| Darkness and Light [Asuma and Tsume] | [Jun. 12th, 2009|12:29 pm] |
[Directly follows Fire and Water]
The first thing she became aware of was coughing. The weak, ginger sort of wheezing people did when their bodies were too exhausted to give it any effort, the kind where you'd been sick for days and every cough hurt.
The second thing she became aware of was sound. Tsume's eyes flew open. Darkness met them. But not complete darkness--here was a deeper shadow, and there a glimmer of light off metal. She could see. She pushed up, shivering with the sudden knowledge that it was damp and cold--and she was naked.
The coughing started up again, tearing through her throat like shards of glass. She put a hand to her neck as if that might help, and winced at the feel of dried blood flaking off under her fingers. That was all it took to make it start flowing sluggishly again. She applied pressure, shoving against the floor with her feet until her back hit the nearby wall. It was also metal. It seemed much colder, laid against bare skin. Her dogtags--she couldn't decide if it was respect or mockery that whoever had stripped her had left them--felt like ice against her breastbone.
Light filtered down from above, through holes in an iron grate. There was no door that she could see, and all the walls were painted with seals.
Another shape lay in the corner. Tsume sniffed, and with relief identified it as Asuma. If she was going to be locked naked in a metal cell, at least it was with a partner.
Glancing up as if someone might be watching them--no one was--she scrambled across the semi-open space and huddled down near the large man, grabbing a shoulder and hauling until he rolled onto his back.
He was a mess of bruises. She quickly felt through his dark hair, relieved when his skull seemed intact. "C'mon, Asuma," she murmured, and pulled his eyelids up. In the darkness she couldn't make out much, but his pupils at least looked the same size. The other ninja had obviously smashed his head up--one preferred way to knock someone out--but hopefully there wasn't any brain damage. It didn't take long to run her hands over the rest of his body, checking rapidly for broken bones.
None. That made things easier.
As easy as they could be, trapped in a cell painted with seals. She crouched beside him, hands on the unbruised parts of his chest, feeling his body heat and heartbeat while she peered upward, trying to see if the grate above was also the way in and out. She had a sinking suspicion it was.
When his heartbeat changed under her palms, she looked back down. "Come on, Asuma. Time to get up and join the party. Be a shame to complete the mission without you." Her voice was hoarse, almost husky. It hurt to talk, and it made her cough. She did it anyway. |
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