[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~!552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyxH7GwMbbv
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By: Kanae (Goth-Punk88 @ ff.net)552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpBqxtyTt7L
Rating: M (some suggestive scenes, and some violence.)552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWlgSFOh5XI
Word Count: 8.810552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlwirYfATg4
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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT5CSDi880m
Warning: Some OOC-ness due to the fact that I'm working with future SK... among other things you will soon realize lol552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxB3gItgpBV
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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdI4dMtjQEB
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A heartbeat that awakens from the ashes.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOVKek6leA0
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To the stars that played with the darkness552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo2ZY4kRrNV
I sang of love and burned up completely
Wildfire552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKPKasehSdz
by Kanae552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUnjlBXHSKt
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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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ48ENolALB
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Something in his chest tightens.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlYMKnkYFtT
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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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaqIW42Z5gI
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Just a girl.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsF1P9dxSmr
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Sasuke all but snorts, mildly shaking his head and turning away in wonderment.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu999A0yIfb
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He misses the way the girl stops, her back straightening as if bolted.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhKgEcwP3Gs
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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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm8mHKIQ9Nf
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The girl.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYcmtPdgcPE
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The redhead.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡar3x8Uq3rw
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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?”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnb302AGPnm
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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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWmOuzdSOR1
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“Don’t think so,” he replies, trying to sidestep her—but the girl blocks his way again.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiHuTSvIqYD
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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.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx3WI8r6uAc
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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—”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxhk7uFodKP
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“You’re right,” Sasuke agrees, clenching his jaw and walking past her.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXdKtoctSHp
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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.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOEEfVXYdya
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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.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTq0EfKbtEq
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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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjNViGkB9DX
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She falls quiet—and Sasuke thinks the odd conversation has come to an end.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmoUde9LKHU
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He was severely mistaken.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡac3zk5eiGB
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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.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMHYM1THkTP
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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.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXkErEPP0B3
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It is slowly that he turns towards her, eyes narrowed and heart galloping inside his chest. “How…?”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV9072xBonf
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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.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSM9Ij1YUVR
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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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE4xMDtTx7G
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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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2o5c8Ea6nX
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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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRey6mUdVF4
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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.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi4RaPpEdnS
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She does not let go of him.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ791Jm2DQ7J
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And the déjà vu only worsens.
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“Come with me, Karin. I need you.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxaf3fELEGK
“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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtbYAXBRQ1k
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“The… dreams?” he questions, and feels utterly ridiculous just by saying it.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgaQfzgjePY
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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.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaAzkCowm9F
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“And these… dreams, of yours. They were about me?”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBRbO1yvgdw
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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.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1GwmW9wsbx
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“Doing what, exactly?”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBTPFmTtSOC
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“A lot of things. Fighting, mostly. You were a ninja, sometimes. Both of us were.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkW2dhlRude
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“…A ninja?”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMOJT0d2YKY
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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.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3adbUKwACp
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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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEkSNgS7nIC
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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.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbWGW7pE0Ou
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“… What do you mean, exactly?” he prods with narrowed eyes.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ31jqOmNYoF
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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.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnflAf4pXOG
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Sasuke frowns. He didn’t like her tone, and neither did he like where she was going with this. “Reincarnations?”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkvVNT3BdBE
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Karin snaps her fingers, “Bingo.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUNfMts6KXu
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Sasuke snorts. “That’s ridiculous.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpDbNmi3uc6
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“I know you don’t believe in them, Sasuke. But that doesn’t mean they do not exist.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvkaJCZrNw6
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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.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJtRE7d62Be
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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.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjg6nqazHPn
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“But I am done hearing your bullshit.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfIYhIdSiQz
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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.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkBkTpmz3xu
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He feels insulted, but he stays. And a little smirk quirks up Karin’s lips; as expected, that smirk said.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvyDzo9UI61
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But any comments he may have had about her arrogance promptly disappear as the redhead utters her next words.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1ahdknJnja
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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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhlH9QII17n
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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.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVMzQORMaVs
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They. Because that was all that was left, now. She was all he had left.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGRILO1wIC9
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“We will get through this,” she repeats, because they would. They had to.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuORGfXCvrh
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“You’re not alone. I’m with you, Sasuke. I won’t ever leave you,”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5NLal0bGEa
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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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWdUJMrMu8O
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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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡESXzQ38zWL
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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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvjhpAEK22Z
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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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpU6Evol9cs
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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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz5TbmyXoyJ
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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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF1MdFlrszg
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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?”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyoSTCaE48R
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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.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG7D1wae5PN
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He has really run out of patience. “Stop with the riddles, will you? Just answer!”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoS5Z1WVTIC
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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.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4qsgmzZrxu
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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?”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlIqT8vGZNB
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Karin shrugs, unfazed.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡitWSEVDfEm
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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.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiEyZgspMjw
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That catches his attention. “What do you mean?”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvsfoNyWEuI
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“… They weren’t always nice, Sasuke. They rarely were.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2mKmRfZbmX
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Sasuke arches one eyebrow, curious. “What weren’t?”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGhFNYwG0AO
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For the first time since they got there, Karin squirms in her seat.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbhdXDrO19k
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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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf6g2FAJuKP
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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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRXKUZ891L5
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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.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMW8yC0hPW9
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYYVe819S3q
Sasuke hates it; having to repeat himself. But he moodily does, anyway. “What do you mean?”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRjlPGTQwEW
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzgNQEQ6Gys
Karin does not reply right away; and when she does, her voice is the softest Sasuke has heard it sound so far.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡllwVBiQGVR
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMMiw7K839e
“I always ended up loving you all the same,” she admits.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrvLEvYAtRm
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLfeUKGYLFo
Then she looks at him again, and Sasuke finds that he can’t look away.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡidx845essG
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiYb92jiJd0
“Always.”
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552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF96azg7gC8
It happens on a rainy night.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhGLEdeawSY
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJpq1n4r2B9
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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfudr25Jg7I
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQwawu8mLJK
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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbGBlHszEUk
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl2MEswXQNR
She hadn’t been.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqV2Wj3N9Ng
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIdqczyfLeo
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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFoZQsrmQGq
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTvqZWKWJNc
So much for not getting wet, she thinks, and it’s then that an umbrella is placed above her.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmqml6OQ2Qf
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN4joPmkxlx
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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNmBD2sEo3u
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ31jLrf5i9P
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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg6ytvzT2mz
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKfOfN5b62z
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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1E4mv1iege
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxAox8kVMch
But she can’t look away from him—and before she knows it her legs are moving and the rain no longer matters.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLOrve2WHyK
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4WOcnrCc1M
By the time he has hung up, they’re standing at the next intersection and she is soaked from head to toe.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh3N2lOTZR8
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyvk6OmLBcN
“Hey, you! Wait!”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ66sNyhuqzp
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzjc3mnt5fV
The business man slowly turns around, painfully so, confusion apparent on his face.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRWHaa3SwFb
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ66RS4G9vdn
Onyx meets red and her heart skips a beat as his eyes widen ever so slightly.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6wIWDasWbp
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhwRBH7YHl2
“Thank you,” she breathes out jaggedly and not exactly from the chasing, “for before.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVVtFKzFGtr
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1yQAtMR8pD
“… 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.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz2XWJSm2ug
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTuCYZSuHcb
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?”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoHZkhORmWn
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaSqoRbECSQ
He tilts his head to the side, long bangs falling across his face. “… Hn, down the street, you say?”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3AAPYB3vh6
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIaX8gtTSFA
“Yeah. It’s less than a minute away,” she gulps, “so, what do you say?”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTj1hN0GNaN
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbpetvdjxZr
He smiles, and his whole face lights up. “I’d like that.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvdIRqIn8mh
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrSX1L4jNHZ
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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPR7VhxAA8q
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc4cm5PXi7k
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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7l8Z7P7nK8
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu4rw8eSss8
“… You did this on purpose, didn’t you?”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo99sWR2UNW
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdXLYeGVmmt
Karin blinks innocently, a direct contrast with the amused smirk shamelessly painted across her lips. “What do you mean, Uchiha-san?”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZGm7EcQHT8
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡollYJWkxTo
“Drop the act,” he glares, matter-of-fact. “You knew I worked here.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBeiTVJG1YQ
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9p0xnYSZdB
“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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6SeJrz1GLT
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJJIKs2pE8w
'Always'.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxSECCsxgcL
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHUV1dpZGb6
“—so not my fault you basically own the damn city,” Karin finishes, and Sasuke blinks.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoDVezkkjUk
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfgZKsi9rAP
“Huh?”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4FJHRB9SBp
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1zOnLhgT7r
She deadpans. “You weren’t listening, were you?”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXfJuuEh3eI
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4sEZwTN1FS
“I was,” he lies through gritted teeth, prodded by some unexplainable force. Damn, why did he always have to bicker with this girl?552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdKKDZuvOYY
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBa3jtV7xht
“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—”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNSsQHwT6Z2
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZJ2bhOXug7
He all but groans. “Stop, Karin. Don’t bring that kind of talk here, someone may hear you.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGj6iB91qeN
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFtsFIcY3bS
“Pft, so what?” she huffs, crossing her arms and swaying her hips again. “It’s not like I work here, right?”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6JUya4aSqi
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhsdjQjc606
Her tone and most specially the glimmer in her eye as she looks at him told him otherwise.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8WdT01SZcO
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGRDqnzSKQc
Damn her.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMcYjQ71gBf
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlOcQoSKVVh
“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?”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBmLWV2TvXQ
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkd9xzLgyRF
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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8RmWJ5aDXF
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC8Ml19ihEk
As if reading his thoughts, Karin calls out to him from the door.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQTs6JNo9a1
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSqvpIdGZFv
“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?”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMub0G284Wz
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ56CVKh2Gtq
And for some unknown reason, Sasuke finds himself blushing.
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552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0VnSxlrho5
“I brought you the papers you requested,”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSopTYWiDvV
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaPAHWasiry
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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7eXdkOXhCF
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ16S4LsF1rI
“Idiot,” she manages to reprimand between kisses, “what if someone sees us?”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXIXmRKSKbF
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡILR0wKUrPy
“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.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrECn7PyfNL
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh68RmPMnbg
“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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl3kVoDO4Qa
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiLSiXD8Lye
“Any complains?”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW8RHGk3TVh
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJKuMWk0bb2
“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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRIXaFxTKSM
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxbEptc1y1k
She has a mission to accomplish—but he makes her forget soon enough.
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“I’ll have some Okonomiyaki, please.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHpek26toiE
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkWZFtQlf0v
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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdpplWSIxGL
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIEMwLokPhB
“Whoa, Sasuke, That girl totally has a thing for you!”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJgTc8dzawZ
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0VswXcGhDI
Sasuke rolls his eyes; he was so over this subject. “Tch, she and every other employee, what else is new.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYwffM5IyfN
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5ZubYMoIpO
Karin snorts, “Cocky, aren’t we? Do I need to remind you that I am one of your employees, too?”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKxCEsIsfgq
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmJVCe7kWN3
'Always'.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj08InhI2X7
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8EkC1kxAmZ
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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpZSQkFbXVd
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbFOO8klqBy
“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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡztfZl5Ag8r
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjZMkb95jN6
“You really are no fun, Sasuke.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuoXJiXw7EC
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ63pOB9NQrp
“Forget about that, Karin. You said you would tell me more about—”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMbfrVdiz6B
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhQi9NlgH4Y
“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.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVvK7xe54rO
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPE8cZVq29X
“Karin.”
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552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ71Q3C30dTD
“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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhYYArrmkUQ
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMkfvgbc1gX
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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF4mAUzOMbP
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXty6oPNbAi
He is the first thing she sees when she comes out of the room.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡssDo0qzUpV
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ2IXu3vKv6
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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgiMUUf7gLs
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuxExkjxOZ4
“…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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGmn2QABNYg
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5thmO90BVP
“Idiot,” she hisses, and means it. “You are hurt, let me—”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh3fr9I5PZN
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbCuq9sh6YO
“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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx2pvEuGEpy
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXoayXRCS3I
“…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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOQtnBCpGSH
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI1eECpoM38
To her surprise, Sasuke snorts.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9tmQnd35AY
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5DGK8gk2OP
“What?” she snaps.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLF2rKTcE18
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTQlK2Juv1Q
“Nothing,” he says, and he is smirking. “Just, you’re the last person I want to hear that from, Karin.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDnuRkOyxmA
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF5KWV7P8dO
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?”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVzPsz1FpqO
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2A2m8LqcIB
He looks down at her from the corner of his eye, his smirk softening around the edges. “…I wonder.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9RaODTU5LJ
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡocQV0kP7t8
And despite her blood loss, her blush only deepens.
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552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5kzXLkyMNl
“Would you like more tea, Karin-chan?”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxrVXmHenJo
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM6Y5l6BTUO
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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7oI9L7fRlH
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKqCRlt9Lsg
“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.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6w5N6jo3ew
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7kqsmNo2Zl
Sasuke huffs, halfheartedly batting his brother’s hands away. “I know that—moreover, when will you stop treating me like a child, Itachi?”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdTlzG8drfy
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvCCvUaxz1Y
“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?552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdRQ3djlZ5r
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUbDZtlCGaK
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?”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj92PcqCFJp
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKMk1cwJFne
Great. So she had been listening in, huh? He should have guessed.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiw9Ehdee0M
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWqGglgHWNt
“Not quite,” Itachi replies, but Sasuke’s triumphant smirk is short-lived as his brother adds, “But almost.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNvSiCVfJWP
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNkmRedhfTX
“Brother!” he reproaches, causing the older boy to chuckle again and Karin to smirk widely.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8JRswK9qZM
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8oXmVgrfqN
“You’re unbelievable, Sasuke; I mean, I knew you were an unsocial prude, but almost no girlfriends? Seriously?”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡniKID2Vl8e
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ22MDPx0SdB
He glares, mortified to feel the by-now familiar sensation of his cheeks heating up. “Shut up, Karin.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDiDQPsoRdt
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡusaofX6IR8
“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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxkBKiTimNI
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmdxTNYW87K
Damn you, brother.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBoJYDPZmUn
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“Hn, I don’t know what Itachi is talking about.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8PMkwE9WVN
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOgKdsGu0xF
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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYfUWM6OaFM
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMauyNpMkDC
“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.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtXBjhgxxCF
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5oKGte1WR8
Despite his better judgment, Sasuke can feel himself blushing. “Who said I’m enjoying myself?”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡllramKRAUZ
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd4ABTUlOWI
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.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdqoPbtDs79
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoI5TLbdDmF
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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSVuUoLWiPX
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb1LZvnVmo9
“… 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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlqv9ISBIuR
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKjvOcMJRWf
“I know, dear. But, somehow… it feels like you two have known each other for a long time.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKPJVaTyot6
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWX7DUOGbrn
Itachi says nothing—but the way in which he warmly squeezes Sasuke’s shoulder is eloquent enough.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3OoRKeaCSi
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVnQwnvBEdI
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?”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR2HFaQ79Ox
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeAWc9yUf9J
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—552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdb2f8HdLQR
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGzumfpWVEF
“Sasuke—hey, earth to Sasuke, are you listening? I was just saying that—”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyy9MPv5KDC
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCXyzOmhaZl
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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKyosu73mKL
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzXqd5PGjXL
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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE5TohSgcJB
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTOUBzccR8v
“Raspberries,” he states, and that seems to get Karin off her trance, because she blinks at him.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz0LV2MiuIo
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJhAlhBnQVY
And then she is grinning.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDiSihn5xw4
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ47z4PbVx5w
“Had I known you would finally kiss me today, I’d have worn something less sweet.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtLYT58awQW
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡspKgZNpXGN
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.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMlRWUTtbn0
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyKpfc1Cykq
“I know,” and her grin becomes a husky smirk as she tangles her fingers in his hair. “You’re too easy to read, Sasuke.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKAkIXVuJBP
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6JVMkKlN53
“Hn, you could have helped, then,” he says, but the truth is he is too lost in her to really mind.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq3aP4nCcML
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeTd3xZNAyo
“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—”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDr0DM5m8Ag
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1MtgvQ2JSh
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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn0nhkljGED
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9bjuSHDlW8
“Excuse me.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdLfPO1KO4Z
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡajDUlJUZkc
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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNxTrWjUCdC
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsoCZxnLLZl
“This house is ours, Sasuke,”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvrTF0ETsWb
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNM4DL0ZfUz
Her fingers find their way around his, and Sasuke gives them a squeeze as he nods, his expression naturally mirroring her own.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNFawiBuwZt
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVaqJxduWXl
He could feel it, too.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQycFrTL3ZH
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1UGnCbDiDp
Behind them, the realtor clears his throat but Karin cuts him short before he could get a single word out.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIiKwVDd6A9
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAUW7luyrMf
“We’re buying it,” she states loud and clear, and she is positively glowing.
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She can hardly believe it.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsAwq7SleJC
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbxaz6PQjhx
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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2qk3WAMHkJ
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmD77wV5wZQ
It seemed like something straight out of one of those dramas she used to love to ridicule and secretly watch at the same time.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOMPtzuiFWF
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZSN2fYJF0B
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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOUEkc03Jb5
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZxfRYnRQsR
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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6bvsKNxrMV
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUbA0ihWEvE
“What’s so funny?”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuof8TgqK34
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyKxSvmKJ4v
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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZOSDRCtnP2
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVT7kECzNbI
“There’s just one thing off, though—” she observes, as an afterthought, “where’s my rival in love?”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ5tlEylXVC
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5vDMq0yDSD
“Nowhere,” he asserts, grave like only he could be about even the most foolish of things. “I am yours.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrFf8ckIKzR
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeh91mQ0H3z
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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK9zNP7EkOQ
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡarQ9rJ2o3T
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.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5iZjb40Tky
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOYindSaFym
And he is breathing in her scent and tightly holding her in his arms—so tightly in fact that she can hardly breathe.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUbIFTJPxrM
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ13GEkqcHef
“S-asuke—” she chokes.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4oA7Gm2Ir1
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNasbPf5Jea
But he does not listen.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAC0KSHtmz0
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIOPDbHGfHm
“…mine.”
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She soundlessly sneaks behind him and leans her chin on his shoulder.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLj1KW6fy90
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“Sewing again?”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡerUNlEddNK
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMnqWmp0mDA
“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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaH69QSvN4z
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDvu8qyGH8k
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.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡApci6OaS9K
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡET2UGPgUTl
“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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMEuKf2NaDr
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTVA3zcKCPx
“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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBeKZc9VaLM
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡivjUzk7A5n
“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?”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU2VhE225S1
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwg2368O0P1
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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvDPnXCpDY4
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0GBU2Kr07L
And he finds himself smiling at her back, like one of those love-sick fools he always used to make fun of.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuoUcJLn2n3
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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.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkxXSil8qXo
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpol0BW1sDB
“Doing what?”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3jWXBeUhBB
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgeutZkKeSs
“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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhhIrjW39iZ
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“Or what?”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7kDHXTiMNH
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAjRgOmIYOz
“…Or I may fall in love with you, Uchiha.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡepJMpBCMaz
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWmF8YazIEe
She is both elated and horrified to see how soft and harmless his usual menacing and intimidating smirk looks as he replies.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGfxHjTF6XA
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLrzYd4wVDS
“… Maybe I wouldn’t mind that.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMwxab4ieYY
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkiYEICESTW
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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1CiFS7IY5M
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0iAu8Iu8iU
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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhWDk4f1uFK
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2POiM3uCOk
Only a minute would be enough for a spy as skilled as herself.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcGS8dOVtEo
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjmnXqZgdGr
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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF9ZChcYZDS
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0lXyZdnAGj
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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnINy8Do86Z
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOBEPHK26N2
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—552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNrBqB3qJw5
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOREtUKRqpN
To forget the atrocities she would find if she did.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMLaQ2m1WzP
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuzThe5auJA
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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbV8xNPeGG5
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVR1DSpwjnN
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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdhuKYr1w8U
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVUmVitLveu
“Karin,” he calls, drying his hands on his pants—and he misses the way Karin’s shoulders tense, her back stiffening. “Are you alright?”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡocysuAxTO5
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEHjaiRG2r0
“Yeah,” she murmurs after a moment, and Sasuke blinks. She didn’t sound alright.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWJyBWSHEgd
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRqSRn0RXCg
“Karin,” he calls again, approaching her. “Leave that be, I’ll take care of it.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw0StJ2Z5gn
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCzsKVid2Q0
“I told you, it’s fine.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCgsz0chBbE
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He frowns, concerned. “Karin—”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs9bsc0YseE
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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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoXW7lqnigv
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHvkjHFw1RK
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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6zARPkAt0V
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBbG659NDMw
“Sorry, Sasuke—I think I’ll go and lie down for a while.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgr1S9MFLQt
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrhhSDcA8sC
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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeTz5ax2lOj
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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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2dHNfNhvkJ
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ63HFN14RR9
“S-sasuke, what—?”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9iVpgF87UI
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBPh9MWh5a1
“Where were you, Karin?”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJq16KP8F4G
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOSos47GQ9F
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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd9zFTceSn5
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc2HvmUe7bp
It reeks of lighting and promises pain—it frankly terrifies her.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ78C9pV3U0G
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6QENtk9zOp
But she holds her ground.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8KF4gcRflj
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDUVzKpen2A
“I—I was having lunch with my parents, Sasuke. They called to invite us today but you were at—”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZoafqxtZWQ
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH8yz8IMWtH
“Liar,” he grits out, and Karin’s blood runs cold. “I called them myself. You were not with them. So, where were you?”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2MEVlLjp2K
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbWiXHK74aH
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—”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV4LWzORmOV
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfo5L3KvaiS
“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?”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS0AeOdoBiP
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVCc1lKBKZF
“Sasuke, I—”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUNC9iLrR5S
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ45j87mqhOQ
“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?”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyyvTLwHA2m
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjurtkICVgq
A part of her hates herself for how easily the answer comes forth to her lips. For how true it remains. “… I do, Sasuke.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMVSNNuoKCE
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNnuy7ywkTZ
She hears his smile, “Good. Then, you will stop seeing them, won’t you? Those girls.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy3m8YrJNd5
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpvZF1zyJHR
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.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwM8VoGC7Iu
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy413zHdt7a
I want you all for myself—is what Karin hears instead, and she frowns. “Sasuke, you can’t be serious—they are my friends!”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkBULXjVpGs
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKprlbOOI9F
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?”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB1CLDm1fkZ
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgGIa5JMtv5
“I—” yes, he is—was. Is.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEdnJFoFnVh
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ24zantDtCi
And that frightens her more than he possibly could.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn1zpo7Bd4O
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTX2CB6eNaQ
“—alright, Sasuke… you win.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5emQw3Hwv1
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbw7zopGkDp
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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUEyjhya16o
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrQIVDhn7Wc
Even himself.
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBAlR9i1Ogf
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552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4fhmuaJz5W
The silence is deafening. The unsaid drawing knots with his vocal chords, until he decides that enough has been enough.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnnxMmKQV9z
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBODqXVkRFy
“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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1swhdBpXon
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRgxLm8CjlX
She doesn’t bulge. “What?”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtw0vs0nJWd
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLaQ8XdLVtZ
And perhaps that’s what worries Sasuke the most.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKC6v4L0g0s
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoSpxVwFL0u
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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTSlyqZ2r6Y
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNoUFuta40g
“Don’t try to avoid the subject, Karin. There is something you aren’t telling me, isn’t there?”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡILcOCqQKWo
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuYCyvWmfmd
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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGPXPhkb9Wf
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwd0sE7scNs
And Sasuke wants nothing more than to ask her to stop—but he is too scared to do so.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAfW9zFlsp7
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBz7GIK2zHM
“Eat, Sasuke. It’s going to get cold.”
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYTTWZY6yja
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552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmM2sBiv7yX
He rolls the raspberries between his fingers, memories swirling in his head.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJeer3P9g4S
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvEr7B1YRPW
He has always had a very good memory; and throughout his life, it has proved to be a curse more often than a blessing.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZmke5Y9QlU
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS7jQOGk89n
In this case, it is both at once.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0bAnlpkZOo
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbqm9KxYAOn
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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoqXfubcpvm
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzep0utR75r
A girl sending him off with a sad smile, and never looking back.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡItDrw7mo9j
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFPG1alNTlQ
Broken promises.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡty3U2DDfVm
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbBmikxiRPa
A call. A funeral.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLVZHFUWwmG
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8K59HaKBkM
And tears.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWSIfv4McxA
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk8mOkfbUOA
Heartbreak.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmjoWDjxFjw
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6nobwU7hnl
Loneliness.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoQ73cxkWXF
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnLfR78U9Me
…then there was nothing else.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvfJr6BkP8E
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMpfLbFYvM6
And then there was everything all over again.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNyyNQJTiPL
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ61nubitnfH
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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaHKnsxAPhA
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuEP3RYw56S
He can’t stop.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmUR4xhKQJG
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOsx1OxoP6G
He does not want to.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJuPCToyNXA
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg6eP0M7aI5
One of the raspberries snaps, juice rolling down his fingers—but he does nothing to clean it up.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN3XhP2bZwM
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZXvtWIiLei
The door creaks open.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjkJUhi2Mlu
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjl9OJKQsWI
“Uchiha-san, you have to eat.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ74ganSPtAu
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrwdPWoDqfO
The nurse says, more out of habit than anything else; but he is too far away to hear—552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsYRxPBNS32
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiF4Z1UzYIQ
(“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.)552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxWU8FBvwf3
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnLyY3LekJX
—and it’s been a year since the patient of the room 723 has pronounced a single word.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmc3eBbQfVS
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOHuCDkRdcU
(And a five-year old Karin is smiling.)
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552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp9ChcpBQp2
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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC5wMrFsHrC
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9D9yjUXNwi
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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM7JdiLAH6Q
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbdLpZMfqMI
Karin was sitting on the bed, unnaturally straight and still; her eyes vacant and unseeing, telltale trails of dried tears on her cheeks.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvGdRo0hkU4
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtjCls1QLvL
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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuXbyJ6a4aY
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMaDa0HQRcG
“Karin…” his voice is faint; a tentative call more to spur himself into motion than to reach her. “Karin, what’s wrong?”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpbGie9zPhN
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ84hPtQRgq
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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbOtvkS9q55
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3RWB9hTlf3
And then she parts her lips.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa1DiUA3y7F
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAihxbbyynF
“Sasuke… I had a dream… a new one.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtzEghRBU8I
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbDoMCGjb8s
Sasuke swallows; what could she have possibly seen to put her in such a state?552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBBGgprHzd1
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtkoOM3I3s6
“Karin, I…” the redhead simply shakes her head, and to his ever-growing alarm there are fresh tears dripping from her eyes.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdfXX3RD1lP
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbQGDCrhjGQ
“Forget it, Sasuke… it’s better if you do.”
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlHJNbz7Tp9
.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbexm9RQ9AX
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552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6NBeNMJSc2
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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡliNFSFNGD9
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf4n9nCZB4g
“Stop it, Karin. You were not supposed to care about him—”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMdg3bBZZnz
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg7FejimAL4
“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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjO5yh1njO7
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrZTAHIJvVs
It makes something in her tightly clench.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0ckIdJuUf1
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEQzd4cQ7Hn
“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.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdkliypIX4F
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9l6fo2LPNh
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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQBRo8Aa6ng
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLdBrxa6kxh
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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡygIp80W5uR
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwzJHWaT265
She can hear them coming from her, and she knows she won’t be able to escape—but that was fine.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9V9GDTzDuv
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡktJjzdWD9k
She would take as many of them as she possibly could before going down, and—552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡusP4U6rKAv
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqdAwdfPeqp
“…we’ll meet soon, Sasuke.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1VE7VtKbxF
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSPGhvELnVw
—and Sasuke had always liked souvenirs.
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552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxDSFsJSCtA
He is crudely woken up by Karin screaming his name.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzKgbIu1nPH
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk59dgxR1cs
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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0fSw7Byq6F
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM09vJx9unp
In fact—she seemed to only be getting worse.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNma5wz9oPk
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyt3h8hVD9S
“Sasuke, no—!”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFB3kjVuSA2
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhlq8lowMAt
“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—”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ94WBTqKnvM
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRpv0SmfOCx
But his sincere promise is cut short by her terrified sob.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgw9O39srQQ
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡepBuD8jtAg
“N-no, Sasuke—get away from me!”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO6yTsJQGTN
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9V6bAlamPr
Sasuke jumps back, as if burnt. “W-what…?”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4FLmGpEIJV
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnOchxOeg9w
He could not believe his ears—she was frightened—of him?552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsis8dqdiGu
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ81TP7K9vmA
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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7uygHVd27D
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs3lkuOgKgm
‘… They weren’t always nice, Sasuke. They rarely were.’552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUSjwhP8qG7
‘What weren’t?’552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhys3K7m6K8
‘...You.’552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw6fKTDt7HT
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkuiAeEaWyG
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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBnWfnuaqec
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡisdraEGCDY
Ghosts he has started to fear, too.
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552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOwixHExYXg
“Karin,” he whispers affectionately, caressing her cheek with his right hand, “I need you.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSu2YWh0uXk
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd1fzf01UlL
Karin swallows the knot in her throat and forces her knees to remain firm, “I—I know, so plea—”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJI9WKSIeQ3
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZoNXPUVylP
“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.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJvlcflDU8R
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV7C6NWhiF7
“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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGOUBVbQttp
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW3uMcBmPz1
“I’ll see you soon… Karin.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEqdEhP2gdz
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrzFrSj779G
He says, and his words are as loud as the gunshot that follows.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPQXHvGuFkk
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHPJ4oYViau
And then her lifeless body is crumbling to the ground, his soon to follow.
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552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ9BbqUmuLk
“What was I doing to you?”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwsnD83KWZo
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8IxU00RKZC
“… I don’t remember.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Vbb7JD2if
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8qoOD9lJfo
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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZOC76voUfu
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrr0b5ikXl8
But he has played that game long enough.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7PT8fZITu2
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTtdBJPMrSQ
He cannot continue to allow himself to remain blissfully unaware while she battles on her own.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbM2EAAY5aC
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy3JgiJzkU0
“Don’t lie to me, Karin.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLvAjXjmU7u
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡINP6FyDorF
“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.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcqoj9nlV1u
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiwPEW9pG6P
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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9LiHZqHRu1
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“…Tell me the truth, Karin.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkKpACpxSj0
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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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI8cIZz95zH
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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—552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrw1laiegFU
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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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRd96JSZlKI
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“Idiot, I… told you… to move, Sasuke…”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXxBjvcmQa0
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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—”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9dbDWzVTGm
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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.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNgxpFNoVhL
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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—”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCDi8fphOGg
552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0r1QiDAsND
“—make you… regret it… I know,” her smile looks like unleashed tears. “I admit… this… wasn’t exactly… what I had… in mind.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSPvkmiqchc
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There is a choked sob—and he barely registers it is his own.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZgVt6F54el
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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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4qHooZEmTD
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“Don’t… all I want…ed… is for you… to smile… like that day.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdiIQ5VPf1O
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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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡViP3YzzZdG
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And she slips away through his hesitation like he had always slipped through her fingers.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMcl6dbqA2E
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“See ya… Sasuke.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJhCzty9FAi
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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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoUEtYbssXZ
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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—552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvnGu25MrNl
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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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVDbkM3t6EN
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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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHyk7sxiQgP
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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?”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQoFL5X7NQc
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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.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUfpNxMlidR
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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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgVsgM5dTqa
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“And, above all…”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1r6gp2OydU
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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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0yKXh5ZtsO
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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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxqWQL3u1jR
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Except that it doesn’t get to.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡASgYJZWGs3
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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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH5dYTNxsJZ
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“See ya.”552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVMVAfhey80
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This is what I give,552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXXD7MUj9BA
A circle is complete.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq5NneH5ZaF
Another circle spins552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzPbtv8KHuM
There's life within,552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaJNlBWgCK5
Within
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end.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3JVIuS0Ehp
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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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0893GlWPeI
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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.552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNUeGrJMEd8
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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~!552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3YhYwgd8Bg
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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 lol552Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl6lwLYcdyj
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Thanks for reading! ♥
Tags: fanfic, karin, naruto, sasukarin, sasuke
ns216.73.216.33da2
