*Author's notes: Here's a pretty quick update for you. Naruto and Characters belong to Masashi

Umino Iruka was suffering from almost complete chakra depletion. He slept so often he was practically in a coma. The few times he did wake during the first week of being in the hospital, he was incoherent and disoriented. Hagane Kotetsu had been released into his mother's care after three days, and Kamizuki Izumo had been allowed to go home after the copious amount of poison had worked through and been expelled from his system under the condition that he make daily reports back for the next week. Iruka continued to lay nearly unresponsive in his hospital bed for another fourteen days. When Genma had caught wind of the fact that nobody had visited the boy since he'd hunted him down that first day, the tokujo had made up his mind to stop by and check up on him biweekly until he was well enough to go home. It had been three weeks since then, and very slowly the teen was making progress.

"The nurse was telling me that if you promise not to try using chakra for the next little while, they'll let you go home soon," the pale blond man murmured around his senbon as he lazed in the chair beside the bed. The only way he could make himself comfortable was by tossing both his long legs over one of the chair's arms and propping himself on an elbow that was balanced precariously on the other arm. His torso was bent at an odd angle, and if he sat like that too long his left asscheek was bound to go numb, but Genma didn't mind. The last time he'd been in the hospital, Raido had visited him every day he'd been in the village until he was released. It just didn't seem right to the tokujo that this kid didn't have anyone coming to see him, so he could put up with a numb butt if it meant relieving the loneliness he knew the teen would be experiencing.

"How can I use any chakra when I still can't get my fingers to work properly?" the dark haired teen asked, his voice playful even though his eyes showed a bruised pride. The missing nin had smashed both his hands so badly that when he had first arrived at the hospital the nurses weren't sure they'd be able to heal them well enough to be usable again. They'd done a good job, and the tanned hands once again looked like hands, but the joints were still painful, stiff, and creaky. Iruka wasn't yet able to make a closed fist, and his fingers weren't flexible enough to form most handsigns. The physiotherapy was painful for him, and frustrating, and the longer it took to get regular movement in his fingers and wrists the more embarrassed he became.

"It doesn't matter, just promise," Genma smirked, "and then when you get outta here I'll take you to the Sharpened Shuriken to celebrate. You can close your hand enough to hold a beer, right?"

Iruka smiled. "I hope so. It'd be pretty demoralizing if I had to drink out of a straw."

Genma laughed, but watched with a careful eye as the teen closed his eyes and rested heavily back against the pillows he'd been propped up against. Iruka was awake more often, but was still very easily exhausted. Genma waited until the teen's breathing slowed into a pattern of sleep before he unfolded himself out of the uncomfortable chair and exited through the window. He beelined for Raido's apartment block and didn't bother knocking before walking in through the front door.

"Kid's gonna come drinking with us once he's out," Genma shouted as he started rummaging through the kitchen cupboards.

"And when will that be?" Raido shouted back, his voice floating in from the other side of the bathroom door.

"Pretty quick if he doesn't push too hard." Genma grinned when he found what he was looking for, and pulled the dried and salted seaweed down from the shelf. He was in the process of ripping the package open and popping a vivid green sheet into his mouth when his friend entered the room, a towel wrapped around his hips.

"Will they even let him in? You're the youngest of the regulars and you've got almost a decade on him."

"He's a Chuunin, it'd be stupid if they turned him away. Besides, any nin who almost lost his hands deserves a drink, ne?"

"Obviously. Hand injuries are a bitch," Raido responded as he moved past his friend and opened the fridge. "But he's pretty young; the waitresses will eat him alive."

Genma laughed as he popped another seaweed sheet into his mouth. "Nah, I'll keep those old girls off 'im. Besides, we all know that everyone in that bar wants to bone me."

Raido grinned as he poured himself some water, but didn't say anything. He didn't know how he felt about having such a young kid as a tag-along; it was really he who had ten years on Iruka, not Genma. But he'd let it happen this first time, if only to meet the boy Genma had been nearly obsessed with recently.

"Hey Rai, do you know of any other Umino's in the village? I think little buddy's the only one I've met." Genma was contemplative and hoping that he'd been wrong in his guesses.

"You know what? When I was a genin one of my friends had an Umino-sensei, but I don't think I've seen or heard anything of him since the Kyuubi."

"You think Ru's the last one?"

Raido almost laughed when he heard Genma refer to the kid as 'Ru', but his voice was devoid of any amusement as he thought and then answered, "Could be, unless it's a predominantly civilian clan."

"You don't think that's the case though."

"Not really," the older nin murmured.

"You know, other than me, he hasn't even had any friends visit him." Genma's voice shrank as he thought, and Raido watched with thinly veiled interest. Genma, though a little louder and a little more brash than Raido, was much more sensitive. It wasn't often that the blond let down his talkative, foul mouthed, cheshire cat grinning mask and just let himself think and feel. This Iruka kid really would be quite good for Genma.

"Well, he'll have plenty of friends in no time if he hangs around with us. Don't worry too much about it, Gen."

"Are you sure we shouldn't have picked him up from his apartment?" Genma asked as he chewed on his senbon and swirled his drink around in its bottle.

"Calm down, it's still early. Besides, it's his first day out of the hospital; he's probably taking his time because he hasn't been outside in, what, a month?"

"Heh, I guess you're right," Genma agreed as he sipped at his beer, his eyes on the door. Raido just grinned and shook his head. He couldn't quite figure out yet what sort of relationship his blond friend was trying to forge with the Chuunin in question, but it was funny watching him try to hide his squirming. "Hey, there he is."

Raido followed Genma's gaze and his eyes landed on a handsome boy. The larger tokujo nudged his friend and let out a low whistle, and Genma's face broke out into an uncharacteristic blush. Interesting.

Iruka looked around the bar from just inside the door, apprehension apparent on his tanned face. But Genma's senbon twitched and caught the light, and when Iruka spotted it he smiled and made his way over to where the two tokujo were seated. He paused at the edge of the table and raised his hand in greeting, and Genma pulled him into the booth with a laugh. "It's not like you to be so shy, Iruka! I promise Rai will be nice to you!"

A blush lit up the Chuunin's face just above the line of his scar, and Raido smirked as he introduced himself. "Namiashi Raido. First drink's on me."

"Umino Iruka. Thank you for letting me tag along with you tonight Namiashi-san."

Raido flatout laughed. "Hey, no need to be so formal, kid. Raido will do."

Iruka's blush deepened as he nodded, and Genma pushed his half empty beer at the teen. "Drink up buddy. As much fun as making you blush is, I'd like for Rai to get to know you a little bit so you're going to have to relax." Genma's grin lit up the features that, left to their natural expression, were permanently bored. Iruka studied him for a moment before raising the drink to his lips and taking a long sip, his fingers loose around the fat part of the bottle.

Iruka put the bottle down and shot Genma a cheeky smirk. "Looks like I'm not going to need that straw just yet."

The tokujo laughed heartily. It was the first time the rain let up in almost a month.