"Stay down," Tsume growled at him, then twisted to look back up. Her neck was starting to hurt. It was easier to focus on that than anything else. "He needs help. You've kept us alive this long--be a shame to let him die because you hit him too hard."

"You willing to be held on his good behavior?" Whip asked, looking slightly amused.

Behind her, Asuma snarled well enough to be an Inuzuka himself. They all ignored him.

Tsume hesitated. "Yes."

One of Whip's eyebrows arched.

She watched him steadily, to the background noise of Asuma's rapidly growing protests.

"If we tied you to the mast, bare-assed naked, in the middle of all these sailors, and turned that weapon on you...?"

A muscle jumped in her jaw. It wasn't the thought of being naked or all those men--it was being without sight or hearing. Having nothing to hang onto--no Asuma, no ocean, nothing at all. If her hands were tied she couldn't even grip anything.

Tsume unlocked her jaw with an effort. "Then I'd probably lose my mind if you didn't heal him real quick."

Asuma moved, as if he'd finally gained the strength to stand up. Tsume nudged his shoulder and sent him back down with a flash of pain-scent. She winced and muttered, "Stay down, you bee-stung nit."

"You know, just because he hates it so much, I think we should," Hibiki said, laughing. "I'll get the sealed rope."

He disappeared from view, and Tsume crouched next to Asuma. "Knock it off," she growled. "If you blow this after I got them to listen, I'll kill you myself. Besides, if we're up there, maybe we can take a piss without fouling the place, huh?"

It was certainly easier to focus on that than on anything else in this bear-stung plan.