Resonance

His Back

Chapter Six

Genma packed his bags, keeping track of the movements in the tower as he did so. Chouza was directing the medics as they prepared to transport the boy back. Raidou was checking his weapons and their supplies.

All in all the damage to the village had been bad, but not devastatingly so. A handful of them were dead, including the innkeeper and his wife, but the rest seemed to have fled early on during the assault. They would be rebuilding for some time, but they seemed to be a resilient group.

The boy's parents lingered by his side, a few feet away so as not to disrupt the medics. Their faces were old and lined.

The girl - Akane - said her goodbyes to her parents, but it was a formal, awkward one.

Soon the sun's rays began to peek through the windows and turn blocks and lines of the floor gold. Chouza nodded at everyone and picked up his pack. It was time to go.

Genma hefted Akane unceremoniously on his back, and set off behind his old sensei at a swift pace. The medics followed closely, carrying the boy on a stretcher. His condition was stable, but not great. Shinobi attacks on civilian villages tended to end in carnage, but this one had been lucky.

Not, he reflected as they stepped out of the village borders, the parents watching them leave, that they would agree.

They moved back silently. This mission was unusual and each of them was considering what tasks remained when they returned home. The medics focused on making sure the boy's condition did not deteriorate. His organs had been ruptured in the attack and they would need him to go to surgery once they reached the village.

Around one to two hours later, the girl on his back said something.

"Ah, sorry?" Genma tilted his head back. Her face was a shade of waxy green. He hesitated, then paused, signalling the rest to stop.

He lowered her to the ground to rest against a tree. It was time for a break anyway. The medics were fit, but it had not been easy for them to heal the dozen or so injured as well as these two.

"I'm sorry," she said, after drinking a bit of water from the canteen offered to her. "I - I get motion sick. I'm so sorry."

Genma chewed on his senbon. This is going to be an issue. At the pace they were going, it would take almost a full day to reach Konoha.

He glanced at the nearest medic, Tsukishima, who searched his pack for something and threw it over.

Genma gave it a glance and passed it to Akane. "A ginger sweet," he said. "Do you want to try? It might help." Also, he had no desire to have her vomit on him.

Akane took the sweet and looked down at it helplessly. Her face had a little more colour, but was still tinged green. She knew she was delaying them, and hated it. Bad enough they had to be saved but here she was, being a burden.

"You're a shinobi, right? A ninja?" She asked.

Genma considered whether she was concussed.

"I mean, do you have anything that can put me to sleep? Something to knock me out?" Akane continued.

"Well, yes, I can do that pretty easily." Genma said. "But are you sure?"

Akane cocked her head sideways, considering his words. Why would he even ask her that? She looked at the others, who were near enough to catch the gist of their conversation. Some were drinking water. Raidou was fiddling with his pack, looking busy.

What…oh, Akane thought in consternation. She was the only female in the group.

Genma watched a flush grow on her cheeks and felt a twinge of emotion at the back of his chest. Akane rubbed at her face as if trying to hide her embarrassment, but it was stark against her pale skin.

Akane glanced at Haruki, who was unconscious on a stretcher, one medic checking his vitals. Her eyes softened.

She looked back up at Genma. "Yes," she said, her voice almost steady. "I'm sure. Please."

Genma nodded without further comment and formed a few hand seals. She did not flinch but stayed as still as a deer in the headlights. Nemuri no jutsu, he murmured and touched his fingers lightly to her forehead.

Akane's eyes slid shut and her body seemed to go limp. He grasped her shoulder and her cheek came to a rest on his hand. It was cold.

"Shall we go?" Chouza asked from the front.

Genma nodded and gathered the - girl? Woman? - in his arms. As they set off again, he had a strange feeling of having been gifted trust he had not earned.


They had set off in the early hours, and reached Konoha just before sunrise. They dropped Akane and Haruki off at the hospital, before the trio reported at the Hokage's office.

Scrolls were splayed over the Hokage's desk, held down with books, other scrolls, and a mug of coffee. A scribe knelt by a small mountain of books on the floor. Her brow furrowed as she flipped through pages, her eyes red from lack of sleep. Ibiki stood in a corner of the room, creating the same effect as an ice cube dropped down one's spine.

"Hokage-sama", Chouza greeted with a bow.

"Welcome back," Sarutobi nodded in greeting. "I'm sorry I asked you three to report to me immediately despite the late hour. I will try to keep it succinct. Can you describe what you saw of the girl's chakra in detail?"

Chouza described it to the best of his abilities. The barely there shimmer, and how he dispelled it.

"And she was unconscious at the time?" Sarutobi leaned forward, eyes narrowing.

"Yes," Chouza confirmed.

"There may have been a clan who could do such things, long ago. The Kizuna." Sarutobi said, sighing. "But they should have been wiped out a hundred years ago."

"Hokage-sama, the barrier we saw was easily dispelled—" Genma ignored the side eye Chouza gave him "—and only gave a small zap when touched. It's unique but I don't see a need for concern."

"That's because you're too young to know what it means," Ibiki growled.

"Then enlighten us," Raidou said, folding his arms.

Ibiki's mouth twisted in something resembling a smile. He glanced at the Hokage, who nodded slightly. "Go ahead."

"The stories have grown over time. Changed," Ibiki said. "There is always mention of an ability to control chakra, make it visible, without hand seals. It is said that the presence of the clan on a battlefield means one will never lose. Specific tales of the power range from using chakra as weapons to summoning a god. Most, if not all, are probably exaggerations, coloured by time and people's storytelling."

"No kidding," Genma muttered. Summoning a god, tch. "So you're going to interrogate her?" He folded his arms. There was a faint twinge inside, again, that made him uncomfortable.

"No," the Hokage cut in. "I don't think there is a need for that now. However, in your report you mentioned the missing-nin from the Land of Mist saw her use her abilities before escaping. It is highly possible that she will be investigated by others, and her village is not currently a part of any country." He paused. "I will speak to her before deciding how to proceed. In the meantime, Genma, I want you to stay by her. Report on any information you gather. Shinobi may come seeking her abilities, so be alert for them."

Genma sighed internally. "Hai, Hokage-sama." He sensed there would be a lot of trouble from this mission.