Genma stared blankly at the water, attention obviously elsewhere. Raidou let the moment sit, waiting, until he saw Genma slip back into the present. Genma blinked, gave a little headshake, and said, “That’s what my family name means. That—” he nodded down at the waves breaking against the hull. “The way the light looks on water.”

Shiranui. Light on water.

“That’s pretty, too,” Raidou said. “Namiashi just means ‘walking pace’.”

Genma shrugged and leaned forward, shoulder barely brushing Raidou’s. “Suits you, in a way. Walking at an even pace. It’s… peaceful.”

“It gets worse. My first name is written with the characters for ‘following blindly.’” Raidou tipped a smile at Genma, inviting him to see the humor. “My full name is basically very slow loyalist.”

Genma made a quiet sound of amusement: the one-syllable laugh of a man without the energy for anything more. “At least yours makes sense. I always write mine in katakana, but the kanji for Genma means basically ‘original horse’.” He sketched a brief shape in the air. Raidou recognized one version of ‘gen’. “My dad says he talked my mom out of using the ‘phantom devil’ version of Genma.”

“It’s not too late to change it,” Raidou said. “Shiny Water Phantom Devil-san has a ring to it.”

That won him a laugh. Quiet and gone in an instant, but for the briefest of moments Genma’s face relaxed. “If I ever get in the Bingo Book, I’ll make sure they write it that way.” More quietly, he added, “Or on the Hero’s Stone.”

Like Eizo, whose name would be carved on the Stone as soon as they carried the news home. That pretty much killed any humor Raidou had.

He glanced sideways, studying the still profile of Genma’s face. Moonlight made Genma’s skin blue; lamplight turned his hair pale gold. Off-mission, this would be the moment to press. Ask, Are you okay? On-mission, they didn’t have room for the answer to be no. Genma was an officer. He could be brittle, but he couldn’t break. Whatever he was using to hold himself together, Raidou couldn’t afford to pull apart.

He hadn’t cracked on their last mission. Ryouma had struggled. Kakashi had blasted himself nearly dead. Raidou had killed half a port and seven innocent men. Genma hadn’t faltered. He wouldn’t today.

“You’re doing good work, Shiranui,” Raidou said. “We can’t afford to lose you to the Stone yet.” Genma’s mouth parted, surprise turning his face young. Raidou bumped his shoulder, breaking the moment, and added, “We should check on Tousaki before he falls asleep and bounces off the deck.”