A Regular Field Trip (Class)

[Midori Futotta]

Once, in the heart of Kumogakure stood an imposing hospital that went by the name of Aesculapium. The vividly opaque walls and sterile air completely obliterates all notions that the now advanced and universally respected Hospital was once a very morbid asylum that specialized with lost hikers of the Ancient Forest. Built even greater after the Great Holy wars, the large imposing hospital seemed a lot friendlier which was perfect since many students have stopped by the hospital mostly to learn more about the medical branch. Though even with the hospital being one of the things that brought students in, the thing that many students often wish to see for themselves was the person it rather being that kept Aesculapium running. Rumor has it that the hospital was run by an extremely large pale woman, that she was actually some sort of monster out of folklore and to that Midori couldn't really deny. The sky was gray, the fog was rather thick but standing outside the entrance of the hospital was none other than Midori herself.

Midori is a towering vampire of 9'2 with a penchant for being kind at heart but rather sadistic when it comes to criminals. The giantess always enjoyed the days when she could show students around the hospital. Mostly because she has always hoped for a sort of prodigy of her own but needless to say it was quite hard to find one who wanted to save lives rather than taking them. In the Shinobi World, medical nins are often looked at as pacifist however it is important that medical nins too need to hold their weight in battle too since medical nins would likely be a target when the bad guys know that we are making the battle last a bit longer than they would hope for. Nonetheless, the vampire hoped to find a new student in hopes of possibly making them into a medical nin. Standing outside of the hospital, Midori clasped her hands together, her golden eyes scanning the horizon as she awaited the arrival of the latest student who were eager to explore the mysteries of Aesculapium. Her pale complexion contrasted with the gray of the sky, and a faint smile played on her ruby lips, a mix of anticipation and hope for a student who shared her passion for healing amidst the chaos of the Shinobi World. As the fog enveloped the surroundings, she straightened her posture, ready to welcome the aspiring minds into the sanctum of medical knowledge and prowess.

 

[Shinsetsu]

Shinsetsu, admittedly, was no stranger to the Aesculapium for one reason or another; going on hunting trips either alone or with his fathers in the woods was the principal cause of most of his injuries, but it never seemed to get him down. On the contrary, these injuries, and the chance to visit the hospital that they afforded him, brought him a great deal of comfort. The building itself was breathtaking, and the calm, composed expertise of its staff, perhaps even more so. The student had probably irritated most of the nurses half to death by gibbering away about the textbooks on anaesthesiology and phlebotomy he'd been reading at the library. Books were the one thing the meek boy found comfort in owing to his lack of social grace, and therefore, not having too many friends. None of that troubled him though, and he seemed pretty content.

Last time he'd visited the Aesculapium, he'd made a personal plea; the Medic who had taken care of his late sister, and had signed off on her funeral arrangement, Shinsetsu held a great deal of respect for. Ever since he was little, and his father had taught him the basics of First Aid, he knew becoming a doctor was his destiny, and now he was nearing graduation, he wanted the Medic to put him in contact with someone who could help him take steps towards realising this ambition. Truth be told, he wasn't quite sure what to expect, but when he arrived, he saw her.

"That.... must be her.... He said she was a giant, but... damn... I didn't think he meant it literally," mumbled Shinsetsu to himself, glimpsing the Sennin from the other end of the street and swiftly making his way over to her, hoping he wasn't late. It struck him how very pale she was.... Shinsetsu thought he, himself, had been pale, often getting concerned looks from passersby that he was very sick, but there was something almost... vampiric about this lady.

"Ma'am, I... I'm s-sorry," he panted, out of breath from running, sinking into a very formal bow, "I g-got held up. I'm Sh-Shinsetsu. It... It really is an honour to meet you, ma'am."

He quaked slightly in her presence, enveloped by her vast shadow, and barely coming up to her waist. And though the boy tried to manage a warm smile, it was clear to see there was a fierce chemical war going on in the neurons behind his eyes; the mighty armies of anxiety and excitement were clearly doing ferocious battle.

 

[Midori Futotta]

Midori stood there, waiting and emerging from the fog was one of the students scheduled to take a small tour around the hospital for a while. Clasping her hands together, she lumbered forward looking down at the young shinobi with a sweet smile as he explained that he was running just a little late due to being held up. The young mortal introduced themselves as Shinsetsu, his way of wanting to seem respectful while seeming to be nervous made Midori chuckle. "Ahhh– Shinsetsu. Vhat a splendid occazion to haffe a visitor vho visch to learn about my glorious branch. Allow me to introduce myzelf for ein brief moment." Midori began, putting her hand to her chest as if presenting herself to the young mortal. "I am Midori Futotta, and I bid vu velcome to my vorkplace. Please do not hezitate to ask me anyzing as ve begin our tour through my vonderful hospital– und let me know if vu vould like anyzing to eat for ve have plenty of refreschments prepared for our guests. Come along..." Midori explained. One thing that Shinsetsu would be able to notice right away about Midori was her bizarre accent, almost as though she was from another place in another time. However before Shinsetsu could process the information, Midori would turn around and slowly lumber her way to the door crouching down to open the door for Shinsetsu while gesturing with her freehand.

Standing aside to allow the young mortal to pass without blocking his way, from afar Shinsetsu could see how much larger she was than the doorway as if she was standing straight the entrance would be roughly around her lower chest. Thankfully after the war, funding went mostly to raising the ceilings so Midori didn't have to crouch within the hospital, but hallways and doors weren't as giant friendly. When the young mortal entered, Midori would follow in behind the young lad. Inside the hospital wasn't as busy, in fact there only seemed to be about a few people in the waiting area. Behind one of the counters was a nurse wearing all red who was just calling in a patient to get their physical when she suddenly saw Midori and she put on this sweet friendly smile before greeting the sennin. "Lady Midori! Fancy meeting you around here, who's this young man you have with you." the woman in red said, looking at Shinsetsu with this toothy smile before looking up at the massive sennin.

"Zhis is Shinsetsu– he comes to our hospital to shadow around und learn about zee vays of zee medical nincha und vat better vay to know more zan to zee us in zee flesch!" Midori said, looking down at Shinsetsu before jolting upright as the giantess had just remembered something. "Vy excuze me– forkot to introduce vu to our guest. Zis is Riza, one of zee head nurzes vizin our ER." Midori gestured towards the woman in red who proudly stood with a clipboard and bowed.

"A pleasure to meet you here, what brings you here to Aesculapium. Like we know it's to shadow and all but like what were you hoping to gain from this experience?" Risa asked, gathering a folder before turning towards the young shinobi to hear his answer. Midori too was curious on how he would answer since if he was looking for a certain specialty she would have better knowledge of where exactly he would fit in. Especially if his talents would be useful somewhere within her glorious branch.

 

[Shinsetsu]

How could she be both so intimidating, yet at the same time so kind... oddly motherly in a way... Not that Shinsetsu had any idea what 'motherly' felt like, having been raised by two fathers. He imagined it would feel something like this; to have someone concerned for your wellbeing, but at the same time, commanding a certain nonverbal authority.

"Yes, ma'am," he said dutifully, giving another bow as she invited him to ask any question he wished during their tour, making way for him to step inside the building. Privately, he thought it must be tough being so tall, and working in a normal-sized building. Was she even human? Somehow he wasn't quite sure where to land on that, "a-and thank you again... y'know, for agreeing to this. I uh... I know you must be very busy most days, Futotta-sensei."

The woman whom Shinsetsu had taken for a triage nurse hurried out from behind the reception counter to greet them, showing deference to the Medical Sennin, and then asking about Shinsetsu, to which the giantess introduced them.

"Ah, Risa, a pleasure," he said very formally, falling into another bow, and giving a slightly nervous smile, thinking he might throw his back out by the end of the day... Thank the gods he was in a hospital...

"To gain...?"

Shinsetsu paused, having to think about what he was going to say next... He thought about why he wanted to be a medic, and the memory from his childhood flashed before his eyes, one he'd wanted to forget ever since it happened. A little girl falling from a tree on a hunting trip, gashing her neck open. A young Shinsetsu was applying pressure as his father had taught him to staunch the bleeding, but in doing so, was unwittingly constricting her airway. His father thought she had bled out; only he knew the truth of what really happened.

"Oh, well... my sister," he began, his voice cracking a little. He cleared his throat, took a breath, and continued, "she uh... she had an accident and when we brought her here, I just remember seeing you all taking care of her, and the... funeral arrangements too. It just inspired me... y'know, I felt so helpless. But I thought, I could do that too! Do what you guys do."

There was nothing in his tone of voice to suggest this wasn't perfectly true, but it was obvious he was leaving a huge element out of his story from the slightly shifty look in his eyes.

"I uh... I've never been too good at the battlefield training at the academy, so I figured I should stay in the village. I've been reading a lot about what I should become, if possible. The academy has some incredible textbooks on Cardiothoracic and Orthopaedic surgery," he gibbered, speaking a million miles a second without even stopping for breath. He seemed to realise this and slowed down, feeling a blush creeping up his face, "I uh... I've always kind of wanted to be a surgeon. I'm a real quick study too, I just... need someone to take a chance on me..."

 

[Midori Futotta]

As the two waited on a response from the young Shinobi, one thing in particular that stood out to Midori was that he was inspired to come here due to a tragedy that happened with his sister. Though medical ninjutsu has the ability to heal a person a lot faster, unfortunately it wasn't exactly a one size fits all sorta thing. Things were a lot more complicated and even though they had the power to heal people a lot quicker, sometimes there are things that even medical ninjutsu can't fix. Though what amazed Midori was the young mortals' determination to do what they do, in a way it only makes sense because if he were to apply his talents into the art of surgery he would be more than able to save other people from the pain that he unfortunately had endured. That of course was something that Midori would be more than happy to help the boys with herself.

"Mu condolences to vu for zee loss of your zisder, Dear Shinsetsu. I assure vu zat if more could've been done, ve vould have…. But zere are chust zome zings zat effen medical ninjutsu can't fix." Midori said, taking a much more serious tone. "Vhile our branch has gotten a lot better, zere is alvays room for improvement. Vith a drive like yours, I believe vu vould make a fine addizion to my branch." Midori looking down gave Shinsetsu a reassuring smile, having faith that the young mortal would be able to pull his own weight around here. She would be looking after this one herself, after all the giantess have been looking for students to train and there was always a part of her that longed to have a sort of prodigy of her own. This was a great opportunity for the both of them, all she needed to do was pull a couple of strings to make sure that everything went right with this one.

Riza clearing her throat now straightened herself up walking over Shinsetsu to hand the child the folder in which having some details about the medical branch as well as some information of the subdivisions of without the branch. "Here ya go, this is some more information on our branch. Some of the information may be a little dated since one The Harvesters subdivision has been replaced with a search and rescue squadron. Mostly because we didn't know how to step on the anbu's toes since the goal of our branch is to save lives." Riza explained. "Though think it's still intense since what we are planning to replace the branch with is a squadron that does whatever it takes to save a person, even if the person is in a dangerous situation. A military sort of ambulance if you will."

Once Shinsetsu took the folder, the young mortal expressed their interest in surgery. This was definitely a great thing because there was definitely a division that is responsible for any major surgeries that should occur within the hospital. "If zurgeries are vat vu are interested in, perhaps vu vould like to zee vere our zurgery division operates." Midori chuckled, looking over at one of the doors. Midori continued, "Ve value dedication und determination, especially vhen it comes to saving lives. Your interest in zurgery aligns vell vith our goals. If you can follow me, und I'll schow vu zee zurgery diffizion." With that, Midori led Shinsetsu towards the door, ready to introduce him to the world of medical ninjutsu and surgical expertise within their branch.

 

[Shinsetsu]

Far from making him feel better, the kindly giantess only managed to make him feel worse. The memory felt as though it was seeping through his organs, like some caustic, black liquid, the lurch in his stomach reminding him that, of course, there was no Ninjutsu that could have spared that little girl.... Namely, because Shinsetsu had already killed her through his negligence and incompetence, suffocating her in her own blood as he tried to staunch her wounds. Midori's kind words about his drive making him a good fit seemed to go over his head as his eyes glazed over like he was lost deep in a trance. It wasn't until Riza thrust a folder into his hands did he finally snap out of it and focus on what was going on around him again. Shinsetsu returned Midori's reassuring smile as Riza gave him the briefing on what the branch's structure was like. That was fine. As long as he wasn't fighting on the front lines, merely tended to the front lines' wounded, he didn't mind. The boy had very little stomach for battle, but obviously, he knew that it was unavoidable at times.

"Uh, thank you, Riza," he said, unable to help feeling a little overwhelmed with all the information, but he was grateful for it nonetheless, "even if it's dangerous, it's all I've wanted to do for such a long time. Thanks for being so welcoming."

Midori piped up again, assuring the boy that his interest in surgery would come in useful. He certainly felt a fierce determination to get to grips with all this new knowledge. He just hoped he would prove to be a fast-learning protégé for the giantess. It was strange she seemed very intimidating at times, but she really did give off warm, almost motherly vibes to an extent.

"Yes, surgery division! I'm ready to see how the different parts of the Aesculapium function. Are there any procedures going on at the moment?"

He sounded eager, like sitting in the viewing gallery of an operating room was a rare treat.

 

[Midori Futotta]

Though Midori did her best to try to give Shinsetsu condolences for the loss of his sister, her words alone weren't enough to ease the young mortal's pain. Being an immortal, it's natural to forget the idea that death was a possibility and even then she wasn't an immortal in a sense where she couldn't be killed. Death was something that came for us all at some point in time, the unfortunate part though would always be seeing the people that you love parish. That in itself was a fate even worse than death, causing many people of her kind to lose their humanity at best or at worse– they would go seeking the final death in order to end the suffering. It's a tragedy that can mold shinobi for the better or for the worse, though the vampire hoped that she would be able to work with Shinsetsu to mold him into something better. Though back to the reason as to why they were there, Midori would lead Shinsetsu with her but looking back for a moment she saw Riza going back to do her receptionist duties. “Riza darling– come along, someone else will take care of that for you shortly.” Midori insisted for Riza to join, the nurse jolting to attention and quickly making their way to join them on their journey to the Surgery Department.

Upon pushing past the doors, one thing that Shinsetsu had noticed was the fact that the usual narrow hallways were expanded much wider now. Wide enough that almost 7 gurneys could fit through it without and they would still have room enough without having to go straight, giving this weird empty space in between where the nurses and doctors were and the rooms. To compare the hospital it was like it was an empty road, where everyone mostly walked near one side of the wall or the other but never really using the center unless there were gurneys or a doctor walking down the center of the halls. The ceilings raised much higher giving Midori a much easier time walking through the hospital floor. Looking around at the staff scurrying, Midori’s heels clopped on the marble floor as they made their way to a door above normal height. Bending down for a moment to push the doors open before making a right and with many twists and turns they made it to where the Surgery Department. This wing of the hospital felt cooler, the beeps and sounds of the machines filling the empty space. Walking out of the room, was a man dressed in a gray suit who's tired expression and wrinkled face looked like he'd seen better days. But the moment he saw the group, he suddenly light up– that sort of melancholy expression seemingly vanished as he greeted the group.

“Madam Midori, Miss Riza! A pleasure to see you on this fine occasion.” the man exclaimed. “The surgery with the patient in 302 went quite well.. Nothing major but when he recovers, it's best to give him a little psych eval just to be safe–” The man paused, looking down at Shinsetsu for a moment tucking the clipboard underneath his arm. “And who's this young lad, a new recruit?”


“Potential recruit. Zis young man has come here to learn more about zee zurgery division zince he zeems to be interested in zis division. He's effen peen schtutying textbooks on Cardiothoracic und Orthopaedic zurgery. Zo I figured vhy not pring him here to meet vith ein zurgeon.” Midori explained, moving over to the man. “Shinsetsu, zis iz Dr. Sairento Hiru, Leader of Emergency Zurgery.”

“I see, well you know young man surgery is a very delicate thing… Especially working with chakra.” Hiru explained to Shinsetsu. “While it does seem easy, one wrong move would cause an organ to explode.. Perhaps maybe later on we can test your proficiency in medical ninjutsu just to see where you are…”

Midori thinking for a moment, Riza reached out to suggest. “Maybe he can train in the hospital, just to test his abilities for the time being since for the most part he has basic knowledge.”

Honestly it wasn't really a bad idea, since the academy usually mostly required the bare minimum to pass. It would be easier for her to simply just grant Shinsetsu the Medical Nin in training status so he would be able to train within the hospital. After all he seemed confident that he would be a quick learner, so why would she turn down the opportunity to add a new member to their ranks. "Vell, if he vants to train here I vouldn't mind giving him zee status of Medical Nin In Training– zo he could freely move around zee hospital. But is zat vat vu vant, Schinzetzu?”

 

[Shinsetsu]

This place was so confusing. Shinsetsu could see himself getting lost here a ton if he started working here. Hell, he might have to use his Sharingan just to be able to memorise the route to the bathroom; there was one location in this place he didn't want to be desperately searching for in an emergency. At the same time, everything here was so orderly and precise, right down to the way nurses and doctors were using the hallways, using it like a two-way lane on a road. As they turned a corner through a set of doors along with Riza, they came face to face with someone Shinsetsu guessed to be head of one of the departments, something which Midori swiftly confirmed as she introduced the haggard-looking doctor. Giving a full respectful bow, Shinsetsu suddenly found his face turning a light shade of pink; he suddenly felt a little ridiculous standing next to Midori with the comical size difference between them.

"Oh, yes, sir," said Shinsetsu as the man cautioned him, looking as though Christmas had come early, "chakra is a living thing with a mind of its own, sometimes, right? You have to treat it with respect! Especially if you're working on someone's chest cavity; you don't want to dislodge a blood clot and cause a stroke, or some kind of thromboembolism!"

It was curious how Shinsetsu could talk about serious brain hemorrhages with an expression akin to being handed a cute, newborn puppy. The words kind of just gushed out of him without the need to stop for breath. His face went a little red again as he realsied this and pulled it back.

"I do know some basic medical jutsu already, b-but... you know, only healing cuts and scrapes, that sort of thing."

This was going better than he could have possibly imagined. Was he actually getting his foot in the door here on the start of his career? His fathers would be so proud when he told them the news if it was true. When Midori outright said it aloud, Shinsetsu felt his heart skip a beat, and suddenly he felt a little breathless and dizzy.

"I... wh-wh....are you SERIOU-" He froze, trying to control his excitement. With a great effort, he modified his face into something more mellow and gave another respectful bow, "I uh.... I mean, yes, Midori-sensei, I would like that very much. I'm actually set to graduate from the academy this week. And this is exactly where I belong."