Note: Man, y'all are really fixated on the romance aspect lol. I feel like I should change the tag to drama or something instead. No, this isn't some OC pairing where she gets jiggy with everyone or something. I actually don't really enjoy stories like that. I mean... There are plans for more than one interest, to not give too much away... But if you're expecting some smutfic with like the entire jonin cast then that's just not gonna happen lol. And it's really difficult to balance 20 different people, so obviously there needs to be a focus on just a handful while the others make their appearances.

Maybe I should change the summary... Maybe there's something misleading about it.

Packing wasn't something Kana necessarily hated, but it sure as hell wasn't her favorite activity in the world and she definitely wasn't thrilled about why she was packing. It wasn't like she had a ton of belongings, since the majority of her possessions included clothes, books and photos, she just didn't want to have to sleep in the damn barracks in Anbu HQ while the building was being repaired. Residential buildings were apparently being given first priority in the rebuilding process, though she and everyone else knew that the vast majority of them would still be out of a home for a few months at best.

A dissatisfied grumble rumbled in her throat as she clipped the duffel bag shut and threw it over her shoulder. Apparently the part of the building she lived on was virtually untouched, which is why she didn't even know it had been damaged, but because of the supports having been nearly reduced to splinters she was being ordered to leave so they could demolish it. While there weren't a lot of memories tied to her apartment, it was still going to be a hassle to get everything the way Kana liked it.

For a brief moment she wondered if she should even bother keeping the door key, considering she wasn't going to be coming back, but shoved it into her hip pouch anyways. 'Might as well.'

Kana's eyes took in the destruction around her, almost marveling at how a village with such military presence was able to be taken by such surprise. Doors had been burned to a crisp, windows were blown in and the roads were littered with pot holes of varying size; many buildings suffered damage that would be easily fixed, but there were others that had destroyed walls or had been completely reduced to rubble.

It really drove home the reality of what had taken place just a few days before. Still, the villagers had already done a fantastic job of cleaning up a vast majority of the mess and Kana could see that many buildings were already in the process of being repaired. It only went to show that the enemy could destroy their homes, but not their spirit.

The thought made Kana crack a small smile as she made her way further into the center of the village, noting how there was considerably less damage this far in; it looked like the attackers didn't make it too far, and her smile widened just a tad.

"Hey there, smiley!"

She looked over her shoulder to see the Leaf's unofficial fraternal twins coming up from an adjoining street, both holding stacks of folders with both hands. Seeing the two grinning at her, happy and uninjured, caused her flash a rare smile back in their direction as she stopped for them to catch up. "Running errands?"

Kotetsu huffed at the reminder, but Izumo just nudged him with his shoulders. "Yeah, mostly just retrieving damage reports aaaand…" Izumo bent his neck over the stack to peer at a certain file he was somehow able to manage to distinguish from the rest, "A security analysis of some sort. You know, it looks bad at a glance but we actually did a really good job at containing the fighting to just the stadium area and the points of entry."

"Are you two okay?" Kana flashed her Kurogan to scan their bodies for any injuries.

"Okay, seriously, it's really creepy that you can just stare through our clothes like that," Kotetsu laughed, "You fucking pervert."

His words shocked her eyes back to normal, and she could feel her cheeks begin to burn; Kana pinched the underside of his arm to hide her embarrassment, but he only laughed again. "C'mon, Kana, you know I'm joking. Izumo's got some pretty gnarly bruises but we're fine."

Izumo's eyes narrows at the mention of his injuries, but it didn't seem to really bother him. "You're limping," he stated matter-of-factly, nodding towards her bandaged thigh.

Kana shrugged nonchalantly but, the truth was, her leg was really beginning to bother her. "I took a shuriken to the leg, and I think it cut deeper than I initially thought, but I'm fine." A thought flashed through her mind, and her smile faltered. "Are you two doing okay, though..? I heard about Hayate…"

Their faces fell simultaneously, causing a twinge of guilt in Kana's chest for bringing it up. A few silent moments passed as the trio made their way closer to the academy area, the only sounds coming from them being their out-of-sync footsteps along the dirt road. It was Izumo who finally broke the silence, sad eyes looking upwards at the Hokage monument. "Yeah, we're okay. I don't think it's really set in yet that he's gone… I mean, we didn't even know he was gone until after the attack… It sucks to think about – he was such a good guy, you know?"

"Genma and Raido are taking it pretty hard, though," Kotetsu added, "And Yugao's been put on suicide watch for the next couple of weeks..."

"Oh, god…" Kana could only imagine the grief the normally cheery Anbu member must be going through after losing her fiancé like that.

"Yeah she's a real mess right now... Speaking of which," the spiky-haired chunin gave her a concerned look, "Are you doing okay? I heard about what happened with your teammates – I know you weren't really friends with any of them but it's still gotta be rough."

Teammates? Kana stopped walking and gave the pair a questioning look. "What are you talking about?"

Izumo's expression darkened, and Kotetsu looked as if he had just come to a horrifying revelation as they stopped and turned back to face her. Izumo took a step towards her, "Kana… I… I thought you knew… Koh was killed in action during the invasion, and Tenpo committed suicide."

Horror slammed into Kana's gut and knocked the wind out of her lungs. Tenpo was such a strong, composed figure that always exuded a sense of self-assurance on missions; to think that he took his own life…

She was faintly aware that her face had deadpanned, which her companions knew was a sign of her training – rule number twenty-five: A shinobi must never show their tears. While the kunoichi was by no means about to cry, she reflexively relaxed her face to conceal the alarm she was feeling and held her breath as to not allow her breathing to come in short, anxious bursts.

Why didn't Kakashi tell her when he was at her apartment? Surely he of all people would know.

Kana mentally shook herself and focused back on the two men before her, scrunching her cheek. "Quit looking at me like that, I'm fine. Just… Really fuckin' surprised." She tucked some of her bangs behind her ear and repositioned her bag's strap on her shoulder. "I'm actually gonna go drop by the hospital to see Raido, so you two go on ahead."

Kotetsu's eyebrows furrowed in a look of concern, but didn't appear to have an interest in pressing the issue. "Well, alright… Just remember, if you need anyone-"

"I'll come find you," she finished with a weak smile, "Thanks, guys."

Raido was asleep when Kana got to his hospital room, but he wasn't alone; Genma sat next to him in a solemn quietude, his body sunk deep into the metal chair he had pulled up next to the bed. For a moment, Kana thought he had been sleeping as well. The steady rise and fall of his shoulders and lack of response to the sound of her entering the room indicated as such, but he eventually sighed and turned his head when she didn't move.

"I thought I sensed weird chakra," he joked, eyes completely devoid of any mirth.

The sight of him tugged at Kana's heart harder than she was willing to admit. Genma's hair was a mess, as if he hadn't brushed it in a week, and his skin was paler than normal; dark circles ringed around a pair of exhausted eyes, which were alarmingly bloodshot. 'Oh, Genma…'

Without a word she set her duffle bag on the linoleum floor and limped over to her slumped friend, who made no effort to move as she approached him from behind. Kana leaned over and tentatively wrapped her arms around his shoulders and chest, resting her chin on his shoulder. "I'm sorry I couldn't get here sooner," she whispered.

One of Genma's hands reached up to lightly touch the braid that had snaked over his chest; he let his head fall back onto her shoulder with a small noise that sounded like the ghost of a sob. She tightened her hug and rested her cheek on his exposed neck, feeling the light pulse of his heartbeat.

"He's going to be fine," he finally said in a soft voice, "He's already been cleared to go, so once he wakes up I'll take him home."

Shit, she hadn't even considered Raido when she heard the news; Kana shook her head gently in response, "Our apartment building was destroyed. If you want, I know Izumo has a spare bedroom-"

"No, he can stay with me. It'll be better that way."

For a brief moment, Kana wondered if Genma wanted to be in charge of Raido's care, or if he didn't want to be alone. Maybe it was both. She pulled away long enough to drag the second chair from the foot of the bed to Genma's, the metal legs making a soft 'chink' as they bumped together. The eyes Genma had glued to his friend's sleeping figure moistened with unshed tears, and the senbon in his mouth quivered. "Kana…" he half-whispered, "I know… I made you uncomfortable last time, but… Can I please hold you?"

The raw anguish in his voice caused Kana's heart to twist painfully in her chest; she nodded silently and angled her body away from her friend so that he could get a better grip on her. "Of course, Gen."

Deceptively warm arms circled her waist, pulling her into Genma's chest in a firm hug. She was dimly aware of how it resembled their earlier position as Kana wrapped her forearms around his in an attempt to return the hug, feeling Genma's face bury into the curve of her shoulder with another small whimper.

It was a few hours before Raido woke up, looking just as sorrowful as his friend who had, by that point, fallen asleep on Kana's shoulder. She only imagined how sleep deprived he had become while watching over his injured companion so, despite their uncomfortable position, she didn't bother to move him.

"How long have you been here?" he croaked, slowly propping himself up on his elbows. Her attempt at shrugging was thwarted by Genma's weight so she made a noncommittal sound in its stead; Kana honestly had no idea how long she had been sitting with them, which was actually kind of bad because she was supposed to report to headquarters by sunset so she could be assigned a bunk. The sun was still high in the sky, meaning it was probably only around noon, but she probably should get going soon.

"How are you feeling?"

"Like a million bucks."

She knew the joke was meant to lighten the almost suffocating mood, but it only made Kana's heart sink further into her stomach. What did she say in a situation like this? That she's sorry he wasn't able to protect the Third? That she feels bad he just lost his best friend? Express worry over the fact he had been stabbed something like five times? Her eyes could only hold his in a gaze that she hoped expressed the care and concern she held for the two of them.

Raido appeared to have received the message, because his expression softened minutely as he reached an open palm out towards her. Releasing Genma's arm, she reached back and gently placed her hand on top of his, ignoring the dull ache in her forearm; it was rough and calloused against her own scarred palm and Kana was briefly reminded how much older and more experienced he was as a shinobi.

"I get it, kitten," he said in a low voice, "I know Gen and Kotetsu give you crap about how you don't really express yourself, but I get it. You don't need to say anything. I'm just glad you're with us."

"You have people around you that are ready to help if you get hurt"

Kana tightened the hold she had on his hand in a silent thank you as she recalled Kakashi's words from the night before. It was true, her life had changed drastically in the last year as she allowed more people into her life and, as a result, she had a warm support group that Kana knew she could go to at any time. But she didn't want to just depend on them – she wanted them to be able to depend on her, as well. 'Speaking of depending…'

"Uh, by the way, our apartment building got turned into a pile of rocks," she said flatly.

Raido fell back onto the bed with a sigh, hand sliding away from hers to cover his face as he groaned loudly. "Aw man you have got to be kidding me. That's such bullshit."

The sudden increase in volume caused Genma to jerk awake with a gasp, nearly crushing Kana's waist as he reflexively pulled her back against him. She hissed at the pain but didn't make any attempt at prying his arms off of her, knowing full well that it would probably only make things worse. Thankfully his grip loosened a couple of seconds later as he relaxed, and Kana felt Genma's face nuzzle into her hair with a sleepy hum of approval as she twisted her neck around to peer up at him.

Raido chuckled, then winced, "Good morning, starshine. Have a nice nap?"

For a moment Genma only blinked stupidly at him, obviously groggy, before he lazily looked down at the girl he had practically yanked into his lap. A second later he blushed and released her, rubbing at his eyes. "Sorry, lady," he mumbled.

"So I'm guessing that duffel bag by the door is yours?" Raido asked nonchalantly, though he still was visibly upset over his apartment being destroyed, "You rooming with someone or going to the barracks?"

"Barracks. Kakashi said he would have let me crash with him, but the same thing happened to his place so he's staying with Iruka." She didn't bother to mention how the atmosphere at the Hyuga compound is always unbearably tense; otherwise she would have gone there, knowing full well that she would have been granted a room by Lord Hiashi.

Genma narrowed his eyes at her in disapproval and sucked his teeth, which actually reminded her that she still was holding the senbon that had fallen out of his mouth earlier. "You could have asked to stay with me," he said, taking the needle back when Kana offered it, "Thanks."

She shrugged but avoided meeting his borderline dejected expression before speaking, "I didn't want to be a bother to anyone – it's really not that big of a deal." Kana wasn't lying; it really wasn't an issue for her to stay at Anbu HQ. It was mandatory for the first year of service, anyways, so using communal showers and sleeping areas wasn't something that was new or even remotely bothered her. "Besides, you're already taking in Raido," she added as an afterthought.

"I'm not going to be taking up the entire apartment, Kana."

It would have actually been easier if Kana stayed in the barracks, what with headquarters being right next to the Hokage's tower and jonin standby station, on top of the lack of paperwork it required, but both men were pinning her down with stares of disapprobation; it was clear they weren't going to let the issue go, so she just cocked an eyebrow and smirked. "Fine, but you better not be using this as an excuse to cuddle up on me again."

Genma rolled his eyes, pink tinting his lightly tanned features. "Whatever, lady, let's just get Swiss Cheese out of here."

"I'll meet you there, I have to go check in at HQ."

Kana didn't understand politics. She truly, honestly didn't.

As soon as she showed up to check in and let her superiors know where she would be staying, they had informed her that they were just about to send out a messenger bird for summons; she was briefed less than twenty minutes later and sent off.

It wasn't the fact that she was given a mission that baffled her, it was the fact that she was being sent on an assassination mission less than a week after being invaded by two different villages. Shouldn't they be working to solidify relationships with neighboring villages, not killing off one of the leaders of the Dream Village – a village they had a very specific pact with?

'Then again, it isn't as if Lord Danzo has the same ideals as the Third,' Kana thought grimly.

She came to a stop upon reaching Genma's apartment building, stepping back off of the ledge and dropping down to the third floor's railing. She could see that there was no one inside yet so Kana reached into her pocket to pull out the note she had written.

Mission.

Back by morning.

Open the window.

-Lady

It was impersonal, but it wasn't as if she had a ton of time to leave an eloquent message for her friends – that, and OPSEC still applied with them. She slipped it into the small crack between the door and the frame, next to the doorknob, before dashing back to the roof.

There were ten guards in total guarding the elder's residence: Four on the roof, six on the ground. While Kana had been assigned to missions that required her to get past many more, she was still surprised to see that such a small village was able to afford assigning ten shinobi to just one official that wasn't even the village head. For a brief moment she wondered if they were expecting some sort of attack, but quickly pushed the thought out of her head; there was no way they could have known.

Kana observed the guards for a few minutes to ascertain their patterns, keeping herself low and tucked away in the shadows. The way that they patrolled was almost boringly simple – the four on the roof didn't even move, they were just standing on each corner of the traditional-style roof, while the six on the ground just paced back and forth. Peace had devolved them, to put it kindly.

With a silencing jutsu cast, she sprinted across the courtyard once the two guards in the area had turned away from each other in their stupidly robotic patrol pattern. Trained legs sprung up to the second level, hands grabbing the railing to swing over so she landed silently on the balcony. A dull pain ached in her arm and thigh, and Kana had to fight the urge to hiss.

'There aren't even any sealing jutsu or detection barriers on the windows, just the doors… What the hell?'

The screen window made a gentle sliding sound as Kana opened it and climbed through, but no one was close enough to hear it.

Something about the situation felt wrong – this was too easy. She had been told that her target was a high ranking village official, so why was security so lax? If anything, it should have been tightened following the attack on the Leaf. Was it really just overconfidence?

A fuzzy feeling fell over Kana's head, as if her brain had been replaced with the fog that rolled over the village's canals, and she realized that the residence had a genjutsu trap enabled. Once it was released she dashed down the hall and up the stairs, knowing exactly where her target was.

The mission had been a breeze – she was in and out of the elder's home in less than a couple of minutes – but the fact that it had been so easy gnawed at Kana the entire way home. Despite knowing she wasn't being followed, she had decided to sprint with her kekkei genkai activated the entire six hour journey as if there had been someone on her tail the whole way.

Her legs felt as if they were made of gelatin when she finally made it to Genma's apartment, sagging against the wall for a couple of minutes to catch her breath. Constantly scanning her surroundings for nearly ten hours had given her a headache, as well; Kana had deactivated the Kurogan once she was in the village but it hadn't subsided any. She was also probably dehydrated on top of being exhausted.

When her breathing finally slowed, she pushed herself off of the wall and wrapped her fingers around the edge of the window to push it open, silently praying her thanks to Genma as she sluggishly clambered over the edge. There was a groan from somewhere in the apartment, which caused Kana to freeze with one leg still on the windowsill before she realized the sound was coming from Raido.

Kana pulled her Anbu mask off and set it on the table before unhooking the straps to her grey flak jacket, dropping it on the floor next to the coffee table. There was another groan when she paused to remove the straps of her Anbu boots, and Kana had to focus on her movements to tug the shoes off. The room spun when she stood back up - the kunoichi staggered to the sofa, throwing out her arms to catch herself on the back of the furniture.

'Breathe… Focus… You're okay,' Kana thought to herself as she squeezed her eyes shut to rub at them. 'Just gotta get undressed, make sure Rai's okay and then you can sleep.' A handful of slow, deep breaths later she was able to push herself off of the back of the sofa to unclip her bracers and push them off with her long gloves before tugging her cloth mask down around her neck. Her hip pouches and the beige wrap she hooked them to were both tossed onto the sofa.

She didn't know Genma's apartment layout well enough to stumble around in the dark like she was, so Kana used her Kurogan to pinpoint where the injured jonin was sleeping.

A couple of seconds later she was leaning over Raido's sleeping figure and reaching out cautiously to touch his shoulder. "Hey, Rai," she whispered loudly as she gently tapped his shoulder, "Come on."

The man jerked awake with a whimper, then winced at what Kana could only assume was pain caused from him stretching his wounds; his eyes screwed shut and he emitted another pained groan.

"When was the last time you took a painkiller?" she asked, noticing the prescription bottle sitting on the nightstand next to an empty glass. When Raido didn't answer, Kana cupped his sweating face and gently pulled it to look at her. "Talk to me, Rairai."

"Hng… Dinner," he gasped, eyes still screwed shut. Kana glanced at the clock, which read four hundred hours on the dot. She pushed herself off of the bed and took the glass with her as she left the room to the kitchen, returning a minute later with buttered bread and a full glass.

Using her for support, Raido sat up enough to prop his weight on his elbow and take the offered bread, meticulously chewing each bite he took until both slices were gone while Kana screwed the bottle of Vicodin open for him.

"Is it just the wounds?" she asked softly, handing him a single pill.

He washed the pill down with water before nodding. "Yeah… Rolled onto my stomach… Think I tore something..." Kana immediately pulled the covers down to his hips and pushed his worn t-shirt up around his shoulders before helping him lay back down. She focused chakra to her hands and placed them over the first bandage down by his hip as the green glow of medical ninjutsu illuminated the room.

"You irritated a couple of the deeper puncture wounds, but your stitches are… No, you ripped one stitch." She swore under her breath, "It's bleeding a little but it doesn't look like it's anything too serious. You'll have to go back to the hospital tomorrow." Kana used the Mystical Palm Technique to alleviate some of the swelling caused by irritation and stunt the bleeding, but was too worried about the stress it would put on her friend to apply any more chakra.

"Shit."

Kana awkwardly patted his forearm in an attempt at comforting him, but it looked as if Raido was too distracted by the pain to notice. She helped him pull his shirt back down but was stopped when she attempted to bring the covers up. "Leave it," he groaned, "I'm already sweaty as fuck."

A thought popped into her head at the mention of sweat: She desperately needed a shower. Then she remembered that her duffle bag was still at Anbu HQ; she swore again.

The jonin raised an eyebrow at her, his breathing already normalizing. That was good, the vicodin was already kicking in. "What's up? You okay?"

"Yeah, I left my fucking bag at headquarters. They sent me out on a mission before I could drop it off here." Kana looked up at the wall and sighed, "And I really need a shower."

"Heh. How do you think I feel? Just grab some clothes out of Genma's room."

"I don't wanna wake him up and have no clue where anything is… I'll just sleep in a towel or something, I guess," she mumbled, sleepy and irritated. Kana stood up on legs that wobbled beneath her, reminding her how she had basically sprinted across the country in one day. "Think he's got a bathro-" her legs immediately gave out when Kana took a step forward and she collapsed painfully to the floor on her injured leg. "Owgoddammitballs fuckingshit."

She rolled onto her back as her muscles spasmed angrily at her to see Raido peering over the bed at her, looking both concerned and amused. "Gonna make it?" Kana groaned and shook her head with a half-hearted smirk, earning a chuckle from the older man. The mirth soon left his expression when she made an attempt to sit up, only to moan when her back seized up; she dropped back down to the wood flooring with a muffled 'thump.'

"Just pushed myself a little too hard today," she assured him through clenched teeth, "I just need a second."

Kana's eyes were shut but she could hear him suck his teeth at her. "You are so full of shit – hey, Gen!" She groaned her disapproval when Raido called for the other jonin. "Little miss potty mouth got fucked up!"

She snorted a laugh, flinching when pain rocketed up her back. "You're such a prick," she joked.

Genma was kneeling next to her less than a minute later, brown eyes wide with worry and his hair frizzier than normal. "What happened?"

"Long story short, I just sprinted to the border and back and I'm pretty sure I'm just dehydrated and a little tense. Really, I'm fi-"

"She dropped like a sack of potatoes and can't move. She's not fine."

"Hey, he tore his stitches!" Kana tried to lift her head to narrow her eyes at Raido, but her neck had suddenly become too stiff to move. 'God dammit. This sucks.' Genma's hand brushed her bangs away from where they had dried against her forehead, pulling her attention back to him.

"Can you move anything?" he asked calmly, "Can you feel everything?"

She tentatively moved – rolling her wrists and bending her knees – flinching at every couple of seconds. "Nothing's numb, and I can roll both my ankles and wrists… Mmf… But everything else is too stiff and hurts."Her mind flashed to the gear she had left lying in his living room. "I have some food pills in my hip pouch on the sofa," she added through clenched teeth.

Genma was out of the room in a flash. The two could hear him rustling around in her supply pouch in the living room, and Kana felt a pang of guilt through the intense weariness.

"Man, aren't we a couple of losers," Raido joked. When Kana didn't respond, she heard him sigh and lie back onto the pillows. "Don't worry, Kana, you're not burdening him. Gen likes taking care of the people he's fond of."

There was a rattling sound closer to them. Genma was probably in the bathroom, though she couldn't imagine what he was looking for in there. A muscle under her shoulder blade tightened painfully and Kana groaned against the sharp sensation, holding her breath. She assumed her body would have begun to loosen on its own, but it felt as if the pain was only getting worse. "This sucks," she grumbled.

"You're telling me, just let him help."

Genma was back a moment later with a banana, two white pills and a squeeze bottle of water; he knelt down next to her and handed her the water first. While Kana gingerly brought the spout to her lips, hissing against the sharp pain that was beginning to cause tears to form, he used a knife to cut the banana into small pieces. "I figured you'd appreciate some ibuprofen, so I brought real food instead of those rations," he explained, holding one slice out to her, "I'd offer a muscle relaxer if I had any left."

She knew that the potassium from the banana would help, along with the water and ibuprofen, but Kana couldn't help but glare up at the ceiling in frustration when his fingers eased the fruit past her lips. In Icha Icha it was always sexy when the main love interest was fed food, but this was humiliating.

"Calm down, you're making this out to be worse than it is," Genma said in a reassuring tone when she swallowed the pills, "Do you know how many times the three of us had to-" Pain flickered across the young man's face at the thought of his recently passed friend, and Kana could hear his breath hitch when he spoke again, "Come on, let's get you in the shower. The hot water will loosen you up."

Pain exploded between her shoulder blades, causing another groan as she stumbled with him to the bathroom. Though, it wasn't so much stumbling as much as it was Genma carrying her against his chest while she made feeble attempts at moving her legs so her feet didn't drag along the floor.

It seemed like the pain was the only thing keeping Kana conscious, though, as she felt her grip loosen on his chest. A frustrated tear trickled down her cheek as she was pulled into the bathroom. Kana was so tired. Her body hurt. She just wanted to sleep.

Another stab of pain shot down to her hip when she was placed down on the toilet so Genma could get the shower started; Kana leaned back against the tank anyways and let her eyes slide shut.

She must have fallen asleep, because she didn't remember getting up to step into the shower. The hot water startled her, resulting in her back spasming again when she jerked awake.

"When's your next physical?" he asked. Kana felt his hand start massaging her hair, and it wasn't until he used the back of his wrist to wipe her forehead that she realized he was washing it for her. 'Feels so good…' Her eyes fluttered closed as Genma's strong fingers rubbed her scalp in slow, measured circles.

"Hey, lady," the arm that he had wrapped around her waist jostled Kana enough to pull her back from the brink of unconsciousness, "When's your physical?"

The man was right – the hot water was working miracles as it ran down her body in rivulets. She could feel herself loosening up beneath it, though Kana was sure it largely had to do with his hand kneading into the trapezius muscles along her spine.

"Clothes..?" she murmured, realizing that the feeling of Genma's hand was muted by the fabric of her turtleneck.

She didn't stay awake long enough to hear his response.