[FANFIC - HBD, KARIN! PII] READING BETWEEN THE LINES ; (SK)
By: Kanae (Goth-Punk88 @ ff.net)372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡafLFrOljHr
Rating: K+372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbZ9P2hfQ1w
Word Count: 1.956372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3BpcX1w2dG
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 lol372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBUZonqFPkb
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reading between the lines ;372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw2q6iXgmWe
by Kanae372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt2f3OmMlbS
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Stupid Orochimaru.372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡILiWR4cQYr
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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.372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDGW5YbzEyc
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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.372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRraDxsiDVK
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And now it would be ruined.372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEWZ8aPDVII
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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.372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlEEZyKrIZH
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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.372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWCTlFSvxsQ
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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.372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnMH6k3pTk4
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Understood. You won’t be disappointed, Orochimaru-sama.372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM7e3wiiLfj
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The man had simply smirked, mirth in those gashes he had for eyes. I know.372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK6P6juhncK
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Karin knew, too, even though she rather wished she didn’t.372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRBqhA50gSk
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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.372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9IkNuhWogp
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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.372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoUKQ6dz5VA
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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.372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVAYhu4aQp5
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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.372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyJiFbgkuRj
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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.372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFsweBSqIkw
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So focused was she on her thoughts, that she does not realize the chakra approaching her until he speaks.372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEGk0HFnMse
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“Still packing, Karin?”372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1YEB5S5CcS
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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.372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtpVeBtsHYq
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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.”372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWJ1NJQGIzV
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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.”372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqS1ovSfUH4
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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?372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxLv5XRONXf
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Oh. Right.372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOwiaPaTm7P
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It takes her a considerable amount of will to repress the sigh that wanted to leave her lips, “Whatever.”372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsSrM0DvUb0
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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.372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ72rRZOhbBO
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“…You shouldn’t leave your door open like this, there.”372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxu5EZYNPSM
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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.”372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn0osWgD6ko
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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.”372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhKbAZM0LrO
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“I’ve never been there.”372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdJoWT3bUEn
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“… I see.”372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY5YTG9fbcd
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Silence. For Orochimaru to have never taken Sasuke there, it could only mean one thing—372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCBrm4NOSFZ
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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…”372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGF7NUTba9Z
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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.372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1BZSQroc4h
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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.372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTWJ5lNeSX9
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Sasuke.372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMxugp05DQj
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“Heh, so you asked him?”372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDH1AbxuRwN
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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?”372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVHZpXFCKlP
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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.”372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQNXkj2NknJ
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“I’m not worried, Karin.”372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUpZtwmN57J
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Karin snorts, “Sure you aren’t.”372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3XS4RusF4o
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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.372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhCJ6Ps9ui3
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Anytime soon. Her eyes widen.372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB20RKiyL3M
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“Say, Sasuke, did you ask Orochimaru for how long will I be there?”372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiig8d8j9Vd
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He does not reply immediately; and in his silence, Karin hears the reply loudest of all. “… It’s undetermined.”372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡesH4gIiFPd
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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.372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMJ1vpCDl1h
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Chances are she would not get to talk, feel or bicker with Sasuke for months.372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN4sOh18iVO
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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.372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvWh1FDbozp
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“… It won’t be that long, Karin.”372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5jpIaW8kiA
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When she looks at him, she finds a dangerous glint sharpening his eyes and at once knows what he means.372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ3rI2q2xqn
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Orochimaru would not be around for much longer.372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJSPZbK2WWt
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Karin swallows, a shot of adrenaline reigniting her veins.372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpdWfAfl4sH
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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.372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCIe6T9bxAo
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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.”372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqzZsSWHnbq
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“Hn.”372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa98FyVIGlO
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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.372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO4gnqAWNXN
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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.372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ836h2ZdKnK
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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—372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWXvS3Rj96L
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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.372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQNMUBDvoVg
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As will she.372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ94ZwYSZTGQ
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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.372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7GRJmsOFya
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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.372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1o9AvfAFhx
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Flabbergasted, Karin can only catch the pouch that is suddenly thrown at her, “Huh?”372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCky1OTIuAl
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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.”372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQoIocEvsdz
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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.”372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaRdm2k6tkg
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“See ya, Karin.”372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQlOJZG0jQF
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“Later, Sasuke.”372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2MsaDHKR5v
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It is almost as embarrassing as her treacherous blush, but for a moment, Karin had actually thought—372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT8eV2wWd84
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“Pft, as if.”372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡisQEtyjjLA
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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.372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc9t1duFxQl
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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.372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9mmCuhmXRF
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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.372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc4qLFlDwCo
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She blinks—once, twice—and then her smile morphs into a full blown smirk, her fingertips longingly tracing the pattern.372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSE57ThGofS
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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—372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs1aHErIu5s
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At the end, it all amounted to the same.372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq5wPBSwgGy
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“Happy birthday,” Karin mutters, an enthusiastic glint in her eye. “Uchiha Karin.”372Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu9S2gduN8a
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end.
tags: fanfic, karin, naruto, sasukarin, sasuke
ns 15.158.61.18da2
