Kumogakure Medical Facility

Natsuru found herself sitting in a waiting room to be checked on by staff. There were two other people in the room who, to no surprise, were old. Natsuru was the only Shinobi in there as well. She still carried her armor and weaponry on her body just as she was coming from the gates. Her tattered clothes and clear red-stained bandages around her abdomen was an awfully gruesome sight. To no surprise, she was the first to be called back into the room. Taking her gear and body with her she followed the nurse into the room. Natsuru began by stating her business there before the nurse could follow procedure. "I'm just here for a quick patch up. I came back from my mission and got left with a few injuries." The nurse silently nodded with a small grin on her face as she jotted down the information.

"Wonderful! I'll have our medical staff here in a second and we will get your injuries patched up and then you'll be ready to go."

Natsuru nodded with a slight frown as the nurse departed. She was partially glad Kumogakure provided universal medical for their Shinobi. Her ID and forehead protector were more than enough to get her immediate attention. Unlike the civilians the Shinobi had access to the medical ninjutsu, as it was the fastest most productive way of healing. Civilians would otherwise be stitched up and given standard medical treatment. Natsuru was fortunate in that aspect to not be left with scars of any sort and be left feeling better within minutes. For now, though, she was left with hunger pains and boredom until the medical staff arrived. However long they would take was unknown. Removing her ninja tools and weaponry she set them all aside on an empty chair in the room as she sat on the examiner's bed.

As Ryuko entered the hospital it wasn’t much of a suprise to her to find that it was fairly quite given the time of day. They’d gotten back to the village so early in the morning that most of it wasn’t even awake yet.    She’d arrived just in time to see Natsuru being taken into an examining room which came as quite a surprise to her since she had thought her friend had gone home for the day instead.

Giving the older girl a look that said "Seriously? You tell me to screw off and went to the hospital in the end anyway?” without speaking she sighed as she sat down in a chair to wait her turn.   While one one hand she was relieved her friend had finally listened to reason the whip lash of emotions she had felt over the last little while was giving her a headache.  Why where other people so gosh darn hard to understand sometimes?

Hadn’t Shimiko said that one of the reasons Natsuru was being so grump was because she was feeling tried and hungry?  There wasn’t much Ryuko could do about the tired thing but maybe if she brought Natsuru some food it’d cheer her up a bit. Besides it seemed like it was going to take a bit before a nurse would get around to seeing her so she might as well make herself useful while she waited.  

As she passed thought the hallway on her way to the cafeteria she’d was tempted to stop and prey from some of the patients in the recovery ward.  The only thing that stopped her was the fact she knew doing so in her current state would likely give them a heart attack.  Between the blood soaked torn up cloths and her face stained with tears and smeared makeup someone who didn’t know any better might mistake her for a wraith.

The old lady running the cafeteria was used to seeing such things however and so didn’t make a fuss as Ryuko put an order in. A very large order considering she herself was getting quite famished at this point not having eaten since just before leaving on the mission the previous morning and was about ready to start chewing on somebodies arm.

As a priestess she was used to a bit of light fasting but no wonder her friend had gotten so irritable with her.  Making a note to herself to bring more rations with them next time Ryuko was about to order some beer to go with the food only to noticed the sign saying no booze allowed.  It was customary for followers of Hakkin like herself to have a drink after a successful mission so she was a bit disappointed.

But she supposed it would have to wait until Natusru was better so they could go drinking together and instead settled for ordering some coffee instead.  People used that to wake up after all so maybe it could take some of the edge off.  She even made sure to order an extra one just in case Shimiko also decided to show up.

Returning to the examination room with a carry out try containing the coffee in on hand and a box of pastries in the other.  Steeling her heart in case she got told to screw off again she knocked on the door tentatively to announce herself.

“May I come in? I brought donuts” She asked hesitantly. She would have brought flowers as well but those where typically for longer stays. With any luck they’d have Natsuru patched up in time for her to return home and go to bed before noon.  That and she didn’t want to give her friend the wrong impression that she was intrested in her that way since flowers where often also used in a romatic context as well.

Simon had like.. little to nothing to do tonight. Or maybe he just wanted to see what the Genin were up to. Eitherway, he swings his legs back and forth as he sits a top the roof of the hospital, gazing down. It isn't long before Natsuru passes by---and sure enough, Ryuko comes along as well. With a small grin plastered upon his face, he scoots back further onto the roof, forming a t-shaped handseal. A gray puff of smoke forms beside him, and a shadow clone appears at his side.

The shadow clone heads down on inside, eventually registering as a visitor of Natsuru's, then heading to one of the stairways. Once out of sight of staff, it disperses in a plume of smoke, relaying the information of the room number to Simon. With the information fresh in mind, Simon stands up straight and starts to head across the roof, soon dropping down and pacing along the wall with the Surface Walking technique. This was one method of visiting hospital rooms that he would never tell people he partook in.

None the less, he manages to find his way to the outside of the window to the room, at which point he just sort of lingers upon the window sill of, suspended by the chakra flowing to the soles of his feet as he peeks into the room. Anything below his nose probably isn't visible.

'Looks like the other one is running late. Or she decided to head home. Speaking of.. I should've kept my scarf. Sure is breezy right now.' He thinks to himself, patting his black short sleeve. He'd abandoned his hoodie since it was all bloody, and had sent off a clone of his to take it back home to throw it in the wash. So he was just wearing his jeans and his shirt, along with the same standard sandals.

Through her patience in waiting she heard a couple light knocks on the closed door. To her own excitement she expected the doctor to be in already. Then she could be healed and she can be on her jolly way. From the doorway she heard a gentle, familiar voice. Ryuko? How did she know I came here? Natsuru could not help but feel guilt in her actions. She expected her and Shimiko to head home, leaving her to get healed and rest up. Natsuru was not ready to give any apology on any sort. Nonetheless she could not ignore the offering Ryuko had with her. Donuts were perhaps one of Natsuru's primary weakness. Fatty AND sweet? No woman could resist. Little did Ryuko know, Natsuru was obsessed with fried foods in general. Their poor nutrition and short-term satisfaction spoke to Natsuru on an interpersonal level. Natsuru approached the door almost hastily and she flung it open. Not only did Ryuko bring a box of donuts, but coffee as well. Natsuru could feel her heart pounding beneath her breasts. For the first time she wanted to initiated a hug, but she wanted to remain in her own character.

"Yeah, of course!" Natsuru exclaimed as her sour mood was cured in a single visit. Natsuru would hold the door open as Ryuko had quite a handful. She was not brash enough to snag the food from her arms like she owned it. She was a woman of manners. The room had plenty of surfaces Ryuko could set the food down on. The coffee was piping hot as Natsuru could see the steam emitting from the lid's mouthpiece. "I'm going to crack a window open. I don't want the steam to mess up this room."Natsuru approached the window and cracked it open a foot to allow sufficient circulation. She was unsure if bringing food and hot beverages were "okay" for visitors. But at the moment she did not care. The only thing on her mind was the food brought before her. The least she could do before indulging herself was to not make a mess, or warp the wood with steamy coffee. Opening the window was done in good intentions, and definitely not to improve the draw the scent of donuts and coffee towards her, seeing as the patient's bed was positioned right in front of said window.

As she headed back to her spot at the foot of the bed she sat down before reaching out to the placed box of donuts. There was a variety to choose from. She would grab three at first, an Old Fashion, a vanilla with pink frosting and rainbow sprinkles, and a blueberry cake doughnut. She had the first two skewered on her index finger of her left hand while she bit into the blueberry doughnut held in her right. The crispy, oily pastry and smooth glazed exterior melted in her mouth as she munched, taking two more additional bites to fill her mouth full. She would place the doughnut down and take a swig of the coffee, the natural bitterness being balanced with the sugar creating a mild, roasted coffee flavor. There was a reason why donuts and coffee were the perfect combination. With a hard swallow she cleared her mouth before talking. "So what's your business being here? How did you know I came?" She said, though her ears perking up as she heard what could only sound like would be scratching from the outside. It a light, and subtle.

What would be Simon's sandals scaling the exterior of the hospital came off as mysterious. It stopped, from which Natsuru nonchalantly activated her natural sensory ability. She picked up chakra...right outside the window? It was stationary, almost as if someone was watching them. Casually she reached down to the doughnut box. Instead of grabbed her half-way eaten blueberry doughnut she took up a powdery jelly filled one. Upon raising it up she immediately twisted her body and whipped her arm out as she faced the window. She knew exactly where this spy was without even needing to turn her head. "Die!" She threw the doughnut much like a shuriken as it rotated and aimed to pelt the man in the face, the portion which was exposed. A powdery, jelly-filled explosion would occur upon impact. This would be long enough for her to get a full glimpse of who this man was. If remaining stationary, Natsuru would quickly realize it was the blonde kid from earlier.

Truthfully Ryuko would have liked to have bring something a little more nutrition then donuts with her. But when it was so early in the morning that breakfast hadn’t even been served yet your options where fairly limited so you had to take what you could get.   Luckily that turned out for the best however as she had unwittingly brought one of her friends favorite foods.  

She wouldn’t have likely gotten half as positive reception if she had say brought a salad with her and as it was she was quite stratled when the door to the examination room flew open mere seconds after she had asked permission to come inside.  She’d been expecting to wait a few seconds at least since Natsuru migth be hestitant to see her, but the older girl must have been hungrier then she had thought.

Feeling greateful for her friend for holding the door open for her since she had her hands full Ryuko placed the trey of coffee down on a table besides the examination bed before putting the box of donuts down besides it then gestured to her friend to take the first pick. Natsuru did so with great gusto proving just how famished she was by taking not one donuts but three.  

Ryuko had only brought a couple dozen with her and was slightly worried it might not be enough at the rate they where being consumed.  Before they could all be eaten she took out one covered in chocolate and filled with custard and began chewing on the outer edge of it like a squirrel.  Apparently it was a new type of flavor from overseas that had only just reached the elemental countries. She didn’t know what it was called but whatever it’s name was, it was good.

Taking a sip of coffee to wash the dough down her face scrunched up at how unexpected bitter the drink was.  She’d seen adults drink it even more often the they drank booze so she’d assumed it must taste good but apparently it was more of an acquired taste.  Given how depended most of them seemed on the substance for waking up in the morning she didn’t really want to get too used to it.

“Tis a coincidence. I came to have this taken care of.” Ryuko explained as she indicated the arrow in her right shoulder. It wasn’t buried too deeply thanks to the chain mail but if not removed by an expert the consiquences of taking it out could be very serious. Hit the wrong never and it could paralyze an arm costing her ninja career.  

“I wasn’t sure how long your examination would take so I figured some victual might be in order.” She was talking more casually now then when they had first met but even so it was for a noblewoman such as herself to speak completely like a laymen.  

As Natsuru whiped around towards the window yelling the word Die while throwing a donut toward it  Ryuko responded quickly drawing a baton with her left hand and instinctively moving to insert herself so that she would be between her injured friend and whatever had been apparently spying on them.

She couldn’t really make out much about whom it might be might be.  Just a little bit of blond hair and a pair of blue eyes sticking out over the bottom of the window cell. She knew the pastry wouldn’t hurt him so what happened next would depend entirely on his next move. She had a heavy scowl on face as she glared daggers at him.

One moment he was just trying to peek through the open window for a joke and in the next a donut is flung in his direction. He instinctively pries his own jaw open and attempts to peek out the rest of his face from below the window sill, just barely catching the donut in his mouth. With his lack of focus for chakra to his feet he flails for a moment as his feet slip off of the edge of the building, leaving him suspended by his hands upon the sill. He frantically wriggles about until finally, he yanks himself over the sill, attempting to force himself on through the window.

It comes with the cost of abruptily smacking sidefirst into the floor, just barely keeping his jaw shut so the donut doesn't fall out. Thank god he's not that brittle. He slowly rises into a criss-cross sitting position on the floor, sitting with the donut in his mouth. One hand elevates itself to grab it free, while his other makes an effort to fix his hair---after he's cleared his face of powdery residue.

"Whew... I'm not making anymore fancy entrances for awhile. Sorry about that." Simon remarks, offering a small grin, pressing his free hand into the floor and standing up, taking a bite out of the donut. He isn't really big on donuts, but hey, sweets are sweets. Might as well not put it to waste or be unappreciative. "At least you took the suggestion serious. Didn't think you would actually show up." Simon remarks, chuckling for a moment.

"Did the other chick with you guys go home or something, though? Blondie?" The Kageyama inquires curiously, remembering that he'd parted ways with his scarf as a draft sweeps along his nape. By now his shadow clone's dispersed, relaying the information of its travels to lock the missing nin up. It was successful.

The doughnut impacted the boy with maximum force, though not where he wished. He used the opportune moment to catch it in his mouth getting away with a little free food in the process. Natsuru did not mind. Jelly donuts were nothing she fancied. The kid scurried in after being fed the doughnut making an uncoordinated landing on the floor. She had a hard time not stepping on the back of his head. Why is he even here? Is he a stalker? Natsuru wanted little to do with the boy. His presence here was not welcome, and Natsuru made that very clear with a dead glare in her eyes as the boy push himself from the floor to a sitting position. The moment the blonde kid began to speak she used it as a window of time to stuff her face with as much food before she was expected to talk again. In a flash it would seem she would chomp down the rest of her blueberry doughnut before making the old fashion one "disappear" as well.

She would finish just in time as the blonde kid said something that was other than pointless rambling. Taking a dram of her hot coffee she started to work on her last doughnut, taking a single bite and responding to the blonde with a mouthful. "Who? Shimiko? Probably ran off to bed. The little girl needs her sleep to grow." She said with a playful grin. Natsuru was in a rather good mood despite the stranger's presence. This could go without saying her jabs at Shimiko were a little less obvious. Swallowing her mouthful she devoured the last doughnut shortly after. Three deep fried pastries down was enough to satisfy the girl's famine for the day. Washing what she ate with the coffee again she relaxed her posture. "I wonder how things will go now that Akashi disappeared. I doubt he'll be Jounin for abandoning us on our mission, if he's still considered an ally. I have odd suspicions to believe he's apart of those bandits." Reaching down along the side of the bed she held a button which inclined the back portion giving Natsuru a slightly reclined chair.

[b]"If you think about it. He 'tests' our strength one day and
throws us in a mission the next. I could've sworn you needed the Raikage's permission to form any team. He baits us into the fields at night to be ambushed by the bandits. In all the haze he disappears just like that. No trace to be found. I know he's really fast, which is why I suspect he fled the battle letting his henchmen do the dirty work. It was a master plan, to say the least.
I would have never guessed but in hindsight."{/b] Natsuru had her eyes closed, shaking her head back and forth in disappointment. There was little reason to believe anything else. A Jounin to abandon its Genin like that was far from a test of any sort. Reclining back in her chair she took a casual sip of her coffee relaxing herself as she waited for the doctor to enter.

Ryuko watched the way Simon caught the donut with his mouth and would have been mildly impressed if it wasn’t for the way he flopped into the room immediately afterward. The less the graceful display was almost enough for her to doubt that he was a ninja if she hadn’t already known better.    Thought she supposed given his age that could be forgiven since he was likely a fairly fresh gennin just like her and her team.

“Has thou not heard of using the door?” She asked with a long sigh as she gaze the blond boy a lukewarm gaze before putting her baton away. From the sounds of it he had just gotten here which meant his intentions weren’t too untoward despite his rather… unconventional entrance.  She just chalked it up to boys being stupid sometimes and left it at that.  

Honestly she was more upset that she didn’t have his new scarf ready yet then the fact he’d shown up unexpectedly. But hey at least he seemed interested in the fact that Shimiko was absent at the moment. Maybe she’d have an easier time getting the two of them together then she’d originally thought.   Just the idea of possibility being able to hold a marriage ceremony for the two of them in a few years was enough to give her a silly grin on her face.

A look that didn’t last long however as Ryuko quickly sobered at the situation at head. Part of the reason that Natsuru had gotten hurt in the first place was because the two of them had been jockeying for leadership of the team and hadn’t been on the same page about what tactics to use.  

If Ryuko really thought about what respective paths they where trying to take then it made the most sense for her to step aside and lead Natsuru take the reigns. After all she was trying to become a vestal which where more advisers then people fighting on the front lines. A support role like that didn’t need the leadership experience as much.   Doubly so if she took up medican like she was thinking of doing to ensure her teams wellbeing the next time one of them was wounded.

No the best thing for the village would be to let Natsuru get that experince instead and grow into an even better kunoichi then she already was.  That would let Ryuko herself practice her adviser roll as well which made it a great package deal.  Well as long as Shimiko was ok with that arraignment  anyhow.   It was said great teams where full of leaders ready to step up if it became necessary, so maybe this was just another sign that her squad was destined for big things.

“Hum… I don’t know. That doesn’t seem quite right.” said Ryuko, a deep frown on her face at Natsuru’s theory that their sensai was a turncoat.  It was true she had seen him appear to be wounded only to later vanished but that still didn’t explain a few things.

“The three of us together couldn’t so much as scartch sensai during our training session. If Sensai wanted us dead he could have easily done so himself. What would he even need the bandits for?” she questioned.   Things just didn’t seem to be adding up.

Shimiko had dropped off her mission report and complaint against their cowardly Jounin sensei when she heard that Natsuru had in fact gotten checked in to the hospital. She was hoping to catch up with her big brother but the moment she was notified that her comrade was in treatment she realized how bad it would look if she did not go visit her. Ryuko would almost certainly get there before her and if she didn't hurry her absence would reflect poorly on the Raikage. Shimiko thus decided to go to the Kumogakure Medical Facility to visit Natsuru before she had a chat with Seigi.

Hospitals were a place of life and death. Some people went there to be healed so that they could go along with their long and happy lives. Others went there to die in misery and shame. Shimiko didn't particularly like them as institutions. The entire apparatus was a complete and utter waste. For those who were terminally ill and waiting to die, why not just sacrifice them to Janshin? The final stage of their pitiful existence would have some consummate meaning and would ultimately serve a higher purpose. As Shimiko walked through the hospital and towards Natsuru's room, she kept her eyes locked straight forward. It would be unbecoming of her to show disgust or disfavor with those suffering. If she was Kage the place would be far emptier. Shimiko didn't really want to be Kage although many of her fellow worshipers felt she'd be a shoe in since her brother held the position. As a Janshinist she entertained the thought and had prayed for guidance but she was certain that that was not what she was meant to do. The glory of her deity was hidden away and locked up. Before she could even think of protecting her village, she needed to make sure her faith and its followers were protected. Above all however, Shimiko needed to get stronger and there was no way that was going to happen unless she had teammates. Her sensei had abandoned them and now all they had was each other for better or worse. By protecting them and relying on them, she'd gain the knowledge and experience necessary to lead her fellow faithful out of the shadows.

We must seize our destiny...If not for ourselves then for our Lord Janshin...

Shimiko arrived at Natsuru's door and knocked politely.

"Its me Shimiko..." she hadn't brought any donuts or food or anything like that. She was showing up mainly to keep up appearances and partially to show off Simon's scarf. It had originally been given with a largely benign intention but Shimiko wanted to flaunt it as if it were divine proof of her desirability. If Shimiko was given the go ahead to enter, she'd do so and was shocked at the surprise occupant.

She had been expecting to see Ryuko there and Natsuru in the bed, but the blonde stranger caught her off guard. Shimiko was dressed far more appropriately to be out and about so her embarrassment did not stem from being covered in blood. The girl was wearing a pure white sailor suit and skirt akin to her avatar albeit with a yellow ascot and equally yellow scarf. Shimiko's eyes were drawn to Simon and she blushed and looked away while playing with her pigtails.

"O-Oh...Hello...What are you doing here?" she said to the mystery blonde while looking at Natsuru and then quickly Ryuko. Shimiko wondered if he had decided to visit Natsuru because he liked her and not Shimiko. After all, the scarf wasn't really meant for her. The thought made her angry but she made a concerted effort not to show it. Instead, she tried to be as professional as possible. "My name is Shimiko Chinoike, I'm the Raikage's sister in case you didn't know" It was a really strange thing to say but in the face of an increasing sense of inferiority she felt the need to assert that she came from the highest of pedigrees. Shimiko didn't want to give him back his scarf but she realized how weird it must have looked for her to walk into a hospital wearing a scarf that was meant to be a tourniquet for her squad mate. The more she thought about it, the more embarrassed she became. She shamefully unwrapped the scarf from her neck and held it out to him without even looking in his direction.

"Here, I uh," she tried to think of an excuse for why she was wearing the scarf instead of using it as he had intended. Shimiko came up with nothing. "Here". Shimiko wanted to excuse herself but she did not want to give Natsuru the satisfaction of seeing her flee in humiliation. She stood up straight, crossed her arms and looked at a corner of the room before giving them an update.

"I hope you're feeling better Natsuru" she said out of obligation. In truth, she was growing weary of the girl's insults and it was a bit poetic to see her in pain. If it weren't for the bandits Natsuru very well would have been murdered in the fields by the Chinoike's own hand. "I wrote our mission report and filed a complaint against Akashi. He's either a coward or a traitor. Maybe both. Either way, we're better off without him." Shimiko spied the box of donuts and coffee. The confectioneries smelled delicious but she had no intention of wolfing them down in front of her crush.

Simon nonchalantly offers a nod in acknowledging towards their words, staying quiet for the most part as he goes to lean up against the window. "Yeah, just wanted to surprise you. Sorry about that---glad to see you guys've made it, though. As a... mostly complete group." Simon remarks, then hangs his head back, propping his butt along the window sill as he shifts his head so that he can stare up at the moonlit sky, almost in consideration. As word of Akashi's disappearance and its reasoning is questioned, he just listens in partially, blinking at their speculation.

'From what I know of the guy, he isn't exactly the type to up and dip. Especially for someone who's got so high in the ranks. Who knows, maybe he's just M.I.A.' The Kageyama thinks to himself, lifting his hand up to scratch the side of his own head, taking steady bites out of the powdered jelly donut, and mostly finishing it off.

"If my two cents matter, someone of his caliber would have lackies that're more skilled than bandits. What you guys were dealing with were probably something different from his situation, if his allegiance does lie somewhere else. Eitherway, don't worry about it." The blonde remarks, going silent from then-on. It has him a little curious, too, but while he does consider it his problem.. at the same time, it isn't really his call to make. He hasn't had personal involvement with the Uzumaki Jounin, so he doesn't know for sure.

The sudden knocking, followed by a voice causes him to rouse from his daze of thought. His head lurches upright, and he clumsily smacks the top of it dead into the top of the opening of the window, rubbing the top of it with a low grunt. The blondie blinks for a moment upon shifting his gaze to the person who's just entered. Part of him is proud to see that not just two, but three've at least come here as a team, even without their Jounin's supervision.. but at the same time... wait is that his scarf?

He blinks at her inquiry, lowering his hands into his pocket as he remains leaning there.
"Oh. Just wanted to see if you guys heeded the advice. Wouldn't have been all that responsible of me to say something like that then not follow through with at least checking."

Upon her introduction, he smiles a little bit. "Simon Kageyama. No relation to anyone important. Nice to meet you--along with you other two." The blonde remarks, lifting a hand and offering an idle wave, grinning with confidence brimming from him. His grin turns into a flat expression, accentuated by a quirk of one of his brows. "Eh?" The blonde cocks his head a little bit, then smiles, feigning E-Rank Intelligence. Or maybe he had an actual blonde moment from poker-faced surprise.

"Ah---nah, you can keep it. Yellow's a cool color, isn't it? Especially when it comes to clothing."

Did he really interpret her having the scarf as her liking the color of it? Who knows--it's sort of hard to read him. Or at least he hopes that's the case.

Ryuko speculated as to why someone like Akashi would need a bandit, Natsuru already having the reason hashed out. "It's because...he didn't want us dead. He wanted us to be sold into slavery for our bodies. Killing three Genin would be pointless. He was perhaps capable of doing so, however that was not his ultimate goal." Natsuru spoke with a smug visage as if she had the entire "scam" figured out. "He wanted us to be lured outside of village limits so his posse could bag us and drag us off. Surely we could not expect Akashi to incapacitate all of us, and then carry us all to where he needs to go. No, he has his thugs to do that. He must also keep the reputation of being a Jounin of Kumogakure. It would be out of place if he were to attack three of his own Genin and haul them away from the village." Natsuru finished taking a long draw from her coffee cup finishing it in a roughly short amount of time, almost as long as it took her to wipe out three donuts. There was a third final coffee left in the drink carrier, Natsuru assuming it was hers as she reached out and grabbed the cup taking a sip.

The blonde kid spoke, attempting to disparage what she had to say. She had to agree the boy was awfully annoying. Natsuru was certain about this, seeing as she was fed well with the magic of donuts. It was not her hunger leading to a short temper. What irked her the most was the final piece of his input. Don't worry about it? It came to shock Natsuru, as a stranger could invite himself in on multiple occasions and start spewing his opinion of their issues. Natsuru was no in the best of motivations to speak out. Besides, she could tell that boy's motivations were harmless and mostly veiled in ignorance. She gave a notably obvious scoff as she rolled her eyes as sassy as possible, her body language telling Simon very clear she disagreed completely and how his opinion was redundant. She kept to herself taking a sip of coffee expecting the doctor to arrive any minute now.

A sudden knock was heard, something the doctors always did before barging into the room. It was a typical mannerism they all tend to share. Natsuru set the coffee down and fixated her posture before her entered. Followed the knock, however, was a soft voice. Of course she would find her way in here... Natsuru thought, referring to the blonde's presence. She was beginning to feel he was a bad omen, as he attracted Shimiko it almost seemed. To top it off, she invited herself in.

Natsuru was the first to catch a glimpse at the girl's appearance change. Fresh clothes, and, what's this? A yellow eyesore was fixed around Shimiko's neck. It was the scarf the blonde kid passed to her before seemingly "disappearing" despite following them to the hospital. The urge of laughter grew once again, her abdominal muscles clenching as she reacted, containing her laughter to a small, mocking snicker as her wounds still caused pain when disturbed. Is she really wearing that scarf around her neck like it was meant for her?! That's unbelievable and hilarious! It truly pained her to be injured, unable to properly express her laughter. Taking her second coffee she sipped the hot brew as her body relaxed once again, reclining back in the raised bed. It was bad enough she had to go seek medical treatment. It seemed Simon and Shimiko somehow found her room.

"Well that's good at least. Maybe we can see Akashi tracked down for his heinous crimes." Back on a serious note, Shimiko had her useful moments. Taking care of the mission report took a burden off their shoulders. Although the coffee helped with her wakefulness she was still tired, both mentally and physically. Suddenly, another step of knocks of the door were heard. The door opening again, finally, there was a medical Shinobi. A middle aged man entered the room with a clipboard in hand. "Hey, looks like you brought me breakfast!" The said in a jolly tone, Natsuru forcing a fake, plastic grin in a painful response. Those donuts were hers, and that's final. "Though I was only expect to see one...Natsuru Senou?" He said, slightly confused at the multiple bodies in the room with her.

"Well, the girls are apart of my squad. I wasn't expecting them to come, but if you don't mind treating them that would be nice. As for the blonde, he's..." Natsuru pausing, unsure what quite to call him. A friend would be too far, assuming she enjoyed his presence, in which the right word clicked in her mind. "An ally." The doctor nodded as he sat down on his stool and began filling out something on his clipboard. With a bit of silence he set the clipboard on the desk. "Well, since you were the only one of my list this morning I will start with you first." It was a great relief. Finally, she was being seen by a real medical professional. With her armor and weapons already set aside she began stripping the parts of her outfit that needed to be done.

Unzipping her shirt she folded it partially before tossing it in the pile with the rest of her belongings. This left her in a mesh top which she easily rolled up to mid-torso to allow the doctor to work on her. "It's just this one. My shoulder and arm are just buffed and should be fine." The man got in close inspecting her bare abdomen. "Did you use rubbing alcohol?" He said before hovering his hands above the wound as a green chakra light began emitting from his hands. The pain immediately subsided as medical Ninjutsu worked its magic. "Uhhh...it was used.
I did not apply it myself." The doctor responded as he continued to work on the woman's flesh wound. "I could tell because the wound seemed to have dried up a bit. Don't use alcohol on open injuries such at that. When the alcohol dries the area up it can prevent proper healing. Also the alcohol could have easily entered the body and damage your insides. Of course this is no problem with modern medical Ninjutsu. You did good to come in."

Natsuru would nod not feeling resentment towards Ryuko by any means. She was honestly trying her best to help her in the worst times. Her abdomen was cured entirely as she felt no pain or disturbance on that part of her body. "That should do it. Your arm and shoulder suffered minor lacerations, so I'll just patch those up. If you feel any pain, take some over-the-counter painkillers. Eat well, rest, and take it easy until you feel better, though these injuries are not major." He said referring to her arm and shoulder as he began clearing the blood on her abdomen, arm, and shoulder with a cotton swab soaked partially in grain alcohol before wrapping them in bandage. Natsuru felt so much better now. The night was ending well despite having such a rough start.

Natsuru’s theory on that Akashi had wanted to sell them into slavery had some merit. Ryuko being from a noble house could potentially fetch such kidnappers a hefty ransom. Shimiko had an advance bloodline which would make her desirable to the other ninja villages and Natsuru was just plain attractive.

But once again the math as it where just didn’t add up. If he wanted to sell them off why had he taught them the chakra flow technique? Without that they wouldn’t have been able to fight off the bandits as well as they had. Plus he’d hardly need to drag them, it would have been simple to lure them to an underground slave market under the pretext of a mission. One they arrived he could easily knock them out on the spot, no dragging required.

But then again the team was so new that the paperwork for them forming might not have been filled out and she didn’t remember signing any paperwork saying they where going to be outside the village before they had left. They could have vanished from the village and nobody would have any clue that it had anything to do with Akashi since their was nothing to tie them to him.

The blond kid said not to worry about it, but the more Ryuko thought about it the more concerned she became. She genuinely hated to think the worst of people but even she had to admit something about the entire situation stank. Either Akashi was a traitor or he was in some serious trouble. Either way he needed to be found and the sooner the better.

“Before we lost Sensai, I noticed that he was wounded. Would thou know who to get in contact with to send out a tracking party?” she asked Simon. It hadn’t been very long since the whole thing had happened. If Ryuko could lead a tracking expert to the spot where Akashi had taken an arrow, they would be able to find some of his blood still on the ground and from their follow his trail.

Ryuko had been so focused on the topic of their teacher that she didn’t noticed that Natsuru had taken the last coffee that had been meant for Shimiko until it was already too late even as the intended party made her appearance. She had said she was going off to file a mission report but she must have worked really fast since she’d managed to do that and somehow find the time to change before making her way over here.

From the way she was wearing the scarf the boy had given her she was apparently even more into him then Ryuko would have guessed. That’s when Shimiko introduced herself droping quite a bombshell in the process.

“Wait? You’re the Raikage’s sister?” She exclaimed loudly in genuine surprise. She known they must be related since they where both from the Chinoike clan, but she never would have guessed they where that close. Though in retrospect it should have been obvious from the context clues Shimiko had given taking about wanting to be strong like her brother.

Thought Ryuko could be excused for not realizing this sooner since she had received her training outside the village proper and was still a bit of an outsider. In the end it hardly mattered much anyhow. Shimiko was Shimiko and the Raikage was the Raikage. They were different people and she wasn’t about to start treating her friend with extra privileges just because of who she was related to. Just like how she herself didn’t like being treated special just because of who her family was.

“Ryuko Shizu Von Rose, tis a pleasure.” She reflexively introduced herself with her full name after Simmon introduced himself, unable to help herself from doing so. After having two people give their names in a row she had just gone with the flow of things. If she’d been thinking straight she would have perfered to only give her first name so as not to intimidate her new friend or even worse have him come to her asking for favors.

The next thing she knew she was watching as Shimiko tentatively hold out the scarf to give it back to Simmon causing Ryuko to nearly spit out her drink in response. If Simon took it back he entire plan to set them up one a date would go up in flames. If she had to start her plan over from from ground zero she didn’t even know where to begin. Thankfully Simon was a true gentleman and allowed her to keep the scarf. That one act raised her estimation of him as person tremendously. He didn’t seem like the brightest bulb in the shed but his heart seemed like it was in the right place.

Thankfully before things could get too awkward between the potentially budding couple the doctor finally made his appearance. The hospital hadn’t even been busy so what the heck had been keeping him so long that he hadn’t had time to see Natsuru sooner? When he mentioned bringing them breakfist Ryuko took the donut box and held it up to him so that he could take one before holding to box out to Shimiko next. She’d ordered a couple dozen after all so they could afford to share a little.

The fact that Natsuru was the only one on his list seemed a little odd though. Ryuko had been sure to register at the front desk before wandering off to get food so shouldn’t she have been the next in line to be seen? Surly the nurse hadn’t seen her name and bumped her up to a specialist. Her wound wasn’t so serious that a general medial ninja wouldn’t do.

As Natsuru began unzipping her shirt it was all Ryuko could do not to face palm that she was disrobing in public once again. It was one thing to do in front of the doctor since he needed to see to do his job but their was another man in the room which was making this really awkward since a ladies virtue was at stake.

“Simon if you could turn away please.” She pleaded with him, feeling far too tired to try and block his line of sight with her body the way she had previously when handing over the chain mail yesterday. If he was as much of a gentlemen as he seemed surely he would have have no problem complying with her request.

When the doctor asked if rubbing alcohol had been used on the wound Ryuko had a sinking feeling in her stomach. Natsuru had said she didn’t think that was the correct way to treat it and sure enough the doctor confirmed that, his words driving home the fact that in her attempt to help Ryuko had done more harm then good. Some teammate she was she though shamefully as she gazed downcast at the floor.

She was feeling so down on herself she didn’t even notice that the doctor had finished on her friend and moved onto her as he gazed at the arrow sticking out of her right shoulder. It had gone straight thought the kimono she was wearing and into the chain mail that lay beneath. The fabric wouldn’t be a problem to remove even if it needed to be torn off the shirt was ruined anyway. The mail on the other hand was another story as she couldn’t get it off without pulling the arrow out.

“Hum. It appears to be quite shallow ” said the doctor as he lifted the mail lightly to look underneath, using a small penlight so that he could see better. “You seem to be in luck today miss. Your mail took the brunt of the blow. Whomever made it must be quite good.” he said unknowingly complimenting her, restoring her flagging spirit. At least she had done something right and wasn’t a total screw up.

He didn’t even have to tell her to brace herself as he gently pulled the arrow out then ran a glowing green hand over the wound, closing it up within moments before wiping away the dried up blood that had congeled around it. Ryuko had to blink to believe what she was seeing since he’d done such a good job that she couldn’t even tell that she’d been hit.

“You should be good to go now. Feel free to return to duty after you get yourself cleaned up of course.” said the Doctor with a bright smile. It was in that moment that Ryuko decided that she too wanted to become a doctor as well. Just being able to smile at a patient after telling them they where all better would make all the long training she would have to undertake worth it.

Seeing that there was no one else in the room in need of examination the Doctor picked up his clipboard and double checked his to do list before nodding to himself. “If you ladies and gentleman will excuse me, I have a Mr. Seigi over in the coma ward to attend to. Sorry for the delay, every physician we have has been working on his case” the Doctor said. He must have been tired from a long night of work since he accidentally let his patients name slip out not realizing the chaos doing so would unleash.

Natsuru was...well, feeling well. With her primary injury healed she was more functional. She felt no need to stay around any further, her health concern being treated. Natsuru would look down at her abdomen stroking the area where her wound was with her thumb. It was like it was never there. "I feel a lot better now." She said getting up off the bed with no effort or pain. She would start attaching her armor and clothes back on her body before topping it with her bow. Upon fixing her leather arm guard she noticed it was damaged from where the arrow entered. The damage was not enough that it required her to replace it. Maybe she could get Ryuko to stitch it up sometime in the future. But for now, Natsuru desperately needed rest. Being around three in the morning she planned to take the next week off so her other wounds could heal. After all, she did not have to worry about her former sensei to assign any new activities.

"Seigi's out of commission? Not a big surprise seeing we have Jounin disappearing now. Anyways, I'm off for the night. I'm tired and really need to sleep. Toodles." Natsuru would exit out the same window Simon used to enter. She'd hop on the window seal before passing a glance back at Ryuko. "Thank you for your concerns about my health and well-being, Ryuko." With that she would descend from the room and start her journey home. She was desperate to lay in bed, wrapped in her silk blankets. A good soak in the springs felt nice the next day. It would be for the best.

[Exit]

Simon decided to spare her embarrassment by insisting that she keep the scarf. He introduced himself with a witty joke in response to her own arguably pompous introduction. Simon....it's a strange name but I like it.... Shimiko wrapped the scarf around her neck and smiled at him. He seemed like a nice guy. He had followed up on them to make sure they followed his advice and he wasn't angry that she had kept his scarf for himself. "Its a nice a color" she said in response to his commentary on fashion. "Thanks Simon". The blonde seemed to have an appreciation for the color. Shimiko didn't care for the color in of itself but blonde hair on boys was her weakness and if he liked the color as a fashion statement then that was fine as well. Shimiko played with the idea of wearing the scarf and other yellow colors around him but she worried that that would be too obvious. Shimiko wasn't sure if he was offering the scarf to be polite, because he really cared about spreading the love for aurulent clothing, or because he fancied her the way she fancied him.  

Shimiko then turned to Ryuko to address the girl's outburst albeit a bit belatedly given she had spent maybe a second to long giving Simon a lingering gaze. "Yup" she said to Ryuko with a warm smile. "Seigi actually helped me get started at the academy...my parents didn't really want me to be a shinobi but he talked them into it". He had done no such thing. Shimiko didn't want to lie to Ryuko but she was deeply ashamed that her family had prohibited her from attending the academy. They had done so hoping to protect her from the excesses of war that had disturbed their own son. Chinoike often had a rough history with violence and it tended to bring out the worst in them. Unfortunately, their efforts had the effect of causing Shimiko to rebel in every way possible including joining a banned religion. Seigi had intervened on her behalf as Kage so that she could pursue her dream of becoming a shinobi but relations had strained between her and her parents. But there was no reason to spoil the mood with that kind of talk so Shimiko opted for a sanitized version of the story.

Natsuru in her typical manner had given a slight snicker but Shimiko wasn't bothered. Simon had picked her to keep the scarf. They may be in her hospital room but it was purely incidental if anything Shimiko was more inclined to think he had come hoping to see her. Or at least that's what she told herself to bury thoughts of insecurity. She merely nodded in response to Natsuru saying that they might be able to track down Akashi now that the complaint against him had been filed. The doctor came in to check on Shimiko. Ryuko asked Simon to turn away and Shimiko would glance at him to see his reaction. Natsuru had made fun of her for not having a large bust and she wondered if Simon would be reluctant to turn away. The moment was awkward for her and she wanted to leave altogether but she was curious to see how he'd react.

After he patched up Natsuru up, the doctor would make a passing remark that took a moment for Shimiko to comprehend but when she did it shook her to her core.

“If you ladies and gentleman will excuse me, I have a Mr. Seigi over in the coma ward to attend to. Sorry for the delay, every physician we have has been working on his case”

Thoughts of crushes, petty rivalries, and even rogue Jounin were cast aside. Shimiko grabbed the doctor's arm.

"What?"

The doctor realizing his mistake and the threat it might pose to national security cleared his throat and broke free before scurrying out of the room as fast as he could. The only thing he offered was a pitiful diversion before leaving the room in a rush.

"Everything's fine, forget I said anything"

Natsuru said something before leaving but Shimiko wasn't listening. All she could think of what the doctor had said. Seigi's in a coma?! Why haven't I heard about it? Normally it might be against procedure to alert many people when a Kage was terminally ill but Shimiko was family and with their parents loathing their lifestyle choices, she was probably the only family he had that actually gave a damn about him. It could not have been a battle or else she would have most certainly heard about it. He had either fallen ill naturally or someone had poisoned him. The way the doctor had let it slip told her that this wasn't some kind of sick joke or mistake. She had to find out what's wrong with Seigi. She wouldn't be able to sleep until she did. Shimiko would appear quite distressed to the others and when she came to her senses she'd look at Ryuko and Simon with an expression of complete worry.

"I-I have to go"

Shimiko would turn away and leave the room. She briskly walked down the hall towards the intensive care unit. Wherever they were keeping him, she'd find him and help him.

Exit

The Kageyama slips his thumbs from the innards of his pockets, tapping them along his pants. Natsuru's remark about him being an ally caused him to smirk, offering a quick and energetic nod to the doctor. His gaze shifts itself off toward Ryuko's direction, answering her question---albeit late.

"Yeah, I can speak to the Raikage about it."

From the very moment that the girl began to undress, he blinks once or twice, then nods in tandem with Ryuko's words. The male shifts his body while he's leaning upon the window sill, just turning so he could press his lower torso along it and stare outside of the window.

'Man.. acted like a guy wasn't even there. Phew.' Simon thought to himself, with the faintest tinge of red at that thought. He hasn't necessarily bothered to really get a look at any of the trio's physiques, so there wasn't interest behind his thoughts persay--so it was more or less just a sense of morality. Setting aside the fact that he's had no activity apart from official business, whether as a Genin in the past, or a Chuunin, involving a girl showing her skin. 'Might just be clueless about it. Or wanted to show off.' Simon muses.

Once the doctor's done and all that, he lifts himself off of the window sill, going back to leaning against it. The blondie went to clutch at something near his neck area, then went blankfaced, glancing at Shimiko in recollection of where his scarf had gone. A nervous chuckle and a quick tucking of the hand that went to grasp at thin air precedes the wide-eyed expression that darts across his features at the doctor's exitting words.

'Nidaime-sama!? For real!?' A look of shock washes over his features, though he promptly brings a hand up, coughing into it and adjusting his expression to a more befitting one for someone of his... "status". Speaking of Raikage's, the blonde chick had just said she was related to him. Recollection of her words causes him to cut his gaze off to the side, letting out a brief 'whew'. His surprise couldn't amount to that've a literal sibling of the man; infact Simon's only interactions were the occasional mission request and receiving a promotion from him.

Slowly, the Kageyama shifts his gaze back to her when she insists that she has to go. He offers a nod and a meek "Yeah.." to go with it, still trying to believe what he just heard. Once she's out of the room, he inhales briefly, then slips his hands into his pockets. A defeated sigh emits from him as he heads past the doorframe of the room. He pauses once out in the hallway, glancing back at Ryuko. Compared to his initially nonchalant and jokey nature, he'd obviously adjusted to the mood at hand, and as such tried to be a little more serious about things.

"I'm gonna go see if I can get some confirmation on this. And see what kind of state he's in---d'unno if you'll tag with or not. Based off of how close they sounded, there's no telling what some random blonde can do to be supportive. If you gotta go though then it's no problem."  Simon states in finality.

Then he too, heads off to the intensive care unit--most likely far behind Shimiko. He needed some information on this--and the rank of his that he's been hiding just might help him get it.

[Sayonara (exit)]

Ryuko was relieved that Simon readily listened to her about looking the other way while Natsuru was revealing herself. It showed that he was indeed a class act and she could trust him which meant a lot to her since she wouldn’t have to fuss much if he took Shimiko out on a date.

It was a starting to become a little frustrating to her how her older teammate was more stacked then the rest of the squad and knew it, seeming to revel in every opportunity to show herself off, thought thankfully she didn’t cross the line so far as to become an exhibitionist.

The way Shimiko was talking about her brother was making him sound like a great guy. Ryuko had a rare first edition 2nds Raikage figure which was the prize of her collection. Maybe if she asked Shimiko nicely, her friend would get her brother to sign it for her.

The moment the doctor let word slip that Seigi was in a bad way everything moved so fast that it made poor Ryuko’s head spin. The very idea that Raikage could be in the hospital seemed absurd. She’d heard stories about him at the monastery. Apparently when it came to a fight the man was a walking murder machine, so what possibly have happened?

She couldn’t even begin to imagine the battle it would have taken to do that and they would have heard about one if it had taken place so it must have been something else, either a natural born illness or more likely poison.

Between missing Jounin and now this something was afoul in Kumogakure. Ryuko had only just moved her and was starting to seriously worry if things where going to be alright or if she would have been better off staying at the monastery or returning to her clan’s mansion. Natsuru however didn’t seem to care much about the news and took off.

As to be expected though Shimkio did not take the news well as she grabbed the doctors arm and practically shook him in an attempt to get an answer that was not forthcoming so she told them she had to go and took off to find out the situation for herself.

Simon told her that he was going to go and get some confirmation himself and asked Ryuko if she was going to tag along to which she shock her head no. Given the sensitive nature of the situation they weren’t going to just let anyone in. A close family member was one thing, a family members team mate was another entirely.

Besides if Simon was going to go with Shimiko then she would end up just being a third wheel if she went with them. Not that this was the idea situation for them to be getting together but if there was a chance she didn’t want to be getting in way.

“I’ll be back to check on her soon.” Ryuko declared as she made her way out of the hospital. After everything that had happened even she feeling tried. It was time to get the blood cleaned off of her and go to sleep.

[exit]