Chapter Text
"Ah, Kagerou, Saizou. And Suzukaze." Ryouma smiles as he steps into the dojo, and all three ninja glance towards him in acknowledgement before Kagerou and Suzukaze continue their spar. Saizou is sitting by the side, apparently rather disinterested in the battle going on before him. "You three are training?"
"Yes, Lord Ryouma," Kagerou says, dodging a swipe to the side. The two of them are zipping around the room so quickly that her voice flares between being faint and close by. "It's been a while since the three of us trained together. Though it's not quite training together if this oaf isn't getting involved."
She hurls a kunai at Suzukaze's face, and another one by Saizou's feet. "Oi," Saizou drawls, kicking it out of the way so as not to get impaled. "You wanted me to watch your technique. You don't get to complain."
"Ah, then, I suppose I'll leave you to it. Excuse me," Ryouma says.
"That's not nece-"
Immediately the action freezes.
Suzukaze's mouth snaps shut and he nearly runs into a wall before he stumbles to a stop on his heels. Kagerou has her arm raised as if for another blow, but she whips her head to stare far to the right, her gaze seemingly penetrating through wall.
Ryouma blinks. "Is something the matter?"
There's a brief stretch of silence before Suzukaze coughs. "No, Prince Ryouma, there is-"
Just as suddenly as they stopped, all three ninja flinch in unison. Ryouma watches them in confusion. Most disconcertingly, Saizou looks like he's beginning to be embarrassed.
"...Saizou?" he tries.
The man startles. "L-Lord Ryouma," he says. There's a pause, and then he coughs, getting to his feet. He's not meeting anyone's eyes. "P-please excuse me."
And he's gone, leaving only a gust of air to show that he was ever in the room.
Ryouma glances to where he was sitting, then up to between Kagerou and Suzukaze. Kagerou's trying desperately not to laugh but her lips constantly twitch into a smile before she smooths her expression back down. Suzukaze looks more than a little mortified but he's smiling as well.
"...I feel like I've missed something," Ryouma says.
"Don't worry about it, Lord Ryouma," Kagerou says. "Best to just pretend nothing's happened."
"Is Saizou fine?"
That gets a snicker out of Kagerou.
"My brother will be all right," Suzukaze says, pointedly not looking in the direction that Kagerou was staring at earlier. "Well, Kagerou and I should return to training."
"Of course," Ryouma says, still feeling incredibly lost. "It's a shame that Saizou won't be joining you."
"I'm sure that he's getting a thorough workout of his own," Kagerou says slyly.
Suzukaze almost chokes. "Kagerou!" He turns towards her, but she goes for a high kick and he has to slide to the side to avoid it.
"Don't go getting distracted in battle, Suzukaze! Have a good day, Lord Ryouma. If you see Saizou later on don't forget to congratulate him," she calls, already blurring into motion as Suzukaze begins his offensive.
"...Okay?"