[FANFIC - HBD, KARIN! PII] READING BETWEEN THE LINES ; (SK)
By: Kanae (Goth-Punk88 @ ff.net)486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrxY9O6LxuJ
Rating: K+486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡviCRjEHUwl
Word Count: 1.956486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpGiT5FPmB1
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 lol486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8vixiJITbU
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reading between the lines ;486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ19mThCW2wj
by Kanae486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZuqntdxxt7
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Stupid Orochimaru.486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmVuSq6ziHr
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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.486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvIsxGYRLvE
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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.486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIcxPu1b0lh
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And now it would be ruined.486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2dHBIPyKWh
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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.486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz013WTaulT
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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.486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaGhU3v0mhD
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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.486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM8BJCudddo
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Understood. You won’t be disappointed, Orochimaru-sama.486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeUDjSxvtad
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The man had simply smirked, mirth in those gashes he had for eyes. I know.486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXWgocybpcA
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Karin knew, too, even though she rather wished she didn’t.486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNrUMfAHOFK
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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.486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4oLsuyg2CL
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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.486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQSt8b4VEt4
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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.486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaPH0LMnvhJ
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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.486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgGaaEnp43w
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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.486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCPwYCrrQSS
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So focused was she on her thoughts, that she does not realize the chakra approaching her until he speaks.486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9EyGU1Rl4M
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“Still packing, Karin?”486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCzIWz7d4K3
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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.486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkvuor9yqT6
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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.”486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRuc9HoU6Tg
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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.”486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO9EVM7VZHo
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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?486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKCBdB7DqI8
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Oh. Right.486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFsAeYwHfGy
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It takes her a considerable amount of will to repress the sigh that wanted to leave her lips, “Whatever.”486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMQteT7W3Rq
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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.486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUgOttiXSsP
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“…You shouldn’t leave your door open like this, there.”486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTU8Ho5BrKq
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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.”486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTDtNAdHqPE
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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.”486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJJz0WmpuqA
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“I’ve never been there.”486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZc62h5xHNP
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“… I see.”486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdVKtq7HjaN
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Silence. For Orochimaru to have never taken Sasuke there, it could only mean one thing—486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4mlrsfFomn
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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…”486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtudWmoTtBF
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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.486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjvXvwLHnHh
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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.486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5ztE8oKWu7
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Sasuke.486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡszKIe5yBDn
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“Heh, so you asked him?”486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW0nwJ2jyNC
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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?”486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGSBEqtOkbr
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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.”486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Lpk5sKJGM
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“I’m not worried, Karin.”486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0fMyOYSRqI
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Karin snorts, “Sure you aren’t.”486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2XyOiDWepg
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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.486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjx9y4yqUGd
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Anytime soon. Her eyes widen.486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWLdQsCa6e7
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“Say, Sasuke, did you ask Orochimaru for how long will I be there?”486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyumS95bAf9
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He does not reply immediately; and in his silence, Karin hears the reply loudest of all. “… It’s undetermined.”486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡylc291KdWx
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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.486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8sWSCX43pg
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Chances are she would not get to talk, feel or bicker with Sasuke for months.486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAlu5lriBla
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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.486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdVngKTbcrO
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“… It won’t be that long, Karin.”486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcG1CGuyrO5
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When she looks at him, she finds a dangerous glint sharpening his eyes and at once knows what he means.486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjviJqiS6V2
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Orochimaru would not be around for much longer.486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzbmqCB4pls
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Karin swallows, a shot of adrenaline reigniting her veins.486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf2q03dJFVg
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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.486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1gQq1JR1S8
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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.”486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPh5i1O3Cqx
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“Hn.”486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxCkUkKN1e5
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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.486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyA9Cp5Hca6
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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.486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpJPywvFob1
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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—486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQu4AEUSyyM
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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.486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX4otFLoEjm
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As will she.486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFPHLD4OW2L
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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.486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0C4gdf36uL
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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.486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Bqts06PNX
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Flabbergasted, Karin can only catch the pouch that is suddenly thrown at her, “Huh?”486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEFJKN8CxO4
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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.”486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDfpyMDo9h9
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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.”486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJpfjLSqFnF
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“See ya, Karin.”486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZYJJBCAfMI
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“Later, Sasuke.”486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXkv3l3WWLS
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It is almost as embarrassing as her treacherous blush, but for a moment, Karin had actually thought—486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmKwIf78HIB
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“Pft, as if.”486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVCTvCkGr26
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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.486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4xhLZdUsrp
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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.486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡodFBwkZfqL
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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.486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1pFcD7u9by
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She blinks—once, twice—and then her smile morphs into a full blown smirk, her fingertips longingly tracing the pattern.486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwJTBFDplJk
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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—486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuT3UOQQfi0
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At the end, it all amounted to the same.486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZSxMeutpH7
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“Happy birthday,” Karin mutters, an enthusiastic glint in her eye. “Uchiha Karin.”486Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4gt7UNLlhY
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end.
tags: fanfic, karin, naruto, sasukarin, sasuke
ns216.73.216.24da2
