Reunions and Recriminations [Invitation Only]

[Okibi]

(Ok, so I was assuming that the 'temporary medical facility' was like, a buncha tents set up like they had at the start of the Shinobi war arc in the manga. If I'm wrong, just ignore everything I write about tents and crap xD.)

For a long time, Okibi wandered the borders of waking and unconsciousness. She could recall opening her eyes a few times to find people in masks and head caps leaning over her, touching her. As soon as she would notice though, she would go right back out of it again without any time to freak out. This would prove to be a good thing of course; the last thing she needed was to have a panic attack when healers were trying to help her.

When finally she fully came to, Okibi found herself lying in a bed covered in itchy white sheets and a loose gown. Her eyes trained on a glowing crystal hanging from a chord above her, showering her with a gentle light. She blinked and found that her vision was clearer than it was before; she could make out some of the details in the crystals surface.

Where was she?

Okibi tried to sit up, but found that she couldn't move her head. Her eyes widened as fright gripped her. She was strapped down. Why was she strapped down? Bad things happened when she was strapped down! She didn't like it!

She started to struggle weakly, whimpering with fear, when there came a clatter to her left. Okibi stilled and strained her eyes in that direction. There was an IV set up and her movement must have pulled the rolling metal thing closer. Hanging from it were two bags of clear liquid, and when she followed the tubes with her eyes she saw that they were feeding the liquid into her lower forearm. It looked strange against her skin and bones. There was another metal thingie right next to the first one set up with bags of a thick red liquid - blood? - and those were being fed into the crease in her elbow. She felt a little chagrined, wondering if they did it that way because she only had one arm now.

The panic slowly faded as Okibi's foggy mind worked on processing this information. She focused on her breathing and tried to take in some air through her nose. She sneezed involuntarily when she realized there were tubes shoved up her nostrils, pumping her full of oxygen. That was quite uncomfortable; but hey, she was used to uncomfortable. The old Okibi would have ripped those tubes out, but the Okibi lying in the bed didnt dare.

She tried scenting the air again, and although it was difficult picking out smells around the tubes and fresh oxygen in her nose, she could make out a few scents. There was dirt - a lot of dirt -, disinfectant, and just a hint of mold; the kind that grew on cave walls. She was home, Okibi realized. Finally.

So why was she tied down?

Okibi didnt realize it, but while she was out she'd thrashed and wailed a lot of the time, probably experiencing nightmares that she didnt yet recall. The mednin working on her had had no choice but to restrain her, otherwise she would have just caused more damage to her already fragile body.

But the girl didnt know it, and was left to wonder while she was strapped down to her hospital bed by the head, chest, waist and legs. She glanced around the room - no, it wasnt a room - the tent warily, and breathed a small sigh of relief when she saw no one was with her. Then she stopped and frowned. That thought shouldnt have relieved her . . . she was home now, where she could finally be reunited with her friends and family, and-

Friends and family . . . no, wait . . . she was missing one friend now. Her family had been made incomplete.

Okibi's chest seized up and her throat constricted as a sudden wave of sorrow washed over her, drowning out everything else. She'd been too focused on getting through the desert alive before, and then too freaked out at the gates, to process a fact that would break her heart and soul as surely as the bad men had broken her body and spirit.

Seven, her lifelong friend and companion, the only family she'd known for the longest time . . . was dead.

Bile rose in the girls throat as images of his death, his mutilation, assaulted her. Tears of blood welled up in her eyes and spilled over her cheeks as she breathed out a gust of air mixed with a sob. Her body became wracked with shakes and shivers as the pain of her loss sank further and further into her shattered heart. Her best friend, the other half of her soul, was gone.

What was she going to do?

 

[Toraono Michino]

“AAARRRGHHH,” was the scream of fury followed by the utter destruction of a thick red locker and the contents inside of it. Tama’s bleeding fist that were healing themselves every time he broke them or cut the flesh on the metal he was destroying in a rage.

It had been one thing when they wouldn’t let him help despite how he knew her and what she meant to him, and in all honesty it was probably that reason they wouldn’t let him help, but that was not the reason he was angry.
Oh no Tama’s fury was born of something else; knowledge gained from looking at a sheet of paper.

The scientist was no idiot and far more worth than what apparently most people judged him for due to his everlasting rank of Genin. Yet it had been so easy to walk into the locker room after his help was refused, break off the lock to a red door in the back, and gather himself up a clean pair of scrubs for a disguise. He walked with the kind of grace that a doctor would hold looking through his halls, and even went as far to stop at each tent leading up to Okibi’s to visit the patients there for a second. He called himself Doctor R for this little disguise.
It took him nearly an hour to get back to his friend’s tent in this fashion, but hopefully by the time he did she would be done with any emergency surgery she would have to undertake. That hour was spent working on some chart work, healing a few minor injuries for a couple of patients to free up the work load, and helping the Orderlies with their tasks of keeping those that were long term care there in complete comfort; or at least as much as they could manage.
By the end of the hour Tama had finally made it back to the tent that Okibi had been moved to from the OR and slipped his way inside.

She was asleep, soundly from what he could tell at that time. No doubt the painkillers and anesthetics were still keeping her in a form of blissful sleep. Upon seeing the tubes and wires hooked up to her though, a single tear fell freely from Tama’s blue eye. He shook his head and tried to recompose himself before slowly walking up to the end of the bed where his hands grasped the frame tightly. Her body had been cleaned off of it’s dirt, blood, and grim leaving her flesh clean and smelling of antiseptic, but he could still clearly see the scars covering his unfortunate friend. It was almost enough to make him leave in shame because he blamed himself a little. During that time in his life everyone he had ever met and actually befriended had disappeared or died, and he felt like it was some kind of curse that had been hanging over his head then. It was only recently that he had overcome that fear of losing a friend to make more but yet here was his ugly past staring right back at him, making him feel guilty all over again.
He should of forced her and Seven to take him with them.
With a shaky hand that had finally let go of the bed frame it drifted down and grasped a hold of the little wooden clipboard there that would have immediate diagnosis of everything that they surgeons had discovered in their emergency surgery.

The words that were written there, in great detail, turned his pale flesh even whiter than it was, an impossibility showing itself in this world. The clip board dropped from Tama’s hand and clattered against the floor as he immediately turned away and walked from the tent and back into the medical changing room.
It was here that the scientist was taking out his guilty anger on large metal lockers. Tears built up strong as he lashed out against the world for doing this to his friend, and then freely when he had used up all his rage on the medical lockers. His body fell heavily against a wooden bench where the staff would sit to put on shoes and the tears flowed freely. His hands cupped his sobbing face as he tried to regain order to his mind but failing every time the words of Okibi’s medical chart rolled through it. Three medical staff looked in at the crying shinobi in a mix of fear and sympathy as they stared at the remains of their changing tent.

It wasn’t fair, he kept telling himself, it just wasn’t fair.

[Topic Entered]

 

[Takahashi Aki]

The Steward appeared almost instantly due to a priority one call, however, it would have been almost better if he hadn't. The Steward was returning from a mission on the surface, and the Mark I armour was damaged heavily. Part of the face plate had been hacked off. The left glass lenses had been broken. A silver pupil and iris were visible, as well as a majority of the Steward's ebon sclera. The chest plate been slashed open and the inner workings were visible. Gears shifting, and some of those gears were even stained red. Parts of the Steward's arm were showing and some minor were wounds were open with diamond sands almost seared into the flesh.

What was clear from all of this was that the Steward had been fighting recently, and fighting very hard. His eye flicked across as he was looking for either his mother or his father. None of them were in sight. This was the location he was given. The sounds of trashing could be heard as someone was beating up something metallic. The Steward turned his head. No Judori. No Chiyoko. How strange. The Steward shifted his gaze downward. A weak teenage girl was strapped down to a bed being fed IV. A fit of coughing took over the Steward. He turned away as he coughed. Some diamond sand being hacked up as the effects of exposure was evident. "No mistake here. This is the correct tent."<i></i> He spoke in a usual monotone low voice. The Steward grabbed a metal chair and opened it up and sat down. He needed to rest for a moment. Just a second.

Something stood out to the Steward, the patient's report. The clipboard was on the floor. The Steward rose up slowly to go get it. As he reached for it he paused for a moment. He turned his head to face the patient. "You're in good hands..."<i></i> He would say as he grasped the board. The Steward looked over the report. His eyes widened when he saw the patient name. No surname, just a first name. OKIBI. Impossible. No. Improbable. The Steward would slowly turn his head to face the patient once more. His visible eye was very much wide. A sort of piercing look came from that single visible eye, though one would expect the other eye to be doing the same thing if not for the shattered lenses. The Steward took to deep slow breaths. The news hit him like a gigavolt. His legs caved on him, and so he fell to his knees. His gaze did not shift away from her. He worked his way over to her. The Steward broke the shattered lenses of the other eye and allowed the yellow lenses to fall. He caught them all. Okibi would now see the usual golden pupil and iris staring back at her. The Steward worked his way over to her. He began to loosen some of the straps. Yes. She had to be kept down, but she needed some form of freedom. "Please keep still. No sudden movements. No jumping. No running."<i></i> The cold and calculating voice came. The Steward helped himself back up to the chair. "You've been gone a long time. A v- v- very long time. An age for me."<i></i>

 

[Sagasu Yume]

The procedure took forever. During their travels, Yume managed to gather four drops of blood to discern Okibi’s blood type and hooked her up to an IV and transfusion without delay. There was screaming and panic that spoke of the unmentionable horrors that had occurred over the past year. After dodging a couple thrashing punches and catching a foot square in the chest, it was deemed necessary to restrain the patient. It didn’t seem right however to give her any more tranquilizers would be foolish. It was questionable whether she would even wake up from what they gave her or if she would slip into a coma. The full body exam was done by Yume once any critical injuries were bandaged up and internal bleeding had been stemmed. The Inuzuka stood by as the nurses bathed the girl and readied her on the cot. With each pass of the cloth, the foul odor was eliminated and her true scent became apparent.

This WAS Okibi. THE Okibi… Then where was Seven?

She closed her eyes and turned away, stepping out of the tent for a moment to collect herself. No one else in the village could possible under stand the loss of a companion quite like an Inuzuka. The fact that she hadn’t died of a broken heart was testament to her strength. When two of the three nurses left, Yume turned back into the room, donning new gloves and pulling a stool up to begin. On the other side of the bed was a nurse holding a clipboard taking notes with a tape recorder next to her to be archived. Speaking in a calm neutral voice, the MedNin did her best to detach her emotions but occasionally she would discover something that made her eyes mist and her voice catch in her throat.

This examination is being conducted by Sagasu Yume, MedNin of the Sunagakure Medical Branch, Shinobi Rank: Chuunin.

Contusions found at her ankles, wrists…. one wrist… inner thigh, front of her hips, and throat. Contusions are discolored indicating that many are weeks old but some are as new as a few days. Multiple lacerations to her entire body, varying in length from 1 to 4 inches, along with scar tissue indicating that these injuries were repeated frequently. Her right arm appears to have been severed at the joint between the humerus and scapula, leaving no traces of bone. The wound had been crudely cauterized with what appeared to be some form of hot iron or other high temperature flat surface. As a result, patient appears to be suffering from sever desanguination and anemia. She is receiving a hemoglobin and platelet transfusion to return her blood levels to normal.

Dehydration, muscular atrophy, and emaciation indicate that the female appears to have been contained with limited movement for extended periods of time with little to no food. Her abdomen is distended and swollen. Internal bleeding was treated via emergency surgery upon arrival. Patient is currently being re-hydrated with a saline drip. Upon her return to consciousness she will be restricted to a fluid diet until we can assess her level of starvation.

Swelling and tearing to her perineum, vaginal opening and bruising on her cervix indicates repeated forced penetration. Unable to determine if objects other than male genitalia were used to perform the act.

Stress fractures can be found along her third and fourth ribs on her right side and her fifth sixth and seventh ribs on her left side. The fractures are mostly healed however have become aggravated due to the stress of journeying across the Maelstrom.

Canine and Eye teeth have been forcefully removed and jaw has sustained multiple mandibular fractures. Swelling indicates that there may be a skull fracture but at the moment it is inconclusive. Please mark to follow up. The presence of a concussion was eliminated up on initial examination. Subconjunctival hemorrhage is evident in both eyes. The scalara appears to have sustained permanent damage. Assumed at this time to be due to strangulation or blunt force trauma to the head and face.

It is worth to note that prior to the patients departure from Sunagakure approximately 1 year ago that the pigmentation of her hair was purple. Her epidermis is also noticeably different by being multiple shades lighter despite having spent an extended duration of time above ground. Patients iris’ are their normal pigment, that being pink.

Please note, all of these observations are preliminary and are subject to review upon further examination.

Physical examination complete. Notes will be amended by a psychologist upon patients return to consciousness.

The nurse turned off the recording and placed the clipboard at the end of the bed as was standard protocol. With a wave of her hand, Yume dismissed the orderly to carry on her regular duties. It wasn’t fair that this should happen to such a bright young woman. She was feisty and carefree and always so happy. How could there possibly be people who could harm one of such spirit? Peeling off her gloves and discarding them, her face falls into her hands as she sobs at her bedside for a few minutes. Wiping the tears from her eyes, Yume heads out to the locker room to change from her medical garb into her regular clothes. She wanted a shower.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Exiting the shower and donning her capris and halter top, Yume combs out her hair, letting it dry in the arid atmosphere of her home village. Curious about the banging and crashing that could be heard from the men’s side of the locker room, she pokes her head inside to see Tama letting his grief out and Uri approaching him. The busted metal of lockers lay open on the ground with belongings strewn everywhere. Deciding it best to let the men have it out, Yume shoulders her way passed a few of the security chuunins that had come to see what all the commotion was about. Making her way down the pathway between tents she sees her beloved friend and fox companion pacing outside of Okibi's tent.

Did you find him?

Yes. He's inside now. Wa... was that Okibi? I didn't see Seven.

It is. He wasn't with her. I... we should go inside.

The fox felt it too. The weight of losing a companion was a grievous burden that few could comprehend.

Brushing aside the curtain, the two Inuzuka stepped into the care facility and watched as Sousuke loosened the bands that kept the woman firmly restrained. As her faculties would return, it would be appropriate to remove them all together. This was Okibi's home. She was not a prisoner here. Waiting to be acknowledged by the Steward they both waited just to the side of the entrance with their heads bowed respectfully.

 

[Uri]

Even when in just the form of white tents, the hospital seemed to carry that same air of depressingly clean. While it was important for the medical professionals to have a certain level of detachment being able to have a patient smile did a lot in terms of their recovery. In fact, when he first got back he had run into another med-nin who he promised he would trail behind one day and help cheer-up the otherwise dreary situation of the patients. This time it was no different. As they reached the threshold and the medical staff took off in a flurry of iatric terms and fast moving hands. They weren't allowed to follow and Uri understood why. Tama needed a little bit of persuading and didn't seem to be handling the situation all that well. Usually when someone was personally involved it was hard to keep things under control. Since the Djinn attack, main branch security teams were responsible for patrolling the area. Stepping aside and stashing all of his travel gear, he remained in just his chuunin's vest and tied his headband around his right bicep. While Uri had no stake in this, he was partly responsible in this situation and since his expertise didn't lie within medicine, but rather with the people, he decided to help in the only area he could for right now: the distressed genin.

Appearing innocuous was simple enough, and since his state-of-mind wasn't exactly clear Tama could have cared less about the random animal here or there playing with the child patients. Uri took a moment to create multiple small clay animals, ranging from various types of canines, cats, smaller fuzzy-looking creatures like chinchillas and ferrets. Not only would they bounce around and entertain all the younger patients, they acted as scouts for the chuunin. While he wasn't anyone of note in the ninja world, he was clever and knew the value of being everywhere but being no where.

Uri himself made rounds about the hospital site, chatting up the other security teams and occasionally stopping to perform some basic slight-of-hand to get a smile out of a frowny nurse. As one of his living creation saw Tama exit the changing tent in scrubs, Uri changed his moments to follow behind the Genin's path of doctorly work. For the most part it was harmless. Healing a scraped knee of a child, helping a construction worker with a concussion. Small things that were mostly trivial jobs and it did open up more time for the doctors to help those in more dire need, like his friend Okibi. And just behind each visit was Uri to gift a lollipop to the just departing healed. Uri was busy captivating a group of children with card tricks when he was alerted to Tama stopping at another tent. This time the animal remained in place for a moment watching and he was able to tell that it was the makeshift room of his battered friend. Running off, the poofy-tailed canine vanished into the numerous rows of tents.

Finally when Tama disappeared back into the changing tent, Uri followed this time. As he neared there was the sound of crunching metal and two medical personnel were exiting the tent with looks of concern. Just a step or two more and he maneuvered into the tent, standing just at the entrance, a white stick to a half-eaten cherry lollipop protruding from his lips.

"For someone trying to be discreet, you make an awful lot of noise."<i></i> He laughed lightly at his poor joke, "I'm sorry for what happened to your friend."<i></i> He said, speaking earnestly for a moment. Walking further in, he peeled off a glove and placed it against the row of pulverized lockers. The materials glowed brightly and for a brief moment seemed completely amorphic. As the light passed they appeared as if new. As for the contents inside he couldn't say the same for. As he slid his glove back on, he leaned up against the newly repaired storage door, "I can't say I know you and I can't say whatever it is you're feeling right now is easy to deal with, but"<i></i> He said, moving himself lower and making sure he caught Tama's eye, "Destroying innocent lockers and being someone you're not isn't going to change the situation. People forget sometimes that outside our village is a cruel and unforgiving world that will twist and contort even the best of things. Let me not ramble too much here."<i></i>

Uri removed his sucker from his lips so he could speak clearly, "This Okibi means a lot to you. I can tell she does. If you want to help her, then be strong. Don't swear revenge, don't want to obliterate some strangers you've never met. Push all that anger aside and realize what's best for her. She's the one in need."<i></i> A small clay creature spotted Yume outside and Uri took note of it, "Do not care about the people or things or creatures that did this to her, but instead think only about her. Smile, laugh, and most importantly be the strength she doesn't have right now. You're passionate, passion is a powerful tool. So be passionate about this."<i></i>

Uri looked at Tama for a long moment, a man in pieces who just needed a push in the right direction. There was no way that seeking out the deaths of those responsible would ease his pain if Okibi died because he was away. He needed to be there and be there solely for her and nothing else. A smile crossed his features as he saw Tama in a different light. A young, rash, and hasty youth that Uri had once been when he was in his teenage years. Those times were hard, but just the right advice could change things. It had for Uri.

At the entrance to the changing room, he pulled the flap aside and remained for a moment, "I do believe there's someone looking for you. You might want to change and go attend to your loved one, Tama-kun. Remember, saving a life is a greater feat than taking one."<i></i>

Whether or not if anything thing stuck to Tama or if he even cared to listen to the learned advice of Uri, the chuunin hoped that he had done some good. Vanishing back into the mass of tents, various spurts of laughter and gleeful cheers could be heard as he and his small pack of furry companions saw to the patients who needed to smile.

[MFT]

 

[Okibi]

Her world was a mire, a swamp of muck and sinking sand, pulling her down into the deep dark depths of sorrow and pain. She heard nothing beyond the shattering of her fragile heart. She saw nothing beyond the replaying images of Seven's horrible death. His blood being shed on the ground, his body being torn open, his insides . . .

At that moment, someone started to loosen the straps that were binding Okibi to her hospital bed. She hadnt even noticed someone had entered her makeshift room. Regardless, their timing was perfect as it was at that precise moment that Okibi couldnt keep what very little was in her stomach down anymore. Her head came loose of its strapping and she craned her neck to the side, vomiting over the side of the bed. Hardly anything came out - just some stomach acid - for the most part all she could do was dry heave. It was a strange sort of occurrence, getting sick when there was nothing in your belly to make you so.

Once the nausea passed, Okibi tried to catch her breath, breathing in and out with shallow gasps. Her eyes were wide and her hollowed cheeks stained with blood. She stayed like that for a while, bent over the side of the bed, trying to gather herself.

And then she realized something. Someone had just released her; they'd touched her. Slowly Okibi turned the other way and was taken aback by the sight of the large metal man and his broken and blood stained form. For a moment, she was afraid and her body began to shake. She inched away from him, trying to hide in the sheets as best she could while she was still loosely tethered. And then he spoke, and Okibi realized she should have known who this was all along.

Only Sousuke ever wore such ridiculous armor.

Tears welled up in her eyes again, raining her cheeks anew with blood that she could hardly spare. Relief flooded her senses and for a moment she could forget about the pain and the anguish. Another piece of her family was here, beat up though he was. Her mouth fell open, showcasing her missing fangs, and she wanted to say something, anything to him. But the words froze in her throat, choking her. What did she want to say? She was so glad to see him? She missed him?

Saying those things would have been the truth, but slowly Okibi realized something; that was not what she wanted to tell him.

An anger the likes of which she'd never felt before bubbled up in her chest, forcing away the sweet words of reunion the smaller side of her wanted to let out. It wasnt the kind of anger that the Old Okibi was used to feeling. No, this anger was much more dangerous, lethal even. It was a desperate and anguished anger born of endless hours of torment, and a hope that she would be saved which died a slow death with each day that passed. Okibi realized that she felt vastly betrayed and cast aside by this man whom she had so fiercely loved, her pack-mate.

For a very brief moment she believed that she hated him.

Slowly the relieved look on Okibi's face melted away, replaced by a venomous sneer. She looked away, unable to bear looking at Sosusuke any longer. More tears of blood dribbled down her face, dripping from her chin and staining her loose hospital robe red.

"Why didn't you come for me?" She breathed out softly, bunching the sheets under her only hand into her skinny fist. Her quiet words were laced with hatred. "I needed you and you never came for me. I needed your help . . ." She looked up suddenly, sending droplets of blood flying onto the sheets between them. "And you weren't there!" She finally screamed. Her voice cracked and rasped because of the abuse her throat and windpipe had been subjected to, and it hurt, but she didnt care. If she didnt let these words out, they would eat her alive.

A sob choked her and Okibi clenched her eyes shut. She leaned over as far as she could, trying to hide her face. "Seven is-" the words got stuck in her already thick throat. "Seven is . . ." She released another sob, and with it, all the agony in her heart came out too. "Seven is dead! He's dead!" She looked up again, throwing all her pain at the man she'd trusted so explicitly. "He's dead and it's all your fault! You didnt come for us! You didnt save us!" A wailing cry broke free from her then and she wrenched her arm out of the loosened straps. She bit down on her fist, breaking the frail skin. When she got her breathing under some semblance of control again she continued. There was still more pain to be let out.

"If you hadn't sent us out there to test your stupid armor . . . none of this would have happened! Seven would still be alive!" Her screaming died down until all anyone could hear was her sobbing. She covered her face as best she could, not caring that she was getting blood all over herself.

"It's all your fault." She weeped, feeling the truth in those words less and less by the minute. "It's all your fault."

Question was, who was she blaming now? Sousuke . . . or herself?

 

[Toraono Michino]

For a moment all Tama could do was see red.

His vision behind the hands that held back his sobbing face could see only vengeance. Destruction upon the entire country until he found the people responsible; he could do it too. He had the formulas burned into his head that could forge an extremely powerful ninjutsu that would absolutely obliterate an entire area of the country for the simple sacrifice of a life.
He was positive that there were people worth sacrificing in the slums of Sunagakure.
Oh all it would take is about a year in advance for preparation for it would take about that long to slowly channel that amount of destructive chakra into one place to be released. He could then place it in a metal device with a mechanical timing trigger that would allow him to place it in the terrible place Okibi was being held captive, escape, and destroy everything those people had ever built up along with everything around them; just to make sure he had the right person.

It was around the time he was starting to decode the amount of space he would need to perform this invention of revenge when Uri came in. The first words out of his mouth were met with a steely glare from tear-burned eyes, as he was in no mood for jokes at all.
Yet the man appeared to be far more quick-witted than Tama had been willing to give him credit for when he first saw the sweets-toting Chunnin. Already he knew that the teenage-soul trapped inside the body of a twenty-four year old man was burning for retaliation, aching for the taste of blood and destruction, begging for revenge. Something, anything, that wouldn’t make him feel so useless in the events that had come to be.
He was a super genius with no way to reverse the things that had happened when he thought he had the power to do just that and it was indeed a very dangerous mix. The man had only had two break downs in his entire life – when his mother was murdered and when his original chakra coil was stolen – and they both ended in him being ultra destructive and secluding himself away from food and society for months at a time.
Okibi had helped him get through his mothers death, and that had seemed like an impossible task; who the hell was going to help her get over what had happened to her?

Tama was, so obviously pointed out by Uri.

His steely glare slowly soften as the words Uri was trying to get through to the scientist was slowly making their impact. Every time he tried to open his mouth to counter Uri with an argument, the Chunnin simply kept prattling on, never giving the genin a chance to argue with his logic.
The scientist felt tears welling up in his eyes again and he simply lowered his hands from his face to simply lay there useless. He was emotionally broken by everything that had happened, once again blaming himself for being bad luck, but the Chunnin was right; he was one of the only people who could help Okibi. Only a handful of people in Suna had the connection to the previously-purpled hair girl like Tama did and it was going to take the naturing of an old friend to help her through the psychological mayhem that had to be her mind.
The thoughts of carving a hole into the desert slowly flittered away into a fleeting feeling of rage. His sad bi-colored eyes looked up at the lockers to find them repaired from his attacks, at least for the most part, so if anyone had caught onto his little disguise they wouldn’t kick him out for destroying property now. He wasn’t sure why Uri had decided to repair the storage containers but was all the glad that he had now. He was still mulling over his thoughts as he tried to muster up the mental strength he was going to need to confront Okibi again. Right before the Chunnin could leave the tent Tama muttered,
“…thank you…”

----​

It had taken nearly a good thirty minutes for the scientist to finally come to terms with everything he had seen this day and restart his bravery. Slowly, as if in fear of moving too fast would shake his gathered mentality, he lifted himself from the bench and re-opened his locker to reveal the torn and shredded clothing he had destroyed in the attempt to get to the emergency call as fast as possible. Quickly Tama decided it would be best just to continue wearing the scrubs and exited the medical tent. The fresh moldy air of the cave greeted his lungs that were unknowingly suffocating the in confined spaces of the tent. His mind felt a lot more opened as he stuck his hands into his pockets and looked up at the sky.
To save a life was far greater a feat than taking one, Uri had said to him, but as he stood there with his mind cogs finally starting to turn in the correct direction he realized that this couldn’t be left unfinished either. The men responsible had attacked the adopted child of the Steward, Sunagaukre’s leader…if anything this could easily spark a war against the natives of the Wind Country if it wasn’t handled carefully. The men involved probably had no idea that the day Okibi escaped was the day they had signed their own death warrants. Someone was going to bleed for this, be it by Tama’s hand or the country, someone was going to pay. It was the natural laws of equivalent exchange that seemed to rule the world.

You could not take away something so precious as Old Okibi away from the Sunans and not expect someone to retaliate. You just couldn’t.

Yet Tama was going to follow the words of Uri and not go about another destructive path of vengeance. In all honesty he wasn’t sure if Suna could handle another burst of rage from a latent Ancient. If ever the day came where Okibi’s captors were revealed, he would deal with the emotion of vengeance then. Right now she really did need people she loved to be around her mind.
Walking away from the tent and his past emotions of rage the scientist walked a slow pace back up to the tent where the broken girl was resting.

Right as he was about to pull the flap open he heard her raspy voice screaming. His instincts kicked in and it took every last ounce of willpower to not rip open the curtain front and storm in with the readiness to kick some ass. Instead he simply peeled back a bit of the curtain and looked in to see who she was screaming her blame at and saw the last person she thought anyone would blame; Sousuke.
Instantly Tama felt terrible for the fellow inventor and leader as his only daughter tore into him. She had a lot of good points that raised a few questions but he knew this wasn’t the place for him to step in. This was something that needed to be handled between the father and daughter. He didn’t have many fond memories of his mother, even after they finally had found a shelter where no one would try to run them out, but he knew that arguments between a parent and child needed to stay strictly on that point. An alternate source trying to strengthen the opinion of either side could inevitably cause a terrible rift that would take even longer to repair than the one that was apparently there already.
So quietly he placed the sheet back and shuffled away from the tent with a sigh and simply sat down a little bit away from it and to the side. He could keep an eye on the entrance this way and not hear what she was so terribly angry with Sousuke about; it wasn’t his business as sad as that made him.

Tama wanted nothing more than to just hug her and tell her it would be alright…she would have done the same for him a year ago and it had the ability to make a world of difference to know someone cared.

 

[Takahashi Aki]

For a time Sousuke said nothing. He held his head in his hands. Drinking in every details. Every word. This was not the usual Okibi. The language that was spoken had been acquired. Usually Okibi spoke in the third person. Here she was speaking in the first person. It was admirable. Very admirable that her mastery of language had come this far. The Steward feared though that it was not him who gave her this knowledge. No. Someone else did. That person was a subject of interest to the Steward. There were darker reasons to it. All in all this was a mystery for another day of course how Okibi had learned a mastery of the common language.

The Steward continued to remain still for a long time. For a time it seemed that he was more machine than man. His vitals were not showing. His chest was not pumping air. He remained motionless. Even when Okibi spoke of how Number Seven was dead, Sousuke did not stir. He merely sat there with his head in his hands. The cogs turning inside his armour continued to turn but even that was merely the armour working. Number Seven couldn't be dead. His bones were reinforced steel. Not Takahashi fire-forged steel, but his bones were resilient. The canine was strong, capable, and massive. He couldn't be dead. That was an impossibility... but he wasn't here to refute such a thing now was he?

Three times it was said that it was his fault. Three times. The Steward still did not stir. He sat there and said nothing. Was he listening? He was. If there was something the Steward was good at, it was to listen to others. He did not interrupt people. No people interrupted him. The Steward for all his political power, for all his wit, for all his knowledge, was not a strong speaker. He did not like public speaking.

A full two minutes passed when she had said that it was his fault for the last time. The Steward slowly rose up. What was left of the Mark I faceplate was retracting into his very flesh. Some of the steel though did not retract proper and some of it was left still on his face. For a year Sousuke had changed very little. Some facial scars were present. Okibi had seen him with the vertical scar going down his left eye, but not there was one going horizontal past the bridge of his nose and forming a cross. He merely stared at Okibi. His eyes were lifeless and empty as per the usual. "A man accepts all responsibilities, all ills, and no gains. A man accepts that he has failed on many occasion. That is what a man does because no other decent being will do so."<i></i> The words that were spoken were spoken not monotone but darkly. It was Sousuke now who spoke in the third person, not Okibi. A reversal of sorts. "A man accepts blame for all things, powerless or not, he accepts blame. A man could have given Number Seven the power to level towers and portions of fields. He did not want it, and so a man respected that wish. A man perhaps should not have respected that wish."<i></i> Here the Steward would begin to cough. It was a hacking sickening cough coming out of the small man. Sousuke was always some form of sickly. The Steward coughed up grains of diamond sand. For a time it seemed like he was choking, but eventually the cough died down.

Sousuke merely turned his head to the side. The Steward's gaze shifted downwards. He exhaled. "I did try to find you and Number Seven. I'm no Ranger like those in the employ of the One King during the Elder Days. I went to Arch Tower and back. I travelled to and past the Deadline. My technology fails at Deadline and there I was subjected to overexposure of Diamond Sands. For three months, and even now I've been fighting my exposure to Diamond Sand. Even during that time I still searched for you two. I detonated two plasma stars in two regions trying to uncover anything be it in the form of new underground caverns or anything."<i></i> There was a pause. "For a time I thought you had simply grown tired of me and simply left to live the life of adventure that you so commonly did. That is of course not an excuse, merely a thought that would from time to time come to me as I was on the surface."<i></i> Again a fit of coughing would come over the Steward. The Steward was clearly weakening. His wounds were taking effect and so was the exposure.

A frown would form upon the Steward's face once he recovered from his coughing fit. A rare sight it was for an expression to come across his face. The Steward's eyes began to glass over as he spoke. "There are many things I am sorry for Okibi. I am sorry that you lost someone most dear to the both of us. I am sorry that I could not be a superior provider for your needs. I am sorry that I lacked the ability to find you. I tried though, time and time again. There are limits I have Okibi, and I curse them. I try, and try and try again to be as strong as Kuro of House Toraono or my ancestor Takahashi Shiro. Without my armour but it is not simply possible... perhaps it is stupid that I need such a thing and I thought for a time I could get you to understand my weakness. Perhaps I should have perished in the battle against the Djinn, perhaps then I would not have been present then to ... to ... ... perhaps it would have been best that I was never born. Maybe my mother would have had a stronger son or daughter to be the Steward. Instead of having a strong person like my Father, I am the end result, a very pitiful and poor result. There are no other people like me, no other people with my inability to show emotions, or seem lively. There is only me."<i></i> When the Steward finished, two streams of tears were coming down his cheeks.

(Marked for training)

 

[Sagasu Yume]

To her side she notices as Tama pokes his head in and decides to leave quietly. Glancing down, she doesn’t even have to share a thought with her fox for him to understand. Before the tent flap even has the chance to close, he sneaks out and follows Tama to his bench. Now away from the tense situation, CuRua can hear the laughing of children and the scent of spun sugar to the tent next to him. He had noticed them after the examination as they made their way to the shower but hadn’t given them any heed at that time. To his right his attention is caught by a fluffy white rabbit. Crouching near the ground, he would try and sneak up behind it. It wasn’t requisite for the fox to hunt, but he did enjoy the chase. Before he would get too far, he would change his mind as he would notice a large dog and a couple of ferrets with similar fur. These were no ordinary animals… Shaking out his fur, he would saunter up to where the chakra specialist was sitting and take up residence next to him. Sitting down, he watches the comings and goings of nurses, doctors, and animals from the different medical tents. He was a fox. He couldn’t exactly say anything to Tama, but he could lend an ear… and maybe earn a back scratch?

It was heartbreaking to listen to Okibi recount what had happened to her best friend… what she had gone though in the past year, and worse, to hear her blame Sousuke for something that was out of his control. Or was it? Had he really sent her out to test his armour? Or had he simply known that she was leaving whether he liked it or not and made her promise to wear his armour to protect against the elements? He seemed to like to test his own product rather than subject others to potential failure… or did he not think he could fail? There were so many questions that Yume couldn’t even begin to get answers for but it wrenched at her heart all the same. She was torn between stepping in to stop the young woman from further harming herself and holding back and watching how everything plays out. In the grand scheme of what has already happened, a few teeth marks on her hand wouldn’t be fatal. It was then that Sousuke replied, his voice holding an eerie calm that was stark in contrast to the wild one’s outburst. Each time he coughed, Yume would bring up her hands and step forward a little, stopping before she went too far as the fit would subside and the Steward would continue talking.

She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. He had gone looking for Okibi. He had spent much of his time above ground for extended durations, longer than his armour would allow him to breathe unhindered. The sounds from his lungs were a testament to how much damage he had sustained during these outings over time. From the angle she was at, she would be unable to see his eyes but the tone in his voice would change as his apology would spill out, regretting who he was and condemning his own limitations. This was as much as Yume could abide. At his mention of never being born, she would move the rest of the distance and embrace the Steward from behind, her own tears streaming down her face. Her tears were both empathetic and selfish. She felt the pain of the reunion between father and daughter but she also mourned at the potential of having never met him. He was one of the few people who saw nothing wrong with her. He accepted her eccentricities for what they were and even seemed to fathom her unique bond with CuRua.

Her palms would come in contact with his chest as her cheek presses between his shoulder blades. It was different for her to feel armour instead of the warmth of flesh however it didn’t deter her from squeezing him tightly. Tears would flow down his back as clicks and whirs could be heard from within. Her hands would try and grip at his armour, slipping a little due to dampness that had collected... much more slick than she would have expected from regular tears. Did Sousuke cry lubricant while he was in his suit? That would be rather strange since his armour was mostly retracted from his face except for a few remnants. In all honesty, it had never even occurred to her that Sousuke could even cry. Releasing her embrace, she would step back and look at her hands, flecks of blood speckled over her palms with a mixture of sand from his lungs and the tears that streamed off his face. She would blink a few times, evacuating her own tears from her eyes to ensure that she knew what she was seeing. How much damage had the Steward sustained? In barely more than a whisper, she speaks up, not wanting to break the moment but understanding that her friend needed medical attention.

Sousuke-san… You’re injured.



[MFT; WC: 874]

 

[Uri]

Uri was as easy to find as a kid in a candy store. Follow the trail of glee and sugar and you'd surely discover the little ball of happiness. Throughout the makeshift hospital, from ICU to pediatrics there was laughter and gleeful exclamations of joy. Somewhere near these sources would be Uri do what he did best: making people happy. Whether through slight of hand, a form of something sweet, or just entertaining with a life-like clay creature he always found a way to make someone feel better.

While the Steward and Okibi exchanged words, Yume being an awkward observer, Tama sat outside with CuRua nearby. Not too long after the initial fox's arrival was another fox, nearly identical to the Inuzuka pet, the telltale difference being the completely white form. It sat quietly next to the pair and acted as CuRua did, mirroring his movements. What the purpose of this duplicate was, no one knew, but there it sat.

(OOC: I literally had nothing else better to do since I removed myself from direct involvement. So I'mma linger about in the hospital area and do shenanigans!)

 

[Okibi]

Slowly the tears came to a stop as Okibi listened to Sousuke . . . talk. Rather, she tried to listen. Amazingly enough, she found that she still could not make herself focus when he started to prattle, even in such a serious and heart wrenching situation. Sniffing loudly through her nose she wiped the remains of her bloody tears away and tried to concentrate on the stewards monotone voice. It sounded like he was taking what she said rather hard - who wouldnt - and a pang of regret stung her heart. She shouldnt have said those things to him. It wasnt his fault that she'd let those men get the jump on her and Seven, it was her's. It wasnt his fault that he couldnt find them; as he just said he'd tried looking for them.

When it sounded like he was finished, Okibi closed her eyes and waited a moment. "You still talk too much." she mumbled. A strange sort of numbness started to come over her, and with, she looked up. She was almost startled enough to show it when she saw Sousuke without any of his head gear. Not because of his injuries or his new physical features, but because of the tears streaming from his eyes. Even as she looked into them she still couldnt see any emotion, but the tears said otherwise. She blinked, and blinked then blinked again.

"You're crying . . . " She whispered. "But you never cry."

She then noticed the slight feminine arms wrapped around Sousuke from behind and realized they had not been alone. Did she just metaphorically tear the Steward a new one with another person in their presence? That . . . should have bothered her, she thought. Sadly, it didnt.

"Yoomay," She called quietly to the blue haired girl. "Would you take care of Sogay please? And dont let him go until he . . . stops coughing up sand."

With a soft sigh Okibi leaned back against her bed once more, feeling fatigue come over her after her outburst. She'd let the pain out, or some of it anyway, and although there was still a lot there to deal with, Okibi could at least find relief in the fact that she didnt want to her at her pack mate anymore. He was hurt and she wanted him seen to before they continued any more of their . . . talking.

"And could you send Tami in, please?" She called softly, unsure of whether the two were gone or actually even left, but asked anyway. She could smell her friend outside the tent, and honestly, she could really use a friend just then.

 

[Toraono Michino]

It was only a few minutes, tops, but to the scientist…it felt like forever.

Tama sat there simply staring blankly at the flap entrance of Okibi’s tent with the attempt to try and clear his head of all his thoughts.
It was said to be a thing that men were capable of, due to the way that they naturally think, but he was a person who was never able to ‘turn off’ his mind. It was told to him that his father was the same way, always trying to think ahead and towards the future. That was the downfall of his mental status as well, so he was told, and the downfall of the last remnants of the Earth Clan that he had been born last into. It was so odd that his thoughts were finally turning back towards his extinct clan in this situation. It seemed that his attempt to turn off questions and worries of the present merely unearthed old ones that hadn’t surfaced in quite some time.
Perhaps it was seeing a friend from his past returning to her pack so broken that triggered it. His clan was the same way in a lot of ways: Once proud and eccentric, now destroyed and all but forgotten. The Wild Child was someone that was very hard to forget, but the Ryuu Clan had all but fallen into the annuals of history and he was the last of them; well the last known Blood. There had only been two other Bloods that were in existence in that time that could trace their lineage back to the Original Seven. His father had been one, and the teenager who was up next in line to take over once Tengokai was ready to step down. Supposedly he was the first person to have a bloodline relation to the Terra Blood. It seemed he was simply destined to take over the last wondering clan of Ryuu that were of the Earth.
There was so much chance for the clan to really get back on their feet and become as incredible as they had once been back in the olden days.
Yet the constant driving thought of the future was what destroyed all those chances. Tengokai’s genius turned on him as he drove the Earth Clan into extinction with a mad journey towards the North where the Blade of Ash laid in rest; just waiting for a mortal to touch its cursed hilt once more.

That same genius plagued the super scientist that had developed and created so much for Suna, mostly inadvertently. There was a little worrying tick in the back of his mind that told him that eventually, he too would be driven mad by the constant thinking. For the longest time he was able to ignore that little voice by focusing his smarts on repairing his body from everything it had gone through. The process had left him in an aged body that was eight years from his actual age and given him incomparable powers that put him on the same level as he had been with his original chakra coil.
Once that had been set he began to focus his mind towards machines and inventions that would make Suna an easier place to live in given that it was in a moldy old cave. Tama guessed that he would be able to keep this up for at least another good twenty years before he finally snapped and started turning his mind towards darker goals as his father had.

Now there were two things that had fallen into his lap that had the potential to turn his mind down that same path of madness; the stolen chakra coil that had given him all those incredible powers in his childhood when woken up by Mikaboshi, and his only real friend returning to Suna broken by men.
Tama closed his eyes and breathed in deep before releasing a low sigh. He reopened them to look up away from Okibi’s tent and the area around him.
For all of his goings in and outs of this place, he really had no idea where he was or what kind of people where around. It had been the first time he had ever really been shocked out of his actual mentality that kept constant tabs on nearly everything around him. His eyes looked down to see the fox and the other canine at his feet. As if sensing the fox’s wishes the young man reached down and scratched behind the animal’s ears and neck slowly as if the very movement took a great amount of energy.

“Life really sucks old eggs sometimes , you know?” He said to the fox as if he expected it to understand him. He hadn’t even noticed the small animal helping out Yume, so distracted he had been by Okibi’s condition. He continued to rant on simply without care rather or not the small animal was sentient or not,
“My mad father still roams the surface world doing Kami knows what, my best friend comes back home a mess, and my brain keeps trying to turn on me…for the first time ever in my life I really have no idea what to do…”

Tama tilted his head back and looked up at the faux sky above him and sighed at the sight of the moon, randomly amused that it was nothing more than a bunch of chakra crystals that dimmed at a certain hour. Everything about their society was so odd and off-beat that he wondered not for the first time if they would ever try to reclaim the surface…for a moment the young blonde just closed his eyes to shut out the light and vision and simply listen to the world around him. Sometimes he did this with music and it helped clear his mind…he wondered to himself if he could somehow catch a tune in the sounds of the world around him and ease his stress that way...

“…and could you send in Tami please?” was all he heard. The sound of her voice for some reason focused over every other sound that was going on out there, and that was including the laughter that Uri was causing with his silliness.
Without opening his eyes Tama simply focused a little bit of his chakra out from his Seikon coil and broke himself down into basic atoms before slipping into the tent and reconstructing themselves in the blink of an eye beside Okibi’s right bedside. He did this as she was looking at Yume and Sousuke so that maybe he could surprise a little bit of fun back into the thick depressing air he had warped into.
He had his head propped up on his hands that had formed a little bridge under his chin, all supported by his elbows that were pushed into the little cot. A slightly worried look were in his eyes as he looked at the blood streaks on her cheeks but shining brighter than that was a smile that glowed with a light golden aura he was emitting from his body on purpose. He was doing this simply by letting some of his healing chakra escape into the air by opening up a few tenketsus around his shoulders and chest. It didn’t heal physically at all, but it did give off a comforting warmth that would hopefully just calm Okibi down naturally and help her relax a little.

She was back home for the first time in a whole year…she deserved more than anyone in the entire village to actually relax in the comfort of the presence of friends.

[MFT]

 

[Takahashi Aki]

The Steward raised his head. His eyes looked upward looking deeply into Okibi's eyes. The usual emptiness that filled his eyes was missing. Something akin to a candle in a darkened room. So faint it was but it was present. "You ought to listen more often, maybe if you did I would be able to condense my words. Something, someday ... we should both work on."<i></i> The Steward said. The Steward's eyes had traces of red veins in them amongst his dark eyes. The Steward's golden and silver eyes merely stared back at Okibi as she came to realize something that the Steward was self-admittedly not aware he was doing: crying. Sousuke merely said nothing at first. "I am very slightly capable of showing emotions these days. This is a first - crying that is. I'm not sure if I can say if this makes me feel worse or better. Does it make people stronger or weaker? I've heard that real people cry, but we are all real are we not? We're not some figment of another's imagination?"<i></i> Sousuke was asking the hardest questions of all. Rhetorical questions they were.

A strange thing would happen next. Ever so slightly the sides of his mouth would curl. At worst it would be described as a grin, at best it would be described as a smile. "I ... I ... am glad you are in safe and secure hands now Okibi. When you are well to come home, your room awaits you. It's only the other day I ... I ... put in a fresh coat of paint in the room. A cheery rose. First though you have to get better."<i></i> The Steward's eyes would shift to the missing limb. His smile though was not long for this world as his lips would tighten. "Ah. I will make things right... I will undertake to do this. It is my will."<i></i> Another fit of coughing would come upon the Steward. More and more diamond sand would come out of his lungs. As the fit nearly subsided a pair of hands would find themselves around the Steward. The Steward at first was caught offguard. His eyes snapped opened as this had caught him on surprise. Sousuke's mouth would open. More contact would be made as Yume pressed her check again his steel armour. It took Sousuke a moment to register that this was a hug.

The Steward looked down at the hands around them. Small, feminine, somewhat find but they were the hands of a worker. It didn't take Sousuke long to figure out who's hands they were. "Sagasu Yume."<i></i> The Steward would announce before she indicated that she was injured. The Steward would turn around for a moment to interject about his injuries, however, Okibi beat him to it. Okibi advised Yume to take care of the Steward and his overexposure. Sousuke looked as if he was going to say something, so as to assert that while he was worse for wear, he was not out of the running, or as the saying goes. Again the Steward wondered why people would say such a thing. By this time Okibi had then requested that Tama would be let in. Tama phase shifted in. This came as a surprise to the Steward who would merely rest his hand on Tama's shoulder. "She is on your watch, friend, I trust that you will keep her excellent company."<i></i> He would say before turning to Yume awaiting her instructions on where to go from here.

 

[Sagasu Yume]

The fox listened to Tama’s ramblings for a moment until he zoned out, entranced by the generous attention that was being paid to the back of his neck. In an instant the man was gone leaving CuRua to look about as to where he went. He wasn’t that spellbound that Tama could have just vanished without so much as a shadow was he? To his side sat another desert fox, looking almost identical to himself. Curious. He wasn’t aware of any other fennecs in the village, especially none so pale. Leaning over to sniff the creature, he is surprised when it does the exact same, their noses almost touching. Snorting his confusion, he would lean back only to be copied once more. Glancing to the side, he turns away completely and then turns back in a rapid fashion, the white fox yet again matching his actions perfectly. He lets out a yelp which is matched in kind, jumping to his feet and bouncing away, actions mirrored as the other fox jumps closer. One bounce, two bounce… the reynard would drop into a playful crouch, trying to garner ANY sort of different reaction from the creature to no avail. Without so much as a flick of his whiskers, he bolts down an alleyway between tents in hopes to get away. To his dismay, this tactic proved fruitless as he would glace to the side and see his ‘tail’ in perfect harmony with his movements.

----------

To hear her presence be acknowledged by the Steward would bring a blush to the Inuzuka’s cheeks. They were friends by this point but the formality in his tone was almost endearing. She had heard the emotions break through his monotone voice as he spoke to Okibi but by the time he turned around his face was void of all tell tale signs except for the tears that still stained his cheeks faintly. She would acknowledge the woman’s request with a nod but would be unable to retrieve Tama before he would appear at her bedside. With an unperceivable sigh of disbelief, Yume would place her hand on Sousuke’s upper arm and gesture to the door with the other.

This way Takahashi-sama.

In an instant, her demeanour went from one of familiarity to the attitude of being on duty. It had been requested of her to take care of a patient and she intended to do so. Walking to the tent door, she opens up the flap and lets herself out, holding the portal for the armour-clad Steward to follow. Turning to head towards a tent she knew to be empty, she would be cut off by CuRua darting passed with a panicked expression, an exact alabaster duplicate in tow.

Idon’tknowwhat’sgoingon! Ohcrap! ohcrap! ohcrap! RunningrunningRUNNING!

Her head would turn and follow the pair as they zoomed by, glancing up and over her shoulder to Sousuke with a quizzical expression only to offer a shrug in explanation and carry on down the hallway. After the Djinn had attacked, a temporary hospital had been erected to take care of those who had been in the hospital during the assault. On top of that, extra pavilions were available for any ailments that should arise between then and when the new Omni Prime, as it had come to be called, would be built. Reaching a tent that Yume knew to be unoccupied; she pulled open the curtain and was met by the second surprise of her day. There, casually reclined on the cot and clean linens was Uri, ice-pack on chest, still cooling his box of doughnuts that he had perched on top. The sight of his swollen eye socket made the Mednin shake her head in disbelief. Serves him right for using her medical supplies in such a frivolous fashion!

I will be needing this facility to care for the Steward. You are welcome to stay if he doesn’t have an issue with it, but I will be needing the bed. More accurately, he will be needing the bed.

Grabbing a lab coat off of a swivel stool, she puts it on as she addresses her patient.

I will need you to removed the armour. Do you need help with that? You are decent under it, are you not? That is to say… you are wearing clothing, yes? I’m certain that Uri would be more than capable to assist you if you’re not.

Yume knew how specific the Steward could be in his wordings and didn’t want her use of the word 'decent' to lead to a potentially complicated scenario. More so than her phrasing, she was concerned that he might misunderstand her asking if he needed help as meaning that she was willing to do so herself. She was a professional and more than able to help him, however if she could manage it, she would rather not see the Steward naked. They weren’t THAT close. Her hands would adjust the jacket, pulling her unbound hair out from under the collar and tying it quickly into a braid. Having come to an end of things to fidget with, she takes a deep breath and prepares herself for the task ahead.

 

[Uri]

Life and creation was funny in the sense that it all stems from the will of others. A chain reaction begins at one influence and soon creates another. In turn that reacts and continues to grow outward. This cycle is what has brought forth the world as we know it and the many wondrous things within it. Uri lounged there, stretched out across an empty bed, box of donuts on his chest, kept cool by the gel pack Yume had given him to hold against his bruised eye. The constructs prancing about the makeshift hospital site were of inanimate means, but they acted and appeared to be as real as their flesh and blood counterparts. While Uri gave them a body, they lived through the memories of the animals Uri himself had seen during his travels, interacted with, listened to, and observed. Of course, with all things wild there had to be a leash on them as well. For the most part they lived and acted without much thought or concentration, but the little bit of consciousness he has set aside for them kept them under control and assigned to their duties.

Thoughtfully chewing on a donut ball, he looked at his uncovered hands. Normally he wore gloves for most of his day, but whenever he felt he had official duty to perform he left them off. The unusual seals burned into the palms of his hands were marred deep into his flesh. The one responsible for them had told Uri that they were branded into his soul, not merely his flesh. Because of this Uri acted as a conduit for life and creation, one able to change the ebb and flow of the world as he lived in harmony with it. Never to cause harm, but to always offer peace where needed. Flexing his hand he went back in for another treat when two figures walked into the tent. One was Yume and the other was clad in a suit of armor in need of serious maintenance. Watching from his position on the bed, swinging off and clearing the space as he had been instructed, he moved off just to the side and continued eating with a perplexed look upon his face.

She did say "The Steward" right? That would make him...<i></i>

In all of his time back in Suna he had always meant to pay visit to his longtime pen pal who had provided him with many a useful metalworking procedure or theory in which to help him during a project. The armor should have been telltale enough to warn the chuunin of who it was since it was.

As he heard his name again, he swallowed his mouthful and stuffed the remainder of the box into the small satchel dangling from his back. Since he had stashed the majority of his traveling gear at the security checkpoint, he made a point of carrying something to accommodate his snacking habits, "I'm more than willing to lend a hand. I have a few tools in my vest if the need be,"<i></i> He said, unzipping his brand new chuunin's vest and showing the inside lining to house all manner of gleaming metal instruments one might find at a work bench, "Anything to lend a hand to my ol' friend, The Steward. Decide to go build some sand castles and spend too much time in the Maelstrom?"<i></i>

Light humor aside, he could recognize the injuries incurred from overexposure to the Maelstrom sands. Uri himself had spent over a month in an outskirts village recovering from his first trek through the chaos. He swears he's still picking bits of the sand from his skin from time to time. Most unpleasant experience. It had a habit of getting into the system and then shredding wherever it went, causing internal bleeding that could get out of hand if one weren't careful. He had experienced a pair of traveling doctors, a brother and a sister who were experts in the manipulation of water who could cleanse the system through some masterful manipulation of H2O, but even in all of Uri's skill was he capable of feats like that. It required a level of control only those completely gifted in the element could achieve, and intimate knowledge of the human anatomy. While no doctor, he was good with his hands and minerals, so he was willing to help where he could.

~||~

Meanwhile the clay fox continued to chase CuRua around, mimicking his gestures. Uri knew about Inuzuka and their pets. To say the least it was entertaining to observe in the back of his mind. Other critters scampered about the camp, going where they thought someone could use a little cheering up. Furry animals always managed to make everything feel a little bit better.

[mft]

 

[Okibi]

The sudden appearance of Tama at her bedside just after she'd asked Yume to retrieve, of course, startled Okibi. She jumped slightly in her bed, jostling the needles that were sunk under the skin of her left arm. She winced slightly, her shoulders tense with caution. However, when Sousuke made a brief stop over to pat Tama on the shoulder, leaving her to him, and then left, Okibi's wariness slowly ebbed. The strange golden glow that Tama was letting off helped in that case.

For a while, all she did was look at her friend, taking in his changed appearance. If she remembered right, the last time she saw him he wasnt that much taller than her, and also a lot thinner; definitely didnt have all that muscle. She also remembered his hair being white, not blonde. She wondered what happened. Then she recalled what he'd told her that time she stumbled upon his hovel after he'd spent something like a month locked away without food or water. He'd been affected by some sort of 'magic' that caused his body to age rapidly. Apparently he still had that problem.

Okibi's bloody, red rimmed eyes roved upwards over Tama's head, and she couldnt help commenting. "Your hair . . . it's yellow now." Quite a 'duh' sort of comment to make, but the observation was necessary. She wasnt sure what else to say. She'd been the one to ask for his presence, but she didnt know how to interact with this new version of Tama that she was unfamiliar with. How things changed so much in just a year. She was certain he was probably having the same problems looking at her.

Tentatively, Okibi lifted her sole remaining hand and ran it over her ghostly white hair. She didnt say anything, but her thoughts were obvious. She had changed as well, and they werent changes that she very well liked obviously, if the grim look on her face was any indication. Okibi looked away from Tama then, ashamed of how she looked; so weak and unlike herself. He'd been there the day her hair and eyes had changed color - that had not been so bad. Those changes were different, but welcomed in the end. Okibi didnt know if she would ever learn to welcome her new changes. They would forever be a reminder of what she'd been subjected to, and the loss that she feared would forever haunt her.

 

[Toraono Michino]

“Yeah…a side effect of my more recent augmentations to my body. Managed to cure myself of that aging problem, finally, but it came at a high price…part of which turned my hair yellow,<i></i>” he said in his normal talk trying to break the awkward ice of having not seen her in over a year. The changes to her body, the intravenous tubes injected into her body, and the missing arm nearly brought the young man to tears again but he managed to fight it.

It didn’t seem to be so easy for Okibi.

Terrible first impressions were his mark apparently after he appeared before her at the gates as a bloody mess, and now she was looking away from him just right after touching her own hair shortly after jumping making the needles dig deeper into her no doubt. He remembered the vivid color of purple it used to be and frowned inside at the way it was now. It was one of his more interesting experiments too...
He let out a long sigh and folded his arms on the edge of the bed to rest his head there a little in hopes that she would turn back to look at him. It was painful on a sense he had never thought possible before to see his friend turn away from him like that, though he was completely unaware it was due to her own confidence problems.

“I really missed you Okibi…<i></i>” he said, trying not to let his voice crack. Being stuck in the body of a twenty-four year old man with the mind and soul of a sixteen year old was really starting to show with the sudden appearance of someone from his past that he had all but forgotten,
“I tried so hard to find you while you were gone…I had no idea why you even left in the first place but I just knew something was wrong when you didn’t return within the month. I set up a number of devices that I had built to specifically catch on to your chakra if you were to ever pass by…and every now and then they would catch hints of something close to you…but…it wasn’t you. Even when my brain told me it was completely hopeless I continued on stubbornly to brave the outside world and set up the device that had to be replaced weekly due to the storm…I never lost hope. All I ever wanted was to see you again and I made a promise to put all of my research on hold for an entire year if you ever showed back up again…best promise I’ve ever made myself really…I don’t think I could go back to work even if I wanted to right now…<i></i>”

 

[Takahashi Aki]

The Steward watched the fox dash out and down the hall with an entity of similar shape and size. The Steward's eyes widened with child-like glee as the clone running after CuRua was made of a material the Steward did not have time to process. When Yume spoke again he followed her into the tent. The Steward was up for another surprise. Another individual was here of great interest. It took Sousuke a moment to clue in who it was he was seeing, but once the words came out he was very much aware of who was before him. "Uri, of House Kuroda. You speak the way that you write."<i></i> Sousuke spoke as he observed of the sand chuunin, "The sigil of house Kuroda, a stone symbol. Is it five sided or six? I regret I seem to have forgotten, but I believe I would be most capable of drawing the symbol with a minor flaw being the number of sides."<i></i>

The reunion between the two would come to a pause when Yume asked him if he was decent. The term was questionable, but then it was clarified. The Steward looked down at his person. Well ... when the armour plates once removed or sunk in, he would be left in a pair of torn pants. At the same time he would also be shoeless. "I will be shoeless, and without a shirt. My pants and smallclothes will remain."<i></i> The Steward answered the question. "As for my armour... I will be fine."<i></i> Several clicks were heard as the armour began to retract itself. The Steward's flesh in certain places mirrored his armour. There were gashes, and minor flesh wounds. The other parts such as his hands began to hold up and transform into bracers. The Steward removed the bracers and set them on the table. The Steward would then reach down and remove the ankle braces which like his gloves, his feet armour transformed into as well. "Thank-you for offering to assist me..."<i></i>

When inquired about his wearabouts the Steward's eyes shifted from Uri to Yume, and then from Yume back to Uri, and then finally back to Yume. "He is joking right? I can't tell, I'm not used to the use of comedy in questionable situations."<i></i> The Steward turned back to Uri. "I was trying to find Okibi, but at the same time I was trying to harness a chakra-source from a relic, that did not turn out quite well."<i></i>

No. No it did not.<i></i> A slight chill would surface as the Shade surfaced in the corner of the room. The spirit of the Ebon blade would merely bow his head in the form of a greeting. Shade was garbed from head to toe in black robes, and along the sides he wore chains. The spirit would explain further. Your Steward has encountered dark terrors on the surface on occasion in his searches. He did best them, but at the cost of overexposure to the Diamond Sands.<i></i> A fit of coughing would take over Sousuke as the Shade continued to explain. Your Steward was most fortunate though as allies of an Earthern sort attended to him at Deadline, and healed him as best their techniques allow him. Humans require human medicine.<i></i>

 

[Sagasu Yume]

Her eyes would flick towards the bracers that now rested atop the table in the corner. A building curiosity would rise with in her, making her fingers twitch ever so slightly in their direction, wanting to inspect and see how the armor could become so compact. A coughing fit from the Steward would bring her attention back to the issue at hand. From what she could tell, the small gashes were just that; surface wounds that held no dire consequences unless they became infected. She would keep an eye on them in the next few days but determined that they did not require her focus at this time.

Yes, he’s joking. Unless you were, which would be mildly entertaining, but the structures wouldn’t be very sound and would be blown away rapidly… Er… but I digress.

Putting a stethoscope to his back, she would listen to his breathing, pulling away as he spoke so as to not rupture her eardrums with the amplified sound. A shiver would run up her spine and a fourth presence would materialize in the room, continuing from where Sousuke left off. Yume made a quick superstitious gesture, praying to Mother Suna to protect her from this dark presence that she didn't understand. Was it Death, here to take the Steward? No one had ever seen death, but this was the hospital. People died here, so it was only logical. Instinctively, Yume would place her body in between the Shade and the Steward. If he was Death, he wouldn't be taking her friend without a fight. Half turning her head over her shoulder but keeping her eyes on the figure, she would whisper under her breath to Sousuke and Uri, using a technique of ventriloquism to throw her voice to their ears.

What is that? He feels so cold.

What was he talking about, dark terrors? Was he, this being, one of them? Was it a he? From what she could tell it was, but gender could often be concealed especially when a form wasn’t exactly human. It possibly didn't even have a gender or rather a gender that correlated to any binary gender of a human. Again the mednin let her thoughts wander before another fit would unconsciously have her reaching for Sousuke, on hand rubbing over his back while her brow knit together in worry.

Human medicine, indeed. I’ve never seen someone so beat up by the sands and yet still able to function. The fact that your lungs haven’t filled with blood is a miracle… I can only guess this is from the, what did you call it? Earthen healing? And what is Deadline… did you almost die, Sousuke-san?

Either way, we need to get the glass out. I… um… I have a way but I’m not sure you would like to hear how it’s done. Would you rather I perform the procedure? Or do you want it explained first?

 

[Uri]

Uri just smiled and nodded to Sousuke's guesses towards his families crest, "Five. So you were damn near close! Not too bad, Sousukkun."<i></i> He replied, using an abbreviated version of Sosuke-kun. One thing Uri always did was speak to anyone with a level of casual familiarity regardless of how long he knew them; the steward was no different in this regard. While he had never directly encountered the steward in person before this moment, the chuunin was surprised by his lack of emotion. The one thing writing did well was reveal the soul of someone. When someone was passionate about something, the writing would seem to buzz with energy and excitement. Two professionals exchanging theories on chakra theory was more than enough to create a spark of kindred beings.

"Certainly a joke. No worries, Sousukkun."<i></i>

As he observed the armor unfold, and the two have their brief exchange, Uri's heightened danger senses kicked in and the sudden presence of another was clear as Shade came into being. Listening and observing was often the best action to take in a situation one was presented with something of unusual origin. As Shade spoke more, it seemed he was all but a follower of Sousuke's shadow through his journey of the Maelstrom. By the time the ghastly figure had finished his speaking, Uri was knelt down near him, poking his finger through the dark ethereal form over and over again, "I've met some bouldamites before,"<i></i> He continued to move around the metaphyiscal form of the wraith and continued prodding it, "They're the reason I didn't die my first time through the maelstrom. Good...people-rock-things."<i></i>

A healthy curiosity was a good thing most of the time, and after spending well over three year's time roaming Wind Country Uri had learned quite a lot. Most importantly to never turn away from something that was odd or unusual as it always presented a chance to learn something new, gain knowledge that may be of use in the future. Especially when it came to the paranormal or extraordinary, and this certainly qualified as one of those times. Since he wasn't called upon yet for aid, he busied himself with studying what he could of Shade.

"So...I'm gonna to address the metaphorical elephant in the room....What are you?"<i></i> By this point, Uri's fingertips were thoroughly numbed.