Well, at least he wasn't dead. Yet.

"Woman," Yasuo growled to the small form in his arms, as her eyes rolled back and her chakra seemed to sputter into nothing, "if I meet you in the afterlife I'm going to murder you. Alpha or no." Louder, he added, "I'm Inuzuka Yasuo--I'm her partner! Would you please not kill me?" There was more frightened annoyance in his words than real fear. The genius hadn't struck yet, which meant if Yasuo could get things sorted out he wouldn't.

Hopefully.

It would help if Tsume would say something. Not supposed to wake up for more than twelve hours more, she seemed to be catching up on that now. Transporting wasn't easy on a passenger's chakra, and she didn't have much left.

Yasuo wondered how dead she really looked, draped across his arms.

Shit.

He twisted his chakra around and down, trying to yank any fight or threat out of it, tugging it into injured frightened cub Pack. It was cowardly, and wouldn't work on anyone except another Inuzuka--or maybe Kakashi.

They said he was part. He had all those dogs. And Yasuo was in no position to do anything brave.

Whether or not it worked on Kakashi was moot, though. It worked on Tsume; her eyes blinked open, her head rolling up against his chest. So close to her, he could feel alpha bloom under her skin--even if it couldn't go any farther.

"Wha's wrong?" she slurred, blinking, and then, "'S fine." She blinked again. "Kuromaru?"

Watching Kakashi very carefully, Yasuo bent closer to her. "You just went to see him. You still smell like him."

She lifted her hands to her face and sniffed. The tension drained out of her body. "R'ouma?"

"He's here." Past the man bristling with killing intent.

As if just noticing it herself, Tsume turned and stared with ice-chip colored eyes at the shinobi. "Pup!" she growled, chakra surging weakly. "Stop that."

Yasuo tightened his grip on her as she went further lax in his arms--but not for any reason good. "Would you drop the killing intent?" he snapped. "If I'd wanted her riled up and using chakra I'd have left her where she was!"