Chakra sizzled on the damp grass, and Raidou was there, sleek and dangerous in the black-and-bone, with the mask on the side of his head and his hair wildly ruffled from the translocation. Kakashi twitched violently sideways. Katsuko laughed, accidentally inhaled hot tea, and spluttered all over the clone.

"Here you are," Raidou said, dropping his hand from the translocation seal. "I thought I was going to need sign-posts to find you again."

Genma slithered up onto the bank and knelt on the muddy grass with a hand pressed to his belly and his chest heaving. "I left a clone for you," he said, between breaths. The long scar across his belly was just visible under his hand, bright red and still a little raised, though it looked better than when Ryouma'd last seen it in the Quartermaster's office. He must have been to the hospital for another healing session.

"Yes, 'We're at the river.' Very helpful," Raidou said dryly. "Do you know how long this river is?"

Genma ran a hand through his wet-sand hair, slicking it back. "It was supposed to tell you Sarusawa Point. Didn't it?"

"Not so much." Raidou stole the remaining towel from Genma's clone to drop on the actual Genma. He ran a sharp glance over the rest of them, taking in Katsuko's coughing recovery from her tea-fit, Kakashi's intent crouch, and Ryouma's...half-nakedness, Ryouma supposed. Well, the lieutenant was shirtless too, so it wasn't as if he was the only one. Raidou's mouth twitched. "Dry up fast. I've got news, but I want to break it on ANBU turf."

Kakashi straightened like a blade coming out of its sheath. Katsuko pounded a fist on her breastbone and caught her breath at last. No one needed to ask if it was a mission: the possibility of action thrummed in the air between them. Genma's clone dropped its plastic bag of canned tea on the ground and darted off to collect Genma's shirt and shoes.

Genma released his hair from its ponytail, gently squeezed most of the water out with the towel, and then draped the towel over his shoulders and flicked through a quick seal sequence. Steam boiled off his hair and trousers and left him barely damp. Ryouma squelched a foot in a clammy shoe and calculated his chances of getting off without a scolding if he tried the same jutsu. Not good. Genma hadn't objected to his water-walking earlier, but both captain and lieutenant had warned him against trying jutsu before he was medically cleared. As if he didn't know his own limits better than any medic…

Katsuko was steaming too, more gently, though he hadn't seen her perform any handseals. Kakashi'd simply yanked the water out of his hair and clothes and dumped it on the grass around him. Ryouma was still trying to figure out how he'd done that when he realized Genma was standing at his elbow, one chakra-shimmering hand ready to close on Ryouma's upper arm. "You want warming up?"