Katsuko was smiling.

Faint and pale, but that was definitely a smile. Her shoulders were down and loose; her stride was easy.

“Miss me, boys?” she asked, voice lilting. Then she took in their expressions and the humor slipped away, replaced by something steadier. “Everything’s going to be okay.”

Ryouma scraped up a smile. “He didn’t flunk you back to rookie?”

“Too late for that,” she said, and reached up to give Ryouma’s arm a comforting squeeze. Then she stepped forward and, more hesitantly, dropped her hand on Kakashi’s shoulder. “You good?”

There’d been all the time in the world to move, and yet somehow, Kakashi hadn’t. Her fingers bled warmth through his shirt, just a tick above regular body temperature.

Yes wasn’t honest. No admitted too much.

He shrugged, sliding out from under her hand, and said, “Tousaki wants to know why you don’t have any pet names for him. You should tell him in detail while I talk to the lieutenant.”

Katsuko’s eyebrow flicked up. Ryouma snorted disbelievingly. Kakashi stepped quickly through the door and slid it closed, leaving them behind to hug it out.

The conference room was unchanged, except for a slight diminishing of food. Genma was still seated in the same spot, crutches leaning against the table. He was eating from a plate of thinly sliced pickled daikon — without taking his senbon out, somehow — and reading a report. Even from the door, Kakashi could see his own name printed across the top.

Well, it couldn’t be worse than anything he’d heard before.

Genma glanced up and nodded at an adjacent cushion. Kakashi moved over and sat down, crossing his legs. “Lieutenant,” he said.

Amber-brown eyes gave him a slow once-over. “How are you feeling?” Genma asked. “I know you haven’t had enough recovery time yet. Are you up for this?”

Kakashi returned the look, pausing dryly at the bruises circling Genma’s throat. Their matching friends lurked under Kakashi’s mask, courtesy of Iebara’s particular sense of humor. “Are you?”

Genma didn’t get offended; he laughed softly. “It’s my job to be,” he said. “But you have a fair point.” He took a sip of iced tea and moved on, letting the lack of answer — from either of them — be response enough. “This is your first time with the ANBU review process. Any questions before I give you your evaluation to look over? You’ll get a chance to respond after you’ve read it.”

Kakashi shook his head, and Genma turned the paper on the table, sliding it over. Three pages, paper-clipped together. Kakashi picked it up.