"Shikamaru."
"Lady Tsunade approved me stitching your shadow to the bed."
Chisen opened his eyes and looked at him.
Shikamaru remained expressionless. "Seriously."
Chisen was silent for a long time.
"Has she lost her mind?"
Shizune finally snapped. "You're the one who's lost his mind!"
Shikamaru added, "We all agree this is a reasonable medical procedure."
Chisen seemed to try to sit up, but pain shot through his abdomen, and his face instantly went pale.
Shizune pressed him down at once. "Don't move!"
Shikamaru leaned over too, lowering his voice.
"Chisen, stop it."
Cold sweat broke out on Chisen's forehead. He forced his breathing to stay slow.
Shikamaru looked at him, his tone free of its usual barbs for once.
"You almost died last night."
The hospital room fell quiet for a while.
Chisen didn't look at him.
"I know."
"No, you don't," Shikamaru said. "If you really knew, you wouldn't be planning how to get out the moment you woke up."
Chisen's voice was low and hoarse. "The Brand is on me."
"All the more reason not to leave."
"Helian can use me to trace Konoha's network."
"And we can use the fact that he thinks he can find you."
Chisen finally looked at him.
"Lady Tsunade has already told the Sealing Squad to prepare a false response," Shikamaru said. "For now, just stay in bed and keep Helian guessing."
Something shifted in Chisen's eyes.
"Can they do it?"
"No guarantees," Shikamaru said. "But it's better than you dragging yourself out there half-dead."
Chisen didn't argue again.
Shizune breathed a sigh of relief and checked the side of his shoulder again.
Chisen endured it for a while, then suddenly asked, "Kiba and Akamaru?"
"Alive and kicking," Shikamaru said. "Kiba got a gash in his shoulder, and Akamaru got a