“Fleet of counsellors, a barn-full of puppies, and a personal rainbow for every agent,” Asuma said instantly, dry as dust.

Ryouma snorted. “Kakashi could provide the puppies,” he said, before his gaze fell away, something like disappointment tightening his mouth and hunching his shoulders.

Asuma rubbed the back of his neck, hesitating, then threw his cards down.

“I’m a fan of teams,” he said. “Or partnerships, at the very least. Did a couple-year stint with the Guardian Twelve not too long ago, and it was the only thing that kept us all alive and sane.” Until the coup, anyway, and the jutsu he’d organized that’d killed all but one. But that wasn’t something he felt like sharing. “Healthiest people I’ve seen in ANBU are the ones that’ve got someone guarding their backs. Best missions I’ve done are the ones with people I trust. That’s the only way it works. And it’s a damn sight harder to suicide out when you’ve got someone there to keep you in line.”

Ryouma’s eyes were dark and unreadable for a few steps, watching Asuma thoughtfully. "I had a team, up in Lightning Country,” he volunteered finally. “Six-month deployments with three other guys, and we had to keep each other sane. You think that could work for ANBU?”

“Couldn’t hurt,” Asuma said, with a little twist of relief warming his ribcage. Either Ryouma hadn’t heard the stories, or he just didn’t care. Either way, he wasn’t making an issue out of it. “You said your team. You were a captain?”

“For three years, on and off.” Ryouma’s mouth jagged wry; he flicked two fingers towards his forehead, where a hitai-ate would normally sit. Yet another kind of salute, and a different shade of loyalty. "Jounin commander of the Dainichi Nyorai Temple Base, until we had to abandon it. Sorry about the rubble."

“Didn’t fall on my head,” Asuma said. “Concussed the hell out of Hatake, though. But anyway, that’s exactly my point. You were a captain, with three years under your belt. What’d they call you when you started ANBU?”

“Rookie,” said Ryouma quietly.

“Same as a chuunin — who, by the way, shouldn’t be in ANBU. It’s no damn place for ‘em.” Admittedly, Asuma still hadn’t taken his jounin exam, but that didn’t count. He cut a sharp right, taking them off the path and into the park that wrapped around the river and marked out Konoha’s heart. The grass crunched a little underfoot, frosted with cold. “I was a second, back in the day. I don’t mind having to earn my stripes again, prove that I can stand on my own two feet, but this rookie/veteran bullshit is pointless. ANBU’s got leaders, and it’s not using them.”