"Funny," said Raidou, and tossed a bit of cake at him. Genma caught it before it bounced off his nose and ate it, tongue darting out to catch a moist crumb off his fingertips. Raidou stared down at his hands.

"Didn't really do the parent thing with my brothers," he said. "I helped out--mostly by getting out of the house when I made chuunin. One less mouth to feed, y'know? Stopped by when I could, sent money home. That kind of thing. But I wasn't really hands on until my mom died." His voice became flat and careful. "Even then it was mostly their dad stepping in. I just picked up a bit of the slack. When he got killed, I put them straight in the system. Signed up for ANBU as soon as they'd take me, right after the fox. Still send the money home."

He looked up again. Genma was watching him quietly, crooked fingers curled around his steaming mug of tea. He didn't look surprised by anything, just thoughtful. A flicker of wariness lurked behind his eyes--probably thinking about his own parents. The two sisters taken by the fox.

Raidou almost clammed up there and then. Neither of them needed to think about this. It was barely even relevant. Just a train of thought hiding behind the background fear that someone had put a teenager's sanity in his hands, and he was pretty sure he wasn't the best guy for the job. He couldn't necessarily think of anyone better, but there had to be someone.

"Do I look like a teacher to you?" he demanded suddenly. "Seriously. I don't even have a bloodline limit! I've got a whole lot of experience at not dying, and a fair amount of practice at making sure other people stay alive, but I'm not a scholar. I don't know the first thing about keeping this kid's emotions nailed inside his chest!"

He dragged a hand over his face.

"I don't think pop music's going to do it. Try opera instead."