[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~!502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2zD3NvU2cN
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By: Kanae (Goth-Punk88 @ ff.net)502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzI8qrS3i61
Rating: M (some suggestive scenes, and some violence.)502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO52EIrhy5D
Word Count: 8.810502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrGOkHoBGlk
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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4QwcwXaBh0
Warning: Some OOC-ness due to the fact that I'm working with future SK... among other things you will soon realize lol502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡee3g1Sq0wA
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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡioYimxcOxJ
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A heartbeat that awakens from the ashes.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKfTZOUtJ11
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To the stars that played with the darkness502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv40fpUdJsw
I sang of love and burned up completely
Wildfire502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUsIsxzODNN
by Kanae502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4aiX10GklN
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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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNgX1BWm1Yc
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Something in his chest tightens.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0ldT6OBTQV
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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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqGpE7szk6s
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Just a girl.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrUFgWttwyV
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Sasuke all but snorts, mildly shaking his head and turning away in wonderment.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7drsIGVRpd
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He misses the way the girl stops, her back straightening as if bolted.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf8p6JL1eR8
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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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwbCMBpKngp
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The girl.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp7mBTovnBO
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The redhead.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxrTOqm0scQ
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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?”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMM2aCtabtj
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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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPFrMfLEWSF
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“Don’t think so,” he replies, trying to sidestep her—but the girl blocks his way again.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡORFAou4iuA
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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.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDRbFf9JGsR
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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—”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBF2kllHHCD
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“You’re right,” Sasuke agrees, clenching his jaw and walking past her.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRC0vMxbuev
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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.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSnQBgNNwBq
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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.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAWhITfKFaS
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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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMDrSJJ3I0P
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She falls quiet—and Sasuke thinks the odd conversation has come to an end.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7d3ulivkb2
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He was severely mistaken.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQS6CMOJ8TY
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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.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0AY6wNCsgQ
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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.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5fgiEtfCKV
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It is slowly that he turns towards her, eyes narrowed and heart galloping inside his chest. “How…?”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡriox4xz7bN
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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.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeeiH5vDvsl
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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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuXnsLD7rPm
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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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtiHajjzggV
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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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSNuWIV7qPL
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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.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUTV32MMFqr
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She does not let go of him.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8qj75tfkv2
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And the déjà vu only worsens.
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“Come with me, Karin. I need you.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaVrCK4KT6H
“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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz2goA4UlcM
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“The… dreams?” he questions, and feels utterly ridiculous just by saying it.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2W4JhfmJtP
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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.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdhdeBKEhyj
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“And these… dreams, of yours. They were about me?”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZzxYvpIF9V
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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.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3jfuS2x2H6
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“Doing what, exactly?”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLczuaNaqph
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“A lot of things. Fighting, mostly. You were a ninja, sometimes. Both of us were.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIseI51GefD
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“…A ninja?”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEudWIraYil
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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.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1b4lM3cDh7
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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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9wqjtNxVzl
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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.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCZ42MwqTCa
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“… What do you mean, exactly?” he prods with narrowed eyes.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgRpHOh6r7n
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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.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKw2L35Pspg
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Sasuke frowns. He didn’t like her tone, and neither did he like where she was going with this. “Reincarnations?”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDa3Flt7ERg
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Karin snaps her fingers, “Bingo.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjSGQhXlYpJ
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Sasuke snorts. “That’s ridiculous.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡThTXEadZGc
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“I know you don’t believe in them, Sasuke. But that doesn’t mean they do not exist.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv6KGuKkF3W
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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.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzLIFk80oaE
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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.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqfPMp9bSDl
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“But I am done hearing your bullshit.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgGMV688Igi
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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.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6V5ggSrk9P
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He feels insulted, but he stays. And a little smirk quirks up Karin’s lips; as expected, that smirk said.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlSzbp5m2N6
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But any comments he may have had about her arrogance promptly disappear as the redhead utters her next words.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfBHyxrTRyE
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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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyItZhVN5UN
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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.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxjeUPN7sni
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They. Because that was all that was left, now. She was all he had left.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjQ1XgbVrWA
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“We will get through this,” she repeats, because they would. They had to.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTNUb9O8xs3
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“You’re not alone. I’m with you, Sasuke. I won’t ever leave you,”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjSacY2u8N0
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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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY6gavQBU74
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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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMx8Gv4jfY3
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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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8KDDGZ14pB
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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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGDVZeNX5Ah
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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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXBRHKqXXqS
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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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL8XVcfxzVS
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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?”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ474HficXs5
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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.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl10JE24GEL
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He has really run out of patience. “Stop with the riddles, will you? Just answer!”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0vucilAXyM
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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.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbomSBN3MEd
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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?”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvlA9wuVUdX
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Karin shrugs, unfazed.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVfx6kw8eM5
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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.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdVD3uoszbt
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That catches his attention. “What do you mean?”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwNbYUuZ3eb
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“… They weren’t always nice, Sasuke. They rarely were.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡluSVQeOHGX
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Sasuke arches one eyebrow, curious. “What weren’t?”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTfq8mMV8YK
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For the first time since they got there, Karin squirms in her seat.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdJX7J92H8J
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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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ61pkB8M5Df
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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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHGY3Njpk3V
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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.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVIrW78hdAA
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Sasuke hates it; having to repeat himself. But he moodily does, anyway. “What do you mean?”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrZn2sXAUo9
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfaITVYQlue
Karin does not reply right away; and when she does, her voice is the softest Sasuke has heard it sound so far.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0udQFSR3vg
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“I always ended up loving you all the same,” she admits.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcGydW7Otb0
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Then she looks at him again, and Sasuke finds that he can’t look away.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEyhjI5g6ZI
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiKJJCHvg68
“Always.”
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It happens on a rainy night.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlDV1SdEHUb
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD5Br5Y8RaD
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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9zKYCzNGDj
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLjBKgbi2Da
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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2jfOD3b0Vs
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She hadn’t been.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGhdxWERCx6
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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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1LwhO6BoTC
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So much for not getting wet, she thinks, and it’s then that an umbrella is placed above her.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx2YonvhJba
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7OHea0NXMu
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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVxI3Ap3MYx
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrboBfOr1Cd
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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNZmOUfyRcL
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Y8QEw2Jwn
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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiWpPktpdZ8
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJvxNsu8QK8
But she can’t look away from him—and before she knows it her legs are moving and the rain no longer matters.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHcworbw9CW
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV2YOfW3sAO
By the time he has hung up, they’re standing at the next intersection and she is soaked from head to toe.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLsBikwQEYY
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“Hey, you! Wait!”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDa8z0uNwSJ
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The business man slowly turns around, painfully so, confusion apparent on his face.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5RiXYnQcNe
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Onyx meets red and her heart skips a beat as his eyes widen ever so slightly.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIR9H4BRRAs
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7EYbeHb14M
“Thank you,” she breathes out jaggedly and not exactly from the chasing, “for before.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjIM1UlGrec
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO4fJKmbSjP
“… 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.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7CDI0nvPfU
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWTVHX92ykG
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?”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQOIHDJJSp0
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYmS4qMlOlW
He tilts his head to the side, long bangs falling across his face. “… Hn, down the street, you say?”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4rmA3EZ65q
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2lqGe03YMJ
“Yeah. It’s less than a minute away,” she gulps, “so, what do you say?”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGRot3jikKu
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKF1FOnWNOt
He smiles, and his whole face lights up. “I’d like that.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMTiSzGYyI4
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By the time they place their orders, she is already in love with him.
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He thinks that maybe he should be surprised, but the truth is that he isn’t.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy5H9VROcrm
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYbVsMiaE0K
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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW77VvAUnhv
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“… You did this on purpose, didn’t you?”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCGugXnxz67
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡevczPw6drl
Karin blinks innocently, a direct contrast with the amused smirk shamelessly painted across her lips. “What do you mean, Uchiha-san?”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJTGwMuUATu
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2v17XZaPMN
“Drop the act,” he glares, matter-of-fact. “You knew I worked here.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8bW5wBx2wf
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWixGOgWYnl
“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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwaWBkjQZLE
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7XDuMAqPOA
'Always'.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡddWdartLxw
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“—so not my fault you basically own the damn city,” Karin finishes, and Sasuke blinks.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpvl7r7D7im
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“Huh?”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvVPQZU7Olh
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She deadpans. “You weren’t listening, were you?”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMBhtPUTZXY
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“I was,” he lies through gritted teeth, prodded by some unexplainable force. Damn, why did he always have to bicker with this girl?502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhnwBw3X9Pu
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPvX2MFEjU4
“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—”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIxdHMTIQdY
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He all but groans. “Stop, Karin. Don’t bring that kind of talk here, someone may hear you.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9jBqNhCAkS
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR5jd2UHC4v
“Pft, so what?” she huffs, crossing her arms and swaying her hips again. “It’s not like I work here, right?”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsluxm9WEI7
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj69Cz9BwLV
Her tone and most specially the glimmer in her eye as she looks at him told him otherwise.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmbVlQgGa1L
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Damn her.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLFYHjlgGvp
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“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?”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaYg38MYkV1
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEEHWQn6j0f
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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa8hlyPTRSM
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As if reading his thoughts, Karin calls out to him from the door.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ03VuYUC9Oc
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5QtXWYOjTG
“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?”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfdoxc2KLhV
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And for some unknown reason, Sasuke finds himself blushing.
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“I brought you the papers you requested,”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwgr5vIrWo4
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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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ26IrnuKJiq
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡot3TzhbTc6
“Idiot,” she manages to reprimand between kisses, “what if someone sees us?”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNQFV6FMavo
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfei2BHt4qY
“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.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYpoDjtnrBg
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqijGkD92NW
“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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk1i1BuDOMx
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0SN5MaCfvK
“Any complains?”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5ktkNpFmyt
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“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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1CpCDIyjNC
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She has a mission to accomplish—but he makes her forget soon enough.
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“I’ll have some Okonomiyaki, please.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZG8uqSLUfv
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5HaVkeug5H
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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC2UeFmXhuC
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrcSA1ZE3yp
“Whoa, Sasuke, That girl totally has a thing for you!”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo72lUTF1bR
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡabAsECR5hn
Sasuke rolls his eyes; he was so over this subject. “Tch, she and every other employee, what else is new.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9TunxlKh1c
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiiD1IElBRX
Karin snorts, “Cocky, aren’t we? Do I need to remind you that I am one of your employees, too?”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb2Ic2TvBkC
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'Always'.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6RXkxgfO4U
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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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmKgeJyJbCB
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCoWFxqAzB8
“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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPneVuiHFMT
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“You really are no fun, Sasuke.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7ezKlsFsw9
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“Forget about that, Karin. You said you would tell me more about—”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu03W7dtirF
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“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.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQtIS7JnRN0
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“Karin.”
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“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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoh7UX6cQiY
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaWoFiZu0u5
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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0lMeUYMWEt
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He is the first thing she sees when she comes out of the room.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlwysIqrCQ1
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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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡul2R8fyG4X
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7JfQZMIyDO
“…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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVOLSVlkkEx
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“Idiot,” she hisses, and means it. “You are hurt, let me—”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqvMQsnkmgm
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“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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFYPBuCz5D6
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“…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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHhYxiuqjoz
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To her surprise, Sasuke snorts.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHAxui6EyYl
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“What?” she snaps.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBPpbGPbVvO
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“Nothing,” he says, and he is smirking. “Just, you’re the last person I want to hear that from, Karin.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlzxHvq1mwg
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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?”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhKF5KIRuuK
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He looks down at her from the corner of his eye, his smirk softening around the edges. “…I wonder.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7FotR7SsYG
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And despite her blood loss, her blush only deepens.
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“Would you like more tea, Karin-chan?”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYJHk6ROFXL
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXha8NmJSAV
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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhyZRObl7pk
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlbCWG6N8bI
“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.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRWD6yWiG2w
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxe8dVgp6dw
Sasuke huffs, halfheartedly batting his brother’s hands away. “I know that—moreover, when will you stop treating me like a child, Itachi?”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfHLgJeMBuX
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmknpuO4P04
“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?502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ868uB4mRwH
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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?”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN9GDAk3hpR
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGtnvAZylJn
Great. So she had been listening in, huh? He should have guessed.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLdqRuQ7lfl
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“Not quite,” Itachi replies, but Sasuke’s triumphant smirk is short-lived as his brother adds, “But almost.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMAPe8jwvHi
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ603L0gLR8O
“Brother!” he reproaches, causing the older boy to chuckle again and Karin to smirk widely.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVz7x6jXiCs
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“You’re unbelievable, Sasuke; I mean, I knew you were an unsocial prude, but almost no girlfriends? Seriously?”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpBZcbkCsFo
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDFSl9vj4X0
He glares, mortified to feel the by-now familiar sensation of his cheeks heating up. “Shut up, Karin.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxCF2sZzzrq
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“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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSKPEbEUusi
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Damn you, brother.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqJFf02lwUn
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“Hn, I don’t know what Itachi is talking about.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRlU2of1JkR
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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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRCHBrtsqrr
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“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.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyChF0wAprT
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Despite his better judgment, Sasuke can feel himself blushing. “Who said I’m enjoying myself?”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBICbOn1Few
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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.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡApIMPUAkeK
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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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVHhlbyaiAd
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“… 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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡen453NDR37
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“I know, dear. But, somehow… it feels like you two have known each other for a long time.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpTz9rXd1OZ
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Itachi says nothing—but the way in which he warmly squeezes Sasuke’s shoulder is eloquent enough.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnv0fEZp8Ih
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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?”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4sY08e1giR
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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—502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNuhiEJlv9B
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“Sasuke—hey, earth to Sasuke, are you listening? I was just saying that—”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0OOMP9u73K
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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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSNfg79MxuN
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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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxM6RRKOlRK
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“Raspberries,” he states, and that seems to get Karin off her trance, because she blinks at him.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPeiyaLrZ2p
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And then she is grinning.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ8AIZo6SdE
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“Had I known you would finally kiss me today, I’d have worn something less sweet.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyh3y1rAgFU
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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.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoZ7zHVW6Uk
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“I know,” and her grin becomes a husky smirk as she tangles her fingers in his hair. “You’re too easy to read, Sasuke.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTrjZZyTKdk
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“Hn, you could have helped, then,” he says, but the truth is he is too lost in her to really mind.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVKF6UqTsyw
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“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—”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWxxsEYLpde
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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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGQn2K8DjWW
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“Excuse me.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrl3m3mJUSR
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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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTwIgIF0ExZ
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“This house is ours, Sasuke,”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeigq4rJsJg
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Her fingers find their way around his, and Sasuke gives them a squeeze as he nods, his expression naturally mirroring her own.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSLw68Ic7O3
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He could feel it, too.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9P9zDK8vfl
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Behind them, the realtor clears his throat but Karin cuts him short before he could get a single word out.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXtI8MLQDQl
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“We’re buying it,” she states loud and clear, and she is positively glowing.
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She can hardly believe it.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMkJDLeeqt4
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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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPpoZoE6ry3
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It seemed like something straight out of one of those dramas she used to love to ridicule and secretly watch at the same time.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFNEjpNx4S4
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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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE1E4edvWMF
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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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvLUwmYs5J8
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“What’s so funny?”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPuZnRXAdUs
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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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnNhuy1Sfv1
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“There’s just one thing off, though—” she observes, as an afterthought, “where’s my rival in love?”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxWOs40OQTo
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“Nowhere,” he asserts, grave like only he could be about even the most foolish of things. “I am yours.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYC4vm0CJg6
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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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx3AxzfdVW5
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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.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQE9xRffXRy
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And he is breathing in her scent and tightly holding her in his arms—so tightly in fact that she can hardly breathe.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2M0L1rYBBN
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“S-asuke—” she chokes.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoutfAW5p6M
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But he does not listen.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJobUP0NsBI
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“…mine.”
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She soundlessly sneaks behind him and leans her chin on his shoulder.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbLn9K3P2rv
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“Sewing again?”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUoOTgUkjQR
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“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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGB5s0P5OZb
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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.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe7X4MGTM4u
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“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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTTFt9ok3L6
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“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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTPLQvpIf6A
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“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?”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtJMCgmFgiC
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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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZQBqKe45k6
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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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9n4PyoWOFd
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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.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Df4IW1fOa
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“Doing what?”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYDsHlZQyq7
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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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhANZO2UysM
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“Or what?”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3oZsmaNmBm
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“…Or I may fall in love with you, Uchiha.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡonQcimmAQ9
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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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDhHGQaJlwQ
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“… Maybe I wouldn’t mind that.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnaZdeblZZY
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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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4bGkMqp4WT
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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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeNgaY6tpwE
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Only a minute would be enough for a spy as skilled as herself.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMku0pVjd6d
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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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXEg8tipfdw
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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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡes80V3DR5t
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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—502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSJ5V37DUbQ
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To forget the atrocities she would find if she did.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoq7dTUnNdr
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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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvpCxRHnV3z
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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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj8kya8y1aN
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“Karin,” he calls, drying his hands on his pants—and he misses the way Karin’s shoulders tense, her back stiffening. “Are you alright?”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhpOUIve1Ht
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“Yeah,” she murmurs after a moment, and Sasuke blinks. She didn’t sound alright.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvSDyTLYfbt
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“Karin,” he calls again, approaching her. “Leave that be, I’ll take care of it.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0q2gVjHyci
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“I told you, it’s fine.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoi5BYQwMGW
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He frowns, concerned. “Karin—”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsoWcVlSyl4
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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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxcMV6W7PDv
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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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGikdZJGwJL
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“Sorry, Sasuke—I think I’ll go and lie down for a while.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQFcFrRausL
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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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWr6akwUtRf
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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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOvDpMQ9Tz6
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“S-sasuke, what—?”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmigRoEjjnk
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“Where were you, Karin?”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaLHquTUr0F
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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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeNwq7KWqb2
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It reeks of lighting and promises pain—it frankly terrifies her.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoigelC7f5l
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But she holds her ground.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjqMijE2IAb
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“I—I was having lunch with my parents, Sasuke. They called to invite us today but you were at—”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh9aC1fmUx9
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“Liar,” he grits out, and Karin’s blood runs cold. “I called them myself. You were not with them. So, where were you?”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8pGGqXu3j1
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyjOFHcnx9w
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—”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7dGtHdf1UV
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXpRlgZG7gu
“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?”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNEDcb1zEdO
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“Sasuke, I—”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ78ImHZylD
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrZk3VHVKmU
“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?”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2pTjkcedZ3
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMmYXUHDLCQ
A part of her hates herself for how easily the answer comes forth to her lips. For how true it remains. “… I do, Sasuke.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTjNYkoThi7
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She hears his smile, “Good. Then, you will stop seeing them, won’t you? Those girls.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPAcc7wyscH
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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.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQw5JgVx5T1
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWDQErHEFu8
I want you all for myself—is what Karin hears instead, and she frowns. “Sasuke, you can’t be serious—they are my friends!”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQMkWhTcn1J
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPLXLWkGaRc
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?”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGOg5suWxMy
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYD31JKJapm
“I—” yes, he is—was. Is.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFR5FqAE9r6
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And that frightens her more than he possibly could.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpq1WU780Ss
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“—alright, Sasuke… you win.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxGYCtkq7eg
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6Ei6VSlxdL
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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡurunX4hZ1P
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡADriQ52VnB
Even himself.
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The silence is deafening. The unsaid drawing knots with his vocal chords, until he decides that enough has been enough.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyiZSvKYzoB
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgmRd4nGnmB
“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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmiZCPXnwzR
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She doesn’t bulge. “What?”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡppePy9ksFo
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVofYrmkfWY
And perhaps that’s what worries Sasuke the most.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd3qdM8cjBw
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBLzko5iLp1
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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhd2RODLf0U
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPOwzuGm206
“Don’t try to avoid the subject, Karin. There is something you aren’t telling me, isn’t there?”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡekiHCtBH6T
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEKajadB901
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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMVOjA68hRp
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfYmH13y6Id
And Sasuke wants nothing more than to ask her to stop—but he is too scared to do so.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHQCPL2CiCi
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“Eat, Sasuke. It’s going to get cold.”
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He rolls the raspberries between his fingers, memories swirling in his head.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbHMAaj3Jk0
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ74r7OmzLzW
He has always had a very good memory; and throughout his life, it has proved to be a curse more often than a blessing.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs1AyHAJ8i5
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBQbKNkRbEx
In this case, it is both at once.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWmQOwu6NWf
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGrf91zCk5T
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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN0WyZ33yWA
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSvsjgluJ45
A girl sending him off with a sad smile, and never looking back.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡALe80bMbx5
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Broken promises.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1vqj080wQp
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A call. A funeral.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsPPZD9FGp0
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And tears.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3ETazi1phs
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Heartbreak.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQy8H8IVLDD
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Loneliness.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQYBXcnuLtI
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…then there was nothing else.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYw6TF8AIQU
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And then there was everything all over again.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP5oxfnE3oa
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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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkECkB35D58
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He can’t stop.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIP6SNibDBm
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He does not want to.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5CgGR0isuy
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One of the raspberries snaps, juice rolling down his fingers—but he does nothing to clean it up.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwn2lI9ymbz
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The door creaks open.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjvCMMlI6ug
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMk9FGEuv2k
“Uchiha-san, you have to eat.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMZqB5iktQM
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXtAKGmzPlV
The nurse says, more out of habit than anything else; but he is too far away to hear—502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFoKVM67yPd
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxOBQ3hyoqL
(“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.)502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6kJU8UWT9b
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6ogQOpq9Dk
—and it’s been a year since the patient of the room 723 has pronounced a single word.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4iwgn4YK4I
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKlJoX0Ixbx
(And a five-year old Karin is smiling.)
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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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc8GT89oKC8
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmSsM3z7Jh9
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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWEi8mQT5rO
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBA4IPfkoVS
Karin was sitting on the bed, unnaturally straight and still; her eyes vacant and unseeing, telltale trails of dried tears on her cheeks.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEsaxxtNcfO
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRulQoPSa6x
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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3hx62Y0tqY
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqa9Fuc1YlO
“Karin…” his voice is faint; a tentative call more to spur himself into motion than to reach her. “Karin, what’s wrong?”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2KgJT7RUeH
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxJf4RQ8itk
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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3CjHblEHcl
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And then she parts her lips.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxEL6PhirZr
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ08zdfKOaSH
“Sasuke… I had a dream… a new one.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT47t75uzL4
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNenXjBhG71
Sasuke swallows; what could she have possibly seen to put her in such a state?502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqgC3VkhkIP
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh8IBDvAiJ5
“Karin, I…” the redhead simply shakes her head, and to his ever-growing alarm there are fresh tears dripping from her eyes.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRkOoFwYgst
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“Forget it, Sasuke… it’s better if you do.”
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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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcjmkvcE1cm
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ61iDX1Mea9
“Stop it, Karin. You were not supposed to care about him—”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHdUNlGNL2E
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9661998jup
“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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGcUxfYT30e
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It makes something in her tightly clench.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxZqTpP1Chq
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“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.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYgZiMFfEMx
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbjpP3eUPFd
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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlNlojdH1Tp
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjCq7qSqTFN
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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCtOKVm51Ls
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7SnP3rxPCG
She can hear them coming from her, and she knows she won’t be able to escape—but that was fine.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ47nieGrNaB
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She would take as many of them as she possibly could before going down, and—502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmfUiHvOaKY
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“…we’ll meet soon, Sasuke.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbdNz2SgAi2
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—and Sasuke had always liked souvenirs.
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He is crudely woken up by Karin screaming his name.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjTLyN25dmP
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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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMQ4XAW4ZK7
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In fact—she seemed to only be getting worse.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJq3q93QZY4
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“Sasuke, no—!”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKADw6AwQKf
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmu074TYZlI
“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—”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuEulGnEvzg
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf4DfslqFcT
But his sincere promise is cut short by her terrified sob.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH5u7V1qAnm
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKIzQKyuGke
“N-no, Sasuke—get away from me!”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWi64VdnTeg
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Sasuke jumps back, as if burnt. “W-what…?”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtEZQtoIwr7
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He could not believe his ears—she was frightened—of him?502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDGHTHcXPxk
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXqZTGhAGK0
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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTSZ9PNAKGI
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2OGPxcjA7T
‘… They weren’t always nice, Sasuke. They rarely were.’502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2rXLW7xmC6
‘What weren’t?’502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBkZ09dKm1V
‘...You.’502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡilK1ty3Q1t
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVnVVqKzpSF
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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Vy9VVe6JT
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Ghosts he has started to fear, too.
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“Karin,” he whispers affectionately, caressing her cheek with his right hand, “I need you.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoiWKT8yBmR
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrgBFhyVj90
Karin swallows the knot in her throat and forces her knees to remain firm, “I—I know, so plea—”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2LdYx8rvz6
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXXu5TqRwMJ
“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.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCp0h1VX2LZ
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYTV1isfdkL
“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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiFj45VTOkW
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVe8FPYHqBW
“I’ll see you soon… Karin.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLL2AE5i7MT
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He says, and his words are as loud as the gunshot that follows.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjs2SmL5EKO
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And then her lifeless body is crumbling to the ground, his soon to follow.
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“What was I doing to you?”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZQdqX1WehI
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSXfpuntxD9
“… I don’t remember.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQQSczBz1yp
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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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpP0z7sRJL1
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But he has played that game long enough.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbQQeAfzLrB
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He cannot continue to allow himself to remain blissfully unaware while she battles on her own.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡELpotzEmw8
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI7xmQ2YeIi
“Don’t lie to me, Karin.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVV8krGmTKA
502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFv0vA6L5CR
“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.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlBjv1h7eMH
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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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2pLaJuJYZL
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“…Tell me the truth, Karin.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS8tS3OkzWD
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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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgQlU6zmUat
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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—502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk8EBqvuxfS
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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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8O1I6ssyA1
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“Idiot, I… told you… to move, Sasuke…”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWyw0Bd9cxw
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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—”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3K94r7xe2j
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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.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMQP4yy1Pq2
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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—”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXBkxy052xR
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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.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8mDj1wBkaH
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There is a choked sob—and he barely registers it is his own.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ18fb420Y55
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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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDtah03WGKt
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“Don’t… all I want…ed… is for you… to smile… like that day.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgb3EU3XRqw
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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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCNI88dzxT9
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And she slips away through his hesitation like he had always slipped through her fingers.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwjM87w4ram
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“See ya… Sasuke.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKbTGdM7pEa
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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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtCLIAmRuBR
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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—502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy2NFTc4NNf
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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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx7c2JNwZOD
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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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAhdFVakNjV
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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?”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT7IndY4f4z
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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.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUDwlfnLNFO
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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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVoqyMDqE9o
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“And, above all…”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBvoxJ72Mrz
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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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5QWI4yTmcs
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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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBgRVxhzG0L
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Except that it doesn’t get to.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ05RXeMujcg
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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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEGJVk0THfS
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“See ya.”502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLl0srLWQ7c
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This is what I give,502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyE0WTZLFHj
A circle is complete.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUVOHCGjLGZ
Another circle spins502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7hwNKvuRSO
There's life within,502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRUscEV9wOZ
Within
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end.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡidRhAXcTZj
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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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF43XRO1hin
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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.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWiDHGS1KTV
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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~!502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1h7FZreInx
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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 lol502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHyzynzRRLY
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Thanks for reading! ♥
Tags: fanfic, karin, naruto, sasukarin, sasuke
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