| [Jul. 9th, 2017|10:05 pm] |
They made their way through the dark aisles to the back door, near the stairs. Raidou stepped out into the rain to tug the main block free from the fuse box. He wasn’t immediately electrocuted in the attempt: that was reassuring.
“Once we get that hole patched,” Raidou said, ducking back inside, “we should have a talk about your taste in rentals.”
Pakkun, who had disappeared some time ago, sneezed an agreement from the stairs. “Forget the talk, go straight to therapy.”
“It’s not that bad up there,” Genma protested. “Come on up, Raidou, I’ll show you.”
It still felt a little odd to use Raidou’s given name, like maybe Genma ought to seek permission first. But they were off the clock now, and in Genma’s own soon-to-be home.
He led the way up the stairs, slid open the unlocked door at the top, and led Raidou and Kakashi’s dubious dog inside. “Wish I’d thought to bring a flashlight.” The upper story was one big, empty space, the same area as the floor below. It had slatted windows on all four sides, letting the gloomy light in where the shutters were open. And of course, there was the new ‘skylight’.
Kin’s head poked in through the gaping breach in the roof, mouth open in doggy enthusiasm, and then she bounded through, chakra walking across the ceiling until she was well clear of the rotten section of floor. The timbers trembled under Genma’s feet when she leapt down. She rushed over, tail whipping back and forth so hard her whole back end shook with it. When Genma reached a hand out to pat her, she barked once, then shook violently, flinging water droplets everywhere.
“I’m not sure that counts as helping,” Genma told her, when she’d finally stopped. She just wagged harder and licked his hand.
“Hatake, your dog is a menace,” he called up to the roof.
Pakkun, who’d shown some degree of prescience and stayed out of Kin’s shower radius, gave Genma a look. “You ought to specify exactly who you mean, before you go maligning people.”
Genma chuckled, and patted Kin’s damp head. “How’s it look up there?”
“Wet,” Ryouma called back.
“Great. We’ll be right up.”
Genma glanced around the space at the neat stacks of lumber, nails, screws, and gods-be-praised, tools. There was rough framing around a space that would be the bathroom, once it had walls. A new toilet and sink were already installed. Sharing the plumbing, a shower was tucked against the outer wall, tiled and ready for use as soon as he put up a shower curtain. The soaking tub next to it was a luxury salvaged from a house in the Uchiha compound that was being remodeled — it was good to have friends in the clans. In the area that was going to be his kitchen, there was a gas range — second-hand but in beautiful shape — that Asuma had found, and a butcher block sideboard and large enamel basin, with hot and cold taps gleaming on new lengths of copper pipe.
“It’s not bad, right?” he said to Raidou, who was looking at everything with the same critical gleam in his eye he applied to scrutinizing his team’s taijutsu efforts. “That part of the roof looks brand new.”
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