Genma was enough of a ninja to recognize a distraction technique when he saw one. And enough of a man for it to totally work. He smiled at Hoshi, took one of the little black and white cookies, and stuffed it into his grinning face with all the enthusiasm of a four-year-old. After all, your hostess should know you appreciated her efforts, and Genma liked these cookies.

Before the first cookie was even swallowed he'd taken a second. "These are great! They're totally like these ones Yumiko used to get me when I was a kid. There were circus animals on the package, I think." He wondered how well Hoshi could read lips. At least well enough to get that he was happy about the cookies, he was pretty sure, since she smiled gleefully back at him.

"You knew my sister, right, Haru? Yumiko was my sister," he added for Hoshi's benefit, pronouncing the words with exaggerated care. "Can you imagine her liking sweets? But she totally did. She'd get a package for herself and a package for me, and show me what she learned at Academy. That was when I was really little. Like five or something."