Karin stared at the ceiling. Things hadn't been so confusing for a long, long time.
In Kusa, things had been terrible, but simple. Let people bite you, heal them. They had never seen her more than a tool. And she knew she had been lucky enough to leave before puberty, because they would not have hesitated to abuse her in more ways than they did when she was a mere child.
With Orochimaru, she had been given purpose. Assisting him in his research with immortality, as well as whatever tasks he could delegate to her.
She wasn't stupid, or naive. Orochimaru, while not being the complete monster he was known as outside of Fire Nation, was pretty far from being a morally upstanding citizen. He saw her as useful, and so treated her well, protected her, and she had never minded the rest.
Besides… a rigid hierarchy was the only thing she knew from life. Kusa had taught her that people lower on the totem pole were treated worse than those above. It only made sense to climb.
As cynical as it was, the ninja world as a whole was no different. Leaf could hide it, but she had seen the poorer districts, and it was a far cry from the clan compounds.
And while Karin knew that finding your worth through being useful to other people was a terrible idea, she was still learning how that worked, exactly.
Even now, she was trying to find goals of her own. Something that wasn't just helping other people accomplishing their own.
She would have to get stronger, in order to help with the Akatsuki situation, of course. They would come after her best friend. And they would kill Sasuke, too, who was someone she cared about, even though it had been years.
But after this…? She would need to find something. If they didn't mind, she would love to continue traveling the world with Naruto and Sakura.
It had been dangerous, certainly. It would probably be even more so in the future. But it had been the best time in her short life, as of yet.
And Naruto…
Naruto was different. She had no doubt that even he would come to understand that some form of hierarchy was needed, considering his goals, but she knew it would be tempered by his nature.
But here was someone her age, that she could talk with, was kind to her and was not expecting anything from her. The same thing had happened for her with Sakura.
She hoped he would not change too much from whatever the world would throw at them. Because she was afraid that she would stay at his side, even then.
She had been lonely before she met him. And she had been lonely when she met him again, even though it had been less obvious.
She cared about him. Probably more than he understood.
And… he cared about her. So much that she had trouble wrapping her head around it.
She was attracted to him, of course, but physical attraction was just one thing. Now that the seals were amplifying the desire that was already there… It was becoming hard to believe she only saw him the way she saw Sakura.
So, sure, she cared about him, and sure she found him very attractive, and sure she wanted to stay by his side, but…
Ah. Shit.
She was in love with Naruto, wasn't she?
It was easy to forget that Orochimaru was one of the strongest shinobi in the world.
The man was so sure of his ability that he rarely had to remind people of it. And his reputation did most of the heavy lifting on its own.
But here was a man who had mastered all five basic nature transformations, along with Yin and Yang Release... was extremely skilled in fūinjutsu, kinjutsu, and senjutsu.
He apparently had a silver tongue, a talent for politics when he bothered and his sharp mind was obvious to anybody who spoke with him.
For these reasons, Naruto sometimes forgot that he was a master of kenjutsu.
Sarutobi was great at it. He had taught him the basics, and brought him to a very solid level.
Orochimaru was simply better. He had pushed Naruto beyond what he thought was possible with a sword, a staff, a spear, a naginata… or even a bow.
He probably was the man with the greatest, widest arsenal of jutsu and knowledge alive, equaling or having overtaken Sarutobi.
So usually, when he spoke, Naruto listened.
"…A marker near every major city?" He asked.
Orochimaru nodded, as if he hadn't asked him to walk around the entire Elemental Countries.
"Ah, come on. I just settled from the most painful boat trip of my life."
The man shrugged. "I know. I would do it myself if I could. But you're the only one who can actually add more marks to the network."
That was true. Naruto said nothing.
"Besides, you have the chakra capacity to go back and forth easily. There's no reason you can't come back here every night."
How he hated the reasonable arguments he made.
"What will you be doing meanwhile?"
Orochimaru seemed amused. He knew he had him. "Oh, simply making sure our little village grows in the right direction. By the way, we'll mark more people to join in a few days. I will tell you when."
Naruto grumbled. He knew it just made perfect sense for him, since he was the only one who could mark places… or people.
"I'll ask Sakura to come with me." Naruto decided. "We'll be able to cover more ground with her portals."
Orochimaru sighed. "You just want me to pay the girl, don't you…? Very well, it will be done."
Naruto grinned. "That's just a bonus. And I might as well take Karin, too, while we're at it. She's not on your personal bankroll anyway."
"Do as you please. Both of you are strong enough, by now."
Naruto gave him a nod, and turned to walk away.
"Oh, by the way." Orochimaru said.
'I have a feeling I won't like it.'
"…Yes?"
"Could you deliver this to the Hokage?" He handed him a scroll.
"…I wasn't intending on setting foot in Konoha."
Conflicted feelings rose within him.
"Well, now you are. Another matter is settled."
"Sarutobi... would know who I am for sure."
"If he didn't tell anybody about your identity before, including me, I don't think he is ever going to. That would open another can of worms he probably doesn't want to deal with."
Naruto sighed. "Do you really need me to do this?"
"Yes." Orochimaru looked at him seriously. "You will find out why it has to be you when you give it to him."
Konoha.
Ino. Sasuke. Toru. Kakashi.
Konohamaru. Biwako.
Sarutobi.
There were many things he wanted answers to. Some he didn't.
At least he had the benefit of not being recognizable - to most people.
"Very well. I accept."
"Thank you."
Naruto found the two young women sparring again. Looking at the lakeside house, he found that he could get used to living here like that.
"Sorry to interrupt, girls. Prepare your travel packs, we're leaving for the continent tomorrow morning."
"Huh? Why?" Karin asked, scrunching her face.
"To put Gates everywhere, basically. Apparently Orochimaru has a few people he wants us to get, too."
"Is he going to pay me?" Sakura asked.
He threw her a scroll, which she caught and unfurled. She whistled.
"Alright, I'm coming."
"…And you call me greedy."
"What was that?" She put a hand to her ear. "Can't hear you over the sounds of my pockets lining up with fine gold."
"Does he need all of us for that?" Karin asked.
"Well, no. You don't have to come, actually. I just kinda wanted you to." Naruto said sheepishly. Karin looked surprised. "Okay, can you take care of our little house, then? We'll probably drop by to sleep here most nights."
"No no. I'm coming."
"But you said-"
"I'm coming. That's what I said." She nodded quickly.
He shrugged. "Aight. I still need to prepare a few seals for mass production before anything, so see you later tonight."
The next morning, Naruto grabbed each girls' shoulder. There was no point in having them use natural energy, when his own chakra would refill faster anyway.
They appeared in the south of the Land of Rice, close to the border with the Land of Iron — which was south of Mountain's Graveyard.
There was only one major city in Rice they hadn't marked yet, so... The plan was simple.
"Okay, so once you get there…" Naruto said, addressing Sakura. "Open a gate, then jump to our position once I drop a mark. Open the second gate there, and I will come with you to put a permanent Gate there."
"Simple enough." She nodded. "After that, I'll be heading to the Land of Hot Water, before going up north, to Frost. Then Lightning."
Naruto nodded. "We're going West, to Waterfall, before going into the Land of Earth."
"Probably better to do it as fast as possible, rumor has it the tensions are growing between Iwa and Konoha." Karin added.
"Sounds like a plan. Same thing goes for Mist and Wind, though, doesn't it?" Sakura thought aloud.
"Yeah." Naruto nodded. "Maybe we can do Lightning later, then."
"All right."
"Be careful, Sakura."
She laughed. "I will. See you guys later today."
Sakura left with a wink.
Naruto turned to Karin. "Now that Sakura's gone…"
"Y…Yes?" She said, nervous for some reason.
"Do you know any mobility techniques?"
"Ah. Okay. No, I don't." She sighed.
"Put me dooooownnnnnn!" Karin screamed, as they soared above the trees, Naruto's legs shrouded in Lightning.
"…Are you sure right now is a good moment?" He shouted back, looking over his shoulder, where Karin was currently grabbing onto his neck for dear life. He was… amused?!
"Nononono aaaaaaaaaah!" She screamed again as they started falling.
What the hell had she been thinking, accepting his offer to give her a piggyback ride? She had thought it could be a nice, cute moment.
Instead they were falling to their death.
'Oh please no oh please no no no no non-.'
Naruto focused more Wind chakra under his feet, slowing down their fall at the latest possible moment. They touched the floor slowly, and she dared hope for a moment-
Lightning crackled and they were ascending again.
"Aaaah!" Karin screamed again, as they leaped even higher.
She only started to accept her fate after the fourth jump.
"Never again." Karin said, once they stopped.
"You don't like being up in the sky?" Naruto asked, actually surprised. He had thought it was just the surprise of the first jump.
"Hell no! I love the sea, and solid ground even more." She said, leaning against a tree for balance.
"Ah. Sorry, then." He said, contrite.
"No! I mean. Don't be." She said, trying to look strong. "I'm a big girl, I can take it!"
He shot her a doubtful look. "…Okay. You don't have to pretend because you're afraid of slowing me down."
She deflated.
"I can always make time for you." He smiled, and she grinned too.
"Let's go with the Body Flicker, then? We're close to the Land of Canyons. Waterfall is not too far away now."
"Sure thing." He grinned. "Catch me if you can." Naruto blurred away.
"Oh, you ass-"
She hurried after him, but she couldn't stop herself from grinning too.
As the name indicated, the Land of Canyons was well… mostly made out of canyons.
There were gorges too, of course, deep ravines with water flowing through it, and many without any river at all. These steep cliffs were formed by frequent erosion at the plateau level.
These big empty rocky fields made for the perfect terrain for shinobi to jump around. Even if they missed a jump, these platforms were so wide that they could simply grab on the cliff-side and climb back up.
There was only one major city in the Land of Canyons, besides Waterfall, and it would be their second destination.
Naruto and Karin raced to get to the village of Waterfall, full speed ahead.
They slowed down once they got closer, not willing to risk being seen as enemies.
It was pretty easy to find, even for Naruto's pretty average sensing skills. They just had to locate the plateau with waterfalls coming out of it… and then look for the waterfall standing between them and a high chakra concentration.
He arrived at the cliff overlooking the plateau before she did. It was a nice warm-up. She arrived entirely out of breath.
"Guh…"
"You alright? You look a little red in the face." He laughed.
"Just… need… to catch… my breath." Karin panted.
"Sure, we're close enough. I'll put a mark right here."
He did so, before sitting down in full lotus. Now they just had to wait for Sakura to open a gate.
She arrived a little while later, no doubt having felt another permanent Gate being created.
"Did I miss something?" She asked.
"Just me destroying Karin." Naruto laughed.
Karin said nothing, just focusing on recovering chakra as quickly as she could.
"Ready to go?" He asked Sakura.
"Me?" She laughed. "I just need you to go, I'm staying here with Karin."
He grumbled something vaguely rude in return.
It was a quick affair, he went in through the gate, dropped a mark, made it stick, and went back through.
The immediate change in landscape and altitude was a bit disconcerting, though, he had to say.
"Alright, let's eat something."
"Here?" Karin asked.
"Well, yes. It's a nice landscape." It was true, they had a prime seat over the canyon. "I know you girls are pretty hungry-" They protested vehemently, and he chuckled. "So I made a few more bentō."
"…Wait. You're the one making them every time?" Sakura asked, surprised.
"Huh? Who else…? I've been cooking since I was… What, nine, ten?" He grumbled. "Biwako taught me. I think she was trying to get out of doing it herself. The old bat."
Karin and Sakura shared a look.
"Well, here I thought you bought us food from time to time…" Karin said. "That's even better. Thank you." She grinned.
"Thank you." Sakura said, in earnest.
"Ah… Come on… It's nothing." He said, blushing a bit. "I'm sure you're both great cooks yourself."
"Not really." Karin admitted.
"I just buy meat and roast it." Sakura shrugged.
"…Well. Okay. I'll do the cooking, then." He paused to think. "With double beef for meatgirl."
Sakura made a rude gesture at him.
He added. "Don't count on me to scrub floorboards, though. I've got something… personal against them."
Sakura left again.
Karin having recovered, they headed north. One more mark to set in the Land of Canyons today, one more in Hot Water, and they'd go home.
"Are you planning on going to Konoha?" Karin asked, as they used the Body Flicker at the same time to reach for the next rocky plateau.
Naruto looked at her, a wry smile on his face. "Heh, you saw right through me."
"Well, it did look like something was on your mind the whole time. Considering you seemed pretty relaxed yesterday before you told us we were going to the continent…" She shrugged.
"You should become a detective." He grinned.
"Only if you become my assistant." She joked back.
"You just want me under you." Naruto laughed. He heard no answer, and turned around. "Wooow, be careful there. You almost missed your jump, Karin."
"…Yeah, sorry I was thinking of something else."
"Bad time for it." He chuckled.
They focused their chakra for a longer Body Flicker and crossed an entire canyon with the next jump.
"Nice one, Karin."
"It's easier when I'm not running after you!"
He laughed. "You should get faster, then! We'd avoid the whole dilemma."
She scoffed. "I don't have fancy Lightning jutsu to make myself run faster… or Wind to catch myself if I fall."
He's deep in thought. "I think… Water could work. For catching yourself I mean."
"…I never tried, to be honest."
"My dear sensei would scold you for lacking creativity." Naruto tutted.
"Lucky he's just the man I work for, and not my teacher, then."
"For sure!"
"Naruto. Stop right here."
"Huh?" He questioned, but listened right away.
"You can try to hide your chakra all you want!" Karin yelled. "It is way too foul for that."
Karin waited. Naruto stood next to her, ready to spring.
One woman emerged, behind a lower spire. Naruto gritted his teeth. She was older, taller, and definitely more muscular, but there was no hiding who she was.
That mint colored hair was too unique for that. And so were the alien, orange eyes.
"Aw." She said, a sharp grin on her tanned face. "And here I hoped to surprise you guys!"
Naruto focused on his link with Sasuke, summoning a dark blade. Karin started to mold Water-natured chakra.
"Don't hesitate, Karin. She won't." Naruto said.
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I would like to thank akira akatsuki for his/her support