Raidou was clearly, Genma thought, watching his friend struggle with the soup, going to kill himself. And before the main course even came. That would be a waste. Not to mention Genma wasn't the sort of man to sit and watch a friend commit a pride-assisted suicide. He was also not the sort of man who would shame a friend, cause him to lose face, just to save him.

No the sort of man Genma was, was a ninja. When faced with a situation like the one before him, there was one obvious course of action. Cheat.

He started eating faster. That wasn't a hardship, really. He was hungry, and it was really excellent soup. There was cilantro, the baby corn, and some of those yellow mushrooms with the curly edges, maybe lemongrass. Plenty of chilies. And a base that suggested something sweet--possibly coconut milk. Plus it was just loaded with crab--sweet, juicy, cooked to perfection crab. By the time his bowl was empty, Raidou had managed maybe a fourth of his.

Genma frowned at his empty bowl. He picked it up and scraped at the bottom, tipping the dregs into his spoon. "Damn," he muttered, and cast a longing glance at Raidou's nearly full bowl. "That went really fast." He sighed heavily and picked up another of the bread wedges. "I suppose I can just eat these."