Center of One's Greed [Modded Mission Pt. 2]

[Kagetsu Yuii]

With the attackers of the monks dealt with Yuii and Kaji had some choices to make. The young woman they had saved looked to be in a worsening condition. The deepening purple and swelling on her abdomen, arms and legs were all signs of internal bleeding sustained from injuries caused by the soil imprisoned bandits. Left untended, the bleeding could cause strain on her organs or make her seriously ill, if she didn't die of blood loss first, and if the bleeding was coming for a severed artery they would need to act fast.

Some time in their short voyage away from the main road, a unanimous decision to make camp was made. The monastery was a dangerous unknown with no guaranteed shelter and the military camp was both hostile and in the opposite direction of their destination. Between the pair of them, with help from Oniyuri's keen hearing, they found a suitable place to camp. It had both thick brush to hide them from the unlikely human or animal attack and a fast running mountain stream that the tigress pronounces clean enough to drink from. A short exploration found them a den like hollow under the thick roots of a tree near the water's edge.

The moment their place was decided, Yuii began rushing to prepare their lodgings. "I'll set up camp," she chimed, cheery enough despite the circumstances though by now "I only know low-grade field first aid," Yuii admitted, lapsing in a guild laden tone normally reserved for confessions of heinous crimes, all said with the same half-smile.

Her first goal was shelter and with a veritable catalogue of jutsu at her disposal Yuii made quick work of chasing out pests, smoothing and enlarging the small cave so that the three of them could fit comfortably with room to spare. She even shoved out space in the 'ceiling' and cleared a small pit for a fire. There was no telling how long they would need to stay- at least until they had the cover of darkness, and the ailing monk would do better if she was warm and dry. A shinobi gifted with the gift of earth born would have done a better job with more finesse, but Yuii's work would serve them well.

"I'll find firewood and check the parameter!" she informed him once done and the monk girl was settled into safety, dashing off to find that. That left Kaji with Oniyuri's company. The tigress has, in that time, grown smaller in size until she could pass for a large dog at a glance. She had spent their time so far fixated on the monk.

"It needs blood and to stop losing blood," the cat observed aloud, "Humans aren't meant to be that colour."

 

[Okada Kaji]

The ringing of bells chimed from a clock tower somewhere on the mountain, most likely the monastery, striking several times to warn of approaching nightfall. The golden hour was nearly in effect as the horizon was lit in warm hues along the forested mountainside. The temperature was rapidly dropping— as it did every night in these parts. For what it was worth, everything seemed normal here until you heard the sound of the victim in pain, wincing and squirming as she was carried to the first suitable hostel her saviors could find.

The young monk was a featherweight woman, light in Kaji’s arms as he moved through the tall grass and thick fauna, following a path created by Oniyuri’s sensitive senses of smell and hearing. The temporary camp they found was defensively ideal; a tall oak tree defeated by the elements and uprooted. It laid on its side and was already sunken into the soil with a spacious groove underneath. The hollow was merely a deep pit at first, but it only took a bit of chakra molding and creativity from Yuii to quickly morph the hole into a dug-in campsite. Kaji held fast to his periled patient-to-be, trying to calm her with whispered promises of aid being just a moment away. All the meanwhile Yuii was hard at work, eagerly creating a suitable cave using her impressive skill with Earth Style Jutsu.

“Nice job Blue— you might not be much of a medic, but I’m really envious of your earth affinity… I’ve been trying to learn it my whole life,” Kaji remarked. While he tried to say it a bit playfully, there was a pang of guilty truth to his words, as he was a Land of Earth native who simply could not learn earth style. Crawling into the pit, Kaji took note of the quality of her stone surfaces: they were solid but lacked the interlocking masonry patterns the stone shinobi knew to use in order to provide greater stability over time. This place was safe and secure; more than what they deserved for finding last-minute shelter on any given mountainside in Kaminari no Kuni.

And while his blue flame contributed in ways she knew how, Kaji would do the same— or at least try, as someone had to begin triage on the wounded monk, and of the two of them, he was the more confident healer. With a mantle of “The Hunter” one would not expect Kaji to be much of a medic. Yet, with the same knowledge he used to attack an opponent’s body, he learned how to treat them as well. Though he was indeed trained as an assassin, the ability to stabilize dying targets and allies alike was considered an imperative skill in Redacted’s ANBU unit. As an apprentice ANBU, Kaji watched as his master would drive detained victims to the brink of death in the process of interrogation, only to heal them, and hurt them, and heal them again in drawn out cycles of torment. However, while Redacted’s methods were cruel, his healing techniques were adopted easily enough that Kaji became proficient long before he ever escaped the clutches of the demented master. But as Kaji laid out the injured woman and prepared to work, he began to notice that these injuries were nothing like the types of wounds he saw while learning under Redacted.

Kaji took a truncated piece of wood lying on the campsite floor and lit the end with a burst of flame aimed from his free hand. With an improvised torch in hand, Kaji had a means to see his patient well and examined her wounds closely. While Yuii was away gathering firewood and whatnot, it was just Kaji and Oniyuri, who watched on with her usual judgmental gaze. The tigress asserted that the patient was suffering badly from body-wide bruising, which was the cause of her purple shades. Monks were often modestly dressed, as was this one before her garments were ripped and battered, but now she was undignified by those brutish bandits, and whoever did the majority of this damage to her.

“I’ve never seen this much deep tissue bruising on a body without lacerations on the surface. Either she has some incredibly tough skin, or some very dangerous jutsu I’ve never heard of” Kaji said. As he made this revelation aloud, he planted set his torch down gently and proceeded to undo the bandages on the arm that was so heavily injured during his battle with Kaen. Kaji peeled away his coverings, revealing himself to both Oniyuri and the patient— though the monk was in no position to be shocked by the red scaled lining Kaji’s injured side. “None of my usual healing techniques are going to be enough to save her” he admitted with a daunted tone. “Her wounds are far too great, and I’ll waste my chakra before my regular arsenal of techniques can stop the internal bleeding. Normally I’d be at a loss here, but I think I have an idea that could work.”</FONTFACE>

Ninpou: Kigen no te​

<FONTFACE fontface="georgia">

Kaji began converging his hands together in a set of slowly performed mudras, molding his chakra to replicate a jutsu performed on him only recently. The Hand of Genesis was a Senjutsu of the Hidden Oasis Lizards; one that required their genetics as a regenerative boon to healing a victim. With his scaled extremity outstretched, Kaji placed his palm flat onto the motionless patient, and his emeraldine chakra began to surge between them. “You're going to be just fine,” he said determinately, sure of himself as he transferred some of his own temporary regenerative blessings onto his patient.

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[Kagetsu Yuii]

Oniyuri's yellow eyes reflected the light of his make-shift torch as she watched Kaji try to deduce the best way to heal the petite monk. She had stretched herself out along the side of the ailing woman once they moved her into the confines of the 'den'. Her decreased size was a kindness in the limited space. There was just enough head room for Kaji to sit comfortably and not an excess of vacancy. It seemed she had taken it open herself to keep the human girl warm by lending her own body heat. The earth floor was cool and with no fur and poor coverings the girl was certain to be cold.

Kaji began to talk to himself, or her, though Oniyuri offered no more observations. If he hoped the contract summon knew more about mysterious maladies of the monk then he would be disappointed. In fact, despite their warm moment before, she looked to be giving him the cold shoulder. It was hard to tell with cats, but she was steadfastly refusing to make eye contact. She had relaxed and let her chin rest on the monk's shoulder and appeared to sleep. Only the sight of the lizard on his arm made her ear flick, betraying her as partially aware. The reaction was less than Kaji had been led to expect; however, given Yuii's tales of the cat's mischief and love for 'tasty' things.

It was almost as if she were pouting.

Yuii wiggled through the small entrance to their cave shelter, her arms laden with firewood, just in time to watch Kaji perform his healing jutsu. Her face shifted between interest, concern, then finally settled on relief. "Ah, she looks better already." She cheered, glad to see some of the colour ease from the poor girl's wounds and return to her face. It was hard to tell with the bad lighting, but the monk looked to be leaving deaths doorway behind to her eye. The odd jutsu and Kaji's half naked state concerned her, however. So, while the blue haired woman busied herself getting the fire lit, then creating several mirrors to reflect the little light, she could be caught taking anxious glances at her raven-haired partner.

The light and warmth were the difference between a hole in the ground and a proper shelter. Most of the wood Yuii had picked out burned with more flame than heat for now, but the extra warmth was welcome. Unbeknownst to them, she had left an extra pile outside so that they would have more fuel on hand as the night set in. "Has Oni offered to help?" she asked once done, crawling over to give her lover a quick peck on his shoulder. Her furred sister's silence gained a curious glance.

The guilty Oniyuri turned her head and continued to ignore them betrayed the truth. Yuii scowled, opened her mouth to scold the big cat then thought better of it. Instead, she pounced on the big cat and began the scratching knead that had coaxed Oniyuri into cooperation before. "There are fish in the stream. I'll catch you ten," she promised, pressing her cheek against the big cat's face. For once, bribery was the wrong choice.Yuii's hand held out expectantly under the tiger's nose only gained her an angry snarl and a shift in weight that dislodged the cuddle.

Yuii glanced at Kaji, silently gesturing to see if something had happened while she was gone. That again was the wrong action. Oniyuri twisted in one fluid motion and cuffed her unclawed against Yuii's head. "I want a rabbit," she demanded like a spoiled child haggling for no better reason than to be difficult. "Sixteen rabbits," she added, cutting off Yuii's protests, "That's half of what you already owe me!" Her yellow eyes settled on Kaji again, and she bared her teeth maliciously, "Or one lizard."

The 'attack' didn't throw Yuii off, but she pur herself between Kaji and Oniyuri and Kaji the best she could in their restricted quarters. "We don't have time to hunt." That was the second time she'd alluded to eating Kaji, and it didn't take much guesswork to tell what was upsetting her furred friend. "You never have time to hunt." the cat roared back, growing then shrinking to an even smaller size when neither of them twitched.

"Oh."

Oniyuri was jealous. Yuii relaxed and tugged the cat into her lap. No bigger than the toddler she was acting like Oniyuri curled up in Yuii's arms as if that had been her plan all along. The stare she fixed on Kaji from behind Yuii's arm was nothing short of frigid though.

"I know I've been busy lately and I'm sorry," Yuii crooned softly, stroking and petting her kitty until she relaxed and purred, "I've been selfish lately, but you know it won't be for long. Maybe once this mess at the monastery is taken care of we can take an extra day and hunt together." The offer seemed to placate Oniyuri, as did the petting, but her tail still thrashed wildly any time she looked at Kaji.

"Ah!," Yuii chimed, pulling a thumb bulb from Oniyuri's fur. She held it up in the dim light, eyes shining with relief, then held it out for Kaji to take. "Thank-you, Yuri.-- Here. If she eats once of these it should help her blood loss and injuries."

 

[Okada Kaji]

The Hand of Genesis was working miraculously, but the physical toll was taxing and challenged Kaji. If his chakra were quantifiable, he would have maintained roughly twenty-five percent of it now; nothing a short rest and a warm meal couldn’t fix. It took about one hour of steady work for Kaji to heal most of the deep tissue damage endured by his patient. In this time, he spent much of his efforts mending severed muscle strands and returning the patient’s hemorrhages back to working order until the purple blotches vanished from her skin. She was still unconscious but was occasionally squirming with renewed vigor as the treatment proved successful.

Yuii had returned near the end of the treatment. She came with an abundance of foraged dry wood for a campfire. Once she got that started, she began arranging a reflective system of mirrors using a rare knack for creativity in this space. While Kaji worked on his own task, he often stole quick glances at his bluebird; just seeing her there offered a boost to his energy and morale, and he picked up his pace if only to have more time to give her later. There was something on his mind tonight... After a day of near-normalcy, at least as normal as he’d ever hope for... he was certain of how he felt.

As for the healing, it had gone well. The progress was apparent enough that Yuii took note of the change in the patient by stating that she was looking better, and Kaji gave an agreeing nod. “I have managed to reduce most of the swelling and her fever has broken. She’s stable now, at least.” He was focused and sounded more like a proper doctor than an improvising shinobi merely making due. When Yuii came to him, the sensation of her touch was distracting, but the blushing in his cheeks said otherwise. The slight affection she showed him— a kiss on his exposed shoulder, made Kaji all the more tender and mindful as he took care of his patient. His travel cloak became a blanket and his flak jacket was folded into the best pillow he could manage.

And as his paramour moved her attention to her shrunken hunting cat, Kaji let his healing glow fade and started unpacking some rations and useful things from his travel sack. Meanwhile, Yuii was having a bit of a disagreement with Oniyuri, and Kaji tried to hide his snickering as they bartered over goods and services. He turned his back to them and made himself busy in order to avoid any side-eyed glares shot his way. The tigress was making it clear that she didn’t like him for some reason, even though Kaji knew it was simply impossible for that to be true. But in his attempt at distracting himself, he turned to find Yuii coming close with a small flower in hand. She didn’t offer a name or detailed explanation for the flower, just a promise that it would alleviate some of the patient’s poor health. With kind eyes, Kaji showed a look of appreciation as he took the delicate flower in the palm of his hand. “You’re wonderful. I’ll mix this into a poultice, and make a potion out of it with some drinking water. ‘Thank you” he added, and then he leaned over to spot Oniyuri, “and thank you too, Oniyuri.”

Kaji almost seemed as if he had done this one thousand times when he revealed a small wooden mortar & pestle with an assortment of herbs wrapped in cheesecloth. The other flowers and herbs were more familiar kinds carried by adventuring types like Kaji; a sprig of lavender, a chunk of valerian root, some leaves of aromatic peppermint, and yarrow pedals, all dried by merchants whenever he obtained them. He separated the valerian root first and began cutting it into more manageable pieces with a dagger strapped the side of his boot. The cave began to smell like stinky feet for a moment, enough to make Kaji grin and look to his companions, expecting utter disgust. Then, he grounded it with the mortar and pestle and added the lavender, peppermint, and the deconstructed flower bulb offered by Yuii. Those pleasant scents counteracted the root, resulting in a garden variety of enlightening scents within their little cave. Lastly, Kaji added the poultice to his only flask of drinking water and formed a single-handed fire seal. Using his innate shinobi magic, he began to heat the flask in hand, allowing the elixir to steep for a moment. “This tea I’m brewing should help ease her residual pain… not even restored muscle comes without some initial discomfort. It’s not going to taste that great going down, she might resist.” He shook the flask in his hand, and then set it aside when he knew it was good and warm. The arch of his eyebrows and sneaky grin seemed suggestive as he looked at Yuii. “I hate to beg, but as far as I know, sugar is in your wheelhouse, isn’t it… have some for me?”

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[Kagetsu Yuii]

Yuii smoothed her fingers over her feline friend's face and scratched between her whiskers gently. The tigress melted into her lap, her round little leg twitching as Yuii's nails found a particularly good spot. The 'thank-you' pleased Oniyuri, and she further relaxed into a rumbling purr that echoed through their little shelter. "Are you done sulking, furry baby?" she laughed as Oniyuri huffed once and raised her chin for a continuation of petting as an answer. A bit of affection was a bandage for a deeply cut problem that the contract and summoner would need to work out at a later date, but as least they would get through the night without issue.

The bulb could have been swallowed whole, but Yuii understood the benefit of grinding it up. The damage done to the young monk's body had been substantial and even with healing, it would take days for it to return to normal. If the damage caused to her internally included her stomach then it would be tender and imbalanced. A seed like Oniyuri's Lily could hurt a great deal before its healing benefits began. If it lost its potency or was harmful ground up Yuii was confident Oniyuri would have spoken up when Kaji laid out his plan.

Cat and woman watched on as Kaji got to work on his concocted medicine, though the cat was quickly fading towards real sleep. Now that the cave was warm, it was hard not to relax. Excluding their modern gear, it was like a scene from centuries gone. All that was missing were the few comforts permanent residency would have built up.

The offensive scent of valerian roused Yuri enough for a sneeze. Between Kaji's grin and the sudden noise, Yuii couldn't help but break into a fit of giggles. "That smells god awful!" Medicines were always like that. Her aunt had kept a sizeable working garden of plants and flowers that had produced smells just as foul when ground up, so Yuii wasn't worried about its effects. The worst they smelled and tasted usually the better they were for you. Luckily, the scent of peppermint was strong enough to cut through the nasty stench.

Yuii didn't envy the monk having to drink that concoction, mint or no mint. So, when Kaji brought up her sugar addiction, she lit up at the chance to help. "My bread and butter, you could say," she agreed cheerfully while setting Oniyuri aside next to the fire. It was known well through the village that Yuii had a sweet tooth. There had been some early attempts at bribery when she became sennin, but Yuii had Delving deep into her pockets, Yuii pulled free two big handfuls of cheerfully wrapped candies. "I've got plenty of these, take as many as you like. Oh except-" Sheepishly she picked two of the larger ones out and returned them to her pocket.

Anxious to help more, Yuii hovered until the poultice was judged ready then offered a hand in making sure it was consumed. "The plan is to stay until nightfall at least, isn't it? I'm worried about taking too long to check on the monastery." They hadn't been vocal about their intentions with the mission, but the next steps had seemed obvious to Yuii. They were both well-trained shinobi so it would be natural to come to the same conclusion. The state of the monk girl was troubling for both of them. She looked relaxed, almost peaceful, now that Kaji had worked his magic on her wounds but those awful bruises could not be unseen. "There could be others as badly injured as this one is. If she doesn't wake up before night, we can leave Yuri here to look after her." The sad truth was, this girl could be the lucky one.

Yuii glanced at Oniyuri and her lips pursed thoughtfully. "She will want more fish I suppose, but won't mind staying somewhere warm. Don't take her threats personally, by the way. I think she wanted to dislike you because she's angry with me and is frustrated you're too wonderful. We used to spend a lot of time together and the change has been hard on her."

[2058WC total]

 

[Okada Kaji]

Not only did Yuii have some candy to share, but she had a shop’s variety of morsels in an array of types and flavors. “Oh? I must be close to your heart if you’d let me see the treasure trove— but of course, I’d never take the good stuff,” Kaji said playfully, all while rummaging through the small pile in her hands and picking bits of candy as if he was carefully selecting jewels from a sleeping dragon’s horde. Once he set three pieces of blue colored candies aside, Kaji took Yuii's hands in his and looked her in the eyes for a moment without a fair explanation. It clearly wasn’t about candy though. We wanted to lose himself within her dazzling sapphire orbs, which carried the glow of the campfire as they looked back at him.

He didn’t stare longingly for too long though— Kaji went back to work, unwrapping the candies and crushing them with his mortar and pestle until they became a blend of dust and hardened sugary bits. Since she remained at his side, Kaji handed Yuii the potion so she could hold it still while he poured in the makeshift sweeter. He struggled to focus on the task a hand at the moment and realized that he was preoccupied thinking about her when Yuii brought up their next move for the night. “Oh, yes, um…” He felt exposed, tongue twisted, and unsure as he worked towards a better response than, oh babe, I’m exhausted. “That is a sound idea… We should move on the Monastery as soon as the moon is high over the mountain. At the going rate, I can’t promise that I’ll be able to do much for them if there are more victims like this one. But with any luck, this one will stir and be able to tell us something about what we’re up against.” It was clear that order must have fallen within the Soaring Thunder if mere bandits were hauling one of the order’s monks as if they were mere cattle for the taking. “Alternatively, we could always revisit those men we left on the road if you think we should move now. I doubt they’ve made it out of the trap, and might have some information for us… In fact, they’ll probably be singing with details... if the coming cold hasn’t gotten them yet.” That said, those goons were probably dead, but Kaji shrugged. “Whoops.”

Dually focused on the task at hand, Kaji motioned himself to the side of the sleeping monk and brought the potion he concocted. He brought the solution near to her nose in an attempt to wake her with its pungent scent, but she remained perfectly still, apparently unmoved by the mixture of minty, candied feet. All the meanwhile, Yuii had gone on to explain Oniyuri’s behavior, and Kaji scooted around to face her again. He nodded understandingly, and said, “suppose that’s understandable— but the last thing I want is to get in between your bond with Oniyuri.” Once Kaji’s back was turned, the monk’s nose crinkled from the odorous substance, which could have been a poison to finish her, for all she knew. She remained still as stone, waiting for an opportunity to strike back against her captors... But Kaji was busy tip-toeing on the edge of the thing which had him so distracted all evening— that something he was ready to confess. “Actually, since I’ve been assigned to stay here in The Cloud, I figure we’ll have plenty of time to try adventures like this together, just you and me, and Oniyur—” Kaji was stopped mid-sentence with his good news thrown to the wind, as a force seized him from behind! A pair of arms sprang up behind Kaji to form a powerful chokehold as the young woman made a move on him in absolute desperation. Her renewed strength was incredible after Kaji donated so much of his own chakra into healing her, and now she was using it to nearly snap his windpipe with a vice grip. Kaji was silenced and impaired by the monk’s expert hold, which further hinted that she couldn’t have possibly been put in such a previous state by those bandits. “Don’t make a move or I’ll have to even these odds,” the monk pleaded, though she was clearly the only aggressor in this instance. In her eyes was pure despair and the belief that she was, in fact, still a captive within this place. “All the horrors you people have done to us… I’ll snap his neck and Raiden would only honor me for it, I swear!”

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[Kagetsu Yuii]

Yuii had lapsed into swooning and blushing. Staring deep into his eyes, a green that would forever by her favourite colour, she phased between joy and deep melancholy. Kaji had a way of rendering her speechless with his honey sweet words and tenderness. It was disarming and alarming how much one person could make her feel so deeply or brighten her day better than the sun. When he was gone, a thought she was plagued with but steadfastly refused to acknowledge, Yuii would be a wreck.

She didn't dwell on the thought, and once the tender moment was over Yuii redoubled her efforts to be of use. Her lover looked like he had been dragged across the bowels of hell, fought Raiden himself for the Monk's recovery and crawled back. Perhaps, in a way, he had. After such a sacrifice of his own energy and skill, making sure he had extra help then a comfortable place to recover was the least she could do. Once the monk was conscious Yuii would go and catch those fish, she decided, and see about gathering some spruce boughs for makeshift bedding. The small needled tree could be quite comfortable as long as one kept their clothes on, and much warmer than the stone floor. She would check for clay along the stream as well, and have 'Yuri look for root vegetables. With a bit of crafting she could make something warm for them to eat that night instead of just grilled pike. A stew might help Kaji recover.

The protest that Kaji couldn't come between Yuii and 'Yuri died on her lips. The world slowed, as Yuii tasted one sweet moment of elation cut short by a hostage situation. "Kaji!" she cried, as the monk took hold of her lover. Reflexively Yuii shot back against the opposite wall of the den. In that brief moment, Yuii managed a single set of seals, though nothing appeared to change, and a standoff ensued. "Let him go," She pleaded back, her hands held aloft to show she was disarmed. "Please. The exit is behind you if you must run, but we're only here to help. Sent by Kumogakure."

Yuii's words did not seem to penetrate the thick fog of fear surrounding the battered woman's mind. The hard grip on Kaji's neck tightened, making Yuii tense in kind. The monk would snap his neck before Yuii made the hand seals for a genjutsu to change the tide of the conflict. If only she were an Uchiha, Hashigaki or any other defined bloodline with physical attacks she could manifest without seals.

"Lord Raiden would curse you for murdering the man who healed your wounds," The warning was heartfelt. Many men and women did worse deeds and died without punishments, but a monk might truly draw the ire of her god, Yuii had never seen a true god, but in the realm of the dead and the living, there were occurrences that could not be explained easily. Only twice had Yuii come upon a spirit that she would willingly call cursed. The first had been trapped beneath a boulder, forever forced to experience its last moments of death. The other she tried so hard to block from her own memory that she could only recall it in her own nightmares.

"Please."
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