I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.


Limit

Karin watched Suigetsu carefully. When she had woken up that morning, Suigetsu had already been awake but was still holding her. He had claimed that he just didn't feel like feeling her wrath for waking her up but then had asked if she had slept well. After that, they had met up with the others and had left. For the duration of their day of travel, Karin had been running beside Suigetsu in the middle of the group with Jugo and Ryuu side-by-side behind them and Sasuke in front. Suigetsu had continually thrown sideways glances at her but had not said anything. She had ignored it for the most part because she had been going over the night before.

Her nightmare had been about all of the others being killed, yet she had been kind of surprised by the massive wave of relief that had washed over her upon finding out that Suigetsu was alive and worried about her, judging by his expression. She had also been surprised by how comforted she had felt while he was holding her and then again when he agreed to stay with her. She couldn't help but glance at Suigetsu once in a while, trying to figure out why he had been so kind to her the night before, being careful not to let him catch her looking. Now, the two were enjoying a hot spring at the hotel where they would again be sharing a room. The spring required bathing suits since it was the only one there and was, therefor, mixed bathing, but all Karin had for a bathing suit was a very skimpy bikini top that only barely covered her nipples and a bikini bottom that bordered on thong. Instead of wearing that in front of Suigetsu, rather than Sasuke who she had bought it specifically for, she had chosen to wear her shorts and simply let them dry overnight under the heat lamp this hotel had in the bathroom, yet still no privacy.

"What?" Karin finally asked after catching Suigetsu looking at her for the millionth time since they had arrived.

"Just wondering why Sasuke chose to eat rather than enjoy this hot spring," Suigetsu shrugged. "It's pretty nice in here."

Karin wasn't entirely sure what he was actually talking about so she remained silent for a bit.

"Why aren't you eating?" Karin asked.

"I'm not really that hungry," Suigetsu shrugged. "How're you feeling?"

"Why?" Karin asked.

"You haven't eaten yet today," Suigetsu stated. "I would have thought you'd be in there with Sasuke."

"Yeah...well...so would I," Karin mumbled after a moment.

"You feeling okay?" Suigetsu asked.

"I...yeah," Karin nodded. "I'm fine. It's just...never mind."

"What?" Suigetsu asked moving over to sit beside her.

"Sasuke...doesn't care about me," Karin sighed. "Does he?"

"Not in the way you want him to," Suigetsu said. "He cares about you as a friend, but beyond that...What's brought this on? You've never doubted your ability to win him over before."

"It's just..." Karin trailed off and shook her head. "Why were you so worried about me last night? Why agree to stay?"

"I stayed because you wanted me to, and because you needed me to if you were going to get any sort of sleep," Suigetsu stated. "And I was worried about you because..."

He trailed off, looking away, toward one of the corners of the Hot Spring area.

"Because we're friends Karin," Suigetsu half lied. "No matter how much I torment you."

"Really?" Karin asked, looking suspicious.

"Yes," Suigetsu nodded smiling as reassuringly as he could.

Karin sighed and looked down at her reflection in the water then around. There was enough steam in the area that she couldn't see the hotel and the others couldn't see them. They could probably do just about anything at the moment and no one would ever know.

"Why do you torment me like that?" Karin asked, sounding almost hurt. "Because it's fun?"

"I...You try your hardest to win Sasuke over," Suigetsu sighed. "You give him your heart. But every time you do, he shoots you down. He crushes you. And I know that pain better than anyone. So when I saw you were hurting, I made a decision to help. Unfortunately, every time I tried, you got mad at me. However, after a couple of times, I noticed that you weren't actually mad, you were taking your pain out on me because I can't be hurt as easily as being punched or stabbed. And after it, you always felt better. So I decided to provoke you, to let you take your pain out on me. Because that was the only way I could help. I torment you, because it helps you, and because I can't watch you hurt like that."

Karin stared at him for a moment before hugging him, trying not to cry. Suigetsu hugged her back, chuckling.

"What's so funny?" Karin demanded pulling back.

"You're going soft," Suigetsu laughed.

Her fist collided with the side of his face, his entire head liquifying and scattering into the hot spring. Then, it reformed and Suigetsu smiled, seeing Karin doing the same, if only sheepishly.

"See?" Suigetsu beamed. "It helps."

"Thank you," Karin smiled hugging him again. "I never realized you being a jerk was for my benefit."

"Sorry I couldn't help another way," Suigetsu smiled.

"It's alright," Karin laughed. "I'm a bit thick headed."

"Must run in the family," Suigetsu chuckled. "Did you know you were an Uzumaki?"

"I am?" Karin blinked before smiling. "Then it definitely runs in the family."

Suigetsu laughed then climbed out of the pool, holding his hand out to Karin.

"Let's go eat," Suigetsu suggested. "We'll need our strength tomorrow."

Karin smiled and nodded, accepting his help out of the spring. They walked into the building and into separate changing rooms where Karin changed into a dry pair of shorts and her shirt. She left the changing room, finding Suigetsu waiting in his usual outfit. They walked to the cafeteria and got some food then sat down at an empty table, as it was already late and the others had gone to bed. They ate relatively silently before heading to bed. Just as soon as Suigetsu had the door closed, Karin spoke up.

"Um, Suigetsu, would you mind...um...staying with me again?" Karin asked, looking him in the eye.

"Worried you'll have a nightmare?" Suigetsu asked, receiving a nod. "Alright. I'll stay."

Karin smiled and turned, walking over to the bathroom. Suigetsu walked over to the chair facing the window and sat down, giving her privacy. After a few moments, the toilet flushed and she left the bathroom, climbing into bed. Suigetsu took his turn in the bathroom then climbed onto the bed beside her, lying above the covers again.

"You know, you don't have to be above the covers," Karin stated. "I don't mind you being underneath."

"I wasn't going to assume," Suigetsu stated, slipping under the covers.

After a moment, Karin slid over, resting her head on his shoulder again and he wrapped his arms around her, allowing her to do the same. As they lay there, both trying, and failing, to get to sleep, Suigetsu began to run his hand through her hair again. After a moment he realized what he was doing and stopped.

"Sorry," Suigetsu apologized.

"It's alright," Karin muttered blushing slightly. "It feels kind of nice."

Suigetsu raised an eyebrow but continued. After a few minutes, Karin's breathing slowed as she finally fell asleep. Suigetsu smiled, and hugged her a little tighter, careful not to wake her. Then, he sighed. As much as they had gotten past her hate for him, he knew he still couldn't match Sasuke to her. No one seemed to be able to match Sasuke. Even his direct relative. Suigetsu looked down at Karin and smiled again. He was happy just being able to be around her, especially like this, but still, part of him, most of him, wanted more.

His eyes took in every detail of the woman he loved. Her glasses, her hair, her nose, her lips. He wanted so desperately to kiss her. As much as he loved to kill, as obsessed as he was with cutting, she was the only thing that could make him give it up. She would never willingly kiss him, that much he knew. But, if he was careful enough, maybe he could kiss her without waking her up. He knew he could.

He leaned down slowly, face inching toward hers. She would never know what he did. What could be the harm? They're faces were only a couple inches away. He could feel her breath as she exhaled. He felt his hands shaking. He leaned in. He inched his way forward. An inch away, a half inch, a forth. He stopped. He wasn't sure why. He was so close. She was still asleep and had no idea what he had planned. He had no reason to stop. Except, he did. Even if he did kiss her, it wouldn't be real. Sure he would be able to say he had kissed her, not that he would ever speak of it again, but it wouldn't be real. Not if she didn't knowingly and willingly kiss him. He wanted to kiss her because she wanted him to.

He pulled back, resting his chin on top of her head again and sighed. He had been so close. It was a shame his conscience had to be so strict.

"Why did you stop?" Karin whispered, startling Suigetsu and making him jump and scoot away from her a few inches, seeing that she was awake.

"I-I-I'm s-s-s-sorry," Suigetsu stammered, face redder than Karin's hair and his face betraying his shame. "I-I-I sh-sh-shouldn't h-have..."

"Why did you stop?" Karin repeated, a little louder. "You don't want to kiss me?"

Suigetsu stared at her in a mixture of shock and confusion. Was she actually saying that she would have let him kiss her? Was she actually giving him permission?

"W-w-well...I-I-I..." Suigetsu stopped, unsure what to say.

Karin smirked at his speechlessness and leaned forward, pressing her lips to his for a brief moment, barely more than a second, then pulled back. Suigetsu stared at her in shock for a moment before leaning forward. Karin met him halfway, sighing as their lips met. Suigetsu's insides all but exploded with joy and pent up emotions, his head going almost completely numb, except for the feeling of her lips on his. They separated for just a moment to breathe before their lips met again, his taking her lower lip in between his and gently suckling as she did the same to his top lip. A moment later, she pulled away, leaving him struggling to be able to breathe at all, let alone normally, and his head swimming. He blinked the stars out of his eyes and looked around. She was sitting up in the bed, her face in her hands as she cried, hard. He sat up as well and felt his heart drop to his stomach, shattering on impact. He opened his mouth to say something but found that he had no words. He wrapped an arm around her to comfort her but she shook it off, turning away from him.

"Karin, I...I'm sorry," Suigetsu muttered weakly. "I didn't mean..."

"Go," Karin sobbed. "Leave me alone."

"Karin-"

"Leave!" she screamed not turning to look at him.

He winced, face contorting in pain before he stood, leaving the room, his sword, Kubikiribocho, not leaving its resting place beside his bed. Karin began to sob anew into her hands, conflicting feelings warring inside her, mostly her feelings for Sasuke and her seemingly stronger feelings for Suigetsu. She didn't understand why she had kissed him. She didn't feel that way. She couldn't. She was just getting her feelings for Sasuke confused with her feelings for Suigetsu. It was just because he had been so nice to her the last couple of days. After a moment, Ryuu walked in, taking in Karin sobbing on her bed then picked up Kubikiribocho and left via the Body Flicker Technique. When he found Suigetsu, they were well over a mile away from the hotel. Both stopped, Ryuu in front of Suigetsu on a branch, watching Suigetsu carefully.

"What?" Suigetsu growled.

"What happened?" Ryuu asked.

"It doesn't matter," Suigetsu said emotionlessly.

"Were you planning on coming back?" Ryuu asked.

"Maybe," Suigetsu shrugged.

"Were you going to say goodbye?" Ryuu asked.

"No," Suigetsu said flatly.

Ryuu nodded and tossed Kubikiribocho to Suigetsu, along with the handle extension. Suigetsu caught both and put them away and continued past Suigetsu. Ryuu turned to look after him but said nothing. He knew why Suigetsu was leaving. He could see the broken heartedness all over his face. After a bit, Ryuu turned, heading back to the others.


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