| [Jun. 3rd, 2009|07:11 pm] |
It was a mark of how many rescues Kakashi had run that he half expected that. Water sprayed like indoor rain as Ginta lashed out, hammering desperate blows against any part of Kakashi he could reach. A wild punch swiped the ceramic wolf-mask away, sending it skittering across the burning concrete. Kakashi jerked his head back to avoid another hit, dropped his katana before Ginta accidentally stabbed himself--a clone snatched it up--and quickly readjusted his hold, trying to pin Ginta's arms to his sides. Blood slicked his hands.
Tsuyako screamed again, unable to tolerate her own clone's grip and the sprinklers' deluge. Fire roared an answer, clawing its way up the walls, backlighting the giant machines that stood like blazing monoliths in the dense smoke. Raw-throated, Kakashi breathed through his mouth and tried not to cough. Not to smell. His shoulders blistered. Ginta's heel slammed into his side, bruising ribs.
"It's me, jackass," he snapped, purposefully using the insult-turned-nickname he'd spent almost a month not thinking about. "Stop fighting and help."
He couldn't see the way out. Couldn't see anything but flame and fire and the distant shapes of bodies in the smoke. Weapons glinting like lethal stars in the orange-lit darkness. A crossbow bolt flashed past and slew the clone holding Tsuyako, dropping her in a crumpled heap to the unforgiving concrete. This time, she made no sound. Kakashi hissed and snarled at another clone to grab her, dodging a second bolt that just grazed the edge of his jaw. Chakra lurched as more constructs died. They needed to get out.
Ginta had stilled.
Kakashi bolted, directionless but away from the closing ninja, Tsuyako's new carrier keeping pace on his heels. A wall shattered down, flinging metal and brick across their path. High above them, the ceiling warped and cracked, brutalized by the rising heat, unleashing the powerful trap seals in a wave of uncontrolled chakra. |
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