As they were led into the relief center
Kami saw the host of wounded and wanted immediately to get to work. She might only be a pharmacist, but that didn't mean she couldn't help. "Master Ishiaki..." She looked up at him with her big gray blue eyes, her expression finished her sentence, saying how much she wanted to start helping.
Akane was having trouble keeping the mucus in her nose, constantly making sniffling sounds. Despite her winter jacket and hood, it seemed to do nothing for the wind chill that hit her face like a train. Her cheeks, nose and chin were beat red and her gaze was cast downward, trying to huddle into herself for warmth. She hadn't yet caught a glance at the devastation.
"Oita, stand guard towards the front of the complex. Kami, find someone who can show you where the greenhouse is. We're going to need the herbs and salves I'm sure. Akane and I will start basic triage."
Ishiaki commanded them with a natural sort of ease as he pulled his long blue hair back, tying it up and out of the way. He moved his scabbard around until it settled at the base of his back.
Kami immediately broke off and headed for a pair of ninja who were carrying a man out on a stretcher. "Excuse me!"
The men looked up at Kami. "Can we help you, miss?" The one at the front asked politely. They weren't in very much of a hurry, the nurses had been unable to savet he man on the stretcher.
Oita was seeing himself not being of much use here to be honest. He wished he COULD be of more use, but then again if he didn't have to do anything it meant that no one was attacking, and that was good. "I'll just... go up there" he said, indicating the front gates of the complex. Might as well stand there.
Ishiaki looked at Akane, approaching her carefully. "Are you ready for this?" He asked cautiously, "These aren't fish, and there won't be any second chances either." He was extremely careful at his wording, he didn't wish to upset his student. He gestured at the scene before them. There were people with bloody remnants of their appendages wrapped up tightly with bandages that were already soaked through. Nurses hustled to and fro between patients, they weren't exactly equipped to handle this volume of injured however. That was the principle reason behind them requesting the Coalition send medic ninjas
Akane nodded to Ishiaki, seemingly confident, but when he stepped away to expose the scene, she gulped but used all her courage not to flinch. Hesitation was not an option in this sort of situation. Still- in all of her missions so far, she hadn't seen such absolute gore before. The smell of burnt flesh and blood hit her like a tidal wave, stinging her nostrils and tempting her stomach to retch. Her body was shivering all over but now it was overcome with unsureness and anxiety. She would have to try and...save these peoples lives! That was a big responsibility
. Swallowing again, Akane closed her eye and took a breath through her mouth, inhaling deep....then exhaling. "Let's do it."
Ishiaki couldn't help but smile at her reaction. He set his hand down gently on her shoulder and nodded. "You know the rules of triage, right?" He asked as he cracked his knuckles, he was ready to dig in now.
Akane stood up proper. She knew this, it was all chapter two vocabulary. "First should be....Immediate attention: life threatening injuries with little chance of survival.....then Delayed: serious, non life threatening....lastly, Minor injuries: walking wounded." It was one thing to read it, but she hoped she would be able to diagnose people herself or at least the nurses could help with that. Her eye went to his knuckles, then forward. Her hands lifted slightly and she cracked them just as he had.
Again, Ishiaki found himself smiling. So she had been studying after all. He owed his student an apology, whether she knew it or not. When this was all over, he was going to have to treat her to something. The knuckle cracking was a nice touch. "Then get to it, medic." He ordered her with a nod as he approached one of the more injured patients and set to work with the healing jutsus. There was nothing he'd be able to do about missing limbs, but at least he could stop the blood flow and the pain
Akane prevented a smiled at Ishiaki by that comment. Although she appreciated it, now wasn't the time to playing around. When he was busy, Akane immediately went to one of the nurses that was rushing by, "Excuse me- I need to you tell me where the most in need patients are." she ordered, figuring that would the best place to start would be to ask someone.
The nurses had been stressed enough before the attack. They had been combating a breakout of avian flu when the insurgents arrived and started blowing people up. The one closest to Akane looked at her and scoffed. "Everyone here is in the most need, like a little kid like you could do anything but get in the way here." She finished her statement with a little bit of a harumph before shoving Akane out of her way to get to a particularly bloody patient.
Akane twitched and if anyone was watching, they could see an eruption of rage in her working eye. The fingers at her sides tensed, wanting to smack this woman upside the head. Did she know who the hell she was dealing with?! A second before she lashed out, she felt a kick to the back of her head. Stop it Akane... be sensitive! She was going to make that woman apologize before she left this damn icy hell of an island... but not through confrontation. With that, she dove into the nearest tent to begin working. Might as well start somewhere.
One of the other nurses looked up when Akane burst into the tent, "Coalition Ninja? Hope you're ready for surgery, kid." She gestured for Akane to come and help with the patient who she was working on. The poor man had a huge bite mark in the space between his shoulder and neck. There were also various scratches along his chest as well. Beside the bite mark was a small symbol, seemingly tattooed into his skin
"The rogues did... that?" Akane asked, looking down at the victim. It looked like some sort of monster took a huge bite out of him. For a moment there was the slight fear for her other team, but she couldn't bother herself with that now. Akane had to focus, block out the cold, the emotion and the anxiety. For a moment, she took note of the small tattoo but thought nothing of it. For all she knew, it was there previously. The more profound task at hand was to get this cleaned up and sealed. He was unconscious, that was a good thing. She dreaded any victims that watched her heal them. Sure, Akane had practiced... but alone. If not alone, with Ishiaki sensei. "Can you get me some sort of list or organization of the patients...starting with ones who need the most immediate attention. Take into account youth and age." There was a pause before she added, "Please." Before waiting for an answer, Akane's hands hovered over the man's injuries and immediately started to glow a bright, minty blue color. He would be the first of many, that's for sure.
The nurse nodded and gestured at one of the others, "You heard the lady!" She snapped her fingers as if to emphasize the point as she turned back to assist Akane. "Just tell me what you need, ninja." This wasn't the first time the nurses had worked with medical ninja, but it had been quite some time since the people of this Island had real need of them. They had their own traditional doctors that tended to their needs, however many of them were the first to fall. The avian flu had struck half their doctors in the first week alone. The last of their own doctors was just carted out by the two ninjas that Kami approached. The insurgents had taken care of him as he tended wounded, a true man of honor.
Akane exhaled slowly before addressing the nurse, still focused as she healed. Closing her eye, she gently wove her chakra into the man's muscles, growing cells for him at rapid speed and dexterity. The nurses could see the open wound spill out puss as it closed. "I need to know who and where to find the most critical patients. A detailed list as soon as possible. Those will be healed by Ishiaki sensei and myself. My colleague is a skilled herbalist and will tend to those who have minor abrasions and injuries...as well as make rounds to those who are already healed. She is off to find the greenhouse right now and will need assistants when she returns." If Akane was good at anything, it was being bossy. "I will need a few of you near me as I heal...to clean up any pustule spillage such as this."
The nurse nodded and grabbed the moist towelette to mop up the spillage as Akane healed the man's wound. She would attach herself tot his young ninja for the rest of the girl's stay at the relief center, if it was alright with her at least. The girl knew what she wanted and knew how to handle a triage situation very much like the doctors that all the nurses had used to work with here.
Although it was unclear exactly when it happened, but the young, fourteen year old Akane Tokushima now looked like she had aged to an adult in seconds. Her face was so focused and determined, unscathed by the gore of the man's shoulder, as if she had seen images like this a hundred times over. Any outside forms of anxiety or stress seemed to be held back and dissipated as she worked on saving this man's life. No doubt that those countless hours of meditation and focus from when she was a child were finally paying off. The glow faded and the man's shoulder was healed. Exhaling slowly, she retracted her hands and glanced down at her work. No smile crossed her lips, but she was very proud of herself. He would hopefully be the first of many success stories to come.
The nurse held up a basin of water for Akane to wash her hands. "You did very well. Have you done this sort of thing before?" She was careful of her words, but it was obvious that this medic ninja was young, far younger than she herself was when she started in the medical field.
"Too many times." Akane said as she washed off her hands and got up. It was a lie of course, this man was the first successful healing she had done on a living human but the nurse didn't need to know that. She didn't need to know that the coalition sent a medic in training to save them. What good would that do? "Who's next?" she asked the woman.
The nurse gestured to the next cot. "We've got this entire tent to take care of before moving on to the next one. If you're up to it, that is." She set the bowl back down on the tray and proceeded to the next patient. This one had similar wounds to the previous patient. However, a skillful eye would clearly note that these were not inflicted by the same animal. The claw marks that raked the woman's chest were of a different breadth than that of the previous patient. The bite on her arm was different as well. "We'll be treating a lot of animal inflicted wounds. It seems to be what these insurgents specialize in."
Akane couldn't help but feel a small nausea grow in the pit of her stomach, but she tried to ignore it and focus. It helped to separate herself from these people. Hovering her hands over the victim, she asked, "Has anyone been able to tell you what sort of animals these were?" she asked, the bluish glow growing under her palms.
The nurse pointed to the scratches on the woman, "These are pretty evident. Judging by the dispersal spread, my best estimate would be that she was mauled by the bear they brought with them." She gestured next to the bite wound on the woman's shoulder. "This would be consistent with a bear attack as well. As to the previous patient, I have never seen wounds like that before. However, the savagery of it would indicate it was from an animal."
"A bear, huh?" Akane asked as her healing jutsu slowly healed up the wounds. Thankfully, she wasn't feeling tired yet....which was good considering she had a long way to go. "Any idea why those rogues attacked your village?" she asked, trying to deduce some sort of motivation.
The nurse glanced around, as if talking about such things would get her into trouble. "They're searching for something..." She said quietly, not wanting anyone else to overhear.
"What?" Akane asked rather bluntly, already finishing up on this woman's gashes in her shoulder and arm.
The nurse shook her head. "You mustn't ask me that, ninja." She told her sternly, looking across the patient at Akane. "We are not permitted to discuss such things, especially to outsiders. Even if they are our allies."
"Fair enough I guess..." Akane trailed off, still not liking that answer though. "It's just always helpful to know what we are supposed to be defending...aside from the villager's safety." She paused and lifted her hands, the glow fading. "My name is Akane by the way. I don't think I mentioned that earlier in the chaos of arriving."
"You certainly did not." The nurse replied with a smirk. "My name is Aileen. I would tell you, if we were permitted, Akane." She offered with a gentle smile. It was true, if she would not find herself in trouble for doing so, she'd certainly explain her theory as to what they were after
"I am from the INC village." Kami told the ninja who were carrying the poor man. "We've come to help, but I'm a herbologist. I need to see the local greenhouse."
The ninja nodded as Kami explained. "Very well. We were told to give any assistance asked to the Coalition ninjas. Let us just take care of this man, and then we'll take you to the greenhouse."
Kami nodded. "May I ask what killed him?" Death was final, everyone knew that, but sometimes... she wasn't skilled enough to have any herbal concoction to combat near-death, but she was curious about this poor man.
"Like the majority of the other doctors, he had caught the illness he was treating. Then they attacked...they showed no restraints against us. Man, woman, child it made no difference..." The man explained with a shudder as he remembered the scenes he had seen
"Are the remaining medics covering their mouths?" Kami asked them. "What caused this may be in the air. A cloth or filter over the mouth may reduce sickness. Also, I would not touch my face, food or another person without washing my hands... Though, you all probably know this already..." She added that last bit, not wanting these people to think that she was barging in telling them all what to do.
He looked at her from over top his glasses. "We are trained professionals. The worst of the flu is over, it's passed the infectious state. If he had been given the necessary time to heal, he would have been alright. But as you can see, nobody gave him the chance."
"I understand." Kami said and bowed a little. "And I meant no disrespect."
He smiled at that and nodded his head. "None taken, believe me. Tensions are rather high at the moment though. I'm sure you understand."
Kami nodded. "I do." She told him. "And hopefully we can help do something to relieve that."
"That's what you're here for." The man replied with a nod. "Well, come along, you can follow us to the morgue I suppose. Then we'll take you out to the greenhouse."
"Morgue?" Kami said, not completely understanding what kind of place that might be. There were still a few words from the common tongue she was unfamiliar with.
"It's where we keep the dead, until they're buried respectfully." He explained as he hefted his end of the gurney. He was glad his partner was silent for a change. Usually the man never shut up, and it was always about the strangest things....
"I see..." Kami told him, following. She wondered how many people had died that they needed a special place to keep them for now.
"I don't know if you've seen much of this side of the battle field or not, but I must caution you, it will not be a pretty sight." He warned her as they wove through the tents towards the outskirts of the encampment. It might have been a better idea to situate the morgue outside the encampment, but they couldn't do that to their honored dead. What if the enemy should come upon them and defile them as they await their final resting places?
Kami had not seen much, but she had seen dead before. The best to do was just be silent and respectful. She only hoped that they would hurry so they could prevent more from dying.
After making sure the newest body was signed into the morgue, the man turned back to Kami and nodded, "Alright then, let's get you to the Frost Island Greenhouse" He lead her out of the encampment and back up the road they had travelled down to get here. The Greenhouse lay between the southern most tip and the center of the island.
Akane nodded, accepting that much. "So-" she cracked her fingers. "Don't let me get bored.. who's next or should I just go straight down the line?" Akane asked, gesturing to the rows of beds.
"Right down the line sounds good to me." Aileen replied with a nod. "Your sensei is taking care of the critically injured tent. I was not aware that he was a medical ninja."
"He is the one who trained me in most of what I know. Everything else came from books, research and meditation." Akane explained, going to the next patient. "He was the one who actually encouraged me to become the team medic." It was strange but... she sounded rather proud of herself. Though this was truly the first time that Akane had gotten to put her studies to work in the field. Her teammates were often too weary to let her heal them given how new she was at it after all.
"I think he would be pleased with your progress here." Aileen told her with a nod as she prepped their next patient. The wounds on this one consisted of more scratches and bite marks, beside one of the bite marks was a small symbol which matched the earlier patient's exactly.
Seeing the symbol a second time alarmed Akane and she pointed to it, "What's this?" she asked bluntly. "The first patient had one of these too."
The nurse leaned over and examined the symbol. She hummed softly as she studied it. "That's certainly interesting. It's a symbol, that's for sure, but what is the purpose of it?" She looked at Akane curiously, "And the first one had the same mark you say?"
"The same." Akane said after closer inspection. "The previous woman didn't have one though. I wasn't sure if it was...some sort of irrelevant tattoo. Well, till you reacted like that. I can only assume the assailants did it. I don't recognize it at all, but maybe my sensei will."
"Would you like me to go and get him, or would you prefer to ask for his help, yourself?" The nurse asked curiously. She didn't know where the blind swordsman was, but surely someone as infamous as he wouldn't be hard to find.
"If you could fetch him for me, that would be fantastic. I'll keep healing these people." Akane replied. "He's a big guy... blind and with blue hair, you can't miss him."
Aileen nodded and placed a wearied hand on Akane's shoulder. "Do not overwhelm yourself, Akane. I would hate to lose another healer." She smiled softly and head off to find Ishiaki
The nurse found Ishiaki with his arms just about elbow deep in a man's intestines. It was complicated work, re-knitting someone's jejunum before their body went into toxic shock. Not only was he having to repair the damaged tissues, he was having to remove the waste simultaneously. Gods he hated the medical field...
"Master Hirameki?" Aileen asked carefully, not wanting to startle the man as he worked so intricately.
"That's what it say on my ninja license." Ishiaki replied with a drawl as the man beneath his arms glowed with the swordsman's chakra. "Just give me a minute, I'm almost finished here. And call me Ishiaki by the way. Hirameki is so formal." He grunted a bit as he pulled his arms free. With an eased exhale of breath, he sealed up the man's chest. Turning to the nurse who was assigned to him, he gestured to the man. "Think you can stitch him up? Sometimes the best thing is time. Plus it'll give him a nice scar, very good for the ladies." He smiled and started wiping his hands as he turned toward Aileen.
"Greetings, Ishiaki..." Aileen said, her voice a little unsteady at calling him by his first name. "I'm your student's nurse. She has discovered something that she believes you may want to take a look at."
"Oh? Lead the way then." Ishiaki told her with a simple bow of his head. He was in need of a moment's rest anyway. The last thing you wanted was to run short of chakra in the middle of a healing...a moment's rest would grant him some time to replenish his stores.
When they returned to the tent, Akane was already on her sixth patient in total, on somewhat of a role now. Her confidence had grown significantly with every success, improving her speed and precision. Thankfully, she hadn't yet had to put anyone's organs back inside...just major gashes, ripped flesh, smashed muscles, severed veins and things of that nature.
The guardsmen raised their hands in salute as the Coalition ninja came up to join them. "Greetings ninja! I'm glad they sent one of you to help us out up here." The leader of the squad replied with a smile. The group of them were standing atop one of the four towers encircling the relief center. It wasn't much, but it would provide sufficient time to alert the others should the enemies head their way.
It wasn't a very comforting sight that, when right down to it, the ninja that they had sent to assist these men defend the relief center only reached up to these men's belly buttons. "Anything I can do to help?" Oita asked, wanting to sound a bit more useful than he was actually going to be. What was his main job going to be exactly? Standing around staring at the woods until asked to attack? Surely he could do some more effective things.
"We're just standing guard, hoping none of those ninjas come down this way. What were you ordered to do?" The guardsman asked him curiously. Surely a Coalition ninja wouldn't simply be posted with the likes of them....
"Stand guard, hope none of the ninjas come down this way, and watch you guys," Oita said with a small shrug that made his bag move a few inches up and down, "The rest of my team are the useful ones. Healing ninjas, taking care of the injured. I'm just here to bolster your ranks."
"Every warrior has his place." The guardsman assured him with a confident smile. He gestured towards the pack curiously, "Whatchu got in there anyway?"
Oita briefly considered answering with a full list of everything that he DID have in there, but decided that it would take too long. "Important stuff" he said simply, patting his backpack and hearing something clink inside. His tools were all carefully arranged, but some might have shifted in movement.
"Ah....you mean important ninja stuff, don'tcha?" The guardsman replied with a smirk. e didn't know what in the world was in the pack, but whatever it was it had to be something impressive or the kid wouldn't be hauling it around like he was. "You can set the pack down if you like. No sense in hauling it around up here."
"Just important stuff. Important to me, important to the mission, important stuff..." Oita dropped the bag to the floor with a loud thud, the wood creaking beneath it. He actually had to climb on top of the bag to reach inside at the very top, searching around and finally digging out a rather squashed looking sandwich. "I haven't eaten much today, excuse me" he said, sitting on top of his pack and starting to slowly eat the sandwich.
The guardsman couldn't help but chuckle when Oita climbed atop his pack. He liked this kid. It was a good thing he had been sent up here, things were starting to get dull. Whatever the rogues were after, it was keeping them from hunting down everyone on the island. At least for the moment.
"Do you think you could spare some information on these men? I've been told that one of them uses a bear... and I can see from the injuries as well. But what else do they use? What should I be expecting?" Oita asked, eating his sandwich between sentences and making sure that he was paying attention to the tree line as he spoke.
"There is a man clothed in animal skins, he fits with a shield and sword. His strength is incredible, his speed unimaginable. Another is a horrible beast of a man, you will undoubtedly notice his stench before anything else about him." The guardsman shuttered a bit at this explanation and scratched his nose a little. "Truthfully he appears as though soap is something he has never heard of...I do not understand how his fellows can stand his presence. He is a savage..."
Oita scratched his nose, as if already smelling this man. "I see..." he said gently, eyes forward and a frown spreading across his brow as he concentrated "So... the sword and shield user is the leader probably. I hope I do not meet him, I have a feeling that it would be very... taxing."
The guardsman shook his head slowly, looking at the little boy with absolute certainty. "He is not the leader....the leader of their group is responsible for all the devastation to the buildings themselves, to the very landscape of our humble island. His soldiers attacked us as they searched for whatever it is they came here for, while he...he devastated anything that was in his path. I pray that your comrades do not find him out there..."
"Oh? Please, being cryptic is not helping at all..." Oita said, trying not to be obviously annoyed at their slow reveal; he was here for a job, and if there was a devastating boss who had done all this damage, then he rather wanted to hear about it. Sure, shock value and all, he was certain they were still nervous about this guy, but for goodness sake Oita needed to know.
"Their leader commands a vast array of beasts. He broke through our walls with the largest horned beast I had ever seen in all my life. It tore through our defenses as if they were tissue paper." He explained, leaning back against the wall of the tower. "He unleashed a pack of wolves against my men. And the rats....Great Nicholas...the rats....."
"Hmmm... animal users..." Oita said with a frown; those could be troublesome, he knew that, because they could direct attacks at him from afar. Thank goodness that he'd been training on close quarters lately. "Thank you for the information. I will no doubt find it very useful in the future."
"You had better hope that other squad can hold him off. If he shows up here, I am afraid that we will not be capable of holding him off." The guard told him frantically. He had seen the man in action, it was horrifying what he was capable of.
"If he shows up here, you can cause distractions from afar, I will attempt to keep him back, alright?" Oita was still a kid though, still nothing more than a little boy. He probably wouldn't last very long "We do have our sensei here as well, if he appears I want one of you to run to him and call for help."
"No problem." He replied with a nod. He gestured to one of the subordinates and nodded. When the time came that man would seek out Ishiaki. He turned back to look at Oita. "So what type of fighter are you? Such a large pack would be a distraction and burden to many. I'd have to wager at the very least you do some taijutsu."
"If you see me attempting direct taijutsu, please start evacuating immediately. That is a last resort." Oita said at once; might as well set up some rules here. "I use puppets most of all, indirect attacks and strategy. So... if I am in a fist fight, my puppets have broken, you have as long as I can last, get people out of there quickly."
He couldn't help himself. He burst out laughing at Oita's comment. He clutched his side and winced a little, laughing in the cold is not recommended. He smirked at Oita and nodded. "Fair enough. So you're a puppet master? We don't see very many of them around here."
"Yes, puppet master" Oita said with a firm nod "And I mean it. if you see me fighting hand to hand, I am on my last resort. I will likely die in the attempt, but you need to evacuate as quickly as possible." He really hoped that it wouldn't come to that.
"Point taken. If it's all the same to you, should it come to that, I will remain by your side. I won't have it said that a Warrior of the Frost allowed an ally to fall in battle." The guardsman told him, pressing a hand to his heart and bowing his head. "My name is Senshi Furosuto, and this is my solemn oath, ninja."
Oita nodded to the man slowly, saying gently "You don't have to though. You are a guard, you have people to guard, I am a ninja, I kill and be killed. You probably have a family, friends, you have lived a long life that you should not give up just because someone who hasn't really begun his teens yet is in a bad fight."
"You just explained exactly why I will, young one." Senshi replied with a smirk. "I am a guard and I have people to guard. You included."
"Hmmmm..." Oita said, sounding unconvinced "Don't be surprise if I knock you out and throw you in the bushes. Not that I don't respect the heroism and valor, but... well... I don't want someone to lose a father or a husband because of my incompetence."
"Bah! I am certain you are far more competent than you lead on." Senshi told him with a smile.
"Perhaps, but still..." Oita gave a small shake of his head "I'm still a kid. These are fully fledged ninjas. The others have a team. I'm one guy. I want you guys to get everyone clear. This guy scared you. I'm eating a sandwich. He's probably killed a thousand people like me."
"We will try our best. Nobody can ask any more." Senshi replied with a shrug
"Well, they must otherwise I wouldn't be sitting here." Oita said. The more he talked to these guys the more his imminent death seemed rather certain "But thank you for the help."
"I am sure your sensei fully trusts in your abilities. Otherwise he would not have posted you as his personal guard, correct?" Senshi offered Oita curiously from his spot on the wall.
"As much as I could tell myself that, it's equally as true to say that the other two here are healers, and I am merely placed here to be out of the way while he keeps an eye on them." Oita said with a small shrug "Even Ishiaki heals people. I have not gone down that road, so I am useless."
Senshi shrugged and thought for a moment, "What's to stop you from going down that road? Being a medic ninja uses complicated chakra control and puppet masters are extremely good at chakra control, right?"
"Yes, but I am already going down another road in order to back up the issues we have in the team. As nice as it would be to have healing abilities as well, I think that I should explore other directions." Oita shrugged slightly, wondering if he would get any better in his physical training.
"Status report, Tokushima!" Ishiaki declared as he came up behind her. He waited until she was finished with her current patient before attempting to spook her.
A high pitched squeal came from her lips and the young ninja jumped back, tripping over a little stool, stumbled onto the floor of the tent. No matter how elegant the wind user seemed, she still was a bit clumsy at times. She was on her feet in an instant when she realized it was Ishiaki. "Six patients successfully healed! Uhm... Sir!" Akane had no idea why she was talking like that so suddenly, perhaps it was Ishiaki's sudden formal tone?
"Your nurse said there was something you thought I'd want to see?" Ishiaki asked her curiously. Six patients...he was impressed, but he wasn't really about to mention that at the moment. He had been pulled away from the critical tent for a reason. Praise could come later, if there was time.
"Yes actually." Akane pointed to a small marking on her most recent patient. "Half of the six I have healed so far have this mark near their wounds. It's like...some sort of...tattoo. It won't come off and is consistently the same. I thought it was perhaps of some significance."
"Hmmm..." Ishiaki replied, leaning in to examine the marking. "Describe it to me, if you would be so kind. I do see something odd with it. 3 out of 6 have identical markings? And all are by the wounds?"
"Yes..and only so far it's three." Akane said. "I'm willing to bet there are many more." Without asking, she took her sensei's hand and opened up his palm. This would be easier then describing it for certain. "It's about the size of a coin...and looks like this...." Her finger pressed down at the center of his palm and she started to trace the shape. Akane took several glances over at the symbol for reference until she finished and let go of him.
Ishiaki focused on his palm as she traced the symbol into his skin. "Interesting...a kanji within a seal circle. That would explain the foreign chakra I can see in the body. It's not much at all...but I've seen it myself in the critical tent as well." He scratched his head in thought and looked at the man on the table. "Oh if only you could tell us what placed that mark on you."
"Unfortunately everyone in this tent seems to be unconscious. Maybe in one of the others?" Akane suggested. It would be some time before she could leave this tent however, she still had several more patients to heal.
"More than likely." Ishiaki said with a grimace. He didn't like how it was starting to look to him. He bit his lower lip and shook his head a little. "I don't like this, Akane. There's too many injured to worry about what the mark means." His hand shook a bit and he relaxed it at his side. "Try to keep a tally of it if you can, I'm hoping it's nothing, but I've never seen a marking like this before."
"Can you tell anything by it's chakra?" Akane asked, knowing he was more able to see details in someone's chakra network than she was. "Why would someone mark these people? It has to be of some sort of use to the rogues."
"I can tell it's foreign, but that's about it. There really isn't much chakra present, it's completely contained within that seal. It is strange." Ishiaki explained, looking at the mark again. "Generally a seal around a mark such as this would have a large concentration of chakra focused around it. But whatever that seal is, it uses very little chakra..."
"There has to be some sort of purpose though... otherwise why would they go through the trouble of marking? Not to mention, why are certain patients marked and not all of them?" Akane had many questions but no one seemed to have any answers. "I'll keep going and make notes of the number of tattoos...if I find anything else out, I'll let you know."
"That's about all we can do for the moment. I will keep a tally on the patients I work on as well. Hopefully we discover an answer before it's too late." Ishiaki told her with a sigh. It was really not looking good.
Akane nodded, a bit uneasy from the worry in her sensei's voice. "I was hoping to speak with one of the victims, but everyone in this tents is too injured or unconscious." She glanced over at her next in line, "I really should get going...." Then stench of blood was starting to get to Akane and she wanted to be done and out of here as soon as possible.
"Pace yourself Akane." Ishiaki cautioned his pupil. He set a cautious hand on her shoulder. "Remember what you studied and pace yourself. Not every wound will require chakra healing, try to remember that."
Akane nodded. Unfortunately all of her healing thus far were through use of chakra. She wasn't as confident in treating people based purely on medical knowledge alone. Akane felt like she had more control over her chakra rather than a needle and thread, gauze and things of that matter. Still, she took Ishiaki's words seriously. It would be difficult not to want to heal everyone quickly, but she would do her best.
"I cannot stress enough the need to take it easy. You're still very new to this sort of chakra control Akane. Please use caution." Ishiaki said, this time he really did not mind repeating himself. Usually it was the one thing that irritated him the most, but when it came to the safety of his students, he'd repeat himself until they understood.
"Yea yea, I got it." Akane said with another nod of her head. Using chakra was just so much faster....but she supposed she would try, at least with some of the lesser injured.
Ishiaki 'watched' her carefully as he headed towards the entrance of the tent. He really hoped that she didn't strain herself. She was doing increasingly well for someone so new to the field and he was certainly proud of her for that.
Akane returned to her work, sitting down in a stool beside her next patient. Immediately she looked if there was another tattoo near the wounds. The fact that Ishiaki was worried about what it may be made her feel very uneasy.
Aileen approached Akane carefully and immediately fell back into their little rhythm. She prepared the surgery tools quickly. "Read for the next patient, Akane?" At the rate that this ninja was working, it wouldn't take long to fix up this tent of injured
Akane wanted to heed Ishiaki's words about using healing methods other then chakra...but these people had holes in their bodies and needed complete reconstruction. They would die if she just used ordinary medical treatment. So, she pressed on using her chakra, determined to try and lay off in the next tent of injured. Perhaps their wounds wouldn't be so severe.
Aileen watched as the girl worked, giving her any instruments she needed, when she needed them. She even wiped the girl's brow with a damp cloth when she started to break out in a sweat.
Akane continued to use her chakra for the major gashes and cuts. For the smaller, nonlethal ones, she cleaned, stitched and bandaged them by hand. It was the best way Akane felt she could heed Ishiaki's words and do an effective job at saving these people. Seeing all of these gruesome injuries really made one's stomach churn. The same could only be assumed with Akane- but as she worked, her face seemed to change. Like the flip of a switch, her expression stiffened and concentrated, as if she had been a healer for years. Ishiaki was right in steering Akane to this profession. Despite what she initially thought about being the team medic, it was a good fit. Perfect even and she was completely unaware of it.
Aileen couldn't help but watch in awe as the medic ninja worked. Together they moved from patient to patient, it was incredible the speed in which they worked. Chakra healing had always been a method that she showed interest in studying, but she was incapable of using chakra herself, so it was difficult to find relevant data in which to study.
"Done." Akane said, finished with the tent completely now. "What's the final count? Fourteen marked of twenty?" she asked her assistant. She wasn't positive, but had been keeping mental notes and she was positive it was well over half of the victims in here.
Aileen nodded, "14 confirmed markings out of the 20 patients in this tent." She swallowed hard and looked at Akane. "If these are dangerous, we are going to be in trouble."
"Let's hope that the other team will incapacitate those rogues before they have a chance to unleash these seals." Akane said as she exited the tent. The cold hit her like a truck and her arms instantly wrapped around her torso. She seemed to have forgotten about the bitterness of the temperature here after being in the warmth of the heated tents. She wondered about Kano, El and Hinji. These rogues must truly be ruthless if they have the gall to mark these innocent villagers for...who knows what. After seeing the injuries inflicted on the survivors, Akane couldn't help but worry about the other team. Not to mention, how could anyone fight under these harsh conditions?
"If they are as capable at their assignment as you are, I would not doubt they will succeed." Aileen told her with a smile. Akane had truly impressed her with her abilities as a medical ninja.
She sniffled in return and a pinkness grew on her cheeks. Whether this was embarrassment from Aileen's compliment or from the cold was uncertain. "W-what's next-t?"
"Next we take a short break to allow your chakra to replenish before heading to the next tent." Aileen told her rather sternly. She was going to make sure that Akane didn't overwhelm herself.
"B-bbut.... people are dying... I shouldn't sit around!" Akane said, thinking it absurd that her assistant even suggested such a thing, "I'm fine."
"You will rest and regain your strength. I won't have you collapsing on the operating table." Aileen replied, crossing her arms over her chest.
"C-collapse? No way! I d-don't think you fully grasp the capacity of a Quill Village ninja." Akane argued, just as stubborn as usual. "I can handle at least three most tents before I have to rest." This of course was most likely an exaggeration, but she didn't really like getting bossed around by the nurse.
"I don't think you fully grasp the strain that chakra healing puts on the body." Aileen replied, she could be just as stubborn as Akane could be. "You've just healed 20 seriously injured patients. You need to take a break."
"Five minutes. No more." Akane said seriously. "Last thing I want on my head is guilt that I was unable to save someone because I was sitting around."
Aileen nodded as they reached a compromise. "5 minutes, and something to eat and drink as well." She smiled sweetly, hoping to win the girl over at least for that much. It was a simple request, to replenish one had to take in more energy.
"Can they both be hot? P-please?" Akane asked. She was going to have trouble with this. No doubt guilt would overflow her the moment she sat down to rest.
"How hot are we talking here? After all, this is the Frost Village. Things don't tend to be hot around here." Aileen told her with a smirk. She might be able to find someonthing for her though
"Could you s-s-settle f-for something warm? Luke warm?" Akane asked hopefully, shuffling now. This cold was crippling, how could these people actually LIVE here?!
"Sit yourself down, and I 'lll get right on finding you something warm, Akane." Aileen told her with a smile and a nod.
"Sit? Where? Outside?!" Akane asked loudly. She wasn't sure if sitting in a warm tent pasted with the stench of blood was better or not to sitting outside in the bitter, bitter cold.
Aileen looked at her and couldn't help but smirk. "Honestly, do you really think we wouldn't have an area where our medics could get a rest away from the carnage?" She waved Akane on and headed out of the tent.
"Thank the g-gods..." Akane shivered and followed the nurse. It was then that she noticed how easily she spoke and walked, as if not cold at all. She didn't have any heavy clothes on either... not like Akane did. How did she or anyone else living here, do it!?
"I knwo you have questions, perhaps when we are finished here you will find your answers." Aileen said simply as she walked along the encampment, heading to one of the smaller tents. "This is one of our break areas. The other nurses and doctors come here to regain their own strength in between patients. There's multiple tents like this throughout the encampment so that we don't have to go very far fromt he injured."
Akane didn't say anything as she took in the break tent. It looked far smaller on the outside. As she was greeted with the heat, her arms slowly relaxed around her torso and her goosebumps eased.
"I know what you're going to say. It's bigger on the inside." Aileen replied with a smile as they went inside. "Don't worry, everyone says it."
She smiled, "I see why." Her arms lowered, warming up fully now. Akane was having trouble concentrating. She was tired and distracted by the smell of blood in the air. The wind ninja was starting to somewhat regret being the medical ninja. Hurting people was so much easier for her than healing was. To look at the victims... and their families... it was hard.
"Are you alright?" Aileen asked her, she looked rather distracted. "I thought you said you've done this before..."
"Well yea... though... maybe not to this extent." Akane said. Who was she kidding? She wasn't even good enough to consider herself an amateur.
"Well you handled yourself very well in there." Aileen assured her with a sweet smile. She handed her a steaming cup of coffee from the refreshment table and gestured to one of the chairs. "The wounds get less severe from here, so I suppose you could say that the worst is over."
"Thank you." Akane said, taking the cup of coffee. She found a seat at a table and kept the cup close to her face, reveling in the warm steam.
"How long have you been a ninja, Akane?" Aileen asked her as she retrieved her own cup of coffee, and sitting down across the table from the girl.
"With the coalition? About seven months." Akane replied, taking a sip of the coffee. She scrunched up her nose a bit at the flavor, having not ever had this drink before. "I've been training at my home village since I was about... maybe eight or so? I come from the village of the Quill. I specialize in wind and fowl jutsu."
"Foul jutsu? That doesn't sound much like something I would boast about." Aileen replied with a distasteful look on her face.
"No no.. fowl as in birds." Akane explained, shaking her head at how silly 'foul' jutsu could be. "Birds are sacred where I come from." She took another sip of the coffee, forcing it down...though she could admit that the second sip was better than the first.
At the entrance a gust of wind followed a moment after Kami came through the doors. Her eyes scanned for Ishiaki Sensei, wondering where she may be needed the most. Fully stocked on herbs, she was ready to get started.
Ishiaki came out of the critical tent to catch some fresh air. It was beginning to get tiring for him. He looked up as he sensed Kami's approach. He put on a smile and wave at her.
Kami hurried over and asked, "Where am I needed Sensei?" She asked, eager to get to work.
"This is the critically injured tent. I've still got about 15 patients to go here. I believe Akane is finished in her first tent. Why don't you check in with one of the nurses from the fourth tent over there?" Ishiaki offered her, gesturing to the indicated tent. "The patients there are less injured, or rather more healed than the others. Your use of herbs would probably be appreciated most by them." He smiled, hoping that it didn't come out sounding like an insult. To him it kind of sounded that way, but he wasn't trying to make one...it's been a stressful day.
"Yes Sensei." Kami told him and hurried off in that direction.
Ishiaki smiled as she darted off. He hoped that Oita was enjoying himself as much as the others appeared to. He was quite proud of his students this day.
Stumble!