Genma looked up, too, startled by the roughness of Ryouma’s voice. The naked emotion he found on Ryouma’s face was almost embarrassing. “You don’t have to thank me,” he said, looking away. “Just learn it fast, so the next time one of the team doesn’t dodge well enough, you can help me patch them back together. Or you know, if it’s me again…” He laughed, touching his nose. “I already have you to thank for preserving my looks.”

“That doesn’t count,” Ryouma scoffed. “It’d be a crime not to.”

He flirts with everyone. You walked right into that, Shiranui.

Genma cleared his throat and turned back to start reassembling the course materials and scrolls littering the floor around the trunk. “I’ll try to get these better organized, so when you’re ready for the next scrolls I can find them easier.”

Ryouma ran his fingers gently over the scroll in his lap, petting it like it was made of velvet. “I'll take my time with these two. Kakashi offered to help out; maybe he'll take a look at the text, see if there's anything I should know. Or Ayane, she's got time…”

Hajime’s rookie. She definitely had time on her hands, at least until the ANBU hierarchy found her a new team.

Ryouma’s lips thinned. “I guess our new captain'd be the one to ask for word on Team Three's reformation, but he doesn't much seem like he'd share.”

“Not likely,” Genma agreed. “And I would strongly advise you not to ask him.” He grimaced at the reminder of Kuroda’s unwelcome appearance that morning. “I can ask Hajime next time I see him, though. I was going to visit today after my session, but…” He yawned and waved a hand. “Team business came first.”

“I'm not sure if you could call Hisa-chan and her family team business. Team reward, maybe.” Ryouma's face lit up again, banishing the consternation over Kuroda as if it had never been. “D'you think there's any way we could get word to the captain about them? Even a note by messenger? Or is that violating his parole, or something?”

Team reward. Genma had to agree. “I’ve never had anything like that happen before. I mean, I’ve had people I’ve helped be grateful for it, but never…” He swallowed a sharp, unexpected lump in his throat. Hisa had come out of that stinking charnel-house of a demon’s nest and survived. “I was— I’m already planning to send a note to Taichou. He should get to see Hisa-chan and her family before they leave, if he can. He deserves to hear their thanks. I wish he could have been with us today.”

“If you wanna write something now, I’ll find a runner,” Ryouma offered.

“I will.” Genma sat up, pushing a few stray hairs off his forehead. “That’s perfect. If he gets the note this afternoon, there’s a good chance he’ll get there in time.”

And if Kuroda had a problem with it, that was a disciplinary action Genma was willing to face.

“Help me get up?” He reached a hand up to Ryouma, who obliged with a confident grasp. Resettling on the edge of his bed, he picked up a pen and a pad from the bedside table and started jotting out the note.

Ryouma watched him for a moment, then turned back to his Chakra Basics scroll, tracing a finger over one of the diagrams.

Genma folded and addressed the note. “When you meet with Hatake or Ayane, get them to help you write out what you already know in terms of medications, treatments, and procedures. Basic medical stuff. Just an outline is fine. I can look it over and see if there’s any stuff we need to cover before we get into higher level work.”

Genma could hear the grin in Ryouma’s voice without looking up. “Kakashi already volunteered for medical terminology flashcards.”

“The illegible leading the illiterate… I think there’s a proverb about that,” Genma said. “Tell him I said to work on body part kanji first, and to label the cards in kana, too.” He thought for a second, and added, “And tell him I said I’ll consider it appropriate work towards his performance goals if they’re clean and easy to read.”

“Incentive from you, challenge from me. He might even enjoy this.” Ryouma rolled up the scroll and very carefully tied it with a neat bow. “Anything else I can help you with, before I go?”