Kuromaru snarled, lips lifting off his teeth, and spoke in canine. And I should not only be helpless, but trust you after you've attacked us both?

Tsume winced. "Enough."

"Translate," Kuromaru barked.

"No. Enough."

He took a breath. She could see it in his eyes, catch it in the way he smelled. The preparation to speak out loud, never mind children or who it upset. Tsume dropped to one knee and clamped her hand around his muzzle. "I said enough. Let me think." She understood Kuromaru not wanting to be defenseless--a ninja without the ability to fight was a dead ninja. It went against instinct, no matter how close to home they were. But she understood Raidou and triggers, too, and if he was on edge enough to admit it...

His scent was leaning toward acid again. She rubbed her eyes and tried to make her brain work. "What if--" A thought tickled the back of her mind. She tried to tease it forward. "What if we make him human?" Her hand came down, resting on Kuromaru's head. His muscles had tensed at the suggestion, but he didn't protest. Nothing was broken. The jutsu was possible. "Would that work?"