Tweak

InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "i did it!"

fallen_raidou (fallen_raidou) wrote in fallen_leaves,
@ 2009-04-29 23:32:00

Chemical Lessons. [Closed to Kaito and Raidou]
[Takes place two days after Girls! Girls! Girls!.]

Training Kaito was a complicated business, much like elephant ballet, or brain surgery. But with more yelling.

Tossing the kid into the river every time he messed up had proved instantly effective, but wasn't much use in the field. Working him to exhaustion had simply made him... exhausted, and no less anxious. Intensive taijutsu katas had improved his reflexes and coordination, but nothing else. Talking sort of worked; just very, very slowly.

Meditating had put him to sleep.

Today they weren't anywhere near a training field. Instead, the sun arced high and hot over the gentle grassy slope that led down to Konoha's winding river. Raidou had picked a breezy, shaded spot well away from any sensitive civilians, and sat with his shoes off, his jeans rolled up, and his feet dangling in the water. Kaito hadn't yet decided whether he should sit or just hover about nervously, trying not to look nervous. Above them, new spring leaves budded on spreading branches.

Raidou lifted his arms, stretching out his spine, and tried to decide how best to reveal his latest idea. Then he dug about in his pocket, extracted a medic-branded leather-bound pouch, and set it down in the grass by his side.

"Today we're going to get high," he said.

Honesty was a much underused tactic.

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fallen_kaito
2009-04-29 05:50 pm UTC (link)

Kaito snorted a laugh, willing to share in the joke, then stopped when Raidou didn't laugh but just looked at him with that same small, calm smile. Expectant.

Dark blue eyes flicked down to the pouch, where new spring grass tickled up along its sides. "Uh... you're kidding, right?" What kind of sensei suggested you get high?

What kind of sensei threw you in a river or made you meditate? Ninja sensei. Still, he'd never heard of one getting their students high.

Between Genma and Raidou, he couldn't decide if he'd lucked out or gotten the short straw. He peered uncertainly at the pouch. "I don't know if that's a great idea." He'd spent most of his life avoiding getting high. Who knew how his limit would react to hallucinations or feeling stoned? It couldn't be good for the people around him--especially when the people around were also drugged up, and killers besides.

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fallen_raidou
2009-04-29 05:55 pm UTC (link)

"Have I ever led you wrong? Wait, don't answer that." Raidou gestured at the patch of grass next to him, motioning for Kaito to sit. Reluctantly, the kid folded up his long legs and sank down, keeping a careful amount of space between himself and the pouch, as if it might leap up and bite him.

Raidou picked it up and tossed it into Kaito's lap.

"Firstly, that's all Genma-tested stuff, so I know exactly what it does. You'll keep your head. Secondly, what kind of teenager turns down perfectly good drugs? There're sober kids in Suna who'd sell their own gran just to get their hands on what you're holding." He turned slightly, hooking a smile at his nervous charge. "And thirdly, I'm pretty sure it'll stop your limit cold. Sure you don't want to give it a shot?"

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fallen_kaito
2009-04-29 05:55 pm UTC (link)

It was obvious that Raidou wanted him to give it a shot, even if he wasn't pressing. Maybe they were giving up on training. Heck, he was a half-breed--it was possible he'd never be able to control his limit, except with drugs. Biology did funny things. If his mother had planned on getting pregnant, there were ways to keep from passing on her bloodline--like she'd done with his half-brothers--but since he'd been a surprise...

This was why the clans frowned on cross-breeding. You ended up drugging yourself to stop your stupid bloodline limits that weren't even proper bloodline limits.

He picked the pouch up and tugged the zipper open. It fell into two halves, connected by supple leather. Everything was neatly organized, held in place with little elastic bands sewn in. One half held a small, flat pill bottle with half a dozen pills, and a row of inch-long needles capped in plastic. The other held a glass vial with a rubber top. He brushed his fingertips over it, turning it until he could see the label. There was the scientific bit, the chemical name he couldn't understand, and in careful handwriting below that was the common name.

Kaito frowned at it. "I thought this was a sedative...?" He glanced up at Raidou uncertainly.

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fallen_raidou
2009-04-29 05:56 pm UTC (link)

Kid knew his drugs.

"It is." Raidou pulled a foot out of the river, bending his knee to brace his arm on it. The wind ghosted cool fingers over his face, ruffling short brown hair. "Okay, here's my logic: when you get anxious, your limit activates; when you calm down, it shuts off. That sedative's got enough punch in it that it'll take the edge off without taking you out. A pick-me-up, if you like."

He glanced at Kaito, eyes flickering over high cheekbones, the lean, angular jaw not quite graced by stubble, dark blue eyes shadowed by long lashes, trying to read the thoughts tangled behind them.

"Basically, I think it'll stop your limit from activating. Or it'll shut it down when it does activate. Then you can stop freaking out about having an active limit, I can stop stabbing myself, and we can figure out how you can chill out and get control without pharmaceutical help." He took a breath. "Make sense?"

It had better. He was starting to run out of ideas.

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fallen_kaito
2009-04-29 05:56 pm UTC (link)

Kaito kept looking at the bottle, rolling it around between his fingers. The glass was cool and hard, chilling his skin. "Madoka-sensei said he didn't want to prescribe me anything 'cause--" he flushed, embarrassed, and hurried to reassure, "Well, because I didn't need it. But also because it'd go in my chart and affect, y'know, everything." No one liked an unstable ninja. "Is this going to...?"

He glanced up, the question hanging in the air between them. Raidou didn't look concerned. Raidou didn't often seem to get concerned about much. Kaito had seen frustration, exasperation, that careful blank look Raidou got when he was trying not to let something show, and even anger once (though not at Kaito), but he'd never seen concern.

Which meant either Raidou kept it carefully hidden, or nothing bothered him. Still, he didn't look bothered now. Brown eyes were watching him calmly. The breeze tousled Raidou's hair, alternately flattening his shirt against his arms and chest, or puffing it out comically.

He couldn't blame the guy for wanting to stop stabbing himself.

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fallen_raidou
2009-04-29 06:02 pm UTC (link)

"It's ANBU, kid," Raidou said wryly. "No one gives a damn." He had his own drugs. Genma had his. Uppers, downers, sedatives, sleeping pills, chakra pills, painkillers--whatever got the job done. Hell, even Haruichi probably dipped into his own stash every now and then. "S'matter of fact, you're probably the odd one out right now. Ordinarily I wouldn't recommend caving into peer pressure, but in this case..."

He twitched the foot still in the water, feeling long strands of plant life tickle against his sole, and flicked two fingers at the open pouch still balanced on Kaito's knee. "The needles are fast acting. Really fast. If this works out, you can use them in the field before things get hairy. The pills are a little slower, but they'll do the same thing. Only side effect I've ever heard about is cotton-mouth."

He was giving drugs advice to kids. At least he wasn't tempting one behind a tree with candy.

"You know how to inject yourself without blowing an air-bubble into your veins? Because Genma would kill me if I brought you back dead."

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fallen_kaito
2009-04-29 06:02 pm UTC (link)

"Yeah," Kaito said faintly, remembering lessons on field medicine.

"What if I need my limit?" He looked up again, unsure when his gaze had dropped. "I mean, if I'm in the field--like, we used it on my last mission. The first time we could'a figured something else out, but the second time... it was actually useful, y'know?" He tipped the bottle upside down, but nothing came out. Nothing ever did, no matter how may needles you poked into the top. It was a minor source of fascination.

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fallen_raidou
2009-04-29 06:02 pm UTC (link)

Well that was new. As far as Raidou could remember, Kaito had never defended his limit before. Maybe that was a good sign.

"You're definitely going to need it," he said, twisting around to face Kaito straight on. "That's why we get these things; to use them. Genma'd tell you it's Amitabah Buddha dicking about with fate--" He probably wouldn't tell it quite like that, but close enough. "I just figure we should sharpen the weapons we have. And right now, yours is a blunt kunai."

He was getting a little better at speech-giving. At least that one had been short.

"Besides, the nice thing about drugs is that you can always stop taking them. Or we can kick this idea and I can toss you in the river again." Teeth flashed against tan skin. "Your choice."

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fallen_kaito
2009-04-29 06:03 pm UTC (link)

Kaito looked up sharply, but Raidou was grinning. If that could be called a grin. "Yeah, right," he snorted. "Some choice." He went back to eyeing the needles askance. "So... how do you wanna do this? Should I just take some or do we do it when my limit's active or what?"

Man, he'd always bruised that damn orange when he was learning to give injections. And then he'd bruised himself. He'd been so glad to stop that portion of field medicine. He picked up one of the capped needles and eyed it, muttering under his breath. "Couldn't we get smaller ones?"

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fallen_raidou
2009-04-29 06:04 pm UTC (link)

"What were you expecting, a thumbtack?" Raidou snorted and pointed at the kit. "Should be some alcohol wipes in there, but I wouldn't bother with those in the field unless you know you have time. As long as you keep the needles sterile, you're pretty low risk for infection."

And a swollen needle mark wasn't exactly top priority compared to a shuriken gash.

The breeze lifted, chasing ripples across the water's surface. Above them, tree branches shook gently. If Kaito wasn't so damn tense, Raidou guessed the kid's hands would have been doing the same.

He braced his chin on his palm. "I figure you try a dose now, just to see how it feels. Then we can spar. I'll try to make you nervous or pissed off or something, and we'll find out if the drug holds."

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fallen_kaito
2009-04-29 06:04 pm UTC (link)

Kaito lifted the little bottle, scanning the label for a dosage, and muttered, "Thumbtack'd be easier." He did the mental math to figure out how much he probably needed--there was another handwritten note for how much to 'take the edge off' instead of knocking him out, and he wondered if that came from Genma or if Raidou had figured it out himself. A tiny bottle of alcohol was hidden under the bigger bottle of sedative, and he found some cotton swabs. Then he rolled up his sleeve, splashed alcohol over the inside of his elbow, scrubbed at it with cotton, and set it all aside.

Right. Needles. Images of purple bruises danced across his eyelids. Before he could second-guess everything, he pulled the little syringe from inside, fitted a needle to it, popped the cap off shining silver steel--

Was he really sure about this?

--inserted the needle into the rubber bottle top--

Raidou seemed sure about this.

--fumbled the amount completely and had to inject it back into the bottle--

He was going to OD and end up flat on his back.

--finally pulled it out, flicked the syringe to make sure the air bubbles were gone--

He was going to spend the rest of his career as the ninja who couldn't cope without drugs.

--lined it up to his skin--

Did it count as giving up? Did it matter, if they'd made no progress?

--found a vein--

Too late now.

--and injected.

"Ow." He was gonna bruise. This was stupid. What kind of ninja couldn't control their own limit? He rubbed his chest with the heel of his hand, the syringe held between his fingers pointing away from his skin. Not even Raidou thought they were gonna figure this out, and Kaito'd only been accepted into ANBU for his limit so if he couldn't control it--

If he couldn't control it...

He dropped his hand away from his chest, reaching for the cap to put back on the needle.

They'd figure something out. It wasn't like it was the end of the world.

The breeze tickled his hair, sliding cool fingers against his scalp. He tucked everything away, waiting.

Waiting for... something. Nothing happened. He glanced at his hands, smoothing his thumb over the angry skin of his index finger, and waited some more. In a tree above them, a little bird hopped from spindly branch to spindly branch, cheeping as if to see what they were doing down there. Kaito tracked its progress for a moment, stretching his legs out and leaning back on his hands. Above, the sun was bright enough to make him squint.

Finally, when nothing still happened, he glanced at Raidou. "You think it worked?"

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fallen_raidou
2009-04-29 06:05 pm UTC (link)

Slightly angular pupils constricted sharply at the touch of the needle, half-swallowed by dark blue. Raidou watched carefully, feeling the warning tingle in his chest as Kaito tensed up, chakra spiralling inwards, preparing to burst out--

Then the kid relaxed. The tingle evaporated.

Raidou lifted his eyebrows, slightly bemused, as lines of stress eased away from the firm cut of unhappy lips. The kid's jaw unclenched, his pupils dilated slightly, long legs stretched themselves out, hands reached back and took the leaning weight of a teenager suddenly much more interested in birds and sunlight and everything not happening inside his head.

That had to be a first.

"Yeah," said Raidou dryly. "I think it worked." He held up a hand. "How many fingers?"

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fallen_kaito
2009-04-29 06:05 pm UTC (link)

Kaito tipped his head. "Three." Then he had to move fast, hands coming off the ground to clap around the bundle of--something--Raidou tossed with snake-strike speed. Kaito glanced down at his new possession. "Keys?" They jingled. "Awww, Rai, the keys to your apartment. I... I just don't think I'm ready for that step in our relationship." He snickered, tossing them back. "I know you're desperately in love with me, but I just don't feel--" His own laughter cut him off as he caught the highly amused look on Raidou's face. Rolling, he scrambled up to his feet. "So, I pass the test? Or do I have to touch my nose and rub my belly or something?"

He didn't feel any different. Just... maybe a little lighter. He took a breath and let it out again, shoulders relaxing. He hadn't realized they were tense.

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fallen_raidou
2009-04-29 06:06 pm UTC (link)

Score up a win for that idea. Apparently Kaito just needed a Prozac lift.

"Don't push me, brat," said Raidou, sliding to his feet. "Or I'll make you walk on your hands and sing the village anthem." He hooked his hands into his pockets, standing hipshot, and eyed his adopted rookie. Genma had promised the meds would work fast (really fast, and they had, by the look of it), but hadn't had a clue if they'd hold. Only trial and error would tell.

In an ANBU's world, trial and error usually meant bruises.

Raidou bounced lightly on the balls of his feet, chakra gathering under his skin. Kaito's eyes widened and narrowed, his gaze suddenly sharp and focused on Raidou's torso, right where the core muscles would give away an impending move.

He really was improving.

"Think fast." Raidou ducked and lunged forwards, throwing chakra into the fist aimed at Kaito's throat.

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fallen_kaito
2009-04-29 06:07 pm UTC (link)

Kaito whipped around before he even realized what was happening, sidestepping and grabbing Raidou's wrist in one hand, bringing his other up to a tattooed shoulder. He didn't complete the lock before Raidou had twisted, opposite knee coming around at Kaito's gut. He turned into Raidou's chest, slamming his head back into the man's face--

And Raidou was gone again, ten feet away.

The whole scuffle had taken less than two breaths. Kaito blinked and shook out his hands, watching. He'd reacted without thinking, without running through every possible scenario first. And he hadn't gotten his butt kicked. That was a nice change. He grinned. "Think fast," he said, and translocated directly behind Raidou.

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fallen_raidou
2009-04-29 06:07 pm UTC (link)

Middle of a spar was never a good time to analyze. Raidou dropped sideways, catching his weight on one palm, and snapped both legs around, using his arm as a fulcrum to slam his full weight heels-first into Kaito's shins--

If Kaito hadn't jumped.

The kid bounced up like a damn spring, lanky legs pulled high, concentration focused through a tight smile. Raidou grabbed his chakra and shoved it into his hand, cracking the dirt wide open as he changed directions mid-lunge and leapt up. An arm across the chest swiped Kaito out of the air before he could land, pitching him groundwards. Raidou followed him down, planting a knee in the middle of the kid's sternum, and locked his hand around the fist that tried to take his head off.

"Copy cat," he said, flat-voiced, and caught Kaito's second punch. "Want to actually try this time?"

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fallen_kaito
2009-04-29 06:08 pm UTC (link)

For a moment, he smiled. Then he realized Raidou wasn't smiling back, and his brow creased into a frown. "I am trying," he snapped, and tried to roll up.

Raidou didn't budge.

Kaito planted his feet under his hips and shoved, tipping his sparring partner off balance. In the moment that Raidou wobbled, Kaito managed to twist away, get one hand free, and bring it to his other for the quickest kawarimi he'd ever done.

Of course, Raidou was right there, so as fast as Kaito moved he still didn't finish the jutsu. He tried to punch Raidou in the face, instead. It didn't work, but Raidou flinched back and gave Kaito the space he needed to roll.

Springing to his feet, he eyed Raidou warily, waiting for the next attack.

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fallen_raidou
2009-04-29 06:09 pm UTC (link)

Going for his face in a spar was starting to become a theme. Raidou flexed his jaw, stamping down the crawling urge to walk away and maybe do a quick shudder-dance.

"A little better," he allowed, without a trace of humour in his voice. He held his thumb and index finger very close together. "Like a hair's worth."

Kaito's eyes narrowed, showing nothing but blue slits.

And Raidou felt nothing squeezing his heart but the adrenaline of a half-decent spar. No anger, no anxiety. It was beautiful. He smiled, keeping it grim, lunged right far enough for Kaito to take the feint at face value, and copied the kid's attempted trick.

A kiwarimi put him directly behind Kaito's broad shoulders. The teenager startled around, reacting faster than Raidou gave him credit for, and brought an elbow up. Raidou took it on the sternum with a grunt, took the second hit silently, and grabbed Kaito under both arms before he could land a third. Hard fingers digging into muscle, he locked a hold around both biceps, standing the kid crucified with a mix of chakra and strength.

A heel snapped back, catching the inside of his knee. He held his balance and kicked Kaito's legs apart.

"Maybe half a hair."

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fallen_kaito
2009-04-29 06:10 pm UTC (link)

"You are such an ass!" He fought chakra against chakra for a moment, and realized he was never going to win this way. He strained forward as hard as he could, and when Raidou braced, Kaito flung himself backward. He slammed into Raidou. He still didn't connect, but it forced Raidou to loosen his hold.

Kaito twisted, dropping straight down and swinging one leg up as he turned, aiming for Raidou's knees. He hit a tree trunk instead, and yelped as bark flew. He was going to have a bruise.

He remained in his crouch, glancing around sharp-eyed. There--he could see movement in the shadows. He really wished he had his weapons.

From the darkness under the trees, Raidou spoke. "Maybe a quarter of a hair."

"Dude!" Kaito bellowed, standing and glaring. "I've gotten better than that and you know i--" The shuriken nearly took his head off. "Buddha's balls, Raidou!" But he marked where the little stars landed and dove for them, fingers slipping through the holes and arm coming up, whipping out. When Raidou ducked the illusion, Kaito threw the real blade.

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fallen_raidou
2009-04-29 06:10 pm UTC (link)

Dodging when you were already mid-dodge could be a little tricky. Raidou snapped up a handful of metal and met Kaito's stolen shuriken with a kunai, spinning the flying star off into the bushes with a vicious little clang.

He left a talkative clone to mark his place--"I take it back. You are getting worse."--and translocated to another clump of trees, over and away to Kaito's right.

A second shuriken almost buried itself in his windpipe. He struck it down with his kunai, eyebrows arching up, and swapped himself with the nearest, sturdiest-looking tree branch. The world looked a little smaller, high up in a broad-leafed oak, but he got a spectacular view of Kaito ignoring his clone entirely to attack where he'd just been--before the kid whipped around to deal with the quippy construct when it got too close.

He was pleased to see some of his taijutsu lessons had stuck.

Energy popped with a weird, coil-wrenching lurch as Kaito delivered a tidy, throat-crunching kick and took the clone right out of existence. Raidou crouched down on his tree branch, watching the kid spin on his heel and glare into the trees, flushed and furious.

Nothing pulled in his chest.

Grinning, he whistled loudly. Kaito's head snapped up. "How'd you feel?"

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fallen_kaito
2009-04-29 06:11 pm UTC (link)

"Pissed the fuck off!" Kaito bellowed, wishing he had just one more shuriken. Should have brought weapons, even if these spars didn't usually go in that direction. "Fuck, Rai, what's with you today? You're an asshole." Sure, they teased each other on a regular basis--or rather, Raidou teased him and he was thrilled with it--but this was serious. There wasn't a hidden smile or an amused tone to his voice, now. Just snarling sarcasm.

Kaito translocated, but by the time he appeared on the tree branch Raidou had moved. He glared. He couldn't back down, because that would be wussy, but he didn't really want to stay and get insulted, either. He really wanted to punch Raidou's face in, but doubted that was going to happen. Maybe if he had something to distract, and then translocated...

A pinecone would do. He hurled one and moved as quick as he could, halfway through a spinning kick even as he reappeared. It would either work, or he'd look like a fool.

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fallen_raidou
2009-04-29 06:12 pm UTC (link)

If Kaito had given him the chance, Raidou would have pointed out the good news. But the kid decided to get murderous, then creative with shrubbery, and then his heel was suddenly far too close and very personal--

Raidou caught the strike with a last-second combination of forearm and stomach muscles, and said goodbye to breath. But at least it hadn't hit anywhere lower. He saw a brief shatter of stars, grabbed Kaito's leg with his other hand before the kid could pull it back, and yanked him off his feet. A wild punch scraped the unscarred edge of Raidou's jaw; he dodged back with Kaito still in hand, then dropped them both to the dirt, using 165lbs of fighting, snarling teenager to cushion his landing.

Kaito kicked him in the back of the thigh. He wrenched the kid's arms behind his back, and put his face down next to one bright red ear. "So, guess how I'm feeling."

He sounded winded, but hopefully Kaito would look beyond that.

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fallen_kaito
2009-04-29 06:13 pm UTC (link)

Air was definitely not coming into Kaito's lungs very quickly, what with Raidou's giant ass on his spine. He was pinned, vulnerable, and there was no way Raidou couldn't slit his throat right now if he wanted to. And Kaito was still pissed. However the jackass was feeling, Kaito could make him feel--feel--

Chakra crackled through his system, twisted around his heart. He flung it at Raidou with all the anger boiling under his skin.

And then he realized what he'd just done. He was never going to get that chakra back. Never going to make this better because Raidou hadn't been upset a minute before, and it was obvious what Kaito had just done. He never was able to yank his chakra back, to stop the limit--

Except it was already coming back to him.

He went still under Raidou, pressing his forehead into the cool, damp dirt. "Sorry." And his chakra began to dissipate through his system. He took a breath, and another, and listened to his heart thump while waiting for a reaction.

Raidou already knew what he could do. Maybe it wouldn't matter that much. Not enough to damage everything.

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fallen_raidou
2009-04-29 06:14 pm UTC (link)

He was really starting to hate it when Kaito apologized. It was never anything more than a beaten-in reflex. Don't hate me, whittled down to two words.

And he really hated it when Kaito apologized for doing something right. He'd felt that swell and surge of chakra, caught the whisper of it against his senses; bright vibrant red and swimming with anger, reaching for his heartstrings. Kaito had yanked it back before it had done more than graze a nerve or two, but that didn't matter. He'd actually tried to use his bloodline.

And part-way succeeded.

Raidou released his grip on Kaito's wrists. Then reached forwards to ruffle the hell out of the kid's wild brown hair before he climbed off, trusting--for once--that the urge to touch came just from him, and not from being played like an emotional harpsichord.

Kaito twitched. But it was more of a 'dude, my hair!' twitch than an 'ack, assaulting hands!' flinch. Raidou grinned--finally letting it show--and tucked his legs beneath himself, bracing his chin on his fist.

"I'm feeling proud," he finished. "You did great."

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fallen_kaito
2009-04-29 06:15 pm UTC (link)

"I--" Kaito began, rolling over and sitting up. Then Raidou's words sank in and he paused, unsure what to say. He'd used his limit and Raidou was proud? Much to his mortification, his face warmed. He ducked his head, picking grass out of his hair and pretending like he wasn't really embarrassed all to hell and back. "You're such a dork," he said, finding a self-conscious laugh.

It strengthened into a real laugh, and he flashed a grin up at Raidou.

Raidou was proud of him. He ducked his head again, ostensibly to watch what he was doing as he brushed off his shirt. "Proud 'cause--I sparred without my limit? Or 'cause I pulled it back?" If he knew which bit he'd done right, then he could do it again. Maybe. He bit at a cuticle, pulled his thumb away, and glanced up to watch Raidou's expression. Another grin slipped free.

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fallen_raidou
2009-04-29 06:15 pm UTC (link)

Kaito might have been eighteen, broad-shouldered, and almost on eye-level with Raidou, but when he flushed, looked like he was trying not to squirm with happiness, and fished for a second compliment, he could have been Setsurou's age.

Not for the first time, Raidou made himself a mental promise to track down the kid's family and give them all a due kicking. Liking praise was one thing, but looking like you'd never gotten it--

"Because you had one weapon available and you used it," he said, yanking himself back to the present. "Okay, you didn't hit me with it. But I wasn't even expecting you to figure out how to even grab the hilt yet, let alone aim the blade." He paused, then dragged a hand over his face. "And that's got to be overusing the metaphor, but you get what I mean."

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fallen_kaito
2009-04-29 06:17 pm UTC (link)

Kaito laughed, resting back on his hands. After their brief spar, and with the sunshine pouring down, he was feeling a bit like liquid heat. It was nice. "Yeah, I get it. You're actually glad I used my limit. Weirdo." But he was still grinning. "I used it on this mission with this girl, too. I mean--" He looked up quickly. "Not on the girl. The girl was a ninja. I wouldn't, um..." Raidou was looking like he knew what Kaito meant. "But it came in handy. My limit, not the girl. She came in handy, too." That just sounded wrong. He made a face and flopped backward. "I don't know why they think I can be a seduction expert, because everything I said to her came out this way, too."

Taking a deep breath, he linked his hands behind his head and stared up at the sky between the trees. It would work out. Or it wouldn't, but all he could do was try. It was a nice sensation, knowing things would be all right. Knowing that every second of every day wasn't his fault. Or maybe it was, but, well, he was doing the best he could. It was like someone had taken everything he was worried about, and was just carrying it for him for a while. It was all still there, but now he had to reach for it instead of being crushed under the weight. "You think we could just take the rest of the day off?" he asked wistfully. "Or do we have more work to do?"

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fallen_raidou
2009-04-29 06:19 pm UTC (link)

Raidou dragged a hand through his hair, considering. They did have work--they always have work--but it was so rare for Kaito to actually ask for something he wanted without trying to wheedle...

"Dunno, kid," he said, flashing a grin that would always be higher on one side. "Don't think weirdos take days off." Kaito snorted, sounding even more mellow. Raidou sprawled backwards, squirming just a little to get comfortable in the fragrant grass. He could feel a trail of cooling sweat between his shoulderblades soaking into his shirt; the only lingering reminder of their brief spar, beyond a few bruises.

"You'd have to talk to Genma about the seduction thing," he added. "It's not really my area of expertise. But I'm pretty sure suave-and-cool isn't the only kind of sex people get themselves killed over." He lifted a hand against the blue sky, ticking off with his fingers. "Sweet-and-innocent, new-and-nervous, young-and-honest, inexperienced-but-bold..." He dropped his hand again, tucking his arm behind his head. "I've run backup for a few seductionists." More than a few, really, before Genma. "You see a lot of kinks."

Maybe it was his area.

He tilted his head to look at Kaito, studying the kid's profile against the distant red stone of the Hokage monument. Eighteen--he was only six years younger. It still felt like a lot.

"So tell me about this girl." He chuckled when Kaito's cheeks reddened again. "And using your bloodline. I definitely want to hear that story."

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fallen_kaito
2009-04-29 06:20 pm UTC (link)

Kaito laughed, unsure if he should be embarrassed or pleased. "It was just a mission." He glanced sideways, trying to gauge Raidou's mood.

Raidou just watched, waiting. There was no censure in his expression, no impatience. Looking at him from this direction, his scars weren't terribly noticeable. The breeze ruffled his hair and cooled them both.

Kaito hesitated another moment, then smiled cautiously. "We got stuck, right? And I thought I could probably use my limit. And she didn't freak out or anything. And then, later, she suggested I do it again." He held his breath, part of him waiting for disapproval. When none was forthcoming, he let his head fall back, staring up as clouds drifted slowly by. "She was really hot. Genma said I probably stared at her ti--ah, breasts the whole time, but I totally didn't. And... and it was nice." He caught his lower lip in his teeth, remembering. "It was really..." He wasn't aware when he smiled softly. "I got that guy home. I mean, we got him home, of course. But he was freaking out, and Natsumi, she had this idea with my limit, and--" He stuttered to a halt, looking sidelong again.

Raidou was still just watching. Listening. Kaito plucked a stem of grass and stuck it in his mouth, chewing on the end. He'd done something useful with his limit--other than being the decoy--and Raidou looked like he actually wanted to hear about it. Kaito discovered he actually wanted to talk about it.

He pulled the grass out of his mouth, and spoke to the sky. "We were half stuck on this stupid balcony, and Natsumi, she had this idea..."

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