[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~!600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZLi7a8KUxc
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By: Kanae (Goth-Punk88 @ ff.net)600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIRpdSEULsK
Rating: M (some suggestive scenes, and some violence.)600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCRYAJR4C2p
Word Count: 8.810600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG3CxcWblDl
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.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmyl0rl6Ctr
Warning: Some OOC-ness due to the fact that I'm working with future SK... among other things you will soon realize lol600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYKoifwlS7B
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.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBwTkb3w949
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A heartbeat that awakens from the ashes.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpcbsRV3XPN
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To the stars that played with the darkness600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMUg5kmf5mT
I sang of love and burned up completely
Wildfire600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9YracReeZ5
by Kanae600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXdSNzI1QaT
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It happens a hot Thursday afternoon as he goes through the tourniquets of the subway and catches a glimpse of red from the corner of his eye.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTlqGxyuUKa
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Something in his chest tightens.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpqsEBfR3J9
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He is looking back before he knows it, uncharacteristically standing still as his eyes seek the source of the red; a girl’s ponytail.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoxwlGC2WkO
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Just a girl.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMkVGJ4ye9M
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Sasuke all but snorts, mildly shaking his head and turning away in wonderment.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXjmLiKJfOH
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He misses the way the girl stops, her back straightening as if bolted.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdwgo0fEcQi
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He has almost reached the escalators when someone steps in front of him, blocking his way—and he can’t help the slight widening of his eyes as he realizes who it is.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl2nQ6UVbtW
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The girl.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP0N33OAC3q
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The redhead.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbu77D1EXxE
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“Sorry,” she says, and she is a little out of breath. Had she run to catch up with him? “Do I know you?”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFQ1OwqV4EC
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An alien reply makes its way from his chest up to the tip of his tongue, but Sasuke does not recognize it—and before he can even deem it worth his time, it is gone. And all that remains is the same disinterest from before. Just a girl.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZc7pCdZLCt
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“Don’t think so,” he replies, trying to sidestep her—but the girl blocks his way again.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZLdIVkAjMW
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“No, I do know you. I mean—” Sasuke narrows his eyes, irritated, but the girl looks too caught up in her thoughts to notice, “I have dreamed of you.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4gKaQkG3cl
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Sasuke gives her a blank stare and the girl turns a little pink. “I-I mean,” she stammers, pushing her glasses further up her nose. The gesture stirs something inside of Sasuke, and it is powerful enough to the point he almost misses her next words “I know it sounds weird, but—”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH8D1VmewQV
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“You’re right,” Sasuke agrees, clenching his jaw and walking past her.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD7YLf0dmGU
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“Wait!” she calls, and Sasuke finds his legs answering in kind even before his name comes out of her lips. “Y—your name is… Sasuke, isn’t it? Uchiha Sasuke.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMhVrh7ikDH
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“… So what?” his reply is brisk, and it comes out through gritted teeth. This was ridiculous; both the girl and his reactions to her. What had come over him, anyway? He has never seen this chick. Ever. “Knowing that is no feat.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzvKe06Ur1T
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It wasn’t. More than a quarter of the city knew his family’s name. Knowing who he was simply was part of the package.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3K3JBjQCYZ
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She falls quiet—and Sasuke thinks the odd conversation has come to an end.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg9vMd1Yby6
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He was severely mistaken.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡco9W2hqQa7
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“And, when you were eight…” she suddenly whispers, her voice vague, “when you were eight, your mom gave you a dinosaur-shaped toy.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Rv3Fy7EaJ
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Sasuke’s eyes widen, his body freezing upright. Her voice gains momentum. “You said it was childish, and pretended to have thrown it away; but you still have it.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEKCSBgLf0J
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It is slowly that he turns towards her, eyes narrowed and heart galloping inside his chest. “How…?”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgpQUh3hgy3
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Obsidian meets pointed red, and it is something in the calculating edge of her gaze more than her words that which turns Sasuke’s skin into gooseflesh. “…You keep it locked in a box inside your closet, just like you keep locked away that irrational fear of yours of losing them someday.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFNP5dTBsDw
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Them. His parents. The one thing he has never told anyone—not even his brother. The one thing he has never been able to face, regardless of how much he has tried to do so.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU0CpdDUv5r
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He wants to say something—anything—but words just won’t come. He feels utterly intimidated and exposed before this stranger; before this redhead whose lips quirk up in the barest traces of a smile, her shoulders relaxing.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGwewFTvR2i
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“Come on, there’s a café down the street, we can talk there.” She does not wait for a reply, simply reaching out and taking a hold of his sleeve—and as she pulls him towards the escalators, Sasuke feels an unexplainable sense of déjà vu.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEElJ6R6dbZ
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“Let me go,” he mutters, though he can’t find it in himself to oppose any resistance. “I can walk by myself.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbX9kG0B9Ts
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She does not let go of him.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX3Rp5SWqMy
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And the déjà vu only worsens.
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“Come with me, Karin. I need you.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGUQ2OA90NI
“Huh?! Why should I go anywhere? I’m in charge of this place!”
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“They started… around 3 months ago, I think,” the girl—Karin—says, after the waitress has brought them their respective orders; Sasuke, a black coffee, Karin, a cappuccino with amaretto.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡed65VGDXIL
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“The… dreams?” he questions, and feels utterly ridiculous just by saying it.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3mFKxLzG9N
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“Yeah, the dreams,” Karin agrees, taking a sip of her coffee and giving him a pointed look over the brim of the cup. “At first they were sporadic. Just once every few nights or so, but then I started to get them every night… every single night.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf37mzCRfH6
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“And these… dreams, of yours. They were about me?”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYBZsWXwgfq
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“Not all of them,” she retorts thoughtfully, if not a little defensively; but then she shrugs. “But you were always there.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5iG08LQUAt
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“Doing what, exactly?”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0hufjfJ5k0
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“A lot of things. Fighting, mostly. You were a ninja, sometimes. Both of us were.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6ZqFB72ORY
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“…A ninja?”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVJUMTEUO3L
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“Yeah. A very powerful one, at that. Don’t—” she warns, before Sasuke could have the chance to interrupt with a snide remark. “I know how ridiculous it sounds, but it’s the truth.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUTQ67GhcxN
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He crosses his arms with an eye roll. “That still does not explain how you knew about the dinosaur.” Just mentioning the toy makes a wave of embarrassment wash over him, but he tries to keep at bay and not let it show.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnOchwAfm4U
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Karin smiles, and the gesture looks sour. “Not every dream took place in the same world, Sasuke. Those—the ones where we were shinobi, those were the firsts, and also the most recurrent. But I have seen you as you are, too. And as you were.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVvLNnuLIqZ
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“… What do you mean, exactly?” he prods with narrowed eyes.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaDSEB5Yh0y
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It’s her turn to cross her arms. “Tch, you already know, don’t you? You’re smart, Sasuke. Don’t take me for a fool.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3dEYjGBdzB
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Sasuke frowns. He didn’t like her tone, and neither did he like where she was going with this. “Reincarnations?”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCAG0dUHr0i
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Karin snaps her fingers, “Bingo.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm2pfQK0JCP
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Sasuke snorts. “That’s ridiculous.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXPS3zYVihb
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“I know you don’t believe in them, Sasuke. But that doesn’t mean they do not exist.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnuAgQxEHqK
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“Stop,” Sasuke demands, his patience running thin at being lectured by a complete stranger. “Stop talking as if you know me, Karin. You don’t.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHWEVzU2g7K
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“Actually, I do,” Karin shoots back without missing a beat, her red eyes steadily holding his even despite his threatening glare. “And from the looks of it, I know you better than you know yourself—stay there, Sasuke,” she stresses, and his glare only intensifies. He hadn’t even had the enough time to move a muscle. “I am not finished yet.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMNXWYuwMJe
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“But I am done hearing your bullshit.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL6351eKaJC
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Karin blinks at him and then promptly snorts. “The you in my dreams was nicer to be around, I’ll give you that.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0ipgKHkocE
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He feels insulted, but he stays. And a little smirk quirks up Karin’s lips; as expected, that smirk said.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvIQqeQaL7G
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But any comments he may have had about her arrogance promptly disappear as the redhead utters her next words.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyo2ecFsdUi
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“I know why you’re so afraid of losing your parents, someday.”
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“Shhh” she coos, cradling his trembling form in her arms and making him sink his face on her chest. It’s her favorite new shirt and it’s getting soaked and soiled by his tears and the soot, but her heart is too busy breaking over him and his pain and her mind is too shaken by the explosion and the death—by the smell of burnt flesh, by the screaming figures of his parents and brother as they were consumed by the fire.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl1U3oHCckb
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“Shhh, Sasuke, it will be alright,” she isn’t sure if she believes what she is saying. Not when there are tears beginning to leak from her own eyes and dripping onto his hair—not when his sobs twist her soul and worsen the despair. Why did this have to happen to them? Why did they have to—? “I promise you, it will be alright, we will get through this.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYMS5yEMfPb
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They. Because that was all that was left, now. She was all he had left.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDBlQ7GwVNL
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“We will get through this,” she repeats, because they would. They had to.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2QjgZU4lAe
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“You’re not alone. I’m with you, Sasuke. I won’t ever leave you,”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyWwI3bCVu3
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Despite her bravado her voice breaks at the end and Sasuke clutches her shirt—holds onto her for dear life and hastily pulls her together again.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9K7Vt3cQuO
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“I promise.”
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Sasuke fists his hands to prevent them from shaking as his very soul seemed to be doing. He sets his jaw, tries to regularize his breathing and his pulse—tries to not show any signs of inward struggle.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKgcUHHUZhA
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No that it would make much of a difference, since Karin was deliberately keeping her attention elsewhere. She had barely looked at him from the moment she started to tell him all she knew—all she had seen—about his parents, and weren’t he so troubled by everything he heard, he would have realized he was thankful for her tact.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvr14xvk5sJ
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As things were, however, his brain was having troubles assimilating Karin’s words; how his parents had died over and over again. Killed by his brother (by his brother, out of all people! What kind of bullshit was that?), in an accident, in a fire—Sasuke had tuned out, then. The images such stories enticed were too vivid, too troubling—they made the hairs on his arms stand on end, made cold droplets of sweat roll down his neck.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlFrtlbE9Nz
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Everything was preposterous, absolutely unbelievable—and even then he could not dismiss a word she had said, even though he desperately wanted to. Something in the way she had spoken—in the way her voice had quivered, her stare grave and set on her lap—and even more so, something in the things she had known; habits that Mikoto and Fugaku had and that no one but him and Itachi would know about, made her words all the harder to shake off.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQdEUXlgFSt
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So he aims for the next best thing—he tries to push the thought aside and latches onto another one, one that has slowly but surely been demanding his attention.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwQF4odglov
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“… Where do you fit into all that?” he murmurs, and has to swallow to help ease his dry throat. “Why is it you, and not me, who is having these dreams?”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCOaqCyGc8V
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The ghost of a smile touches her lips, “I don’t know. I guess it’s because you’ve closed yourself off, again,” it fades. “You always close yourself up.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9sg6Qm3zf9
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He has really run out of patience. “Stop with the riddles, will you? Just answer!”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhjzpk2lD8F
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Karin hardens her expression, her eyes squarely meeting his own. “In that first world, I was your teammate. In the second, I was your friend. In the third, your lover.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6SIGI2b1f9
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Sasuke cannot really help the way he feels his throat clog up, his cheeks warm. So he fakes a cough, looks away; “And this is the fourth?”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcHCaKf6PwX
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Karin shrugs, unfazed.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ24pfUCAvZS
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“I don’t know, I guess there may be more. I haven’t remembered them yet, though.” Her voice lowers, “…I don’t know if I want to, either.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBUCFMrBbHk
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That catches his attention. “What do you mean?”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcdVESsd21j
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“… They weren’t always nice, Sasuke. They rarely were.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡebl8yjmyUe
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Sasuke arches one eyebrow, curious. “What weren’t?”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpL40xRPrVV
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For the first time since they got there, Karin squirms in her seat.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVd2n1Hz270
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“...You.”
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There is lighting prickling her skin and piercing her chest; it has missed her heart by an inch, a miracle improbable enough to be deliberate—but one that is a curse in disguise, for his eyes do not miss the mark.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs6KCdBYmWI
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They hit the bulls-eye dead on its center, and she feels it freeze and then wither and die, disintegrating into a worthless pile of ashes that, with every single word he says, scatter like the wind—never to be recovered again.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIu5XGXgHIy
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“Karin… the moment you were taken hostage, you became an encumbrance.”
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She leans her head on her propped up palm, and the pair of red eyes that were fixed into his look sage and tired all of a sudden. “…But I guess it never made much of a difference.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZnrzu6rLWY
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH016OILnQg
Sasuke hates it; having to repeat himself. But he moodily does, anyway. “What do you mean?”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj3LSLDCnGZ
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8xZUGmJJ9F
Karin does not reply right away; and when she does, her voice is the softest Sasuke has heard it sound so far.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPMXYPZ5fQ8
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI7RKDq0Gpm
“I always ended up loving you all the same,” she admits.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVg2QyAprQz
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Q4FjCjjxJ
Then she looks at him again, and Sasuke finds that he can’t look away.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZzhH2jCAhS
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgj24fvFclB
“Always.”
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It happens on a rainy night.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXxWCqH7iLW
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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.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSG6KFJ8gFM
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOJV5UggefX
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.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyJ9JxaXccn
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She hadn’t been.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtnYvOUP5Xx
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHluRgfjMQu
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.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNVDosOvZ0k
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdmkUk8D01u
So much for not getting wet, she thinks, and it’s then that an umbrella is placed above her.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUF2PeOvKdb
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrPAvSkCT82
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.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP7DSY7Hjro
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVS0K8dby3u
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.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbhUBFFqzVx
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcVBNnPhZWh
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.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNCgqifbPWu
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3iwovstguS
But she can’t look away from him—and before she knows it her legs are moving and the rain no longer matters.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSMsoeU9irB
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQt7xfBESrI
By the time he has hung up, they’re standing at the next intersection and she is soaked from head to toe.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdySJV6Fygc
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“Hey, you! Wait!”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0YbenZ7f1B
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The business man slowly turns around, painfully so, confusion apparent on his face.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGmJsGbX9t0
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGUuzEyWWFY
Onyx meets red and her heart skips a beat as his eyes widen ever so slightly.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxxKL8Wty4C
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzf6GUGF2aF
“Thank you,” she breathes out jaggedly and not exactly from the chasing, “for before.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFVUw7XazyJ
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgpKIHZp00t
“… 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.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCQPD9V9MRo
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL9xensdxMl
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?”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh5e7VEOiTc
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeP0zRkFJyI
He tilts his head to the side, long bangs falling across his face. “… Hn, down the street, you say?”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZClxKwS9OU
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS9TsbRZ4Fy
“Yeah. It’s less than a minute away,” she gulps, “so, what do you say?”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRGVC1vaujR
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmalmEYshdq
He smiles, and his whole face lights up. “I’d like that.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU97XSVtsPr
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6SLkHPLaII
By the time they place their orders, she is already in love with him.
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He thinks that maybe he should be surprised, but the truth is that he isn’t.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhZORwz7jWT
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5o3FvV6sWr
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.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDFR6eUmYPy
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3mixgtFnzt
“… You did this on purpose, didn’t you?”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEpF6fzFgYn
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Karin blinks innocently, a direct contrast with the amused smirk shamelessly painted across her lips. “What do you mean, Uchiha-san?”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLWWiDe36l5
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD3ReImHME4
“Drop the act,” he glares, matter-of-fact. “You knew I worked here.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2bq9UCmGHm
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoCqzydKEy7
“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.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2NL5QavJrh
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8YgcNmo5Dr
'Always'.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF23GjvAdvV
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“—so not my fault you basically own the damn city,” Karin finishes, and Sasuke blinks.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaHAWywC037
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“Huh?”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4HWDjeCuQH
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She deadpans. “You weren’t listening, were you?”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTO2urolPqg
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiSw53r3UyB
“I was,” he lies through gritted teeth, prodded by some unexplainable force. Damn, why did he always have to bicker with this girl?600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvUEM2ut8dv
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXgogR4Dr2y
“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—”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJybGu3ICUD
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He all but groans. “Stop, Karin. Don’t bring that kind of talk here, someone may hear you.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAiKojkYr6d
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDnwPEa93Gn
“Pft, so what?” she huffs, crossing her arms and swaying her hips again. “It’s not like I work here, right?”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZtljJEJSlM
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2gSsnjIpyZ
Her tone and most specially the glimmer in her eye as she looks at him told him otherwise.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRw1MrvPEPX
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Damn her.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡREadLgC1lx
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDrms4dfte6
“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?”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXCLVWdPc5w
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlVZbNy6oVo
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.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQjruuZtu6C
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNMlHsFhW2L
As if reading his thoughts, Karin calls out to him from the door.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYJyJL4AlCm
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZPMMJCMTjF
“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?”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuVL1dd0vJW
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPOqgyYmAb9
And for some unknown reason, Sasuke finds himself blushing.
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“I brought you the papers you requested,”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ44GqNMjD79
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She has barely finished the sentence when he has her pressed against the door and is claiming her mouth with his own, his hands roaming across her back and then down as she skillfully locks the door.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4RXoTatH1e
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBhUIXipuuL
“Idiot,” she manages to reprimand between kisses, “what if someone sees us?”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnB5ETvr1n1
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqbDHpEIsyX
“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.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV8kLv8ypxW
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt1KW82wk1n
“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.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOjxhBpYUmK
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“Any complains?”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQcVfSsELx3
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“Yeah… stop teasing me and get on with—ahh” she moans, her nails scrapping at the door as his head gets lost inside her skirt, his hands spreading her thighs apart.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV0xBNppQaC
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She has a mission to accomplish—but he makes her forget soon enough.
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“I’ll have some Okonomiyaki, please.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgHkrS3exAn
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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.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg3UrzAyRvk
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡatfYYHTNNm
“Whoa, Sasuke, That girl totally has a thing for you!”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNXb5e5Os8G
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYAHY1MQEHP
Sasuke rolls his eyes; he was so over this subject. “Tch, she and every other employee, what else is new.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgX4cE2NmNA
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrppPXtcZOo
Karin snorts, “Cocky, aren’t we? Do I need to remind you that I am one of your employees, too?”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKP0QDwz7Kz
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'Always'.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2D2iSC32CS
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Against his better judgment, he can feel all too easily the way his cheeks start to warm up. What was up with him and blushing around this girl? He was never like this, ever.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW0tXht7Ic0
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHamtJ5KTv2
“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.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOHluXHxAIf
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9vbydMKgTD
“You really are no fun, Sasuke.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCVYFHjLOMX
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwjviewP01k
“Forget about that, Karin. You said you would tell me more about—”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7LJdcKJGDk
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV18w1da7AZ
“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.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEYJ8AyGTbP
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“Karin.”
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“This is enough for today, thank you for your cooperation, Karin,” she knows better than to give weight to his agreeable words. The way he doesn’t even look at her, too busy being transfixed by her blood instead, says everything she needs to know.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc9zuOuYur4
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpaIXJ9Y9tX
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.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVeQjTFPpRY
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUNy9WwJPzj
He is the first thing she sees when she comes out of the room.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8KqNRSAyz2
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB8XV41uEGs
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.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbCTSxxOl8a
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX0Tm0rVZKK
“…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.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrjcAWFDSLE
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWKfmMxOE5g
“Idiot,” she hisses, and means it. “You are hurt, let me—”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡppb0cP9bxz
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHIW3FAQdHF
“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.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtepxuKmlhc
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp4VeA8jSlZ
“…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.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDNIUoXL9mB
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To her surprise, Sasuke snorts.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7PL5TDsZlp
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“What?” she snaps.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZXneiODjjb
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“Nothing,” he says, and he is smirking. “Just, you’re the last person I want to hear that from, Karin.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP29mjsSZ55
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfJYrmKS958
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?”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxJhLbpJ1Ka
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcL4JlFZGeG
He looks down at her from the corner of his eye, his smirk softening around the edges. “…I wonder.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0OLiKQsSkF
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And despite her blood loss, her blush only deepens.
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“Would you like more tea, Karin-chan?”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡehxCUjQT80
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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.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUAF6DoDRTi
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFbi9aD2oI1
“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.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaachDPtzLm
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2VxuIdz5D9
Sasuke huffs, halfheartedly batting his brother’s hands away. “I know that—moreover, when will you stop treating me like a child, Itachi?”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk7sFwjD0DC
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoCp1vP3eHw
“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?600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyJVwcgLPix
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcrEyFl1MIe
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?”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiAN8xF4cHl
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ16BtcQZxAu
Great. So she had been listening in, huh? He should have guessed.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvRe94wzH2o
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“Not quite,” Itachi replies, but Sasuke’s triumphant smirk is short-lived as his brother adds, “But almost.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTiC47yFz3k
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“Brother!” he reproaches, causing the older boy to chuckle again and Karin to smirk widely.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwenNtA3YzJ
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4s7Tvr2oxJ
“You’re unbelievable, Sasuke; I mean, I knew you were an unsocial prude, but almost no girlfriends? Seriously?”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCEJFvW23Uj
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUlCfA6zC2S
He glares, mortified to feel the by-now familiar sensation of his cheeks heating up. “Shut up, Karin.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtea211GaMp
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“I would say that more than that, what is so remarkable is that this is the first time he brings home a girl who isn’t his girlfriend.” Itachi comments, his tone kind but knowing—and as Karin looks away from the older Uchiha and towards Sasuke, giving him a look that seemed to be clearly flaunting a oh, is that so? Sasuke airily looks away.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7kpLf7C1mm
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Damn you, brother.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUYsVv98xtM
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“Hn, I don’t know what Itachi is talking about.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXSpZR1eQfa
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A twinkling laughter resounds through the room, effectively cutting the argument short; and the three of them turn only to find Mikoto standing by the doorway, a tray of biscuits in her hands and a happy beam in her beautiful face.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoNGBMAIagq
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“It seems you three are having fun,” she merrily observes, graciously moving to leave the tray on the tea-table. “I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen Sasuke enjoy himself this much.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ78W4Rq1OB0
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Despite his better judgment, Sasuke can feel himself blushing. “Who said I’m enjoying myself?”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNNpXubhRyD
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But his indignant mutter remains promptly ignored as Mikoto takes Karin’s hands in hers and gives her a glowing smile. “You’re good for my son, Karin-chan.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2UFVv0lTKw
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For a moment, the room is submerged in silence—even Karin herself is rendered speechless, and while in any other circumstance Sasuke would have reveled in seeing the girl this flustered—widened eyes, a pink hue in her cheeks—the truth is this time, it only adds to his own awkwardness.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu7wyi6ag9v
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSXLeNqhxYA
“… 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.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJMDoZ5bNg3
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiVJyZCGR9u
“I know, dear. But, somehow… it feels like you two have known each other for a long time.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe3OEx6qFJS
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Itachi says nothing—but the way in which he warmly squeezes Sasuke’s shoulder is eloquent enough.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM490tJ0yBB
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG8fKsfyweG
Wordlessly, Sasuke and Karin seek each other’s eyes across the room—and he wishes he wasn’t aware of the way he was slowly starting to mirror her smile.
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“It’s so stupid,” she assesses, looking at the field with apparent disinterest, “I mean, running like idiots after a ball, really? Pft, where’s the fun in that?”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY2yzfKJMRA
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Sasuke would have been inclined to agree; if only he were listening to what she was saying. Instead, he has found himself distracted from his own homework by the way the sun seemed to be lighting her hair just so—by the way her ponytail exposed the stark whiteness of the nape of her neck; by the way she absentmindedly bit on her pencil from time to time as she read, brows furrowed in confusion or eyes light up with understanding—and she would tilt her head to the side then, stick her chin out with self-satisfaction—and Sasuke—600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1sgv0ytC25
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF9a8Dhx7EX
“Sasuke—hey, earth to Sasuke, are you listening? I was just saying that—”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnOgjPHY3DY
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNKVwDRZzBu
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.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI03Iejq9V7
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ5IVGqeHA1
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.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWzE8mam5ZK
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0LR10QQvLj
“Raspberries,” he states, and that seems to get Karin off her trance, because she blinks at him.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwKgFy3Rl5o
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And then she is grinning.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbehaAqeF3k
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“Had I known you would finally kiss me today, I’d have worn something less sweet.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvesoXuTUxe
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He can’t help but smile back. “I almost did, yesterday,” he reveals, as he carefully takes her glasses off. “And the day before that. And the one before that.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu57pXuVFQi
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“I know,” and her grin becomes a husky smirk as she tangles her fingers in his hair. “You’re too easy to read, Sasuke.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxBruZTGI2S
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“Hn, you could have helped, then,” he says, but the truth is he is too lost in her to really mind.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0ONxfJczs9
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“Not a chance,” their noses touch and her voice lowers to a mere brush of air against his lips, “…it’s too fun to watch you squirm.”
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“You won’t find anything better for a more reasonable price, I assure you, Uchiha-san. This is the absolute best—”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEusQSEqZv9
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He goes on and on, but the words of the realtor start to become nothing but background noises as Sasuke’s gaze is caught by Karin’s vibrant red hair.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZvEjP588EU
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“Excuse me.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYoqXdsc5NN
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTh08NN8QP6
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.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtCRySlKldF
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4ME2Je8Ly5
“This house is ours, Sasuke,”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPOkkM2Xb4K
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Her fingers find their way around his, and Sasuke gives them a squeeze as he nods, his expression naturally mirroring her own.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzp2dYT2Nj4
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He could feel it, too.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvAZfqHwJmc
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Behind them, the realtor clears his throat but Karin cuts him short before he could get a single word out.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIM3QJWia8p
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“We’re buying it,” she states loud and clear, and she is positively glowing.
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She can hardly believe it.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq8eKeitZ5J
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Can hardly believe this. That the guy she once chased down a street in the pouring rain is holding her in his arms, his head sunk in her neck as he breathes in the scent of her hair.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH9LyzDNHWl
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj0dgg5447r
It seemed like something straight out of one of those dramas she used to love to ridicule and secretly watch at the same time.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1OEd7JtjlN
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡap7xT7xpQG
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.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQmSQW54Zg2
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyu8Q0Qp0PK
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.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9ZwySvqwDm
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“What’s so funny?”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgdCGs7MDKq
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡORxOK19R05
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.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJZxCejpHty
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4LPMz8N29b
“There’s just one thing off, though—” she observes, as an afterthought, “where’s my rival in love?”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYsWrLtA35S
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqM7KJZYgg2
“Nowhere,” he asserts, grave like only he could be about even the most foolish of things. “I am yours.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDuYjAETYV8
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ12xwFqddOJ
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.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqEN9M9EcIh
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg1E1dqYk8q
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.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUGoAnE810B
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrOTGtyWmDg
And he is breathing in her scent and tightly holding her in his arms—so tightly in fact that she can hardly breathe.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbk6MIgnQZ9
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4GN2zlzdJb
“S-asuke—” she chokes.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqNgYYIiLmb
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But he does not listen.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN9WMZOoWxp
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“…mine.”
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She soundlessly sneaks behind him and leans her chin on his shoulder.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8hrCvE1zjw
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“Sewing again?”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBu1q2a79jS
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ46ETzwQcal
“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.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3eQKGKNQ74
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsDzjPJ79AT
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.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnxGAjmJdDk
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWpVfv4ANLg
“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.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1YdJrOilWz
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdd4k4ZrYAm
“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.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyZ2pWHymEg
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG96SCTGRX7
“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?”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHXtln4Tk6R
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYm31SVRPZn
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.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4yl4Ky7gnW
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And he finds himself smiling at her back, like one of those love-sick fools he always used to make fun of.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9EHURFLngy
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But it’s just, back then—he had never thought someone could actually make him this happy.
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“Stop doing that, Sasuke.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4o4QJtYkDC
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“Doing what?”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPOCQ8yJqm5
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“This—making me happy,” her eyes are stern as she looks at him, but he does not take her honesty as seriously as he probably should.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡldbBLdL8P6
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“Or what?”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRrxlVyzgLP
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“…Or I may fall in love with you, Uchiha.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoYGuuNgPTO
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She is both elated and horrified to see how soft and harmless his usual menacing and intimidating smirk looks as he replies.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiyWoavS7Ua
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDULxnoX3Wu
“… Maybe I wouldn’t mind that.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcgUNnlh96A
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His naked form is gone before she can gather herself enough to reply; gone to the living room of the luxury-hotel-room to call for room service—and as she hears his voice drifting over to her from the other room, Karin digs her nails into her palms.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEE9mKJFtDn
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She was alone in the room, his suitcase forgotten on a nearby chair and his laptop on the table—she knows his passwords; has the knowledge and tools to get through what she does not know, and above all, she has the time to do so.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmlfAMx4Cku
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Only a minute would be enough for a spy as skilled as herself.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0clXnMwKiz
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By the he would come back into the room and make love to her again, it would be too late for him; and he wouldn’t suspect a thing.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCp7NEMSTti
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZT3RbCDRvF
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.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaduzvOEVWE
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She sighs, lays back down on the bed and thinks of his pathetic attempt at a smirk. It makes it easier to forget her duties, to forget the papers she should be revising, the documents she should be hacking into—600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCLtqak4Nw1
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbnUPzz1AZC
To forget the atrocities she would find if she did.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSrQYoLZKFo
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And, really—who would have thought that a monster like Uchiha Sasuke was capable of making a face like that?
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Sasuke was just putting a plate aside when the sound of porcelain breaking reaches his ears.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2kEhBN1Aby
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With a start, he turns only to find Karin crouched on the ground, her feet surrounded by tiny pieces of what had just been one of her favorite sets of dishes.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡetSy6gnbZE
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb4969LY2W6
“Karin,” he calls, drying his hands on his pants—and he misses the way Karin’s shoulders tense, her back stiffening. “Are you alright?”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyHZ5eqEiFw
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmd31Q0gNf6
“Yeah,” she murmurs after a moment, and Sasuke blinks. She didn’t sound alright.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNMS4e6a8iK
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMokqpEmLSP
“Karin,” he calls again, approaching her. “Leave that be, I’ll take care of it.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbshDPtQrrO
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“I told you, it’s fine.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHbcVuLxDVL
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He frowns, concerned. “Karin—”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKzXibC2wtk
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But the words freeze in his throat as Karin yelps and slaps away the hand he had been about to reassuringly place on her shoulder.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3V83MT1ZoT
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For a long moment, all they do is stare at each other—Sasuke staggered by Karin’s frightened eyes, by the raw fear contorting her features—and then the moment ends and Karin is standing up and taking a loud breath.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX5bVTspiu4
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“Sorry, Sasuke—I think I’ll go and lie down for a while.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNBzcYvTKxH
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Her voice is even, but Sasuke knows her better than that; and so he can’t bring himself to watch her as she leaves the kitchen.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgPgkXwgt1L
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He doesn’t know what he would do if he were to see that same fright reflected in her eyes again.
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She jolts back as the lights go on and the shadows melt away into an all too familiar figure—one that is sitting on the one-man couch and that tilts his head to the side, dark bangs falling across his face and eyes as black as abysses centered on her.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXmq4NxFbmo
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“S-sasuke, what—?”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCpZ65gO6TI
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“Where were you, Karin?”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfQWXglDB9K
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His question is smooth and steady; placid, even. Except that Karin knows him well enough; has gotten to know this side of him—this terrifying side of him, twisted and manipulative, brutally honest in order to hurt rather than to please—well enough lately. Enough to be able to see beyond and into the brewing storm.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡweaUCgzT3R
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It reeks of lighting and promises pain—it frankly terrifies her.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiLKh0TgThp
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But she holds her ground.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZTXRQwm1UA
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpmtIhlmgtg
“I—I was having lunch with my parents, Sasuke. They called to invite us today but you were at—”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdzEmZrQCOU
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK67seVJeus
“Liar,” he grits out, and Karin’s blood runs cold. “I called them myself. You were not with them. So, where were you?”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Ylr9Hp06R
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuhvnDz7rB6
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—”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCfbu5XZ2NF
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn5seOpkEKx
“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?”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjJaiahp0uf
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzDo23V6IBg
“Sasuke, I—”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHqpCm8Y2m7
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡASSY1R0WMt
“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?”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5DqGzWn8AS
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8A8tOJMbz8
A part of her hates herself for how easily the answer comes forth to her lips. For how true it remains. “… I do, Sasuke.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzHnueSAsWP
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmyJJ3ROQHV
She hears his smile, “Good. Then, you will stop seeing them, won’t you? Those girls.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmsmQR72RHq
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1peXewp3dC
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.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoaApvOg7cJ
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQJBgTOTWIh
I want you all for myself—is what Karin hears instead, and she frowns. “Sasuke, you can’t be serious—they are my friends!”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpBLcwhXRHM
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnvVhxIOuar
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?”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdFJ6bd2frC
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTU4IhmkWQm
“I—” yes, he is—was. Is.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQqt0roqkiH
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3pdiropR49
And that frightens her more than he possibly could.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt9gUoWNB4o
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl8NqfWV4HK
“—alright, Sasuke… you win.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVkM8t3UsAm
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcjQuxBzCQi
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.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDSaGmVPHAv
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7dOY4Gq5yp
Even himself.
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The silence is deafening. The unsaid drawing knots with his vocal chords, until he decides that enough has been enough.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5rMZtqtKuL
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZuYKgRErYx
“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.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuBnKTv2D36
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4d1WZAI5U7
She doesn’t bulge. “What?”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU08lnUQBon
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ02MEqq2oZI
And perhaps that’s what worries Sasuke the most.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcBznGdLkbV
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA4iMjCBt2o
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.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXfYgJiOXS8
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFH0HP93Lmn
“Don’t try to avoid the subject, Karin. There is something you aren’t telling me, isn’t there?”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPazIqb49Co
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB4vo0gHi5z
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.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJhza4VAPwS
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAx55A3pR9p
And Sasuke wants nothing more than to ask her to stop—but he is too scared to do so.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJbJt4Mqje9
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdIP9QWids5
“Eat, Sasuke. It’s going to get cold.”
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTTuhVywi01
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He rolls the raspberries between his fingers, memories swirling in his head.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvLix1olPaf
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtKm08XzX7J
He has always had a very good memory; and throughout his life, it has proved to be a curse more often than a blessing.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt8P2rZ3Q70
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHQV64L4TjY
In this case, it is both at once.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkoX6vfEKaj
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEmKpFCIN1V
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.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtVPqO5RjGM
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxn00GZMzG3
A girl sending him off with a sad smile, and never looking back.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuJlzGVEhie
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwXHV67L3Wg
Broken promises.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0yy5sTpcc0
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeudDTzzeqk
A call. A funeral.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuOkd3xLjpc
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjyoZA6SX92
And tears.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrJ5hwuUhcL
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfAtKI6GDzV
Heartbreak.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoDtZiuGG5D
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr6KN49DcTP
Loneliness.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0yXnfZ4Qr7
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw8f0eE58UK
…then there was nothing else.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7f8rqusg10
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And then there was everything all over again.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT5q4LOzcBP
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtox6iAF7KA
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.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ5SfRqzP81
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxw6jyOwHlE
He can’t stop.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoXZtWo4mjk
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIEsv9qfeRU
He does not want to.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRON4tIK3js
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡysorKEfZrd
One of the raspberries snaps, juice rolling down his fingers—but he does nothing to clean it up.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL7unAfw8iO
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2aruFllPOs
The door creaks open.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcgKws3Exti
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJQVC2rsd4M
“Uchiha-san, you have to eat.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYt68zKz4q4
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡySccoALW53
The nurse says, more out of habit than anything else; but he is too far away to hear—600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtqiekEZNBV
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡITC2ntIRCd
(“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.)600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsybdc8Zlyq
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxj9eQ7B8aB
—and it’s been a year since the patient of the room 723 has pronounced a single word.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTB29Adob7p
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIIgjTmN1lk
(And a five-year old Karin is smiling.)
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600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡceHUHhFYcr
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.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOElcegqZzH
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡey2HP6gaJI
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.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzF1CgUjZbS
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNq5lyej7Nb
Karin was sitting on the bed, unnaturally straight and still; her eyes vacant and unseeing, telltale trails of dried tears on her cheeks.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhMEudKaqKZ
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡruVjjDuIle
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.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXZSksmVG0q
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0L4aobxee1
“Karin…” his voice is faint; a tentative call more to spur himself into motion than to reach her. “Karin, what’s wrong?”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbTeb7LR5Fv
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw3lPoZfJCS
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.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYSvZEXYQBW
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcbXHsgDSlh
And then she parts her lips.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOTSUOkglSy
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfghCGEQCa1
“Sasuke… I had a dream… a new one.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHQEnA1vnor
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTki1FFWpo5
Sasuke swallows; what could she have possibly seen to put her in such a state?600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUFzY48GHqm
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKqC2uz0mPd
“Karin, I…” the redhead simply shakes her head, and to his ever-growing alarm there are fresh tears dripping from her eyes.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJwMhTje7nX
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcKimrBJH6q
“Forget it, Sasuke… it’s better if you do.”
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600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgw0MdhoNjv
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.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpRmYt2jJL5
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0kLDizlwP4
“Stop it, Karin. You were not supposed to care about him—”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGEWm8YnBVF
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQhbMaECSit
“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.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfjc3CqKnHr
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK8RnWPvhbG
It makes something in her tightly clench.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOBZigyDBxT
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz9qLCSzhPW
“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.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvC2qkGEhW6
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIm4bwV7Ubn
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.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZBXp4uwO5z
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiVnLF8l8AR
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.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDwIyVC77jD
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHb2y2UqL0v
She can hear them coming from her, and she knows she won’t be able to escape—but that was fine.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUqyZlpkM4d
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5ot4DDx2WF
She would take as many of them as she possibly could before going down, and—600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOFnvR0gRQZ
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡud3u8Tslu6
“…we’ll meet soon, Sasuke.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRI9479z33u
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxxoARDdmh1
—and Sasuke had always liked souvenirs.
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He is crudely woken up by Karin screaming his name.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡImtIPeVyf9
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3f2T7GYPDt
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.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ37ZwKoofi0
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW2cQ83DYob
In fact—she seemed to only be getting worse.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmXuDApolYy
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1uOxaczlZM
“Sasuke, no—!”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxWcLJLiLLT
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡangHs9vH6K
“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—”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡelHrmm5U3R
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLcxw7zGGqy
But his sincere promise is cut short by her terrified sob.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOzxkCsBsRS
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhe1PTPJd5A
“N-no, Sasuke—get away from me!”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxWMV3L0fTA
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQOapNY4ZuT
Sasuke jumps back, as if burnt. “W-what…?”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlt7D3ovTuS
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhBocVTJy9J
He could not believe his ears—she was frightened—of him?600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbtQujVeFsk
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsfJflegped
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.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA2uZgWhp1W
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5MTJM3Px4u
‘… They weren’t always nice, Sasuke. They rarely were.’600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmYPbjpJTZQ
‘What weren’t?’600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡByeCByXwrH
‘...You.’600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuzSqkYm5rW
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡclkjNOOEan
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.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKCyT8txCIH
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCJOORgYpoA
Ghosts he has started to fear, too.
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600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT8cwBgath8
“Karin,” he whispers affectionately, caressing her cheek with his right hand, “I need you.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ62otdqW0xS
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1e2cHXx62n
Karin swallows the knot in her throat and forces her knees to remain firm, “I—I know, so plea—”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Ucvo47Ci1
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwFbUP1vHPb
“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.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmxGclFAM1v
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYInVK0P0td
“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.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSrWiXJWJqI
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfHatanJ4ik
“I’ll see you soon… Karin.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbcGRYRWZjm
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt2ZxCnyLfN
He says, and his words are as loud as the gunshot that follows.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm0lyStySFX
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAbKlq3U1GO
And then her lifeless body is crumbling to the ground, his soon to follow.
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“What was I doing to you?”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl7Ma6FPH4L
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBhQ0OCerJE
“… I don’t remember.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZaKt3lUyT9
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA2dxQh06lA
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.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVrQFgP9oTL
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs9aulLfozC
But he has played that game long enough.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQHaitqBQZ1
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVfuBCkrXXg
He cannot continue to allow himself to remain blissfully unaware while she battles on her own.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgrIcyLZeSU
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1gf0NV2XSc
“Don’t lie to me, Karin.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5BWxdV5Ihc
600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUR5xWIhTCV
“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.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3oMYNgP6Qy
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He is shaking, too—and so he uncurls his fists and entwines his fingers with hers, and makes the one request that would surely change everything.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyUsgEBBWDr
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“…Tell me the truth, Karin.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ722TQ8Jrms
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Karin takes a deep breath, and Sasuke braces himself.
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The world seems to slow to a halt as she coughs up blood, the sword cleanly piercing her chest and stopping dangerously close to his own heart.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrTdgt3GpkD
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He can only stare, eyes wide, at the back of her head—the vibrant strands of hair tickling his face as she takes an involuntary step backward—and then there is a cold flush of liquid splaying all over his shirt as the sword is pulled out and she begins to crumble down like a leaf—600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡayeo34bbH1
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And her name leaves his lips in the form of a horrified call—one that is cut short by her strained smile.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡChOmc7kiYq
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“Idiot, I… told you… to move, Sasuke…”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTCWgzS2rEo
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“Stop talking, Karin,” he ushers, and his vision blurs. Despite it he thinks he sees her smile widening, and he cradles her closer to his chest, tries to ignore the blood seeping from her body at an alarmingly fast pace. “You need to save your strength, Sakura is c—”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOWSPC3q6FX
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“Sa…suke,” and though her voice is nothing but a dying whisper, he is rendered silent at once. “Promise me… you won’t… die.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfCJjrpBd49
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His teeth clatter and sink on his lip, drawing blood—and suddenly he is yelling. “You are the idiot, Karin! Why?! Why would you do that for me? Did you forget what I did to you? I thought you said you wouldn’t! I thought you said you would—”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSjnHjcm7Of
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“—make you… regret it… I know,” her smile looks like unleashed tears. “I admit… this… wasn’t exactly… what I had… in mind.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiSR60cjtj6
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There is a choked sob—and he barely registers it is his own.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO1ouNoUc6I
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She does, though—and her fingertips come to softly brush away the tears from the corner of his eyes, leaving telltale traces of crimson instead.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk59NDB9BgT
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“Don’t… all I want…ed… is for you… to smile… like that day.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrHtFlyhWGC
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He knows at once what she means—but the memories feel light-years away; they are colored in grays and smeared with blood, and for the life of him—for the life of her—he cannot find it in himself the will to smile.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxwQkZUs3bN
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And she slips away through his hesitation like he had always slipped through her fingers.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaGCaZ40VTE
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“See ya… Sasuke.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtBmlBzr3Ll
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Her hand drops and her body goes cold, and all his lips seem to be able to do is call her name—a name accompanied by lonesome apologies and regrets that would never get either of them anywhere.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuwW98rKJFz
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He never seems to be able to get anywhere, ever, not even when he is trying to—but if he could—if only he could do it all over again, he—600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSwmryBeS4u
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Mere hours later, his body is the one to drop lifelessly to the ground—and it’s all over before he can realize the smile that grazes his lips.
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A terrible silence has descended upon them.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjlNSikclPm
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He has retreated to the edge of the bed, his elbows sinking on his knees and his horrified face cradled in his shaking hands.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlCDfDWcsFn
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“Why…?” and he does not know it, but it always seemed to come to this very question. “Why are you with me, despite all the things I’ve done to you?”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaPMWLReUYV
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Karin watches his desolated back and has a hard time swallowing the lump in her throat, “Because… they are not you, Sasuke.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUqhO2gzw5A
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He says nothing in response—can not possibly wrap his mind around her words, Karin knows. And so she softly crawls to him and drapes her arms around his neck, leans her cheek on the side of his head, closes her eyes, and smiles.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkiinBZnjeu
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“And, above all…”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF2GK4xTy7s
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The smile is strained—but resolute. Serene. It says nothing and everything at once. And despite himself, Sasuke finds solace in her touch—his own hand coming to seize her own as her words carry over to him, a simple truth that at once gives him hope and clogs his throat with trepidation.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqw0rWTd0sY
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“…Above all, I want to see how this one ends.”
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It happens a sunny morning as she trips and a bear lunges at her, its roar so deafening that she thought her head would burst before the beast would get to sink its teeth on her flesh.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJnMNMUOMA3
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Except that it doesn’t get to.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7uMMyy6sec
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And when she puts her glasses back on, her sight is met by a smile that would carve itself on her mind and set ablaze a flame that would burn just as strongly and lastingly as the eyes of the boy she would never, ever forget.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPHa4nZQjIp
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“See ya.”600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKNBsIBP3Dt
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This is what I give,600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ70jCIRzNDw
A circle is complete.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpYr193w7tr
Another circle spins600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT4GPDMb2XJ
There's life within,600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4CkOQ3JK0c
Within
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end.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoqmeh9JbTQ
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Ok! Now you guys should understand what I meant by the warnings at the beginning; I tried to make each SK set of reincarnations distinctly different from each other, both in personalities, dynamics, and backgrounds; so they indeed diverge from the Sasuke and Karin we're used to, as they have all grown in different environments. All the same, I tried to keep some traits of their canon personalities, so hopefully, they aren't absurdly OOC.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡicoSvRncke
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That said~! The song used at the beginning is Kitade Nana’s Tsukihana, and the one at the end is Blue Foundation’s Bonfires. Now, onto random details about the fic~ there are five versions of SasuKarin total in the fic; the originals, and 4 pairs of reincarnations.600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfwiW5pmswj
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The format of the fic didn’t allow me to expand and truly explain each particular set, so if you are curious about any of them drop me a comment and I’ll tell you their background and/or explain anything you may be wondering about~!600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRnMg2d987G
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For now, though, I must mention a couple of things about the 4th SK pair (aka, the most controversial - the one with cute!Karin and businessman!Sasuke); their meeting (the umbrella thing) was completely inspired by a real-life story I read here, and overly-jealous-and-possessive-Sasuke was inspired by might 'Anyone's Ghost' SK AMV, here. I debated a bit about this version because it's kind of hard to imagine a Karin who would allow Sasuke to be that way with her; but then again, this particular Karin is less headstrong than the one we know and love. So I decided to leave it as it lol Also, his overdone “I love you(s)” and cheesiness, while sincere, were meant to be creepy and manipulative; I really hope they came out that way lol600Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH98rbxHgQM
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Thanks for reading! ♥
Tags: fanfic, karin, naruto, sasukarin, sasuke
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