In 9 Days

chapter 5

Day Two

Pinky

When you come to think about it, Team Hebi wasn't such a bad group. It wasn't even that much of an evil group, when you already got to know the members. Sure, they did bad things—things that most normal shinobi would not have done. They were still mysterious, with little quirks and the almost uncanny habit of not really talking that much about their past. And they were feared, too—not by all, of course, but still...by enough people who simply saw them not as ex-missing nins, but as monsters.

First off, there was Sasuke. The so-called leader of the group. Even after two years of village imprisonment, and even after the Uchiha had been given back his status as Konoha nin and member of Team Seven, he still was, in more ways than one, part of Team Hebi. He trained with them. Hung out with them. Served his punishment with them, in his first year of return.

And still, people saw him as the betrayer.

Then there was Suigetsu. True, when Sakura first met him, she was a bit sickened—you could say she kinda despised him at first sight, especially when she found out that his specialty had been slicing limbs off people before killing them. But, when you came down to it, she couldn't exactly blame him—even if his ways, for her, had been wrong. He had been Orochimaru's experiment, and he had suffered there. Suffering did a lot to make people stupid and evil. Just look at Sasuke—the guy was a splendid example of that. Still, during Suigetsu's probation, he had behaved. And he had become more open, and more human than most—kind of like a cross between Naruto and Kiba, when it came to the loud-mouthing and sarcasm department.

Yet people still saw him as a killer.

There was, of course, Juugo. Sakura could understand where people were coming from for fearing him. After all, his cursed seal was dangerous. His huge, overtly muscular built was a bit scary. His rampage was a threat. But, like Suigetsu, he had behaved—or, to be more precise, Sakura and the Hokage had made him behave, by doing what they could to heal his unwanted curse. On the outside, he was intimidating—but when you looked, really looked, he wasn't so bad. In fact...he was one of the nicest guys Sakura had ever met.

But, in people's eyes...he was still the beast. The stuff made for nightmares.

The demon.

Then there was Karin. The only girl of the group. Loud and proud and confident, was what she was. She threw temper tantrums, she bitched about stuff, and she complained about anything under the sun. She was stubborn as a mule, and as flirty as females could come. But she had stayed loyal to Konoha—and she remained one of Sasuke's most faithful followers (well, okay—more like stalker). The girl most fangirls feared messing with—though she could oftentimes be more annoying and screechy than most of them put together.

But then, so was Ino. And yet nobody ever judged Ino.

It was Karin who was always labeled the bitch.

Some people, even after two years (one year heavy probation, plus one year training to finally be considered regular nins of Konoha) still didn't want them around. These people judged, condemned, and accused. Looked with superior, know-it-all eyes. In Sakura's opinion, there was only one thing these people should do.

Get. A. Life.

Seriously. What did they know, really, when their own lives were so...simple?

"YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS, PINKY!"

Hmm. But maybe they had a bit of a point when it came to Karin.

With a vicious hiss at the pain throbbing in her cheek (the girl knew how to slap!), Sakura glared at the red-haired, red-eyed girl standing in front of her apartment, who had her hands on her hips and a righteous expression on her face. Her glasses were askew, and her lips were peeled back in what might have been a snarl (it looked more severe than a snarl). Behind her stood the other two members of Team Wonder—one looking amused, and the other looking worried and apologetic.