Konoha Village
"Where... am I...?"
Sakura shot upright in bed, startling Karin who was sitting beside her. She stared down at her own hands, then tentatively touched her arms, her face, her body, still feeling deeply disoriented.
"Sakura! Are you okay? You scared me half to death!" Karin cried out, seeing Sakura awake, and threw her arms around her in an emotional hug.
"Uh, I'm fine," Sakura replied, somewhat confused by the teary-eyed girl clinging to her. "Where is this?"
"This is your room!" Karin said, pulling back slightly and wiping at her eyes. She looked closely at Sakura, and a flicker of fear entered her own expression. There was something wrong with Sakura's gaze. It was... vacant. Missing its usual vibrant spark, its depth of feeling. It was unsettlingly cold. Not the coldness of killing intent, but the chilling emptiness of someone utterly devoid of emotion.
"My room?" Sakura repeated, the words sounding strangely mechanical, her mind simply processing the external stimulus without connection.
"Sakura, you've been asleep for two whole days! This is the third day already," Karin explained anxiously. "Lady Tsunade came by to check on you. She said you were probably just exhausted and needed sleep... Thank goodness you finally woke up."
"I... slept for two days? Lady Tsunade?" Sakura frowned, her mind methodically searching its archives for these terms. After a moment, the data surfaced. "Tsunade, one of the Sannin. My master. The teacher who taught me ninjutsu," she recited aloud, the information delivered flatly, as if reading from a file.
"Sakura... what... what's wrong with you?" Karin choked out, gripping Sakura's hand, her voice trembling. "This... this isn't the you I know." Sakura's robotic detachment was terrifying. Benefiting from her unique sensory abilities, Karin could perceive people on a deeper level than just appearances. She could sense it clearly – Sakura was currently exhibiting absolutely zero emotion, responding with pure, cold logic like a machine.
"I'm fine..." Sakura paused, then continued slowly, "It's just... I'm not quite accustomed to having a body..."
"Wh-what... does that mean?" Karin stammered, swallowing hard.
Seeing the raw fear and tension in Karin's expression seemed to finally strike a chord deep within Sakura. A flicker of something – confusion? Concern? – registered on her previously blank face. Her expression softened. She reached out and pulled the distraught Karin into a hug, gently patting her back in a comforting gesture.
Perhaps witnessing Karin's genuine distress was the catalyst. Slowly, gradually, the familiar warmth and expressiveness returned to Sakura's eyes and demeanor.
Karin sensed the shift immediately. Seeing the Sakura she knew return, she burst into tears of sheer relief, clinging tightly.
"Karin..." Sakura murmured, holding her friend for a moment before looking around the room, her expression now one of pure surprise. "Did you just say I was asleep for three days?" Having no recollection of her strange, detached state, the news came as a genuine shock now that her normal emotions had resurfaced.
"Yeah," Karin confirmed, finally loosening her grip and wiping her eyes again. "I came back the day before yesterday afternoon and found you asleep here. You were still sleeping all day yesterday; I couldn't wake you up at all. Lady Tsunade came and examined you, said you were fine, just deeply asleep."
"Huh..." Sakura scratched her head, then tapped her temple lightly, trying to shake off the lingering mental fog.
"I'll go get you a glass of water," Karin said kindly, noticing Sakura's bewildered look.
"Mm," Sakura nodded.
After Karin left the room, Sakura puzzled over the three lost days. That's weird. I feel perfectly fine physically, I wasn't injured... why would I sleep for so long? Losing three days for no reason was frustrating. She tried to recall what she was thinking about before falling asleep... Right, finding a place for a lab... moving out... researching that Ōkami Shinju wood... Wait. The wood! Where did it go?!
A jolt of panic went through her. In her earlier disorientation, she hadn't noticed, but the meter-long branch was gone! Did Master Tsunade take it? Karin said she came here...
Just then, Karin returned, carrying a steaming cup of what smelled like sweet red bean tea. "Karin," Sakura asked immediately, "did you see that piece of rotten wood I had? It was right over here." She pointed to the spot where she remembered leaving it.
"Oh, you mean that old branch?" Karin thought for a second. "Yeah, Lady Tsunade was coming over, so I... uh... I threw it out."
"You threw it where?!" Sakura exclaimed, instantly agitated. It wasn't irreplaceable, but did she really want to make another trip all the way back to Red Shoal Island?
"I... I just threw it in the storage room!" Karin clarified quickly, looking curious at Sakura's panicked reaction. "What is that thing anyway? Is it really important?"
"Phew... okay, okay, good," the pink-haired girl breathed a sigh of relief. "Yes, it's important, but not unique. There's more where it came from, it would just be a huge pain to go get it again."
"Oh! I'll go get it for you right now," Karin said, setting down the red bean tea and hurrying out of the room again.
Sakura picked up the cup Karin had left and took a slow sip. Wow, Karin's skill has really improved. The red bean tea was rich and fragrant. A pang of guilt hit her; Karin had almost certainly learned to make this, practiced it, for her. Despite their time apart during Sakura's mission, this simple cup of tea spoke volumes about Karin's attachment and reliance on her.
"Found it, Sakura!" Karin burst back into the room excitedly, holding... a perfectly smooth, pale, almost "tender-looking" piece of wood.
Pfft! Sakura barely managed not to spray tea everywhere. Σ⊙▃⊙川 She pointed, sputtering, "Th-th-this is that wood?!"
"Yeah," Karin replied, looking completely baffled by Sakura's reaction. [?_??]
"What happened to it?! How did it turn... white and smooth?" Sakura took the piece, utterly dumbfounded.
"Oh, that!" Karin blinked innocently. （∩▽∩） "The surface was all rough and nasty, so I tidied it up for you!"
╮(￣⊿￣)╭ What could Sakura even say? How could she possibly get angry when Karin had clearly meant well? Sigh... I'll have to take this to Shino, she thought resignedly. Hopefully, he can figure out if the energy, the Seijutsu, is still present even after the outer layer's been peeled off. Please don't let it have just been in the bark...
"Sakura... did I... did I do something wrong?" Karin asked timidly, noticing Sakura's conflicted expression. Σ(°Д°;
"No, no, it's fine," Sakura quickly reassured her, forcing a smile. "The peel's gone, it's gone. No big deal." She changed the subject abruptly. "Anyway, is there anything to eat? I'm starving!" A sudden wave of hunger hit her. （︶︿︶） It was already afternoon; she glanced at the clock – around 3:30 PM.
"What do you want? I'll make it for you!" Karin offered eagerly, practically bouncing on her feet. ...*\(^o^)/*
"Uh," Sakura thought for a moment. "I'd like... Sekihan. Red bean rice."
"Sekihan?" Karin tilted her head. "Like the kind people eat for festivals?"
"Yeah, that kind. Can you make it, Karin?" Sakura asked.
"Of course I can!" Karin declared confidently. "My mom and I used to make it together all the time for festivals... back then..." Her voice trailed off, her expression clouding over with a momentary sadness. But just as quickly, she shook it off, her usual energy returning. "Anything else you want?" (︶.?︶?)
"No, that's perfect," Sakura said, relieved to see Karin bounce back so quickly.
Leaning back in her chair, Sakura picked up her cup of red bean tea again, listening to the comforting sounds of Karin bustling about in the kitchen... Feels a bit like I've entered early retirement, she mused with a small smile. But... this is actually kind of nice. (^_^;)