| [May. 22nd, 2017|02:27 am] |
Kakashi quietly set his beer aside in favor of water, and stretched a hand under the table. Kin’s head pressed immediately into his palm, short golden fur like warm velvet. She’d done well today, and he was proud of her. He needed to carve out more training time for his younger dogs, maybe when Ryouma was exploding fish…
Pakkun’s ears slicked back. A coiled chakra signature rippled over the edge of Kakashi’s senses.
A woman in ANBU armor dropped down from the roof, landing just outside of arm’s reach. Her mask suggested a predatory bird, with the eyes ringed in black.
“Shiranui-san,” she said. “Sagara-sama requests your immediate presence.”
Genma slowly set his beer down. “Acknowledged. Thank you.” He met Raidou’s eyes briefly, then added, “This is my captain. If you’re looking for him, too, you’ve found him.”
“The message just specified you,” the woman said, and vanished with a snap of chakra.
Raidou put his beer down a lot harder. “I’ll go with you.”
“We’ll all go,” Ryouma said.
Pakkun’s beer was almost gone. He stuck his head into the dregs of the bowl and made a sound like a vacuum cleaner in the shower. When he emerged, suds dripped from his ears. “Okay, ready.”
Genma stood. Everything languid about him had vanished, compacted back under the calm, professional mask of rank. It was something like an ANBU uniform, but more skillful for being skin-deep. “You should finish lunch. Maybe this won’t take long.”
Were they all that painfully transparent when they tried to be reassuring?
“I’m starting to sunburn,” Kakashi said. He pushed out of his chair.
Pakkun shook his head, spraying Raidou, and leapt nimbly up onto Genma’s shoulder. Kin slipped out from under the table and pointed her nose towards ANBU HQ.
“Wait,” Raidou said, holding up a hand. The group paused. A crack of concern shivered through Genma’s expression. Raidou pointed at Kakashi. “You still need to pay for lunch.”
“Oh for—” Kakashi dug out his wallet and dropped a handful of bills on the table.
“You really don’t have to do this,” Genma said softly, looking around the group.
“He just said I did.” Kakashi shoved his wallet back into his pocket and took point with Kin at his heels.
Behind him, Ryouma and Raidou fell into step on Genma’s flanks, making a wall around the lieutenant. Pakkun perched high on Genma’s shoulder, a tiny watchdog, and kept up a distracting running commentary all the way to Sagara’s door.
The secretary, after a pause, let them all in. |
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