The Harsh Truth

Chapter 14

Some time, life gives you hell in exchange for nothing. Other times, it gives you heaven for pretty much the same price. It's in the nature of life: ups and downs make it that. One moment you're in peace, the other you are holding the mangled corpse of your mother, who barely had enough time to push you out of the way of a falling building. Still, that wasn't what mattered at the moment, no, at the moment, what mattered that she was having a long bath with hot water.

It had taken a couple of hours, she had cleaned herself with cold water before, but right now, it didn't matter any longer. Even as she kept her arms wrapped in towels, not wanting to look at those marks, those bite marks that would probably never fade away, too much time has passed to treat them, she couldn't help but feel completely relaxed. The fact that she felt that familiar chakra aura in the next room was probably a part of it.

The man's name was Naruto, and, to her eyes at least, it was an angel in human's skin. There was no other way to describe his strength, his aura, and his kindness. The only problem was that she didn't know how much it would last. Eventually, he'd go his own way, and she'd have to go her own, right? She couldn't follow him, could she? As she moped over it, she decided to solve the problem once and for all. Blushing slightly, she moved to exit the bathroom, and reach the room in the palace Hikaru had been so kind to give her.

"The clothes are on the seat right next to you, don't come out naked," Naruto's words were enough to make her stop, catching her breath. Obviously he was a sensor, and obviously he seemed a pretty good one too…did he peak on her? Was that how he had realized…

"No, but I have an idea of what you are thinking, and it won't work…I'm avoiding you the embarrassment: just dress up and come here, dinner is going to get cold otherwise," with those simple words, Karin's face was already fully red, just like her eyes and her hair. She hurriedly put on the clothes, white shirt, light blue jacket, light white pants, male clothes, but her size, and better than the tatters she had before.

She hurriedly walked over, sitting in front of the man, where her plate, and food, was.

"I…I just…" she what? She didn't want him to leave?

"Eat…tomorrow we're leaving for Konoha, both of us that is," at those words, Karin's mouth opened in shock, her eyes showing the very same emotion, "You'd think I'd leave you here? I'm bringing you to Konoha, there's the Uzumaki clan matriarch there…and if she doesn't know what to do, or doesn't have a free room, the Senju's clan has so many empty houses and rooms it could house half of Konoha, without problems."

The next moment, the girl was hugging, in tears, Naruto.

"Hey…your dinner is going to get cold," he whispered back at her, gently patting her on the head, "now, now, no more tears," he added, gently.

"Why are you…so kind?" she whispered, trying to at least get back a semblance of recollecting herself.

"Because it's who I am," Naruto replied, before turning to his own dinner, letting Karin reach for hers.

In the next minutes, he looked at the red haired girl trying to get her fingers to work on the chopsticks, but it had been so long since the last time she had used any, that clearly she wouldn't be able to eat with them soon.

Naruto ate quietly, looking at the girl's face growing more and more distressed, until, finally, he smiled, and produced from his backpack a spoon for the rice, a knife and a fork, all in white plastic.

"Here…don't let anyone into this little secret of mine, but when you're running and eating canned food, to hell with chopsticks, spoon is the way," as he handed the utensils over with a light wink, Karin nodded, taking them before finally starting to eat.