As he trudged through the virgin snow with his hands in his pockets, Sasuke found his way to the newly frozen pond-turned-ice skating rink (having nothing better to do for the day) and nosily scanned the pairs of his colleagues.
Sai and Ino were falling over each other (thanks to Chouji's clumsines) near the far left side of the pond, which was slightly amusing to the Uchiha, though he had never before concerned himself with their escapades. He quickly lost his focus when Sakura and Naruto came into view, hand and hand as they warily skidded onto the ice. I didn't have to do anything... he mused to himself. Sakura was laughing. Surprising... It seemed like it was only yesterday that she'd been hitting the blonde for being an "idiot" (which he was). Maybe it had been yesterday...
The brunette's eyes dimmed at the sight of them, almost dreamy as he tore himself away from the couple, though he didn't expect to see the Uzumaki signature red hair when he did so. Karin's sandaled feet seemed cemented in the snow, her arms characteristically crossed over her chest as she surveyed the ice rink. She had probably been sent to make sure the ice was stable... Regret began to consume him. Why do I feel so...guilty? Was it because Karin didn't need him? Maybe it was the nagging suspicion that he needed her... He still felt drawn to her, despite his attempt to sever their bond.
Why is she here, anyway? A part of him was angry with her for stirring his heart (though he didn't know what his heart was stirring with, which made him as much of a novice at love as Sakura and Naruto were), and another caused him to become angry with himself. Sasuke Uchiha was not the type of man to stand on the sidelines and watch when he knew what he wanted; he passionately, unrelentingly worked for what he desired most. Passive aggressiveness was not an option, though, with Karin, being aggressive may have no real affect on her...
Unless I aim more for the "girl" part of her.
"AHOO! AHOO!"
A normal person may have thought he was being silly (and really, if he didn't see her as a girl anyway, why was he so interested in her?), but Sasuke was not a normal person. Of course Karin was a girl...but she was the type of girl who wasn't affected by "normal" girl things. For example, her affection for Sasuke had been clear (even though she was super freaking tsundere about it, Sasuke thought), but she had never let it control her, going so far as to criticize him along their entire journey and fight with the Hachibi. He had been grateful for such behavior before- it both made her more useful and endearing when she put the well-being of the members of her team before completing the mission, and he would be dead three times over if not for her and her healing bite- but now? Now that he wanted to woo her as a man, not a shinobi, he cursed this ability of hers.
The raven haired Uchiha could not be sure that she would forgive him (hell, not even he would forgive him if he had been in her position), but one could always try- and put forth abnormal effort to show her how much he cared. How much, he thought, I need her.
He approached her quietly, though not stealthily, and only said her name, "Karin."
The red haired woman flinched as if she didn't want to see him, but she did turn to look at him. Her gaze was stern, her glasses sliding down her nose before she placed her hand on her hip, and Sasuke knew that she would immediately give him an attitude. "What do you want, Sasuke?"
He considered saying something to her, but in his attempt to form words, he ended up speaking with his eyes instead. I want to talk.
She crossed her arms. "No thanks." As she stormed off, a sickening feeling suddenly entered the Uchiha's stomach. He needed her alright. Who else could understand him by only looking at his eyes?
