Asuma almost choked himself on a laughing snort. "Dude, you told the guy to go out and play stud horse. What'd you expect?" He remembered Ginta's granddad, all six foot scowl of him. Not a ninja you crossed. "Guess we should be thankful you didn't give him a cup of spunk with a bow on it."

Though, knowing Ginta, he probably had.

As they meandered over the bridge, heading into Konoha's more civilian districts, Asuma took a second to pause halfway. His gaze drifting over the budding cherry trees that grew on both sides of the river, marking spreading branches he remembered climbing. The breeze chased ripples over the water's surface, before slipped away to ruffle long grass that fringed the sloping embankments. There was even a momma duck chased by a fleet of fluffy little ones.

Say what you liked about Konoha, it always had looked pretty in the spring.

He caught back up to Ginta, who'd paused to wait for him. "So what happened to your Granddad anyway? Something big and noble, or did you hit him back a bit too hard?"