Cursed Saint

18 - Someday

"I said to just stay still, you idiot!"

Ryu rolled his eyes, but he couldn't help but chuckle at the Suna genin. Hime hovered over Kaine, trying to reach a cut he'd obtained sometime during the battle. Kaine had one hand against her stomach, the other shoving against her jaw. As soon as Hime realized there was no medical ninja around, she'd insisted Raido let her practice her own techniques on Kaine.

Much to the boy's dismay, Raido agreed.

After another moment of struggle, Ryu offered, "You can try to heal my bite marks if you want, Hime." The bites wouldn't take long to heal on their own, but Ryu figured he should try to save Kaine. It was the least he could do in return for Kaine's help during the fight.

The duo paused in their struggle, Hime leaning nearly all the way over Kaine. Hime blinked at Ryu, almost like she had forgotten he was there. When what he said finally sank in, Hime beamed. But she didn't move fast enough.

"Ge off of me, Princess Pink," Kaine grumbled, shoving Hime upward.

It was a pretty nice shove for someone with hurt ribs; however, Hime wasn't expecting it. She came crashing back down onto Kaine, and she landed directly on his ribs. Kaine howled. Despite her teammate's pain, Hime was grinning as she rose back to her feet.

Hime stuck her tongue out. "Servers you right!"

"I thought this room was for healing, not killing."

Before he even turned to face the new comer, Ryu was beaming. Although he was covered in bandages – both over and under his clothes – Asuma appeared the same as when they had arrived in Morigakure. The blank expression he'd gained while under the genjutsu was replaced with a relaxed, soft smile. The dead eyes were now alight with an amused gleam. He was no longer a puppet for Daichi to control – he was the sensei who Ryu had known for a few years now. It was a great relief to have Asuma back.

Asuma noticed Ryu's smile, and his own grew a bit wider.

"If you're healed enough to rough house, maybe you should be out here training sparring with me instead." This voice came from the window, where Raido had suddenly appeared.

Both children lowered their heads. Kaine had a slight blush, and if Hime did as well, it was lost on her darker skin tone. After a moment of their silence, Hime spoke again, but only to accuse Kaine for their rowdiness. The Zenjin boy was quick to defend himself.

"You okay to go outside, Ryu?" Asuma asked, drawing Ryu's attention.

He nodded and hopped up. His body protested, though most of his injuries were minor. "Of course, Asuma-sensei."

Ryu followed Asuma through the Komichi household. Aside from the room Ryu had inhabited, the residence was deserted. Everyone else was out helping rebuild the town. Much of the grounded structures were damaged. Someone claimed it was from Hime's chakra beams and Chouji's Human Boulder, but there was no proof. None of the other villagers saw reason to support a claim bad-mouthing their saviors.

"Let the power of youth restore the village! Work like your life depends on it!"

"Yes, Gai-sensei!"

Asuma sighed, lighting a cigarette he had grabbed at the door. "Honestly, we could probably just leave all the clean-up to those two."

Ryu leaned against the railing, ignoring the ache it caused from his bite marks. The village was alive with activity. Ino and Chouji were working with Yuumai, Aiko, and Taiki with a small group of villagers on one of the buildings along the edge. Their backs were turned to Ryu, but it was evident Shikamaru wasn't among the group. A brief examination revealed Shikamaru was resting in the shade of a tree, his eyes closed. He had only left the resting room that morning, much to Ryu's annoyance. Not because of Shikamaru himself, but because Ryu was still trapped in the room. There was no reasoning behind it, but Asuma had refused to let him out, and he wouldn't say why.