ONESHOT - SASUKARIN; 5 TIMES SASUKE FELL FOR KARIN
Back when I wrote 5 times Karin cried in front of Sasuke (and one time she didn't), I mentioned that I had in mind a piece following the same criteria but from Sasuke's POV - now, two years later, I've finally written it lol562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfUqHhZFgvn
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Title: 5 times Sasuke fell for Karin (and the one time he realized it)562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwrNSdISqD4
By: Kanae (Goth-Punk88 @ ff.net)562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8QCntU4On1
Rating: K+562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhQDiCREDld
Word Count: 3.466562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAMYbOMg6qZ
Author's Notes: Most of it takes place during the time-skip; however, the very last vignette takes place post-series. So we're dealing with a redeemed Sasuke who no longer carries the weight of his revenge around and a Karin that has also gone through her fair share of stuff. So their behavior will, of course, be different. - There is also a line that was inspired by a RoyAi (Fullmetal Alchemist) quote ♥
five times Sasuke fell for Karin;562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6pJBuVV9Lt
(and the one time he realized it)
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1.562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUdO0gVLi6G
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“Do you understand, Karin?”562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDVXPaOVzeO
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“…Yeah.”562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNGQb5rbzdq
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Her agreement is absent-minded, her voice no more than a mere mutter, and Sasuke finds his brows lightly furrowing at the girls’ disposition. Alas, he has not done more than part his lips when an all too familiar rustling catches his ears and takes his attention away from the redhead.562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY37z4leDRt
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A snake was sliding up the trunk of a nearby tree, and as it curled and made itself comfortable on a branch, its reptile eyes squarely met Sasuke’s, its tongue darting out to hiss at him in a language of sounds that he could not understand—but that got the message across, either way.562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPAPbg3gbQP
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Orochimaru wants to see you.562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvuLrSodUkW
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Sasuke’s eyes narrow with annoyance, his tongue clicking against his front teeth. “Karin,” he calls, averting his eyes from the serpent and back to the girl, who had been also watching the animal with half-interest.562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxABsRqGGN5
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“It’s fine,” she says, in reply to words that Sasuke had yet to speak—and so the boy closes his lips, evenly staring at her in silence instead. There is no surprise in his gaze; this has been happening with increasing frequency lately, and by now he has almost come to expect it—but there is a certain degree of wariness.562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1G9SsSE0r4
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If he is that easy to look through, then how can he expect to fulfill his plan without raising Orochimaru’s suspicions? Karin’s acute perception made him question himself, and he did not like that. He most definitely did not like the thought of being read so aptly.562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZHsvh3W8ip
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Despite that, for some reason his annoyance never directed itself at her. “I will be back. You keep practicing.”562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0tkdJJCsZZ
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Karin accepts his directions with a noncommittal nod, and Sasuke gives her one last look before jumping to the nearest tree, dashing past the snake that had come to deliver the message and back to the lair.562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPj23FiA6WB
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It’s been a little over two weeks since Orochimaru had taken the girl in—a little over two weeks since Sasuke had laid eyes on the redhead for the second time, this time finding her unscratched and unmoving but surrounded by death. By the corpses of those she held dear—and Sasuke, quite frankly, did not know what to make of her yet. Fact that unnerved him, because more often than not he would find himself relating to her; recognizing himself in the blankness of her stare, in the lack of drive behind the movements of her fingers. And that was no good—that was not to be allowed. Last time such a thing had happened, it had brought him Naruto—and he knew damn well how well that had turned out.562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXh77SU2Ill
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I can’t afford such distractions, he concludes to himself—even less so when more often than not, he found himself feeling mildly concerned for the girl who had lost everything, just as he had.562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ7wTYkDx3r
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It’s been two weeks, and she still looked every bit as dead as she had when they found her.
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Damn Orochimaru, Sasuke complains inwardly as he rushes back to the lake, dashing through the trees. Calling him for something so trivial, he had Kabuto for such matters; Sasuke was only there to be trained, not to—562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhdRK72NAwN
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His thoughts halt at the same time his steps slow to a stop, as the lake comes into view and alongside it, Karin.562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHEIfiNgW3f
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A Karin who was soaked from head to toe, but that was standing steadily right on the middle of the lake, her head raised upwards towards the sky, the rays of the sun bathing her form whole and drawing golden highlights on her vivid red hair.562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡky5fvAuVZ0
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Her name comes to his lips but becomes a stifled, unfinished call as the girl turns towards him and gives him a breathless, joyful grin that brought life to her eyes and steals the breath right from his lungs.562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVMZ0fug2tE
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“I did it!” Karin calls out, an uncharacteristic display of candor that was more in tune with the girl he had come across four months ago than with the carcass he had found two weeks ago.562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQMr4z7gy3Z
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“Heh, I can see that.” Sasuke assesses, and it is only then that he realizes he is smirking.562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiaPbC45MPb
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Karin was a fast learner.562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWgzh6sxCFB
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2.
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“Why are you with Orochimaru, Sasuke?” Karin inquires one evening as they eat in silence, one of those rare occasions where neither Orochimaru nor Kabuto were around to intrude.562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDKYAmBjwGw
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Sasuke does not raise his eyes from his plate, the reply coming to him entirely too easy, “To become more powerful.”562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2sbBnMfT8g
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“What for?” Karin asks this time, tilting her head to the side. Sasuke’s eyes do flicker towards her then, and he finds the redhead frowning and giving him a curious look. “You don’t look like the kind of guy who would willingly stick with Orochimaru to grow more powerful, just for the kicks.”562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ39WvE8ALNq
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There Karin went again. Inwardly, Sasuke sighs. Karin was becoming more and more straight-forward as time passed; and that, coupled with her uncanny perception and sharp tongue, was proving to be a dangerous combination.562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMEi4kzKfif
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Slowly but surely, Sasuke was beginning to learn that there was no point in keeping things from the redhead.562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqPy5tABCpT
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“I seek the power to kill one man,” he states, and cannot really help the way his hold on the chopsticks tightens a fraction as that name rolls out his tongue. “Uchiha Itachi.”562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkVqP2j17Xq
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Karin blinks, “Uchiha…?”562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTzr8UXPyj7
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“Yes. Uchiha Itachi, my older brother,” he reveals, steadily. “My traitorous, murderous bastard of a brother.”562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzj0LysLc4S
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Silence envelops the table, and when Sasuke raises his face and gazes into her eyes Karin holds them there. To his surprise, Karin did not look startled or disgusted—if anything, the Karin returning his stare looked resolute, reliable, imperious; and Sasuke finds himself incapable of looking away.562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ14bNTOvmKV
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When Karin speaks, no whys come out of her lips. “Do you know where to find him?”562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVueOwqiwBL
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She asks, and it is slowly that Sasuke shakes his head—a negative. Karin’s gaze sets, then; her eyes boring into his, without hesitation.562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCOwlOcjBqU
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“Then it’s settled; I will help you.”562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOVzDaZ1W8Z
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Sasuke parts his lips, but it is a futile gesture—one that draws a tight-lipped, but reassuring smile on Karin’s lips.562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡakqyBFW9LB
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I will help you, her silence seemed to be repeating through her gaze—and everything falls into place.562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpBny62pXpZ
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3.
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“Karin,” he calls, but receives no reply.562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr34gqYlw98
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He had come back from a job Orochimaru had asked him to do only to find the lair submerged in silence; an eerie, unnatural silence that made discomfort settle and nest inside of his gut.562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVdotrxrtYk
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There’s something wrong here, that he knows, but he does not know what—and that puts him on edge. Even more so, because—562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKpRrGnUVh0
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“Karin!”562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5zjVvY0Rzd
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The redhead was nowhere to be found. Sasuke does not think Orochimaru would dispose of her, not when she was shaping up to be such a valuable asset—but the man was as unpredictable as he was twisted, and Sasuke had a bad feeling. He has had a bad feeling from the moment Orochimaru sent him out while placing a bony hand on Karin’s shoulder, the girl obviously struggling with herself to not squirm under his touch.562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3qKdKOhEbe
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I’ll be fine, her eyes had seemed to affirm, wordlessly commanding him to leave, and though unconvinced, Sasuke had left. But now—it seemed his instincts had been right, after all.562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRxVfEpxLqy
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“Karin!” He tries again, and while he receives no reply from the redhead, another voice chimes in her stead.562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6mmRYYEj9A
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“My, Sasuke-kun, why the ruckus?” Kabuto questions, and Sasuke turns only to find the silver-haired man standing at the entrance of one of the rooms employed for human experimentation. Sasuke is about to rudely dismiss the man’s intervention—Kabuto was always more trouble than he was worth, and he never shut up—when his eyes take in the droplets of blood splattered across his gray sleeves, and cautious—suspicious—his gaze slides back to the man’s black eyes only to notice the weird glint possessing them.562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnREjF9wBnI
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Sasuke’s back stiffens, his features contorting in a vicious frown. “Where is Karin?”562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMCxIuiebn2
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“Oh, you’re looking for her?” Kabuto says, feigning ignorance—playing the fool in a way Sasuke has grown to despise. His act creaks however as the man cannot hold back the smirk that begins to curve his lips; “You should’ve said so before, Sasuke-kun!”562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEsBjlztytG
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Sasuke is roughly pushing past him and into the room even before Kabuto can have the pleasure of saying she is inside—only to come to a halt as his eyes land on the stretcher disposed on the center of the room; the stretcher upon which sat a redhead, her back turned towards Sasuke.562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU0tJGMJREI
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“Karin,” he calls, and again the girl remains silent. It is while feeling a strong, wild sense of foreboding that Sasuke circles the stretcher—and the more he saw, the more his eyes widened with agitation.562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3n2VrLxmWQ
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Karin was hurriedly buttoning up her shirt—trying to prevent Sasuke from realizing what had just been done to her. But her unexposed skin conveys the message just fine—the bloodied, tattered mess her left forearm had become, chunks of skin cleanly torn off and revealing nothing but a raw, red maze underneath and—and—562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZrbAo71tvV
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The bite marks. There were two, three, four bite marks tracing Karin’s arm from her wrist up to her elbow, and—Sasuke’s insides turn into stone.562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡceQTGzcVeT
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There was a bite mark cruelly and roughly carved on the side of Karin’s neck.562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf6chy8CJo7
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Sasuke sees red and the tomoe start to spin inside his sharingan, his cursed seal reacting and burning at his neck, asking for Kabuto’s blood.562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeE5dJC2745
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“Wait!”562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKKr4qhNKOw
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Karin calls, reaching out and grabbing a hold of his wrist before Sasuke could leave the room. He darts his sharingan to her only briefly, anger making his head throb. “Let go, Karin.” He commands through a hiss, but Karin does not bulge; if anything, her hold strengthens, her eyes narrowing.562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPCa2hbQbR4
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“Get a hold of yourself, Sasuke! You will be playing right into his game if you attack him!”562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMfudDUeLmc
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The thought of satisfying Kabuto or not mattered little to Sasuke now, even less so as he saw the way Karin’s arm—the one with careless teeth marks carved all over—trembled as she held his wrist. “Let go of me, Karin!” He snarls, but Karin does not back down.562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBAujHY3xrm
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“I don’t need you to defend me, Sasuke!” Karin growls, and her words make Sasuke stop, surprise taking over his features and mixing in with the blind rage. “I’m not some useless little girl who needs you to play knight in shining armor, so drop the act!”562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡszxfwTH8sp
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That—defending her, it had not been his intention. Sasuke did not wish to defend anyone but his Clan’s honor, the honorable memory they had left behind; that was the only thing he cared about enough to defend. The one and only.562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKjMnTv6i42
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His sharigan melts into obsidian once again as his cursed seal stops aching. He had not wished to defend Karin—he had not. Seeing her reduced to a test subject at the mercy of a man like Kabuto made Sasuke feel indignant, was all. Especially when he had left her in such a state.562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbdnSkrvRi0
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“… What did he do to you, Karin?” Sasuke asks after a long moment of silence, and it is only then that Karin lets go of his wrist and reaches out for the gauze and bandages lying on the surgeon’s table by the stretcher.562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiqOL4Y4cqb
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“W-well… it seems I heal really fast,” she begins to explain, and Sasuke bites back the no shit that had made its way to his tongue. That much was something they both knew well; it was hard not to notice it when wounds that took weeks to fade for Sasuke were gone in mere days when it came to the redhead. “Apparently, this… regenerative ability of mine’s is related to my chakra. Kabuto wondered if it could be used to heal others aside from myself, and… it turns out that it can.”562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtqALaOW7XX
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Sasuke frowns faintly, “How?”562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7fna8dRKZ6
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Karin’s silence confirms his thoughts even before her voice does. “By letting others suck on my chakra. Kabuto made it so that it would be possible through… biting me.”562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Ryo4BbUiT
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The redhead raises her eyes then, meeting Sasuke’s head on and wordlessly daring him to react the way he had before—the unspoken warning helps Sasuke keep his anger under control, but it coils inside of him, cold and dangerous—he knew well just why Orochimaru wanted Karin to heal in such a fashion. “…They will use you, Karin.”562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUCz2SVVFpM
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Karin does not flinch at the way Sasuke spits his words, gritted through his teeth; instead, she smiles. “I know.”562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ25XSYKyzT5
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Sasuke can only stare, flabbergasted at the serenity present in Karin’s smile—and his surprise morphs and serves as a threshold to something entirely different as Karin looks away, her bangs hiding her eyes from his view.562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM1PmgoaqMM
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“But this ability is now mine. And... it will help whomever I work with, once Orochimaru is gone.”562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9cQb9EorPe
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The meaning behind her words dawns on Sasuke like a blanket, and as he assimilates it his body relaxes; his fists unclenching.562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy5mekwgNOw
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“…Let me, Karin,”562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn1NewID3dP
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He takes the gauze from her hands and cleans her wounds himself; and while Karin does flinch, she does not utter a single complaint—and Sasuke finds his body coiling in an entirely different way as his flesh brushes hers and the weight of her stare sits comfortably on the back of his head.562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnm6eYkBxyX
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4.
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Sasuke crumbles to the ground with a dry thud, a surge of blood pouring out from the gaping gash in his torso and splattering to the ground with a sickening splash. He grits his teeth as he presses his hand against the wound and looks down to evaluate the damage; it was bad. A little more and he could’ve got a punctured lung.562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj2OTGJPBW2
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“Sasuke!” calls a voice, and Karin is at his side at once, pulling her sleeve back and offering him her forearm to bite. Sasuke does not hesitate—they had done this enough times already—and this time Karin bites back her usual moan in order to lecture him through gritted teeth. “S-seriously, Sasuke! What were you thinking, charging like that?!”562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9YJadEuPD4
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“Karin’s right, Sasuke-kun,” Orochimaru agrees, his husky voice stretching every syllable and making Sasuke dizzy with disgust rather than out of blood loss, “That was quite the reckless deflection. If I had meant to kill you, you would be gone.”562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXoYXi5UmSd
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“Shut… up…!” Sasuke breathes out with some effort, as Karin takes her arm back and pulls her sleeve down. “Stop… talking, and come at me… again!”562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsk9lXU9Y8f
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Karin lets out a surprised huh?! as Sasuke tries to stand up again, but the Uchiha pays it no heed, his eyes set on Orochimaru, who shakes his head with a smirk.562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡleC92SuiWo
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“You won’t be able to lay a finger on me in such a pitiful state, Sasuke-kun.”562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2KTlCjn56J
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“I said… shut up!” Sasuke scowls, gasping for breath still, but before he could manage to stand on his own two feet a rough pull on his arm has made him sink back to the ground. Startled and indignant, Sasuke looks up only to meet Karin’s angry red eyes.562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqzpRmYcFLM
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“Are you deaf, Sasuke?! Your state is pitiful! You totally beat up! You don’t even have much chakras left—what the hell do you think you’re doing, asking to continue?!”562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHpTGJ8KWS1
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“Karin…” Sasuke warns, his eyes narrowing—but he cannot even finish his sentence as Karin reaches out and roughly seizes the collar of his shirt, angrily pulling him to her face.562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyfT7tIKqEv
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“Don’t you dare tell me to stay out of it, Sasuke! No way in hell am I staying aside while you get yourself killed out of sheer stupidity!” Karin all but growls, those red eyes of hers smoldering with raw fury like Sasuke had never seen her sporting before, her warm breath tickling his nose with her every word, and Sasuke finds himself at a loss of words—his own anger evaporating like wind under the fire burning in her gaze and setting his own body aflame, drying up his throat.562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn5Sc02gDoF
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Sasuke can distinctly hear Orochimaru chuckling, somewhere—but it sounds far, far away as Karin’s voice softens to a caress.562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKuqi8y3Q2H
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“… I am not letting you die on me, Sasuke. Ever.”562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs6CiHUWiAL
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5.562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWLQwRpcilT
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This happened every year, but somehow it never got any easier—it never got any less painful. The pain scarred, yes; but it never quite faded. And with every memory, with every thought he gave to that fateful day, the pain only worsened.562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUJjLmy92J0
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Back when he resided in Konoha, it was downright impossible to find real quietness; even if he were to remain secluded in the compound, the echoes of villagers laughing and living would always reach him. Like mementos of what his own clan could’ve been doing had Itachi not murdered them.562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcuqVHAMFeg
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Now that he is in Oto, however, silence comes only too easily. It envelops him, overwhelms him—and in it, Sasuke finds no solace. On the contrary, he finds an empty echo that made loneliness soundlessly slide into every single creak of his being, settling in the beatings of his heart and in the creases of his palms.562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY3eLguKgrM
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It threatens to make Sasuke succumb to it—and it is then that Karin wordlessly takes a seat by his side and takes his hand in hers, her warm touch anchoring him down to the present and pushing away—however slightly, however briefly—the ghosts of the past who were trying to take him back with them.562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSG1RrZbsT4
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“Karin,” he whispers, and if Karin notices how choked his voice is, she says nothing of it. “…Will you follow me?”562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj38KsGslZj
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He does not know why he feels the need to ask such a thing—but when Karin gives his hand a reassuring squeeze, he finds that he does not quite care about the reasons.562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTaQP08BWK6
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“If that's what you want, Sasuke… then even to hell.”562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPH2sRBcr29
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And suddenly, it gets easier to breathe.562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT7YglF8lRV
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0.
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“You came,”562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8jPXCqUJIu
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He says blandly, and Karin snorts.562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ05UkmqvdwI
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“I told you before, didn’t I? I keep my word.” Sasuke says nothing in turn—can find nothing to say, and so Karin snorts again and comes to stand by his side, looking over Konoha for a moment before inquiring, with mild curiosity, “Where to, from here?”562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxRYZYSPq1F
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“I don’t know,” Sasuke replies, with honesty—but he finds himself feeling more at peace with the uncertainty of his future now than he did before Karin walked in. The knowledge picks his curiosity, but he does not feel confused—and somehow it makes the corner of his lips upturned into a smile. “I guess we will find out as we go.”562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkNX6N6fB7G
562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLGAPzBJ8Il
Karin accepts his reply with a nod, and as a soft breeze blows past them Sasuke allows himself to look away from the village and at the girl standing by his side—her red hair had gotten longer, and her features had hardened—but she was still Karin. The same Karin whose life he saved back in the Forest of Death, the same Karin who had saved his life more times than he could count.562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrRmXhUdAxQ
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And right then, under the warm rays of the setting sun, Sasuke found that he thought her beautiful. It is an alien thought—but one that he knows is true given the way it seems to settle in his consciousness as if fitting in like the missing piece of a puzzle.562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqmUd5beDWf
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Karin seems to feel the weight of his gaze because she turns to face him—and Sasuke finds a smile dancing in her lips, a knowing but happy gleam in her half-lidded red eyes.562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQvHtG91BG0
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“It’s about time,” she teases, and another piece falls into place.562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3ddKhmCoW4
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“… You haven’t taken your glasses off yet,” he comments, and his words steal a laugh from Karin—the sound is light and merry and enticing, and his heart reacts to it before his mind has gotten the chance to assimilate it—spurring his hand into motion.562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWLSD3uJWEN
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When his fingers come in touch with her cheek, Karin draws in a breath—but neither of them is truly taken aback by his boldness, and that is, probably, what surprises Sasuke the most.562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjTOVjTp1AX
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“…Idiot,” Karin mutters fondly, clasping his hand with her own and leaning into his touch, letting her eyes shut close.562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlKiSzxFzKF
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And it’s then that Sasuke understands, once and for all—what had always tied him to this girl above all others, despite his better judgment, despite his desire to remain unaware and think otherwise.562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡILRCvDqQS1
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But it was impossible to deny, now—and more importantly, he no longer had the desire to do so.562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAiLZYULBo2
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“Karin…”562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqu9rkmyXV5
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“I know,” Karin says, and the look in her eyes makes Sasuke feel at home.562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI6bT2LFhKm
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.end562Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHxmFJlzEGF
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I evidently hurried the last vignette a bit; mostly because I wanted to keep it vague, and were I to write Sasuke's realization step by step it would take pages lol it's better to let you guys fill in the blanks~ but to add some context to it, Karin actually kissed Sasuke sometime before he was fully redeemed.
tags: fanfic, karin, naruto, oneshot, sasukarin, sasuke
ns216.73.216.197da2
