| [Mar. 5th, 2014|02:26 am] |
Ryouma said bitterly, “It’s snowmelt. I might be.” He yelled to Genma, “You’ve got coffee and blankets waiting for when we get hypothermia, right?”
The lieutenant was already water-walking his way towards them. He looked Ryouma over with a medic’s critical gaze, ascertaining whether Ryouma was having a seizure or just extremely cold. After a moment, Genma nodded and said, “Well run. Hatake, you’re on logs for a week.”
Kakashi blinked. “What?”
Ryouma grinned, hypothermia forgotten for the moment. He shared a delighted glance with Katsuko.
“Logs,” Genma said, enunciating as he looked at Kakashi. “For a week.” He transferred his gaze over to Ryouma. “I’ve heard exercise can help keep you warm. Swimming is a good exercise.”
Katsuko let herself sink a little, so that her mouth was barely underwater, and snickered. It came out as a watery burble.
Ryouma glowered and ducked under. He surfaced a few seconds later, hair streaming water. “Better watch out, lieutenant. I hear there are kappa in this river. Grab you by the ankles and drag you down...”
Kakashi had spent this entire time frozen in outraged surprise, but now he finally snapped out of speechlessness. “Why?” he demanded.
Genma gave Ryouma an eyebrow flick of I’m sure you didn’t just actually threaten me and stepped out of range. “I said last one of you three in the river, not on it, Hatake.”
Kakashi looked down pointedly at his right hand, which had his fingertips trailing in the water, and back up at Genma.
Genma’s eyebrow inched higher in unimpressed skepticism. “Damp fingertips is not ‘in the river’ anymore than the scent of a bottle of shochu is a hangover. Swimming, kids. Bank to bank, across the current. Don’t let it push you off course, and let me know if anything hurts.”
Katsuko rolled onto her back, floating on the river’s surface like an otter, and started for the far bank at a leisurely backstroke. After the initial shock of hitting the water, her chakra had kicked in to keep her insulated from the freezing bite of the river. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Kakashi’s staredown with the lieutenant. She saw Kakashi’s jaw move, like he’d snapped his mouth shut behind his mask. He dropped into the river like it was an open trapdoor, uncoiling into a clean, economical, crisply annoyed swimming stroke.
“I need more body fat for this,” Ryouma muttered, and surged after Kakashi. His form was more powerful and rather less graceful. Katsuko spared a moment of regret that she wouldn’t be able to see his back muscles from her position, but then the rest of her attention was taken up by fighting against the current. She sped up, putting a little more force behind her kicks, and watched the sky float peacefully by.
Kakashi lapped her about a minute later. She made like a dolphin and spit a stream of water at him as he went by. Kakashi deflected with a brief whirlpool jutsu that almost drowned her. She spluttered in indignation and kicked free before it could pull her under.
“Try to take your aggression out on the water, not each other,” Genma called helpfully. “And angle up. Don’t let the river take you downstream.”
Ryouma was further upstream, ignoring them in favor of doing his laps. Katsuko reached the far bank and somersaulted in the water, kicking off of a broad tree root to arrow back into the rushing current. She broke the surface with a short gasp and struck out for the opposite shore, humming in contentment. When she passed by Genma she grinned and pursed her lips, sending a whale-fountain of water straight up into the air to show off.
Genma’s mouth twitched around his senbon as he stifled a smile. Light-brown eyes danced. “How’s the shoulder? Moving freely? Any pain?”
“Nah,” Katsuko said, and flipped onto her front to swim a slow circle around him. “Still a little twinging, but less than the beginning of practice. Shoulder injuries are the worst. You’re getting us hot tea after this as a reward for the surprise river-swimming, right?”
Genma lifted his chin to indicate the opposite bank. One of his bunshin was jogging back from the direction of town, two plastic bags in hand.
“You’re the best, lieutenant,” Katsuko said. “I like you more than taichou right now. Don’t tell him I said that.” |
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