Love Triangle: Kakashi vs. Genma

63 | Battle Grounds

[Y/N] got into a familiar battle stance. Her back was facing close against Genma's so that both of their backs were covered. They'd worked together so much, it was muscle memory at this point. They made quick work of fighting the enemy, trying to hold them off.

"Where are the reinforcements?" Choji called after a few minutes. 

Genma rolled his eyes. "Come on, you guys are pathetic! We're gonna have to do this job on our own!"

Genma jumped up, throwing kunai in several directions and hitting several of the reanimated ninja before landing back behind [Y/N], drawing another kunai and getting ready for close combat.

It seemed like hours of fighting before Genma stopped to take a breath. He and Ebisu started trying to figure out how the enemy's jutsu worked, commenting on how it was an earth style and how the bodies got there anyway. They were standing there watching the new bodies rising from the ground while [Y/N] quickly pulled one off of Izumo, who turned and stabbed another behind her. She was growing more and more frustrated with the situation and turned on Ebisu and Genma.

"Guys, that's great that you wanna know how it works. But can you talk and fight at the same damn time?!" [Y/N] yelled toward them. Genma shrugged and jumped back into the action, his kunai catching one of the enemy bodies behind [Y/N]. He leaned in close to her and whispered in her ear. "Don't worry, babe, I've got your back."

[Y/N] outwardly grimaced at his use of the pet name. But on the inside, her heart fluttered. She missed teaming up with Genma like this, having each other's backs in the middle of a battle. She missed his silly pet names. Still, she rolled her eyes and refocused on the battle.

The reanimated bodies just kept coming and coming. The battle was dragging on and all of the Leaf shinobi were growing tired.

It seemed a small victory when they all noticed that the defense barrier started to dissipate too. Ebisu grinned. "That means that one of our units must've defeated who ever was casting the jutsu!"

Genma glared at his surroundings, unfazed by said small victory. He was all too aware of the bodies that still yet were coming at them and the sweat that kept rolling down his forehead. "Terrific. But that doesn't change our situation as long as these things keep coming at us."

Choji clapped his hands together. "Since that other unit, who ever they are, did their job, the least we can do is take care of our end."

"That's the spirit Choji." Shikamaru said, coming out from the shadows behind them. [Y/N] glared in his direction, watching as he made his way closer to the battle field. It's about damn time he made an appearance.

"This is a diversion." Shikamaru started. "Their real objective is elsewhere. That's why we've got to wrap things up here as quickly as we can, then go link up with the other units."

Genma peered at him over his shoulder. "Yeah, yeah, we know that. So why don't you quit standing there yapping and come up with a strategy already?"

Shikamaru scratched his head. "You can be a real drag, ya know?"

Then the young chunin asked about everyone's chakra reserves, gauging what he had to work with before directing them through a plan. They only got maybe two moves in before the bodies started bursting into dust.

They all watched at the bodies disappeared, leaving them without any more enemies to fight. Suddenly, the wall of dirt and roots that had been producing the enemy bodies started collapsing, sending a cloud of dust forward. Out of instinct, Genma reached out and pulled [Y/N] into his chest, holding the back of her head and guarding her face before covering his own.

Once the dust cleared, [Y/N] blushed and pulled away from him. Genma ignored that she pulled away from him, secretly pleased by the pink tint on her cheeks. He'd missed being the reason the blood rushed to her cheeks. The other ninja around them started cheering before Genma cleared his throat.

"Shikamaru was right. It could be a diversion. I wouldn't start celebrating just yet." Genma didn't hesitate to start handing out orders. He sent Shikamaru and a team out to investigate the village, searching for the enemy. Others were to start scanning through their fallen comrades and pull them into safety.

[Y/N] watched as her friends started moving out, following their orders. She scanned through the shinobi around her, counting off familiar faces. There were a few missing, some friends she didn't see. Among them was her brother.

"He'll be okay, [Y/N]." Genma said, putting his hand on her shoulder. She glanced at him and gave a small smile.

"I'm sure he will be. For now, what can I do to help? We can't just stand around."

Genma smiled, the look of determination in her eyes edging him on and carrying him through the rest of the night.