| [Nov. 2nd, 2013|03:08 am] |
Because god knew something wasn’t official until it had been stamped three times, reviewed six more, and then left in a drawer to mulch. Raidou put a blind hand out to accept the forms and tossed them on top of the waiting stack.
"You got much more left?" he asked.
"Just those terrain reports that Ueno’s working on, and a req to restock my med kit." Wood creaked and bones popped as Genma stretched in his chair, cracking his joints. "Got more for me?"
Raidou rubbed his eyes, wincing at the leftover sting from half-healed burns. "Rookie evals."
Genma sighed. "I thought so."
Katsuko looked up from her maps. "Which one do you want to start with?"
"How about your snuggle-buddy?" Raidou said dryly.
Genma made an odd sound, almost a choke, and grabbed the bottle of water on his desk to cover it. Katsuko ignored him, leaning back in her chair. She tapped the lead of a chewed pencil thoughtfully against her desk.
"Something on your mind?" Raidou prompted.
"Tousaki knows his limits," Katsuko said. "He's just very, very good at ignoring them. That move he pulled with the demon queen was smart, but he was half-dead afterwards."
"Agreed." Raidou glanced at Genma. "Shiranui?"
Genma nodded. "I didn’t see what he did, but from what you’ve described, it was reckless. Certainly squares with what I’ve seen of him in spars. He tried to hide his injuries, too. Even minor ones, but so did Kakashi."
"Which needs to stop," Raidou said. "But half of that demon-queen attack falls on me; I ordered him to take that last soldier pill, and bring the rot. I didn’t tell him to get crushed, but Katsuko’s right: he pulled a great move out of shitty circumstances."
Would’ve been nice if he hadn’t drained himself nearly dry in the attempt, but that was something to work on.
"Pulling good moves out of shitty situations is half of what it's all about," Genma said quietly. "The whole thing was a cock-up. If we'd known how bad the queen was, we'd never have gone in in the first place. She was shielding her chakra right up until I was in her chamber."
"I didn’t feel her until just before she broke the surface," Raidou said. "Ueno?"
"Felt her four seconds before that, maybe," Katsuko said, with a shrug. Her eyes stayed on Raidou with odd thoughtfulness, as if she was trying to read writing printed under his skin. "What I’m worried about, though, is just how far Tousaki would go to save a teammate."
"S’long as he doesn’t turn himself into a blood smear, I’d rather see him go for overkill," Raidou said.
Genma braced one elbow on the back of his chair, resting his chin on his hand as he looked at Katsuko. "What’s your concern? That he'd blow a mission to save a comrade, or throw his own life away? I could see either or both of those things."
"I’m not concerned about the first," Katsuko said. "As for ‘throwing his life away’— yes, I’m worried Tousaki would sacrifice himself for one of us."
"On a good team, we all would, under the right circumstances. That’s why judgement is so critical." Genma slid a senbon out of his thigh-holster, where he kept several racked in with his kunai, and set it between his teeth. "I think it’s too soon to tell whether he’s got good judgement."
"Given that he joined ANBU, the odds aren’t in his favor," Raidou said, winning a dry chuckle from Genma and a snort from Katsuko. "But I hear you both. Recklessness aside, any other issues?"
"He's got a way with people," Genma said. "Even Kakashi seems to be warming up to him, and he charmed the hell out of the Kawase family despite being half dead. If he washes out of ANBU, the diplomatic corps ought to give him a good hard look."
"He’s charismatic," Raidou agreed, and looked at Katsuko. "I’m pretty sure I already know the answer to this, but since you’re our only fragile female blossom—any creeper issues under the pretty face?"
"My gossamer petals remain unplucked," Katsuko said, inspecting her nails. "He is a very good pillow, though."
Very carefully, Genma extracted the senbon that had almost punched through his lower lip in his badly concealed attempt at not laughing. He cleared his throat. "You just asked Ueno her opinion on someone else's respect for boundaries." |
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