Sealkeeper: He Who Binds
Chapter 79 – And They Were Two
Thought I'd try something new this time and start writing this as the previous chapter is receiving responses so I don't forget to address anything. Well, so I forget less I suppose. I'll come back and finish this AN when I'm doing the final review- which will be yesterday for all of you- and fill it in with details from the past week. Hopefully that includes that new Skyrim story.
First, I know I mentioned this in the last chapter and I have been mentioning it for a bit, but I am ahead on chapters. What this means is that the next five chapters are already done, so asking me to cover something specific might happen- it will just be at least a month off if I haven't already covered it in one of the complete chapters.
On the same vein, if you request something or suggest something and it shows up there's a good chance I read your comment and just grinned because it was done already.
Or, you know, I had done the exact opposite and spent the next few minutes scaring coworkers with maniacal cackling.
Onto the subject of "Mai's Betrayal" - as I've dubbed it- it's not really a betrayal. Not as far as I'm concerned and not as far as Naruto's concerned. I mentioned this last chapter because it seemed like people believed she was going to do something worthy of being called betrayal and that it was going to massively effect the story. I wanted to put that to rest, but evidently that backfired.
You'll find out what will really happen down below, we'll see how it fits into your expectations.
The only reason I'm even calling it a betrayal is because a lot of my responses previously have mentioned that Mai was betraying him or that whatever shes' going to do is unforgivable. I attempted to run damage control but that just seemed to make things worse.
It's remarkably difficult trying to assuage worries without destroying suspense or completely spoiling upcoming chapters.
To those frustrated about it being drawn out I must apologize, as for me most of the chapters were written within a shorter span of time- as in favorable conditions I can just about complete three chapters in a week- so to me developments were mostly followed through within two weeks of work, write, sleep, repeat.
I also hadn't really intended for this at all, instead planning on having a flustered and somewhat irritated Mai waiting for him in his office and being just a little short in her interactions with him for a bit. Inspiration struck, however, and I was happy to see what would become of it.
I'm like a kid surrounded by blinking buttons and shiny levers and I can't help but press a few to see what happens.
The third thing- which I do believe is the last- is about Naruto and his Chakra system, as some of it is addressed in future chapters- may appear in this one actually, let me check...yeah, I discuss it in this chapter a bit- but many of you are wondering about it now.
First [or Subject 3-A of this AN, if you like], when I mention "Damage" I don't mean something that has yet to be healed, I'm referring to the results of the healing and the loss of previous potential.
As an example, your broken knee may "heal" but you are unlikely to walk on it the same ever again. It is simultaneously "Damaged" and "Healed" as there's nothing more to be done for it. Yakushi Kabuto did the best he could for Naruto- mostly because money wasn't an issue when they could just charge it all to the Uzumaki accounts and so he received the best possible treatment Konoha had to offer at the time- but Naruto must still deal with the repercussions.
On a similar vein but following a completely different thought path, I consider "Uzumaki Healing" to be akin to a bloodline ability and, as far as I'm aware, those require some measure of Chakra. As such, his damaged Chakra system will heal the rest of his body to the best of its ability, but is unable to reverse the damage to itself.
As for capacity, with his coils only able to handle so much his body has only been producing what it can safely use and nothing more. Were he to somehow obtain a Second Chakra System not only would he be able to handle more Chakra at a time but the second system filled with his own Chakra may be able to reverse some of the damage to the first. If nothing else, it would drastically reduce the stress on his Chakra system.
This wouldn't give him Uzumaki-level reserves but may bring him to average [Mid-Chūnin to low-Jōnin] levels.
And yes, that 'Second Chakra System' was a hint. I've already mentioned that earlier in the story and it may see itself coming into play relatively soon.
With all that said, I'll leave this early AN here so that I can fill in the rest with the actual AN next Sunday. With it being so long I'm tempted to just make it an entry on the site [Eyazahrid-dot-net if you've forgotten somehow] but I get more than 20k views a week here and nowhere near that on my site so it's probably best for it to remain where I have it.
Gods above, if my site had that kind of traffic it might actually start paying for itself.
Huh, it's a good thing I wrote that in advance because I can hardly think of anything to say now that I'm sitting down to prep the chapter for tomorrow's release.
I can give the announcement that progress has been made on my future story The Warlock of Winterhold though I'm unsure when any of it will be available for your reading pleasure. Progress has been slow- partially because I started reading some old favorites again and that's never a good thing for my free time – as I write it between updates for Sealkeeper.
Managed to get it started though, and that's what really important.
Of course, you'd already know this if you followed my on Twitter at Eyazahrid and had clicked on the May 5th Update I tweeted yesterday. Or you could just visit Eyazahrid-dot-net regularly, I suppose. That second option would probably be better.
Either way, in case you didn't get that little hint there go follow me on Twitter ( at Eyazahrid) and visit the website I keep failing to update as regularly as I'd like. If nothing else you can torment yourselves with the little teasers I've been slipping into my Updates every week or so.
That about does it for the second AN -two ANs from Eyazahrid in one update? You lucky bastards – so we'll jump right into the chapter.
Tsume frowned at the back of her couch, knowing that just on the other side Mai was curled up in a blanket as she had been for the last few days. When Mai had first crawled into her bed she thought they might cuddle for a few hours but when she had to leave for a council meeting and returned to find the young woman still hiding from the world she realized there was more to it than that.
Unfortunately, she still hadn't managed to drag any information out of the girl.
She had managed to get her to eat, however, and Tsume considered that a victory by itself. Mai seemed so preoccupied by whatever thoughts she was having that Tsume was sure she would have forgotten on her own.
What Tsume found most curious was the fact that none of the Wolves had come to check on her. She could understand if they trusted her, but even so surely there was something that would require the young woman's attention.
Evidently not.
It did beg the question of why she worked so hard if she obviously didn't need to. Maybe when Mai was out of this funk she could mention it and hope the girl reduced her workload. From what she had heard it was only matched by Naruto, but of the two she saw one of them out and about. Part of her wondered who made sure the young man didn't overwork himself if he was always locked away in that office of his but she also realized it was probably Mai herself.
Both of them needed a vacation.
"Tsume?" She almost didn't hear Mai, her voice soft and hesitant in a way that simply wasn't her. "Am I attractive?"
The Inuzuka matriarch blinked in surprise before her frown deepened. She didn't know what would have her doubting her looks but she already didn't like it. Mai was a beautiful young woman and had no reason to believe otherwise.
"Of course you are, who said otherwise?" Tsume moved around the couch just in time to see the young woman shake her head.
"No one." Mai fell silent once again, as she had been for most of her extended visit, but spoke up again a few minutes later. "Would- would you sleep with me, if you had the opportunity?"
It took Tsume a moment to realize what she meant because they had been sharing a bed frequently for some time now. The surprise must have been evident on her face as Mai's shoulders slumped further.
Taking a seat next to Mai on the couch, Tsume rested her hand on the girl's thigh. "What brought this on, Mai? What happened? Talk to me, please."
"I didn't really know what it was I had wanted, but he was being playful so I became more suggestive. He never came to bed though, instead I found him in bed the next morning with her." That's all Tsume really needed to get a good picture of what happened but the floodgates had been opened and Mai had more to get off her chest. "They were so beautiful, both of them, and I finally realized what I wanted."
Mai turned more fully to Tsume, meeting her eyes. "I wanted that to be me, I wanted to be her, but now it's too late. She's taken him and even after she left she's made arrangements for others to see to his needs. How can I possibly fit into that?"
Okay, so maybe Tsume hadn't had as good a grasp on the situation as she thought. This other woman had arranged for more women to be with him while she was away?Whoever he was, he was damn fortunate. That was about to be countered when Tsume kicked his ass for upsetting Mai, but for now he seemed to have some incredible luck.
A small part of her mentioned that if they were comfortable with others then Mai very well could slip in there and claim a piece for herself but a much larger part of her argued that her Mai deserved much better than that.
Even if Mai herself would disagree.
"Have you told him how you feel?" There was a sense of loss just speaking those words, but whatever her relationship with Mai actually was the fact that she cared for her was undeniable. If she decided she wanted someone else then Tsume would support her completely.
"I invited him into my bed." Not exactly what Tsume had meant and she was aware that the Wolves seemed keen on sharing beds so it could have been taken as more friendly than suggestive, but she guessed that was close enough.
"And have you spoken to him since?" Mai just shook her head.
"I needed to get away, I spent some time in his office before coming here." Alright, now Tsume was pretty confident that it had been Naruto who had upset her Mai. As far as she was aware, Tsukiyomi didn't have an office in Naruto's apartment. Then again, Mai could have fled to the Den to escape.
"Were you going to?"
Mai gave a bitter laugh. "Good morning, Naruto. I know you slept with her instead of joining me in bed but I wanted to let you know that I want to be the only one you sleep with."
Yep, definitely Naruto. His ass was grass as soon as Tsume caught him.
"Not how I'd recommend going about it, but I guess it's better than nothing." Mai gave another- slightly less bitter- laugh at that. They both sat there in a more comfortable silence for a time.
"You know, you never answered my question Tsume."
"I know. Are you sure you want me to answer? You just realized you wanted Naruto."
"And I've already lost him, but I think I'd like to give us a try. Just this once."
Normally Tsume might feel like she was being called second best but she and Mai had never determined what their existing relationship was and she couldn't find it in her to be mad at the girl for not knowing what they had wanted back when she and Tsume started it.
"Just this once?" Tsume felt it was very important to clarify that point.
"Once, and we'll see where it goes from there." That was already different but Tsume thought it sounded reasonable. They'd try it out and see what came from it- isn't that how relationships worked anyway?
Admittedly it had been a long time since she had gone out on a date- though she and Mai had gone out to eat several times- but she was pretty sure they were skipping a few steps.
She didn't mind too much, if she was honest.
"So, Tsume, if you had the chance, would you sleep with me?"
Mai was answered when a pair of lips met her own.
He lay in the grass, chest heaving and body burning, and not for the first time he wondered if it would be a less painful death to just do normal training and squeeze in his work as Daimyo between missions.
Today's training had ended nearly eight hours ago and the sun was already well below the horizon. Unfortunately it was more Chakra exhaustion than physical at this point so the colder evening didn't help as much. He could have used this breeze earlier, that was for sure.
With a groan he pushed himself back up. He had work left back in his office and if he left now he could finish it and be caught up for the first time in days which would give him time to sleep.
That sounded absolutely fantastic, he hadn't had any of that since he had been dragged to Kato-Sensei after collapsing from Chakra exhaustion. He was pretty sure that was three days ago, but he could have been wrong. His sense of time had been more or less shot to hell after the second day.
But, before he left, he wanted to try one last time. He was reasonably confident that after his little break he had enough to be able to walk back home under his own power afterwards. If not, well, there was a Wolf in the trees. They coudl always drag him back.
Before he could try, however, a tugging at his hip interrupted him. Without a second thought he reached down to untie the small silk pouch that held Karura's sand. It wasted no time in forming a familiar hand, one that immediately began waving a finger in his face.
It looked like even Karura had decided he had trained enough for the day. Still, one more wouldn't kill him.
'Naruto-sama' He could practically hear the disapproving frown on her face. 'Please, there's nothing left for you to use.'
That was probably true, but it had never stopped him before.
"I'll be fine, Karura."
'I know humans can't handle much of it, but please take as much of my Chakra as you need. I don't want you to hurt yourself. '
"Thank you Karura, but I'll be fine." Through the seal he could feel her concern for him growing and he could picture her worried face. It was enough to bring him pause. He much preferred to see her smiling.
'Please,my lord. Do it for me.' He didn't want to make use of her Chakra, didn't want to rely on someone else for something he intended to use frequently, but if it made her happy he'd do it.
"Very well, Karura. I'll use your Chakra." The response was immediate. Even as he felt Karura's elation her Chakra surged from the seal and into his own Chakra system. With a groan halfway between pain and pleasure Naruto realized just how empty he had been. Huh, maybe another attempt would have killed him after all.
What an embarrassing way to die.
"Thank you Karura." He probably didn't need nearly this much chakra for the technique but it was probably a good idea to have some in reserve afterwards. As displeased as he had been with Kato-sensei and her team, she would be far more displeased to have him dragged in to see her by panicked Wolves.
Her pleasure at his words was far more than he thought was appropriate but if that's all it took he might draw on some of her Chakra more often. Not too much, though, because even as his Chakra Coils refilled he could already feel them strain to contain the Chakra of a Biju. Humans were not designed to make use of such power.
Moving his hands back into the seal that had taunted him for the last week he announced his Jutsu once again. "Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu." A poof of smoke answered his call, but as it was blown away by the evening breeze he laid his amethyst eyes on another him staring back. The only difference he could see were the golden eyes, most likely a result of Karura's Chakra.
He had done it, he had finally done it.
"Thank you, Karura. Thank you."
'Anything for you, my lord.' Her response had been practically purred and he was fairly certain that she was more pleased to have her Chakra used than he was to finally succeed in the technique.
Dropping to one knee before the clone, he could already feel a great weight lift off his shoulders.
"Tsukiyomi-sama." He greeted. His double blinked once in surprise before understanding dawned in it's golden eyes.
"Rise, Gennin Naruto." He smiled softly. "You have done the House of Wolves proud."
At long last, he would be able to be both the Shinobi he was born to be and the Daimyo his Wolves deserved.
He couldn't even muster the strength to stop the relieved laughter that spilled from his lips to be joined by 'Tsukiyomi'. They were going to do great things together, he could feel it.
Rather than simply retiring to bed- as he very much wished to do- Naruto and Tsukiyomi both entered his- their- office and got to work. Sitting in one of the gust chairs Naruto noted two important things. First, Kurenai had been right about his chairs. Second, he needed to get another office chair.
Or maybe just a second office.
The two of them continued to work through the remaining papers for over an hour, both gleefully aware of how much faster it was with two of them, before they were interrupted by a knock on the door. Seconds later the head of a Wolf popped in and froze.
Back and forth they looked, from one Naruto to the other, and after a moment they let out an almost pitiful whimper. "Naruto-sama?"
"Yes?" Having answered simultaneously, both Narutos turned to eachother. They were going to have to get used to being 'Gennin Naruto' and 'Tsukiyomi' instead of trying to pull off both. It should be easier in the long run but it was going to take some time before they could be certain they weren't about to blow their identity by accidentally reacting to something addressed to the other.
Naruto cleared his throat- both of them- and the Wolf let out another whimper. The clone inclined his head towards the original and lazily flicked his hand towards him in something resembling a wave. If Naruto knew himself- and he was pretty sure he did- then he had just invited himself to be the one to speak. How kind of him.
Huh. That was kind of weird.
There was a part of him that really liked it, though.
It did seem a bit egotistical but maybe that's why it was growing on him so fast.
The original raised his hand slightly to catch the Wolf's attention. "Did you need something?"
"I-well." The Wolf still seemed off balance from walking in on two of his lord but did their best to remember why they had come in the first place. "Have you seen Mai?" The two Naruto's shared a look. No, they hadn't seen Mai in several days now. Last he had heard, however, something important had called her away.
It was a bit worrying that it had taken longer than the day or so she had told one of the Wolves it would take, but Naruto had every confidence that she could resolve whatever issue had caught her attention.
"She needed to attend to something, I was informed." He answered after a moment of thought. "You may try asking one of her Wolves." They were his Wolves, really, but he didn't have a name for her little group of favorites. He probably should.
"Of course, Naruto-sama. Thank you Naruto-sama." The Wolf gave a shallow bow before fleeing the room. The two Naruto's shared another look before shrugging. They'd see about making it easier for the Wolves sometime tomorrow, after they had caught up on their work.
Another two hours were spent finishing up before they could both look at the empty desk appreciatively. There were still stacks of paper around the room but it had all been done. He'd call a few Wolves in the morning to transport it back to the den.
"I do believe we can call it a night," Naruto commented to himself, who nodded in agreement. Reaching for the Chakra that connected him to his clone he pulled the line taunt before snapping it to dispell them.
With a blinding pain and encroaching darkness he collapsed onto the neat piles of completed paperwork unconscious.
Shizune was sitting up as soon as her door was slammed open, bleary eyes able to use the light spilling into her room to make out the porcelain mask of the one sent t retrieve her. She took a second to look at her clock and practically growled. Someone had better have been dying or she'd make it so herself.
And gods above, if it was Naruto again she was going to tie the young man to a bed and watch him personally to ensure he got some actual rest before assigning him a watcher who would actually step in when he tried to work himself to death.
Sadly, that might end up being her.
Then again, Rusted was more or less her apprentice and he had been rather bored as of late. That could work.
"I'm up, I'm up." She waved off the Wolf before she could be physically dragged from her bed. "Grab my robe, would you?" Following the orders of black haired young woman was practically ingrained within every Wolf these days and he responded without hesitation, grabbing the robe hanging near the door and handing it to her as she walked briskly past.
"I'll assume they're in the workshop." She said, not at all looking for a response as she threw on the robe. They really needed to have it remodeled or something, it was not equipped to deal with patients of flesh. "If it's Naruto I'm going to need some rope."
She didn't even have to look behind her to know the Wolf had paused in the short hallway. Whether that had been due to confusion about the actual orders or surprise that she already knew who needed her attention she didn't know. Even so, she quickly clapped her hands together to snap him back into reality. "Go on, fetch."
She knew it probably wasn't the wisest course of action but it just seemed to fit to well to pass up on the opportunity. Regardless of how it was taken the Wolf took off to retrieve the rope she requested. Or she assumed that's what he was doing, she couldn't know for sure.
Entering the workshop her suspicions were confirmed. Once again Naruto was laid out on the table, several panicked Wolves around him, and Shizune rolled her eyes. Since becoming the Head Physician on the House of Wolves the only person she had actually attended to was Naruto.
She had to wonder if they hired her just because he kept doing things like this.
"Out of the way," She barked but she didn't wait for them to move before she shoved her way to the edge of the table. "Alright, Naruto, what have you done this time?" Green light sprung into existence around her hand and it only took a second for her to see what was wrong.
Mainly because the first thing she looked for was the reason he was in last time.
"Oh, you have got to be kidding me!" She looked up from her patient to glare at the Wolves around them. "Even if you couldn't get him to stop, is there not a single one of you who could be bothered to give him a gods-be-damned Soldier Pill?"
They cowered slightly before her- which was strange considering they were all superior fighters- until one of them managed to gather the courage to speak.
"We found him like this in his office, Kato-sensei." Her glare lessened but didn't go away.
"I swear, for as much as you Wolves seem to consider him important none of you do a very good job watching over him." Most of their heads hung but one of them raised their hand in protest.
"Mai-sama takes very good care of him!" Even as she gave a pointed look between the Wolf and the unconscious young man on her worktable she made a note that it was Mai she needed to talk to about keeping Naruto from ending up back here again. Her brow rose at the Wolf.
"Uh-huh. I can see she's done a very good job at keeping him from requiring a medic." Her pause was accompanied by a flat stare. "Oh, wait, nevermind."
One of the other Wolves pipped up. "She usually does, but she had to take care of something. She's been away for a couple of days."
Alright, maybe she did a good job keeping Naruto out of trouble. The fact that he ended up in her care- twice even- as soon as Mai was gone was somewhat troubling. She'd expect someone so high up in one of Hi no Kuni's noble houses to have a bit more self preservation.
With the Wolves, however, she couldn't assume. For all she knew they had elevated him to that position purely because he had no sense of self preservation. She wasn't a Wolf and she sure as hell didn't understand how they thought.
Still, even if she knew what was wrong Tsunade had pounded it into her head that you always did a complete check. Not only did it help make sure you were right- which stopped you from making stupid mistakes- but if you were already there you'd might as well. No point in sending someone away only half-healed, after all.
Her hand continued to trail over the young man, looking for any other potential issues, and a frown found its way to her face. She had been right, of course, but there were traces of Chakra that most certainly didn't belong.
Following the Chakra where its residue was most prominent, she found herself staring down at his left arm. More specifically, at a very large seal that completely covered the arm.
Did he- did he have a Biju sealed in his arm?
It was absolutely absurd, but that described the Wolves pretty well.
It was also something she'd have liked to have known about, being the Wolves' physician and all. You know, just a friendly "By the way, one of your potential patients is a Jinchuriki so they may require specialized care." would have been nice.
Then again, he might not be. There had been several individuals throughout history who had simply gathered Chakra of Biju and sealed it within themselves. It was a bastardized version, to be sure, but the Kunoichi part of her could certainly understand that every edge could be the difference between life and death.
The medic part of her argued that most of those people had suffered horrible repercussions years later because their bodies hadn't been intended to utilize such potent Chakra. She'd have to wait for him to wake up to figure out which it was- as she highly doubted the Wolves would be very helpful when they couldn't even keep one young man out of trouble- but until then she would treat what she knew was there.
She did note that his coils seemed a bit stronger. Not in the sense that they had been healed, but that the damage caused by the Biju Chakra was also healed by the Biju Chakra creating what was more or less scars throughout it.
Structurally, they were great. They would, however, decrease the total amount of Chakra able to pass through at a time. Taking it slow he'd be fine, but if this kept up he wouldn't be throwing out any Jutsu that required a massive amount of Chakra in an instant any time soon.
To be fair, Jutsu like that were of the higher class and were usually encroaching army-killer status, so he probably wouldn't get to that point anytime soon anyway. In fact, by her estimate he should still be able to move most of his Chakra at once through his network.
That, actually, was strange. He should have much more Chakra then he did. Were he to utilize the Biju's Chakra frequently she supposed it didn't matter but that came with its own negatives.
Mainly that he wouldn't have to worry about his Chakra System in a couple years because it would either be completely shot or he'd be dead.
She would really have to stress the importance of using it sparingly- and even then, just its presence was often harmful- because she could already see how seriously he took her earlier advice to take it easy.
Continuing with the examination, she moved her hand up to his head. What she found in his torso supported her belief that it was Chakra Exhaustion again, but she didn't think he would have been training in his office where he was found.
Well, he might have been.
The Wolves and their friends were weird.
Regardless of that, there may have been something else that caused him to collapse there rather than on the training ground. You know, assuming he wasn't training in his office. The results were rather peculiar.
Somehow, despite being on the edge of Chakra Exhaustion, he had managed to inflict minor damage around his brain using the Chakra he, well, didn't have. It was like the Chakra had suddenly become present within his head before bleeding off.
She couldn't figure out where it had gone, unless it had burned itself away doing whatever it was it had done.
Shizune blinked in surprise before looking down at the young man before her in disbelief. There was only one Jutsu she knew that would cause something like this and she only knew it because she had studied under Tsunade for over a decade. Even then, it had only ever been discussed theoretically.
There were few who knew the technique and less who could use it.
Naturally, that left three possibilities.
One, he had been trying to learn the technique and had failed horribly.
Two, he had managed the technique by some miracle and this was the result of its intended use.
Third, she was completely wrong about the specific technique and he was either messing about with other mental techniques- such as a Yamanaka Jutsu- or suffering from one.
She was pretty sure it wasn't the third, but she had been very recently reminded that she was still very much fallible so it would remain on the list.
For now.
"Any of you see two of him recently?" She didn't have too much faith in the Wolves for letting him get himself into her care again, but maybe one of them had observed something that would allow her to confirm her suspicions.
They all shared a look before one of them hesitantly raised their hand. She gave a sharp nod. "Thought so. I don't know where he learned the technique, but with his Chakra capacity it's not something he should really be using." She supposed that explained the Biju Chakra. Ultimately, however, it had not been the Chakra Exhaustion that had caused him to collapse- though it certainly didn't help- but the mental backlash of the dispelling clone.
Fortunately, while she didn't have any practice dealing with the Kage-Bunshin specifically there were techniques to relieve the mental strain from patients. It wasn't a cure-all for such techniques but it should bring him back so the Wolves stopped panicking.
He'd be up normally in the next eight to thirty-six hours anyway, ready to go, but if she woke him now maybe the headache would serve as a deterrent from future foolishness.
Shizune could hope, anyway.
Before she did, however, she had to make sure he stayed in bed. Jabbing her finger towards two of the Wolves she gestured back to her bedroom. "You, you, grab him and get him into bed." The snapped off salutes and gently lifted their lord. Watching them, Shizune realized she probably didn't need both of them to carry him. In fact, she could have done it herself if she had been so inclined.
Watching two grown men carry the young man as if he was a delicate piece of pottery worth billions was actually kind of amusing but with how much she was seeing him recently maybe he really was.
The pottery part, at least. She didn't know how much he was worth and she figured she was probably better off not knowing. Shizune was making a pretty generous amount as the Wolves' Head Physician but he was above the young woman who had hired her. She wasn't even sure what she would do with the money the young man must have at his disposal.
As soon as the two had entered her room the Wolf who woke her returned, a coil of high-quality rope in his hands. She supposed she could have asked one of the Wolves for Ninja-Wire, but they may not have reacted as well to that.
They might not react to the rope well, either, but it wasn't nearly as strong as Ninja-Wire so maybe they'd let it slide. If she had to, she supposed she could always just hold him down herself. The Wolves had done a pretty good job holding him down the other day but she couldn't count on them to keep him there when it would just take a single order to get them all off.
She had experience disobeying his orders at this point, what was a little more insubordination if it was for his well-being? That was, after all, her job.
They'd have to see how long that remained true.
"Ah, perfect." She grabbed the rope and headed towards her room, throwing a "Thank you." over her shoulder. Rusted chose that moment to peak out of his room to see what was going on but she waved one hand at him dismissively. She was more or less done now, anyway, he may as well get some more sleep.
Maybe he could get a few hours for her, too, because gods knew she probably wasn't getting any more tonight.
Slipping into her room she shooed away the Wolves that had surrounded her bed. They stood around the young man as if he were dying. It was just Chakra Exhaustion and mental strain, he'd be right as rain by morning.
Well, he'd be pretty uncomfortable until then because she was waking him up now instead of letting him sleep until his body had recovered on his own, but he'd be perfectly healthy.
Words hadn't gotten through to him, maybe the pain would.
Untying the coil of rope she tossed it over her patient and moved to the side of the bed. She's secure it to the frame first and then wrap it around him a few times. As she worked the Wolves looked between themselves, trying to figure out what to make of the situation. She put a stop to that before they could decide they didn't like it.
"Come on, make sure it's secure. He's never going to recover if you let him run away as soon as he wakes up." They shared another look before shrugging and getting to work. Unlike Shizune, they were more concerned about ensuring he was comfortable in the bed but so long as they were making sure he couldn't get out that was fine.
She'd make sure to kick them out of the room later so they couldn't untie him, too.
Shizune gave a satisfied nod when they had finished and turned to one of the Wolves. "Fetch me one of the chairs please, I'm going to have to make sure he doesn't go anywhere." They gave a nod and left to carry out her order while the others resumed their positions hovering over the young man.
"Alright, get out of here. He needs his rest and he isn't going to be able to relax with all of you worrying over him." They complied, albeit reluctantly, and soon it was just the two of them in the room.
She turned on the lamp by her bed and grabbed her current book. Might as well make use of the time to catch up on her reading.
When the Wolf returned with a chair she had him set it by the lamp before shooing him off too. She closed the door and set her book on the chair before moving to her patient and placing a glowing hand on his head. Moments later and he was beginning to stir so she cut the Jutsu and took her chair, flipping to where she had left off in her book.
If he didn't end up just going back to bed, maybe she'd even have an actual conversation with him.
It may also be a good time to apologize. You know, while he was tied up and everything.
The rope would at least give her a few seconds head start should things go wrong.
There, you got to see Mai. Happy?
Kukukukukuku.
Don't worry, I won't make you wait weeks to see her again- she's in the next chapter too. It's really great being able to say things like that because the other chapter's ready to go, so I don't have to worry about not fitting it in or getting distracted when I write the next one.
Still, just had a look at the next chapter. Kakashi, Mai and Gaara? My, I think I may be spoiling you. Fortunately it has a dash of 'Self-Tormented Character' that I love so much. Truly one of my favorite spices.
Remember to follow me on Twitter at Eyazahrid and check out Eyazahrid-dot-net for updates about chapter progress. If you're interested in how The Warlock of Winterhold is coming, well, my Updates are going to be your major source of information until I've posted the first chapter.
Just a bit of friendly advice, the Updates with information about that will probably be posted between Thursday and Sunday, because the beginning of the week is dedicated to Sealkeeper. Or you could just search for 'Warlock of Winterhold" on my site, it should pull up the category and every Update that mentions it.
Maybe.
Haven't actually tried it myself.
Someone let me know, yeah?
Until I next have your attention,
-Eyazahrid