Candies!

[Samejima]

Naoki made her way to Yumi's hospital room, hoping she'd be in the mood for some treats she brought. I had to spend quite a bit... But I was going to buy these anyway, I'll just be sharing them is all!

There were some hard candies and some chewy ones, made of differently tempered sugars so they all had somewhat marbled textures with an overall light caramelly color. Several of them were novelty candies, some of which could stretch and some of which were liquid in the center. Some were even made into the shapes of somewhat eerie animals, with their eyes bulging out of their mooshy shelled bodies comically. Hmhm~ I hope she likes these...

Now close by and toting an extra bag in addition to her usual one, Naoki knocked on Yumi's room's door before entering. "Yumi, are you feeling any better?" she asked, head popping in before anything else so she could survey the area. It seemed the beeping machines had been taken out of the room, so she had to snap her fingers to find her way around inside. Wouldn't be too much of a distraction though hopefully.

By her heartbeat, Yumi seemed to be concentrating on doing something with her left hand, though Naoki wasn't sure what.

 

[Kazumi]

Yumi sat crosslegged on the bed, a small rolling table extended over her legs from the side of the bed. The young girl sat there with a focused expression, and a doen vague doodles of her own name written out on it as she tried to practice writing. This was not something she looked forward to doing, and even after practising it looked like a two year old child had scribbled it out. So, she shook her head with a sigh before her head perked up and she looked over towards the door.

A second passed before the knock came and Naoki found Yumi already looking over at her as she popped her head inside. Yumi's expression brightened slightly as she saw Naoki's face. Though, if it was the face of anyone except one of the staff she probably would have smiled as well. By now she had her head bandages removed, and she was in an actual hosptial gown, rather than simple cloth wrappings over her chest. Even still, her right arm still was wrapped tight as it would be quite sometime before it was completely healed.

"Mhmm, just sitting over here and pretending I am a toddler." She looked down towards the paper and sighed disapprovingly at it. "If my mom saw me scribble like this she would have a heart attack." Yumi softly chuckled, but wined in pain from her chest. The punctures had not been life threatening, but they were still far from trivial and they too would be a while in fully healing.

 

[Samejima]

"Scribble? Oh, you're practicing your writing?" Naoki walked in, snapping her fingers a few times to get a decent image. She located the stool, and identified a little table-looking structure on the bed over Yumi's legs. Sitting down, she continued, "Writing's always been pretty hard for me," then she paused, considering her statement, "Even before losing my sight I mean, the words are just so hard to remember."

I kinda wish I could see the scribbling though, compare it to how mine looked when I'd just started learning... The one thing she did remember was the discrepancy between the actual character and the one she 'wrote' out. "Ahahaha! Naoki... you... hee hee, no, no, it's too much! Too much, haha!" were her mother's exact words when she tried it out. They had to buy her at least seven books before she started trying to write again. She sighed at the memory, and smiled wryly... or as wryly as she could smile at the time, considering they were about to have some kind of sugar rush.

"Once you're done with that though, I brought you some things from Sietch! I don't know if you've seen these things, but they're pretty good..." Naoki said, lifting the small bag she carried the sweets in.

 

[Kazumi]

Yumi looked back down to the page and pouted a little, "I used to have very elegant handwriting..." She didn't seem as depressed about such things as she had a few days ago, but it was still hard on her all the same. She took in a breath and let it out as a sigh as she pushed herself pas that moment of malaise. As Naoki continued, she would look over towards her and watch the bag that she had carried in.

"Sietch? Is that a place? A store? A person?" Obviously she had not heard of it, and she was not entirely sure Naoki did not make up that word on her own. "What are they exactly?" Her eyes narrowed as she peered over towards the bag as she tried to read it from her position perched atop the bed.

 

[Samejima]

Huh? She... doesn't know about... oh! Remembering that Yumi did hit her head, Naoki's previously tilted head straightened up and nodded. "Sietch Zensunna, the shopping place? I can't afford a lot of things from there yet, but the ones I can..." she brought the bag closer to Yumi, opening it to reveal a jumble of sugar, hardened to different degrees and mixed to different stickinesses, "are pretty sweet~ How about it, want some?"

Naoki was currently grinning full force in anticipation, though she still didn't know for sure that Yumi even liked sweets. It was just a given that young girls would like sweets when Naoki thought about general preferences. Man, if I knew I'd be able to just buy sweets like this, I'd've asked mom and dad to come to Suna ages ago! Then her earlier excitedness about the candy waned, remembering not everyone has the same priorities. "Ah but we could just have them later, if you wanna practice writing a bit more..." she said, pulling her arms back a little.

 

[Koizumi Mao]

Arata had never been to the hospital before. Not that it was particularly unnerving or anything, but most certainly unfamiliar. The boy never imagined he'd need to be anywhere near this place unless he were placed here by a mission that would eventually make a solid attempt at claiming his life. As there was no family or loved ones to speak for, having to arrive in light of an emergency wasn't a very likely situation either. What he hadn't really anticipated was where he found himself now; to check up on a friend. The ditzy little blonde he called his training partner hadn't arrived to their previous meeting. A strange absence of the normally punctual girl. Thinking of the time he'd spent alone that day brought his hand to idly reach up toward his face, fingertips tracing along the edge of the cracked right lens of his overbearing glasses.

"Hello?" He could finally hear the voice of an older woman fade into his mind, causing his senses to sharpen as he turned to face the member of the hospital staff. His attention was clearly taking some time to come back, just now noticing the receptionist that tried to catch his attention. "Is there anything you need?" She asked the boy who'd just wandered inside. His distracting thoughts were repressed as he finally remembered just why he was here. Word of a bloody incident involving a wealthy family was quick to spread - enough so that he caught wind of the familiar name, at the very least. "I'd like to see Tsukino Yumi if she's available. I'm a friend." He never really tried to act formal, but he was always polite. The receptionist briefly inspected the young boy before pointing out the location of the room the girl was staying in, also taking time to point out, "She's with another visitor, so she should be awake."

Another visitor? Well, outside of their regular training sessions, he wasn't sure just how many friends she could've made in the village. It could also be a relative of hers coming to comfort her. Would he be interrupting if he were to just show up out of the blue? The moment of hesitation was clear in his action of moving away from the front lobby, but he'd ultimately decided to at least see how Yumi was doing. In order to keep himself from drifting off again, he would repeatedly note the room number to himself until he'd reached his destination.

It wouldn't be long before the two girls inside could hear a solid pair of knocks on the door behind them. Moments after, the door creaked open, revealing the preteen standing at the threshold. The telltale pair of large round glasses glinted slightly with the artificial lighting in the room, though Yumi could spy a rather large crack across the right lens that hadn't been there before. One might wonder how he could've seen very well through them to begin with, let alone a damaged version of them. "Um...Hey." A nervous smile crossed his lips, briefly noting the unfamiliar girl in the room. A blindfolded Genin? Perhaps his eyewear wasn't the most perplexing after all.

 

[Tori]

Daichi made her way inside the hospital, looking so much like she didn't belong. The girl never felt in place in such sterile and strangely smelling environments. The air reeked of drugs and...blood? Did no one else around notice or care? The people that appeared bothered by the setting were the minority. In fact, it looked to be just her.

How Dai discovered that Yumi currently stayed here stood as a minor detail in the grand scheme of things, but let's say even Daichi noticed her fellow classmate's absence after a while. The preteen failed to realize the fact as quickly as most people, too caught up in her own training initially.

Daichi didn't dare approach a hospital personnel. Anyone crazy enough to work here would be given a wide berth, even. So instead, the girl scurried along, apparently deem unworthy to the few people that actually saw her. Thankfully, Dai already had a lead of sorts. Arata caught her eye, the weird boy being far enough ahead that Dai tailed him with 'some' confidence.

Daichi timidly hung around the corner when the orphan approached the door. The usual ritual of knocking and announcing one's presence occurred. At least, that's what the girl figured. For all she knew, the older student just stood there for kicks.

Suddenly a voiced from behind called out. Dai quickly glanced around, hoping someone else was loitering nearby. No dice. The idea of getting caught and being questioned was a little much, so Daichi darted to what was hopefully Yumi's room. Of course, she forcefully pushed Arata to the side in the process and 'attempted' to hide under the bed.

 

[Kazumi]

The girl was opening her mouth to respond to Naoki's question when her attention suddenly shifted towards the door behind the other girl. She stared at it for almost a second before the pair of knocks that preceded the familiar pair of strange eye-wear and their owner. Her expression brightened a small measure and she lifted her left hand to wave at him. She then looked past him and only a moment later that third familiar face rushed inside, the sound of a middle aged receptionist calling after her.

Her eyes widened in surprise as Dacihi found little room under the bed in which to hide, the hospital bed being supported by thick plastic frames and mechanisms that allowed for easy adjustment of the bed. Unfortunately none of those bits moved out of the way for the fleeing girl and she could only manage to fit half of herself under it if she tried at it. A few scant seconds later that receptionist who had called out for Daichi hurried into the doorway on the hunt for the scamp.

Yumi's raised hand shook wardingly towards the woman and she disarmingly confessed, "she's a friend Miss Shakora. Everything is alright." The woman seemed to understand what she meant, but Daichi would still receive a furrowed brow of annoyance before the woman made her way out of the door frame and back to the floor's reception area. Eventually she managed to let off a small sigh, the minuscule ordeal draining a little of her energy. "It is good to see you Arata." She leaned over the edge of the bed to catch a part of Daichi as she continued, "and you as well Dacihi."

She sat back up in her bed before she risked falling out of it, and with only second's hesitation she belatedly remembered. "Oh, I'm sorry. This is Fukui Arata and..." she tried to recall the other girl's family name but only drew a blank. "Dacihi, and this is.... Naoki." She just then realized that she was not sure if she recalled Naoki's name either. A small tinge of embarrassment colored her cheeks and she looked away from them all with an awkward expression, feeling annoyed with herself for having forgotten two our of the three... if she had ever known them.

 

[Samejima]

Naoki's head tilted somewhat after she heard the knocks on the door, and she waited for whoever it was to enter before turning. It was a male voice, one which sounded rather like it came from a friend than a doctor, so Naoki turned to face the doorway.

Not long after he entered, and with not enough time to introduce herself, another person came in, pushing the boy to the side and diving under the bed. Naturally, Naoki's legs flinched upwards despite being nowhere near the area in which the girl dived, likely betraying her status of regular blind genin. A hurried explanation was given before she was introduced, and she realized she'd forgotten to do so herself.

Standing up and taking a couple steps back, "Yeah, um, name's Samejima Naoki!" She bowed in their general directions, and if Daichi was facing her Naoki would shift the bag of sweets to her left hand, holding out her right to help Daichi up, polite smile on her face. Regardless of whether or not she took it, an amiable "nice to meet you both!" would be said before she remembered the purpose of her visit.

"Ah, I brought sweets~ Anyone want some?" she said, left arm held out to indicate the bag in which the sweets were held. Of course, if anyone did, she'd open it up for people to partake in... After that or otherwise, she'd likely keep quiet, visibly fidgeting as she listened to the rest of them talk. Ahh so many people, so many... I dunno if I've even talked to this many people at once before, without mom and dad around...

 

[Koizumi Mao]

His smile visibly brightened as well once he saw the hospitalized girl was welcome to more company. Just as he made a move to slightly raise his hand and wave back, he found himself nudged aside. His footing managed to reset itself before he could topple over, but the sudden presence was certainly unexpected. Upon further analysis, the intruder was none other than the other small girl that was present during a few of their classes. He never actually had the chance to speak to her before, despite having seen her around on more than one occasion. A friend of a friend is always a good way to meet new people.

Seeing as things were finally beginning to settle, he took a few steps further into the room after the receptionist made her way out, leaving the four kids to chatter amongst themselves. "I came as soon as I heard about what happened." He admitted somewhat bashfully, as if he should've known sooner, being her designated training partner and all. It was difficult to tell where exactly the boy was looking with those cracked classes of his, though he did momentarily face down toward Yumi's arm before focusing back up toward her face. The loss she suffered could quite clearly be seen, though he didn't think to show her any pity for it. Danger was part of the job they were signing up for. All he could do about it was to be there for her when he could.

The boy turned his head toward the most unfamiliar presence in the room - the blindfolded girl. She was a little jumpy, though he couldn't think of why she shouldn't be as a presumably blind ninja. He couldn't help but think back to rumors that losing one sense would make the others more sensitive in order to fill the void of perception. Since Naoki did manage to graduate from the academy, it's likely that those rumors were true to some extent. "Nice to meet you too." He responded in a calm tone, though she couldn't really see the friendly smile that crossed his lips. At her offer, he casually stepped over to her side in order to dip a hand into the bag that she held outward for others to partake. Who was he to turn down an offer of free sweets?

A piece of hardened sugar was taken, popping the candy into his mouth. It wasn't often he really indulged in the pleasures of candies and desserts, but when he had the chance, it was always satisfying. "Thanks." No reason not to be polite, his voice somewhat muffled by the small chunk of sugar that poked at the side of his cheek.

 

[Tori]

Daichi tried her hardest to weave under the bed. She figured she could manage it at some point, but whether or not she could accomplish it in time was the biggest problem. Thankfully, life did not require her to do so, as the foolish woman following her would be shooed away. Good riddance.

The introductions went underway as the little girl struggled to pull herself from that trap of a bed. The hard part had more to do with Dai not jarring or destroying the thing. She soon pulled herself out with creepy crawly hands, only to see a new girl offering candy. Of course, Dai took a piece or three while sitting on the floor. Her hand quickly snatched the pieces away like a child smuggling cookies from a nearby jar.

Daichi had something of a sweet tooth that her parents took pains in not indulging. Perhaps the reason was related to the girl spinning and dancing in place mere moments after popping the treat into her mouth. Thankfully, she hit nothing yet. However, too much movement to one side or another would quickly change that. Daichi seemed content to hum and twirl while the others talked about whatever.

 

[Kazumi]

She blushed a small bit as Arata commented that he had arrived as soon as he had heard of the incident. She wasn't entirely sure why, but that thought made her feel a little better. Perhaps she had expected him earlier, but such thoughts were dashed away as she realized how tiny of a piece she was in the scope of other people's lives. She had been in the village for just under four years, but she still didn't have anyone who she had really bonded with. It was rather hard for her to give up her old friends, and she supposed she didn't want to replace them, even after she finally accepted she likely wouldn't ever seen them again.

She gave off a small sigh and faintly shook her head as the others began feasting on candy. "Thanks Naoki, but I will be alright for now. I don't really have much of a sweet tooth." That admission caused her to softly chuckle as she re centered her attention on the paper and pen she had been working with. As the others ate their delicious candy she began scribbling once again, her hand working slowly and unsurely as she wrote random words on the paper with all the proficient of a four year old. "Thanks for coming all of you. It is nice to see people who don't want to stick me with needles or do other tests."

 

[Samejima]

Oooh, they took it! Hmm... But the one she'd originally brought them for hadn't. She left the bag open on the stool after eating one herself, a hard candy that she knew wouldn't impede her speech as much as a chewier one, and leaned back on the wall next to Yumi's bed. Hmm~ She tried to think of a topic to no avail, the long-awaited sugar having caused her to bop her head to the rhythm of Daichi's humming and thinking of ways to harmonize, despite not singing much herself. She briefly considered trying to play along (she did bring her kokyuu with her everywhere now) but it would be quite hard to pull it out and play without causing some alarm on everyone else's side.

After a bit of head-bopping, she spoke up, foot-tapping replacing the head bop. "So you two are Yumi's friends, from the Academy?" She would've liked to make friends as well, in the years she'd spent in the village, but the closest she's gotten was her partner, who wasn't exactly known to be social, and Yumi, whom she'd met a few months ago... and had no contact with for the next few months. I'm getting better at it! Little by little... Still a ways to go before her shyness was overcome, but it was getting there.

"I actually met Yumi a few months ago, but haven't bumped into her anywhere since then..." she began, hoping to prompt some conversation. Should try and get Yumi to talk too, a little later...

 

[Koizumi Mao]

During the period of sugar-fueled humming and twirling, the boy watched Yumi practice her writing with her only usable hand. Needless to say, he was a little worried about how his training partner felt about the tragedy that befell her. As much as he wanted to help, he's never really been attacked before. He continued mindlessly gnaw at the candy in his cheek as she thanked them for showing up, giving another somewhat nervous smile in response. Perhaps he didn't need to do anything special to help her in her current condition. Maybe what would help her most is to just be there as a friend.

Naoki's voice tugged him back into the present, his head perking up as if he'd just nodded from a daydream. As he reeled into reality, he may have missed the question that was posed toward him. He turned his head back toward the blindfolded girl, noting the foot tapping she made in tandem with Daichi's tune. It didn't give him any further evidence to the theory of super-hearing, but the curious boy might find something if he remained diligent. It was when she continued on her topic when he actually realized what it was she was asking. "She's my partner. We meet up to train a few times a week."

 

[Tori]

Dai finally spoke, using a, "Uh huh" to answer the question. To be fair, Daichi was just assuming things. While she and Yumi had begun crossing paths more often, enough that Dai often found herself regularly listening to Yumi after training, they never ventured farther than that.

In the midst of her humming, Dai thought to mention, "Muscles remember. The curl of limb, awkward twitch. It comes out right eventually." Kind of odd for her to bring that out of nowhere, especially since her attention skirted to and fro. "Takes repeats, though. Lots of them." She then ate another candy, gleefully taking in it's chewy center.

 

[Kazumi]

She nodded in agreement to both Arata and Naoki as they spoke about where they knew her from. When Naoki said her piece, however, she paused her scribbling for a moment to wonder why exactly she had come in the first place. Part of her knew, but the rest wondered why a girl who she only knew in small amounts would have so quickly came to the hospital of all places to see her. The thought brought a small smile to the girl as she continued, listening to them all the while.

Her head did perk up at Daichi's odd ramblings, and they didn't make any sense to her at first. She thought on them for a moment and thoughts she might have understood... some of it, but she remained silent as she went back to her 'writing.' "You all don't have to stick around if you don't want to. I'm glad you came, but this isn't exactly a very... fun place to be around." She didn't entirely sound like she wanted them to go, but she tried to hide that under a considerate and appreciative tone.

 

[Samejima]

"Ooh, I was just here to share some stuff I got... I shouldn't eat 'em all myself after all, that'd be bad for me," Naoki nodded, remembering the last time she ate too much sugar, earning quite a bit of yen and not having much else to spend it on but new strings and bandages. It wasn't one of her finer days. "Besides, I don't exactly... have other people to spend time with right now."

As she'd failed with the last attempt to start some speech, she frantically tried to think of a topic that would be related to what they were doing. "Um, v-visiting people in the hospital like this... I hope it doesn't happen too often..." Wait no! You're supposed to be talking about happy things, not sad things! Then hastily, she continued, "Ah, um, and, h-hospitals always smell so weird right? I can't see what it looks like in here, but I can probably tell if I ever wake up in a hospital just by the smell!"

...what?! What was that? Who's going to say anything about how weird a hospital smells?! She almost reflexively moved her hands to cover her face, just twitching a little as she stopped herself from doing so.

 

[Koizumi Mao]

The boy's focus remained subjected onto the blind girl, taking notice of her fidgeting. Was she nervous? It is somewhat common to feel less at ease in a hospital, though he couldn't help but assume that wasn't the case. It was the act of being social that brought the scarcely noticeable twitch from her. He continued idly poking at the candy in his mouth during his own pondering, keeping careful not to let his attention slip back up into the clouds. In light of Naoki's inner-confliction, perhaps moving on with the conversation would make her feel a little more comfortable.

Arata chuckled slightly before speaking up again. "It looks about as weird as it smells. Plain and sterile." He reassured her, turning to face Yumi again. "I can always train a little later, and you already know I don't really got anything else to do." He didn't have any parents to try and keep tabs on him, after all. "Besides, this place isn't so bad as long as there's a few familiar faces around to keep you company, right?" Yumi made it pretty obvious that she didn't really want to be left alone in here; there weren't many that would. He'd have to remain insistent on having his partner's back rather than let her ride through her recovery on her own.

 

[Tori]

Dai strayed to the door, leaning onto it while peering outside. "No one should be left at the mercy of hospitals or their minions. Have to be ever watchful, or you'll get swept away in their corpse and blood harvesting." Of course she spoke from experience, despite never having stayed in a hospital in her life. The weirdo peered this way and that when she finally closed the door again. You'd figure she was expecting to get jumped or something.

 

[Kazumi]

The girl gave off a faint sigh of relief, one she had meant to be completely silent. "Yeah, they always smell a little too... clean. I mean, I guess it is for the best and stuff, but... its still weird." She shrugged her shouldered and reflexively winced as the motion tugged on the stitching hidden beneath her arm's bandages. "Glad you all could make it though. That wasy I can embarass myself in front of people while I learn to write... again." She looked down towards the paper she was scribbling on with the pencil grasped in her left hand.

Again she tried to write her name, and it went either one of two ways: Either she did it quickly and it was illegible or she tried to do it slowly and carefully and all of the letters turned out to be blocky and still only barely recognizable. This time was the former. She set the pencil down and held her doodle up for them all to see, "back where I am from you would get a gold star for work like this!... When you first learned how to hold a pencil." Yumi cracked a smile and softly laughed, keeping it slightly subdued so she would not irritate any of her injuries.