Akane grinned, "I'll sew." As bad as it was, Hinji pissed her off on more than one occasion...she will enjoy this.

Ishiaki couldn't help but smirk as he handed her the thread and moved around to hold the boy down. "Try to keep the stitches small, it'll lessen the size of the scar."

Oita arrived so quickly, and stopped so suddenly, that he almost vibrated from his braking. He blinked a few times, pushed his glasses up his nose, then said quickly "Sensei, we've found it. Apparently it will help heal people."

"Well were the fuck is it?!" Akane snapped at Oita, not seeing it in his hands. This little game of telephone was getting on her nerves.

"Here," Oita said, presenting the case he was holding in his hands, covered in seals, "But I was told to let Ishiaki open it particularly."

Kano arrived a few moments after Oita, huffing and puffing and clutching at his side. "Didn't know you were so fast dude..."

Ishiaki looked up and ran a hand through his hair. "Chakra seals...of course it wasn't going to be easy." He sighed and approached Oita and the box cautiously. He held out his hands and sadly nodded, "I know what to do."

"Can I help at all?" Oita asked, holding the box and hoping to be helpful in someway. It seemed as if the moment he was asked to do something Kano turned up and wrecked his chance to show he was useful, since he would have probably beat it out of the guy sooner or later.

"Hold Hinji down so I can sew his dumbass up?!" Akane ordered rather loudly and rudely. She was weak, sleepy and...frankly, very irritated. 

Ishiaki nodded to Oita, indicating that he should do as Akane asks. True, he wished his student would learn a little bit of tact. He took the box from Oita's hands. "It will take me some time to remove the seals properly. Help Akane with the patients. And thank you for retrieving this Oita. By doing so, you certainly have just saved the lives of the other squad."

Hinji's raven was sitting on his shoulder and as Akane prepared to stitch his master up, he scooted down and watched her intently.

Oita nodded and moved down to Hinji; he pressed one hand down on the place above the wound, not going near it, and the other hand grabbing below the wound. He would hold the wound completely still, his hands tight and trying to keep the most important part steady.

Ishiaki carried the box over to Tsu. "Don't worry, we'll have you fixed up in a few minutes, Tsu. Trust me." He looked at Kami, it wasn't looking good for the leader of the other squad and until he got the Heart working, it wasn't going to get any better for her. "Try to keep her calm, sedated if you can. It would help I think."

"I'm fine... I'm fine... just dandy..." Tsu waved a lazy hand over towards Ishiaki with a weak grin "Just... concentrate on whatever you're doing..." The pink bandages were loose, hiding her wounds, but they had completely stopped working by now "I'm still being held.. together."

Akane glared back at the raven. "What are YOU looking at?" she asked before jabbing Hinji's flesh with the pointed tip. In a swift motion, she made the first stitch.

Hinji let out a groan and his eyes closed again. Everytime she stuck the needle in, his muscles tensed and then relaxed.

Oita fought over the muscle tension, pinning the leg down and not saying anything as Akane rather... well... assaulted Hinji with that needle. "Are you alright Akane?" he asked her carefully, trying to make her calm down.

"Fan-fucking-tastic." Akane said angrily, stabbing Hinji again. "I've just been busting my ass all morning, healing people only to have my nurse keel over!" Again, another furious stitch sunk into Hinji's thigh, "THEN I use up ALL my chakra healing El's hands from frostbite...something really REALLY advanced and obnoxious." Another stitch, "THEN I get woken up by albino here and Tsu-sensei because they can't even keep their limbs from blowing up or falling off long enough to finish a stupid battle with a bunch of twat rogues." Akane pulled the needle up and yanked the string tight before going in for another loop. "On top of it all- El and nearly half the villagers have some sort of tattooed curse mark near their wounds that Ishiaki and I have NO idea how to lift. They have a small amount of chakra behind them and although El killed the beast who caused it... they aren't going away." She looked at him finally, "That's how ALRIGHT I am!"

"She needs to be healed by chakra." Kami told Ishiaki. "I've stopped all the bleeding but unless someone has enough chakra to do a proper job, she may suffocate within a few hours."

"I am so sorry that you have to deal with the suffering of others," Oita said flatly, showing no emotion to Akane as he did so, just holding Hinji's leg still "If only they hadn't had the better mind not to get attacked by vicious enraged thugs." Really, she was whining about helping others? Tired or not, it just sounded bad.

Ishiaki held up the seal encased chest. "Hopefully, this will help on that end. Just try and keep her comfortable Kami. I will need a few minutes to prepare both the Heart and myself for what must be done."

Akane exhaled out of her nose roughly, grunting a bit as she made another stitch. "Oh don't give me that Oita. I don't think you even comprehend how stressful healing people can be. What the hell were you doing all day? Chatting it up with the guards? Ooh...tough guy." she scoffed.

"Trying to find the heart of ice, which is what Ishiaki is using not to heal others I believe," Oita said flatly again "That and warning the guards about what might happen if a person decides to attack the base. I am not powerful, I wished them to provide cover for the others as you all escaped while I would take the person on at a head. I also warned them I might die..."

"I will sensei." Kami said, trying to find the rest of Tsu Sensei's open wounds to staunch the bleeding.

"Why?" Akane asked, finishing up on the last row of stitches.

"Because have you seen Tsu over there? If anyone got through to us, I knew that they would likely be... well... far beyond my own power level. The most I would be able to do is distract them while the others escaped," Oita pointed out, nodding gently towards the woman on the bed "I would have about enough time to get you guys out of here, but I have no delusions I would defeat my opponent."

"Well that's a stupid way of looking at things." Akane said flatly, "Why don't you ever actually USE your damn puppets?"

Ishiaki moved to a quieter section of the tent and set the chest upon a table. He formed a few handsigns and pressed his hands to the seals. He winced as the seals retracted. His chakra was dangerously low and it burned to use more of it. Once the seals were safely retracted, he opened the chest slowly. A cool mist seeped out of the opening as soon as it appeared. The mist slithered over the edges of the chest and down to the floor, pooling around Ishiaki's feet.

"I would. But I would remind you that they are wood. Finely carved, beautifully looked after wood, yes, but they are still wood Akane," Oita said gently, still not losing patience with her, "They would most likely break after a while, or I would become terribly injured before they did. This is the life of a ninja after all."

"Uh huh." Akane left it at that, finishing up Hinji's stitches and tying off the end, "You don't have to be so damn depressing though. There- he's done."

There were red marks on Hinji's legs from how hard Oita was holding him down, but Oita either didn't notice or didn't care. "Merely a realist," he said with a gentle shrug to Akane "I believe I should probably go look out again now, just in case someone decides to attack. If I am of no longer any help here, that is." He was basically asking for permission to leave.

Akane looked around. El and Hinji were both passed out and Tsu was pretty close. "Where is Kano?" She hadn't seen him for quite some time, "Is he hurt?"

"He seems alright enough to threaten to beat up a man in order to find out where that is," Oita's thumb indicated the box that held the heart of ice "He should either be in soon or he's looking around the base."

"Ah- well with most of both teams in the medical ward, maybe you should go out and secure the perimeter just in case." Akane suggested. "You two and probably Kami are the only ones with enough energy to fight."

"I'm pretty sure that Kami, while maybe having her chakra, is quite exhausted," Oita said with a gentle sigh, before looking around at the door, "Goodbye Akane. Try to get some rest." He nodded to her, gave a little bow, then went to go leave.

"I'm right here you self centered twits!" Kano shouted from the doorway where he'd been standing the last few minutes while Akane stitched up Hinji's leg. "Can't a guy catch his breath after a run? Sheesh!"

Ishiaki lifted the Heart from the box and couldn't help but exhale nervously as he held it in his hand. The small clear stone hummed with power, the air around it and him frosting from the chill the stone brought whereever it went. Clearly the legends were true, the Heart of Ice was responsible for the eternal frost on this island. He looked toward Tsu and headed towards her slowly, the frosty air drifting around him as he walked, following him like a small fog. "You first, Tsuginohi."

"Oh? You were over there the whole time being useless?" Akane shot at Kano, still very edgy with her lack of energy and chakra.

"Oh look, an angel," Tsu mumbled sleepily, a half smile on her lips as she gazed at Ishiaki, her eyes unfocused and her blinking slowed, "you better be as good as the real one."

"Akane, calm down. This isn't a time to get hysterical." Oita said gently, not having seen Kano. Maybe he had a bit of fog on his glasses, since he had come in to a warm place when he'd been out in the snow a moment before.

"It's called catching your breath. You try keeping up with this guy when he ain't luggin that pack around." Kano said, jamming a thumb in Oita's direction. He couldn't help but smirk when he said it though. "Wickedly fast man...seriously."

"Shhhh...." Ishiaki whispered to her and placed the Heart upon her chest. "I don't know if this will hurt or not, but it must be better than the alternative." He pushed his chakra into the stone, willing it to heal her. He exhaled slowly and felt the pull of the Heart as it took his chakra and started to amplify it, moving it into her broken body and began mending her wounds instantly

Tsu let out a little breath, wincing, then shivered and said gently "G-god... m-makes you... all cold inside..." But it was working. There was practically an audible crack at one point, as if the bones had just unbroken themselves. It was cold, but it was worth it.

Kami sat back, hoping that Ishiaki Sensei was going to be alright using this thing.

"Akane! If you and Kano are done insulting each other, you may want to observe how this works. It may be required of you later." Ishiaki snapped at her as he felt his energy being drained from him. He could feel it being absorbed by the stone, but at the same time he could feel it being increased by the stone as well. He felt as each of Tsu's wounds was healed. The Hear tof Ice was making him in-tuned to her body

Akane piped up and went to her sensei, but halted when she came near. "Woah...How are you doing that?" she asked, keeping her distance.

"Just like I taught you." Ishiaki said simply, he had to grab a hold of the table to steady himself as the pull made his head swim slightly. He could tell Tsu was just about healed, it blew his mind how quickly the Stone sped the healing process along. "Instead of focusing your chakra into the patient's body, you focus it into the stone. You still direct it as you would through the usual healing jutsu, just the Heart amplifies it. It's...exhilarating...."

Akane moved in closer to get a better look now that everything was explained. "You feeling ok?" she asked, noticing his poor posture. "You don't look too good. No offense..."

Oita slipped outside while people were busy; while studying the stone would be incredibly interesting, he doubted their new employers would like that. He probably wouldn't understand much as well. So he slipped out, going to go get his pack and keep watch.

Ishiaki winced as he felt his chakra backlash back through the stone and into his body. Tsu was healed, it was time to move to the other patients. "Every great power has a price, remember?" He said weakly as he went to move to the nurse's table. His chest felt like there was an elephant sitting on it, he could only assume Tsu's felt worse than that before....

"Can I help you with anything?" Akane asked, taking his arm to help steady his walking as they moved to the nurse.

Ishiaki felt the shudder run through his body and cursed inwardly at it. He couldn't believe he was feeling so weak now. "I'll need a drink after this. A real stiff one. Just help me get from person to person and then we'll talk about that, ok?" He smiled a little as she helped him along. He looked down at Aileen and felt the shudder run through him again, the pain was incredible...he couldn't understand how Tsu was even able to walk here like that. He placed the stone on Aileen's chest and then placed his other hand upon her forehead. "You're going to be alright, Aileen. Just give me a moment." He whispered to her as again the Heart pulled his chakra through him, amplified it, and sent it flooding into her sickened body.

Kano could stand there and watch all this almost all day. It was intriguing to say the least and he had no doubt that it would be a hell of a learning experience, but at the same time he felt as though he was just getting in the way. They were the healers, he was here to fight. His entire squad was holed up in here. It was up to him and Oita to protect them whenever the last insurgent arrived. He turned and headed outside, deciding to follow Oita's trail and join him.

Akane stayed nearby, just in case Ishiaki should feel weak and keel over. She remained at the bedside, observing silently.

The effects were nearly as instantaneous as they had been for Tsu. The color returned the Aileen's skin and her breathing ease. The slight sheen that had been pressed from the feverish sweating vanished, reabsorbed into the skin. Again, Ishiaki felt that horrific backlash as his chakra came flooding back through the stone, finished with it's patient yet again. His head pitched back and he nearly collapsed as his breathing became ragged, his chest shuttered and he let out a thick, hacking, sputtering cough that seemed to come up from the very depths of his chest.

"Woah woah! That's enough of THAT." Akane stepped forward and grabbed ahold of Ishiaki. It didn't take a genius to figure out that the stone seemed to give of some sort of backlash into the user. "Easy now- back up." she said and guided him to a stool beside Aileen's bed. Taking the heart from him, she set it on the mattress and left it there for now, "You alright?"

Kami had tried to not seem too overprotective by letting Ishiaki Sensei work, but when he reacted like that she was behind him and next to Akane in an instant, not wanting him to fall.

Ishiaki couldn't help but smile when both his students appeared beside him. "I..I'm fine." He winced out and couldn't help but shudder in pain as well. "I've got two more patients to tend to before I can stop." El may have been alright for the moment thanks to Akane, but he still wasn't healed fully. And Hinji...Hinji required his help just as much as Tsu did.

"Hinji and El are fine for ten minutes. Take my word for it, Ishiaki sensei...but you look like crap." Akane said honestly. If it was one thing she was good it, it was giving an opinion. "Would it be better if I tried to use it instead? So you can rest for a moment?"

"NO!" Ishiaki declared, raising his hand to stop her from even thinking it. He turned to her, peering into her as only one without eyes could. "Not now, not ever Akane. You are not to use that stone, no matter what befalls me. Swear it."

Had Akane drank recently, she probably would have wet herself just then. She stared wide eyed at her master and froze up, unable to find words immediately. Finally, she stuttered and said "S-sure.... I swear!" Her shoulders rose up and her head sunk in defensively, as if scared he was going to hit her.

"Are you alright Sensei?" Kami asked, obviously worried about him.

Ishiaki grimaced and exhaled sharply. "I will be fine Now both of you, please. I have work to do." He got to his feet shakily. He looked at both of his students, "Just take me to them so I can get this over with."

Kami didn;t like letting him continue but she took his arm and helped him to Hinji, who at the moment looked worse off than El.

Akane was a bit worried about her sensei, still- she wasn't in the right place to argue what he was doing was stupid. If they would just wait an hour, surely she would have enough chakra to heal Hinji. Looking at Kami, she gave her a concerned expression, knowing Ishiaki could not see it.

Ishiaki sighed and lowered his head. He ran a hand through his hair and 'looked' at Akane. "I did not mean to frighten you, Akane. For that, I am sorry. But you must understand why you cannot use the Heart." His voice broke and he clutched his side. "Pox damn it all...." He coughed and tried to straighten himself up. "What you do with it, a tenth is returned onto you. It has two purposes, one for healing and one for battle. If I heal with it, a tenth of the pain is returned to me. If I were to attack with it, a tenth of the damage dealt is backlashed onto me. Do you understand now why you must never use it, Akane? Why I can't let you?"

"No sensei..." Kami said softly. "You... you can't." She thought about how horribly hurt Tsu had been, how sick Aileen had gotten all of a sudden. He might be able to heal Hinji, but he could skip El. El, music ninja though he may be only had a torn shoulder. That could be fixed with normal chakra in time. Too much hurt put back on himself could kill him...

"Hinji will be fine. He's stable... and in a few hours, I can heal him no problem. We can give him some pain killers until then. You don't need to strain yourself by using the heart on him. El too for that matter. You are starting to look worse than they are. Just give it a rest... please Ishiaki sensei?" Akane wasn't really one to beg, but this was ridiculous! There was no reason for him to push this limits like this. Her teacher didn't seem to know what was for his own good.

---

Oita was outside, looking around the grounds for any sign of a disturbance, while making his way quickly back towards his pack. He hoped he wouldn't need to use it.

"Back so soon?" Senshi asked him with a smirk. "He's using it. We can all feel it. Gotten a little bit chillier, wouldn't you say?"

"A little, but we'll put it back in the box the moment we have finished healing everyone," Oita said, putting his pack on his back and taking the weight off of the wooden floor, "Thank you for letting us use it. We would have lost quite a few people if you hadn't."

Senshi shrugged and leaned back against the railing. "The day is still young." He said simply and crossed his arms.

Kano approached the guard tower and started to ascend. He was unsure of how the captain would react to him coming back.

"Yes. Hopefully the day will remain nice. And death free." Oita said, not counting the people who his team mates had probably killed already.

Senshi looked at him a little curiously, leaning up from the rail. "That's not quite what I meant. Did he not explain what will happen should you use the Heart?"

Kano caught the end of that question as he climbed the steps into the tower. What will happen should you use the Heart? What in the world did that mean?? Did they just hand something horrible over to Kami's sensei???

"Well this is just great. No. What did he say." Oita muttered with a soft groan hiding somewhere behind his lips "What will happen? Nothing good, I'm betting."

"It's enough to keep many people from even thinking of touching the bloody thing." Senshi explained, nodding to Kano when he topped the stairs. "Whoever uses the Heart of Ice receives a portion of whatever they do with it back upon themselves. If you use it as a weapon, a tenth of the damage you wrought is blasted back on you. If you heal with it, a tenth of the pain is returned to you. If he heals too many people, the backlash will probably kill him."

"Ah, yes, that is... unfortunate..." Oita was already wondering what would happen if he put it in a puppet, as it would not be himself inflicting the pain... He shook his head and took a deep breath, frowning "We should probably go stop Ishiaki."

"I don't think he wouldn't have taken it so hurriedly if he did not know what he was dealing with." Kano suggested with a nervous look back towards the tent.

"I find myself agreeing with him." Senshi replied with a nod towards Kano. "Ishiaki Hirameki is no one's fool. He knew what we were hiding the moment he came here, no doubt about it. He would not use an object of power without fully understanding the consequences."

"Yes, but he's also a mortal man, and can be rather... well, lets just go get the heart back, shall we?" Oita turned, walking back very slowly towards the other tent. With his pack on he was very weighed down.

Kano headed out after Oita. "I just hope we're not too late..." He dreaded the thought of them having delivered such a potentially deadly item to one of the sensei...

"Oh, I would not be surprised if we are," Oita said with a little frown of his head "But there are others there, who might notice and try to take the heart from him."

"That doesn't mean that he will let them though." Kano pointed out as they walked to the tent.

"Well, if it's as bad as he said it was, it doesn't matter," Oita pointed out, thinking about the people Ishiaki would likely be fixing up right now, "I could probably wrestle it from him."

"If it's as bad as he said, I'm willing to bet that El, even as injured as he is, could wrestle it from him." Kano said with a smirk.

"Lets just get in..." Oita said, frowning and starting to try and pick up the pace as he move towards the tent; his pack really did slow him down a lot. "Sensei?" he called out as he got nearer "Sensei, what are you doing?"

---

"I'll be fine. You heard Tsu, the leader of the rogues escaped her. He's coming here after that thing." Ishiaki explained through the winces of pain. "We're going to need all of you up to fighting standard."

Oita almost jogged in, his pack on his back and saying loudly "Sensei? Sensei, what are you doing?" He didn't sound angry, but he didn't sound as if he was going to give up whatever he was thinking of doing. He jogged over towards Ishiaki, then held out a hand to him "Hand it over."

Akane was a bit surprised how straightforward Oita was so suddenly. He hadn't even seen Ishiaki painfully coughing about...she didn't have a doubt in her mind that he knew something they didn't. There was probably a reason that stone was locked up in a chest after all. Whatever the case, she was on Oita's side. The stone was seriously hurting Ishiaki and making him very edgy. He hadn't ever yelled at her like that before. Akane stayed at her sensei's side, ready to argue should he refuse.

Kami was up to it. As a matter of fact as far as she knew she was the only one who's chakra reserves were still at 100%.

Kano approached the others cautiously. "We know what that thing is doing to you, sensei. We can't let you keep using it."

Ishiaki stiffened when Oita demanded the Heart from him. "I have work to do, Oita. You can put it safely into the chest when I'm done." Defiantly he grabbed a hold of the rock and looked at all three of his students. "Stand aside, I do not repeat myself." He warned them all, they knew how much he hated to repeat himself, but this time it was more than that.

Oita held out his hand "Don't make me repeat myself sensei. I have just learned what that stone does, and I have come to take it from you. You have no doubt healed people already, the worst off, and the rest are capable of waiting a little longer before being seen to." He was trying to glare up at his sensei, but it was difficult to do so through thick glasses. He wasn't moving.

"I knew what it did when I took it from the chest." Ishiaki explained, holding the stone out before him. "It does more than heal, Oita. My chakra reserves are running on fumes, but with this in my hands, I could level this entire island with the small amount I have left. That is why we cannot allow the enemy to obtain it. The best way to do that is get all of you on your feet."

"The worst way to do it is to pound you into the floor. We are to protect the stone. That means that you concentrate on getting it OUT of here when they come, not fighting them to the death. And in order for that to happen you must stop using the stone. Now." Oita was standing his ground, trying not to tremble in front of his sensei. Wood. Be wooden. Seemingly hard, but flexible, bendy. Be strong and don't move. "Give me the stone. We will seal it away again, you will rest and wait for the signal that they are here. I will fight, the rest of you will aid in the escape. Everything. Abusing the power of the heart will only hurt you now."

"At least give it a rest, sensei." Akane said. With her suspicion confirmed, she was even more adamant about him not using the stone any longer.

"Don't you think he knows better than we do?" Kami asked. "He is a Jonin after all... it's not our place to tell him what to do."

"Doesn't mean that I can't see a bad thing when it's happening." Oita said calmly, hand still out stretched "And he won't be much of a sensei if he winds up decimating himself trying to heal everyone. We're not asking to reverse everything, just to put the heart down."

Akane had to admit that it was different seeing Oita so bold like that. It seems he had grown up a bit since they first were assigned into their teams. He had been such a shy boy... but was apparently growing in confidence and courage.

"The man is quite determined, maybe we should let him finish? You said it yourself, Hinji and El aren't in such bad shape now. The backlash wouldn't be nearly as harsh as on Master Tsu and that woman, right sir?" Kano asked, directing his question towards him curiously. The man clearly thought he knew what he was doing.

"A tenth. The better capable they are, the less that tenth will be, yes, Kano." Ishiaki responded with a nod, he couldn't help but smile despite the pain that continued to flare up in his chest.

"A tenth might kill you." Oita pointed out flatly "If it's a tenth then perhaps someone else could do it. Akane is nearly out of chakra, she would be of little use in a fight in her present state. If she was to heal them then you could rest and we could still be a fighting force." Oita said flatly to Ishiaki, and showing how much he either didn't care for, or believed in his team mates. It wasn't completely certain. "I don't believe you would attack if I tried to take that from you. But it would be a waste of time and chakra to try to stop me. Which I am willing to do for your own sake."

"Could you just trust us this once?" Akane asked, siding with Oita...which was certainly a first.

"You have made a dangerous err in your judgment if you believe I will not defend myself with the stone should you try to take it from me. I will not allow any of you to feel the pain from this wretched rock. Allow me to finish this." Ishiaki told him flatly. He did not want to harm the boy, especially now that he was finally standing up for himself, but he only had the two patients left, then he could rest, would rest whether he wanted to or not.

"Just... let him finish..." Kami said reluctantly. She agreed with Oita and Akane, but she wanted this to be done with.

It seems Ishiaki was just as stubborn, if not more so than people thought her of. "If you keel over, I will have no sympathy... I hope you realize that." she told her teacher in a rather casual tone. A tone that one wouldn't often give their masters. Akane was speaking to him as a friend, not a student in this reguard.

"Ishiaki. It's a foolish error to think I would make such a threat without having already set up a way in which you have no chance to resist. I am merely giving you the option to hand over the stone without a struggle." Oita said flatly, not moving, his hand still outstretched. Strangely outstretched actually. How long had been standing there with a single hand held out towards his sensei? "You will not brow beat me into giving up. You are hurting yourself, and losing sight of the goal."

"Ummm Oita? I really think you should let him finish..." Kano pleaded, he knew it wasn't his place to question how the other team performed, but if someone didn't stop them, one of them was going to get hurt. D'var had told him exactly how powerful this stone was, it was how he got the others to come along to this Island.

"You should listen to your friends Oita." Ishiaki warned him rather coldly. "I do not have time for this incessant bantering. If you intend to stop me, then by all means try it already. You know full well that I know you would have set something up, so why would I move first and trip your trap?"

"Just stop it!" Kami shouted, not meaning to. This was ridiculous, Ishiaki knew best, he was their sensei, he knew his limits. Though she was worried about his there was no need for violence.

Oita glared at Ishiaki, then sighed and shook his head with a small growl "Fine." He shook his head and turned away from Ishiaki "If you cannot trust Akane to handle this instead of you, I will let you ruin yourself." He shook his head and started to walk away, going to check if anyone was attacking yet.

Akane stayed quiet after Oita spoke and restricted herself from the situation slightly. Ishiaki wasn't looking too good and he was headset on healing El and Hinji. So be it then. She had tried to stop him....but it couldnt be helped.

Ishiaki was relieved that Oita backed down. He talked big, but right now he did not feel as though he could have taken the boy. He had learned a lot from the book about the Inner Gates. Ishiaki closed his hand around the stone and clenched it tightly. He knew what the Heart of Ice was capable of, and despite all their concerns, he was going to use it. He just prayed he wouldn't have to use it for battle. "Akane." He ordered as he wobbled, almost falling over, when he tried to move to Hinji's bed.

"I gotcha." Akane replied, stabilizing his arm upright. She guided him over to Hinji and pulled over a stool with her heel. "Here- sit."

"Thank you." Ishiaki told her as he sat on the stool. He placed the Heart on Hinji's chest and sighed as he fell into the stone's wondrous power. He felt his body become drained of his chakra and felt as it was twisted and pulled and amplified into Hinji's wounds. He watched with wonder as the wounds sealed shut, chakra steaming off of them

Oita sighed, and a bunch of chakra strings snapped visibly away from the heart of ice as Ishiaki walked away. Oita had gotten a rather strong grip on it in his time standing there it seems. He exited the little tent, hoping to see that they weren't in the middle of an attack.

Akane watched more closely as the stitches she made fell out with the wound magically healed at lightning speed.

Kano watched them work with avid curiosity. This Heart of Ice thing was clearly enough to seriously harm Ishiaki and yet he continued to use it. It was inspiring to watch the man at work.

Ishiaki cried out as the stone backlashed into him. He pitched forward and cursed, clutching his leg as Hinji's pain transferred into his own body. He was glad that the boy hadn't had any chest wounds, he might not have been able to make it if he absorbed another chest wound...

Akane winced as Ishiaki cried out. She hadn't ever heard him make sounds like that before. It was alarming to say the least. It only reiterated that he was just as human as any of the students were. "You ok?"

Ishiaki groaned and rubbed at his thigh. "It'll pass..." He hoped, there was no sense in voicing that part though. He winced and again tried to steady himself. "Hurt more than I thought it would, that's all." He looked at Akane and attempted a smile, "You did a good job on his wounds."

"Don't flatter me. I think the stone and your ambition did most of the work." Akane replied. "Now that Hinji is taken care of, all you need to heal is El. He really isn't that hurt. I healed up most of his shoulder and his hands are clear of frostbite." she added, very proud of that last fact. "Oh and I don't think I mentioned if before... but he has-" she trailed off for a moment, glancing over at El for a moment, then back, "He has a curse mark like the others do."

Ishiaki looked at her curiously. "He has a mark too? This is not good...we need to find out what they do before the seals are released." He held out his arm to her, he was going to need her help over to El now for sure.

Akane took careful steps. Being quite tired herself, she didn't want to drop Ishiaki or let him fall. "How do we do that? And El said the ninja he was fighting was killed in an avalanche... shouldn't the seals vanish if he is dead?"

"Typically yes...unless he isn't dead." Ishiaki told her, shaking his head a little. "If El survived, it is possible that his opponent did as well. Though these rogues don't sound like the type to dig each other out as Kano did."

Kano walked over to Kami and placed a hand on her shoulder gently. "Come on, let's go check the defenses with Oita. I feel like I'm in the way here."

"So- if that guy is alive and uses the seals....what will happen to El and the other villagers?" Akane asked, very concerned. About half of her patients had the mark.

"We know clearly how the seals are placed on the victims, they reside along the edges of the wounds inflicted by the man's teeth or claws. Correct?" Ishiaki had a theory, and it was quite a wild one at that...

"That seems to be the trend, yes." Akane replied, helping Ishiaki over to his last patient, sitting him down in another seat beside El's bed.

"Without knowing what the man was capable of, other than the savagery of the attacks, there really is no telling what the seals are capable of. For all we know they could simply be there to prevent the wounds from healing fully. A scar can be a horrific reminder..." Ishiaki explained sadly, knowing full well how much a scar could mean

"How do you think the stone will effect it? If any.." Akane mentioned, a bit curious herself.

"I do not know." Ishiaki admitted quietly, that was the part that truly frightened him.

"You think maybe you should skip El?" Akane asked. "I can heal him up I'm sure..." She doubted he would go for it.

"At the very least it'll give me a chance to really observe the seal. I will attempt to heal him as I have the others. With any luck, the powers of the Heart will be enough to heal him of the seal as well." Ishiaki replied, hoping he was speaking the truth. He did not understand the jutsu that inflicted the seal upon the boy, and without knowing anything about it, he had no ideas on how to stop it.

"Just be careful, ok? I don't want that seal leeching onto you when you use the heart. You seem to take on the injuries of the people you heal..." Akane trailed off, hoping she was wrong.

"Only a tenth of the pain. None of my ribs are cracked like Tsu's were, but it feels like they are." Ishiaki attempted to explain for her. "As long as the seal isn't a wound in and of itself, I should have nothing to worry about from the backlash."

"If you say so..." Akane trailed off, waiting for the healing to commence. She was actually a bit surprised El was still asleep after all this. Lucky bastard...

"But of course, I have no basis with which to compare." Ishiaki replied with a shrug as he set the stone on El's chest. Thankfully, Akane had done a splendid job on healing him. He just hoped that when the backlash hit, he'd still be able to lift his arm...He felt the pull of the Heart and couldn't help but let out a quiet moan. It was more than simply exhilarating....The wounds on El's shoulder closed up, knitting itself back together just a little slower than everyone else's wounds had healed,.

"Phew... now that that's done and you're still alive, this went rather smoothly." Akane said, "Sorry about freaking out a bit and being paranoid. Oita and I were really just worried, you know?" 

"Not...done...yet..." Ishiaki groaned, his head tilting to the side curiously. He could 'see' the chakra behind the seal alot better now that his own was flooding the boy's body. He slowed the healing down further, making it last longer so that he could observe the seal longer

Akane guessed as much and quieted down. She looked at the printed seal on his shoulder. It was not moving or fading away. She feared the stone was useless against it.

Ishiaki let out a groan as his chakra was backlashed through the Heart of Ice. He pitched backward and winced, grasping his shoulder in pain. "Now...now it's finished..."

"No luck with the seal, huh?" Akane, holding back her relief that he was alright. Well... alive at least. It seems Oita and herself should give him a bit more credit like Kami had.

Ishiaki's body shuddered as he rubbed his shoulder. He shook his head slowly, not wanting to make matters worse by adding a dizzy spell on top of everything. "It is rooted deep...very odd for a seal of that caliber."

"I just hope nothing comes of it. The villagers who also had the seal all seemed fine." Akane said, a worry growing in the back of her mind. "But perhaps that beast-like ninja hadn't died afterall?"

"Perhaps...only time will tell I suppose." Ishiaki replied and covered his mouth as he yawned weakly. "They should be waking soon..." He held up the Heart of Ice, "The box, please?"

Akane nodded and walked across the tent to retrieve the small chest. She returned and held it out for him to place the heart in. "It seems the villagers are going to have to find a better hiding spot."

"With any luck they won't have to." Ishiaki replied with a sigh as he started to drift closer to sleep in the chair. He set the Heart into the chest and closed it, latching it tightly, then biting his thumb, drew the seal back in place with his own blood.

"Why do you say that?" Akane asked, looking down at the seal that formed and practically radiated with Ishiaki's chakra.

Ishiaki shrugged weakly and looked at her. "Is it not obvious? We are going to crush the enemy so harshly, they will never return here."

Akane gave him an unsure smile, clearly faking it. Thankfully he was blind though, "Err yea, you've got that right." she assured. "I was just thinking more long term."

Tsu lay there, looking all peaceful and the like now the damage had been healed up. Apart from the blood there was no sign of anything wrong with her, and she just seemed to rest up as much as possible after her last big fight. She couldn't help but dream of Ishiaki. What a nice, loving, hunk of a man he was.

Behind them, forgotten on his bunk lay El. He stirred for a moment and then, seemingly realizing where he was and what had happened, he raised his left hand to his eyes and looked at what had once been his blackened fingers. He saw that the cuticles of his fingernails and the nail adjoining them were a discolored sort of red, akin to a deep set bruise. He looked at his right hand also, forgetting he had been wounded.

Akane saw someone move and turned to see El looking at his hands. No doubt Hinji, Tsu and the nurse should be stirring soon as well. Leaving Ishiaki for a moment, she went to El's bedside and asked, "Is there any numbness?"

El was feeling the tips of his fingers with his thumbs and looking as if he wasn't exactly sure, then he put the fingers of his left hand into his mouth and tested if he could feel with his tongue. After a moment he removed them. "A little, but it's the very very tip, just the skin... as if I just barely dipped them in warm wax... Where is my guitar?" He sat up suddenly with an urgency to play and test whether his fingers still remembered how. The massive blood loss caused him to swoon and he grabbed his head.

"Woah- easy!" Akane snapped at El when he sat up so suddenly. Though her stern posture diminished quickly. Her tiredness was evident in the dark circles under her eyes and her tone. "I don't know here it is. You didn't come in with it. Must be buried in the snow somewhere... Just- take it easy, ok? Ishiaki and I won't be able to heal you again if you hurt yourself. Healing your frostbite sucked me dry." She glanced down at his fingernails and the stains there. Shame- but it couldn't be helped. "And El, I need to tell you something..." she paused, "Don't freak out, but that rogue ninja gave you a curve mark on your shoulder where he bit you. Ishiaki and I don't know how to get rid of it or what it means. Are you absolutely positive that man was killed?"

El's head swam and he wasn't at all sure he had heard her right. "What? Curve mark?" Surely his ears had been effected. He could feel them filled with water from the melted snow. He stuck his pinky in his ear and popped it out again, feeling warm water ooze out onto his neck.

"Oh gods..." Akane winced with disgust, seeing the stream of water. She grabbed a small hand towel from the supply cart and tossed it on his lap. "Curse mark." she repeated. "Look." Her finger pointed to a small, tattoo that was on El's shoulder. It was a foreign symbol with a circle around it in what looked to be black ink. "About half of the villagers I healed today are stained with it."

Hinji finally came to, and gave the room a slow once over. He didn't honestly remember arriving here, but he wasn't about to admit that. His raven cawed as he sat himself up slowly and checked the spot on his arm and leg where he recently had gaping wounds.

Ishiaki relaxed into the chair, letting it's small comforts ease his pains away. They were waking up now...that was good. He looked about the room and couldn't help but smile as he saw their chakra stores thrum with energy again.

"That's new..." El said looking at the curse mark. "What's it mean?"

Akane did her best not to get irritated, "We don't know." she said again, not liking repeating herself. In a way, he knew how Ishiaki sometimes felt. "Over half of the other villagers I healed have it too. Which is why I'm TRYING to ask you if you are POSITIVE that ninja is dead." she emphasized to make sure he could hear her.

"I... Kano said he was..." El told her. "But I never actually saw him." He had a sudden sinking feeling. He remembered being dimly proud of himself for having defeated the monster.

Ishiaki said that usually when a ninja is defeated, the victims with their curse marks usually goes away. He didn't seem positive though. Just speculation I guess." Kano, Kami and Oita are keeping an eye out though." Akane explained briefly, followed by a yawn. Though despite her exhaustion, she was quite pleased to discover El's hands seemed almost as good as new.

"If I still have the mark them I must not have defeated him." El said gravely.

"You must have done some serious damage though." Akane said, glancing over to Hinji, seeing that he was stirring slowly. "Otherwise I may not have had time to heal your hands...or for Ishiaki sensei to heal Tsu Sensei or Hinji. Whatever you did, you stalled him long enough to do what needed to be done." she said, trying not to let El beat himself up about it.

"Small consolation..." El said and began to look around "Was there nothing left of my guitar? Nothing at all?"

Akane looked around, thinking maybe she just missed it earlier...but there was nothing. Nothing but a few splinters of wood that were weaved into his jacket. Akane and Kami had taken it off of El when they brought him into the tent. "I suppose this isn't a good sign then." she commented, showing him the remnants of wood stuck in the fabric. "You almost lost your hands, have a curse mark.... and you are worried about the guitar?" she asked, not believing he was serious.

"It was my father's..." El said easing back down to let the swimming in his head ease. "And his father's. It's been the training guitar in my family for seven generations. It can be repaired... if I can find enough of it."

"We'll look for it before we leave." Akane assured. "After we know there is no threat out there anymore." She paused and smirked, "Well at least you finally broke it in, right? Eh?" Then Akane realized how stupid she sounded, "Gods, I'm tired..." and placed a hand at her head.

El wanted to smiled at her joke, but the undeniable fact of his guitars loss weighed heavy on his mind. Without his guitar he had to rely on his voice if trouble came their way. He was not very confident about his voice... other boys from his village had always made fun of him... and the way his voice had begun to quaver since last summer... He knew that quaver signaled manhood, but he could not sing and attack with puberty plucking at his vocal cords.

Akane left his side and filled two cups of water at a sink. She returned and handed him one. "Sit tight, I'm going to see how Hinji is." With that, she went over to the other bedside and gave the crow a brief glance, "How are you feeling?" she asked and handed him the other cup.

Hinji took the cup and drank it down before responding, "I am feeling much better." He looked again at where his wounds were, "Do I have you to thank for this recovery?"

Akane shook her head. "Healing El's frostbite drained me of all my chakra. I sewed your thigh up the old fashioned way, then Ishiaki patched you up with the heart of ice. You should still take it easy. If anything happens from here on out, Ishiaki and I can't do much in terms of healing."

"Heart of Ice?" Hinji asked as he laid back down after a sudden onset of light-headedness.

"Basically it's why those rogues were here in the first place. It's a sacred relic of the villagers here. Someone can use it both as a weapon and to heal.....though with consequence. Ishiaki used it on you, El and Tsu Sensei...so he is pretty bushed. Kami, Kano and Oita are patrolling outside while you guys rest." Akane explained.

"I should be out there with them, now that I am healed." Hinji said, reconsidering his laying back down. "I can still help out."

"Not yet." Akane told him. "They don't need you now. We suspect that one of the rogues isn't dead yet....but that he is buried in the snow. Though you really need to take your rest while you can have it." she explained.

El sat but all the tightness was in his chest and not his bottom. He worried, not for his guitar but for the people he may not be able to save without it.

"Maybe my raven can act as an early warning." Hinji said, nearly desperate not to be useless, "It can fly around and keep an eye out for anything."

Akane thought for a moment, "You know- that may be a good idea. I don't see the harm in it. Maybe have it scout out where the avalanche was."

Hinji nodded and then looked at the whispy shadow raven, "You heard the plan." he said simply and the raven cawed in response before flying off and out of the medical building.

"Is...that thing alive?" Akane asked, not too sure. "Like- it can't get hurt, can it?"

Hinji arched his eyebrow at her sudden interest, "No, it can be hurt." He said, "That is why I try and keep it out of immediate danger."

Akane was primarily just interested because it took the form of a real bird. "But it's not... like... a real fowl, right?"

"No, it is just a shadow manifestation." Hinji said.

"Why a bird?" she inquired.

Hinji shrugged, "I do not know. When I did the ritual and summoned it, that was the form it took." He explained, "My master's was in the form of a small monkey."

"I think you got the better of that deal." Akane replied honestly. "Though I am still partial to the real thing."

"I've noticed." Hinji said as he fiddled with the rip in his kimono, an obvious frown of displeasure on his face.

This was probably the longest conversation the two of them shared without it breaking out into conflict. At least- not yet. Akane placed her hands behind her back, not knowing where else to take the conversation.

Hinji closed his eyes as silence fell upon the conversation and he waited to hear back from his raven, "You may return to El if you wish." He said, having a feeling that she would rather be over there talking to El then here with him.

"He's fine." Akane said with a shrug. "But if you want privacy, that's fine. Stepping away, she crawled onto the bed between the two boys and sat with a yawn. She could easily talk to both from here if need be. She was just so damn tired.

El was silent on his bunk. His right arm was over his eyes, blocking them from the light in the room. He was awake, but he'd seemed to picked up some sort of redness in his vision caused by all the white snow. Covering his eyes helped and it also helped him hide from the prospect of failure for having not defeated his foe afterall.

"I'll be fine. You heard Tsu, the leader of the rogues escaped her. He's coming here after that thing." Ishiaki explained through the winces of pain. "We're going to need all of you up to fighting standard."

Oita almost jogged in, his pack on his back and saying loudly "Sensei? Sensei, what are you doing?" He didn't sound angry, but he didn't sound as if he was going to give up whatever he was thinking of doing. He jogged over towards Ishiaki, then held out a hand to him "Hand it over."

Akane was a bit surprised how straightforward Oita was so suddenly. He hadn't even seen Ishiaki painfully coughing about...she didn't have a doubt in her mind that he knew something they didn't. There was probably a reason that stone was locked up in a chest after all. Whatever the case, she was on Oita's side. The stone was seriously hurting Ishiaki and making him very edgy. He hadn't ever yelled at her like that before. Akane stayed at her sensei's side, ready to argue should he refuse.

Kami was up to it. As a matter of fact as far as she knew she was the only one who's chakra reserves were still at 100%.

Kano approached the others cautiously. "We know what that thing is doing to you, sensei. We can't let you keep using it."

Ishiaki stiffened when Oita demanded the Heart from him. "I have work to do, Oita. You can put it safely into the chest when I'm done." Defiantly he grabbed a hold of the rock and looked at all three of his students. "Stand aside, I do not repeat myself." He warned them all, they knew how much he hated to repeat himself, but this time it was more than that.

Oita held out his hand "Don't make me repeat myself sensei. I have just learned what that stone does, and I have come to take it from you. You have no doubt healed people already, the worst off, and the rest are capable of waiting a little longer before being seen to." He was trying to glare up at his sensei, but it was difficult to do so through thick glasses. He wasn't moving.

"I knew what it did when I took it from the chest." Ishiaki explained, holding the stone out before him. "It does more than heal, Oita. My chakra reserves are running on fumes, but with this in my hands, I could level this entire island with the small amount I have left. That is why we cannot allow the enemy to obtain it. The best way to do that is get all of you on your feet."

"The worst way to do it is to pound you into the floor. We are to protect the stone. That means that you concentrate on getting it OUT of here when they come, not fighting them to the death. And in order for that to happen you must stop using the stone. Now." Oita was standing his ground, trying not to tremble in front of his sensei. Wood. Be wooden. Seemingly hard, but flexible, bendy. Be strong and don't move. "Give me the stone. We will seal it away again, you will rest and wait for the signal that they are here. I will fight, the rest of you will aid in the escape. Everything. Abusing the power of the heart will only hurt you now."

"At least give it a rest, sensei." Akane said. With her suspicion confirmed, she was even more adamant about him not using the stone any longer.

"Don't you think he knows better than we do?" Kami asked. "He is a Jonin after all... it's not our place to tell him what to do."

"Doesn't mean that I can't see a bad thing when it's happening." Oita said calmly, hand still out stretched "And he won't be much of a sensei if he winds up decimating himself trying to heal everyone. We're not asking to reverse everything, just to put the heart down."

Akane had to admit that it was different seeing Oita so bold like that. It seems he had grown up a bit since they first were assigned into their teams. He had been such a shy boy... but was apparently growing in confidence and courage.

"The man is quite determined, maybe we should let him finish? You said it yourself, Hinji and El aren't in such bad shape now. The backlash wouldn't be nearly as harsh as on Master Tsu and that woman, right sir?" Kano asked, directing his question towards him curiously. The man clearly thought he knew what he was doing.

"A tenth. The better capable they are, the less that tenth will be, yes, Kano." Ishiaki responded with a nod, he couldn't help but smile despite the pain that continued to flare up in his chest.

"A tenth might kill you." Oita pointed out flatly "If it's a tenth then perhaps someone else could do it. Akane is nearly out of chakra, she would be of little use in a fight in her present state. If she was to heal them then you could rest and we could still be a fighting force." Oita said flatly to Ishiaki, and showing how much he either didn't care for, or believed in his team mates. It wasn't completely certain. "I don't believe you would attack if I tried to take that from you. But it would be a waste of time and chakra to try to stop me. Which I am willing to do for your own sake."

"Could you just trust us this once?" Akane asked, siding with Oita...which was certainly a first.

"You have made a dangerous err in your judgment if you believe I will not defend myself with the stone should you try to take it from me. I will not allow any of you to feel the pain from this wretched rock. Allow me to finish this." Ishiaki told him flatly. He did not want to harm the boy, especially now that he was finally standing up for himself, but he only had the two patients left, then he could rest, would rest whether he wanted to or not.

"Just... let him finish..." Kami said reluctantly. She agreed with Oita and Akane, but she wanted this to be done with.

It seems Ishiaki was just as stubborn, if not more so than people thought her of. "If you keel over, I will have no sympathy... I hope you realize that." she told her teacher in a rather casual tone. A tone that one wouldn't often give their masters. Akane was speaking to him as a friend, not a student in this reguard.

"Ishiaki. It's a foolish error to think I would make such a threat without having already set up a way in which you have no chance to resist. I am merely giving you the option to hand over the stone without a struggle." Oita said flatly, not moving, his hand still outstretched. Strangely outstretched actually. How long had been standing there with a single hand held out towards his sensei? "You will not brow beat me into giving up. You are hurting yourself, and losing sight of the goal."

"Ummm Oita? I really think you should let him finish..." Kano pleaded, he knew it wasn't his place to question how the other team performed, but if someone didn't stop them, one of them was going to get hurt. D'var had told him exactly how powerful this stone was, it was how he got the others to come along to this Island.

"You should listen to your friends Oita." Ishiaki warned him rather coldly. "I do not have time for this incessant bantering. If you intend to stop me, then by all means try it already. You know full well that I know you would have set something up, so why would I move first and trip your trap?"

"Just stop it!" Kami shouted, not meaning to. This was ridiculous, Ishiaki knew best, he was their sensei, he knew his limits. Though she was worried about his there was no need for violence.

Oita glared at Ishiaki, then sighed and shook his head with a small growl "Fine." He shook his head and turned away from Ishiaki "If you cannot trust Akane to handle this instead of you, I will let you ruin yourself." He shook his head and started to walk away, going to check if anyone was attacking yet.

Akane stayed quiet after Oita spoke and restricted herself from the situation slightly. Ishiaki wasn't looking too good and he was headset on healing El and Hinji. So be it then. She had tried to stop him....but it couldnt be helped.

Ishiaki was relieved that Oita backed down. He talked big, but right now he did not feel as though he could have taken the boy. He had learned a lot from the book about the Inner Gates. Ishiaki closed his hand around the stone and clenched it tightly. He knew what the Heart of Ice was capable of, and despite all their concerns, he was going to use it. He just prayed he wouldn't have to use it for battle. "Akane." He ordered as he wobbled, almost falling over, when he tried to move to Hinji's bed.

"I gotcha." Akane replied, stabilizing his arm upright. She guided him over to Hinji and pulled over a stool with her heel. "Here- sit."

"Thank you." Ishiaki told her as he sat on the stool. He placed the Heart on Hinji's chest and sighed as he fell into the stone's wondrous power. He felt his body become drained of his chakra and felt as it was twisted and pulled and amplified into Hinji's wounds. He watched with wonder as the wounds sealed shut, chakra steaming off of them

Oita sighed, and a bunch of chakra strings snapped visibly away from the heart of ice as Ishiaki walked away. Oita had gotten a rather strong grip on it in his time standing there it seems. He exited the little tent, hoping to see that they weren't in the middle of an attack.

Akane watched more closely as the stitches she made fell out with the wound magically healed at lightning speed.

Kano watched them work with avid curiosity. This Heart of Ice thing was clearly enough to seriously harm Ishiaki and yet he continued to use it. It was inspiring to watch the man at work.

Ishiaki cried out as the stone backlashed into him. He pitched forward and cursed, clutching his leg as Hinji's pain transferred into his own body. He was glad that the boy hadn't had any chest wounds, he might not have been able to make it if he absorbed another chest wound...

Akane winced as Ishiaki cried out. She hadn't ever heard him make sounds like that before. It was alarming to say the least. It only reiterated that he was just as human as any of the students were. "You ok?"

Ishiaki groaned and rubbed at his thigh. "It'll pass..." He hoped, there was no sense in voicing that part though. He winced and again tried to steady himself. "Hurt more than I thought it would, that's all." He looked at Akane and attempted a smile, "You did a good job on his wounds."

"Don't flatter me. I think the stone and your ambition did most of the work." Akane replied. "Now that Hinji is taken care of, all you need to heal is El. He really isn't that hurt. I healed up most of his shoulder and his hands are clear of frostbite." she added, very proud of that last fact. "Oh and I don't think I mentioned if before... but he has-" she trailed off for a moment, glancing over at El for a moment, then back, "He has a curse mark like the others do."

Ishiaki looked at her curiously. "He has a mark too? This is not good...we need to find out what they do before the seals are released." He held out his arm to her, he was going to need her help over to El now for sure.

Akane took careful steps. Being quite tired herself, she didn't want to drop Ishiaki or let him fall. "How do we do that? And El said the ninja he was fighting was killed in an avalanche... shouldn't the seals vanish if he is dead?"

"Typically yes...unless he isn't dead." Ishiaki told her, shaking his head a little. "If El survived, it is possible that his opponent did as well. Though these rogues don't sound like the type to dig each other out as Kano did."

Kano walked over to Kami and placed a hand on her shoulder gently. "Come on, let's go check the defenses with Oita. I feel like I'm in the way here."

"So- if that guy is alive and uses the seals....what will happen to El and the other villagers?" Akane asked, very concerned. About half of her patients had the mark.

"We know clearly how the seals are placed on the victims, they reside along the edges of the wounds inflicted by the man's teeth or claws. Correct?" Ishiaki had a theory, and it was quite a wild one at that...

"That seems to be the trend, yes." Akane replied, helping Ishiaki over to his last patient, sitting him down in another seat beside El's bed.

"Without knowing what the man was capable of, other than the savagery of the attacks, there really is no telling what the seals are capable of. For all we know they could simply be there to prevent the wounds from healing fully. A scar can be a horrific reminder..." Ishiaki explained sadly, knowing full well how much a scar could mean

"How do you think the stone will effect it? If any.." Akane mentioned, a bit curious herself.

"I do not know." Ishiaki admitted quietly, that was the part that truly frightened him.

"You think maybe you should skip El?" Akane asked. "I can heal him up I'm sure..." She doubted he would go for it.

"At the very least it'll give me a chance to really observe the seal. I will attempt to heal him as I have the others. With any luck, the powers of the Heart will be enough to heal him of the seal as well." Ishiaki replied, hoping he was speaking the truth. He did not understand the jutsu that inflicted the seal upon the boy, and without knowing anything about it, he had no ideas on how to stop it.

"Just be careful, ok? I don't want that seal leeching onto you when you use the heart. You seem to take on the injuries of the people you heal..." Akane trailed off, hoping she was wrong.

"Only a tenth of the pain. None of my ribs are cracked like Tsu's were, but it feels like they are." Ishiaki attempted to explain for her. "As long as the seal isn't a wound in and of itself, I should have nothing to worry about from the backlash."

"If you say so..." Akane trailed off, waiting for the healing to commence. She was actually a bit surprised El was still asleep after all this. Lucky bastard...

"But of course, I have no basis with which to compare." Ishiaki replied with a shrug as he set the stone on El's chest. Thankfully, Akane had done a splendid job on healing him. He just hoped that when the backlash hit, he'd still be able to lift his arm...He felt the pull of the Heart and couldn't help but let out a quiet moan. It was more than simply exhilarating....The wounds on El's shoulder closed up, knitting itself back together just a little slower than everyone else's wounds had healed,.

"Phew... now that that's done and you're still alive, this went rather smoothly." Akane said, "Sorry about freaking out a bit and being paranoid. Oita and I were really just worried, you know?" 

"Not...done...yet..." Ishiaki groaned, his head tilting to the side curiously. He could 'see' the chakra behind the seal alot better now that his own was flooding the boy's body. He slowed the healing down further, making it last longer so that he could observe the seal longer

Akane guessed as much and quieted down. She looked at the printed seal on his shoulder. It was not moving or fading away. She feared the stone was useless against it.

Ishiaki let out a groan as his chakra was backlashed through the Heart of Ice. He pitched backward and winced, grasping his shoulder in pain. "Now...now it's finished..."

"No luck with the seal, huh?" Akane, holding back her relief that he was alright. Well... alive at least. It seems Oita and herself should give him a bit more credit like Kami had.

Ishiaki's body shuddered as he rubbed his shoulder. He shook his head slowly, not wanting to make matters worse by adding a dizzy spell on top of everything. "It is rooted deep...very odd for a seal of that caliber."

"I just hope nothing comes of it. The villagers who also had the seal all seemed fine." Akane said, a worry growing in the back of her mind. "But perhaps that beast-like ninja hadn't died afterall?"

"Perhaps...only time will tell I suppose." Ishiaki replied and covered his mouth as he yawned weakly. "They should be waking soon..." He held up the Heart of Ice, "The box, please?"

Akane nodded and walked across the tent to retrieve the small chest. She returned and held it out for him to place the heart in. "It seems the villagers are going to have to find a better hiding spot."

"With any luck they won't have to." Ishiaki replied with a sigh as he started to drift closer to sleep in the chair. He set the Heart into the chest and closed it, latching it tightly, then biting his thumb, drew the seal back in place with his own blood.

"Why do you say that?" Akane asked, looking down at the seal that formed and practically radiated with Ishiaki's chakra.

Ishiaki shrugged weakly and looked at her. "Is it not obvious? We are going to crush the enemy so harshly, they will never return here."

Akane gave him an unsure smile, clearly faking it. Thankfully he was blind though, "Err yea, you've got that right." she assured. "I was just thinking more long term."

Tsu lay there, looking all peaceful and the like now the damage had been healed up. Apart from the blood there was no sign of anything wrong with her, and she just seemed to rest up as much as possible after her last big fight. She couldn't help but dream of Ishiaki. What a nice, loving, hunk of a man he was.

Behind them, forgotten on his bunk lay El. He stirred for a moment and then, seemingly realizing where he was and what had happened, he raised his left hand to his eyes and looked at what had once been his blackened fingers. He saw that the cuticles of his fingernails and the nail adjoining them were a discolored sort of red, akin to a deep set bruise. He looked at his right hand also, forgetting he had been wounded.

Akane saw someone move and turned to see El looking at his hands. No doubt Hinji, Tsu and the nurse should be stirring soon as well. Leaving Ishiaki for a moment, she went to El's bedside and asked, "Is there any numbness?"

El was feeling the tips of his fingers with his thumbs and looking as if he wasn't exactly sure, then he put the fingers of his left hand into his mouth and tested if he could feel with his tongue. After a moment he removed them. "A little, but it's the very very tip, just the skin... as if I just barely dipped them in warm wax... Where is my guitar?" He sat up suddenly with an urgency to play and test whether his fingers still remembered how. The massive blood loss caused him to swoon and he grabbed his head.

"Woah- easy!" Akane snapped at El when he sat up so suddenly. Though her stern posture diminished quickly. Her tiredness was evident in the dark circles under her eyes and her tone. "I don't know here it is. You didn't come in with it. Must be buried in the snow somewhere... Just- take it easy, ok? Ishiaki and I won't be able to heal you again if you hurt yourself. Healing your frostbite sucked me dry." She glanced down at his fingernails and the stains there. Shame- but it couldn't be helped. "And El, I need to tell you something..." she paused, "Don't freak out, but that rogue ninja gave you a curve mark on your shoulder where he bit you. Ishiaki and I don't know how to get rid of it or what it means. Are you absolutely positive that man was killed?"

El's head swam and he wasn't at all sure he had heard her right. "What? Curve mark?" Surely his ears had been effected. He could feel them filled with water from the melted snow. He stuck his pinky in his ear and popped it out again, feeling warm water ooze out onto his neck.

"Oh gods..." Akane winced with disgust, seeing the stream of water. She grabbed a small hand towel from the supply cart and tossed it on his lap. "Curse mark." she repeated. "Look." Her finger pointed to a small, tattoo that was on El's shoulder. It was a foreign symbol with a circle around it in what looked to be black ink. "About half of the villagers I healed today are stained with it."

Hinji finally came to, and gave the room a slow once over. He didn't honestly remember arriving here, but he wasn't about to admit that. His raven cawed as he sat himself up slowly and checked the spot on his arm and leg where he recently had gaping wounds.

Ishiaki relaxed into the chair, letting it's small comforts ease his pains away. They were waking up now...that was good. He looked about the room and couldn't help but smile as he saw their chakra stores thrum with energy again.

"That's new..." El said looking at the curse mark. "What's it mean?"

Akane did her best not to get irritated, "We don't know." she said again, not liking repeating herself. In a way, he knew how Ishiaki sometimes felt. "Over half of the other villagers I healed have it too. Which is why I'm TRYING to ask you if you are POSITIVE that ninja is dead." she emphasized to make sure he could hear her.

"I... Kano said he was..." El told her. "But I never actually saw him." He had a sudden sinking feeling. He remembered being dimly proud of himself for having defeated the monster.

Ishiaki said that usually when a ninja is defeated, the victims with their curse marks usually goes away. He didn't seem positive though. Just speculation I guess." Kano, Kami and Oita are keeping an eye out though." Akane explained briefly, followed by a yawn. Though despite her exhaustion, she was quite pleased to discover El's hands seemed almost as good as new.

"If I still have the mark them I must not have defeated him." El said gravely.

"You must have done some serious damage though." Akane said, glancing over to Hinji, seeing that he was stirring slowly. "Otherwise I may not have had time to heal your hands...or for Ishiaki sensei to heal Tsu Sensei or Hinji. Whatever you did, you stalled him long enough to do what needed to be done." she said, trying not to let El beat himself up about it.

"Small consolation..." El said and began to look around "Was there nothing left of my guitar? Nothing at all?"

Akane looked around, thinking maybe she just missed it earlier...but there was nothing. Nothing but a few splinters of wood that were weaved into his jacket. Akane and Kami had taken it off of El when they brought him into the tent. "I suppose this isn't a good sign then." she commented, showing him the remnants of wood stuck in the fabric. "You almost lost your hands, have a curse mark.... and you are worried about the guitar?" she asked, not believing he was serious.

"It was my father's..." El said easing back down to let the swimming in his head ease. "And his father's. It's been the training guitar in my family for seven generations. It can be repaired... if I can find enough of it."

"We'll look for it before we leave." Akane assured. "After we know there is no threat out there anymore." She paused and smirked, "Well at least you finally broke it in, right? Eh?" Then Akane realized how stupid she sounded, "Gods, I'm tired..." and placed a hand at her head.

El wanted to smiled at her joke, but the undeniable fact of his guitars loss weighed heavy on his mind. Without his guitar he had to rely on his voice if trouble came their way. He was not very confident about his voice... other boys from his village had always made fun of him... and the way his voice had begun to quaver since last summer... He knew that quaver signaled manhood, but he could not sing and attack with puberty plucking at his vocal cords.

Akane left his side and filled two cups of water at a sink. She returned and handed him one. "Sit tight, I'm going to see how Hinji is." With that, she went over to the other bedside and gave the crow a brief glance, "How are you feeling?" she asked and handed him the other cup.

Hinji took the cup and drank it down before responding, "I am feeling much better." He looked again at where his wounds were, "Do I have you to thank for this recovery?"

Akane shook her head. "Healing El's frostbite drained me of all my chakra. I sewed your thigh up the old fashioned way, then Ishiaki patched you up with the heart of ice. You should still take it easy. If anything happens from here on out, Ishiaki and I can't do much in terms of healing."

"Heart of Ice?" Hinji asked as he laid back down after a sudden onset of light-headedness.

"Basically it's why those rogues were here in the first place. It's a sacred relic of the villagers here. Someone can use it both as a weapon and to heal.....though with consequence. Ishiaki used it on you, El and Tsu Sensei...so he is pretty bushed. Kami, Kano and Oita are patrolling outside while you guys rest." Akane explained.

"I should be out there with them, now that I am healed." Hinji said, reconsidering his laying back down. "I can still help out."

"Not yet." Akane told him. "They don't need you now. We suspect that one of the rogues isn't dead yet....but that he is buried in the snow. Though you really need to take your rest while you can have it." she explained.

El sat but all the tightness was in his chest and not his bottom. He worried, not for his guitar but for the people he may not be able to save without it.

"Maybe my raven can act as an early warning." Hinji said, nearly desperate not to be useless, "It can fly around and keep an eye out for anything."

Akane thought for a moment, "You know- that may be a good idea. I don't see the harm in it. Maybe have it scout out where the avalanche was."

Hinji nodded and then looked at the whispy shadow raven, "You heard the plan." he said simply and the raven cawed in response before flying off and out of the medical building.

"Is...that thing alive?" Akane asked, not too sure. "Like- it can't get hurt, can it?"

Hinji arched his eyebrow at her sudden interest, "No, it can be hurt." He said, "That is why I try and keep it out of immediate danger."

Akane was primarily just interested because it took the form of a real bird. "But it's not... like... a real fowl, right?"

"No, it is just a shadow manifestation." Hinji said.

"Why a bird?" she inquired.

Hinji shrugged, "I do not know. When I did the ritual and summoned it, that was the form it took." He explained, "My master's was in the form of a small monkey."

"I think you got the better of that deal." Akane replied honestly. "Though I am still partial to the real thing."

"I've noticed." Hinji said as he fiddled with the rip in his kimono, an obvious frown of displeasure on his face.

This was probably the longest conversation the two of them shared without it breaking out into conflict. At least- not yet. Akane placed her hands behind her back, not knowing where else to take the conversation.

Hinji closed his eyes as silence fell upon the conversation and he waited to hear back from his raven, "You may return to El if you wish." He said, having a feeling that she would rather be over there talking to El then here with him.

"He's fine." Akane said with a shrug. "But if you want privacy, that's fine. Stepping away, she crawled onto the bed between the two boys and sat with a yawn. She could easily talk to both from here if need be. She was just so damn tired.

El was silent on his bunk. His right arm was over his eyes, blocking them from the light in the room. He was awake, but he'd seemed to picked up some sort of redness in his vision caused by all the white snow. Covering his eyes helped and it also helped him hide from the prospect of failure for having not defeated his foe afterall.

---

Kami nodded and went with Kano.

"Your sensei is a very bold man." Kano told her as they exited the tent. He figured they could meet up with Oita, with the boy's pack he shouldn't have gotten very far away.

"It worries me sometimes." Kami admitted, looking back towards the tent where her sensei no doubt lingered in pain.

"It's good that you worry..." Kano told her with a nod, "It shows that you care."

Kami agreed nut said nothing. "What have you seen of the enemy?" she asked instead. If they were to take on whoever was coming to take the stone from Ishiaki then she wanted to know more about them.

"The man with the bear must have been tougher than he appeared, to land Hinji in such a shape..." Kano explained, "He really did not look like much of a threat to me. My opponent was a fierce warrior, we fought nearly to a stand still. When he summoned an avalanche jutsu, I used about the last of my chakra to save us both from it's crushing weight. And you saw how El was...whatever did that to him...I pray it is buried within the snow."

"A bear..." Kami said thoughtfully. "I killed a bear once... not a ninja bear though."

Oita was half way up the tower, clinging onto the side and staring out at the forest. He wondered what was going on... surely the person should have arrived by now? There was an attack feeling, he knew it, Tsu's person had lived. But where were they? Maybe... maybe they were already inside?

"I did not see what was so special about the bear...but granted, he was not my opponent." Kano admitted, looking around for signs of Oita's passing

"From what I understand about Ninja Squirrels," Kami began, "A bear I imagine would be rather formidable."

"My head still finds it hard to wrap around the idea of Ninja Squirrels." Kano told her with a shake of his head.

Oita carefully slid down the wall until he silently rested behind the other two. Without a single word announcing where he was, he tapped Kano on the shoulder and said "Did you manage to get anything out of these people about their boss?"

"Only that he's their leader for a reason. D'var warned me that the man would not stop until he got what they came for." Kano explained uneasily.

Kami was worried about all of this, but she felt as if it was perfectly healthy to be this worried.

"D'var also said that the man was a horrifically dangerous fighter..." Kano said, swallowing hard. ""And for him to even say that...it does not settle well with me."

"One of the reason I wanted Ishiaki in a semi-useful state," Oita admitted with a little shake of his head and a sigh "Here's hoping we don't have to fight him one on one."

"We will win." Kami said confidently, though there was that healthy layer of worry beneath the surface. "We're fighting to protect these people, to defend their village. That makes us good and evil can never beat good."

Oita was about to open his mouth to state how that was not usually the case, and they were still doing this because it would likely aid their own cause. But he decided not to. No need to ruin Kami's happiness.

"I like your enthusiasm." Kano told Kami with a wide smile. "Sensei Tsu has been healed. When she awakens she can brief us further on the man's abilities."

"You said El killed his opponent?" Kami asked. "And did Hinji vanquish his?"

"Given the condition Hinji was in when Tsu brought him in, I would hope so." Kano replied. Hinji hadn't really mentioned anything about it

"If she is fully healed I'm certain she could tell us what we want now," Oita said simply, chewing on his bottom lip, which was feeling quite frozen right now "We would just need to wake her up."

"She probably needs the rest..." Kami said, but she did agree with Oita. Perhaps they could just give her a little nudge...

"Want to head back then? Master Ishiaki is probably passed out by now." Kano offered with a shrug.

"You guys head back, I'll watch out back here," Oita said with a small nod of his head "Make sure you get as much information as possible though. I don't want to go into this fight unprepared, if I can avoid it."

"Should we?" Kami asked. She wasn't sure if they should stay her or not... Oita might need help before they could return to assist him.

"I believe that's what we all want." Kano replied with a nod, looking to Kami and then back the way they came.

Oita nodded, remaining still, letting the others walk away to get some information. He was staying out here, watching out for the approaching people. He just hoped that he didn't have to start fighting before Kano and Kami could tell him what the man used.

Kami went with Kano, not feeling very good about leaving Oita to guard the gate.

Kano trusted Oita to guard the place, the boy was certainly strong, and fast, incredibly fast if he didn't have that pack on. He looked over to Kami. He was uncomfortable with the silence and scratched the back of his head as they walked back to the med-tent. "So...what have you been up to? I know that Ishiaki and Akane have been using their healing jutsus on everyone, what about you?"

"I can hardly do more than act as a medic." Kami told him. "A medic with a pharmacy on their hip."

"I'm sure that came in handy." Kano offered weakly. He knew it hardly sounded like a compliment, but everything else that popped into his head sounded worse. Well...must be a small pharmacy, or must be real sturdy hips...

Both actually, but Kami was too oblivious about such things to really notice her own hips. "I did learn some things in the green house though." She said. "I asked for a few samples to bring back to the Inc once this is all over. I've been told I can take whatever I can carry."

"Well, when it's time to go, give me a holler and I'll carry some too." Kano told her with a smile.

"I will." Kami said with a smile.

---

Ishiaki groaned and got to his feet. Clutching his side, he stumbled over to the still slumbering Tsu's bed. "Hey come on, little lady. Wake up."

There was a little "Ehhhhh..." noise, Tsu rolling over and quite clearly feeling that she deserved a rest after having a severe case of almost dead. Not that she needed much of an excuse to be asleep, but that was the one she was using to get out of moving right now.

"You know I don't repeat myself." Ishiaki whispered into her ear, placing his hand on her hip. "They'll need you..."

"Ugggh..." Tsu groaned gently, her hand going down and stroking slowly across Ishiaki's hand. She blinked her eyes open, and a little smile spread across her lips as she saw Ishiaki. "Hey," she said softly "Don't suppose that fight I had was all a dream?"

"I guess you could say it might as well had been." Ishiaki told her, placing his hand against the bare spot on her shirt that the rhino's horn had smashed away. "No broken ribs, no cuts, nothing wrong internally."

"Great... but you don't look so super," Tsu groaned, stretching out, feeling her bones give a little crick as she straightened, "What happened? What did I miss?"





Akane yawned again. She would fall asleep if she sat here too long, "Do either of you want some coffee?" she directed to both boys.

"No thank you." El said, still unmoving.

"No thank you." Hinji said, "Caffeine makes it hard for me to concentrate."

"Yea... me either." Akane said gruffly in regard to her wanting coffee. The nurse had forced her to take a few sips several hours earlier, but it wasn't very good. Sitting on the bed with her feet planted on the mattress and her knees at her chest, Akane resisted another yawn while she rubbed her good eye with a fist. Neither El, nor Hinji seemed to want to talk, so she said absently, "We better have our next mission somewhere warm... like the Caribbean."

El made an agreeable sort of sound and said nothing else. He would kill for a pair of desert shades, but was fairly certain he hadn't brought any with him.

Akane gave up communicating and laid herself down on the bed, too tired to 'play nurse' anymore. She curled herself up around her pillow and rested her head against it. It seemed things had died down anyway... might as well try and get some rest. Closing her eye, it took less than a minute for Akane to fall asleep completely.

Hinji was deathly silent. He wasn't asleep, but was wanting to keep his ear out for any warning cries from his raven, should it return with news.

As predicted, Akane was out like a light.

---

Kano lifted the flap of the tent and gestured her forward with his hand. "After you."

Kami slipped into the tent, still feeling as if they should be out there with Oita.

"Oita will find a way to warn us should the enemy arrive. I do not believe he will try to engage them without assistance." Kano told her, hoping to ease her mind as they rejoined all the others.

"It's Oita." Kami said. "He is very stubborn..."

"He is also very strong and very fast." Kano informed her with a smile.

"But which outweighs the other?" Kami asked.

Kano shrugged and shook his head, truthfully he hadn't a clue. "He's your teammate, shouldn't you know?" He turned and headed towards Tsu and Ishiaki. They were sent to question her on the enemy's strength after all.

---

"Same old, same old." Ishiaki replied with a grin, leaning back from the bed and sitting down in the chair beside her.

"Oh no you don't," Tsu said with a giggle, shifting over on the bed "You need to lay down you do. Get in this bed, boy. I'll get out of it in a second, but you need to lie down."

Ishiaki held up his hand in protest. "The chair will suit me just fine for rest, thank you." He told her, softly shaking his head.

"Ngg... stubborn ass." Tsu groaned, sitting up and rubbing her eyes, looking half asleep still "So what's going on?"

"Never claimed to be otherwise." Ishiaki replied with a weak shrug. "I've healed you and your squad. You, El and Hinji were horribly injured by your opponents, and at least one of them escaped and is coming here."

"Yeah, that would be my guy. Now lie down, you must be exhausted." Tsu said, shuffling over to Ishiaki and trying to subtly push him down onto the bed from his chair.

Ishiaki groaned and allowed himself to be led to the small bed., "Finne...just a moment's rest though."

"I will nail you to that bed if you don't rest," Tsu said flatly, not managing to quite glare at Ishiaki right now "You've done your best. Sleep."

Ishiaki groaned and laid his head back on the small pillow. "I pray it will be enough..."

"I'm sure it will. I almost killed the guy the first time," Tsu said with a little nod of her head "I'll take him now, I'm sure. Thank you for the help Ishiaki."

"Watch out for them, will you?" Ishiaki asked her, meaning his students. He was worried about them, even now.

"Well, hopefully they will be careful, and won't just... dash in... that's my job," Tsu said with a small sniff of her little nose "I'll look out for them. If needs be, I'll hang back and just guard their little tushes until the job's done."

---

"Tell us what you need us to do, ninja." Senshi told Oita as the boy returned to the guard tower. "We are at your disposal."

"Right now? Just start getting ready to leave. There's a big guy coming, we would like to assure you of his destruction, but if you can start to quietly arrange the ability to leave at speed, that would be super." Oita was a pessimist in several cases, but he also knew that it would pay to be prepared.

"Leave our home? They will not like that thought." Senshi told him in response.

"Well, it'll only be as long as the fight takes. Maybe. If we defeat him, sure, you can come home. If we can't, well it's better than dead." that was about all Oita saw as happening. Win and live, lose and dead.

"The others will not appreciate the thought of leaving, but they'll understand." Senshi told him with a nod

"Good. Our team is mostly up," Oita said with a small nod "But Ishiaki is no doubt exhausted. If he isn't done using that heart of ice, just... punch him out or something. Make him rest."

"I think that would be more trouble than getting everyone to leave." Senshi told him with a smirk

"I don't know. He's a little out of it right now." Oita said with a little shake of his head "Just do your best with this."

Senshi nodded and turned the other guards, sending them about the duties of gathering the remaining townsfolk. It was going to take a lot, but if Oita was to be believed, it would be worth it for them to leave for now.