Starring:
Soren, Rockpath (emitter)
Date: May 26, 2015
Summary:
Soren's Training goes on as planned… but a hiccup makes itself known. (Or a Cough)
Poster's note: foul language filtered in obvious places.
"The Path to Sagehood - Treading on Death's door"
The Fox Village, just outside the land of snow
Soren has likely been training for many a week by this point, and Genkoro, though patient, was beginning to sense something was wrong. The thwacks that the puppeteer would experience weren't decreasing in frequency as much as usual, which was unusual in and of itself. And Soren, while he somehow turned into a fox, always had something closer to his replaced arm transform first. But he figured that until it's determined to actually be a problem, he would just monitor it.
Soren took another breath. The bruises he was getting for his efforts weren't getting any better. It felt like he was getting some things right… but it obviously wasn't enough… as he kept getting whacked. He sighed, settling into his perfect stillness, the same stillness that had become second nature, and he felt the energy slowly start to flow into his form. It eeked in at first, and then started to trickle, and flow, and then the zen started to flood in around his mind.
Genkoro whacks Soren once again when the energy begins to overcome the man. The fox sighs, considering what on earth to do. Soren wasn't getting any better… He wasn't getting /worse/, but he wasn't getting better. "Alright…" The voice of the fox rings out. "Let's go," he says. Soren would know… It hasn't been a full day of training yet. All his aches and pains are from days prior. If Soren asks, then he would say nothing.
Soren grunted in pain as the stick landed right on a previous bruise, the sudden inhalation causing a sudden cough attack. His hacking lasted for nearly a full minute. "Man, it must be the mold or something down here, finally getting to me." he grumbled, scratching at his chest. He might have to get an antifungal from Taiki after this. He picked himself up, seeming just a bit winded, as he made made his way after Genkoro. "I suppose I could use a break from you beating on me." he says with a grin, assuming it was just that for now.
It's also worth noting, he's left his prosthetic off since they started the sage training, the transformation of his arm having caused some damage once, and Soren didn't really want a repeat of that.
Genkoro continues to lead Soren, thinking idly to himself on why Soren just wasn't getting it. I mean, sure, humans were slow, but Soren was able to at least /improve/ after the month of what he tends to call 'stone training'. Eventually they stop at the elders' cave, and Genkoro calls out, "Hey, Emi. You know if Kokun is about? I think we need to see him for a bit, but you know how he is." Kokun is one of the Fox Medics in the village, if Soren didn't know, and he is known for being a tad eccentric. If the humans had an equal… Well, consider him to be the fox version of Sousa.
Genkoro's voice echoed down the cave, and it rattled the fox sage awake. He'd insisted on training their new sage, so she had taken a step back and let him do as he saw fit… but now he came asking for… oh Kokun? She shook herself out of her trance, and padded out of the cave. Even with both of them in their smaller forms, she was still tiny compared to Genkoro. "No, he's not here. Oyaji left late this morning. He was mumbling something about finding something for an itch… I'm a bit surprised he's not back yet, though." She let's out a yawn. "Do you know what time it is?"
Soren came to a stop, blinking as he hear Genkoro yell for Emi… and then tilt his head at the mention of Kokun. "Who… is… Oh… I think I met him once…" *Cough* "… ah… Hi Emi-kun, sorry to wake you…" he says, bowing his head a bit, as he glanced at Genkoro, curious what was going on. He looked at Genkoro, then back at Emi. "Couldn't… one of you just track him by scent?"
Genkoro grumbles a bit. "Oh fine…" He shakes his head a bit at the question. "I've been on a weird schedule," he then says, getting up and stalking off before Soren asks his question. "It's easier to ask around. But I can track him." Not fun, but he can. The fox takes a moment to scent the air, then dashes off, frustration making him leave Soren behind. Poor Soren!
Genkoro returns with a rather skinny fox who is currently very grumpy. "I told you, I'm busy, Genkoro! What on earth is so important that you must pull me from my research?" Kokun huffs angrily. He's on the smaller side, as far as the foxes go, perhaps only a bit bigger than Emi in size, though barely. He squints at Soren, eyes narrowed so that his pupils look more like dots than slits. "Hmmm… Are you sure you hit him hard enough, Genkoro? He doesn't seem to be in good condition."
Emi yawns a bit, shaking herslef off. She sleep hadn't really left her system, and even though she hadn't really been sleeping, she was still tired. SHe blinked at Soren sitting down, and… she slowly walked over, padding up into his lap. "Hmmmm… if being a sage doesn't work out, you could always retired, and take up being a bed…" she says, curling up in his lap, and falling asleep pretty quickly. But when Genkoro returned, she popped her head up, and yawned. She stood, and shook herself off, possibly smacking Soren with her ear if he wasn't careful. "Tousan…" she says, dipping her head towads Kokun. She padded off of Soren's lap, tilting her head. "What's wrong?"
Soren grinned a bit, as Emi curled up in his lap. He scritched her head softly for a bit, petting her as she lie in his lap. The young man continued to smile as she slept. One of the most powerful foxes here… and she was still just as susceptable to naps as the rest of us. It was an interesting, and, thought provoking moment for him. Then Genkoro returned with Kokun and she rose. He gave her a farewell pet, and then rose, letting out a few coughs. He was about to ask, but them Emi beat him to it.
GAME: Save complete.
Kokun hmm softly, poking Soren with a paw. "How long have you had that cough, boy?" he growls a bit, sending a pulse of chakra through Soren. Genkoro rumbles a bit in his spot. "Of course I've been hitting him. He had his bruises, and you should be able to tell!" The grey fox is insulted! Kokun nods lightly. "Hmm… It's odd, then… There seems to be a buildup of natural energy here." Near Soren's lungs. "And here," he says, moving his paw to Soren's prosthetic (or at least… Where it would have been if he were wearing it."
Emi simply tilted her head, looking at Kokun, before reaching up to poke Soren's other side. "Huh… I… didn't notice that…" She tilted her head a bit more. "I've… never… actually seen anything like that."
Soren coughed a bit harder this time. "I dunno…" he said scratching his cheek. "Um… come to think of it… I-" *COUGHCOUGHHACK* After what felt like a good half minute, he cleared his throat. "It started just after we started training with the moss…" he cleared his throat again. "I thought it was just the mold from the cave getting to me." he said, scratching his chest.
Kokun looks to Emi. "We need to fix this, pronto. Otherwise he might be a goner." Genkoro blinks, not really having the skills to be of much use here. His ears flatten atop his head. "I'll just… Go lie down for the day if you two got this…" Not like him, but he was tired and wanting some sleep. Kokun looks to Emi, ears flicking along with his tail. "You think we can do this?" he asks worriedly.
Emi glanced at Kokun, and then back up at Soren. "Hmmm… it's been a while since either of us has had any experience with a human… not to mention we need to figure out what's causing this…" she drifted off in thought for a moment. "Soren-kun. Do you have any insight?"
Soren blinked, looking at Kokun as he says he might be a goner. He sighed, scratching his cheek. "Whatever this is… whatever doesn't kill you, just makes you stronger right? Rest well Genkoro-san. I'll come bug you in the evening, when this is cleared up." he says with a touch of a grin. Emi's question though, he furrows his brows. "THe… only thing that I can think… is that those are two of my worst injuries. My arm was removed and exploded by a psychopath… and my lung, that had a hole punched in it by Naru a couple years back." he says, remembering the incident, and shuddering. That. Sucked.
Kokun's eyes narrow a bit. "Remove your shirt," he orders Soren. "It'll be easier…" He glances to Emi. "I don't know… I think we'll need some outside help. But I'll see if…" he cuts off there, making Soren lay on his back so the fox's smallish paws can rest near the man's heart. Then lung. A pulse of chakra is sent through Soren's body, pinging off. "Nothing… Emi, grab the stick for me?" he requests. "Hit him when I tell you," he instructs once the smaller fox is in position. Then he would give Soren a bit of natural energy to Soren, feeling where it travels..
Emi nodded swiftly at Kokuns orders, picking up the stick in her teeth, and wandering over next to Soren. She glanced at her Ojiisan, and tilted her head. "Wha- ah hyuu dinkin'?" she asked, curious what he thought.
WHen Soren removed his shirt… it would be immidiately obvious to Kokun and Emi, that he's survived HELL. Various slash, and puncture scars litter his upper body. A massive burn mars his body from his right shoulder, down to his stomach, a large puncture wound, roughly fist sized right over his right bicep. Seemed like a fair bit of muscle was lost in there aswell. Several gashes, and burns litter his left side, up to his shoulder, which seems to have suffered a large acid burn, running down into his arm, and down into his chest. Even the joint in his shoulder seemed pretty damaged. When Soren lay down, he closed his eyes, breathing slowly. His body was almost immidiately still. He wasn't gathering natural energy, but he was reflexively stilling himself. Kokun would feel the natural energy swirl out from his center. It spread out towards his limbs, seeming normal at first, catching in some of his deeper scars a bit abnormally, only to jam, and overflow around his shoulder, where the chakra network abruptly ends. This sudden crash of chakra acted almost like a wave smashing against a wall, the excess flooding back acrossed his body, causing even more buildup in the scar tissues, and washing acrossed his form, already saturated with sage chakra.
In short… it's bad. Even without the issues currently plaguing Soren, it would be obvious to any decent medic, that Soren was constantly suffering from this happening in his body, and it would have been causing him a massive amount of discomfort over the years, as his chakra network was just completely whacked to entryway.
Kokun takes a breath, indicating for Emi to whack Soren with the stick as soon as he felt the natural energy being to build up in the scar tissue. He would continue feeling to see where it went, waiting for it all to be over before reporting to Soren and Emi. "We seem to have a problem… One that is more serious than we thought." He looks to Soren with serious eyes. "Youngling… You either will need to stop your career as a shinobi; as a sage, too. Or you will need to undergo intensive surgery that is extremely dangerous. Only an expert medic-nin can perform such a task." He pauses, looking at the puppeteer carefully. "Which do you choose?"
Emi, as soon as the order is given, whacks Soren right acrossed the ribs, before setting the stick down next to him, smiling at the man, her ears twitching for a moment, before her foot came up to scratch that annoying itch. "Mmmmaaaaaah~" She shook her head once she was done itching, and looked over at the two of them. "It's that bad…?" she asked, cautiously.
Soren cried out in pain, the stick leaving what would become a new fresh bruise acrossed his chest. He growled, rubbing his chest. "OW." He leaned up, looking at Kokun as he spoke… and sighed. "I'm not a shinobi, but I suppose that's just semantics." he scratched his head. "Well… what doesn't kill me… You said I'd need an expert Medical Ninja? What exactly are we talking about here?" he asked, lifting a brow.
Kokun takes a breath, indicating for Emi to whack Soren with the stick as soon as he felt the natural energy being to build up in the scar tissue. He would continue feeling to see where it went, waiting for it all to be over before reporting to Soren and Emi. "We seem to have a problem… One that is more serious than we thought." He looks to Soren with serious eyes. "Youngling… You either will need to stop your career as a shinobi; as a sage, too. Or you will need to undergo intensive surgery that is extremely dangerous. Only an expert medic-nin can perform such a task." He pauses, looking at the puppeteer carefully. "Which do you choose?"
Emi, as soon as the order is given, whacks Soren right acrossed the ribs, before setting the stick down next to him, smiling at the man, her ears twitching for a moment, before her foot came up to scratch that annoying itch. "Mmmmaaaaaah~" She shook her head once she was done itching, and looked over at the two of them. "It's that bad…?" she asked, cautiously.
Soren cried out in pain, the stick leaving what would become a new fresh bruise acrossed his chest. He growled, rubbing his chest. "OW." He leaned up, looking at Kokun as he spoke… and sighed. "I'm not a shinobi, but I suppose that's just semantics." he scratched his head. "Well… what doesn't kill me… You said I'd need an expert Medical Ninja? What exactly are we talking about here?" he asked, lifting a brow.
"Chakra network surgery," Kokun replies. "It's difficult to do because the chakra network is so thoroughly engrained within our bodies. If we adjust it, we adjust everything. Yours, though…" The fox's paw touches Soren. "It is so convoluted…. Chakra is building up, both normal and natural energy. The natural energy is turning your insides to stone. Your normal energy that was originally stopped is slowing the process, though. But if you continue to absorb natural energy, it will get worse. If you use chakra, it will get worse."
Soren ah'ed. The comment about his insides turning to stone… he grabbed his chest, seeming to give pause to that thought. That… that's not gonna be a pleasant way to bite it. "Yeah… I… I was aware of the chakra build up… it's been causing me problems for about 5 years now… so I guess I assumed it wouldn't be too big of a problem…" he says, sighing, and scratching his neck. "Mostly just figured it would be a painful annoyance for the rest of my life." He closed his eyes… and thought for a moment. "I… I don't know… if he can do it, but I think Inuzuka Taiki, the head of my adopted clan, might be able to help. I seem to recall that he has focused knowledge on chakra networks, and treatments of those kinds of ailments." He glanced at Kokun. "But I think he'd be our best shot for getting this dealt with quickly…" he says with a nod. "Unless you have a better suggestion?" he asked with a slight tilt of his head.
Kokun shakes his head a bit. "If you know of someone, then we leave it in your hands. We foxes… we are not as knowledgable about your chakra networks and how they are supposed to entwine as another human." Kokun stands, then, stretching. "Go home. Rest. Recover. See this 'Taiki' about your surgery. Then come back when you've recovered from that. Adam can give us (meaning Emi) updates." the fox bows his head, then glances to Emi. "I'll check on him if he comes back. Don't bother me again. Or Genkoro…" He mutters a bit about things being troublesome and bounds off.
