"Mmmrmph!" Rina answered emphatically around the brush-handle she was holding in her mouth.

"I mean, it shouldn't," she repeated distractedly, reshuffling her brush, ink-bottle, and magnifying glass between hands, mouth, and table. "You'll have to be careful not to let your chakra surge like it did then, though--although that was probably my fault, I shouldn't have shown you that diagram." She never could resist sharing; according to numerous teachers, friends, and coworkers, it was a Problem.

But--now he'd asked, right? "I'm taking some extra precautions to even out and limit the flow, so it might feel a little tingly--when you can feel things again, that is. But everything else looks really good!" She smiled encouragingly. "The integration of the seals is going great, and pretty soon we'll be able to begin overlaying the first set of major guides. Maybe even early next week!"

She was going to have to make sure to sleep before then. Because steady hands might run in the family--or so her father said--but no amount of steadiness could fully counter the cumulative effects of the gargantuan quantities of coffee she'd been consuming. Now she was fine, though; adrenaline stilled her fingers. Smooth and feather-free ink traces, laid down by her tiniest goat-hair brush, darted agilely between solid barrier-seals and sweeping medical preservation-patterns. Finessing, as she'd said. It was almost an art.

One more to go, and...

"Done!" She announced cheerily. "Ito-sensei was right--this side was definitely easier." Catching the handle of the brush momentarily between her teeth again in order to put away her ink, she finally looked back up at Genma's face. "Hey, how're you holding up?"