| [Feb. 21st, 2010|05:05 am] |
It was like watching a man put himself back together, one home-marker at a time. Steel at throat and skull; blue, battle-scarred cloth covering bedraggled hair, enforcing a kind of new order. Genma's spine straightened; his shoulders settled down. A breath of calm trickled through his scent.
Thank God.
Kakashi didn't believe in a higher power, but just for today he'd thank the Kyuubi itself if it kept Genma's head together -- his own head together -- and got them home.
Genma's weak toss had landed Kakashi's dogtags and hitai-ate just within reach; he elbowed himself away from the door, stretched, and managed to snatch them up before gravity caught him. The door greeted him back like an old friend, with a hearty slap. Kakashi slouched against it and felt a little like he was melting; the room was starting to shimmer at the edges.
He took a deep breath and refocused.
Cold, battered steel settled around his throat like home-forged strength -- like a reminder. Ninja. Soldier. Dogtags clinked gently in the hollow between his collarbones, gleaming dull in the natural light. His thumb touched the birthdate for the skin of a second. Newly-minted nineteen and still not dead, even if this was fast approaching the worst after-birthday ever.
He unfolded the hitai-ate. It wasn't the one he'd graduated with, more than a decade ago -- that one was out rotting somewhere in Iwa-country, lost during the war -- this one had more meaning. Minato-sensei's old hitai-ate, gifted to protect Obito's last act in the world, a year before Minato had given himself to the Fox.
Kakashi remembered the blinding smile, the hair-ruffle he'd been too slow to duck. Don't lose it!
And he hadn't.
He pressed the metal plate to his forehead, exhaling slow, then stripped off the t-shirt bandage and tied the hitai-ate in its place, like slanting armour. Familiar weight.
Much better.
If he'd been on his own, he might have gone to sleep right then, resting against the door and relieved all over again. Drowning in relief. At this rate, he was almost going to start believing in good news.
But Genma was right there, hollow with exhaustion and looking much sicker than he had a minute ago, and there were two more bundles within reach of Kakashi's hands. More things they both needed to do.
Kakashi reached for one, kicked the other to Genma, and staggered back to his feet. The bundle settled beneath one arm, more heavy than it had any right to be. He shoved himself away from the door and back to his teammate, until he could lean down and wrap his free hand beneath Genma's tattooed biceps, bracing himself for the effort of hauling Genma back up.
"C'mon," he mumbled. "Mattresses are over there. We should stay away from th'door." |
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