| [Mar. 5th, 2018|04:30 am] |
Despite the heat, Raidou’s hair prickled. He rubbed the back of one arm. “I’ll pass.”
Genma eased himself entirely out of the water to sit on the edge. Steam rose off his gleaming skin like dragon's breath, coiling up into the night air. His hair was coming undone in the heat; he tugged it free and wound it back up into a graceful knot. A few tendrils escaped at the nape of his neck, shining gold in the lantern light. “Save your ghost stories for Obon and people who actually want to hear them. What I want to know is where our rookies have disappeared to. I thought you were with them.”
“You thought wrong,” Pakkun said comfortably. “They’re near the pond having deep important conversations, or something. I considered joining them, and then I decided to do something not boring instead.” He waved a dismissive paw. “Saishou’s probably nearby.”
Genma regarded the floating sake tray with its collection of empty cups, then looked thoughtfully in the direction of the pond. Tumbled rocks obscured the view, encircling the baths for privacy. “Huh,” he said.
Raidou followed the general direction of his thoughts, which went something like: magical sake + moonlit water + privacy = …
It better equal Ryouma keeping his hands to himself, because Raidou was not going to submit a report explaining they were missing a rookie because he’d gotten himself Chidori’d over the landscape of another dimension.
“Tousaki’s smarter than that,” he said.
Genma looked unconvinced. “Probably.”
“They seem… close,” Kurenai said, choosing her words with care. “More than I’d expected.”
Kakashi had mentioned, back in the little inn near the cherry trees, that he and Kurenai had been friends once, before he’d hurt someone she’d cared about. ‘Something like’ dating. Something with a break up. Yet, despite the little orange books he liked to read, intimacy seemed like a realm of experience Kakashi wasn’t interested in. Raidou cocked his head inquiringly. “What would you have expected?”
Kurenai gave Pakkun’s paws one last rub, then reached back and pulled herself out of the water to join them. Her pale skin was flushed pink, and her legs were smooth and shining. Raidou guessed she must wax, since she was silky-skinned all over, then reminded himself he wasn’t supposed to be looking. She sat unselfconsciously on the edge, feet dangling in the water, and said, “Kakashi’s not as terrible at people as he likes to believe, despite his occasional moments of blinding stupidity.”
Right. They were talking about the rookies.
“Team Six aren’t his first friends,” Kurenai continued. “But— hmm. The possessiveness could simply be that. But I didn’t expect Tousaki to turn Sakamoto Ginta down for Kakashi.”
Pakkun made a startled sound, gulped water, and sank. He popped up a second later, snorting and shaking his head. “What?” he croaked.
“What?” Genma echoed, swiveling to stare at Kurenai. “I know he and Ginta didn’t hook up that one night, but I didn’t know he turned Ginta down flat. For Hatake? Seriously?”
“Watch yourself, Shiranui,” Pakkun rumbled.
“Well, Ginta certainly believes he still has a chance.” Kurenai’s mouth curved in gentle mockery of their expressions. She leaned down to fondle Pakkun’s floppy ears. “And maybe Tousaki was just enjoying the new and unusual sensation of teammates that don’t want in his pants.” Her tone indicated some doubt in this motivation.
Genma relaxed. “Oh. Okay then. I thought you meant Hatake had made a play for Tousaki, too. That makes more sense.” |
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