Open Worse for Wear [OPEN / Requesting Mednin]

[Kaji Hirohito]

Starved, broken, bloodied. These were all candid descriptions of the ragged, grizzly mess of an academy student that shambled through the village gates late sunday morning. Kaji Hirohito had been missing for nearly six days, and with only three days' worth of food, it hadn't been easy getting back. The crushed and soggy food did good to supply him with the energy he needed to survive, but that didn't last long. Along the way he had been forced to scavenge for berries, roots, or mushrooms to sate his hunger. But the meager meals were always too few and far between. His eyes were bloodshot, Kaji hadn't slept in over a day, and never slept more than one hour at a time. How could he? Those things haunted him every time he closed his eyes. Forcing their way into his worst nightmares, making him relive that horrible experience over and over again.

The rest of him was in much the same state, his legs were tired, sore, and strained to their limit. His back, ribs, and core burned and cried out for mercy from scratched and deeply bruised tissues. His right arm was layered with small cuts, scratches, and peppered with shrapnel. While the other had broken along the humerus and was held together by a cheap, padded brace bound to the outer side of his arm. His clothes were bloodstained and torn, covered in fragments of bone and grizzle. He smelled absolutely revolting, and hadn't bathed since the incident, as he was terrified of losing consciousness in the water and drowning. On the flipside, his equipment was still intact, both the gear bag and satchel he carried were only lightly charred and stained in comparison. And the satchel still smelled pungently of rosemary, somewhat masking the odor of it's carrier.

Despite having been chewed up and spat out by nature, he was very much alive, and very motivated to survive. Thoughts of a clean, soft hospital bed flooded his mind, nearly drowning him in a wave of unconsciousness. But his focus prevailed, just barely, allotting him the time to shamble his way across town and into the medical ward. Where, at the front desk he weakly uttered two words, "Help... Please..." , before collapsing into a heap on the floor.

WC: 379

 

[Midori Futotta]

It was a lazy day at Aesculapium like usual, none of the cases that they did have today were urgent enough to cause the hospital to go into complete panic mode. Most in the waiting room are just being checked out for minor things like headaches or to get a physical. So you can imagine the nice person who was manning the front desk surprise when a battered child came to them pleading for help before crumbling to the floor. Medical ninja's would rush in to pick up the young lad, the alarm sounding while the voice from the speakers screamed a code. Letting everyone, including the Sennin know that there was an emergency underway and they needed the best hands on deck for this case….–

Midori hunched over lumbered her way to an incoming gurney being pulled by several nurses who kept Kaji under an anesthetic to numb the pain as they took him to an empty room. The giantess led the through the hospital hallway, using her size to make the medical staff lurking within the halls to make way as the gurney rushed in behind Midori with a path already cleared for them. Finally two most of the nurses that were helping with pushing the gurney broke off to only the two nurses who were in the front and back of the gurney; turning the bed into an empty operating room before Midori hurriedly ducked her head underneath the doorway then squeezed herself into the room before lumbering herself to the opposite of the bed (in which she took up most of the space on that side which made the nurses have to operate on the other side of the child.)

As the child laid there on his back, the people that he could see the people that were operating him weren't really things that you would expect when you think of a doctor. Looming over him was a large pale ogre of a woman who looked too big to even fit inside of this room. Her worried yellow hues would land onto the child, a massive white spider crawling in the back in which at that moment he would be blinded by a bright white light of a nurse checking his eyes to see if they would dilate.

"Time 10:00 AM, patient shows trauma to his core, ribs, and arms. Possible skirmish. Bruises are visible on the body as well as gashes." one of the nurses said they when the light went off Kaji could see the warped face of another woman whose head seemed as narrow as a bullet. This nurse's eyes only had pupils along with dark circles around her eyelids. The horrid nurse placed a hand on her chin, seeing fragments of bone on his clothes and possibly within him since there was blood but it could be a flesh wound though it didn't seem safe to use regenerative jutsu just yet since they could still be fragments in the child….. hence why she just gave him the Anesthetic Infusion instead of just healing him outright.

"Zee rib could very vell be fracdured, zee right arm is combletely broken. I hope he is under zee aneszetic because zis may cauze zee patient more pain." Midori said to the nurse with the warped face. That was when the Sennin began to tear through the child's shirt so they would be able to work on the child's wounds without any obstacles in case they had to remove any fragments from the body. Midori also removed the brace so she could lay Kaji's arm at his side and with quick thinking; the Sennin channeled her chakra to create a seal to scribe it into the child's chest, a Medical Ward to have just in case they made a mistake….

 

[Kaji Hirohito]

The world went black, his limp body hit the floor with a heavy thud. He could hear the nurses shouting and scrambling around him, their voices a distant murmur in his mind. He was barely lucid and slipping fast, that much he could tell for himself. And as the nurses hoisted him upwards, his mind sank, and he knew no more.

He began to dream, they were nonsensical at first, shapes and colors dancing on his eyelids before diffusing into a dark static. He felt a pinch, and soon they were filled with roiling waves of foggy thought. He felt himself slipping deeper, as all feeling faded from his body.

He drifted, almost serenely upon a muddled brown cloud. Then suddenly, he was lucid again, he could move, touch, even feel the new world around him. He was looking at himself from behind, as if through some detached perspective. "A lucid dream?" he surmised, but this was different, he wasn't in control.

With enough time to realize what was happening, Kaji took a fighting stance, but it was too late. A massive and obscured figure bent down through the clouds, seizing his soul and dragging him away into the fog. Soon It too cleared, revealing a damp and mossy cave. He looked around, wary of what had happened; and then they were there. Hooded figures robed in pulsating blood surrounded him on every side, pulling him among their robes, forcing him to move as one with them. Their ranks moved faster, far faster than he could manage and descending at an impossible angle into what he assumed to be the chasm below.

Pushing through the robes, he found there to be no end as he looped about through his running prison. And as suddenly as they had appeared, they were gone; leaving him alone under the bloody sky.

His vision was clearer now, more focused, as were the rest of his senses. The air was thick with the smell of smoke and iron. He labored deeply to take a breath. As if Kaji were being led, his feet began to move about the soaked and squishy ground. It shifted and squelched beneath his feet with a wet burp. He trudged through the windless forest for what felt like an age, coming to a stop in a place not unlike where he had just been.

But Kaji sensed something, a shift in the air. Sucking in a ragged breath, his tongue and nose were instantly filled with soot. He choked and gasped, his chest screaming out in pain. But his muffled cries were lost among the roar of yellow flames surrounding him. There was nowhere to run, no way to hide; even if he had wanted to, his feet were stuck. It was if they had been cast in solid concrete, pinning him in place as he struggled.
But the situation was much worse than he had imagined, the fire moved like a living thing, encircling him in flame as the once small fire grew into a raging blaze. It seemed to stop in front of him, mocking his weakness as he puked through the ash.

Once again the colors shifted, all light draining away until naught but the inferno remained. Within it, formed a singular humanoid shape. A being whose gaze felt akin to a shower of sparks, with a particular focus upon his right arm. The figure spoke, the words burst forth with a voice so terrible, it shook the ground where he stood.
"I WILL SAVE YOU... MY CHILD...."
The trees around him began to collapse, and from the space behind the firestorm, a mighty tree broke with a CRUNCH. It erupted in flame, falling through the figure and crushing him. His left arm, raised instinctively to protect him, and his chest exploded with pain. His entire body felt as if it were really being crushed and consumed in the fire. And with that the blackness came, and he knew no more.


Later, he awoke to an empty room, resting cozily upon his soft and comfy hospital bed. His body was covered in bandages, and dressed in loose clothes two sizes too big. His freshly woken mind was a surreal and tangled mess. So he painfully sat up, and began to absentmindedly sip on a thoughtfully provided glass of water at his bedside. Testing his body, it was sore but seemingly whole once more. Curiously peeling at one of the tighter bandages, he caught sight of some stitches, their supreme craftsmanship was blatant and undeniable, whoever had healed him was skillful indeed. Returning the bandage to it's intended place, he once again sat in silence, waiting for the nurse.

 

[Midori Futotta]

After they removed the shirt, they immediately went to work. First step was removing the projectile shards from the child's body. Midori grabbed some forceps along with her partner to begin working, making sure each of their tools were clean first before beginning the removal of some of the bone projectiles that were fragmented in the child's bit by bit but they were moving pretty quickly. The stress made Midori need to rip her hat off then toss it somewhere so she could see better, plucking each fragments caused some bleeding unfortunately but the her assistant aided by disinfecting the wound before using the Coagulation technique to apply a steady flow of chakra over the wound, layering it to assist the blood and skin in the healing process so it would be sealed in a second-and-a-half. To keep the flow going, Midori took over the fragment removal while her assistant disinfected and closed the wounded.

Midori herself once she was sure that all the fragments were removed, she held out her hand. "Rezet his arm zen step back from him." Midori command of the nurse who did just as instructed. Resetting the child's broken arm the best as she could with an audible crack, the nurse would then lay the arm of the patient on his side then stepped back. Midori now with everything clear would then use a high ranking healing jutsu known as Angelic Blessing. Unlike most healing techniques which channels the restorative chakra onto the users hands, this coats the entire body of the patient with the chakra capable of healing most lethal wounds in under 3 seconds. This Justu alone combined multiple medical just together in a very facinating way to heal the child more quickly. By Infusing chakra into the child's body, this chakra forms a protective coating that seeps into his broken arm and strengthens its durability as well as speeding up the healing process to the point where it is capable of mending broken limb in seconds. The little cuts sealing and the bruises starting to clear bit by bit.

This however wasn't all perfect since it was only able to speed up the healing process, cutting it down to a couple days rather than spending months or weeks recovering in the hospital. But he'll still be sore plus at the state he was in the child might need a bit of rest. However, they got him to a stable state and it was recommended not to overload the body with too many medical ninjutsu since there were side effects from preforming medical ninjutsu too much on a patient… best case their lifespans would be shorten in the long run and the worse case is that they explode. Most of us medics learned that medical ninjutsu can pop something the hard way by having to revive frogs, messy, messy, messy indeed. So they wrapped Kaji's body in bandages, then placed his arm in a sling and put him on a gown so he wouldn't be too cold. "Zee child is stable. Good vork my azzistant, now let's get him to a new bed und a private room zo ve could better monitor his recovery." with that they moved the child to a new room and also making a mental note to get him some food since he seems very malnourished….

……

When Kaji awoken he was in bandages and aching with pain. The child didn't have to wait long for the nurse to enter the room carrying a tray of food… this nurse was Midori's warped face assistant. The odd nurse looked like a monster, a extremely tall thin woman with messy blonde thinning hair and dark circles around her irisless eyes. The woman set the tray down on the bed which had a sandwich, jello, a brownie and a small thing of orange juice. The nurse looked down at the child, smiling revealing rows of sharp jagged teeth and spoke to him in a supprisingly extremely soft feminine voice. "Oh good, you're awake. I've brought you something to devour as you wait for Doctor Futotta. She thinks you have been starved and been wanting you to eat the second you awake." said the nurse. "The medical sennin will be see you soon to determine if you should be discharged or not. How are you feeling today? You aren't having a problem with any pain young man– are you?" the nurse stood there, unmoving, as though her question had set her into stone while she waited for a response…

 

[Kaji Hirohito]

Kaji was deep in thought, ruminating the thousand possible meanings of his dream. The giant, the similar cultists from his vision, the forest, the blood, and that fire creature, how was it all connected? Unfortunately his train of thought was derailed when he heard a knock at the wardroom door. Before he could call out in response, the nurse had already entered. Not that it would have mattered anyway, as the pain in his sternum flared up and sapped the words from his lips and air from his lungs. For a moment, he was utterly panicked, the nurse before him was absolutely frightening in appearance. But contrary to her apparent features, when she spoke, her voice was smooth and calming like silk. The eccentric nurse kindly presented him a tray with food provided by the staff. Without question, he accepted the kindness and greedily chewed at his food. This was the first meal Kaji had in days, and he greatly appreciated the hospitality.

The sweet unshapely nurse questioned him lightly as Kaji ate, patiently awaiting his responses. They were the standard queries one would expect from a trip to the clinic; how do you feel, is there any pain, the works. But something among her words caught his attention. As it was, the medical senin was slated to meet with him to determine any subsequent action. It was only a gut feeling, but he guessed those stitches to be the senin's handiwork. "As expected of a master medical ninja.", he discerned. Musing at the thought, Kaji realized that he had been awkwardly silent in front of his caretaker, who waited with perfect stillness. Lightly unnerved, he politely responded, "A little bit, mostly in my left arm and chest.". The flaming tree flashed by his eyes as he continued, "Anyway, I'll be fine. Who is Dr. Futotta?".

 

[Midori Futotta]

The nurse stood there watching the child as they ate, they seemed to be recovering well so there was no need to give them anything if it seemed like nothing was wrong. Besides– the child had to go through a little bit of questioning since hospital protocol says that a patient isn't allowed to leave without receiving questioning if they weren't returning from an official mission upon receiving treatment. When the child asked exactly who Dr. Futotta was the nurse brought her hand up to cover her mouth when she chuckled at the child's silly question. "She is the Sennin of the medical branch. Dr. Futotta believed it to be better to question you herself since she will get a faster response in case the Anbu are needed." explained the nurse. "After all, when you came to us you looked like you were attacked. Dr. Futotta wishes to know more of how you ended up injured."

With that the nurse would then walk slowly to the door, pausing for a moment and then she looked back at Kaji. "She'll be here soon." the nurse said briefly before leaving the room to go tell Midori that the young shinobi was ready for questioning. A couple moments pass; allowing Kaji to finish up his meal or at the very least think about how he was going to explain what had happened to him before the leader of the medical branch started to question him. While Kaji was waiting, the nurse had finally informed Midori that the patient was now conscious and was doing fine from what she'd gathered. This was apparently all the Sennin needed to know before she left her office and began to head for Kaji's room. Moment's later, the young Shinobi would hear a rapping coming from the door followed by the sound of a womans thick accent when she spoke in a rather smooth gentle sounding voice "Kood effening, dear child…"

If you thought the nurse was tall, the Sennin was practically a giant! Midori had to lean down through the threshold of the door in order to enter the tiny room, entering in through her side so it would be easier to squeeze in through the doorway if she were to writhe about a little bit. When she rose up, the giantess had to be a little careful so she didn't hit her head on the ceiling. Midori hunched over with her hat slightly bent due to her head touching the ceiling, the vampire would then look down and then turn over in the child's direction. To put how Midori looked into better perspective; her massive physique made it impossible to get out of the room since her dress eclipsed the doorway. Her arms were like thick tree branches as she leaned against the wall but careful not to put too much pressure since her weight could possibly cause the wall to cave in if she was careless with that strength of hers. However, despite Midori's ogre-like appearance she was a gentle soul or at least seemed like it from the warm smile that she gave Kaji. "Vell, vell. I am glad zat vu are feeling exquisite today; but I do need to trouble vu for only a moment my friend. First, allo me to brief vu on just vho– I am." Midori said in a courtly manner, lowering herself in a respectful bow while holding the ends of her dress as if she was noble. "I am Midori, Zennin of zee medical branch. As for your being here in mein care, I visch for vu to zimply describe to me vat vrenched devil cauzed zee mischief zat brought vu here und pleaze– spare me no details ov zee smallest"

 

[Kaji Hirohito]

The imposing figure loomed over him like a snow-white tree. After encountering the frightening appearance of the nurse his new visitor almost seemed tame by comparison. If a twenty-foot-tall titan could even be called normal. Kaji of course knew that he was exaggerating but didn't care. For what it was worth she may as well have been. After all it was with those massive cinderblock sized hands that she had treated him with the utmost care. And If the nurse's disposition was anything to go by, he knew this to be true. So it was without fear that he responded with all the gratitude he could muster, "Thanks lady, I thought those things really had my number, and if it weren't for you and your lovely nurse I'd be a goner. But if it's all the same to you, I think it'd be best for me to explain everything in more than full detail. Unfortunately, you might be here a while because it's a long story, and I may need a drawing or two to illustrate some things."
Without waiting for an answer, Kaji swung slowly out of bed and stood. Pain and fire immediately swirled within his chest. But the feeling gave him focus, purpose, and intent. So he soldiered on against the protests of the nurse, endeavoring to acquire a small stack of blank papers kept for medical reports. Kaji had never been to this hospital in particular, but if there was one thing he always remembered about his mother's stories of this place, it was where they kept the papers. After correctly guessing the correct drawer on his first try, he gathered up a small stack of forms, plus a pen, and returned to his warm and cozy bed. The effort had taxed his body hard, but uncannily he felt more alive than ever, eagerly putting pen to paper as he talked. "So there I was, leaving the village to go find a root for mom...", he explained referencing his journey for the rare ingredient...
...
"Then, after I dried off, I walked down into this weird gorge. It got really cold so I made a makeshift shelter out of sticks and mud.", he continued, nearing one of the frightening bits, "But while I was sleeping I heard things... horrible things. Like the monsters that crawl out of the blackest corner of your mind, they were suddenly just, there...", Kaji shuddered heavily. Lowering his tone to a traumatized whisper he continued, "Those eyes... those awful pale eyes. Like the souls of the damned peering at you through tooth and fur with a hungry grin. Knowing that soon you'll be just as dead as them.". "Only, it didn't work. I didn't run, and I fought with all I had, and painted the forest with them.", tenderly touching a few of the spots on his right arm, he continued, "That's where I got the first bit of shrapnel, I didn't feel it at the time, but I'm pretty sure that thing's skull got me good after the explosion. We were all stunned, but I got up first, and I climbed.".
...
"Then I made it to this field, I thought I was in the clear. But it was quiet, too quiet, and then it hit me.", recounting his tale of the vision he explained, "There was so much happening in that vision. It was so real. Like I was really there. And I think it was, or at least will be. More on that later. So, the wolves were onto me now, so I ran again, up a steep path this time. When I got half way up, I spit some fire and dropped the cliff face on them. Which is where I got the rest of the shrapnel."
...
After explaining the fever dream he had during the procedure and the similarities of tone and theme between it and his vision, Kaji rested his hand. Satisfied with the drawings and sketches he had made, he handed them off to the Nurse before he finished. "After everything I saw Dr. Futotta, something is out there. It sees me, it knows me, and whatever it is, it will find me. So I have to get stronger before that happens. I need to get out there and get ready for what's coming my way doctor. I know i shouldn't be up, I know I shouldn't be walking, but I can't just sit here and take it. I need to do something, because... I'm... I-I'm scared. A-and I don't know what else to do, an-and...", barely holding what was left of his composure, tears burst forth from his eyes like a waterfall. With tears streaking down his face Kaji sought safety and comfort in the embrace of his nearest companion. Reliving those horrific moments had stolen from him the last of his will. And in it's absence he succumbed to his emotions fully. Kaji reverted back to what he was at his core, a child, scared and helpless against the cold, cruel world. The darkness in his heart ripped at him like a whirlpool and he clung to the kind doctor as if he would slip away any second if he did not. This coninued for some time, the embers of his Undying Flame burning defiantly within his chest until Kaji was too exhausted to stay awake. In that moment, his body slackened and fell unconscious, clothes drenched with tears and sweat.