| [Oct. 1st, 2015|01:55 am] |
“You didn’t say this was a team meeting, lieutenant,” Kakashi said mildly. “I would’ve brought more food.”
Genma regarded him, glanced at the gleaming spread on the table, and looked back at Kakashi. “All this and you weren’t expecting me to bring Ueno?”
“I thought you could take some home,” Kakashi said, over Katsuko’s blissful noises. She’d found the agedashi tofu. Kakashi propped his chin on his hand, studying each team member. “You’re all upright and no one looks traumatized.” Well, no more traumatized than usual. “Is it good news?”
Ryouma answered first. “Taichou’s coming back,” he said, with a good attempt at casual. An anxious glance at Genma betrayed other feelings. “How soon?”
Genma looked away. That was the thing Kakashi remembered later. Genma looked away first.
“Taichou’s doing some training separate from the team for a while,” he said. “Let’s sit down and I’ll tell you what I know.”
Not just a regular meeting, then.
Genma stepped forward. Ryouma took the immediate cue and slid a hand under Genma’s elbow, taking both crutches with his other hand and assisting Genma to one of the floor-cushions with a minimum of discomfort, kitty-corner to Kakashi. The crutches were balanced against the table. The papers were stacked next to the lieutenant. Ryouma settled down at Genma’s elbow, as if he didn’t want to step away from the only source of news — or perhaps he just wanted to continue care-taking. Apparently he was good at it.
Katsuko stepped over, holding a plate of food in her good hand and another plate tucked into her sling, and sat down cross-legged on Kakashi’s side of the table, between him and Genma. She tapped Kakashi’s knee in greeting, but her mouth was too full to offer a pet-name.
“Senpai,” he acknowledged, to see her eyes brighten. Then he looked at Genma and prompted, “Lieutenant?”
Genma poured himself a glass of iced barley tea from a pitcher, took a sip, and set the glass down. “I met with taichou today, and he’s doing well,” he said carefully. “But it will probably be a few weeks before we see much of him. As a condition for his return to command of Team Six, he’s required to complete an intensive genjutsu training course.”
Ryouma blinked. Katsuko didn’t.
“We’ll have an interim captain in the meantime,” Genma continued. He spread his hands before the yelling could begin. “I know that’s not the news you were hoping for, but it is good news, because when he completes the course, we will get our captain back.” He lowered his hands, curling them around his glass, and looked at them in turn. “I’ll answer any questions I can.” |
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