Flinching slightly as he fingered his wound, Sasuke blew a bit of air out of nose. Did he always have to play the villain? He shouldn't have gone back to the skating rink. Leave it to Naruto to render the second chattiest konoichi in Konoha speechless... If this kept up, there may not be enough of him left to do anything for Karin.
She wouldn't even speak to me. The thought hurt him more than he was willing to admit, but he closed his eyes, letting none of it show on his face. Why the hell was this so hard? A long time ago, girls had flocked to him left and right (Karin and Sakura having done the same) but now that he cared, none of it mattered.
You were kind of a douchebag to her, aside from stabbing her in the heart, taunted a nagging voice in the back of his mind. 'That's none of your concern'? It's like telling her to stop caring about people. You're the idiot, not Naruto.
He twitched, though as he did, his wound stung a bit more, causing him to hiss in pain. She'd gotten strong alright. A flush of pride filled him at the knowledge that Sakura had become stronger...though he was sorry he'd been the victim of her monstrous punch. How does Naruto take these punches all of the time?
Without knowing it, he had stopped walking just outside of Karin Uzumaki's abode. His onyx irises scanned his surroundings before he walked up to the door and knocked on the door frame.
She appeared much faster than he expected; she did not seem friendly, but he did admit that even her petulant expression was attractive. Her arms crossed just as they always did (even when she wasn't displeased), though this time she didn't speak; instead she waited.
"I'm...." His words came out in a whisper, and he swallowed his pride as he lowered his voice. "...sorry."
"What? I can't hear you. Sorry, Sasuke, but talking with your eyes isn't going to get you anywhere." Karin told him matter- of- fact-ly, her hand reaching to pull the paper door shut.
"I'm sorry." He said the words with difficulty because of his stiffening, painful jaw, but they were audible nonetheless.
The words hung in the air as they rang loud in clear between them, and Sasuke did not move; they stared each other down for a long while, as if they were challenging each other, and then Karin squared her jaw. "What happened to you? Your jaw looks totally broken."
He almost smiled at her. Sasuke closed his eyes, unconcerned, though again, the words came out with difficulty. "Nothing...compared to...the Hachibi."
She rolled her eyes a bit, but he noticed her repressing the urge to smile. "Whatever, come in before someone sees."
