[FANFIC - HBD, SASUKE(?)] WILDFIRE; (SK)
now uploaded in fanfiction.net~! here; if you wish to comment but can't do so here, please feel free to review over there~!476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlT2Q8uLFwT
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By: Kanae (Goth-Punk88 @ ff.net)476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjOEbsuDPac
Rating: M (some suggestive scenes, and some violence.)476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9tco8wKPdG
Word Count: 8.810476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmqxe9hQ7sQ
Author's Notes: I got this plot-bunny a couple of months ago; the idea was to sit down and carefully plan it, but… well, life happened. So I decided to let it write itself instead. Posting it for Sasuke’s birthday project because, while his birthday is not the focus of this, it does get briefly mentioned (:hurr)~ Also, there are some credits, but I’ll be giving them at the end of the fic in order to not spoil anyone.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPzb2DsMFLt
Warning: Some OOC-ness due to the fact that I'm working with future SK... among other things you will soon realize lol476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhubYhQrg6A
Summary: It is a flame that was set ablaze by a smile. A fire that consumes everything in its wake. A wildfire that burnt them to ashes, down to their roots.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnP3iaiqMnZ
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A heartbeat that awakens from the ashes.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRkkGHcpcsz
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To the stars that played with the darkness476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Ont3oF65M
I sang of love and burned up completely
Wildfire476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoWr2O9Ac25
by Kanae476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq6bGmtu7AB
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It happens a hot Thursday afternoon as he goes through the tourniquets of the subway and catches a glimpse of red from the corner of his eye.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWHkGUhut5H
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Something in his chest tightens.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2dP4TFXULV
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He is looking back before he knows it, uncharacteristically standing still as his eyes seek the source of the red; a girl’s ponytail.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTUXeJYV1Ug
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Just a girl.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnzvB86G2Wb
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Sasuke all but snorts, mildly shaking his head and turning away in wonderment.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Semtz5BU8
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He misses the way the girl stops, her back straightening as if bolted.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPFkKz0Kyba
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He has almost reached the escalators when someone steps in front of him, blocking his way—and he can’t help the slight widening of his eyes as he realizes who it is.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsTeWTKw6yh
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The girl.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6etkBTIaZK
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The redhead.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt9ymg2Eu21
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“Sorry,” she says, and she is a little out of breath. Had she run to catch up with him? “Do I know you?”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA920XteqaY
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An alien reply makes its way from his chest up to the tip of his tongue, but Sasuke does not recognize it—and before he can even deem it worth his time, it is gone. And all that remains is the same disinterest from before. Just a girl.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoAkUXv2oWV
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“Don’t think so,” he replies, trying to sidestep her—but the girl blocks his way again.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4ZDXGc0Wac
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“No, I do know you. I mean—” Sasuke narrows his eyes, irritated, but the girl looks too caught up in her thoughts to notice, “I have dreamed of you.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF8Le3FfOrR
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Sasuke gives her a blank stare and the girl turns a little pink. “I-I mean,” she stammers, pushing her glasses further up her nose. The gesture stirs something inside of Sasuke, and it is powerful enough to the point he almost misses her next words “I know it sounds weird, but—”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlK1IhwqW3i
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“You’re right,” Sasuke agrees, clenching his jaw and walking past her.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9qGD2yUY8z
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“Wait!” she calls, and Sasuke finds his legs answering in kind even before his name comes out of her lips. “Y—your name is… Sasuke, isn’t it? Uchiha Sasuke.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCsnJOuMZkB
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“… So what?” his reply is brisk, and it comes out through gritted teeth. This was ridiculous; both the girl and his reactions to her. What had come over him, anyway? He has never seen this chick. Ever. “Knowing that is no feat.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZUtxU1rFtL
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It wasn’t. More than a quarter of the city knew his family’s name. Knowing who he was simply was part of the package.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4agNZSOXOS
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She falls quiet—and Sasuke thinks the odd conversation has come to an end.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5RrJ6McuDQ
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He was severely mistaken.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIZ7Vt89jGr
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“And, when you were eight…” she suddenly whispers, her voice vague, “when you were eight, your mom gave you a dinosaur-shaped toy.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtxt2qo2Ofw
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Sasuke’s eyes widen, his body freezing upright. Her voice gains momentum. “You said it was childish, and pretended to have thrown it away; but you still have it.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmeib3wKOSq
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It is slowly that he turns towards her, eyes narrowed and heart galloping inside his chest. “How…?”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr4dNHs0GLg
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Obsidian meets pointed red, and it is something in the calculating edge of her gaze more than her words that which turns Sasuke’s skin into gooseflesh. “…You keep it locked in a box inside your closet, just like you keep locked away that irrational fear of yours of losing them someday.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSllHEIsHqI
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Them. His parents. The one thing he has never told anyone—not even his brother. The one thing he has never been able to face, regardless of how much he has tried to do so.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTUZLOs6H4l
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He wants to say something—anything—but words just won’t come. He feels utterly intimidated and exposed before this stranger; before this redhead whose lips quirk up in the barest traces of a smile, her shoulders relaxing.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3SRDKiKOiD
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“Come on, there’s a café down the street, we can talk there.” She does not wait for a reply, simply reaching out and taking a hold of his sleeve—and as she pulls him towards the escalators, Sasuke feels an unexplainable sense of déjà vu.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeAMHQ1TslQ
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“Let me go,” he mutters, though he can’t find it in himself to oppose any resistance. “I can walk by myself.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy8YhlA0InH
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She does not let go of him.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrRuBKAOaC1
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And the déjà vu only worsens.
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“Come with me, Karin. I need you.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVmCnZXqLYz
“Huh?! Why should I go anywhere? I’m in charge of this place!”
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“They started… around 3 months ago, I think,” the girl—Karin—says, after the waitress has brought them their respective orders; Sasuke, a black coffee, Karin, a cappuccino with amaretto.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFsnK8Zszaa
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“The… dreams?” he questions, and feels utterly ridiculous just by saying it.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr2rsrN27YR
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“Yeah, the dreams,” Karin agrees, taking a sip of her coffee and giving him a pointed look over the brim of the cup. “At first they were sporadic. Just once every few nights or so, but then I started to get them every night… every single night.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbxHl3ukhso
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“And these… dreams, of yours. They were about me?”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr8Ujblil9A
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“Not all of them,” she retorts thoughtfully, if not a little defensively; but then she shrugs. “But you were always there.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYDxFiL7BgZ
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“Doing what, exactly?”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo5KCoSX4lJ
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“A lot of things. Fighting, mostly. You were a ninja, sometimes. Both of us were.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt5KkQLkFD8
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“…A ninja?”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm4UX3BfSgg
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“Yeah. A very powerful one, at that. Don’t—” she warns, before Sasuke could have the chance to interrupt with a snide remark. “I know how ridiculous it sounds, but it’s the truth.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0Xn9paZu7x
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He crosses his arms with an eye roll. “That still does not explain how you knew about the dinosaur.” Just mentioning the toy makes a wave of embarrassment wash over him, but he tries to keep at bay and not let it show.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA6hS3nVZRJ
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Karin smiles, and the gesture looks sour. “Not every dream took place in the same world, Sasuke. Those—the ones where we were shinobi, those were the firsts, and also the most recurrent. But I have seen you as you are, too. And as you were.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwmqVqwS0kQ
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“… What do you mean, exactly?” he prods with narrowed eyes.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ9utVf1H0q
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It’s her turn to cross her arms. “Tch, you already know, don’t you? You’re smart, Sasuke. Don’t take me for a fool.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjHJ51sWMf7
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Sasuke frowns. He didn’t like her tone, and neither did he like where she was going with this. “Reincarnations?”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOzgsenhzZy
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Karin snaps her fingers, “Bingo.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF5ZvMKEeHN
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Sasuke snorts. “That’s ridiculous.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYUQkcJirXh
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“I know you don’t believe in them, Sasuke. But that doesn’t mean they do not exist.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh0gqSwzkuL
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“Stop,” Sasuke demands, his patience running thin at being lectured by a complete stranger. “Stop talking as if you know me, Karin. You don’t.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAVxhunZObw
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“Actually, I do,” Karin shoots back without missing a beat, her red eyes steadily holding his even despite his threatening glare. “And from the looks of it, I know you better than you know yourself—stay there, Sasuke,” she stresses, and his glare only intensifies. He hadn’t even had the enough time to move a muscle. “I am not finished yet.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTUWRBYuVYW
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“But I am done hearing your bullshit.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFASwW6TdNS
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Karin blinks at him and then promptly snorts. “The you in my dreams was nicer to be around, I’ll give you that.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI2WBPn1pnm
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He feels insulted, but he stays. And a little smirk quirks up Karin’s lips; as expected, that smirk said.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcv4KxTTGHY
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But any comments he may have had about her arrogance promptly disappear as the redhead utters her next words.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK1oGhena0O
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“I know why you’re so afraid of losing your parents, someday.”
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“Shhh” she coos, cradling his trembling form in her arms and making him sink his face on her chest. It’s her favorite new shirt and it’s getting soaked and soiled by his tears and the soot, but her heart is too busy breaking over him and his pain and her mind is too shaken by the explosion and the death—by the smell of burnt flesh, by the screaming figures of his parents and brother as they were consumed by the fire.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡERCNMZ30uk
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“Shhh, Sasuke, it will be alright,” she isn’t sure if she believes what she is saying. Not when there are tears beginning to leak from her own eyes and dripping onto his hair—not when his sobs twist her soul and worsen the despair. Why did this have to happen to them? Why did they have to—? “I promise you, it will be alright, we will get through this.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQAoSM3JHup
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They. Because that was all that was left, now. She was all he had left.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIQryoaYTA6
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“We will get through this,” she repeats, because they would. They had to.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdzqHjwnZ5Q
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“You’re not alone. I’m with you, Sasuke. I won’t ever leave you,”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5qb2oYtEEA
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Despite her bravado her voice breaks at the end and Sasuke clutches her shirt—holds onto her for dear life and hastily pulls her together again.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSdw3lmVY4B
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“I promise.”
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Sasuke fists his hands to prevent them from shaking as his very soul seemed to be doing. He sets his jaw, tries to regularize his breathing and his pulse—tries to not show any signs of inward struggle.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx95beCVqB0
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No that it would make much of a difference, since Karin was deliberately keeping her attention elsewhere. She had barely looked at him from the moment she started to tell him all she knew—all she had seen—about his parents, and weren’t he so troubled by everything he heard, he would have realized he was thankful for her tact.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhcNPHxIMXo
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As things were, however, his brain was having troubles assimilating Karin’s words; how his parents had died over and over again. Killed by his brother (by his brother, out of all people! What kind of bullshit was that?), in an accident, in a fire—Sasuke had tuned out, then. The images such stories enticed were too vivid, too troubling—they made the hairs on his arms stand on end, made cold droplets of sweat roll down his neck.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAOxYr0jC6r
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Everything was preposterous, absolutely unbelievable—and even then he could not dismiss a word she had said, even though he desperately wanted to. Something in the way she had spoken—in the way her voice had quivered, her stare grave and set on her lap—and even more so, something in the things she had known; habits that Mikoto and Fugaku had and that no one but him and Itachi would know about, made her words all the harder to shake off.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl9G8fTgKfQ
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So he aims for the next best thing—he tries to push the thought aside and latches onto another one, one that has slowly but surely been demanding his attention.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzVzWKG9qMA
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“… Where do you fit into all that?” he murmurs, and has to swallow to help ease his dry throat. “Why is it you, and not me, who is having these dreams?”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmQ2nJYLzDo
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The ghost of a smile touches her lips, “I don’t know. I guess it’s because you’ve closed yourself off, again,” it fades. “You always close yourself up.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUskQaVRpg6
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He has really run out of patience. “Stop with the riddles, will you? Just answer!”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg558ZfOxLS
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Karin hardens her expression, her eyes squarely meeting his own. “In that first world, I was your teammate. In the second, I was your friend. In the third, your lover.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfTX2ugV5gV
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Sasuke cannot really help the way he feels his throat clog up, his cheeks warm. So he fakes a cough, looks away; “And this is the fourth?”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxpSikmvJtH
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Karin shrugs, unfazed.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0cC6gyVoug
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“I don’t know, I guess there may be more. I haven’t remembered them yet, though.” Her voice lowers, “…I don’t know if I want to, either.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoDatn5MZmk
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That catches his attention. “What do you mean?”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3XiTiZjNt6
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“… They weren’t always nice, Sasuke. They rarely were.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAsxGywIKox
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Sasuke arches one eyebrow, curious. “What weren’t?”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIINmiaDTzQ
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For the first time since they got there, Karin squirms in her seat.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKEkPv2us7T
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“...You.”
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There is lighting prickling her skin and piercing her chest; it has missed her heart by an inch, a miracle improbable enough to be deliberate—but one that is a curse in disguise, for his eyes do not miss the mark.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz1o1x7T3I1
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They hit the bulls-eye dead on its center, and she feels it freeze and then wither and die, disintegrating into a worthless pile of ashes that, with every single word he says, scatter like the wind—never to be recovered again.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9MDde4rpXo
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“Karin… the moment you were taken hostage, you became an encumbrance.”
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She leans her head on her propped up palm, and the pair of red eyes that were fixed into his look sage and tired all of a sudden. “…But I guess it never made much of a difference.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwNh1BtV6dg
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ76694zsGcv
Sasuke hates it; having to repeat himself. But he moodily does, anyway. “What do you mean?”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcDbazHNdFo
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkabh4clrYE
Karin does not reply right away; and when she does, her voice is the softest Sasuke has heard it sound so far.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiZDx6gjO9x
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLCT7IcNSdN
“I always ended up loving you all the same,” she admits.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfybdpW10eo
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkqErSFLxyK
Then she looks at him again, and Sasuke finds that he can’t look away.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiDlrJA2Ro1
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTrzbqKSOan
“Always.”
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476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkR9cLxyK6j
It happens on a rainy night.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwKFAe7r9zL
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡggpk8RRR4L
The rain had started pouring out of nowhere. What a minute ago had been a clear sky became a gray maze of plump clouds and then thick, cold droplets of rain had started to cascade down over the town.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIBt9WOfCfS
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXOijwMaagk
Ever so slowly, the crowded street was left almost empty; for the exception of a few pedestrians who had been keen enough to bring an umbrella with them.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiCkZAAVE9x
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgXroqwgXB3
She hadn’t been.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPCuao2gsNC
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZIdbs4XmDX
As the traffic light begins to turn, she dashes out from under the improvised shelter of an awning only to stop dead in her tracks—in her haste, she had not realized the light included an advanced left-turn signal.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjtq50hxfzz
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQQdtefxMdw
So much for not getting wet, she thinks, and it’s then that an umbrella is placed above her.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcPltSlI3gF
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPmvgcWrAbc
Startled, the girl flickers her gaze upward only to find a dark-haired business man casually speaking into his cellphone, his eyes focused on the traffic light ahead. Their arms are touching, the warmth of his body seeping through to hers despite the long sleeves of his expensive-looking cloak, and she finds her cheeks warming up, her heart quickening at the unexpected gesture of kindness.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzqVEpfLNvv
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPZlgaP4bF2
The light changes and he moves ahead without hesitation, with the same kind of firm grace with which he had come to shelter her—and she is so transfixed by him that she almost forgets she is supposed to walk, too.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5CZ2w6E3M8
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZp6uQOiEbc
When they get to the other side of the street, the business man wordlessly leads her to an awning and then parts ways with her, not once glancing at her.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1FUF8eMbyZ
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcJ4NlYsLPJ
But she can’t look away from him—and before she knows it her legs are moving and the rain no longer matters.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ11BlHyWXBz
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFqoYTKvsXU
By the time he has hung up, they’re standing at the next intersection and she is soaked from head to toe.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Rz5OV81Mr
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIAc7Bcyuzn
“Hey, you! Wait!”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNpyCfay3Hb
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhVsqCCYE44
The business man slowly turns around, painfully so, confusion apparent on his face.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRMfEDuIrTS
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD2F7OuztvW
Onyx meets red and her heart skips a beat as his eyes widen ever so slightly.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV7MswoRwZe
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxAHNMeDDS7
“Thank you,” she breathes out jaggedly and not exactly from the chasing, “for before.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTrm1vI0zYK
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRXirEcuiE9
“… It’s nothing,” he states, and though his words are nothing but an astonished murmur she hears them loud and clear over the thunders. “And it doesn’t seem to have helped much.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxHMgd9FOm4
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcBTVufyBew
Her blush worsens under his pointed look, but the hint of amusement in those deep eyes of his edges her on. “I-I know of a good café down the street. If you aren’t in a hurry, how about I invite you something while we wait for the rain to let up?”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzKAJMNK75k
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp4CY2G1n5V
He tilts his head to the side, long bangs falling across his face. “… Hn, down the street, you say?”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlJp10DYZWw
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1GDF5cX7No
“Yeah. It’s less than a minute away,” she gulps, “so, what do you say?”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzvmGT8pDLA
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyplbWS3I4N
He smiles, and his whole face lights up. “I’d like that.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVSw1xu7ODV
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHqORV6q4hA
By the time they place their orders, she is already in love with him.
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476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8DtIlkQbZ1
He thinks that maybe he should be surprised, but the truth is that he isn’t.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMeAArGTXxv
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn8JMBGWVG1
Somehow, it felt like he had been waiting for it—waiting to see her walking through that door, ever since they had parted ways at that Café a little over a week ago.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPBgtM5Vskd
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpNcSqff94F
“… You did this on purpose, didn’t you?”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZFpcuJGX6a
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIi52fkSTcS
Karin blinks innocently, a direct contrast with the amused smirk shamelessly painted across her lips. “What do you mean, Uchiha-san?”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpOc9peTPWP
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrhtPMqT3QX
“Drop the act,” he glares, matter-of-fact. “You knew I worked here.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNItuEutdZp
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1HyzFshWuR
“Oh, don’t be so conceited, Sasuke,” Karin waves a hand, puts the other on her hip and sways to the side. The movement is every bit of a taunt as it is sensual, and Sasuke finds himself blushing like a preschooler as a recurrent memory slips itself uninvited into his mind again.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvoFj8JgcwQ
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNUzU6Qf8dB
'Always'.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9DEq8GfbZh
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6fiXFqjIWj
“—so not my fault you basically own the damn city,” Karin finishes, and Sasuke blinks.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnVfASaff8H
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXqxhTBzpVX
“Huh?”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP1pGBYwN3N
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkeVeTSHIKj
She deadpans. “You weren’t listening, were you?”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFTgndxRWCa
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy9NIV3RnXJ
“I was,” he lies through gritted teeth, prodded by some unexplainable force. Damn, why did he always have to bicker with this girl?476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9KFeG4KDKj
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyCo96IZcTU
“You are a terrible liar, Sasuke,” she remarks, and suddenly her face lights up. “Hey, did I tell you about the time I was a lie-detector and—”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHxD6wAchEb
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGxB44fzARW
He all but groans. “Stop, Karin. Don’t bring that kind of talk here, someone may hear you.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo3KQWjvI6M
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCvqBJPyQCi
“Pft, so what?” she huffs, crossing her arms and swaying her hips again. “It’s not like I work here, right?”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBc7GQctSLC
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIO6XAjpnHv
Her tone and most specially the glimmer in her eye as she looks at him told him otherwise.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR4sqAtBZGZ
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD1YmXjfymN
Damn her.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZRVYwafOSZ
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlIhOdeylNF
“Talk to Nara on the second floor, he will give you your contract. And Karin—not a word to anyone about… about—” he refused to say us. There wasn’t an us. “—about what you told me. Understood?”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGWI9R9Bswq
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFIwLQf3vjY
She does a mock salute, “Right, Uchiha-san!” and Sasuke massages his temple, wondering what had made him agree to give her the job in the first place.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRLt3HVgsgO
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXqIBFwsBNv
As if reading his thoughts, Karin calls out to him from the door.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjMc5GXM1NY
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJXH9EEapAZ
“Cheer up, Sasuke,” and Sasuke can catch a glimpse of her playful smirk before she closes the door behind her. “This isn’t the first time we work together, you know?”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaGYNc6gtNi
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4XYzipz2UI
And for some unknown reason, Sasuke finds himself blushing.
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“I brought you the papers you requested,”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZCcMGAQeBY
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡooeWa3RxKB
She has barely finished the sentence when he has her pressed against the door and is claiming her mouth with his own, his hands roaming across her back and then down as she skillfully locks the door.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrbQM1UYnyx
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmbbTuyZZdo
“Idiot,” she manages to reprimand between kisses, “what if someone sees us?”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3bv1NZx9FQ
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCZu1ulrOXa
“Who cares,” he retorts, his voice a throaty murmur that worsens the heat settled in the lower part of her abdomen, “let them watch if they want.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzNPODkDKkP
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcOsRpiBFvD
“Hmmm that’s kinky,” she teases, and her blood boils as he raises his face from her belly in order to give her a roguish look.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3OikOKghhz
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRNxdVOIV5O
“Any complains?”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr0hlWPeNJS
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXVPE0MjKAa
“Yeah… stop teasing me and get on with—ahh” she moans, her nails scrapping at the door as his head gets lost inside her skirt, his hands spreading her thighs apart.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeVxHCBOH2h
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwESv07dCkn
She has a mission to accomplish—but he makes her forget soon enough.
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476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj7SiUqQLGE
“I’ll have some Okonomiyaki, please.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Smws8hvbW
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuwnAMy6Hzp
The waitress nods and leaves—but not without giving Sasuke a hurt look from underneath her long lashes. He hopes Karin will let it slide; so of course Karin does exactly the opposite, her slim eyebrows arched high.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK9WlIhkE6T
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZi2AnCoczl
“Whoa, Sasuke, That girl totally has a thing for you!”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc5JudelCZc
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ92ZWbIKAD4
Sasuke rolls his eyes; he was so over this subject. “Tch, she and every other employee, what else is new.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUGiyLBTOML
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF7HHUtZAmr
Karin snorts, “Cocky, aren’t we? Do I need to remind you that I am one of your employees, too?”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5n34PAyDEZ
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq6z5Lr5iT1
'Always'.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkHsemxZmIH
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEXQDhfNJCg
Against his better judgment, he can feel all too easily the way his cheeks start to warm up. What was up with him and blushing around this girl? He was never like this, ever.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtgEoSKuCs9
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyxNFVugnnX
“Whatever,” he ends up taking the easy way out. Sitting across from him, Karin pouts, leans her chin on her hand and lazily waves a finger in his face.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRSucSlCFvv
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdkOXWM7vR9
“You really are no fun, Sasuke.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0Hn1jawMfU
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjSHmA7AzLx
“Forget about that, Karin. You said you would tell me more about—”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUlbQetwgd1
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8DNVOPy9gX
“Right, right,” she sighs, and her faked annoyance swiftly gives way to a leer. “Don’t get me wrong, it’s nice to see you so interested in us, but it wouldn’t hurt to focus on the current us.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvDsUV5CpXF
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1f1r1SWOaB
“Karin.”
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476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcGZ15sWJvB
“This is enough for today, thank you for your cooperation, Karin,” she knows better than to give weight to his agreeable words. The way he doesn’t even look at her, too busy being transfixed by her blood instead, says everything she needs to know.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbU7TpKyRzy
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNtx6iKP60o
So she recoils when he reaches out to bandage her—scowls, sidesteps him and stumbles her way out of the room, hating herself for the numbness in her legs.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLeQZC075Cg
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtWxABwezvw
He is the first thing she sees when she comes out of the room.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡriAL1ksQFi
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ59HbYHVXOT
He is leaning against the wall, arms crossed against his chest—and then her knees give up and he is draping her arm around his neck and helping her walk, revealing the bandages held in his hands.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS68KcO5HQK
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY5Qb2C55xh
“…I can walk by myself, Sasuke,” she lies, but he does not let go and she lets herself lean a little closer. Close enough to feel the dampness in his side. She looks down and finds blood—and then she is glaring at him from behind her half-lidded eyes.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAq6BEGaCH6
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0LTsuuEX2J
“Idiot,” she hisses, and means it. “You are hurt, let me—”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYOKmzUJzoz
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmBPXWK7k0f
“You can’t heal anyone in your current state, Karin,” came his reply, calm and even despite the open wound in his side, and Karin hates the fact that he is right.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIhG1vuQUMd
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcZVSkBNqaX
“…You should’ve gone to bandage yourself, Sasuke. I don’t need you to babysit me,” she says faintly, both embarrassed and touched at once.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYQJytXzubQ
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1AG2UJ5XZf
To her surprise, Sasuke snorts.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKSKIEdDYtC
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnN23PgUvhQ
“What?” she snaps.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBDpxz0PdRr
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdu6NhJjgp9
“Nothing,” he says, and he is smirking. “Just, you’re the last person I want to hear that from, Karin.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbovtqXsy3g
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡksNBjDCJox
She frowns, but her cheeks go red. She has a feeling she knows where he is going with this. “Tch, what is that supposed to mean?”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuQJquj9j2t
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpwOmohwjNI
He looks down at her from the corner of his eye, his smirk softening around the edges. “…I wonder.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL22iiKxpB1
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzynkNp8XdQ
And despite her blood loss, her blush only deepens.
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476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd5413MNaiZ
“Would you like more tea, Karin-chan?”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe15LA8AVFf
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOyXxQCnNPk
Sasuke can’t hold back an eye-roll as Karin politely declines; this was the fifth time in a row, and he didn’t know what surprised him more—Karin’s sudden faultless manners, or the lengths to which his mother was going to please her. Hell, one would think it was the redhead’s birthday rather than his.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHOjuCb013P
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKNm0DSzfrT
“Don’t be like that, little brother,” the voice comes from behind him, and is accompanied by a hand that affectionately ruffles his hair. “You know it’s not often that mother gets to attend a girl.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDQEAoisBcg
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ00iRANrJ7N
Sasuke huffs, halfheartedly batting his brother’s hands away. “I know that—moreover, when will you stop treating me like a child, Itachi?”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIIFUD0iCAE
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTM97PKQQEs
“Probably when you stop acting like one,” chimes in a female voice, and Sasuke sends her an airy look as Itachi chuckles behind him. He was definitely starting to regret having brought her along; what had he been thinking?476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhTpKLV5yTC
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy69XdFayht
He does not get to say it aloud however, as Karin is now looking at Itachi with curious eyes. “Don’t tell me this is Sasuke’s first time bringing a girl home?”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8L8C2I7sHt
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHdpDVBRu4C
Great. So she had been listening in, huh? He should have guessed.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2E9Gk9mt5p
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMvBNBGCkvt
“Not quite,” Itachi replies, but Sasuke’s triumphant smirk is short-lived as his brother adds, “But almost.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWDwo39quT1
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwQf2ZfBPx7
“Brother!” he reproaches, causing the older boy to chuckle again and Karin to smirk widely.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl7LtItu6MM
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡobaMAeqYp7
“You’re unbelievable, Sasuke; I mean, I knew you were an unsocial prude, but almost no girlfriends? Seriously?”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1tkJPm5q5k
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXcMvzoM7rm
He glares, mortified to feel the by-now familiar sensation of his cheeks heating up. “Shut up, Karin.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP1zUw4iT3d
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj5sGBwECfJ
“I would say that more than that, what is so remarkable is that this is the first time he brings home a girl who isn’t his girlfriend.” Itachi comments, his tone kind but knowing—and as Karin looks away from the older Uchiha and towards Sasuke, giving him a look that seemed to be clearly flaunting a oh, is that so? Sasuke airily looks away.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhqfmpqsoZB
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKKLzrvDMsJ
Damn you, brother.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaC9NEGUAWn
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2J8n2qgnyy
“Hn, I don’t know what Itachi is talking about.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkYd3sZzr4y
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuZr2mmrCqK
A twinkling laughter resounds through the room, effectively cutting the argument short; and the three of them turn only to find Mikoto standing by the doorway, a tray of biscuits in her hands and a happy beam in her beautiful face.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDwjfhH9i31
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡweA3vuI97s
“It seems you three are having fun,” she merrily observes, graciously moving to leave the tray on the tea-table. “I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen Sasuke enjoy himself this much.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJbvKtUeHan
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBenMikR4Gi
Despite his better judgment, Sasuke can feel himself blushing. “Who said I’m enjoying myself?”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCnY8cWHQnH
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVsCpjXoLdl
But his indignant mutter remains promptly ignored as Mikoto takes Karin’s hands in hers and gives her a glowing smile. “You’re good for my son, Karin-chan.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC4uFSrecP7
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl9EG0J3F5O
For a moment, the room is submerged in silence—even Karin herself is rendered speechless, and while in any other circumstance Sasuke would have reveled in seeing the girl this flustered—widened eyes, a pink hue in her cheeks—the truth is this time, it only adds to his own awkwardness.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡacwaH6yctm
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRiEDrZFViv
“… Mother, you just met her,” he lamely ends up saying once he has found his voice, but he sounds more astonished than reproaching; and Mikoto rewards him with a thoughtful smile before setting her gaze back on Karin.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1uvwYhBhnM
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSCGppfJ22U
“I know, dear. But, somehow… it feels like you two have known each other for a long time.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMtnlpr09tD
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfybnGupsVm
Itachi says nothing—but the way in which he warmly squeezes Sasuke’s shoulder is eloquent enough.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO0cl2oMQk0
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmzKeBl6Oos
Wordlessly, Sasuke and Karin seek each other’s eyes across the room—and he wishes he wasn’t aware of the way he was slowly starting to mirror her smile.
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“It’s so stupid,” she assesses, looking at the field with apparent disinterest, “I mean, running like idiots after a ball, really? Pft, where’s the fun in that?”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ342rAxYy9O
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1rgQEU7iX9
Sasuke would have been inclined to agree; if only he were listening to what she was saying. Instead, he has found himself distracted from his own homework by the way the sun seemed to be lighting her hair just so—by the way her ponytail exposed the stark whiteness of the nape of her neck; by the way she absentmindedly bit on her pencil from time to time as she read, brows furrowed in confusion or eyes light up with understanding—and she would tilt her head to the side then, stick her chin out with self-satisfaction—and Sasuke—476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPewMb41tpy
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWQankSyJXC
“Sasuke—hey, earth to Sasuke, are you listening? I was just saying that—”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ83Qj51aUBx
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1W58EJXSJc
But Sasuke doesn’t get to hear it, because his body is too busy being pulled to her like a moth to a flame and his brain is too busy shutting down as his lips meet hers. She freezes, and he is too much of a novice so the kiss isn’t much of a kiss—but he doesn’t quite mind.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV1XnbYexZr
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7ITtGCc2PV
When he leans back he finds Karin staring at him, point-blank. He figures that perhaps he should try and say something; but he doesn’t feel the need to, so he just licks the lip-gloss off his lips instead.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7jRB0WzBDF
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4rooJzkdKJ
“Raspberries,” he states, and that seems to get Karin off her trance, because she blinks at him.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ25r5NPVDNU
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtSUU0ZGJxg
And then she is grinning.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh58xsJ8nRm
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Jo465Eema
“Had I known you would finally kiss me today, I’d have worn something less sweet.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTavcRouuVT
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHfUp5oHHxO
He can’t help but smile back. “I almost did, yesterday,” he reveals, as he carefully takes her glasses off. “And the day before that. And the one before that.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPdZ4w7dQBv
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLyRGHJKZiL
“I know,” and her grin becomes a husky smirk as she tangles her fingers in his hair. “You’re too easy to read, Sasuke.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCH054cmeD8
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnHK9QrFqmk
“Hn, you could have helped, then,” he says, but the truth is he is too lost in her to really mind.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzJJAY1osPn
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQtejjR8UuV
“Not a chance,” their noses touch and her voice lowers to a mere brush of air against his lips, “…it’s too fun to watch you squirm.”
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“You won’t find anything better for a more reasonable price, I assure you, Uchiha-san. This is the absolute best—”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHuXruvqe5Q
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTBbCtr3KcU
He goes on and on, but the words of the realtor start to become nothing but background noises as Sasuke’s gaze is caught by Karin’s vibrant red hair.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGFSa0Hkkrh
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsb9rsT5ZGv
“Excuse me.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡexxrnwGlmb
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeAGw2SsmUl
Not waiting for a reply, Sasuke makes his way to the windowsill; Karin was standing in front of it, her eyes closed and her face showered by the rays of the sun filtering in through the glass. It occurs to him then that he has never seen her looking so serene—so at peace with herself and the world. So taken is he by the realization, that he does not notice he has stopped breathing until Karin’s eyes flutter open and she smiles at him.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt9Lf39pwzA
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡikYcEeMizD
“This house is ours, Sasuke,”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhUYjwFXhsu
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdK8WJa8umQ
Her fingers find their way around his, and Sasuke gives them a squeeze as he nods, his expression naturally mirroring her own.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQy1jxYyaeq
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb8SPqmNyzy
He could feel it, too.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡApVRR00Ea8
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm0fVMWeRPJ
Behind them, the realtor clears his throat but Karin cuts him short before he could get a single word out.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJxRrRPptIG
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJmToS24oI5
“We’re buying it,” she states loud and clear, and she is positively glowing.
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She can hardly believe it.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOvKivzJeF0
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpPXHB8kc0O
Can hardly believe this. That the guy she once chased down a street in the pouring rain is holding her in his arms, his head sunk in her neck as he breathes in the scent of her hair.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ52Rs1s9vWU
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZWaurOlK3B
It seemed like something straight out of one of those dramas she used to love to ridicule and secretly watch at the same time.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPm1Om4r12M
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw03vbSb8r4
Her kind businessman had turned out to be a gentleman through and through; smooth, reliable and above all, capable. He was everything she wanted in a man and then some; and to top it all off, he seemed to be as crazy about her as she was about him.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLHqbMRlfeG
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡri9y84TO7l
Now that she thought about it, it seemed more like something straight out from a dream rather than a mere drama. The thought makes her giggle, and she feels him smile against her neck, his arms holding her just a little bit closer so that she has to readjust her own hold around his neck.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSyElxwArU0
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAoeAvLXFiX
“What’s so funny?”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnYRg2TwA0O
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXVI50Vn5DM
She tells him; because even though the thought is childish, she has learnt that she does not have to keep anything from him. She trusted him with even the most embarrassing and ridiculous sides of her; those she wouldn’t show to anyone else.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBLDnU8nSHu
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI9lAlQL5uC
“There’s just one thing off, though—” she observes, as an afterthought, “where’s my rival in love?”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHpSevrvqxu
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtd8wBcDenh
“Nowhere,” he asserts, grave like only he could be about even the most foolish of things. “I am yours.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2ydMMGxclD
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPWFVxryRxZ
The line would have sounded corny in anyone else’s lips, but in his it sounds just like it is—a statement. A truth being bluntly spoken as he caresses her cheek and looks into her eyes with the barest traces of a smile.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBiCExUQwPG
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxU6hJv7pDk
She has barely begun to smile back when he is sinking his face on her hair again and brushing his lips against her ear—“And you are mine.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡovXCuFoQuK
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuVjDGgujG2
And he is breathing in her scent and tightly holding her in his arms—so tightly in fact that she can hardly breathe.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDMuTY8whVk
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBem6oI7efc
“S-asuke—” she chokes.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZhkowQO0iQ
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpkKacPnvoW
But he does not listen.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4WvEXSM2KP
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRhWYXt4zm8
“…mine.”
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476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡveFIaTzYKd
She soundlessly sneaks behind him and leans her chin on his shoulder.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX8k77NXf0I
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPBsC7m1MPk
“Sewing again?”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxtgCq6iSxh
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhech1GqCIX
“Not my fault you have so many clothes,” is his simple reply as he continues to work the needle and the thread, slowly-but surely creating what would be a white and red fan.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAzVAjiEc6T
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEhx5x9x8BO
Her fingers come to play with his hair, pulling and twisting some strands of raven black; “I don’t get why you do it manually, Sasuke. Sewing machines exist just for this kind of thing, in case you forgot.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQuViFzGyqU
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOGXXi0HPgo
“I told you, Karin. It’s an Uchiha tradition, it’s supposed be done manually.” His voice is as light as her warm breathing against his neck, and they remain like that—he calmly sewing, she silently watching—until she suddenly straightens.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM35UkCEp9n
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbsHEnEvghJ
“Where are you going?” he can’t help but ask, and hopes the way he is already missing her doesn’t seep into his voice.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3pbheVAv5Y
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr7ZthApwKC
“For the sewing kit,” comes her matter-of-fact reply, and surprised, Sasuke arches one eyebrow. “Since I’m becoming an Uchiha myself, I may as well learn, right?”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqM9V81rIxz
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh72wSEqqzI
She shoots him a playful smirk that looks too much like a smile before leaving the room, and Sasuke cannot help the way his pulse quickens at its sight.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8P59nPeEEo
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqDDKnwHib9
And he finds himself smiling at her back, like one of those love-sick fools he always used to make fun of.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCCESbJshKv
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfZ966Qyayb
But it’s just, back then—he had never thought someone could actually make him this happy.
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476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6qpTiyO4Sm
“Stop doing that, Sasuke.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsblHKBB4YP
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpZsYcMtgNQ
“Doing what?”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0Agx7IGkb3
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR8PbxsIO9z
“This—making me happy,” her eyes are stern as she looks at him, but he does not take her honesty as seriously as he probably should.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL84dRYKz2J
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTGtu6tsJAk
“Or what?”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAtBThsLm7v
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4aCARqOgDO
“…Or I may fall in love with you, Uchiha.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡadBdwXoyNG
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNDGmYsPNVP
She is both elated and horrified to see how soft and harmless his usual menacing and intimidating smirk looks as he replies.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfUjmExb2Mm
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0RHcCPqlb3
“… Maybe I wouldn’t mind that.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYXyhbbEGRU
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡypz91cFeDa
His naked form is gone before she can gather herself enough to reply; gone to the living room of the luxury-hotel-room to call for room service—and as she hears his voice drifting over to her from the other room, Karin digs her nails into her palms.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡux49YcRrGX
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfH0XgKoVzP
She was alone in the room, his suitcase forgotten on a nearby chair and his laptop on the table—she knows his passwords; has the knowledge and tools to get through what she does not know, and above all, she has the time to do so.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡce33wtkFQ9
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlknRfSzCrh
Only a minute would be enough for a spy as skilled as herself.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY8lVsTTPab
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ46gAS5t9Fk
By the he would come back into the room and make love to her again, it would be too late for him; and he wouldn’t suspect a thing.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8SOoqqWaXn
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDf55YUrpnS
She could get away with it, if she were to go through it. She should go through it. This is what they sent her for—this is what she is getting paid for, not for screwing the target all night long.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAh5Omhjc3e
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMafp77AFoT
She sighs, lays back down on the bed and thinks of his pathetic attempt at a smirk. It makes it easier to forget her duties, to forget the papers she should be revising, the documents she should be hacking into—476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOFn7BRFTd5
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlCyvW4thlW
To forget the atrocities she would find if she did.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsYQrIH13DY
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa7Fl3EJw2Z
And, really—who would have thought that a monster like Uchiha Sasuke was capable of making a face like that?
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Sasuke was just putting a plate aside when the sound of porcelain breaking reaches his ears.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3VgopLgJMZ
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWf3pDIZa3D
With a start, he turns only to find Karin crouched on the ground, her feet surrounded by tiny pieces of what had just been one of her favorite sets of dishes.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOWoFbIWRwi
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsR465iyJF7
“Karin,” he calls, drying his hands on his pants—and he misses the way Karin’s shoulders tense, her back stiffening. “Are you alright?”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq5dNN2SBdc
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5OWYgsU1ZY
“Yeah,” she murmurs after a moment, and Sasuke blinks. She didn’t sound alright.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJQfOTRh4Bn
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiXNgNepmJs
“Karin,” he calls again, approaching her. “Leave that be, I’ll take care of it.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXyemzifyp8
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnLMBqgG2S9
“I told you, it’s fine.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkMI0pe8YeC
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡozcr8OZnAU
He frowns, concerned. “Karin—”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaq0Ma07Xi3
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy9lPvsudwD
But the words freeze in his throat as Karin yelps and slaps away the hand he had been about to reassuringly place on her shoulder.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSYZALStUaM
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2o3Q6lqzs6
For a long moment, all they do is stare at each other—Sasuke staggered by Karin’s frightened eyes, by the raw fear contorting her features—and then the moment ends and Karin is standing up and taking a loud breath.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJzV38o7l8W
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkhRCchwLDF
“Sorry, Sasuke—I think I’ll go and lie down for a while.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9D7BV2liL0
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWXRxClzALy
Her voice is even, but Sasuke knows her better than that; and so he can’t bring himself to watch her as she leaves the kitchen.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmnS3KROvA5
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhmQTccXOmN
He doesn’t know what he would do if he were to see that same fright reflected in her eyes again.
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476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7WTQ9p6qJT
She jolts back as the lights go on and the shadows melt away into an all too familiar figure—one that is sitting on the one-man couch and that tilts his head to the side, dark bangs falling across his face and eyes as black as abysses centered on her.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLpw9g7QNey
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoyAVS1TDV5
“S-sasuke, what—?”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBiGA0mvoJM
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡll5CN7f9rs
“Where were you, Karin?”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZwlvzWoEzW
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6gI0lNnJJ0
His question is smooth and steady; placid, even. Except that Karin knows him well enough; has gotten to know this side of him—this terrifying side of him, twisted and manipulative, brutally honest in order to hurt rather than to please—well enough lately. Enough to be able to see beyond and into the brewing storm.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSnBC0AAEXa
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0w0F6TH2ZP
It reeks of lighting and promises pain—it frankly terrifies her.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6xGLLXzpny
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGysSfDl3c6
But she holds her ground.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1ESK0qdsb2
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFq2YpEeweH
“I—I was having lunch with my parents, Sasuke. They called to invite us today but you were at—”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn3xctlKPza
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU967BPVyUb
“Liar,” he grits out, and Karin’s blood runs cold. “I called them myself. You were not with them. So, where were you?”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdfNNnXKpEK
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTApUr0TJIH
It is trying to keep her voice and hands from shaking that she says the truth. “I was out with the girls, Sasuke—but we were just eating and talking! We did nothing w—”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo2cyk5q1mL
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjd2bIpXhi0
“Then why didn’t you say so from the start, Karin?” she freezes, like a deer caught in headlights—and then lowers his eyes. Slowly, Sasuke stands. “… Do you not trust me, Karin? Do you think I do not trust you? Is that it?”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAq9hmztgtw
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhc21WIqj4g
“Sasuke, I—”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB99eLIySgw
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡchJT07P2q5
“Because I do, Karin,” he is standing before her now, his hand lovingly caressing her face, his eyes warm—and though Karin knows better, her body remains as loyal to him as ever and it betrays her; closing its eyes and leaning into the touch. “I trust you, because I love you. Do you not love me, Karin?”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Qr7xhuLro
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMOq6cO4q9e
A part of her hates herself for how easily the answer comes forth to her lips. For how true it remains. “… I do, Sasuke.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6SoRCpxWME
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkDpoF0lp8C
She hears his smile, “Good. Then, you will stop seeing them, won’t you? Those girls.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaN9lLLB1OK
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdSx6JZMVE7
Her eyes snap open—and the Sasuke that greets them is once again back to being rough oceans and thunderstorms. “You’re better than them, Karin.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJXBFX36Rz9
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3wrbXvh0iX
I want you all for myself—is what Karin hears instead, and she frowns. “Sasuke, you can’t be serious—they are my friends!”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp1X8qpbkMM
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw8ldvqImQG
She comes to regret her words almost immediately, as his features snap into a mad grimace and his hand shots to her wrist, grasping it tightly enough to make her yelp—“And I not enough for you, Karin?”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbLmNbDTdBD
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6NrQNxTibx
“I—” yes, he is—was. Is.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBq1xCIPYkp
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRF1w1rAX8I
And that frightens her more than he possibly could.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6RBOr5aAUj
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdsiGwxgkwB
“—alright, Sasuke… you win.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqhry4ICgCK
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi8eBBTBarg
His features relax and his hands come to cup her cheeks again, a soft, almost child-like smile in his lips. Innocent enough to trick anyone.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEYRD7f38lz
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6Gqn8CiER0
Even himself.
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCXnuftdVdK
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476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu9p6PQLb2f
The silence is deafening. The unsaid drawing knots with his vocal chords, until he decides that enough has been enough.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjm8MZBdhtS
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2rlDtUFs0k
“Karin, about yesterday….” He trails off, figures he will give her the chance to own up to what happened by herself, rather than attempting to play the game of pretend like she has been doing all day.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhm31yROcnN
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV2D9wCtAxk
She doesn’t bulge. “What?”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ90DpRocPN8
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrEcjJZEM9Z
And perhaps that’s what worries Sasuke the most.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZp1oYxkPCV
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMS6APCXxKc
It takes him a few moments before he is able to gain control of the ominous feeling pooling in his stomach; the one making it hard to speak.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeNaxxuH9xI
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXrUxPfGwAA
“Don’t try to avoid the subject, Karin. There is something you aren’t telling me, isn’t there?”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqarY8ccuVp
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgpGawztWF3
Karin’s hands pause for half a second—and then she is moving the chopsticks again, her lips curving in a mystifying smile that does not reach her eyes.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlLPnKcX2tg
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIR5huGC7MH
And Sasuke wants nothing more than to ask her to stop—but he is too scared to do so.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMMbS8NUSLV
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyeAG8gBbHS
“Eat, Sasuke. It’s going to get cold.”
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡubevDWIixH
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476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSE8vI53BGm
He rolls the raspberries between his fingers, memories swirling in his head.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ60oKYXDjfJ
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡStGcf5ugPP
He has always had a very good memory; and throughout his life, it has proved to be a curse more often than a blessing.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXNTTxLDvdT
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPsfBexTpVn
In this case, it is both at once.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCU6qvskCdA
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1F6SBk1Cg2
A redheaded toddler pulls him along to play on the backyard; a young girl holds him as he weeps for his parents and brother; a teenager kissing the raspberry lipstick off his lips.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡznPGlPRF9F
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv2A9KaJbGa
A girl sending him off with a sad smile, and never looking back.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzX4eAV3USC
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIiGMZdu5WK
Broken promises.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo6hk7T5xkR
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjiFTfkyMsn
A call. A funeral.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4evr6T7a74
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq1EcxYWaEb
And tears.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiEzOar5vJv
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxyqnWaZqMO
Heartbreak.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡULzMXhlmV2
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcJbW4SB9ni
Loneliness.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡncC6WWYWnM
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJhUykAeizp
…then there was nothing else.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4m7NPiuWWX
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvS1wiLmZ8q
And then there was everything all over again.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj1AePqQS1A
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHTW5EDNfhH
Rinse and repeat over and over; relieving both the good and the bad, but not feeling the sunlight warm nor the pain sting. It was like a movie etched on his corneas—he saw it over and over whenever he had his eyes open, whenever he had his eyes closed. And by now he has seen it enough times to know every turn, every scene—and yet he can’t stop.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvdie1ZqxOJ
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ7Ce2r4t3I
He can’t stop.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDfUxiJyv8Y
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfZoFFejvOL
He does not want to.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7FI34rVtS4
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ43tgPpApSI
One of the raspberries snaps, juice rolling down his fingers—but he does nothing to clean it up.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWOa4ArK8wy
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzF0QX3s7zN
The door creaks open.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRRhaNKWfMt
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡikUdpSXN2u
“Uchiha-san, you have to eat.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwuxzW9ypOa
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhjTnjq9HUd
The nurse says, more out of habit than anything else; but he is too far away to hear—476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzy8ehs4VZt
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRncgf4YWQe
(“I’ll see you around… Sasuke,” comes her goodbye—and then there is a whirlwind of colors and images as the roll film reels back to their beginning.)476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiNOjtiAl3G
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8jlZAdBSyB
—and it’s been a year since the patient of the room 723 has pronounced a single word.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ965C5fLzc0
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCcGi7sSKHe
(And a five-year old Karin is smiling.)
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476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTGwfAlX8Lx
When the first rays of the sun slip through the open curtains, Sasuke awakens only to find that it was one of those rare days when Karin has woken up first.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfZq8Gkz27k
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXNmtWZDnyA
For a blissful moment, he is ignorant; forgetful. He does not remember how weird she has been acting, does not remember the silences from the past couple of days—and so he is about to tease her about waking up so early when he realizes there was something very, very wrong—and any drowsiness is suddenly yanked from underneath him like a rug.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHAvk80PYxl
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAwE5XBDhzk
Karin was sitting on the bed, unnaturally straight and still; her eyes vacant and unseeing, telltale trails of dried tears on her cheeks.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡacSpZKuXEa
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQpXkik6gSF
For an excruciatingly long moment, Sasuke is frozen in place—at a complete loss as to what to do. This was the first time he has ever seen Karin cry, and the sight makes an ugly feeling curl up in his gut.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGzPT012qFk
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD716IklYjz
“Karin…” his voice is faint; a tentative call more to spur himself into motion than to reach her. “Karin, what’s wrong?”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqIzfsmbiAn
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpg96CTQGC0
She does not react—gives no signs of having heard him, and Sasuke is filled with a sense of foreboding so potent that it robs him of his breathing.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5cQooFP3QU
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCYbf0NbZGb
And then she parts her lips.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDCRBQjdkNx
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqhafViBS2N
“Sasuke… I had a dream… a new one.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgLNtfPN08m
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP5rxcK9yNK
Sasuke swallows; what could she have possibly seen to put her in such a state?476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsUwOAkjM8M
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6vMuodE3IH
“Karin, I…” the redhead simply shakes her head, and to his ever-growing alarm there are fresh tears dripping from her eyes.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9sk5WpahW9
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAgp6airKQS
“Forget it, Sasuke… it’s better if you do.”
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡedWe9J16xA
.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJDISIVzadD
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476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcdEj037yGl
She chokes on a distraught sob as she gathers his body in her arms, his blood seeping into her shirt and tainting it as crimson as her hair.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7icYdekUcG
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjcuktd5Aca
“Stop it, Karin. You were not supposed to care about him—”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTiJkHc564L
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHFsnzww3P7
“And you weren’t supposed to kill him! This was my job!” she growls, her sight blurry by unleashed tears—and despite it she can still clearly see the apathy in her coworker’s face.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOgsPXA7a6P
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZS9W0vrZ9A
It makes something in her tightly clench.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcSDeArcn6r
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡINyUOTLj8O
“Hn, you took too long. We couldn’t keep waiting for you to remember your roots. Did you forget you’re a spy, Karin? You’re trained for riding the world of bastards like these.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiJL2p59Ygd
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO98sUpcC0E
And then he distastefully kicks him—he kicks Sasuke’s side, as if he were nothing but a sack of bones and skin—and something in her snaps.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjrZV2KmlcF
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2PbciSpHQC
She is taking her gun out and blowing his brains out before he has got time to even think—and as the body falls to the ground with a sick thud, Karin wipes off her tears—smearing her cheeks with Sasuke’s blood—and loads the gun again.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWEr8xoupzO
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX5eHscKyjC
She can hear them coming from her, and she knows she won’t be able to escape—but that was fine.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡizZHKwJ5A4
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaHXHHPs8Yu
She would take as many of them as she possibly could before going down, and—476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUirSk61FaT
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtSEUtgop57
“…we’ll meet soon, Sasuke.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmOfk8nn00I
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3aHPKJRNYe
—and Sasuke had always liked souvenirs.
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476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI9tEKucIH2
He is crudely woken up by Karin screaming his name.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzHSxVDtmwF
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCIt9KDFFP8
Her yells are shrill and terrified; and they do not stop, no matter how much he shakes her, how much he calls out to her.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSmKggmPbXr
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOOd2l8wOre
In fact—she seemed to only be getting worse.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl4GjL76hcp
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCnX6qDczUm
“Sasuke, no—!”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW0YzgaUT2X
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8LTawosFga
“Karin! Karin, wake up!” he has her seized by her shoulders, but Karin trashes in his hold; so he brushes the bangs off her forehead instead, trying to soothe her nightmares with his touch. “It’s fine, I’m here, I won’t let anyone hurt—”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNubmHOprMp
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMqucnrfDqs
But his sincere promise is cut short by her terrified sob.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkmq58qdupb
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRTHNpO7nOo
“N-no, Sasuke—get away from me!”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqtLe5Baiw2
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8fHcT1lAGx
Sasuke jumps back, as if burnt. “W-what…?”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjx1ulbXJDt
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHgeUxYNeBj
He could not believe his ears—she was frightened—of him?476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWuPQ98jE26
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeZdokZWN5v
He leans back; backs off the bed and steps into the cold floor, his mind whirling—and it’s then a memory sneaks into his conscious. Uninvited, and terrible with the clarity it brings him.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk2BHbBCSX8
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwcwnnVRwaZ
‘… They weren’t always nice, Sasuke. They rarely were.’476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrcGQrMDI36
‘What weren’t?’476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrmSJtQDzkB
‘...You.’476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLXJiID6aKq
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUoxkFJdHLc
The thought makes trepidation mercilessly grip his heart—and he can do nothing but helplessly watch as Karin twists and turns in her sleep, battling against ghosts he cannot see.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ46JPa86IJP
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh8F9l2na38
Ghosts he has started to fear, too.
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476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk8mxfqxQBK
“Karin,” he whispers affectionately, caressing her cheek with his right hand, “I need you.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtVTfPvGQdE
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjq4Re4ixEl
Karin swallows the knot in her throat and forces her knees to remain firm, “I—I know, so plea—”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPgEPDN6UH4
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7yWRExW4LI
“You’re the only one for me,” he talks over her, as if she hadn’t said a word. And Karin cannot fight the shiver that runs down her spine as something cold is pressed to her ribcage, right in between her breasts. “That’s why… I must to do this.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJsRHEKxnoq
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOeGB6BUGm4
“Sasuke,” her voice is hoarse, her eyes begging him to rethink this—to be reasonable. But Sasuke simply shakes his head and smiles an impossibly sad smile, his thumb tracing her bottom lip, which has started to quiver.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡayurNCXSFW
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIYI0ejZzGj
“I’ll see you soon… Karin.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyDg13iLOeU
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡup35ql054Z
He says, and his words are as loud as the gunshot that follows.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsfbQD5VCh3
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgeHZFxhLLc
And then her lifeless body is crumbling to the ground, his soon to follow.
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476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2glXredtaJ
“What was I doing to you?”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRY7vkgQDTo
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn4xbHZRxtE
“… I don’t remember.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXzfKWo4m5I
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxB2bIUwN53
Sasuke shuts his eyes close, his hands gripping the sheets. It would be so much easier to pretend to believe her; to pretend there was nothing wrong. To pretend he didn’t spend the whole night fighting the desperation gripping at his core as he watched her shake in her turmoil-filled sleep; longing for it to end, dreading what would happen once it did.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ0eaY7FB5o
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQDwVEcm31Y
But he has played that game long enough.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQTTlMPEnvb
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzKiH3SXWLK
He cannot continue to allow himself to remain blissfully unaware while she battles on her own.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy2iTmoTguM
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs1wMpWUjct
“Don’t lie to me, Karin.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoxde4XRjhV
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaA2ENSYDVM
“I’m not lying, Sasuke… I can’t remember what I dreamed,” Karin whispers, and a shiver runs down his spine as she places her cold hand atop of his own; it was trembling. “…But I can remember the rest.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq6bKiUVWsk
476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkmZBVLz5kJ
He is shaking, too—and so he uncurls his fists and entwines his fingers with hers, and makes the one request that would surely change everything.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFI2vlLITUM
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“…Tell me the truth, Karin.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE0IumbWCbz
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Karin takes a deep breath, and Sasuke braces himself.
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The world seems to slow to a halt as she coughs up blood, the sword cleanly piercing her chest and stopping dangerously close to his own heart.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWSoJ6xEkvi
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He can only stare, eyes wide, at the back of her head—the vibrant strands of hair tickling his face as she takes an involuntary step backward—and then there is a cold flush of liquid splaying all over his shirt as the sword is pulled out and she begins to crumble down like a leaf—476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Y625tVXPl
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And her name leaves his lips in the form of a horrified call—one that is cut short by her strained smile.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmUsSh9kRmB
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“Idiot, I… told you… to move, Sasuke…”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7eLDyt5cst
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“Stop talking, Karin,” he ushers, and his vision blurs. Despite it he thinks he sees her smile widening, and he cradles her closer to his chest, tries to ignore the blood seeping from her body at an alarmingly fast pace. “You need to save your strength, Sakura is c—”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFuWPv7jjLc
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“Sa…suke,” and though her voice is nothing but a dying whisper, he is rendered silent at once. “Promise me… you won’t… die.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6pfa3hCjG7
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His teeth clatter and sink on his lip, drawing blood—and suddenly he is yelling. “You are the idiot, Karin! Why?! Why would you do that for me? Did you forget what I did to you? I thought you said you wouldn’t! I thought you said you would—”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0DBkeAsMxp
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“—make you… regret it… I know,” her smile looks like unleashed tears. “I admit… this… wasn’t exactly… what I had… in mind.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKoXYQpugi4
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There is a choked sob—and he barely registers it is his own.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUqncTaKDwS
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She does, though—and her fingertips come to softly brush away the tears from the corner of his eyes, leaving telltale traces of crimson instead.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuGgQYO1yjF
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“Don’t… all I want…ed… is for you… to smile… like that day.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdxpGKkvybZ
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He knows at once what she means—but the memories feel light-years away; they are colored in grays and smeared with blood, and for the life of him—for the life of her—he cannot find it in himself the will to smile.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWMVCFq8Pti
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And she slips away through his hesitation like he had always slipped through her fingers.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe1UoUh1823
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“See ya… Sasuke.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR8dxjNRVpl
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Her hand drops and her body goes cold, and all his lips seem to be able to do is call her name—a name accompanied by lonesome apologies and regrets that would never get either of them anywhere.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBnDJdsz7Ji
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He never seems to be able to get anywhere, ever, not even when he is trying to—but if he could—if only he could do it all over again, he—476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnzQdgII4ah
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Mere hours later, his body is the one to drop lifelessly to the ground—and it’s all over before he can realize the smile that grazes his lips.
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A terrible silence has descended upon them.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSvGm2ithxL
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He has retreated to the edge of the bed, his elbows sinking on his knees and his horrified face cradled in his shaking hands.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH3jb6p5dBT
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“Why…?” and he does not know it, but it always seemed to come to this very question. “Why are you with me, despite all the things I’ve done to you?”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2lF17iHntN
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Karin watches his desolated back and has a hard time swallowing the lump in her throat, “Because… they are not you, Sasuke.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgYBCyDHVWa
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He says nothing in response—can not possibly wrap his mind around her words, Karin knows. And so she softly crawls to him and drapes her arms around his neck, leans her cheek on the side of his head, closes her eyes, and smiles.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ54i0CnKfCM
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“And, above all…”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFZFvQTJ8ey
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The smile is strained—but resolute. Serene. It says nothing and everything at once. And despite himself, Sasuke finds solace in her touch—his own hand coming to seize her own as her words carry over to him, a simple truth that at once gives him hope and clogs his throat with trepidation.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTsKRhKjHWT
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“…Above all, I want to see how this one ends.”
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It happens a sunny morning as she trips and a bear lunges at her, its roar so deafening that she thought her head would burst before the beast would get to sink its teeth on her flesh.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYXdB6BTFnc
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Except that it doesn’t get to.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr6gstwX7Sk
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And when she puts her glasses back on, her sight is met by a smile that would carve itself on her mind and set ablaze a flame that would burn just as strongly and lastingly as the eyes of the boy she would never, ever forget.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuuU4rfXepX
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“See ya.”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB4fKQk3RdP
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This is what I give,476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg6X0tW7oUo
A circle is complete.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMzggq1Qnyy
Another circle spins476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWMj3Fl3yiz
There's life within,476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7OiyRjXCEL
Within
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end.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxWKjUKiKCq
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Ok! Now you guys should understand what I meant by the warnings at the beginning; I tried to make each SK set of reincarnations distinctly different from each other, both in personalities, dynamics, and backgrounds; so they indeed diverge from the Sasuke and Karin we're used to, as they have all grown in different environments. All the same, I tried to keep some traits of their canon personalities, so hopefully, they aren't absurdly OOC.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS382Th7E60
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That said~! The song used at the beginning is Kitade Nana’s Tsukihana, and the one at the end is Blue Foundation’s Bonfires. Now, onto random details about the fic~ there are five versions of SasuKarin total in the fic; the originals, and 4 pairs of reincarnations.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQpKUSJQrdj
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The format of the fic didn’t allow me to expand and truly explain each particular set, so if you are curious about any of them drop me a comment and I’ll tell you their background and/or explain anything you may be wondering about~!476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFfkcM4mkZK
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For now, though, I must mention a couple of things about the 4th SK pair (aka, the most controversial - the one with cute!Karin and businessman!Sasuke); their meeting (the umbrella thing) was completely inspired by a real-life story I read here, and overly-jealous-and-possessive-Sasuke was inspired by might 'Anyone's Ghost' SK AMV, here. I debated a bit about this version because it's kind of hard to imagine a Karin who would allow Sasuke to be that way with her; but then again, this particular Karin is less headstrong than the one we know and love. So I decided to leave it as it lol Also, his overdone “I love you(s)” and cheesiness, while sincere, were meant to be creepy and manipulative; I really hope they came out that way lol476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2amS8alKGL
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Thanks for reading! ♥
Tags: fanfic, karin, naruto, sasukarin, sasuke
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