"Is there a pattern?"
"Yes," Chisen said. "It gets cold before it rains. When the village holds a festival, with crowds and mingled chakra, it gets cold. When someone gets too close to me and their body temperature is unusually high, it gets cold too."
Kiba frowned. "That sounds less like tracking and more like sensing."
"Right," Chisen said. "That's why I suspect the 'anchor' Helian holds isn't just a tracking tool. It might be something alive, something that reacts. Not dead blood, but living Flowing Water."
Kiba shuddered.
"What do you mean by 'living'?"
"Like insects. Like the Aburame Clan's insects. It has a life of its own, senses of its own. It isn't entirely under its host's control."
Kiba fell silent for a long time.
Tired of playing, Akamaru settled back beside the bed, his chin resting on the corner of Chisen's blanket, his eyes half closed.
"Chisen."
"Yeah."
"Does Shikamaru know all this?"
"Not before today."
"Then when do you plan to tell him everything?"
Chisen thought for a moment.
"I already have."
Kiba stared at his face for five seconds.
"You're sure?"
"I'm sure."
Kiba slowly leaned back in his chair and let out a long breath.
"Fine. Then I'll stop worrying. Not like worrying does any good anyway. You're both smarter than me. I'll just handle beating people up and getting yelled at."
The corner of Chisen's mouth twitched again.
"You smiled." Kiba pointed at him.
"No, I didn't."
"You definitely smiled this time. I saw it."
Chisen turned toward the window, refusing to look at him.
Kiba chuckled, then lifted Akamaru off the blanket and onto his lap.
"Fine, don't admit it. I'll remember anyway. You smiled twice. Once you're fully recovered, I'm trading that for a mission."
"What kind of mission?"
"An easy