"What do you mean... out of instinct?"
Karin and Sakura still sat in Sasuke's room, the steady beeping of a hospital monitor filling the silent pauses in their conversation. Karin, no longer trying to hold up the illusion of confidence, had allowed herself to question Sakura with open curiosity.
"Well, I felt like I had no other choice but to cut it," Sakura explained, watching Sasuke's restful face as she spoke. "I was in a fight, and the only person who could protect my teammates."
"So... you sacrificed your own hair just to protect them?" Her eyebrows knit together. "But why? Shouldn't you put your own best interest before theirs?"
Sakura's gaze snapped up to meet the red-head's, her mouth open in shock. Did this girl honestly believe she should have put her hair before her teammates?
Struggling to regain her composure, she said, "No. I would rather let my image get hurt instead of the people I care about. I mean, hair grows back. Friends don't."
"But you never grew it out again."
"Because I liked it short."
Silence followed Sakura's statement. Karin had turned her gaze to the floor, brow furrowed in a thoughtful expression. The pink-haired girl studied her, amazed at how selfish she could be. But what did she know? Maybe this girl had never been raised with values or morals. Maybe she didn't know better. It seemed absurd, but if Sasuke had met her through Orochimaru like she suspected, than it was perfectly logical.
Which reminded Sakura of just how this girl knew Sasuke, and the fact that she didn't actually know the details of their relationship. Were they just teammates? Or was there something deeper? If so, was it on an emotional basis, or a physical one? She was guessing the latter one, since Karin didn't seem like someone who would have emotional attachments.
Sighing, Sakura got to her feet, brushing invisible dirt off her skirt. "Well, I should probably go. I imagine you want to be alone with him or something..."
Moving toward the door, she tried to erase the previous thoughts from her mind, shuddering slightly at the mental image they brought. She did not need to imagine Sasuke with another woman.
"Wait!"
Sakura turned, surprised to see Karin getting out of her own chair.
"You should stay with him," she said, moving toward the green-eyed girl. "You two probably have a lot of catching up to do. Besides, I should probably be making sure Juugo and Suigetsu aren't tearing this place apart."
The other female smiled gratefully. "Really?"
She nodded. "Yeah." Then, fidgeting slightly, she added, "So... could we, I dunno, hangout sometime? I've never had another girl to talk to, so, you know..."
Sakura's grin stretched wider across her face. "Sure."
And, despite her original dislike for the girl, she got the feeling that they might become very good friends.
Author's Notes: Baah. Dx This did not turn out in a way I'm fond of. It just turned into a ushy 'let's-be-bestest-friends' fic. Dx
Disclaimer: I do not own 'Naruto' or any of characters.