[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~!670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiah5yW9G3j
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By: Kanae (Goth-Punk88 @ ff.net)670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBb55AA7xXv
Rating: M (some suggestive scenes, and some violence.)670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8FVYuYGcOw
Word Count: 8.810670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLSLnIlGBTI
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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhAXqwud7vs
Warning: Some OOC-ness due to the fact that I'm working with future SK... among other things you will soon realize lol670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR76XvzzSH9
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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRGTj2IznXT
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A heartbeat that awakens from the ashes.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfs3gZqRBXo
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To the stars that played with the darkness670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbdQ2by5VbQ
I sang of love and burned up completely
Wildfire670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRvWK5N56Hl
by Kanae670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2SE6FiQXd6
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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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhBEv4l77PJ
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Something in his chest tightens.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO13KKLW7G5
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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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvoempSTqXi
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Just a girl.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHdOeeds5nG
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Sasuke all but snorts, mildly shaking his head and turning away in wonderment.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡogK4yDlHB5
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He misses the way the girl stops, her back straightening as if bolted.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaRtMgBs5R0
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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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnRvLPaUJDF
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The girl.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWSXQF4Up94
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The redhead.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB44ZxJIarx
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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?”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡktTWwZJQ27
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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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqwXqd2YHiB
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“Don’t think so,” he replies, trying to sidestep her—but the girl blocks his way again.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcyA7575bzb
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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.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp5T1i90NKM
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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—”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEC7sL767od
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“You’re right,” Sasuke agrees, clenching his jaw and walking past her.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ56hS6MCtIF
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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.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ62TIuroPoB
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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.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVCMO8sPgxp
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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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqS7Qc8AgIx
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She falls quiet—and Sasuke thinks the odd conversation has come to an end.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSCzZVZw0sm
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He was severely mistaken.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsfGoKdMNmr
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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.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoULFLc5TMP
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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.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBTZSN1bcHy
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It is slowly that he turns towards her, eyes narrowed and heart galloping inside his chest. “How…?”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡizWNWGjApo
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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.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNF1tNmkhS8
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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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv85npXiryi
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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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzRssTMaTHf
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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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYWsPf2OqSL
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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.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmLM76pWHfz
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She does not let go of him.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCVatwKGlIj
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And the déjà vu only worsens.
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“Come with me, Karin. I need you.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrkvkeJPxT2
“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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUxM4QX8G0O
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“The… dreams?” he questions, and feels utterly ridiculous just by saying it.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGOw4Cf98rH
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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.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzwesRzL6Wv
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“And these… dreams, of yours. They were about me?”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0JVtyuPe8X
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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.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJwvmKsSstU
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“Doing what, exactly?”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi0afMc3EjU
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“A lot of things. Fighting, mostly. You were a ninja, sometimes. Both of us were.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgChJLeR7eq
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“…A ninja?”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqOmfj79232
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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.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrXioLEOExJ
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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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX2Rlp0k2rL
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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.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZCwBmcMbNj
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“… What do you mean, exactly?” he prods with narrowed eyes.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJCk8uEF1c9
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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.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRhCS8zTI28
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Sasuke frowns. He didn’t like her tone, and neither did he like where she was going with this. “Reincarnations?”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDTfvkomZFs
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Karin snaps her fingers, “Bingo.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo7WaxZQ5A7
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Sasuke snorts. “That’s ridiculous.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhjWg17M5zn
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“I know you don’t believe in them, Sasuke. But that doesn’t mean they do not exist.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc0GkSEX02s
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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.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSYTwrgYwbT
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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.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡML3G0qztja
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“But I am done hearing your bullshit.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzSuZXIBpXm
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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.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzSyT2JAMyP
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He feels insulted, but he stays. And a little smirk quirks up Karin’s lips; as expected, that smirk said.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIKWcwA1ocd
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But any comments he may have had about her arrogance promptly disappear as the redhead utters her next words.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4lnFxond2U
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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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡolNaTzvQOi
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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.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKx0z3jvKwy
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They. Because that was all that was left, now. She was all he had left.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0pjJdSholA
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“We will get through this,” she repeats, because they would. They had to.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfbkKFd1EJ7
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“You’re not alone. I’m with you, Sasuke. I won’t ever leave you,”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeQfL0JwamI
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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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu8AopIl2K2
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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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN5oIHpPG41
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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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzugwHKSxfk
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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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvAW6IV7Qyy
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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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPoc8xAXJPT
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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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2wqD7M7GeO
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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?”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm2nYTLOArm
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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.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeBP4e3Mnv1
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He has really run out of patience. “Stop with the riddles, will you? Just answer!”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCaMQ5CEVaT
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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.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlVNXYiuHSe
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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?”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmaRwGO2pwb
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Karin shrugs, unfazed.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYjGURTTPin
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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.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwWuBrBb5X9
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That catches his attention. “What do you mean?”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg2NtdQHo4F
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“… They weren’t always nice, Sasuke. They rarely were.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqBBLGjIxu9
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Sasuke arches one eyebrow, curious. “What weren’t?”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLsGJzhtweZ
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For the first time since they got there, Karin squirms in her seat.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkaCUu2xsDH
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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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGByKD8V9MO
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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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2FiIMDiRUU
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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.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLRQqAB8UW6
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpnL7YR93LM
Sasuke hates it; having to repeat himself. But he moodily does, anyway. “What do you mean?”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYV9D1JHtIY
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4S0IiGINfl
Karin does not reply right away; and when she does, her voice is the softest Sasuke has heard it sound so far.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFvU1SNwbWS
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy45uHQ3nbn
“I always ended up loving you all the same,” she admits.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOIypUO3Bnk
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLNYjoUICaK
Then she looks at him again, and Sasuke finds that he can’t look away.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6RXXMFojpr
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDdPMGn4SOi
“Always.”
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670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw1MXOB31jz
It happens on a rainy night.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4SSpghCSpq
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4cG3B7hmae
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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQQr3N5pF1G
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0SProNUG3Y
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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQNtktq23BS
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuqzeM1EN7P
She hadn’t been.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwbfz1h0BIW
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6P7ncwENI1
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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0WDlJLIGav
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOh4Am1fpJg
So much for not getting wet, she thinks, and it’s then that an umbrella is placed above her.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjhPWdAPtCI
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHUHlvxQGWG
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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSweyW8FOnD
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ97YoK6dRkU
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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡElzwRrZAwL
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2eMGVlOUjd
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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqhZ6G5MuHR
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFphTWrWCqm
But she can’t look away from him—and before she knows it her legs are moving and the rain no longer matters.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6oLaLRgzji
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMA7jrvxp6A
By the time he has hung up, they’re standing at the next intersection and she is soaked from head to toe.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQx86jlLFe3
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡadlz6Rn7qf
“Hey, you! Wait!”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIm7li7xHMa
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwYZpU0vuEz
The business man slowly turns around, painfully so, confusion apparent on his face.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlgnmlMKbp0
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7zV52DoXyc
Onyx meets red and her heart skips a beat as his eyes widen ever so slightly.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDJQKXyn9B3
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOFMrtNddf4
“Thank you,” she breathes out jaggedly and not exactly from the chasing, “for before.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNirOgD6g5f
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEaAtUmjPVc
“… 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.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡudsnjZS9Mz
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdADqSOmYmV
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?”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIJjafcrZ1d
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtsCp4Htqio
He tilts his head to the side, long bangs falling across his face. “… Hn, down the street, you say?”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJhPqQzGFuk
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKZF4Ra2IG2
“Yeah. It’s less than a minute away,” she gulps, “so, what do you say?”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpK4fV1aVUq
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYrEUIKV21t
He smiles, and his whole face lights up. “I’d like that.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKUd9q4JCmM
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY2mbk0YqnN
By the time they place their orders, she is already in love with him.
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670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVTHQZGvBbT
He thinks that maybe he should be surprised, but the truth is that he isn’t.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYbEJ5OJTLy
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡibBSuEy1S1
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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFkZTSoNuLg
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwiDHhLYxBq
“… You did this on purpose, didn’t you?”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnoGKifgzWe
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvJ4808uUmj
Karin blinks innocently, a direct contrast with the amused smirk shamelessly painted across her lips. “What do you mean, Uchiha-san?”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7F9m1xEjlp
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5uLZknfiok
“Drop the act,” he glares, matter-of-fact. “You knew I worked here.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVFkI2hp7js
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBpvBNlXcE1
“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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSklCuoLnJE
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD4zbC7Di6U
'Always'.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTwpxFAGWct
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIIVtWRLU50
“—so not my fault you basically own the damn city,” Karin finishes, and Sasuke blinks.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzaipU66gjN
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLQF4YndnVY
“Huh?”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBIUcpywGlU
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj8lYZwGYYF
She deadpans. “You weren’t listening, were you?”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtwI9YJml7z
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyrYg2DW2Gl
“I was,” he lies through gritted teeth, prodded by some unexplainable force. Damn, why did he always have to bicker with this girl?670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbIgvShNtM3
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzpa2rgZYwB
“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—”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyBe5y0HtRR
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡODkjoBcIMY
He all but groans. “Stop, Karin. Don’t bring that kind of talk here, someone may hear you.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRVSHqFuG4L
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0yA9MEN06A
“Pft, so what?” she huffs, crossing her arms and swaying her hips again. “It’s not like I work here, right?”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwGlI6zDmHG
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ3qMepcaMu
Her tone and most specially the glimmer in her eye as she looks at him told him otherwise.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkEJELGdfTN
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvbetE5m3pI
Damn her.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfD0CQws7HP
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXdSUZy4wXP
“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?”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRIkvkG9NTg
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn2wUNsiOCQ
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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcOUC1EVyGv
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhlaa8UFJKL
As if reading his thoughts, Karin calls out to him from the door.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVTR0cPbvpd
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvXrbhZnxVZ
“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?”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD0rF2Td3pl
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDsahnS8z59
And for some unknown reason, Sasuke finds himself blushing.
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“I brought you the papers you requested,”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNFiRndfjkd
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTHIQ2yJeOB
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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGMNTOH0981
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW0mV1j67fX
“Idiot,” she manages to reprimand between kisses, “what if someone sees us?”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡam77ZWWY3P
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8NsdWzewbh
“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.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ73Oihq0XZN
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDwn40fjLSk
“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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡivqoOoRilF
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoegdbDHil2
“Any complains?”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNbnWk8n97B
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡev5Yua1msu
“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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9t44gudbVl
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2vFww1cjU1
She has a mission to accomplish—but he makes her forget soon enough.
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670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkTrfkWaoBi
“I’ll have some Okonomiyaki, please.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcFYfSNQxqi
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSCNiaSxlyw
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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgBpPigu0vD
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVgj5UJkqhM
“Whoa, Sasuke, That girl totally has a thing for you!”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8XxzCwbJEx
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMFOrHNp24A
Sasuke rolls his eyes; he was so over this subject. “Tch, she and every other employee, what else is new.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmzmCfprirG
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUG81XlS6Oi
Karin snorts, “Cocky, aren’t we? Do I need to remind you that I am one of your employees, too?”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbbfgqkTN5m
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡautmqGFEdR
'Always'.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjylDBfc0eW
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT2x8yIZZwS
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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8VOa7zVtBI
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8A3wRJZe6K
“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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf9hkTs58S4
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5nXPUnMcCb
“You really are no fun, Sasuke.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGw0jIBdAIm
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA2cKaRyqaC
“Forget about that, Karin. You said you would tell me more about—”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJR42w8R8qZ
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW3oQS1eVWJ
“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.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrKnpZBXazn
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUGZONuor08
“Karin.”
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670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe6z8r87oPl
“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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvxNynwlNDj
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4LBEBtqIKL
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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEHulMZCsi3
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ39vSXexOJQ
He is the first thing she sees when she comes out of the room.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPSMYraKg78
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXuwJJMxV1d
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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnG5tdgeFBb
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Cd4TJkYXC
“…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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgCX9Du69IX
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTDW3r5rCT9
“Idiot,” she hisses, and means it. “You are hurt, let me—”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ7XLAZXWXb
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhPE2nz9xYY
“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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsiz0KsETQQ
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR44u5wOuiY
“…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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYKplcXAFPq
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡstwazkz61y
To her surprise, Sasuke snorts.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFlXNa2gYUe
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkA1cFPsxsB
“What?” she snaps.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0rs86BLDIJ
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH8RwrxXiQx
“Nothing,” he says, and he is smirking. “Just, you’re the last person I want to hear that from, Karin.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0zilaF5O5G
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxlpY0s4MJr
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?”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3lZ4kYx6rS
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKrTYvhhktX
He looks down at her from the corner of his eye, his smirk softening around the edges. “…I wonder.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡepqAplmM97
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUafAiT4CIx
And despite her blood loss, her blush only deepens.
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670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ25dEz5uygK
“Would you like more tea, Karin-chan?”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtRT1DYISi5
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTvsqvRhtWy
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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB9AYei09Ua
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvnYtEiuRcO
“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.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV12SO0jI9s
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2sy3PEVmjR
Sasuke huffs, halfheartedly batting his brother’s hands away. “I know that—moreover, when will you stop treating me like a child, Itachi?”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMU9Uc9O1Sp
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNplCsLl4nC
“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?670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrECjK5An8P
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ81WkOu6SoF
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?”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnaps614tQ9
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzaQjA1gNbJ
Great. So she had been listening in, huh? He should have guessed.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwLKAPbPGkh
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPthdjMaBlJ
“Not quite,” Itachi replies, but Sasuke’s triumphant smirk is short-lived as his brother adds, “But almost.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWotq6cAw3G
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYvXfzsuUUn
“Brother!” he reproaches, causing the older boy to chuckle again and Karin to smirk widely.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6GZw70n62F
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX4ph7sEbHW
“You’re unbelievable, Sasuke; I mean, I knew you were an unsocial prude, but almost no girlfriends? Seriously?”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2N4TbRmBZv
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFqMYgoWlx9
He glares, mortified to feel the by-now familiar sensation of his cheeks heating up. “Shut up, Karin.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm8p5dyW3Lb
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmNz175kGd0
“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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpAJssVNXp6
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Ac2iLopy4
Damn you, brother.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS6vyWhTLID
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“Hn, I don’t know what Itachi is talking about.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr9xk8aElbC
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7xpFREIA4N
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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ54H5zCiQjo
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn6y60eoJ2Z
“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.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJnrUN50pWB
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhqiV1yqAyt
Despite his better judgment, Sasuke can feel himself blushing. “Who said I’m enjoying myself?”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrmlEbEPH1e
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2q2fNlNHwv
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.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡImyRxqmVBz
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeUIsGnBTQe
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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiYyfvqJzh3
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbvcZF4GYTS
“… 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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk1HrdcrsBq
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQWYxWwtKdX
“I know, dear. But, somehow… it feels like you two have known each other for a long time.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡupg94fm4Qc
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5WbUBBc9ZP
Itachi says nothing—but the way in which he warmly squeezes Sasuke’s shoulder is eloquent enough.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwOQWT76NZD
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7NHrO7gxRO
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?”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK6wCESuTDL
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡltmty8s3v1
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—670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhxSIXVgRlD
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxeC15oTtY7
“Sasuke—hey, earth to Sasuke, are you listening? I was just saying that—”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAF7luXTknE
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtDIQDngcq2
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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdjB6phteUN
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrLAfYwVVY4
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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoATj59r9sf
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡibaKVxQSvw
“Raspberries,” he states, and that seems to get Karin off her trance, because she blinks at him.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWaWIY5G66G
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkSJJHZkWY1
And then she is grinning.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4W1rOtRRRy
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF6mrLKZhYE
“Had I known you would finally kiss me today, I’d have worn something less sweet.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvaMateZxyT
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg1EoCjnhcM
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.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH0j65btYJa
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbrwRfbkw7A
“I know,” and her grin becomes a husky smirk as she tangles her fingers in his hair. “You’re too easy to read, Sasuke.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1NWcq0c670
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP98aqrrsAD
“Hn, you could have helped, then,” he says, but the truth is he is too lost in her to really mind.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvK8YicyCuB
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlKioVPIE9d
“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—”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH3Koksyfdd
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW9CPnU6GIz
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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8yPcCpTzcm
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKaHYEKsrf6
“Excuse me.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUZuDFaNT6R
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKORhOcHnWG
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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt2CEjD9iIC
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ43HpQ4tQIj
“This house is ours, Sasuke,”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSwIhidfIRo
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhOI7aLSzR4
Her fingers find their way around his, and Sasuke gives them a squeeze as he nods, his expression naturally mirroring her own.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3RQYQkQqTk
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡClO6w2qNjw
He could feel it, too.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwHhAxi2bVx
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8ETdTR7upQ
Behind them, the realtor clears his throat but Karin cuts him short before he could get a single word out.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3njHZdvNbT
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2UlYVTUPC7
“We’re buying it,” she states loud and clear, and she is positively glowing.
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She can hardly believe it.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8DPhexelGO
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCaoYSvlzA3
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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtR6tTtMNRc
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuwO3bwOGIt
It seemed like something straight out of one of those dramas she used to love to ridicule and secretly watch at the same time.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuTJeGOxDHg
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSfnsAHsI6P
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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLugFG1KIDg
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlckBsgvrEQ
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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrBgEsPeRxs
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOcvobMIY7G
“What’s so funny?”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF9wUtKpB1u
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡavNbTLi8dG
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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSKIuZ7sFpR
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiHMUXgX59B
“There’s just one thing off, though—” she observes, as an afterthought, “where’s my rival in love?”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaSodQjIQwo
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfdBfZbDVM9
“Nowhere,” he asserts, grave like only he could be about even the most foolish of things. “I am yours.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAD8qCm1Gve
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtWlzqemDQL
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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb0ogRTfY8k
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhftrNcCluO
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.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ22FVxZ0hy1
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBJNxK4ex5z
And he is breathing in her scent and tightly holding her in his arms—so tightly in fact that she can hardly breathe.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ83l9dgSsgQ
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmHgUbzeWTp
“S-asuke—” she chokes.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO59NtWr6lv
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8czDRiztpL
But he does not listen.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgnICKLjsM3
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzLSFekdzxR
“…mine.”
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670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRHw3sxvtXL
She soundlessly sneaks behind him and leans her chin on his shoulder.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1kTGYhjeMz
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7hQjt3CSWZ
“Sewing again?”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXopnkTsAY4
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwgzVbnNYRk
“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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK9bGDTwh3N
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCO6INylZx5
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.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp1U2NMVnED
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3UezNurrMl
“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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ5uHpbXjyC
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0qnp0X164G
“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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhfC5YpCKNm
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFJgafzUdMT
“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?”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwRs2jXdAaY
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoYdiaH3mW4
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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzfK9ECxUpS
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHkgQas64WP
And he finds himself smiling at her back, like one of those love-sick fools he always used to make fun of.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLRhzwn1Gzt
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgyuw6T02Up
But it’s just, back then—he had never thought someone could actually make him this happy.
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“Stop doing that, Sasuke.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiXS5IEwwIQ
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJhU2rTx4aX
“Doing what?”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSqDMFbV10S
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqGG6g5sEXk
“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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6zSMhf09l7
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqbe7dC1XaA
“Or what?”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwgeepdLwJt
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMATxHt1aKy
“…Or I may fall in love with you, Uchiha.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOIQ28yaXyz
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWJv4hF4ARb
She is both elated and horrified to see how soft and harmless his usual menacing and intimidating smirk looks as he replies.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuGmfYqGc68
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWzKSgTaFPQ
“… Maybe I wouldn’t mind that.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj4Ns1VhKjE
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnyFy2VjNjh
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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcjy3KlAyj4
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpmrbzcF72g
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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ43Go8LimnW
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm1iIk9rkda
Only a minute would be enough for a spy as skilled as herself.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtlMQGjQhlX
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8WJdQo1pWp
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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY1MiEjfD1y
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLadWFISVfm
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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzCubK8waXD
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxMtdqi76Hh
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—670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOe5Bs9UX3a
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMopXc9bzVA
To forget the atrocities she would find if she did.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQuT7dxKIVz
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgMuPA7ZBB7
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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh8sVwxdH1L
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYOyrruZ1My
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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbupe2QbqHN
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwfyehA8jxn
“Karin,” he calls, drying his hands on his pants—and he misses the way Karin’s shoulders tense, her back stiffening. “Are you alright?”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwIvkLBdySg
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHDwCoew37H
“Yeah,” she murmurs after a moment, and Sasuke blinks. She didn’t sound alright.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRZX8mBAzqO
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW1tuezhghY
“Karin,” he calls again, approaching her. “Leave that be, I’ll take care of it.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTUjA7REVM3
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiLyfat24ko
“I told you, it’s fine.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqurwLdzo0u
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡowPmOXuGNy
He frowns, concerned. “Karin—”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDt0M8N2QGL
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiATTMUFelq
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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTgUEU5KgEp
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc7z4NdbYLr
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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOIeTNvKpDH
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4eUXeDtiym
“Sorry, Sasuke—I think I’ll go and lie down for a while.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0sd3uGZ8Ms
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpdYXXCCepj
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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM3RgmZEHPh
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLj7NIcQ13D
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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT3fBID0HWj
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeOm6ovU6p4
“S-sasuke, what—?”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbNQmPxhURH
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrtJ8RxY7mr
“Where were you, Karin?”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjYDKYh4tWn
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjV0FPBkPha
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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡixwVpJdW3n
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoH7xHhe5Gk
It reeks of lighting and promises pain—it frankly terrifies her.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVgNc9GQZ8v
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUMg68xxbD4
But she holds her ground.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHcSQN2Aeet
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzAS3aZf69h
“I—I was having lunch with my parents, Sasuke. They called to invite us today but you were at—”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkPY5E4R05g
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdP8x1Bu5ju
“Liar,” he grits out, and Karin’s blood runs cold. “I called them myself. You were not with them. So, where were you?”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsXs1xvRRig
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbPGeD1cDoa
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—”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUxegOc7hUi
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡamK81WCF22
“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?”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqYJLOw3xeU
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzLg26NJS10
“Sasuke, I—”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBrofBD5pYh
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVlj464X1up
“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?”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAbbk2FoAXh
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3HHmjA7nFu
A part of her hates herself for how easily the answer comes forth to her lips. For how true it remains. “… I do, Sasuke.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWp498Xh9st
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSiKKC9vPd6
She hears his smile, “Good. Then, you will stop seeing them, won’t you? Those girls.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQAboQAMJbX
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUDscEVjJwz
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.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡREB5XqpyRD
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTXhqrpnSNG
I want you all for myself—is what Karin hears instead, and she frowns. “Sasuke, you can’t be serious—they are my friends!”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk8akCxKGXO
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXZHdXkPcZ7
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?”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡepY4kG7gH1
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM3D4trEVvL
“I—” yes, he is—was. Is.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBkTG3Lnizm
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqlm6660Y57
And that frightens her more than he possibly could.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAnBuHEd1iY
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqLOwWq7x8C
“—alright, Sasuke… you win.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpiEsgOLzkJ
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ23HzfMOoI2
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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd6uZUmkjUk
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF2RKbyO2pI
Even himself.
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHzv2VEQoU7
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670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKPspZ8xpOs
The silence is deafening. The unsaid drawing knots with his vocal chords, until he decides that enough has been enough.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvStfE6ci80
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtvB047htpD
“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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs3sNJWTEIb
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRjApgwycMn
She doesn’t bulge. “What?”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxrHlXvIrpp
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU0gnw7rNIl
And perhaps that’s what worries Sasuke the most.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Au8cAzuCK
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0NBDKZtN7e
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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmTq3WJc3m5
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgq1S1OKPDS
“Don’t try to avoid the subject, Karin. There is something you aren’t telling me, isn’t there?”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMu2EdpJMRK
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLbVQ6GH0a4
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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAeKnrY3LPb
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHgVBNOo0M6
And Sasuke wants nothing more than to ask her to stop—but he is too scared to do so.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxDSlIjD11C
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnwtVkmOBeY
“Eat, Sasuke. It’s going to get cold.”
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7NK6m7Hyud
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670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYO0R8kf1mx
He rolls the raspberries between his fingers, memories swirling in his head.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLoqUydYw6Z
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCdsQWJntnS
He has always had a very good memory; and throughout his life, it has proved to be a curse more often than a blessing.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxMJrVwdhuJ
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLCB7cHQV99
In this case, it is both at once.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwpVEmtSi0a
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXehBE7OFDQ
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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyPzrwwSbgs
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqHOoqHMOXI
A girl sending him off with a sad smile, and never looking back.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVNFObdz0Cq
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNpjphTtK33
Broken promises.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6xLx80rWAV
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBPhALxnzOl
A call. A funeral.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhfRcLzR8uQ
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5sgOosWHnw
And tears.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzVbVOeiLhY
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNFuFs6mYxc
Heartbreak.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrJ5nKlv4cz
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt1E7UEfnkR
Loneliness.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrDFGpDmGar
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtrSNQlzQ8n
…then there was nothing else.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyn4B8VUxNG
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzl6XAZsHht
And then there was everything all over again.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDxWZLWA8N9
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ62UO41TJxI
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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrEF5RTC2yx
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJwvVaQjGYV
He can’t stop.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdDwl8UaWSE
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡupu4qx14qN
He does not want to.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2DK1mJU3kX
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN0LNymBa0D
One of the raspberries snaps, juice rolling down his fingers—but he does nothing to clean it up.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBsuJTRPhKO
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBO0d2nNNKK
The door creaks open.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe9rcdufB6b
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFcLvBEYV9a
“Uchiha-san, you have to eat.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLAWJTqFVbL
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDSNk2dbZvm
The nurse says, more out of habit than anything else; but he is too far away to hear—670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLG6EcGckaj
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk8220EFw5v
(“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.)670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9aDioejRny
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPgWV24HGBG
—and it’s been a year since the patient of the room 723 has pronounced a single word.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvYTgEA7CiG
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTrc774Ne82
(And a five-year old Karin is smiling.)
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670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaS5wW25KRF
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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡavuQiEhkiy
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7nZVzV02X8
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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhg1zNy6Csb
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS18Ya3ITvn
Karin was sitting on the bed, unnaturally straight and still; her eyes vacant and unseeing, telltale trails of dried tears on her cheeks.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUKljbvpQy5
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS0jgN8ElTY
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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN88yxED4jC
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbaOzdNfMIq
“Karin…” his voice is faint; a tentative call more to spur himself into motion than to reach her. “Karin, what’s wrong?”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9fcrtuCTmX
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy2wke8sV6n
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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaduJ2bdMlD
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK66j0Kipr6
And then she parts her lips.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFzrcYHiduK
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJwK4rODPJI
“Sasuke… I had a dream… a new one.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxewNQQPMzD
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI90zRejyEL
Sasuke swallows; what could she have possibly seen to put her in such a state?670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTbHjnHcf94
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgMzmJuLxT3
“Karin, I…” the redhead simply shakes her head, and to his ever-growing alarm there are fresh tears dripping from her eyes.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMTl1lfjsG2
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqnIZPvrkOW
“Forget it, Sasuke… it’s better if you do.”
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiJiHtThLzV
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670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrlETgom6uY
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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZynCuquZMq
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPaln3DXmOr
“Stop it, Karin. You were not supposed to care about him—”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNdhHru2awn
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNnOrnJg95a
“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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFGEmC9Ro4e
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlOjkq1K8K1
It makes something in her tightly clench.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlWaeN8BT2E
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB2IEk1RbgM
“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.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx7jGV2JkEY
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcBfa5Ni0Dp
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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtBQ2CNYQET
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTmK5duBoto
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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZtlhfAWIiC
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyhyqhlSLuY
She can hear them coming from her, and she knows she won’t be able to escape—but that was fine.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIogizEGE4o
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhu0eDbIqym
She would take as many of them as she possibly could before going down, and—670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy3Z7fQit6z
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3nkRCQoW0Y
“…we’ll meet soon, Sasuke.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrkyZQvFNHl
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9DP7ZtEF8Q
—and Sasuke had always liked souvenirs.
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670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcmXqSOgmvb
He is crudely woken up by Karin screaming his name.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKR3DSeGPZI
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV0PSgWDxuy
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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0YVfDxzBMA
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNjeED86Nlw
In fact—she seemed to only be getting worse.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡng74vzWXlk
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLlxa8t7zNX
“Sasuke, no—!”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ9jz2l64Xb
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu1ln2ua4fX
“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—”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBwhzFxLlK9
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ44bEo3FG95
But his sincere promise is cut short by her terrified sob.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDBcFf3NpA2
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJsaWUMbiTR
“N-no, Sasuke—get away from me!”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1f2VeYuNOJ
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9xCFrVUeRR
Sasuke jumps back, as if burnt. “W-what…?”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5uIGHHVSxI
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmNTHxrQuRH
He could not believe his ears—she was frightened—of him?670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKjrtqDPT1v
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhDHQ1KZbhZ
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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNLjJIOMsG6
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf6SBZditqC
‘… They weren’t always nice, Sasuke. They rarely were.’670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkEyiEu8A6X
‘What weren’t?’670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZa2DAuEA2Q
‘...You.’670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡywLiiVpSge
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgKU4YENvQT
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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ4dKUzq6l6
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG4PtwJBDJu
Ghosts he has started to fear, too.
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670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjqLlcdASva
“Karin,” he whispers affectionately, caressing her cheek with his right hand, “I need you.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPOo46L390m
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL1D7KZ7VKz
Karin swallows the knot in her throat and forces her knees to remain firm, “I—I know, so plea—”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQG4a24AUsr
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKFRqkgGYi7
“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.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKBuzk8VIOV
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU6kQZ4ETUe
“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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡObk1QrxQtI
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX8nSZijcfK
“I’ll see you soon… Karin.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5dyortRJdC
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLjUjf0OQwA
He says, and his words are as loud as the gunshot that follows.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAqADLxeTGE
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLzhkkTu5AD
And then her lifeless body is crumbling to the ground, his soon to follow.
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670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5vR58hRdNY
“What was I doing to you?”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuTSJP7Fduu
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjSJ19wfg5s
“… I don’t remember.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZL7F8QlERv
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4xhp7sT6Ap
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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuaKznXYMZh
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHr3tZn94JG
But he has played that game long enough.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZTpXz9AeZ2
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpeYznfNzaM
He cannot continue to allow himself to remain blissfully unaware while she battles on her own.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAjYSt54Cvu
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZXs180FhJ3
“Don’t lie to me, Karin.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoxoHa05CiH
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdLdYLE6HiH
“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.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAs6K6lcZJl
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡir4MjnpMOc
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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmvy4aP0pk0
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGnXDUXcPTV
“…Tell me the truth, Karin.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKARo4xZf3L
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Karin takes a deep breath, and Sasuke braces himself.
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The world seems to slow to a halt as she coughs up blood, the sword cleanly piercing her chest and stopping dangerously close to his own heart.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLJoxh77F2X
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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—670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6vjj0FsGke
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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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFkBKAT9Pyg
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“Idiot, I… told you… to move, Sasuke…”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGK3r9XOPFf
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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—”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3x7UFeajzh
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGQUNWtvAU4
“Sa…suke,” and though her voice is nothing but a dying whisper, he is rendered silent at once. “Promise me… you won’t… die.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡblPyJDaSie
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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—”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8BuzzCJvWN
670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrht1afyZe5
“—make you… regret it… I know,” her smile looks like unleashed tears. “I admit… this… wasn’t exactly… what I had… in mind.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5HAzacbvzv
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There is a choked sob—and he barely registers it is his own.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFnG2M3xMR2
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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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLBby1PJp0t
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“Don’t… all I want…ed… is for you… to smile… like that day.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsuhyMN5JFN
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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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPObWq3cWuP
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And she slips away through his hesitation like he had always slipped through her fingers.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnw4L8ol9NK
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“See ya… Sasuke.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUqJ8WySk9S
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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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGz1I1zoAMa
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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—670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdgOX8UCMXB
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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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxc1GE8nUJF
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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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFAQaG2qdG3
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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?”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaFqcyjCZ4m
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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.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC2oxpAwYbk
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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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpwWpcVxctK
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“And, above all…”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI1iJDk7BMz
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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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrsUaVwLnqf
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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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKqh68gbwB0
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Except that it doesn’t get to.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiLLRCH4kWO
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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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzh0vWdVi4w
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“See ya.”670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj1DxcOAOvz
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This is what I give,670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtDp92KTUjf
A circle is complete.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡckt3j10g0A
Another circle spins670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ34JaxHK2iw
There's life within,670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ51yZ9aV3gp
Within
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end.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5SOwsw3v4Y
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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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi3s7jGwa6e
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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.670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvy1AM5bMXY
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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~!670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6k1J7RFZdZ
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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 lol670Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMxjDh1yplD
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Thanks for reading! ♥
Tags: fanfic, karin, naruto, sasukarin, sasuke
ns216.73.216.82da2
