Looks Like Someone Could Use a Hand.

[Kazumi]

"n...no it..." was all Yumi managed before soft knocking on the door heralded the arrival of a young looking medinin who Naoki had not heard before.

"How are you doing Yumi-chan?" He asked in an upbeat, and rather loud manner as he stepped into the room, reading something on the clipboard in his hands. Without waiting for any response he stepped over around the bed and took hold of the girl's right arm. She winced a little, but he did not seem to notice.

A few moment of inspection passed before the apparently higher ranked, if his garb and demeanor were anything to judge by, young man allows her to lower her arm back down. "Probably need to change that. I must say it was a doozey, I will tell you what. Like someone just took an axe and BAM, just cut it in two." He chuckled inconsiderately to himself as he shook his head. "Probably my best work this month, and there were so many bone fragments left... pretty sloppy job at that." He talked rather quickly and with honest enthusiasm, even though it was likely very misplaced...

 

[Samejima]

This one's pretty different... What's he saying... Naoki thought to herself, wondering how large the range of bedside manner is in this hospital. She got up and pulled the mednin aside, whispering, "Sorry mister, ah thank you for helping Yumi, but I was told to make sure she got some rest, so if you could kinda, keep it down...?" she paused then, trying to work through what to say next. "It's just... I don't know if you've heard, but she's worrying about a lot of things right now and probably doesn't need to know about h-how... how her arm... um..."

Naoki paused again, and if this mednin hadn't gone back to Yumi to possibly help her current state of mind, she'd continue. "Could you maybe tell her about something else? Or at least something not about work?"

 

[Kazumi]

In the middle of his enthusiastic stream of comments and observations he was swept aside by the blind girl. Her concern was responded to by a confused raised brow from the man, who obviously didn't see anything wrong with his conduct. "This news should cheer her right up!" He turned to Yumi and continued for the benefit of them both, "You are quite lucky to be alive Tsukino-chan. Those puncture wounds on your chest somehow managed to avoid hitting both your heart, lungs and every other vital organ! You should be quite ecstatic."

Then he would once again be urged to speak of other topics and his confused stare would shift to one of annoyance. "It really is all very exciting. I have only been here a few years, but I had never seen anything like it." He paused a moment, looked over towards Yumi who seemed to be paying no attention at all and then sighed. "Very well. There is a patient next door who had a much less interesting broken arm. Perhaps he will be more interested in hearing the specifics of the healing process." Naoki recieved a momentary look of annoyance from the man before he too made his departure from the room.

 

[Samejima]

Naoki covered her face after the mednin exited, more of a reflex than anything else. Why was it that everything she tried made things worse...?

She tried to make out any sort of expression on Yumi's face, though it seemed like it was quite blank for the time being. The chipper mednin from earlier must have been able to alleviate some tension, despite the details he was spewing and the realizations of how close she was to death most likely hitting the student quite hard now, by what Naoki's heard. "U-um... So!"

What do I talk about? Vital organs? How'm I supposed to link all that other stuff to something that'll distract Yumi from stuff like this...

"Th-those mednin huh? They're all just so busy all the time, helping people out. Um... I don't think I'd be able to understand all that stuff though, the um, fractures and things. Was there something you wanted to talk about...? I can't tell you much about what happened, but I'm here if you wanna chat."

Hmm... What would I even talk about though...? We haven't seen each other in a while since the time we met and the thing at the training room... And talking about that definitely won't cut it. Did I bring anything I can talk about...

 

[Kazumi]

Despite Naoki's efforts, silence would reign for a short while even after the man's departure. That non-stop beeping might have lulled most to sleep, but Yumi seemed to just be staring up at the ceiling with an impassive glaze. After a minute of what must have been torture to the other girl she finally did speak. "What is it like... being a shinobi?" The suddenness and passive way that she asked might have caught Naoki off guard. Even still, Yumi remained motionless under her covers as she silently waited for Naoki's answer.

 

[Samejima]

The silence that followed was very unsettling.

I probably should've said something about something unrelated right off the bat. But what if that something was a little too something to be mentioned, and something else happens to Yumi while something happens to something else in the hospital and no one'll be able to something over here to give Yumi something and then I'll have to try and think of something to try and help people outside so that someone can come in and give something to Yumi to try and calm her down before she does someth-

"B-being... Um... Hmm..." Naoki pondered the question a little. "I haven't done much by myself, but so far it's been..." she paused, tilting her head to the right as if it helped with her memory. She thought of the training, the mental battle she had with herself, the sickening crunch she heard way back in her first few weeks that still hasn't left her memory... And finally this. This feeling of helplessness, sitting here with a friend on a hospital bed, wishing she could say, do or even just think of something to help. To have power and yet still be powerless.

"It's been really rough." The genin suddenly felt cold, despite the blazing heat they lived in.

 

[Kazumi]

Once again silence would reign down upon the, but before it took hold Yumi gave Naoki a small, "oh..." as if it was not what she expected or she was disappointed with the answer. Another silent minute passed between them, thankfully with no more interruptions by all sorts of medinins. "I guess it is all for the best anyway... I wasn't... cut out for it." She let off a small sigh before wincing slightly from a sudden jab of chest pain.

"It was my dad's idea. I don't know what inspired it... initially, but he was very adamant that I could do it. He believed with all he had that I could do it..." Suddenly she spoke up with a little more energy and asked Naoki as she looked over towards her as she continued to lay flat on the bed. "Want to know the last thing he ever said to me?" She only paused a fraction of a moment before continuing, "we will discuss this at home... That look on his face."

Suddenly she had a momentary flashback to when she walked into their home and she winced from the pain of it. Yumi got quiet for perhaps half a minute longer, "I shouldn't be alive now... I should have... been... not them..." Her voice trailed off once again into silence as she turned her head to look away from Naoki, her cheeks becoming slowly flushed as she tried to fight it all back.

 

[Samejima]

About to protest Yumi's earlier statement about her not being cut out for it, Naoki was cut short by a wince after the girl's sigh. She continued though, and seemed to be a bit more energetic as she told Naoki about what the last thing her father said to her was.

Didn't she sound a little... better just now...? Naoki wondered why that was, since it was a sensitive topic by her judgment. So then, talking about it would lead her to feel a bit better? Then Yumi trailed off. Well, it'd be pretty normal for her to not want to talk about that... wait... what did-

"No... Don't say that..." She wanted to tell Yumi everything would be alright, but it was too risky. "How would your parents have felt if they heard you saying something like that...?" She wanted to give Yumi a hug, but it was too risky. "You're here now, and that's all that matters! S-so don't..." She didn't like to risk things.

"Things'll get better... It'll all get better, somehow. You're still alive for a reason, all you have to do is... is find it!" Naoki said, left hand reaching over to Yumi's, gripping it with conviction.

 

[Kazumi]

Naoki's pep talk seemed to have the opposite of it's intended effect as Yumi pulled her hand from Naoki's as she pushed herself up to a forceful sitting position. She likely could have reopened a wound with the vigor that she moved, but at least she was not laying there in a puddle of malaise. "A reason?" She asked with an angry tone, "What reason could there be in my mom and dad getting killed because of some stupid mistake I made! Because of that one. Stupid. Mistake. They are dead! I am alone without anyone else in the entire Country. That-" she paused for a moment, her left hand clenched so tightly her knuckles were turning white as she seemed to search for a word that could accurately describe the depths of her feeling for that man.

"That souless fiendish bastard! I want to bring him back just so I could kill him again a thousand times over again!" Her voice continued to retain that life filled fury as she almost began to growl in rage. She only managed to hold onto the emotion for a few seconds longer before it too slipped through her fingers, "but now... I can't. I can't become a shinobi like this. I wasn't going to be able to before... Just a big... disappointment is all I can be now." By then all of her passion fueled rage had left her. Her hand relaxed and the life and energy she had a moment ago seemed to be slipping from her.

 

[Samejima]

Pulling her own hand away as soon as she felt Yumi's resistance, Naoki couldn't do anything while Yumi released the frustration she'd pent up, just sat there and tried not to cover her ears this time from the forcefulness of the voice. Every time Yumi emphasized something, she'd flinch, and when she stopped for a bit, there was a moment of relief before she started up again.

Ungh... So it was something she did...? Is that why she feels like she should've...

Then the anger left, and with it returned the earlier hopeless statements. ...Did she get tired? Maybe it'll be easier for her to rest now.

To her words though, Naoki didn't respond. There was nothing to say, she couldn't do anything for Yumi as she was. No information, no helpful sayings... and it was likely that even if she tried, nothing good would come out of it, as demonstrated by the past couple of times she did. It's not like they were suddenly going to reach enlightenment about their respective situations in any case, so the verbal silence and beeping of the machines might've been what they both needed to clear their heads.

Then, quietly, "I was saying... There's a reason for you to be here. Something you can do. Just... think about it." She then got up, about to leave. "S-sorry, I'm probably just making it harder to relax huh? I was supposed to make sure you did get some rest, but that's... probably not going to happen if I'm here, so I'll just... Oh, did you want anything? Water maybe, or some food? I'll bring it here and go afterwards if you do."

 

[Kazumi]

Yumi's malaise shattered once Naoki offered to leave and with it her head perked up as she looked pleadingly over towards the girl. "Don't go... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you again," though Naoki could tell that her yelling was not directred towards her, it likely wasn't much better than if it had been. "I don't want be alone right now... I promise I will try and cheer up." She looked up to the standing Naoki and forced a smile, but even that was difficult for her to do.

"You really are a dedicated shinobi, if you are still wearing that like that." The remnants of her bandaged arm lifted up as if to point towards Naoki with her missing hand, but after only a moment's hesitation she relaxed it and pointed towards the village blindfold with her off hand. "Sometimes I forget you are even wearing it, until I do something dumb." To her credit, she was faking a neutral demeanor much better than she had that smile earlier.

 

[Samejima]

I... Well, I knew she wasn't mad at me, but I did want to let her get some rest... If I stay I'll probably just say another thing that'll set her off... What do I do? "I'm sorry about just saying something like that... But I didn't want you to feel like..." Like you weren't meant to live, is what she was going to say, but Naoki decided against it to avoid any further discussion on the topic. "A-anyway, as long as you want me around, I can stay... Just don't strain yourself, alright?"

Yumi then pointed out her headband and how she was still wearing it, since supposedly she was only using it for training. Oh, that's right! Yumi doesn't know I'm blind yet... I meant to tell her awhile ago but we haven't seen each other for... two months? Rubbing the back of her neck somewhat sheepishly, "Ahh um... about that..." There was a bit of a pause as she tried to think of how to tell Yumi she'd been unable to see at all this whole time. It wouldn't have made a difference really, since she was visibly rendered unable to see, but it was hard to say all the same.

"I meant to tell you earlier, but we didn't meet again until a couple days ago..." she pulled the headband down to hang around her neck, opening her eyes.

"I, um... I really am blind." Naoki closed her eyes again, not wanting to expose them for long. "I've been getting around somehow by making sounds... Like in here, because there's beeping, I can sort of... sense where you are and how you're moving. I used to be able to see though, this happened awhile ago, when I awakened my chakra. It's... It hasn't been training, I just can't see... Sorry about hiding it for so long, I just didn't want you to think I was weird or something..."

Naoki would readjust her headband to cover her eyes then, while she awaited Yumi's reaction to this. She won't suddenly think I'm weird though right? She's not like those other people, she's nice!

 

[Kazumi]

Yumi simply nodded faintly as Naoki spoke, doing her best to try and keep herself upbeat and chipper, but only managing to to a passable calm so far. That was at least until Naoki began to undo her headband and she became mesmorized by those soul sucking eyes. Yumi had gotten compliments on her eyes, as odd of a color as they were, but this...? She only half heard the first bits of what Naoki was saying as she looked over towards her, the girl's mouth slightly agape.

When Naoki closed her eyes, Yumi blinked to recenter herself. "You.. you can?" She sounded genuinely surprised, perhaps even awestruck... as much as she could be at this point, at least. She picked her left hand up and quietly waved it about two feet from Naoki's face. "You can see.. hear that?" That didn't make any sense to her, and as if she could manage to duplicate it she too closed her eyes. She got quiet for a moment and tried to listen, "I... I think I see what you mean. I can sort of feel you over there too...."

How had she not noticed these things before? Who knew you could see well enough with your eyes closed? Her current worries were forgotten for the moment as she tried to listen harder, but Naoki was all that she could hear and even that was... weird.... "That is pretty cool." She finally replied, a small real smile appearing on the bandaged girl's lips.

 

[Samejima]

Naoki was happy to hear that the girl didn't find her suddenly too strange to be around. To her, it meant the world to have someone's affirmation of the fact that it wasn't just different, she was okay with it. "Really?" she asked, notably quite excited. "So you don't think it's weird and stuff, that I really can't see...?"

Ahh, she smiled! Should I talk more about this? "Also, I can't hear colors or anything, but I've seen them before so I know what they look like! Which is why that time, back when we met, I couldn't tell which way was the green district... Ah, and that one time, when I had to go the the bathroom..."

Naoki then began to relate a story about the time she needed to go to one of the Academy bathrooms back when she'd just arrived in the village.

"So I was walking around trying to find a bathroom, other people too walking around all over the place, and the janitor said it was down the corridor so I went to that one, even though there were no people around. There were signs on the walls, but I couldn't tell what was written on it, and no one was coming by so I couldn't figure out which was which..." She stopped here a second, trying to recall the next part. Was it the left or right door...?

"So I went into the left door, and just stood there for a bit because the two boys in there were chatting, they didn't notice me yet. Another one came in, so I got out of the way but was still kinda dazed about having gone to the wrong bathroom, and then- this is the best part- since I look like this and I wasn't talking, none of them said anything and just walked out afterwards!"

Naoki had taken a couple of breaths throughout the story, so she wasn't exactly gasping for air, but it was a little tiring to have talked that much. How was that... "Lots of stuff like this can still be pretty hard, not being able to see, but I get by okay."

 

[Kazumi]

She nodded a little, apparently Naoki was doing a good enough job of distracting Yumi for her ailments. "Of course it is weird. I've never heard of anything like it. I mean..." She had picked her arms up to make a gesture, but a sharp pain at the end of her right arm caused her to silence for a moment as he left hand reached over to clasp it. "Sorry... it still hurts a lot if I move my arm too much." She winced a little and forced herself to let her right arm fall turn back down to her side.

It took the girl a moment to regain her disposition, but she did manage to regain it nonetheless as she listened to Naoki's story. She grimaced, and smiled during various parts, but the end left her both amused and amazed. "I still don't know how you can do it so well, and... you weren't always able to do that? What happened?" She recalled Naoki mentioning something about chakra... did that mean it something like that might happen to her if she had actually became a shinobi. She paused and her smile faded a little, recent bad memories coming back to her more quickly than she would have liked.

 

[Samejima]

It seemed Yumi was interested in the current topic, at least, so she wouldn't be wandering too far off the road to acceptance. I don't know if I should keep going about the chakra right now... But she did ask... "Oh that was awhile ago, when I first came here. Lord Onimaru- who's the head of one of the Toraono clan's houses- explained how I lost my sight sometime around when my chakra was awakened... So in exchange for being able to see, I can hear super good," Naoki paused then, recalling the event that triggered her ability to see, at least when certain conditions were fulfilled. "But there are ways to get around that, at least as far as I know..."

She paused again, trying to think of another thing to say. "Ah, and I'm supposed to be able to play instruments pretty well, but even now I've still only learned a little bit about this kokyuu I have," she gestured to her bag, which she'd left on the ground. "I could play it well when I got here... for some reason, but I can't do it anymore... though I have been practicing."

Naoki tilted her head a little, about to ask a question but not knowing if it would be alright to ask. She'd mull over asking this question for a bit.

 

[Kazumi]

Naoki's persistent talking managed to snap Yumi from her self-reflection once again ans she looked back over towards her once more. "Awakened your... chakra? Is that a thing?" She tilted her head in confusion, and a thought occurred to her, "can you tell that I am tilting my head right now?" She held that position for a few seconds so that Naoki could give her an answer.

The younger girl continued on and spoke of instruments, which again piqued another confused expression. "You mean... you couldn't see it, so it is harder to play?" That was all that made sense to her... the ability to play an instrument didn't just come and go did it? "What did you mean you were supposed to be able to play it?" Nothing Naoki said seemed to do anything but cause more questions to arise, and even when she did answer that brought yet more questions! Even still, it was a good distraction.

 

[Samejima]

Naoki nodded to Yumi's first question, after confirming it with another beep from the machines, before carrying on with the next part of her speech about instruments.

"Well, not exactly... There was this battle, and I really wanted to help... then for some reason I felt like playing a song might help people and so I took it out and just started playing! I was pretty shocked while it happened, but afterwards it just felt... right. Then after the battle..."

Naoki trailed off, trying to remember those details. "I was hit with some kinda magnetic jutsu...? Whatever it was, it hurt, pretty sure I flew a couple meters... And then when I went to the hospital, I tried to play it again but I didn't know how to anymore..." She rubbed the back of her head, wondering if that was what caused her loss of ability.

"Oh, and I'm supposed to be able to play instruments well because I have an aff... affinity? An affinity to Sound, probably means that I'm good at doing anything that has something to do with sound." Naoki nodded, sure of her understanding.

Throughout the answers though, Naoki would be quite attentive to Yumi's reactions, most likely trailing off to an "are you okay?" if Yumi seemed to be in too much distress for her to continue blabbering, waiting until her friend seemed to feel better.

 

[Kazumi]

It seemed Naoki continued to hold to the tradition of generating more questions than actual answers, and Yumi came out looking as confused as she had when it had began. "Wait... You started playing a song in the middle of some battle thing? Then magnets made you bump your head and you can't anymore?" Having been an outsider living no where near a shinobi village for the majority of her life, none of this was making much sense to her.

At least one part did seem to make some sense to her. "Affinity? You mean you're just really good at music and stuff? I used to play the panio back before we moved to WInd Country." What started off to be a random bit of musing just reminded her of something she thought she wouldn't be able to do anymore, which managed to sap some of her strength. "Wait.. what did all of that have to do with awakening chakra and stuff?"

 

[Samejima]

It was confused chattering not unlike one found in a regular gathering of two young girls, albeit with vastly different contents. Naoki would answer the preceding questions before continuing with answers to the questions preceding those, going through them one at a time. "Yeah, though people weren't really fighting yet, it was all just some pretty scary sounds... And I think that's what it was, because the one we were fighting..." She hadn't been able to see Magnetica in all her glory, but she had been able to sense her the few times she landed hits. "I'm pretty sure she uses magnetic thingies to attack, since her name was Magnetica, and I couldn't sense a thing before it hit..."

Then she nodded, while still being confused about something. "Piano?" She could recall vaguely having heard about it. "What is it...? You can play it, so is it an instrument?"

Finally Yumi came back to the trigger. "Um... I'm not too sure. All I was told was that my chakra awakened, but it caused me to go blind, even though I can hear really well now..." She trailed off there, unsure if she should continue. I was going to ask... but I probably shouldn't, we should stay on this topic for a bit longer... at least until she gets tired.