*Author's Notes: So this is just a little fic that I'm writing, since I'm struggling with Everything Looks Good From a Distance. Genma was sort of throwing a wrench in my plot there, so I thought I'd let him be the star of his own fic in the hopes that he'll leave me be with the other one. Naruto and characters belong to Masashi. Enjoy!
It was raining that first day. Genma had just come in through the western gate. He was grimy, tired, sore, and hungry. The mission hadn't been too dangerous, more of a pain in the ass than anything, and he'd gotten away with only a gash in his left shoulder and mild chakra exhaustion. It could have been worse, but he was feeling particularly pessimistic that afternoon.
His plan was to skirt around the western edge of the village and cut through training ground 16 to get to his apartment block as quickly as possible. He just wanted to get home, have a hot shower and a bite to eat before handing in his report and meeting Raido at the Sharpened Shuriken for their customary post mission get together. The rain was pounding down on the tokujo, who was forced to blink rapidly and shake his head to keep the constant stream of water out of his eyes. It was frustrating just to be out in it, so when he heard the sound of a shinobi training on ground 16 as he passed, he paused. Who would willing train in this weather?
The curiosity that elites are known for got the better of Genma that rainy afternoon, and even though it delayed his plans, he couldn't help himself. He hopped into the treeline and crept closer to the training ground, masking his chakra. As much as he wanted answers, he didn't want to interrupt seeing as some shinobi were quite particular about whether or not they had an audience when training. Genma himself didn't like to be watched and, given the choice, would only practise spar with a select few.
Once he found a suitable branch on the closest tree, he hunkered down and watched. A young man with dark skin and long hair was battering one of the training posts with a series of hard hitting, high kicks. Genma snorted when he saw the man was shirtless. The rain cascaded down the toned planes of bronze skin, and the tokujo was torn between wanting to touch the other man and wanting to shout at him to put some clothes on. He was muscular, but compact, and Genma couldn't see any scars along the back that faced him. He must be pretty young still, he thought as his senbon twitched between his lips. You can't be an active ninja for any serious period of time and get away with having unmarred skin such as that.
The flurry of kicks ended when the smooth skinned shinobi leapt away from the post and sent a barrage of shuriken into the surrounding trees. A small flock of birds took flight at the disturbance and Genma had to dodge a shuriken that could have very well hit him in the face. Before he could settle himself back on the branch comfortably, the other nin called up to him from his place in the middle of the training field, "If you're going to hang around, you might as well join me."
The voice startled Genma. It sounded even younger than he would have thought, and when he looked back at the other nin his jaw almost dropped. Though the tanned body was quite well developed, the shinobi's face was still soft and boyish, his voice both fitting and not fitting him. The boy was looking straight at Genma's tree, and the tokujo knew he'd been caught. He thought briefly of just teleporting himself away, but knew that'd be a rude first impression. Instead, he hopped down from his branch and wandered to where the golden teen stood, trying to adjust his hitai-ate in a way that would help keep the water out of his eyes, his senbon twitching when he couldn't make it work.
"Why were you watching me?" The young shinobi asked, scratching absently at the scar that ran from cheek to cheek.
"I just wanted to see what kind of nutjob solo trains in this kind of rain, and whether it was by choice or not." Genma's ANBU captain often made him train in uncomfortable conditions, but this kid was very unlikely to be ANBU and therefore unused to that.
The kid shrugged a single shoulder and went about readjusting the way his hair was tied at the crown of his head. The rain had beaten it down and loosened it, pulling some strands out around his face and Genma could see that it irritated him. "I just like the rain."
Genma just watched the boy. Man. And became frustrated. He couldn't figure out how old this shinobi was, and for some reason, that really annoyed him. He wasn't usually one to pry. Yes, he was curious by nature and yes, he liked to listen to (and often repeat) the gossip he heard in the missions room, but Genma hadn't ever been one to ask questions. He listened, and watched, and pushed buttons until he got the information he wanted, but he never asked questions. "How old are you?" Except, apparently, today.
The other shinobi was caught off guard by the random inquiry, and once again scratched at the scar that bisected his face. "Sixteen," he answered after a moment.
"Chuunin?" Genma asked as he nodded, that age making some sense to him.
"Yeah."
Genma nodded again and the two lapsed into silence. It somehow wasn't awkward or strained, or even uncomfortable at all as they just stood there, looking but not really looking at each other. The teen scratched at his scar again and then asked quietly, "How old are you?"
"Twenty three."
The bronze teen looked at the other shinobi, took in the way he held himself and the strength of the man's chakra, the small lines around his mouth that the boy knew was from wearing a frown too often. "Jonin?"
"Tokubetsu," Genma replied.
There was a rumble of far off thunder and the wind picked up briefly as the rain continued to pelt the two Leaf shinobi. The younger of the two twirled a small shuriken between his fingers and eyed the tokujo, mischief glinting dangerously in his coffee coloured eyes. "Spar with me?" the teen asked around a playful grin.
Genma did not spar with strangers. He did not spar with Chuunin. And he did not spar with young men who had boyish smiles and eyes that promised trouble after he'd been caught out in the rain after a mission. "Sure." Except, apparently, today.
It was still raining by the time the pale blond man reached the Sharpened Shuriken. It was later than usual for his arrival, but it was Monday, so the bar wasn't too busy and he spotted Raido easily in the far corner, already nursing a drink. Genma pulled up a seat beside his long-time friend and finished off Raido's drink before ordering them a pitcher to share.
"Tough mission?" Raido asked.
"No," Genma responded, mildly disgruntled. "It wasn't until after I got back into the village that I ran into some delays." The larger man cocked an eyebrow and inclined his head, waiting for his friend to continue. As usual, Raido's body language spurred Genma on. "There was this kid training in the rain, alone, without his shirt on."
"So you stopped to watch," Raido supplied. Most elites would have, even if only for a moment or two.
"Yeah. Except then he somehow drags me into a sparring match with him. And he kicks my ass."
Raido paused for a moment, studying his senbon chewing buddy before coming to a conclusion. "You're kidding."
"No way man," Genma replied, gulping down his drink and pouring himself another. "This punk's taijutsu was better developed than mine, and he used a bunch of these annoying traps to keep me on the ground at close range, where he proceeded to pummel the shit out of me. You know, coming from a Jonin or something, or even an upper Chuunin, okay. Sure. Maybe they can pull it off where I can't get enough distance to land a range hit. Alright. But this kid? No way. I mean, he's barely sixteen, and barely a Chuunin, and the kid completely fucked me."
"You got beat by a greenhorn?" Raido's amusement was palpable.
"Oh, shut up. Kid's smart. Annoyingly smart. And witty, too. Little bastard."
"What's his name?"
Genma shrugged. "Didn't ask. But I'll show him just who he bested next time. Kid's gonna be sore for days."
"Next time?"
"I mean, if I see him again. Which, you know, I probably won't. I've gone sixteen years without seeing him even once, so he'll probably just go back to being invisible again."
Raido smirked around the rim of his glass. "You made plans to spar with him again, didn't you?"
There was a long pause before Genma hurried to correct his friend. "Only to show him that I can kick his ass! It's not like I care if I see him again or not, I just don't want him to get cocky by thinking that he bested me. I mean, lets face it. He only won because I'm tired."
A bark of laughter escaped the larger tokujo as Genma tried to convince him that a random Chuunin hadn't caught his interest. "It's okay if you make another friend, ya know," Raido said, amusement in his voice, "I don't have to be your only one."
"You are not my only friend, asshole!" Genma sputtered. "Hayate and Asuma are my friends, and Kakashi and I have a good time whenever he crawls out from under his rock of isolation and escapes from Gai. And I talk to Anko every day!"
Raido just nodded along and continued to smirk. It was about time Genma made another friend.
