There was a little moment of silence. Raidou filled it by counting slowly backwards from ten, skipping four. There was already enough death in the air without him adding more.

It didn't really help.

"People skills aren't your strong point, are they, kid?" he said finally, crushing the urge to struggle up onto his elbows and bellow. "Or do you just enjoy trying to get a rise out of injured ninja? Because they've got a word for that kind of kink." Dryness trickled through his hoarse voice, adding a new depth of cynicism. "But if you've got a way to make my week worse, I'm all ears. You've got to be scarier than missing-nin torturers, right?"

The word came out of his throat without a catch. Anger (bitterness) was a marvellous thing.