Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Friend or Foe ❯ Chapter One ( Chapter 1 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: evefaxton 
Why the hell should she care? It's not her war anymore.
Anime/Manga: Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance | Type: Yuri | Uploaded On: 07.19.2011 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.3K | Visits: 873 | Status: Work In Progress
Why the hell should she care? It's not her war anymore.
Anime/Manga: Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance | Type: Yuri | Uploaded On: 07.19.2011 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.3K | Visits: 873 | Status: Work In Progress
I do not own Naruto nor do I make any profit from it
AN: Sakura/Karin My first un-het pairing inspired by the latest manga chapters when Sakura is dealing with White Zetsu. This little plotbunny had been brewing in my head for a couple weeks. Thought I might follow it and see where this goes.
Friends Or Foe
Three shadows ran across the long bridge leading to the Konoha Strict Correctional Facility that sat in the middle of a lake filled with boiling lava. The air stank of sulfur and ash filled the sky, filtering the sunlight into tiny pinpoints that barely illuminated the dark prison. It was a little spot of hell inside Konoha's usually lush and beautiful borders. It held the shinobi deemed too dangerous for polite society.
“I don't know what Morino-san is thinking,” grumbled Udon as they ran at top speed over the hot pavement, “She should stay here and rot.” They reached the front and waited for the jailers to open the door.
Moegi covered one hand over her mouth and coughed from the air heavy with smoke, “Tsunade-sama left him in charge of the village. If she trusts his decisions, then so do I. I'm sure he has his reasons. We're in the middle of a war. She is a medic and we need healers.”
“But she's not even a Leaf. We can't trust her to help us,” The three stopped at the end of the bridge and waited, “Open the door, damn it. We're dying here.” Wiping his eyes from the dust, Udon adjusted his glasses to look up at the guard house.
Konohamaru lifted his arm up and waved the scroll in the air, “Heeey! It doesn't take that long to get confirmation from the Tower. Get your butts moving. We're on a schedule here!”
“Keep your panties on, kid! This thing takes a while to get going,” shouted Gennai from above and the huge door crept open for the three chuunin.
Another guard, Inaho, was already at the main level to greet Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon, “Morino sent us a messenger pigeon just a minute before you guys arrived. Karin is in the infirmary at the moment. I'll lead you there.” The young chuunin followed Inaho through the maze of the prison grounds until she walked down an empty hall and opened a random door.
“There she is,” She pointed to the redheaded woman across the room and examining a fellow prisoner's smashed nose.
Karin perused over the tray of scant tools then chose a set of thin pincers. A pass over the metal by a hand glowing with green chakra and Karin used the tool to pick out pieces of rock chips that embedded in the man's cheek.
He winced to feel the pincers dig into the face, earning him a short slap to the side of his head.
“Be still,” she demanded and he stopped fidgeting to avoid another cuff to the ear.
“Karin,” said Konohamaru and waited for the woman to look away from her work, “I have orders to enlist your skills as a medic for the war effort.”
She snorted and went back to cleaning the prisoner's face, “Fuck off.” Two of the three young chuunin were shocked to hear her out right deny any chance of freedom, but Konohamaru merely huffed.
“But the Hokage is willing to give leniency,” started Moegi, but Konohamaru lifted an arm to interrupt her.
He stepped closer toward the kunoichi, “You don't have a choice. The order has already been made. You can come peacefully and help heal our troops, perhaps get your sentence cut in half. Or we can knock you out, carry you to the battlefield, and shackle you to the hospital tent so you can disinfect surgery towels.”
She narrowed her red eyes and drawled, “You're a real sweet-talker, kid. The Five Hidden Villages must be hard up for medics if they have to threaten me to help. Fine then. At least I'll get some fresh air that isn't eau de fire and brimstone.” Karin tossed the pincers to the prisoner, who was quick to catch it, and she pointed to the bathroom. “There's a mirror inside. Careful what you touch in there. The Legendary Stupid Brothers had a nasty case of the runs earlier. So don't get yourself infected with some nasty shit.” They left the man in the infirmary alone and standing bewildered on what do next.
Two guards waited in the hall and led the group through the prison. Curious convicts watched the procession from behind their cell bars and wondered who was luckier. Themselves who were stuck in the correctional facility, but far from the crazy war with the Akatsuki or the kunoichi breathing clean air, but heading for the front lines.
Udon walked behind Karin and asked, “Do you have any personal affects you wanted to get from storage?”
Karin stopped walking and looked over her shoulder at the prison. There was her old uniform, a drab lavender lab tunic and black shorts courtesy of Orochimaru. Then there was the damned Akatsuki cloak that painted anyone who wore it a walking black and red bullseye. None of those crappy clothes actually she chose for herself. She only accepted them as part of her identity of a missing nin. Karin glanced down at her current attire. Her prison shirt and slacks would work fine until she could find something more suitable for the situation.
“No, nothing at all,” She turned back to the bridge and continued ahead.
When the arrived at the meeting place, Konohamaru perused over the scant group that gathered at the edge of Kohona's tent city, “Is this all there is?” As his heart sank, he noted not only the small number of the nurses and medics, but also the chubby cheeks of baby fat on more than a few faces. His team may be young compared to the those out on the field at the moment, but some of these fresh troops could only have just finished their first year as genin. Konohamaru frowned deeply at the thought they were going to witness war first hand. It had to be more of Morino's doing. He had been pushing for more of the academy graduates to enter his accelerated medical courses. Whether enough information sank in to make a difference remained to be seen, but it looked like he intended testing the final product in the middle of the battlefield.
Karin avoided joining the group and stayed under the shadow of a tall tree. Leaning against the rough bark of the tree trunk, she took a deep breath of fresh clean air, relishing being free from that dank and depressing prison. If the Leaf thought she was going to go out of her way to help them win a war she could care less about, they were going to be disappointed. In her mind, she worked on several escape plans while traveling with the other shinobi.
“Oi, Karin-san,” shouted Konohamaru from the roadside, “It's almost time to leave. Get out here already.”
Rolling her red eyes, Karin walked out of the shadows and came into view of everyone. There was a soft rumble of discontent from the rest of the medics. It was clear they were uncomfortable in the presence of the former Akatsuki kunoichi and the looks of distaste were openly thrown her way.
A woman grabbed Udon's arm and whispered harshly, “What is she doing here? That bitch is a good way to poison our shinobi when they need our help the most.”
“It was Morino-san's idea. Take it up with him,” explained Udon then pulled his arm from her grasp, “And at this point I'm going to have to agree. Compared to everyone else here, she's the one with the best experience.”
Konohamaru and Udon glanced at one another and shared the same thought. Morino's decision to use Karin on the front lines meant that every skilled medic was needed to win the war, even an enemy who healed would be valuable in freeing up the doctors for more serious cases. He held up an arm for all to see and motioned them forward, “We're heading out and keeping a steady pace. Everyone needs to keep up or risk getting left behind.”
Even though she stayed with the group, Karin purposely lagged behind everyone to keep a safe distance. The last thing she wanted to deal with was the nasty glares and whispered insults from the others. Whether living in prison as an inmate or in charge, she knew how to fit in with the lowlifes and manipulate the criminals to do whatever she wanted. Now she had to mingle with 'Normal' and 'Respectable' folk. The very idea of ingratiating herself to them made Karin sick to her stomach. She looked forward to the very first time when she could no longer feel eyes watching then she'll hightail it for Rain's border.
“Don't worry about getting lonely, Karin-san.” Moegi slowed down to match Karin's speed and glanced at the prisoner with a bright smile but a dangerous glint in her eye, “All three of us will be keeping tabs on you from here on out. So don't bother planning some way to escape.”
Karin frowned at the thought of three babysitters watching her every second of every day. She sneered at the chipper Moegi and snapped at the girl, “Wouldn't dream of it.”
True to their word, the Konohamaru Crew kept close tabs on her the entire trip to the , Sleeping and bathroom breaks were spent with Moegi, while Udon and Konohamaru took turns staying by her side. They gave her no chance to escape. It got to the point that Karin looked forward to reaching the Joint Shinobi camps just to ditch those annoying kids. The group arrived at sunset, just in time to see hundreds of shinobi in the medical tents, moaning, groaning, and cursing the names of their own teammates.
Konohamaru knelt beside a man who was resting beside a fireside and nursing a gash across his chest, “What happened here?” Udon rushed to his side and began properly cleaning the wound.
The man was relieved to get some medical attention even if it was from a genin and thanked the boy, “The Akatsuki have clones of our own troops running around the camp. People are attacking each other because they mimic the same chakra as us.”
“That's horrible,” gasped Moegi.
“It get's worse,” the man grunted as Udon pressed healing chakra into his chest, “The clones have been targeting the jounin medics. It's a good thing you got here. We really need you. Just be sure all of you watch your backs.”
The group hurried through the camp until they reached the main tent where the Hokage was meeting with her jounins. A couple genin were standing guard outside when Konohamaru walked up to them.
“Tell, Tsunade-sama that we're here.” The two genin rushed inside and the group heard a slight commotion come from inside the tent.
Tsunade stomped out of her tent and yelled, “WHAT NOW?” She stopped to see all the new medical staff waiting patiently for her orders, “Oh thank kami. Shizune, get out here.” The brunette peeked out from the behind the flap then followed her shishu to meet the new medics.
Relieved to see the fresh healers as well, Shizune immediately started giving the medics to their new assignments, “You and you, go to the surgery tents five and six. You three, tents three and four. The rest of you spread yourselves to the first aid stations around camp.
Shizune stopped when she stepped in front of Karin and frowned slightly, “Morino sent you?”
Tsunade laid a hand on her assistant's shoulder and pulled the brunette away to study Karin, “I suppose you would be useful whether or not you're cooperative.” Narrowing her amber eyes, Tsunade lent a dark edge to her voice, “Or even conscious.” That made Karin stiffen and glare at the Hokage with as much hate she could muster.
“Follow the rules, don't try to pull anything funny and we won't have to resort to extreme measures. Go to the first aid station next to tent one for now. But be mindful of your chakra, I might need you for an emergency.”
Karin bowed then went to work immediately. Moegi took the first shift and walked beside the redhead until they found the tent with a number one painted on the side. They could hear the moans and occasional wail of the seriously wounded.
“Quick, hold him down,” a man yelled from inside. There was a sound of people jumbling together than the sickening sound of a limb or an extremity being chopped off. Moegi went pale and looked like she was going to throw up, while Karin adjusted her glasses and casually waited for the ruckus to die down.
A bunch of weary medics covered in blood came stumbling out the tent followed by a Suna chuunin dragging a white corpse with half it's head missing and deep slash marks all over it's torso. Karin recognized it as the one half of Zetsu which constantly baled Sasuke's out of the fire. As it was tossed to the side, she looked over the body analytically and wondered, “So what does the other side do?”
“You there!”
Karin forgot about the Zetsu clone and turned to the loud voice of a jounin yelling at her, “Hai?”
“We need to tend to the injured medics here,” The man pointed toward the Suna chuunin leaning on his saber for support while his left leg bled profusely, “He's not so bad. Get him cleaned up at the first aid station.”
The chuunin limped forward then nearly fell over from the bloodloss. Karin and Moegi quickly went to either side of the chuunin and supported underneath his arms until they reached the small tent just to the side of the larger surgery. They laid him out on the stretcher then Karin got to work. The jounin medic was right. It looked bad, but the wound was mostly superficial.
As she waved healing chakra over the chuunin's sliced calf, Moegi hovered over Karin's shoulder, watching closely as the flesh and skin slowly knitted itself together. “No doubt about it,” whispered the young kunoichi, “You are good. No wonder...” Moegi blushed when she realized she was talking out loud and pulled backwards.
Karin paused and glared at Moegi from the side, “No wonder, what? That Orochimaru and Sasuke recruited me to heal them? There's more to me than that, but then you don't have that kind of clearance. Do you have any training in healing?”
Moegi shook her head, “Not like that. Udon-kun is the medic of our team.”
Putting one hand on her hip, Karin sighed with disgust, “Do you at least know how to a bind a wound?”
Moegi lifted her chin and huffed, “Of course.”
Karin moved out of the way and waved the young kunoichi to the patient, “Then now is a good time to put that skill to use. Then he'll be fine with some rest and regular first aid.”
“B-but can't you move things a lot faster by..” Moegi wiggled her fingers in a mysterious pattern.
Karin smirked and wagged a finger, “Remember the Hokage's orders, I need to conserve my chakra reserves.” Stretching her arms, Karin looked around to see who was next in need of healing.
She was about to head for the next tent when she froze in one spot and murmured, “I know that chakra... Don't tell me she's here?” It was far too easy for Karin to know that it was indeed the kunoichi who saved her life not too long ago. Any sensor ninja would have to be stupid to forget that chakra.
When Karin first tasted Sasuke's chakra, it had a cool awesome feeling that had her heart skipping a beat. Juugo was a barely controlled anger and rage that rippled underneath a thin coat of calm. Suigetsu? Karin snorted to herself. Suigetsu was Suigetsu. Slithering, slimy, moldy crap that was always on the move like a hyperactive snake.
When she came across that Naruto guy who had Sasuke going nuts, his started out warm and beautiful but digging deeper revealed the immense evil of the bijuu inside of him. She never wanted to dive that far into the kid ever again. But that girl... That kunoichi who wept over her broken body and tried to heal what Sasuke had left for dead... Her chakra was sweet and crisp like fresh lychee wrapped with the delicate touch of unconditional love. It was difficult to forget chakra like that.
That chakra ran past their tent and then stopped in front of a communications jounin. Karin held her breath until she heard the familiar voice that had been etched into her memories, “Shizune-san has figured out the White Zetsu clones. We need to relay this information to the nin on the battlefield right away!”
The redhead checked to make sure Moegi was paying attention to the patient before she peered out the tent flap in time to see a medical chuunin only a tad shorter than herself with soft pink hair trimmed to a practical chin length. The flak jacket with the Leaf emblem marked her as Konoha and respected by the shinobi from the way she dished out orders to men bigger and older than her.
The redhead had heard that girl's name mentioned by the Copy Cat ninja when he carried her to Konoha for interrogation. Karin tapped her lip in thought, 'What was her name again?' She quickly stepped back into place when Moegi stood up from the patient's cot.
The young kunoichi didn't notice Karin's movement, but gasped when she saw who was standing right outside the tent and she tore open the tent flap, “Sakura!”
Converting /tmp/php4fDABe to /dev/stdout
AN: Sakura/Karin My first un-het pairing inspired by the latest manga chapters when Sakura is dealing with White Zetsu. This little plotbunny had been brewing in my head for a couple weeks. Thought I might follow it and see where this goes.
Friends Or Foe
Three shadows ran across the long bridge leading to the Konoha Strict Correctional Facility that sat in the middle of a lake filled with boiling lava. The air stank of sulfur and ash filled the sky, filtering the sunlight into tiny pinpoints that barely illuminated the dark prison. It was a little spot of hell inside Konoha's usually lush and beautiful borders. It held the shinobi deemed too dangerous for polite society.
“I don't know what Morino-san is thinking,” grumbled Udon as they ran at top speed over the hot pavement, “She should stay here and rot.” They reached the front and waited for the jailers to open the door.
Moegi covered one hand over her mouth and coughed from the air heavy with smoke, “Tsunade-sama left him in charge of the village. If she trusts his decisions, then so do I. I'm sure he has his reasons. We're in the middle of a war. She is a medic and we need healers.”
“But she's not even a Leaf. We can't trust her to help us,” The three stopped at the end of the bridge and waited, “Open the door, damn it. We're dying here.” Wiping his eyes from the dust, Udon adjusted his glasses to look up at the guard house.
Konohamaru lifted his arm up and waved the scroll in the air, “Heeey! It doesn't take that long to get confirmation from the Tower. Get your butts moving. We're on a schedule here!”
“Keep your panties on, kid! This thing takes a while to get going,” shouted Gennai from above and the huge door crept open for the three chuunin.
Another guard, Inaho, was already at the main level to greet Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon, “Morino sent us a messenger pigeon just a minute before you guys arrived. Karin is in the infirmary at the moment. I'll lead you there.” The young chuunin followed Inaho through the maze of the prison grounds until she walked down an empty hall and opened a random door.
“There she is,” She pointed to the redheaded woman across the room and examining a fellow prisoner's smashed nose.
Karin perused over the tray of scant tools then chose a set of thin pincers. A pass over the metal by a hand glowing with green chakra and Karin used the tool to pick out pieces of rock chips that embedded in the man's cheek.
He winced to feel the pincers dig into the face, earning him a short slap to the side of his head.
“Be still,” she demanded and he stopped fidgeting to avoid another cuff to the ear.
“Karin,” said Konohamaru and waited for the woman to look away from her work, “I have orders to enlist your skills as a medic for the war effort.”
She snorted and went back to cleaning the prisoner's face, “Fuck off.” Two of the three young chuunin were shocked to hear her out right deny any chance of freedom, but Konohamaru merely huffed.
“But the Hokage is willing to give leniency,” started Moegi, but Konohamaru lifted an arm to interrupt her.
He stepped closer toward the kunoichi, “You don't have a choice. The order has already been made. You can come peacefully and help heal our troops, perhaps get your sentence cut in half. Or we can knock you out, carry you to the battlefield, and shackle you to the hospital tent so you can disinfect surgery towels.”
She narrowed her red eyes and drawled, “You're a real sweet-talker, kid. The Five Hidden Villages must be hard up for medics if they have to threaten me to help. Fine then. At least I'll get some fresh air that isn't eau de fire and brimstone.” Karin tossed the pincers to the prisoner, who was quick to catch it, and she pointed to the bathroom. “There's a mirror inside. Careful what you touch in there. The Legendary Stupid Brothers had a nasty case of the runs earlier. So don't get yourself infected with some nasty shit.” They left the man in the infirmary alone and standing bewildered on what do next.
Two guards waited in the hall and led the group through the prison. Curious convicts watched the procession from behind their cell bars and wondered who was luckier. Themselves who were stuck in the correctional facility, but far from the crazy war with the Akatsuki or the kunoichi breathing clean air, but heading for the front lines.
Udon walked behind Karin and asked, “Do you have any personal affects you wanted to get from storage?”
Karin stopped walking and looked over her shoulder at the prison. There was her old uniform, a drab lavender lab tunic and black shorts courtesy of Orochimaru. Then there was the damned Akatsuki cloak that painted anyone who wore it a walking black and red bullseye. None of those crappy clothes actually she chose for herself. She only accepted them as part of her identity of a missing nin. Karin glanced down at her current attire. Her prison shirt and slacks would work fine until she could find something more suitable for the situation.
“No, nothing at all,” She turned back to the bridge and continued ahead.
When the arrived at the meeting place, Konohamaru perused over the scant group that gathered at the edge of Kohona's tent city, “Is this all there is?” As his heart sank, he noted not only the small number of the nurses and medics, but also the chubby cheeks of baby fat on more than a few faces. His team may be young compared to the those out on the field at the moment, but some of these fresh troops could only have just finished their first year as genin. Konohamaru frowned deeply at the thought they were going to witness war first hand. It had to be more of Morino's doing. He had been pushing for more of the academy graduates to enter his accelerated medical courses. Whether enough information sank in to make a difference remained to be seen, but it looked like he intended testing the final product in the middle of the battlefield.
Karin avoided joining the group and stayed under the shadow of a tall tree. Leaning against the rough bark of the tree trunk, she took a deep breath of fresh clean air, relishing being free from that dank and depressing prison. If the Leaf thought she was going to go out of her way to help them win a war she could care less about, they were going to be disappointed. In her mind, she worked on several escape plans while traveling with the other shinobi.
“Oi, Karin-san,” shouted Konohamaru from the roadside, “It's almost time to leave. Get out here already.”
Rolling her red eyes, Karin walked out of the shadows and came into view of everyone. There was a soft rumble of discontent from the rest of the medics. It was clear they were uncomfortable in the presence of the former Akatsuki kunoichi and the looks of distaste were openly thrown her way.
A woman grabbed Udon's arm and whispered harshly, “What is she doing here? That bitch is a good way to poison our shinobi when they need our help the most.”
“It was Morino-san's idea. Take it up with him,” explained Udon then pulled his arm from her grasp, “And at this point I'm going to have to agree. Compared to everyone else here, she's the one with the best experience.”
Konohamaru and Udon glanced at one another and shared the same thought. Morino's decision to use Karin on the front lines meant that every skilled medic was needed to win the war, even an enemy who healed would be valuable in freeing up the doctors for more serious cases. He held up an arm for all to see and motioned them forward, “We're heading out and keeping a steady pace. Everyone needs to keep up or risk getting left behind.”
Even though she stayed with the group, Karin purposely lagged behind everyone to keep a safe distance. The last thing she wanted to deal with was the nasty glares and whispered insults from the others. Whether living in prison as an inmate or in charge, she knew how to fit in with the lowlifes and manipulate the criminals to do whatever she wanted. Now she had to mingle with 'Normal' and 'Respectable' folk. The very idea of ingratiating herself to them made Karin sick to her stomach. She looked forward to the very first time when she could no longer feel eyes watching then she'll hightail it for Rain's border.
“Don't worry about getting lonely, Karin-san.” Moegi slowed down to match Karin's speed and glanced at the prisoner with a bright smile but a dangerous glint in her eye, “All three of us will be keeping tabs on you from here on out. So don't bother planning some way to escape.”
Karin frowned at the thought of three babysitters watching her every second of every day. She sneered at the chipper Moegi and snapped at the girl, “Wouldn't dream of it.”
True to their word, the Konohamaru Crew kept close tabs on her the entire trip to the , Sleeping and bathroom breaks were spent with Moegi, while Udon and Konohamaru took turns staying by her side. They gave her no chance to escape. It got to the point that Karin looked forward to reaching the Joint Shinobi camps just to ditch those annoying kids. The group arrived at sunset, just in time to see hundreds of shinobi in the medical tents, moaning, groaning, and cursing the names of their own teammates.
Konohamaru knelt beside a man who was resting beside a fireside and nursing a gash across his chest, “What happened here?” Udon rushed to his side and began properly cleaning the wound.
The man was relieved to get some medical attention even if it was from a genin and thanked the boy, “The Akatsuki have clones of our own troops running around the camp. People are attacking each other because they mimic the same chakra as us.”
“That's horrible,” gasped Moegi.
“It get's worse,” the man grunted as Udon pressed healing chakra into his chest, “The clones have been targeting the jounin medics. It's a good thing you got here. We really need you. Just be sure all of you watch your backs.”
The group hurried through the camp until they reached the main tent where the Hokage was meeting with her jounins. A couple genin were standing guard outside when Konohamaru walked up to them.
“Tell, Tsunade-sama that we're here.” The two genin rushed inside and the group heard a slight commotion come from inside the tent.
Tsunade stomped out of her tent and yelled, “WHAT NOW?” She stopped to see all the new medical staff waiting patiently for her orders, “Oh thank kami. Shizune, get out here.” The brunette peeked out from the behind the flap then followed her shishu to meet the new medics.
Relieved to see the fresh healers as well, Shizune immediately started giving the medics to their new assignments, “You and you, go to the surgery tents five and six. You three, tents three and four. The rest of you spread yourselves to the first aid stations around camp.
Shizune stopped when she stepped in front of Karin and frowned slightly, “Morino sent you?”
Tsunade laid a hand on her assistant's shoulder and pulled the brunette away to study Karin, “I suppose you would be useful whether or not you're cooperative.” Narrowing her amber eyes, Tsunade lent a dark edge to her voice, “Or even conscious.” That made Karin stiffen and glare at the Hokage with as much hate she could muster.
“Follow the rules, don't try to pull anything funny and we won't have to resort to extreme measures. Go to the first aid station next to tent one for now. But be mindful of your chakra, I might need you for an emergency.”
Karin bowed then went to work immediately. Moegi took the first shift and walked beside the redhead until they found the tent with a number one painted on the side. They could hear the moans and occasional wail of the seriously wounded.
“Quick, hold him down,” a man yelled from inside. There was a sound of people jumbling together than the sickening sound of a limb or an extremity being chopped off. Moegi went pale and looked like she was going to throw up, while Karin adjusted her glasses and casually waited for the ruckus to die down.
A bunch of weary medics covered in blood came stumbling out the tent followed by a Suna chuunin dragging a white corpse with half it's head missing and deep slash marks all over it's torso. Karin recognized it as the one half of Zetsu which constantly baled Sasuke's out of the fire. As it was tossed to the side, she looked over the body analytically and wondered, “So what does the other side do?”
“You there!”
Karin forgot about the Zetsu clone and turned to the loud voice of a jounin yelling at her, “Hai?”
“We need to tend to the injured medics here,” The man pointed toward the Suna chuunin leaning on his saber for support while his left leg bled profusely, “He's not so bad. Get him cleaned up at the first aid station.”
The chuunin limped forward then nearly fell over from the bloodloss. Karin and Moegi quickly went to either side of the chuunin and supported underneath his arms until they reached the small tent just to the side of the larger surgery. They laid him out on the stretcher then Karin got to work. The jounin medic was right. It looked bad, but the wound was mostly superficial.
As she waved healing chakra over the chuunin's sliced calf, Moegi hovered over Karin's shoulder, watching closely as the flesh and skin slowly knitted itself together. “No doubt about it,” whispered the young kunoichi, “You are good. No wonder...” Moegi blushed when she realized she was talking out loud and pulled backwards.
Karin paused and glared at Moegi from the side, “No wonder, what? That Orochimaru and Sasuke recruited me to heal them? There's more to me than that, but then you don't have that kind of clearance. Do you have any training in healing?”
Moegi shook her head, “Not like that. Udon-kun is the medic of our team.”
Putting one hand on her hip, Karin sighed with disgust, “Do you at least know how to a bind a wound?”
Moegi lifted her chin and huffed, “Of course.”
Karin moved out of the way and waved the young kunoichi to the patient, “Then now is a good time to put that skill to use. Then he'll be fine with some rest and regular first aid.”
“B-but can't you move things a lot faster by..” Moegi wiggled her fingers in a mysterious pattern.
Karin smirked and wagged a finger, “Remember the Hokage's orders, I need to conserve my chakra reserves.” Stretching her arms, Karin looked around to see who was next in need of healing.
She was about to head for the next tent when she froze in one spot and murmured, “I know that chakra... Don't tell me she's here?” It was far too easy for Karin to know that it was indeed the kunoichi who saved her life not too long ago. Any sensor ninja would have to be stupid to forget that chakra.
When Karin first tasted Sasuke's chakra, it had a cool awesome feeling that had her heart skipping a beat. Juugo was a barely controlled anger and rage that rippled underneath a thin coat of calm. Suigetsu? Karin snorted to herself. Suigetsu was Suigetsu. Slithering, slimy, moldy crap that was always on the move like a hyperactive snake.
When she came across that Naruto guy who had Sasuke going nuts, his started out warm and beautiful but digging deeper revealed the immense evil of the bijuu inside of him. She never wanted to dive that far into the kid ever again. But that girl... That kunoichi who wept over her broken body and tried to heal what Sasuke had left for dead... Her chakra was sweet and crisp like fresh lychee wrapped with the delicate touch of unconditional love. It was difficult to forget chakra like that.
That chakra ran past their tent and then stopped in front of a communications jounin. Karin held her breath until she heard the familiar voice that had been etched into her memories, “Shizune-san has figured out the White Zetsu clones. We need to relay this information to the nin on the battlefield right away!”
The redhead checked to make sure Moegi was paying attention to the patient before she peered out the tent flap in time to see a medical chuunin only a tad shorter than herself with soft pink hair trimmed to a practical chin length. The flak jacket with the Leaf emblem marked her as Konoha and respected by the shinobi from the way she dished out orders to men bigger and older than her.
The redhead had heard that girl's name mentioned by the Copy Cat ninja when he carried her to Konoha for interrogation. Karin tapped her lip in thought, 'What was her name again?' She quickly stepped back into place when Moegi stood up from the patient's cot.
The young kunoichi didn't notice Karin's movement, but gasped when she saw who was standing right outside the tent and she tore open the tent flap, “Sakura!”
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