| Natural Disaster |
[Oct. 3rd, 2014|10:47 pm] |
[Takes place the morning of May 12, Yondaime Year 5, the morning after Sound the Bells and Tell You My Sins (So You Can Sharpen Your Knife) and just prior to the events of Little Lion Man]
Katsuko’s dreams that night were loud and chaotic and full of fire. Tsuto Tomoko screamed at her from the far end of a burning hallway. The flames warped and suddenly it was Raidou standing there, staring at Katsuko in horror as the ceiling caved in above him. Lightning streaked down through the hole in the ceiling and brought howling rain with it. The hallway disappeared, replaced by a blood-soaked field strewn with the dead.
The air stunk of rot. Ryouma lay sprawled out like a rag-doll in the grass before her, eyes staring sightlessly up at the grey sky. Someone had cut his throat as cleanly as Katsuko had slit Tomoko’s. A few feet away, Kakashi pushed himself up with one arm and clutched at his tanto, which was embedded up to the hilt in his chest. His elbow buckled and he crumpled back down to the ground. He didn’t move again.
“Ueno,” Genma said behind her. Katsuko spun around. The lieutenant was pale as bone, hand pressed tightly to the wound in his stomach. Blood welled up between his fingers. “Go. Warn Konoha—”
( The blare of Katsuko’s 4:30 alarm cut through the nightmare’s suffocating grasp. ) |
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| Mama Come Home |
[Aug. 2nd, 2014|12:48 am] |
[Takes place in late September, Sandaime Year 14, when Genma is two.]
Shiranui Yuuichi didn’t hear the knock at the door above the din of the rain on the ceramic tile roof and the screams of his overtired two-year-old.
“I want Mama!” Genma raged. He lay on the floor, thrashing his tiny limbs and wailing the words over and over again, until “Mama” was just a long, drawn out cry of fury. His little face was brick red, his eyes and nose streaming, and there was nothing, nothing Yuuichi could do.
“Mama’s on a mission,” he said helplessly. “She’ll be home tomorrow, Gen-chan. Just take a nap for Papa. Please.”
He could practically hear Etsuko laughing at him. “There’s no reasoning with a toddler, Yuuichi.”
He’d tried every toy, every game, every book, every trick, and every treat he could think of. Even Genma’s favorite stories, Noisy Little Monkey and The Dancing Kettle, had fallen flat. Unfinished jigsaw puzzles and building blocks littered the floor. Half a chestnut-paste bun lay next to a sippy cup of warmed milk, abandoned on the kotatsu. Nothing was working.
Etsuko’s two and three day missions away hadn’t been easy, but Yuuichi’d managed. A week of solo parenthood was something else. Six months in, and he was sorry he’d ever agreed to her resuming full field duty. When she got back, he was renegotiating. Maybe she could work at the Hokage’s office or take that teaching position at the Academy. Anything that meant she’d be home at least once a day.
Genma needed her.
Yuuichi needed her.
“I want Mama!” Genma yowled, choking on his own tears.
( The knocking came louder. ) |
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| Done this Dance Before |
[Nov. 16th, 2013|12:32 pm] |
Takes place Yondaime Year 5, May 2, immediately following As Shadows Grow Long
Shiranui Yuuichi was just turning the sign on the bakery door to ‘Sorry, we’re closed’ when he saw a lone ninja approaching. She looked maybe fifteen or sixteen, narrow shouldered in her uniform vest, with a smattering of childhood freckles across her nose that hadn’t yet faded.
“You’re in luck, shinobi-san,” Yuuichi said, holding the door for her. “I was just about to go home for the night. What can I get you? I have some azuki manju that I’d be happy to give you for half-price, since it’s the end of the day.”
She looked confused. “Oh, I’m not— Are you Shiranui Yuuichi-san?”
Yuuichi’s smile faded a little. “Yes, that’s me.”
“Shiranui Genma’s father?”
“Yes.” His smile was altogether gone, replaced by a sudden chill.
There’s only one of them, he told himself, and she’s young. They would have sent two—older and in dress uniform—if it was bad.
( She took a step forward, squaring her shoulders and standing at attention. ) |
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