[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~!669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcxglHBMdra
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVegoKxAKWP
By: Kanae (Goth-Punk88 @ ff.net)669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDJohTWY4fB
Rating: M (some suggestive scenes, and some violence.)669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbIrkCmsY4Q
Word Count: 8.810669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmOLxAz5Mpu
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH2FF9APGHI
Warning: Some OOC-ness due to the fact that I'm working with future SK... among other things you will soon realize lol669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUGcGiQIrxh
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA0TyFubQ7J
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ08imtvi1Hu
A heartbeat that awakens from the ashes.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWtb9ouNXFs
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVGvECL38oK
To the stars that played with the darkness669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQUQrtxDFx9
I sang of love and burned up completely
Wildfire669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz9lR6O18ET
by Kanae669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0wCqv7m1TE
-
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOeWaJRrT48
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhTgjsxCakO
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEQs3kCaGfh
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbgMmyp7swE
Something in his chest tightens.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyh0DovRbKs
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3bDzq3akm2
He is looking back before he knows it, uncharacteristically standing still as his eyes seek the source of the red; a girl’s ponytail.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPZRX37Lu3I
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4pv40GeeQf
Just a girl.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2looU10Ubi
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8ZRA4rShgQ
Sasuke all but snorts, mildly shaking his head and turning away in wonderment.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiNxG9C1YdD
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡigsbv03ALW
He misses the way the girl stops, her back straightening as if bolted.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKBHOAHNWFL
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxQedA61opp
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzfqUn63REV
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡshtGg37MNd
The girl.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5myPFWyPLW
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb0upmrW9er
The redhead.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzMKfPsQ3zC
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqH4oUMyZ6z
“Sorry,” she says, and she is a little out of breath. Had she run to catch up with him? “Do I know you?”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJoTC4QPlsn
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA2r6Q0Tumo
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8B7w7lWavB
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm4eHE8ugDB
“Don’t think so,” he replies, trying to sidestep her—but the girl blocks his way again.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6jafs9s6d7
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ55cem0kUib
“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.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFdWprRYMwv
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5d0BoKyXvk
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—”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqbvNyF5hdZ
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡekIhHMMwG0
“You’re right,” Sasuke agrees, clenching his jaw and walking past her.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg3dxPj29co
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3175wbR0Yk
“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.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQxyuWnN8t7
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPiBpv56t4H
“… 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.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7uVCEq5qZZ
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyDdffIIkgj
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHDtyq0tjrR
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnRg27D8Uwx
She falls quiet—and Sasuke thinks the odd conversation has come to an end.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhzH5RbKL7g
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPkMyAyjELz
He was severely mistaken.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyNv8sClrbn
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0liovOvK6q
“And, when you were eight…” she suddenly whispers, her voice vague, “when you were eight, your mom gave you a dinosaur-shaped toy.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCy7cjJFrx3
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMWFRJHwjKh
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.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFhJIafbLQ5
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCz9rC2E6z8
It is slowly that he turns towards her, eyes narrowed and heart galloping inside his chest. “How…?”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPg9GFqj3dB
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVy5AjtxmMp
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.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcAKSTHp1za
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlezEadeaZ6
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsavocqofft
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡof11o4pA0x
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGBzncFngrd
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYUtlgwKSk2
“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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsJ4Yk1IBFI
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ702yAIYWGf
“Let me go,” he mutters, though he can’t find it in himself to oppose any resistance. “I can walk by myself.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk0vNecytke
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYA7BLz6fz6
She does not let go of him.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjaweH5vwXp
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtrDiQt3wja
And the déjà vu only worsens.
.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBJ8LKm73Qk
.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTtUqwuJoqL
.
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAEPv5zukuS
“Come with me, Karin. I need you.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTOxRzuhEIb
“Huh?! Why should I go anywhere? I’m in charge of this place!”
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQC6l0K2qlA
.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡROwlRBjB1H
.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbqD0Zt6kq2
.
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSXP3mMQYSI
“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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDQukKIbWMJ
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5NKVShdg9J
“The… dreams?” he questions, and feels utterly ridiculous just by saying it.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCCQaT4oOdz
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3wfhM0lU45
“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.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4r7rDRILgv
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqf5zX17Bk5
“And these… dreams, of yours. They were about me?”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡirPqR9nvfB
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs7NQCGJXsJ
“Not all of them,” she retorts thoughtfully, if not a little defensively; but then she shrugs. “But you were always there.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtVdSMMizTk
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoP5OjQpQJS
“Doing what, exactly?”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoQGoDjPZPb
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIgPSRqMu5E
“A lot of things. Fighting, mostly. You were a ninja, sometimes. Both of us were.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEsiosayiaI
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgKTyblvDEe
“…A ninja?”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcZmTWIm3M0
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZc97dhLjCO
“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.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVYySMsaN3g
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOxeTuNF2hn
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7IINZw5yNn
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPnhgHspgTw
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.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSGNEMw58Uz
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1J2rexfI0j
“… What do you mean, exactly?” he prods with narrowed eyes.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTcrcisKngm
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLnDPiN4mJQ
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.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrSzepYeJUK
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyoJo0skBcW
Sasuke frowns. He didn’t like her tone, and neither did he like where she was going with this. “Reincarnations?”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8iGuJtDqbE
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs5TOt3rmiV
Karin snaps her fingers, “Bingo.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBgvKPQnp0S
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvOBvPh64sv
Sasuke snorts. “That’s ridiculous.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy7hKg516iY
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxBlq0BvFoP
“I know you don’t believe in them, Sasuke. But that doesn’t mean they do not exist.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNgezVAaLYM
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNzLNGa2agF
“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.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ33Bb0KeJrT
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq0m3DXEQYB
“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.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7XFWU2MxbW
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4GdyRGInsk
“But I am done hearing your bullshit.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi5IgyWxH0u
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRCFzzh8g8R
Karin blinks at him and then promptly snorts. “The you in my dreams was nicer to be around, I’ll give you that.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi0avhzY30G
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWoUIYj9vQg
He feels insulted, but he stays. And a little smirk quirks up Karin’s lips; as expected, that smirk said.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqXEv9IkfTo
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbR6zyJTWtS
But any comments he may have had about her arrogance promptly disappear as the redhead utters her next words.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXkR9Xwi3zL
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoy1EV8XHqK
“I know why you’re so afraid of losing your parents, someday.”
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTlZRyvmYQl
.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvjCpjQaUMw
.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAnN97I4w1j
.
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuFGh2H3vz2
“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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWHGgJgSZQG
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVvBTfk30w1
“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.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD1OxF2Du3t
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKyaZLv5jWf
They. Because that was all that was left, now. She was all he had left.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxHL2QBK05b
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu01oZNK0Fi
“We will get through this,” she repeats, because they would. They had to.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCy6Kz06nvF
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ12zcUlXoba
“You’re not alone. I’m with you, Sasuke. I won’t ever leave you,”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbmOpV7b2Zc
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCG9z3wRnwx
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKdmTmXQwL9
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl7GNQkbEL2
“I promise.”
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6Tqxeqr50r
.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBG6zRyjkiA
.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGZBM7itP1O
.
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8ACLBI0dXs
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvw03RQQAos
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ73DnglPkxY
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdLxzvi0upy
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRc19kmYvhL
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBEuCAEZ2I3
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbduO6h8E9i
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaYfReIxP0S
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz3B3zgIXOf
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0MsfXWyW62
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ60ZEIFK7S3
“… 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?”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIxEJEj9FFp
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMb9U3fyaZN
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.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbfG6cF9PpE
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDGAprmqxue
He has really run out of patience. “Stop with the riddles, will you? Just answer!”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ746eJjPtWj
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeRNq840Bj0
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.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG79SloU0lB
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpLTT5QBTPx
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?”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI8MliNEJmO
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6jSEOWuydw
Karin shrugs, unfazed.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT0E0sfKEai
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbhbB0AX3vx
“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.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH4ZjJRB3no
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkYc61nfN6t
That catches his attention. “What do you mean?”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡToBnm2dkhZ
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFV5b5oZC6l
“… They weren’t always nice, Sasuke. They rarely were.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiHXg2qygq3
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw8WK50Ax2R
Sasuke arches one eyebrow, curious. “What weren’t?”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0856Dqr1Ws
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0rMyzfJ9zE
For the first time since they got there, Karin squirms in her seat.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAVf4aCSgez
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmr2qvopBhw
“...You.”
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtLtTosTug5
.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmpyVtiu465
.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0hHyNRKmdo
.
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBJmO39zx6b
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEVoXiby1px
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2FZ8TapkZM
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡziBJmbjkBJ
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnTQHIY8COG
“Karin… the moment you were taken hostage, you became an encumbrance.”
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSvRAOvR7Yz
.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRbushmzT8S
.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHZRDS4gQ5u
.
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDWIMNAdrs5
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.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIWwZT13Sck
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu8X6VqS5Yo
Sasuke hates it; having to repeat himself. But he moodily does, anyway. “What do you mean?”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkMEZM45v4i
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcGQjXBOKtw
Karin does not reply right away; and when she does, her voice is the softest Sasuke has heard it sound so far.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnI1Y2OWzlY
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyG57fc9bjy
“I always ended up loving you all the same,” she admits.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwkau0gaSz6
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXAbxCdVke1
Then she looks at him again, and Sasuke finds that he can’t look away.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdzVT4zGTPA
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0m6ebQ2pD5
“Always.”
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3tz65ist3f
.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk6VcqYAZUZ
.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlEvxX60dRk
.
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMkbZ6SHxuJ
It happens on a rainy night.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvlMMa3xh6n
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbV67df5s71
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkHC01z677l
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsxnROymF2f
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Cyu3xgEIg
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIttvCwDMD7
She hadn’t been.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡseshLfnpO3
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNs84RnBXLn
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCTwf4inl7d
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3DPJHPenEj
So much for not getting wet, she thinks, and it’s then that an umbrella is placed above her.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUpEoAsHH5A
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhJOw4lwKyd
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Bn3Q9h7p6
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡijcJMLBLXr
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYg6rsba1ZG
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI3Y8AWH3Qg
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIteSUWpIAC
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfBFF4lGkD3
But she can’t look away from him—and before she knows it her legs are moving and the rain no longer matters.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ23KkE27mpV
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdZtJeh90lN
By the time he has hung up, they’re standing at the next intersection and she is soaked from head to toe.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcIyhuQLfFJ
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMxCVvAAAMA
“Hey, you! Wait!”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9M8LFPm9ob
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnwBEe9L9bq
The business man slowly turns around, painfully so, confusion apparent on his face.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnRfN1CpUPo
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa2TUvARKmz
Onyx meets red and her heart skips a beat as his eyes widen ever so slightly.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmJgV45LhCT
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡga3tpXozKa
“Thank you,” she breathes out jaggedly and not exactly from the chasing, “for before.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmjdns6nNIC
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfSIvlrCJE4
“… 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.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdQNw2z8YeB
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFoszToXBOK
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?”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKhnRK1Idpx
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpoB8gAvZNU
He tilts his head to the side, long bangs falling across his face. “… Hn, down the street, you say?”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuug61r2lBm
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvutiD56ZPV
“Yeah. It’s less than a minute away,” she gulps, “so, what do you say?”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQVSQiZ2sV8
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrJ56uUvAmM
He smiles, and his whole face lights up. “I’d like that.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVkPRDuhrRQ
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVUcimQNOBR
By the time they place their orders, she is already in love with him.
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡszLJy0T4Ob
.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIEqYxvb2dk
.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgS7uX0C1Ex
.
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7JGsYDCaqs
He thinks that maybe he should be surprised, but the truth is that he isn’t.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgODXr7r5Mx
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLoBoxtkYDb
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVkEc7lnIzM
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBDCOuF3MNU
“… You did this on purpose, didn’t you?”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ4qbzG3CPa
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Wk2gacX3s
Karin blinks innocently, a direct contrast with the amused smirk shamelessly painted across her lips. “What do you mean, Uchiha-san?”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4enf6i4jDs
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYdend2QMbs
“Drop the act,” he glares, matter-of-fact. “You knew I worked here.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCqvf7m1peN
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlTfAYKGC5h
“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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW7Rclav7iW
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6DKELOb6tQ
'Always'.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmnmsLvOZfP
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbpoMJ7AsGe
“—so not my fault you basically own the damn city,” Karin finishes, and Sasuke blinks.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6KsV5vR3Ym
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3d2BISRuyg
“Huh?”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1q3rSi7y6s
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIK5bGLKlwO
She deadpans. “You weren’t listening, were you?”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNr0Eu0goT4
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqGsxBaRruk
“I was,” he lies through gritted teeth, prodded by some unexplainable force. Damn, why did he always have to bicker with this girl?669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZlb8Q7xW7m
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc4RgSgX9fb
“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—”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsWunUW4StV
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoM45OBGbYS
He all but groans. “Stop, Karin. Don’t bring that kind of talk here, someone may hear you.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTV1fuScWAQ
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtzr2HZh8CO
“Pft, so what?” she huffs, crossing her arms and swaying her hips again. “It’s not like I work here, right?”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhNhodWVAxH
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPxFBKmKvWM
Her tone and most specially the glimmer in her eye as she looks at him told him otherwise.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuKcAys9cIA
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5hJG5IouYf
Damn her.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNWiKhQKmnT
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrW4H3aeAeq
“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?”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgLVTWsuFgV
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnuam9z6JB8
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1PEmcw4DwN
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ1UyxwdvAs
As if reading his thoughts, Karin calls out to him from the door.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmb88vrvx1e
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaspWlqk984
“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?”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFC6tJo80rv
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5TnIykkMis
And for some unknown reason, Sasuke finds himself blushing.
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOp9CdNjTmj
.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWnZaM2Pf6V
.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3gunUgsv4M
.
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU3k67HEj2K
“I brought you the papers you requested,”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnsPAANndXW
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGHMlIH9yJd
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdyfW6L94mR
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXsQHFvs6Un
“Idiot,” she manages to reprimand between kisses, “what if someone sees us?”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3bilrzJzdj
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsFcA5J1RbN
“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.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrtRiegfzHF
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡChC0AGkLXt
“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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaGYXTPqGLn
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm5RxV4LsvG
“Any complains?”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFy7gAQGy1f
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2qz3JJCLtZ
“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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4AnvzPCwYl
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnknF8buEgv
She has a mission to accomplish—but he makes her forget soon enough.
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp7XI6TO3Nr
.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2b2iwyudWG
.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtFzJZud8oE
.
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcgPyFp98di
“I’ll have some Okonomiyaki, please.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXF7TPjLtDK
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡACjyvNPSdG
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIBc2qfdQB4
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh52SOKLGvx
“Whoa, Sasuke, That girl totally has a thing for you!”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0WX8oGnqdy
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2xFfoAGzHi
Sasuke rolls his eyes; he was so over this subject. “Tch, she and every other employee, what else is new.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcwX3UeGM25
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdBpBfGOFzP
Karin snorts, “Cocky, aren’t we? Do I need to remind you that I am one of your employees, too?”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡynEfqqKPv2
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiwN3tzNHXz
'Always'.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl6bL39YIVu
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIP1uRnjeKO
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ23ngs35q1i
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb9pxo41Ba9
“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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcaNK3phFuL
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcLn6wbkYFe
“You really are no fun, Sasuke.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyu5k0vRIHe
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Bv2VXDhAy
“Forget about that, Karin. You said you would tell me more about—”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZu0ex5rBhR
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtFkB4vEIaZ
“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.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKIxwSNcyXp
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUgCRAPOa8m
“Karin.”
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR0iVOc0nu7
.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiApv1Gq9Kb
.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ8rUgF3DcG
.
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQXN0sVSDjK
“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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlx82DwNbk3
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKJgqAguxSN
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNmHT4gneXy
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡICWfv96vfo
He is the first thing she sees when she comes out of the room.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbS0tlQwdMm
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYixZuLlwmS
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKcBF04kxl0
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMHfePLN98q
“…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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpDKNCavDbm
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa7XEAbKkIc
“Idiot,” she hisses, and means it. “You are hurt, let me—”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPoSYcicFbE
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUPQ8K65wjU
“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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdxKKuGUDBd
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡicTbzr3Rov
“…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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXyktwRfLIO
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡExLS7Eux5r
To her surprise, Sasuke snorts.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbKYOhPUwyj
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5YmjZsMv7P
“What?” she snaps.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0uEfsEFPel
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡre5cw2GPMv
“Nothing,” he says, and he is smirking. “Just, you’re the last person I want to hear that from, Karin.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMOgb36SOxP
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaxitU53xrr
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?”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb00ngjfeao
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ45lEtezLWg
He looks down at her from the corner of his eye, his smirk softening around the edges. “…I wonder.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLhOlHSHNN7
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡunaCaRhkxD
And despite her blood loss, her blush only deepens.
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9I1gYVuHcm
.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzjo8jGjw0t
.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡygfjgE1IaB
.
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ37VUi8OAuK
“Would you like more tea, Karin-chan?”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ35bytB7RPl
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFJoX20VtoY
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLEc8xk9hTU
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡagplXXi9Yc
“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.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ06CKbLMzBw
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3WDRV1gFSp
Sasuke huffs, halfheartedly batting his brother’s hands away. “I know that—moreover, when will you stop treating me like a child, Itachi?”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPHbOqx9ELO
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnDpFk5WLmL
“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?669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcgPb1tjb8G
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGDXzyfgVyN
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?”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEV9Y6xhUtX
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2ld2ktzCxW
Great. So she had been listening in, huh? He should have guessed.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMpn7E8YjKT
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnj5ut1fUjo
“Not quite,” Itachi replies, but Sasuke’s triumphant smirk is short-lived as his brother adds, “But almost.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Hi8CNoCim
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV1XsbqDI0L
“Brother!” he reproaches, causing the older boy to chuckle again and Karin to smirk widely.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj2azrXXEra
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNdMYsYaYuJ
“You’re unbelievable, Sasuke; I mean, I knew you were an unsocial prude, but almost no girlfriends? Seriously?”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb4m8JZXhnA
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ41WKmFDGSW
He glares, mortified to feel the by-now familiar sensation of his cheeks heating up. “Shut up, Karin.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0PrmFPd3ig
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDIKssS1ktQ
“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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbt1i4d1GCn
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKBhMwxvVWk
Damn you, brother.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY5n8RCtW3Z
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIalXDihe6X
“Hn, I don’t know what Itachi is talking about.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQBQRW4hBtx
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFgbeB6ILVU
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHJwWKyH4Xy
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ08NMFxMaTy
“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.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqUToeP93L9
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmtWMURZ5U3
Despite his better judgment, Sasuke can feel himself blushing. “Who said I’m enjoying myself?”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOKReFKkYib
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPEkR55onX3
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.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKeVgjgnS8m
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvbLIkWVAUv
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡef6HJznxig
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIzYmQLRgHV
“… 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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqRZF6ByN3K
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2P1GzIivJ1
“I know, dear. But, somehow… it feels like you two have known each other for a long time.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpvqrZX5KsO
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpQUzrFEzEv
Itachi says nothing—but the way in which he warmly squeezes Sasuke’s shoulder is eloquent enough.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvnBf6aptM4
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpCLxtPGY2Q
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.
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIHzHpXTPgZ
.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxkHlbqp7Ul
.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW00VbCpCBU
.
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV5InFXEuIR
“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?”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBnWNEoek7M
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgV55qTYhEY
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—669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHpPNdJOUqY
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDdxqTznDZ7
“Sasuke—hey, earth to Sasuke, are you listening? I was just saying that—”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuHUA4DbRzm
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA0cxyR2kno
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZFRtSqJijf
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgk3u45CXno
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡupIgP9frbH
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxHtECH4Bjd
“Raspberries,” he states, and that seems to get Karin off her trance, because she blinks at him.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0IBQirze1F
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkHIudU2K7q
And then she is grinning.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgY26ygHVJ3
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT9vVPxpAxt
“Had I known you would finally kiss me today, I’d have worn something less sweet.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkt4crOpe9u
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTS66OExcvM
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.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVk1MW2HB4T
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhunc3ZH4T1
“I know,” and her grin becomes a husky smirk as she tangles her fingers in his hair. “You’re too easy to read, Sasuke.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhDeqzxoak9
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr3x4xjVbA9
“Hn, you could have helped, then,” he says, but the truth is he is too lost in her to really mind.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3dztmJqUmX
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv3AZ78e0WS
“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.”
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlZeKlh8rrr
.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5KOemYApj7
.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhNxQ7U4gsg
.
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxh4EOGiQCB
“You won’t find anything better for a more reasonable price, I assure you, Uchiha-san. This is the absolute best—”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2xMNvdBpre
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN3rLysGBhO
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdNDeCuL0vQ
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ8y4mWV80h
“Excuse me.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkJEJHSNO9T
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVB73n70gKl
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmug4ATyp09
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKmhSCPYnf9
“This house is ours, Sasuke,”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6DQT1fjckr
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLNJ9caMMb3
Her fingers find their way around his, and Sasuke gives them a squeeze as he nods, his expression naturally mirroring her own.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG7sCoWZXj5
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr6bqnYxnCy
He could feel it, too.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvzEUoRQ3qZ
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ172pG9RvTx
Behind them, the realtor clears his throat but Karin cuts him short before he could get a single word out.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkcxLUI9eOR
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Ei0nbQdcP
“We’re buying it,” she states loud and clear, and she is positively glowing.
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdSnYzKEr9o
.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1RMA8L5gja
.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYF8Yf56qb3
.
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG44WDv1vZO
She can hardly believe it.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUYFNCbFTex
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDz9K4UIrkw
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3rfIAZgNwB
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZrpckJxzGG
It seemed like something straight out of one of those dramas she used to love to ridicule and secretly watch at the same time.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV3oPIrWiqp
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEDC8qGn5n8
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXXY8GT2hSL
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW1goYY3h8w
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMgqR7orVfL
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8oanGcG6kc
“What’s so funny?”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ39SmLQ8S9n
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKdJ4o2p8zL
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVnPXAhTSJU
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ3kcnwsx9F
“There’s just one thing off, though—” she observes, as an afterthought, “where’s my rival in love?”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6QacY4YhPL
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBZYiHKOpI8
“Nowhere,” he asserts, grave like only he could be about even the most foolish of things. “I am yours.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBoQaraKaVn
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAmMmdcL9KW
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaFJdgBaBjd
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiEXmR0pl8P
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.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPNw8XOCh5C
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6obiFznvgU
And he is breathing in her scent and tightly holding her in his arms—so tightly in fact that she can hardly breathe.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡocdi4am5g4
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMyNi20clJw
“S-asuke—” she chokes.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJH714Giszq
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ43vbvDSSO4
But he does not listen.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRPk40uUt6T
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDndNX4uzKe
“…mine.”
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6ENFaxqHCP
.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQZUrC0w9Qb
.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvr7r03F9jA
.
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKBGeMJ9wLm
She soundlessly sneaks behind him and leans her chin on his shoulder.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIM3WP0VT6R
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd8La99Z3OD
“Sewing again?”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEmQ5JpDov8
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOmjK2Ava8B
“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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpfniV1iIF3
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu2EWztQHSX
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.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMTljQQuwt3
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKwDhZGBVVp
“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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAMNrd8t7fw
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQeP3xL53WS
“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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEi8ExRWBtc
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuy8CbCj5Vk
“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?”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWA8xyQ2FEM
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfOZ7B457A6
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN6ByB2bi87
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLDy8WVmoUg
And he finds himself smiling at her back, like one of those love-sick fools he always used to make fun of.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV0J5hlG9XS
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfChHPKrUkC
But it’s just, back then—he had never thought someone could actually make him this happy.
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXUZxJr3Ly2
.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYchSXWm9dr
.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8UF7LgArwV
.
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2MMIqdNQJk
“Stop doing that, Sasuke.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSOeERBbsgN
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdfetR6RgWy
“Doing what?”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9pcTSsjXEC
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTRgFwpvK4j
“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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡraX9R6u7lz
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAOx9cvhi8R
“Or what?”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAumlIPaYmf
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoejZS9vsbM
“…Or I may fall in love with you, Uchiha.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN5PvqdUbSV
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo4tJJxRFYM
She is both elated and horrified to see how soft and harmless his usual menacing and intimidating smirk looks as he replies.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnUTgfHCF7B
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd4ZSJoWdNh
“… Maybe I wouldn’t mind that.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlfW8yPHzcl
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHe1AsKNEYH
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxMbBAa8eNp
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLDG9wVe5Yf
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWjpHWEbAn3
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdoerVzu9st
Only a minute would be enough for a spy as skilled as herself.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcblcF4SZUA
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡufDcicDqF5
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqHkzF02H3M
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpWRvaDexXh
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgR88xlJyYN
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡim2VymVHD1
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—669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr05XdQ0MoL
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkfMZJbFlHF
To forget the atrocities she would find if she did.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2yhnwIedSW
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeZB4X9Uo5h
And, really—who would have thought that a monster like Uchiha Sasuke was capable of making a face like that?
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsFFSdkYjjd
.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvgT8xohQQu
.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAlfMqc9NJL
.
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡveuNQ379pn
Sasuke was just putting a plate aside when the sound of porcelain breaking reaches his ears.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUvWsmo74tc
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4387F6sPpq
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeLUgY2Fjr0
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoaF4RnRpaX
“Karin,” he calls, drying his hands on his pants—and he misses the way Karin’s shoulders tense, her back stiffening. “Are you alright?”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡySvyk4fA9M
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVey8Gh6cgn
“Yeah,” she murmurs after a moment, and Sasuke blinks. She didn’t sound alright.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn6IokmUcbx
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD5SwTxe5Y5
“Karin,” he calls again, approaching her. “Leave that be, I’ll take care of it.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPZmfntMhSj
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz6el30vNB5
“I told you, it’s fine.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsq8mlvKxfE
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2ZBEFjPNBT
He frowns, concerned. “Karin—”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWTb21O8DRK
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOkeAXtVZug
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJUAVIrkC7f
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5tG7Ayk8FG
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqjWjiinwms
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaZ7hP5t8iC
“Sorry, Sasuke—I think I’ll go and lie down for a while.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡplE1G7lcv5
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnPRB9pDBMN
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkyYtrydDNv
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQLkxgOmZ93
He doesn’t know what he would do if he were to see that same fright reflected in her eyes again.
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM6te3lsjvn
.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmPfS8nMpXW
.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD3RjxgeJzd
.
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKGvA0VuZbL
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLIl8RGheew
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpYDezMlIrq
“S-sasuke, what—?”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbB7pIFQVE9
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvCTpwMWF8P
“Where were you, Karin?”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKdUVV6XIv5
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNb3fye4A3i
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUlbyd8l5aI
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfaXDqIWypq
It reeks of lighting and promises pain—it frankly terrifies her.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1k3ItpNpQc
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDwUENmfFkh
But she holds her ground.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwYuLjNvGOa
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9YVoHWN75c
“I—I was having lunch with my parents, Sasuke. They called to invite us today but you were at—”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPyYRDOFNzd
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBAjXSXWTmM
“Liar,” he grits out, and Karin’s blood runs cold. “I called them myself. You were not with them. So, where were you?”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAG69cXcmhF
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡulVPhKi0y5
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—”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4slqTWjlyG
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVzPGIfJyJi
“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?”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzFrH5R1ajI
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLxu5NqNMZY
“Sasuke, I—”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0lCqW3FOT4
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSAw58RkCjn
“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?”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxFz4nLk1Vu
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7vQSXjrtiI
A part of her hates herself for how easily the answer comes forth to her lips. For how true it remains. “… I do, Sasuke.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1FxBNHTBgB
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrsIfeHKpIA
She hears his smile, “Good. Then, you will stop seeing them, won’t you? Those girls.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKXTGxtMMF6
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgdfx8iZVRx
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.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL6o4EAGFQn
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZf5zoFQDDj
I want you all for myself—is what Karin hears instead, and she frowns. “Sasuke, you can’t be serious—they are my friends!”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRxgvvE04U6
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2hxQ41ik72
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?”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Sr2Wp9SNu
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ29L49E07Zm
“I—” yes, he is—was. Is.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvAYr7j5h9H
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuNUflWXt47
And that frightens her more than he possibly could.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0QTCsAEgir
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIjiIBeP4fD
“—alright, Sasuke… you win.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjauxkRAjQQ
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3xOG070pEc
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEYHluIV524
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgyGz60ZD7o
Even himself.
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgzxkAlxq2W
.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkmRvHkQDGp
.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjFKA3SsycV
.
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfOKvOMD7Ln
The silence is deafening. The unsaid drawing knots with his vocal chords, until he decides that enough has been enough.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9hfQipkaew
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqWsnTKwIrD
“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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmAkNKHCrmd
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuT5xbEY0cD
She doesn’t bulge. “What?”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ193Na0gHiz
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTXrSkQGNhm
And perhaps that’s what worries Sasuke the most.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDmTRlvyKfd
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3yMt56MO6V
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcVivrDdeXl
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoMmHOwhNTo
“Don’t try to avoid the subject, Karin. There is something you aren’t telling me, isn’t there?”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwI1HPCBBUA
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ40djeicra0
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtcH54VeT70
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS4nRo660Td
And Sasuke wants nothing more than to ask her to stop—but he is too scared to do so.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmzuXwRqjM8
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdqAJZhrhLz
“Eat, Sasuke. It’s going to get cold.”
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPXSmrl47tw
.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5oLEYmgqBZ
.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdQ3nzHK1cG
.
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbGqZmPAy5Q
He rolls the raspberries between his fingers, memories swirling in his head.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8eO5pYqD85
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuotC1KDrND
He has always had a very good memory; and throughout his life, it has proved to be a curse more often than a blessing.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqZj24T4Ygk
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvvKmiExYgn
In this case, it is both at once.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq8x8RHS0l8
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxmvfC5qmyT
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7U0gYplwOW
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGizsTSuYKY
A girl sending him off with a sad smile, and never looking back.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3ETbUFNHvh
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQimeNLwg3h
Broken promises.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7ep7P8Ju6l
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpOK0Lcqzgp
A call. A funeral.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfKuKROISyv
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIbkTwK3tKH
And tears.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWrIU0Q5WPE
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuZ9pbmyUs4
Heartbreak.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDvVs5C95CM
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCIXgXKPbsn
Loneliness.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7suqShaaS9
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEyHIgDQgLC
…then there was nothing else.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGHC5ydukUs
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT2eSNBSkGv
And then there was everything all over again.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPJNDhPBiMq
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKZwb35i5AV
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPTgICYqZnV
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvxnPOD4PWn
He can’t stop.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXP8ToQAisV
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkyYRARumuI
He does not want to.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzMlSCP43sn
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU0XSZ5I8nS
One of the raspberries snaps, juice rolling down his fingers—but he does nothing to clean it up.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIixy0fZifP
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8vNWbhfG46
The door creaks open.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9kw9taHw1o
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡClpfAeVwSq
“Uchiha-san, you have to eat.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLAuLC9eUog
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeRj44rUlnR
The nurse says, more out of habit than anything else; but he is too far away to hear—669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG8hICsYbxH
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnrAeU7hT1S
(“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.)669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrpFAX1cgiT
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPLIfDcYzEX
—and it’s been a year since the patient of the room 723 has pronounced a single word.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ50e9T4OfFZ
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOJu4IfGCO0
(And a five-year old Karin is smiling.)
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw9RtF7We5s
.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKHfMvIctOE
.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJpQVKEzTyB
.
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4O42MeIatr
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3kuXKmzDgD
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1UWKdtO09j
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrhKWz7jA4h
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡohBHvv5dNg
Karin was sitting on the bed, unnaturally straight and still; her eyes vacant and unseeing, telltale trails of dried tears on her cheeks.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhrHwvTFT6l
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVKVWG5jfMh
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡryY2fuM47z
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMosdx48ips
“Karin…” his voice is faint; a tentative call more to spur himself into motion than to reach her. “Karin, what’s wrong?”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLCVs3PO92F
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVXTw8gij82
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSqLEUSA86t
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFTWl9rgw9t
And then she parts her lips.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡibpJkhJluQ
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ13VKc9CpYr
“Sasuke… I had a dream… a new one.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNEcAiPybTi
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT4nWEc3uC9
Sasuke swallows; what could she have possibly seen to put her in such a state?669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4u4QeS25Ty
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuv42DdhlNa
“Karin, I…” the redhead simply shakes her head, and to his ever-growing alarm there are fresh tears dripping from her eyes.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDeYGzeLeog
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV2lPzG77Z8
“Forget it, Sasuke… it’s better if you do.”
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6YtfXVhAsG
.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSBeZu0Af4O
.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo3hRQBwcUk
.
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCIoQt3ovvV
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuj6hO2Q6Dl
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtD2OySMSXY
“Stop it, Karin. You were not supposed to care about him—”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4FhJJ5PcjS
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNps34qi7Q8
“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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRhepMSGv1H
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDRjUYnhH7n
It makes something in her tightly clench.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTSst3ynYoL
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ5Nh04bdBF
“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.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXNuBXc7J5Y
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8MxdDSnOzZ
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwDqAXFRWgv
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCuvgTteA5b
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9d4Jf1AqYZ
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZCRT0pCn8Z
She can hear them coming from her, and she knows she won’t be able to escape—but that was fine.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqFsJbznZYX
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7LRYeAHk5W
She would take as many of them as she possibly could before going down, and—669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpMp9kdiFiZ
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyLPbeuinBY
“…we’ll meet soon, Sasuke.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLUhGfCt0Gv
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIcad52mey1
—and Sasuke had always liked souvenirs.
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxgTLgA0lQt
.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Aem19vaBW
.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa3pvBFlNWY
.
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp99Ptd0DRA
He is crudely woken up by Karin screaming his name.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkpK7rTrsen
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhZ5LOUI7k4
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm46aQgomDh
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW77Z9aSTua
In fact—she seemed to only be getting worse.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkyNsldGJPQ
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWOAUso4BPW
“Sasuke, no—!”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXUWf0IXYxK
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZkHtls0iEu
“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—”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT4Evqlahof
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8bNeMpVwQR
But his sincere promise is cut short by her terrified sob.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbxcRUbhp3K
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeb4yLc7deW
“N-no, Sasuke—get away from me!”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcArmMBrher
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOngrpbwgCQ
Sasuke jumps back, as if burnt. “W-what…?”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBFcefVeXXk
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4glPh9RG2F
He could not believe his ears—she was frightened—of him?669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiM71jUV4Nc
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkHK23qzhuf
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhsE0UJIw8Y
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHAUjmC569c
‘… They weren’t always nice, Sasuke. They rarely were.’669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ19eTJ5LMwN
‘What weren’t?’669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPTw28WWtOW
‘...You.’669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBnPxZEPfFW
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDTTSJzdB3T
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSgctJvH1fI
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8x8UAhfitT
Ghosts he has started to fear, too.
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEwxHKasuHN
.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOWmP9TdPl4
.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGZGdN7URyO
.
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2QsH5Qtkch
“Karin,” he whispers affectionately, caressing her cheek with his right hand, “I need you.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxpRt3zjD6k
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNKJcwQzsU2
Karin swallows the knot in her throat and forces her knees to remain firm, “I—I know, so plea—”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ50hJU61mdN
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwg6hJJKKaU
“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.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡksssCf2De7
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Lcadc3qkB
“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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5tBmUjMvWn
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAXyGgny6K5
“I’ll see you soon… Karin.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd1yS5JFmcZ
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNOPPLSZ2dw
He says, and his words are as loud as the gunshot that follows.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWlNb1VhkO6
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ5LSGyhW3P
And then her lifeless body is crumbling to the ground, his soon to follow.
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdII6v6US1P
.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxdwUjyO4Ps
.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpKSQDnYNF6
.
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKws3JXSlc9
“What was I doing to you?”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs545s7wQDP
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl55zvDryeK
“… I don’t remember.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxVpAjHKIAO
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnmKmVxNA3c
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrUyl31JPtq
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvLQqCmZLNR
But he has played that game long enough.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBhqiP6es6E
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS2Zc9CMGEZ
He cannot continue to allow himself to remain blissfully unaware while she battles on her own.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2frgu25EKo
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa8YLQO36GM
“Don’t lie to me, Karin.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw51DhHIYnT
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2B20mwPcsN
“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.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2S1Gz4XBp1
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrUGO0Z2QSP
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwGnS1K3quw
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBjpxAwfUA3
“…Tell me the truth, Karin.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNq7RlOlzus
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXU7Tzq0Ixm
Karin takes a deep breath, and Sasuke braces himself.
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtkZ8NjFS4p
.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw21VP4wYpt
.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU0rjxYeZdg
.
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr4h4gXeI1i
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlVJpvWhlvf
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBHtglZLw6n
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—669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtbH5pYZHvO
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVj7rzihAtL
And her name leaves his lips in the form of a horrified call—one that is cut short by her strained smile.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ72jPq5RVzD
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfKoyQ8b6V0
“Idiot, I… told you… to move, Sasuke…”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe6lDU78McT
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ08qrrvJID8
“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—”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXYwcdH3YjJ
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7ow3CFUqAl
“Sa…suke,” and though her voice is nothing but a dying whisper, he is rendered silent at once. “Promise me… you won’t… die.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXqg2zoJ9pJ
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUFBhSUXgQe
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—”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡACLPwZ2XLk
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0mteOFkoHp
“—make you… regret it… I know,” her smile looks like unleashed tears. “I admit… this… wasn’t exactly… what I had… in mind.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr9lrTAGkbC
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYt6j8BKDIX
There is a choked sob—and he barely registers it is his own.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCw7Bqz04aP
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb99lvAwJZd
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡplGGrzszhS
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX5QgyvNm0S
“Don’t… all I want…ed… is for you… to smile… like that day.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK5BYk9k9BH
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDLP7sGDeKV
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHZGWpGj8Lk
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡooi3O5BqKJ
And she slips away through his hesitation like he had always slipped through her fingers.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpSkdvvpDpq
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIZkQ6iMJlk
“See ya… Sasuke.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzwaKVd5Xcl
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmuBfMLy8JO
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHFY2eYwdqE
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHTCO17yUZB
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—669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyCL3nzyeyl
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0BCBW0SiVG
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.
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNyMYIxX9NP
.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLCRIxvbfzY
.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOAaZTeMm1k
.
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgwQMtUbFt2
A terrible silence has descended upon them.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ34v52cROi1
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFOPsDfUxws
He has retreated to the edge of the bed, his elbows sinking on his knees and his horrified face cradled in his shaking hands.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR0VghLiT1E
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGIXDTAqQRB
“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?”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcJKAgotZBs
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuCR8dKE2re
Karin watches his desolated back and has a hard time swallowing the lump in her throat, “Because… they are not you, Sasuke.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg3xeP6blKH
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL0EJbu4Fov
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRiNM1Hud0K
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrl8qvJMlEo
“And, above all…”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9IDHDQXPXq
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6YTmMr0RLq
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7i3saImyfy
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhCDNO2wmo9
“…Above all, I want to see how this one ends.”
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSXup9hvgOD
.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQkYgmOwSur
.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnAUS1GPPJD
.
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZtBrejphKo
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUKkkfvEUu1
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdEXRGwgNSu
Except that it doesn’t get to.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6eSFpMiuUr
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmWRRPYAXkp
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgBBcJVfi9t
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVExAG9vvww
“See ya.”669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6XiIjJO5sp
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi2b9oAvfXm
This is what I give,669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqM93DuncvD
A circle is complete.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuM3bQ71mgr
Another circle spins669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDeysBbegCz
There's life within,669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUkERciHaAj
Within
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUiFuMWeScW
end.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjTFUB2xohl
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnDvw4WBR7z
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj0sxqi8MXz
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU5IjSkRB8y
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.669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCQC0HTVy2n
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz0niCliUXz
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~!669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡViq8eZw7Pu
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡipTqBR57Hy
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 lol669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg3lXekeQ5S
669Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLIMb8zfoOT
Thanks for reading! ♥
Tags: fanfic, karin, naruto, sasukarin, sasuke
ns216.73.216.82da2
