| Nothing to Hold [closed to Ryouma, Tsume, Kakashi, Haruichi] | [Jul. 9th, 2008|05:01 pm] |
[[Fifth installment of the Mission of DOOM. Follows Dark of the Morning]]
Two and a half hours after Kakashi blew sparkling dust into Ryouma's wounds, the painkillers started to wear off.
It began as a dull throb in his chest, where he'd slumped forward over Baiji's surging shoulders. The huge mastiff ran tirelessly, holding his position in an wedge-like formation of dogs and ninja. To his right, brindled Kaori carried both Tsume and Kuromaru, with one of Kakashi's clones running at her heels and a fourth lugging the unconscious Shiki over its shoulder. Two smaller dogs flanked the mastiffs, and Kakashi himself, lean and swift as a greyhound, ran at the head of the arrow to lead the way. One of his clones perched behind Ryouma, steadying him with both hands on his back. Warm chakra tickled Ryouma's shoulders and the backs of his thighs, as both Baiji and the kage bunshin worked to keep him on. They'd done a fine job of it so far. Even when Baiji hurtled a narrow canyon in a single chakra-propelled leap, Ryouma hadn't slipped.
But when the mastiff jumped over a fallen tree, and the clone's toe jogged the back of Ryouma's left calf, the tired ache blazed into real pain. A little blood spotted Baiji's fur. Ryouma swore, paled, and grabbed at Baiji's studded leather color with half his left hand. The clone's hands slipped lower, grasping his waist, trying to steady him. Ryouma's attempt at biting back a whimper ended abruptly when his broken teeth regained feeling.
"Don' touch me," he told the clone, slurring words with a tongue that hadn't quite yet shed the drug and remembered its acid-burned pain. "'ll throw up."
Baiji's stride lengthened. Bent nearly double, silently and savagely cursing the painkiller that brought relief instantly and returned agony almost as fast, Ryouma managed to glance over the dog's shoulder and catch a glimpse of the couple riding Kaori. Kuromaru lay slumped in human form, but no longer still. For the first time since losing his eye, he'd slipped back to consciousness to discover exactly what Ryouma's jutsu had taken from him. |
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