In the past twenty-four hours, Team Thirteen had set traps, triggered explosions, blown their enemies up, blown themselves up… Ginta and Usagi traded off a patchwork commentary on the game of deadly tag they'd played around Kirigakure's walls and the running firefight that had followed, almost to the coast. Ryouma cleaned Abe's wounds carefully, doing his best not to jostle the fractured wrist, and tried to follow the leapfrogging thread. His own scattered concentration, their fevers, and Usagi's concussion weren't helping.

"...so then we doubled back," Ginta was saying, "since Usagi wasn't sure we'd been sufficiently noisy the first time—"

"Because you walk like a goddamn feather, you halfweight," Usagi interrupted.

"Ninja, remember?" Ginta shot back. "Trained from infancy to walk silently? Fuck, Hatake—" He broke off in almost a shriek.

"Stop it, you're butchering him!" Kasumi shouted.

Abe wrenched around. His arm slipped from Ryouma's careful balance and banged against the edge of the propping chair. He gasped, and then retched. Ryouma lunged for the bucket and barely got it in time.

The next few moments dissolved into Ginta's agonized whimpers, the thick choking sounds of Abe vomiting, and Kasumi's panicked yelling. Genma cut across them all with sharp orders: "Sit down, Yamada. Hatake, give him another five of morphine and check a pulse. Tousaki, when Abe's finished, get him lying down. I'll come do a nerve block on his arm as soon as I can." He glanced over his shoulder at Ryouma, his hands still glowing and cupped over Usagi's temples. "There's antinausea medication in my bag but it's a suppository. Blue, foil-wrapped. Ask him if he wants it— What now?"

Ryouma hadn't even noticed the door opening. The ship captain stood there, spray-damp.

"It's half past midnight," he said. "Tide's going. We need to leave with it."

Raidou stood. "No." He gestured curtly. "Yamada, with me." He strode out of the cabin, catching the captain by the shoulder on the way and dragging him out. Kasumi hesitated, then followed, steel glinting in her hand. The door banged shut behind her, cutting off raised voices.

In the abrupt silence, Abe spat into the bucket and croaked, "I'll take the nerve block."

Ryouma dug his canteen out and passed it over. "Just the block? You sure?"

Abe took the canteen, rinsed his mouth, and spat again. "Pretty sure I'd rather throw up on your shoes than have you shove anything up my ass, but ask me again in ten minutes."

"I'd make it good for you," Ryouma promised. Abe managed a ragged laugh.

Usagi dragged her gaze away from the door, and looked down at them. She mustered a hazy grin. "Can I sign up?"

"There's a sign-up sheet?" Ginta asked, faintly.

"It's not too late to leave you all to die," Kakashi warned. He eased the syrette out of Ginta's arm and shifted his grip to Ginta's wrist, steadying the lieutenant's shaking hands.

"Don't worry," Ryouma told them. "He'd leave me with you." He helped Abe ease back to lie flat on the floor, head pillowed on the muddy lumps of someone's utility belt. "Anyway, sounds like Taichou doesn't want us to even leave Kuroda here to die. Or maybe he likes Intel."

"I wouldn't leave Yuuhi behind, either," Usagi said sympathetically. She paused. The corner of her mouth curled. "Or that little Uchiha."

"I called it," Ginta said weakly. "Pay up, Genma."

The tension carving Genma's face almost eased, for a moment. "Morphine starting to work, Ginta?" The glow died from his hands; he pulled one back. "Usagi-taichou, can you follow my finger with your eyes?"

Usagi sighed and looked up again. Her left eye was still puffy, but the swelling had drained enough that Ryouma could see her warm brown iris roll smoothly, tracking Genma's finger. Her burned skin peeled and flaked with healing. She was holding herself upright, fists braced on the table, elbows locked without trembling. "What's your next trick, sensei?"

He let his breath out. "My next trick is probably convincing you to rest, and drink a liter of water with electrolyte powder. How's your pain?"

"It's my favorite thing ever," she said.