| [Jan. 22nd, 2010|09:02 pm] |
Another medic jutsu. For a second, Kakashi was sure he felt his throat close. But when he dug through Genma's med-kit, being careful not to drop or jostle the man himself, he found an ordinary sealing scroll instead, bastardized for medical use.
Seals he could do. Seals were his world.
And it was perfectly normal if his insides felt like melted wax. Kakashi spread the scroll open with one hand, slid his chakra through it, cast three awkward seals, and locked the jutsu closed on the back of Genma's neck. Muscles stiffened beneath his touch, Genma's teeth ground together, then Genma let out a long, slow breath and relaxed.
Relaxed like water, actually, becoming almost dead-weight--
Heavy. Becoming heavy in Kakashi's arms.
"Better, I take it?" Kakashi asked, as he risked standing up again.
"Mm," Genma said, closing his eyes. His face was still waxy, eyes still bruised hollow, but at least he was breathing properly.
Kakashi thanked the universe for small favours and boosted him up onto Baiji's broad back. The mastiff helped the proceedings by lying down, belly to the ground, and shifting heavy shoulders until Genma slid into place. He lay like a sack of wet rice, but his fingers twined loosely into Baji's steel-studded collar: showing willing to help, at least.
"Better hold him on," Kakashi told the dog, and crooked a faint smile when Baiji rolled one brown eye at him. The dog's chakra rose like a wave, sticking Genma into place like a limp, thoroughly sick-looking burr. Then Baiji got back to his feet; at full height, he stood taller than Kakashi, and at least three times as wide, a solid weight of canine muscle-and-bone. Completely trustworthy.
In contrast, Reiji only came up to Kakashi's hip, but he still had a ways to go. And at least he wasn't as scatter-brained as his litter-mates.
Kakashi finished sealing the rest of their camp into scrolls, packs included, and took down the traps. Then he swallowed the still-smoldering fire in an earth-jutsu, obliterating every trace of its existence, and scattered leaves over the camp-site with a twist of wind. A skilled tracker might have been able to tell someone had been here, but only if he was looking for it. And only if he looked hard.
"Right," Kakashi muttered, turning on one heel. "Let's go."
North-West, yet again. He set the pace, as fast as he dared, staying well within arm's reach of Baiji. Reiji brought up the rear, the world's youngest, furriest guard--well, until Pakkun got back. |
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