Imminent flashbacks? Who needed flashbacks when you were practically reliving the experience that had given them to you? Genma's hand throbbed where Kakashi had grabbed it, old violence mingling with fresh, giving Kakashi a place in Genma's personal casting call for potential players in his nightmares. Right next to that dead -- he knew at least she was dead -- Iwa interrogator.

But Kakashi had yanked his own hand away almost as soon as he'd grabbed. He'd cradled Genma's head on the way down. He was wearing a black cloth mask, not a featureless white porcelain one.

Genma remembered his own trick from the night before: focus on what was real. Right now what was real was that if he didn't trust Kakashi, he had no one at all.

"Nothing new," Genma answered slowly. "And I'll keep that in mind about the nerve-pinch." He groaned and rolled away from Kakashi, letting his head fall unsupported against the mattress; scraped-raw skin on his elbow dragged along the ground. "Ow." He blew out a breath. "Are you hurt?"

He hadn't been trying to injure. Hurt maybe, to get Kakashi snapped back into his own head, but not injure. But.. He wasn't really sure anymore what he'd been trying. It had made sense at the time, but...

But it had worked. Kakashi was calm. Rational. Genma was calm and rational, too. If you could call this calm. If you could call any of this even remotely rational.

"Just my pride," Kakashi said. He shifted a little, but Genma couldn't see what he was doing.

"Good," Genma breathed. "I didn't want to hurt you."

Kakashi snorted at that, and Genma had to concede the point.

"I could totally kick your ass, on any other day."

Kakashi snorted again.

Genma stared at dust motes dancing in the light filtering in from the window. It was strange how peaceful everything was, right then. With Kakashi in contact -- why did he care? -- and the crisis for the moment over; with nothing to worry about but the ache in every limb, the fresh bruises from Kakashi's blows and their fall; with no energy left because he'd used it all on that pointless, stupid (but it had worked) tackle; he almost felt calm.

The sound of a key in the outer lock shattered it. Genma tensed in synchrony with Kakashi. Started to rise.

There was a sharp burst of air, like a gust of wind aimed at the ground. A feeling, for half a second, of weightlessness. Genma threw his body forward, trying to launch himself to his feet. There was a crackling feeling at the back of his neck that spread in a net through every limb. A sudden and complete shock like triggering a lightning-based trap. He fell, landing hard on his back. Out of the corner of his eye, Genma saw Kakashi lurch up, grab his hand, arch back, and fall as well.

Voices filtered in as the door was opened. A woman. Kumoto's woman. "... restitch the laceration with aught-four this time, Kumoto-sensei?"

"If you like. But it can wait until we have a look at our friend Genma-san."

The jutsu pressed Genma against the ground, draining all the power from his muscles. Even breathing was an effort. He recalled the jutsu the Iwa ninja who had captured them had used, and rolled his eyes desperately, trying to see Kakashi.

A pair of Iwa ninja picked Kakashi up and set him on the mattress. And Kakashi didn't fight back. He just lay there, limp, glaring. His hand, Genma could see now, was bleeding over that dark seal. And the seal was very faintly glowing purple black.

"Alright," Kumoto said. He leaned over Genma, scowling in distaste. "Let's get to work."

Genma tried to yell, and managed to grate out a tight-throated, "Go to hell."

"You're still talking?" Kumoto touched Genma's neck, fingers searing like a branding iron. "I told you you'd need to make the fourth inversion a double tau, Koto."