[FANFIC - HBD, KARIN! PII] READING BETWEEN THE LINES ; (SK)
By: Kanae (Goth-Punk88 @ ff.net)495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ26ffEG3KdH
Rating: K+495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY6NZw3cZp0
Word Count: 1.956495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMdCnNZYmEw
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 lol495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnijR88xhBV
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reading between the lines ;495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3t293o1Zup
by Kanae495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAOpV61tmdQ
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Stupid Orochimaru.495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXm5fDcmRvR
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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.495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEuA2qJmlJs
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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.495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj5yoUlxAwN
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And now it would be ruined.495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVxLEqnx1tW
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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.495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKgfx8mzEfo
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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.495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCarLCOPG9A
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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.495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoV1oo6lB8a
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Understood. You won’t be disappointed, Orochimaru-sama.495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpzr8iHToVX
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The man had simply smirked, mirth in those gashes he had for eyes. I know.495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7OCAqbxkuA
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Karin knew, too, even though she rather wished she didn’t.495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdlq5xpietp
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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.495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡktpYj60exT
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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.495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyZxFLRv0e5
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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.495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡisvUUxngjI
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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.495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaK3y0wKt3s
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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.495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbzOl7c3bbx
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So focused was she on her thoughts, that she does not realize the chakra approaching her until he speaks.495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMP9uICmHez
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“Still packing, Karin?”495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqoKubfi3r3
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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.495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoVml7WRfwu
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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.”495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzHyxHk2peE
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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.”495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrGqiHF545k
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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?495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP9nzdJQAO5
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Oh. Right.495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6f3RJykEbV
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It takes her a considerable amount of will to repress the sigh that wanted to leave her lips, “Whatever.”495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo8ukNnzC7Y
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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.495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiRrOpV6CND
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“…You shouldn’t leave your door open like this, there.”495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ79udvNL8nI
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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.”495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt7k3SxJsp4
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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.”495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmG4cGna6uz
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“I’ve never been there.”495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡypo88TzmjA
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“… I see.”495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡulrCvPEiKI
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Silence. For Orochimaru to have never taken Sasuke there, it could only mean one thing—495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXptO5joWkR
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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…”495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7BhjGcT3jK
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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.495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxGmXuv1GYC
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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.495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9e6QWjNLcU
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Sasuke.495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOgihXKyjcJ
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“Heh, so you asked him?”495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡomxrJ9I4M6
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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?”495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡocRpo5Gbep
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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.”495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7BIn3azdbI
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“I’m not worried, Karin.”495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR7ovrp8yKV
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Karin snorts, “Sure you aren’t.”495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6KzoTNIg3H
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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.495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5dZt3XsmPJ
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Anytime soon. Her eyes widen.495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqjzODDySXO
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“Say, Sasuke, did you ask Orochimaru for how long will I be there?”495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYAbFzslOyD
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He does not reply immediately; and in his silence, Karin hears the reply loudest of all. “… It’s undetermined.”495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDqIQEFCb5A
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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.495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOPpIeAO1ux
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Chances are she would not get to talk, feel or bicker with Sasuke for months.495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0rBZNA778Z
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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.495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX9yfVyCBIF
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“… It won’t be that long, Karin.”495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbmDplumnB8
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When she looks at him, she finds a dangerous glint sharpening his eyes and at once knows what he means.495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZk6KtxlokU
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Orochimaru would not be around for much longer.495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ3mjzZ3v5x
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Karin swallows, a shot of adrenaline reigniting her veins.495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ6n2lPSIVe
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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.495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe5Ohshxa64
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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.”495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP94RJs8Q43
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“Hn.”495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNCUVGk0N2W
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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.495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxSoJqQs8hO
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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.495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvPNzZ4ljE2
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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—495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ80vZD81vAt
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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.495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡENsy1d03Ic
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As will she.495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbaDhjaQF02
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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.495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmX532NidUs
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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.495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI8JWJHUJCG
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Flabbergasted, Karin can only catch the pouch that is suddenly thrown at her, “Huh?”495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzjCIJ17VJW
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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.”495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTLpywae4eo
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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.”495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJg2ionBaNb
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“See ya, Karin.”495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdcrtLHdAjb
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“Later, Sasuke.”495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5jq61855bD
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It is almost as embarrassing as her treacherous blush, but for a moment, Karin had actually thought—495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYTYd2AsfK6
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“Pft, as if.”495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3UwzCX2Y6A
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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.495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxJFYn5Nht6
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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.495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8bVk7gCQkt
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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.495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuVJQw8eXb5
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She blinks—once, twice—and then her smile morphs into a full blown smirk, her fingertips longingly tracing the pattern.495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPuYhOWmp4N
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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—495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtPagqOzC89
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At the end, it all amounted to the same.495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYOR0nJpncR
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“Happy birthday,” Karin mutters, an enthusiastic glint in her eye. “Uchiha Karin.”495Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpjDXkojcJj
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end.
tags: fanfic, karin, naruto, sasukarin, sasuke
ns216.73.216.160da2
