The sun was hot, the smell was worse, and the sound of Karin's complaining never stopped.
"Ughhh! This is ridiculous!" she whined, tugging a half-broken barrel out of the muddy riverbank. "We're ninja, Sukuna! Ninja! Not garbage collectors!" She had been whining all day—ever since the poor girl had learned what D-rank missions were really about.
Needless to say, like any ordinary kid, she didn't like it one bit. She wanted to go outside the village, take on dangerous missions, and kick villains' asses.
She had worked really hard—maybe harder than most—to get stronger, partly so nothing like her past would ever repeat, and partly so she could keep up with Sukuna.
She had poured years of effort and sweat into her training, second only to people like Sukuna and Sasuke.
And now, how was she using all that training? Cleaning garbage, chasing cats, and pulling weeds from other people's lawns.
'Fuck…'
It was clear that Uzumaki Karin was mad—and with good reason. She had worked so hard to get stronger, and for what?
Manual labor!
Sukuna stood in the middle of the shallow river, sleeves rolled up, dragging out soggy wooden planks one by one. He didn't even bother looking at her. "It's called a D-rank mission for a reason. Every genin does them. Just endure it."
Karin stomped her foot, glaring at him. "Yeah, but this much trash? Who even throws all this in a river? Look at this!" She held up a rusted pot, water dripping down her arm. "What am I supposed to do with this? Cook dinner?"
Sukuna smirked faintly. "You could. I'm sure it'd taste like mud. Fits your cooking skills."
"Excuse me!?" Karin's face turned red. She chucked the pot into the garbage pile harder than necessary, splashing filthy water all over herself.
She couldn't help it—her cooking was decent enough, actually. A basic survival skill she'd been forced to learn after her mother passed away. But compared to what Sukuna could whip up in his free time—often sharing with his friends—she was nothing.
And as if it wasn't already unusual for a teenage boy to be that good at cooking while also being absurdly strong, Sukuna actually enjoyed it. He constantly came up with strange yet delicious dishes no one had ever heard of.
Karin sometimes felt utterly incompetent as a girl—especially in an era where women were still expected to be good at household skills.
Thankfully, those expectations weren't enforced much on kunoichi. Still, most kunoichi ended up marrying shinobi, so it made sense.
She didn't dislike it, though. In fact, she appreciated it. Who wouldn't want a partner who could cook something so good you'd bite your own fingers after?
"You know, I bet other genin are out there chasing bandits, protecting merchants, maybe even fighting enemy ninja! Meanwhile, we're ankle-deep in sludge."
Sukuna shrugged, pulling another piece of junk free. "I highly doubt it. Every genin team goes through this phase during peacetime. If anything, we should be grateful we're growing up in peace.
I heard that during the wars, kids younger than us were forced onto the battlefield." His voice was calm, but his words carried weight. Over the years, Sukuna's mindset had changed greatly.
He had become sharper, more accustomed to fighting and killing—but at the same time, his appreciation for life had grown.
Strange how only an assassin could truly value life more than a doctor. And he was both.
"That's not the point!" Karin groaned, pulling a torn sandal from the muck. She held it up between two fingers, nose wrinkled. "See this? This is insulting! If I wanted to touch disgusting shoes, I'd work at a laundromat!"
Sukuna finally chuckled. "You talk too much. Just finish the job."
Karin pouted, tossing the sandal away. Then suddenly, a mischievous gleam appeared on her face.
"Hey, why don't you take me with you next time you go out of the village?"
Sukuna paused. For just a second, his easygoing expression shifted to that of a calculating assassin. Only for a second—but in that moment, he processed everything: why Karin would ask that, and how she even knew.
It was obvious how she knew. That was how he'd met her in the first place. But why did she still think he did that?
Then he remembered—Karin was arguably the second-best sensor in the entire shinobi world, right after Naruto.
"You keeping tabs on me?" Sukuna asked, resuming his work.
"Heheheh… no one can hide from my Mind's Eye of Kagura within several hundred kilometers. You're not the only one I keep track of. And honestly, you kind of stand out with that strange chakra of yours. It's almost baffling." Karin shrugged. She didn't know about cursed energy, but she could tell Sukuna's chakra was… different.
It didn't feel like normal chakra—it was dark, warm, and sharp. And there was a lot of it. So much so that, after Naruto and his Nine-Tails, Sukuna was the second most easily traceable person in Konoha for her.
Which worked out for her, since those two were the people she interacted with the most anyway.
Needless to say, it was really hard for both Naruto and Sukuna to escape from this self-proclaimed big sister of theirs.
"No." Sukuna immediately shot down her proposal, not even bothering to explain.
"Heh… why? Don't just say no and ignore me!" Karin complained, abandoning her work to stand in front of him, blocking his path.
Over time, she'd learned that the only way to make him talk was to annoy him until he decided that answering was less troublesome than ignoring her.
Typical Nara mindset.
Karin, for the life of her, couldn't understand why a Haruno acted like that.
[Little did she know, the author originally planned a Nara fic before this, LOL.]
"Because it's dangerous," Sukuna replied flatly. He knew her antics well. The best strategy was to let her think she was winning. Once she believed he'd given up, any answer he gave would satisfy her.
'Kids,' he smirked inwardly. 'Too easy to read.'
"No, it's not! You're gonna be with me, aren't you? And don't underestimate me either—I've been training hard! I'm much stronger now!" Karin shot back.
Unlike most times, this tactic failed—Karin was determined to change his mind.
"Forget it. I'm not taking you." Sukuna shook his head, still firm in his decision.
"But… but I'm bored here! It's not fair! You're out there having all the fun by yourself!" Karin's eyes started to tear up. Her glasses barely held back those big, watery eyes from spilling over.
Combined with her messy, dirt-covered hair (which was still much tamer than canon), her mud-stained clothes, and her small, pouty face—she looked heartbreakingly pitiful.
Sukuna gritted his teeth. She was acting. He knew it.
'Nope. Not happening. Don't fall for those crocodile tears,' he reminded himself, turning away as she kept trying to get in front of him for maximum pity points.
"Quit it already. It's not gonna work," Sukuna said harshly, resuming his work.
Karin puffed up her cheeks like a red balloon, pouting so hard Sukuna worried she might actually float away.
"Okay fine! Do what you want! Next time you go out, I won't look out for you—ever!" she huffed, turning her face away like a true tsundere.
A twitch crossed Sukuna's brow. Those words sounded… a little too intentional.
He looked at the girl, suspicion rising, wondering just what kind of trouble she was planning for him.
...
A/N : A little to slow pace, if you guys things then do tell me, I'll speed up the story by few notches.
xxx
Please Consider Donating Power Stones if you like the Chapter.
Every 250 Stones for an Additional Bonus Chapter.
"Thank you Very Much for All Your Support"
If you want to read up to 20+ Chapters in advance, check my Patreon on
Patreon.com/Kamidemond