| [Jun. 12th, 2009|12:18 am] |
Asuma yawned hugely, cracking his jaw, and dragged a hand through rumpled hair. "And here was me thinking you were a magic woman," he mumbled, propping his elbows on the railing. "My faith in you is destroyed. I may never recover."
He was turning over vague thoughts about shunting Tsume back to their small cabin--he doubted she'd had enough sleep; he definitely hadn't--when movement and a drift of scent like old spice pulled his attention sideways.
"You two haven't been teammates long, have you?" said Shin, braced casually against the railing.
Asuma lifted an eyebrow. "Make a habit of questioning all your passengers?" he returned.
"Only when they interest me." Moonlight silvered the captain's lean profile, providing the perfect light to see exactly where his gaze settled. Subjected to the most intense scrutiny he'd encountered since Arakaki's flat grey eyes and Kuromaru's lone gold one, Asuma realized he had a potential problem.
Or advantage.
And hey, at least Shin was keeping his innuendo away from Tsume.
"S'that right?" he said, watching the words become steam in the cold sea air. "Don't suppose you happened to see anything interesting heading out for Water Country sometime this afternoon?"
"Shinobi interesting?"
"Or in general. Let's not limit our options."
Shin tipped his head thoughtfully, eyes flickering briefly to Tsume. "Maybe," he allowed. "But I don't recall information being part of our contract."
Asuma flicked a cigarette out, lighting it with a snap of chakra. Always impressed civillians. "Don't recall us ever agreeing on a contract," he said, making sure to keep his smoke away from Tsume. He glanced at her, expression turned wry for a heartbeat-moment. "What d'you reckon, O partner of mine?" |
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