October of the year 22… Ryouma frowned. "We would've been in the Academy together, too. I was behind you. Entered in April of the year 21." The first time. He looked for another photo to comment on.

Genma was moving on, though, passing the first bedroom and heading for the second. "I think I knew that from reading your personnel file when you got assigned to Team Six. They kept the classes pretty segregated, so we probably never had a class together before you had to withdraw." He slid the pocket door open and paused, glancing back. "I'm sure that sucked."

Withdrawing hadn't been the hard part. He couldn't even remember how it'd happened, exactly, those early days all fogged with grief and confusion.

Anger had come later. So had fear.

He said, "Yeah." Genma was standing a little to the side, not quite blocking the doorway; Ryouma leaned in around him and whistled in appreciation. "Nice posters, lieutenant."

A travel poster for Tea Country hung over the bed: terraced mountains, blue skies, tiny fishing boats dotted along a lazy river. Band posters hung between the windows, with singers and logos Ryouma didn't recognize. At the near side of the room, over a chest of drawers, was a lurid movie ad with a shirtless, handsome hero standing bodyguard behind a gorgeous woman in a torn kimono with a katana in her hand.

"Didn't peg you for an Uematsu Michi fan," Ryouma said, delighted. "Sword and Flower? I saw that like six times when it came out in theatres."

Genma's smile turned broad and real. "Yeah? I love her work. Did you see Village in Heaven last year?"

"Twice, between missions. She'd changed fight choreographers, though, and I think it showed." Ryouma edged further into the room, looking around. Single bed, dusty weapons rack with a much-patched chuunin vest displayed proudly on its stand, a few books neatly arranged on a shelf with a collection of tiny wood and ivory carvings from southern Wind Country.

"I keep meaning to clean up in here," Genma said, a bit awkwardly, "but I still crash here every so often, and it's…" He shrugged. "Comforting, I guess."

Comforting sounded right, Ryouma thought. He wondered why Genma'd ever left.