Tetsuya sat alone, his focus completely devoted to the text in front of him. So far gone in his thoughts that the noise, and excitement of the hospital couldn't reach him. The break room was quiet, and considerably empty given the time of day. Must've been luck. He needed the peace, It was something about Hospitals that calmed him. The way they were all so bare of any ornament or color, let him see his thoughts on the walls. It was therapeutic. In a Mental institution Tetsuya wondered if that was intentional.
Given all his knowledge, this case should've been open and shut. Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, as rare as it was in a Shinobi village, it wasn't an impossibility. Being trained from young to be a soldier, doesn't leave much room for a weak mind. This Kunoichi, Tatsao Misaki, was in Therapy four times a week, until she was cleared she wouldn't be able to go on any missions. Tetsuya had planned to only review this case,as he did with every case that came through the door, there wasn't a Trauma case on file he hadn't read. So this one bothered him, the diagnosis didn't sit right. From what he could tell this woman wasn't suffering from anything he had ever heard of before. Sure, some of these symptoms were spot on, like Irritability, Mood swings, Insomnia... These were common. But in the observations recorded by her teammates, there was one symptom Tetsuya couldn't get passed. He wasn't sure there was a word for it exactly. According to her profile, Misaki was nothing if not one of Cloud's best strategist, her IQ was off the charts. But recently her decisions have been questionable, almost recklessness. Which shouldn't be possible for anyone who is always three steps ahead of everyone else.
Tetsuya had already called for her medical history, but since he didn't want to move away from the information in front of him, he would have to wait for a nurse free enough to bring it too him. It wasn't really empathy or compassion that kept him glued to these files it was the strangeness of such radical behavior that captured his attention. Her mood swings seemed drastic, and her sudden inability to think properly seemed peculiar. No Trauma in the world could do this to a Shinobi.
The Medic wasn't convinced that Misaki's illness was exclusively psychological. There had to be something physical effecting the brain, forcing these changes. Not too long ago, an experiment was conducted where a certain part of a rodent's brain was deliberately damaged, The study revealed that this specific area of the brain, when damaged, didn't allow for the rodents to learn from their mistakes. And so classical conditioning was no longer effective on this group.
Tetsuya understood Misaki wasn't a mouse, and didn't exactly have the symptoms of the mice, but this lead him to believe that there was some actual damage to her brain. With his Byakugan, he would only need to see this woman to confirm his suspicions.
....
The clock embedded in the wall said it was well after two, out of habit Tetsuya checked his wrist watch just to make sure, before gathering the papers in front of him, and rushing down the halls. He searched the files for the name of Therapist, and took comfort in finding the combination of familiar characters. The hallway's atmosphere was entirely contrary to the break room's, but again Tetsuya was too far gone to even notice. He swung by the nurses station, and picked up the file he had requested an hour ago, and took of in the direction of his friend's office.
He knocked softly, and waited patiently outside the door. The door wasn't so thick that he couldn't hear Keiichi-San excuse himself from his session. Keiichi was a fellow Psychologist, but applied his knowledge to mend broken minds. Unlike Tetsuya who worked to understand the mind, and didn't care so much for actually talking people through their problems. He was Tetsuya's closest friend, and neither ever passed up an opportunity to help each other. Oh, Tetsuya-San. What's wrong? A new case? Keiichi didn't have any reason to chit-chat first. Everyone was an open-book to him, and so he never wasted a moment. He stand outside the door, and closed it behind him.
Yeah, it's about one of your patients, Tatsao Misaki.
Hmm, what about her?
I was looking over her file, and I don't think she's suffering from trauma. I was wondering what happened exactly on her latest mission
Well, I don't have specifics, but her most recent mission was an S rank retrieval, the details are pretty hush-hush. I know they were being pursued on their return to the village, and she lagged behind to buy her squad some time. she was able to defeat the first wave of enemies, but as soon as she did it became clear they were only meant to weaken her for the real one. An insect user whose bugs completely sapped her chakra, I mean she didn't have much to began with, so it was pretty quick work. Once weakened she was then surrounded by a swarm, which just began to eat at her
You mean--
--Yeah they began to eat her flesh.
My God... How did she survive?
That's what I've been asked to figure out. She arrived hours after her squadron did, hardly conscious though. Our best doctors say her body shouldn't have been able to carry her home... Her injuries were that severe.
The two stood in silence for a while, Tetsuya considering the information he just received and Keiichi waiting patiently for him to finish processing it. The
door opened behind them, and a woman stood in the frame. She seemed ill, her skin and eyes had completely been robbed of color... of life. She was thin, and looked ages older than she could've been.
She scowl at the two, It's amazing how two shinobi, trained in the art of stealth, are completely incapable of whispering. Tetsuya raised an eyebrow, Whisper? For who?
Me!
You?
Yes, you idiot. It's common courtesy for people to whisper, when they're talking about someone within proximity.
Huh?
... How in GOD'S name did you graduate from the academy? How did you become a doctor? You stupid little son of a--
Keiichi interrupted the back and forth with a rapid succession of exaggerated sneezes. The look on Tetsuya face was enough to tell that, he had yet to realize who he was speaking to, and wouldn't know until it was said officially.
Yes, Sasaki-san, this is Tatsao Misaki. My Patient
Oh! Oh, yes, of course it is. Ummm...We were just talking about your case
I heard, it seemed more like gossiping.
...Well since you're here I think I will say what I've come to say. I don't believe your symptoms are completely emotional, I think something's physically effecting your brain. If you would let me, I could us my byakugan to examine you, right here.
And if it turns out you're right?
Then we can start treatment, and try to return everything back to normal.
a smile set itself on Misaki's face, she tried her best and failed to hid it, Do as you must.
Byakugan
Tetsuya's eyes took a moment to refocus under its sudden power. When it did he set his sights on the woman's skull, and what he saw made his jaw drop. Hundreds, if not thousands of heartbeats, of chakra systems, there were living things inside of her. The Medic had never been adept at keeping his thoughts secret, his face made his shock pretty clear. What! What's wrong with me? It took a moment before Tetsuya could catch his breath in order to answer, and by this time Misaki was hysterical. You're skull is-- No, you're body is full. Of something, something alive.
Could it be that those insects entered her body, or laid eggs?
It's plausible, Only the ones in your brain are active, and they've been eating it. I don't think they've gotten far though, there are only small pieces missing of your frontal cortex. It's possible that this is why you can't make strategies like you used too. There haven't been many studies on the Human brain, we know so little about it. The first thing we can do is get rid of those parasites, then we'll focus on repairing on what you've lost.
Keiichi walked Misaki into his office, and closed the door again behind him.
Keiichi, Tetsuya put extreme effort into whispering what he was about to say. Do you know what kind of opportunity this is? She could provide so many answers! We can finally study the brain in depth, hands on.... This is incredible. With this information we can tailor the village's medicine and poisons to directly affect a specific area of the brain. We just learned how to make even the best of shinobi incapable of making a single strategic decision. INCREDIBLE!
Incredible?
TO BE CONTINUED
MFT
Word Count: 1463
