[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~!632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCwWY9m3M3R
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By: Kanae (Goth-Punk88 @ ff.net)632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2YRabV5UEW
Rating: M (some suggestive scenes, and some violence.)632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAoffZxb4cr
Word Count: 8.810632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxWDgO3gQYq
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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb5L46dN6PC
Warning: Some OOC-ness due to the fact that I'm working with future SK... among other things you will soon realize lol632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ7j6fvciOF
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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXTd0bkQhsb
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A heartbeat that awakens from the ashes.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiSNRlHwC5P
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To the stars that played with the darkness632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBC8wN3USgs
I sang of love and burned up completely
Wildfire632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfA4pbFxgl6
by Kanae632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBPcj8nvpJ1
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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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOdltJVylEX
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Something in his chest tightens.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs035cxnpBn
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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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd6qHoOTnVW
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Just a girl.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡihq1CPhTHm
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Sasuke all but snorts, mildly shaking his head and turning away in wonderment.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9QQCoZVgyb
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He misses the way the girl stops, her back straightening as if bolted.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIK5XipD7aw
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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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzuBR5sV1G1
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The girl.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡITnswes0ei
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The redhead.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQq4U2DjOjn
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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?”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqwZ38x2n2j
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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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9JbiWxHLVY
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“Don’t think so,” he replies, trying to sidestep her—but the girl blocks his way again.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt75O2UdMcn
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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.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡniY8WwwVSs
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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—”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtZSXySiGrw
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“You’re right,” Sasuke agrees, clenching his jaw and walking past her.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ8iApAyxWT
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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.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvGPJLs5lN5
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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.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHHZEGPxY7k
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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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzHs1MXJdZ7
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She falls quiet—and Sasuke thinks the odd conversation has come to an end.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkVuFsbkJBP
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He was severely mistaken.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1nyKs9ZJtQ
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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.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNMmlo3PV0B
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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.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTcSQ9MRDNA
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It is slowly that he turns towards her, eyes narrowed and heart galloping inside his chest. “How…?”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDKc9MTtKeJ
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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.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFLe67sPbpv
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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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyz7wOoqjBF
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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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8koSrGwMv0
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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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIjJCp9XMxL
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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.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJsLjiE3AoK
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She does not let go of him.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGIOHpCZN3D
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And the déjà vu only worsens.
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“Come with me, Karin. I need you.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZp3q5j08wW
“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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa2yr4yzeAI
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“The… dreams?” he questions, and feels utterly ridiculous just by saying it.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡED20zw8n3I
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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.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcgoeBAOMH5
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“And these… dreams, of yours. They were about me?”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjMBdwZfiCa
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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.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbZ6XdceGY7
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“Doing what, exactly?”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE7XiUguxg8
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“A lot of things. Fighting, mostly. You were a ninja, sometimes. Both of us were.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmIHiwqdRlF
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“…A ninja?”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3NmEMZM6gm
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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.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgTg2eyuoN5
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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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXQ07xMjLb3
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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.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkBVG9nQY9n
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“… What do you mean, exactly?” he prods with narrowed eyes.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVjYIAXHqAa
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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.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1BMTsF8sY6
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Sasuke frowns. He didn’t like her tone, and neither did he like where she was going with this. “Reincarnations?”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj6piSBdxZh
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Karin snaps her fingers, “Bingo.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEfeSvL5ypz
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Sasuke snorts. “That’s ridiculous.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD6wBew9Jeb
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“I know you don’t believe in them, Sasuke. But that doesn’t mean they do not exist.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ079i5qOsUi
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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.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUHL6UZzhGa
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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.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7h1oaDiQbB
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“But I am done hearing your bullshit.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgeeV1AVC5R
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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.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo03z3rTZc8
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He feels insulted, but he stays. And a little smirk quirks up Karin’s lips; as expected, that smirk said.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtGBRSh8mo5
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But any comments he may have had about her arrogance promptly disappear as the redhead utters her next words.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4hvJsktxdu
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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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZC7Jjcgkpy
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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.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhqe2AibjLN
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They. Because that was all that was left, now. She was all he had left.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHTz6AJXu0m
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“We will get through this,” she repeats, because they would. They had to.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5e9dpI80K0
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“You’re not alone. I’m with you, Sasuke. I won’t ever leave you,”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIcjuCx8yfx
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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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRSvz5mo27h
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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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuvTloyzq4U
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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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVI00MGPdTn
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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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk5tCVzkoam
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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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNwonlRxprT
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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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmmyyWQnyyE
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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?”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqbMy12Wxnb
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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.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEPbp7W9UVq
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He has really run out of patience. “Stop with the riddles, will you? Just answer!”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpEG76M9yS9
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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.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1bmIvlQDkV
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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?”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6pDY7hwvBb
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Karin shrugs, unfazed.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeHevCInQqe
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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.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡstqMQ9R1Tc
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That catches his attention. “What do you mean?”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHQagJOVba8
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“… They weren’t always nice, Sasuke. They rarely were.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrX8MziA5vK
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Sasuke arches one eyebrow, curious. “What weren’t?”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0mCPYtUPuR
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For the first time since they got there, Karin squirms in her seat.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEuUcBDORQ9
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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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUBw1XLbCas
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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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwWVc0Wr2Jh
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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.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIEvcB4nYLg
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhJ5CkrRhGc
Sasuke hates it; having to repeat himself. But he moodily does, anyway. “What do you mean?”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj2VwilJgmM
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSMDMUP1kww
Karin does not reply right away; and when she does, her voice is the softest Sasuke has heard it sound so far.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQAy9LDNdpT
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxzZ1RYMlDn
“I always ended up loving you all the same,” she admits.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpdQOItxlyx
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhBYx85yBiZ
Then she looks at him again, and Sasuke finds that he can’t look away.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo0wNTsAVwz
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnoUGskHGj2
“Always.”
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVW9EDaNo54
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632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcz7GDjooev
It happens on a rainy night.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9tFp4N7LoF
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnLgJm0u3ul
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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsnvJFgYxTm
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5g3rJP6DxE
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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYA8uu7jBAf
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDt1qlIerC9
She hadn’t been.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ4do88mnVm
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpSH7xNjxW2
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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJgeP25vrIO
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgGN6C0gaZT
So much for not getting wet, she thinks, and it’s then that an umbrella is placed above her.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgLAev4suCM
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4ImR5QK6FI
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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJtD37HubPV
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLUfO9rGr8q
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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIAwMVuuLNE
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡilUS3s8Yz6
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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6vdvhHOw90
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXotsnbZ2mu
But she can’t look away from him—and before she knows it her legs are moving and the rain no longer matters.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡccGQKs6rO2
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5mTF8BhUSk
By the time he has hung up, they’re standing at the next intersection and she is soaked from head to toe.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfITOGJWZI2
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtCwON5My7F
“Hey, you! Wait!”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPUB4zV0ybr
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrZNSF7ItBl
The business man slowly turns around, painfully so, confusion apparent on his face.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMJX3hJHYXW
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlVmMBGCNcR
Onyx meets red and her heart skips a beat as his eyes widen ever so slightly.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcoeradvnCV
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFCXfItbEQH
“Thank you,” she breathes out jaggedly and not exactly from the chasing, “for before.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBwKJR3njTf
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4X5CmyBJJK
“… 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.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8OsI3JxLXb
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf6qS1hpH9I
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?”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCijcRtsRAa
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx3yRo74T7U
He tilts his head to the side, long bangs falling across his face. “… Hn, down the street, you say?”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLB4hAdXbaN
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMwszTzJVHr
“Yeah. It’s less than a minute away,” she gulps, “so, what do you say?”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq7m1Zf5ADo
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJfi6LPLrbX
He smiles, and his whole face lights up. “I’d like that.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ78zPRRICDd
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHUvPAiUmcC
By the time they place their orders, she is already in love with him.
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSZATTQ8CGq
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632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡajfYdU2FRs
He thinks that maybe he should be surprised, but the truth is that he isn’t.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEuzf5MHvoU
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpaDqaVzq1L
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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcmarYuYfzu
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxMvguRgJGE
“… You did this on purpose, didn’t you?”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX0s5M0BTsz
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtVHpxAiil6
Karin blinks innocently, a direct contrast with the amused smirk shamelessly painted across her lips. “What do you mean, Uchiha-san?”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZgcZyTADgw
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMJmG2k4w4J
“Drop the act,” he glares, matter-of-fact. “You knew I worked here.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9WL9tCDhpt
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdPXInuMH4e
“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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNQlqQUUqCS
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVHrYcgM3hs
'Always'.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDdSrC5Jhei
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKt8z99ifFL
“—so not my fault you basically own the damn city,” Karin finishes, and Sasuke blinks.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb7OgXAtriw
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN4ft1mww8y
“Huh?”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8HcTXw8TfJ
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIkvUYygmzz
She deadpans. “You weren’t listening, were you?”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoOMIs1N4Fs
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfZYFhezklE
“I was,” he lies through gritted teeth, prodded by some unexplainable force. Damn, why did he always have to bicker with this girl?632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbH4bdK04Iq
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnkAU9EhlyW
“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—”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGixVryRfij
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTB95ILFZPt
He all but groans. “Stop, Karin. Don’t bring that kind of talk here, someone may hear you.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡumCy8wW8Rk
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL7GR59aNNN
“Pft, so what?” she huffs, crossing her arms and swaying her hips again. “It’s not like I work here, right?”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJKg3QXuqJD
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3pDtdPwrEi
Her tone and most specially the glimmer in her eye as she looks at him told him otherwise.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6JuKohMTtF
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmc4TDHDxdr
Damn her.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV45lCSGoFf
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdXbS89uJtI
“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?”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPfjhWMlmZ5
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiDEtfe6j06
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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIN4NnnQLlz
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTGcxdsRo88
As if reading his thoughts, Karin calls out to him from the door.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqT3YGqru86
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW6S14Nb4E2
“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?”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3oaZ1ZB4Nw
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDN1RRfpOnG
And for some unknown reason, Sasuke finds himself blushing.
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcwEsOleQsU
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632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh5bhfOAqBK
“I brought you the papers you requested,”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ70ioZTnDe3
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3AbPBP06Oo
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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs2c3UIPjtN
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiicfzGcXbZ
“Idiot,” she manages to reprimand between kisses, “what if someone sees us?”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB2i4yzyYJu
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyayqsQm5nn
“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.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3XDjM668yn
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9oNr6aYDno
“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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmUqgkCc4hK
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI484llo65u
“Any complains?”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMjW9GHrDOa
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5F8B53InWC
“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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡapyUsaxRs6
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAw8IJXId25
She has a mission to accomplish—but he makes her forget soon enough.
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB94zviHxyd
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632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3IlLGGQmRy
“I’ll have some Okonomiyaki, please.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe7jsNJsSmr
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzaeqq0UW3n
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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9F24EHqqD7
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPLFV6B41ek
“Whoa, Sasuke, That girl totally has a thing for you!”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUoMGvvAeYS
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAcuRqoKAuf
Sasuke rolls his eyes; he was so over this subject. “Tch, she and every other employee, what else is new.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNQrujR0l1Q
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjtANRAKxK3
Karin snorts, “Cocky, aren’t we? Do I need to remind you that I am one of your employees, too?”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCaOdmGObv9
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4rR9X7I1z0
'Always'.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT18Lx3qKtK
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1yES4KvuRQ
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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAIQJjb7ZQR
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtaNtA47Ytc
“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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡszyNk1Eyoa
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ38Xl4PZv13
“You really are no fun, Sasuke.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuOQbuFZg3g
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl7M7OgPNSU
“Forget about that, Karin. You said you would tell me more about—”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwb5H5myflr
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHnsUfJmGPT
“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.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4be4OqsyT0
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIHaGSjUFFZ
“Karin.”
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZm7FR3oUm7
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632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNBpA5O631D
“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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6NyXctHt3L
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnnL5bK6pPV
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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF4AhJo072b
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCh3G7hPyHg
He is the first thing she sees when she comes out of the room.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOAiVtmoSVJ
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnNletTp06v
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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsIqEWP8nr9
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiBQiFxwL8k
“…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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyx6WNTnDRe
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4i7hf2mXY8
“Idiot,” she hisses, and means it. “You are hurt, let me—”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNNsjES0mIG
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD3Aivb6uNs
“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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzgK7ww1LRA
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmffipqk33q
“…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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDwWZ1hH55E
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgPARgNJypP
To her surprise, Sasuke snorts.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlytx10E0yR
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuEZPQM7F5h
“What?” she snaps.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK6EaZtFQSb
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLJkLbMjjuc
“Nothing,” he says, and he is smirking. “Just, you’re the last person I want to hear that from, Karin.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLkpTxKcgjZ
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP2J5KajNBs
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?”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Srcht736F
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO9rbZg4wOd
He looks down at her from the corner of his eye, his smirk softening around the edges. “…I wonder.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJXcMwuZvxO
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwkPTKDc3Ln
And despite her blood loss, her blush only deepens.
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632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡytsCgBirf0
“Would you like more tea, Karin-chan?”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOHJvNgM46b
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡezFmFrSJtY
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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh2zY7i4X01
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKknAuzSpPb
“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.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWMwYW6vGhM
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5GzambEzVS
Sasuke huffs, halfheartedly batting his brother’s hands away. “I know that—moreover, when will you stop treating me like a child, Itachi?”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPYiDhcjDBt
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9oYTESEC94
“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?632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDGjsMOHKxH
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZMcZpdMIyp
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?”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHlRNUwfyLv
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCswxtTvjpc
Great. So she had been listening in, huh? He should have guessed.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkl2qvLWyee
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKiBSfcdNTx
“Not quite,” Itachi replies, but Sasuke’s triumphant smirk is short-lived as his brother adds, “But almost.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡClPRWUHfNK
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡENurN9JfhV
“Brother!” he reproaches, causing the older boy to chuckle again and Karin to smirk widely.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYyRPKlbz2I
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWMkzgzYZU9
“You’re unbelievable, Sasuke; I mean, I knew you were an unsocial prude, but almost no girlfriends? Seriously?”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0kAe19u6iY
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzw6CukcnwP
He glares, mortified to feel the by-now familiar sensation of his cheeks heating up. “Shut up, Karin.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwnHkEb01xt
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk8MiiM0TZ3
“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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeC4MzgNToa
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡse5dcQywn3
Damn you, brother.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQagE3kyVxB
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJwIg0tXxps
“Hn, I don’t know what Itachi is talking about.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnOJdfsT7Ll
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjoJDO8ImH2
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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkcWMQJABJ5
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiqp1Jr53i5
“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.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTUYedtCyXj
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwPAsNDHABD
Despite his better judgment, Sasuke can feel himself blushing. “Who said I’m enjoying myself?”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo1tleFjd2j
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoPklLVh9b6
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.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeTRsCZnvfq
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnUg1nnoiXr
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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjR5zwW7R2Y
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvRRQ80JASS
“… 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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmbQmIM6wSw
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl7gSOayehl
“I know, dear. But, somehow… it feels like you two have known each other for a long time.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3KwrXeKPfJ
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqUEQumIvTv
Itachi says nothing—but the way in which he warmly squeezes Sasuke’s shoulder is eloquent enough.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfSqz8ECIov
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZkYjfKVhNr
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?”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV6nl4YtcfX
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHIL2yZb8lm
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—632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOIHFI2sAmc
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEtdEWFUzdM
“Sasuke—hey, earth to Sasuke, are you listening? I was just saying that—”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWPohNeBHLy
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbxhPSxgfex
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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVawkHank17
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6Hkxse1hoy
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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡABlc9rieYO
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaAO9aPmKUK
“Raspberries,” he states, and that seems to get Karin off her trance, because she blinks at him.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY1lVBR4irp
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡShyB5qbRCY
And then she is grinning.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡznGw3UKsR9
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyQhsx8RPRg
“Had I known you would finally kiss me today, I’d have worn something less sweet.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHBCbKM9jsR
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbcXy4XtAEZ
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.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBej3LcmddP
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuIaCCf3Q1R
“I know,” and her grin becomes a husky smirk as she tangles her fingers in his hair. “You’re too easy to read, Sasuke.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ12oyLbPAMg
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlkX76ygKUq
“Hn, you could have helped, then,” he says, but the truth is he is too lost in her to really mind.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV8VYfkjOmb
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKYpeYvqHsI
“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—”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOB3zC5sn8V
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUgodC8n9Kj
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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq7HJpypYly
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYxkPTnJTUW
“Excuse me.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrj9Sy7tTU4
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSQXMlyfDIN
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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcwrwpQ9RNs
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMdOs7YzT4q
“This house is ours, Sasuke,”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4jMSZdp0e3
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd6585OJvAE
Her fingers find their way around his, and Sasuke gives them a squeeze as he nods, his expression naturally mirroring her own.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzw6qrHX6zi
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfTOheoNZLX
He could feel it, too.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn344GENwCp
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkGexRMaQbY
Behind them, the realtor clears his throat but Karin cuts him short before he could get a single word out.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Wl0tZUA0S
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwDT8uOhgpw
“We’re buying it,” she states loud and clear, and she is positively glowing.
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She can hardly believe it.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4PGRfr2u6E
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTfQMuLN55H
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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGptTsghP5O
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ41tpTk304M
It seemed like something straight out of one of those dramas she used to love to ridicule and secretly watch at the same time.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKS8c6kZQ9X
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKY3KwmDJev
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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPirmeuKPPl
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaI0s9Rg9aX
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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz28aE0psB3
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlsjOsqEdJV
“What’s so funny?”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRJprCag4aJ
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0A16raVbDQ
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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡER7UwYOoLq
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCAtWHZG4uW
“There’s just one thing off, though—” she observes, as an afterthought, “where’s my rival in love?”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAZmqnquRVO
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtoqp8BHtpA
“Nowhere,” he asserts, grave like only he could be about even the most foolish of things. “I am yours.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3yWCbwFCOW
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRlVAFoNvM8
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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMdXIPDAsA2
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiv0UWaCnvP
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.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzDkFVU5IjO
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlZBCZuqSVc
And he is breathing in her scent and tightly holding her in his arms—so tightly in fact that she can hardly breathe.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHzBp7Ah1oV
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK5O2s8Ozx1
“S-asuke—” she chokes.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeNG6uibKmS
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdvHm5ZlpDF
But he does not listen.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡukrjG5t43k
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpk1nIfQF1f
“…mine.”
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632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNW2AwP4cjn
She soundlessly sneaks behind him and leans her chin on his shoulder.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwaKcXzN7DF
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD1D9zrUwiB
“Sewing again?”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcXJOrcugGy
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNhuZeIJn7T
“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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLMhD2jgUOz
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAwYey5b9HP
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.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeD6PXaahU6
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnuLvvuYPsQ
“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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiSdIs5p5mc
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtL9rRw3hBA
“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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6ZXL3OVnUI
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPtlbOtbsa1
“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?”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfXLzkAEyEw
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIN9ZbgoUmN
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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUXkcrImDBz
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKyAkb6LoDs
And he finds himself smiling at her back, like one of those love-sick fools he always used to make fun of.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOAsChTkLMO
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXvM3QHuCLi
But it’s just, back then—he had never thought someone could actually make him this happy.
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632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO5SlBqMbV1
“Stop doing that, Sasuke.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaZlo0kwFTV
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh6V8KS4iCe
“Doing what?”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtCTaRB6M6N
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY3g4GVvUYg
“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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6T6vLj6Liv
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1SGNIQ2rCp
“Or what?”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKRAmO3ixld
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKcODIEqEIj
“…Or I may fall in love with you, Uchiha.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBt6vExCOUC
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNZVPhAPl1b
She is both elated and horrified to see how soft and harmless his usual menacing and intimidating smirk looks as he replies.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAeLySfZ6PJ
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb970DYzASu
“… Maybe I wouldn’t mind that.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrFhQ3guZ4g
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEkC0MORRwN
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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2HNxil7SAo
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUJiB2IbnBV
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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfQqMwW5RaJ
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNMek8VQq0P
Only a minute would be enough for a spy as skilled as herself.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO8QgnxlNgF
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHSaYTg66Dc
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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡREfqInUuGa
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5L1juLXNED
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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFcToqymhmM
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0R8BtkYziL
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—632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXBLhgggeM3
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5S7O26UWGP
To forget the atrocities she would find if she did.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkWWLrDlbbs
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVOKZKEQHkc
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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZjwTcopU1r
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmres9Kauvh
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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9i09eMSnUe
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7xVBmcJmZt
“Karin,” he calls, drying his hands on his pants—and he misses the way Karin’s shoulders tense, her back stiffening. “Are you alright?”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIISGxbpL0x
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqPKj5IBRRs
“Yeah,” she murmurs after a moment, and Sasuke blinks. She didn’t sound alright.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVZYwEkc9fb
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSU311bIhSX
“Karin,” he calls again, approaching her. “Leave that be, I’ll take care of it.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNTSeNvFyUP
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbrBAc4pJyT
“I told you, it’s fine.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHI0ytVmtlQ
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI4mOJsE7aU
He frowns, concerned. “Karin—”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaqunc9ar9Y
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhrPbYkxHZ4
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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOCbd5ogMM3
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoA7ECyJVPk
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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqurQOMDXy4
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5knJ1Jn2tQ
“Sorry, Sasuke—I think I’ll go and lie down for a while.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCjJTfHWFLq
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZbkeV9oNJM
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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡujb4Wrpibq
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7iJ9VEcH5q
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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632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡngtb9L39W5
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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8BBFfw3fAV
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF9GBJDXnbk
“S-sasuke, what—?”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTknoS38AxM
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSiJ507PHoH
“Where were you, Karin?”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsXHatomQtH
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtJjgRzyISg
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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhpHOAbt3Lb
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCfeQjqqRJV
It reeks of lighting and promises pain—it frankly terrifies her.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPA8DyizKKN
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2krlZI3lU5
But she holds her ground.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9U7iV0N0AO
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvb664Hnehm
“I—I was having lunch with my parents, Sasuke. They called to invite us today but you were at—”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO6OK7oUSTm
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAj0PR69TBm
“Liar,” he grits out, and Karin’s blood runs cold. “I called them myself. You were not with them. So, where were you?”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLz4ECRqY6x
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXP07VkEThn
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—”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2cFLnbfwmp
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNdMXejZURI
“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?”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPJ5Mm8HMYi
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7aXw3QuaOa
“Sasuke, I—”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Dcj2yBU7p
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtNhikrEfYK
“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?”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVraDa0MbSr
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSb6bopueos
A part of her hates herself for how easily the answer comes forth to her lips. For how true it remains. “… I do, Sasuke.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHwpMJkBJFU
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSdAvmEuaXE
She hears his smile, “Good. Then, you will stop seeing them, won’t you? Those girls.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxpRUZeHwhs
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUxS7791NGQ
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.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtTB4A6uAFv
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfW3C4nhAXv
I want you all for myself—is what Karin hears instead, and she frowns. “Sasuke, you can’t be serious—they are my friends!”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgQUmBsZTir
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLiW0n6Sn4v
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?”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQBEjWS67A3
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLzbFnfPEdR
“I—” yes, he is—was. Is.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp3XMBKQi3W
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLH14K6swRg
And that frightens her more than he possibly could.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡErCZJtjWH8
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3ptCYZtPwj
“—alright, Sasuke… you win.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyQhCqKQSWn
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOTaysAyaFg
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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkX0KkvA256
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXiuz0WHQwI
Even himself.
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Vh4FKro6A
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632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcoY1kEGrev
The silence is deafening. The unsaid drawing knots with his vocal chords, until he decides that enough has been enough.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYHXqawhXmJ
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡztelMRGO4C
“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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡct2nWjumi3
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrzkQcl1gV2
She doesn’t bulge. “What?”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Jdi7JY4k9
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLSwydIzlyp
And perhaps that’s what worries Sasuke the most.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3CH559ZfD5
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS8tMyZhEWW
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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl2jFZbiKCn
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡefE50iLXlA
“Don’t try to avoid the subject, Karin. There is something you aren’t telling me, isn’t there?”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWte4YPvbmm
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQVTK43kLMc
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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7sK9HpWsLH
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoghhzmBKR3
And Sasuke wants nothing more than to ask her to stop—but he is too scared to do so.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvyJSqRfVrn
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMXRYAmtkuP
“Eat, Sasuke. It’s going to get cold.”
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2khFTKEO2Y
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632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4R1x69ip0T
He rolls the raspberries between his fingers, memories swirling in his head.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4pXp095AB6
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3hBOKUdQRp
He has always had a very good memory; and throughout his life, it has proved to be a curse more often than a blessing.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡctInmKvyDx
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1QLW5lTigz
In this case, it is both at once.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡST6mL6TSLx
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5ewvtMEL5B
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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnGqzIH7K4t
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCl3vGuh4MZ
A girl sending him off with a sad smile, and never looking back.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjwc164JZBQ
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ01yf62eJ2q
Broken promises.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBYAWVsaizw
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEpPCePKUAd
A call. A funeral.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ730qwY3CLR
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqcks1zD7Ab
And tears.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhXCoLAgROl
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKCE482qsIO
Heartbreak.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7w6xE7q47i
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhHlxSFwTuP
Loneliness.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8VyVw9LhrG
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY07OTR1e4x
…then there was nothing else.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5ZAFk5rmhI
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9zljX8QKvs
And then there was everything all over again.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCIT2Hsna4V
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNDrqHY4qFD
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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡopcD4dHD0y
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYOePnqHOY9
He can’t stop.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB6WWf65bDp
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxtzonItAvP
He does not want to.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGqgH8mISzQ
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4f0oEXr4xp
One of the raspberries snaps, juice rolling down his fingers—but he does nothing to clean it up.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOk1ZzRSdT3
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN1iZ57PKMC
The door creaks open.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAahXcMtkD5
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEGcPuyWBBZ
“Uchiha-san, you have to eat.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe5dC8LuQqB
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo5rHLNIfkY
The nurse says, more out of habit than anything else; but he is too far away to hear—632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpmgDBzkmBF
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVYZfO7TrVx
(“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.)632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqBzOLb0jtq
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEFAFUY1Yw2
—and it’s been a year since the patient of the room 723 has pronounced a single word.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYf3WKDBexv
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhG935Pc0sh
(And a five-year old Karin is smiling.)
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzXTg41fEgM
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632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAF79ymcEz9
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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcbI00LBvEe
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvV3HP9wbCe
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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8cAM9HDoPn
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQpxjxoOCQQ
Karin was sitting on the bed, unnaturally straight and still; her eyes vacant and unseeing, telltale trails of dried tears on her cheeks.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWZbb4GpXvN
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHPmQr3G08e
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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNP43nqzdVr
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8UYn3fcQYP
“Karin…” his voice is faint; a tentative call more to spur himself into motion than to reach her. “Karin, what’s wrong?”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWpvyMwCbOH
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7toQiDQ37J
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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv05xSKCYDw
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoYH9mX5Uxh
And then she parts her lips.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlPGZV0XxWb
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxsk6SWbbzF
“Sasuke… I had a dream… a new one.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCciXDcRkyg
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNqFCNmBcPx
Sasuke swallows; what could she have possibly seen to put her in such a state?632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq5YGGEO3zN
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqyAKTV4akk
“Karin, I…” the redhead simply shakes her head, and to his ever-growing alarm there are fresh tears dripping from her eyes.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVmaullHFF2
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWMVSbozKwJ
“Forget it, Sasuke… it’s better if you do.”
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡplXRDqNA98
.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDwFyExfoe0
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632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJoGTXowr9D
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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhYnfbnp9VZ
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO63XeC2lLC
“Stop it, Karin. You were not supposed to care about him—”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpW4i0gELL7
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsfWn8twZTQ
“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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIx6Cno1i7S
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwzP7u3qoTf
It makes something in her tightly clench.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR1DnEYnpyS
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmimJb4qsSn
“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.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHO0ZCopVcv
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡonUBrN7V7O
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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNAeiF7r92P
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYwh5YsN8GK
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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡinVnRtGqZz
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVz20vqqFh7
She can hear them coming from her, and she knows she won’t be able to escape—but that was fine.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkQEhrTFDGj
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6imB9cmMjn
She would take as many of them as she possibly could before going down, and—632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtJlMvW3xvS
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSgDBUMRGU2
“…we’ll meet soon, Sasuke.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcyk2NYp4QV
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqynyOho79a
—and Sasuke had always liked souvenirs.
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEYPs8Wqil9
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632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbmgYu79ejY
He is crudely woken up by Karin screaming his name.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCshNbIb5d2
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5javYCJxPe
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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbVPPVWuMp3
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeiKqSzyhVQ
In fact—she seemed to only be getting worse.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVYYg1CJhaK
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMtokA4rbFz
“Sasuke, no—!”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPmkNs2nmIs
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8g7UTMxZO8
“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—”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ26Ud2CqfQ0
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF9CCdIgRne
But his sincere promise is cut short by her terrified sob.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0LEMVQIbXn
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAM2vb2WDXj
“N-no, Sasuke—get away from me!”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuXf8cCNYt4
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS3VYT9hiR0
Sasuke jumps back, as if burnt. “W-what…?”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxu2EC9lRoS
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW09GDrcE5d
He could not believe his ears—she was frightened—of him?632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOGmh4zeDyP
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpXWzqxgIwD
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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6dCwDMzZJi
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgDSDHZNnEk
‘… They weren’t always nice, Sasuke. They rarely were.’632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnumZZMfrGi
‘What weren’t?’632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvF6fuPE8GE
‘...You.’632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrBYQ9HVEOF
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx0Om6CXyaN
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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa71pNeXCc7
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0jXnZ3YPOr
Ghosts he has started to fear, too.
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ73GtevcSl7
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632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡieJEwtCfBp
“Karin,” he whispers affectionately, caressing her cheek with his right hand, “I need you.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc2OkuqlEBV
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaZkqUQHAY7
Karin swallows the knot in her throat and forces her knees to remain firm, “I—I know, so plea—”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9zDTuXDRx8
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuxZxIEezk4
“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.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUA7R8ukgmx
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOOzvp1nzlK
“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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYTRvCU8Csn
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7WzSvgJmnn
“I’ll see you soon… Karin.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyS8vLk9zpL
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo2GV7MrBwv
He says, and his words are as loud as the gunshot that follows.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv0z4EE2mvG
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9phIf5PUZM
And then her lifeless body is crumbling to the ground, his soon to follow.
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Mq6NXwgeG
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632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ47EAxXyR7e
“What was I doing to you?”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf1sNi0b79t
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGg2wvp6YMq
“… I don’t remember.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqifgcp3XWD
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKaMJ13k7xL
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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtvBh1Xt8xe
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZgq24K1qrO
But he has played that game long enough.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ4qYOQJYt8
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsqLDNc2WrQ
He cannot continue to allow himself to remain blissfully unaware while she battles on her own.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Dtm6075sK
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1oNCKDV908
“Don’t lie to me, Karin.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIYRvW5wAQ0
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU2gewJfeQ2
“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.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡROmvzQomdl
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHHmGNMGRng
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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCdbp7Y9OBm
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdIHgU7NnWT
“…Tell me the truth, Karin.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa84wEMlkbu
632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡegplaP4XiS
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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡocLyGfbLhi
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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—632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2RhvxqTscp
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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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYWzwpq3cnG
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“Idiot, I… told you… to move, Sasuke…”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBZZqMyBPbJ
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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—”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV34jEht7tK
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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.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwlk7dr51ZN
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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—”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj5StXWatKw
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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.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTX8c2VZFaR
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There is a choked sob—and he barely registers it is his own.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLOZCL4W8QG
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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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjkHbOsiZWi
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“Don’t… all I want…ed… is for you… to smile… like that day.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVgqJVFhsa6
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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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcsATZWH8w6
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And she slips away through his hesitation like he had always slipped through her fingers.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlAGG8HfdFX
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“See ya… Sasuke.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjGtKHU7qhA
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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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡssyzKuxjOR
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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—632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuGC3i3CGkY
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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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw53CJn7POE
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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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEAy8IEO93o
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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?”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNV6zcAQRp0
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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.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡms5DwpF6pe
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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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHPWYKkl0b7
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“And, above all…”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡITyXbcLqx0
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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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgMZVumu22M
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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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrrCSHDLLec
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Except that it doesn’t get to.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtlD0HYYWa8
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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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUGaIvN7ps4
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“See ya.”632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX2grNW5anq
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This is what I give,632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡajqdO9umjz
A circle is complete.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqTR97pxzUg
Another circle spins632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB6p6A4OXO1
There's life within,632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8ULU9eK228
Within
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end.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA4fEHBYm6r
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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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVpbQci54gx
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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.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhjtTUfJqYi
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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~!632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCGr2pmtJ1w
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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 lol632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5EEiaNx69K
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Thanks for reading! ♥
Tags: fanfic, karin, naruto, sasukarin, sasuke
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