Private Otami »« Slice of Life...

[Shion]

Nova wasn’t always the one getting into trouble… But lately, a set of bullies had appeared and Nova had been standing up to those who were the victim of it. It… sometimes ended up with a trip the the Byoin, so was the same day today.

He had a busted lip, his cheek was swollen and there already was a slight discoloration happening on the cheek itself. If you could look closely, that was if Nova removed the cold cloth, you could see scrapes. Throughout his body, he had a few, but once answering questions he simply said he fell off the stairs.

He would sit down in the waiting area, a cloth to his cheek, and simply not thinking much over it. He was told however that he needed to get a hobby that didn’t involve what he did… But he didn’t mind. Something the weaker needed a wing to take shelter to, he would gladly give them that shelter.

When his name was called, he moved to the room where he met someone he hadn’t see for a while. “A- Dog girl!” He nicknamed her like that because ever since those play games with Keni.. and the fact he didn’t catch her name right, he only got that. “A-ah, I didn’t mean to name you that, it is just I forgot your name. Let’s start over, I am Nova.”

 

[Uzu]

It was getting close to evening and Otami walked through the front doors of the Boyin with a confidence that wasn’t there a scant two months ago. In the short time she had been volunteering, which was pretty much every night she didn’t have Shinobi Work to deal with, the girl had become something of a local celebrity among the staff. The nurses had all adored her original speech and flipped out when she showed up one week speaking normal. Her bedside manner practically doubled overnight, and the wolf-girl was starting to even recognize certain patients coming back to see her specifically. A few boys in particular kept trying to get into fights so they had a reason to come in and talk to her, which was flattering at first but quickly grew tedious. Despite her background, upbringing, and weird transition into being a Leaf Shinobi, Otami was actually very serious about her work ethic. The traumatizing thing with those monkeys a while back had actually helped her growth in coming out of the shell her mother had put around the teen.

The Ryuu changed quickly, slipping into scrubs in the locker rooms before stepping out to grab the Master Clipboard and begin looking down the list of what she could do. A few beds to be made, one room to clean up and sanitize and…wait, that name looked familiar…
Otami thought on it for a second before remembering Keni, Keiyaku, and the game of Flag Catch they had all played. A blush rose to her cheeks for a moment out of the embarrassment she had put herself through because of Kei, but she squashed it right down. Putting the clip board back in place she quickly walked down to Nova’s room and knocked before opening the door.

“Dog girl!” the cheery boy said holding a cold cloth to his face before catching himself from the embarrassment of not remembering her name.
“Otami,” she said with a smile and a little bit of a blush. It didn’t surprise her at all to know this was how she had been remembered, “And you were Nova, boy with the pointy ears like mine,” the girl said sheepishly before plucking at the tip of her unnatural ears. “But no feel, I mean, don’t feel bad! I only remembered your name because it’s on a chart,” Otami said before sticking her tongue out playfully. The Mednin wannabe looked at the chart again hanging from the door to double check why Nova was here and a troubled glance crossed her face. Falling down stairs? A ninja? If anyone actually believed Nova, then the boy needed to get a second job selling lakes in the Wind Country; they’d make millions.

“Okay, let Otami get an eye on this…” she said, forgetting her speech patterns for a moment to look at the mystery bruise. She gently took the hand holding the cold compress into her own before gently lifting it away. The Ryuu recognized the bruise pattern instantly. It was the same kind that ended up on her face from training with that Uzumoreru bastard that called himself her sensei. She even balled up her fist, clenching Nova’s along with, to measure the bruise with her own knuckles and frowned; they matched up. Albeit larger than her own fist, of course. Releasing Nova’s hand to press the cold against the bruise again, looking him in the eye and encouraging pressure, Otami turned to wash her hands in the sink as was habit.

“That’s not a stair bruise,” she said bluntly, dropping the pretense of being an orderly working for the Boyin for one a bit more personal. A friend, or at least trying to be.
“Those tend to be a bit longer, ya know, because…stair is…long wood,” she stumbled over the Fire Country’s language for moment, stretching her hands out to imply that the bruise didn’t match up to one would get from getting hit by a piece of long flat wood.
“That’s a fist-bruise. Punchy-punch. Why are you getting punched? You were really nice to me, and you don’t…” Otami paused for a moment and took a whiff of air, “nope, you don’t smell like trouble. The opposite, actually…

The girl stared at Nova, somewhat confused as if she was trying to solve the mystery of her friend’s bruises with only half of the evidence.

 

[Shion]

He was rather glad that she didn't took it too personal as with how he addressed her, but he was also glad that he caught her name once more. "Otami, I will be sure to remember it this time." he made the comment and looked towards her and caught on something. Was her speech that much better compared to the past? He decided to listen better to it to make sure that it indeed was the case. "Yea... Pointy ears, shark corner hook teeth..." He spoke and then learned she only knew about it thanks to the chart. It made him laugh a little and flinch a moment too. The muscles pulled in his cheek which made him flinch.

He then saw that she leaned in... Remove the cold press, he would then look to her in the hope that she too would buy it. But seeing how it went he soon knew that it wasn't the case... Even more obvious when she spilled it out like that. He decided to be quiet for moment, at least from the speech side, in his mind it was racing. ' Yup... Yup she did figure it out, I mean how can she not? She even looked at the bruise at close, something the others never did... Did she notice tho..?' He eyes her again and heard about how a stair bruise would be. ' ehheh... heh... Yup, yup I am doomed, no matter how you look at it, she won't buy it. Why is she so much smarter than the other ones?! ' He eyed away and heard then it was a bruise punch. ' Please lord... If there even is one, let me make it out without too much trouble!' He pleaded and looked back to her.

"I do take a bath every other day... Maybe that is why you don't smell it..." he muttered, trying to keep that miniature wall around, but figured he couldn't lie to her in the end after all. "Fiiine... I got hit by defending a few that got beaten up by a bully... I went against the bully..." he said and cross his arms, not holding the cold compress against the spot at all anymore so she could see it once more.

"Ever since I had been bullied that badly, I don't want others go to through it." He said and would look her in the eye, just to make sure that she knew he was serious. "I need to be stronger then the bullies, so I train a lot, I already get less hit. Just... this time they were with a group."

 

[Uzu]

The blond blinked at Nova’s explanation. There were bullies in Konoha? The concept of a being that liked to force around the weak for their own amusement wasn’t lost on Otami. In the desert wilds those creatures existed as overwhelmingly powerful monsters that did whatever they wanted to. Nothing could stop them, normally. Her pack avoided those creatures as if they were the Scarlet Fever itself. Yet, on the rare occasion, one of those creatures made the mistake of crossing her entire pack; it died. One of biggest laws in the death world she hailed from was simply, survive. By any means. If a creature of overwhelming strength crossed your path, then you were to put it down lest it do the same to you. There was no choice in the matter.

Yet Nova was going beyond what Otami’s concept of normal survival went. He was actively fighting for the weaker that were destined to die off from not being able to defend their own means. Placing themselves in a danger that, in her mind, could have gotten him killed. Did Nova want the weaker to owe him favor? The boy explained that he had once been bullied badly himself before, but still lived. Simply by virtue of being alive did Nova stand against those who would cull the weak before they could become strong. The wolf-girl saw it as incredibly noble of him, not fully understanding the cultural differences between bullies in the desert and bullies in society.

“You must already be strong. Where I am from, we do not seek out bullies…at least not without a death wish,” the volunteer commented lightly as she slowly moved her hands through a series of seals until a light green aura covered her right hand. With a gentle cup of her palm the teen held the light just shy of touching the bruise. She had learned from her own self healing experiments that pushing the light against the wound and healing too fast could be just as painful as the original cause of the wound. Instead, she encouraged the light to only heal the very worse of the bruise, repairing the bruised tissue to reduce pain, but left the burst blood vessels that made the bruised colors. It would be much better for Nova’s body to finish healing the rest naturally, but Otami could at least take the edge of the pain off. As she healed, she gave some thought to what Nova said.

“Have you…gotten help?” Otami asked with a serious look in her eye, “You should face a pack with your own pack. Only a silly pup fights another pack alone.”

 

[Shion]

"Strong...?" He questioned and would listen to her going after it. "You know... You are really good at this." he would comment and look towards her. He then heard her speak about the fact that he shouldn't do this alone... On which he remained silent for a moment.

"That person was from a group of bullies... I was with Keniwa at the current moment and my past contract Lulu. So... yea I had help before, but I don't want to burden my friend further too. I want to give people shelter when they cannot handle it anymore. Even if that means I sometimes have to be the bad guy." He would comment and fight the urge to tilt his head away from the cupping.

Nova would slowly point towards his file. "Guess you didn't read everything... A year or so ago... I almost died. A bully blew himself up just before my arrow could nick him in the throat... I was going for it, but I had explosion tags on me and he blew almost my arm off. Most of the muscles and stuff I use with that arm weakened until I can never draw a bow anymore. Not without some assist." His voice died down a bit as he got to the end. "Lulu couldn't handle having someone close to her die again... Not again, on which she broke the contract. It was only fair of me to let her since it was her wish. Contracts are part of my pack too. But sometimes you need stronger ones too in mind... Guess she was too young too." He spoke true and with a solid voice.

"Look... My life hasn't been easy from the start, I am probably right when I guess yours hasn't been either... But I already lost too many people... My biological mom, my adoptive mom, my contract who knows what else in the future. If I can fight those who are in need of help... then so be it. I will be the bad guy, you always are in someone's story."

 

[Uzu]

Otami pulled her hand away once the bruising was little more now than yellowing of the boy’s flesh as she listened to his story. He pointed at the chart hanging from its peg and claimed to have undergone far more suffering than a simple bruise. Curious at just how bad his injuries really had been she slowly walked back towards the chart and reached for it. Her hand hesitated for a moment in remembering she wasn’t supposed to be digging through the medical charts. Her entire job was basic stuff like cleaning rooms, sanitizing, lifting and occasionally help some of the more mentally unstable bathe. Yet the blond’s curiosity far outweighed her work ethic; a curse of the blood that flowed in the teen’s veins.

Snatching the chart up she flipped back past the current page and went through the notes. They dated back a while, looking like Nova had been here a few times. She located the notes on his arm and gasped softly at the penned words. All of this because of bullies? Why wasn’t the military cracking down harder on this kind of internal violence?? It baffled the wolf-girl to think of such infighting within the pack. Such things were always the fable of how great wolf packs fell apart despite their outward strength. She placed the chart back on its door hook with a sinking feeling in her stomach when Nova exclaimed that he’d rather be the bad guy if that meant others didn’t have to experience the loss they had…but…

“My father…” she said, lowly as if she was too scared to even speak of the man, “…is a highly wanted criminal in the Wind Country. He….does bad stuff. Kills people, eats souls, desecrates dead bodies…because of him, I had to leave Suna. My Mom, my friends…the family I was always told about, but had just started to get to know…all because my Dad exists.
“But I learned to let go of it. When you live in a death world like the desert, you learn that death and loss are just a part of life. It’s a balance that keeps the world rotating in a set order. All you’re doing, Nova, is just rushing your death. You’re not a bad person! I can’t comp…compran…” the blond’s face scrunched up trying to remember the right word as her emotions started to escalate, “Imagine! I can’t imagine you being a bad person! But you can’t just go and keep others from experiencing their own loss or they won’t grow up. They won’t ever learn how…how to live!”

By this point she had worked herself up into a bit of a fervor. She couldn’t explain why, but knowing that Nova was just going to continue facing off against the forces that picked at the weak mad her sad. A sudden jolt of red splashed into her features as the girl realized she was being way too personal for what she was supposed to be doing.
“I…sorry,” Otami said with eyes turned away in shame, “Sometimes I forget how privileged I am. Growing up the way I did makes it hard for me to understand social norms of the Villages, but it’s also hardened me to things that can destroy someone’s mental completely…it’s just…think of yourself too, okay?”

 

[Shion]

[ topic on hold, ]

 

[Shion]

He had been listening to her, seems like she too didn't have an easy path and she too grew up without her father. "Seems like we have something in common..." he muttered and would let her finish speaking. ' Rushing to my death..? I never saw it like that...' He would tilt his head as he started to think if there people would even be sad that he would be gone.. What real friends did he have... Maybe Keni? He wasn't even sure. After the picnic, he never really saw him. That note still was lingering on his mind after all this time. He actually didn't know many... All he had was basically his adopted family, which only existed now of a father type and a brother.

"I grew up in the streets, with my mom only as my father left. I never knew him and my mom had methods to get by, but that ended when she died. My adopted family, the mother had also died in line of duty at the gates. I am familiar with death already, and frankly... I don't fear it." He would be upfront and honest with her.

"Bullies are often people who are already weaker then someone else in the aspect they bully someone. But they often have bigger strength physical, so.. When someone is actually in trouble, I cannot help but help those in need. For your sake.. I will try to butt out more, but I honestly have nothing to fight for really except that." He would look to his hand and couldn't look up to her. ' I have nothing else to fight for.. ' he would think and look to the ground next. He wasn't even sure why he told her, why he was being so honest with her.

 

[Uzu]

“But you do!” Otami chimed, her fists balled and held up to her chest as that pain of recognition jolted throughout her mind. The two really weren’t far off from each other. Both didn’t know their fathers, both lived in the “wilds” with their mothers; one was desert, the other was street. Both were harsh environments that pointed to Nova’s ability to survive and rise above and it earned unfettered respect from the blond. The need to seek out danger, the want to throw themselves into the jaws of pain and danger to save the weak was so noble it made her heart feel like it was bursting…but it was not the way of the world. Eventually, if Nova continued on by himself, the darkness they fought against would wash over them and into the Night the poor boy would go to never be seen again.

“We fight everyday against death by waking up! We fight against the march of time by moving forward! You’re fighting yourself, right now! I-“ Otami cut off her sentence realizing how passionate she had become in this. The idea of this sweet person throwing themselves into danger every day like this wore heavy on her shoulders. She looked away in embarrassment before reaching out with a hand to touch his arm. Her finger stroked down into Nova’s left hand as she raised it before looking him dead in the eye, her hand forming his into a fist and holding it tight.

“If you cannot fight for anything else, if you cannot find another reason to live then at least get stronger. Become so strong you can make bullies run away at the sight of you. Grow your power, that your very whispered name makes the coyotes run in fear. You’re not by yourself in Konoha, Nova - we’re all in the same pack!”

A knock on the door made Otami jump and squeak before one of the nurses came walking in. The blond had already let go of Nova’s hand and stepped back a bit before offering them a little baggy with some basic first aid,
“Remember to apply the ointment after your wash for the next few days, and the injury should clear right up!”
“Ah, Ms. Ryuu, there you are! Having problems? You’ve been in here longer than you do with most.”
“Oh! Goodness no, I was just catching up with a friend. It’s been awhile with me pulling all these shifts, I keep forgetting to spend time with them!”
The doctor looked at the two youth and smiled before simply nodding, “Well, don’t forget you have other patients needing attention.”
“Yes sir~!” she replied cheerily before the nurse moved on. Otami reached into her pocket shortly after to pull out a pen and jot down something on a sheet of paper that she tore and handed to Nova,
“My personal headset code. If you ever need help with the coyotes, just ping me. Will come running!”

Otami smiled and took down the chart from the door before walking out of the room. The fellow elf-eared youth would be allowed to leave now with medical treatment and a mind full of the feral girl’s naive ideas about inclusiveness.

[Topic Left]

 

[Shion]

Noticing how he managed to take most of her time... He would nod slowly and watch her. `Sorry.. Honestly sorry.` He spoke and was also thinking a whole lot now. After this conversation, he had a lot to think about and even with her words.. He was getting restless a bit.

After getting the personnel headsetcode he would nod. `Thank you Otami. A lot.` He spoke and would grab his stuff before walking out after her.

¨topic left*