She'd lost count of the pathways he'd reconnected, but kept careful watch over how many times she'd been able to relax. Halfway done. They were halfway done.

Reconnecting pathways made no noise. It was only the sound of three people breathing, and the near-continuous whine seeping from Kuromaru's massive throat. Once in a while the silence was broken by a sharp word, Tsume trying to keep her familiar focused.

She'd sat down, finally. Locking down chakra centers was nearly impossible. Only years of learning how to make it whistle through her and Kuromaru, warping its flow to keep some here or send extra to him for jutsu, made her aware enough of her pathways to actually close them. But without life-energy circulating, she could feel her muscles growing weaker and her heart beating harder against impending exhaustion.

Haruichi was working quickly. It couldn't have been more than twenty minutes, for all that it felt like forty-five. When he released--as much as he ever did, a pause of gracefully twisting fingers and a pale-lipped nod--she let the iron grip on her chakra snap free.

It was like breathing after being underwater. Her lungs expanded, blood vessels rushing and muscles trembling with the sudden surge of energy. The world spun and once more she could feel Kuromaru, like feeling her own arms or legs--there but not. It was tempting to let it flow, let it keep snapping between them. But with every breath the smell of pain increased in the room, bitter sour like old vomit and sweat. "Cut," she said, and felt Kuromaru clamp down, too.

For a few minutes after, it was easier again to just live. Haruichi, whatever else she thought about the Hyuuga, seemed to know just when to time it to let them break before their control shattered. Slowly, the floor below them darkened and the air lit with bright lines. Haruichi's pale skin glowed, but it only seemed to make him more translucent. His own chakra, visible due to the room, seemed to dim as he worked. She hoped he had enough.

Couldn't stop once started.