The Man behind the Mask [Private]

[Kouin]

It was an ungodly hour when he decided to make his approach to the hospital. The place would be only lightly staffed to deal with immediate medical emergencies, but otherwise he should be able to enter mostly unnoticed. As he approached the entry he would begin to emit a low level emp field by releasing the ions in his blood into the air to temporarily disable the cameras. He wanted no one except who he wanted to know that he was here.

His face would be covered in a blank mask, one that would be given to an anbu in training, so even if he failed to disable a camera they wouldn't be able to pin it on him for his mask. His mental health might be a bit in a disarray, but he was still a highly trained anbu operative. He had only been in the hospital once, but he has seen the layout of it in his office to plan the quickest entry and exit points incase the hospital was taken hostage. Kouin would come face with a mahogany door that was the former medical sennin's office, Shinrya Kahako.

He tested the knob. Locked as he had suspected. Being a man of preparation, he pulled out his lockpick set and careful went to work on the simple tumbler lock. As the final tumbler locked into place he turned the knob and let himself in and shut the door behind him. He had come too far now to back out now. Now that he was here he would pull the mask from his face and put on his headset and set it to the Sentou medical division frequency. He took in a deep breath and pressed the receiver. He would speak in with a heavy tone to hide his identity, There is a immediate medical emergency that requires Medical Chief Shinrya Kahako and Medical Ninja Chigokai Osuteno, please report to the Medical Chiefs office asap. I repeat, report to her office immediately.

With a heavy sigh he would throw his headset onto the desk, and sit down in the leather swivel chair. The images wouldn't stop flashing through his head, everyday has been a living hell. He thought that living a life as a recluse in his own office would help him, but it only made him feel more imprisoned that he already was, he could feel himself slowly on the verge of breaking. No one would want to see what would happen when he broke. They saw the damage he could do when he snapped. He couldn't ask for help directly, most of the staff found him deplorable even after all these years; no, he had to mask it under the guise of an emergency but not directly state he was the emergency. He would turn the chair so the back faced the door, all he could do was wait... For once time wasn't on his side.

 

[Osuteno]

Osu stirred at his desk at the tone of his communicator coming on... ah this frequency... wait his actual name was used. There were only two people in the village who would know he was a Sentou Henkan... his superior Kahako... well she was on an indefinite leave and was called herself... and... but he didn't let his mind think of the name. In this world is was best to train the mind not even to casually wander into classified information, this was especially important for him who had more than a few secrets locked away in his noggin.

Osu lifted his head with a piece of inked paper stuck to his face... of course. He went to the little sink in his office next to all the cleaning supplies from when the janitorial staff had repurposed the room for a time and splashed his face with cold water.

It did a little to wake him up but goodness there was so much to be done around here, he couldn't keep passing out here but even just the paperwork kept him at the hospital very late.

He casually walked down the hall however, no easier way to stick out than to be in a hurry or be caught sneaking. It had always been his way to blend into the background and not seem out of place rather than flashy methods or trying to disappear completely. Few ever gave him a first glance much less a second when he did this. Soon enough he was in front of Kahako-Senpai's office and knocked twice before entering.

Osu closed the door behind him and smiled as he noticed the heartbeat in the room. His eyes drifted towards the seat that was facing the other direction allowing him no view of the occupant.
"Really you ought to be a little more careful, knowing things about other people can tell a lot about yourself ANBU-San. I wanted to fuss at you a little at the gates for being so familiar in front of the others with your mask on... Echo was it?"

Osu due to excellent training and a well controlled mind didn't even let his brain think of who this person in front of him might be. He saw a mask and not the face he would be able to guess was behind it. "I hope you don't mind if I put on some tea while we wait on Senpai, I brought my electric teapot and some leaves from my office since I was unsure of how stocked senpai's office is in her absence. I hope you enjoy Jasmine, I found an excellent blossom on my latest outing and brought back a few plants, I am rather proud of the current blend but I think I can improve it still... a shame I have to grow all my leaves in pots, I would do much for my own greenhouse somewhere quiet... not that I would have much time to tend to it. Maybe when the girls are grown."

Osu's hands were busy as he spoke, plugging the pot in, setting the proper temperature to the second decimal, and arranging how he would place the various leaves with a practiced precision. Whatever this was about he probably had time before senpai showed up and everything was easier with tea in hand.

 

[Shinrya Kahako]

Having just left the Raikage tower for the evening, Kahako waited to board the last tram to the Seki district when the call came in. Despite it having been months since she last used the frequency, she was thoroughly surprised that her name was even on the mind of anyone in relation to the Sentou Henkan. Even odder still was that her actual name, not the generic code name given to SH members was used. To be truthful, the only reason the radio remained on was so she could continue to have hope. Hope that one day she would be able to return to her practice, and the occasional voice on the other end brought that small comfort. It was pathetic and depressing, really.

As the tram pulled to a complete stop and the door opened, Kahako considered ignoring the call. What good would a chakra-restricted mednin be in any kind of emergency situation? Osu’s name had also crossed the channel. Surely, he would be fine on his own.

The thought of Osu’s two daughters and their last encounter flittered through her mind as a heavy sigh escaped her chest. Guilt wrapped her heart at the traitorous thought of leaving a comrade to deal with a situation alone. Looks like she was spending the night in the Aesculapium after whatever emergency was needed. It was way too far a walk home by civilian means.

It didn’t take her long to reach the front doors of the hospital. There was no hesitation when she entered and as she walked along the familiar white halls she wondered idly about what the call could be. Did Keiji find a lead on the impending problem Cloud was about to face? Or better yet, was her mother able to make a breakthrough with her current predicament? She ignored the surprised looks and hushed whispers of staff who saw her as she passed. Both supplied a reason for her being called, but not the reason why Osu was called as well or why the SH frequency was used. The gossiping ‘hens’ of the night shift also deduced that whatever the emergency, it wasn’t hospital wide. Kahako frowned as she approached the closed door to her office. One way or another, the riddle would be solved when she turned the handle.

The scene before her was almost nostalgic. A soft scent of brewing tea and old pages in books floated in the air. The sound of a kettle just ending its boil reached her ears and she almost lost her breath. Tears started to well in her eyes at the sight of her old mahogany desk and Osu making pots of tea. “I received the call of an emergency and came as swift as I could. What seems to be the problem—” But when the chair spun around, the tears stopped, her breath returned in a sharp intake, and the nostalgia was gone. “Kaze-san.” Kahako regarded indifferently at the sight of the Santaru. Her back straightened as she entered the room and allowed the door to close. An emotionless mask painted firmly on her face as she stayed on the opposite side of the room. Indifference was a significant upgrade from loathing since the many years with which she saw him. The suffix was an upgrade too, but that was simply because she heard no word about him good or bad and she still had some manners. Depending on the reason why he called for an emergency could ultimately change her mannerisms, however.

“To what god do I have to thank?...” As soon as it slipped out of her mouth, Kahako grimaced slightly in regret. She really needed to brush up on her bedside manners. “I mean, for what reason did you call us here? What is the emergency? Using our actual name across the Sentou Henkan channel is generally frowned upon.” She had yet to make a move towards her desk. She was not going to sit on the guest side in her own office, and his bottom was currently residing in her extremely expensive leather seat. She internally grimaced at that thought as well. She was going to have to retake that dreaded class on etiquette again at this rate.

 

[Kouin]

The door would open, but he wouldn't turn to face the med nin, not yet, he still wasn't sure how to ask for the help he know he needs, and yet one of the people he asked probably detests him the most of all, but he was sure she'd be able to provide the most assistance. The young med nin obviously already knew his identity, regardless of seeing him or not. He was the only other person who knew he was part of the SH division, but he wouldn't verify his accuracy even after he called his sign.

That was always like Osu, Trying to remain calm and collected, it was way he was willing to give a recommendation for such a tasking division to a boy of such a young age, he knew he had a good head on his shoulders. The sent of jasmine tea had a soothing effect on his distraught mind, but it couldn't cease the painstaking images that ruptured through his mind. He would pull out a hefty report from his jacket. This was the report that the Raikage would've loved to have had in his hands quite sometimes, but due to personal reasons, and for his own safety he couldn't very well deliver these documents to him.

The final piece would come into play on the board. He would swivel in the chair to face the two people that answered his call so swiftly. He noticed immediately that Kahako's eyes were red with tears that were starting to well, but was also immediately replaced with a defiant look as she saw who it was that issued a call at this ungodly hour.

Wha'ts the problem Now that was the question indeed. Now that is the question you two must be wondering, "What is the emergency." Through basic visual analysis he appeared to be in perfect health, but sometimes the greatest pains are the ones no one can see.

"What god? Take your pick. Shinbatsu, Aion, Raiden, what have you, but no god can help this matter. He hard no hope that the gods would have pity on him. If the Gods really existed none of this would've happened to begin with, "And yes, me using your actual names would actually be an issue if the leader of the division was actively managing it. I wasn't even sure if anyone used the frequency anymore, I had to do something surprising enough to draw the proper attention to the appropriate people, which it did." He would lift a hand before he went any further. But I didn't ask for two of the most reliable doctors here to bicker and argue."

His eyes would drop to the report in his hand, two copies, and third hidden away in a safe in his office. He would place them on the desk and fold his hands over them; his eyes locked with Osu's, yet he would speak to both of them, "The emergency isn't one that has transpired recently. In fact the emergency has been festered for quite sometime. Almost two years in fact" Osu was still young when the event happened, but Kouin knew locked away in the boys mind he remembered that night.

"I was stranded. Trapped and isolated in Suna." If it wasn't clear to him before, now it would be painfully obvious to him, but what neither of them knew that that night wasn't his only moment of turmoil, "Not only abandoned once, but twice while trying to rescue one of our own." He would push the documents in the general direction of them.

"That is the report Ayumu would've loved to have had quite some years ago, but for personal reason I had to withhold it all. Not being to trust you own comrades makes sharing information pretty difficult, but here it is, for your eyes only. I'm no fool, if anyone breaths a word of this outside of this room I will have a fifty fifty shot on the source. But... I trust in the patient doctor confidentiality that both of you uphold, so I don't think that will be a problem."

The report will go into gross detail about every incident he encounter in Suna. To his first run in with Shi and being captured and conditioned; had images of mass destruction and brutal massacres forced into his head while being delivered a twisted sensation at the same time , and forced to watch the Raikage be handedly defeat by another Sovereign member; to having his own allies burst in and almost immediately accuse him of being at fault by his own blood while he laid their "defenseless".

They would then reach the darker portions of his time. Where he left to go recover Ronin from the mysterious women Shi, only to have his own brother run off like a coward and left him to be thwarted and captured once again, but this time was more violent, and much longer. He doesn't know how long he was held in the cell for, but the name Ju' Ichi still rings in his head like a bell at noon. He was forced to watch the same destructive images, but these were different, they involved the people he called comrades and allies. They inject caustic concoctions into his body to see how he reacted to it and fortify or destroy his body.

They were prepping his for something dangerous, but he didn't know what it was, he could still feel the heated vials being shot through his veins. All of this would be detailed in the reports he just handed to them. "I was treated worse than an animal. Worse than a slave." He held up his two quivering hands, "With each passing day, I can feel something welling inside, something that is ready to burst out and break.... I've snapped once, and almost ended badly for four people rather than just one... I don't know what can or will happen."

He took in a heavy breath and a light sip of tea which by this point he assumed was done and served, "The real question isn't what is the problem, but where do I begin?"

 

[Osuteno]

Osu began serving the tea as Kahako entered and Echo-San began speaking… As Kouin began speaking. These two… Even if everyone here was in the know there were protocols for goodness sake.

Osu stared at the report and noted that he wasn’t the only one who had been missing for a while. Rather, even further back than the two years… before Osu himself disappeared… Osu stared at the report with a frown.

Five years before… Suna… Osu placed his teacup back on its saucer, a few drops of tea spilling out of the cup onto the small dish. This wasn’t the conversation he was expecting to have today.

Osu picked the report up and began reading it, eyes darting back and forth through the lines and turning the page every few seconds. Deep in his head, in the library that lay within, Uso was recording the report with a grimace, her hand dashing across the pages reminiscent of a machine though her handwriting was quite fluid. She had actually experienced more of the event that both she and Osu remembered when reading through the report, though she was less emotionally involved, not to mention copying the report accurately was taking most of her attention.

At the time Osu had gone into shock and Uso had been quite disgusted by the whole affair. They both had been quite young and at the time it had been about the most gruesome and honestly freakish thing that they had witnessed. For better or worse that was no longer the case and they could think back on it a bit more freely though with no lack of unpleasantness.

“Where to start… is always a difficult question to answer.” Osu closed the document after reading through the last page, now reading over it again in his head since the first time was more of a skim. “I’m no stranger to being experimented on so I know how unpleasant it can be to think about… but if you feel any long term or recurring symptoms since that time even if they only began long after the event itself it would be best to also inform us at this point as well… as for the mental traumas… I’m sure you are aware we will need to discuss some unpleasant issues over a long period of time. This,” Osu raised the report in his hands before placing it back on the desk in front of Kou… Echo now that he no longer needed the physical copy. “This is a bit more than what we can truly cover in an evening or two.” This was really an understatement. It was both impressive and highly concerning that he kept what was in the report to himself all this time. There was also the matter that Kouin had just made a suggestion of a threat concerning the secrecy of the report, but that concerned Osu less than the possible hidden effects that the experiences had on Kouin’s psyche, some things to clear up about doctor patient confidentiality in a military setting being slightly different than that in a civilian setting later, not that Osu was going to really discuss this with anyone unless Kouin seemed to be a danger to himself… or others... and even then only reporting to Ayumu came to mind.

At this point Osu turned his eyes to Kahako, wondering what she had to say about this.

 

[Shinrya Kahako]

Kahako felt her temper flare at his pompous remark about her leadership. She would have given the position to someone else willingly, just as she had her Senninship, if she did not feel confident that the members of her team were fully capable of handling themselves without her. And they had. What right did he have to subtly judge her when he himself was no better and simply handed a great deal more responsibility? Narcissistic proteges, she raged internally, were the worse sort of people.

But whatever rage stormed inside, the only outward indication of it was the straightening of her back and the slight flare of her nostrils. He did not come here to argue, and she was far beyond the point of being emotionally exhausted. So, she dropped it. Walking forward, Kahako picked up the report, moved to lean against the wall, and began to silently read. Her brows furrowed as her eyes scrolled down the page, learning more of what exactly had happened to him in the years he had been gone.

Her anger quickly slipped to the back of her mind and abject horror replaced it. She read the report again while Osu spoke, guiltily much more interested in what he had to say. A different light casted upon the broken man before her. His fingers clasped together as he came as close as he probably ever would at begging for help. How lost was he that he felt the only way to keep his sense of self intact was to reach out to someone he knowingly wanted nothing to do with him?

“I agree with my colleague,” she said after Osu stated his peace and another pregnant pause. “If there is anything that ails you, you must tell us now. Even if there isn’t, I would like to suggest a full evaluation if you would allow it. However…” she paused, carefully choosing her next words. “It will take time before you are back to some level of normalcy. Time and rest. No one should be forced through what is written in these pages.” Her hands tightened around her report slightly, but her face remained the same. Unreadable, but approachable. “There is no easy path—no jutsu—that will reverse what happened.” At this, Kahako made the conscious decision to figuratively meet him halfway. Walking over to the opposite side of the desk, she sat in the seat she swore minutes earlier she would not approach. A first step maybe?

“And in the long road ahead of you, you shouldn’t take it alone. We’re here to help you, and it goes beyond it being our duty to do so. It is in our very nature to want to help. This is why I—at least speaking for myself—chose to be Sentou Henkan.”

At this, Kahako took a second to close her eyes. Years she held anger about the man before her. A man she believed to be just another Hoshikata… just another monster from outside who had designs to destroy any happiness the village could create for its people. She needed to look past this title she placed upon him. Saito had seen something within Kouin. A potential that could have been better if given the chance. It was a tough pill to swallow. And if nothing else, what she learned earlier today showed her that sometimes, the monster wasn’t always the outsider.

“I believe… the best place to start… depends on whether you believe me when I say that. That we want to help you. More specifically, that<i></i> I want to help you. Going through those raw, dark memories, it should be with someone you’re willing to lower your defenses for. Someone you feel like you don’t have to swear to secrecy in order to feel safe around. If you can, if you feel like you can rely on us in that way, then we will take the next step from there.”

Kahako finally picked up her cup of jasmine tea to take a sip. It was on its way to room temperature, but it calmed her tired mind none the less. Over the rim, she watched carefully as she gauged Kouin’s reaction to this. Her face remained strictly professional.

There would be no lie in what she said. She swore an oath to protect the men and women of the ANBU branch. Even further the shinobi of Kumogakure and the citizens they protected. It was why she served. She could even say it was why she lived. And while he would not have been among that count when they first met, she would be breaking her very code if she still believed he wasn’t one now.

764+ WC

 

[Kouin]

He knew just calling the previous medical sennin would ignite some flare inside her, but he also knew that she would instinctively cool down after she went through the report. There was very few people in the village he felt he could trust; whenever he went out of the village to try and gather intel for the corps or rescue his sibling, everyone seemingly ran away when he needed help, but he never hesitated to help. He trusted the young med nin because he only remembers him as a ripe young child who has his whole future ahead of him, but just like everyone else there was time to prove him wrong.

His trust in Kahako was a bit more complicated; he didn't trust her based on any interaction they've had, they've all been rather poor and nearly volatile or just plain meaningless. So why did he put his trust in her? Keep your friends close, and 'enemies' closer. Now Kahako wasn't his enemy in the normal sense of the term, they were enemies on morals and beliefs, not principles. His instincts told him that he shouldn't be listening to a single word the woman had to say, but his mind knew that if he wanted to fix any of this he would need to remain attentive.

Its not mere psychosis that's the problem here.. He let out a sigh, and with a slight shake in his hands he picked up the cup of tea and took a sip, It was legitimate brainwashing and conditioning... He needed a minute to gather his thoughts, the things in the report and the length of time he kept it hidden was enough to warrant him being place into a psych ward, but he wouldn't let them do that to them, he refused, and people knew what happened when he refused to budge. You ever have voices in the back of your head; two distinct voices, one urging you to slaughter everyone around you to simply incite chaos, and the other urging the same based on instincts? You can't tell me this is just schizophrenia. His time in Suna had forced him to consider actions that normally he wouldn't consider, but what they didn't expect was a second spirit residing in him, one that could help fight with him, but how long until his spirit would break also?

What methods would you recommend, Kahako-san

[ooc: sorry about the wait, haven't been feeling well this past week]

 

[Shinrya Kahako]

left and voided due to inactivity