Karin sat up in her futon when she heard the knock at her door. For an enemy, the citizens of Konoha were treating her very kindly, and the small white hospital room had a relaxing feel to it, which really did help her rehabilitation. She flipped the covers off her body, swung her legs out onto the floor, and grunted as she stood up off of the low bed. Her footsteps were quiet as she padded lightly towards the door, the afternoon sun lighting her way.
When she opened the door and saw who was on the other side, she winced self-consciously. Naruto had probably been the nicest to her. He'd never accused her of anything, and had accompanied the nurse on more than one occasion to her room for lunch. He always told the funniest stories, and was still trying to convince her that you could live off of ramen. She knew that he was one of the reasons she was recovering so quickly.
But today he had a sad smile on his face. A smile that she'd only glimpsed a few times, after he'd laughed at something he'd remembered about Sasuke, and before he'd hurriedly changed the subject. A smile that was shown seconds before tears spilled over and the voice of the one crying, no matter who it was, would rise and fall so much that the words spoken would be incoherent.
"Naruto," Karin gasped, stepping aside, "come inside. Sit," she said, gesturing at the small table. "Would you like some tea?" she added, rummaging through the baby blue painted cupboards.
"Yes, please," Naruto said softly, his head down.
As Karin set a cup of the bitter yellowish liquid down in front of him, Naruto picked up the drink and took a long gulp. When he finished and set the cup down, he rested his chin against his chest in thought. Karin sat down across from him and put her hands in her lap, waiting for him to speak. The bright orange of his outfit, which usually made the room more colorful when he entered, seemed to be drab and gray, as if reflecting his mood, portrayed by his slumped shoulders and the dark circles under his eyes.
When he did lift his head and breathe in sharply through his nose, Karin sat back and braced herself for his next words.
"Kakashi is worried that Sasuke will come and kill you," Naruto said, leaning forward and resting his forearms on the table, "as you are now a liability. A loose end, so to speak."
"That's not the only reason you're here, Naruto," Karin said softly. She reached up a hand to tuck a stray hair back behind her ear. She leaned forward, taking a breath and holding it, then settled back on her heels and pinched the bridge of her nose between her right thumb and forefinger.
"Explain to me why you look so tired," she murmured, glancing up at the dejected looking blond.
"I was looking for this all night," he said, holding out a folded piece of paper. The edges of the yellowed paper were rough, and the whole thing was slightly curved, showing that it had probably been stuffed into its fair share of pockets. Karin smiled gently, and slowly unfolded it. Sakura Haruno, Naruto and Sasuke all stood closest to the camera in the photograph, with their headbands drooping over their left eyes. Kakashi-sensei was in the back with a suspicious book and a bored look in his uncovered eye. Karin laughed, then refolded the paper and started to hand it back to Naruto.
"No, you keep it," he uttered quickly. "I was hoping that if you did see Sasuke, you could, um... ah, I was hoping you could give it to him!" he finished in a rush.
"Of course I'll try," Karin all but whispered. She smiled softly.
"Thanks," Naruto said, standing up. "Really, I owe you one."
"Just one question. Why?"
He stopped in his tracks, his hand on the door handle. "For luck. When I left for training, that picture reminded me of my motivation. That maybe..." he sighed, then finished with an embarrassed chuckle, "maybe Team 7 would be together again." Then he left.
**********
Sasuke swung in through the window of the hospital room a second after Naruto had left. The idiot still thought any of the people around here meant something to him? Dream on, loser!
Karin turned around at his approach, eyes wide. He reached out to wrap his fingers around her scrawny neck, but she rushed into him before he could do anything. A foot away from him, she slammed the photograph into his chest.
"Sasuke, you, you," she took a breath and kissed her life good-bye, as she should. "You baka!"
Surprised, Sasuke stepped back, reaching up to catch the picture.
"If you'd been here a little longer, stayed with him even a day more, you wouldn't have turned out like this. You're so stupid, so bent on revenge that you don't even know how great your life could have been here!" She was crying now, out of pity for Naruto, he guessed, who still foolishly thought of Sasuke as a friend.
"You could have been stronger than you are now..." she trailed off. Then choked.
"As if," Sasuke hissed, lifting her off the ground with one hand. She kicked her legs, clutching his forearm, gasping and trying to breathe through her blocked airway. Her grip weakened, her eyes rolled back, and she almost stopped struggling.
Footsteps echoed down the hallway, and a nurse rushing in with lunch was becoming inevitable. Sasuke dropped the nearly lifeless mass, a dull thud sounding out in the room. He then picked up the picture and jumped to the window.
"Where are you going with that?" Karin gasped, propping herself up on an elbow.
"I'm going to burn it," he said, finally slipped out of the hospital room that reeked of ramen and laundry detergent.
***********
Back at camp, Sasuke held the picture over the fire. Even Madara was giving him space since he'd returned, which was surprisingly calming. He gazed at the photograph, thinking about where they'd taken it.
They'd been trying, (and failing,) at seeing Kakashi with his mask off. Somehow he'd ended the escapade with his arms wrapped around Chouji's neck, trying to choke him, but had loosened his grip and donned a stupid smile when Kakashi-sensei had turned to look at him and the rest of his team. As revenge, he and Naruto had actually worked together to convince Ino to snap a picture of Team 7 with their headbands tied Kakashi style.
He poised his thumbs and index fingers on each side of the photograph, preparing to rip it up and toss it into the flames, but instead, he folded it up and tucked it into the pocket of the inside of his shirt.
Maybe he wasn't as cold a detached as he'd have liked to believe.
The End
