The Way Through Stone Village (Naruto)

54: Answers

[OP: "There Beneath"--The Oh Hellos, animatic by easternCriminal]

Shikamaru's crew took the question a bit more seriously.

He wasn't really sure why Suigetsu, Karin, and Jugo were working with his team, other than they had nothing better to do, and Karin was useful for knowing people's intentions...but as for the others...

"'Hope and faith are important, or aren't they?'" Choji repeated. "And then 'what is the most important?' So I guess that means faith and hope aren't the most important... This is weird."

"Shine does this all the time," Ino said. "She gives us these very strange conversation topics...but it gets interesting. People always have different answers for it. I've learned a lot."

"Really?" Choji didn't think it was very like Ino to show interest in this.

Ino realized that she hadn't before...huh...

"Well, it's weird, but it beats talking about jutsu all the time," Suigetsu admitted. "I guess I'm used to how nuts they are by now."

"They're not nuts." Karin crossed her arms. "They're sane, and everyone else is nuts."

"Where is this loyalty coming from all the sudden?" Suigetsu asked.

"Because they have taken us in and been trying to help us," Karin said. "And you think I'm ungrateful, but you must be the most ungrateful out of us all if you're going to keep calling them crazy for it. Maybe they are for caring about someone like you."

"Ouch," Suigetsu said. "You really don't sound the same anymore."

"Much as I think he's not saying that to be nice, he's right," Jugo mused. "Karin, you seem different. You're...not as loud as you used to be."

"Loud?" Karin said.

"You stopped yelling all the time," Jugo said, "and being cross with us. I had the idea we annoyed you. I still think that sometimes, but you seem calmer since joining Team Zoe."

Karin adjusted her glasses. "I guess... I don't like that you're just implying that I'm some kind of crazy, emotional basket case." [The truth hurts, huh? Sorry, I know Karin isn't always the worst, but she could be very obnoxious in canon.]

Shikamaru did not say that he thought Karin was pretty unstable. He didn't want to get slapped.

Ino also didn't say anything, and Choji didn't know her well enough to.

"Still, out of curiosity," Suigetsu said, "what changed? And I'm not asking because I'm really that interested in you, but it's pretty hard to believe you'd ever calm down. Did they cast out your demons like Jugo?"

"That's not funny!" Karin snapped.

"It's really not, actually," Ino agreed.

Karin folded her arms. "I guess you won't get it anyway, Suigetsu."

Now, that offended him.

"Try me," he said.

"You don't deserve it now," Jugo said. "But I would like to know the answer."

"To you, then," Karin said, pivoting away from Suigetsu. "I guess you'd understand anyway... My entire life, no one's ever given a crap about what happened to me. And I never intended to need anyone. I think that the most you could expect is that someone might just do something for you because they were that kind of person, and maybe that would work out." She meant about Sasuke. "But I never looked for any kind of understanding from people...and I didn't even know that was a thing you could have. But since we joined Team Zoe...well, some of them are pretty annoying." She meant Dabi. "But most of them have accepted us as we are, even with our past. And then a few of them even go further... They try to include me in things, even though I'm...not one of the Villages'. And...the mentors even act as if my problems matter, even stupid ones... Sometimes they say things I don't like, but they acknowledge that I've suffered. No one has ever cared what I suffered before."