Chapter 5: The Reason why Raidou Owes His Life and Sanity to Genma's Demon Children: Say what one might, these kids were anything but stupid. Raidou had been gone for what seemed like too long to be a standard mission. Kakashi stopped coming around and Genma knew that he would eventually have to talk to him. And the kids could tell there was something off, even though they didn't know exactly what was wrong with the adults.
..~..~..
"Hey, Farmer man... Why don't Scarecrow or Rai come around anymore?"
Genma looked down at the young Nara looking up at him with a curious expression on his face, even though the rest of his friends were too busy playing games to notice them talking.
Neji was playing an educational game with Ino to try and teach her what little he knew about reading and writing. Hinata, on the other hand, was busy playing 'Catch the bugs!' with Shino and Chouji by her side. Those three clan kids were the kinder souls of the kids Genma took care of, and it was good to see them having gentle fun together... At least they weren't running around screaming like Tenten, Kiba, and Naruto.
Speaking of the lead hellions...
"You'll never get my alive, ANBU scum!"
"You are wanted for a dozen crimes among the nations, missing-nin Inuzuka! Including the crimes of being a stupid boy, not respecting girls, and ripping Sakura's doll head off of its body!"
"Get him, Tenten! He also stole my chocolate chip cookies, even though he had already eaten his four!"
Genma had no idea where Tenten had gotten the green and blue, overly creepy kappa mask that just about summed up everything creepy about sea life and old wives' tales. Still, it was somewhat big on her and kept sliding down her face, prompting her to stop in her mad dashing after Kiba to right it. Kiba, in the meanwhile, was happily jumping over just about every single piece of furniture Genma owned. Naruto was following after him with a toy sword in his hand, toppling over anything that Kiba had managed to miss as he followed after the Inuzuka.
"Scarecrow and I had..." The man sighed softly, scrunching his face up slightly as he remembered the hurtful words he had told the younger man in a fit of uncontrolled anger. "A falling out..."
The Nara looked up at him with a face that read of curiosity and intrigue. And he seemed about to question further, but a shout coming from Kiba stopped him and made him huff in slight annoyance.
"Dad tells me that Bitch Face went out on a mission. But hasn't it been too long?"
Now Kiba suddenly appeared beside the ponytailed boy, panting and huffing, although curious as well.
"What do you mean, Kiba?"
Genma began to feel somewhat worried as all of the kids turned their attention away from their individual tasks to look at him. Shino seemed especially interested, especially from the way he had decided to ask the Inuzuka directly.
"Lord Hiashi has told us that most A-Ranked missions can last from anywhere between one month all the way to two or three." Neji spoke up, putting the large pad of paper he had been using to show the Yamanaka how to read and write. Which prompted the young girl to look at her friends with wide eyes, nodding to herself in a sign of knowing what she was talking about.
"But Shikamaru's dad said Raidou was sent off on a B-Rank. He should be back by now. It's been more than a month." She told them all, then looked up at Genma. "Why isn't he back yet, Gen-Gen?"
He wasn't surprised to hear that Shikaku knew on what kind of mission Raidou had been sent on. It was part of his job. Although it was somewhat odd that he would tell the children about it.
All of the mongrels were looking at him with wide and somewhat worried eyes. Even though they most probably still didn't have a tight grasp on the concept of death or the danger a shinobi wound up in as part of their jobs, they most probably had some idea. Having parents that went out on missions occasionally and treated everything about their lives so seriously would do that to someone.
As he looked down at all of them, the man began to debate over how he should answer. Either he could tell them the cold and hurt truth, that he had no idea where Raidou was and he didn't even know if the bastard was alive. Or he could be nice and easy about said truth, down play it so it wouldn't essentially traumatize them when it came to missions and dangers they ran into.
"Well, kids..." He breathed in, then offered a crooked smile. "The mission he was on most probably ran into a few complications. But Rai's strong. And he's smart. If anyone can get out of some mess, it's him."
It was as if he had just told them that Raidou was going to come back tomorrow. The kids went from looking at him with worry and intrigue to smiling broadly. Kiba even whooped in joy.
"Bitch Face will be back and we'll be able to paint his face again!"
Of course that's what they wanted Raidou back for...
Even though he smiled back at them, Genma couldn't help the worry that clouded the back of his mind. His best friend had been gone for so long. And Ino and Neji had a good argument. Missions like those didn't go on for so long.
He could only hope that Raidou was safe. Because if he wasn't and Genma just stayed here to take care of these kids... He couldn't lose Raidou. Not like this. Not now.
Knocking on his door woke Genma up from his spot on the couch. Naruto had stayed over once more and had shared his room with Sasuke and Itachi.
He really needed to buy a bed for the guest bedroom. If not for the kids to use as the true guests of his apartment, then for him to have an actual bed to sleep on and not have to wake up to a sore back and stiff neck.
"Come on, Shiranui! I know you're in here!"
With a groan, Genma stretched and rolled his shoulders and neck. Then he stood up, scratched softly at his neck, and walked towards his door. He was pretty sure that whoever was out there had a rather urgent message. But Genma was a bit too tired and hungry to try and rush.
When he opened his door, the senbon enthusiast found Iwashi looking up at him with wide and tear filled eyes. Immediately all sluggishness left him.
"Iwashi? What's wrong?"
"It's Raidou! Genma, he's come back from his mission, but..." The teenager choked softly on his words, shaking his head. "He's in the hospital. Burn trauma."
His heart dropped.
"What- Iwashi, are you sure?"
"Of course I'm sure!" The teenager shouted, stomping his foot in a show of aggression. "Why the hell would I run all the way here from the damned Village Gates if I wasn't?!"
Glaring slightly at the anger in the teen's voice, Genma grabbed him by the shoulder and forced him into his apartment, closing the door behind him. The boy squawked slightly at the sudden motion, but didn't stop the older male from doing so. Then the man faced Iwashi completely, looking down at him through narrowed eyes.
"Explain."
Iwashi breathed in deeply before explaining the whole situation to him.
"I was heading over to my shift on guard duty. I like doing it early in the morning because barely nothing ever happens. But when I was about to relieve Hayate and Shinobu from their own shift, there came shouts from outside. And when I looked out, I found two ANBU members carrying Raidou, all the while two others carried Ibiki in." The teen's eyes were wide as he said all this, then his voice quickened, becoming more desperate and terrified. "The squad leader was bleeding, but was shouting out orders and he found me and told me to find you so you could get to the hospital to be with Raidou."
All of the breath had left Genma's body the more Iwashi spoke. ANBU had been forced to get involved in Raidou's B-Ranked mission. And a usual squad was composed of three shinobi. Only two had been brought back from what Iwashi told. Ibiki and Raidou. Who had been their third teammate?
"Gen... His whole body was covered in bandages..." The boy whispered, voice quivering in clear sign of tears. "The only reason I even knew it was him was because they told me it was him... Even his face, Genma..."
Shit.
Genma blinked down at the despondent teenager, then hardened his face and nodded. It would do no good if they were both falling apart. One of them would have to be there for Raidou when he woke up to keep him inside of the hospital. And, clearly, Iwashi was in no state to be the stern hand that keeps the too stubborn Namiashi in a hospital bed.
"Alright, Tatami, here's what we're going to do." The man stepped forward and grabbed both of Iwashi's shoulders, forcing him to look up and into his eyes. "There are three kids in here. Sasuke and Itachi Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki. I want you to stay with all three of them, give them breakfast, and keep them busy while I go and visit Raidou. If things are as serious as you're saying, I'll send someone to give you the message so you can return these three and any other kid that may arrive to their homes. But if not, I want you to keep all of the kids that come here inside this apartment. Do not bring them to the hospital. No matter how much they beg or how many tantrums they throw."
Genma spoke quickly and with finality, making sure that Iwashi understood he did not want this argued. And from the way Iwashi nodded and looked at him with complete severity, the older believed Iwashi understood how truly pressing the situation was.
"I should be sending someone in an hour or so." Genma breathed out, then looked around his apartment. "The kids know this apartment inside and out. Don't fall for them asking you for help with anything inside drawers or rooms. Just get them stuff from the refrigerator. Have I been understood?"
When Iwashi nodded, Genma nodded back, then looked towards his room and back at the teenager in front of him. "Rai will be fine, Iwashi. Don't worry about him."
His words were strong... At least, he hoped they were... But Genma could feel his insides twisting with uncertainty and fear. Hearing this news from Iwashi immediately made him feel like Raidou was as good as dead. If ANBU had gotten involved, it meant that their mission had gone horribly awry.
And for someone like Ibiki to get taken down... That man had been put through hell back in the war and had come out stronger than ever, even if a bit more unhinged. For someone to bring him down was nearly impossible.
"Have some milk, relax, and know that Raidou will be fine." Genma smirked softly at the teenager, clapping his shoulder before retracting his arms to move towards his room. "He's one tough son of a bitch."
Iwashi didn't move after he said that. But Genma was too busy trying to keep himself upright and seeming confident to worry about that. He opened the door to his room with a steady hand he had to force to stop from shaking, then found himself looking at a very intrigued and curious Uchiha looking at him.
"I've got to step out." The man spoke up carefully, keeping his voice neutral and stable. "I'm going to leave you, Naruto, and your brother here with a friend of mine, Iwashi. He's a chunin, even though he's only fourteen." He explained as he moved towards his closet, unlocking it and opening to hastily grab his clothes from inside. "Listen to him. Keep Sasuke and Naruto in line. And help him with all of the other kids. Can you do that, Itachi?"
The Uchiha looked at him with an analytical eye, but soon nodded, "Of course, Genma-San."
"Good." The man smiled at him, then grabbed his sandals before moving towards his door. "I'm counting on you and Iwashi to keep everything under control, Itachi."
With these final words, the man left his room and went to the bathroom to take a hasty shower and dress to check up on his wounded best friend.
Raidou looked unbelievably weak engulfed in white, sterile hospital blankets. The IV hooked up to him dripped rhythmically, slowly making Genma feel as if he were going to go insane. And the heart monitor hooked up to him to keep his status in check beat steadily, signifying the relative stability the medics had finally managed to reach with his best friend.
Four hours of intensive surgery. And that wasn't even the reconstructive one. It was just the one to stabilize him.
Raidou was in for even more hours beneath the needle to be able to heal fully.
Breathing out heavily, Genma passed a shaky hand through his hair, having forgone his bandanna two hours ago when he couldn't stop running his fingers through his hair. It was a nervous habit he didn't really show much. He wore his village symbol on a bandanna like that to force himself to not succumb to the nervous tick too often.
The inside of his mouth was bloody and raw. He had chewed both sides of his cheeks by now, missing the senbon that served as a distraction from his gnawing teeth. And he hadn't dared to ask for any senbon from any of the shinobi around because of his frantic nerves.
He had sent word to Iwashi and Itachi three hours ago. And he had lied to hopefully keep Iwashi from rushing in here and giving himself a heart attack through utter worry.
'Raidou'll be fine. The medics've all got a good grasp on his situation and say he'll pull through. Take yourself a day off and hang around with the kids. I'll talk to the Hokage for you and explain everything.'
He'd sent that scroll with Hana. She had been in here for some kind of extra credit project working inside of the hospital or something. And she'd seemed more than happy when he had mentioned that both Iwashi and Itachi would be there to receive the news. He didn't know why that was, but, at the moment, Genma couldn't bother to try and decipher a pre-teen girl's emotions. He could barely figure out a woman's own. Much less someone as foreign as a pre-teen.
Technically, he hadn't lied. He'd merely omitted the truth. Yeah, Raidou was going to be fine and the medics had said they knew exactly what they had to do to heal him. But they had also said it wouldn't surprise them if he ended up more scar than skin on his face by the time he was done healing. And it had taken them hours to stabilize the poor bastard. Something he hadn't told their old teammate.
Ibiki had been just slightly better off with only small burns to his arms and chest. There was going to be a brand new scar that would be added to his collection; this time on his back from where he had narrowly missed getting stabbed through the spine. And he wouldn't be able to go anywhere on his broken legs. But his condition hadn't been as bad as Raidou's own.
Raidou... Genma could only see his chin and bottom lip. The rest was covered by gauze and bandages.
Second degree burns to his torso and upper arms. He'd been lucky to scrape by with those. But... There was worse. Third degree ones on his neck and shoulders had been a horrible sight to see. But none of that compared to what had happened to his face. Third degree. To his face.
He had been advised to stay out while the doctors made the initial check up before carting him off to surgery. But Genma had refused, stubborn about staying with his best friend for as long as possible.
He'd never be able to forget how horribly red and painful his best friend's face had looked because of those burns.
His mouth was filled with the metallic taste of blood and he knew he should stop before he accidentally choked on his own blood. But Genma was much too worried for his best friend to even think about what he was doing to himself.
Raidou was currently in a medically induced sleep, morphine having been fed to him for the burns he had suffered. Genma knew for a fact that he'd be in a lot of pain because of those second degree burns. They seemed pretty hurtful. Especially because some rested over his ribs, meaning he wouldn't be able to twist his body around much. But he was terrified for the third degree. He was no fool. Raidou could lose all ability to feel pain in those areas affected because of those burns.
The more he thought about his best friend's condition, the faster his teeth began to chew.
"Geez, you're an even bigger mess than I though you'd be."
A senbon appeared in front of him as soon as the voice had spoken up and Genma pounced on it. He took it like a thirsty man would snatch a glass of water, then popped it into his mouth without any hesitation.
There was a chuckle from the person that had offered the senbon, but Genma refused to look up. Instead he looked down at the senbon now in his mouth, rolling it with his tongue and working his jaw to occupy himself.
"That could have been poisoned. You could die from accepting a stranger's senbon, idiot."
With a soft sigh, the man looked up and just about keeled over.
Kakashi was speaking to him. Not only that, but he was actually smiling softly. And he didn't sound even the least bit angry.
The man looked the same as when Genma had stormed away from him. The only difference being that bandages were wrapped around his whole left arm, lacking the usual long sleeved shirt he wore.
"I knew you weren't a stranger." Genma murmured softly as he leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest to look back at Raidou.
He knew his best friend wasn't going to wake up any time soon. But he still felt as if there was an off chance that he could. And he wanted to be the first thing he saw.
Raidou hated hospitals. Just like the rest of them. But he hated them for a reason that even Genma did not know. It was actually one of the few secrets Raidou kept that Genma didn't know any specifics about.
"Sure. Just like you knew that Tsume's here with Kiba and Ino."
With a jolt of energy Genma didn't know he had in him, the man jumped up from his chair to look at the doorway. He must have looked like a madman. But he didn't want the kids anywhere near Raidou in this state. He would undoubtedly scare them from the way he looked. He was different. And if terrified Genma, he could only imagine what feelings seeing his would bring to the kids.
There was a soft sigh from Kakashi but there weren't any children in the doorway. Turning a glare onto the younger male, Genma found him shaking his head softly.
"They're currently trying to get past the medic nin that refuse to allow children into the burn unit. I thought I would give you a heads up so you'd have some composure when Tsume finally manages to break through their lines." Kakashi explained almost tiredly, scratching at the bandages on his arm uncomfortably.
Breathing out with relief, Genma looked at the other male with worry. "And the rest of the kids?"
Kakashi looked him over for a few seconds before answering. And Genma knew exactly why he did that. He must have looked like hell. He sure felt like it.
"Iwashi, Itachi, and Hana are currently distracting them by buying get well items for Raidou. Kiba and Ino, though, insisted they wanted to see Raidou as quickly as possible. They convinced his mom to bring them."
Genma nodded softly at the information, then looked back at Raidou and slumped his shoulders. "Kakashi... I don't think it'd be right for them to see him like this..." The man sighed, shaking his head softly.
Kakashi raised a hand to his shoulder and patted it softly, "If you want to keep them out, I'll help. But they should know that this will be a part of their future. They are all going to learn to be ninja, after all."
This drove a spike of fear straight through Genma's heart.
They're going to be ninja after all... This could be them in a couple of years...
"I'm sure, Kakashi." Genma turned to the silver haired man with hard eyes, "And I know that Rai wouldn't be too crazy about little kids seeing him like this. He has an image to keep, after all."
Kakashi looked down at their friend and sighed heavily. "Alright. We'll break some kiddie hearts today."
It would hurt to see the children hurt by his decision. But Genma was adamant about keeping them from seeing his friend. Raidou wouldn't like to be seen in such a state by those kids. He wanted them to respect him, not pity him. And the kids... They just weren't ready for this. He was sure of it.
They had fought like hell. All of the kids had wanted to see Raidou. Even Iwashi had joined in. But Genma and Kakashi had been successful in keeping them all out of the room. Itachi and Hana had just watched the children try and take outsmart two grown men, politely staying out of the issue. Tsume hadn't said a single thing, keeping an uncharacteristic neutral stance as her son tried to muscle his way into Raidou's room to tell him to hurry up and get better.
After that afternoon, Genma stayed at the hospital for a whole night before Raidou woke up. Tsume had been kind enough to offer to take over his usual duties with the children and had taken the kids to the Inuzuka compound to keep watch of all of them.
It had hurt to see the way the kids had all glared at him. But Genma stood sure in his decision. Raidou wouldn't want to be seen and the kids weren't ready for it. He knew all of them too well.
Kakashi had left when the sun set, come back with food, blankets, and two steaming mugs of coffee. They had eaten in relative silence and found comfort in it. Even though they usually had an easy kind of banter going on between them, Genma didn't feel it was appropriate for the situation. Especially seeing how they had yet to speak about the way he had blown up at Kakashi because of the whole Naruto thing.
He had fallen asleep on an extremely uncomfortable chair with a much too soft blanket thrown over him. The sounds that lulled him to sleep were those of Raidou and Kakashi breathing, along with the machines connected to his best friend.
When he woke up the next morning, it was to Kakashi offering him food and coffee once more. He accepted it without any hesitation and began to munch on his toast with hunger biting at his stomach just slightly.
"So..." Kakashi broke the silence that had settled over them, sounding somewhat curious. "I noticed Naruto's still in the group."
Genma found it a bit difficult to swallow with a suddenly dry throat. But he gulped down a bit of coffee before nodding, sighing softly.
He knew this conversation was coming. He shouldn't be shocked by it.
"I... Uh... Yeah. He's a good addition. Backs Kiba up whenever he's about to get his ass kicked by Tenten and Ino." Genma admitted shakily, then exhaled heavily to look at his friend. "Listen, Kakashi, those things I said- you were right. I was an idiot and I see it now. I never should have said what I did."
The man looked back at him with an unreadable expression, "Doesn't mean you were lying, though."
They weren't talking about Naruto anymore. They were talking about Kakashi's lack of involvement in the Nine Tails' attack. And Genma felt even more rotten than before.
"Just because it's the truth doesn't mean I have to throw it in your face. It was immature and disrespectful of me to say what I did." Genma admitted, looking down at the tray of food on his lap. "And I was an ass. That kid's more than just the demon. And it took me way too long to see it."
There was a moment of silence in which neither of them said anything. Genma found himself worrying about Kakashi telling him that this would be the last time they spoke as friends. But the next thing he said... Well, it was such a Kakashi thing to say that he should not have been taken aback by it.
"You're right. You are an ass."
Genma swore he moved his neck so fast he must have gotten whiplash. But when he looked at Kakashi, he didn't find the reproachful and angered look he expected to find. Instead he found the younger man smiling softly, visible eye closed in mirth.
"Luckily for you, I'm the correct person for-"
Kakashi stopped himself as soon as they heard Raidou groan. And the moment of light heartedness that was just about to happen between both of them was shot down and replaced by immediately concern for their comrade. Genma flew to his best friend's side, looking down at him with wide eyes.
It took minutes for Raidou to finally open his eyes. But when he did so, Genma couldn't help the small smile that made its way onto his lips.
"Rai..." He breathed out, happy to finally see his best friend's open eyes once more.
But the relief that was beginning to course through him was extremely short lived. Not even a minute after setting his eyes on Genma, Raidou was glaring with one of the most hateful looks Genma had ever seen in his life.
"Get. Out."
His teeth gritted together and his jaw was unbelievably tight.
Genma looked down at his friend in bewilderment, and opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by him.
"Get out of here, Shiranui!" Raidou shouted suddenly, voice seemingly unharmed by everything that had happened to him. "Get the fuck out of my room right now!"
"But, Rai-"
"OUT! AND DON'T LET ME SEE YOUR FACE EVER AGAIN, BASTARD!"
Genma had never run out of a room as hurt as he did that day.
"Come on, Farmer man! It's been two months! Let us go and visit Rai!"
Genma forced himself to hide the sadness and worry that wanted to come over him as soon as he heard that name, looking down at the kids in front of him with a neutral expression on his face.
A whole month had passed since Raidou had returned to the village from a mission that had horribly gone wrong. One whole moth since Genma had been kicked out of his room without a single explanation as to why. A whole month without seeing his best friend and having to listen to the kids beg to go and visit him.
None of their friends could explain to him why he had been so violent in throwing him out of the room. But they told him that he didn't really talk to anybody. Raidou, even though he allowed company, didn't partake in any conversation. The only time he had talked had been with the Hokage to give his mission report. But that had been it. Nothing after that.
Ibiki wasn't any better off. But he at least answered Inoichi and Ino when they visited. He also spoke to Anko, but that was about it. The man hadn't been much of a talker before. And from the whispers Genma had heart, he certainly wasn't one now. But he still spoke more than Raidou. And that terrified him. For even though Raidou had never been too big on speaking, he had never denied anyone of a conversation like this.
"I know you're worried, Ino, but we can't." Genma kept his tone calm and composed, even though on the inside all he wanted to do was run to his best friend and shake him back to reality.
Knowing that Raidou was in pain and refusing any kind of contact worried him. He tried to keep the worry from showing through, but he was sure the kids had already noticed this. He didn't really tolerate as many of their pranks as he used to. And he would grow frustrated of even the smallest of things. He'd even ended up making them all wash their dishes after a particularly messy dinner together.
Coming over to his apartment was no longer fun for any of them. And it sucked, but there was nothing he could do about it. He was much too terrified for his friend's safety to think about how he was affecting the kids.
But he hadn't gone back to Raidou. The coward in him didn't want to face the harsh reality of Raidou never wanting to be friends again. So instead of facing him, the man just avoided him. Even though his every waking thought revolved around how his best friend may be, he stayed away. All to not have to hear Raidou tell him their friendship was over once more.
"But-"
"No buts, Ino." Genma snarled at the girl, then sighed and shook his head. "Why don't you kids entertain yourself finger painting or something?" He murmured softly, feeling a headache coming on. "I'm going to go and lay down."
The kids shuffled around quickly behind him, but the man didn't think much about it.
"We have to do something about this... Farmer man's not right..."
"It's all Bitch Face's fault! We've got to set that man straight!"
"For once, Kiba, I agree with you."
Genma shook his head and opened the door to his room. He didn't even care what those kids were thinking of.
He had been so worried for his best friend... Only to get thrown out of the room like some great villain...
Getting to Raidou's apartment wasn't difficult. Scarecrow had been more than okay with helping them try and mend a broken friendship. And because their parents all thought they would be in Genma's apartment, it wasn't difficult to make time to head out and get to the wounded man's home.
They had all agreed: Genma's bad mood was because of Raidou. They didn't know what had happened between both men, but the kids all knew that it must have been bad for Farmer man to be so angry all of the time.
No longer did their favorite man smile. He tried to fool them with soft smiles, but they knew better than to believe those came from his honest feelings. Genma was in pain, his temper was shorter than ever, and for some reason beyond them, he was doing nothing to solve the problem between them. Their Farmer man wasn't the same. And they didn't like it.
"Tenten, you're up."
Kiba murmured as they all looked up at the door that stood between them and their target, which prompted the girl to step forward and begin to pick the lock.
Even though he would have been more than happy to be the one to pick the lock, Tenten was more experienced. And for once, he could set his feelings aside to be able to complete what he needed to do.
Scarecrow had been kind enough to deactivate all of the traps Raidou had set up around his apartment. But he'd had to leave them to their own devices for some reason he hadn't explained. But they hadn't been bothered by this, seeing how they were much too eager to slap some sense into Raidou.
"Alright." Tenten whispered as the lock clicked, then smiled at her friends. "Door's open. Shino, you're up."
The young Aburame walked forward and extended one arm, a small bug crawling on his finger before flying off and into the slightly ajar door. All eleven children shifted somewhat impatiently as they waited for the scout bug to come back. And when it did, Shino nodded at them.
It was safe to enter.
Neji was the first to step inside, seeing how he was the one that knew the most about fighting. Then went Tenten and Kiba because they had called first dibs on Raidou. Then entered the rest of the children, Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura lagging behind. They had not met the Bitch Face all of the kids were eager to confront but weren't about to miss out on a good show.
Kiba sniffed at the air while Neji activated his Byakugan. Then, almost simultaneously, they pointed at a hallway to the right side of the apartment, "He's in there."
The kids all nodded and followed after their friends. Neji deactivated his kekkai genkkai. For, even though he could use it, it cost him a lot of effort to do so.
Raidou's apartment was different from Genma's own. While Genma's had a large greeting room that doubled as a family room as soon as one entered it, with a kitchen to the right, a dining table between these, and a hallway straight through the middle of it to get to the other rooms, Raidou's was laid out differently. The kitchen was to the back of the apartment, the greeting room was in front of it, there was no dining table, and the hallway that went to the rest of the room was to the right of the small space.
It was also extremely dark, had no signs of any kind of personalization, and no flowers or plants. It was dull and cold.
Ino immediately began to plan ways to liven the place up.
When they reached the door Neji and Kiba had pointed to, the Inuzuka placed his ear against it. His face screwed up as he listened, then he frowned deeply.
"Guys... He's crying..."
All of the kids looked at him in shock. But Kiba's eyes merely narrowed, growing darker. And suddenly, he twisted the knob and kicked the door open, shouting, "Bitch Face! We love your face!"
"Kiba-kun!"
"What are you doing, you stupid numbskull?!"
"Get back here you idiot!"
Kiba rushed into the room before any of his friends could stop him. And the man turned to them with wide, red rimmed eyes. But before he could properly react to the intruders in his apartment, the man gasped and jumped out of his bed, running over to the dresser on the far side of his room to throw one of the drawers open and begin to rummage through it quickly.
"What do you think you're doing, Kiba?!" Ino walked up to her friend and smacked him harshly to the back of the head, which made him sneer back at her.
"What do you think I'm doing?! I'm telling Raidou he's being an idiot and his face is okay!"
The girl glared at him, "Just what is wrong with his face?!"
"Do you think I know?!" He shouted back, pointing at the man. "But he's in here muttering about how ugly his face is now and how he wants nobody to see him! Which is just about the dumbest thing I've ever heard because he doesn't have an ugly face! Not pretty, but not ugly either!"
The kids were all left bewildered by the Inuzuka's words. But they soon heard Raidou smashing his fists against his dresser, "Dammit! Where did they all go!?"
This made all of the children look at him in surprise and slight fear. They had never heard an adult scream with so much anger. And when they looked at him, they noticed that the mirror to his dresser had been smashed into a million pieces, rendering it unusable for its true purpose.
"Where did what go, Raidou?" Tenten questioned softly, daring to take one step forward even with how scared she was.
"My bandages!" He growled back, turning his face to them with one hand covering most of it except his eye. "I can't let anyone see my face!"
His scream was filled with rage. And even though the kids couldn't understand why he was so angry, they could tell that he was. And they immediately recoiled at the rage seemingly flowing out of him, caught off guard by it.
They all looked at each other completely scared. They didn't know what to do. The Raidou before them wasn't the one they were used to. He wasn't scolding them for having broken into his home. And he wasn't questioning where their mother hen was. He was just... Screaming for his bandages.
Hinata was the one to break them out of their stupor. Bravely, yet with shaky steps, the young Hyuga walked towards the distraught man. And when she was finally close to him, the girl tugged at his pant leg, grabbing his attention.
"What do you want, brat?" He hissed, hand still covering up his face.
The young girl flinched at his tone and Neji immediately took a step forward, moving to protect his cousin no matter what. But Hinata surprised them all by clutching the man's leg with both hands, pushing herself up to begin to climb him.
None of them had ever seen Hinata climb anything. So all of the kids were left stunned. Especially because of the determined glare now on the Hyuga's face.
It took seconds of struggling for Raidou to finally take some pity on the girl and pick her up with the hand that he wasn't using. But he did so with a huge frown tugging at the corner of his lips, glare almost dangerous.
"What do you want?" He sneered, which once more had Hinata flinching away in fear.
But once more the girl pushed through her fear, and raised her hands to touch the side of the man's face.
"N-n-not u-u-ugg-gly..." She stuttered out, eyes wide as she looked directly into his eyes. "P-pr-pretty."
For a moment, all of the kids were terrified of what Raidou might do in anger. But his face softened just slightly, eyes losing their killer intent as he looked down at the girl.
"You wouldn't say that if I moved my hand away." He mumbled, suddenly sounding alone and small.
Tenten ran up to him immediately, Sakura and Ino following without any hesitation.
"Then move your hand!" The girl dared, glaring up at him. "If you're actually so hideous, then I want to see! We have a right to know why it is you've thrown Genma by the wayside!"
Raidou looked down at her through narrowed eyes. But he didn't glare, exactly. He didn't seem so angry anymore.
Leave it to Hinata to soothe just about any raging beast.
"If you kids get nightmares, you'll only have yourselves to blame." He warned them, then closed his eyes, breathed in deeply, and dropped his hand from his face.
The reaction was immediately. All of the kids gasped in shock and awe at the mark that now marred his once clear skin. Right bellows his left eye was a painful looking burn, still in the stages of being healed. But they didn't need to be smart to know that it would scar, leaving his face marred for the rest of his life.
"Oh my God! What happened?!" Tenten gasped, raising her hands to cover her mouth as soon as her eyes fell on the injury.
Raidou didn't look at them. He kept his eyes closed, fist tight by his side as he carried Hinata with the other.
"A mission..." He whispered, then moved so his back was to them once more. "Listen, kids, just get out... I don't want anyone to see me like this..."
Tenten looked at Ino with wide eyes. Sakura had tears in her own, caught completely off guard by how painful the injury looked. And the rest of the boys looked at one another, unsure as to what they would do.
None of them had thought they would be faced with what they found.
This was far beyond their scope of understanding.
Hinata speaking up broke them out of their stunned silence once more. "P-pretty."
"You have a very skewed definition of the word, kid."
"B-be-beautifu-ful."
"Kid, I'm going to put you down now. And I want you all to get out-"
"Not going to happen!" Tenten suddenly shouted, running towards Raidou to hug his leg tightly. "You're handsome, Rai. No scar will ever change that!"
Raidou glared down at the little girl latched onto his leg, "You kids are starting to get on my nerves."
"Good!" Ino ran up to him, hugging his other leg. "Sure, you're going to get a gnarly scar. What's so bad about that!? Don't you know all women like cool scars!?"
The boys looked at one another as even Sakura ran up to hug the man, then they all nodded. They could see what their friends were doing. So they too walked towards the man, hugging his legs just like the girls.
"We're not letting you go until you admit you're awesome, Rai." Kiba glared up at him, "And until you promise to go and fix your ruined friendship with Farmer man."
Raidou couldn't move unless he wanted to hurt them. Which was right where they wanted him. If he couldn't move, he couldn't run. And if they all worked together, then they would get the man to admit he wasn't too ugly.
The injury was scary. All of them knew it. But they also knew it was a part of a ninja's life to get injured.
"It's not like you last an arm, dude!" Naruto smiled up at him, which made Shikamaru slap him softly.
"That was stupid of you." The Nara murmured, then looked up at the strange man he had just met today. "But he has a point."
"What do you mean the children are not here?"
"Just what I told you, Lord Hiashi!" Genma hissed back at the angered Hyuga, "They never came here!"
"But they were supposed to come here!" Tsume growled at Genma, sneering at the younger male. "How did you manage to lose eleven children?!"
Genma glared at all of the adults glaring back at him, feeling his patience running thin. He usually could tolerate a lot. But being called a liar by adults that were supposed to know better was something he just couldn't accept easily.
"I didn't lose anybody! Dammit, those kids never came here!" The man shouted back, "They didn't come!"
All of the parents looked at him with varying looks of worry and confusion. Shikaku stepped forward, though, with a much more composed look on his face.
"Have you heard the children talking about possibly going somewhere? Maybe running off to do something?"
Genma pinched the bridge of his nose with a sharp exhale, shaking his head. He had a migraine, he'd only eaten instant foods all day, and now he was being blamed for the kids pulling a disappearing act.
Where could they possibly be?!
"Hey! Their parents are here! Why didn't you tell us they would be here, Rai?"
The door to his apartment flew open with that shout, and all of the adults looked towards it to find all of the children walking inside, Raidou following behind them with Hinata clutched tightly in his hands.
Genma couldn't help but stare at his best friend. He had bandages covering the burn wound on his face, but he didn't look as angry as he had back when he had thrown him out of his hospital room.
"Because it was a given that they would be here, Naruto." Raidou breathed out, a ghost of a smile on his lips. Then he looked up at all of the adults, giving them a nod. "Your children decided to invade my home."
..~..~..
I wanted a chapter of Raidou angst before continuing with the story. The following chapters will deal with the fallout of the kids playing hookie, beginning at the Academy, and Genma dealing with all of this.
Hope you all liked it! Please review!