Private A Path of Healing [Requesting Nao]

[Ashikawa Shun]

Shun let out a sigh, shaking his arms loose as he approached the entrance of the Byoin. He was excited to see his old instructor again, though he knew his absence in active training would be a question he had to face at some point. He held the letter from the Fifth Hokage in his hand, hoping it would be enough despite the change in leadership their land had in the midst of his private training. He greeted a few familiar faces upon entry to the Byoin, a small smile settled on his lips seeing that everyone was doing well for the most part. He requested a private council with his soon-to-be personal trainer, given that he was handed over by the previous Hokage herself.

Shun was led to a room, and he settled himself into a seat, requesting that the help bring them a serving of tea as well. He played with the end of his ponytail idly while awaiting Nao’s presence, eyeing the note on the table where he had placed it. I hope he’s been well as well, Shun thinks to himself. It has been quite a few years since he last saw his teacher, so there’s no telling what antics he’s gotten himself into. The moment Nao entered the room, Shun was quick to present the letter to him. "Hello, Nao! I have the letter from a few years back, I know you said we would get started the week after I first showed it to you but I took a long break to prepare myself quite a bit more before coming back. I wasn't ready then, but I am now." Shun spoke with a new air of confidence, his eyes drifting up from the letter in his hands to look at Nao. Upon first sight of his injuries, the letter slipped from his grip. "Good lord, what happened to you?" he asked, his focus completely shifted from the initial reason he had appeared today.

WC: 329
Private thread for Sazuki Nao
Shun speech
Shun thought

 

[Sazuki Nao]

The red-haired man had been confined to desk work as he was terrible at sitting still at the lonely home. Yet his office had now come to a walk-in for all the personnel despite his breaks, this was such a situation right now. Right now was an excellent example because Nao was sitting near the window to let the smoke go outside, and on the windowsill was a cup of coffee which was still damping hot. When he heard his name he would look up from the window towards the face and then saw the paper slip the next moment.

When the question happened as to what had happened with him... He would simply start summing things up. "A tunnel got explosives, the fire got my scaled on the back... Without the scales it wouldn't be a first degree burn... It isn't fully everywhere, seems like the tips of those scaled were fine. The cuts I have everywhere are from knifes, kunai and all that. Uhm.. the bruises. well... I thought bad guys, sadly i did not trip down the stairs to get these. The encle? feet thing... I sprained it quite badly as I have been told. Yet first moment I was too stubborn and made it worse. It is heavy sprained. My arm is because of the amount of cuts and to prevent it from infecting." He summed it up a little and left half of it out and just... His mind was still very in the here and now and not in the past or present.

"Just got hurt while defending people, it is fine. they are fine now too." he spoke and pointed towards the paper that had slipped. "You dropped something, need that again or..?" he would question and took another drag of his cigarette and blow the smoke outside.

[Tpoic entered]

 

[Ashikawa Shun]

Shun listened to the tale shared with him that described Nao's injuries. It seemed like Shun had missed all the action in his absence, but he was very happy to hear everyone turned out okay at least. “I’m glad you managed to survive it all and get everyone to safety,” he assured, looking down at the mention of what he dropped. Nao seemed to be holding himself well despite his injuries, so Shun trusted that he had nothing serious to worry about. Shun bent down and picked the letter up again, offering it to Nao. “It’s simply the letter the Fifth Hokage gave me, offering me to train under you in the medical field. I took a long time preparing for today and getting my head straight after everything that happened back then,” he explained, fidgeting with the longer ends of his hair once more.

Spoiler: Letter to Nao

Hey, this is your new apprentice.

Go nuts.

Asuka

Then again, he couldn’t remember if he had told Nao about everything that happened back then. “Is there anything I can do to help you? I don’t know a lot of medical jutsu, but I would be more than willing to learn, or at least to run some errands for you should you need something in the midst of your recovery,” he offered, adjusting the sleeve on his left arm. He simply wanted to aid his basically-boss. “I have a few dried herbs on me from my garden, they won’t necessarily remove the pain but they might at least help with muscle relaxation. Dried cherries offer some anti-inflammatory processes, and I’ve got peppermint leaves and dried lavender as well. I could make a balm or request some hot water to brew a natural tea.” That was probably the closest thing he had to medical knowledge aside from a few things he had read in his private studies.

WC: 302
MFT
Letter taken from Asuka's post
Shun speech
Shun thought

 

[Sazuki Nao]

"Painkillers are miracle workers... did you know?" He asked as he spoke right before the mention of the letter alsmot reading the thoughts of the boy. Probably wondering how he was up and walking... or well... Cripling. "Asuka huh..." He would heavily sigh with the hearing of that name. She had yet to show herself on the gates and it almost seemed that the name started to become a curse for this man.
"Show me the letter..." He asked to see the letter... Once he opened it up, it was quickly crumbled. Not even a formal letter... Just another memo basically. He tried to play basketball with the, now ball of a paper, and with a good aim he shot it right in. "Seems like I have a new student." He simply said after and wouldlook at Shun.

"Just make sure, same as me, that whenever we deal with patients over a table or in the medical field, that your hair isn't loose. Deskwork and breaks your hair can be loose." He spoke as he would then listen to what the student was saying. "I will teach you a medical jutsu tomorrow, since today is going to be a short day. That way I can see how far you are in the medical field too... You will be making a small paper test, even genin should be able to get through it without too much worry." He would say and look towards him. "huuh... you too are familiar in herbal medicine.. Well..." He would try to be a bit cocky and crossed his legs. "Let's see what you have. Please pour me one." He would see if this was indeed what he thought it was.

"I wasn't kidding tho... Tomorrow you have a toddlers test and a lesson." He would comment before leaning on the sofa just staring to the sealing. "But before anything.. Know that the name Asuka is one that is odd right now in the world of shinobi that knew her. She was send away as an envoy to repremend for her mistakes. Not only did she fail as a hokage, but maybe even too as a Leaf shinobi. We have yet to see her. Word is she is to travel to the hidden leaf as a Sand Sennin... Just be careful with the name right now."

 

[Ashikawa Shun]

Shun watched as Nao, clearly annoyed, threw the note into the trash. Shun had thought it was fairly important, but he guessed not. His attention returned to Nao as he accepted him as a student and began to list off some appearance rules and what would happen on his first official training on the following day. Shun grinned a bit in excitement when Nao gave him permission to make tea for his new mentor. Shun pulled the dried herbs out of the bag he wore strapped across his shoulder, setting the wrapped fabric satchels on the desk. He would need to move to the kitchenaire to actually heat up the water, but he nodded his head in agreement to the review of the coming lessons. “I’m prepared to take some tests. Despite my lack of practice, I made sure to be well read.”

Upon hearing the news of Asuka, Shun’s smile dropped momentarily. It was sad to hear that the woman who had given him so much grace when he was younger was now a bit of an enemy to his village. “It seems in my absence, I failed to stay up to date on the happenings higher up.” Then again, he rarely spoke to people the past few years, far too focused on his training and improvement in preparation for this day. “I’ll be sure to keep my beginnings in this path a bit more private. Thank you for the warning,” he replied. He really hoped Asuka hadn’t betrayed their home like he nearly did. It didn’t seem like her, but he wasn’t going to argue about it when it was clearly far bigger than he had the right to know details for.

“I’m going to go heat up some water, I’ll be right back.” Shun made his way out of the office, moving towards the kitchen and finding a metal kettle that seemed to be stovetop safe, but only after a moment of struggle with his search. He filled it with enough water for a few cups each, setting the kettle on the stove to heat to a boil. He spooned a bit of sugar into a small bowl and added it to the tray, along with a container of honey for Nao to have options should he wish to sweeten his tea. Once the water reached the proper temperature, Shun carefully set it on a tray with a cup set he had also found in his hunt.

He carried the tray back to Nao’s office, setting it on a table and opening the rolled satchels of his herbs. He placed 2 dried cherries in each cup, followed by a teaspoon of lavender blossoms. “I usually only use one cherry when I make this mix because it can easily overpower the lavender’s subtle taste. However, because of its muscle relaxing properties, I’m using two with a bit more lavender.” Shun picked up the teapot and carefully poured the water into each cup, leaving enough room to stir without a spill. Once he replaced the teapot on the tray, Shun picked up a spoon and stirred the tea in Nao’s cup gently to disperse the flavor. “Personally, I prefer honey with my floral teas because it’s a much more natural sweetness, but I brought sugar as well if you want some.”

Shun proceeded to place the tea in front of Nao after it seeped for some time, confident the flavor should be properly prepared. He then began preparing his own cup, adding just a splash of honey to blend the flavors together. He then took a pinch of a mint leaf and placed it on top of each cup. “I also tend to use the mint sparingly, but you’re welcome to add any herbs you’d prefer from the satchels.”

WC: 630
MFT
Shun speech
Shun thought

 

[Sazuki Nao]

He was amazed at how much knowledge this child had regarding the herbs and their effects... he would nod a few times as he would listen to him. " You are quite knowledged about it. Perhaps your herbal garden wouldn't be a strange thing to give you..." he would say as he started forming thoughts inside his head. "Honey has far better usage than regular old sugar. It has important antioxidants, minerals, and enzymes that a body needs for a good and functioning body, not to mention that it is a natural antibacterial. Which means it could help fight off infections. That is why people often use it when they start to get a cold. For some with pollen allergies, it may even help as well." he would comment before shuffling on the couch. "You... did not smoke right?" He asked before they would offer the child, a young man person.

After that question, he would sit down with the tea. "To tell the truth.. It is driving me nuts to sit only here, but everyone in the Byoin keeps me on bed rest."He would complain a little but right after he would take a deep breath. "But... I guess I should be happy, they do care for me." He would smile softly after that and look at the kid. "There is one thing you can do for me...' He would speak and point toward his desk. "There should be a key with a duck..? Keychain I think it was a duck. That is my herbal house keys... I haven't been able to go there in a little. Would you mind checking up on the plants int here.?"

He thought this would get 2 flies in one... See how far this child was in medical and how far he was in herbal. Because... Maybe for this kid, he had to plan a whole new exam.

 

[Ashikawa Shun]

Shun was already learning something new when it came to the honey. He only preferred it for its taste, but to know it was a lot more useful than he thought was good information. He whipped out a small journal he kept in his bag for moments like these, jotting down a few points for honey as Nao had explained it. Upon the question of smoking, Shun shook his head. “I’m not a big fan of the smell, but I grow my father fresh tobacco and have a storage case of it at home, for his rougher days. I could bring you some, if you’d like to try it.”

Shun slipped his journal back into his bag, rolling up his herbs to keep them fresh but still leaving them on the tray should they wish for another cup. He took a sip of his own tea before checking for the key Nao mentioned, finding it inside one of the drawers. The duck keychain dangled from it for a moment as Shun admired the little trinket. He then moved to seat himself next to his teacher on the couch to finish his tea.

“I would love to tend to your greenhouse. All of my plants are grown outside, so they take a lot more tender care than if I was to have a greenhouse for them. I’ve always wanted to learn how much the housing affects their care. Could you show me to it in a moment?” he replied, slipping the key into the pocket on the front of his shirt. He sipped his tea again, smiling softly at the pleasant aroma that filled his nose and the subtle sweetness of the honey he mixed into his cup. “I know how frustrating it must be to be on bed rest, but I’m glad you have a little help around at least. And you can count me as an extra hand if you ever need to, I may be big on gardening and cooking, but I can do other chores too.”

WC: 339
MFT
Shun speech
Shun thought

 

[Sazuki Nao]

"I am only used to smoking the cheapest stuff there is around..." He would comment and point to the pack of cigarettes... It was true that he only took the cheapest stuff to save up more money for the orphanage... Even with the transformation, however, he still couldn't hold his liquor that best versus other people. That was when he lighted it and took a drag of it. "I got that little trinket from one of my kids... but I do not know what it is... What animal do you think it resembles?"

"Would love to show it to you kid... but I think if I get out of this room there will be at least three nurses jumping on me to sit back down again... All I can say for now is that someone in the herbal house will surely explain it to you." He would sound apologetic as he honestly couldn't easily leave the room he had been in, because a... he already had been sneaking out so many times now, b seemed to get more hurt lately by taking up more harder jobs.

He took a sip of the tea himself and looked at it rather surprised, he honestly liked the blend that he had right now... He would swirl the tea in his cup a little before taking a new sip. "There is also a clipboard with what to do on a daily day."