Genma wasn't actually inclined to argue. He didn't want to admit his weakness, but sometimes there was no alternative. He thought about their last mission together, with Tsume, and his ignominious ride home on Kuromaru's broad back. At this rate he was going to get a rep as the ninja who couldn't walk, he thought with a groan.

He followed Raidou to the water's edge, and carefully knelt down. A squat was unworkable, with his hip and ankle screaming protest, but a one-knee'd crouch got him close to the water's surface, yet was flexible enough he could get to his feet at the slightest hint of danger. Raidou, he noticed, took the same posture, leaning over to fill the canteen in the cold flow of dark river water.

The moon had been out earlier, but now the damp chill they'd felt before was coalescing into fog along the low-lying river bottom. Genma stretched his hand out to scoop up a mouthful of water, and wobbled off balance against Raidou's leg. Before he could fall, Raidou's hand was grabbing for the back of his armour, steadying him.

Genma glanced up at him with a small, "Thanks," and leaned over, splashing icy water into his mouth over and over, rinsing away the taste of poison at last.

The fog grew thicker. Almost a mist. Cold droplets beaded in Genma's hair, ran down Raidou's bare skin. A chill shivered up Genma's spine.

"Rai?" It was a whisper. He straightened, alarmed to find that Raidou's face was hard to see through the growing greyness. A shadow flickered in Genma's peripheral vision, and he reached for a holster that wasn't there, a weapon he didn't have.