[FANFIC - HBD, KARIN! PII] READING BETWEEN THE LINES ; (SK)
By: Kanae (Goth-Punk88 @ ff.net)402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdxywuqwCbI
Rating: K+402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQe3njq44v3
Word Count: 1.956402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRCoGcIMVfD
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 lol402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1BeXw7SBlC
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reading between the lines ;402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPNM9zZEtsI
by Kanae402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVJ6QPfcnb0
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Stupid Orochimaru.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsPpn1Gphp1
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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.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaosqag1JO0
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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.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPixLR4HuRG
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And now it would be ruined.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS65MagWE68
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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.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdD6dfXmUcm
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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.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGvAcpUyoXH
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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.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrozWqZ8SJl
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Understood. You won’t be disappointed, Orochimaru-sama.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAQ6FPuazlP
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The man had simply smirked, mirth in those gashes he had for eyes. I know.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjcRyEavgK8
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Karin knew, too, even though she rather wished she didn’t.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZp2d9QbYn0
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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.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs36xutdLQ4
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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.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡczEEKiVBPX
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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.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfC4WGwAp3W
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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.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHAa7elGPit
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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.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFHBdBpzOe0
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So focused was she on her thoughts, that she does not realize the chakra approaching her until he speaks.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqeWkUsdSSS
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“Still packing, Karin?”402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqrpZFjArlk
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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.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7i6lqmmtkG
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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.”402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0WJQGH1rO9
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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.”402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv1be4WxFcn
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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?402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPrQTQUTcBm
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Oh. Right.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0uGbA50THj
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It takes her a considerable amount of will to repress the sigh that wanted to leave her lips, “Whatever.”402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJCbPKDuTii
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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.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPdfE2NAPi6
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“…You shouldn’t leave your door open like this, there.”402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4rDvbKG3hq
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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.”402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2l2Zg3dF8i
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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.”402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqyyD4tVEts
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“I’ve never been there.”402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlWpp7aOFfr
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“… I see.”402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvV0AhEGl0X
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Silence. For Orochimaru to have never taken Sasuke there, it could only mean one thing—402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrTP664ezhB
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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…”402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgwe0weYddR
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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.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsebB2DvWuX
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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.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxOEhDlE5m9
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Sasuke.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2O5JEFU8qq
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“Heh, so you asked him?”402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpS9tOGmg8h
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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?”402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡraxOHkPM5i
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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.”402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoWR4HrsWZw
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“I’m not worried, Karin.”402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaZKyUNhVON
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Karin snorts, “Sure you aren’t.”402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS8CukmS2zl
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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.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi65iHKVwTr
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Anytime soon. Her eyes widen.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLNDPqSxxWs
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“Say, Sasuke, did you ask Orochimaru for how long will I be there?”402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAomY7kQfMw
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He does not reply immediately; and in his silence, Karin hears the reply loudest of all. “… It’s undetermined.”402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNAb0jQ41J4
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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.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡocSvU4LFHE
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Chances are she would not get to talk, feel or bicker with Sasuke for months.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoSTFVfNnmi
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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.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9nroyp89RR
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“… It won’t be that long, Karin.”402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwOIXk6kqEh
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When she looks at him, she finds a dangerous glint sharpening his eyes and at once knows what he means.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr3rfdrfvsK
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Orochimaru would not be around for much longer.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGJ5bNJtHlz
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Karin swallows, a shot of adrenaline reigniting her veins.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBsb2Wpm6sK
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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.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG9usVy6DSJ
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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.”402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡApI4DXPOPg
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“Hn.”402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYwXhTsa1uj
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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.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGHgYL0hPDZ
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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.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIM7fuwH6kR
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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—402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1TGKsTBqJU
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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.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy6o7VWzsCo
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As will she.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEQj2Lgfnn9
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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.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡArA0Svcr3m
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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.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYL5iuC7k4J
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Flabbergasted, Karin can only catch the pouch that is suddenly thrown at her, “Huh?”402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE9YnDcpQw9
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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.”402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZikbkfu8wv
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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.”402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqhvQVN6NP7
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“See ya, Karin.”402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD6rxJmoMwv
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“Later, Sasuke.”402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhDCPjqvqsf
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It is almost as embarrassing as her treacherous blush, but for a moment, Karin had actually thought—402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWrBsAhq1XX
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“Pft, as if.”402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGyLK7jmiXL
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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.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKMJd2CkTR1
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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.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1l4qUjLJZC
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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.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5J7CGcjLs1
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She blinks—once, twice—and then her smile morphs into a full blown smirk, her fingertips longingly tracing the pattern.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQB3PaNSshA
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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—402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWgLjJwDguD
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At the end, it all amounted to the same.402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7rM88XB3Zd
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“Happy birthday,” Karin mutters, an enthusiastic glint in her eye. “Uchiha Karin.”402Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVKi45h0GX9
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end.
tags: fanfic, karin, naruto, sasukarin, sasuke
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