[FANFIC - HBD, KARIN! PII] READING BETWEEN THE LINES ; (SK)
By: Kanae (Goth-Punk88 @ ff.net)337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwRfVisZxlO
Rating: K+337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpoCAe6EDOt
Word Count: 1.956337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLtWcHgTucs
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 lol337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkkubcUDhSg
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reading between the lines ;337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK6OKZFaQCw
by Kanae337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn7g5m21OYm
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Stupid Orochimaru.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQrlF8zoczn
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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.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQPz7A1Toq8
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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.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjpiqecg9rM
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And now it would be ruined.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡugTyF05JrR
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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.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy8uDvOdyoV
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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.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGl8FBNEtig
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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.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZcBj6m5e4L
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Understood. You won’t be disappointed, Orochimaru-sama.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGYF0qACQyz
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The man had simply smirked, mirth in those gashes he had for eyes. I know.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxgziR5hRsG
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Karin knew, too, even though she rather wished she didn’t.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0Aw17UNFQJ
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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.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZtdM6C3ihL
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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.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI0Ozrw8Bhy
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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.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7RoLLbAh5c
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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.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzyrMwyMtiz
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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.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMEsUuIiwUC
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So focused was she on her thoughts, that she does not realize the chakra approaching her until he speaks.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYrL2EsgOx7
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“Still packing, Karin?”337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwwZpuDqSex
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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.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4KDuKyd8Jq
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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.”337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWXWQtiFAwa
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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.”337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMPcTDXwmmv
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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?337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdQxzcn8TXf
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Oh. Right.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxVwJlguKYK
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It takes her a considerable amount of will to repress the sigh that wanted to leave her lips, “Whatever.”337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMPFtDltpOm
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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.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXWPenF1CY2
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“…You shouldn’t leave your door open like this, there.”337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNlXrK8fJGh
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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.”337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRv55UPFZA1
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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.”337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr51vahxGKo
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“I’ve never been there.”337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkJ6eHBJvIU
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“… I see.”337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYbSoZZy0jK
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Silence. For Orochimaru to have never taken Sasuke there, it could only mean one thing—337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ020z7CDW7t
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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…”337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxtDIfSRJ1J
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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.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZxMNROLDfv
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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.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCPqmnR0xuJ
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Sasuke.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡroMkztP6HG
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“Heh, so you asked him?”337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR13zM4inn6
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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?”337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIQ2IDpa12L
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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.”337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9rB2xiwwX2
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“I’m not worried, Karin.”337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ82yB7TaccS
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Karin snorts, “Sure you aren’t.”337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡohRG5PiNiz
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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.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsLNpSVXDIR
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Anytime soon. Her eyes widen.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWqtvpzgsQ4
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“Say, Sasuke, did you ask Orochimaru for how long will I be there?”337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8jJopc2HZz
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He does not reply immediately; and in his silence, Karin hears the reply loudest of all. “… It’s undetermined.”337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm1GgS23OBE
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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.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZJC2jdUWcR
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Chances are she would not get to talk, feel or bicker with Sasuke for months.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLfz3aPL75Q
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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.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5NbpzZwUOf
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“… It won’t be that long, Karin.”337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYQYAJjTmTO
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When she looks at him, she finds a dangerous glint sharpening his eyes and at once knows what he means.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNjTcyEUYla
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Orochimaru would not be around for much longer.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbarFRoaMmM
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Karin swallows, a shot of adrenaline reigniting her veins.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2mzBd6r0uE
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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.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh4EwAq3SGz
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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.”337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqaI5jH2t8F
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“Hn.”337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTKk4XhwjO8
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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.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUoHUdx6xKA
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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.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYRzkGDCEkY
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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—337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe092Om3k2U
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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.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCL4nI4Qm69
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As will she.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLZZtj0BGzW
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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.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVWtjuwWnxy
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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.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMCJ9KOmmWA
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Flabbergasted, Karin can only catch the pouch that is suddenly thrown at her, “Huh?”337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdx8FyTvwmJ
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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.”337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPXxtmOuPCC
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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.”337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNWusyyNCqN
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“See ya, Karin.”337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3sOREF04yU
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“Later, Sasuke.”337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGeNvNjR7JI
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It is almost as embarrassing as her treacherous blush, but for a moment, Karin had actually thought—337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuQC0MXCAXR
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“Pft, as if.”337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqCzpDa9q08
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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.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuC8nnyyRdh
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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.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIrAUtJcl6v
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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.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhMtnYBCBLi
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She blinks—once, twice—and then her smile morphs into a full blown smirk, her fingertips longingly tracing the pattern.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxcODqADhQb
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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—337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPkr6AX8NFF
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At the end, it all amounted to the same.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡitDJmCL7BF
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“Happy birthday,” Karin mutters, an enthusiastic glint in her eye. “Uchiha Karin.”337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Eya1tE1ih
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end.
tags: fanfic, karin, naruto, sasukarin, sasuke
ns 15.158.61.39da2
