Ibiki slowed, suppressing the shudder that Asuma's whistle sent up his spine. His lips parted in disgust, hidden behind his mask. Was the Hokage's son another faggot? It was bad enough that the three men they were chasing — two, and a corpse, logic told him — were queers. This was exactly why it was a bad idea not to screen for that sort of thing.

"It's Ibiki," he said, when Asuma had caught up level with him.

Asuma was maskless, smoking as he jogged, with something other than a Konoha hitai-ate knotted bandana-style around his head, and wearing a dark blue steel bracelet on each long-gloved wrist. The bracelets looked like they might actually be functional as shields or weapons, given their weight, but they didn't do much to convince Ibiki of Asuma's manliness, especially when they clacked against his wrist guards.

Ibiki pushed his own mask off and gave Asuma a flat look. "Questions?"

Asuma grinned through his smoke, toothy and bright, like he was enjoying himself. "Yeah, Shida's boy," he said. "You prefer sunsets or long walks on the beach?"

Oh. This.

This Ibiki knew what to do with. This was more of the same old shit from an agent who'd never set foot in the sub-basement or considered how the information gained in interrogation might have saved his damn life a time or two.

It was the same old shit he got from subjects trying to ruffle him.

"Questions that are relevant to the mission at hand?" he clarified.

Asuma's smile didn't falter, but his face from the mouth up took on a much more sober expression. "Fair play," he said in a lower voice. "How about this — you know either one of our boys, or is this just a day in the life for you?"

"I've met Sakamoto — he lives near me — his apartment at HQ," Ibiki answered. "Not his family home. And I've been in a few classes he was in, but no, I don't actually know him or Hatake personally. You?"

"Ginta's a buddy. I met Kakashi once or twice as a kid, but he probably won't remember much." Asuma looked sidelong at Ibiki with a slight scowl, and suddenly Ibiki saw the resemblance — this was the Hokage's son. And given Sakamoto's lineage — of course they knew each other. That certainly explained why Asuma was on this mission.

"You live where, exactly?" Asuma said with an edge of a challenge. "'Cos I'm Ginta's neighbour, and I've never seen you skulking about."

"Apartment 327, next to the elevators. If you live near there I'm surprised I haven't seen you before, either. But I'm surprised to see you at all, frankly. Rumor had you out of the country."