[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~!588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvPPfAIP6DP
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By: Kanae (Goth-Punk88 @ ff.net)588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrit0IIy8TF
Rating: M (some suggestive scenes, and some violence.)588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpgiPc9xp4A
Word Count: 8.810588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡACGDtjV4CA
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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEhvDAXua7H
Warning: Some OOC-ness due to the fact that I'm working with future SK... among other things you will soon realize lol588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf1ZNLyGqkG
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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzz0hvpiI3d
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A heartbeat that awakens from the ashes.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxTESnwXZK3
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To the stars that played with the darkness588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoSb4I4Yv6s
I sang of love and burned up completely
Wildfire588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyRuJQoHQJa
by Kanae588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkb0EsvXFM3
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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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv4S0uVkb55
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Something in his chest tightens.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz0yw9HJzk7
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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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzbgltlDDmv
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Just a girl.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTrDahb0Jjv
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Sasuke all but snorts, mildly shaking his head and turning away in wonderment.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRVqTxCm1ug
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He misses the way the girl stops, her back straightening as if bolted.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdKGcdPUPfo
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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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1sLmd5ivgw
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The girl.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCtQYH3bvcZ
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The redhead.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUdWUDdiCpm
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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?”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6KK9Jnrzls
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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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpWd2UvalC0
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“Don’t think so,” he replies, trying to sidestep her—but the girl blocks his way again.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2l11xK5Tp2
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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.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx8VILqTCF5
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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—”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVYhirP6dPI
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“You’re right,” Sasuke agrees, clenching his jaw and walking past her.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoIlCMKMQUG
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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.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq9DhVKX9lG
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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.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvq2rpn8kv5
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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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPcmbydhEmJ
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She falls quiet—and Sasuke thinks the odd conversation has come to an end.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtdDBuaxe19
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He was severely mistaken.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQZ2nu9j9N6
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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.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6GADGh0B3R
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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.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsBzLAEllOd
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It is slowly that he turns towards her, eyes narrowed and heart galloping inside his chest. “How…?”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuUJFMBcUHq
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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.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOnEJQKbmPi
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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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjrh4WF52EC
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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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ58zxqRSZTV
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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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEB8mVPFyBu
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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.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtYM3adXsJB
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She does not let go of him.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjaxfTUqvn5
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And the déjà vu only worsens.
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“Come with me, Karin. I need you.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwbqMPbGkAG
“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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGYh1AfZ9nL
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“The… dreams?” he questions, and feels utterly ridiculous just by saying it.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2v3HC0m9Q1
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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.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKaQZMaRaf1
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“And these… dreams, of yours. They were about me?”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5pd9c6il7M
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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.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTVn9WGU7h3
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“Doing what, exactly?”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyRgjmQ5DM8
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“A lot of things. Fighting, mostly. You were a ninja, sometimes. Both of us were.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHn2FLJAy3U
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“…A ninja?”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgSgKq9zgoF
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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.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnjfHEee9Wp
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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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpxdUKsvluc
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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.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf2iWiCrbjP
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“… What do you mean, exactly?” he prods with narrowed eyes.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOfGMaar6qk
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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.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEqJcJHVYhU
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Sasuke frowns. He didn’t like her tone, and neither did he like where she was going with this. “Reincarnations?”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUYEK37Yl8n
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Karin snaps her fingers, “Bingo.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3v5DfpnQYc
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Sasuke snorts. “That’s ridiculous.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8P1u2w2NfW
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“I know you don’t believe in them, Sasuke. But that doesn’t mean they do not exist.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQeDZx0my3N
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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.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd2dtT4bbaE
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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.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoRXw3iPR9Q
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“But I am done hearing your bullshit.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9HyAaeCwNw
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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.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTh6bxdcQ7Z
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He feels insulted, but he stays. And a little smirk quirks up Karin’s lips; as expected, that smirk said.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRuOZPtwqvI
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But any comments he may have had about her arrogance promptly disappear as the redhead utters her next words.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRB6aSwiWur
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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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzHz5HYa5dX
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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.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEPlqiwHpDN
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They. Because that was all that was left, now. She was all he had left.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyPMCuBAS5d
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“We will get through this,” she repeats, because they would. They had to.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKZ65UbWmxQ
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“You’re not alone. I’m with you, Sasuke. I won’t ever leave you,”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmrmuBFyobX
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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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb4iaxj4B79
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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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz9i7zzze1z
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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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6kRe6rpA3T
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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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgqrRfuSHkC
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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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2jGGLxhcNc
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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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFhUt95PVwY
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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?”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkkCyowArEv
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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.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡArRhuFvqrM
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He has really run out of patience. “Stop with the riddles, will you? Just answer!”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6izB24QIHS
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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.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1vVcYOHfCm
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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?”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgLolSHNhxQ
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Karin shrugs, unfazed.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMCvNhO98YI
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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.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsKY2VOHMRz
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That catches his attention. “What do you mean?”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXXlbqOW2Sd
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“… They weren’t always nice, Sasuke. They rarely were.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhVULkDQQl3
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Sasuke arches one eyebrow, curious. “What weren’t?”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9nPX8QdV0G
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For the first time since they got there, Karin squirms in her seat.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBpt66bC0k7
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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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMhGIBhwxDG
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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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTIxmVVLob5
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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.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0MVPveFn26
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx9kk3VQ76v
Sasuke hates it; having to repeat himself. But he moodily does, anyway. “What do you mean?”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0F1yoMHL9l
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf5d7uwDOtA
Karin does not reply right away; and when she does, her voice is the softest Sasuke has heard it sound so far.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmnoiJmu7hT
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡozzYUCrkkL
“I always ended up loving you all the same,” she admits.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqjYz88ugD9
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN5Kyz8t3ex
Then she looks at him again, and Sasuke finds that he can’t look away.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn10ilJTYBY
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlHDWclun8Q
“Always.”
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHOShJRp3qn
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588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtcp4wgvBbT
It happens on a rainy night.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNkysW5uvJj
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP7zCR58uMT
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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ7QZBI2izF
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi7KEndcxGJ
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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDvNo1Il68j
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIG44Vatroe
She hadn’t been.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi8Uya73PAA
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA0wvXkj50C
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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZhjiQRaZ2a
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRwD7Kxblz4
So much for not getting wet, she thinks, and it’s then that an umbrella is placed above her.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdIYwPXKylq
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8DiJVPYdDc
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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXyMyaGwD90
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp05HX1wRTx
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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvNCSWAOwio
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlKJ1cBVDnS
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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCIDrmmiKEy
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgN3EdFXKIf
But she can’t look away from him—and before she knows it her legs are moving and the rain no longer matters.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡElEhP2XxqB
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ97Zs0417h
By the time he has hung up, they’re standing at the next intersection and she is soaked from head to toe.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ22VX1B1luQ
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO9sAsHLvEa
“Hey, you! Wait!”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCCJdZHKtYw
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWEwB4442w4
The business man slowly turns around, painfully so, confusion apparent on his face.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwGntx0dNw6
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxSHXy6DWxw
Onyx meets red and her heart skips a beat as his eyes widen ever so slightly.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL1PgGGZgFV
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡktSYHkpzjU
“Thank you,” she breathes out jaggedly and not exactly from the chasing, “for before.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWCEiKx7TjQ
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHcB7PpxFET
“… 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.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNriQMn1czb
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXrPMr52ZTr
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?”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrmDDt6ct1k
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiIr1VO1SOz
He tilts his head to the side, long bangs falling across his face. “… Hn, down the street, you say?”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW8QkKkvVfr
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrW2kEY0fBK
“Yeah. It’s less than a minute away,” she gulps, “so, what do you say?”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQAGOZ4oo9K
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzjpC65HROq
He smiles, and his whole face lights up. “I’d like that.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpnPyurk3US
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbGK8bsTj3g
By the time they place their orders, she is already in love with him.
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588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqr6PYHBAMl
He thinks that maybe he should be surprised, but the truth is that he isn’t.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKq752K53f5
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKOFod8kKK6
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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZcrNpuallC
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3idWTY5KCS
“… You did this on purpose, didn’t you?”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkuXEB8bQwX
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIQRDEc5W4x
Karin blinks innocently, a direct contrast with the amused smirk shamelessly painted across her lips. “What do you mean, Uchiha-san?”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5BdfeEuyav
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1D1DYrreaN
“Drop the act,” he glares, matter-of-fact. “You knew I worked here.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvZT6j1D0DT
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz0SaHTcCPi
“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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc4KWbVxn3A
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbI2k2GUaND
'Always'.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfNFPU0QN9r
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEZInUtNxeX
“—so not my fault you basically own the damn city,” Karin finishes, and Sasuke blinks.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjAn5IYu2Oe
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8J4kIUs1Oq
“Huh?”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyWUccRb4a5
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡimIhSA8koP
She deadpans. “You weren’t listening, were you?”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJHGpGXD4K9
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ13JS8PqsaY
“I was,” he lies through gritted teeth, prodded by some unexplainable force. Damn, why did he always have to bicker with this girl?588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLJ4ffxaDm1
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy6lWOkFadI
“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—”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQkTJLcnuGD
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmpA1ZEGH25
He all but groans. “Stop, Karin. Don’t bring that kind of talk here, someone may hear you.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA7P5WgaF0S
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0SKBwSqyKI
“Pft, so what?” she huffs, crossing her arms and swaying her hips again. “It’s not like I work here, right?”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSSwnR0EUpa
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYhdBwBIdto
Her tone and most specially the glimmer in her eye as she looks at him told him otherwise.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCFtGM21RtN
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXmfcaY0r6u
Damn her.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgvnjvWdyBo
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzkI9PLQAhZ
“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?”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIdkVvscdNm
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjxfij9OUit
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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3nz6e3TIaZ
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrwCEw1307W
As if reading his thoughts, Karin calls out to him from the door.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiHcmX5eoR5
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbMrvcQigZl
“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?”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHUddW2ts9h
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI3FFZQBBhb
And for some unknown reason, Sasuke finds himself blushing.
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“I brought you the papers you requested,”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡydtuqZZro8
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgGHbjJTks1
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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKG15UQy695
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnP2e24cNs3
“Idiot,” she manages to reprimand between kisses, “what if someone sees us?”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ53AWhcW80U
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx2ndWF1nAj
“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.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ5WXlMAImk
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb7IofznMv6
“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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLWS5WRfFbq
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡswDh5itZZh
“Any complains?”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBXSbtHztsd
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFy5YPB3bD3
“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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG4wghHeoAO
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfsvnxD6CQt
She has a mission to accomplish—but he makes her forget soon enough.
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588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtvpq9OhQLq
“I’ll have some Okonomiyaki, please.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9xgbbdP1s0
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIStMvoo4pO
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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRHuamZTvWI
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkcXiXMzJxm
“Whoa, Sasuke, That girl totally has a thing for you!”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXT2wb4Vxs9
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJdujJBJi8K
Sasuke rolls his eyes; he was so over this subject. “Tch, she and every other employee, what else is new.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡITmdGY6okL
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ00SgmF35lf
Karin snorts, “Cocky, aren’t we? Do I need to remind you that I am one of your employees, too?”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5i42d7CElJ
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvGXLO59uAw
'Always'.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuPTq0vkdCW
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyL3t01QJ41
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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRQvuuDanb1
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXeFDCoup3k
“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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSM4BrUwefp
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo4Myxxgk13
“You really are no fun, Sasuke.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt1OysfqDRo
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVp0y2YDLzU
“Forget about that, Karin. You said you would tell me more about—”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEsDPd5sdIv
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRG9MQhdIAk
“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.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuFRWKlZcJL
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqJCkeGLZwN
“Karin.”
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFZMhjvYgyd
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588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQhAvZxG9P4
“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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ10m3u1H1XZ
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1oms9veDOJ
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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIAqKBHO0DT
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAc3wyoJZqW
He is the first thing she sees when she comes out of the room.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw3IrFlElhT
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuxloHLbifH
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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡffd9rokhQs
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuURb2BATgJ
“…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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmLIBBNkvlL
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfbmTTaX1xD
“Idiot,” she hisses, and means it. “You are hurt, let me—”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmtIz1jwzyx
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhTBTEacOsO
“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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX5ZCHRoFi5
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUPoHl6sGbo
“…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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP8WHZjCrFI
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqOmZHQa4i0
To her surprise, Sasuke snorts.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9DrAw9hM6s
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEaruEqLil5
“What?” she snaps.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡha4sZpTZ60
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnGoWh26y7l
“Nothing,” he says, and he is smirking. “Just, you’re the last person I want to hear that from, Karin.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlFCrbedrMC
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfBoOFoH4tV
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?”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlm0GljJchH
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQHDTLRrSnT
He looks down at her from the corner of his eye, his smirk softening around the edges. “…I wonder.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1ZAzwsrlng
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFcMlX7CoOb
And despite her blood loss, her blush only deepens.
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588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMxos6oJ4QQ
“Would you like more tea, Karin-chan?”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7eKgPfzJXf
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHYe6DzmDZH
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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDYRmetiWDr
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaakB0kISLL
“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.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcBxHbTp8xp
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZBlDWpbV0K
Sasuke huffs, halfheartedly batting his brother’s hands away. “I know that—moreover, when will you stop treating me like a child, Itachi?”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNyBlWRsrBN
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLGCPUXVwD4
“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?588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFIPfTibiE4
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcJaJ4OsEeh
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?”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFqmjcSmRAU
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNcRMugwkZo
Great. So she had been listening in, huh? He should have guessed.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4riHcCoSFg
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOWF8M4o2Pt
“Not quite,” Itachi replies, but Sasuke’s triumphant smirk is short-lived as his brother adds, “But almost.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2aqzaPeJor
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4kiZBCCi8r
“Brother!” he reproaches, causing the older boy to chuckle again and Karin to smirk widely.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgkyg3FmXp7
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlIQCUVgWzs
“You’re unbelievable, Sasuke; I mean, I knew you were an unsocial prude, but almost no girlfriends? Seriously?”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEs9gcBf3rO
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXpdlTY8znj
He glares, mortified to feel the by-now familiar sensation of his cheeks heating up. “Shut up, Karin.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp9PgzmjFI7
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIJ2rYFvzRo
“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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJBJQnIshTu
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3kfPptK6m9
Damn you, brother.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMm9jJHMxdR
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkqGsj7sEEh
“Hn, I don’t know what Itachi is talking about.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvm6qwS2uoz
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡznm6lrLR3r
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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0nYLTtb2Xv
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrsqXrBOM8p
“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.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCqdBx7QNDD
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgJZfP137gy
Despite his better judgment, Sasuke can feel himself blushing. “Who said I’m enjoying myself?”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYCtkWrAROF
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKQ3K0TfhHF
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.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHGAhuF19yf
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWgl0T0nzWk
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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvu8FEwMdAj
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz73HE7oaNd
“… 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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhSmy63CGW0
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcfogo5Cutc
“I know, dear. But, somehow… it feels like you two have known each other for a long time.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaPNIQFsy2r
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuK0vVTEMo2
Itachi says nothing—but the way in which he warmly squeezes Sasuke’s shoulder is eloquent enough.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi4uPHupbQj
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡggZl4iWCRa
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?”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXn6kjoqlst
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnnr0AEVBRh
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—588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeRID09DLG3
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlJ5eQI17P7
“Sasuke—hey, earth to Sasuke, are you listening? I was just saying that—”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpjRdtrAHXS
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYprNn3ejP4
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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ10fsSLVaPb
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnwrxckn3wK
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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq9s8OEKuOx
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrNAfkxdwpP
“Raspberries,” he states, and that seems to get Karin off her trance, because she blinks at him.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk7Pyp5MGIw
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVAgPE58YCE
And then she is grinning.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIjL2cvIDHx
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡImWbCIDkvV
“Had I known you would finally kiss me today, I’d have worn something less sweet.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUK56qw7DQd
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBGQz1RA42Z
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.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOPpztlhh2s
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK7oBXPZCqb
“I know,” and her grin becomes a husky smirk as she tangles her fingers in his hair. “You’re too easy to read, Sasuke.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKWBbvLxc9z
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt7hBqeH7X2
“Hn, you could have helped, then,” he says, but the truth is he is too lost in her to really mind.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Cil6ZCg0L
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGJFvaB9P40
“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—”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCq4LE7oV2y
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyzq4IMgtwj
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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡExTzo0jqW8
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAb9RGFKy0M
“Excuse me.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ46TCIcxPxY
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡreFtwDNAlp
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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa7WVUkV1LE
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZaUWHtbkEK
“This house is ours, Sasuke,”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL6M2KMbmGD
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeiemTw7oII
Her fingers find their way around his, and Sasuke gives them a squeeze as he nods, his expression naturally mirroring her own.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZPM7aUBry7
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdOObWAg1CW
He could feel it, too.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYWLCtFf7Y3
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZuhxLZFs4l
Behind them, the realtor clears his throat but Karin cuts him short before he could get a single word out.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOZvQnxEb1k
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl0Zbpm0lrH
“We’re buying it,” she states loud and clear, and she is positively glowing.
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588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡForuIBPjgO
She can hardly believe it.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHumvgNTnRl
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO5VaxiIktq
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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTjkQ9Y5ZNd
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGHsZFYyeo1
It seemed like something straight out of one of those dramas she used to love to ridicule and secretly watch at the same time.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzi8ABSTsob
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI6v9aMwCdf
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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFZPJFcINVk
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsDrKDzkUJm
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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOaCMb18sMM
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdDTrEyz3Zb
“What’s so funny?”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxPCE9TyiFR
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ75HDScLskS
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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2GRvLQXRhV
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3b6i1cee2F
“There’s just one thing off, though—” she observes, as an afterthought, “where’s my rival in love?”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKgmK96OFd0
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmtEO51xeQQ
“Nowhere,” he asserts, grave like only he could be about even the most foolish of things. “I am yours.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFE4BSRxlen
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡywADGBn29M
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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgPb6jXUSjQ
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc5A9s5dIDB
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.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRZld6iYoJ2
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNAiLv8i2ZJ
And he is breathing in her scent and tightly holding her in his arms—so tightly in fact that she can hardly breathe.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdJKFiyS2It
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjlfUUOKTv1
“S-asuke—” she chokes.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJDpp8pTQQh
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlXEFKYyGyA
But he does not listen.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1CSapS6SCd
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmxRFnhf4wj
“…mine.”
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588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfJIgsCMBg6
She soundlessly sneaks behind him and leans her chin on his shoulder.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaHedksHZ75
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGcRBye0WjJ
“Sewing again?”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2B8GuLhOal
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5hr0YZJ5B9
“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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh6GDAET3gW
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY1omm8DpVS
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.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2BO4Rnr0mb
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡITLHavCwVX
“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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO7rh9DzmJE
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG4aQJ3JtK8
“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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN7uUYehK6R
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKz1cYYVgM4
“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?”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8n8YzElNep
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHxsB4H5Pd6
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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5cZurwnUAq
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrdTzMww9zT
And he finds himself smiling at her back, like one of those love-sick fools he always used to make fun of.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXzf3ypyIrt
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlUe6C10r6Y
But it’s just, back then—he had never thought someone could actually make him this happy.
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588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7cNV6wSkyk
“Stop doing that, Sasuke.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzXx2O0P8HA
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSaBKEtCHOn
“Doing what?”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVKwx5eZ7DJ
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡILobecipxx
“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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Vw9BuTdvS
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5hrtOAvhSG
“Or what?”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLagGHalKbf
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwiujii5LB4
“…Or I may fall in love with you, Uchiha.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuDyDAgDDfO
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRrkUAU12jr
She is both elated and horrified to see how soft and harmless his usual menacing and intimidating smirk looks as he replies.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtkt0BfrqeW
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUKB5QI0mt3
“… Maybe I wouldn’t mind that.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ03p7NaujEx
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡax6xsw1eHW
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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMF0kixow7N
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhm7WGTuXt3
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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1zDdKqwdE3
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡykzoKpdJqx
Only a minute would be enough for a spy as skilled as herself.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHZTLrmj325
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeHCiLmzWSR
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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1yzLXFaxqM
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeduP9ij7RM
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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJKNN5bx39I
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz3tPdsXJej
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—588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGmifmRvRbV
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0MFttRfGet
To forget the atrocities she would find if she did.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqbaNpVj5Wu
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVe2I3DHaY4
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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrrxbvEhpW6
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfyFyXvyXBA
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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOtnqGS14ZT
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbQOWqWoWFL
“Karin,” he calls, drying his hands on his pants—and he misses the way Karin’s shoulders tense, her back stiffening. “Are you alright?”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEkSS31TTR8
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡopPWurX9G0
“Yeah,” she murmurs after a moment, and Sasuke blinks. She didn’t sound alright.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCfLFH6vJN6
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG8qJEI3sY8
“Karin,” he calls again, approaching her. “Leave that be, I’ll take care of it.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgtJoNcJ7HJ
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkMANA0k9V5
“I told you, it’s fine.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjLdqqHGtvz
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡITMQnQGsos
He frowns, concerned. “Karin—”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpPkfwPpxaH
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXuEEAxSw3m
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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlFR2gDx8Su
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnpgZ4R7GYq
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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUijtfePxcb
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzvXh9yWffJ
“Sorry, Sasuke—I think I’ll go and lie down for a while.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ85nUx6RXOp
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPqWsZpxscD
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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW3PY2copmT
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYVGX0CnyC9
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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3xv4Ja06ue
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH4bY82eDJx
“S-sasuke, what—?”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT0es4lXKxG
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeEAhpoOtV0
“Where were you, Karin?”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBPzBWfth0D
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvN3iEsvBx6
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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK0ofjo6Vxq
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOZ3wpKlzcc
It reeks of lighting and promises pain—it frankly terrifies her.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzN8l7lz1xA
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQR9soHP3aX
But she holds her ground.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzmEXeWsQqH
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoR1SbDzGTz
“I—I was having lunch with my parents, Sasuke. They called to invite us today but you were at—”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwZ3T40b6Gv
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr1hURZPAfL
“Liar,” he grits out, and Karin’s blood runs cold. “I called them myself. You were not with them. So, where were you?”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYvpBxwAppK
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBUJ1MvsbGp
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—”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCFAs8FakqC
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrw5qDC5OlG
“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?”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdt25VbbDmm
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkdxkfvyH5Q
“Sasuke, I—”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLuNW5dVKNC
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNj8ZP1mPvm
“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?”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8HwLNCDKyR
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYkwRyfz2Mv
A part of her hates herself for how easily the answer comes forth to her lips. For how true it remains. “… I do, Sasuke.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjfSYGGueDA
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtIsaBmofWC
She hears his smile, “Good. Then, you will stop seeing them, won’t you? Those girls.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX2C0zyKuKL
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsGXn8iIEC0
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.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡktzSSKJhHE
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI12cTc714A
I want you all for myself—is what Karin hears instead, and she frowns. “Sasuke, you can’t be serious—they are my friends!”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡymh0z5LGH1
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡleiQ0k8DgW
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?”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqTQswMMHFy
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKcJaTGaioU
“I—” yes, he is—was. Is.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5k9hBaurbF
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfs5umiVrF8
And that frightens her more than he possibly could.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFy1B4zueIR
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpSYttObZ8C
“—alright, Sasuke… you win.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyUyEuUsbrX
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRHRKeruOOt
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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ57up743cdK
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2N3TWdmIHM
Even himself.
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv9GBywu1ey
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588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAuKOOXJcdi
The silence is deafening. The unsaid drawing knots with his vocal chords, until he decides that enough has been enough.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4u19cdSvGs
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN7HgqJPEvK
“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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCMfE6yFKHQ
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN25k0h7lv8
She doesn’t bulge. “What?”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrcQc4OY9Wj
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfWLzK2n3E8
And perhaps that’s what worries Sasuke the most.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfW1jYH6kR4
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjfiT9jL8br
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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPDLywd1zDd
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiyk7EPjGFx
“Don’t try to avoid the subject, Karin. There is something you aren’t telling me, isn’t there?”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCrV5Ee5Yq0
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOcf2uONhzZ
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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5llHyGndW8
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Q117YQHFE
And Sasuke wants nothing more than to ask her to stop—but he is too scared to do so.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2qfrT5ZxwH
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQsY431UD67
“Eat, Sasuke. It’s going to get cold.”
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGPw6kqH63K
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588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMQPUBP9QLm
He rolls the raspberries between his fingers, memories swirling in his head.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYSF3jpTxry
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJyplmnOeUy
He has always had a very good memory; and throughout his life, it has proved to be a curse more often than a blessing.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG1Cbg77KZp
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIjcsqR1yLz
In this case, it is both at once.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQFHc5edhCJ
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyM77mrEjes
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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsLIAt2q9WV
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAabc2tIvX5
A girl sending him off with a sad smile, and never looking back.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtJUdEpPxd1
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡThZp2WvRko
Broken promises.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYaKmFGxq2L
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZxjeFsOPel
A call. A funeral.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQwEKv2Zkir
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQzVyjhWrDw
And tears.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqe3mpg4YRJ
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjH7Busfomg
Heartbreak.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPkf5j2vcIf
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdenkxtG29f
Loneliness.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXqtAWr38g1
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqR5yWizEeq
…then there was nothing else.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTSvPfi2ntg
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYLeMLcFQUd
And then there was everything all over again.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsAN6r55wUD
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMdrO8OMZxY
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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlvjlxx1gy7
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLSHRBXGo0L
He can’t stop.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqeKhWE5AXX
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrRAlt5laoe
He does not want to.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHzHoSxGgTa
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeyGmu5IF57
One of the raspberries snaps, juice rolling down his fingers—but he does nothing to clean it up.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqQ9MO3tFgo
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRppCDWwihY
The door creaks open.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoE0F6NUOQk
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfOjZGNEfzb
“Uchiha-san, you have to eat.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY5AeNVvDP7
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHwaZf2JKPL
The nurse says, more out of habit than anything else; but he is too far away to hear—588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcBsqdrC0n6
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpDSa2qOBe8
(“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.)588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMebmt9XWgV
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV8dPt2Fm0C
—and it’s been a year since the patient of the room 723 has pronounced a single word.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf0Ep0DdWL2
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVkrE4BAHUj
(And a five-year old Karin is smiling.)
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkeVUWJAwsH
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588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKBUaTw1giF
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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVg13ZokEdX
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡipvYAUIBxq
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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXI1coxXbCh
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEGmVz6x1Ri
Karin was sitting on the bed, unnaturally straight and still; her eyes vacant and unseeing, telltale trails of dried tears on her cheeks.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgCSxqTN8vL
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ71eH3V9Lsv
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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvy11rftlfd
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPMU3eQ8uma
“Karin…” his voice is faint; a tentative call more to spur himself into motion than to reach her. “Karin, what’s wrong?”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIM4plLo6Aa
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTPKSw8DyQV
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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRZ9zmLphVV
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡShYY51R9i7
And then she parts her lips.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFyGiGjlr7Y
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiDjEpBuWt6
“Sasuke… I had a dream… a new one.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyTlyOZEPRa
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqFv8ZUswzJ
Sasuke swallows; what could she have possibly seen to put her in such a state?588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLJ9Th7ggCc
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡosC4MaJJw9
“Karin, I…” the redhead simply shakes her head, and to his ever-growing alarm there are fresh tears dripping from her eyes.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNDq4C9hLiW
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡatCFtlUOz2
“Forget it, Sasuke… it’s better if you do.”
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0OgqMfKDEB
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588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgx53nh5HkS
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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWvidUeaOll
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGoqG346wza
“Stop it, Karin. You were not supposed to care about him—”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA4zpJMUgTt
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIvvXbOs5kI
“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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAQrSJIWuZm
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMksHKmD6hm
It makes something in her tightly clench.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMD6Lld2z4u
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHa9P5PAlgu
“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.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2bZYhnwZT3
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLjZHYHnEJi
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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPNGRIZ1cRs
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFEXpWAnAnN
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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqf7nqPcAWA
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeweGR5doIM
She can hear them coming from her, and she knows she won’t be able to escape—but that was fine.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMH3pY6a22T
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIHUMwVFN1o
She would take as many of them as she possibly could before going down, and—588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi2os3S5UI9
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJdeOR5S5bi
“…we’ll meet soon, Sasuke.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkcodPhlxvJ
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw9mfycVCgu
—and Sasuke had always liked souvenirs.
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588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEcmXq8rM57
He is crudely woken up by Karin screaming his name.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ948m6fcCV
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWbKjWQYMGo
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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtEMU5d0G51
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyyI2AjXtYz
In fact—she seemed to only be getting worse.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1MmrE3hA3D
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNUT6UdNIYA
“Sasuke, no—!”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB7KYKPf3U2
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUn8VKz5Wne
“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—”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGLBMwUuKgS
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡneCRqu3Xfi
But his sincere promise is cut short by her terrified sob.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9RO6fNAVVj
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWMy8de2CHh
“N-no, Sasuke—get away from me!”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsJ8c5olfH9
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSSAQxq0nrK
Sasuke jumps back, as if burnt. “W-what…?”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRVIsuIpOyo
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEG3O4BwD19
He could not believe his ears—she was frightened—of him?588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ10FAqOocON
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyVzoN60BDc
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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuOZkZzhMIs
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDU139BA5vz
‘… They weren’t always nice, Sasuke. They rarely were.’588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2bGOJmO9u7
‘What weren’t?’588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ20ckL6q1ah
‘...You.’588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcBQe6K5fOF
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Ew6zl5xts
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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtQ5kIUQvuu
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpJMguAd4pN
Ghosts he has started to fear, too.
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588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUfOwM1esZd
“Karin,” he whispers affectionately, caressing her cheek with his right hand, “I need you.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD9YrfRgI3X
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ7wRB52QBn
Karin swallows the knot in her throat and forces her knees to remain firm, “I—I know, so plea—”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ8Q4XPUWhi
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLH1mBruX6T
“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.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqlRStqExbQ
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp7mEt2ZQk5
“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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB8yTH7wlAB
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZUUT97p301
“I’ll see you soon… Karin.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1nR5hF0fJT
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO6o4oj6XqI
He says, and his words are as loud as the gunshot that follows.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmsZrPeDVGs
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwv4bEeQbXd
And then her lifeless body is crumbling to the ground, his soon to follow.
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588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuvasSe22uI
“What was I doing to you?”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ60OJymhqXU
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT8gITdo4hH
“… I don’t remember.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6HvZYtTTvw
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoCkJAJFRp8
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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAUTFqhf58d
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcHcn9EimdL
But he has played that game long enough.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrmroWGhBTw
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡktXJzHRvyU
He cannot continue to allow himself to remain blissfully unaware while she battles on her own.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtExqYl1Hka
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjYxKZCIPsb
“Don’t lie to me, Karin.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPd2eDmHLoX
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCUyM9uLz8q
“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.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmwwgn6gkPL
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ48uHNFAkk0
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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡViEABGoZU5
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdTYvsvhaqW
“…Tell me the truth, Karin.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUDtBQ6ttXV
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbKVs658z2O
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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPWQjrkuQup
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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—588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRT1moIoB3U
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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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8mbthjIgzO
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“Idiot, I… told you… to move, Sasuke…”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKaKk0RKqgA
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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—”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh8oCgFsaMK
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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.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWwlivsiuHC
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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—”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY93ySwTYYg
588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzESUxqAQfB
“—make you… regret it… I know,” her smile looks like unleashed tears. “I admit… this… wasn’t exactly… what I had… in mind.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV5qYfN0Nsh
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There is a choked sob—and he barely registers it is his own.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHZtUOq7cgd
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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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtLBS2kH2f7
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“Don’t… all I want…ed… is for you… to smile… like that day.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTrNPt4LnZE
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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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDaLma4z3qt
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And she slips away through his hesitation like he had always slipped through her fingers.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjRjDlqkIfV
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“See ya… Sasuke.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡizaVZwKA6v
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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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNcDNQfVFGg
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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—588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq1kz75DDwx
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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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjsWM1NUgaP
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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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYB1sxT9Mfd
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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?”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKW9CvHukXU
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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.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYhfVYDt6aZ
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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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTfT3lcqAHY
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“And, above all…”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvwPmeL4vwJ
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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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡprx6x5ONXI
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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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYmP8S237eB
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Except that it doesn’t get to.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmY5gJr9Dm6
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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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCAvmvkf8JM
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“See ya.”588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSnZsSUPyBU
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This is what I give,588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHeex42HXYI
A circle is complete.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrkauIwZGiT
Another circle spins588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH5xAq4SV7Q
There's life within,588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw97JeRFQ1Q
Within
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end.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdn7cNxL94D
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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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTt1MZcODXj
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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.588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmJCiZhVSaS
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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~!588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMuMphkqakm
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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 lol588Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAkA45owCik
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Thanks for reading! ♥
Tags: fanfic, karin, naruto, sasukarin, sasuke
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