It was inevitable, after the injuries and the information that he'd just learned; Sasuke tensed at the press of her body against his side and didn't fully relax, gaze trained on the gleam of his own forehead protector where he'd left it on his bed.

"You shouldn't have frozen up, but I shouldn't have been distracted either," he said, automatic, trying to chase through the thoughts of -- of what constituted loyalty, as he'd been taught from birth. There was no doubt that Adela had saved his life earlier, and if she was being hunted for her bloodline, it was at the expense of possibly exposing her identity and location if any of the enemy had survived.

It was easier to say, shrugging off the apology with words if not physically: "I should have realised faster what they were after once they'd made it clear that the sword wasn't it."