[FANFIC - HBD, KARIN!] PÉRIODICITÉ (SK)
Title: périodicité514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLqqC3fRxrF
By: Kanae (Goth-Punk88 @ ff.net)514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNvsXndeh60
Rating: K+514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfaEDfzs4ra
Word Count: 2.817514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqeEqYFBA17
Author's Notes: Made for our "Karin's birthday week" over at the Ice&Spice FC @ NF ♥ I... don't even know what this is, or where it came from, and it's possibly one of the cheesiest pieces I've written for SK. But I kind of regret nothing lol - Oh and that novice drawing at the top of the fic? yup, mines. guilty as charged orz514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz2wGf1A0QN
Summary: June 20 has never been an ordinary day for one Uzumaki Karin.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Xvd1KyPSn
périodicité (periodicity)514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8DNYt4hMtz
"recurrence at regular intervals of time."
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPziQUjqce8
périodicité;514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQMBy4rWD93
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOhYG53Qva1
by Kanae
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVBjvVBEfEy
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVm7onEXspo
“Don’t look so down, darling. This is a great chance for you.”514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoGVxgLkm8f
“…Yeah… a great chance to make a fool of myself, you mean.”514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡchC2bKniu1
A twinkling laugh, a delicate hand warmly lands over a girl’s head and—
.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqoHOZsSi1J
.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO9fCUoJ57V
.
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlr2KcTDUqH
At twelve, there aren’t many things that Karin has done or that she wishes to do. She is just an ordinary girl from an ordinary family living in an ordinary village; there is nothing special about her, nothing out of the norm, nothing that makes her stand out—if one ignores her flagrant red hair, that is.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9NLEHIUa16
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTimtvBQyI9
But that is just what her father seems to have wanted to do all along.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡudIOZGSF9x
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0UULJLUOFZ
You’re going out? Don’t forget to put your hood on, Karin, he would say, whenever Karin had to wander away from the immediate realms of their home. Why, papa? She used to ask when she was no more than a little girl; but that was a habit that slowly but surely withered and died as she began to grow up—as she started to grow aware enough to notice the wary air her father’s kind, wise red eyes acquired as the reminder left his lips.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw6QNM1wmwP
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf1EMgXY1rU
As she grew older, Karin learned to recognize it for what it truly was: more a warning than a piece of advice; and she began to grow more jittery as result, more worn at the seams.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWVdXZXt7xB
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTP0WuQr7yr
Her red hair was her only outstanding trait, the only thing that made her different—without it, Karin may as well fade into the scenery.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwJDA1JFaMd
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdpaCQ9MuGy
She may as well not exist.
.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡclCRUmcZ5c
.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS1bP2Jw0Y2
.
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3KaDpOFF8s
—and ruffles her hair.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Qnw6ynFBw
“Now, now, don’t be like that. I have a good feeling about this, you know?”514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbXETDnw0Vt
“…What do you mean, mama?”514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡasJIKq95HB
A secretive smile highlighted by—
.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOCMoK5943V
.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmpJwQ87Qhv
.
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ51M8VEHJWa
At thirteen, Karin nearly dies.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3waX0GTeRo
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡppCvNKdhni
And then she is saved—saved by a striking boy with a rich voice and eyes that warm her up to the core the moment he smiles—at her, for her—and suddenly, Karin does not feel so ordinary anymore.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAJUi7KlFPa
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3X4BNZ9ip5
There is something different about you, her mother tells her once with a knowing smile, ever since you came back from Konoha.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2PgqZ99L91
Karin jumps in her seat, awkward denial bubbling up in her throat and evaporating the moment her mother laughs, I like it. You look prettier, Karin.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDM1s0BZ9Gn
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡItJHr7QEUv
She does not know about that—can’t see any difference as she looks at herself in the mirror, self-consciously pulling on some strands of red hair and squinting at her reflection.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrxTwUQ9lKa
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡijweygqLpH
What she does know, though—what she can’t forget, is—514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmOjwpt1E3N
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEMYuFgsQNc
See ya, he had said, and it takes Karin a surprising amount of time to realize that, for the first time since she could remember, there was something she wanted.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdBxyADyfGU
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF25KPFnbkT
Wanted for herself; not for her parents, not for those she cares about. Something that was completely hers, in all its staggering intensity and youthful hope.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbpmNjUPjb0
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwhDaHBrTro
See ya, he had said, and until then Karin had never quite known how good it felt to feel alive.
.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkiDmbvSH5w
.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXEN5pjY0nD
.
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPC13yw1GTd
—by amber eyes that seem to spark.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh4RnrKJHQM
“Ara~ I wonder if I should tell you. It is a safely guarded secret, you see.”514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTNQVDadNng
“I will keep it! I promise, I won’t tell anybody, mama!”514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa8Y0efTUFw
A chuckle, “Alright, alright! Since you insist, I'll tell you. It—”
.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwTKgzrkyZt
.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfLcRczjVsp
.
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbK1VVuJK3N
At fourteen, Karin breathes her last breath.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUv5Hw9ZkcJ
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWZAIesSEpH
There is no blood—not hers—involved, nor are there any wounds—not physical ones—or any white walls or tunnels and gates of light—no light, only dark—only smoke—only the smell of burnt flesh and intest—514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3EIdVAGLml
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY2bNISyG5a
There is, however, anguish. An agony so great that Karin bit her lip until it bled, fisted her palms until her nails left permanent crescent-moon shaped scars in the contours of her skin, new batches added to already cracked life lines.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn692euUZAQ
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3F6ogLL45V
There are silent, chocked sobs that made her throat burn and her sight blur until she has ran out of tears.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvR1EAASA8k
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlfnfxU87XI
And there is also horror; a burning, paralyzing sort of horror that reaches its peak and fades into a mute but perpetual tune stringing the chords of her being as she comes back and stares at the corpses of her father and mother, unrecognizable masses of ashes retching of burnt blood and bodily fluids that make a pile of vile crawl its way up to her tongue.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz2tR7gvlBi
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv31SAtaAKt
And then, there is he—sidestepping the man with ominous dark chakra and extending a hand towards her, onyx eyes boring into her own with the same might with which the understanding in his chakra drove her horror away.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmbPfjML98c
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmfsyic6QVg
You staying here will amount to nothing, but you leaving just might, he says. Come, Karin, he calls.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgfY0x9b2jy
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxaW0VxaX4R
She takes his hand, and there is hope.
.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzvttCnOZPA
.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZzIeqBCAu6
.
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFctFA6q2Rf
“—It is said that one too many women in our family have found their fate in the lands of Konohagakure.”514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBS9Iv0NqJJ
“Their… fate?”514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLQJa2t4Ntt
Her voice curls up around the edges, as if it were a spell.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVXysBh3MSc
“You will understand in—”
.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHpzDVy44OS
.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIOfGq9Z7TT
.
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9AkDEi7EPt
At fifteen, Karin has shed her skin.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTfrswDXui9
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1szcztJepV
There are now sharp edges where there used to be soft contours; angry frowns where there used to be kindness, smirks where there used to be smiles; buoyancy where there once was shame, barriers in what once were vast landscapes—and there are also scars.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtCvcN3GwuD
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwCGrzG03wv
Tell-tale scars of the Karin she used to be and new, revolting ones from the Karin she has become. She hides the latter and denies the former; pretends they’re long gone, never aching, never hurting anymore.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxQZQVkiTfP
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwGj0w2SQKL
Yet, he sees them all. As if she wore them on her sleeve.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPT2a3wtavq
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYjDGjGwslk
“Say, Sasuke, since we’re alone how about we—”514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTlGvD24JN0
“I have to leave soon, Karin.”514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6EuhfPXsPJ
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWeoxxgL0QR
She puts her glasses back on and crosses her arms with a frown, moving away from him. “Why did you even bother coming, then?”514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA6KSIYMJZg
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKcHTPUNmLz
Sasuke says nothing, then. He says nothing, and Karin straightens, her back suddenly assaulted by gooseflesh; could he—?514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA5U8xsJgr3
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAuYBE5HQOt
Could he have possibly known? Known how before his unexpected arrival, Karin had been hounded by her memories. Seeing familiar faces in the nameless prisoners of the base, ghosts come back to haunt her and pull her down with them to the depths of hell—a hell made of nothing but flames and guilt of mistakes she is not sure she would take back, even if she could.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCpb7hBGq0E
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB20RkfFT2w
“…I had business here, is all.” His voice reaches out to her through the haze of her thoughts, pulling her back with nonchalant words that seemed devoid of any meaning.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZLespn48zz
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtWS8ZlaK8r
But as she turns and her eyes meet his, Karin sees.
.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡthk20rV17D
.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtomk7vGgkn
.
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsiP1KT2ntP
“—in due time, Karin.”514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsgLst2zzSr
“Still, mama… it just isn’t fair.”514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm3V0Dv1jHB
“What isn’t, dear?”514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGFSlrESYu6
“… I wanted to spend my birthday with you and papa.”514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvRC8VOOEkp
Her smile—
.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfAEL8mpq2n
.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfLGWMxkyFl
.
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmgjYxLYXbW
At sixteen, Karin falls.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyvv56tN8j4
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD9Ah6Iar9E
She falls from a great, great height at appalling speed; she hasn’t even had time to acknowledge the abysm before she has hit rock bottom, her goals and dreams spilling through her open chest and pooling on the ground alongside everything she knows.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrLSo7dLYYN
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Nu6EIxfZh
Alongside everything she once held dear. Everyone she relied on. The one she trusted.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0VtUauu31F
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA2ReXbmVvA
Now, there was no one left.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDIkNKXmEIw
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5V1Y8GOBrY
No one left but the roaming, empty carcass of the boy she once loved; the boy who taught her what it felt like to be alive, the boy who gave her hope and helped her find meaning back when she had lost her way, the boy who helped her to be reborn from her ashes into someone better; someone stronger, someone capable of standing up for herself and for him, too. The boy who flared her will and her drive with a single touch, with a single look, with the simplest of words—514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEQw77WqIzU
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmOEREn9QRc
I need you514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwR5juODX35
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKV0AnPbUxq
“So much for that,” Karin mutters to no one, her back pressed against the cold walls of a cell and her fingers absentmindedly tracing the ghost of the wound that had taken her heart out for good.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZCaPzmAEpC
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6sjPFoV0A4
And then it comes. An almost unnoticeable flicker—too subtle to be perceived, but too longed for to be ignored.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrgeXdx49eN
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMhUSRm1IFs
No… I’ve had enough, Sasuke but her withered heart is trying to beat again, and it makes up her mind for her.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9SfkCm5kN2
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1uksUqSjOU
“…So much for this,” Karin murmurs to herself—and then she is on her feet again, her inner eye tracing his every move.
.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe3d1ZqSlPA
.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdhxQSOU1kc
.
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwtdkZ7KtNO
—melts.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVshjbi64hW
“Cheer up, love. There will be many birthdays left for us to celebrate together.”514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEoYA3db1QS
“… You promise?”514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCGwyhu7422
Her gaze softens.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsYu8PpJQVV
“I promise.”
.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRHnA1wCCb2
.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS1BHpTImgZ
.
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC85KIOnBrD
At seventeen, Karin kisses him.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ7XBK5I8vw
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2oSljJbVTS
She impulsively crashes her lips against his, her arms thrown around his neck in a desperate attempt to hold onto him—to anchor him down before his essence could have the chance to fade into pitch black darkness again, to feel him before he could have the chance to waste his life—her life, their future—chasing phantoms all the way to the death.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtmXfYrtqHC
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy5no6a0gy6
When the impromptu kiss ends, Karin sees him—the him she knows, the him she loves—flickering across his eyes for the briefest of moments, and she hears her name resounding in her ears even though he has not uttered a single sound.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRMiBXb5deD
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBd3tc7j2E9
She smiles ruefully; trembling eyes boring into his—and then wordlessly lets him go.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpx6o9AzzYv
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHLJUhMSeNr
She has given him a reason, but the choice is his to make.
.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2YhtdqoznD
.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdzVvFpx1Yy
.
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBpkfA2KkIK
“Ha, so it was about a boy, I knew it!”514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAvRhP6tIHo
“Shh, mama! I don’t want papa to hear! And… it’s not like I’m ever going to see him again, anyway….”514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡujni6FvvPV
Her mother has to hide her smile, “Actually, Karin… something tells me you just might.”
.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxk7ZidqKYF
.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrCiRdp7g26
.
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxgkaRqS7D6
At eighteen, Sasuke kisses her back.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqLsON0dN4j
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrYqPiSeHKz
It is not nearly as passionate as her—their—first kiss had been; there is no desperation, no adrenaline—but there is craving all the same, waving through the serenity threading over her through the gentle pressure of his fingertips over the nape of her neck, enveloping her like a makeshift cloak and warming her down to her very core.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV0ibu8YLWJ
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfwMfgEGPXL
And Karin feels her very essence quiver under it—under the warmth and the way her heart seemed to want to leave her and jump into him instead, to claim the home it has always longed for; the home it has always fought for.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQmkwmPnJj0
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3zU3MdBm0C
The home it belonged to.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmmuZdZp7I7
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ0zduJlxMM
As he kisses her, sunrays clumsily dancing upon her lips, Karin feels like she would vaporize into him if Sasuke were to take a single breath.
.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhMpjLSHWjI
.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0YCKKG60ns
.
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYXF00eDdjo
“How do you know?”514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡchICdPB7oz
“Because, that’s how fate works, Karin.”
.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Fm2mPkGyu
.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl4MW9TrYVE
.
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNYVidA6hVP
At nineteen, Karin smiles.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKdO0uIgr7c
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXan7RVskwQ
“Itachi,” she says, and Sasuke looks up to her, startled. “The name… Itachi. That’s what you wanted, isn’t it?”514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfahg7rSwip
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmaSWLZB7xF
Sasuke parts his lips—once, twice—but no sound comes out and soon enough he gives up altogether, lowering his eyes to stare at the bundle in his arms. It stares back at him, impossibly red eyes widened with innocent curiosity, pink tongue sticking out from underneath rosy lips.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6DiuXcvefq
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrgkBCIRrgh
“Are you sure, Karin?” he whispers after what seemed like an eternity, and Karin’s smile only widens.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsUC12x746P
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMm2ihJ6S0S
“Yeah.”514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXkacz0mM3f
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRvAtTHEKmw
And as she sees them—as she sees Sasuke hold their baby as if he were holding the whole, wide world in the crook of his arms—Karin remembers her mother with such vivid clarity that she catches a breath of her perfume. The memory—the vision is bittersweet, and it makes Karin’s throat clog, because she recognizes that look.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVRQi1J11QP
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ8j8yFaqqP
It was the way her mother used to look at her father and her, eyes brimming with love and pride, unspoken but ever-present, never changing. Karin had not been able to understand it, then—514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrB07WmhB94
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfQazIV0f5d
But she did, now. And the understanding squeezed her heart in a way that was both, wonderful and terrible. To think it took her this long to finally understand, once and for all, what it all meant.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDEbF15F867
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGFQGm9S2Ku
To understand who her mother truly was, what her mother felt, what her mother desired for her—and how her mother hurt.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuAMT5dkZU2
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZYofl2YjoS
You’re special, Karin. She would tell her sometimes, her eyes half-lidded and afflicted by thoughts she would never get the chance to say aloud. One day, you will realize that.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMJm9X5O520
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0cakfUdDRn
She realized it, now; what it meant to love to her roots, what it meant to be a woman.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjMXRjcPcrF
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHTfjsfcNqq
An Uzumaki woman.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoUtXKcb1ww
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxYhMHquFhE
“… Thank you, Karin.”514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv6ETemZE4t
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEKU3CiDgle
“Idiot,” she shakes her head, weakly, traitorous tears prickling at the corners of her eyes and threatening to spill. “That... should be my line.”
.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVbhhlbH1pq
.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoxZ66fV8Ji
.
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGDG9hAwGik
“They will be here soon,”514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjD6XYWBTwA
“Who will be here soon, mama?”514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1juqzrfAPl
“It could be anyone,” she finally replies, and her hold is steady as she combs through Karin’s hair, “we have long since lost any care for their identities, Karin. What matters is… what their presence means.”514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuvDdlr7X3G
“And what is that?”514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVtfmsdCrHj
Her silence provides the only answer; and Karin wishes it weren’t enough.
.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiFFKgmrwQs
.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ89NtYL7SJI
.
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbs4Wc6n6IP
At twenty, Karin celebrates her birthday for the first time in seven years.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe0UQzCouQ8
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ185oMslRew
And it starts with a soft but firm admittance whispered as she caresses the baby’s nose, all too aware of the pleasant weight of Sasuke’s gaze, of the feelings swirling in his chakra.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3GTei1LF6x
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8NIMZzzRdK
Hearing them is unexpected, however—and her widened eyes snap to his only to find his lips beginning to curve, his own hand coming to caress her cheek in much the same way she was doing to their son.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSEUFjCm7FX
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKiRZL0Pi0g
“W—what was that about?”514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmSSb9QdYnQ
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnxe005LBq4
She asks; some habits are hard to break, and her awkward way of fighting down her embarrassment seemed to be as persistent as ever.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOGbBUpMzr6
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsFD9UiypRk
Sasuke doesn’t seem to mind, though. If anything, his smile seems to morph into an amused smirk as he shrugs, noncommittally. “I just felt like saying it, is all.”514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8QRu0FW7sY
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyEkdizK2mb
“Dumbass,” she mutters, hoping the darkness will hide the way her cheeks have warmed up like bonfires, so reminiscent of her prepubescent days when all she could do was a dream she would one day lay with Sasuke the way she does now. “...You didn't need to.”514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHh1hEWykeQ
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLClmJ0oMkG
“I know, Karin,” and this time he is positively smiling, suddenly mutating back into the Sasuke that had stolen her heart so many years ago. “But it still felt good to say it.”514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsmjvJUKv3T
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIjobEEr5oB
Karin says nothing in response; simply snuggles closer to him, eyes on the baby as he opens his eyes and blinks, his little hands curling and uncurling up into the air.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz1r6VJctTa
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiREytQx3jZ
“He is going to be strong,” Sasuke assesses, and Karin would have mocked him by how ridiculous it was that he sounds that proud of Itachi when the baby hasn’t even said his first word yet, weren’t it because she felt the same way.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAuAFWIxUxQ
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmi48rEImgT
He was going to be strong. A little piece of herself and Sasuke—a memento of those who had given their life up for them; a torch for those who had granted them the chance to live this moment.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfMZxzKwBgb
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ75uuLrhj1P
To live this happiness.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd11C5fJpHx
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡePg808JIU4
“Happy birthday, Itachi,” she whispers, and squeezes Sasuke’s hand. “I love you.”514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQZ9Bz7c5VH
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTU0FtH9ZgW
The words feel dusty, and unknown—but familiar.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkSL3iPI3E9
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuCgaWwNWSR
She knew them, once.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBXnPD0mhmQ
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCCenowkkIJ
She has known them all along.
.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ65KUCkBv5f
.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn0ZznnkewE
.
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡloAXoyGofz
I'm sorry, Karin.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiFmyHpQKWt
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu78Eg1MCG5
Were the last words her mother told her before her father ushered her out of the house and prompted her to run—run as far as she could, away from them—and forced her to leave them to die.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFmLxWawwEe
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwt7sQxUwcT
To survive.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlK2degTg8t
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKCax3hPuQA
Those words used to hunt Karin down in those nights when sleep refused to lend her its hand, the eerie walls of Orochimaru’s hideout caving in on her and Sasuke’s steady chakra being her only relief, her only shield.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4EkwIx9GtE
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9K84AVs5Yg
Yet, what haunted her weren’t the words themselves, but their meaning; Karin had instinctively known then, just as clear as she knows now, that her mother was not apologizing for forcing her to forsake them and live on.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDuSkMAGPQa
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoK3RAXXyOc
No, that was not it—that was not the kind of woman her mother had been.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6B4qVO0IaP
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd9Ifqv06vp
Instead, she had apologized for something else entirely.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt84YCiHUJ0
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcf8p6apZpX
For the unsaid.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbkgtqoCrrs
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeXhALOefk3
“What are you thinking about, Karin?”514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ85uTApFlvL
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBL94Lb5zOS
Her lips curl upward as he takes the seat by her side, repentances fading away into the evening sky.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu27dvUOvTF
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpU2HYfjyrk
“Nothing,” she replies, threading her fingers through his and gazing back to their children, who were laughing and running together through the backyard, a lively mixture of reds and blacks; the Uchiha and Uzumaki crests proudly etched on their backs, on their hearts.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡen68lJOG4G
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVemo5HWXF6
“Nothing at all.”
.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWUwvt8BHOu
.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0D9FfgjUgf
.
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡACQONPxbqY
"You will be fine."514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkrSnIPb3uK
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ08cUbQ4Mah
And through the tears and the pain and the loneliness and the longing and the hardships and the fear, Karin should have known better.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyOE8NpvbYj
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG2wcV2Ipah
Her mother was always right.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp196pUiWQt
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlWQRDCmKyH
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDw4KwNxIEe
-514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJgtcK6Zu5H
end.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLSAV54vu6c
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡheKTW15lj0
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvtCaGzaaGv
I... seriously don't know where all this came from; my best guess: Uzumaki feelings. Uzumaki feelings everywhere. lol, I tried to play with the different facets of Karin, and how she grows into each one of them; plus SK, of course.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQnZkA3JWq9
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWcKTRkgTZC
The stuff I wrote here is not quite how I see things going, though; to do that I would have had to write about 395749574 vignettes per year, rather than only one lol so I went for rushed versions of a couple of scenarios I had thought about.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6lcpBs72WB
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM2tg6ybr4W
Oh and while I did not state it in the fic: every vignette takes place on Karin's birthday, so the baby was born on June 20, too.514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpZpm08QWoB
514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf4OliNYIw9
Anyway, hopefully, it wasn't that terrible! ♥514Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVfDx7p1zhg
tags: fanfic, karin, naruto, sasukarin, sasuke
i'm : 
cheerful
listening to: never let me go - florence + the machine
ns216.73.216.19da2
