“Good to know,” Genma said, gently inspecting Ryouma’s knee. “How is it today? Want me to see if I can loosen up the joint a little? I don’t really feel any obvious swelling here, but I could try.”

Ryouma shook his head. “It’s fine. Today wasn’t too hard. Morning after a fight or bad weather, though, I won’t say no.”

Genma shrugged. “Just let me know.” He turned his attention back to smearing anti-chafe cream over the freshly healed blisters. “Here’s the chafe-stick,” he said, handing a slim cylinder to Ryouma. “Re-apply every time we take a break. Is your armor causing you any issues, or you good now?”

“Are we angling for more shirtlessness?” he asked, slanting a look full of mischief at Katsuko. “Because I’m pretty sure I’d outscore Kakashi.”

“Now, now, you’re both very pretty, boys,” Katsuko said, coming back around the fire with her hands held up in a placating gesture. A couple of her clones nodded agreement, and at least one chimed in with an “Mmm-hmm.”

“Do I have to drop a river on all of you?” Raidou inquired mildly. “Because I will.”

“No worries, taichou,” Ryouma said. “You can save the cold shower. My vest fits better, I think. Not much chafing so far.” Genma could hear the smugness in Ryouma’s voice.

After a long day of travel, and a lot of listening to the comedy hour that was his new team, Genma was starting to get just a little tired. He sighed, heaved himself to his feet, and went to see about Kakashi’s blisters. “Save the river drop until I’m out of range, please?” he said. “Okay, Hatake, how bad are your feet?”

Kakashi frowned slightly at Genma, offering a look that seemed a lot more ‘concerned teammate’ that ‘judgmental underling.’ “Survivable,” he said. “Do you need to conserve your chakra?”

That was uncharacteristically thoughtful.

No, wait. Genma’d known Hatake Kakashi little more than a week, and under trying circumstances for anyone. It was unfair to decide what was characteristic for him yet.

“I’m fine,” he said. “Thanks. If we were outside Fire Country or expecting a fight tonight, I might be more concerned, but these aren’t high-level healing jutsu, and I’m going to sleep as soon as I’m done, so... Show them here.”

He waved the light-bearing clone over and inspected Kakashi’s narrow, bony feet. Like Ryouma’s, they were blistered, but it was the pads of Kakashi’s smallest toes and the balls of his feet where the worst damage lay. The striking edges of his heels looked a little swollen, too, like there might be deep blisters under the callouses, but there were no open wounds, and the damage seemed to be evenly distributed.

“Not too bad,” Genma pronounced. “Chafe stick for you, too. Or you can use that cream I gave you on your feet, every time we stop for a break.” He called up chakra, applying it to Kakashi’s heels first, then toes, pushing spilled fluid back into capillaries, sweeping damaged cells away, and encouraging healthy skin growth to reseal the layers of dermis that had separated from friction.

When he was finished, he sat back in the grass. “How’s that feel now? Better?”

Kakashi rested one foot on the opposite knee, rubbing his thumb testingly over one of the places Genma had healed. “Not bad,” he said, looking up.

“You’re welcome,” Genma told him. He pushed himself to his feet. “Now. Anyone else need first aid before I go find a soft clump of grass for my bedroll?”

“I’m good,” Raidou said, shaking his head.

“Nothing to worry about here,” Katsuko said. One of her clones came up and tugged Genma’s elbow, pointing to a grassy patch away from both rocks and tree roots.

“Excellent. Thanks.” Genma yawned and stretched, arching his back. “Wake me up if someone is dying or needs killing.” He tossed his blanket down on the grass, stripped off his armour, belt packs and arm guards, and sat down to pull off his boots. The rookies might be suffering from new footwear, but even veterans needed a little sole care at the end of a long day. When he’d massaged the soreness out as best he could, he put on fresh socks, redonned his boots, and lay down on his back.

Above him, misty clouds were starting to shred, revealing diamond-studded blackness. One thing a ninja learned early was how to sleep. In five minutes, Genma was dreaming.