Fanfiction Collection + EPub Links - Chapter 124

Plot: When she first found him, cold, drowning, and catatonic, Karin never thought that she would one day fall in love with this blond idiot.

Pairing: Naruto x Karin

NOTE: Happens after the fight in The Valley of the End

Rain was horrible, it meant a lack of sunshine, a lack of dryness, an overabundance of wet. In the Grass, the rain often brought thunderstorms, massive dark clouds like angry gods raining down death and destruction. But worse, worse was the floods, they came without warning and wreaked devastation.

A flood took everything from her once before. She was bȧrėly a child when it happened, she remembered her mother being happy, her father being alive, and her home. They had a home, not the crappy shack that she and her mother used to live in but a real home with a real yard and a real family.

But then a flood came, taking her home, her father, their happiness, and eventually her mother. Leaving Karin alone in this cold dark world to cut out a place for herself. She had felt and seen happiness when she participated in the chunin exams in Konoha when she was rescued by a boy Sasuke Uchiha.

But since then her life had become hell.

“They probably think I’m dead already,” Karin shivered as a gust of wind blew up into her shelter, a small cave along the steep incline of a raging river that Karin had to pull herself out of. Her dismal fire bȧrėly more than a glowing pile of embers sputtered and faded with the wind and rain before it surged back to life.

She’d have to get more wood soon.

This was all their fault, she had told them that this mission was dangerous, she had told them that it was too risky, she warned them about the weather. But those idiots said that everything would be fine, that she could heal any wounds they got, and that if she died it was her fault for being weak.

“Bastards,” She ripped off her headband and threw it into the fire. They didn’t care if she lived or died, so why should she care about them? The only person in her life that cared about her was her. It had been that way ever since her mom died. The strap of her headband fed the fire while the metal plate sunk into the growing pile of ash.

She pushed all of her hatred into watching that plate burn hoping that it would start to melt, or that it was some dark symbolic ritual set the whole village aflame. Thunder clapped and that anger died. She screamed, good loud and hard, pressing herself up against the cold wet wall of the cave. “Please, someone come, I can’t take it anymore.”

She just wanted to be safe and warm and dry and not starving. It didn’t matter with who or where. Anywhere was better than here. And anyone was better than being alone.

“If only Sasuke was here. If I get attacked by a bear again, I wonder if he’d show up.” the thought brought a smile to her face bȧrėly strong enough to stop the tears from falling from her face. She pushed her glasses up and wiped her eyes, only succeeding in getting more rainwater on her face.

The fire began to fade. If she went out there, she might die. If she didn’t she’d freeze to death, she could already feel the early stages hyperthermia began to set in. The kind of wood didn’t matter, even waterlogged would be fine with her jutsu, she just needed the fuel.

With a groan Karin stood with slow and shaky movements, ready to run back inside the second she saw another flash of lightning. The wind had died down, but the sky was still dark and heavy with rain. “Hopefully it doesn’t start hailing.”

Through the curtain of rain, she surveyed the area scanning for any kind of wood, a fallen tree, some driftwood, anything. She saw a large log stuck against a rock near the shore, probably brought from upriver. And there was something orange on it.

“Wait, that’s a person!” She closed her eyes and focused on her mind’s eye, he was alive, if only bȧrėly. With slow careful steps down the rocky slopes, Karin advanced towards them.

He was a blond boy, half-drowned and covered in blood, the only thing stopping him from being dragged down river was his orange jacket, a massive hole torn through it was snagged on one of the branches and was getting close to tearing loose. He seemed familiar, kind of. There was no headband symbolizing his allegiance, was he even a ninja?

Gritting her teeth Karin placed a hand on the log and stepped onto the water, normally walking on water wouldn’t be a problem for her, but she was tired, hungry, afraid, and the water was wild. She needed to be careful a slip for her would likely mean both of their deaths.

She inched her way towards him, both hands holding firm to the log. Why on earth was she risking her life for a stranger? Especially one that was probably going to die anyway. There was no way that his body wasn’t in late stages of hypothermia, plus there was the blood that was still leaking from his head.

Biting her lip she extended her hand outward and grabbed him by the collar.

Lightning struck.

Thunder boomed.

A tree set aflame, splintered in two, crashed down into the river.

Karin screamed, throwing herself onto the log as her concentration failed her her feet slipping down into the water. Her glasses fell from her head tumbling off the log and into the raging water below. Another reason to call this day an absolute monstrosity that had no right to exist. The clarity she once viewed the world with was gone, and everything became vague, dark, and blurry.

Slow deep even breaths. “I’m in a valley surrounded by tall trees. The lightning won’t hit me the lightning won’t hit.”

She tried to stop the shaking, but she couldn’t even move, her body was paralyzed and her feet were growing numb. She had to move! Somehow among the rain and wind, she heard the boy’s jacket tear and his body shake loose.

She lunged, grabbing holding of the boy by his arm, his head lulling in the water. One hand sticking to the log with chakra even as her fingers were losing their feeling. Why was she risking her life for his again?

With what little strength she had left in her, she pulled, dragging the boy behind her. Inch by painful inch she moved towards the shore.

“Now,” she pointed toward her cave and let out a sigh. “I have to carry your ȧss all the way up there.”

This better be the son of some nobleman she was saving. Somehow she managed to drag the blond boy up into her cave, where the glowing embers of her fire offered little in the warmth she was hoping for. Once again she tried to turn her anger and annoyance into something useful by staring at the embers. Nothing happened.

“Maybe you have something that can help me?” The boy had some useful stuff, a few ration bars – she quickly ate one – a few scrolls that she couldn’t read, and several kunai. So she rescued a ninja, there went her noble’s son dream. Maybe he came from one of the nice villages that would be so grateful she saved his life that they’d offer her a spot among them?

“I guess there’s no way of telling until you wake up, huh?” She poked him in the cheek and sighed. She didn’t even get any wood for her fire, just a useless boy, at least his body heat my do something, probably not.

The sky cracked and thunder exploded as the log he had been stuck on was shattered into flaming splinters. Even if she wanted to go get some of the precious fire it was too risky, she could bȧrėly see, and it was only getting darker. Which meant it was going to get colder.

“I can’t believe I’m about to do this,” she growled, taking off the boy’s jacket with extra venom. His shirt was next, then his pants. Leaving him in just his undėrwėȧr. Even if she couldn’t really see, there was no way she was going to take those off for him.

“If you wake up before I do and get any funny ideas I’m going to kick your ȧss.” Assuming they lived through the night. Karin placed her chain shirt next to his and spread out their clothes as good as she could around the fire in the vague hope of the embers drying them. But with the wind blowing rain, she doubted it would do much.

Clad in nothing but her undėrwėȧr she grabbed the boy and pulled him close, using his body as a shield for the rain and a source of warmth. He was oddly warm, despite being pulled out from a water. It was nice, even if it was the most embarrassing position she’d ever been in.

She’d probably die if somebody were to find her like this.

She needed a plan.

If it was still raining tomorrow and Blondy was still knocked out, they’d probably die.

If he was awake, she could send him out into the rain to gather firewood, unless he couldn’t see shit like her then they both die.

No rain and she would wait for him to wake up, if he didn’t she’d probably leave him and take what she could of his and try to make her way to a village. If he did they’d head off together to the nearest village, get directions, and then she would insist that he take her to his village. He owed her for saving his life after all.

“You better at least be cute, rich, or useful,” Karin mumbled before she forced herself to sleep. She still couldn’t believe that she was cuddling in her undėrwėȧr with some boy she never met before.

XXXX

When she awoke it still smelled like rain, but the sun had finally peaked out from behind the clouds. Or so she thought, it looked bright and cheery out there, and there were birds happily chirping in the distances.

But that wasn’t what concerned Karin the most, sure it not raining and a lack of thunder was a great thing, however, it was her companion that concerned her. At some point, her catatonic cuddle buddy had moved during the night and was now hugging her tightly.

It was actually kind of nice. And warm.

Pushing herself out of his arms Karin tried to examine him once more, she still couldn’t see shit without her glasses. They were probably lost in the river forever now, those things were expensive.

He owed her a new pair of glasses. He owed her a lot actually, maybe he was one of those oath-bound idiots and he’d be her eternal manservant.

She stared at him for a few silent moments trying to figure out if he was asleep or not. He probably was, she’d wake him up after she was dressed. He did not need any thoughts about her cuddling him in their undėrwėȧr in order to stay warm.

The good news was that her clothes were kind of dry. So she had that going for her.

She poked him in the cheek. “Hey, wake up.”

He ġrȯȧnėd and slapped her hand away. Rude.

“I said wake up!” she shouted right in his ear.

“Ahh, I’m awake!” Blondy shot up like a rocket, stumbling forward and almost hitting his head on the low hanging roof. He turned to her, still in his undėrwėȧr. “Umm who are you?”

Well, he certainly didn’t have any shame, standing in front of her in nothing but his undėrwėȧr. Shame she couldn’t tell if he was hot or not. For all, she knew he could be ugly. He didn’t sound hot. “I’m Karin, I’m the girl that saved your life by pulling you out of the river, now who are you?”

“Me?”

“There’s no one else around.”

“Oh…I don’t know.”

That didn’t sound good. Karin took a deep breath and tried to think about this calmly, maybe he just didn’t know if he should tell her his name? Maybe he was shy or something. “You don’t know as in you don’t know who you are?”

“Yea, that one, do you know who I am?”

He was an idiot. An idiot that didn’t know who he was.

Karin wanted to scream. So she did. A good long healthy scream.