through a marshy pond and scrambling across rocky clearings. Their only conversation was a terse command to keep aware of their surroundings. Suigetsu's face was a mask of concentration as they neared their destination.
Avoiding other guard patrols slowed them down considerably but they were able to enter the Mist village without being spotted. Still silent and serious, Suigetsu led Karin through the streets, crossing canals on the water's surface rather than via the bridges. He crept up to a large building and ushered her in through a small door on the side.
Looking around inside, Karin noted they were in some sort of housing, with a long corridor in front of them lined with numerous doors. Suigetsu stalked on ahead, leading her to a door, halfway down the hall and held it open as she entered. Now in a stairwell, she was surprised to see it led down as well as up. She stared up the steps and almost lost her balance when he jerked her down the stairs.
They went down two flights of stairs, then along another hallway to another stairwell and went up five flights. Then he guided her down four doors and turned left into another hall way and snuck up to a room.
"Is there anyone in here?" He asked her, trying to keep an eye on both ends of the corridor and see her response. She concentrated and shook her head and he knelt down and began working on the lock.
"I take it you don't live here."
The lock clicked and the door swung open and Suigetsu pushed her inside. With one last look down the hall, he closed the door and leaned against it, sighing with relief.
Karin turned away from him and studied her surroundings. The room was sparsely furnished, with no homely little touches, signaling that it was currently uninhabited. There was dust on the surfaces and cobwebs on the ceiling. To her right was a small kitchenette, backing onto the curved outer wall, which also had a large window shrouded by a heavy curtain. The other wall had a door in it, which she opened, revealing a small bedroom with a small bathroom attached. There was a single light hanging from the ceiling, which she'd flicked on before beginning her exploration and which Suigetsu now flicked off, leaving them in darkness.
"Don't make too much noise and leave the light off.' Suigetsu whispered, sounding tired.
"Alright." Karin conceded, "But will you please tell me what's going on? Because I'm really confused right now."
She tracked his progress across the room to the bedroom and followed him in. He headed straight to the bathroom and slumped by the bath. Concerned, she entered just as he seemed to collapse into the tub.
"Suigetsu!" She shrieked, rushing forward. Panicking as water disappeared down the drain, she tried to lift him out of the bath.
"Now you know how I felt." He laughed wearily, pushing her off and slumping on his back onto the floor.
"What?" Karin asked in confusion and frustration, leaning over him and trying to rouse him without touching him for fear that he would just dissolve on the floor.
"When you fell in the river." He muttered, opening his eyes up and brushing the hood off. Karin jerked back from his touch then almost fell over when she caught sight of herself in the mirror.
She had black hair.
"What happened to my hair?" She wailed, causing Suigetsu to start laughing. "Why are you laughing? You almost disappeared down the drain!"
"From your clothes!" He managed to wheeze, and she kicked him in the side, "It's the water from your clothes."
He sat up and beckoned her over to him, but she was still pulling at her hair in the mirror, her face deathly pale.
"Karin, sit down."
When she ignored him, he reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her into his lap. "Relax! I'll fix it."
She bit her lip, watching his face as he ran his hands over her hair. Seeing it black in the mirror had terrified her, dredging up memories of Him. She felt like a little girl again, just like when she'd crawled out of her hiding spot to find that her entire village had been destroyed.
Suigetsu wiped the tear off her cheek, breaking her from her trance and she hastily stood up and left the bathroom.
Letting the excess water drip off his hand, he stood and followed her, finding her sitting on the edge of the bed. She looked up as he entered, all trace of her fragility gone.
"You have some explaining to do."
He sighed as he dumped his pack on the floor and approached the bed. But when he sat down, she stood up and crossed the room, standing next to the doorway.
"So, that's how it's going to be." He grumbled.
"What's going on, Suigetsu?" She demanded, "You said you were sent to find me, that the Mizukage wanted to see me, but we just crept into the village like spies! You deceived those guards, broke into a building and we're supposed to hide our presence in here? What the hell is going on?"
"The Mizukage did send me to find you!" He replied angrily, "That was my mission."
"From her?"
"Yes, from her!" He shouted, leaping from the bed to pace the room, "But no one was supposed to know!"
"Why not?" She asked, still not understanding.
He whirled round to face her, "Because it's you!"
Karin's response died in her mouth, and she swallowed thickly.
"What do you mean?"
"You're from a different village, Karin. You worked for Orochimaru. Then you joined Sasuke, one of the most notorious missing-nin to come out of the Leaf village."
Karin jolted at hearing his name but forged ahead anyway, "So did you! You were with him first."
"Yes, but I was a prisoner first!" He replied in exasperation. "Then you were part of the Akatsuki that attacked the Five Kage Summit! Yes, I know, I was there too. But I wasn't captured by the other ninja! And you refused to co-operate with the Leaf!"
She stared up at him, unsure whether to yell some more or curl into a ball and cry. Obviously she looked like she was going to cry because Suigetsu reached for her, but she shied away.
"Then why send you to find me?" She asked, torn between dejection, disbelief and anger.
"I already told you. Your skills make you an invaluable asset." He said quietly. "I had to convince the Mizukage of that before she would agree to the mission. Then she went and put conditions on it."
"Like what?"
"Like I had to convince the Hokage to let you go, without relying on anyone else. I had to bring you into the village without anyone knowing who you were. And I had to make it back before tomorrow morning."
"I don't understand. Why would she do that?"
"Because she's a cruel, vicious woman!" Suigetsu spat half-heartedly, "I had to prove my skills at diplomacy to get you away from the Leaf. Then your abilities as a sensor. And finally because my sensei is due back from her mission tomorrow and she wasn't to know that I'd left the village without her."
"Your sensei?"
"Yes, my sensei. Another cold hearted bitch." Suigetsu shuddered, "And another reason why we're hiding here." At Karin's confused look, he laughed, "She thinks I'm not mature enough."
"For what?"
"For my sword. For missions."
"Adult stuff?"
"Yeah, basically."
"Well, what would have given her that idea?"
Suigetsu frowned, but Karin was smirking at him and he relaxed.
"Maybe because she's a distant relative, several years older than me and feels like her poor little cousin has been corrupted by his imprisonment with the Snake Sannin and needs straightening out." He grinned, moving quickly to corner her. "Either that or she really is a cold-hearted bitch who lives to make my life hell."
"And do you feel like you've been corrupted by exposure to Orochimaru?"
"No, not him." He smirked, leaning forward to press his lips to hers. She turned her head at the last moment and his lips grazed her cheek before moving along her jaw and down her neck.
"Stop it!" She shrieked as he bit her neck, "You're still in trouble!"
"You liked it before." He murmured, admiring the mark he'd left before leaning in to make a new one. "Should we move back outside?"
She pushed him away, holding him at bay as she spoke, "I knew you were an exhibitionist!"
"And you're a tease." He grumbled. He let her push him away, taking a step back and staring down at her.
"What do we do now?"
"I'm all for continuing…."
"Be serious." Karin sighed. "Do you have to see the Mizukage tonight?"
"No. I'll see her in the morning. Kiriai will let her know I'm back anyway."
"Was that the guard?"
"Yeah, the tall one." He took a seat on the end of the bed, leaning back on his hands, "Come here."
Karin slowly crossed the room to stand between his legs, leaning over him and stroking his chest, "Suigetsu?"
"Karin?" He sat up, reaching for her hands.
She gripped his shirt and hauled him up. Before he had a chance to move, she threw him through the door, back into the main room of the apartment, "You're sleeping on the couch!"
And with that, she closed the door.
Sitting up and shaking his head, he smiled.
"That's what you think."