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She's ten and did it on a dare. They didn't have telephone poles her home town - didn't have much of anything, really - and the hot spring meant that any metal that they could afford never got cold enough to freeze.
So she didn't expect it, and while trying to prove to everyone how strong and awesome she was, went ahead and did it.
And the older experiments laughed, and then convinced the other kids to go away, back to the compound and the heat, and she started to realize that they had left her behind and she was stuck with her tongue getting cold and her toes getting frostbit.
But she wouldn't cry. That much she'd promised herself. No matter what happened, she wouldn't cry again. But it was hard, damn hard, thinking of the other kids laughing at stupid Karin, when she was supposed to be smarter than all of them. She had known they were teasing her, felt it in her other sense and had needed to prove them wrong, but only proved them right.
Minutes ticked by, and she realized everyone had forgotten her. In some ways it was worse than thinking of them laughing at her, because now it was snowing and she couldn't feel her fingers anymore. Maybe...maybe she'd be stuck here forever, until she turned into a skeleton and that ass Umi brought all the kids out to look at her grave and laugh some more at the stupid kunoichi with the glasses he'd tricked into getting herself killed...
"What have you gotten yourself into now?"
She jerks out of her daze and nearly bites through her tongue. It was Kabuto, though she couldn't see him, somewhere behind her and as usual so weak that his chakra blended in with all the seals and energies in the compound.
Tears sting again, and she shuts her eyes tight. Of all the people you didn't let see you waver, Kabuto was the worst. He seemed nice, but it was a lie, which made him worse than Orochimaru. At least his Lordship told the truth, and had enough power to make Karin's head go foggy whenever she was around him. Kabuto was a liar, through and through, from his hidden chakra to his careful smile. He used people, remembered everything they ever said, and wrote it down in his files and would remind you at the worst possible moment, when it would break you or shut you up or freeze you when you were about to make everyone finally notice. Or worse, he wouldn't tell people about your skills, would hide them and make you beneath his master's notice.
She hated him for lying, but she hated him more because he was weak and still got more of Orochimaru's attention, cruel though that attention was. It was all that she wanted, and he got it instead. It wasn't fair.
She wouldn't say anything to him. He'd only use it against her, as if the whole situation wasn't embarrassing enough. Anyways, it was as if she could answer, even if she wanted to. Her mouth was numb, and her fingers were numb, and everything else was numb. Being angry at him at least made it easier not to cry.
She settled for a glare, straight at the offending pipe and hoping he understood it was meant for him.
Silence. It dragged on, and she couldn't tell if it was because he was silently laughing at her, or if he had abandoned her just like everyone else.
Minutes ticked by, and she decided he had left. The light was leaking away, and it was getting harder not to cry. She could die out here, she knew that now, and the choice would be to bite through her own tongue, or to do something as equally drastic. But she just couldn't seem to get up the energy...
"Here."
This time, when she jerked she hit first her forehead and then her chin, one from statement, the second as she tried to pull away. But his hand was against her back, and he was talking again, with that same level tone he always used when someone was about to go under the knife.
"This is going to hurt."
She could tell that, at least, was the truth, and squinted her eyes tight in time to feel the violent pain of a burn on her tongue. Hot water splashed and dripped down her face and chest. At any minute, the other kids must be coming back, ready to laugh at her again for whatever torture he was putting her through. Her cheeks burned in embarrassment, and she struggled against his hand, pulling away...
Only to come free from the pole with a rip and tumble down into the snow.
"Wha - "
Kabuto set a tea kettle down next to her. He looked even worse from the underside, she thought uncharitably, her lips curled tight around chattering teeth. But he had a blanket in his other hand, and he efficiently hauled her up and wrapped it around her, crouched down to pick her and the kettle back up...then turned and strode back to the compound.
It was too much. Eyes tight and lip wobbling, she tightened her hands into the heavy fabric of his shirt and cried.
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When she came back to herself she was wrapped in another two blankets and curled up in a corner of the ratty couch Kabuto kept in his office. Sticky tears and snot glued the blanket to her face and she rubbed irritably at her eyes. Behind her she heard raised voices.
" - wasting Sound resources. That boy should be - "
"Resources" It was Kabuto, in another room, talking about her as if she was no different than furniture.
A quiet response she couldn't quite hear, and now Karin was awake enough to feel Lord Orochimaru's presence.
"I don't care whose son he is. He has no more potential than a wet rag, but at least the latter can clean up its messes!"
"And how is that different than the Uzumaki girl?" The voices got closer and she feigned sleep, confused. Anyone else speaking like that to Orochimaru would have been killed, but their master sounded amused more than anything. But Karin couldn't think much on that, since her stomach had fallen out with the implication that Orochimaru saw her as useless. Her, who he had chosen specifically for her talents. Was that a lie? Had Kabuto so thoroughly erased her from his Lordship's notice?
"She survived a blizzard with nothing more than a tongue bite. She should have hypothermia, or be dead."
Silence. Then -
"Did they intend her to die?" Orochimaru's voice was low, unreadable, and Kabuto's was back to respectful when he answered.
"I believe so, lord."
Orochimaru pondered more.
"...very well. You can have her, and I'll take the boys. But I want a report on my desk next week on her progress."
"Yes, sir." The two men shifted, and there was the creak of a door opening.
"And Kabuto?"
"Lord?"
"Hide another experiment's talents from me, and you will take their place on the table."
Karin shivered, feeling the blood lust oozing from the doorway, but Kabuto just chuckled. "Of course, Lord."
The blood lust was gone as quick as it came, leaving amusement in its wake, and Karin felt rather than heard the door shut, closing off her master's chakra and leaving her alone with Kabuto.
"So. How much of that did you hear?"
She yelped and fell off the couch. As usual, Kabuto had just appeared suddenly looking down at her over the back of the couch. She landed in an ungainly heap, blankets and pillows going every which way. And she hurt. Everything that had been numb was now suddenly reminding her how cold it had been outside, and how hot it was now.
"Easy, there." He manhandled her back onto the couch. "I didn't mean to startle you."
She set her chin and tried not to let him see her shaking. But it did no good; the medic blithely wrapped her back up again and was taking her temperature, apparently not caring about the tears leaking from her eyes or the way her chin quivered.
In some ways that was worse, because she wasn't important enough to coddle, not like the other children which Orochimaru gifted with his attention and praise.
She bit her lip and the pain lessened, allowing her enough strength to push Kabuto away.
"I hate you!"
Both seemed startled at the outburst, but Karin tried to cover her shock with a fierce glare. They were her words, and she wasn't going to back down from them.
After a moment, Kabuto laughed. "And why should I care?"
Belatedly, she realized that his hands were still on her shoulders, and there was warmth and healing seeping into her from his touch. It didn't make her any happier.
"Because! You keep making me look stupid in front of Lord Orochimaru and now - " her voice broke but she rallied quickly. " - Now he's going to take someone else and forget about me!"
Kabuto shifted to sit down on the couch next to her. His hands were now running in circles over her back, squeezing out the pain that had come with the heat, not being kind or soft as he drove the cold out.
"So you did hear us speaking."
She set her chin but nodded.
"And you want his attention, just like the boys are going to get."
Another nod. "And you're taking me away from him! It's not -"
"If you are about to say 'fair', I would like to remind you whose master you serve." He cut in easily, hands going lower to rest behind her lungs. The healing turned sharp as he drove out the liquid that had been pooling here.
"I'm better than them!" She snapped, after the coughing had subsided. "I work harder than anyone, and I've got a better power - "
"Powers" he interjected, but she ignored him.
"But he's going to use Umi instead of me! I'm - "
"You should be dead."
That stopped her.
"If you heard enough to know that Umi and his cronies are next on the docket, then you should also know that anyone else would have died out there, in that storm."
She squeezed her eyes tight.
"But you didn't. And I don't think you know why. I know I don't. And that is why you haven't gotten His Lordship's attention - because to give you the same 'honor' as Umi would be a waste."
"But - "
"Do you not understand that your abilities make you better than them? You said that yourself. But unlike those idiots, you are untrained and possessing of something I cannot even describe. Working harder than them isn't enough if you wish for his lordship's praise - you have to earn it through your skills."
Karin was silent for a moment, her shivers subsiding as his hands drove the sickness out. Now only her tongue felt numb.
"But..." She paused, anger having given way to confusion. "But why did you hide me before you knew?"
Silence, and his restless hands stopped moving.
"Orochimaru was angry with you. I felt it. Because he wanted to know about what I could do. But you...you lied to him. And hid what I could do. Why?!"
Finally, he sighed. "Because of your potential. Because you have worked harder than anyone else, and it would be a waste to give you to him so quickly."
"But I want to help Orochimaru! It's all I - "
He snorted. "You'll get your chance to be his plaything, I promise. But some of us...we are more useful to him outside of the experiment rooms."
"But - "
"I wasn't done. If you truly want to serve him, then you will do so with more than your abilities - you will use your mind. Umi and the rest could never do that, but you, Karin, I believe you can. You only have to see how carefully you've been trying to manipulate me into giving you up...well, that is a skill that is worth using, not squandering on endless experiments. And with that skill you could gain something far more than just His Lordship's attention - you could gain his trust."
Slowly, Karin looked at the older ninja, his words sinking in slowly. Was he implying that she could be something more than an experiment? What was there, beyond that simple future?
"...what do I have to do?"