Of all the ways Genma was preparing for this discussion to turn, Kakashi going for dark humor was low on the list. He snorted, relaxing now that it appeared Raidou and Kakashi weren’t going to come to immediate blows. “It might have saved us this grief,” he agreed.

Ryouma’s expression was still caught somewhere between shock, fury, and abject hurt. And Kakashi, for all his wry joking, seemed dangerously on edge. They really had to sell this right, and sell it now, or the team would incorporate a fracture into its foundation.

“Sarutobi Asuma and I were rookies on Team 14 under Hyuuga Seijin-taichou. He’s retired from ANBU now, but he was a good captain. We were a good team. Ten months into our rookie year, Asuma comes to me and tells me he’s gotten an offer he can’t refuse—palace guard for the Daimyou as one of the Guardian Twelve.” The name brought a collective wince — the Guardian Twelve’s betrayal was fresh. He’d have to thread this needle carefully.

“He got 24 hours to think it over, but I knew from the minute he told me about it, and I think he knew from the minute the Hokage asked him, that he was going to do it. He put his ANBU membership on hiatus when he wasn’t even through his rookie year, and he left a well-established team that was functioning like clockwork to do it. It gutted our team, at first, but Hyuuga-taichou and Ishida-fukuchou kept us focused and we made the team work without him.”

He glanced up, trying to catch Raidou’s eye to be sure they were on the same page before he continued. “It’s going to suck adjusting to the team without Ueno at first, but this is an opportunity she’s not likely to get again soon. She’ll be with her little brother, she’ll have a chance to train with her mother, maybe build some bridges with her father, and she’ll be developing her command skills in a setting that will look a lot more like long-term jounin-level work than ANBU missions do.”

“In Iwa,” Kakashi repeated, subtly stressing his words like maybe Genma had missed that salient point. “And I'm sorry, lieutenant, but Sarutobi's career is shafted after the Guardian Twelve. He's not back in ANBU. And who's going to hire a jounin that couldn't spot a traitor standing right next to him?”

Raidou’s weight shifted behind him, a reassuring bulwark, and Genma bit back two sharp retorts before settling on, “The Hokage.” Kakashi was trying to bait him out of hurt, just like he’d tried to bait Raidou by implying Katsuko was easily replaced. It was an immature tactic, albeit an effective one. Using the unimpeachable decisions of Kakashi’s mentor was perhaps a little underhanded, but warranted, in Genma’s opinion. “Minato-sama interviewed Asuma and is satisfied with his skills and loyalty. I don’t know if the coup attempt was preventable, but I know Asuma and the others who remained loyal saved the lives of the Daimyou and his family. When Asuma wants back into ANBU, there will be a spot for him.”

“Asuma's not the point,” Ryouma burst in. Storm clouds roiled dangerously in dark eyes. “We're talking about Katsuko. And lieutenant, you're making it sound like she's going on jounin leadership track instead. If you're heading toward a spot as a jounin commander, you're not gonna detour back to an ANBU mask.”