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fallen_tsume (fallen_tsume) wrote in fallen_leaves,
@ 2008-11-21 20:05:00

Entry tags:

kuromaru, tsume

Gestalt (closed to Kuromaru, Yasuo, Waki)
[Takes place in early March, two days after Just Promise To Keep Your Heart Broken, and at the same time as Ew, What's That Smell?]

Yasuo had been looking at his partner's partner for some time, gaze traveling up to the human body only to drop back down to his book again. There was something niggling at the back of his head. Something about the shape...

Tsume had been there earlier, and would be back again later. Watching her look at herself, so badly damaged, had been almost painful. He knew the form upset her and caused disorientation in Kuromaru, whenever he woke. He woke expecting a wolf-form, and instead he was still a man. The canine's chakra was weak and diseased--they were waiting for him to get a bit stronger before the next surgery. Yasuo understood that any jutsu that used Kuromaru's chakra would only make the rot spread now. It was why they hadn't tried to wake him up and change him back--they worried that even letting him release the jutsu would be harmful.

Yasuo looked back down at his book. In the corner near Kuromaru's head sat Tanaka, filling out paperwork from her last mission and absently petting the human-canine between lines.

Yasuo looked up again. "Tanaka," he called finally, "when our canines release the human-form jutsu, it doesn't use chakra, right?"

"Course not," she grunted without looking up. "It's like releasing any other jutsu. Just lets the chakra go."

He thought about that, focus turning inward as he imagined releasing a jutsu. To do so, though, he had to move his chakra ever so slightly before the jutsu broke... No, they couldn't do that. No unnecessary movement, the doctors had said, and they'd stick to that to keep Kuromaru from getting worse.

He went back to his book. Whatever was niggling at the back of his mind hadn't stopped. Finally, he looked up again, letting his gaze rest on the familiar.

Like breaking any other jutsu. There were ways to break jutsu. Generally it took a great deal of chakra hammering through, more than most people had. But generally you had someone working against you, not someone allowing it. Even so, it wasn't always possible... but this was a minor jutsu. They all had the same odd chakra with the same odd bonds.

"Tanaka," Yasuo said slowly. "I think I have an idea."

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fallen_waki
2008-11-21 10:22 pm UTC (link)

He wouldn't even have bothered listening, despite the fact that this man was one of the few listed to make decisions regarding the dog's care, except that the dog was healing much slower than he'd expected. The form was warping the pathways further, slowing the growth of his chakra. If it didn't grow, they couldn't do surgery. At this rate, it would take months before the beast was whole again.

Still, Waki found himself shaking his head slowly. "From what we've seen, it's likely the rot could spread from chakra to chakra when it becomes active. Bad idea."

The Inuzuka, of course, argued. They specialized in that as a clan. Crotch-sniffing, urine-marking, stubbornness, and arguing. Some day, he'd like to pit them against the Hyuuga and see who came out alive.

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fallen_tsume
2008-11-21 10:24 pm UTC (link)

"The rot's all in his face and head, right? The topmost chakra centers." Yasuo pointed, trying not to see the eye that watched him. All this fuss had woken Kuromaru, who now lay quietly staring up at everyone. So far, he hadn't added an opinion.

"But the jutsu to turn a familiar into a human starts with the heart chakra. It's a full two points down from where the rot is." He gestured again, only belated realizing that the doctor certainly knew where the heart chakra was. From the look Waki gave him, he wasn't impressed. "I think it'll work," Yasuo said sheepishly.

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fallen_waki
2008-11-21 10:30 pm UTC (link)

Waki considered, feeling around in his pockets. He pulled out a tiny sugar ball, and handed it to the woman Inuzuka. She took it hesitantly, then stood around looking unsure what to do with the lump.

"If you pull your chakra back fast enough... If you can trigger it and leave, then it might work." The dog's chakra would release and reabsorb into his system, maybe even bolstering what was already there. Which meant they could get him back in surgery even sooner.

But-- "If you can't trigger it and leave before his chakra sweeps up and infects yours, I'm not treating you." He turned and looked at the woman. "Try eating it."

She looked more confused.

Silently, he mimed eating a sugar cube with great exaggeration.

She looked at the man as if hoping he'd come to her rescue.

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fallen_tsume
2008-11-21 10:32 pm UTC (link)

Yasuo ignored both Waki and Tanaka. His mouth twisted in what passed for a smile. "Yes, Sensei. We'll be careful," he muttered, and stepped up to Kuromaru's head. He'd already talked to Tanaka about it; she walked to the familiar's feet, looking relieved to be able to ignore the doctor, while the canine himself watched them with interest.

"You have to relax and let us in, okay, Kuromaru?" Yasuo asked quietly.

The human-canine nodded.

Yasuo smiled at him as Waki reached over, peeling away bandages before the shift made them do strange things. "You not feeling talkative today?" Yasuo murmured to the human canine.

"It'd be nice to be big again," Kuromaru responded solemnly.

Yasuo chuckled. If there was one thing the animal wasn't as a human, it was big. He looked up, over Kuromaru to Tanaka. "Set?"

She nodded.

It wasn't as easy as he'd hoped it would be, not like giving chakra to someone in need. He couldn't just follow the pathways, either, because touching rot would spread it. At the foot of the cot, Tanaka looked like she was having as much trouble.

After four aborted attempts, Yasuo frowned and withdrew entirely, letting his energy expand to fill the room. Kuromaru growled in response, and Yasuo kept his chakra as non-threatening as he could.

And then he felt it, the same faint twinge he got from Aomaru, when his familiar took Yasuo's shape. Heart point, yes, and they were going about this wrong--

"Tanaka--"

"Yeah. Slide through his left shoulder, but follow the muscle, not the pathway."

Yasuo frowned, tracing that with his mind. "That's backwards."

"I know."

He didn't question her further: she knew as much about Inuzuka jutsu as Tsume did. Possibly more.

"Kuromaru," she said, her eyes unfocused. "This might hurt a little. You have to stay relaxed and let us, okay?"

"Yeah, I know. Figured it wouldn't be comfortable."

It didn't normally hurt to break jutsu--but then, this was coiled tight inside his body, holding him to a form. Yasuo didn't argue. He let his gaze turn inward, feeling his chakra pool with Tanaka's and slide over Kuromaru. Felt the weave of muscle-that-shouldn't-be, and the pull of how it wanted to be. Felt the beat of the human-canine's heart, and the form it needed to take. Felt the chakra trapped, and realized he could release it--

They struck the bound chakra. It whiplashed out, slamming against both ninja and knocking their chakra away.

With a yelp, Kuromaru was Kuromaru again. He twisted off his back, curling onto his side on the medical bed. His single pupil dilated, only ear slicking back against his head. Lips pulled away from teeth as he panted, and after a moment he contorted, licking rapidly at his chest.

Yasuo put a comforting hand between the canine's shoulder blades. Pain was obvious, if you knew how to see it--pain from which, though... "Kuromaru? How's your eye?"

The creature blinked and stopped licking. "It's all right," he whined after a moment. Slowly, he relaxed and actually noticed his form. "That's so much better." His tail thumped a tired wag.

Relief left Yasuo weary. He studied the familiar's missing eye and ear as if he could see any rot that dared show itself. What he saw, though, was the skin relaxing bereft of fur. Everything looked all right. He should ask Waki--but he wasn't ready to, yet. Not if it were bad news. "Would that work on other jutsu?" Pale eyes flicked up to meet Tanaka's pale eyes.

She shook her head. "I doubt it. He wanted that jutsu broken. We've got canine-links, too. He had to allow us entry. If he'd fought at all--"

Nodding, Yasuo glanced down at Kuromaru, who was awkwardly nosing at his own chest again. Then Yasuo glanced at Waki, gathering his courage. "How is he?"

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fallen_waki
2008-11-21 10:34 pm UTC (link)

Waki looked up at him blandly. "Looks all right to me."

The dog's jaw dropped as he looked up. "'Course I'm all right. See? Perfectly fine. I didn't use my chakra at all."

Waki stared at the beast. Then, carefully, he pulled a pill out of his pocket. He had to glare hard before the tiny letters etched in the side were recognizable. Prozac! That was good. He offered it. "You'll like it," he encouraged when the dog sniffed but didn't eat. "Tastes like shit."

Both human Inuzuka looked annoyed and started to protest. He ignored them, letting his own medically-trained chakra fill the room for a brief second. The dog was right, though: he hadn't used his own power. The rot hadn't been furthered.

With a nod, Waki reached out, pulled the man's hand over, and carefully placed the pill in a callused palm. Then he closed blunt fingers around it, patted the Inuzuka--Yasuhiro?--and turned to walk from the room. He could feel the confused stare burrowing into his back. He might have smiled a little.

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fallen_tsume
2008-11-21 10:35 pm UTC (link)

Yasuo stared down at the at pill. "You think he has dementia?" he murmured when he was sure Waki was out of hearing range.

Tanaka snorted. "Wolf knows. Grab some gauze. Kuromaru needs to be re-bandaged."

"Kuromaru needs a nap," the canine mumbled, head sinking onto his forepaws. "That was hard work."

Yasuo smiled and buried his fingers in the thick ruff, glad to have his partner's partner back in a comfortable body. "Nap, Kuro-kun. Tsume will be back to visit, later."

But Kuromaru was already asleep.

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