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Ueno Katsuko (fallen_katsuko) wrote in fallen_leaves,
@ 2009-10-03 18:38:00

Current mood:	angry
Entry tags:	katsuko, ryuichi

All You Can Take [Ryuichi, Katsuko]
Late at night on April 14th, after Knife's Edge and No Rest For the Wicked.

What it all came down to was that Headquarters wasn't stupid. They'd see something wrong with the report, or the hospital charts, and eventually they'd dig a little deeper into Arai Ryuichi's files. What they'd find there was anybody's guess, but Katsuko knew it would more than enough for them to put two and two together and come up with four.

They'd find out Ryuichi had taken illegal drugs, that he'd overdosed on those drugs to complete the mission.

And then they'd realize that Katsuko had deliberately left it out of her report.

Kami, what had she been thinking, enabling a chronic user? Some skewed notion of honor, protecting a teammate who didn't want her help? The most she'd managed to do was buy both of them some time, and it would only ensure that HQ would come down on their asses all the harder for it.

Ryuichi would be unrepentant.

Three agents dead, one partner looking for death, and her caught in the middle of it all.

It pissed her off.

Normally she wouldn't be so angry, just accept the consequences and move on, but... she was due for her period in a week. Unlike some lucky bitches who just bled and went on with their lives, she'd inherited from her mother the cramps, headaches, and hair-trigger temper that came before the 'woman's gift'. It made her chafe inside her own skin, want to lash out at whoever and whatever crossed her path. It was a restless feeling burning underneath her breastbone, a sort of exhausted energy that wouldn't let her sleep until she'd worked the need to hurt and hit and fight out of her system.

So that was how she found herself slipping out of bed and down to one of the training grounds by the Forest of Death, where she could punch and kick at trees and unseen enemies to her heart's content. The training ground itself was rarely used by anyone except fellow jounin, and even they wouldn't be crazy enough to come around in the dead of night.

Katsuko shrugged out of her jacket and dropped it carelessly on the ground, heading over to one of the training dummies. She'd beat it it until she worked up a sweat or it broke, whichever one came first. Then she'd move on to practicing lightning jutsu on the trees. That was always a stress-relieving exercise in futility.

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fallen_ryuichi
2009-10-04 01:31 pm UTC (link)

There was a trick for learning fire ninjutsu. Granted, it wasn't much of one and the side effects were questionable enough to turn all but the most crazed Uchiha off to it, but it was a trick nonetheless. He wasn't good enough that such things weren't helpful. Kaede-sensei had shown it to him three years ago. Ise, being more of a lightning type, hadn't used it. Ryuichi was partial to fire. He wasn't good at it, but the alcohol was supposed to help.

He wasn't sure how, exactly. Kaede-sensei hadn't gotten around to explaining that part. She just pointed him at the whiskey and the desired target.

When it all came down, the 'how' wasn't important. It worked.

Well, mostly. Ryuichi did end up with a burn across the back of his hand where his glove failed, but the seals flowed from his memory easier than before. The fireballs came and did what they intended. Several trees died slowly. Ryuichi watched the smoke and remembered a minute later that he wasn't supposed to cause more property damage than necessary. A water jutsu ended the risk and drained most of his chakra.

He realized later how stupid that had been, at which point it was too late to do anything about it.

Stupid whiskey. Stupid him.

Ryuichi leaned against the nearest unburned tree. It was late enough that he didn't want to head back to HQ. Intel had been poking around. He was in trouble alright. They just hadn't caught him yet. Sometimes Ryuichi was good at hiding.

Never good enough, though.

Katsuko had covered for him, but there was a limit to what she would do in regards to this. They hadn't spoken since she'd punched him in the hospital after the mission. When Intel put it all together, Ryuichi knew they were both going to get in trouble. Kaede-sensei's most recent advice flashed through his head.

"If you're dying, then you overdose. Not before the fact, idiot."

Advice was advice, even if it wasn't exactly helpful. Ryuichi did have to agree with her.

This was going to blow up in his face. Maybe even tonight, if he wasn't careful who he bumped into on the way back.

He didn't want to deal with it. The Forest of Death was nearby, and there were training fields close to it. If he didn't go past the fence, he could probably do some damage to a training dummy or two. The trees were hard against unwrapped hands.

Maybe if he was lucky, he wouldn't end up with a hangover in the morning. Ryuichi didn't remember how much he'd drank. The bottle was long gone.

	fallen_katsuko 2009-10-06 01:32 am UTC (link)
	Katsuko bared her teeth. "I want to fight. No chakra. No blades. Fists and feet." She took a step back and spread her hands wide. Smiled mockingly. "I'll even let you take the first punch, I'm that nice." She tossed that sentence out like the challenge it was, muscles stretching tight in her face as she sneered. Come on. Come on, take the challenge, Ryuichi. Take the fight. (Reply to this)

	fallen_ryuichi 2009-10-07 02:09 am UTC (link)
	Taking hurt, but Ryuichi was good at turning pain. He had to be, with the way he fought. Above him, Katsuko's eyes were narrowed, and her chakra was angry. Even more so then her face. "Didn't have to," Ryuichi hissed, and smashed his forehead into hers. Didn't have to say a goddamn thing. (Reply to this)

	fallen_katsuko 2009-10-07 01:32 pm UTC (link)
	Katsuko jerked backwards and loosened her hold on Ryuichi’s throat. He took the opportunity to punch her in the solar plexus and shoved her off. She tumbled off of him and rose into a crouch, hands held low at her sides. "But I did," she growled, and circled around him again. "Gods only know why." (Reply to this)

	fallen_katsuko 2009-10-09 09:07 pm UTC (link)
	Katsuko flinched backwards, flinging her hands up to shield her face. Grit stung her eyes and forced them closed. There was the scuffle of booted feet on stone and dirt and Ryuichi slammed into her. Shit. No, she wasn't going down again--Katsuko got her feet under her and turned Ryuichi's lunge against her into a hip throw. (Reply to this)