Overcoming the Odds.

Chapter 17

Chapter 17: The Dreaded Reunion

Her eyes opened slowly as she woke up from the loud creaking of the metal door being opened. A blurry cell came into view and through her tiredness she wondered why someone was in there: maybe a guard was going to restock something, or maybe clean up some of the filth that accumulated in the room.

In either event, it didn't matter to her. Karin exhaled softly through her nose and closed her eyes with intentions of falling asleep again. As boring as it may be, sleep was her only hope of getting through the unbearably lonely days that she spent in her cell.

Footsteps were faintly heard as someone walked into the room, and shortly afterward the metal door closed and locked into place loudly. She heard the person walk closer and eventually reach the cell bars, but she paid them little attention and ignored their presence; she was already drifting off to sleep and embracing the dark abyss that came with it.

"What the hell's going on here?"

Her eyes shot open and went wide as soon as she heard the person speak.

It was a voice she was all too familiar with, one she could never forget. She knew exactly who it belonged to and it could only mean one thing.

Naruto was back.

The realization made butterflies instantly spring loose in her stomach and an explosion of dread fill her senses at the realization of his unexpected return.

'Oh no,' Karin thought dreadfully under her thin blanket. She gripped the sheet close to her chest and she tightly closed her eyes in anxiousness. 'Please... just go away.'

"I know you're awake Karin... And what's with all this food?" She heard his voice again. "You shouldn't be skipping meals y'know."

Tears gathered in her shut eyes as she desperately wanted to run away and hide from him. She curled up into a fetal position and the tears she was holding back managed to slip out easily despite her best efforts. Her breathing became more rapid and she found herself biting her lip in an attempt to not let her whimpers be heard. Her body shook with every rapid and irregular intake of breath, and her attempts to stifle her crying was in vain as she started to audibly sniffle.

Naruto heard her sniffling and immediately recognized it as crying. He grabbed the cell bars and peered into the cell, where he looked at her curled up form in confusion and concern.

"Karin?" He called to her.

Her sniffles quickly turned into hiccups and her tears fell faster until she was seeing nothing but a blurred and distorted mess.

'I have to tell him,' she thought miserably through her sadness and tears, then she begrudgingly started to move and push herself up into a sitting position on the bed, where she stayed for a brief moment to ponder just what she would say to him.

Naruto watched as she crawled her way to the edge of the bed and then shakily got on her feet. She proceeded to slowly walk towards him while her head was lowered to the floor; her frizzy hair obscured any chance he got at seeing her face, but he noticed that her glasses were nowhere to be seen.

Her crying never ceased even as she made it to him, and she continued to bow her head in self-induced shame while she wiped away her tears.

"Karin..." Naruto said sadly as he visibly worried for the red-haired girl. He reached through the cell bars and held one of her hands that was desperately trying to wipe away tears.