Chapter Fourteen

Suigetsu was bouncing around like a puppy; he was so excited to be taking Karin home to his house. The walk from the hospital took them an hour, as he led her at a slow pace through the village, pointing out various important locations and buildings.

When they finally arrived, Karin was exhausted and Suigetsu was struggling to hide his alarm. Eventually, he gave in and carried her upstairs to the bedroom and put her to bed. He had soup ready when she woke up, and then told her to rest even more.

The next morning when he attempted to keep her in bed, she snapped and dissolved his head.

Over the next few days, her endurance improved so that by the time a week had gone passed, she was able to walk to the Mizukage palace to meet with the great lady herself.

Although they had arrived together, Suigetsu was barred from the meeting, leaving Karin to face Mei alone.

"Good morning, Karin. I trust you've recovered well." She smiled, setting aside her paperwork to focus solely on the interview.

Karin nodded, "Yes, my lady. I'm feeling much better."

"Good." Mei eyed the younger woman critically. "I remember you."

Karin flinched.

"The Uchiha is incarcerated, is he not?"

"He is, my lady." Karin replied stiffly.

"You were as well?"

"Yes."

"But you escaped."

Karin's eyes widened and she nodded again, though it had been a statement and not a question.

"How far away were you when Hozuki caught up?"

Karin swallowed the lump in her throat, trying to wet her mouth enough to speak, "Three hours, the other side of the resort village of Honsu."

"That's quite a distance. Hozuki believed you'd been gone for a week before he began searching for you."

"I'd been traveling for less than two weeks." Karin confirmed. She was startled when the Mizukage began laughing.

"Imagine that? The jailors must have been extremely low-grade."

Karin managed a small smile, but could not bring herself to laugh openly. The Mizukage slowed to chuckles before stopping altogether and regarding Karin closely, once again.

"Hozuki trusts you; he recommends you. You will have only one chance to prove yourself. Do you understand?"

"Yes, my lady."

"Very well. You will leave on a mission in four days time. You may go."

Karin nodded and turned to leave when the Mizukage called out again.

"Enjoy your day, Karin."

Karin left the office, releasing the breath she'd been holding as soon as the door was closed. There was something extremely unnerving about the Mizukage's cheerful demeanor; a sinister undertone, masked by that pleasant smile. Karin hoped she could avoid being exposed to it in the future.

Suigetsu was waiting for her; jumping up as soon as she reappeared and following after her as she fled the building. She wasn't breathing easily until she was outside and several blocks down the street.

He stood guard as she leaned against a wall, recovering her composure. Once she was right, Suigetsu ushered her through the streets, back to their house.

"What do we do now?" She asked.

"I have the mission scroll. We have four days to prepare, then we move out. So, I guess, we take a look at the particulars."

The mission was fairly routine:

The target was the wife of a rich merchant. She was traveling across the Water country towards the Daimyo's palace and had to be eliminated before she reached the safety of his court. She had a small band of body guards, three of whom were low level shinobi.

They were to intercept her on the road two days south east of the Mist Village. A boat could be arranged to deliver them to the closest port, cutting down on the required walking distance. Given their skill set, it quickly became apparent that the mission was designed to test Karin's efficacy and ability, particularly without backup. Suigetsu's skills with water weren't going to be advantageous at all. With this in mind, they decided their best approach would be an ambush. The problem was in choosing the location of the attack.

"It can't be that stretch of road, Suigetsu! It's a canyon; they'll be alert and ready for an attack."

"But it will funnel them in. You can't turn a carriage on the bit of road; there's no room!" He argued, "That's the best location. Any further up the road, and we're out in the open. They could turn and run or signal for help from the castle. Before that, there's no where for us to wait that's out of sight."

"There has to be somewhere that's better suited!" Karin exclaimed in frustration, poring over the map to its smallest detail.

"The road was built with ambushes in mind. The only weak point is this pass." He smirked as she continued muttering. "It's not like they'll get away from me; no one ever does."

"What are you going to do? Stand in the road and shout 'come get me'?" Karin snarled, "Your arrogance will be your downfall."

"You don't think I can handle it?"

Karin looked at him over her glasses, condescendingly. Her expression said: do you even have to ask?

"You bitch!"

She smirked, smugly.

"Well, I don't think your skills are up to it, either."

"What's that supposed to mean, freak?" She hissed.

"I think your brain's been damaged." He replied, crossing his arms petulantly.

"And whose fault was that, arsehole?"

"I didn't want that to happen!" He snarled.

They glared at each in silence for another five minutes. Then Karin stormed from the room, shouting over her shoulder that she was going to meditate and wanted to be left alone. Suigetsu responded by storming away as well, yelling that he would be training, like a normal shinobi.

He met Kiriai and Chojuro on the training field.

The two older swordsmen had been sparring with each other when Suigetsu had stormed onto the field.

"Looking for trouble, Hozuki?" Asked Chojuro, in what could be described as a pleasant voice, were it not for the faintly mocking edge.

"Or running from it." Kiriai chuckled.

Suigetsu snarled at the two, "I'll take you both on!"

"That would be unwise." Chojuro replied while Kiriai laughed and charged.

What followed was one of the toughest sword fights Suigetsu had ever participated in.

Due to his ability to avoid physical damage, he had never shied away from taking a hit. Unfortunately, he had never fought against the Nuibari or the Hiramekarei. The chakra attacks from the Hiramekarei weakened his control, while the constant pull on the steel thread attached to the Nuibari's hilt distracted him each time it passed through his body. In addition, the two other swordsmen were adept at avoiding strikes as well.

The fight was called, with the three facing each other from a distance of two metres. Their harsh breathing hung on the air; echoing across the training ground. Suigetsu sighed in relief when it began raining.

"Feeling better now?" Kiriai asked, as Suigetsu raised his face to the sky, absorbing each raindrop that struck him.

Chojuro chuckled quietly, muttering lowly to Kiriai, "But is it the end of the fight or the prospect of returning home?"

The taller swordsman inclined his head but did not answer. Suigetsu turned his gaze upon them, considering them now as more than just fellow shinobi.

"Ambush or frontal assault?" He asked quickly, hoping to catch them off guard and hear their answers before they could refuse.

Kiriai smiled slowly while Chojuro adjusted his glasses. Neither replied and Suigetsu stalked away.

"Does it matter?" Kiriai called after him.

Suigetsu raised his middle finger to them and continued on his way.

Author's Note: For those of you who are interested, Kiriai and Chojuro are both Swordsman of Mist. Chojuro is a canon character (he was one of the Mizukage's bodyguards at the Kage Summit) and Kiriai is an original character. He is based on the previous wielder of the Nuibari (also known as the Needle) and I've made him a younger relation who has inherited the blade. I reckon he'd be mid-thirties or older.

My apologies if you aren't interested.