Broken
Nezuko, Prince of Rats

"Genma, quit it. What are you doing, you idiot?" Raidou sounded appalled.

"Just- Nothing. I'm not doing anything," Genma answered, sounding like a sullen teenager caught red-handed.

"Well stop it. It's broken."

"It is not," Genma retorted, then stumbled and hissed, swearing.

"See. Broken. I told you," Raidou insisted.

"It's not broken! It's just... Ah fuck! My knee!" Genma broke off, pitching head first into his partner.

Raidou swore, too, and caught the limping jounin, propping him up. "Now you're gonna have made it worse. Stand the fuck still." He knelt down next to his partner.

Kakashi and Iruka, watching this, fell upon themselves laughing.

"Fuckers!" Genma snarled. "It's not funny. And this is all your fault, Kakashi."

"How is this my fault?" The silver-haired man raised an elegant eyebrow. "You're the one who broke it and then tried to walk on it."

"It's not broken!" Genma gritted through clenched teeth. He massaged his now-swelling knee and looked much aggrieved.

"I"m sorry to have to say this, Genma-senpai, but it definitely is broken," Iruka said, from his perch next to Kakashi. "I can tell from here." And he snickered.

"You keep out of this unless you want to be next," Genma threatened.

"You brought this on yourself, Genma, don't take it out on Iruka." Kakashi's voice was mild, but the underlying flare in his chakara was not.

"Hush, Kakashi." Raidou said, jumping to defend his lover and sparing the other jounin a quick glare. "You both had a hand in this."

"Yeah," started Genma.

"You keep quiet. And stand still." Raidou interrupted, being rather ungentle in his ministrations to Genma, who yelped.

"See if I ever take another 'friendly' bet..." Genma groused. He pulled out a senbon and stuck it between his teeth, chewing fiercely on the metal needle.

"Don't bite it, Gen-chan. You'll break a tooth next." Raidou gave his lover a look made more threatening by the scars across his face.

Genma sulked and shifted his weight, but yelped and swore again when his injured leg wouldn't hold him.

"Alright, forget it. Sit down," Raidou instructed.

Genma plopped onto a low chair with an exasperated, "Tch," and crossed his arms over his chest. He continued to chew on the senbon, albeit less aggressively, and pouted. When Raidou prodded his knee again he tensed up and swore. "I hurt it, alright? Quit poking it."

Kakashi and Iruka laughed again.

"Even I can do better than that, Genma." Kakashi said.

"You quit laughing. You are going to be next, as soon as I fix this." Raidou muttered. "Go get some ice and some tape or something."

"Is it really that bad?" Iruka asked, suddenly concerned.

Genma swore colorfully. "It's not..."

"It is!" Raidou insisted. "You've fucked it up good, this time. All for a stupid bet with those assholes. And it is definitely broken. You're not walking on it anywhere."

Kakashi snickered, and Iruka covered a grin. He got up and retrieved an ice pack from the kitchen, which he handed to Genma.

"Shoulda used some chakara to keep it together," Genma muttered.

"Told you," Kakashi smirked. "And you owe me a new pair of shoes."

"Like you were ever really gonna wear these again." Raidou sat back with a disgusted snort and held the pointy-toed pump in his hand. The stacked heel dangled from the sole at a clearly structurally-unsound angle. "Crappy workmanship to begin with."

"Hey, you try to find women's dress-shoes in a men's size ten," Kakashi groused. "There aren't a lot of options."

"Shoulda asked me," Iruka grinned.

Genma raised an eyebrow and Raidou laughed. "Always knew you had a few kinks."

"Oooh, punish me, Sensei..." Genma and Raidou chorused together.

"I think I already did," Iruka laughed and indicated Genma's twisted knee. "And you really should know better than to take a bet like that." He took the broken pump out of Raidou's hand and sat next to Kakashi on the couch again. "You sabotaged this, didn't you?"

Kakashi just gave Iruka a mild look. "Why would I need to do that?"

"You bastard!" Genma swore, "You didn't have to break my knee, too."

"You did that yourself," Kakashi retorted. "You should have quit trying to walk on it the minute you knew it was wobbly."

"Those things are inherently wobbly," Genma complained. "I'm getting Kurenai to explain how she walks in them in the morning."

"You can get Shizune to explain it tonight," Raidou said. "I think you might have actually fucked your knee up."

Genma whined and started to stand, making a face when he tried to bend his leg.

"Genma!" Raidou grabbed him and shoved him back down. "What are you doing, you idiot? Stop that!"

"I... Nothing. I was just gonna test it out." Genma sat back down looking thoroughly dejected.

"I just told you you messed it up. You wanna make that worse by walking on it broken, too?"

"Oh for... It's not broken. I just twisted it a little."

"It's not that late," Kakashi said. "I'll bet Shizune's still awake."

"Yeah," said Iruka, "maybe you should get her to look at it, just to be sure."

"Better to get her to look at it now, than try to explain it to the hospital tomorrow..." Kakashi coaxed.

"You are such a bastard, Kakashi," Genma grumbled.

"I think they're right, Gen-chan," Raidou said softly. He grabbed Genma's hand and placed it over his injured knee. "Feel. Can you feel how it's not right?"

"It's just twisted," Genma whined.

"Fine, it's just twisted," Raidou agreed. "Now will you let Shizune look at it?"

"She's not here," Genma pointed out, still pouting.

"Ruka and I'll go get her," Kakashi offered. "By way of saying sorry about you losing the bet."

"Only cause you cheated."

Kakashi just grinned and dragged Iruka away with him to look for the medic in question.

Raidou was still trying to soothe Genma's ruffled feathers and keep the fool sitting down when Kakashi and Iruka returned with Shizune and Kurenai in tow.

Genma groaned. "You brought an audience?"

"Nice to see you, too, Shiranui," Kurenai said. She stood with crossed arms and regarded her colleague. "I was having a drink with Shizune when your buddies here came and said there was an emergency at your place. Might have known it'd be something foolish."

Shizune looked at the injured, pouting jounin hiding behind his curtain of hair, at his somewhat agitated looking partner, at the two mischief makers who had fetched her, at the open beer bottles on the living room table, and at the broken pumps on the floor, and had to suppress a laugh.

"So I take it this isn't exactly a mission-related injury?" she asked, winking at Kurenai.

"Please don't put this in my medical record, please, please, please, Shizune-chan?" Genma wheedled.

"Well what did you do? These guys," she jerked a nod at Kakashi and Iruka, "wouldn't tell me anything except you'd hurt your knee."

"Ah," Raidou started calmly, "You see, we had a little wager about whether you ? kunoichi I mean ? whether you had to use chakara to balance in those things..." He gestured at the shoes.

"Un huh." Shizune sounded thoroughly unimpressed.

Kurenai snorted and sat down on the couch, helping herself to a beer.

"It's Kakashi's fault," Genma muttered. "They were his shoes, and he wrecked the heel so I'd fall."

Shizune knelt next to Genma and lifted the ice pack. "And it never occurred to you to just ask one of us?" She shook her head. "I"m surprised you were clever enough to put the ice on it after the fact."

Genma gritted his teeth and decided to suffer in silence, but Kurenai wouldn't consider it.

"So how was it? Did you feel all womanly? Maybe you should have worn a miniskirt, for the full effect." She looked at Kakashi and Iruka on the couch next to her. "Genma'd look good in a miniskirt, don't you think? He's got nice enough legs."

"Actually..." Kakashi started.

"Oh don't you dare!" Genma jumped up from his chair, intent on silencing his so-called friend.

"Sit the hell down!" Shizune used her most impressive Voice of Medical Authority. Combined with Raidou practically tackling him, Genma had no choice but to comply.

"Actually?" Kurenai prompted.

"Actually," Kakashi continued, "he does. Want to see the picture?" The pale jounin crossed the room, snagged a photo-album off of a low bookshelf, and held it open for Kurenai and Iruka.

"Oooh, Shi-chan, you need to see this," Kurenai called.

Genma hung his head even further. "Look, if you won't let me kill him, can I please have some more alcohol to dull the pain?"

"I"m sorry, Gen-chan," Raidou said, wrapping an arm around his distraught lover and handing him a beer. "I forgot Kashi knew about those pictures."

Shizune finished up treating Genma's knee and wrapped it in a wide elastic bandage. "Stay off of it for a day or so. I'll check it day after tomorrow. Should be good by then if you actually let it heal."

"So... you're not putting this my my medical records, right?" Genma pleaded.

"Depends..." Shizune replied, going over to look at the photo album with the traitors - er - other people on the couch.

"On what?" Raidou asked warily, still holding on to Genma's shoulder.

"On whether Kurenai and I get copies of this picture." Shizune grinned and held up the photograph in question: Genma from behind, legs apart, wearing a fetchingly low-slung black miniskirt with a white waistband and nothing else but his hitai-ate and his Anbu tattoo.

Kurenai hooted. Genma whimpered. Raidou glared. Iruka blushed. And Kakashi sat back with a wide, satisfied smile.

ooo ooo ooo

With reverence to Devo-Sama, for his inspired (and inspiring) painting of Genma in a miniskirt. http (colon slash shash) pics . livejournal . com / devosama / pic / 00025cwe (take out the spaces to get it to resolve)

Special thanks for Bite and Kiki for pre-reads, and Meleth for the delicious line "Oooh, Sensei..." from her marvelous story, "Look, Look!"


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