| [Jun. 3rd, 2009|11:03 pm] |
The sudden lack of enemy chakra and Ginta's harsh rasping breaths drew Kakashi's attention for a split-second. He spared both hands to snap a clone into being, ordered Shouma to follow the construct back to Ginta, and pressed his palms flat against Hoshika's spine again. Blood soaked through his gloves, squelching between his fingers. A pained whine scraped the edge of his hearing, tapering off into a gurgle.
"You're okay, sweetheart," he murmured, gathering his chakra. "You're okay. Breathe deep for me. I'm going to fix it."
He wasn't a medic-ninja, but every war-trained shinobi knew the sound of a punctured lung when they heard it. Hoshika's ribcage shuddered as she tried to inhale. Sprawled on her side, claws left deep furrows through the scorched earth as her legs kicked fitfully. The knife strike had sunk in between the middle ribs arching away from her spine, deep enough to do real damage. Bloody streaks glistened in the foam around her jaws.
Kakashi bit through the inside of his cheek.
"You're okay," he whispered, leaning down to speak by her ear. Chakra swirled together near his core, twining around the bond that stretched between them. "I'm proud of you. Breathe for me."
He wasn't a medic-ninja, but you didn't need to be for a summons. You just needed to break the bond and send them home. As long as their hearts stayed whole, breath kept flowing, they always came back...
Hoshika cried out.
He set his teeth, grabbed the bond, and snapped it. Chakra lashed back through red-raw coils, crackling like a whip. Hoshika stiffened beneath his hands, whipped her head around to catch his shirt-sleeve between her teeth, and vanished before she could get a proper hold.
Kakashi exhaled, squeezed his eyes closed, and shoved himself back to his feet. She'd come back. She always did.
When he turned to look at the clearing, his clone had already lifted Ginta from the blood-soaked earth. He looked like a rag doll. Shouma stood stiff-legged next to newly dead Taki ninja, fur lifted like a jagged halo of black and brown. Long canines glistened red against drawn back lips and mottled gums; he seemed unhurt. A growl confirmed it.
Kakashi walked to them, steady as a condemned man, and pressed his fingers against the side of Ginta's throat, finding a rhythmic pulse. Dead-tired blue eyes lifted and focused on his face.
"Still with me?" he asked softly. |
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