Summary: There were quite a few parsecs to travel to get from her homeworld to the planet that was the battleground where she would be cutting her teeth as a newly minted General of the Grand Army of the Republic. It felt like a good idea to spend the time they were in hyperdrive getting to meet her new pup- troops.

..~..~..

With newfound information on Anakin Skywalker and his padawan's reckless successes, Tsume followed after Captain Rex so he would be able to show her to the room she was supposed to be sharing with her runt for the time they were to be on the Resolute- a very-jedi like name for the imposing instrument of war that was the star destroyer.

Without having to properly set foot into the room, Tsume noticed that this space, without a doubt, belonged to Skywalker; his scent had inundated the space and left his mark overwhelmingly clear.

Tsume's nose twitched at the smell, but she otherwise remained devoid of any conspicuous reactions.

Kiba was a simpleminded idiot and did not see the need for a bit of subtlety in addressing the situation.

"Ain't there no other place to stay, Rexster?"

How the runt had already managed to come up with a nickname for the captain was beyond her. But he had never had a knack for social respectability, unlike his sister, and she had never been pressed to try and beat such frivolities into him. Hana was slated to inherit the clan and she had a better head on her shoulders than either Tsume or Kiba combined.

She was very much aware of how the only true difference between her and the runt was age; if she had been in Kiba's shoes, she would have been just as direct with her discomfort as he was. But age had mellowed her out just a bit and so she chose to care about social graces, rather than ignore and disregard them; even though, if one were to ask her fellow Clan Heads, none would believe it.

The clone captain seemed perturbed by the question- his eyes widened ever so slightly at the same time his shoulders stiffened.

"Is there something wrong with this room?" he asked in a tone that was polite in its attempt to conceal his confusion.

Tsume raised her hand and slammed it down on her runt's head, pulling a whine from him at the same time she turned a smirk to the clone.

"The runt has the right idea,"

"I do?" he mumbled stupidly and she chose to ignore him to instead continue as if she had not heard him.

"He's going to be fighting alongside your men, so he should be given the opportunity to interact as much as possible with them."

Onsei whispered to her a reminder of how not necessarily every sentient was as willing to share a space with Inuzuka as the Inuzuka were willing to share with others, so, she added "If your men are alright with it, that is." as an afterthought.

Rex openly stared at her for a good second before he composed himself, acquired a stern look to his face, and nodded stiffly. "I'll ask the men and see if we can come up with a way for the... runt, was it?"

Kiba scoffed, but was wise enough to remain quiet.

Tsume nodded, Rex reciprocated, and finished voicing his thoughts. "I'll see if we can get the runt accommodated nearer to us, sir."

Skywalker's room would need a thorough cleansing and incense bombing to get rid of all of the smells that currently dominated it. Not only would she need to hope that the newest smells evaporated with the cleaning, she knew that she would have to introduce new smell to cover up whatever had become enmeshed into the space after Skywalker's daily existence in it.

If she had her way, she'd be living nearer to the men, just like Kiba. But the captain had seemed to taken aback by just the thought of having Kiba near that Tsume didn't have the heart to push any further for herself. She was a general, after all. She could push through some slight discomfort to make sure that her men were at their most comfortable.

Because everything she would need to do to Skywalker's quarters was a lot more than she had the energy for at the moment, Tsume had decided to make her way towards the area that Rex had pointed out as the mess hall. She could do with something to distract herself- away from all of the work she knew she would need to get down to once she ran out of proper excuses- and food was always a safe bet for an easy distraction.

The halls were long and identical; there was no easy way to really tell one hallway apart from another. The doors she came across were also unassuming in how similar they all were. Quite frankly, the only way for her to be able to navigate through the ship was to utilize her sense of smell and to ask Onsei for guidance; but Onsei was laying dormant, as if it had tuckered itself out with all of the commotion of getting her and Kiba into this space.

Like a fat, lazy cat, Onsei rumbled in a languid haze. She would not be getting any help from it for the foreseeable future.

Which meant that she would have to rely on her sense of smell.

And that wasn't necessarily something that would prove too successful, considering the specific harsh tang to the whole air around her because of its recycled nature. For the most part, all she could smell was just sterile. But, she could admit that there were pops of smells every now and again- rife with the base smell she first witnessed from Cody and Rex when they had met.

Without any true urgency, she walked towards where she thought Rex had directed her. She could have been wrong because she had never been all that great at remembering instruction, but it's not like that would put a damper on her mood. Hunger was only just beginning to make itself known to her and she wasn't in any rush to begin to work.

She wandered and nodded towards quite a number of troopers, they all stopped and saluted at her, making her slightly uncomfortable. She waved them off and by the tenth time such a thing happened, she began to debate with herself if it would be crossing a line if she asked the men to not do that. The Jedi may enjoy knowing how much other beings respected and admired them, but it was unnecessary for her. They were equals.

It was when her stomach growled at her that she noticed that she was completely, undeniably, inexcusably lost. From what she had remembered of Rex's directions, they had been easy enough to follow. And yet, it seemed that she had not paid enough attention. She was in another unending hallway that looked just like all the others she had previously tread and had no idea where to go.

When she poked at Onsei, it was with very little hop of actually getting any help.

Unsurprisingly, the lazy thing just yawned and Tsume felt it curl around her shoulders, wrapping her in soothing comfort. With a roll of her eyes, she allowed the trick to work for a little. She wasn't particularly pressed or even irritated at the moment, but the promise of food was enough to keep her focused on eventually reaching the mess hall.

The sounds of armor moving about had quickly become a customary noise to hear. The way that the troopers marched varied from trooper to trooper- she wasn't quite sure where the differences came from- but all followed the beat of a very noticeable drum. The sound reminded her a bit of the hunting festivals thrown in honor of the nature spirits all Inuzuka believed in, and so was not a noise she believed she might grow to be annoyed by.

From behind her, she heard two pairs of feet marching in her direction, steps quick, efficient, and yet, somehow, slower than the strides of other troopers.

When the faint sound of snickering reached her ears, she decided to turn around. If she were lucky, this would be a pair of troopers that was less serious- if the snicker one had let out was anything to go off of- and would therefore be able to help her without becoming uncomfortable.

There was the distinct lack of any armor accessories- so no skirts, pauldrons, or fancy additions to their armor. The armor was standard fare, with bright blue paint, and nothing that really made the men stick out from the very many Tsume had passed by on her adventure of getting completely lost in a large ship.

Both men walked with their helmets on their hips and because of that, she was able to make a quick analysis of them. One had a large GAR cog tattooed on his face and had eyes that burned with a passion she was more accustomed to see in her clan members than most other people. The other had an intricate hairstyle that made her cringe at the time it must consume to care for; his eyes were warm but his face was sharp and stern.

"Sir." the one with the face tattoo greeted, hand coming up to a salute that was much more relaxed than the rest she had witnessed. He stopped walking.

His companion's own salute was a crisp one that put the tattooed man's own to shame. She returned such a movement with a nod of her own, feeling Onsei slowly begin to stir.

"What're your names?"

Onsei dusted itself off with a trill, then made it clear that both men were just as interesting to it as Rex and Cody had been. But unlike back in Konoha, Onsei took its sweet time making its way around both men.

"Jesse, sir." the tattooed trooper then cocked his head in the direction of his companion, "And this is Kix. He's a pain in the shebs medic."

Shebs.

Mando'a?

It had been a long time since she had last heard that language. It was bittersweet to hear once again.

"You're only complaining because you're routinely getting injured."

As if she wasn't there, the trooper named Jesse turned to the medic with a joking type of anger that reminded her of her clan members. It was just the sort of bravado that fit right in with the Inuzuka.

"Getting stabbed in the neck by my medic to be taken to the med-bay isn't 'getting injured'."

Kix's eyes fluttered in her direction before squaring his shoulders and rising up to the challenge.

Beside herself, Tsume smirked.

"If you got the amount of sleep you need-"

"Don't come at me with that! You don't stab Rex in the neck."

"Because he's elusive."

Ah, if this was the way the men could act when they decided that she wasn't as prestigious as the Jedi... she didn't think she would wind up missing her clansmen too much. This was exactly the kind of argument she'd chuckle at back home.

"If you'd just let me help-"

"Speaking of help- would you need help with anything, sir?" Kix turned sharply to face her, making a point of ignoring Jesse with his whole body. Tsume's smirk widened.

Jesse's eyes narrowed and she just knew Kiba and he would get along swimmingly.

But she could tell an old argument when they started up around her and unless she could do anything to actually solve it, she would rather not get involved.

Although, finding out that the captain was elusive was certainly interesting- it helped paint quite the picture of the man.

Onsei just about giggled at the interaction, laying steadily over both men before resuming its lazing.

"I do find myself in need of some aid, I admit." she placed both of her hands on her hips before asking, "Care to point me in the direction of the mess?"

She could admit she was lost to seem even more human to the troops. Or she could keep quiet about it because it was still a good idea to keep some air of the Jedi's mysticism about her for a while longer, no matter how little it applied to her.

Jesse's eyes perked up and Onsei purred beside him. "We were heading that way!" he smiled, then added, belatedly, "Sir."

"You can drop the title." she offered, then quickly moved the conversation before either of them could try and explain to her why that wouldn't be a good idea. "Then lead the way, trooper. Please tell me meat's a regular part of the menu."

She turned around, so she couldn't really see their reaction. But when they stepped closer, she was greeted by their unique scents not getting snatched away before she get a gauge of them. To her left, she could smell ozone and, oddly enough, carbon. All the while, from her right she could smell sanitation products that melted into artificial fragrance.

"That really depends on where we are and how bad the fighting's going, usually." she could hear trepidation coming from Kix's voice and Onsei decided that it was worth expending some effort to remind her that even though these weren't her clan members, they reminded her enough of them that she couldn't be faulted for wanting to adopt them. "Because we were able to restock while in Konoha, we should have meat stocked."

"Yeah," Jesse scoffed, amusement and pride painting his words. "And the commander's not around, so those odds are even kinder."

"Right, they're carnivores." she nodded to herself because it only felt right to do. And for a few steps, they walked on in silence, Jesse quietly taking point to be the one leading her about. The unease that began to radiate from Kix let her know that she needed to try harder to make them less edgy around her, so she cleared her throat and asked about one thing Jesse had unwittingly let her know he'd be happy to talk about. "So, the commander, huh? She made quite the impression, didn't she?"

Onsei jumped in surprise at the sudden energy from both troopers- the happiness and pure joy that began to come from them both was enough to burn such an emotion into her nostrils.

The conversation flowed easily when it came to talking about the pups. And while Tsume learned a lot about the padawan that had honorably defeated her youngest, she wasn't ashamed to tell the troopers stories about her own sharp-toothed menace.

An absolute gushing of how good Ahsoka had done during the duel against her son was taken part in as she was led to the mess. Then she countered with a story of how foolish and foolhardy Kiba had always been as they stood in line waiting to be able to get their food served. And Jesse bit out a scoff that sounded very reminiscent of a bark when she finished, only to retaliate with a story about how Tano had once fought off trandoshan kidnappers and basically led a revolt against a mercenary band as they sat down to finally get to eat. Kix offered a quiet type of input to all the stories, mostly to comment on how lucky both runts had been to avoid worse injury or express amazement at the fact that both were still alive.

When they had sat, there had been a moment of hesitation from both troopers. It had lasted for less than a second and had taken place just as Tsume sank into the cold bench, as they moved to sit down in front of her. She hadn't commented on it because after a split-second of that doubt, both men had sat and continued the conversation as if they had never worried if they should have sat down without her invitation.

If she was any lucky, she managed to keep any worries about propriety far from their minds by starting up on the story of how Kiba had once thrown all survival instincts to the wind and proved both his own stupidity and stupidly amazing luck by defeating a mother onbaa after having killed its young. Yes, her youngest was an idiot. But he had skill. Unfortunately, he was naturally talented enough to allow his self-confidence to be his greatest flaw.

Onsei shook itself off of the men's shoulders and stretched itself above them, truly reminding her of the kind of cats that stayed far away from the Inuzuka compound if they knew what was smart for them. Once it had finished stretching, it began to dance around the mess hall, seemingly passing over every trooper within.

Tsume paid more attention to Kix recounting how General Skywalker wasn't any better at self-preservation, considering how he had been inside of a ship meant to collide with another, he was just another stupidly lucky sentient. But when she noticed that one of the men Onsei had danced around halted for a moment in his step towards a table and turned to look their way, brown eyes wide, her eyes flashed in that direction to get a proper look.

This trooper did have accessories to his armor- all of the fancy trinkets she had registered on different bodies were all a part of him. There was life to his eyes, just like amusement, but, like with Kix, there was an edge of sharpness that detracted from a mostly carefree façade. He had a goatee and a tattoo on his temple.

Onsei bounced around his shoulders for a few moments, then began to tug in their direction.

And that was when Tsume noticed what it was that Onsei had been planning.

Tricky, cunning Onsei.

Dark eyes hardened as shoulders squared; the trooper's gait was composed and sure as he made his way towards them.

The mess had been mostly empty when they had entered but had slowly begun to fill up with others seeking out a meal. Very possibly because she was the new general, none had yet walked anywhere near the table they had commandeered at the very back of the large room. So, there was enough space to either side of them for others to sit.

Tsume, seated right against the wall, had a nice view of the rest of her surroundings. But there was an alertness to both Kix and Jesse that had not dulled at any point during the conversation- true soldiers through and through.

The trooper's walk acquired a rhythmic swagger to it when he was only a few paces away.

"It's a miracle your general hasn't died yet." Her eyes flickered back over to Kix as he finished the story, but both men were turning to look behind them to see whoever it was that had caught her attention. She could have been more subtle about where her attention had been. She didn't feel like she had to be, though. "Trooper." She greeted when the goateed man was near enough to not have to speak too loudly.

"General Inuzuka." He nodded back but didn't even bother with a salute. It was refreshing. "Name's Fives. I'm an ARC currently tasked with babysitting this battalion."

Oh, if Jesse had been confident, this trooper was vicious.

She liked vicious.

"I swear, you give a shiny a skirt and he thinks he runs the galaxy." Jesse muttered with half-hearted animosity, then looked at her. "You know how the captain first found this kid? In bright new armor and cowering from clankers."

The sudden intake of breath was so minuscule that it would have been easy for anyone else to miss. "You're minimizing Domino's contribution to keeping that galaxy safe, vod." There was a moment in which he glanced at the empty spaces beside either trooper and his body didn't move. But he then offered Tsume a smirk and sat, bumping into Jesse's shoulders, as he spoke up, "They think 'cause they're older they can just push me around, General. It's a real problem."

And with a sense of humor too.

Jesse and Kix had one of their own- they had cracked enough jokes. But Fives was different in that regard. Straightforward.

"Well, seniority should get you something," she offered placatingly before allowing her lips to sink into a sharp smirk, "Something other than old joints and memory issues, I mean."

Fives' chuckle, much like Jesse's, was a rough a sound rife with humor. He didn't bother with trying to minimize its volume before admitting, "Oh, you'll get along well with the rest of the boys, sir."

Onsei, seemingly pleased with the way introductions had gone for Fives, was now working on going about the mess once more. Tsume smiled both at the trooper she had just met and the no-longer dormant Onsei, then asked Kix to tell her about another reckless thing Skywalker had managed to not get killed by.

She had just been informed that the only trooper Kiba should never be allowed to come into contact with when her comm beeped.

Hardcase was quite the interesting name, if only a bit too on the nose for what she had been informed he had a penchant for enjoying.

The troopers around her fell into a sudden silence as she activated it and in the blink of an eye Captain Rex's palm-sized hologram was looking up at her from behind a cold helmet.

"Sir, I'm not quite sure how to handle the current situation with your… uh… your runt." His voice sounded off with the way it was slow, dragged, and just minutely painted by trepidation. Onsei trilled in amusement, swirling around her shoulders, and Tsume already knew that Kiba had gotten up to no good.

"I can handle him, captain. Where are you?" she pushed away from the table, sparing a moment to nod at the three men that had graced her with their conversation and good humor, and kept her arm poised in front of her chest as she began to make her way towards the entrance of the mess.

"Near the training rooms." Rex's silence felt unsure, so she allowed him to think up of whatever it was he wanted to say before interrupting him. "Maybe it would be best to head towards your quarters. I'm not sure how long it will be before the clean-up crew gives the all-clear."

"The all-what?"

Tsume felt how Onsei shriveled and cowered away from her sudden spike in anger. She had the presence of mind to not shoo it away. The troopers that had witnessed her outburst were already looking in her direction.

Her steps were long and fast as she stalked down the long halls.

Rex didn't flinch in any obvious way as he kept his arms clasped behind his back. "It was just an experiment, ma!" she heard the idiot's voice crackle from the left side of the hologram and a scowl naturally melted over her features. "We tried to recreate saké with some of the stuff the boys have laying around here. But it's okay- it ain't supposed to be lethal."

Her son was an actual idiot.

"Lock him up immediately, captain." She tried her best to keep her voice from becoming an outright growl, and from the way Onsei didn't freeze, she guessed that she was doing a good enough job of it.

"Sir, what do you-"

"In the brig, captain." Onsei tugged her towards the left when an opening came, so she turned in that direction. "And just know, Kiba, that you're lucky there aren't keys to throw away here!"

So what if she yelled at someone that couldn't even see her? She deserved to blow off some steam.

"C'mon, mom, that's too-"

"Yes, sir."

She guessed that Rex cut the feed after interrupting the dumbass more for Kiba's sake than anyone else's. Because the fact of the matter was that if Kiba had finished spewing out whatever new stupidity he had deemed worthy of voicing, she may have just been inclined to send him back home in disgrace.

Rex was efficient.

He didn't wince at her anger; he didn't cut through her words to get her to calm down; he didn't even really smell the littlest bit surprised or bothered by her seething at her runt's blatant stupidity.

No, he just stood off the side, arms clasped behind his back, silent and stalwart as she ripped into Kiba verbally.

Onsei remained firmly wrapped around him, stroking at the exposed skin of his neck, as she told Kiba off for having been immature enough to actually put the men they were supposed to be caring for in any kind of danger.

"But none of it was toxic!"

She had actually boxed him on the ear at the ridiculousness of such an excuse. Of course she had gone on to explain that exposing those they were supposed to care for to a concoction that required quarantining those exposed was never something that should be minimized because she wasn't her mother, but she had been tempted to just keep him locked in the brig for the rest of his life.

"These aren't your playthings, runt! These are soldiers you may have to lead! Their lives aren't expendable- no matter the situation!"

The ray shield between them was turned back on after she forcefully threw him back into his cell.

Kiba didn't get up from the heap he had fallen into.

She turned around sharply and beckoned for the captain to follow her.

They both exited the brig space and Rex kept up his silence as she stalked through the long, winding, identical looking hallways of this stupid, recycled-air having, hunk of junk.

"The crew has given the all-clear, sir. The explosion was mild and there are no longer any worries for possible complications." he informed her as Onsei continued to glide softly about him. He fell silent for just one moment, then offered up, "It was only standard procedure to quarantine, General. Odds were low for anything being dangerous."

"There was an explosion, Rex." she growled, shooting a quick glare at him before scoffing at the way Onsei snapped at her. "He's lucky there weren't any casualties."

Silence fell between them once more.

Troopers they passed by were still offering quick salutes in her direction, but she could see that they weren't nearly as sharp or quick as the ones she had been receiving before sitting in the mess with Jesse, Kix, and Fives.

At least it seemed the men were warming up to her.

Once again, she found herself wandering without any clear direction. But unlike the first time, Onsei now was too busy offering soothing nothings to Rex to be of any use.

She was going to have to ask for the layout of this damned ship to be able to navigate it, wasn't she?

Rex's steps were just as quick as her own, but he was still as unbothered as he had been throughout the rest of this... what time of the day was it even? She could feel her eyelids getting heavy, in spite of the rage clawing at her chest.

She heard Rex clear his throat, then he offered up in a conversational, noncommittal tone, "I'm not much of an expert on Inuzuka culture, sir. But I know that when something's got me riled up, there's nothing better than punching out some of my excess energy in a sparring match."

Her quick steps halted, feet coming to a swift stop.

A small smile wormed onto her lips as frenzied energy still bit at her.

"I don't know a warrior that'll pass up a chance to kick someone's ass, captain, no matter the occasion." she swiveled on her heels to look at the trooper properly, only to find him standing as properly as he had the whole time he had been around her. Onsei perked up, though, and let out a noise similar to a purr.

"Well then, how about it, sir?" he rolled his shoulders, as if making a point of preparing himself for a battle. "The gym's been cleared of any pathogens and I've been known to enjoy a spar or two."

Tsume's smirk was sharp as she asked, "Any limits you'd like to set, captain?"

"None, sir."

And there was that fire.

Even though his cold, unfeeling visor obscured it, Tsume could catch licks of the sudden passion ignited in the captain. And she jumped at the chance to stoke it.

"Ooh! That had to hurt!"

The breath had been knocked clear out of her lungs and for a moment, she could see spots dancing at the edges of her vision. Her whole back was going to be a giant bruise within a few hours after all the abuse it had undergone.

It felt good, though, to fight like this. It let her see that her clansmen had been holding out on her and she had allowed herself to get soft in her evaluations of them.

"Alright, that's enough. What good's a general if she can't fight with us?"

When had Kix arrived at the gym?

Her head swam just as a ringing appeared beside her left ear. She closed her eyes and lifted an arm that felt as heavy as lead to grind the palm into her temple. The ringing kept up and it probably would for a while, if she truly was noticing the effects of the type of exhaustion that came from taking part in too many fights.

"Aw, come on, Kix! I just got here!"

The voice she heard now held a frantic type of energy that intrigued her. But when she opened her eyes, it was to find a gloved hand offered to her, but no faces she could match the voice to.

"Hardcase, no." Kix's voice was flat and unamused, fraught with 'I'm done with this'. "It's been more than ten rounds."

"And you baka play dirty." she cut in, moving her left hand to grab at the hand offered... only for it to fall against her stomach when she sadly missed the appendage. "Brute force'll only get you so far."

"Well, it did get us far enough, didn't it?" she recognized the light-tone as belonging to Fives, whom she had thoroughly wiped the floor with a handful of minutes ago.

He sounded a bit too cocky for someone that had gotten his ass handed to him not too long ago.

"I had no idea that the men even knew that move." Rex, voice finally steady after he had been able to catch his breath, sounded more impressed than worried. Tsume found that to be as reassuring as it was adorable. "Where did you pick it up, boys?"

"From watching you get whipped, sir." a cheeky retort snapped back immediately and a tired smile wound up on her lips. It sounded like Jesse. But it could have been Hawk- had that been the name of one of the latest troopers she had fought?

Fighting one-on-one against the men had been a good idea. They all had their unique fighting styles, some more polished than others, and it had been interesting to face off against differing ways of approaching combat in such a quick succession. Rex had been, by far, the best at hand-to-hand; hell, he had been the asshole that had first used her momentum against her to slam her back forcefully against the floor.

Maybe the last two rounds she had fought against all the brothers that had dared approach hadn't been that good of an idea, though.

They all enjoyed using that slam attack against her too much. And she had learned that she enjoyed jumping at her enemies a bit more than she should really rely on.

"You sound pretty happy even though you got your shebs handed to you, vod." there was no doubt that it was Fives to say this latest quip. "What do you think, Kix? Should we take her to the med bay?"

She hadn't noticed when she had closed her eyes. So when she opened them, it was to look straight up into Kix's thoughtful, light eyes. Huh. Were they really lighter than the shades of the other men? Or was she imagining things?

"I'm good." she balled her hands up into fists and pushed herself to sit up, the motion so quick it threw her thoughts for a moment. "Just need some sleep."

"Are you-"

"Help me to my quarters, Kix." she interrupted him because she knew how to handle Hana, and this man's attention to medical needs would undoubtedly compare.

"Yes, sir."

Two different pairs of hands helped haul her up and her legs screeched at her to stop being so foolhardy, but she forced them to stand and move. Her left arm wound up pulled over a sturdy set of shoulders with armor plates digging softly into her side. She could tell that whoever the poor fool was that was helping her out had to lean down to do so- and it was right then that she noticed that all of her men were taller than her.

"The rest can go back to whatever you were doing before you came looking for an ass kicking."

Her legs were responsive, if only very annoyed, as she began to walk out of the gym with the medic.

"You really should have stopped after you beat Fives, sir."

Tsume stifled a chuckle, legs heavy and aching, as she moved alongside the trooper. "Now where's the fun in knowing when to quit?"

There was a lightness to the recycled air in the ship that hadn't been there previously. Maybe Tsume was noticing it now, even if it had been there this whole time. Maybe she was smelling it now because she was exhausted and in need of a good sleep. Or maybe she wasn't hallucinating and there was a bit less tension to their surroundings.

Kix lugged her about carefully, much more cautious than any of her clansmen bothered to be.

He reminded her of Hana a lot.

"For just once, I'd be grateful to have a General that doesn't think like that." the sir that was tacked on in a barely rushed whisper was unnecessary to her- and from the way Kix barely muttered it, she could guess that he had figured it out.

"I was goin' easy on 'em." she felt comfortable confessing this and Kix didn't react in any way that let her know he was surprised to hear it. "Next time, I'll let 'em know how little I enjoy being thrown around."

Because she had let most of them get away with such a thing.

Rex had caught her off guard, though. She hadn't expected that from the captain. In retrospect, she should have.

"I'll make sure to keep a medpac prepared." he sounded so done with life that he suddenly reminded her of Kuromaru, and Tsume smiled warmly at that. And the smile remained on her face when she noticed that he hadn't flat out stricken down the possibility of another chance to kick some of her troopers around.

And if the medic didn't ban them from sparring, then that meant that it was fine.

~..~..~

In the next chapter, Kiba will get to bond with Tup because I said so.

Hope y'all enjoyed this!