Starring:
Date: December 23, 2015
Summary:
The long awaited with one of Konohagakure's renowned medical experts has come for the Kumogakure pair.
Poster's note: foul language filtered in obvious places.
"Blood for Blood - Enter the Doctor"
Konohagakure Medical Center - Examination Room
It's mid-afternoon and the crowd in the hospital is starting to wind down a little. By winding down, it means that instead of people crammed into every corner, it's people crammed into most corners. Thankfully, Kenta won't have to deal with any of this today. The medic-nin has booked a private examination room as far from the hustle and bustle as possible for the task at hand. In some ways, he'd rather use his own office, but it's still undergoing some repair work after the recent break-in. There's also equipment in the examination room that he might need, despite the nature of the problem at hand.
Michiko finally managed to hunt Rise down, and the Iwata dragged the Shirokiri off to see Kenta immediately. Hopefully the messenger bird got to him in time for her arrival. Apparently it did! Michiko would enter the room and wave lightly to Kenta before she glanced back to Rise. "So, Rise-san, I believe this will only be an examination. But if things work out, we could try and start doing something to help with your problem… But I'll let Kenta-san be the judge." Then Michiko turns to Kenta, offering a super-mega-low now in greeting.
Rise offered little resistance once Michiko finally caught her. There were still a few things the Shirokiri wanted to have taken care of before the end, but her superior could only linger in another land for so long…
"Right…" Rise murmurs calmly before turning her gaze fully upon Kenta. Her guarded expressions softens after sizing up the medic, and without further hesitation, Rise too bowed before him… if albiety less deeply than Michiko. Kenta was not her superior, or older than her by the looks of him. Wordlessly, Rise drifts over to the examination chair and hops in it. Although from the there, she seemed at a loss for what to do with herself next, so her eyes roam across the rest of the room.
"Konichiwa," Kenta greets when Michiko and Rise appears. The medic-nin bows until his forehead nearly touches his knees… about as deep as he'd go for Atsuro. He seems a little weird out to see Michiko do a similar bow towards -him-, but manages to throttle the urge to get into a bowing contest again. That's because the young man needs to greet Rise as well.
Kenta pivots on his feet to him the other woman a bow too, but matching the one that she gave him, so not as low as what he offered Michiko. "Umm… it's nice to see you again, Rise-san. I heard about your current situation and hope I can do something to help." He moves over to the examination chair once Rise has settled into it. "Please try to get comfortable. I'm still learning the ways of the Yamanaka clan's hidenjutsu, so I can't delve deep into your mind and memories. But I want to connect to you telepathically and try to get a sense of things as much as I can right now."
"I'll just be watching for now," Michiko says. "And thank you for taking the time to do this, Kenta-san." Michiko goes to settle down somewhere to watch. … Cuz she can't help!
Rise cuts back to Kenta the moment he speaks up. "Again?" She murmured, brows furrowing at the word. In her growing frustration in trying to remember anything about another encounter, the Shirokiri all but tunes out everything else that follows for a time. In the end, the storm is replaced with a sour expression as nothing comes to mind. She shakes her head, which might've sent the wrong message at first given the timing. After a moment's pause to think and catch up, Rise bows her head apologetically, and then forced a small smile into being. "I'm about as comfortable as I'm gonna get doc." Rise joked lightly. Despite her own words, Rise knew Michiko and doctors all too well, so she settles more heavily into the chair. A calming breath later, the woman's eyes draws to a close. "Alright… ready whenever you are."
Kenta waits about half a minute more before he does anything. The young man looks for the telltale signs of a body starting to relax. Then, he makes a few hand seals and stretches an invisible thread of chakra towards Rise. "Please don't fight it like last time," Kenta urges gently as he attempts to connect his own mind to his patient's. Should this succeed, he'd be able to sense the overall state of Rise's mental processes and even listen on surface thoughts. Anything else is a little beyond him at the moment, since he's not practiced enough to reliably do the deep delving that more experienced members are known for just yet. While Kenta's doing this, he also places a hand on Rise's should with the intention of performing ongoing physical diagnostics with medical pulses at the same time.
It is not so much by choice, but by luck Kenta finds his opening into Rise's psyche. Between the memory she had searched so fervently earlier finally surfacing at the mention of resistance and vaguely familiar sensation from that time, she couldn't help but lower her guard for an instance. Calm, fortunately, returns swiftly, bringing with it a feeling of curiosity and vague wariness about this newfound link. Try as she might, the feelings eventually gave away to the obvious surface questions such as 'Can you hear this?' and 'Can I hear you?' among others. Strangely enough, any expected underlying anger behind a few of the questions from the infamous berserker is nowhere present at the time.
'Cool' She murmurs, resisting only physically from flinching from at Kenta's touch. As for Rise's physical condition, there is little of note at a glance except for her being perfectly healthy. A deeper and inevitable probe however reveal a number of agumentations. She was /much/ more healthy than even the most fit atheletes. Her limbs weren't quite her own, as evident from any subtle surgical markers left over. And everything from her skeletal structure to her muscles was tougher. Denser, in fact, to some degree, as well as overall stronger without compromising her mobility.
If Kenta did not know any better, her overall physique spoke of an artifical human resting in the examination chair at this point…
Kenta doesn't send any words immediately down the link to Rise, but he does send a wave of calm and the feeling of good intentions. The young man's eyes remain open, but loses focus slightly as he partitions his attention into two in order to process both sets of information coming at the same time. He keeps up a steady scan of Rise's surface thoughts to look for anomalies that might help him infer more about her state of mind. All mental "voices" are unique, so he might be able to differentiate the two minds inside Rise's body and figure out how tightly merged they are that way.
"Strange…" Kenta murmurs softly as medical chakra pulses bouncing through Rise's body informs him of her overall physical health. It's expected for a taijutsu user to have a strong body that most and also to exhibit the type of wear and tear that ninjutsu users don't experience. But this is a bit different. "Have you undergone a lot of surgery before? Perhaps to fix past traumas?' he asks aloud. Maybe the questions will also nudge Rise's thoughts in a useful direction…
Discordance. The only word to best describe the feelings surfacing in Rise's mind at the question. Sheer force of will kept her visage blank, and thoughts empty of words. However, it isn't nearly enough to erase the conflict of anger, resentment, depression, happiness, and acceptance from playing out. In that moment, it also becomes clear that what had been hidden behind an unspoken unity falls away. Every mental "voice" and its tone is unique, and yet the similarities between is nigh uncanny. The more negative feelings held a sense of being broken, as if they came from a splintered mind. From Rise's persona, judging by the subtle tension behind her jaw to keep from visibly clenching it.
The more positive is fainter, and yet more stable in more ways than one.
She doesn't openly answers at first however, choosing instead to open her eyes and give Michiko a sidelong glare that held a mixture of anger and defeat all at once. The former of which quickly dies, leaving behind a memory of the former before she closes her eyes altogther. "… Yes… Twice now." She smiles faintly, and yet there's no real mirth behind it. "Thanks to the same people."
Kenta makes a thoughtful noise in his throat when he starts to sense the different mental strands that make up what had seemed like a single mind at first. He keeps his hand in contact with Rise to see whether he can detect any changes in level and characteristic of chakra that comes with this sudden disassociation. "Is there anything more that you can tell me about this incident?" Kenta probes gently. "I know that you won't want to relive the traumas of the past, but this could be important for what we're attempting to do. Please try to describe what happened as completely as you can and how each incident affected you."
Michiko doesn't really ready to the glare thrown in her direction. She felt guilty about forcing Rise into such a state, but she /had/ asked for certain someones to heal Rise so that she would be in fighting condition again. She never knew what that actually meant until recently, and she didn't realize what kind of effect it hand on the Shirokiri. But hindsight is 20/20, and she could hardly predict the future…
The disassociation at the chakra level is even more vague than the mental. A hard look and perseverance while Rise silently debated over Kenta's question does reveal the two noteworthy points seem to be located towards a few inches just above her shoulder blades, and the scattered places about her brain. "… Its not what you think, doc… I wasn't 'traumatized' by those incidents. At least, not in the sense that…" She pauses for a moment, then groans inwardly and press the heel of her palm into her temple. "When I lost my arm, I felt… numb about it. I knew I could get used to it after awhile, and… I've never been the type of gal to sweat about a few scars." Rise expressions softens for a few moments as a playful smile tugged at the corner of her lips. "Neither did Kyn-kun…or at least, he was still willing to be with me afterwards." She admits, shifting back into a more guarded attitude instinctively. "The second time it happened I… I felt at peace. I thought 'this was it'.This was all I had in me. I… may have hated the idea of being practically worthless to everyone else, and having to go back to relying on folks again little."
"But I was so invaded tired that I didn't care… And I knew so long as I was like that, 'she' prolly wouldn't show up again… Soon as I got fixed up again tho', I knew things wouldn't ever just.. stay that way." Rise started to suck in a breathe as if she meant to say again, but stops short, choosing instead to shake her head in exasperation. "Sorry doc if that got a little off topic. Usually that doesn't happen until I've had one." She said, offering a faint grin of apology.
Kenta nods his head slightly, more focused on what's happening inside of Rise's body and mind than in giving the appropriate response. The oddities at the chakra level intrigues him, so he redoubles the amount of pulses he sends towards the hot spots. He also keeps varying the chakra characteristics of the pulses to see what results he could get back from a more thorough scan.
"Ummm… and who patched you up those times? Was it Michiko-san?" Kenta eventually asks. He flicks a glance towards the Kumo medic for confirmation, even though the question was for Rise. "It's clear that you had an expert surgeon on hand. The techniques used to restore your health aren't ones that I've seen very often, assuming that I'm even reading them correctly, since the procedures were bound to be very complicated."
Michiko shakes her head a bit. "Ah, no, it was not me. It was actually my other sensei. Tea Daimyo, Nagamura Shuuren. He's quite adept when it comes to surgery. I'm a mere battlefield medic for now," she explains. Michiko would continue to watch closely, as well as listen, but she had little to offer.
Whereas her records would show (if any were provided in the first place) no abnormalities have shown up before today with but one exception, the same cannot be said of this incident. In place of a strange echo, Kenta's pulses would eventually work out the rough shape of a seal array covering her back. An archaic one in design by the looks of it with a few other newer elements thrown into the mix meant to shield its function and presence. But whatever formulas were meant to keep the array properly function seems to be… off; almost as if pieces were missing. The fact that the energy tied to it seems to be the same 'shadowing' Rise's own chakra tied to her mind could only stand to support the evidence.
Rise stays quiet, leaving it up to Michiko to explain her roles in her recovery. "Say what you will about dear old pops, but he certainly cared enough to pay for the best." Rise broke in, bitter and sarcastic in tone. "… You get enough yet doc? Or are ya try'na figure out how I got my skin so smooth this time?" She teases lightly.
Kenta's brows furrow. "Maybe," he says tentatively. The medic-nin probes a little further before he turns his gaze to Rise's face. "Umm… Answer me this. Are you aware that you have a seal array imprinted on you? I can't tell exactly what it's purpose is, but I assume it's tied to the surgeries that restored you to proper health. Whatever the source of the array is, it's complicated and I'd have to spend some more time to unravel it's mysteries. I have a feeling that it's also at least partially the cause of your current issue, since there's something not quite right with the seals. My expertise with seals aren't as extensive as Shuuren-sama's though, so you might want to consider going to help for help if this turns out to be a factor."
Rise quirks a brow blindly, befuddled thoroughly until it finally dawns on her what Kenta meant by seal array. Though she opened her mouth to answer, the medic pressed on with his explanation. Exasperated as she was, Rise listened without complaint, smiling crookedly in the doctor's general direction. "To answer yer question, yeah, I've known about it for long while now. Heck, practically everyone in Kumo has, though they probably thought it was some sort of tattoo at the time." Rise states, rolling her eyes behind their lids. "… But if this feeling of yours has any merit then, we might need more than just Shuuren-san's help with this."
Kenta blinks at Rise. "What do you mean, Rise-san? Why would we need more than Shuuren-sama's help if the seal array is causing the problem? I mean, he was the one that put it there, isn't it?" The young man's eyes narrow slightly in speculation when other possibilities come to him. "Umm… unless you're telling me that he -wasn't- the one that created it. In that case, it'll be helpful to know more about its history. Seals can be extremely dangerous, especially if they're not functioning the way that they're supposed to. I'd like to fix the problem as soon as possible, whether it's related to the issue that Michiko-san brought you here for or not."
Rise frowns absently and cracked open an eye to regard Michiko from its corner. Just how much details did her superior offer the medic? She doesn't wait for an answer before closing her eyes, removing the inquisitiive glare from Michiko's sight. "You and me both, doc, but all I know so much. I wasn't in much of an asking mood when I found dear old mom. Not after she… clarified what I was." Rise a familiar pinch in her chest gives her pause, but only very briefly. With a soft "huff", she buries the feeling deeply, and then tries to rise up in her seat. "Anywayz, I guess we're pretty much done here doc, cause as much as I'm willing to let you try whatever it is you can regardless of the risk, I doubt Michiko-san is gonna approve of anything." She states briskly while steadily avoiding eye contact with anyone. To do so now would risk her resolve, and to have it break and now…
'No, don't even think about it. AIn't an option' She thought, neutral expression darkening at the ideas that pressed into the back of her head.
"But…" Kenta starts to say. His mouth snaps shut and a frown comes to his face. He could have probed harder with what remaining time he had left, but the young man reluctantly removes his hand from Rise's shoulder instead. She'd also sense the link between them suddenly fall away. "Umm… I guess it's your decision… and that of Kumo. Just let me know if the situation changes, because what I felt has alarmed me enough that I'd offer my help again in a heartbeat." Kenta makes sure to catch Rise's eyes as he continues to speak. "And please don't take this lightly either. If parts of the seal is starting to fail, or is causing problems due to being incomplete, you might find that it'll start to get worse and worse."
Rise could only avoid Kenta's gaze for so long before the feeling of the young man's gaze finally got to her. Afterwards, she couldn't fight it. Guilt worked its way into her eyes even though the rest of her tried to hide it. "I… I get what your saying doc, and I'll… /we/ won't be taking this lightly. I…. *sighs*… Thank you.. for doing what ya could, doc… C'mon Michiko-san. Let's get out of here." Rise murmured near the end in passing as she made her eay to the exit.
Michiko gets up and frowns just a bit. "Rise-san…" She frowns. "What do you want to do now?" she asks simply. "It's entirely up to you, Rise-san. At this point, I'm just helping provide the means to reach what you desire." She would follow the Shirokiri out of the office and the like.
