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fallen_raidou ([info]fallen_raidou) wrote in [info]fallen_leaves,
@ 2008-02-18 05:03:00

Previous Entry  Add to memories!  Tell a Friend!  Next Entry
Current mood:sore
Entry tags:genma, mission, raidou

It Takes a Morning Person [Closed to Genma & Raidou]
Follows from It Takes A Partner

Raidou woke up with a headache. It wasn't his first return to consciousness -- Genma had kept his promise and woken him up periodically in the night to check he still had some cognitive function -- but it was certainly the most unpleasant so far. That probably meant the painkillers were well and truly out of his system. He shifted, rolling onto his side and winced as his shoulder confirmed the lack of pain relief.

Ouch.

And more ouch as bruises added their own little notes to the symphony of early morning pain. A sore neck and shoulders completed the music. Raidou found he had a word that went with it. "Argh," he said, very quietly, and sat up with a clink of dogtags. It didn't quite harmonize, but it certainly got the message across. The only other person to hear it, however, was Shinobu. Raidou blinked at the small rat sitting next to Genma, and watched the quick flurry of paws that went with a thorough whisker-cleaning. Bright black eyes regarded him for a moment as the summon stilled, and then the cleaning recommenced. Apparently Shinobu didn't find Raidou quite so interesting as he found the rat.

Raidou glanced up to check the light filtering in through the windows -- it was weak and grey, a watery dawn sort of light. A look at his watch confirmed it was still early in the morning. He'd slept for about seven hours total, maybe slightly less. Despite the renewed ache in his head and the very much awake pain in his shoulder, Raidou felt much improved. He was thinking clearly, moving okay (if a little stiffly) and his stomach, thank all the gods that Genma believed in, was fairly settled. In fact, he felt hungry.

Good sign.

He also needed to take a leak. Raidou climbed carefully to his feet, feeling his balance waver and catch, and cast a glance at his mission partner. Genma was still very much asleep. Crashed out, in fact, if Raidou was any judge. He certainly hadn't twitched at the slight noise Raidou was making. He probably needed the sleep. That metal jutsu -- for all that it did fantastic damage and looked damn cool -- took a lot out of Genma, and two sets of healing on top of that had probably rendered him nearly comatose. Raidou frowned slightly, all of that had been for his benefit.

He let himself out, disabling the seals Genma had placed on the door and setting them back up behind him, before making his fairly steady way down the corridor to relieve himself and brush his teeth. His mouth tasted foul. He considered taking a shower -- he didn't smell fantastic -- but getting bandages wet was never a good idea. He gave himself a wash from the sink, thorough but quick, and left it at that.

When Raidou made it back to the room, Genma still hadn't stirred. Definitely needed the sleep, he thought, and went to get a change of clothes from his small kit. His current set were a little the worse for wear, what with the dried blood -- his and Genma's -- and a not inconsiderate amount of sand from the jutsu that had caught him. He took them off slowly, careful of his wounded shoulder and the immobile arm that went with it, and folded them up to stow in his kit before he pulled on a fresh set. "Ow," he said mildly, without any real rancour as various hurts made their presence known again, and searched out his own medi-kit to get a morning dose of painkillers. Something fairly low-strength that would leave his mind clear.

Only when he felt vaguely human again did he move over and kneel down next to Genma, folding his legs up underneath him carefully to sit. Raidou had seen Genma sleep before on their various missions. He'd seen Genma sleep on the very first one, even. Though that was a memory he didn't particularly hold dear. Too much past hurts on that one, not enough good. Raidou eyed his mission partner now and felt a smile tug at his lips. Genma always slept the same way, twisted at an angle Raidou never thought looked comfortable -- hips down, legs akimbo, and his upper body turned so he could lie on his side and draw his hands up close -- but it seemed to work for him. Genma's mouth was open slightly, his eyebrows drawn together in a relaxed sort of scowl (again something that was unlikely, but Genma managed it), and his hair spilled across his face in a fan of fine strands that shifted as he breathed.

He was also snoring very, very quietly.

Raidou touched his shoulder lightly, "Raise and shine, kiddo. It's a brand new day. Time to be up and killing things."

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[info]fallen_senbon
2008-02-18 05:19 am UTC (link)
Genma tensed at the touch, scowl deepening, breathing stopped for a moment. Then he took a deeper breath and barely opened his eyes, greeting Raidou with an inarticulate little hum. "Not yet," he mumbled and ducked his face down into the blanket shrugged around his shoulders. He took another deep breath, letting awareness seep through him. His hip was sore, and he felt stiff, like he hadn't moved around enough in his sleep. He could feel a gritty crust in the corners of his eyes, and reached up to rub at them, rolling onto his back with a groan and looking up at Raidou with a weary smack of the lips and a deep yawn.

"You look better," he said, and was pleased. Raidou did look better. Alert and relatively relaxed, although he was obviously still guarding his shoulder. "You didn't even get black eyes. S'good sign. Means no skull fracture." He yawned again and stretched, pushing his hair back, then running a hand over the meager stubble his chin had managed to grow since his last shave. His stomach grumbled, protesting the skipped meal from the day before, and he sat up.

Shinobu took the opportunity to climb onto his leg, looking expectantly at him but not saying anything.

"The rat fill you in yet?" Genma asked, scritching absently behind the black and white rodent's ears. "He reported in last night about 0300. Our lady's evidently being treated like royalty by her pet Suna boys and some rich guy on an estate not far from here." Another loud stomach noise interrupted him, and Genma gave it an annoyed look.

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[info]fallen_raidou
2008-02-18 05:28 am UTC (link)
Raidou took the opportunity to prove himself the best mission partner ever by holding a canteen of water and two mild pain pills under Genma's nose. "Not exactly breakfast," he said, "but it'll tide you over for a bit." He set them down on the futon within easy reach--Genma's hands were often very sensitive in the morning, Raidou had long ago figured out it was just best not to touch them if he could avoid it--and sat back a little.

"Treated like royalty, huh?" Raidou felt a grim smile curve his mouth into a broken bow. "Looks like we have a lady to kill, then. Shame, I really could've used that bonus." On the other hand, a slice and dice was always and forever easier then a rescue. Less hassle, less risk, less of a pain in the ass. Often literally. He nodded at the rat, "Your furry buddy okay to stick around and lead us there?"

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[info]fallen_senbon
2008-02-18 05:32 am UTC (link)
"We might still get a bonus, seeing as we've uncovered a plot that involves Suna and the client's wife. I mean, he won't be giving us any bonus, but Konoha might, right?" It was unlikely. After all, discovering what lay underneath the underneath was expected work for any ninja, doubly so for ANBU. But a little extra cash would be nice, and it wasn't entirely out of the question. "Or maybe they have a shitty marriage and he'll be glad of the excuse to be rid of her." Genma took the pills with a small nod of thanks and a large swig of water. "And we can at least make a decent case for extra hazard pay, just based on the number of fucking enemy we had to face down yesterday."

Groaning, he eased himself stiffly off the futon and onto his knees, facing Raidou and reaching for him to steady himself. "Damn, my hip feels like hell. How's your shoulder? Can I take a look? Want to make sure there's no sign of infection in it. And then you need it in a sling." He waited for the argument, already moving on to the next step in his own mind. Convince Raidou of the need for rebandaging and a sling. Check his concussion one more time. Clean up a little, scrounge up some breakfast, and then...

"We're going to have to tell the client. Let him know we've located his wife and we believe she's in collusion. Probably ought to go confirm Shinobu's findings before we tell him. Bring some evidence if we can."

It was looking like a busy day.

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[info]fallen_raidou
2008-02-18 06:04 am UTC (link)
Raidou did argue. Genma got around that by the cunning tactic of being Genma and refusing to take no for an answer. It was a solid system that had served them both well over the past six months.

Shinobu adding his own rodenty opinion, however, was definitely not appreciated.

Raidou gave the rat a dirty look and caught Genma by the elbow to steady him, turning a little to offer his shoulder for inspection. The wound felt ugly and painful, even with the slightly dulled edge of new painkillers seeping slowly into his system, but he didn't think it merited much more then a quick clean and a new bandage. And for people to stop hitting it, that would be good, too. The medics at home would take care of the rest.

"So you want to run there, check things, run back, break our client's rich little heart, and then go kill everyone?" Raidou asked, for clarification. "Sounds like a plan. Albeit with a lot of running." He winced, flinching a fraction as Genma's fingers touched bruised flesh, but made no comment.

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[info]fallen_senbon
2008-02-18 06:10 am UTC (link)
"Well, maybe more like limping than running in my case," Genma said with a wry grimace. Actually they'd both run, if that was what was needed. He'd grease the stiff joint and stabilize the torn muscle with a little chakra if he had to. And Raidou would run on bruised, stiff legs. And later when the mission was over, they'd, if there was any justice in the world, sit around soaking their aching bodies in a hot bath and competing to see who had suffered the most on their mission. And then they'd go for dinner and some beers. Because that's the kind of friends they were--good ones. Partners.

Genma's fingers probed gently at the stab wound on Raidou's shoulder. It was bruised and black with clotted blood, but considering how severe an injury it had been, it looked pretty good to his eyes. "I don't think it's festering, but it feels a little warm," he said and reached for his med kit, producing a small jar of translucent greenish salve and smearing it thickly over the wound. "This stuff ought to take some of the pain out of it, anyway. And hopefully keep it from getting nasty. But you're having it in a sling because otherwise it will throw your whole body off guarding it like that."

He carefully wound a fresh bandage around Raidou's shoulder, and looked around for something with which to fashion a sling. They could always just strap his arm down with more bandage rolls, he supposed. He left the jar of salve open, intending to use it on his own injury next. "Anyway I don't know if we have to kill them all or not. The mission is to protect Iijima, not kill off his enemies. Although if his wife is his enemy, probably killing her is the best way to protect him. It'll be his call though. Last thing we want is him crying foul to Hokage-sama because we killed his wife when he didn't want us to, even if she was the one poisoning his dinners."

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[info]fallen_raidou
2008-02-18 06:14 am UTC (link)
"Yes, mother-medic." A sling was a pain in the ass, and roughly as sensible as painting the bandage equivalent of a bullseye on his right arm, but it was slightly better then getting his head taken off because he was too busy thinking about that arm to dodge. Raidou counted steadily to thirty as Genma tended to his shoulder and pulled a few horrible faces when the other man wasn't looking. It wasn't particularly elite, but it did make him feel slightly better. He frowned when Genma commented on the heat of his wound and eyed it as the thick green salve covered over the damage, making it look, if anything, worse.

Get infected, he told his own shoulder silently, and I will personally ensure your life is a misery for the next month. Think about it. I know a gym with heavy weights.

If his shoulder had anything to say on the subject, it kept it to itself.

"Good point," he said, returning his attention back to the much more vocal Genma. "Though if Iijima decides he wants us to drag her back alive, I vote we give him a few basic tips on a decent headlock and leave him to it." Raidou was joking, but looking at the tired cast of Genma's face and the stiff way he moved, he knew that if push came to shove he would kill the wife and hang the consequences. Better an unhappy but still-breathing client then a dead partner.

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[info]fallen_senbon
2008-02-18 06:27 am UTC (link)
"I think we can, in our roles as security advisers, explain to Iijima-sama that he'll be at much less risk of imminent assassination if his nearest and dearest isn't actively plotting his death." Genma chuckled and sat back, bracing his leg. "You set there with your shoulder? I'm gonna see about fixing this up with some of that ointment so we can do that running around." He undid his belt and pants, wincing and hissing as he pushed them down over the bandages. The gauze was stiff with dried yellowish serum and stained with blood, thankfully not a lot of it, and he peeled it away with a quiet little "fuck" under his breath. When he had it bared he relaxed and glanced over at Raidou, completely unselfconscious about the fact he had his pants down around his knees.

"Looks better, don't you think? If I can just limber it up a little I'll be able to walk on it without giving too much away." A shinobi with a limp, after all, was as much of a target as one with a sling. He scooped out several fingers full of the greenish medicine and smeared it over the bruised, ragged tears in his skin, jaw clenched and eyebrows furrowed in concentration. When he'd finished he sat back, waving a hand to direct air over the wound. "Damn, that stuff kind of burns when it first goes on. You should have said."

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[info]fallen_raidou
2008-02-18 06:29 am UTC (link)
"And what would you have done? Unless you have a magic non-burning jutsu in your arsenal somewhere, mother-medic, there wasn't much to be gained by whining over a sting." Raidou spent his time wisely by studying the ceiling in the intent manner of one who was really seriously contemplating purchasing that light fitting in the near future. It was a well-worn strategy generally employed when Genma saw fit to shed items of clothing for whatever reason, and it had served Raidou well over the last six months. He did take a second to glance at the revealed wounds on Genma's hip to judge their severity--nasty and painful looking, edged by dark bruises, but not oozing pus or swollen to a degree that was worrying, a good sign--and file that away in his continually updated mental file marked 'Genma; current status'. "It does look better," he agreed, and resumed his ceiling gazing.

If Genma could walk without limping that was excellent, and one less thing to worry about. Arms and shoulders were one thing, but the ability to make a quick escape was paramount.

"If Iijima-san actually listens to a word of advice we give," added Raidou, now looking at the dusty bunny mobile hanging in one corner, "he'll be the first client to do so in the history of ever." Raidou paused and considered, "I'll give you five to one odds," he said with a grin. Some missions went all the better with a wager running, it gave you something else to think about in the dull moments.

Not that this mission was likely to have many dull moments.

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[info]fallen_senbon
2008-02-18 06:54 am UTC (link)
"I don't know, been sympathetic or something," Genma said, frowning and wiping the last of the ointment off his fingers and picking up a roll of clean bandage to wrap around his hip. At least they had the luxury of being indoors to deal with these injuries. And they were relatively minor. It was galling though, that with the big event they'd been hired to safeguard still days away, they'd already seen enough action to need bandages. And of course there was the damn wife.

"Five to one odds what? That he actually listens? That's a sucker bet even a rookie would know better than to take." He eased his pants back on, buckling them with a little extra noise to let Raidou know it was safe to relax again. It was really funny how hard Raidou tried to avoid seeing Genma unclothed. Almost as much as he avoided looking at mirrors. Genma wondered if the two were related.

"He's got his pants on, you can stop counting knots in the ceiling beams," Shinobu piped up, done with grooming, and bored with waiting.

"Shinobu, hush!" Genma said, but the little rat ignored him.

"Do you always do that? Or is it just with him?" He looked up at Raidou curiously, nose twitching, whiskers quivering. "You smell like..."

"That's enough!" Genma grabbed for the rat, who dodged with ease and ran up Genma's arm. "I'm sure we both smell like we need baths. And if you don't have anything useful to contribute to the conversation then take a nap."

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[info]fallen_raidou
2008-02-18 06:58 am UTC (link)
"So I'm thinking rodent omlette for breakfast," Raidou said conversationally, dropping his gaze from the ceiling to Genma. "I bet they're really good with cheese. Maybe bacon. I could crumble in a ration bar..." Rat had to be better then bugs. Even talking rat. "And I know it's a sucker bet, but I'm giving you really good odds. You'd be a fool not to take it."

Raidou was a morning person. He sometimes delighted in being ruthlessly cheerful at his very non-morning mission partner. You had to take your kicks where you could get them.

"So is the fuzzball hanging around all day?" he asked, eying Shinobu. "Because the colour commentary is cute, but my shoulder is giving me a very good excuse to want to stomp something small, furry, and annoying." He stood up with a little twist that cracked his spine and added in sombre tones, "Pain makes you do crazy things, y'know."

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[info]fallen_senbon
2008-02-18 07:05 am UTC (link)
"You want to eat rat, eat a rat bar and leave me out of it!" Shinobu said, raising his fur so that he looked a bit like an indignant little bottle brush. "Or Genma can summon Hoshi and you can suck his..."

"That's enough, beast!" Genma said and clamped a hand over Shinobu. "No, I think we can let him go home and do whatever it is he does when he's not being useful." He picked Shinobu up off his shoulder and held him in midair. Shinobu's tail helicoptered around as he struggled to get some purchase for his dangling back legs. Genma didn't leave him hanging for long, though, offering his other hand as a support for the rat. "Go. Thanks for scouting out the location for us last night."

"Well you were obviously not in any shape to do it yourselves," Shinobu said, and glanced over at Raidou then back at Genma. "Are you really up to continuing this today? Your secret admirer over there's still looking a little dizzy and he isn't going to be much use in a fight if he takes any kind of blow to that shoulder, and you..." The little rat made a face. "You smell like pain."

"I'm fine," Genma said shortly. "And you're going. I'll call you back if we need you." He set Shinobu down on the bed and raised his hands to do the seals to send his summon back.

"I'll do it myself," Shinobu said, sounding annoyed. "Don't waste chakra and don't make your hands worse." He vanished in a little shimmer of vapor.

Genma frowned at the spot where the rat had stood and hoped Raidou hadn't heard that last bit. "Alright, what's the bet then, if you're being so generous?"

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[info]fallen_raidou
2008-02-18 07:07 am UTC (link)
Raidou was also looking at the spot where Shinobu had vanished, both eyebrows arched up in an incredulous curve. "Can you bring him back?" he said finally. "I have the urge to hit him. Possibly with a table. Do we have a table? Hang on, let me find a table. Then you can bring him back and I can hit him." Not only had the rat had the last word--words even--but he'd insulted Raidou's ability to look out for his teammate. To do his job. Like he was going to let a minor stab wound stop him from being a decent shinobi!

Raidou wasn't even going to comment on that secret admirer remark. There was nothing to say.

Bloody know-it-all rats. He scowled slightly and moved back across the room to dig out two ration bars from his kit, shucking the wrapper off one and tossing the other to land next to Genma's knee. He took a bite of something that claimed to be banana and shook off thoughts of rodentcide. There was something else to devote his attention to.

"Problem?" he asked a little more quietly, holding up one hand briefly to show what he meant. Genma had been plagued by bad dreams for the first two nights of the mission, Raidou hoped it wasn't shading towards something worse. Neither one of them could afford a break right now.

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[info]fallen_senbon
2008-02-18 07:52 am UTC (link)
Damn. Of course Raidou had heard. For a moment the idea of hitting Shinobu didn't seem terribly far-fetched, despite their vast size difference. "It's fine," Genma said, and held his hands out, flexing stiff joints and studiously ignoring the bone-deep aches. "It's just that winter morning crap I told you about. They get kinda stiff in cold weather. And I worked a lot of jutsu yesterday. They'll be fine soon as I warm up a little." Not that it was particularly cold inside Iijima's house, but there did seem to be something about winter. And he did need to warm up. Limber up, get sleep-stiff muscles moving, get past the pain in his injured hip.

He picked up the rat bar Raidou had tossed him and peeled back the foil, tearing off a hunk of the sticky, chewy block. "Hey. You got me peanut butter." He smiled then. Raidou was really an awesome mission partner.

"So I'm not gonna give too much credence to what Shinobu said..." because then we'd have to take what he said about me at face value too, "but are you still having balance issues? You really took a bad head smack yesterday. I can work on it before we head out, make sure you're not gonna start feeling it again."

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[info]fallen_raidou
2008-02-18 07:56 am UTC (link)
Raidou gave his partner a thoughtful look as he finished his possibly-banana flavoured breakfast, washing down the sickly rat bar with a swallow of water from his canteen. Cold hands made sense as a trigger--anything could be a trigger--and if Genma was doing okay in the daytime Raidou didn't want to claw an issue up by pressing him on it. He'd bring it up again when they were home safe, and possibly tipsy. Alcohol made those kind of talks much easier. For both parties.

"My head's okay, I think," he said honestly. Genma's two healings seemed to be holding. "Here, look, see what you think." He got up and crossed the room, demonstrating his ability to walk a straight line. There was a slight check to his step, but that was more the dead weight of his shoulder then anything else. Raidou rolled it very carefully with a slight flinch and adjusted to compensate, walking the line again. When he drew near to his kit he crouched down and dug through it until he pulled out a small blue pouch. He regarded the heat pad for a moment, and then snapped the seal one-handed before tossing it gently to Genma. "I can throw in a straight line, too." He nodded at the pad. "Might help your hands a bit."

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[info]fallen_senbon
2008-02-18 08:14 am UTC (link)
"Yeah," Genma said, a little surprised, and caught the little blue pouch. It was already warm to the touch as the chemicals inside mixed, throwing off heat as they crystallized. He held it between his palms, letting the heat penetrate aching knuckles, then turned it over and carefully molded it to the fingers of his right hand. They were the worst, needed the heat the most. It had been damned thoughtful of Raidou to give him that.

"Thanks. I should have thought of that." At least one of them had. "And yeah, you look steady enough. Shinobu was probably just being a brat." He'd still keep an eye on him though. Make sure he didn't start to waver, or rub at his forehead trying to hide a headache, or swallow too hard because he was feeling queasy. Raidou was probably fine, Genma told himself. The healing jutsu had worked, and it hadn't been a particularly bad concussion. Certainly he'd seen worse. They'd just have to be careful.

"So you ready to go see if Shinobu's intel on where they're holding our captive princess is good? Wonder what we can bring back to prove to the old man that his wife's a tramp. Guess we might need to snap some pics."

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[info]fallen_raidou
2008-02-18 08:15 am UTC (link)
"Personally I vote bringing her head back on a pike," Raidou said, perfectly deadpan. "But we'd need to find a pike first, and that could be a hassle." He checked his gear over, tucking items neatly away into their correct places. The more organized you were, the quicker you could find something when you needed it. The quicker you found it, the quicker you could use it, and if that something was a kunai, speed could make all the difference. "And technically that doesn't prove anything beyond how good we are," he conceded, and made sure his medkit was in working order. There was no such thing as being too anal if you were a ninja.

"You can hang on to that," Raidou added, with a nod at the heat pouch once he was satisfied. "It's reusable, and I never find much use for it." Not entirely true, but Genma needed it more and he could always pick up another when he got home. He set his kit aside and got on with the business of putting on his armour one-handed. He managed sandals, vest, leg wrappings, kunai pouch, hip pouches, shuriken holder, and kodachi sheath. The arm guards, however, proved problematic. After a few minutes wrestling with teeth and awkward angles, Raidou sighed and cast Genma a glance. "Feel like being helpful?"

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[info]fallen_senbon
2008-02-18 08:20 am UTC (link)
"I figured I'd let you ask first," Genma said, getting up from his futon at last and moving closer to Raidou, who was kneeling next to his kit, struggling with an arm guard. "That way you wouldn't go all macho on me and act like you didn't need my help and make it worse. Give me your arm." He stashed the little heat pouch between his knees, a little reluctant to let it go while it still held warmth. His hands felt better though. Limberer, more mobile. He really should have thought of bringing something like that.

"Thanks for that," he said, nodding his head to indicate the hand warmer. He worked on Raidou's left glove and arm guard first, on the uninjured arm, then carefully eased on the right, mindful not to move Raidou's shoulder too much. When he was finished he re-secured Raidou's right arm in its sling. "I know you don't like it, but it really will heal better if you're not letting gravity pull on the joint all day, or trying to keep it immobile without a sling because it hurts." He studied the effect and frowned. "You could always do a henge to hide it if we get where we're gonna see any action."

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[info]fallen_raidou
2008-02-18 08:24 am UTC (link)
Raidou eyed the sling and sighed very softly. "Yeah, I know," he muttered, "you have to admit it spoils the elite image a bit, though." The attempt at levity fell short when he tested his range of motion and triggered something a little more painful then a twinge. A wincing moment later Raidou decided he could put up with the sling as long as his shoulder stopped doing that. And Genma was right, even if it did look like he'd slapped a big white target on himself, a henge would negate the damage. Well, unless someone clipped him on it and he keeled over, but that was just incentive to dodge faster.

On the same other hand, the tingling in his fingertips seemed to have ceased overnight. Raidou flexed them very cautiously and was rewarded with normal--if slightly stiff--movement. He smiled slightly; that put seals back as a possibility if he was very careful. Ninjutsu always made everything run much smoother.

"About time you got suited up, lover boy," he said to Genma, turning his attention back to his mission partner. "Thanks for the help."

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[info]fallen_senbon
2008-02-18 08:39 am UTC (link)
"It makes you look even more elite," Genma said, watching Raidou move his arm. "You're such a badass ANBU that even with your right arm in a sling you can totally kick some Suna butt." Raidou was moving too much. Idiot. He was about to tell him to stop it when evidently Raidou's shoulder made the same protest. Genma wasn't exactly glad to see the pain on his friend's face, but if it hurt, at least that might stop him from worsening the injury.

Speaking of which...

"What's the deal with your hand? Are you having trouble with it? Are your fingers numb?"

If he'd missed a nerve injury the night before and Raidou was compromised...

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[info]fallen_raidou
2008-02-18 08:43 am UTC (link)
"Nope," said Raidou with complete honesty. He hadn't missed the 'yes, dear' quality to Genma's voice a second ago, he had no desire to see that evolve into a more pointed 'you're a fucking idiot'. If there had been serious damage there wasn't much Genma could've done about it--field medic skills only stretched so far--and Raidou wasn't the kind of partner who worried his teammates and made them angry at themselves for not being able to do something they didn't have the training for.

Besides, he had feeling in his fingers! That counted as Good News as far as he was concerned, and no one deserved to get yelled at for having Good News.

"And I could kick Suna butt with both arms in slings. It'd be harder with my feet in slings, but probably entertaining to watch..." Let it go, let it go, let it go.

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[info]fallen_senbon
2008-02-18 09:00 am UTC (link)
That was just a little too quick of an answer and a little too quick of a change of subject. It looked to Genma's practiced eyes exactly like a feint and dodge, only without the kunai thunking into the wall where you'd been standing only seconds before. "You're entertaining to watch," Genma grumbled, and started putting his armor on. "If it starts getting numb again tell me, alright? It could just be from swelling compressing the nerve and I could actually do something about that, if you'd let me."

He didn't bother to listen to Raidou's protest that his hand had never been bothering him in the first place. No-one looked that pleased to be able to touch thumb to forefinger unless he hadn't been able to the night before. Genma knew that from bitter personal experience.

Shin-guards and leg wraps, boots and holsters all went on. Then he got to his slashed utility belt and snarled. "Dammit, I forgot about this." there were a lot of things they had spares of, like bandages and the under-layers of their uniforms. Even pants, which the shredded remnants of Genma's old pair wadded into the bottom of his pack bore witness to. But he didn't have a spare utility belt, and he'd need those pouches. Maybe he could transfer them to another belt? But there wasn't one.

"Well this sucks. I can redistribute some of my stuff to other pouches and pockets, but I'm going to have to leave some of my gear behind."

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[info]fallen_raidou
2008-02-18 09:01 am UTC (link)
Busted. Raidou gave up arguing after Genma's unimpressed look said he was never going to buy it. Some battles you just weren't going to win. He finished getting on his own kit and stood up with a careful stretch, moving to make sure everything was in its place and staying there. Besides the shoulder and lingering remains of his headache, he was in fairly decent fighting form, and more than ready to deliver a little payback.

The same could not be said for Genma's belt. Raidou moved over to give it a glance and shook his head solemnly. "I think it's dead. You could use a bandage instead if there's nothing else? Just wrap a good length around your waist and anchor your things on that." It was never a good idea to leave anything behind. Luck or karma or the gods or whatever bit of organized chaos you happened to believe in would guarantee it that you needed whatever you'd decided to leave behind. "If that doesn't work we can always stash your stuff with mine."

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[info]fallen_senbon
2008-02-18 09:07 am UTC (link)
"Bandage isn't strong enough. The belt I'm using to hold my pants up ought to take at least two of the pouches," Genma said with a frown, carefully sliding the ruined belt out of the tabs on said pouches, then undoing the one at his waist and pulling it out. "Except I'm kind of using it to hold my pants up. I guess I'll have to intersperse the pouches with the belt loops or something." It took a bit of twisting and turning, but he managed to get himself put back together with something resembling order.

The heavy pouches pulled at his waist, making it feel like the pants were all the more likely to come sliding down at an inopportune moment. "I guess it will do," he said, with a dubious shake of the head. "I won't be able to slide my pouches around when I need them like this though. And there was the third pouch. He transferred the weapons from it to holsters and pockets, stashed scrolls and maps and compass into already bulging hiding places, and finally stared in dismay at the last of it. "You got room for three scrolls and an anti-contamination kit?" he asked, holding the things that just wouldn't fit anywhere else out to Raidou.

His partner was right, leaving gear behind was a guarantee you'd need it, but having your gear so over-packed you couldn't get to what you needed in an instant, and having things in unfamiliar places was hardly an improvement.

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[info]fallen_raidou
2008-02-18 09:09 am UTC (link)
"I think so." Raidou moved a few things around and managed to get the scrolls and the kit in their own pouch on his right hip, everything else he switched to his left side where his mobile arm could reach it easily. "Just give me a half-second's warning if you go for it in the middle of a fight. I don't want to take your head off by accident." Raidou always made sure to keep tabs on his teammates in battle--any decent ninja did--but it only took a moment to lose track, and a grab when you weren't expecting it only ever provoked one reaction.

Raidou hooked up his mask and slipped it on, shoving it to one side of his head for the moment. The black-painted ox face directed a fierce glare at the rabbit-decorated wall while Raidou gave his partner a much more even look. "All set to go get a lady in trouble?" His half-quirked smile was entirely innocent.

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[info]fallen_senbon
2008-02-18 09:11 am UTC (link)
"Don't worry," Genma answered with a wink and a smirk. "I always carry protection." He pulled out his katana and let it thunk back into place in the sheath at his back, then pulled out an array of senbon, bristling between each knuckle, and slid them back into his hip holster. "So the lady might be in trouble, but it's not gonna be traceable back to me." He chuckled, picked up his mask and pulled it smoothly over his face.

A couple of testing half-steps to be sure his hip was going to take a workout without too much protest--well it was protesting, but it was solid, so that was good enough--and he nodded to Raidou, heading for the pretty little French doors that led out from the nursery into Iijima's garden. "Shinobu said it was about six kilometers, on the other side of the village. And I think we don't have to run on the way there. From what he said, our lady is perfectly happy to wait for us to come to her."

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[info]fallen_senbon
2008-02-22 01:58 pm UTC (link)
Continues in It Takes a Lot Out of You

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