| [Jan. 31st, 2010|08:14 am] |
"Yeah," Ginta said softly. "Any time."
He felt almost like he'd taken a soldier pill himself, emotionally wrung out but wired tight physically. He picked up the cold piece of toast he'd been eating and winged it at Ryouma, who caught it with a lazy hand. "Don't forget to eat breakfast," Ginta told him. "And get some sleep. I still think you ought to be just faceplanting on that bed there." He pointed at the empty hospital bed next to the door.
"Come back soon as you've slept off the crash, and play cards with me or something. Actually I might be getting out of here soon. I really hope. They gave me some crutches yesterday. So if you don't come back, I'll hunt you down. You probably got some hazard pay recently I can win off you, right?"
Ryouma's eyeroll was an elegant, if exhausted reply. He turned to go.
"Wait," Ginta said. He leaned forward, looking intently at Ryouma. "Just... Remember what I said. About getting your own head right. About apologizing. If you go see Kakashi.... Keep it honest. He's... He's probably not the man you think he is. Not completely." Ginta felt the words die in his throat.
Ryouma nodded.
Ginta nodded back. Almost as if they had bowed to one another, some faraway part of himself observed.
"Get some damn rest," he said, shoving away thoughts and feelings he didn't understand for ones he did. "And don't do anything else stupid. At least for a week." That earned him a chuckle. An agreement. A goodbye.
When Ryouma had limped back into the hall, Ginta turned his head to look out the window once more. That lasted a good five minutes. Then he grabbed both bedrails and lifted himself off the mattress, channeling chakra into his hands, feeling shoulders protest and the heavy cast drag at the aching bones it protected. Push-ups, to work off the tension: one-two, one-two, one-two... |
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