[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~!538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVmajucZyuD
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By: Kanae (Goth-Punk88 @ ff.net)538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNj9nCwEooo
Rating: M (some suggestive scenes, and some violence.)538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM8OU2y2VDr
Word Count: 8.810538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQJCYrCThHl
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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKYAQKlytey
Warning: Some OOC-ness due to the fact that I'm working with future SK... among other things you will soon realize lol538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwKGBcdF3E0
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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ40xZxHIN1D
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A heartbeat that awakens from the ashes.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrIbVEVPAwI
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To the stars that played with the darkness538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp2rTw6spfS
I sang of love and burned up completely
Wildfire538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyL7mp6tZg2
by Kanae538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnUR7jii6eP
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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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZF56mKVe0V
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Something in his chest tightens.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPRrkYKNldx
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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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfbMrBwlz3B
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Just a girl.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡULjzSASKlc
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Sasuke all but snorts, mildly shaking his head and turning away in wonderment.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfn1VnbBxm2
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He misses the way the girl stops, her back straightening as if bolted.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeN2LfMqEmh
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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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW3UbKQPco9
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The girl.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡom7F7IYqlO
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The redhead.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡunSMPytoeU
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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?”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP6TBQuRRoF
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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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQAJlUUkQcp
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“Don’t think so,” he replies, trying to sidestep her—but the girl blocks his way again.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe9w4599WH9
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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.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8kZ7UGWlPp
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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—”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Ye5erxV4G
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“You’re right,” Sasuke agrees, clenching his jaw and walking past her.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMKDJuCzj47
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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.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDCoBiXuU57
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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.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPQK7RRiZMP
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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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFhlLyCfDAb
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She falls quiet—and Sasuke thinks the odd conversation has come to an end.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ35FOFAhjBU
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He was severely mistaken.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ45stEJRYjy
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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.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpbwDuvebQQ
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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.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUTwhHcbrPl
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It is slowly that he turns towards her, eyes narrowed and heart galloping inside his chest. “How…?”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOCvcueXMXj
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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.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ63DgFmh0dD
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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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7JNHURq6Ym
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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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO20biEGi04
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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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTq5ymK6v8c
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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.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ59Cpm55D8R
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She does not let go of him.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6gqGYahwVY
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And the déjà vu only worsens.
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“Come with me, Karin. I need you.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcgBZesnWFS
“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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUbCKCirZAv
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“The… dreams?” he questions, and feels utterly ridiculous just by saying it.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA0SZmr5bw9
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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.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡervwt1X6BC
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“And these… dreams, of yours. They were about me?”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQupkgu11nn
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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.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡavs6YegosI
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“Doing what, exactly?”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3iFPpoEgdt
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“A lot of things. Fighting, mostly. You were a ninja, sometimes. Both of us were.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEz0Fc24xjq
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“…A ninja?”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLSFHw0rc0q
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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.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrZOlAbhIJA
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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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgQS5K7Po17
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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.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJX3stLfwZ9
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“… What do you mean, exactly?” he prods with narrowed eyes.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9fMbGuYw3o
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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.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ23b4mHGLA2
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Sasuke frowns. He didn’t like her tone, and neither did he like where she was going with this. “Reincarnations?”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrLRg2uSN4w
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Karin snaps her fingers, “Bingo.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0alsPyt5sv
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Sasuke snorts. “That’s ridiculous.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKCueuL3q07
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“I know you don’t believe in them, Sasuke. But that doesn’t mean they do not exist.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuYuy2Dl3sg
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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.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOUTBLict23
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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.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9ikyVsYwfQ
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“But I am done hearing your bullshit.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNfEcVJcjvr
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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.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOqe31RtNgM
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He feels insulted, but he stays. And a little smirk quirks up Karin’s lips; as expected, that smirk said.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs4qoB8Pal1
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But any comments he may have had about her arrogance promptly disappear as the redhead utters her next words.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5EWVftLBP9
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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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXvBZ7QX4SV
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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.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9PpXniKd8u
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They. Because that was all that was left, now. She was all he had left.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpLR4qcI9oJ
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“We will get through this,” she repeats, because they would. They had to.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTImxEsLGGP
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“You’re not alone. I’m with you, Sasuke. I won’t ever leave you,”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9etum8TKZ5
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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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgoRZ5sj5Iz
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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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ65md4nX5sr
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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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkeZjqNWQYI
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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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS3XaUWUPHp
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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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqpPzUhAWzz
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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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡySx9QvVFqO
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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?”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ654LrjpAP9
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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.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmSnbwkc1x3
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He has really run out of patience. “Stop with the riddles, will you? Just answer!”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw4H0FWU6ip
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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.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡELpb1wqcsa
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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?”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOYgnDiBZCR
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Karin shrugs, unfazed.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZoXKbid8k7
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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.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL8LaOWhotz
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That catches his attention. “What do you mean?”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuCcQ8RxUmL
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“… They weren’t always nice, Sasuke. They rarely were.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0DDJ6JMwop
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Sasuke arches one eyebrow, curious. “What weren’t?”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlmn0EQ23c6
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For the first time since they got there, Karin squirms in her seat.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwg9HvSDgr2
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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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpBVjUyFjrP
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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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs2MTUFTSCX
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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.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7iKdGAqfEW
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8HcuAHo3ZK
Sasuke hates it; having to repeat himself. But he moodily does, anyway. “What do you mean?”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU5RuxZZ7IC
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3gDJp5eJcK
Karin does not reply right away; and when she does, her voice is the softest Sasuke has heard it sound so far.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0t4KWIxa1y
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ194iIGpAs
“I always ended up loving you all the same,” she admits.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT8fZh1TCsO
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrf39Yta00q
Then she looks at him again, and Sasuke finds that he can’t look away.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLcgSbEuGqn
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡduDiuoEymr
“Always.”
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsJ0MzqtiSm
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538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6DGXdiJgqK
It happens on a rainy night.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzaTKqQXLfn
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1HvsvcIhTW
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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn9Dhen2D6u
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsuPqsU0oic
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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZvqEOrxRJF
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4WKFmmlGfp
She hadn’t been.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2CWYwDH8ow
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrajOlZFMh5
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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9x3PiPh4Lh
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkj8880LPVR
So much for not getting wet, she thinks, and it’s then that an umbrella is placed above her.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA9Cwr5hpfZ
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvXLRnqdN65
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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFkHpLWdo5H
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKhWFi6SGuc
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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnrHw7qbiCK
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcZzfWaLF7n
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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2h5ISgcyZu
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJt8JX5W3A4
But she can’t look away from him—and before she knows it her legs are moving and the rain no longer matters.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGducbDw4OQ
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKnD1xwBXZK
By the time he has hung up, they’re standing at the next intersection and she is soaked from head to toe.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEM5xhLkyt7
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgTOs0fKxke
“Hey, you! Wait!”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZvMxGXSV4j
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8wMAMeBQHr
The business man slowly turns around, painfully so, confusion apparent on his face.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyIBQjGic0E
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwlQiU5oOEa
Onyx meets red and her heart skips a beat as his eyes widen ever so slightly.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKpYdlT508M
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUrygkVCUV0
“Thank you,” she breathes out jaggedly and not exactly from the chasing, “for before.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi0a7tKfhE5
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ384VdAfGtT
“… 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.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6O9MyTU6A0
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4p8joLClfg
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?”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTubccwdnVr
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCUxYQkOlXM
He tilts his head to the side, long bangs falling across his face. “… Hn, down the street, you say?”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr31uJORrQK
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvAweedctME
“Yeah. It’s less than a minute away,” she gulps, “so, what do you say?”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt1bxzAwSPC
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6HLeYfxfQY
He smiles, and his whole face lights up. “I’d like that.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJE4DqAui1N
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8G73oXP4pm
By the time they place their orders, she is already in love with him.
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538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuCnGwRGS3o
He thinks that maybe he should be surprised, but the truth is that he isn’t.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzvWDegb2Rl
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡftqbXDie1u
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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdYNeZK4rLB
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUwxvZywRXB
“… You did this on purpose, didn’t you?”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY3xtv6AFoj
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK5cljM52Pw
Karin blinks innocently, a direct contrast with the amused smirk shamelessly painted across her lips. “What do you mean, Uchiha-san?”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbNO6HFWbud
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkfJg88OIan
“Drop the act,” he glares, matter-of-fact. “You knew I worked here.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCvkaIy2byu
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1qLPmKoLLU
“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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5aIEtS6Zhl
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡssYN4u7Atf
'Always'.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJKtTgUnmKw
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcnHDGLZ11f
“—so not my fault you basically own the damn city,” Karin finishes, and Sasuke blinks.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCZiuEfIt2c
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZhSNCilY2S
“Huh?”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhwMGuD9SPM
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡakCIAnv3Jn
She deadpans. “You weren’t listening, were you?”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmRoV4gZ5vP
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq8bpBPRcrC
“I was,” he lies through gritted teeth, prodded by some unexplainable force. Damn, why did he always have to bicker with this girl?538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVBZqNrmOn9
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoPAKWoZBAg
“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—”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMRepCCLH7G
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2zkklEqrd8
He all but groans. “Stop, Karin. Don’t bring that kind of talk here, someone may hear you.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Ized56j8h
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbwaF2lnAt5
“Pft, so what?” she huffs, crossing her arms and swaying her hips again. “It’s not like I work here, right?”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3qEJGvTHFM
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzvCbKbeLT5
Her tone and most specially the glimmer in her eye as she looks at him told him otherwise.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgK9RGSe42I
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhcBvN4khQ3
Damn her.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0FZJH9Lhsf
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcPVBuQj79C
“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?”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzItPHp4PkI
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa6ppfpiSK4
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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYN1QpqGrkP
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvATRN8EEQr
As if reading his thoughts, Karin calls out to him from the door.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz1UoqPdeyN
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIPvXFNpIhX
“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?”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGP0trsmJ2R
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1fPhXsUFm7
And for some unknown reason, Sasuke finds himself blushing.
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“I brought you the papers you requested,”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡESe6X0ejGR
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGTQPFLcyuE
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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQr4QOOx2vU
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGCxavVIsOH
“Idiot,” she manages to reprimand between kisses, “what if someone sees us?”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJDlQ3d1Vlj
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx95CWu0dwk
“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.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAPalVK8ObB
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf7OGwbOK6r
“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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjfFiinI4Up
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYtT9FHqkSz
“Any complains?”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3WmQURtbYq
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxrkfacZxsj
“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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd4KiCkyvCI
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJi0I3i23ly
She has a mission to accomplish—but he makes her forget soon enough.
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“I’ll have some Okonomiyaki, please.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnGkiwIrNuz
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡektVmBK5v5
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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsjV177Pzeb
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8bikotcFdF
“Whoa, Sasuke, That girl totally has a thing for you!”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡznzAxjHrxB
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡug9cx1bIdQ
Sasuke rolls his eyes; he was so over this subject. “Tch, she and every other employee, what else is new.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMyFgJDyY06
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbMYRz24R9X
Karin snorts, “Cocky, aren’t we? Do I need to remind you that I am one of your employees, too?”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf7bEZBwRZM
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZDyiYtWGOo
'Always'.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHxtIXyf2Ii
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi8lcbc3uZe
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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSTccT8hi6n
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM7sOwGwcCd
“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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6MfDyxqJdm
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwKfSoJM8aS
“You really are no fun, Sasuke.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPWcZIKCgSn
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhDo3xqlxNo
“Forget about that, Karin. You said you would tell me more about—”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Vos7BoXTc
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnoWDHj5GF7
“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.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyx9LlOJA2F
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhuH0X10Tzl
“Karin.”
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538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAZqSodHC8a
“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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAub1AOaIQk
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡymhUoanU8t
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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrK1M9xvd5g
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7e8Y2aD3Ng
He is the first thing she sees when she comes out of the room.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDS8XqvL6pd
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjwsBYaAKLM
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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCVGyzRRBgH
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzflvSthtjp
“…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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxlKb0609DF
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyU9m5Mz7eA
“Idiot,” she hisses, and means it. “You are hurt, let me—”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9h7t9gNw1O
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqhrQDrFzG2
“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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlCsnPoyCPh
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB3JSyg9HeV
“…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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOy84hmNBWt
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvpyAcTCA0X
To her surprise, Sasuke snorts.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsgxwtpbegw
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQbt5BW2Tve
“What?” she snaps.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWS7TtvtXVS
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlfSkJIe6E6
“Nothing,” he says, and he is smirking. “Just, you’re the last person I want to hear that from, Karin.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYi5fZNUtIi
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnBfPEwJW6n
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?”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡInEOSEUVWJ
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUWEJklYiYF
He looks down at her from the corner of his eye, his smirk softening around the edges. “…I wonder.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwON3XXuyK7
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGmC3siRzog
And despite her blood loss, her blush only deepens.
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“Would you like more tea, Karin-chan?”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrBK5qPp3VG
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ0MFItOjDj
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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJKQ1O93Rvh
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Yw5fuhlIu
“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.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzdCKliWg5W
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU60upJcyYm
Sasuke huffs, halfheartedly batting his brother’s hands away. “I know that—moreover, when will you stop treating me like a child, Itachi?”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDYXSmD7mQj
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpTTBl9eTqw
“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?538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe3OMQmivLS
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzytdsYfPGX
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?”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWeNXUST7fp
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjETuvN6xDV
Great. So she had been listening in, huh? He should have guessed.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMqVCBxfLRG
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuQiWYHEBmc
“Not quite,” Itachi replies, but Sasuke’s triumphant smirk is short-lived as his brother adds, “But almost.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyXVSKkvXzU
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1NoozDuYED
“Brother!” he reproaches, causing the older boy to chuckle again and Karin to smirk widely.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQj0EDNjUVE
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyujhAgHhFx
“You’re unbelievable, Sasuke; I mean, I knew you were an unsocial prude, but almost no girlfriends? Seriously?”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFfucli57L3
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoVdWSR25YK
He glares, mortified to feel the by-now familiar sensation of his cheeks heating up. “Shut up, Karin.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡArqQXHQY4t
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt7MABGsnDw
“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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡksBtce7bn9
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Damn you, brother.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdL9VYOdzBp
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“Hn, I don’t know what Itachi is talking about.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7qBQbw0nZQ
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8KYmG6OI6S
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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdicF2a4Z7s
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJxkShcTrBY
“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.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVPNTFwcE87
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2kjw0ccYaN
Despite his better judgment, Sasuke can feel himself blushing. “Who said I’m enjoying myself?”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLXVkVRnDRl
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg5Xkqgfvuo
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.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtgCvusPQE6
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhgkNLq9rkP
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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvjwkIlsUH7
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7JFds77G0w
“… 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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZKiXgvUb3J
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNlAiOxk8ZI
“I know, dear. But, somehow… it feels like you two have known each other for a long time.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFoWkMLSMJ6
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH4odThjDWj
Itachi says nothing—but the way in which he warmly squeezes Sasuke’s shoulder is eloquent enough.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS6Kbwk1ppA
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjJhKxse4VS
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?”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8ZxP9ncc5L
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7tRSgq5Cbp
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—538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeycopcGCrK
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNlKD5XjqRp
“Sasuke—hey, earth to Sasuke, are you listening? I was just saying that—”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgXbou40kZ1
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoKzqOXwauY
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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn9yt84m1no
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqG2bEKilot
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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsEu50XaL1F
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhQ5sVlXTaE
“Raspberries,” he states, and that seems to get Karin off her trance, because she blinks at him.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡynA3QNLfya
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeah5ljVeaw
And then she is grinning.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC24qPPrM8c
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqRAgw9jCbT
“Had I known you would finally kiss me today, I’d have worn something less sweet.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn2f1MN968c
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBCdJ5eqZGU
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.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd9nbNRboEb
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq4GM548O4z
“I know,” and her grin becomes a husky smirk as she tangles her fingers in his hair. “You’re too easy to read, Sasuke.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrYJi7yVCaA
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWlRRAaVuli
“Hn, you could have helped, then,” he says, but the truth is he is too lost in her to really mind.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQLTsSraMsM
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzt3EfYEZSv
“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—”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW6mwemSNTS
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJFs9qkMHPQ
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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBScg1ucH5Q
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU8rRZJZNwi
“Excuse me.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuvFtIRDiFB
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpPLghPLQ0p
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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡphfPV91eKG
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0gL2wKsqRv
“This house is ours, Sasuke,”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVBWgPuMZLp
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP84hNt4eV0
Her fingers find their way around his, and Sasuke gives them a squeeze as he nods, his expression naturally mirroring her own.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7tAjNrhe56
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He could feel it, too.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCX88v7pmbW
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Behind them, the realtor clears his throat but Karin cuts him short before he could get a single word out.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ98GljDZz3X
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpGGSdRU9DU
“We’re buying it,” she states loud and clear, and she is positively glowing.
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She can hardly believe it.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZbkOrhBykp
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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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuEsBZYVYWh
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd53AFgKXXC
It seemed like something straight out of one of those dramas she used to love to ridicule and secretly watch at the same time.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOu4d2YxxHU
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAoiZLC8atW
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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu7Kz0FjpH7
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXmWp5Y8J3x
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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY30CZwqAEZ
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTm8vvfYiiN
“What’s so funny?”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkB4meWSVLS
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAbVXkbq30c
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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzhndjEGRjB
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ38Ok6Hu6KG
“There’s just one thing off, though—” she observes, as an afterthought, “where’s my rival in love?”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBo52iuFoBs
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ573jfVLRYD
“Nowhere,” he asserts, grave like only he could be about even the most foolish of things. “I am yours.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ78C99IEkWU
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8a44vVbcFE
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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCBzVPUQ7JX
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRzBSqiqHt6
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.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Y3gZcVP0D
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV8vvvgqEqe
And he is breathing in her scent and tightly holding her in his arms—so tightly in fact that she can hardly breathe.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNEk7zbFl2n
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWiiJnlqjDJ
“S-asuke—” she chokes.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi6Kikhx3CU
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIgcNQ7oi62
But he does not listen.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2pLR24UgPt
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“…mine.”
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She soundlessly sneaks behind him and leans her chin on his shoulder.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhO93q3wqbt
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“Sewing again?”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLhBbTqyA4J
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWS2KkZqXa7
“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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUV9hVgPZsx
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ67rv22K2PA
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.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMD3t3S9Swu
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN0iV732Zop
“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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAp9reGHUbY
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwahAd4ms2C
“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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHVpVObiIgM
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡewW54cI19R
“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?”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkekj3m9dyP
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrMW1e7QzHs
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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDYJVB2wqMG
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And he finds himself smiling at her back, like one of those love-sick fools he always used to make fun of.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5CcR7nsr7Y
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But it’s just, back then—he had never thought someone could actually make him this happy.
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“Stop doing that, Sasuke.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhrmCNoQnfC
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“Doing what?”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPZJaX08xd8
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“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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV90r7U8IAo
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“Or what?”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWCnqD3Jmer
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO4THflQOAE
“…Or I may fall in love with you, Uchiha.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9ZRSXqD8ok
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She is both elated and horrified to see how soft and harmless his usual menacing and intimidating smirk looks as he replies.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmD7jvcEkA9
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnBGKPAWpcF
“… Maybe I wouldn’t mind that.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1d5YqIq6Zl
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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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9rnKTNcqRn
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnPsiMznhZB
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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRSequvExkz
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Only a minute would be enough for a spy as skilled as herself.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEKRQTuEUU1
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAmfNsm7iQv
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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHQ5GuUCySu
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS9i4gsOcja
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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2z12jexspf
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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—538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC2AqyUtYOe
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSqMOvR8dmP
To forget the atrocities she would find if she did.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTFSQCUTD30
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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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzmI3xfds2Z
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdhCxn5SQtl
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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU6pnRPCoP4
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjQ1k6Zgj0m
“Karin,” he calls, drying his hands on his pants—and he misses the way Karin’s shoulders tense, her back stiffening. “Are you alright?”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPWMJ16NFOq
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4UU1PCJT7w
“Yeah,” she murmurs after a moment, and Sasuke blinks. She didn’t sound alright.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL4h1qjwOQH
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcCqhpgjaPU
“Karin,” he calls again, approaching her. “Leave that be, I’ll take care of it.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxFfrXfzeEB
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“I told you, it’s fine.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlaw8MqzeNo
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He frowns, concerned. “Karin—”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5qaumYSUWj
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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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2fWVnFAanW
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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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLi2uWBTFKq
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhwra38cFMa
“Sorry, Sasuke—I think I’ll go and lie down for a while.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7zJfRd7Zm0
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRyxjLqWLl2
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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXjBO46MTnI
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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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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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGixPtr5HE2
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgYTOHxXLwb
“S-sasuke, what—?”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbfekUqvDPr
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqnenFePNz0
“Where were you, Karin?”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPVrx2j74li
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCv4CdnBtFW
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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQwiDpWBW09
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It reeks of lighting and promises pain—it frankly terrifies her.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6SoiQYRpLj
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But she holds her ground.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdyZQIX6EQ2
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNV1hCx1A2E
“I—I was having lunch with my parents, Sasuke. They called to invite us today but you were at—”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlTAJs9bTnk
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4WaArwjTuI
“Liar,” he grits out, and Karin’s blood runs cold. “I called them myself. You were not with them. So, where were you?”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC0l2uVeM2p
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡarQUfTvgwe
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—”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGCxQMibPFe
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwNVsFDkUXY
“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?”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk41mI9vlms
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6yqdyHZusy
“Sasuke, I—”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6XlZTfoDQV
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡow5qhztqz4
“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?”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYHYCHZXUuz
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡadwxr9GOts
A part of her hates herself for how easily the answer comes forth to her lips. For how true it remains. “… I do, Sasuke.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEeZz8zqW1u
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkMxXdu4bjy
She hears his smile, “Good. Then, you will stop seeing them, won’t you? Those girls.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkGTLRmGWEB
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF75Ml9mjHt
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.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHpjjOEbwr3
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8OdExpAreu
I want you all for myself—is what Karin hears instead, and she frowns. “Sasuke, you can’t be serious—they are my friends!”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOpKdcmIVFC
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnRhDgnOg3b
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?”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfQ0MjTQ3K7
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgQpuHSA7Hr
“I—” yes, he is—was. Is.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL7u1uvzzfg
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyBTksk09gv
And that frightens her more than he possibly could.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDoQqwobjnG
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY1iggFQGQE
“—alright, Sasuke… you win.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBl1U7v6Hpl
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiE6YrWFoYt
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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6W4IUPQCGD
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2UTkc2Pih6
Even himself.
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuw5Eb7ISFx
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538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYZQlouXEjV
The silence is deafening. The unsaid drawing knots with his vocal chords, until he decides that enough has been enough.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyyU5kEVhvi
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFW4LPap0Hj
“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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhWZUAkn3af
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG9YEfc9vZl
She doesn’t bulge. “What?”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPDM2iIrbPd
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRLwnnnslve
And perhaps that’s what worries Sasuke the most.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTncmxKF3iL
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdTapZ9OBbs
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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx9CbdqP1uz
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3AB18FbqRa
“Don’t try to avoid the subject, Karin. There is something you aren’t telling me, isn’t there?”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQWalmp0H2n
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtA7eGtIku4
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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEnrAWKYDdT
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRUl13WPk9T
And Sasuke wants nothing more than to ask her to stop—but he is too scared to do so.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMwBpnVJsDZ
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNN8Et2l7QX
“Eat, Sasuke. It’s going to get cold.”
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡebKHH1gvAB
.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHWFdwPRwu3
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538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwIAIwlWoXC
He rolls the raspberries between his fingers, memories swirling in his head.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7dHB3BSmdo
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1LhZ8VY3ap
He has always had a very good memory; and throughout his life, it has proved to be a curse more often than a blessing.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHDz1izd2Xg
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU2BI12AD28
In this case, it is both at once.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡolUdDtPpVn
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcDGtILthPw
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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm3N1swsjH5
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI6rjeIs9WA
A girl sending him off with a sad smile, and never looking back.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPvhaxP7S8N
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtJCET2mjcX
Broken promises.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡefZa5GPqnI
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMYj5dNg9nv
A call. A funeral.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjRZHIf3wAc
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8RPGvCTxXn
And tears.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8lMt0UStGg
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMxT6aEZuWO
Heartbreak.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBOG5e6YYaO
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡskz9figWW2
Loneliness.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDziDkG58T0
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN9WNCK9VAy
…then there was nothing else.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXlhQtPZ19X
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAxMKQ0H00y
And then there was everything all over again.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbDqkuips0J
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9IOASjY3Qe
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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡztJX6OppG5
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6NxXVHqPKE
He can’t stop.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSQJDXE86NE
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyWhMBNKzyS
He does not want to.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡObzdLuZET9
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiOo5HaMdHh
One of the raspberries snaps, juice rolling down his fingers—but he does nothing to clean it up.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDdTBgVzTXB
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVrwmJK2YOB
The door creaks open.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjA0OjpYNAR
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡskotO4SV3T
“Uchiha-san, you have to eat.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWkmzHMlEop
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHFJMt0nOvs
The nurse says, more out of habit than anything else; but he is too far away to hear—538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUzi7o8iNBG
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1adKqTQppB
(“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.)538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7lgXjK1qme
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYo1mmVRtSi
—and it’s been a year since the patient of the room 723 has pronounced a single word.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4dAbZgyRiu
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIs2LZ0TQaf
(And a five-year old Karin is smiling.)
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538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpEDMvpU7Ek
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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ93hMloOV1O
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDW6fuz5UaP
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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt9yAg8v6lB
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBOqj3MBf8F
Karin was sitting on the bed, unnaturally straight and still; her eyes vacant and unseeing, telltale trails of dried tears on her cheeks.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIJjhV1rv51
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa3Byr0CrZ4
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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLp25XyNa6k
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP5F0CAQMty
“Karin…” his voice is faint; a tentative call more to spur himself into motion than to reach her. “Karin, what’s wrong?”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDrkkzqjq5K
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4q07spI1hf
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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwx8HCMmmZA
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1nBXWHdfnu
And then she parts her lips.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiiq1eM5u4Q
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC0LckEiPTj
“Sasuke… I had a dream… a new one.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyenBKNsCbu
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEs0FfB0klI
Sasuke swallows; what could she have possibly seen to put her in such a state?538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlw0nrgr4Kw
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTkbwjKPvc7
“Karin, I…” the redhead simply shakes her head, and to his ever-growing alarm there are fresh tears dripping from her eyes.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBZfa91xzIB
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0VQCDh3ZLW
“Forget it, Sasuke… it’s better if you do.”
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbJ6mSUoSAi
.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZEwUuxkRBM
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538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡileEkhuSN9
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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmYHWdAQ8o5
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡADakHMMvai
“Stop it, Karin. You were not supposed to care about him—”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡleNClWUVgo
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl2UAgH5f0i
“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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZW7pF5aYCW
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4zOifb8Xfy
It makes something in her tightly clench.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbTP5qQMSAV
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcZbni8rVS0
“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.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ45J38EFcR5
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRQkk9t01zE
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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuSs2MOw0U0
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJUNFyRjYxy
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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG1ieCeGs6V
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyEg13Dm2Uq
She can hear them coming from her, and she knows she won’t be able to escape—but that was fine.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo82kij3T1Y
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH9Lfc2rVyu
She would take as many of them as she possibly could before going down, and—538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJIqywogqmw
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcGDNKnyTxV
“…we’ll meet soon, Sasuke.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoJNXcLQH5y
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP8OWNVpjpE
—and Sasuke had always liked souvenirs.
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He is crudely woken up by Karin screaming his name.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMeLz3fQgdH
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcBv8j78rh9
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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTIy8Sg57SO
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWtfvrF5GGy
In fact—she seemed to only be getting worse.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡikne6aRMrC
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWyf3Y0IlY0
“Sasuke, no—!”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoV48GK9BB9
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbt5w5b1Xq0
“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—”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhwdADVgK9V
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh4j5igUGDj
But his sincere promise is cut short by her terrified sob.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSCngYlSQvd
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqxN4qxi503
“N-no, Sasuke—get away from me!”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHBayRf22jr
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡva02wqP736
Sasuke jumps back, as if burnt. “W-what…?”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmbSZxH6hem
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmhVJrcxPqZ
He could not believe his ears—she was frightened—of him?538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcchXfskI6a
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgRnwAM4hVE
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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpDbHoQBl0r
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2U35rwhWiJ
‘… They weren’t always nice, Sasuke. They rarely were.’538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ22X1VWKXrP
‘What weren’t?’538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY6dKb4E8rP
‘...You.’538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6rKlCrwbhC
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9IsU0XLEDd
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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBYygDcZXVA
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz4sHFrIWCy
Ghosts he has started to fear, too.
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538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwhezFFWT3n
“Karin,” he whispers affectionately, caressing her cheek with his right hand, “I need you.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuOPQ2zD7RL
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡONmPxMRHP4
Karin swallows the knot in her throat and forces her knees to remain firm, “I—I know, so plea—”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdgp3IC1lBK
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh9sTgy6Cxn
“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.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx5tGXcpqf3
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMTuCfnIRCZ
“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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡghRPIYbl56
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB8IF0VXMvR
“I’ll see you soon… Karin.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYhwLopedvj
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo2ipypCkTp
He says, and his words are as loud as the gunshot that follows.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXEc2esN8Or
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz5iyvnu5MS
And then her lifeless body is crumbling to the ground, his soon to follow.
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538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmbVOfVUrKY
“What was I doing to you?”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUu9pAmLfSi
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV1uSOmiYCk
“… I don’t remember.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM1dU4jkaf5
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo5B4UQsfmk
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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDA301BqgVk
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpE8YGcdZG9
But he has played that game long enough.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE4LGatEfPY
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4M2MFluEHq
He cannot continue to allow himself to remain blissfully unaware while she battles on her own.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbpERgOnONz
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcRPpfjVmsE
“Don’t lie to me, Karin.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡekY02hkCfu
538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0QX8Vasmjf
“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.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5tJf8Y96T6
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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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE0Pp81K4X4
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“…Tell me the truth, Karin.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrKTNYLqRSr
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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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd8D0zoOO1s
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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—538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV7hV6xuaVs
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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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwkQSYTr6kn
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“Idiot, I… told you… to move, Sasuke…”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhOoYgT2t3n
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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—”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5gzHbGdCNx
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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.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdExvnyVAoU
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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—”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg9W37dpTZL
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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.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8bPdYaa202
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There is a choked sob—and he barely registers it is his own.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZYk14slcbY
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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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMhWJbQLpMW
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“Don’t… all I want…ed… is for you… to smile… like that day.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6zKljdm3Bp
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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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2c4KBHVM8n
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And she slips away through his hesitation like he had always slipped through her fingers.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwDr6uTVCoL
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“See ya… Sasuke.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHkxQkqNOhw
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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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg9bqJ2y0Tq
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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—538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4CW9BLqU2L
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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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJKVdTPWsgz
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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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsq8AHmRxch
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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?”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFeItRqEV0B
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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.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRCuyL9Lf0W
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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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJvwq23yJuz
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“And, above all…”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI1VNYGtD7X
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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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ429S8llABR
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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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO0pFCZHIgF
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Except that it doesn’t get to.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKVkmsafroj
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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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSWAavcV781
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“See ya.”538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6YUtRIUP55
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This is what I give,538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu8rarWXEZb
A circle is complete.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQfVykkuRu2
Another circle spins538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ2CtApYrYA
There's life within,538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyxHSJsXvDn
Within
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end.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvx0HQpq7s5
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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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFyGGcht7xf
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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.538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeYrcM8aqCU
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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~!538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzdQ0vzcrOb
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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 lol538Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9eMCCgMiN4
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Thanks for reading! ♥
Tags: fanfic, karin, naruto, sasukarin, sasuke
ns18.119.128.99da2
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