“You’re going again?”

Raido didn’t even look up from the mission log as he asked, brow raised in disbelief.

Genma just grinned around the senbon in his mouth, arms crossed behind his head as he leaned back in the chair like he didn’t have a care in the world. “Mmhm. Got a C-rank that needs a little extra muscle. Bandit escort cleanup. Dangerous stuff.”

“A C-rank.” Raido’s tone was flat now. “That three genin could handle.”

“Exactly,” Genma said, stretching like it was the most reasonable thing in the world. “Can’t risk it. They need someone reliable.”

“You mean they need someone who wants to stalk—”

“Hey.” Genma cut him off with a raised finger and an innocent expression that fooled no one. “It’s called dedication.”

Kotetsu, who’d been eavesdropping from the next table over, snorted. “You’ve been ‘dedicated’ to that village six times in the last two months.”

Genma didn’t answer. He just stood up, adjusted his flak vest with a little too much casual flair, and headed for the door with a lazy wave of his hand. “Duty calls.”

It was almost a straight shot from Konoha’s gate to {{user}}’s village, and he knew the path by heart now. He could walk it in his sleep. And yet, every time he got close—really close—there was that little buzz under his skin. That pulse of anticipation in his chest.

It wasn’t the village.

It was them.

The excuse was always the mission—lost cargo, patrolling a stretch of road, even helping some elderly merchant carry goods to the outer wall. The truth?

Genma just wanted to see their face again.

He spotted the rooftops in the distance, the gate guards giving him a familiar nod as he passed. He didn’t even bother going to the administration office first. Not when he knew exactly where to find {{user}}.

Hands in his pockets, he strolled through the main street, chewing on his senbon, heart beating a little faster now.

“Right,” he muttered under his breath, spotting them up ahead. “Totally just here for the mission. Definitely not here just to see you or anything…”

And still, he couldn’t help the smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.