A/N: It has been a really long time since I was on here. Here's to finally updating something! I do not own Naruto.

When Karin woke next, the room was far brighter than it had been and Suigetsu, once again, was not in the bed or in the room with her. She put her glasses on and looked at the clock on the wall, gasping and sitting bolt upright. It was almost ten and he hadn't woken her. She stood up and quickly sat down again, head spinning. A noise sounded at the doorway and she saw him enter. He was immediately next to her.

"What's the problem?"

She started speaking and found that she didn't have to whisper, but her voice was slightly scratchy.

"Nothing's wrong. I stood up too quickly that's all."

He nodded.

"Alright. Stand up slowly this time. We need to leave soon."

She nodded, grasping the bedpost and slowly pulling herself upright with it. Her head didn't spin and she managed to stand and take a step forward without falling over. She walked to the doorway and turned, putting her arms out with a grin.

"I did it."

He grinned back.

"So I saw. Congratulations."

He walked over to stand in front of her.

"Come into the kitchen. I made breakfast for you."

She halted when they reached the kitchen. Toast and eggs were arrayed across the table neatly, waiting for her. Her stomach grumbled and Suigetsu laughed.

"Sounds like you're hungry. Come on."

He led her to a chair and sat her down. She eyed the food cautiously.

"Is it edible? I remember you had no talent for food preparation at all."

He chuckled as he moved around the table to sit across from her.

"Don't worry. I learned. It's completely safe to eat."

To prove his point, he picked up a piece of toast, spooned an egg onto it and bit into it, taking almost half of it in an enormous mouthful. She watched with her mouth hanging open.

"That's disgusting."

Karin picked up her own piece of toast and ate it with better decorum than he did. They were finished inside of ten minutes and he shooed her out of the kitchen to go pack the rest of her gear together. She found her pack in the bottom of her wardrobe and quickly shoved all her spare clothes and necessary items into it. She lifted it onto her shoulders and walked out into the lounge room. Suigetsu was standing in front of two people she didn't recognise and she started to walk warily back into the room when they all spotted her at the same time. Suigetsu waved her over, grinning like crazy.

"Come here, Karin. I want you to meet me and me."

Right before her eyes, all three of them changed into the white haired, purple eyed Suigetsu she knew so well. She stared at them in shock. They all smirked at the same time, making her put her hand to her head and stagger backwards. All three rushed to her aid, picking her up and carefully placing her on the lounge. She opened her eyes to see three Suigetsu's staring at her in concern and she closed them again, groaning.

"If you don't get rid of the other two now, I'm going to pass out."

There was the sound of rustling clothing and Suigetsu grunted.

"You can open your eyes now."

She opened them to see an old man and woman standing next to Suigetsu. She watched as he created another clone, which changed its appearance to look like a young, dark-haired teenager. He grinned at her, the same time as his 'parents' did, each of them displaying different sets of teeth. She glanced at Suigetsu, who was organising the packs. None of them looked like him.

"What are they for?"

He glanced up.

"These three are going to go on ahead with our packs. We need to be burden free, so we're going to travel in the clothes we're wearing and only carry food. These guys can go faster than us at the moment so this is the best option."

She nodded slightly. The old woman moved forward, giving her a toothy grin as she picked Karin's pack off the ground like it weighed nothing and swung it onto her back. Karin moved to stop 'her', but stopped herself. The illusion of being old was convincing. Suigetsu came and stood beside her as the other two picked up the remaining backpacks and put them on.

"Right guys, don't go through any villages if you can help it. If you can't, try to act as inconspicuous as possible. I don't want you dying on me, alright?"

The three nodded. Suigetsu continued talking.

"Ok. Keep to the trees and don't attract unwanted attention, like bandits and such. If that does happen, you-" he pointed to the clone disguised as the old woman, "- drop the pack and fight as hard as you can. You other two continue on with the bags. Try not to forget any in the excitement. Clear?"

They nodded again and Suigetsu nodded back with satisfaction.

"Ok. You can go."

One by one they moved out the door. The one masquerading as the young man blew a kiss to Karin as he left and she blushed uncomfortably. Suigetsu just smirked, shaking his head.

"They all act like me and that's what I'd do."

He walked back into the kitchen and continued packing the remainder of the food into two bags. As soon as he finished, he checked the time.

"Ten past ten. Not too bad, I guess. Here. This one's yours."

He lifted the smaller bag and passed it to Karin. She looked at it warily.

"Don't worry, it's just bread. I have the heavier stuff."

She shrugged and pulled the bag onto her back. He followed her out into the lounge room, watching wordlessly as she turned slowly, staring at the room around her. She halted at one point and stepped forward, walking to the wall, putting her hand on it.

"Do you remember this, Suigetsu?"

She glanced at him and he sighed, nodding slowly.

"Yes. And I'm sorry."

"Will it ever come off?" She asked softly.

"No."

She dropped her head.

"I thought as much."

He stepped forward and put an arm around her shoulders.

"I was young and stupid, and I didn't think I would ever see you again. I thought it would be the best one for you."

She shook her head.

"Don't worry about it."

He squeezed her shoulders as they moved towards the door.

"Think about it this way, Karin. You got to kiss me."

Her fist swung around and hit his head, making her arm drenched with water. She left the guardhouse blushing furiously, followed by Suigetsu's laughter.

They set a moderately fast pace away from the guardhouse. Suigetsu had told her that it would take them two days at least to get back to his home. He had made it in a day with continuous running and three rest stops along the way. They would be travelling slower with more frequent rest stops. It was midday when Karin stopped to rest on a tree branch, panting. Suigetsu stopped next to her.

"You're out of shape. Have you been training at all since I left?"

She shook her head, too busy breathing to answer him properly. He shook his head and stilled, swearing after a few seconds. Without waiting for Karin to recover, he swung her into his arms and continued jumping.

"What are you doing?!"

She started kicking at him and he had trouble holding her. He stopped on another branch and dropped her, creating another clone, passing it his pack. He lifted Karin up and took her pack from her shoulder and passed it to the clone.

"Go on ahead to the first campsite. We'll meet you there. If it's occupied, hide the packs and kill yourself."

The clone nodded and jumped away. Karin watched it go with annoyance.

"What did you do that for? I was doing great carrying that."

Suigetsu turned to face her.

"I left two clones behind, one as me, one as you. Your lovely neighbours came to the guardhouse and killed them both."

She gasped in horror. He nodded grimly.

"We need to get going. They're two hours behind us and I want it to stay that way. They are civilians, but as of now, you technically are as well. I'll be setting the pace, and if I have to, I will carry you."

She didn't say anything. He eyed her.

"Can you continue?"

She hesitated, but nodded after a few seconds.

"Yes. But not for long. My stamina is low."

He nodded, swinging her back into his arms.

"Alright. I'll carry you as far as I am able. Hold onto your energy as best you can."

He pushed off from the branch and Karin held on tightly.