"Done!"

Raidou grunted, sliding a thumb under the edge of the bandage stretched around his chest. "You couldn't have left me a little room to breathe?"

"Breathing's overrated," the doctor told him cheerfully. "Think how much you'll get done without it occupying your time."

"What, like falling over?"

"The possibilities are endless!" The medic clapped him on his unscarred shoulder and set about packing his kit up. Raidou slid off the table, reaching for his shirt. The medic waved an empty syringe at him. "But that falling over isn't a bad idea, Namiashi-san. You should probably find a way to keep yourself horizontal for at least a day. Recovery and all that."

His shirt was more crunchy than sticky now. Raidou didn't bother to work out if that was a good thing; he pulled it over his head and reached for his armour. "Thanks, doc. But I reckon the veritcal is where I'll be staying for a bit longer."

The medic regarded him with bright green eyes. "Big plans, huh?"

"Something like that." He grabbed his mask and slung it around his neck, then tucked the kid's brief against his side with his armour. "Wish me luck, hey?"

The medic grinned. "Break a leg! Just... not your own, I want to take a nap soon."

Raidou snorted with laughter. "I'll bear that in mind. S'there a lift to the roof?"

"No, sorry, just stairs. There's a lift down."

Raidou ignored the broad hint. "Yeah, well, thanks again, doc." He nodded, put his hands together--

"That's really not a good id--"

--and translocated. With unnearing aim he managed to land right next to the kid. Then he had to sit down.

Fast.

"Hi." He winced. "You'd think they wouldn't gravel a roof where ninja run."

"I'm pretty sure it's part of their plan to stay in business," Kaito muttered without uncovering his eyes. "Or maybe an attempt to keep the roofs clear." He thought about moving his arm. He didn't. "So, how's this work? Do we have assigned hang-out time or something?"

Black cloth was heating up rapidly in the warming sun. It was almost uncomfortably hot, now. "We gotta like, train and stuff? Or do we just pretend?" He wouldn't mind that last part, really. They'd probably get in trouble for trying it though.

Good question. Raidou was damned if he knew. He shaded his eyes from the sun and decided not to say that; rule number one of getting anything done was to look like you had a basic grasp on things, even if you didn't.

"No pretending," he said, eyeing the kid stretched out on the gravel. There was always something a little weird about seeing ANBU uniforms bared in the sunlight; like watching the monsters crawl out from under the bed. "You're pretty much stuck with me, so you might as well get what you can out of it. Training'll be the least of it."

It was hot on the roof. He could feel sweat pricking beneath bandages, sliding down the length of his spine. Both of them had been through a hard run; if they had any sense they'd get into the shade and drink something.

Or sleep.

He rubbed his eyes and re-focused. "C'mon, breakfast is calling. If you're like any rookie I've met ever, you have no idea how to cook." He hauled himself to his feet and held out a hand. "Think I might have pancakes at my place. Sound okay?"

"I can cook," Kaito muttered, pulling his arms off his face and blinking at the too-bright sunshine. He could make boxed soups taste better than they'd started out as, and he even remembered vegetables on occasion. "But pancakes sound pretty good." Besides, the ANBU HQ was closer than his apartment building.

He grabbed Raidou's wrist, fingers tightening around heavy bone, and rolled up to his feet. He winced as skin slid against skin. "I really want to grab a shower. Maybe we should meet later." Not that he had a clue where Raidou lived, but...

Definitely a shower.

Raidou dropped his hand, hiding a smile; the kid reaching out was a tiny bite of hope. "Sure," he said. It wasn't hard to guess the kid's reasons. "You've got a place, I assume--oh, dammit." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Sorry, I was supposed to get you settled in at HQ. Intel told me before the mission. I--" he rolled his eyes at himself, "--forgot."

Oh yes, he had this mentoring thing cracked.

"The showers at ANBU are communal." Someone really had to talk to them about that. "If you prefer your old place, I can show you later. Yours is..." He pulled the folder from under his arm and flicked through it. "Three-nineteen. Third floor, room ninteen, basically. I'm in three-eighteen."

His brain gave a distant click.

They'd set this up from the beginning. Bloody Intel. They could at least warn a guy.

"You can get your key from the main desk..." he added absently, mind elsewhere.

"I thought you had to apply for--" he stopped. "This is part of that buddy thing, isn't it?" His voice was rife with disgust.

And if it was part of the buddy thing, then he didn't really get a choice. He had to move. The fact that he'd have happily moved if he'd gotten around to filling out the paperwork wasn't an issue; he hadn't applied, damn it, and now they were just making him! It was the--the--ethics! Point! Thingy! It was bad!

And now he sounded like a tool.

"I think I'd rather use my shower," he muttered, annoyed. Not that he had a shower, but the public baths down the block had private stalls where he could scrub his butt without anyone walking in. "How soon do you think they'll want me to move?"

Oh yes, this was just going to be fun.

A neutral face was far too much of a give away. Raidou guarded himself with a wry smile, hiding his own frustration beneath it. The kid might be unhappy, but Raidou wasn't exactly dancing around the rooftops for joy, either. Decent back up or not, he already had enough people to worry about without adding a full time project on top.

Were they expecting him to take Kaito on missions? Oh gods, they would be. Was he even going to get to work with Genma anymore? Or Tsume? Or even solos...

Smile, Raidou reminded himself. Not the kid's fault.

"Probably since yesterday, but we usually get a few days between missions. Longer if one's gone bad. So you've got a bit of time to work with." He headed for the edge of the roof, looking a shade longingly at ANBU's HQ. He could see his window... "But I reckon we should get cracking on this 'buddy thing', so take a day to crash and I can help you move your stuff tomorrow?"

Kaito nodded wearily. Yesterday sounded about right. He hoped they hadn't canceled his lease already... it'd suck to get booted. "Maybe I could take you up on those pancakes tomorrow?" he asked, joining Raidou at the edge of the hospital and looking down.

He couldn't see his apartment from over here. It was past that rise, behind those buildings... not far. He'd survive. And then he'd have a shower, and bed...

"You don't really have to help me move. It's not all that much." Two years' of belongings. Luckily, he didn't buy much. Maybe a few trips, back and forth.

Sometimes it was important to do it by yourself. Raidou nodded. "Sure, whatever works. If you change your mind, you know where to find me."

He rubbed his forehead, making little flecks of dried blood flake away, and tried to think if he'd forgotten anything. He doubted the kid would do a runner. And Raidou had his current address tucked away in the brief if he didn't show up...

A time would probably help.

"Meet me around nine tomorrow? We'll do pancakes and I can show you exciting ways to kill people." And that gave them both at least a full day to sleep. And maybe some time for him to catch up with Genma and gripe a little in the meantime.

"Nine. I can manage that." It meant getting up early, but if he went home, showered, and slept right now... Definitely do-able.

And the promise of pancakes was nice. As was learning new ways to kill people. He hoped it involved spoons, just so he could tell Atsuo that ANBU really did know ways to kill with anything at hand.

Kaito dragged his mind off the tangent and turned to glance at Raidou. "All right, well... if we're done here, I'm gonna head off. Thanks for--" he paused, thinking back over the last twenty-four hours. He offered Raidou a tired but honest smile. "Everything. I'll see you tomorrow."

The other man gave him an equally tired smile, and Kaito tried hard not to watch the way the scars twisted over his face. With a final wave, he turned and headed off toward home, skidding his way down the side of the building. Whatever Raidou had said about not scaring people, he still wasn't taking the rooftops. Way too much chakra.

He was tired enough as it was.