| [Apr. 22nd, 2009|12:19 am] |
"Hazard pay, huh?" Genma snorted something that started as a laugh and ended as a wince. "We were ambushed by eight guys who were expecting us. If you think the client has a leak, I think I can safely speak for all Hunters when I say please find that out before you send us out there to get our guts sliced up." He shifted his legs under the blankets, trying to find some position that didn't put a strain on his bruised side. There really wasn't one. Sleep had been nice. Asleep he hadn't been so aware of how thoroughly he'd had the crap beaten out of him.
And Hiro was going right back into it. Poor guy. He was Intel, but not the side of it that had fucked up here. He was the clean-up crew. Genma's expression softened. "Make sure you got them agreeing to hazard bonuses for you and your team before you leave. Ours was A-rank, don't let them cheat you. And don't walk into some stupid suicide situation. Someone's betting Leaf ninja are idiots: don't make them right."
He looked up again, seeing past Hiro to that alleyway lit by crackling fire. Suicide mission. It had seemed like a suicide mission, not for the Konoha ninja, but for the others. That taunting kunoichi--You Konoha boys are sloppy--had she known she was facing overwhelming odds? How could she possibly have looked at the bone and black uniforms, the stylized ANBU masks, and not known she was throwing her life away? Genma's metal jutsu had obliterated her mouth, searing flesh, pouring down her throat. Copper, zinc, iron...
Hiro was watching him like a hawk, reaching out to take the glass again, when Genma's uneasy motions sloshed water onto the thick white bedding. Hiro's fingertips just brushed Genma's, and Genma snatched his hand back, grabbing for the blankets, pulling them up higher. "I'm still cold," he said. "Can't really seem to get warm enough. Guess that's from the poison." |
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