Starring:
Date: August 29, 2014
Summary:
A specter of tragedy from another world appears to haunt Shemri's family.
"Megumi's Coma"
Village Center Area [Sunagakure]
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The very center hub of Sunagakure, the Village Center is a bustling area. Crowds gather in huge groups, all across the very wide square. It is completely protected by the large buildings surrounding it on all sides, and the four desert winds do not seem to intrude into this area.
People can be found doing all manner of things, from hocking wares, to trading for certain fabrics and materials, selling their products, or any other activity from sleeping quietly, to getting into explosive arguments with people. Fights are not unknown here, so there is regularily guards overseeing the circle. The entire circle itself is built to face the largest structure in all of Sunagakure. It is a massive domed building, easily 5 stories high, that seems to be constructed out of seamless and flawless sand. No stones, no mud, just pure sand, caked hard and formed into a building. This is the Kazekage Administration Dome, the head of bureaucracy for the mighty city of Sunagakure.
Their are entrances in all directions into the square, except the south, which is where the Administration dome is located. People are always flowing into the circle from all directions, and leaving as well. Even during the night, it is a sure bet that a large crowd will be in the circle, talking about all manner of subjects.
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Mushi has come to Suna at all haste. Apparently someone needs a cure none of the Suna nin can provide and…wait…what…no way…someone wants the narcotics their village medics won't provide. Mushi does have some, but the person doesn't seem like they need it—their moans of terrible pain are rather cheesy. So now Mushi is here having refused such treatment, and with little to do. She is walking out of the bar, eating a long sandwich. She may as well stick around. Even if a few people see her as the neutral drug dealer. Maybe they heard about her drunken romp in Kiri. She sits on a bench.
*TAPTAPTAPTAPTAPTAPTAPTAPWHOOOOOSH, TAPTAPTAPTAPTAPTAPWHOOOSH, ETC.*
Somebody's in a big hurry along the roofs of Sunagakure. The sounds of swift running and leaping filter down into the streets and alleyways, giving notice of an urgent passage. The funny thing is, the running meanders around, changing direction frequently and sometimes even doubling back. Almost as though whoever it is doesn't know exactly where they're —
*SCRRRAAPE, SWOOSH!!!*
Oh wait, looks like they just got a clue. Moments after a small black cat scampers out and stares intently at Mushi, Maneshi Shemri drops from the rooftops and slams into the ground in front of Mushi. "Hoi, you are Mushi-san, yes?! You must come with me, quickly!!!" >.<;
Mushi hears the incoming person before she sees the cat come into view. When it does Mushi smiles and reaches out to pet it. But her hand freezes in midair when the cat /talks/. A talking cat. She gapes at it. It doesn't seem like a henge. Can shinobi henge into animals so…wait. Oh. Mushi looks up at the person who actually spoke. "Hello," she says to Shemri, blushing. She will never, in a million years, she mistook a cat for a Maneshi.
She scratches her head at Shemri's plea. Looks the woman up and down. "Hmm okay," she says. "But if this has to do with the narcotics, I didn't give it to him! And if this has to do about you wanting them, I'm not going to." She'd stand up anyway to follow. "I'm Nikumari Mushi…" she says, although Shemri would know that.
Shemri ain't foolin' around today. She GRABS Mushi's wrist and drags her off full-tilt in the direction of the hospital. "It is my daughter, Megumi-chan! She has fallen into a coma!" Shemri explains as they run. "It is just like…well, you would not believe me if I told you about that, but I know it is something ordinary doctors will not be able to heal!"
At the hospital, Shemri leads Mushi to a patient room where a young girl approaching her teenage years lies silently on a bed. Standing nearby are a taciturn but troubled-looking man and a serious-eyed little boy of about three. Shemri goes to the bed and brushes back the girl's hair, looking anxiously into her unresponsive face. Then she turns to Mushi. "Please, do anything you can to help her! We will pay anything!"
Mushi is dragged off, nearly stumbling. With one arm gripped, she uses the other to hold her sandwich and eat it at lightning speed. She's used to short breaks in between constant emergencies. By the time they reach the hospital, Mushi is wiping crumbs off her fingers, and giving a polite belch.
Her hurried look turns a little calmer when she sees the girl. Not that it's a calm situation. But level headedness is required for any treatment. Her eyes move over Megumi's face. She says, "Tell me what happened. Even the tiniest bit of information would be useful." She's gathering her chakra, checking the girl's pulse, and then sending a light wave of chakra through her, to examine the girl's vital signs and any injuries.
"She was like this when we went to rouse her from bed this morning," the man speaks up, evidently having had to go over this several times already. "She went on a simple mission the day before to retrieve some measuring instruments from a nearby canyon. She seemed fine when she got back, but now she can't seem to wake up." The diagnostic technique doesn't turn up much. A few minor scrapes and bruises, but that's normal for an active genin. Shemri rubs her arms and sighs. "I apologize for ignoring introductions earlier, I believed time might be critical. I am Maneshi Shemri, this is my husband Tekketsu Fukanzen, the girl of course is our daughter Megumi-chan, and this is our son Sabure-tan." The boy gives a little bow. "Please help Megumi-neesan." o.o
Mushi nods absently. Bruises don't seem to be the problem here. "The delayed timing means one thing," she says. "Whatever is causing this coma is still in her. She hasn't suffered enough wounds or stress to put her into a coma without an enduring…condition." She is rubbing her chin thoughtfully. Then she turns to Shemri. "The good news is she doesn't seem to be in decline. She's stable. We have time. But in this state, I don't want to test out techniques. It may exacerbate her symptoms. We'll go and see if we can scrounge a clue along her mission location. Will you lead me?" She'd wait to go with Shemri.
Shemri nods. "Very well. Fukanzen, you will take care of things here?" Fukanzen puts a hand on Sabure's shoulder and nods. "Of course. Go." Shemri nods gratefully before turning to head out of the hospital with Mushi. In a way, Fukanzen is shouldering the heavier burden; Shemri would be in anguish if she had to sit and watch over her children while waiting on someone else to find answers. U.U
After a quick check at the missions office to find the location Megumi was sent to, Shemri and Mushi dash off into the desert. As noted, it isn't too far to the canyon where the measurements were being taken, and it's not at all hard for a couple of experienced nin to clamber their way down to the spot where the instruments were. They even manage to find the holes drilled into the canyon wall where the equipment had been secured. Shemri glances around at the vicinity, seemingly little more than a narrow chasm with a brackish little stream flowing along the bottom. "What is it we are looking for?"
Mushi heads out at a swift pace with Shemri. She's alert, watchful the entire way. "We're looking for anything that can cause delayed symptoms," she says. "It may be a disease she's had for years, that have been dormant until recently. Don't be fooled by that mission. Do you have any condition in your family that would cause this? Genetics is important."
"We could also be looking for a strange opponent. One who could cause coma-like states. Or genjutsu, perhaps? Fuinjutsu possibly. Or it may be an airborne toxin. There's no guarantee if it's highly contagious that retreading her tracks won't put us open to attack. You see, the possibilities are endless. It's wise to try and glean a clue before doing anything. Any will help. And…" She stops, her eyes narrowing. "Something is here. What creatures are in these parts, usually?"
Shemri shakes her head. "I do not know of anything like this having happened in my family, nor in Fukanzen's. I am certain he would have mentioned it if he knew of any." Shemri rubs her chin. "As for creatures, a place like this is certainly a haven compared to the rest of the desert…there are snakes, scorpions, spiders, a few types of birds, perhaps rabbits, worms — " Shemri suddenly glances aside at the canyon wall, then jerks her head back away from it. The rock cracks and crumbles, and a stretchy form whips out from the resulting hole. A toothy maw at the end peels open and snaps at the space where Shemri's face was a second ago. o.o; The gross invertebrate quickly retreats back into the ground after its failed ambush. Shemri blinks warily. "I…believe Megumi would have told us if such a thing attacked her, and she did not have any wounds…but perhaps a larval form? I have told her many times to never drink untreated water, but perhaps she splashed some on her head to cool off or something…"
A faint scraping from the rock wall says they might have an opportunity to get a specimen of this thing, though at the same time they're probably going to have to defend themselves.
The attack at Mushi comes from behind. She almost fails to sense it. She stumbles forward, just out of reach of those teeth. "Whoa," she murmurs. "Perhaps it is some contamination." As she speaks she's popping two pills in her mouth. "Step back a bit," she says, turning to face the ground and the holes. She breathes in, bites down on the piles, and exhales it in powder form. A huge mass pours out, filling the air. The cloud of white sopoforic poison blows out. But as it does, it writhes, controlled by Mushi's chakra to push down into the holes and cracks and try and knock out whatever is down there. Mushi is scanning the ground, listening hard for signs of movement, or lack thereof.
Shemri steps back, drawing a kunai just in case. She watches in fascination as Mushi goes about her clever medical-ninja technique. o.o Even Shemri's sashes would have a tough time getting at things in those holes. The scraping in the wall and ground subsides, so probably the worms were knocked out. Great! n.n Would've been nice if they could've drawn one out and captured it or at least cut off a piece, but at least they won't be attacked anymore. Probably the water is what they really need to check anyway. :P "Should I try to dig one out?" Shemri asks. "Shiikaa can provide me with wind chakra, so with a little time and effort I could probably cut through the rock."
Mushi looks thoughtful as Shemri suggests digging one out. "Hmm," she says. "Well, I'm not sure if my earth based techniques are deft enough to remove one without harming it. We should have one intact, in case it's the cause of the symptoms. In the meantime, I'll extract the water. I have some capabilities with antidotes. And a constitution resistant to poison." She smirks at that, and would tread carefully to the water. She removes flasks, equipment, and other devices from various packs, pockets, and scrolls. She sets out carefully studying the water with various instruments. "See if you can get one out undamaged," she tells Shemri. "And here." She'd toss her a mini-cooler. Used for carrying ice and food, usually.
Shemri nods. "Very well. Shiikaa?" Shemri's cat hops onto her shoulder, and with a *POOF*, turns into a furry gauntlet running the length of her arm. Shemri grips her kunai wind chakra begins to flow along the edge of it. She holds the knife point up to the rock face near the hole, and begins to chip away the stone with the running chakra.
Some time later…
Shemri peers distrustfully into the enlarged hole she's been making, ready to pull away at any sign of the worm waking up. It seems pretty placid, though, and enough of it is exposed now to get ahold of it. So Shemri inserts one of her sashes into the tunnel, makes it clamp around the creature, and slowwwwwly pulls the gross thing out. Then it's into the mini-cooler with it! Shemri gives a little laugh of triumph as she snaps the lid down. "Excellent! Ah Kami-sama, let it truly be this easy to cure Megumi-chan's coma in this…er…well, please let this be enough." c.c;
Mushi stares down at the cooler. In anguish and hate. Parasites…those parasites…they took so much from her. She rakes her fingers through her hair, as if clawing her scalp. She takes a step back. But then she snaps. It doesn't matter that it's not the same parasite as those months back. At that point even curing Megumi flies from her mind. She lunges for the cooler, snatching it away and hurling it to the ground. Then she angles her arm like a sword and slashes it to pieces. Her arm enshrouded in a chakra-shaped blade slices through it, chopping it into a million pieces. Then the chakra around her arm explodes, blasting apart the shredded remains of both the parasite and the cooler. Mushi turns away, a hand over her face.
"Sorry," she says. "Sorry. I just…just don't like parasites. But we have enough with the water. And…and it's best not to bring the parasite into the village. I'll cure your daughter, I promise." And then she'd start back to the village, her hand trembling.
d o.o … a o.o
O…kay then. Shemri of course feels rather irked at the results of her and Shiikaa's hard work being nullified, not to mention the risk to their chances of success at CURING HER DAUGHTER. >.<; But in an uncommon moment of objective reason, perhaps assisted a bit by Mushi's display of power, Shemri decides to hold her outrage in. Mushi's help could still be needed to figure out what the treatment should be after all, and she's the expert, so if she thinks they have what they need, they probably do…probably. If this doesn't work out Shemri will just have to sneak back for another specimen to see if the Suna medics can figure anything out from it. e.e;
At any rate, they head back to the village and the hospital, where Mushi has access to lab equipment for analyzing the water sample. And the verdict is…? O.O;
When Mushi gets back she sets to work. Piles of books are pulled out from her scrolls. She's carrying an entire library—there are scrolls within scrolls. She soon has stacks of thick books, all related to parasites, contaminations, poisonous substances, coma causes, and more. She flips through them. All are already heavily marked, and she's highlighting and circling more. "Okay, that's enough," she says. She takes the water…and destroys it! Not with anger, but dissolving it so no trace is left to contaminate another person. Then she'd go over to the girl, amassing a great deal of chakra before her bed is surrounded by seals, threads, and shimmering chakra. She'd very carefully use the technique to seal the chakra and parasite with her, breaking it down into mundane components, before drawing it out and sealing it up. Mushi stores the seals on a scroll, rolls it up, and ties it firmly.
"I don't want to take the chance of any medical chakra interfering with her recovery," she says. "She'll wake up soon, and recovery normally. Give her these pills, one at night, one in the morning. Otherwise, basic recovery attention. Food, fluids, but no advanced procedures."
Woohoo! n.n Shemri and Fukanzen embrace and weep tears of joy. Sabure gives Mushi another of his stilted little bows. "Thank you, healer-san." o.o And yes, Megumi does indeed wake up a little bit later, much to the relief of her family. "*yawn* Man, that was a weird dream…um, what am I doing in the hospital?" =.=
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!
