[FANFIC - HBD, KARIN!] PÉRIODICITÉ (SK)
Title: périodicité559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1ixCNkOWaq
By: Kanae (Goth-Punk88 @ ff.net)559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzafrloYpTq
Rating: K+559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSsWOu40a5S
Word Count: 2.817559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmpz74wXong
Author's Notes: Made for our "Karin's birthday week" over at the Ice&Spice FC @ NF ♥ I... don't even know what this is, or where it came from, and it's possibly one of the cheesiest pieces I've written for SK. But I kind of regret nothing lol - Oh and that novice drawing at the top of the fic? yup, mines. guilty as charged orz559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgNCKqHQFzR
Summary: June 20 has never been an ordinary day for one Uzumaki Karin.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡev6wsproiu
périodicité (periodicity)559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg88NjHOl7s
"recurrence at regular intervals of time."
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVKYiZ6VDTM
périodicité;559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMSxJnaJzi4
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ9Wd9IcJva
by Kanae
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ11UVPfFH8M
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7kfTEtFRjI
“Don’t look so down, darling. This is a great chance for you.”559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXldHoEGn2K
“…Yeah… a great chance to make a fool of myself, you mean.”559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUGFumN2Qkp
A twinkling laugh, a delicate hand warmly lands over a girl’s head and—
.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT2FM1IHsER
.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZCl2xDX8B0
.
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5QZa5Upblw
At twelve, there aren’t many things that Karin has done or that she wishes to do. She is just an ordinary girl from an ordinary family living in an ordinary village; there is nothing special about her, nothing out of the norm, nothing that makes her stand out—if one ignores her flagrant red hair, that is.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYXxuE4KKBq
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOKhyufPYpX
But that is just what her father seems to have wanted to do all along.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrzVzGnW62U
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY020rudGjS
You’re going out? Don’t forget to put your hood on, Karin, he would say, whenever Karin had to wander away from the immediate realms of their home. Why, papa? She used to ask when she was no more than a little girl; but that was a habit that slowly but surely withered and died as she began to grow up—as she started to grow aware enough to notice the wary air her father’s kind, wise red eyes acquired as the reminder left his lips.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGcV63qO4yx
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX4N7dL12CU
As she grew older, Karin learned to recognize it for what it truly was: more a warning than a piece of advice; and she began to grow more jittery as result, more worn at the seams.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2xhKV6mg8w
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuwkZffjdw1
Her red hair was her only outstanding trait, the only thing that made her different—without it, Karin may as well fade into the scenery.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4LpT9YdIyT
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS8djLPuSDz
She may as well not exist.
.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJDvbkhjhSL
.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhGeL0Ul6RC
.
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡccUVZi979o
—and ruffles her hair.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTcNtBd8LH3
“Now, now, don’t be like that. I have a good feeling about this, you know?”559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzQzKRYgmeS
“…What do you mean, mama?”559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5GNV8rA9Ff
A secretive smile highlighted by—
.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkjPI49khYB
.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJEnCYpjQaF
.
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR6DkDV1XIK
At thirteen, Karin nearly dies.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡubCtowSKg9
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTR0Q1Zambf
And then she is saved—saved by a striking boy with a rich voice and eyes that warm her up to the core the moment he smiles—at her, for her—and suddenly, Karin does not feel so ordinary anymore.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj6GvPUijQs
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOPOVJZuuGG
There is something different about you, her mother tells her once with a knowing smile, ever since you came back from Konoha.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhPx9MOuane
Karin jumps in her seat, awkward denial bubbling up in her throat and evaporating the moment her mother laughs, I like it. You look prettier, Karin.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5AQKV9DFfw
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXS6A1Vl9eX
She does not know about that—can’t see any difference as she looks at herself in the mirror, self-consciously pulling on some strands of red hair and squinting at her reflection.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbfcib6W7e2
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbx5TWOAVUg
What she does know, though—what she can’t forget, is—559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV1qi1PR19j
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS2v2uTsidj
See ya, he had said, and it takes Karin a surprising amount of time to realize that, for the first time since she could remember, there was something she wanted.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbN8VGsivLo
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ86t1SJLIth
Wanted for herself; not for her parents, not for those she cares about. Something that was completely hers, in all its staggering intensity and youthful hope.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8gUFyoCZTf
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR5N4GcTZlF
See ya, he had said, and until then Karin had never quite known how good it felt to feel alive.
.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK9jv7cF3DX
.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3p8987l3ey
.
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKSAgimsEJW
—by amber eyes that seem to spark.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHW57UupaxW
“Ara~ I wonder if I should tell you. It is a safely guarded secret, you see.”559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ39ELONCjrL
“I will keep it! I promise, I won’t tell anybody, mama!”559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSbR8u9RTxi
A chuckle, “Alright, alright! Since you insist, I'll tell you. It—”
.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ364ENO8bDP
.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVR3uvAZzMj
.
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy2RDmfyeAM
At fourteen, Karin breathes her last breath.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6O0egVCxnx
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDa9jWSLFLx
There is no blood—not hers—involved, nor are there any wounds—not physical ones—or any white walls or tunnels and gates of light—no light, only dark—only smoke—only the smell of burnt flesh and intest—559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRkgynilmSw
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2pyISGXJAR
There is, however, anguish. An agony so great that Karin bit her lip until it bled, fisted her palms until her nails left permanent crescent-moon shaped scars in the contours of her skin, new batches added to already cracked life lines.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHTOO6gzDyH
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8nKaqMpY3a
There are silent, chocked sobs that made her throat burn and her sight blur until she has ran out of tears.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYYdAaL6sk7
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuI8oBzyJcJ
And there is also horror; a burning, paralyzing sort of horror that reaches its peak and fades into a mute but perpetual tune stringing the chords of her being as she comes back and stares at the corpses of her father and mother, unrecognizable masses of ashes retching of burnt blood and bodily fluids that make a pile of vile crawl its way up to her tongue.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhVQCnK7029
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbfLLNC7fwm
And then, there is he—sidestepping the man with ominous dark chakra and extending a hand towards her, onyx eyes boring into her own with the same might with which the understanding in his chakra drove her horror away.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsrCI9VBTDX
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUyVTePSZei
You staying here will amount to nothing, but you leaving just might, he says. Come, Karin, he calls.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6SbFqLxKZe
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSWjNdg2HLK
She takes his hand, and there is hope.
.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRabOQknhDi
.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAZg7vNT6qd
.
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrIZG53IXiw
“—It is said that one too many women in our family have found their fate in the lands of Konohagakure.”559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYtxk0bUZd4
“Their… fate?”559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnrlzjOw813
Her voice curls up around the edges, as if it were a spell.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkQbR9id5F8
“You will understand in—”
.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSRhY3yLK1R
.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqYg4uFRicW
.
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfW7tLeKND6
At fifteen, Karin has shed her skin.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5owtOnmGNh
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOe6hpoahhJ
There are now sharp edges where there used to be soft contours; angry frowns where there used to be kindness, smirks where there used to be smiles; buoyancy where there once was shame, barriers in what once were vast landscapes—and there are also scars.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjplAN9dS7S
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHDHCSKZ4v2
Tell-tale scars of the Karin she used to be and new, revolting ones from the Karin she has become. She hides the latter and denies the former; pretends they’re long gone, never aching, never hurting anymore.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKElURVPGEL
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEAnZY9GuXC
Yet, he sees them all. As if she wore them on her sleeve.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjbcWTPt5kX
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnc9QAHCYjk
“Say, Sasuke, since we’re alone how about we—”559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX9yS9rUVo0
“I have to leave soon, Karin.”559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡELWWxrGddw
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG6OGHlLlyL
She puts her glasses back on and crosses her arms with a frown, moving away from him. “Why did you even bother coming, then?”559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrI6D6rUXlK
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN4uDINXefP
Sasuke says nothing, then. He says nothing, and Karin straightens, her back suddenly assaulted by gooseflesh; could he—?559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA5woVbIo0x
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNlMtMs3gyo
Could he have possibly known? Known how before his unexpected arrival, Karin had been hounded by her memories. Seeing familiar faces in the nameless prisoners of the base, ghosts come back to haunt her and pull her down with them to the depths of hell—a hell made of nothing but flames and guilt of mistakes she is not sure she would take back, even if she could.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX0XVrGLA9V
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0UxHOTVEOn
“…I had business here, is all.” His voice reaches out to her through the haze of her thoughts, pulling her back with nonchalant words that seemed devoid of any meaning.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgwvHeVKNKC
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOMUDqBbHUU
But as she turns and her eyes meet his, Karin sees.
.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUugDnRJjak
.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhEMUlkNM9V
.
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGP9GcLf8Jg
“—in due time, Karin.”559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbw9heFmG3f
“Still, mama… it just isn’t fair.”559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm788HaKRVs
“What isn’t, dear?”559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTWk354hOCr
“… I wanted to spend my birthday with you and papa.”559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHE3daESemJ
Her smile—
.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpF9nQ4m4w9
.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIFfSdgk0Dn
.
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLMURPluSHv
At sixteen, Karin falls.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOusJwoEUYS
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyqXb0VKKIu
She falls from a great, great height at appalling speed; she hasn’t even had time to acknowledge the abysm before she has hit rock bottom, her goals and dreams spilling through her open chest and pooling on the ground alongside everything she knows.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAgYQpMUAne
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpQfyOM2A0E
Alongside everything she once held dear. Everyone she relied on. The one she trusted.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIqC0wg7HTz
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmWDvWIiUhz
Now, there was no one left.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTcqwB5Lz1D
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFRy8juCyks
No one left but the roaming, empty carcass of the boy she once loved; the boy who taught her what it felt like to be alive, the boy who gave her hope and helped her find meaning back when she had lost her way, the boy who helped her to be reborn from her ashes into someone better; someone stronger, someone capable of standing up for herself and for him, too. The boy who flared her will and her drive with a single touch, with a single look, with the simplest of words—559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6SP4s1Q5NH
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvDC8z8knH8
I need you559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡectFGasDOS
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv7DzyBKIPt
“So much for that,” Karin mutters to no one, her back pressed against the cold walls of a cell and her fingers absentmindedly tracing the ghost of the wound that had taken her heart out for good.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfKRLlcDM2g
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6hxOGZiKM4
And then it comes. An almost unnoticeable flicker—too subtle to be perceived, but too longed for to be ignored.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡehNgdtGHA7
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyfOSuGSfC0
No… I’ve had enough, Sasuke but her withered heart is trying to beat again, and it makes up her mind for her.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN0zJGaNWvU
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1OfPBzMhfF
“…So much for this,” Karin murmurs to herself—and then she is on her feet again, her inner eye tracing his every move.
.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiBijfl7B7j
.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu6l6s1E4Ob
.
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4QPPeHIzVI
—melts.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1KdLVcZUi2
“Cheer up, love. There will be many birthdays left for us to celebrate together.”559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkX4vuadTpw
“… You promise?”559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxuFroV6Emd
Her gaze softens.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNHMpEv8WiY
“I promise.”
.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡit3FHHB152
.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYI9Jx5T6Xw
.
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAUNvogBdPr
At seventeen, Karin kisses him.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlFdym0Gi8q
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnXewhBpMrJ
She impulsively crashes her lips against his, her arms thrown around his neck in a desperate attempt to hold onto him—to anchor him down before his essence could have the chance to fade into pitch black darkness again, to feel him before he could have the chance to waste his life—her life, their future—chasing phantoms all the way to the death.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqtNGXVEaDw
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJk2N3elUMG
When the impromptu kiss ends, Karin sees him—the him she knows, the him she loves—flickering across his eyes for the briefest of moments, and she hears her name resounding in her ears even though he has not uttered a single sound.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnDYTBaTfq0
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6SDCcEVY2s
She smiles ruefully; trembling eyes boring into his—and then wordlessly lets him go.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLkyN6OhN8W
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn3gFxZ1pUp
She has given him a reason, but the choice is his to make.
.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC8HBWky1Ph
.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3bULpFfS7J
.
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVLFjk3l7uQ
“Ha, so it was about a boy, I knew it!”559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdKYeNOWFCk
“Shh, mama! I don’t want papa to hear! And… it’s not like I’m ever going to see him again, anyway….”559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ49FZXnWYM2
Her mother has to hide her smile, “Actually, Karin… something tells me you just might.”
.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRLMmuzQOBW
.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDXmRdM1ROz
.
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ507b77ak4C
At eighteen, Sasuke kisses her back.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLd1knsuhpS
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQkvgVgH8MV
It is not nearly as passionate as her—their—first kiss had been; there is no desperation, no adrenaline—but there is craving all the same, waving through the serenity threading over her through the gentle pressure of his fingertips over the nape of her neck, enveloping her like a makeshift cloak and warming her down to her very core.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxFqDX49fIZ
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWkAtCK0FS2
And Karin feels her very essence quiver under it—under the warmth and the way her heart seemed to want to leave her and jump into him instead, to claim the home it has always longed for; the home it has always fought for.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWo4JG1TJT2
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUZeaD7DzX6
The home it belonged to.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHPbAveOr9Q
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCQ9nyomSQY
As he kisses her, sunrays clumsily dancing upon her lips, Karin feels like she would vaporize into him if Sasuke were to take a single breath.
.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAA5gVKyVtx
.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKJuaoXnqvD
.
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7fojULA7Zo
“How do you know?”559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgfQsh9hQZC
“Because, that’s how fate works, Karin.”
.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxbUpM1dEIe
.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB2AuzIuecN
.
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWb2jWr0I2D
At nineteen, Karin smiles.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAXvLFwANAr
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgV8xkxV2Hw
“Itachi,” she says, and Sasuke looks up to her, startled. “The name… Itachi. That’s what you wanted, isn’t it?”559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZRegupPRzG
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw5xoDkItUS
Sasuke parts his lips—once, twice—but no sound comes out and soon enough he gives up altogether, lowering his eyes to stare at the bundle in his arms. It stares back at him, impossibly red eyes widened with innocent curiosity, pink tongue sticking out from underneath rosy lips.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQGBJV0kELS
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡelzDToW8H2
“Are you sure, Karin?” he whispers after what seemed like an eternity, and Karin’s smile only widens.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgkVh3103Ou
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6phoirlM6O
“Yeah.”559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCG4yAIt5SG
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyq9fakgtOY
And as she sees them—as she sees Sasuke hold their baby as if he were holding the whole, wide world in the crook of his arms—Karin remembers her mother with such vivid clarity that she catches a breath of her perfume. The memory—the vision is bittersweet, and it makes Karin’s throat clog, because she recognizes that look.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDYsg1pQvQW
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmsRQ4kPtlH
It was the way her mother used to look at her father and her, eyes brimming with love and pride, unspoken but ever-present, never changing. Karin had not been able to understand it, then—559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDpVlIryU3Z
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO91vjCVX0c
But she did, now. And the understanding squeezed her heart in a way that was both, wonderful and terrible. To think it took her this long to finally understand, once and for all, what it all meant.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡciJtNcQGbt
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl8bgvWDpkB
To understand who her mother truly was, what her mother felt, what her mother desired for her—and how her mother hurt.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1EMdPMfnHJ
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYcTVj5vCwd
You’re special, Karin. She would tell her sometimes, her eyes half-lidded and afflicted by thoughts she would never get the chance to say aloud. One day, you will realize that.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOMbFjJaujP
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFASgt1gvqp
She realized it, now; what it meant to love to her roots, what it meant to be a woman.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEWxnooUScj
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxCR2hYFL0t
An Uzumaki woman.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYBiRfwWvzH
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGtdeYwktTG
“… Thank you, Karin.”559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0Ms3iy0PvW
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4awQQ70E0Q
“Idiot,” she shakes her head, weakly, traitorous tears prickling at the corners of her eyes and threatening to spill. “That... should be my line.”
.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzL1JIWgYGe
.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGshzLllDaS
.
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ78ObMccjsW
“They will be here soon,”559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtSH4hYgIw1
“Who will be here soon, mama?”559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDNSw0o0ND9
“It could be anyone,” she finally replies, and her hold is steady as she combs through Karin’s hair, “we have long since lost any care for their identities, Karin. What matters is… what their presence means.”559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwKgLc1ngY7
“And what is that?”559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo7HhJ67ByZ
Her silence provides the only answer; and Karin wishes it weren’t enough.
.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsEkxvYPXrC
.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3FsidpZMFN
.
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhGl50AhFte
At twenty, Karin celebrates her birthday for the first time in seven years.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMP4rk9qV0d
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpkld4I0Yuq
And it starts with a soft but firm admittance whispered as she caresses the baby’s nose, all too aware of the pleasant weight of Sasuke’s gaze, of the feelings swirling in his chakra.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4E1p5w6hpe
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡueUiF4x3W6
Hearing them is unexpected, however—and her widened eyes snap to his only to find his lips beginning to curve, his own hand coming to caress her cheek in much the same way she was doing to their son.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH4Rtzu61tK
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVKn5Pr9d0n
“W—what was that about?”559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH9d87OWntK
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl8UaweEp0N
She asks; some habits are hard to break, and her awkward way of fighting down her embarrassment seemed to be as persistent as ever.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1dc2DR9wMm
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡikvl3MtF3t
Sasuke doesn’t seem to mind, though. If anything, his smile seems to morph into an amused smirk as he shrugs, noncommittally. “I just felt like saying it, is all.”559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWGAfhJUeLt
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRZSJ4LFs1l
“Dumbass,” she mutters, hoping the darkness will hide the way her cheeks have warmed up like bonfires, so reminiscent of her prepubescent days when all she could do was a dream she would one day lay with Sasuke the way she does now. “...You didn't need to.”559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3O22PH8L9T
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡErlf2h8DVv
“I know, Karin,” and this time he is positively smiling, suddenly mutating back into the Sasuke that had stolen her heart so many years ago. “But it still felt good to say it.”559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq9Seum94v7
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkGotNDyOZ5
Karin says nothing in response; simply snuggles closer to him, eyes on the baby as he opens his eyes and blinks, his little hands curling and uncurling up into the air.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYXDrYuDg0A
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCvi7EJdllD
“He is going to be strong,” Sasuke assesses, and Karin would have mocked him by how ridiculous it was that he sounds that proud of Itachi when the baby hasn’t even said his first word yet, weren’t it because she felt the same way.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs7FZbBi8gN
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt2RJJrAabF
He was going to be strong. A little piece of herself and Sasuke—a memento of those who had given their life up for them; a torch for those who had granted them the chance to live this moment.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJywqMGp74r
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcFNRxritOn
To live this happiness.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1hHBCX9vGZ
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC2JVXPbVIs
“Happy birthday, Itachi,” she whispers, and squeezes Sasuke’s hand. “I love you.”559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ38D3bLtTBi
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMJtqiMRphg
The words feel dusty, and unknown—but familiar.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡplPCIjfWg5
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhMC0T9WKL6
She knew them, once.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL9fzmAoIgG
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc4HOzl2r7V
She has known them all along.
.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoFPUS26Xg4
.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2GninwbH8x
.
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwfHqo9SiFr
I'm sorry, Karin.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzkgMebOsT6
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ3EMlYz6Zk
Were the last words her mother told her before her father ushered her out of the house and prompted her to run—run as far as she could, away from them—and forced her to leave them to die.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYV0uh123dm
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMtuwaBHa2E
To survive.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNWsEC0Ihd8
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9mBNn4JZoq
Those words used to hunt Karin down in those nights when sleep refused to lend her its hand, the eerie walls of Orochimaru’s hideout caving in on her and Sasuke’s steady chakra being her only relief, her only shield.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcCQZZ3gsbS
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF9jh4sET1i
Yet, what haunted her weren’t the words themselves, but their meaning; Karin had instinctively known then, just as clear as she knows now, that her mother was not apologizing for forcing her to forsake them and live on.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHKBdHBjH9J
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlH5YX0RBs8
No, that was not it—that was not the kind of woman her mother had been.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3voGhkOH1H
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLEOPnAWXW7
Instead, she had apologized for something else entirely.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh6b9yUz2k6
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ4ZGxEVWcP
For the unsaid.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOMvR6jdjPx
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs4FLgPFie6
“What are you thinking about, Karin?”559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2c4jJfPRhD
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzFBNeNhL0L
Her lips curl upward as he takes the seat by her side, repentances fading away into the evening sky.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ49KAQ6JrO0
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzhcu8GZmyO
“Nothing,” she replies, threading her fingers through his and gazing back to their children, who were laughing and running together through the backyard, a lively mixture of reds and blacks; the Uchiha and Uzumaki crests proudly etched on their backs, on their hearts.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzJGejMs6hJ
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSOYMszFDSw
“Nothing at all.”
.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHG3nhC1Cfr
.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhsurFMZ61W
.
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnmXvsDtdJP
"You will be fine."559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHSzErULtIm
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyeJ7ZsMtBm
And through the tears and the pain and the loneliness and the longing and the hardships and the fear, Karin should have known better.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3dxxeswNph
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS7vaJ0P7WB
Her mother was always right.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5UfOdTg21n
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgD6KKyyvkh
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡib0GJFS95m
-559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIRLoCGMz1E
end.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz1q2yjZcwR
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ16OlrvzPkN
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRxjpzmrVl7
I... seriously don't know where all this came from; my best guess: Uzumaki feelings. Uzumaki feelings everywhere. lol, I tried to play with the different facets of Karin, and how she grows into each one of them; plus SK, of course.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4eRqFjV1qO
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqezi1S5LNm
The stuff I wrote here is not quite how I see things going, though; to do that I would have had to write about 395749574 vignettes per year, rather than only one lol so I went for rushed versions of a couple of scenarios I had thought about.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtUpemAFIqt
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1GiSqwd8TJ
Oh and while I did not state it in the fic: every vignette takes place on Karin's birthday, so the baby was born on June 20, too.559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVprcFkyj3Z
559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy1QXgxivca
Anyway, hopefully, it wasn't that terrible! ♥559Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ0XqD9BkDa
tags: fanfic, karin, naruto, sasukarin, sasuke
i'm : 
cheerful
listening to: never let me go - florence + the machine
ns216.73.216.113da2
然後按「加至主畫面」