[FANFIC - HBD, KARIN! PII] READING BETWEEN THE LINES ; (SK)
By: Kanae (Goth-Punk88 @ ff.net)429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKKdnAZBtlB
Rating: K+429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk4kcqW5dk5
Word Count: 1.956429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr7JmHhpWju
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 lol429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7xFYIOxIpQ
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reading between the lines ;429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4SNL69wDA0
by Kanae429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlKPmryDVQP
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Stupid Orochimaru.429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgRB2KDwBn4
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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.429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7nDQGC0UjP
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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.429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHSH8Kg9nuc
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And now it would be ruined.429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbXmVhQ3nXD
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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.429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfkqEy02sww
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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.429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEj9bIO6rg9
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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.429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyjFzvCGR43
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Understood. You won’t be disappointed, Orochimaru-sama.429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJUmCOTuk4L
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The man had simply smirked, mirth in those gashes he had for eyes. I know.429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtDAQ4GC2qf
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Karin knew, too, even though she rather wished she didn’t.429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuWIw3RsN8r
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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.429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡujTax6u1Jf
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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.429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡftY8OZCT1N
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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.429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcUXU85gKn7
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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.429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCiYUoZxetP
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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.429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg5YafHiunC
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So focused was she on her thoughts, that she does not realize the chakra approaching her until he speaks.429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoMn0VzYFdn
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“Still packing, Karin?”429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6VsFifm3sa
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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.429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc5aKt2kVTA
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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.”429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpcD6EBaJDh
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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.”429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDSRENRnEia
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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?429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCWQYLzhjU4
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Oh. Right.429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq6082XPLsL
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It takes her a considerable amount of will to repress the sigh that wanted to leave her lips, “Whatever.”429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1b4Q4MpYZE
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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.429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLX7DQ1MiXo
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“…You shouldn’t leave your door open like this, there.”429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3gCXP1Yx1k
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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.”429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx7s5teWJYk
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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.”429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqmdYQ7WyOb
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“I’ve never been there.”429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRyRgCvSFhh
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“… I see.”429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNhNLcVUkkx
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Silence. For Orochimaru to have never taken Sasuke there, it could only mean one thing—429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHWZn2Zoig5
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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…”429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqe7kQalip6
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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.429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX5cYUt9E61
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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.429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz5Xfj7ZPow
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Sasuke.429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9AwoBcQPMt
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“Heh, so you asked him?”429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTGsd82vxxR
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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?”429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡasJghMTHKT
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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.”429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy3hlAW2EOE
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“I’m not worried, Karin.”429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtXPWa95jhD
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Karin snorts, “Sure you aren’t.”429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyvjuz2aKqK
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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.429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiB93eJcepI
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Anytime soon. Her eyes widen.429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVh2IZU1p1i
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“Say, Sasuke, did you ask Orochimaru for how long will I be there?”429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe1yid4qCOt
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He does not reply immediately; and in his silence, Karin hears the reply loudest of all. “… It’s undetermined.”429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1HP7mQeWuU
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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.429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJzcMWAw2I1
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Chances are she would not get to talk, feel or bicker with Sasuke for months.429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM5Gzy3ISGo
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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.429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUgPyY7ycHq
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“… It won’t be that long, Karin.”429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡurhYZNN49E
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When she looks at him, she finds a dangerous glint sharpening his eyes and at once knows what he means.429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4ZH632AALX
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Orochimaru would not be around for much longer.429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnhfCstZVaR
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Karin swallows, a shot of adrenaline reigniting her veins.429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLAvtGwT34Y
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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.429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr94XsSaQdE
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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.”429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKlMlmrxXnW
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“Hn.”429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFhJvK9ojgu
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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.429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRYZRasEWxi
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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.429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwfpLpWx3rF
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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—429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaiyHOco8p1
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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.429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbge0I52s4Z
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As will she.429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjOQNvlhErp
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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.429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfe7hXbbk4W
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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.429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoNMRVXXPuK
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Flabbergasted, Karin can only catch the pouch that is suddenly thrown at her, “Huh?”429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaYe2EawgZX
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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.”429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡktAKDIzGMf
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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.”429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMb2adwJBiv
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“See ya, Karin.”429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOwF1zsj5D5
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“Later, Sasuke.”429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLSEZsbiP1I
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It is almost as embarrassing as her treacherous blush, but for a moment, Karin had actually thought—429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnNFl2G0GWI
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“Pft, as if.”429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH050Vv0N2k
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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.429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrjB5ZcPWdx
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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.429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSBeynbnEXk
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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.429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqqKgDoBgFT
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She blinks—once, twice—and then her smile morphs into a full blown smirk, her fingertips longingly tracing the pattern.429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZsqc3H8Ea0
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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—429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe6s4GERYfM
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At the end, it all amounted to the same.429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpoFCVmzFG9
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“Happy birthday,” Karin mutters, an enthusiastic glint in her eye. “Uchiha Karin.”429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBn4DWvqY6t
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end.
tags: fanfic, karin, naruto, sasukarin, sasuke
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