| [Aug. 15th, 2008|12:15 am] |
He needed to be more awake right now. Kakashi slid his fingers slowly around his bitten wrist, locked his grip, and squeezed. Pain jolted up his arm, startling a quicker heartbeat in his chest. He blinked hard and sat up a little straighter.
Ryouma smelled worse than charred flowers and blistered bone now; a scent rolling off his skin Kakashi couldn't even put a name to. It was just misery, scraped up and turned inwards.
And Kakashi couldn't think of anything to say. He searched his thoughts, riffling through the mind everyone said was brilliant, and came up horribly blank. The jutsu that had taken Kuromaru's eye had been an accident, but he hadn't been there to see it. He didn't know how much Ryouma was to blame; if the whole thing had been preventable. If Tsume should still have half her face.
Not helpful, Kakashi thought, and scrubbed his hands over his own face. He needed to think.
His head felt stuffed with cotton.
When had he taken that last soldier pill? He remembered thinking he needed to wait an hour, but when had that been?
Long enough, he decided, and fumbled another one out of his belt. If he had a heart attack, at least that'd give Ryouma something else to focus on. He shoved his fingers under his mask, only belatedly realizing the older ninja must have put it back on for him, and cracked the pill between his teeth.
The new wash of energy made his heart beat double-time, but it woke him up. Kakashi took a sharp breath and tried to get his head back into working order.
Inspiration utterly failed to strike.
"Well," he said finally, "I gave an eye for a guy that died on me. Least everyone here's still breathing. That's..." he waved an inarticulate hand, trying to shape the words from thin air. "Important. And I think Tsume's already forgiven you." He glanced at the Inuzuka curled against Ryouma's bare chest and felt his thoughts splinter. "Or you're just really comfy."
Tsume mumbled something under her breath. Kakashi slouched sideways, breathing through the bright burn of false chakra, and put his arm unthinkingly around Ryouma's tense shoulders, reaching to catch one of his hands with careful fingers. "Maybe forgive her, too?" He focused on not slurring his words; it was harder than it should have been. "Forgive us, I guess. For not telling you. Then no one needs to be guilty..." |
|