| [Jun. 13th, 2009|05:56 pm] |
Panic was an emotion most ninja did their utmost to eliminate from their repertoires. It was a killer, because in a panic, a man didn't think. He was reduced to the level of a field mouse in the instant before the owl struck. Panic stole his humanity.
Panic left corpses in its wake.
Genma had managed to keep panic at bay through all of it, right until Sago had paralyzed him with a jutsu and held up those pliers. And even then he'd managed to think through the red fog of terror, plan his moment, and break that false, poison-filled tooth.
Even when Sago caught up to them at the end, he hadn't panicked: he'd acted. Maybe it was his inability to act now, that tripped the switch the other way.
Metal crashed against metal. Sago hurling his chakra-channeling tools against that bunker door.
Raidou's chakra flared like a shield next to him. Masked ninja emerging from a poison fog, as exploding tags detonated.
Genma's side lanced through with breath-taking pain. Raidou falling, lifeless, against his chest.
His hand twisted and flexed at junctures where no joints should be. Faceless Iwa interrogators, breaking another bone because Genma still wouldn't answer.
Raidou, face a mask of bandages and agony, hissed a stream of curses through clenched teeth. Sago moving in with his rake.
Genma surged up, reaching for Raidou. Then the pain in his hand caught up to him, as if some hitch in time had been released. He went bone white, staring at Raidou without quite seeing him. At least pain drove the panic away. |
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