" Oi Sasuke, where is Karin?" Suigetsu asked. They were walking towards the battlefield, after having removed the seal from Orochimaru's hands. Sasuke remained silent while he reminded himself of the horrible thing he had done to Karin. He sometimes wondered if she was still alive. He had recently found out that she was from the Uzumaki clan, and that those have a frightening good stamina. However, Karin was not trained to survive, she was trained to be a sensory type.

" Sasuke?" Suigetsu said, stopping his walk. He felt that something was off, even Juugo was now looking at Sasuke. Sasuke's face was as 'cool' as ever but his chakra wavered.

" I killed her" he said ultimately. After all, Itachi had just taught him that lying would never get him anywhere. He was sure that either she bled to death, or the interrogation team from Konoha tortured her to death for intel. Simply because he knew how torturous Ibiki is.

Suigetsu laughed. " I am serious Sasuke, what did ya do with her?"

Juugo looked away, noticing that Sasuke wasn't joking. Orochimaru was looking at the three, watching them react to each other.

" Sasuke?.." Suigetsu's chakra started to darken. Surely Sasuke did not kill Karin? Sure she can be a pest, annoying and even worth to kill but.. She loved Sasuke, he knew that. When Sasuke turned his face to Suigetsu he saw that Sasuke was not joking at all.

" I killed Karin " he repeated, a sense of guilt washing over Sasuke. He was sure, because he had pierced her right through her heart. He saw how Suigetsu's usual goofy expression was overtaken by rage.

"Sasuke, she fucking loved you!" Suigetsu charged right at Sasuke, noticing how Sasuke didn't bother to dodge. Suigetsu punched him with all his might in the face, causing Sasuke to fly back against the wall.

" You.. She was ready to give up her life for you!"

" ...And she did "

" You.. You have fallen" Suigetsu said. His chakra was now dark, so dark that standing next to Suigetsu alone would harm you. He felt his heart scream. Karin was more important to him than he thought. He was her annoyance, she was his entertainment. Since when did this all change? That didn't matter to him right now. Right now he wanted revenge. He charged right towards Sasuke, but was held back by Juugo.

" LET ME GO, JUUGO!" Suigetsu screamed. He was more than furious, he wanted to kill Sasuke right here right now. His mind kept remembering the moments where Karin would question how she could make Sasuke happy. Suigetsu felt tears in the corners of his eyes, lowering his head, while Juugo still held Suigetsu back.

" She... She thought of you as everything.." Suigetsu calmly said. " You treated her as trash""

" ..." Sasuke stood up and wiped the blood off the corner of his mouth.

" Did you ever thought of her more than just a tool? " Suigetsu was breathing heavily, trying to contain his rage.

Before Sasuke could answer, Suigetsu raised his head. His face was flushed and his eyes dangerously sharp.

" Do you even know how much she helped you?! If she just cared for me like that, I would have never treated her like trash!"

" Sorry to interrupt your love confession, Suigetsu-kun. Sasuke-kun , we have a guest " Orochimaru said with a sneer whilst pointing at a tree.

Sasuke's eyes widened for a second when he could see the familiar red hair and eyes. The features were eerily familiar. Was it a genjutsu? No it simply was reality.

" Sasuke you bastard answe-" Suigetsu turned around and felt his heart drop. It was someone he thought he would never see again. He shook Juugo's loosened grip off his arms and slowly walked towards the tree.

"Sasuke.. Is this one of your genjutsu? Or is it edo tensei?" Suigetsu whispered. He could see Karin emerge from the depths of the forest with the saddest expression on her face.

Sasuke gulped slightly. " Edo tensei..?" He whispered to himself.

Orochimaru raised a brow and snickered. " Those brats don't even know the difference between edo tensei and reality" he thought.

"..." She was silent. Suigetsu walked towards her and placed his hand on her cheek. " You are the real Karin, right?" He said his eyes desperate for confirmation.

" Don't touch me Suigetsu!" She shouted while punching him yet a slight blush was visible on her cheeks. Suigetsu started to laugh.

" It's really you, Karin! " He smiled, holding her tightly, but releasing as fast as he held her. He felt embarrassed and was afraid she heard what he had just said.

" Sasuke " she said, a poisonous coating over her words. " I will never forgive you for betraying me like that" she said seriously.

" I don't expect you to " Sasuke said, his eyes not showing any sign of regret. However Karin could sense in his chakra that he was trying to cover the guilt he felt.

" You are right on time, Karin. Suigetsu was just holding his speech of love for you" Orochimaru grinned.

Suigetsu's face became red and he tried to hush Orochimaru. Karin began to laugh. " Of course, he wouldn't be able to resist my charms" she said. Suigetsu face palmed, regretting that he had said anything.

" Karin.. I apologise. I was.. Not in my right mind" Sasuke said, his eyes lowered, less prideful than usual. Karin sighed deeply.

" I won't forgive you just yet, Sasuke. You crushed my heart literally. I had to go through hell to escape"

Suigetsu was surprised. She even made Sasuke apologise to her , but she didn't forgive him. Suigetsu smiled and ruffled Karin's hair. " Oh, so you have a bit of intelligence, how surprising".

" If she just cared for me like that " Karin recited Suigetsu's words with a smirk.

Sasuke watched the two of them bicker. He smiled slightly. He wanted to return to Konoha. To make things right again.

" Karin, you matured " Sasuke said.

Karin looked up and smiled. She felt better than before.

Suigetsu saw something sticking out of her pocket and grabbed it. " Hey this was the toothbrush I lost at the hot springs that day!" He exclaimed.

" It wasn't Sasuke's?!" She was furious and started to beat up Suigetsu.

" I take it back " Sasuke said whilst turning around to leave.

Suigetsu didn't care that he was being beat up, thought it hurted. Karin was alive, that was all that mattered.