[FANFIC - HBD, KARIN! PII] READING BETWEEN THE LINES ; (SK)
By: Kanae (Goth-Punk88 @ ff.net)567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjnZe1S49pT
Rating: K+567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ3OC05Qt0F
Word Count: 1.956567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1IMD4K5Yfs
Author's Notes: A lighthearted, crack-ish piece, in contrast to the overly fluffy one. I didn't have a clue of what to call it though, so the title is pretty random lol567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1bHnc2nccD
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reading between the lines ;567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡikGCgzhJ31
by Kanae567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI6X4YaEFdv
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Stupid Orochimaru.567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgVuA3QEI7q
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Figures he would push her transfer to the Southern base to tomorrow, out of all days. At the tender age of fourteen, there are many things that Karin has shed and discarded—girly emotions and interests that she has cut loose, as a meaning to let go of unnecessary weights that would do nothing but hold her down.567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs1JZuf0e84
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This particular weight, though, was proving to be quite hard to seize and dispose of. It only came once a year, after all.567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1eQoTDwXPf
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And now it would be ruined.567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsg9SQvcMSf
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The thought makes her lower lipstick out in a pout, which promptly gives way to a scowl as she concludes—not for the first time—that the man had probably done it on purpose.567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzOVES7k02h
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No, he had definitely done it on purpose. Forget that such a childish action should be leagues beneath a power-hungry maniac like himself; when it came down to it, Orochimaru’s hobby was making people miserable. He got a kick out of it, so in retrospect, Karin guessed she should have seen it coming.567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjdmsLODCtE
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Still, stubborn and proud as she was, she had not given him the pleasure; she had taken the news with a straight face and easily slipped into the act that had taken her months to perfect, but that had started to bear its fruits—even if it had yet to stop making her sick.567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVawtDVNC1I
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Understood. You won’t be disappointed, Orochimaru-sama.567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC8VEwj1geF
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The man had simply smirked, mirth in those gashes he had for eyes. I know.567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7OWnhM5Y08
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Karin knew, too, even though she rather wished she didn’t.567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAXtC8lo6LS
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It was embarrassing—more like humiliating, actually—to acknowledge that, while she had gotten playing the part of the loyal subordinate down to an art, she had yet to master the act of not having feelings for Sasuke.567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqZxDMbdHzz
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She would do well most of the time; great, actually—no one would dare to second-guess that she held no interest in the boy, aside from a begrudging partnership.567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL7ym6Lh4dJ
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But then Sasuke would unexpectedly do something—a brief touch, a compliment, a look—and her façade would bend at the seams and the truth would sneak out in the form of traitorous blushes and awkward stuttering.567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxkFDLqgUjF
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Stupid Sasuke, Karin curses inwardly, her frown deepening as she airily snuck another shirt inside her bag. Making her expose her only weakness while simultaneously remaining completely oblivious about it.567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlRwJPBMahS
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It was no wonder that Orochimaru would want to separate them; Karin had seen that much coming a mile away, so while disappointing, it had not been a surprise. But this—the freaking timing was definitely beyond her expectations.567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFrzh1SpDRZ
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So focused was she on her thoughts, that she does not realize the chakra approaching her until he speaks.567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZAjlKWL16S
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“Still packing, Karin?”567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjGEtcvIUlN
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Startled, Karin turns only to find Sasuke casually regarding her from the threshold of the door, against which he was leaning. It takes her all of two seconds to get over her surprise and a couple of extra ones to stop chiding herself for letting her guard down.567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlez16h2XLO
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“I’m almost done,” she states, shifting her gaze back to her open bag. Not like she had much to pack, anyway; she had not taken anything with her when leaving her burning village to join Orochimaru—Sasuke—almost whole year ago, and since then the items of clothing she has acquired have been scarce. Such commodities were unnecessary given the new type of life she lead, and moreover—“Tch, Sasuke, when will you learn how to knock? I could be changing, for all you know.”567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW79YAcuSUD
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Karin does not look at him, there is no need to; she can easily picture the way he tilts his head to the side, bangs falling on his eyes and giving him an impossibly sexy aura as he smirks. “You would’ve stopped me from coming in, if you were.”567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzK9rlWKMmz
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Damn him. All plain logic even in the face of the prospect of seeing her in her underwear; why did she have to fall for such a clueless, hormone-less idiot, again?567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaF5pdAQTDA
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Oh. Right.567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhXzRwTPqug
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It takes her a considerable amount of will to repress the sigh that wanted to leave her lips, “Whatever.”567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX4Y9aFE2ML
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Suddenly she hears him shifting, straightening; and her hands halt in expectation, her thoughts and irritation quieting down to a soundless tune as she patiently waited for the words that would follow.567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCYZTkKYcpm
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“…You shouldn’t leave your door open like this, there.”567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTnT1GiuvDc
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He finally says, and Karin is thankful that her back is to him, or else he may have noticed the way her gaze softens, “I know.”567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7ptMI22iWo
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It’s Sasuke’s turn to wait, now; he seems to know it as instinctively as Karin herself did, and he does not utter a single word until she has gathered enough courage to ask what she has been wanting to—but refusing to—ask all along, not wanting to be perceived as weak—as scared. “How is it…? The Southern base, I mean.”567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7frY3hx5XU
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“I’ve never been there.”567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ211XXkJtUy
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“… I see.”567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKa2nJuwTYh
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Silence. For Orochimaru to have never taken Sasuke there, it could only mean one thing—567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNnk7xZpS5u
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“…Orochimaru told me it’s the less dangerous of them all,” the boy says, and as if to confirm her thoughts, his voice carries a different savor within it—one reserved to accompany his gaze whenever he regarded Orochimaru, or Kabuto, or those that bit—“You won’t have much on your case, aside of…”567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlybxTQ6B7P
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He does not need to finish; the unsaid rings loud and clear between them and both direct a look to her exposed, tarnished arms. There weren’t that many scars in them, yet—but she got the feeling there would be, soon. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out why Orochimaru wanted her as the sole jailer of the base—the thought makes her stomach clench, and so Karin pushes it away and focuses on something else before the feeling could threaten to take over her.567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡamK0sTWDzN
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She focuses on the one thing—the one person that had singlehandedly managed to help her endure everything she has gone through ever since she lost her family and village.567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXIP2Y3yJ83
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Sasuke.567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡosvbzv36tZ
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“Heh, so you asked him?”567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ6JRf0O4AJ
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He must have heard the mocking note in her tone, because he crosses his arms across his chest and furrows his brow, “Hn, so what?”567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg8vt0eVDOo
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She pretends to not have heard him, throwing him a roguish look over her shoulder and enjoying a little too much the way his frown deepens in response. He could be so amusing, sometimes. “You should know better, Sasuke; you don’t need to worry about me, I can defend myself just fine.”567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyHNzSTDZ3K
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“I’m not worried, Karin.”567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRDCS1h4c0l
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Karin snorts, “Sure you aren’t.”567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBwMzF2F5c1
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Sasuke wisely keeps his retort to himself, as expected—it’s been a while since he had realized that arguing with her took him nowhere. Both of them were too stubborn, and unlike him, Karin wasn’t planning to put leashes on her temper anytime soon.567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡylhBGE5eYz
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Anytime soon. Her eyes widen.567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkjPqiNqTOk
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“Say, Sasuke, did you ask Orochimaru for how long will I be there?”567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT0dMW43AXq
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He does not reply immediately; and in his silence, Karin hears the reply loudest of all. “… It’s undetermined.”567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡApdS8PrW1B
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“Oh,” is all she can muster, suddenly all too conscious of a single fact—just how long would it be before she saw Sasuke again? He was busy training, and Orochimaru rarely let him out of his sight as it was, and she—she would have her hands full handling the base by herself.567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4DY6NA9NuC
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Chances are she would not get to talk, feel or bicker with Sasuke for months.567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡir6sohkbgt
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Perhaps even years. The thought alone is able to make her blood run cold, and she almost lets out a gasp when Sasuke’s voice breaks through the heavy silence, as if reading her very core.567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyowe1AFVNy
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“… It won’t be that long, Karin.”567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCOhbAfP3M7
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When she looks at him, she finds a dangerous glint sharpening his eyes and at once knows what he means.567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcB7bhq0ll5
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Orochimaru would not be around for much longer.567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPjFhKS8OsX
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Karin swallows, a shot of adrenaline reigniting her veins.567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXi8pWw9NS3
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It is the unavoidable future; one that had been decided even before their paths crossed again, and one that Sasuke had set in stone ever since. Nothing Karin could do or say would change his mind, and so all she had left to do was trust him.567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0MYKB6KG1w
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“…Right,” she smirks, and makes a point of passing her concern as taunting mockery. “Just make sure to keep your head attached to your neck until then. You won’t have me around to heal you anymore, so you will have to get used to Kabuto.”567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwGatltQZap
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“Hn.”567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYOOQp1J4OU
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She sees his scowl, his derisive eye-roll—and somehow is suddenly acutely aware, to the point where she can almost feel it as a physical affliction, of how much she was going to miss him.567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvxXStcP8Vf
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Everything about him. From his ways to his silence to the way his chakra felt and the way he made her feel, in turn.567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzBpAK9e34z
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And for the briefest of moments, Karin cannot help but to indulge herself and wonder if he would miss her, too—though she knows better. Sasuke was too single-minded, too focused on his revenge mission to give a thought to anything else, but still—567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDgVKNU5Ryo
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Of course he would. He was only human, even if he would rather pretend—believe—otherwise, and she was the only person he spoke to out of his own volition. The only person he trusted; enough to rely on, enough to keep her around. If he is not lonely yet, then he is going to be lonely, now.567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1V9LVVMQZL
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As will she.567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmIav6SxE4Z
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It is that thought that prompts Karin to entertain being forward for a change and asking Sasuke to spend the night—if only as a birthday present.567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM7MtjvFA8T
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She is merely wetting her lips and preparing to take the chance and let out a say, sasuke when he beats her to it and calls her name.567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡizbssPKiGI
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Flabbergasted, Karin can only catch the pouch that is suddenly thrown at her, “Huh?”567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMPPqvj5VBh
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“Poisoned kunai,” Sasuke states with a slight, nonchalant shrug before sticking his hands into his pockets. “I thought they may come in handy.”567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw8Gwr4bGij
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She feels warm all over, and prays that Sasuke won’t notice the way her face seemed to be burning like a bonfire, “R-right.”567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5KzyCqQZ5L
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“See ya, Karin.”567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0ig8ocx43X
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“Later, Sasuke.”567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡimfnHx8gp1
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It is almost as embarrassing as her treacherous blush, but for a moment, Karin had actually thought—567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzMVmmbnJlq
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“Pft, as if.”567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9cYQCYpyZf
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She should have known better—Karin thinks, as she opens the pouch and takes out one of the kunai—Sasuke was not the kind to care about birthdays; and neither was she, for that matter. Not the Karin she was growing up to be, at least; she has no doubt that by next year, June 20 would be just another date.567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIddpUoTiB0
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Still… while it had not been a birthday present, it had been a nice gesture nonetheless. And then he went around denying that he cared, the nerve of him.567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcGCzsz66QP
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Seriously, Sasuke, you can be so basic sometimes. The thought makes her smile fondly, and she is just about to put the pouch away when she notices the inconspicuous little fan carved on its backside, just a small dot of reds and whites in what was otherwise an immaculate sea of beiges.567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBAX9EHltvc
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She blinks—once, twice—and then her smile morphs into a full blown smirk, her fingertips longingly tracing the pattern.567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPOXNDMtW3m
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Sasuke probably had not even noticed it—old habits die hard, after all, and he seemed to be as obsessed with that crest as he was with his revenge—but that hardly mattered, for at the end—567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9TMewgOtWO
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At the end, it all amounted to the same.567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFCbHXy6cQB
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“Happy birthday,” Karin mutters, an enthusiastic glint in her eye. “Uchiha Karin.”567Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS09ra91i2q
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end.
tags: fanfic, karin, naruto, sasukarin, sasuke
ns216.73.216.82da2
