[FANFIC - HBD, KARIN! PII] READING BETWEEN THE LINES ; (SK)
By: Kanae (Goth-Punk88 @ ff.net)400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDcoAide8DE
Rating: K+400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbnhtPKFPnf
Word Count: 1.956400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmH8Z7m0Vl2
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 lol400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMWvjY8RvGw
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reading between the lines ;400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxAFGyI1zFI
by Kanae400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6SWNbT9CDP
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Stupid Orochimaru.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0DgH16xI1S
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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.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEpmCzEk7FL
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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.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXcwjqY2FzJ
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And now it would be ruined.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZmrrip6HMd
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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.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTWKXhzGQQO
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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.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq2egd9nJJC
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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.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡByaTl2jQr5
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Understood. You won’t be disappointed, Orochimaru-sama.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ24CxLfsvxV
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The man had simply smirked, mirth in those gashes he had for eyes. I know.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMtskveUV8c
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Karin knew, too, even though she rather wished she didn’t.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRtlnVNfgKM
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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.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBDmwSOLmhT
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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.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxmGu2Y5h8K
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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.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfgkJsSjTQ6
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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.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡef1b3kR5j2
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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.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJqd2J7y4wD
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So focused was she on her thoughts, that she does not realize the chakra approaching her until he speaks.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfQBaseKxiP
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“Still packing, Karin?”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7sdbzifGrF
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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.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyU663xw72H
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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.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUHwRkLjNc8
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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.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP6ckmkVRBQ
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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?400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOwnCM2n9Ru
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Oh. Right.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMzeQbOsQQo
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It takes her a considerable amount of will to repress the sigh that wanted to leave her lips, “Whatever.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLnarSTBLBv
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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.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdWcpUqfycR
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“…You shouldn’t leave your door open like this, there.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSGd4AV0Z3U
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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.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDGqb4hPqLB
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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.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhmy8OXGcnZ
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“I’ve never been there.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbB5CxnAHd1
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“… I see.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsiWp1MV53f
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Silence. For Orochimaru to have never taken Sasuke there, it could only mean one thing—400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqyKrHsIUwm
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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…”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsYXYK19im0
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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.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL4FRwLitz8
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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.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCnV8lkuGvO
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Sasuke.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmHp0M8X73k
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“Heh, so you asked him?”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNkz23ZLOZz
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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?”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxmojrkN09B
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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.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTz7aOZEgGK
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“I’m not worried, Karin.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0LOhOzf4QX
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Karin snorts, “Sure you aren’t.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOKsxr9fs5t
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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.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSVhIcY4lPm
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Anytime soon. Her eyes widen.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOnFYS5XTqz
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“Say, Sasuke, did you ask Orochimaru for how long will I be there?”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMcT6dTZYOe
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He does not reply immediately; and in his silence, Karin hears the reply loudest of all. “… It’s undetermined.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvbvlEI0mln
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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.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6Irz84QfK8
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Chances are she would not get to talk, feel or bicker with Sasuke for months.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXq25akI2DR
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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.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpANYterToV
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“… It won’t be that long, Karin.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJnIVJ6sOIt
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When she looks at him, she finds a dangerous glint sharpening his eyes and at once knows what he means.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmjTidq0O8i
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Orochimaru would not be around for much longer.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfaq9KBQDqT
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Karin swallows, a shot of adrenaline reigniting her veins.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm0GQ64ofUf
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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.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ07IMP85hzO
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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.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7VKpmwOnfa
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“Hn.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkmksvdMtqy
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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.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLk9HZsxeRp
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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.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Z4UsarGL1
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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—400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGYO3zjWEXP
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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.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnm1UYTCh1I
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As will she.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ4gyeGHTx4
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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.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPibJlzH2nx
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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.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRM8zjI0Gsj
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Flabbergasted, Karin can only catch the pouch that is suddenly thrown at her, “Huh?”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWe0NdRS00H
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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.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHj0KF0zP8h
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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.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtpc76lmk2k
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“See ya, Karin.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9j0FwWqKIA
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“Later, Sasuke.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpYSAN4jVKF
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It is almost as embarrassing as her treacherous blush, but for a moment, Karin had actually thought—400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKDMqoDHGnm
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“Pft, as if.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnU4Fkn1mJd
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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.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBYF1U3qTF0
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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.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXanCGZg9AO
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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.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiMHp0Qnsnv
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She blinks—once, twice—and then her smile morphs into a full blown smirk, her fingertips longingly tracing the pattern.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8V3SPspIto
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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—400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs1oftabbqv
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At the end, it all amounted to the same.400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHlLwXVdny2
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“Happy birthday,” Karin mutters, an enthusiastic glint in her eye. “Uchiha Karin.”400Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfdv9P4YBDA
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end.
tags: fanfic, karin, naruto, sasukarin, sasuke
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