| [Sep. 27th, 2013|10:35 pm] |
There was a rapid-fire chaos of movement. Family members appeared, did complex things with ropes and equipment, and vanished again. Beneath Raidou’s feet, the deck shivered with the deep thrum of a working engine. Someone stoked the boiler and the noise grew louder. Smoke rose thicker from a set of double-stacks; the big paddle-wheel began to turn.
Along the riverside, half a dozen silent villagers watched the boat pull away.
Mayor Kudo, front and center, raised a silent hand.
Raidou bowed, lower and longer than he strictly needed to for the mayor of a tiny village, and tried not to feel like he was abandoning people who still needed them. They’d come to help, and they had, but they’d also wrecked a mountainside, killed more than half a dozen civilians, and done the bare minimum of support for shattered families in the aftermath. The story Raidou had left them with wasn’t exactly a comfort, either.
There are monsters in the hills, stay away.
But he had to look to his own first.
Afterwards, when the dust had settled and whatever new crisis Konoha was dealing with had passed, they’d come back.
For now—
Raidou sat slowly, stiffly down by the tumble of rookies and cats, bracing his back against the sun-worn wooden bulwark, and let out a long breath. Immediately, Katsuko inserted herself into his personal space, shifting up to prop her head on his leg. Her movement made Ryouma stir; he groaned, stretched, and settled again, one hand resting next to Raidou’s shin.
Despite himself, Raidou smiled wearily. “This clinginess thing you two have is ridiculous.”
“Shh,” Ryouma mumbled, hiding his face against his own arm. “G’sleep.”
“Team bonding,” Katsuko said. “Everyone is my pillow.”
Including the orange cat, apparently. There was another cat curled up in the lee of Ryouma’s knees, purring quietly. Kakashi’s black tom had skulked away.
“Did you take painkillers?” Raidou asked.
“Nnngh,” Katsuko said.
Well, whatever. If she hurt enough, she’d take them. Raidou dropped a hand down, ruffling her wild tangle of hair, and tipped his head back to watch the trees drift by, waiting for Genma. |
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