this one right here (on the right, of course) , so I'm trying to present that particular un-Sasukeish behavior while still keeping him as IC as I possibly can. Hopefully my first try at it isn't so bad!
Maybe next time
-
★
Chapter 1: Heaven&Earth ★ Chapter 2: The contestants ★ Chapter 3: Uchiha Sasuke
★ Chapter 4: Their struggles
Chapter 5:
Karin 
-
Karin clutched the handrail absentmindedly with one hand, her eyes following the two girls who had just concluded their match and were currently being picked up by their respective teachers. As the arena is left empty her eyes remain focused on it, but she isn’t really seeing anything. Her mind is elsewhere, mulling over all the things that had happened in an unbelievably short amount of time.
For starters, there no longer was anyone by her side and Karin Stood alone, as Ryuu Had Been Called out to fight as well, and consequently Had Been beaten. Had I done What He Could, But He Was utterly outmatched, and as soon as a tempest of bugs flew Towards him I Had His Hand raised and Given Up Without Any hesitation. She Was Remaining now the only one from her team, the only symbol of Kusagakure left standing. And With Each match That Went by, Another part of her body Began to tremble. By now, she has Been Able to see the kind of Abilities That Those Who Had advanced to this round-and she possessed an ounce of Did not Have Them. She Did not Have anything remotely comparable, nothing That Could Possibly help her hold her own Against Any of Them. Heck, She Did not even know how to do a -
Karin clutched the handrail absentmindedly with one hand, her eyes following the two girls who had just concluded their match and were currently being picked up by their respective teachers. As the arena is left empty her eyes remain focused on it, but she isn’t really seeing anything. Her mind is elsewhere, mulling over all the things that had happened in an unbelievably short amount of time.
bunshin , for pity's sake. CHTate future, And Then more than ever her head starts to spin, Being Assaulted by Many Different Thoughts Karin is at once Until Almost dizzy Because of it left.
I Do not have a chance
It Was the Truth. The undeniable truth That She Had Never Attempt to hide Truly, Truly Attempt to never discard-but
Had Attempted to overlook, pero Briefly, and now it WAS coming back to bite her Because she never stopped to think Had What She Would Do eleven She Was Called forth. All Had she done is limit herself to hope, to pray for it to Not Be her turn-but That Had Been only postponing the inevitable, Karin Knew, and now the inevitable Had caught up to her and WAS Above her hanging like a heavy veil of despair. CHTMLX m here? That she Would Have to face an enemy all by herself, Without her team's support, and That She Did not Have the Abilities required for Such a task?
What? What Had she Desire To ACCOMPLISH? Why
she wasn't giving up?
It Would Be So Easy, just to raise her hand and let Them Know That She Would not Be fighting. Would it only take her a word to forfeit, and Would she save herself from all the pain and the undesirable experience, and she Would Also Be Able to stay and watch-through the rest of the fights. She Would not Have to make a fool of herself in front of Anyone Either, or at least she Would not Have to do it for long
Would Be
-it over and done with really Quickly, like�
And as the unspoken words echoed inside of her mind, Karin knew them to be true.
All her life she has been moving according to what other people desired. Her father wanted her to know about the shinobi world, so she had been enlisted in the village’s small academy, had begun to learn things that had never caught her eye. Her mother wanted her to be wise, so Karin had taken up on reading about other countries, places outside of her reach. Her village wanted her to be useful, so Karin helped in the little ways she could, aiding the old woman from the shop at the end of the street or the man who had lost his cat, and working the earth when she was allowed to.
All Karin had for herself was her passion for perfumes, a passion that s to believe that all that had lead up precisely to this moment.
To this match.
And above anything else, with a strength so fierce that she feels adrenaline running through her veins, Karin desires to believe that this can be the start of a different stage of her life. A growing up experience, perhaps. A coming to terms with what she
could be, and what she no longer wanted
to be.
How far am I willing to go, then?
Another voice inquired inside her head, and it sounded calm and resolute—resigned to what was to come. Prepared for it, even. But before Karin could think of a response, a voice interrupts her thoughts.
“You can forfeit, you know. You don’t have to fight her if you do "
A male voice says from behind her, and Karin turns back to find Ryuu, Who Had His Hands on His pockets and A Few bandages Covering the top of His Head. I Looked nonchalant, But Could see Karin slight concern 'in His eyes, and she Finds herself feeling grateful.
If There Was someone worried about her, Perhaps she Would not Have to worry so much about herself. They say
Big Change
start with small steps, Karin muses, and she lets go of the handrail. Ryuu's eyes widen, But He Does not say a word.
Then ... I'm ready to Give That step.
Karin smiles, tightly.
"Wish me luck"
She says with a thread of a voice, And Then begins going down the stairs.
-
Sasuke stood bored with his arms crossed over the handrail, trying to ignore the pain that the seal brought him, which sent annoying pulsations from time to time. Truth be told, he was beginning to regret having argued with Kakashi in favor of staying to watch the battles, as there had hardly been anything interesting so far and with each passing battle there were less and less remaining for him.
That weird guy from the Sand had won in less than two minutes, and before that had been Aburame’s victory, which hadn’t been surprising as much as it had been disgusting; Sasuke might not say it aloud, but he was no fan of bugs, either.
Afterward it had been the turn of his
— Wait a minute , whispers a part of his mind, and Sasuke blinks twice before his brow furrows with slight curiosity. Could it be…?
He turns his head just in time to catch a familiar redhead beginning to walk towards the stairs, and as he watches her, he can’t help but to blink with surprise again. So… she’s Karin, huh?
His eyes narrow as he follows her every move, a certain something catching his eye.
Is she shaking?
“Sasuke, what did I miss, what did I miss?! Who’s up against who?” Inquires a voice as Naruto reaches his side, eagerly glancing around the stage, trying to catch sight of the contestants.
"That girl Sand Against the last team from the Grass" Sasuke replies blandly, looking at him Briefly Before turning back Towards the sand. "How's Sakura?" "She's fine, But she's still Unconscious" Naruto turns Towards him, Giving him a glare from reproaching That Were entre eyes narrowed to mere slits. "You Should Have Gone to check up on her, afraid!"
"What for? You and Kakashi Went Already, so someone Had to stay put two to fill you in, dobe "Naruto mutters Something under His breath, Sasuke manager to catch '
cold' and ' uncaring' and 'bastard ' , But He Does not bother in replying. Rather, His Eyes Are Once Again Following the redhead, andand positions, Karin Facing Sasuke's side of the upper level, while the Sand The Opposite faced girl.
"Umm ... Now, we'll be Starting the 5th match. Both Are you ready? "At a confirming nod from receiving part of Both girls, Hayate Gives a step back and Announces a Phrase That WAS by now all too familiar for Sasuke. "Then ... please begin" As soon as the referee finishes Announcing the start of the fight, the redhead Takes out a kunai from her kunai-holder, pero Doubling Slightly aside from her knees She Does not really do anything else. Does She slid Into Any stance, Does Adopt Any kind of defensive posture That Would Correctly allow her to deflect her opponent's attacks. And it's Precisely
That
which caught Sasuke's eye and Cause him to frown, His eyes widen Slightly.
She ... -!
"Kakashi?" I Begins, But Before I can say anything else His teacher has cut him short with a nod Meaningful.
"So you've Noticed it too, huh, Sasuke?" Sasuke turns Towards the gray-haired jounin Then, nodding tightly, No Longer His eyes widen narrowed But instead.
It's Rock Lee the one to speak Afterwards, Towards historical turning teacher as well, Reflecting the historical tone I felt curiosity. "What is someone doing Without Proper training shinobi here, sensei?"
The man who knows as Gai Sasuke Takes A Few moments to reply, and when to have it does he's still looking tightly over the two girhandrail as well, But I Also Remains tactfully silent. Kakashi nods Then, turning back Towards the sand, and Sasuke gets the feeling That this isn't the first time They've witness a situation akin to this. Alas, this WAS Sasuke's first time, and I can not help the lips His scowl That turns downwards and you cause fingers to curl Into His loose fists, the unfairness of the situation Causing anger and indignation to boil up inside of His body. "I see. And she's up Against that girl from the Sand, out of all people. Unless She Gives up, this Will not Be Pretty "Kakashi historical comments voice as calm as Every ounce Usually it WAS, and He Does not Even Towards Gai turn as the green-clad jounin grins proudly.
"I 'm impressed, Though, she will have a youthful! I Thought she'd give up as well, But she's there, Facing her head on! The flames of youth will help her THROUGHOUT the fight! "The student joins Then the teacher, and Sasuke turns away from the ruckus, Ignoring them both in order to stare at His teacher instead. "Can you do anything, Kakashi? Can not someone force her to give up? "The jounin
Gives him an unreadable look for a long moment Averting Before His Eyes and turning back Towards the sand. "I'm afraid I can not. I have no right to stop her, if she Wishes to fight "Sasuke historical narrows eyes ALREADY HAVING Such a response Expected But Still Not liking it any more. Neither of the two jounin Had seen the redhead sprawledon the ground, being just moments away from being devoured by a wild bear—but
Sasuke
had. He had witnessed it, and he had been the one to save her, so he knew better than they did just how helpless the girl truly was.
It wasn’t only that she was outmatched, she was
completely
outclassed—like a mouse that is thrown into the cage of a cat and doesn’t even attempt to run.
Why
had she decided to fight? What was she trying to accomplish? Sasuke doesn’t get it, and through his mind flash by images of a forest and an opponent whose killer intent had caused Sasuke to paralyze and be resumed to a shaking mess. But that was different , Sasuke thinks,de it alive out of the whole ordeal. So then, why ? Why the hell was she still standing there, with that harmless kunai meekly held in one hand and without a proper stance?
You’re being reckless.
He reprimands wordlessly, his eyes finally turning to look over the arena once again. It’s precisely then that the blonde speaks, changing the weight of her body to her right foot, her closed fan swaying slightly on her hold. “So you won’t come at me, huh? That’s fine, I felt like giving you that chance at least, but I’m tired of standing so… I guess this is the end for you”
Her back is turned to him, but he can still hear the smirk on her voice—can imagine it, cocky and menacistart to ache, and the boy Quickly clutches the skin marred with one hand, biting back a grunt of pain. By His Side, Kakashi turns Towards him, pero Sasuke His eye meets head on with a glare. "I'm fine
" Through gritted teeth I spats Before turning back Towards the fight, willing the pain to go away and Kakashi to mind His own business.
"It's like she's enjoying it ..." Lee murmurs softly, and none of them to be Doubts That Was Indeed the case. Regardless, when to Sasuke watches the way in Which Karin
Begins to stand up again-how she
Attempts to prod herself up on her quivering Elbows, Then onto her trembling hands, Then finally onto her feet, and this time her knees shaking so Were That much That It Was A Miraclen her voice, clear for all to see, is the annoyance she had been showing through her attacks, causing her lips to curve downwards into an ugly scowl. If Karin hears her though, she shows no indication of it. Her knees have finally stopped shaking and absentmindedly, Sasuke notices that the kunai she had been holding before was no longer on her hand. That little fact completely slips through his mind though, as his attention is fully caught by something else entirely—and is that the redhead had just reached out to take off her broken glasses, holding onto them for a moment before discarding them aside, the thick frame falling apart as soon as it makes contact with the ground.
Sasuke doesn’t quite hear the sound they make as they break though, his mind is too busy replaying a scene—replaying the way the redhead had reached out and blindly groped for her glasses on the grass, as he stared down at her from the head of the defeated bear.
Can she even see without them?
He wonders, curiously, but he receives no reply in one way or another, and his curiosity morphs into surprise as Karin simply straightens and closes her eyes.
Sasuke blinks and then turns towards Kakashi, who meets his eyes and gives him a shrug of his shoulders as response to his unasked question. A quick look around him reveals that everyone seemed to be just as confused as they were by Karin’s actions, including the blonde who was fighting against her.
After a moment of silence, the look of bewildermErases Itself ent from the blonde's face and is Replaced by a smirk, Which Is Followed by a curt chuckle. "So you'll accept your defeat honorably, huh? If You Had not annoyed me so much, I could've Spared events you the full strength of my fan. Too bad, though " It all Happens in Less Than the blink of an eye. The blonde picks up her fan and with one swift Movement, Stronger Than Any of the ones she Had made Before, she waves it-and it's like a hurricane is Suddenly Being Thrown at full speed Towards Karin, Who Remained motionless, her eyes closed and straightened her shoulders, and Sasuke's eyes widen as she
-
-
-It Had Been slight at first. That fickle. So subtle thand her back collided Against The Wall Had the sensation Completely erased from her mind, so she HAD to get to know it Once Again.
But, She Believes She Can Clearly Recognize it, now. Regardless of how subtle it Were, Karin if she Thinks That Reaches out with her senses and focuser hard enough, She'll Be Able to pick up on it and act accordingly "Try a Little Something That Would Assure She Could not work, pero That she supposed WAS worth the try, sincere Had she nothing to lose. So she
Takes off her glasses and an ache Feels That It's Almost physical as she Discards them-Discards What Had Become Slowly but Surely a piece of her Through the years, the only thing she Truly depends on. And Then She Closes her eyes, and focuser. CHTMLXAbove her rupta everywhere.
I ... I did it ...! Exclaims a voice in her head, trembling and meek, But Before It Can Get Another Word out another one Makes Itself Be Heard-a louder, calme,
Stronger voice, and with a start, Karin Realized That It sounder her more alike own.
That's one step. Now what's next?
'
How far am I willing to go, Then?
'That very Questioned Before Had Same voice, and Karin Had not Been Able of Giving it an answer. Had she But the reply, now.
All the Way. So
Karin braced herself for What Was to eat.
- Sasu To Say That? Suddenly Kakashi murmurs by His Side, His eye wide open with surprise, and Sasuke would've What I meant to inquire But The Truth Is That He Was too taken aback to speak events. And it's with surprise That Same That He watches as the Sand Attacks the redhead girl again only to Receive the Same result, the stems of air flying by Karin's side and her Avoiding remove cleanly.
And as I watch it, Sasuke Can not really help it. I Can not really help the rush of Excitement That Runs Through veins historical historical Against Better Judgement, Causing His lips to curl upwards Without His Consent. "That's it ...! Keep doing it! "I edges on in a whisper, Not Even Realizing I Had Said it aloud, His Voice Almost drown out by Naruto's loud cheering. CHT moving around, loser! I’m sick of giving you chase when you have nothing to entertain me! Give up already!”
It’s then that for the first time during the match, Karin allows them to hear her voice.
“If… you want this to be over, then… you’ll have to come and get me” She retaliates, her voice low and strained with exhaustion due to the effort, but her words were steady none the less, and Sasuke could hear her resolve clearly expressed through each of them—and as he watched her, her breath coming in uneven puffs through her parted lips and her brows slightly frowned, her eyes still closed, Sasuke wonders where that helpless redhead from just minutes ago had gone off to.
The Sand girl scowls momentarily, but then her featureNgue Was Just as network. She Does not Need to go to the paramedics to know That she has got a FEW broken bones, and That she'll Need to rest for a while-she knows it all. None of That Had come as a surprise.
The beating, the pain, the helplessness, she Had Been Expecting them all. Being Overwhelmed and Completely outclassed, as if she Were Treated scum "She Had Known That Would Happen. As Such, She Had Been Prepared to deal with all of it and focus on her mind Could Other matters Altogether Without getting Sidetracked By Any of it.
And that's why She Was Standing There now, Completely still, Knowing full well That Temari WAS charging at full speed at her But Still Not bothering to open her eyes. Ever Since she CAN remember, the part of her That Karin has felt the proudest of is her mind—her brain. And it was precisely that organ which was telling her what to do, that which was telling her to
wait —
—
Just a little longer, and then…
And then she would make it work. Because that was part of surprising herself. And in order to do that, she had to surprise Temari as well.
It would all be useless otherwise.
Karin doesn’t know
how she knows it, but she just does —and when the time comes, she sprints into action without a second of hesitation, as if she had been made for it. Now
!
Her eyes snap open and the first thing that greets her is a blur of lilacs and flesh—a thick frame of a closed fan that Karin just barely manages to avoid by crouching down, Temari’s hammering hit ending up breaking through mere air instead of Karin’s head, causing the blonde’s eyes to widen with angered surprise—but before she could have the chance to regain her equilibrium, Karin is moving again.
Using the chakra gathered in her feet as momentum, Karin pushes herself upwards just as she pulls her kunai from underneath her left sleeve, where she had stored it during one of her previous falls.
Temari’s reflexes are fast—faster than Karin’s by a mile, but the blonde had made a critical mistake: she had not only completely underestimated Karin’s resourcefulness, she had completely
discarded CHT also leaking through Temari’s hand, which was clutching her wounded cheek and hiding her face from Karin’s view.
All of a sudden someone standing on the balcony gasps, and it’s like the world starts moving again. Karin’s hand slowly begins to lower itself of its own accord, and Karin begins to breathe again, not having even realized when she had started to hold her breath—but now it comes ragged, and she tries to make up for the lost oxygen by breathing through her mouth, her heart hammering loudly and quickly against her ribcage.
I did it
The thought was so overwhelming that Karin’s legs almost give up on her.
I did it…!
She had done more than anyone would Have Thought She Could, Had she forgotten all about her fear and her hesitation and taken a chance Had Presented Itself When It Before Her. She Had not Had Seized it and let go of it Despit how low the probabilities of succeeding Were, and thanks to her stubbornness Had she made it worth
Be Something. Had she made it work. Had she surprised Those around her. Had She surprised herself. Higher Than She Had she supposedly gone Could Go.
By the time when to Temari Takes her hand away from her cheek and Allows Karin to see her Wounded face, Karin is too Drowned in her pride and satisfaction to events feel remotely Concerned about the sea of pain That the blonde's infuriated Eyes Were Promising to bring upon her. It didn
the redhead Still Does not Make Any resistance whatsoever as the blonde wipes the floor with her. There Are no traces left of That enthralling smirk on Karin's features, just like There Are no traces of it on Sasuke's lips, either.
The redhead's name STI Makes way up Sasuke's throat and dies on His tongue, gritted teeth clashing historical Against and Leaving a sour taste Afterwards, to remove taste I wasn't used to. But right in That very moment someone else does the yelling for him, and Though Sasuke Does not turn to see him, I knows the voice That Belongs To The Guy Who Had Fought It Was Aburame-Karin's Other teammate.
"KARIN!" Another abrupt throb
you cause the clutch to Sasuke Cursed Seal and to grimace as I have watches the waand the blonde girl sends flying upwards Karin A Few meters with a rush of wind, as the shop girl and her fan Shuts close with a click and leaves it dry upright Karin Directly underneath, a shocked Sasuke Planned Understands What the girl to do.
She Was going to Karin's fall break with the hard edge of the fan. At the height That Had Been Thrown Karin, She Would Be falling at a considerable speed-she Would Be lucky if all she got Was a broken back.
More Than That, She Could
die. Sasuke isn't
events Completely conscious of What Happens then. Is That All I knows the pain of the Cursed Seal WAS Starting to sharpen and Become unbearable, and all of a sudden That His teeth unclasp and a rush of air Entered His mouth, anJust take that loser out of my sight "She demands, And Then turns around, Beginning to exit the arena events Hayate Before His throat has cleared in order to Officially announce her victory.
"The winner of the fight, Temari, you Passed the prelims!" Kakashi Holds back a sigh as I Makes His Way to the side of the arena, where, Medics Were Already Beginning to gather, Preparing a stretcher for the limp redhead on That He Was Carrying His arms. I Briefly Stares down at her with a Somewhat curious look, and not for the first time wonders Could Be if correct historical impressions.
However, Before I Could think any more about the subject, a blur of blues and whites abruptly lands a step behind him, clutching His shoulder still. "... How is she?" Inquire Sasuke, and Kakashi absentmindedly historical notices how student's usual nonchalant tone wasn't doing remove as much of as good job as usual at hiding That He Was not as unfeeling as I have tried to be.
"I'm no medic, But I think she May Have two or three ribs broken, so she'll Be sore for a while" The jounin Begins I have to say as Sasuke turns around so That Could get a good look at the Without redhead HAVING to peer around Kakashi's form. The state of the girl truthfully, she wasn't too encouraging Had a split lip, and her pretty face all swollen WAS, big chunks of blood Covering it in Uneven ways. And notice the dog Kakashi Sasuke's eyebrows curving Uncertainty and Darkening His eyes, so I adds Another phrase is in What He HopesC
“She’ll be fine, don’t worry, Sasuke” Sasuke’s expression reveals the boy’s intentions of arguing against Kakashi’s claim, so Kakashi interrupts him before he can get the chance to do it. “Now, you have a promise to fulfill. The four fights are up, it’s time to leave. You have managed to hold it back this long, but we have got no more time to waste”
Sasuke simply limits to give him a look from underneath slightly frowned eyebrows, probably still desiring to refute the fact that he had been worried. But finally he decides to let it go, closing his eyes instead.
“…Fine”
Kakashi wastes no time in approaching him, and the two poof away together, abandoning the arena just as Ryuu hurriedly made his way through it, eager to reach the place where the medics were tending to his fallen teammate.
-
End of the 5th Chapter
Oh boy, that was harder than I thought it'd be. I really am horrible when it comes to action scenes. Also, for those wondering what Kakashi noticed about Karin - no worries, it'll be adressed later!
Next chapter: More SasuKarin, of course.
[Chapter 4: Their struggles] Go back
←
0 comments:
Post a Comment