"A chuu--" She stopped, her quick breath triggering a cough, and shook her head in bewilderment while her eyes watered and she waited for her lungs to settle down again. "That's my clan," she said finally, hooking a thumb over her shoulder toward the distant clan grounds.

Asuma didn't look like he quite understood what she was saying.

"My clan. I mean -- mine. Until I re-joined ANBU and Kanaye took my place."

She waited for Asuma to get it, and didn't have to wait long. His dark eyes cleared, the frown that furrowed his brow lifting suddenly. "Oh." Then he blinked. "Seriously?"

For the first time in what felt like hours, a smile tugged at Tsume's mouth.

"Tsume-san?" A head poked around the corner, tattoos claiming clan membership. "We're glad you're okay." He looked from Asuma to Tsume and back again, coming no farther into the room. "Should I deliver a message to Kanaye-san? Do you need to stay? He wanted to know if you were all right, when you were coming home, and said he expected it would be soon."

It brought everything back, all the smells, the images. Reminded her why she was here, even as her mind kept shying away from the reality. Easier to remain in mild shock. She took a deep breath, instead. "How bad is the damage?" Her heart thumped, a boulder in her chest that pushed against her ribs. She still couldn't quite wrap her mind around what had happened. Not here, in the sterility of the hospital.

The boy didn't look at her. "Five dead so far. Three of them are the kids who... were by the tanks. Lots more in critical condition."

She nodded wordlessly. "Let me find Kuromaru, and I'll be there." She waited for him to leave, watching the doorway until he'd cleared it because it was easier to watch than Asuma. "Clan heads can't be ANBU, too," she said with a shrug. Then she did look up at him, offering him all the smile she could under the circumstances. "So, I'm just a special jounin who helps out the clan alpha when he needs it." She stood again, and this time he didn't put his hands on her shoulders. He still held the jar of salve, open now, dwarfed between callused fingers.

Tsume tested out her feet, waited to make sure her body would bear her weight, and headed for the door and her devastated clan. "Thanks for the kunai," she said, pausing. "It was... nice." There weren't words to convey thanks for rescuing people, being burned, pulling cubs out of fire. Tsume thought up and discarded phrases, reaching to scratch behind one ear. Ash drifted to the floor. "Yeah," she said finally, a little more brusque, and didn't look at him. "Thanks."