[FANFIC - HBD, KARIN! PII] READING BETWEEN THE LINES ; (SK)
By: Kanae (Goth-Punk88 @ ff.net)399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8VvvC11nIo
Rating: K+399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8MdqPZOniN
Word Count: 1.956399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡueyF4b2t7w
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 lol399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ37t4p9im5B
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reading between the lines ;399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUKPujybrpn
by Kanae399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNOj3v9Sz0D
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Stupid Orochimaru.399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBgBlqgn0eU
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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.399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdgwjMgkhCt
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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.399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnY9dJ3d8oE
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And now it would be ruined.399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIKz9gdQwv2
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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.399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsQKwpoVdzL
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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.399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1FXKGvXK0f
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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.399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsVN81rojbn
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Understood. You won’t be disappointed, Orochimaru-sama.399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkx5JkM9fWN
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The man had simply smirked, mirth in those gashes he had for eyes. I know.399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO4PomDrj7z
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Karin knew, too, even though she rather wished she didn’t.399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWEUcVDMM7h
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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.399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQSHWYLu6Oe
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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.399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqpa7S5UFtr
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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.399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQFsTpDKpuI
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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.399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoeW1iUYXIt
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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.399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiLGPaZqh1C
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So focused was she on her thoughts, that she does not realize the chakra approaching her until he speaks.399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsRU2MRW8Zi
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“Still packing, Karin?”399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGXNYCSG5CN
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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.399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHOnEVCK7zX
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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.”399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqWoHGlACs8
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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.”399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB35r7Sus8x
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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?399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGFytDoG4H0
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Oh. Right.399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3mpGf6iR4Z
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It takes her a considerable amount of will to repress the sigh that wanted to leave her lips, “Whatever.”399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxMBZPhDCV0
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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.399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpFPlERE5PO
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“…You shouldn’t leave your door open like this, there.”399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrG7lajKI12
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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.”399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaNXb6sUmRU
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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.”399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYTyzp5v1Qf
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“I’ve never been there.”399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwz7JurCUr2
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“… I see.”399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDqbgy6eElS
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Silence. For Orochimaru to have never taken Sasuke there, it could only mean one thing—399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkbaY8NgEnr
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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…”399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiRZSmPY4q8
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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.399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRD3e6PFheT
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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.399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDtt9EKtAbv
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Sasuke.399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjxPlG0pIla
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“Heh, so you asked him?”399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuTOAxZEnTa
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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?”399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4wJ2m6oYMQ
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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.”399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzK0kBjj085
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“I’m not worried, Karin.”399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn18EeToAjo
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Karin snorts, “Sure you aren’t.”399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7boUJkIuaw
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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.399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0GMnKlNkTG
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Anytime soon. Her eyes widen.399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtQOUMzEees
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“Say, Sasuke, did you ask Orochimaru for how long will I be there?”399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7TGfmfFdEy
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He does not reply immediately; and in his silence, Karin hears the reply loudest of all. “… It’s undetermined.”399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPM62byowvJ
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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.399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkKtGzrEzTD
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Chances are she would not get to talk, feel or bicker with Sasuke for months.399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8AFBYnwWcF
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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.399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV1IPX7gIoS
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“… It won’t be that long, Karin.”399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDONkGK3eyn
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When she looks at him, she finds a dangerous glint sharpening his eyes and at once knows what he means.399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2wHBbskuFR
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Orochimaru would not be around for much longer.399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu4MTS2xkQB
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Karin swallows, a shot of adrenaline reigniting her veins.399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQAka7fOBNb
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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.399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4pX41YPs1M
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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.”399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdLTJ8YCgof
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“Hn.”399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq2Oqydw9jA
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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.399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHVywtY5eqa
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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.399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsjNvzDhIv1
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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—399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMtzyM9IvSo
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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.399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAY8TvT1mgK
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As will she.399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvJ3N7HgkaQ
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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.399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfozBUTekpN
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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.399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGNZheJp85D
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Flabbergasted, Karin can only catch the pouch that is suddenly thrown at her, “Huh?”399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRP5VNuyXBs
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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.”399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTtYcvoWpgX
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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.”399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhRWRGEouIK
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“See ya, Karin.”399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPWmuXdio4y
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“Later, Sasuke.”399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUlunjWVN5E
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It is almost as embarrassing as her treacherous blush, but for a moment, Karin had actually thought—399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHOpbvhiQw7
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“Pft, as if.”399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbWbIHYhlVd
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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.399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ16dBESSQik
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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.399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnqN7mJYt22
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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.399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡggs8XnMdRy
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She blinks—once, twice—and then her smile morphs into a full blown smirk, her fingertips longingly tracing the pattern.399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLNR39oUutG
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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—399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvVQEDB9Vqb
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At the end, it all amounted to the same.399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVg35dXZXxl
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“Happy birthday,” Karin mutters, an enthusiastic glint in her eye. “Uchiha Karin.”399Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBxWA2FP2ED
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end.
tags: fanfic, karin, naruto, sasukarin, sasuke
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