2. Genma

Genma swore that if he got out of this mission alive, he was kidnapping Raidou and becoming a farmer. Surely planting crops wouldn't require him to fend off several heavily armed shinobi while supporting an unconscious partner at the same time. He might have heard horror stories about droughts and pests but they couldn't be that bad, could they? Hell at this point of time, he was ready to sacrifice his first born child to get both himself and Raidou out of this mission alive.

Gritting his teeth around the senbon needle in his mouth, he spat it wildly at one of the approaching shinobi but it fell just short of its target. He cursed, dropping Raidou's deadweight freeing both hands and sending senbon flying in all directions. While these did manage to hit the enemies, there were simply too many for him to handle and he could feel the cold hand of despair grasping at his breast.

He had lost too much blood, he realised, as he felt his vision blur. They were attacking him from a distance, tiring him out and waiting for him to fall before they put themselves in harm's way. It was clever, especially when they had the upper hand. No need for any of their number to fall to the last stand of a dying man. He spat a mouthful of blood in their direction, snarling viciously, still trying to cover Raidou's body. God, he hoped the other man was alive but he couldn't help but pray that he didn't wake just in time to be killed. He had done his best to protect the older man but he had failed ultimately.

He fell to his knees, dark spots in his vision and fire coursing through his veins. Distantly, he realised that he was flaring what remained of his chakra in the ANBU signal for help but he knew it was fruitless. The closest ANBU were in Konoha, too far away to do anything and no one else would recognise the message for what it was. He let his head fall.

Only to jerk it back up again when he felt the familiar brush of chakra against his core, flaring in a well known pattern of ally, ally, ally and treacherous hope rose against the despair in his heart. The chakra signature was familiar too, he could have sworn he knew the shinobi even as a small figure decimated his enemies with ease. The odd mixture of wind, water and fire was last seen in...

Uchiha Itachi.

Unlike the other members of his ANBU squad, Genma hadn't been too bothered by the kid on the team. He was strong enough and had a family to provide a more or less stable support system. Itachi seemed grateful for the support amidst the subtle disapproval and their relationship, while never actually close was certainly better than the any other members.

Instead of treating him like a child, Genma had made no effort to censor himself around the Uchiha heir, a fact that made Kakashi taicho glare at him warningly every time. However they never really saw each other outside ANBU barracks, running in different social circles altogether so when Genma had bumped into Itachi outside the dango store, he had been more than a little surprised.

A little prodding and a sly glance at the admittedly pretty Uchiha girl collecting her own order was proof enough. Itachi's blank expression had softened slightly and by his standards, he was practically mooning over her.

"Who's the pretty lady, Itachi kun?" Genma said, faux innocently and was promptly rewarded by the glare the question deserved.

"Uchiha Izumi." Itachi replied, recognising Gemma's stubbornness and not willing to go against it.

"Ooh! Why dontcha go say say hi?" He said, winking obnoxiously.

His suggestion was met with a blank expression but Gamma recognised the slightest worry in those dark eyes and what might have been embarrassment.

The tokubetsu jounin's mocking veneer softened slightly and he nudged him forwards gently. "It'll be fine. You're a good guy. Just be polite and get to know her. Be her friend before anything else and she'll appreciate it. Trust me, she'll like you."

He hadn't stayed to watch the aftermath of his pep talk but it seemed to have done the trick because the next time, they had bumped into each other in the ANBU barracks, Itachi had thanked him for his help in the adorably socially awkward way he did, and asked if there was anything he could do to make up the favour.

Genma had just grinned. "Date for a date, Itachi kun. I got you a date so next time I need to take Rai somewhere special, you help me out. Deal?" He then proceeded to laugh himself hoarse at the confused expression on Itachi's face.

Of course, he never did get to cash in that favour, the Uchiha massacre occuring soon after and Itachi was declared traitor, murderer and missing nin. And if he mourned the boy he had been before he snapped, it was his own business and no one else's. He hadn't taken part in the investigation, not wanting to know the details of the heinous act and had seen neither hide nor hair of the former clan heir since that night.

Until now it seemed.

The last thing Genma saw was Sharingan red eyes peering into his own and a desperate motion to protect Raidou from the missing nin before darkness claimed his consciousness.

He hadn't expected to wake again but it seemed that the world was conspiring to surprise him because when he did open his eyes, it was to a clearing he recognised as being close to Konoha's borders. Considering he had last been near the Land of Eddies, it was entirely reasonable to assume that he was dreaming.

His wounds were bandaged from what he could see, and his weapons pouch was untouched. Even the scroll, their mission objective was left alone and he couldn't do anything but stare at it in bewilderment.

It took his befuddled mind several long minutes before he remembered his injured partner and his blood ran cold. Raidou had been already injured and bleeding out. He didn't want to even consider what could have happened to the man if he hadn't been healed in the time he had spent unconscious.

Genma practically flew to where he could see Raidou lying on his back, one hand already finding the wound to stem any bleeding but he was pleasantly surprised to find stiff bandages already binding the wound. His head fell onto the other man's chest, the steady beating of his heart calming him down as each breath came in relieved puffs of air.

He didn't understand the circumstances of their rescue. Missing nin were notoriously stingy with their services and definitely with their resources. He traced the good quality bandages with not a small bit of wonder. Moreover Itachi had assisted on a mission that was for the very village he had defected from. It made no sense, especially if Itachi was as mentally unstable as everyone claimed. Which meant that there was something else going on here.

As he lifted his head, he caught sight of the paper pinned to Raidou's shirt. It was short, written in the elegant hand of a Clan heir, formally educated-

'A date for a date, Genma san.'

Genma threw his head back and laughed. There was definitely a lot he would have to find out when he returned to the village and more than a few visits would have to be paid to his contacts in TI but he supposed it was worth it.

A favour for a favour, wasn't it?

AN- Leave a review and favourite if you liked this chapter and want another. Lemme know if you want to see a particular character as well and I'll see what I can do. Thanks for reading! ~Teaspoon