Open Cat Scratch Fever

[Yuki Michiko]

Michiko was no stranger to the hospital, as she had been taking care of herself for some time since her parents had died. What she didn't expect, however, was to show up like this. She had been out, doing a job to retrieve a lost cat, when the poor thing spooked and scratched up her arms and face. Embarrassed, she quickly rushed the cat to the owner and dropped it off then headed to the hospital before anyone could see her. She just knew that if Sumika saw her like this, she would be teased. Well, that is if Sumi could see. But it was pretty obvious that something was wrong with her, as her voice came out kind of wobbly and tear filled. She had never been so embarrassed in her life! How could she expect to become a shinobi if she couldn't even accomplish a job as simple as retrieving a missing cat without getting injured? "It's okay Michiko... Don't let this get you down! You've got this! You're going to be one of the best shinobi out there, no matter what. You can't let some silly cat bring you down. It was one mistake, it happens to everyone. Think of all the people rooting for you; you have all of your friends down in the Entertainment District, the poor old woman whose cat you just rescued, and you know that wherever your parents are they are looking down on you. It doesn't matter how many times you slip and fall, so long as you get back up again!"

 

[Hashigaki Honome]

Honome was going up to the head medical ninja's office, Midori, and was going to hand in some paperwork when she heard a small wobbly voice. The self-assuring Honome had participated in when she was doing her first mission, and it wasn't just a cat going missing. Apparently this little girl also had no parents, like the kid that she had been sponsoring since she got back from trying to cure his village from the well-poisoning. He was getting on fine, but maybe a well placed word here would help the girl with her self confidence and might make the visit to the hospital a little less scary for the poor small thing.

She walked along the hall dropping off the paperwork as she did so in Midori's dropbox and then hurried back to see if the girl was still there. Sighing in relief, she heard the breathing and nervous fidgeting of the girl that she had heard before. She approached, her footfalls from the wooden sandals echoing through the hallway as she shifted in her Cheongsam, one that 'matched her eyes' as Riko had said, whatever that meant. She smiled and extended a hand to the girl, "Hashigaki Honome, Mednin in training, can I show you to where you're going?" She didn't dare say that she had overheard the girl's whimpering before, so she just casually started as if the girl were either lost or was unfamiliar with the hospital.

Honome hadn't heard the girl's voice before, so it was only natural to think that she wasn't familiar with the building, and perhaps she could take her to the cat-scratch fever specialist. A few NSAIDs and some good rest would be right as rain. She wouldn't even need to be in the hospital for that long, and probably could have just gone to a general practitioner for all the damage that a cat could do. "What happened so that I can guide you to the right place?"




WC:327

 

[Yuki Michiko]

During her musings to herself, Michiko didn't hear or even notice the woman walking past her until she had turned around and come back to speak with her. Blushing furiously, she ducked her head and listened to what the woman had to say. When she mentioned her name, Michiko's head shot up and she looked her in the eye. She didn't know many of the bloodlines in the village, but one of the few that she did know of was the Hashigaki. Her friend, Sumi, was a Hashigaki. They tended to be blind, and without a thought, Michiko waved a hand before the new woman's face to see whether or not she would follow the hands movement.

A moment after realizing what she was doing, she quietly chided herself for being rude. "I'm so sorry. You're blind, aren't you? My friend, Hashigaki Sumika, is blind as well. I didn't mean to be rude, it's just that I wasn't sure if the rumors about Hashigaki were true or not. By the way, your gown is really pretty! It makes your eyes pop, which are also beautiful. I've never seen such a pretty eye color before. Oh, as for what happened to me... well, I was on a mission. This old woman in the village had lost her kitty, and I needed some money to buy some new clothes. Living on the streets, it's hard to come by fresh clothes very often. So I went out looking for her kitty, but it was really mean! It scratched me up a bunch, and so I thought I would come here to make sure it didn't have rabies or anything. Cats can get rabies, right? I don't know... I'm sorry."

As she spoke, her voice got softer and softer. She leaned in closer to Honome as she was speaking so that nobody nearby would overhear what had happened, as she was still embarrassed by the fact that she was going to be a shinobi, but a cat had gotten the better of her.

MFT: 338