Family

Author's Note~ So, after finding out that Karin was an Uzumaki, I simply had to write this. I find it rather odd that there doesn't seem to be much interest in them, and a little sad to be honest. I really don't know why people hate Karin so much. I think she's wonderful and incredibly strong.

Warnings~ Spoilers up to chapter 631...or whatever chapter it was that Taka entered the battlefield.

Disclaimer~ I don't own Naruto. If I did, this damn war would be over by now.

Karin huffed as the guy next to her sucked her chakra. She was running low, but she couldn't stop yet .Normally, she probably would've just ran away while everyone else was distracted, but she didn't really have anywhere to go, so she figured if she healed some of their folk, they would see that she was on their side and not arrest her.

She made her way to the next guy and as she was about to offer her services, she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey," a husky, warm voice stopped her. She jumped from the sudden contact, but relaxed slightly when she saw that her speaker had spiky blond hair.

"What do you want?" she demanded warily. "Come to take me back as a prisoner? I'm healing your friends, so the least you could do is let me go." She watched as his face scrunched up in confusion.

"Huh? What do you mean?" he asked, cocking his head. "I was just going to tell you to take a break. You look terrible," he stated bluntly.

She twitched. "What's that supposed to mean?!" she screeched.

"I didn't mean it like that," he backtracked, fear written all over his face which actually gave her a bit of satisfaction

"Oh really?" she demanded, "Then what did you mean?"

"I-I just meant that you looked tired, 'ttabayo! We just got out of a war, so you shouldn't push yourself," he finished, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. She looked at him curiously, the crimson orbs narrowing slightly in confusion.

"Why do you even care?" she scoffed, although due to her fatigue, she just ended up sounding drained. "I'm not a part of your team."

Naruto's eyes lowered, focused on the ground. "Maybe not, but we're still family." And then everything went silent, or so it seemed. Her breath hitched, and her crimson orbs widened in shock.

"What?" she whispered, "What are you talking about?"

"Well, we're both Uzumaki, right?" he asked casually.

"I'm an Uzumaki?" she mumbled, mostly to herself.

"What?" Naruto jolted. With a sudden revitalized energy, he grabbed her shoulders, shaking her slightly, "You mean you didn't even know you were an Uzumaki?!"

"N-no," she stuttered, slightly terrified. She wasn't used to people getting in her personal space and he was just staring at her as if she did something wrong. She blushed when she realized how close his face was. "You got a problem?" she snapped. This brought him back to his senses, and he backed away from her, muttering apologies.

"So what name have you been going by this whole time?" he asked, less franticly this time.

She shrugged nonchalantly. "None. I was an orphan for most of my life until Orochimaru found me." She watched as his eyes softened and almost felt a sort of tenderness towards him. No one had ever really cared for her before, at least not that she remembered.

"What happened to your parents?" he asked her somberly.

"My mother ditched me and my father right after I was born. I never knew her. My father got sick and died when I was very young. The only thing I remember about him was that we had the same red hair." She was feeling nostalgic as she recalled blurry memories of her father with his bright scarlet hair sticking out clearly. The blond boy still had that look of sympathy on his face, and it pissed her off.

"Look you," she barked, "I don't need your pity, so wipe that stupid look off your face!"

He snickered.

"What's so funny?! Are you making fun of me?!" she hissed.

"No," he chuckled, "It's just when you get mad you remind me of my mom."

"Your…mom?" she asked skeptically, "I thought you were an orphan."

"I am, but I was able to meet my mom in…well…it's sort of hard to explain…it was kind of like a dream I guess. She told me all about the Uzumaki clan, and how they got either wiped out or scattered."

"How do you know about me then? I didn't even know." she asked suspiciously.

"Sasuke told me."

"How did he-?"

"He found out from Kabuto." He finished, practically spitting out Kabuto's name with disgust.

"I see," she sighed, "So what are we? Cousins or something?"

"Heck if I know." He grinned at her, and she felt her body getting warmer. "I'm just happy that I have family, 'ttabayo."

"Family, huh?" she breathed. Such a foreign word. She'd never had one of those before. She'd lived this long without it, so it wasn't like she needed it. But still, if her whole clan was like Naruto, then maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

"You know, you could always come back to the Leaf with me," he offered.

"Why? So your friends can lock me up again?"

"They won't," he assured.

"What makes you so sure?" she scoffed.

"Because you fought with us and helped heal our comrades. You didn't have to."

"I'm still the enemy," she sighed.

"They won't hurt you. I promise, and I never go back on my word, dattebayo!" he said forcefully, pointing his thumb at himself. She could feel the tears welling up. She's never had anyone care for her this much. So this is what having a family was like.

"You okay?" he asked concerned. She quickly wiped away her tears and coughed into her hand.

"Fine," she said, her tone on the borderline between bored and annoyed, "It's not like I have anywhere else to go anyw-"

"Great!" he cut her off, engulfing her in a huge bear hug. She blushed furiously.

"Hey! Get off, you idiot!" she feigned outrage.

"Sorry," he chortled sheepishly.

"Geez," she sighed, wiping invisible lint off of her pajamas. She looked up and saw that he was standing, his hand reached out.

"C'mon, you look tired. I'll carry you there," he said warmly.

"All the way to the Leaf?"

"Sure thing!" he said as he started walking, "It's not too far away!" He started panting really loudly, his hands on his knees. "Man, how hot is it out here?"

"Moron," she yelled, "You can hardly even walk! If anyone should be carried, it's you!"

"I guess you're right," he chuckled guiltily.

Her eye twitched in annoyance, and if it weren't for the fact that she was exhausted, she would've smacked some sense into him. Just when she thought her brain was about to explode, she heard light snoring. It seemed he had finally worn himself out.

Man, she thought, is this really the same guy who fought so hard in the war?

Out on the battlefield, he fought as if he had decades of experience. He seemed so much older and mature. But here, she noticed as he slept peacefully, he looked so young and pure, his chakra making her feel so safe and loved. With the way he lead everyone and commanded attention, she had found it hard to believe that he was only 16. He didn't seem so intimidating and powerful now. He was her family. She studied his features, hoping maybe she'd find some sort of family resemblance. She let her eyes trace over the sunflower hair falling just over his (incredibly blue, she noticed earlier) eyes, his surprisingly fine cheekbones, soft jawline, and slightly rounded chin. With the sunlight glowing off of him, it'd be easy to mistake him for an angel. He truly was a beautiful person. She smiled gently, the sunshine making her drowsy. She could get used to this whole 'family' thing, she thought contentedly as her eyes closed in much-needed sleep.

A/N~ Naruto is a really hard character to get in writing. He's so simple, but there's a certain amount of depth and complexity to him that makes his voice hard to grasp. People either make him a complete idiot (which he's not. Simple and naive? Yes. But he's not stupid or shallow), or like some super complex genius with like a split personality, and neither of those depictions are accurate to canon. AU? Sure. But not canon. Anyway, enough of my ramblings.

Review, please! :D