"You'd be amazed," Kaito murmured unhappily, "what people will sacrifice when they want something bad enough." He had been. Constantly.

The bottom two buttons slid free easily. The third and fourth were a bit slower, but not because of the buttons. Kaito glanced at Raidou, marking the path of his eyes, and debated. Full frontal or turn his back? Neither seemed like a great option.

With his shirt hanging open, he turned and pulled his ANBU uniform out of the tree again, edging around the side of the trunk--still in view, but only just--and finally shrugging out of his clothes. The kai was working, Raidou had basically just given him a speech on how non-attractive he was, and there really wasn't any reason he was going to get attacked.

He glanced down at his bare chest and frowned. Aside from the bruises, surely he didn't really look like a teenage boy. He was eighteen! Plenty old enough for--well, old enough, anyway. He yanked his blacks on, unsealed the scroll that kept his armor compact and hidden, and shoved the frou-frou clothes into a cloth bag. He buckled his armor on and slung the bag over one shoulder, stepping out from behind the trunk.

"Y'know," he said, pulling his mask on. "The rumor is that if you're good enough in ANBU, it doesn't matter if you hurt your teammates. Long as you're still more useful than problem causing." Not that he was going to, but it was a point to be made. No matter what Raidou said about jail time and terminal blades. He wasn't overreacting.

Cynical kid.

Raidou got carefully to his feet again and studied the figure cut out in monochrome before him. It was the funny thing about ANBU's armour; no matter how young the warrior, they still looked old enough to kill.

Probably something to do with the shoulders.

He knocked his mask back into place and tipped his head. "Yeah, I've heard that," he said. "'Course, I've also heard that we drink blood, eat bones, and dance naked in the moonlight three days out of seven. That last I don't really recommend--you ever stood on a vengeful rock at four AM? Not fun."

He turned and headed off at a swift, ground-eating lope. A few rough steps jarred his back, then he managed to find a smooth pace that was blessedly close to non-painful. "But here's the thing you want to think about. If one of us is turning around and back-biting, how long d'you think the rest stand for it?"

Sometimes you had to. If that Hatake kid went rabid, it'd be a while before the village saw fit to put him down. But ANBU members weren't exactly helpless, even against one of their own.

A dry smile curved behind Raidou's mask. "'sides, Intel's not exactly stupid enough to send a rapist out on a rescue mission. If you're important enough to get saved, you're important enough to bring back in one piece. I'd hope."

Kaito didn't answer; he was too busy keeping up. Besides, he wasn't sure he believed the other ninja, and had no reason not to. Just a general suspicion of humanity at large, and his higher-ups in specific.

Konoha was within a day's run; Raidou seemed determined to halve that. Kaito grit his teeth against pain, reminding himself that the other guy had a hole in his back, and kept going.

The sun rose before they got close to the walls; another few hours brought home into sight. His muscles relaxing was the only clue he had that he'd been tense. All the aches and pains seemed a little less, now.

In the light, Raidou was more obviously scratched. Mud spattered his sandals, testament to hours of running. Red caressed the edge of the backplate where blood had seeped through before they'd bandaged his spine. The sunshine cut him out in black and flesh, and he seemed bigger, without his edges melding into the shadows. Kaito pulled his shoulders back and straightened, trying not to slouch.

Sometimes having a mantra when you ran could really help; gave you something to focus on while the miles whittled themselves away. Keep going was a good one--one word for each footstep. Don't stop was another. And fucking hell had a certain pithy touch.

Raidou's chosen mental undertone was ow. Left foot. Ow. Right foot. Ow. For six hours his body kept moving to the soundtrack of Ow, ow, ow, godsdammit, ow.

It was, if nothing else, honest.

By the time they reached Konoha, the sun was gilding the pale green leaves with light gold fingers and he was perfectly ready to lie down and sleep. But the kid hadn't complained yet, and he was the one who'd spent at least a day chained to a wall, so Raidou kept his ows internal.

He still didn't quite manage to keep a tiny, relieved sigh under wraps when the high walls rose up in the distance and announced home.

But first things first.

He glanced back at the teenager behind him, noting the subtle signs of exhaustion, and called, "Think you can make it over the rooftops? We don't want to scare all the nice normal people this early in the day."

He took a deep breath and didn't look up at the high walls. Didn't think about rooftops and leaping.

Leaping pulled... things.

A muscle jumped in his jaw, hidden by the curve of his mask. "Yeah. Sure." In an undertone he added, "I can't wait." It sounded less than sincere.

In a matter of minutes they were inside the village, up on the rooftops, and he kept following Raidou in an exhaustion haze. It didn't matter where he was going, as long as he kept going.

Then the hospital came into view, and he realized where they were going and why. And behind cool white porcelain, he blushed bright red. They'd told him before he'd left that they would want him in for a physical after, that they'd have to pump him full of more things for STDs--which they had done before he'd left, too, but it was an extra precaution, and one of those damned anti-whatevers made him sick, fuck it--and check that nothing had been damaged.

He didn't stop running, but his speed might have flagged a little.

Raidou halted on the edge of the last rooftop before the hospital, measuring the distance as he always did. Some remarkable architect had set the buildings apart just enough to make any kind of jump uncomfortable for a particularly weary ANBU. He debated, as always, between simply walking down the side of the building and heading for the main doors, or--

Kaito caught up, everything about him screaming too damn tired. Behind the kid's shiny new mask, the sound of laboured breathing was quietly muffled.

"Option B, then," Raidou muttered, slightly relieved at the excuse. He grabbed at his chakra, shaped three seals, and dropped one hand on Kaito's shoulder. The kid startled--

And they both disappeared.

The world reappeared in disturbingly blinding color, the hum of florescent lights, and a yelped, "Fucking ANBU!"

Kaito seconded that as his chakra fought to realign. The guy at the hospital desk had shoved so far back his chair had slammed into the opposite wall, and he was staring at them with wide-eyed panic segueing into disgust. "Do you people not believe in doors?"

"Why go in a door," Kaito said weakly, "when you can go through a wall?"

"Gods. Sign in here." He pushed a form toward them, obviously having decided that they weren't dying, and with a last glower went back to his filing.

Kaito picked up a pen, shoved his mask to one side, and considered his information.

Name?

Age?

Rank?

ID number?

Reason for visit?

Mission status?

People to notify?

Reason for visit. Glowering mightily, he wrote, bruises, seduction physical, and acne. Not that he had the last, of course, but he could write that big and the others crowded in really small so no one would see them just looking over his shoulder. Not that anyone would; Raidou already knew, and they'd said ANBU were always admitted right away. No time for peepers.

But still.

"Y'know, that's what really makes it worth it," said Raidou, without any particular rancour. "It's a privilege to put life and limb on the line just to come home for that warm welcome. Makes the heart sing."

The desk chuunin threw him a dark look. Raidou tipped his mask to one side and grinned broadly. The expression was one of Tsume's; one that showed more teeth than humour.

The chuunin snorted and looked away.

"Beautiful." Raidou braced an elbow on the desk and took his form, waiting until the dizzy swing from the translocation wore away before he actually tried to write anything. He glanced sideways, checking out the room automatically, then looked at his temporary charge. Without his mask, Kaito definitely looked tired.

And a little on the red side. Raidou lifted an eyebrow, ignoring the logic that six hours of solid running would leave the average person fairly crimson, and glanced at the kid's paperwork.

Acne.

Ah.

He debated for a second and decided not to point out that if ANBU wasted time being ashamed of their missions, they'd never do anything else; Kaito would figure that out on his own.

Besides, better to learn the lesson than have it told to you. It'd stick longer.

Raidou yawned quietly, wiped sweat off his face with a gloved hand, and scribbled his way quickly through his own form. It was all standard now.

Reason for visit: Enemy inflicted injury. He yawned again, then added the shorthand symbol unique to ANBU that meant: and sticking with a teammate.

The chuunin took their forms back with a bad-tempered scowl and waved them towards a double set of doors. Raidou couldn't help another grin.

"Thanks, sweetheart. Hope to see you the next time I'm bleeding!" He ducked the pen tossed at his head and put a hand between Kaito's shoulderblades. "C'mon, kid. More cheerful medics waiting."

Some days it was oddly nice to meet someone unintimidated by the scarlet mark. For five minutes, anyway.

He hadn't actually been through the hospital doors as an ANBU before. This was only his second mission, and the first one had gone great. She'd been on the bottom, and condoms had taken care of the need for any sort of post-mission STD check.

He shifted his bag and followed Raidou down the corridor, leaning back into the hand against his spine ever so slightly. "So--so how does this work, anyway? I mean, they said I'd have to come in even if it all went perfect, but..." He didn't even know what he was asking, and trailed off in the vague hope that Raidou would understand what Kaito didn't, and might have an answer.

Raidou steered the kid to an elevator and dropped his hand, remembering that Don't hug me! Touching of all kinds was probably better off-limits, especially considering the mission the kid had just been through.

"Well, for starters we get our own floor," he said, hitting the right button. The elevator clunked and started to rise. "But mostly it's not so different. You get checked in, hope you get a doctor you like..."

He leaned his right shoulder against the wall, careful to keep his lower back from touching metal. "Though, because you got caught they'll probably throw in a few extra tests. Nothing scary, just making sure you didn't pick up a nasty seal or a tracker or something. It's amazing what people can come up with when they've got you nailed to a wall." He quirked the wry grin of one who's been there and done that, and stepped forward when the steel-lined doors slid open.

The fourth floor was much the same as any other floor, with the added addition of armed guards. Raidou saluted absently at one, tapping his tattoo, and said, "Hey, Machi, how's life?"

The woman smiled crookedly, one hand lifting from her sword. "Oh fun. You know how staring at walls goes. Who's the kid?"

"New guy," said Raidou, and nudged Kaito forwards. "First trip up here, so be nice."

Machi smiled wider. "Hey, I don't bite. Much."

Raidou snorted. "And the sky is purple. C'mon, kid." He nodded as Machi waved them past the desk, and started to head down a long, bare corridor. Then he paused and glanced back. "Hey, any news on Tsume and the others? You should know her, an Inuzuka lady with one rookie and Hatake."

Machi snorted loudly. "They've been just a barrel of laughs, you bet. I heard you were in visiting the other day. They got moved yesterday when the--familiar? The dog-kid? Whatever. When the unconscious one stabilized. They're down on one of the family-friendly floors now. Planning to drop by again?"

Raidou shrugged with one casual shoulder, but couldn't hide a quick smile at the good news. "If I get the chance." He glanced at the kid, then rolled his eyes back to Machi. "You know how it goes--"

"Busy, busy, busy," she finished for him, and waved them on again. "Get gone, Namiashi. You're cluttering up the view."

He cut another dry salute at her, then took her advice, leading the kid down the corridor once more. Either side of them, rooms with thick, mesh-lined glass in the high windows broke the monotony. Raidou took them to another desk, pausing just before they reached the clerk.

"I can stick with you if you like," he said quietly, shifting his weight carefully onto his right foot. "They can stitch me up wherever. Or I can leave you to it and catch up when they're all done. Got a preference?"

He resisted the urge to chew on the skin beside his thumbnail and shrugged without looking at Raidou. When Kaito stood up straight, he was only a few inches shorter than the other man. He wasn't very good at standing up straight, though. He didn't bother doing it now, either, but kept his eyes glued on the floor in front of the desk, several feet away.

"Whatever," he mumbled, not wanting to admit to anything. He felt lame for being embarrassed and lame for being worried. Raidou made it sound like not a big deal; just another doctor. Kaito didn't need a baby-sitter.

"I mean..." He struggled and finally managed, "We can catch up later. I dunno how long I'm gonna be here, anyway, so..."

He gave in and chewed on the side of his thumb.

Brothers and rookies, Raidou thought again, distantly amused despite everything. He had to be giving off some sort of vibe, to kept getting landed with these kinds of people; tough and gritty and trying so hard not to look like they were half a step away from screaming bloody murder.

But that was sort of the gig; you just had to deal and keep going and not fall down, dammit.

"Okay, sure," he said, as if he didn't want to stick like defensive glue to the kid's side. Considering the kind of exams they'd probably want to perform, he doubted his presence would be appreciated. "I imagine they'll shove me in the next room over--" they damn well better, if he had anything to say about it, "--so feel free to wander by and laugh while I try not to swear. Y'know, if you get a sec."

He smiled quickly, dredging it up around a grey moment of exhaustion hitting pain, and headed towards the desk. "C'mon, I reckon if we're lucky they'll have more shiny paperwork for us."

"Oh, great, paperwork." Was it pathetic that, despite his tone, he was actually rather glad because it delayed the inevitable? Probably.

They didn't have nearly enough paperwork, and then the clerk wanted him to sit there and wait, since none of his injuries needed immediate attention. When he pointed out that Raidou'd been stabbed, the chuunin glanced over the files, glanced at Raidou, and said it'd be fine.

They didn't wait very long before a nurse showed them into adjoining rooms.

The doctor was, at the very least, tactful. He even started out detached and professional, which Kaito appreciated--professional was great when you were trying to pretend you didn't have your ass stuck up in the air. Kaito also got a local anesthetic, so he couldn't really tell what they were doing and it didn't hurt anymore, which was nice and somehow less embarrassing.

He really, really wanted a shower. And for the doctor to stop telling him it would be all right, as time passed. And then the man started to over-share--as if that ever made anyone feel better--and Kaito finally interrupted to point out that he still needed the stupid fucking STD shots.

The whole thing was, very possibly, the most humiliating thing he'd ever done. And then the doctor gave him a hug.

"It'll be fine. No scarring, minimal tearing, and you don't even have to come in to take those stitches out."

Kaito lifted one stiff arm and patted the doctor's back, hoping the man would feel he'd done his reassuring job and go away.

"And don't worry about disease, it's statistically so unlikely that it's almost impossible."

He was beginning to feel queasy again from one of those drugs. He patted the doctor and looked longingly at the door.

"And you can refuse these missions the next time. A young boy like you--you could leave these to older men. Really."

He patted the doctor a third time and tried not to think about hot breath on his face. Instead, he wondered how forcefully he was going to have to extricate himself.

Raidou was halfway through getting some very bad news when he felt the now-familiar tug on his heart. "Oh hell," he muttered, and banged his head very gently on the padded table he was braced against.

The medic behind him paused mid-stitch. "Everything okay?"

The Intel woman--the same lady he'd seen pre-mission, in fact--flapped a hand and interrupted before he could answer. "Never mind that, I need to know if you'll do it."

Raidou took a slow breath, inhaling warm plastic fumes before he replied. "Do I actually have a choice?"

The Intel woman smiled that same thin-lipped smile, though now he couldn't see it. "Not as such, no."

"Screw me to the wall," he muttered under his breath. "Yeah, sure, why not? It's not like ANBU doesn't have enough thrills of its own." He pushed back, ignoring the medic's aborted yelp of annoyance, and grabbed a non-sticky medical pad to hold over his back. A slight tickle around waistband level informed him the curved surgical needle was still dangling from a thread; he ignored that, too. "I'll be right back. Just need to deal with the kid in question."

The Intel woman frowned. "Why, what--" she paused and pressed a hand to her chest. "Oh. Oh my. Is that him?"

"The one and only. Be right back." Hopefully it was nothing. But the kid wasn't exactly in the best place to get gang-hugged right now. Raidou padded quickly out of his room, grateful the medic had administered a strong local before he'd started to stitch anything, and pushed into Kaito's room with only a quick knock to announce his presence.

"Ah," he said quietly, taking in the scene. "Doc, you want to step back before I have to do something unpleasant? Like break your arm."

Over the top of the doctor's head, Kaito gave the other ninja a look of the truly miserable seeing help.

The doctor, amazingly, let him go and stepped away to look at Raidou. "You're not supposed to be in here."

"I told him he could come in. Whenever," Kaito said quickly, edging around the doctor and toward Raidou. He grabbed a file off the little table and lifted it. "My paperwork, right?" He slipped out past the other ninja.

"Yeah, but--"

"Great. I'll turn it all in."

"If you need anything--"

"I'll contact you. Thanks." It was easier just to agree with them; he'd learned long ago that if he said he didn't need help, they'd just argue.

"All right. Be careful. Remember what I said." The man's eyes were limpid pools of pity in his pasty face.

Kaito nodded rapidly, though he could remember very little of it. "I will. Definitely. Thanks." A glimmer of silver caught his eye, and his gaze twitched. A needle hung under the white bandage held to a heavily muscled back. Crap--surely Raidou hadn't come over to start hugging him too, had he? Kaito looked up, resigned and wearily hopeful. "You planning on getting patched up the rest of the way?"

"That's my plan," Raidou agreed, and rubbed his free hand over his chest, very aware he was half-naked. That was the problem with torso-wounds; you always ended up shirtless. And he doubted the kid appreciated any kind of naked near him right now.

He breathed through the urge to pin the teenager in a hug--the fact that his scars were right there helped--and pulled up a lopsided grin, turning on one heel.

"But I have another plan, too. I figure we need to get you some sort of barbed-wire shirt--oh, no, wait. That'd stab you, too." He shoved open the door to his medic room and ushered Kaito in. "Maybe a barbed-wire piece of armour. That could work. Then every time someone grabs you they get a bit of instant karma..."

He shut the door behind them and glanced over his medic and the Intel woman. Both of them were staring at teenager, slightly dewy-eyed. Raidou pinched the bridge of his nose. "This is Kaito. Play nice and don't hug him, or I'll snap you both like toothpicks."

The medic sat down abruptly. The Intel woman, however, simply smiled. "Well, I can see this is going to be an unqualified success. Excellent." She placed a brief on the padded table and nodded to both ANBU. "Namiashi-san, I'll leave you to explain. Best of luck."

She translocated before Raidou could blink, let alone yell coward.

"Uh," the medic gestured cautiously at his back. "Can I finish? Or do you plan to walk around with my needle all day?"

Raidou sighed. "Right, yeah. Just hang on one second." He looked at Kaito, then pointed to a chair. "Sit for two seconds while I get this done? Then we, uh, need to sort a few things out."

He hadn't been hugged. He had, in fact, been offered barbed-wire armor. He sat on his still-numb butt, feeling relieved.

Raidou was a cool guy. He had some completely twisted scars--and now that he wasn't wearing, well, much of anything, that was obvious--but he was a cool guy anyway. Or maybe they were extra cool. Kaito couldn't decide.

He did think the other ninja seemed a lot more... approachable, human, without all of the ANBU gear on. He supposed that was what it was for; making them inhuman. It was still nice to be dealing with a definite person.

His head fell back against the wall with a dull thump. His stomach was still sending up minor protests, and he still wished for a shower. And a nap. In that order.

Sort a few things out. That couldn't be good. He didn't think he'd screwed up. He'd told the truth about everything. Had they figured out he'd been from Konoha after all? That wasn't his fault.

Maybe the tapes were bad. But, no, the tapes were still with him.

Maybe it was the wrong guy.

Maybe... he was running out of maybes. He chewed on his thumb and waited.

The kid had gone from a lightbulb to a beacon in five seconds. Raidou winced as the medic attempted to throw a stitch into an anaesthetic-lacking part of his back, and dropped a hand down to catch the man's wrist. "Look, doc, either focus or go away and let me do this myself."

Behind him, the doctor swallowed hard. Raidou glanced over his shoulder and caught a glimpse of sweaty, pale skin and eyes that had gone from dewy to downright teary. He sighed. "Right, okay. Go take a break. I can manage fine."

"But--"

"No, seriously. Before you do something I'll need to hurt you for." Raidou's voice flattened out, losing the touch of manic-edged humour that had kept him going.

The medic nodded once. "I'm sorry, it's just--"

"It's fine. Just go away and grab some coffee or something. Catch some air." He dropped the medic's wrist and captured the needle instead. "And don't touch the kid on your way out."

"Right. Yes. Sorry." The man bowed shortly and hurried away, shutting the door behind him.

Raidou leaned thoughtfully on the table, taking another deep breath. "Kid, if you could turn down the volume a little, I'd appreciate it. You're kind of making it hard to focus." He glanced over his shoulder, but couldn't quite manage a smile. His throat felt tight. "Think happy thoughts. You're not in trouble, I swear."

Kaito winced. "Sorry." Which wasn't happier. He cringed. "I mean--fuck, happy thoughts, right." He rubbed a hand over his face and through shaggy brown hair, spiking it up in all directions before it flopped back over.

Kittens. Ice cream.

He'd totally fucked over the mission. People didn't tell you you weren't in trouble unless they knew you had reason to think you were.

Hanging out. Action movies. Sleeping in.

He was so screwed.

He dug the heels of his hands into his eyes, groaning. "This is not working. Could you just tell me what we have to talk about?"

"As soon as I can think straight," Raidou muttered in a strained undertone. The urge to get up and touch Kaito--to try and reassure him in some way was almost physical. He could feel the kid's anxiety, rolling off him in waves.

Genjutsu. But completely different.

So a Kai, then--but no. He couldn't do that without hurting the kid, and the thought of throwing pain on top of that feeling was enough to make Raidou nauseous.

But there were other ways to break genjutsu. Pain for one.

Pretty severe pain.

"Oh, hell," Raidou grunted, and snapped the suture-thread with a rough jerk. The anaesthesia stopped him from feeling anything there, but it did exactly nothing when he stabbed the needle into the back of his forearm and yanked it up.

Nerves flared. Blood trickled down his wrist. And something in his chest went snap.

It was exactly like a genjutsu breaking; the feeling lashed back on itself and vanished, leaving clarity in its wake. Raidou sighed with relief and dropped the needle onto the table. His head followed suit as he leaned forward and braced on his unhurt arm. "I'm supposed to be your--" he fumbled for a word. "Guardian. For the foreseeable future. Personally, I think we're off to a smashing start."

Kaito stared at the beading line of gem-cut red slowly dripping down Raidou's arm, and tried to process what had just happened.

His mind spun. The hamster had obviously fallen off the wheel.

Guardian?

"I'm eighteen," he said slowly. "And a chuunin. And an ANBU. And... my mom and my step-dad are both still alive. I'm pretty sure I don't need a guardian."

They couldn't do that if you fucked up a mission, could they? His jounin sensei had never mentioned it, and granted, they didn't get along great but they didn't get along badly, either.

"Did I, like..." he felt for the words, confused and a little offended. "Screw up seriously?"

This was definitely a conversation they should happen when they were both rested and fed and in a stable, happy mindset; so of course it was going to happen now.

Damn that woman.

Raidou forced himself to straighten up, grabbed the needle with bloody fingers, and hauled himself up onto the table. It was set high; high enough for his feet to dangle. He put the now definitely unsterile needle to one side and yanked the medic's kit over, searching quickly through it. A length of bandage was enough to take care of his arm for a moment; the cut wasn't particularly deep and the blood was already slowing. Then he found another non-sticky pad and pressed it over his back, grateful the wound was still numb.

With all that done, he looked at Kaito and tried to organize his thoughts. "No, you didn't screw up," he said, determined to clear that up right away. "Intel did by sending you out without back up. Especially with you being a rookie. You did fine--didn't panic, didn't give anything away. Best anyone could've hoped for."

He rubbed his fingers over his forehead, leaving red streaks without realizing it, and paused for a mental re-shuffle. The Intel woman had explained everything, but only in the very basics. He hadn't even had time to read the file yet. "From what I understand, kid, ANBU wants you. I mean, they really, really do. Your--" he waved a hand, "--not-genjutsu trick is worth its weight in gold to them, if you knew how to use it. But until then it's pretty much a liability. And, unless I miss my guess, it's not making you too happy, either."

Which was a little like guessing water was wet.

"I'm supposed to..." He shrugged, guessing. "Watch out for you. Help you figure this thing out. And stop you getting dead before you do. Kind of... mentor slash brother slash buddy, if you like. And this'd be a lot more coherent if I wasn't half-asleep and picturing breakfast." He pulled a wry face, then broke it with a yawn. "So how about I finish getting stitched, we grab some food, and go crash until we feel human? Then we can work this thing out."

If he'd been any less of a ninja, he might have added 'pretty please'.

Well, fuck. Of course they wanted him for his not-genjutsu-trick. Of course they thought that he'd spent his whole life happily trying not to control it. If it hadn't been possible in the last eighteen years, with his mother and step-father making his life miserable every time they thought he was influencing them, he doubted very much it was going to happen now.

Kaito rubbed both hands over his face, then braced his elbows on his knees and his head in his palms. He supposed there was a bright side. He'd spent his life wondering who was a friend because they liked him, and who was a friend because he was influencing them. Now, at least, he knew: Raidou was a friend because he'd been ordered to be. Great.

His mood was not getting better. He straightened and looked at the other man levelly. "I'm gonna go wait on the roof so your doctor can work without--" he waved a hand at the ninja and the table, "stabbing you again. I'll stay put. Just find me when you're done." And he translocated straight up.

They wanted him because of a not-genjutsu trick that wasn't a complete bloodline limit from a clan that was slowly dying off. A bastardized expression of that limit because he wasn't fully clan anyway. And he couldn't control it. Maybe he should save them all the effort and quit now.

Fuck. He fell back on the roof and slung his arms over his face. Maybe he could at least nap.

"Smashing start," Raidou muttered, watching the smoke wisp gently away. His immediate urge was to go straight after the kid, unfinished stitches or not. But considering he'd just turned Kaito's whole life upside down...

Well, if the kid didn't move off the roof, he probably wouldn't die in the next five minutes.

Raidou blew out a breath and tried to put his head in his hands--he straightened up fast when something in his back went pop. "Don't be a stitch..."

A careful touch discovered a new trickle of warm blood oozing down his back. He gritted his teeth and swore, pressing the pad back into place. Very carefully, he eased himself off the table and padded quietly out of the door.

There was no sign of the medic.

Feeling vaguely resigned, he trecked back down to the nearest desk and requested someone with needle-wielding skills. The clerk blinked at him, eyebrows hitching right up, then thumbed a call button. A static-y message played out over the inter-comm.

"Alright, agent, if you head back to your room, someone will be with you shortly." The clerk nodded and returned to his paperwork.

"Thanks." Raidou made his way back and sat on the table again. With nothing to do but wait, he swung his feet gently, held a hand over his back, and tried to work out the new shape of the future.

They wanted him to be a guardian. Of an angry kid who was going to attract trouble like a damn magnet, no less.

"This would make so much more sense if I actually knew the first thing about bloodlines," he told the bare light fixtures. "Or about looking after--" He broke off, leaning back a little. The last thought was just stupid. Of course he knew about looking after people--he'd built a whole career out of it.

But there was a damn difference between playing back up and being a permanent... fixture.

When the medic came in, Raidou had Kaito's brief splayed open across his knees. He glanced up, then gestured absently at his back. "Don't suppose you know much about genjutsu mutations?"

"About as much as I know about juggling cats," the medic said, grinning. He was younger than the first man had been. "Why, someone genjutsu that hole in you?"

Raidou snorted. "I wish. That would've been much simpler." He flipped a page and glanced over the next; it was a school report.

The medic came over and leaned around to look at his spine. He whistled softly. "Well, this is a fine mess. Who the hell stopped halfway through? Look at this, you've ripped three stitches out and the thing isn't even closed yet."

Raidou pulled a slight face. "There were, uh, extenuating circumstances."

"And your arm?" The medic touched the rough bandage gently. "Because that's definitely not a medic-done job."

Raidou shrugged carefully. "It's been an interesting day?" he hazarded. He had a feeling blade scratches were going to be a common feature of the future.

"Y'know what? I'm just not going to ask. Turn around a little so I can fix up your back?" The medic set down a new kit on the table. Raidou twisted gratefully.

"If you could do this quick, doc. I'd appreciate it."

"Mmm, sure," said the medic absently, already threading a needle. Raidou focused on the kid's folder.

Sleep was defeated by thoughts that wouldn't stop chasing themselves in frustrated circles, dried sweat itching in every crevasse on his body, and the gross, slimy feeling of lube. He kept imagining it was other fluids, too, but he was pretty sure it wasn't.

Pretty sure.

He just wasn't going to keep thinking about it.

Did they fire you from ANBU if you didn't do what they'd hoped? It wasn't like they'd taken him with a promise that he'd learn how to control his not-limit.

But if they'd only taken him because of it... He'd applied on a dare, never thinking he was anywhere near good enough to get in, but the missions paid better and he was tired of living hand-to-mouth and Atsuo had called him chicken...

And they'd taken him. It'd been awesome. And now he learned they only wanted him for something he couldn't do. He was so going to get his ass fired.

A guardian. As if he couldn't wipe without help. Kaito closed his eyes tighter behind the shade of his arms and tried not to think about it. Tried to focus on the gritty rooftop and the sunshine beating down, the breeze that tickled his hair.

He hadn't even lived at home since before he'd made chuunin, three years earlier. They'd all been relieved to see him go, even if they pretended otherwise. And now he had a guardian again? How lame was that?

Seriously. Someone shoot him now.