[FANFIC - HBD, SASUKE(?)] WILDFIRE; (SK)
now uploaded in fanfiction.net~! here; if you wish to comment but can't do so here, please feel free to review over there~!400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhuZeCUtYCo
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3fTzYzHTL9
By: Kanae (Goth-Punk88 @ ff.net)400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWi565AlSFE
Rating: M (some suggestive scenes, and some violence.)400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRHZhzwlaVv
Word Count: 8.810400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeCHfsa27pr
Author's Notes: I got this plot-bunny a couple of months ago; the idea was to sit down and carefully plan it, but… well, life happened. So I decided to let it write itself instead. Posting it for Sasuke’s birthday project because, while his birthday is not the focus of this, it does get briefly mentioned (:hurr)~ Also, there are some credits, but I’ll be giving them at the end of the fic in order to not spoil anyone.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8S47JzHxBk
Warning: Some OOC-ness due to the fact that I'm working with future SK... among other things you will soon realize lol400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAhiXaKE8Ip
Summary: It is a flame that was set ablaze by a smile. A fire that consumes everything in its wake. A wildfire that burnt them to ashes, down to their roots.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYsHZcCEnJV
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXsUxXuaBHE
A heartbeat that awakens from the ashes.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuFmcsPzOGC
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgEMCoaQYly
To the stars that played with the darkness400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkQUHoT7G9Z
I sang of love and burned up completely
Wildfire400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNfh6ATdnDS
by Kanae400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsFe4IV07Ag
-
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxTqxiO7Ei5
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFtoZLopdPT
It happens a hot Thursday afternoon as he goes through the tourniquets of the subway and catches a glimpse of red from the corner of his eye.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEYQQiEQpH3
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwRjDHXwVrC
Something in his chest tightens.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX8zA8UZZsr
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGSEuMdHqEr
He is looking back before he knows it, uncharacteristically standing still as his eyes seek the source of the red; a girl’s ponytail.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3zHxNBBiCv
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZipIZCzbvj
Just a girl.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiTprfRkQOP
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhvm0b4TQql
Sasuke all but snorts, mildly shaking his head and turning away in wonderment.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpYtVEsdA2c
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqMviYdBLXK
He misses the way the girl stops, her back straightening as if bolted.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX3q1H7Kn0p
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ5XbD0n1DX
He has almost reached the escalators when someone steps in front of him, blocking his way—and he can’t help the slight widening of his eyes as he realizes who it is.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJZbYGtsL4K
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn6K3uEl7mK
The girl.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSHFlrReRTr
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKCsWlfPUaZ
The redhead.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTzYU1BKtcI
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhg4tOvmeze
“Sorry,” she says, and she is a little out of breath. Had she run to catch up with him? “Do I know you?”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2x7xQ5MFlt
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ22BRQHbsm9
An alien reply makes its way from his chest up to the tip of his tongue, but Sasuke does not recognize it—and before he can even deem it worth his time, it is gone. And all that remains is the same disinterest from before. Just a girl.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9wG6w3KgeS
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVv2O8saggF
“Don’t think so,” he replies, trying to sidestep her—but the girl blocks his way again.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsa6OlvIDec
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqqnudH33H0
“No, I do know you. I mean—” Sasuke narrows his eyes, irritated, but the girl looks too caught up in her thoughts to notice, “I have dreamed of you.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEhz6Cxy55I
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNZSZNAkp0f
Sasuke gives her a blank stare and the girl turns a little pink. “I-I mean,” she stammers, pushing her glasses further up her nose. The gesture stirs something inside of Sasuke, and it is powerful enough to the point he almost misses her next words “I know it sounds weird, but—”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5COdA66E3j
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSnHtvaX8a7
“You’re right,” Sasuke agrees, clenching his jaw and walking past her.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0On2IRi3FK
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSBViTZU97P
“Wait!” she calls, and Sasuke finds his legs answering in kind even before his name comes out of her lips. “Y—your name is… Sasuke, isn’t it? Uchiha Sasuke.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdC6azirNgS
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡejWIC4Ippu
“… So what?” his reply is brisk, and it comes out through gritted teeth. This was ridiculous; both the girl and his reactions to her. What had come over him, anyway? He has never seen this chick. Ever. “Knowing that is no feat.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkSNPPvERk3
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwjOOiA62Xf
It wasn’t. More than a quarter of the city knew his family’s name. Knowing who he was simply was part of the package.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhDRgoAcwpm
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgNDwLSfOpm
She falls quiet—and Sasuke thinks the odd conversation has come to an end.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJdiA7PO9zg
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRag81EPoDT
He was severely mistaken.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlvphBfkZ6f
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrNsnu2wxo8
“And, when you were eight…” she suddenly whispers, her voice vague, “when you were eight, your mom gave you a dinosaur-shaped toy.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6nmAghMR1s
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoj2wXxGlxy
Sasuke’s eyes widen, his body freezing upright. Her voice gains momentum. “You said it was childish, and pretended to have thrown it away; but you still have it.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbYbED6Hat1
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQfDl832sIu
It is slowly that he turns towards her, eyes narrowed and heart galloping inside his chest. “How…?”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ69bs4hvRQ7
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSyCHU1daBT
Obsidian meets pointed red, and it is something in the calculating edge of her gaze more than her words that which turns Sasuke’s skin into gooseflesh. “…You keep it locked in a box inside your closet, just like you keep locked away that irrational fear of yours of losing them someday.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFhWAusQUUM
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgQg3S557cb
Them. His parents. The one thing he has never told anyone—not even his brother. The one thing he has never been able to face, regardless of how much he has tried to do so.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm5cq2PyhEg
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpNujpxHXXg
He wants to say something—anything—but words just won’t come. He feels utterly intimidated and exposed before this stranger; before this redhead whose lips quirk up in the barest traces of a smile, her shoulders relaxing.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGHC0JNwZWN
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsRxcsnsHTF
“Come on, there’s a café down the street, we can talk there.” She does not wait for a reply, simply reaching out and taking a hold of his sleeve—and as she pulls him towards the escalators, Sasuke feels an unexplainable sense of déjà vu.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9xr8Ox0YLb
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuutYvQVaIA
“Let me go,” he mutters, though he can’t find it in himself to oppose any resistance. “I can walk by myself.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyGtmqXzYSJ
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8NYLpeZ11w
She does not let go of him.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUZs5oTwmXC
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTUvrJO0arr
And the déjà vu only worsens.
.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQliCXd24qC
.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvC3I1irThC
.
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSXFGTmqZVt
“Come with me, Karin. I need you.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb7z6igqM2C
“Huh?! Why should I go anywhere? I’m in charge of this place!”
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCO9F51twpr
.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdhHOSVn3Ew
.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaioM87XLM0
.
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡANWqLN3EMa
“They started… around 3 months ago, I think,” the girl—Karin—says, after the waitress has brought them their respective orders; Sasuke, a black coffee, Karin, a cappuccino with amaretto.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZPTt580FAB
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjjO5kf3q9w
“The… dreams?” he questions, and feels utterly ridiculous just by saying it.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK6mEcdhD79
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHWUu5In8QC
“Yeah, the dreams,” Karin agrees, taking a sip of her coffee and giving him a pointed look over the brim of the cup. “At first they were sporadic. Just once every few nights or so, but then I started to get them every night… every single night.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbyFUOnUtpH
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoXDDcjF0lU
“And these… dreams, of yours. They were about me?”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2CpYW2oVxC
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh5ShFcvnKS
“Not all of them,” she retorts thoughtfully, if not a little defensively; but then she shrugs. “But you were always there.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQgUcPxNzXI
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0HFVbcVox5
“Doing what, exactly?”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq2pcL3t9Xx
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1eelhEUiFT
“A lot of things. Fighting, mostly. You were a ninja, sometimes. Both of us were.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmW5w9UyHZR
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvrJLtfdDZ1
“…A ninja?”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGryc7t2zL9
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsQ83nuvW51
“Yeah. A very powerful one, at that. Don’t—” she warns, before Sasuke could have the chance to interrupt with a snide remark. “I know how ridiculous it sounds, but it’s the truth.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJjAligOPZq
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡExHvfyzatr
He crosses his arms with an eye roll. “That still does not explain how you knew about the dinosaur.” Just mentioning the toy makes a wave of embarrassment wash over him, but he tries to keep at bay and not let it show.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuTtrib4tzw
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoyqm28wwpQ
Karin smiles, and the gesture looks sour. “Not every dream took place in the same world, Sasuke. Those—the ones where we were shinobi, those were the firsts, and also the most recurrent. But I have seen you as you are, too. And as you were.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBlsRFJ8I5F
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmE8nQwNRFg
“… What do you mean, exactly?” he prods with narrowed eyes.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMEvWvOmgR3
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡue3ecCAKqr
It’s her turn to cross her arms. “Tch, you already know, don’t you? You’re smart, Sasuke. Don’t take me for a fool.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5AyOXZOavO
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKRbs6j1Qgd
Sasuke frowns. He didn’t like her tone, and neither did he like where she was going with this. “Reincarnations?”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4QNzeDOpdg
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ46teJ16ueZ
Karin snaps her fingers, “Bingo.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ42CRjiyr6q
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHyCv7LJPZh
Sasuke snorts. “That’s ridiculous.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfAc1wNgnZM
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwfSAwfNFiK
“I know you don’t believe in them, Sasuke. But that doesn’t mean they do not exist.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1bC6bQ1J4n
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdqqqlTSnPy
“Stop,” Sasuke demands, his patience running thin at being lectured by a complete stranger. “Stop talking as if you know me, Karin. You don’t.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq1VmqQVGQk
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAj22UWz3qv
“Actually, I do,” Karin shoots back without missing a beat, her red eyes steadily holding his even despite his threatening glare. “And from the looks of it, I know you better than you know yourself—stay there, Sasuke,” she stresses, and his glare only intensifies. He hadn’t even had the enough time to move a muscle. “I am not finished yet.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ2ZXmgAB97
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHo6UYoEDdi
“But I am done hearing your bullshit.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ02Kgvgwa97
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvrjRiSRQnR
Karin blinks at him and then promptly snorts. “The you in my dreams was nicer to be around, I’ll give you that.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2TFCih215S
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnkzQGlnK51
He feels insulted, but he stays. And a little smirk quirks up Karin’s lips; as expected, that smirk said.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ5pSu9dxkk
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtLPtCJKjff
But any comments he may have had about her arrogance promptly disappear as the redhead utters her next words.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡttyNNYHFoy
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXhdtVe8o9s
“I know why you’re so afraid of losing your parents, someday.”
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUFISphc6VJ
.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq6IrmHR8zS
.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIouQ8XD3hi
.
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbp5sNBIkV1
“Shhh” she coos, cradling his trembling form in her arms and making him sink his face on her chest. It’s her favorite new shirt and it’s getting soaked and soiled by his tears and the soot, but her heart is too busy breaking over him and his pain and her mind is too shaken by the explosion and the death—by the smell of burnt flesh, by the screaming figures of his parents and brother as they were consumed by the fire.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJC80AsJeXu
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQR5UVRH6q5
“Shhh, Sasuke, it will be alright,” she isn’t sure if she believes what she is saying. Not when there are tears beginning to leak from her own eyes and dripping onto his hair—not when his sobs twist her soul and worsen the despair. Why did this have to happen to them? Why did they have to—? “I promise you, it will be alright, we will get through this.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNV0taiXxPE
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaF9c3D0Xkf
They. Because that was all that was left, now. She was all he had left.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOgB6TzL07X
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU7gX7eYij1
“We will get through this,” she repeats, because they would. They had to.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1aWlYpex3x
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfeel1Tb1bz
“You’re not alone. I’m with you, Sasuke. I won’t ever leave you,”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn10hCeu4pk
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw6q9XAJzNz
Despite her bravado her voice breaks at the end and Sasuke clutches her shirt—holds onto her for dear life and hastily pulls her together again.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi6zk1fypBf
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY3DnMX0QyJ
“I promise.”
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEE5ey1iiAg
.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjXsJnjQk9J
.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVvmSlTm5Ip
.
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCas2dvgbvq
Sasuke fists his hands to prevent them from shaking as his very soul seemed to be doing. He sets his jaw, tries to regularize his breathing and his pulse—tries to not show any signs of inward struggle.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgHD8zNZaxe
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs9wSX6tGh9
No that it would make much of a difference, since Karin was deliberately keeping her attention elsewhere. She had barely looked at him from the moment she started to tell him all she knew—all she had seen—about his parents, and weren’t he so troubled by everything he heard, he would have realized he was thankful for her tact.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmHGtouqgpV
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡepOfWClmff
As things were, however, his brain was having troubles assimilating Karin’s words; how his parents had died over and over again. Killed by his brother (by his brother, out of all people! What kind of bullshit was that?), in an accident, in a fire—Sasuke had tuned out, then. The images such stories enticed were too vivid, too troubling—they made the hairs on his arms stand on end, made cold droplets of sweat roll down his neck.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcMx6gPVZ4M
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP5A9vuRslQ
Everything was preposterous, absolutely unbelievable—and even then he could not dismiss a word she had said, even though he desperately wanted to. Something in the way she had spoken—in the way her voice had quivered, her stare grave and set on her lap—and even more so, something in the things she had known; habits that Mikoto and Fugaku had and that no one but him and Itachi would know about, made her words all the harder to shake off.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF3QIAz0C6o
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNy2v9OgmcF
So he aims for the next best thing—he tries to push the thought aside and latches onto another one, one that has slowly but surely been demanding his attention.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaykIjXGmIs
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2rQfhycVsS
“… Where do you fit into all that?” he murmurs, and has to swallow to help ease his dry throat. “Why is it you, and not me, who is having these dreams?”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc9uVQgWpmQ
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFODR40jNFI
The ghost of a smile touches her lips, “I don’t know. I guess it’s because you’ve closed yourself off, again,” it fades. “You always close yourself up.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBFG17WLqoU
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnhuhXEUo72
He has really run out of patience. “Stop with the riddles, will you? Just answer!”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJxGvPWS2V9
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQK0OaVOsWs
Karin hardens her expression, her eyes squarely meeting his own. “In that first world, I was your teammate. In the second, I was your friend. In the third, your lover.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF2E5ffugRb
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0aXT5JSTcH
Sasuke cannot really help the way he feels his throat clog up, his cheeks warm. So he fakes a cough, looks away; “And this is the fourth?”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWkKmJsjPDi
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYsYOS6IGvp
Karin shrugs, unfazed.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZtrq8PxWkL
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1ae638EwN5
“I don’t know, I guess there may be more. I haven’t remembered them yet, though.” Her voice lowers, “…I don’t know if I want to, either.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡymVR3gb79f
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4is2XlIKrx
That catches his attention. “What do you mean?”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGKoEGcecZi
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEAj1NUZhbp
“… They weren’t always nice, Sasuke. They rarely were.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6x2epT7ggB
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq0XmTPWLqL
Sasuke arches one eyebrow, curious. “What weren’t?”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU4nUG0vAds
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzmLOkpENVU
For the first time since they got there, Karin squirms in her seat.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ48BmEvJDF4
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLkWbtlMP5C
“...You.”
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE9JZr3wUvi
.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8d20iZbvJC
.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqJgmiorSKr
.
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbeyGx6nyye
There is lighting prickling her skin and piercing her chest; it has missed her heart by an inch, a miracle improbable enough to be deliberate—but one that is a curse in disguise, for his eyes do not miss the mark.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV2z4TFIbOh
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡswqrEPhEP7
They hit the bulls-eye dead on its center, and she feels it freeze and then wither and die, disintegrating into a worthless pile of ashes that, with every single word he says, scatter like the wind—never to be recovered again.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqxyyMjwPbl
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXzyzbIza1S
“Karin… the moment you were taken hostage, you became an encumbrance.”
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdCagfibh9o
.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7lTRYR2Kp3
.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWbfdGn8Qom
.
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIvGa8UAczn
She leans her head on her propped up palm, and the pair of red eyes that were fixed into his look sage and tired all of a sudden. “…But I guess it never made much of a difference.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGR5IuYluyc
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡczKdZSIOVQ
Sasuke hates it; having to repeat himself. But he moodily does, anyway. “What do you mean?”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKLOlo6pCN3
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ52o1QuPnyI
Karin does not reply right away; and when she does, her voice is the softest Sasuke has heard it sound so far.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡanEPIb41Su
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAXt7Xw0GSo
“I always ended up loving you all the same,” she admits.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzGv72XcnCG
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6nXbnEXML8
Then she looks at him again, and Sasuke finds that he can’t look away.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Nyvxmff1G
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0O4hhrIcQ6
“Always.”
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeoSRd61qhu
.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRctbIrUNHh
.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBdRf8w3yKr
.
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwYdRwswrQy
It happens on a rainy night.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVml1dnQXof
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlAe8TpkYrV
The rain had started pouring out of nowhere. What a minute ago had been a clear sky became a gray maze of plump clouds and then thick, cold droplets of rain had started to cascade down over the town.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEhAAm2DS9t
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfAGvD43D7o
Ever so slowly, the crowded street was left almost empty; for the exception of a few pedestrians who had been keen enough to bring an umbrella with them.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVmgwxwyzrq
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZoE3R6zfYP
She hadn’t been.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhElZfPOWof
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyn9tOoAnDB
As the traffic light begins to turn, she dashes out from under the improvised shelter of an awning only to stop dead in her tracks—in her haste, she had not realized the light included an advanced left-turn signal.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhHJe9S1ff1
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2LUa6F315F
So much for not getting wet, she thinks, and it’s then that an umbrella is placed above her.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4auhqinnCQ
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe8FYh6kZw4
Startled, the girl flickers her gaze upward only to find a dark-haired business man casually speaking into his cellphone, his eyes focused on the traffic light ahead. Their arms are touching, the warmth of his body seeping through to hers despite the long sleeves of his expensive-looking cloak, and she finds her cheeks warming up, her heart quickening at the unexpected gesture of kindness.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXOuKI6N4xK
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMtPpTupKzQ
The light changes and he moves ahead without hesitation, with the same kind of firm grace with which he had come to shelter her—and she is so transfixed by him that she almost forgets she is supposed to walk, too.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4tsFZlWapK
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8elaf6DUap
When they get to the other side of the street, the business man wordlessly leads her to an awning and then parts ways with her, not once glancing at her.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0Gh4Ph0ZAX
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSFdO42kho5
But she can’t look away from him—and before she knows it her legs are moving and the rain no longer matters.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEQEZMAJPyS
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgDhxpvCOuD
By the time he has hung up, they’re standing at the next intersection and she is soaked from head to toe.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKxTFjCdwvn
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCYB3I4SZ15
“Hey, you! Wait!”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ40HPa910Ml
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPHZ8hyjO0H
The business man slowly turns around, painfully so, confusion apparent on his face.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1RRJihs1rH
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo13xsO2YP7
Onyx meets red and her heart skips a beat as his eyes widen ever so slightly.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYt6rnoSQd2
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡngsaqIfCs0
“Thank you,” she breathes out jaggedly and not exactly from the chasing, “for before.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4z9tyOQW5x
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9bS6gdeR2B
“… It’s nothing,” he states, and though his words are nothing but an astonished murmur she hears them loud and clear over the thunders. “And it doesn’t seem to have helped much.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmG5prbOrCC
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5D0fcyH3wd
Her blush worsens under his pointed look, but the hint of amusement in those deep eyes of his edges her on. “I-I know of a good café down the street. If you aren’t in a hurry, how about I invite you something while we wait for the rain to let up?”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0Zg9zbano1
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGaDPWCvzLQ
He tilts his head to the side, long bangs falling across his face. “… Hn, down the street, you say?”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoKhGiU3xPc
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0nC926MqLl
“Yeah. It’s less than a minute away,” she gulps, “so, what do you say?”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA6vVTzwFUf
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOh10ZvMGug
He smiles, and his whole face lights up. “I’d like that.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ53uhVrgZtK
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxbO0cClC1Z
By the time they place their orders, she is already in love with him.
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYzMwomUgMZ
.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7o8ylv7U4T
.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkA7u0MWPsb
.
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG6fMThRszP
He thinks that maybe he should be surprised, but the truth is that he isn’t.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTuXqeqtRiD
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi3L4Hf55x5
Somehow, it felt like he had been waiting for it—waiting to see her walking through that door, ever since they had parted ways at that Café a little over a week ago.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr1mIU6eARS
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoVDLm2B4O5
“… You did this on purpose, didn’t you?”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWRO8Yy7yii
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu0RYkxaCC3
Karin blinks innocently, a direct contrast with the amused smirk shamelessly painted across her lips. “What do you mean, Uchiha-san?”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxEuFxyDaNc
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9pdAsEIzQV
“Drop the act,” he glares, matter-of-fact. “You knew I worked here.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0s4MBcMh6b
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjP4dXvTkWN
“Oh, don’t be so conceited, Sasuke,” Karin waves a hand, puts the other on her hip and sways to the side. The movement is every bit of a taunt as it is sensual, and Sasuke finds himself blushing like a preschooler as a recurrent memory slips itself uninvited into his mind again.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCTEU8kW92D
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYsp2e5uqiY
'Always'.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTJ5bE7kpEX
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnRcIseG4mQ
“—so not my fault you basically own the damn city,” Karin finishes, and Sasuke blinks.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbYLgZjos2l
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxXauDs9qGG
“Huh?”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsggVQ69B5R
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRkzlIbAOZL
She deadpans. “You weren’t listening, were you?”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxlkovD9EOO
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ1qo7YJQhi
“I was,” he lies through gritted teeth, prodded by some unexplainable force. Damn, why did he always have to bicker with this girl?400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3jOlSL8cNz
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzKuzxNBvth
“You are a terrible liar, Sasuke,” she remarks, and suddenly her face lights up. “Hey, did I tell you about the time I was a lie-detector and—”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1hOk4mjkGB
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDlEHSEKgOr
He all but groans. “Stop, Karin. Don’t bring that kind of talk here, someone may hear you.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ60Gexeqeqk
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEFDI3FOltH
“Pft, so what?” she huffs, crossing her arms and swaying her hips again. “It’s not like I work here, right?”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeMxB8qTzvV
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeMr1eWO7gV
Her tone and most specially the glimmer in her eye as she looks at him told him otherwise.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeLyKl8RnM0
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYYV8Ht4H2p
Damn her.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt5kloETHuS
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEt9Byu48bN
“Talk to Nara on the second floor, he will give you your contract. And Karin—not a word to anyone about… about—” he refused to say us. There wasn’t an us. “—about what you told me. Understood?”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPcHyVPj3uk
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAGRquWFmap
She does a mock salute, “Right, Uchiha-san!” and Sasuke massages his temple, wondering what had made him agree to give her the job in the first place.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYmAcWZTMdE
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡprFzxI8vxg
As if reading his thoughts, Karin calls out to him from the door.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡntaj7agupn
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpvYScO5IQm
“Cheer up, Sasuke,” and Sasuke can catch a glimpse of her playful smirk before she closes the door behind her. “This isn’t the first time we work together, you know?”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe4hz5ITiBj
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9qZ00afNXW
And for some unknown reason, Sasuke finds himself blushing.
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6U0C07kaZz
.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtPc3wx4DcU
.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ04ARjcP3tI
.
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk3k7DdJQSG
“I brought you the papers you requested,”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrCMtwWR3aH
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS45gKOOD7i
She has barely finished the sentence when he has her pressed against the door and is claiming her mouth with his own, his hands roaming across her back and then down as she skillfully locks the door.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzmKsIPHPe3
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡurcRArslxh
“Idiot,” she manages to reprimand between kisses, “what if someone sees us?”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTmUDIgi5XA
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxvAGEfHoh8
“Who cares,” he retorts, his voice a throaty murmur that worsens the heat settled in the lower part of her abdomen, “let them watch if they want.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡchWMufXEn9
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkPF3aM1sg7
“Hmmm that’s kinky,” she teases, and her blood boils as he raises his face from her belly in order to give her a roguish look.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaKVTEfdZCB
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRcU0QXvTLU
“Any complains?”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUmUUgm6iQ9
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ0A5NVDegp
“Yeah… stop teasing me and get on with—ahh” she moans, her nails scrapping at the door as his head gets lost inside her skirt, his hands spreading her thighs apart.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzzcIf5gx6o
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSdAXCMTwpM
She has a mission to accomplish—but he makes her forget soon enough.
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV9XoWxmmQ2
.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo7SXGGcX6d
.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYNEpUgDbze
.
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIFZ5xmbS3f
“I’ll have some Okonomiyaki, please.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbyrtWalF9q
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrk1qunAGEJ
The waitress nods and leaves—but not without giving Sasuke a hurt look from underneath her long lashes. He hopes Karin will let it slide; so of course Karin does exactly the opposite, her slim eyebrows arched high.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEP3zo1Kpt2
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ55QuQo8gbY
“Whoa, Sasuke, That girl totally has a thing for you!”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxJcPTUVuwh
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ59ycUb1Fi
Sasuke rolls his eyes; he was so over this subject. “Tch, she and every other employee, what else is new.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUBgw2ExiGZ
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8zjBn6Vs9B
Karin snorts, “Cocky, aren’t we? Do I need to remind you that I am one of your employees, too?”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVsyhYzzYUN
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAeUsEVZQZ9
'Always'.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI9RhKXckmh
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1456IFN03p
Against his better judgment, he can feel all too easily the way his cheeks start to warm up. What was up with him and blushing around this girl? He was never like this, ever.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3fNYPaKiN0
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaVvihQqMiI
“Whatever,” he ends up taking the easy way out. Sitting across from him, Karin pouts, leans her chin on her hand and lazily waves a finger in his face.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIJZ6f7OFQ1
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSdDTxqVuuD
“You really are no fun, Sasuke.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6PBOY37mRL
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2fSShjl32s
“Forget about that, Karin. You said you would tell me more about—”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjINV9z5VRB
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGn2Wych3kr
“Right, right,” she sighs, and her faked annoyance swiftly gives way to a leer. “Don’t get me wrong, it’s nice to see you so interested in us, but it wouldn’t hurt to focus on the current us.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx9X9Lt4UWP
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiAsBvEARdq
“Karin.”
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXylmZusA6c
.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbO1zj4Kanl
.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMxQvIp3yeb
.
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPHOaFrQsCp
“This is enough for today, thank you for your cooperation, Karin,” she knows better than to give weight to his agreeable words. The way he doesn’t even look at her, too busy being transfixed by her blood instead, says everything she needs to know.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1TX3jAwUsR
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtCbIpl4A1y
So she recoils when he reaches out to bandage her—scowls, sidesteps him and stumbles her way out of the room, hating herself for the numbness in her legs.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFfDP1Ss3N1
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUf24MzNyRB
He is the first thing she sees when she comes out of the room.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgKHqcFnA7x
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhMc4eFLy11
He is leaning against the wall, arms crossed against his chest—and then her knees give up and he is draping her arm around his neck and helping her walk, revealing the bandages held in his hands.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbWXAPkfvBG
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfPBc51rjZq
“…I can walk by myself, Sasuke,” she lies, but he does not let go and she lets herself lean a little closer. Close enough to feel the dampness in his side. She looks down and finds blood—and then she is glaring at him from behind her half-lidded eyes.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeDhmmS0xzf
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9k5AGGSKOU
“Idiot,” she hisses, and means it. “You are hurt, let me—”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNVzVyDG4Qg
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO5s3yeRFZx
“You can’t heal anyone in your current state, Karin,” came his reply, calm and even despite the open wound in his side, and Karin hates the fact that he is right.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡga54qv625y
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa8l3Ett52G
“…You should’ve gone to bandage yourself, Sasuke. I don’t need you to babysit me,” she says faintly, both embarrassed and touched at once.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyGLa9tFxTk
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk9WgtNmYg4
To her surprise, Sasuke snorts.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDcEZ0QTljt
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfHtyp6OhI8
“What?” she snaps.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmhO0Jopf9A
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ79mVIpxkfU
“Nothing,” he says, and he is smirking. “Just, you’re the last person I want to hear that from, Karin.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIPL9IIydzZ
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrjAGwJDdxj
She frowns, but her cheeks go red. She has a feeling she knows where he is going with this. “Tch, what is that supposed to mean?”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6dugPlaDQS
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm8aqK5FslM
He looks down at her from the corner of his eye, his smirk softening around the edges. “…I wonder.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkVYxI18AVn
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLazD5BGCow
And despite her blood loss, her blush only deepens.
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ94HqsZ8v0g
.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeUh7k5sK3q
.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqOoSsAMIJo
.
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlebbifNF3H
“Would you like more tea, Karin-chan?”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTM4dV4JyPM
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7NbGbgdbJf
Sasuke can’t hold back an eye-roll as Karin politely declines; this was the fifth time in a row, and he didn’t know what surprised him more—Karin’s sudden faultless manners, or the lengths to which his mother was going to please her. Hell, one would think it was the redhead’s birthday rather than his.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtZOTiXUjpD
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeeUyzFP7nn
“Don’t be like that, little brother,” the voice comes from behind him, and is accompanied by a hand that affectionately ruffles his hair. “You know it’s not often that mother gets to attend a girl.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw9pOn2kNry
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5TnD7WTGpV
Sasuke huffs, halfheartedly batting his brother’s hands away. “I know that—moreover, when will you stop treating me like a child, Itachi?”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOqNFee38x2
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIXPODhcsNV
“Probably when you stop acting like one,” chimes in a female voice, and Sasuke sends her an airy look as Itachi chuckles behind him. He was definitely starting to regret having brought her along; what had he been thinking?400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW5Fv4ofSuN
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Ev2o05FtD
He does not get to say it aloud however, as Karin is now looking at Itachi with curious eyes. “Don’t tell me this is Sasuke’s first time bringing a girl home?”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCp0wFr4RWX
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ98AYabgAAL
Great. So she had been listening in, huh? He should have guessed.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJu3mLuc7JU
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcigEuhr5SB
“Not quite,” Itachi replies, but Sasuke’s triumphant smirk is short-lived as his brother adds, “But almost.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxpHzZPtXPo
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8nppoHWRH8
“Brother!” he reproaches, causing the older boy to chuckle again and Karin to smirk widely.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGx7O8lZkvy
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDoDHX34UA2
“You’re unbelievable, Sasuke; I mean, I knew you were an unsocial prude, but almost no girlfriends? Seriously?”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyQ6yQBxJji
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSdYOqQCwiW
He glares, mortified to feel the by-now familiar sensation of his cheeks heating up. “Shut up, Karin.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5RVpZ9RFYG
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkvx6SjjMdO
“I would say that more than that, what is so remarkable is that this is the first time he brings home a girl who isn’t his girlfriend.” Itachi comments, his tone kind but knowing—and as Karin looks away from the older Uchiha and towards Sasuke, giving him a look that seemed to be clearly flaunting a oh, is that so? Sasuke airily looks away.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoRbrUUQzx3
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEREyA6qdXf
Damn you, brother.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe3S61Hr4De
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5jsMgUIhiq
“Hn, I don’t know what Itachi is talking about.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkGmoZThGaS
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaUr7WY6Mkn
A twinkling laughter resounds through the room, effectively cutting the argument short; and the three of them turn only to find Mikoto standing by the doorway, a tray of biscuits in her hands and a happy beam in her beautiful face.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdZ4jYyedn7
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAJkR6aonO7
“It seems you three are having fun,” she merrily observes, graciously moving to leave the tray on the tea-table. “I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen Sasuke enjoy himself this much.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvZYcqYsfQe
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUwA6Mx1LC0
Despite his better judgment, Sasuke can feel himself blushing. “Who said I’m enjoying myself?”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu5qxQ8jRPE
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoBtTONiIum
But his indignant mutter remains promptly ignored as Mikoto takes Karin’s hands in hers and gives her a glowing smile. “You’re good for my son, Karin-chan.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGENvbFIU3W
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkEGp3oRHGK
For a moment, the room is submerged in silence—even Karin herself is rendered speechless, and while in any other circumstance Sasuke would have reveled in seeing the girl this flustered—widened eyes, a pink hue in her cheeks—the truth is this time, it only adds to his own awkwardness.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlJkIJ0haR3
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWnH9PiLi9L
“… Mother, you just met her,” he lamely ends up saying once he has found his voice, but he sounds more astonished than reproaching; and Mikoto rewards him with a thoughtful smile before setting her gaze back on Karin.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzstqpzSEcS
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzdasT4xWT7
“I know, dear. But, somehow… it feels like you two have known each other for a long time.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSZIHmKBPJK
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDdTOTZniTg
Itachi says nothing—but the way in which he warmly squeezes Sasuke’s shoulder is eloquent enough.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb31Xo2vyCk
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbU4bNQaiOe
Wordlessly, Sasuke and Karin seek each other’s eyes across the room—and he wishes he wasn’t aware of the way he was slowly starting to mirror her smile.
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpEwis1yhNn
.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr4IHmGDcMV
.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6Ggn28Kc7T
.
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoziWsdzoCu
“It’s so stupid,” she assesses, looking at the field with apparent disinterest, “I mean, running like idiots after a ball, really? Pft, where’s the fun in that?”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDVInnEjnMN
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwXylnN9TpF
Sasuke would have been inclined to agree; if only he were listening to what she was saying. Instead, he has found himself distracted from his own homework by the way the sun seemed to be lighting her hair just so—by the way her ponytail exposed the stark whiteness of the nape of her neck; by the way she absentmindedly bit on her pencil from time to time as she read, brows furrowed in confusion or eyes light up with understanding—and she would tilt her head to the side then, stick her chin out with self-satisfaction—and Sasuke—400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy1QgBmFaln
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuxO9BO4RAj
“Sasuke—hey, earth to Sasuke, are you listening? I was just saying that—”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrnPLSpunIW
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4vJz2XW2D4
But Sasuke doesn’t get to hear it, because his body is too busy being pulled to her like a moth to a flame and his brain is too busy shutting down as his lips meet hers. She freezes, and he is too much of a novice so the kiss isn’t much of a kiss—but he doesn’t quite mind.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWr8NY5CdzT
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCMcyszUvpe
When he leans back he finds Karin staring at him, point-blank. He figures that perhaps he should try and say something; but he doesn’t feel the need to, so he just licks the lip-gloss off his lips instead.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRbwPS7yZkN
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZiMfvUXwzw
“Raspberries,” he states, and that seems to get Karin off her trance, because she blinks at him.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiWPOohdr3s
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB7XOYJTkIV
And then she is grinning.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEtCum5fKqo
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeygFxTDnbf
“Had I known you would finally kiss me today, I’d have worn something less sweet.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq2Hz1fTGsF
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5aavrBBYKQ
He can’t help but smile back. “I almost did, yesterday,” he reveals, as he carefully takes her glasses off. “And the day before that. And the one before that.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJOa5EvSE0H
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6o9RUsV3on
“I know,” and her grin becomes a husky smirk as she tangles her fingers in his hair. “You’re too easy to read, Sasuke.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn6SG02JU0Y
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa8tuTAb73M
“Hn, you could have helped, then,” he says, but the truth is he is too lost in her to really mind.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLn0sM8UCze
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgHJfWxbTRO
“Not a chance,” their noses touch and her voice lowers to a mere brush of air against his lips, “…it’s too fun to watch you squirm.”
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpP1pPHH4jM
.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvfDJ0CBpDr
.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5AXlieTF8h
.
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXKyNksUoVk
“You won’t find anything better for a more reasonable price, I assure you, Uchiha-san. This is the absolute best—”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKfjlEsgaBs
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ48Y9GZ6EpE
He goes on and on, but the words of the realtor start to become nothing but background noises as Sasuke’s gaze is caught by Karin’s vibrant red hair.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVgociaIxey
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhlxjBdS94f
“Excuse me.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUq3Op0X6rP
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAEd4BPPGRF
Not waiting for a reply, Sasuke makes his way to the windowsill; Karin was standing in front of it, her eyes closed and her face showered by the rays of the sun filtering in through the glass. It occurs to him then that he has never seen her looking so serene—so at peace with herself and the world. So taken is he by the realization, that he does not notice he has stopped breathing until Karin’s eyes flutter open and she smiles at him.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBfIjabNMBM
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYCvMunTg4p
“This house is ours, Sasuke,”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxl5wSnKOp1
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzh5EzymHv3
Her fingers find their way around his, and Sasuke gives them a squeeze as he nods, his expression naturally mirroring her own.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhKjwLPKrzJ
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6eYKoyxaZS
He could feel it, too.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJMLUCPjQZK
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRpkq0xRCKI
Behind them, the realtor clears his throat but Karin cuts him short before he could get a single word out.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYuL9eKAkPa
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyCYNNOFLkP
“We’re buying it,” she states loud and clear, and she is positively glowing.
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiaxc0jjqq1
.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVG8civS1Hr
.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGqDzMWcErw
.
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUvYO7MqC9A
She can hardly believe it.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyK1WZ9AlZa
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMytvaLR7pR
Can hardly believe this. That the guy she once chased down a street in the pouring rain is holding her in his arms, his head sunk in her neck as he breathes in the scent of her hair.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjbMldFyAOB
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv1gDbuV2rW
It seemed like something straight out of one of those dramas she used to love to ridicule and secretly watch at the same time.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOpSqo8ie6f
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYN8udd8mNv
Her kind businessman had turned out to be a gentleman through and through; smooth, reliable and above all, capable. He was everything she wanted in a man and then some; and to top it all off, he seemed to be as crazy about her as she was about him.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBKSSP8pSxI
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiLH1YJ6XWf
Now that she thought about it, it seemed more like something straight out from a dream rather than a mere drama. The thought makes her giggle, and she feels him smile against her neck, his arms holding her just a little bit closer so that she has to readjust her own hold around his neck.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZt6ItSiFfB
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ61DOR1mQPf
“What’s so funny?”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpxghGSmTEv
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQjB5Hvmqns
She tells him; because even though the thought is childish, she has learnt that she does not have to keep anything from him. She trusted him with even the most embarrassing and ridiculous sides of her; those she wouldn’t show to anyone else.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiGjJgFx0RN
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUhNWgSfksH
“There’s just one thing off, though—” she observes, as an afterthought, “where’s my rival in love?”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9xe8YDllec
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡslOgwPctcW
“Nowhere,” he asserts, grave like only he could be about even the most foolish of things. “I am yours.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSScaH6EIC3
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5JciFNIfQ1
The line would have sounded corny in anyone else’s lips, but in his it sounds just like it is—a statement. A truth being bluntly spoken as he caresses her cheek and looks into her eyes with the barest traces of a smile.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡll6N9JzuqC
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsfMXZjyaNQ
She has barely begun to smile back when he is sinking his face on her hair again and brushing his lips against her ear—“And you are mine.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT5NuIL1O2y
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRdUXHfwtOf
And he is breathing in her scent and tightly holding her in his arms—so tightly in fact that she can hardly breathe.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYR4eRi9FzS
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2rXbf0K232
“S-asuke—” she chokes.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Wp10hZSzp
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNKcGYCv9VK
But he does not listen.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0tw1sX9rua
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDyGNlMXrSN
“…mine.”
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVllHh81X04
.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqC6tf43Emn
.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdWfn1tJmWS
.
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXZt2N9toIM
She soundlessly sneaks behind him and leans her chin on his shoulder.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwgQSsAu6u6
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJbQfdV4xyA
“Sewing again?”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlsf6VAhGlv
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpZ3ITeqcdl
“Not my fault you have so many clothes,” is his simple reply as he continues to work the needle and the thread, slowly-but surely creating what would be a white and red fan.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTVUBJQEUti
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWg75C3flaM
Her fingers come to play with his hair, pulling and twisting some strands of raven black; “I don’t get why you do it manually, Sasuke. Sewing machines exist just for this kind of thing, in case you forgot.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRCVMh9R4xm
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8hE5jaSX4K
“I told you, Karin. It’s an Uchiha tradition, it’s supposed be done manually.” His voice is as light as her warm breathing against his neck, and they remain like that—he calmly sewing, she silently watching—until she suddenly straightens.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgtaVYBKIeK
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡALcNa3q1ES
“Where are you going?” he can’t help but ask, and hopes the way he is already missing her doesn’t seep into his voice.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCYCgaspJUy
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM2TAOpUEUd
“For the sewing kit,” comes her matter-of-fact reply, and surprised, Sasuke arches one eyebrow. “Since I’m becoming an Uchiha myself, I may as well learn, right?”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyM8wsFwubK
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC8oWUmBNyO
She shoots him a playful smirk that looks too much like a smile before leaving the room, and Sasuke cannot help the way his pulse quickens at its sight.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzNWXjbILUc
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYfoaRAKtEz
And he finds himself smiling at her back, like one of those love-sick fools he always used to make fun of.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiMZsQt2q38
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwOwDdXPDyw
But it’s just, back then—he had never thought someone could actually make him this happy.
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPX2AFrvA96
.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX0CMPFshhX
.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5puJy81XOG
.
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZf5terzByF
“Stop doing that, Sasuke.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEHHJsv4DO7
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxKJqOrh9jw
“Doing what?”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfZ6IZpScsQ
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq3J89SnOV7
“This—making me happy,” her eyes are stern as she looks at him, but he does not take her honesty as seriously as he probably should.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMZu9v6qurB
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFP0EspTWCg
“Or what?”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsxQR4hSKSU
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKN5UAKX6Ii
“…Or I may fall in love with you, Uchiha.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2sCvCZJKcc
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGlcykQ8MVW
She is both elated and horrified to see how soft and harmless his usual menacing and intimidating smirk looks as he replies.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUdflGq2wLP
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ41bugY6Bcb
“… Maybe I wouldn’t mind that.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD0qqSyOVcc
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJQopb4EJs1
His naked form is gone before she can gather herself enough to reply; gone to the living room of the luxury-hotel-room to call for room service—and as she hears his voice drifting over to her from the other room, Karin digs her nails into her palms.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk0NodnUXrE
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3CAcsA3DkN
She was alone in the room, his suitcase forgotten on a nearby chair and his laptop on the table—she knows his passwords; has the knowledge and tools to get through what she does not know, and above all, she has the time to do so.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVOSodQV6dn
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoMP6wUjWdH
Only a minute would be enough for a spy as skilled as herself.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTK4EIE9qzd
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ89MACqA2Ln
By the he would come back into the room and make love to her again, it would be too late for him; and he wouldn’t suspect a thing.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyOevOw0JiA
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZMAsYF8uTN
She could get away with it, if she were to go through it. She should go through it. This is what they sent her for—this is what she is getting paid for, not for screwing the target all night long.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx1v5k5nRuA
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtT1palNgtl
She sighs, lays back down on the bed and thinks of his pathetic attempt at a smirk. It makes it easier to forget her duties, to forget the papers she should be revising, the documents she should be hacking into—400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDSoNFnJIF2
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMx0muf2Hhk
To forget the atrocities she would find if she did.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF5KTPWs7OS
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡliNglidBrH
And, really—who would have thought that a monster like Uchiha Sasuke was capable of making a face like that?
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFsAlCqfLDG
.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0wMtqeZWTK
.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKPAkzQi3s6
.
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf70vFZOEJK
Sasuke was just putting a plate aside when the sound of porcelain breaking reaches his ears.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5P5JmIeMQv
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡShXYulr3CT
With a start, he turns only to find Karin crouched on the ground, her feet surrounded by tiny pieces of what had just been one of her favorite sets of dishes.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjCRrHIFNpg
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv0QLDjvt0m
“Karin,” he calls, drying his hands on his pants—and he misses the way Karin’s shoulders tense, her back stiffening. “Are you alright?”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyrygJYRPr5
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtR9WlkHPLW
“Yeah,” she murmurs after a moment, and Sasuke blinks. She didn’t sound alright.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4vOFfIql6f
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBDDdaSB6Ox
“Karin,” he calls again, approaching her. “Leave that be, I’ll take care of it.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrlDYnvznPS
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5aGPvYY1mn
“I told you, it’s fine.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJeWaXmWxgd
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlwWEx1APdM
He frowns, concerned. “Karin—”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgMaVeE24Ts
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy4f438GqJG
But the words freeze in his throat as Karin yelps and slaps away the hand he had been about to reassuringly place on her shoulder.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEPqUp3KXet
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb8GoJSKiAI
For a long moment, all they do is stare at each other—Sasuke staggered by Karin’s frightened eyes, by the raw fear contorting her features—and then the moment ends and Karin is standing up and taking a loud breath.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHHdEwn8CNa
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGCnW0blUoJ
“Sorry, Sasuke—I think I’ll go and lie down for a while.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSDxJ4bqClL
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYzjdtJKr1b
Her voice is even, but Sasuke knows her better than that; and so he can’t bring himself to watch her as she leaves the kitchen.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKO0sblNRJy
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQlPYHWZfy7
He doesn’t know what he would do if he were to see that same fright reflected in her eyes again.
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJcYZ8mcPR9
.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRnEkiRL2Fd
.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVjsCxl91F9
.
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBuEcMqWWDB
She jolts back as the lights go on and the shadows melt away into an all too familiar figure—one that is sitting on the one-man couch and that tilts his head to the side, dark bangs falling across his face and eyes as black as abysses centered on her.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWs7YglQtrD
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7RSQNqHMbF
“S-sasuke, what—?”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuQWJNy5iar
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUSRBZEXBZP
“Where were you, Karin?”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtCBaWYogLJ
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡofDCNPW7os
His question is smooth and steady; placid, even. Except that Karin knows him well enough; has gotten to know this side of him—this terrifying side of him, twisted and manipulative, brutally honest in order to hurt rather than to please—well enough lately. Enough to be able to see beyond and into the brewing storm.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbk03dA8L5l
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcFs6ChXKFH
It reeks of lighting and promises pain—it frankly terrifies her.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1lnD9zrA5D
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoA035dZYXf
But she holds her ground.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOeaZi1qUcL
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmltoCpgCux
“I—I was having lunch with my parents, Sasuke. They called to invite us today but you were at—”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuG4KMT8QSA
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaBvD69B46i
“Liar,” he grits out, and Karin’s blood runs cold. “I called them myself. You were not with them. So, where were you?”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJPp73pk7LU
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6PNUn6uLmP
It is trying to keep her voice and hands from shaking that she says the truth. “I was out with the girls, Sasuke—but we were just eating and talking! We did nothing w—”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1jBArYY0Zb
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRQ1F99sDaX
“Then why didn’t you say so from the start, Karin?” she freezes, like a deer caught in headlights—and then lowers his eyes. Slowly, Sasuke stands. “… Do you not trust me, Karin? Do you think I do not trust you? Is that it?”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Kqt4lRNg9
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUfFr5Pi1cu
“Sasuke, I—”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb06t06UNHt
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKSjOwRwa1s
“Because I do, Karin,” he is standing before her now, his hand lovingly caressing her face, his eyes warm—and though Karin knows better, her body remains as loyal to him as ever and it betrays her; closing its eyes and leaning into the touch. “I trust you, because I love you. Do you not love me, Karin?”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAkZpNDS4mT
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMjc9hTJBT4
A part of her hates herself for how easily the answer comes forth to her lips. For how true it remains. “… I do, Sasuke.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlIBSTtPRUB
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX402wHeqHV
She hears his smile, “Good. Then, you will stop seeing them, won’t you? Those girls.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0i2mFMBzDP
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdJl4LA0PsD
Her eyes snap open—and the Sasuke that greets them is once again back to being rough oceans and thunderstorms. “You’re better than them, Karin.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaNzoKLhneA
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3vkQUzHbEx
I want you all for myself—is what Karin hears instead, and she frowns. “Sasuke, you can’t be serious—they are my friends!”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGTv5Dw613a
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTTFFXWkvjG
She comes to regret her words almost immediately, as his features snap into a mad grimace and his hand shots to her wrist, grasping it tightly enough to make her yelp—“And I not enough for you, Karin?”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWwqvRFjOzH
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYOO0uSCq66
“I—” yes, he is—was. Is.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9oiKOYJewr
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7vNtRmAqBf
And that frightens her more than he possibly could.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqmRTmPxoli
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpRmDiLj7cj
“—alright, Sasuke… you win.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3piqZ4ejYk
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWQAECS6sqr
His features relax and his hands come to cup her cheeks again, a soft, almost child-like smile in his lips. Innocent enough to trick anyone.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJG4p4UtDmY
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWpYD2XAVlB
Even himself.
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrTu8OdKwsW
.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡinLgBk8mo9
.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3ZnSINncBM
.
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHQ3hQdz7ji
The silence is deafening. The unsaid drawing knots with his vocal chords, until he decides that enough has been enough.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEj30EEn79s
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyVwfTPLKHj
“Karin, about yesterday….” He trails off, figures he will give her the chance to own up to what happened by herself, rather than attempting to play the game of pretend like she has been doing all day.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiEVpQYpqHB
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP95c7mq0tt
She doesn’t bulge. “What?”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡROXanZExyf
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEDhISJ5IvN
And perhaps that’s what worries Sasuke the most.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFqp8ENvSCO
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsIGDBwwXxu
It takes him a few moments before he is able to gain control of the ominous feeling pooling in his stomach; the one making it hard to speak.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3RurYZdy0x
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzocX8J2nJp
“Don’t try to avoid the subject, Karin. There is something you aren’t telling me, isn’t there?”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0aWAG6X9BV
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbl9N1aJR98
Karin’s hands pause for half a second—and then she is moving the chopsticks again, her lips curving in a mystifying smile that does not reach her eyes.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5YE717M5gF
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQSRhFWdgnA
And Sasuke wants nothing more than to ask her to stop—but he is too scared to do so.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY5IWbpg6PE
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF1EKCtkqcJ
“Eat, Sasuke. It’s going to get cold.”
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3zgRNlbyt4
.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd5YRK7vc7K
.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWMJbLRuzp7
.
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcmhgMITm91
He rolls the raspberries between his fingers, memories swirling in his head.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeQJYhAYbmi
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3MgX3Yd9JW
He has always had a very good memory; and throughout his life, it has proved to be a curse more often than a blessing.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKvo3GoXgbm
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6X61KfErDt
In this case, it is both at once.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ81uFol385G
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1inIn6ARp4
A redheaded toddler pulls him along to play on the backyard; a young girl holds him as he weeps for his parents and brother; a teenager kissing the raspberry lipstick off his lips.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnLqG0N9xUi
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjNcFHujWjp
A girl sending him off with a sad smile, and never looking back.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfALrSptb2a
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3HHcgW6FVA
Broken promises.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZh9Esth8pn
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxAaEPfV3kp
A call. A funeral.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeURod0YBRl
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwXqfSr8YBs
And tears.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNjB0ijACU7
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFEh7d584Bt
Heartbreak.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPG4llFicI9
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbpc3t0l4Tl
Loneliness.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRsS0dLGJt2
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk8uPicdjdW
…then there was nothing else.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPpx3pgBwjB
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSFjOJuIocP
And then there was everything all over again.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkbuImtyYFx
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwI4SbxN4Y4
Rinse and repeat over and over; relieving both the good and the bad, but not feeling the sunlight warm nor the pain sting. It was like a movie etched on his corneas—he saw it over and over whenever he had his eyes open, whenever he had his eyes closed. And by now he has seen it enough times to know every turn, every scene—and yet he can’t stop.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEzHJa1sQCV
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWhLIPfsZVJ
He can’t stop.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKGt3zk4Ra0
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR4NiBKE1S7
He does not want to.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0dgO0uO41B
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxRXYI5ntXL
One of the raspberries snaps, juice rolling down his fingers—but he does nothing to clean it up.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRKLU0rHO3y
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6o6mE0bIPw
The door creaks open.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUDqzq424Ev
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPE7EHCQWPs
“Uchiha-san, you have to eat.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOTwROaB0w6
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDyzIDFK3KA
The nurse says, more out of habit than anything else; but he is too far away to hear—400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7x4WfmMazd
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsgrrIIU5dT
(“I’ll see you around… Sasuke,” comes her goodbye—and then there is a whirlwind of colors and images as the roll film reels back to their beginning.)400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwplCItJGEw
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5qL9UNndTT
—and it’s been a year since the patient of the room 723 has pronounced a single word.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO2PYUVNUY5
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbHVDoMxvGn
(And a five-year old Karin is smiling.)
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCySzwXxeF9
.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSGrqkqaGet
.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGAyebLAgTw
.
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMECdskSPQs
When the first rays of the sun slip through the open curtains, Sasuke awakens only to find that it was one of those rare days when Karin has woken up first.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0U4hvYSa8E
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5WTlB6qrrK
For a blissful moment, he is ignorant; forgetful. He does not remember how weird she has been acting, does not remember the silences from the past couple of days—and so he is about to tease her about waking up so early when he realizes there was something very, very wrong—and any drowsiness is suddenly yanked from underneath him like a rug.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNTRgWojplz
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8dQrn3Dm57
Karin was sitting on the bed, unnaturally straight and still; her eyes vacant and unseeing, telltale trails of dried tears on her cheeks.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvARaha4JTy
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcPGlUKY9gQ
For an excruciatingly long moment, Sasuke is frozen in place—at a complete loss as to what to do. This was the first time he has ever seen Karin cry, and the sight makes an ugly feeling curl up in his gut.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIwTBLGR0Ya
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1RVCrPCyKz
“Karin…” his voice is faint; a tentative call more to spur himself into motion than to reach her. “Karin, what’s wrong?”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9ODG8Uz5hH
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUk3cjEdCeI
She does not react—gives no signs of having heard him, and Sasuke is filled with a sense of foreboding so potent that it robs him of his breathing.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSxDsNyNDAd
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3N9IAOPf1U
And then she parts her lips.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC8tVKJAifx
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwmyIz6aODP
“Sasuke… I had a dream… a new one.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4C5Tpd2WM4
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ12PyqRT05A
Sasuke swallows; what could she have possibly seen to put her in such a state?400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpyMhbA1h99
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Cu0lTLk5c
“Karin, I…” the redhead simply shakes her head, and to his ever-growing alarm there are fresh tears dripping from her eyes.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8llJTElAQu
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPGElwVBdNv
“Forget it, Sasuke… it’s better if you do.”
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyLvP8Tr5Ui
.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxYZKrIVpYw
.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5WA1YBnybo
.
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiHgb9xZ8il
She chokes on a distraught sob as she gathers his body in her arms, his blood seeping into her shirt and tainting it as crimson as her hair.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7qJ3wrcxuR
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9n8IdMRtW3
“Stop it, Karin. You were not supposed to care about him—”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmJLk3Zn8kQ
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxY3n6OwNJY
“And you weren’t supposed to kill him! This was my job!” she growls, her sight blurry by unleashed tears—and despite it she can still clearly see the apathy in her coworker’s face.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZD2x0jMMha
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrH5eBACdLR
It makes something in her tightly clench.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj5qRTzadXi
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx6uEzAYXiw
“Hn, you took too long. We couldn’t keep waiting for you to remember your roots. Did you forget you’re a spy, Karin? You’re trained for riding the world of bastards like these.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh4qZltJ4H9
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp8CxqekQ1a
And then he distastefully kicks him—he kicks Sasuke’s side, as if he were nothing but a sack of bones and skin—and something in her snaps.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH8aOhGItkF
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzQ5POxv06H
She is taking her gun out and blowing his brains out before he has got time to even think—and as the body falls to the ground with a sick thud, Karin wipes off her tears—smearing her cheeks with Sasuke’s blood—and loads the gun again.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdCM2UmQZjX
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQH8oJkJtMd
She can hear them coming from her, and she knows she won’t be able to escape—but that was fine.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbBebbZBkxn
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQzAkzvllZn
She would take as many of them as she possibly could before going down, and—400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8vl7bKnQd8
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡou0T90zzQA
“…we’ll meet soon, Sasuke.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtDR50v4pEg
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr0BgtfKWoN
—and Sasuke had always liked souvenirs.
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5kncSbhLsU
.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa1bjbFEcqQ
.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXf8nhzyJVK
.
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiAqrn4Z9wG
He is crudely woken up by Karin screaming his name.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCZNblhuA5K
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWD7FkgXOq2
Her yells are shrill and terrified; and they do not stop, no matter how much he shakes her, how much he calls out to her.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqLbcAgUisT
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA99bA1rawa
In fact—she seemed to only be getting worse.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡABRO5nhlzQ
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4udNrGlynJ
“Sasuke, no—!”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOZAVhWtFyD
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh0UpKGrJ4S
“Karin! Karin, wake up!” he has her seized by her shoulders, but Karin trashes in his hold; so he brushes the bangs off her forehead instead, trying to soothe her nightmares with his touch. “It’s fine, I’m here, I won’t let anyone hurt—”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqWwlaw0nDa
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPrOBrCcU2l
But his sincere promise is cut short by her terrified sob.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSZf6JVMCqc
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBDTJpojC70
“N-no, Sasuke—get away from me!”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2eqXJaIjub
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBpRweGprlw
Sasuke jumps back, as if burnt. “W-what…?”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡycYOJmD8ZC
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq1tAZZTM6W
He could not believe his ears—she was frightened—of him?400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQOdffY1QQv
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3g9GSbx9A7
He leans back; backs off the bed and steps into the cold floor, his mind whirling—and it’s then a memory sneaks into his conscious. Uninvited, and terrible with the clarity it brings him.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdWAlqaxCh7
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzvlqsccD0U
‘… They weren’t always nice, Sasuke. They rarely were.’400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJcTOBjRP9E
‘What weren’t?’400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxzi5OFBxVs
‘...You.’400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuAEKcTGi8S
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡphRkhFVyqu
The thought makes trepidation mercilessly grip his heart—and he can do nothing but helplessly watch as Karin twists and turns in her sleep, battling against ghosts he cannot see.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJVBXsM0PM1
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhzbHlWhjfn
Ghosts he has started to fear, too.
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDdYzph0sdw
.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhGSnfI4R0k
.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwjZOfnA2nA
.
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuivWLsTR5W
“Karin,” he whispers affectionately, caressing her cheek with his right hand, “I need you.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS7kSufzHb9
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPdthNgWqxJ
Karin swallows the knot in her throat and forces her knees to remain firm, “I—I know, so plea—”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGgvNprJWLs
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzX6ehBgihX
“You’re the only one for me,” he talks over her, as if she hadn’t said a word. And Karin cannot fight the shiver that runs down her spine as something cold is pressed to her ribcage, right in between her breasts. “That’s why… I must to do this.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC5JcuPCboi
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSSmC84YlW1
“Sasuke,” her voice is hoarse, her eyes begging him to rethink this—to be reasonable. But Sasuke simply shakes his head and smiles an impossibly sad smile, his thumb tracing her bottom lip, which has started to quiver.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQIUaZoI3Y2
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ56mP7HAAd2
“I’ll see you soon… Karin.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAwQ5s0NIef
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaJ7fRKsHvW
He says, and his words are as loud as the gunshot that follows.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWn3oIxeJVR
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBLuBmhYwZP
And then her lifeless body is crumbling to the ground, his soon to follow.
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYyIQj0HZ8A
.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9DWvnsudhU
.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyNFNyXET3A
.
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnih4Y3QF6A
“What was I doing to you?”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhAaaQS1rcz
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5qg8xm3qBm
“… I don’t remember.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmPdLr1dJId
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv2pkcb2Gzn
Sasuke shuts his eyes close, his hands gripping the sheets. It would be so much easier to pretend to believe her; to pretend there was nothing wrong. To pretend he didn’t spend the whole night fighting the desperation gripping at his core as he watched her shake in her turmoil-filled sleep; longing for it to end, dreading what would happen once it did.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWbrG3duPPx
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiWQR7kdQ33
But he has played that game long enough.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqf8d13c6Yl
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPo0llIkIuD
He cannot continue to allow himself to remain blissfully unaware while she battles on her own.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwJx28QfcKf
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwPDWsqucO2
“Don’t lie to me, Karin.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFMsj4fPFDY
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJE9MToWZAG
“I’m not lying, Sasuke… I can’t remember what I dreamed,” Karin whispers, and a shiver runs down his spine as she places her cold hand atop of his own; it was trembling. “…But I can remember the rest.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFZ6foq2WsJ
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsIvJIGjx5N
He is shaking, too—and so he uncurls his fists and entwines his fingers with hers, and makes the one request that would surely change everything.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVJzYdSp6kD
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5RsGV3ZxlP
“…Tell me the truth, Karin.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjlxBXX5WFv
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj5ykZMAxEm
Karin takes a deep breath, and Sasuke braces himself.
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1SY0zxuulO
.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5e5jBcTthR
.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRHhj4InOR4
.
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡitnVfX7GVM
The world seems to slow to a halt as she coughs up blood, the sword cleanly piercing her chest and stopping dangerously close to his own heart.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhyh6WLxHzu
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjrpXvd3Eys
He can only stare, eyes wide, at the back of her head—the vibrant strands of hair tickling his face as she takes an involuntary step backward—and then there is a cold flush of liquid splaying all over his shirt as the sword is pulled out and she begins to crumble down like a leaf—400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSQGGkOPjsJ
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWB99hp0nyt
And her name leaves his lips in the form of a horrified call—one that is cut short by her strained smile.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7SgLiriamU
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Ttx8i9pPL
“Idiot, I… told you… to move, Sasuke…”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdPoZm4Euuq
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR2LW9WaElL
“Stop talking, Karin,” he ushers, and his vision blurs. Despite it he thinks he sees her smile widening, and he cradles her closer to his chest, tries to ignore the blood seeping from her body at an alarmingly fast pace. “You need to save your strength, Sakura is c—”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMbbNUCnpBP
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpMTnMB0qbN
“Sa…suke,” and though her voice is nothing but a dying whisper, he is rendered silent at once. “Promise me… you won’t… die.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxh0uxwQugs
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCp8VL4ik2E
His teeth clatter and sink on his lip, drawing blood—and suddenly he is yelling. “You are the idiot, Karin! Why?! Why would you do that for me? Did you forget what I did to you? I thought you said you wouldn’t! I thought you said you would—”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCv7Nqy7Agh
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBdNfvSeHac
“—make you… regret it… I know,” her smile looks like unleashed tears. “I admit… this… wasn’t exactly… what I had… in mind.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ82KQRmOGF1
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB027DxOxmi
There is a choked sob—and he barely registers it is his own.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0JK9FgAudG
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzkG68S0wJo
She does, though—and her fingertips come to softly brush away the tears from the corner of his eyes, leaving telltale traces of crimson instead.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkTEO138aD9
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcP7rbZPQwx
“Don’t… all I want…ed… is for you… to smile… like that day.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡajp7vpMvHA
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfbBnP2PWEY
He knows at once what she means—but the memories feel light-years away; they are colored in grays and smeared with blood, and for the life of him—for the life of her—he cannot find it in himself the will to smile.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvgBWiPpJlj
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv901kbeZzK
And she slips away through his hesitation like he had always slipped through her fingers.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡneDl3bvzD1
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmVgaXDxjdv
“See ya… Sasuke.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0HENMrgcug
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpuICKnxXND
Her hand drops and her body goes cold, and all his lips seem to be able to do is call her name—a name accompanied by lonesome apologies and regrets that would never get either of them anywhere.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD4umLZn2AN
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoIK7sAlWV3
He never seems to be able to get anywhere, ever, not even when he is trying to—but if he could—if only he could do it all over again, he—400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfUh0TyHE2V
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7qS3lZPUYD
Mere hours later, his body is the one to drop lifelessly to the ground—and it’s all over before he can realize the smile that grazes his lips.
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnCu3nsRJPo
.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ00z3v1AmJC
.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDNjzby70mt
.
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjY2t0DQ7KU
A terrible silence has descended upon them.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHQO6sNbo7k
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ84TS8FnDy6
He has retreated to the edge of the bed, his elbows sinking on his knees and his horrified face cradled in his shaking hands.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt7IuVEDdR9
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMEC1XpO7Ek
“Why…?” and he does not know it, but it always seemed to come to this very question. “Why are you with me, despite all the things I’ve done to you?”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLkYJ5TAzpN
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYpZvMK2rZU
Karin watches his desolated back and has a hard time swallowing the lump in her throat, “Because… they are not you, Sasuke.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcV6gyxIdiU
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXiJ8fcx1nO
He says nothing in response—can not possibly wrap his mind around her words, Karin knows. And so she softly crawls to him and drapes her arms around his neck, leans her cheek on the side of his head, closes her eyes, and smiles.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI8nJLpKb4z
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhjLbpjT9q8
“And, above all…”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEd9Q2mLeOF
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoAlfwqIRRA
The smile is strained—but resolute. Serene. It says nothing and everything at once. And despite himself, Sasuke finds solace in her touch—his own hand coming to seize her own as her words carry over to him, a simple truth that at once gives him hope and clogs his throat with trepidation.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUOi40kUncN
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvPnfrtNern
“…Above all, I want to see how this one ends.”
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5ureB6hijC
.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRkSUAGooU8
.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHrJuhfuAi9
.
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYINjxcAcCS
It happens a sunny morning as she trips and a bear lunges at her, its roar so deafening that she thought her head would burst before the beast would get to sink its teeth on her flesh.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrOSJV3Io8f
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjaCS4qPvF8
Except that it doesn’t get to.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp7W296SqdO
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgJ7uNM2FbT
And when she puts her glasses back on, her sight is met by a smile that would carve itself on her mind and set ablaze a flame that would burn just as strongly and lastingly as the eyes of the boy she would never, ever forget.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYDkbs9M7m5
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSwpmWfHFdm
“See ya.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcCYjxVf9wQ
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnf4cw2MZbN
This is what I give,400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9BgUnvS6cC
A circle is complete.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP4tLMXTHqL
Another circle spins400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9sIIRkJBMb
There's life within,400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrFxnrN0dZV
Within
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz5maPlszQP
end.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIW8rIY815j
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtcsgFvwcoi
Ok! Now you guys should understand what I meant by the warnings at the beginning; I tried to make each SK set of reincarnations distinctly different from each other, both in personalities, dynamics, and backgrounds; so they indeed diverge from the Sasuke and Karin we're used to, as they have all grown in different environments. All the same, I tried to keep some traits of their canon personalities, so hopefully, they aren't absurdly OOC.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtTdvxtRMUU
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPlqmXO2cy7
That said~! The song used at the beginning is Kitade Nana’s Tsukihana, and the one at the end is Blue Foundation’s Bonfires. Now, onto random details about the fic~ there are five versions of SasuKarin total in the fic; the originals, and 4 pairs of reincarnations.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFIL3Q7WS66
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXZaotaTLs8
The format of the fic didn’t allow me to expand and truly explain each particular set, so if you are curious about any of them drop me a comment and I’ll tell you their background and/or explain anything you may be wondering about~!400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiIbAW4fFKt
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlPQj0qkFBX
For now, though, I must mention a couple of things about the 4th SK pair (aka, the most controversial - the one with cute!Karin and businessman!Sasuke); their meeting (the umbrella thing) was completely inspired by a real-life story I read here, and overly-jealous-and-possessive-Sasuke was inspired by might 'Anyone's Ghost' SK AMV, here. I debated a bit about this version because it's kind of hard to imagine a Karin who would allow Sasuke to be that way with her; but then again, this particular Karin is less headstrong than the one we know and love. So I decided to leave it as it lol Also, his overdone “I love you(s)” and cheesiness, while sincere, were meant to be creepy and manipulative; I really hope they came out that way lol400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHq6ddjcjtM
400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdzONWs8Uua
Thanks for reading! ♥
Tags: fanfic, karin, naruto, sasukarin, sasuke
ns 15.158.61.44da2
