Genma shifted gingerly against the pillows, trying to keep Hiro in his line of sight without letting go of Raidou's hand. His left hand in its sling limited him to a few degrees of freedom in any case, but there was no way to lie flat on his back and still hold on. For a moment his fingers slipped, and Raidou made a low sound, eyes still closed, reaching to pull him back.

Genma shifted again, getting a more solid grip on Raidou's fingers. It meant turning his head away, to talk to Hiro, but that was a minor concern.

"At approximately three in the morning, on Wednesday, March twenty-six, Raidou and I were awakened for an urgent tracking mission, to answer a distress call from Hara Yukaho."

He could do this. Had done this a thousand times, for a thousand missions, telling the debriefers what they needed to hear. And this time they knew already. Sago was dead. Sago's team was dead.

"We set out after a rapid briefing, at around three-thirty. Got to the area where her distress call came from just after daybreak."

Raidou was right there, hand in his hand, as safe as Genma and Konoha could make him.

Sago was dead.

"It started to rain..."