| [Jul. 12th, 2016|10:25 pm] |
An old saying tickled the back of Raidou's mind. Maybe because there was alcohol in his blood, or Iwa on his brain, or maybe just because Genma looked so goddamned tired under his anger, and Raidou couldn't think of a single comforting thing to say to him. Welcome to your first real lieutenant posting, kid, it's all gone to shit.
But there was that old saw, distilled from trench-fighting, tired soldiers, and pure stubbornness.
"When you're going through hell..." he said, and looked at Genma.
Genma glanced back, fine brows arching. A faint smile ghosted over his mouth, and he finished, "Keep going."
“And fuck the rest,” Raidou agreed. “Kuroda specifically.”
“Kuroda can fuck himself,” Genma said, eyes glittering like dark metal. “I’m not doing it, and neither should anyone else. It’d be inhumane to ask them.”
Raidou snorted grim agreement.
The first time Genma and Raidou had ever spoken, Kuroda had come up as a topic of dislike, but in ANBU that was like commenting on the weather. Wow it’s hot today, the Vice is an asshole, how are you? Now, looking at Genma’s face, it cut personal. ANBU was supposed to take care of their own, not torture them.
Well, not much. No more than necessary.
Raidou had been prepared to accept his licks, well-deserved as they were, but he’d trusted that he was leaving his team in good hands, Genma included. Was Sagara so strapped for personnel that Kuroda had been the only option? Or had Kuroda pulled strings just to take his punches at Katsuko, and cozy up to Kakashi? And crush Ryouma, apparently just for fun.
Not for the first time, Raidou wondered just what kind of political connections or blackmail material Kuroda had, to climb his way so far up the ladder. It wasn’t a thought that put Sagara or Minato in a good light, but it was a hell of a lot better than believing they’d actually chosen him.
“A few more weeks,” he said decisively.
“Hm?” Genma said.
Raidou sat up again, dislodging Suki. “The boys both need to heal — and you too, lieutenant. A few more weeks, I’ll get this genjutsu thing figured out, and all you have to do is make sure no one else gets suspended or reassigned, or punches a hole in Kuroda, and we can pull the team back together and get on with being goddamned ANBU.”
The tension in Genma didn’t leave, precisely, but it changed. He pushed himself upright and sat straight-backed, shoulders set firm as if prepared to brace the world again. “You’re right,” he said. “It’ll be hard for Kuroda to come down on either of the rookies given he was avoiding offending Hatake like his life depended on it already, and Tousaki is on a clear-cut and Kuroda-approved medical leave now.” He dropped a hand to his injured leg and rubbed it a little ruefully. “I could probably take my own leave a little more seriously. I’m sure Toshirou-sensei would put me on the sick list if I asked for it.”
Raidou directed a dry glance at Genma’s cane. “It’s a thought, lieutenant.”
Metal flashed as Genma’s mouth curved, a small smile undercut by edged steel. “I’ve been meaning to tell you, and now’s as good a time as any. If you wanted to call me Genma, you could. Team’s not here to impress, and I don’t really need the formality. Unless you do.”
Surprised, Raidou sat back. It took him a second to pull a decent answer together. “I wasn’t thinking about formal, so much. More like—”
“Boundaries,” Genma said, with a wry lilt.
Raidou made a rueful sound. “That. You give this team an inch, they’ll take five miles and the neighbor’s village, and you’re up to your ass in complaints before you can say whoa. And there was the thing with me and Tousaki.” He made a non-expressive gesture that, in a universe of extremely astute beings, might have translated to ‘one night stand’. “Put me in the habit of sticking to rank.”
Genma opened his mouth, probably to politely retract his offer. Before he could, Raidou added, quieter, warmer: “Well, that and I’ve never had a lieutenant before.” He glanced up and smiled. “But outside the team you can call me Raidou, if you want, Genma.” |
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