[FANFIC - HBD, KARIN! PII] READING BETWEEN THE LINES ; (SK)
By: Kanae (Goth-Punk88 @ ff.net)449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoc4JXs6XbS
Rating: K+449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLIViRvyodv
Word Count: 1.956449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDrfyQfmkTF
Author's Notes: A lighthearted, crack-ish piece, in contrast to the overly fluffy one. I didn't have a clue of what to call it though, so the title is pretty random lol449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7kqmQct77t
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reading between the lines ;449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnjMc7s9tGp
by Kanae449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5IR6GFsAOo
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Stupid Orochimaru.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4JWdTKT87V
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Figures he would push her transfer to the Southern base to tomorrow, out of all days. At the tender age of fourteen, there are many things that Karin has shed and discarded—girly emotions and interests that she has cut loose, as a meaning to let go of unnecessary weights that would do nothing but hold her down.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDPhnVLEAgk
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This particular weight, though, was proving to be quite hard to seize and dispose of. It only came once a year, after all.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc9T8mf3Ymy
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And now it would be ruined.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAaemsen7ye
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The thought makes her lower lipstick out in a pout, which promptly gives way to a scowl as she concludes—not for the first time—that the man had probably done it on purpose.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwkb8gbvFAH
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No, he had definitely done it on purpose. Forget that such a childish action should be leagues beneath a power-hungry maniac like himself; when it came down to it, Orochimaru’s hobby was making people miserable. He got a kick out of it, so in retrospect, Karin guessed she should have seen it coming.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1L6RNjbw0U
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Still, stubborn and proud as she was, she had not given him the pleasure; she had taken the news with a straight face and easily slipped into the act that had taken her months to perfect, but that had started to bear its fruits—even if it had yet to stop making her sick.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaVYruBFILp
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Understood. You won’t be disappointed, Orochimaru-sama.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQKjJMnZI5y
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The man had simply smirked, mirth in those gashes he had for eyes. I know.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz9u8Ot7MNi
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Karin knew, too, even though she rather wished she didn’t.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrfdiypd2Uo
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It was embarrassing—more like humiliating, actually—to acknowledge that, while she had gotten playing the part of the loyal subordinate down to an art, she had yet to master the act of not having feelings for Sasuke.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW0yfzCKQZ7
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She would do well most of the time; great, actually—no one would dare to second-guess that she held no interest in the boy, aside from a begrudging partnership.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcmBoumWNc1
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But then Sasuke would unexpectedly do something—a brief touch, a compliment, a look—and her façade would bend at the seams and the truth would sneak out in the form of traitorous blushes and awkward stuttering.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkOmJEZITqP
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Stupid Sasuke, Karin curses inwardly, her frown deepening as she airily snuck another shirt inside her bag. Making her expose her only weakness while simultaneously remaining completely oblivious about it.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc7YunPbnEz
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It was no wonder that Orochimaru would want to separate them; Karin had seen that much coming a mile away, so while disappointing, it had not been a surprise. But this—the freaking timing was definitely beyond her expectations.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdQLHDo2s8X
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So focused was she on her thoughts, that she does not realize the chakra approaching her until he speaks.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeBkzrVSwNe
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“Still packing, Karin?”449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrmU7Uoy1M6
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Startled, Karin turns only to find Sasuke casually regarding her from the threshold of the door, against which he was leaning. It takes her all of two seconds to get over her surprise and a couple of extra ones to stop chiding herself for letting her guard down.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7ytrZ2utjW
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“I’m almost done,” she states, shifting her gaze back to her open bag. Not like she had much to pack, anyway; she had not taken anything with her when leaving her burning village to join Orochimaru—Sasuke—almost whole year ago, and since then the items of clothing she has acquired have been scarce. Such commodities were unnecessary given the new type of life she lead, and moreover—“Tch, Sasuke, when will you learn how to knock? I could be changing, for all you know.”449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡonbPKRbT6o
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Karin does not look at him, there is no need to; she can easily picture the way he tilts his head to the side, bangs falling on his eyes and giving him an impossibly sexy aura as he smirks. “You would’ve stopped me from coming in, if you were.”449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAI8x7Fjw2W
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Damn him. All plain logic even in the face of the prospect of seeing her in her underwear; why did she have to fall for such a clueless, hormone-less idiot, again?449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQZjhnkYi9i
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Oh. Right.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ53no4SUDWs
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It takes her a considerable amount of will to repress the sigh that wanted to leave her lips, “Whatever.”449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUuVlyz0wyp
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Suddenly she hears him shifting, straightening; and her hands halt in expectation, her thoughts and irritation quieting down to a soundless tune as she patiently waited for the words that would follow.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ304IYoSXe7
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“…You shouldn’t leave your door open like this, there.”449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLxIDKCkrum
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He finally says, and Karin is thankful that her back is to him, or else he may have noticed the way her gaze softens, “I know.”449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFx9w1QFPpw
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It’s Sasuke’s turn to wait, now; he seems to know it as instinctively as Karin herself did, and he does not utter a single word until she has gathered enough courage to ask what she has been wanting to—but refusing to—ask all along, not wanting to be perceived as weak—as scared. “How is it…? The Southern base, I mean.”449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl4J0IgZpZF
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“I’ve never been there.”449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ053WlL6SZL
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“… I see.”449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqjdPenwONx
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Silence. For Orochimaru to have never taken Sasuke there, it could only mean one thing—449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwyTBhO7GGs
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“…Orochimaru told me it’s the less dangerous of them all,” the boy says, and as if to confirm her thoughts, his voice carries a different savor within it—one reserved to accompany his gaze whenever he regarded Orochimaru, or Kabuto, or those that bit—“You won’t have much on your case, aside of…”449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVqH9JwhVz3
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He does not need to finish; the unsaid rings loud and clear between them and both direct a look to her exposed, tarnished arms. There weren’t that many scars in them, yet—but she got the feeling there would be, soon. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out why Orochimaru wanted her as the sole jailer of the base—the thought makes her stomach clench, and so Karin pushes it away and focuses on something else before the feeling could threaten to take over her.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnxvyxgwJ0R
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She focuses on the one thing—the one person that had singlehandedly managed to help her endure everything she has gone through ever since she lost her family and village.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ6AX56M1rl
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Sasuke.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHseacLVyhe
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“Heh, so you asked him?”449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGgHkRANKah
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He must have heard the mocking note in her tone, because he crosses his arms across his chest and furrows his brow, “Hn, so what?”449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuAfOSpiHam
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She pretends to not have heard him, throwing him a roguish look over her shoulder and enjoying a little too much the way his frown deepens in response. He could be so amusing, sometimes. “You should know better, Sasuke; you don’t need to worry about me, I can defend myself just fine.”449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJoiKivLWMl
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“I’m not worried, Karin.”449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjnxO4Ld27T
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Karin snorts, “Sure you aren’t.”449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgvD2F8hkwl
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Sasuke wisely keeps his retort to himself, as expected—it’s been a while since he had realized that arguing with her took him nowhere. Both of them were too stubborn, and unlike him, Karin wasn’t planning to put leashes on her temper anytime soon.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk0OiI88n0d
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Anytime soon. Her eyes widen.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWKzUBchLdD
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“Say, Sasuke, did you ask Orochimaru for how long will I be there?”449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM4mtXEDzDU
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He does not reply immediately; and in his silence, Karin hears the reply loudest of all. “… It’s undetermined.”449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzj8yRJW8vF
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“Oh,” is all she can muster, suddenly all too conscious of a single fact—just how long would it be before she saw Sasuke again? He was busy training, and Orochimaru rarely let him out of his sight as it was, and she—she would have her hands full handling the base by herself.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2xoQQEuE5g
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Chances are she would not get to talk, feel or bicker with Sasuke for months.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnXZ5cKDbdu
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Perhaps even years. The thought alone is able to make her blood run cold, and she almost lets out a gasp when Sasuke’s voice breaks through the heavy silence, as if reading her very core.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXtcyjEyU7i
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“… It won’t be that long, Karin.”449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAl6glJs1GR
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When she looks at him, she finds a dangerous glint sharpening his eyes and at once knows what he means.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtNOZqvgE3a
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Orochimaru would not be around for much longer.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVnlRDKurJo
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Karin swallows, a shot of adrenaline reigniting her veins.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwU0qxO8yYT
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It is the unavoidable future; one that had been decided even before their paths crossed again, and one that Sasuke had set in stone ever since. Nothing Karin could do or say would change his mind, and so all she had left to do was trust him.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9qD5js3WrC
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“…Right,” she smirks, and makes a point of passing her concern as taunting mockery. “Just make sure to keep your head attached to your neck until then. You won’t have me around to heal you anymore, so you will have to get used to Kabuto.”449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJKHHhfpYdT
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“Hn.”449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSEzV8oyDQA
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She sees his scowl, his derisive eye-roll—and somehow is suddenly acutely aware, to the point where she can almost feel it as a physical affliction, of how much she was going to miss him.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZJBr7XJSQa
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Everything about him. From his ways to his silence to the way his chakra felt and the way he made her feel, in turn.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0CJ1h520O2
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And for the briefest of moments, Karin cannot help but to indulge herself and wonder if he would miss her, too—though she knows better. Sasuke was too single-minded, too focused on his revenge mission to give a thought to anything else, but still—449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCpxhJkxLkY
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Of course he would. He was only human, even if he would rather pretend—believe—otherwise, and she was the only person he spoke to out of his own volition. The only person he trusted; enough to rely on, enough to keep her around. If he is not lonely yet, then he is going to be lonely, now.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ8jzasNBJ3
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As will she.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoJZp20NLaY
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It is that thought that prompts Karin to entertain being forward for a change and asking Sasuke to spend the night—if only as a birthday present.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFGV6HVnM9J
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She is merely wetting her lips and preparing to take the chance and let out a say, sasuke when he beats her to it and calls her name.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9jivceYt1c
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Flabbergasted, Karin can only catch the pouch that is suddenly thrown at her, “Huh?”449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmslMfn5LyA
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“Poisoned kunai,” Sasuke states with a slight, nonchalant shrug before sticking his hands into his pockets. “I thought they may come in handy.”449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMamFtpEdmJ
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She feels warm all over, and prays that Sasuke won’t notice the way her face seemed to be burning like a bonfire, “R-right.”449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeKrWW7rVcL
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“See ya, Karin.”449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlZQ7flWu7U
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“Later, Sasuke.”449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNIRUw7He2a
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It is almost as embarrassing as her treacherous blush, but for a moment, Karin had actually thought—449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ24ojRsu2Uw
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“Pft, as if.”449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnbXrmJcLGQ
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She should have known better—Karin thinks, as she opens the pouch and takes out one of the kunai—Sasuke was not the kind to care about birthdays; and neither was she, for that matter. Not the Karin she was growing up to be, at least; she has no doubt that by next year, June 20 would be just another date.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC64zCIT2zb
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Still… while it had not been a birthday present, it had been a nice gesture nonetheless. And then he went around denying that he cared, the nerve of him.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtQy7CJeJMH
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Seriously, Sasuke, you can be so basic sometimes. The thought makes her smile fondly, and she is just about to put the pouch away when she notices the inconspicuous little fan carved on its backside, just a small dot of reds and whites in what was otherwise an immaculate sea of beiges.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0TXezT6Ojs
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She blinks—once, twice—and then her smile morphs into a full blown smirk, her fingertips longingly tracing the pattern.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhx1SpSyFxP
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Sasuke probably had not even noticed it—old habits die hard, after all, and he seemed to be as obsessed with that crest as he was with his revenge—but that hardly mattered, for at the end—449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLPrgwcQRxk
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At the end, it all amounted to the same.449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvNxkyLGlHO
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“Happy birthday,” Karin mutters, an enthusiastic glint in her eye. “Uchiha Karin.”449Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ008gqNx3g6
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end.
tags: fanfic, karin, naruto, sasukarin, sasuke
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