| [Feb. 8th, 2017|03:59 am] |
“You c-c-can let me walk n-now,” Genma said, as soon as they were on a relatively stable slope. The chattering, shaking chills were getting increasingly severe as the wind gusted across his sweat-damp bare skin and seawater-drenched hair. Kimiko shoved herself away from Kakashi’s back with blue-white hands, fighting to be on her own feet again.
Kakashi let her fall without so much as a twitch. She landed awkwardly, stumbling backwards a few steps on the slick vegetation, but caught herself before she tumbled backwards off the cliff. She glowered at him from the wet scrub.
“Hound,” Raidou said sharply, with a low rumble that promised consequences if Kakashi didn’t stow the attitude. Kakashi's eye narrowed, but he ducked his head and looked away before it was a clear challenge.
Raidou motioned Ryouma over, then crouched and set Genma carefully on his feet. When Genma’s knees threatened to give way, Ryouma caught him, broad palm splaying against Genma’s shoulder blade.
With his own heartbeat pounding in his ears, and his fever-shot equilibrium far from back to normal, Genma had little choice but to lean against Ryouma and try to still his chattering teeth.
Sango squirmed against Ryouma’s other shoulder, kicking Genma in the forehead with one sharp-nailed little foot. When she kicked again, Ryouma hefted her a little higher.
Raidou set to work immediately, cutting their rope harness off, then unsealing their clothes and shoes from the scroll Genma’d packed for the swim. Kimiko snatched Sango’s dry swaddles from the bundle the second they tumbled free, then stalked over to demand her baby back.
Ryouma relinquished Sango with evident relief, and shifted his weight to wrap his free arm around Genma’s shoulders, providing welcome support against incongruously cold skin.
“Clean off before we dress,” he asked, “or just get moving?”
Before Genma or Raidou could answer, a shiver of chakra pressed against Genma’s senses, and he snapped his head.
Kakashi was already pulling water from the mist to sluice the sand and grease from his skin. He caught Genma’s look and said, “What? There aren’t other ninja in range. I checked.”
The heat of his own breath seared through his sinuses when Genma sighed and extended his own chakra senses carefully out.
Nothing.
Nothing but them and the wildlife on this unfarmable end of the island. Thank the gods for Intel being right about this as an escape path. So far.
“That was reckless,” Genma said. “S-s-start acting like you have s-s-some t-t-training.”
“That’s why I checked first,” Kakashi said, clearly irritated.
Raidou rummaged through the pile of clothing on the opened scroll to produce a towel, which he threw accurately at Kakashi's face. Kakashi was just a beat late in attempting to catch or deflect it: it hit with a soft fwap against his sodden mask.
“Settle down,” Raidou told him. He rose from his crouch and stood facing them, with his back to the lush volcanic landscape. “Look, it's been a long couple days and a worse few nights. We're tired and stressed, and we've lost people — Kimiko especially.” His gaze lingered on her and the baby a moment, letting that sink in. Kimiko’s face could have been carved from stone.
“We're almost out of here,” he continued. “We just need to find a cave, survive another day, and not kill each other in the meantime. Hound, hush up and mind the lieutenant. Shiranui—” |
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