Starring:
Date: November 17, 2014
Summary:
Kenta treats Tsukino after she suffers some serious injuries in a spar. Kaido comes by to visit her in her hospital room. Kenta takes advantage of Tsukino's injuries to further her medical knowledge by giving her a lesson on self diagnosis and instructions to watch how her own body heals over the next days.
Poster's note: foul language filtered in obvious places.
"A Lesson to Go with Surgery"
Konoha - Hospital
Tsukino entered the hospital from the roof, wrapped up in a cloak, pale and clearly having a bit of trouble staying on her feet.A nurse guided her to a chair and from there it was determined that she had several cuts. several on her thigh int he shape of carnations. Her left arm was cut several times, like half flowers. The real issue was her back. Two deep paralel lacerations crossed her back, too close to properly stitch and held together with a reddish salve. It was on all the wounds, stopping her from bleeding. She explained that she'd gotten lost after the spar, couldn't figure out where she was and someone brought her to the hospital.
Kenta had just finished working on a patient with a broken leg when one of the nurses comes up to whisper something in his air. His eyes widen in alarm when he catches her words: red haired girl… injured again… sparring… severe lacerations… near incoherency. It's all that he needs to hear before the young medic-nin is straddling down the hallway after the nurse as quickly as his legs can carry him.
"Tsukino, how did something like this happen again?!" Kenta exclaims as soon as he comes within sight of the injured young woman. "I thought that you were going to take things easy from now on! Taking things easy doesn't cause such bad injuries!" The young medic-nin closes the final distance and places his hand on her shoulder. He sends a pulse of chakra through her bodies to find out just how severe things are. What he finds is in line with what he sees, which is alarming.
Kenta turns to the nurse. "Prepare Emergency Room Three. We're going to need to give her a blood transfusion and stitches. Her blood pressure is dropping and her body's going to go into shock soon if we don't do anything." He gestures for one of the burlier orderlies to get a rolling stretcher to put Tsukino in.
Tsukino flinched visibly when she saw Kenta and looked at the floor like a kid caught with her hand int he cookie jar. "I'm sorry kenta-san… I just.. I feel like I .. need to prove… stuff." She sighed and took a large breath. BP low indeed. She simply nodded then as he informed her that taking it easy did not result in these kinds of wounds. "But Kaido-san's salve worked! Right? It stopped the bleeding." She said confidently.
The tone of his voicemade her look up in concerned curiosity as he told the nurses what he needed. The stretcher arrived and she allowed the orderly to set her on it, resting her head on the pillow and closed her eyes, tired, wanting to sleep.
"Stopped the bleeding, but not soon enough," Kenta says starkly. He gestures for the orderlies to be gentle as they reach for Tsukino to help her onto the stretcher. "You need to know your limits, Tsukino. You can't prove anything by being dead. It's not good to encourage sparring to lead to such injuries too. If everyone starts doing that, we're not going to have enough medics to cover everyone and the hospital will be out of supplies within weeks." Kenta heaves a sigh and gestures for the orderlies to wheel her towards the emergency room. There won't be that much to prepare, so the nurses should have it ready by the time they arrive there.
Tsukino lowered her eyes as he chastened her, thoughgently considering. She nodded again. The orderlies didn't pull any sounds from her as they worked and she managed one final smile before she fell asleep, feeling safe and protected. It wasn't the first time today she'd passed out but now she was with Kenta so she was sure everything would be alright. She would deal with her own stupidity later. For now, sleep seemed best… Most comfortable… That berry mixture on her wounds stung like suture too…
The lacerations are deep, so the surgery took some time. First, the wounds had to be thoroughly sterilized and all foreign matter must be removed to prevent infection. The amount of bleeding that Tsukino did before the salve was put on actually helped a lot to flush out what's caught in there. Kenta and the nurses still had to tweezer out stray bits of thread and plant matter, but the cleaning was straight forward enough. While they worked, blood dripped steadily down an IV line into the unconscious Uzumaki's body to replenish what she had lost. The last thing they had to do is to stitch all the wounds shut again and give Tsukino several shots of antibiotics. Kenta kept anyone from using healing jutsu on her this time. Lessons must be learned.
By the time that Tsukino wakes up, she's getting installed in one of the hospital rooms by the orderlies. Kenta's standing to the side while he summarizes all the procedures that Tsukino went through on her medical chart. That report's going to go into her even heftier medical records after she's well enough to leave.
The entire procedure, Tsukino had not moved or even tried to. Her color had returned by the time she was being placed in her room, set on her uninjured side propped by pillows. She opened her blue eyes slowly, like waking frm a deep sleep, took a breath and winced. She looked up to see Kenta writing in his notes and pushed herself into a sitting position, teeth grit against the pull of the stitches across her back. "What happened?"
"The surgery was successful. Don't move too much or you'll agitate your stitches," Kenta says without looking up from the chart. "You're going to need to stay in here for a few days until you're strong enough to walk out on your own again. You still need to take it easy after that, because your wounds will take a while to heal." The young medic-nin finally lifts his somber gaze from the medical chart. "Take this as an incentive to build up more reasons not to push yourself so far next time. I'll have some study materials brought in here, so that you won't get bored. This is a good time for you to get some firsthand experience on the way wounds heal too. The last few times that you came here were before you started your training, so didn't know enough to follow along yet."
After Tsukino has finished being operated on and wheeled into a room, Kaido and Bandit come strolling in, bearing a gift of a teddy bear and flowers for the princess.
Tsukino blinked as he told her not to move much. They had bandaged her back of course and put a robe on her rather than her usual clothes, but she still insisted on sitting up. She was careful, of course, but she looked half drugged. When he suggested that she try to take this as incentive she looked down again and ran a hand over her face. "I'm sorry Kenta-san. I just want to be useful in a real fight but I can't even defeat a genin." She was just finishing that sentence when Bandit and Kaido walked in. She looked up, the color back in her face (and an IV in her arm). She glanced down at the bandage on her shoulder and arm then to her thigh and then looked up at Bandit and Kaido again. She tried to smile but it came off as worn and tired, but still heartfelt. "Hello. Kenta-san these two brought me here when I got lost."
"You may need better tactics," Kenta tells Tsukino with a sigh. "And to know when to disengage. That's especially important if you're going to be a medic-nin. Medics can't afford to get hurt this way, because they're the lifeline of a team. That's why most medics don't even stay in the front line."
Kenta stops speaking and turns around when Kaido and Bandit enters. He bows at them politely. "Kaido-san and Bandit-san. We meet again. Thank you for bringing Tsukino in here. She wasn't in the condition to do anything herself and could have made things worse if left on her own." A faint smile curves Kenta's lips. "I was just about to give her a short medical lesson too; one that you heard before."
Bandit rushes up to Tsukino's bed and wags his tail and says, "Hey there ojou-sama, looks like you're no longer worse for wear." Kaido on the other hand tosses a salute with the hand carrying the flowers to Kenta and says, "Yo! Eh, no worries, she wandered into the ramen shop bleeding profusely and I just patched her up a bit and brought her here, no biggie." Bandit turns and gives Kaido a speaking look that says volumes and Kaido just ignores it and moves to Tsukino's side and places the flowers in a vase on the bedside table and gently places the bear in her good arm next to her and snuggles it up to her and says, "There, now you won't be all afraid and lonely while in here."
Tsukino tilted her head as Kenta told her she needed to think about her tactics and as she thought about it he was right. That didn't stop her from feeling shamme that she'd lost to a genin, though. She hadn't thought about the fact that the medics werent usually meant for the front lines. "So… I should work on my defenses…" She looked down for second as she pondered then turned her attention back to Kaido and Bandit.
She flushed suddenly and looked away from Kaido but looked more confused than anything… Had that all been a dreaam? And if so.. why? Crazy stuff happens when you're losing blood that's what! She decided.
Another tired smile came to her lips at Bandit's greeting. She reached down to pat him on the head. "I'll be alright. Kenta-san takes good care of me." Her blue eyes watched Kaido put the flowers in the vase and hand her the teddy bear. She smiled a bit more but couldn't quite look him in the eyes. "Th..thank you Kaido-san. And I think… I promised you barbeque?" Yup she was still foggy.
"The barbecue will have to wait until Tsukino is better again, but it'll be my treat when she's well enough to go," Kenta tells Kaido gravely. "It's the least that I can do for helping a good friend a teammate of mine. Thank you for bringing things to cheer her up to."
Kenta turns back to Tsukino and gives her a gentle pat on the arm. "Don't push yourself too hard, Tsukino. Let us know when you get too tired to talk with us. You still have sedatives and painkillers in your system too, so that's affecting your ability to think. We'll work on helping you keep focus through the side effects later on in your training. For now, what you need to know is that you're going to be hurting a lot more when you wake up tomorrow morning. It'll be difficult, but I want you to perform a self diagnosis first thing you do when you wake and last thing you do before you sleep over the next few days."
Kaido just smirks and leans over the bed railing and says, "Just call me Kaido, no honorifics needed" and then says something to her that Kenta can't hear and then stands up and replies to her question, "Yeah you did say something like that. But don't worry about it, when you get all healed up and stuff we can talk about BBQs and dates and things like that then." Bandit's jaw drops a bit and STARES at Kaido, even for him that's pretty bold and he facepaws before headdesking at his idiot partner, starting to swear, "Dumbscalpel-idiot-baka-moron-hentai-kouinu…" to which Kaido just raises an eyebrow to.
Tsukino nodded to Kenta, acknowledging that she understood. She would study as much as the pain killers and such would allow her. Her next thought was that Daisuke was going to kill her. And after Kaido whispered to her (and she blushed a red matching her hair) she thought Daisuke might just kill Kaido…. She tried to smile again and kind of failed this time but she looked at the bear and that brought it out again. "I promise. I'll tell you if I get too tired. I really am sorry. His shuriken wereso fast and one came out of the other's shadow!" Yes it sounded crazy saiid like that but yes it was very much the truth. She looked at them all with wide eyes. "My sheidl shattered a few times too. That's why he got through. He even threw /flaming/ shuriken!" Clearly she had never met an Uchiha before….
Kenta blinks a few times. "Date? Are you already betrothed to Hokage-sama, Tsukino? That's what I thought…" The young medic-nin rubs the back of his head in confusion. It's not really his concern anyway, but he couldn't help asking. "Ummm… anyway, you shouldn't underestimate Genin. Some of them are actually very strong, even if they don't have a higher rank yet. It could just be that they didn't prove themselves in other ways. If your shields are failing you too often, you should come up with additional defensive tactics. You might want to get better at being stealthy or work on your speed or just develop stronger shields in general."
Bandit is literally crying as he headdesks and Kaido says, "Oh no, it's nothing like that… you see when I mean date… I mean… we've k…" That's when Bandit has had enough and leaps at Kaido, bowling him over as he yells, "YOU BAKA!!!!" and the two of them roll on the floor, fighting each other.
Tsukino listened to Kenta's suggestions and nodded slowly. She had a lot to workon.. but perhaps first she should finish her training as a medic…. Tsukino blushed crimson at the mention of a date. "N..not betrothed. I'm dating him. My Grandfather and his aunt tried to get us to be officially engaged…" She looked at Kaido with an expression that spoke of some kind of pain and a guilt as well. She tucked some hair behind her ear. "I..I'm sorry Kaido-sa..Kaido.. I.. I didn't mean to mislead you… If my Grandfather and Tobiramako-sama want to join the vi—" And then she watched in wonder as Bandit tackled Kaido bodily bringing him down. Amazement crossed her face as they scuffled. After a second she looked up at Kenta for any suggestion as to what to do here.
Kenta's eyes widen when the scuffle begins. He quickly jumps forward to separate them, but have to hop back again to avoid getting hit by all the flailing. Finally, he settles for staying back and clapping his hands together very loudly. "Kaido-san! Bandit-san! Please stop this instance! This is a hospital and not a place for rough housing! You'll disturb the patients and potentially damage hospital property!" Kenta reaches into a small pouch at his side and brings out a tiny black pill. He keeps it in his hand for now, but is willing to pop it if it looks like he needs to subdue the excitable pair.
Kaido and Bandit completely ignore Kenta and Tsukino and end up rolling all the way outside the hospital to end up in the street. Someone not knowing the two of them might believe that they're actually trying to kill each other seeing the battle, but that's not the case. Within seconds they are both gone from view.
Tsukino watched as Kenta first tried to intervene then spoke sharply , a black pill in his hand. She looked up as the two Inuzuka rolled out of the room and sat there dazed for a moment , turning a stunned expression on Kenta… And then she slowly becan chuckling, a hand over her mouth. "Those two are insane…" Looking at the teddy bear again she set it down carefully and turned to look at Kenta.
Kenta shakes his head from side to side. He slips the pill back into the pouch and turns to touch Tsukino gently on the forehead. "This really is too much excitement for you. Let me get you some water." Kenta steps away from the bed momentarily to fill a cup from a pitcher of water sitting on a nearby stand. He comes back with it and offers it to Tsukino. "You won't be able to stay awake much longer. I might as well show you how to perform your self-diagnostic. I already showed Kioko-san a few days ago when she ended up with a dog launching off her back."
"What would that pill have done for you?" She asked curiously as he put his hand on her forehead. The skin was flushed and warm but not really bad. She nodded and accepted the water, sipping at it before setting it down on the table She looked at Kenta curiously when he told herr he would teach her the diagnostic jutsu. She was well aware what that meant, and she had felt the jutsu several times herself so she had an idea of how it felt and combined with what she;d learned so far, how it worked. But she nodded and shifted to listen to the instruction.
"Umm… well, it's a sleeping pill. It's a special type that I made myself. I developed for a new jutsu when I realized that I need to be able to defend against multiple attackers better." Kenta pats the pouch where the pills are stored. "It has very strong soporific compounds in it that'll induce sleep and fatigue when people breath it in. I usually swallow it and use my chakra to convert it into a cloud of mist. It helped me subdue several people without causing injury already, so I'm glad that I developed the jutsu."
Kenta folds his hands at the small of his back and rocks back slightly on his heels. His voice takes on a calm, soothing tone. "Ummm… now, we should start your lesson. First, I want you to close your eyes and take a few deep breaths. Bring calm to your mind and let distracting thoughts flow away like leaves on a stream. Relax… relax…" He pauses to let Tsukino do what he says, going by her body language to tell when she's ready for more. "Now, keep listening to my voice, but don't let it distract you. Let it guide your thoughts instead… Remember how your body feels like at its peak. Remember how strong and healthy it is, the ease of your movements and the strength in your limbs. Now… slowly, I want you to stretch you awareness inside of yourself. I want you to silently start identifying everything that feels 'off' to your body now without moving at all."
The pill jutsu made her blink and then look impressed. "That's really interesting. I like the idea." She shifted a bit to settle then did as seh was bid. Eyes closed she calmed her chakra. It was quite a simple thing for her to do actually, falling into a trance-like state to control chakra was something she did in training every day. So now it wasn't too hard. The identification of the 'off' parts of her body was the hardest part. She knew where she was injured so it was easy to think she felt something but it was really just physical pain.
After a moment she felt how the chakra was flowing around the wounds, alost like a river diverts around a mountain…. "I.. I think I feel it… The big ones on my back anyway… It's like.. the chakra can't flow normally where I'm cut…"
Kenta keeps watching Tsukino. He has no idea if how she's doing without actually going inside her head, but what she says makes him now his head. "That's good. Your chakra fills your entire body. It travels along pathways, but like blood, it can blow into every crevice. The disruptions in the eddies can easily tell you where things are wrong." The lesson is slightly different than what he gave Kioko, since Tsukino already has a stronger control of her chakra.
"Now, start focusing on one body part at a time… Your neck, your left shoulder, your right leg… focus all your attention on that individual piece and allow the rest to fade into the background. I want you to start moving it slowly. Flex the muscles, bend the joints, shift some weight on it… Feel how the change affects you. Is there abnormal tingling? That could be a pinched nerve or insufficient blood flow. Aches and sharper pains? That could be bruises and lacerations."
Kenta waits a little while before he continues. "Now, try to flow some chakra through a damaged location and compare the 'echo' to that of a normal location. Listen for it. Feel it with mind and body both. Next, flow some chakra into another damaged location. If you choose a bruise the first time, focus on a cut this time. It should be different. The 'echo' that you return will also be subtly different depending on the wound. That's something that you can use to identify wounds in -other- people too once you learn what all the differences in the echo means."
Tsukino nodded her understanding but did not open her eyes, following Kenta's instructions carefully. It took her a while because of the drugs in her system but she finally managed to focus on just her uninjured arm then shifted to her injured arm. She frowned then and opened her eyes. Scooting back a little she pulled her legs up on the bed and sat cross-legged, hands on her knees and tried again.
This time was more successful and she started comparing the 'echo' as Kenta called it between cuts and bruises. She had plenty of both as the wires had caught her and bruised but not cut while the shuriken slashed at her. Which was part of how she'd lost so much blood. internal as well as external blood had been lost.
She took to this new form quicker as it mirrored her daily training. But she was used to using combat level chakra and actually came close to busting a stitch on her arm. She hissed and flinched back, chakra recoiling. She opened her eyes and rubbed a little at the bandage.
Kenta couldn't tell exactly what happened, but something definitely did. "That's enough for tonight, Tsukino. What you need now is more sleep. You can practice again tomorrow morning and tomorrow night. I wnat you to do it during those times specifically, so that you can see the progress in the way that your body's healing itself overnight, over the course of a day and over a week long period." He leans forward to rearrange Tsukino's pillows and tries to guide her prone again. "As you get more practice, your finesse will increase. You'll also be able to perform a self diagnostic faster, to the point that it just takes a second of thought. After a while, you'll be able to tell when you're experience some types of problems without even using chakra." The young medic-nin gives her a gentle smile. "But for now, you sleep."
Tsukino looked up and as Kenta came forward, telling her she needed rest, she refused to lay down right away and instead, stretched out her stitches to reach up and hug the medic lightly. She couldn't get her brain to really form words but she was grateful for everything he did, even if he had left her to heal a bit onher own this time. She still appreciated him. "Thanks…" She said simply as she let him guide her back down. She reached up and took the teddy bear down to snuggle the soft fur and pull up the blanket. She did not last more than a moment and was asleep already.
