THE WHAT IF THEORY | sasukarin

7 : Sachiki, Karin, and a Ghost

Sachiki laid awake in the small bedroom that reeked of bleach, staring blankly at the ceiling. Her eyes twinkled in wonder, it had been a while since she had a roof over her head. Not a sound was heard, and Sachiki wondered where Karin had rushed to after being escorted to her room by the redhead, who told her that she could leave anytime she wanted to.

Sachiki had nowhere to go. But she didn't trust the people here either. She didn't trust anybody.

"So why stay?" a figure appeared, laying next to her in the single bed. She snuggled up next to Sachiki, placing a hand on her belly. "They might hurt you."

Sachiki sighed, "I know, Heila. But how long will I keep searching for a place to stay? The world's always going to be full of sick people, at least these people give me a roof over my head."

"But they cut off one of your nails."

The pillow shifted as Sachiki shrugged over-exaggeratedly, "Eh. It'll grow back."

"I'm worried about you. These people don't seem alright in the head."

"They're Shinobi. Of course they're not alright in the head." Sachiki stated dryly, "Did you see those bite marks on Karin? They remind me of baa chan's."

"I didn't notice. It doesn't matter anyways. Just because she was abused doesn't mean she won't use you to do some sick shit. She used your nails to make a sword, for God's sake."

Sachiki frowned. Though her lack of trust told her not to stay, a gut feeling was urging her to stick around for a while and see how everyone is.

"I-I want to stay for a while. If anything bad happens, I run away again."

Heila stared at her lover with worried eyes, but replied, "Fine."

A knock on her door interrupted her. Sachiki looked away from the door and back to her bed, and Heila was gone again.

Sachiki sat up when she saw the peak of red. Karin didn't wear a distinguishable expression as she asked if she could come in. Sachiki nodded, not sensing any malicious intent from her.

She kept her nails ready, just in case.

Karin went straight to the point. "If you want to stay here, then you either have to be a test subject... or a tester."

"What? Test subject?" Sachiki's brows pulled together. "What kinds of tests?"

Karin sat on the egde of the bed, paying attention to her expression shifts and body language, and how her chakra was steadily collecting at her nails. "Back then when solely Orichimaru ran this place, the experiments were sickening and done in poor conditions. But now that I'm the head of this hideout, the environment is much more condusive for the test subjects. Also, I don't imprison people for a long period of time."

'I didn't have to tell her that, but honesty is the best way to get people to trust you.'

Sachiki's hunched shoulders relaxed and Karin took note of that.

"The experiments are different ranging from person to person, but basically they're for information. I like gaining knowledge about different... odd powers and how to improve them. Also, I give medical attention to people with severe diseases and injuries." Karin told her proudly.

Karin had Sachiki's interest hooked, but chakra still remained at the tips of her fingers. They had just met; for all Sachiki knew they could be planning on killing her.

But she really wanted to know more about the Hideout. She didn't know why, but science had always fascinated her. Back in the day she'd rather spend her week cooped up in a chemistry book than to be out in the training grounds. She remembered the time when her father would reprimand her for not following her duties, telling her to focus on becoming a fine Shinobi and nothing else.