InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "being fire'd sucks"

Tousaki Ryouma (fallen_ryouma) wrote in fallen_leaves,
@ 2008-02-03 23:37:00

Entry tags:

kakashi, mission, ryouma

Acid Dogs of War [closed to Ryouma and Kakashi]
Set in early January. Mission assignment.

The mission wasn't the first A-rank posted on the bulletin board just outside the mission offices, but the bright crimson "Urgent" stamp had caught Ryouma's attention, and a single word in the description--one of the few whose kanji he knew without having to think--held his eye. Dispose. More to the point, dispose of him as absolutely and quietly as possible. That seemed pretty well tailor-made.

Ryouma didn't need to sweat through the rest of the mission objectives. If there was time for a briefing, he'd pick the details up then; if not, he'd learn them from his teammates along the way. He ducked through the office door, where the dark-haired chuunin manning the desk glanced up at him and demanded, "Mission number?"

"09837A," Ryouma said. "Marked urgent. Name's Tousaki Ryouma." He leaned against the door frame and watched curiously as the chuunin sorted through several scrolls, found the one he wanted, scribbled something, made an exasperated noise, and then tossed the scroll to Ryouma.

"It's marked as a three-man mission, but there's only one other volunteer yet. No time for a briefing. Your teammate's in apartment 309. Good luck."

That seemed to be it. With no prospect of a briefing on the horizon, Ryouma tried to puzzle out a few more details as he jogged up the stairs. ANBU, he knew those kanji, and traitor, and Konoha. He was still working on one that he thought might be information when he stopped in front of room 309.

Right next to the women's showers. Lucky dog!

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fallen_kakashi
2008-02-04 06:51 am UTC (link)

Volunteering for anything but a solo mission was always a bit of a risky prospect, and Kakashi with his particular skill set was more likely to be assigned to something before he could risk life and sanity by volunteering, but occasionally he got the urge to be stupid.

Pakkun's theory was that he needed to balance out the genius thing every so often, or risk a brain malfunction. But Pakkun was a talking pug, so Kakashi felt fine with ignoring his opinion.

The genius in question was currently doing what he always did when there was no mission to occupy his time, and training didn't appeal. He was fast asleep on the floor of his apartment with a half-studied scroll in one hand and a nin dog curled up against his back. He was out of the hospital now, and almost entirely free from the aches accumulated over the miserable double-fortnight that had been his December.

January was going to be a better month, Kakashi had decided. Or he was going to use all his elite ninja skills to hold it down and kick it in the fork.

The copy-ninja’s subconscious was just on the cusp of flinging him into a particularly nasty nightmare when a rap on his door flared some seals and startled the German Shepherd snoring quietly by his neck. He jerked awake as the dog growled and almost brained himself with the scroll when he dragged an automatic hand through his hair.

Floor hair looked remarkably similar to bed hair, just with the addition of a liberal application of carpet fluff.

Kakashi glared at the door, but entirely failed in making the wood warp. "What?" he demanded, sitting up.

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fallen_ryouma
2008-02-04 06:51 am UTC (link)

"Got a mission assignment burning a hole in my pocket out here," Ryouma hollered through the door. The scroll was actually still in his hand, but who cared about the details? "You're..." He peered at the mission assignment again, lips moving soundlessly as he tried to make sense of the kanji. "Uh, Hatake Kaka--"

No way. He must've read that wrong. He'd volunteered for a mission with Sharingan no Kakashi?

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fallen_kakashi
2008-02-04 06:53 am UTC (link)

And that, right there, was why you didn't volunteer for partnered missions. Kakashi gave his door a slightly incredulous look as the rookie said something about an assignment, stumbled over his name, and stopped talking. It had to be a rookie, the veterans knew his full name, and most of them preferred to run one mission with him and then take scrupulous care to avoid him for the rest of their ANBU careers. Personally it was a system he couldn't fault.

Kakashi tossed the scroll on the bed, got to his feet with a little shake that didn't do much to dislodge either carpet fluff or dog hair, and padded bare foot to the door with Shouma at his heels. It took a moment to disable the seals he'd laid into the wood, and when he finally got the door open Kakashi was a little surprised to find himself looking up to meet the rookie's eyes. There weren't that many people in the world taller then him, even in ANBU. He raised one eyebrow and held out his hand for the scroll. "You do speak in full sentences, right? Or have they seriously lowered the hiring standards again?"

It was always important to start out a mission on the right foot. Forming comradely bonds and all.

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fallen_ryouma
2008-02-04 06:53 am UTC (link)

"Ouch," Ryouma said. "Must be really awful having a name as idiotic as Scarecrow. No wonder you're defensive about it." He flipped the scroll into the ~~legend's~~ other ninja's hand, not bothering to hide his scowl. For a legend, this one was shaping up to be something of a disappointment.

He wasn't seven feet tall, for one thing; as spiky as his silvery hair was, Ryouma still topped out. And there was lint in his hair, too, and a dog lurking behind his leg. The Sharingan eye was covered by a slanted hitai'ate, but the visible eye still looked slightly groggy. Legends weren't supposed to take naps. How could you command any respect or instill any fear when you took every afternoon off for a siesta with your puppy?

He was still in ANBU, though, which had to mean something. And his picture was in the Bingo Book, which meant quite a lot. Ryouma lusted for the day when he got his stats in there. Given that Kakashi probably deserved at least some of his reputation, Ryouma could probably play nice for now.

"Mission desk says there's no time for a briefing," he said. "I just volunteered, so I still gotta get my gear. Meet you in ten?"

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fallen_kakashi
2008-02-04 06:54 am UTC (link)

Of all the things there were to insult about Kakashi -- his attitude, his time keeping, his own particular brand of attempted mission suicide... to name but a few -- his moniker was not one that often got hit. He blinked as he caught the scroll, and bristled. It was a subtle sort of bristle, noticeable only by the way his glare sharpened and his relaxed looking body language became a downright insolent slouch. The latter was something that worked better on higher-ups then mission partners, but a reflex was a reflex. "When I bother to learn your name, rookie," he drawled, with a little hint of acid, "I'll be delighted to compare how much our parents disliked us. But I doubt that'll be anywhere in the near future."

Not his best retort, but he had just peeled himself up off the floor.

Kakashi flicked the scroll open and gave it a cursory glance, reminding himself of the mission stats. An A-rank, but a fairly simple one. He nodded and dropped a hand on Shouma's head to cut off the summon's rising growl. "Be back in five," he said shortly, and closed the door.

Tch. Rookies.

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fallen_ryouma
2008-02-04 06:55 am UTC (link)

Oh, this one was gonna be fun. The dig certainly hadn't been up to Ryouma's usual standards--he could blame that on the moment of shattering hero-worship, with a slight edge of being caught off guard--but while Kakashi's reaction had been subtle, it'd definitely been there. Short temper and a superiority complex, Ryouma decided as he headed for his room. There were about fifty million ways to provoke that particular combination into some truly spectacular explosions.

But... This was Konoha's Copy Ninja, the Yondaime's only surviving student; he'd been a jounin at a younger age than Ryouma had been a genin. (He'd got a much earlier start, of course, so maybe that didn't count.) Everyone said he was brilliant. How come no one mentioned he was a bastard, too?

Not that it mattered. The mission was the thing; the partner, and annoying him, was just an extra perk.

The Quartermaster's office had delivered his new uniform and armor two weeks ago, just in time for his first mission. That mission had been a relatively simple B-rank to which he'd been assigned with a steady team of veterans, and he hadn't even had to return his uniform for repairs afterwards. Two sets of the skin-tight trousers and sleeveless turtleneck now hung sleek and black in his closet. He skinned down and suited up, appreciating again how the Quartermaster had followed his request for fingerless gloves. His jutsu didn't always require skin-to-skin contact, but it often helped.

His belt pouches were already packed and ready, but he went through them again anyway, just to be sure. Med kit, soldier pills and energy bars, basic survival gear, sharpening stone, short-wave radio transmitter, exploding tags, smoke bombs, cash, canteen. He added a chocolate bar and a deck of cards, tipped the white and red mask with its stylized ram's horns to the side of his head, and glanced out the window at the gleaming white world outside. Maybe the uniform cloak wouldn't be such a bad idea, after all.

Nine minutes and fifty-three seconds after Kakashi closed his door, Ryouma was knocking on it once again.

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fallen_kakashi
2008-02-04 06:56 am UTC (link)

Kakashi had already been to Konoe Yutaka's former apartment to get a basic idea of the man and retrieve a shirt with his scent on. He'd simply been waiting for a mission partner, or for Intel to decide too much time had passed and they were willing to send him out solo and trust he could handle himself.

Now he had a mission partner, it didn't take Kakashi very long to conclude he would've much preferred the solo option, even with the added risk. He was ANBU, he lived for risk.

"The next time I get it in my head to volunteer for something," he told Shouma, as he pulled his armour on, "You have permission to bite me."

The somewhat fanged grin he got in response was never a good sign.

Kakashi got himself ready with the quick three-minute ritual most ANBU agents perfected after a few months. One minute for clothes -- shirt, pants, wrappings, gloves, sandals, hitai-ate, first mask, second mask, game face -- and the rest of the time was spent checking the edges on his weapons. For a ninja Kakashi preferred not to go heavily armed; he carried the standard issue ninjaken strapped over his back, the typical amount of kunai and shuriken hidden within easy reach of a quick grab, and the rest of his offensive strategy lay in the speed of his hands, the stolen eye in his head, and whatever luck he happened to trip over along the way.

Seeing as how he was currently not dead, Kakashi had to conclude it was a nindo with some merit to it.

He wasn't actually inside his apartment anymore when Ryouma returned. At the five minute mark Kakashi had locked up and made his strolling way down the corridor to lean against the wall by the stairs, Shouma at his heels. He couldn't particularly blame Ryouma for not noticing him as he'd walked by -- that was why he'd thrown the henge up, after all -- but Kakashi still took a small moment to be amused by it. He dropped the illusion with a little flicker of chakra and whistled to his mission partner. "Inarticulate and unobservant, rookie. My faith in you grows with each passing moment."

Hey, you had to get your kicks where you could.

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fallen_ryouma
2008-02-04 06:57 am UTC (link)

At least Ryouma managed to swear in his head, and not out loud. Fat lot of good he'd done making his point about authority--and Kakashi's relative lack thereof--when the Copy Ninja was setting him up in turn. He swung around wordlessly and headed for his new partner. Somewhere along the way, his grin lost the cockiness and acquired an edge.

If every single veteran in ANBU wanted to grind it into Ryouma's head that he was a rookie, inferior, and likely doomed, that was fine with him. He'd spent his entire life proving everyone wrong, and he was up to the challenge.

"I've got a shrine down on Canal Street," he informed Kakashi blandly. "You're welcome to worship there any time."

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fallen_kakashi
2008-02-04 06:58 am UTC (link)

And there was another slightly fanged grin, backed up by just a flicker of killing intent. Kakashi smiled slightly under his mask; point to the Copy-nin. "I would," he said, turning on his heel, "But I have better things to do with my time. Like sleep. Or observe small pieces of fluff. You know how it goes."

Shouma's bark sounded something like a laugh, Kakashi appreciated the gesture.

He took the stairs rapidly, using the change of pace to work out some of the stiffness sleeping on the floor had left behind, and trusted the rookie -- whose name he still didn't know -- to keep up. Kakashi didn't much care about rookie-brat’s name, but he did care about what the man could bring to the mission. He turned slightly as he jogged, casting his temporary partner an appraising look from underneath his hair. "So what can you do?"