Familiar Ceiling [Semi-Open]

[Saotome Asami]

Asami let out a heavy sigh as she stared upwards. From her place atop the hospital bed, the ceiling was the first sight she saw in the morning, and the last at night. She was already growing sick of it and what it represented, but staying in the bed was the best thing she could do if she wanted to leave any time soon. From what she'd been told, the metal weapon had impaled her skull, and a twelve-hour surgery was needed to separate it and her brain. The fact that she could see at all was a small miracle, considering where it had hit. Was she really in a positon to be ungrateful about surviving?

An onlooker would see that the girl looked far from her best. If they could somehow only focus on her face, they’d see that she wasn’t too far from the everyday little lady that prioritized presentation. From there, however, it was hard to miss the layers of bandages covering the back of her head and forehead, or the brace that stopped the back from touching anything else. Then there was the hospital gown she had been forced to wear, and a pair of unflattering socks to match. At the very least, it didn’t look like she had been abandoned. Her family had brought a large bag filled with the usual essentials for an overnight stay, as well as several baked goods that they’d snuck past the doctors. A newspaper lay beside her bed, though she’d clearly lost interest in it for the moment. For some reason, the space above her had become the most fascinating thing in the room.

Spoiler: OOC

This thread is open to anybody looking to visit Asami, assuming they know of her and where to find her.

 

[Eishi]

I came through the door as silent as the wraith I was. The door had barely slid open and closed before I was already inside. Today was a social call that Eishi would never have bothered to make on his own despite being the cause of this girl's hospital stay in the first place. I'm sure he had already forgotten this girl named Asami, but I sure hadn't. Lost as he may be on one focus or the next, I was still here to pick up his messes. I guess.

Regardless, here I was. Some time had passed since the incident, yet I felt compelled to be here in his place. I had to play the guilty party and at least apologize for him. I didn't know how she would act when she finally did notice me, but even if it came to her screaming and being told to leave, that'll be alright. It just meant I had given it a college try and failed. College? I questioned myself, trying to remember what the word meant after I had thought of the old adage that wasn't mine. God I hated being me sometimes. Inheriting memories wasn't normal in the slightest sense. My personality itself was a blank sheet and yet it was warped by the fragmented memories of past horrors and life lessons. I'd have to deal with it later, but it always brought on a mild headache when I went down the rabbit hole.

"How are you feeling?" I'd ask out of the blue as I set down some chocolate and junk food by her bedside. I had heard girls her age like sweets and salts. I wouldn't know, I didn't need to eat, but what I had been given by Eishi was almost always 'salty', 'savory' or 'bitter' as he described the tastes to a novice like me. His tastes were far more reserved it seemed if this was the standard. Maybe she would be no different from others, but on the other hand, maybe she'd be apprehensive towards anything I tried to do. No one had ever disclosed that Eishi was actually in charge that day, so as far as she should know, I was the one who had put her here.

 

[Byakko Yukiin]

"She survived, thats the most important feeling." Yukiin chimed in from beyond the door, pulling it open with a chakra string with his customary puppet absent at the moment, having relegated them to scrolls now that he had a collection of the weapons. In the time that she taken to recover the shinobi had advanced considerably, though it might not have been immediately apparent as he came into the room, the string snapping to let the door fall back into place as he passed it's threshold. The puppeteer moved a string into his pocket, snapping up a book within it and breaking off as the youth caught the novella in hand, setting it on the night stand as he moved across the room. "Common field treatments, this one has been reading through it and figured it would be of some benefit to yourself. Future incidents may not be so generous as to occur within our walls."

He found a seat on the opposite side of the spear-wielder, still uncomfortable in her presence though not for fear of injury. There was some confusion in his impression of her and he didn't want to complicate things or bother sorting them out in this situation. Yukiin surveyed the girl's injuries which seemed much more extensive than he'd witnessed in the field, but perhaps that was due to his failure to be quick enough to treat her prior to being removed from his presence...but he couldn't have done anything at that point...nothing effective anyways. She had put herself in the situation, he had allowed himself to witness it and be injured himself, but he hadn't actually done anything to assist her...that was under a month ago.

Now he could've done much more. Why hadn't he developed then if he was just going to develop days later? A flower that bloomed too late is worthless after all but perhaps he could assist in future...well, realistically it was all that he could do. In this place he was not permitted to interfere with his senior's treatment, though he found their methodology to be suspect, employing natural tools and stitching like they were chakraless. Even now he could see their handiwork and while he wouldn't voice these comments to them he couldn't help but think how barbaric they were when they had access to chakra to make these types of injuries trivial.

He put his back flat against the seat, legs crossing over one another, head tilted up as he pushed out a breath of frigid mist hoping it might rid him of any of the less pleasant thoughts crawling about in his mind at the moment. Yukiin's gaze was firmly affixed to the ceiling as he spoke.

"This one apologizes, your injuries were preventable and while he is not responsible for it there is guilt for a failure to mitigate the damage and treat it. Do you retain use of your hands and manipulation of your chakra network in your present condition?"

[WC 496]

 

[Takaki Saeko]

Despite all my efforts to discredit the office and bring shame upon the branch, I'm still the sennin's Hand. If a young main brancher loses a toe or has harsh words with their pancreas, I'm usually the one drafted to go visit them in the hospital, shake hands, and give Yuii's official condolences and tut-tutting. What's different about this case, though, is that the injured girl is someone I happen to know personally: I'm the one who promoted her to genin. And because of a recent incident between her and some shady bastards occupying the highest levels of power in the government, she's also attracted some unanticipated attention.

That "attention" comes in the form of me having to haul one of those gigantic, horribly heavy flower wreath thingies through the hospital, while also trying not to drop a very large medal case more than three times...now four...in addition to lugging a giant cake and box of medical supplies around. For anyone else, Yumers included (actually, especially for Yumers), I'd just smoosh everything into a cardboard box and send it to their last known address by media-mail freight to arrive in eight weeks or more. But for Asami, I guess I can strain my back just a little. It's still a huge pain in the ass, though.

"H-hold the door!" I huff at a doll-skinned child who passes into Asami's room before me. But they don't seem to hear me (or are ignoring me, the little shit) and the door simply closes after them. With my last bit of strength, I thrust my foot into the jamb and just barely prevent the thing from closing me out entirely. I'm neurotic about putting things down after carrying them, you see. After a few moments more struggle, I wriggle the door back open and squeeze inside, giant novelty wreath and accessories spilling onto the ground with a clatter.

"Piece of shit!" I give the flower arrangement a solid kick, before realizing that Asami--whose tufts of scarlet still find a way to poke out every which way from underneath a bulky gauze dressing enveloping her head--is actually awake and watching me try to destroy her flower arrangement. "Oh! Uh, hey 'sami! Give me a moment to pick this crap up. It's all for you, anyway!" As I pick up the medal case, I hear the unmistakable sound of broken glass and shifting metal.

Of course, the two other idiots in the room probably won't lend a single finger to help. One of them is that doll-faced, doll-skinned, doll-everything-looking kid who's either deaf or doesn't extend common courtesy, and the other's a lackadaisical slouch who looks like an illegal immigrant from a wuxia film festival. Asami, you sure keep some crappy company. But then again, I'm also here.

"Official business first, so we can get that out of the way. On behalf of Her Excellency Kagetsu Yuii, the Main Branch extends its condolences and gratitude to you, and sincerely hopes that you haven't become retarded, because we need more slow, angry children in Kumo like a fat man needs fried cheese. If you have suffered permanent brain injury, that's okay, too, because Ayumu is Kumo and so can you. Also, there's a cake for you. It got a bit smooshed on the way here."

Next, I quickly right the flower arrangement so that Asami can see it. "This is actually not from Kumogakure, but from the office of the chancellor. As you can see, it's a lovely arrangement of lilies and marigolds set in a wreath and painstakingly crafted in the image of Donado of Oranji himself. As you recover from your patriotically-sustained injuries, you can have...Flower Donald stare at you at all hours of the day. Which means you should get better quickly. Also, you've earned a citation for bravery from the Council of Nobles. Careful, I think the glass is kind of broken."

I bring her the medal case and open it. Inside is the citation itself, along with a small amethyst set in silver and cut in a heart shape. The citation is made out to one 'Salty Salami' and signed by Donado as well. "Jesus Saito, how illiterate are those fucking scribes?" I smack my palm against my forehead. "Okay, if I were you I'd trash the paper and keep the jewel. You can hock it for a few hundo in the cronopolis, I bet."

Lastly, I take out a large box labeled 'Durable Medical Equipment' and empty its contents onto sami's lap. I'd thought it was more gauze or ointment, but what falls out instead resembles some sort of...boxer's sparring helmet. "Huh? Osu saw me struggling in the hallway with all this stuff, so he piled this on top and ordered me to deliver it to you 'to be worn immediately.' Why does he want you to wear a helmet? I guess to prevent autism? Anyway, doctor's orders, so I guess you have to put it on. At least it kind of goes with your hair."

Actually, it doesn't, but I won't tell her that. "Okay, my job's done. Now for the fun part! Sami, tell me who did this to you! I'll shove that flower arrangement up his ass!"

 

[Saotome Asami]

She hadn’t been expecting guests, and once she turned to the door, she found herself wishing she didn’t have any. The woman she had to blame for her condition had all the stealth of the shinobi, but it was hard to miss the rare movement around her. Worry was the first feeling to creep into her mind, but she quickly realised the woman wasn’t there to finish the job. Then… why? The concern for her wellbeing didn’t show, but her cynicism and scorn did. Mostly scorn. What reason did she have to hide her disdain for the woman, after all? Did she really think a few chocolate bars would suffice as an apology, or that she cared to hear anything from her in the first place?

…Still. She was there, and Asami wasn’t in much of a position to leave the conversation (thanks to her). If nothing else, that solved one problem. In the absence of any ‘bystanders’ to report the incident’s details, the hospital staff helped to fill in the blanks as best as they could. Once she was conscious and able to tell her tale, all the staff had to do was check which shinobi had been assigned to her class. She had a name, and every intention of dragging it through the mud once she was on the move, but it seemed that the woman would save her the trouble of having to find her.

How was she feeling? Oh, she would have loved to give the woman a piece of her mind, but she barely got to open her mouth before another entered the scene. She couldn’t tell whether her attacker had dragged the boy along for the ride, or if he had decided to seek her out of his own free will. Probably the former, considering that they’d known each other for all of two minutes before she checked out. His ‘gift’ added weight to the theory. There was probably some good intention on some level she struggled to find. The suggestion that her injury could have been eased by her treating herself made her wonder whether or not he was trying to rub salt in the wound. It would make sense, if he had been forced to bring some contribution along with him. Perhaps she was just assuming the worst of her fellow shinobi again. It came easily to her. Too easily, maybe, but she couldn’t say her last attempt to trust one of them had ended well for her.

Her glare shifted from the book to him, but it weakened as soon as he got his words out. There was no way she could have blamed him for her injuries, and yet, he did what the other would not, and show some form of regret. It became a little harder to see his efforts as ingenuine, but he still came off as… odd. In appearance, in personality and in dialogue. She couldn’t say it was anything new - her forced line of work seemed to attract and create the broken ones, and she knew that wasn’t just her bias talking. Not many of them found their way to her hospital bed, though.

Again, she opened her mouth, and again, a newcomer stopped her. She’d been too caught up in her thoughts to notice something was fighting the door. She gave her former classmate a dismissive hand gesture (conveniently dodging the question of her health for the time being) and turned just in time to see a familiar face scatter goods all over the floor. And then attack them. That was the Saeko she remembered, alright.

There was some small comfort to be taken in the woman taking the time to visit her; Asami knew her one-time leader probably had more important things to tend to. At least, she hoped she had come because she cared, and not to investigate any potential link to Cloud’s nobility. She remained silent as the woman attempted to recover her presents. Her little dig at the Raikage might have gotten a smile if Asami hadn’t been doing her best to show a mix of irritation and growing discomfort. Oddly enough, it was the mention of cake that eased her expression, but it didn’t last long. Something about the image of the father of the man she’d stolen from and the broken glass brought about a confused, saddened, pursed ghost of a smile, and even that was killed by her new nickname. She had to admit that the jewel was nice, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that the ‘typo’ might have been their small form of revenge.

Another gift – one that appeared to be of the ‘insult to injury’ variety. Osu had only added to her reasons to hold Kumogakure’s killers at an arms’ length, and she found it hard to see his offering as anything with good intentions. They would have to force that thing onto her head – and not just because the swelling made most hats a tight and painful fit. Then came the threat. Or promise. It was always a bit hard to tell with Saeko, and under normal circumstances she would do her best to not find out. Given the circumstances, however…

She turned to the door, as if to ensure she would be able to get her words out that time around. Hopefully, the group hadn’t assumed the accident had rendered her mute. “…Right.” She narrowed her eyes, then closed them and sighed. Where was she to begin? Probably with the fun part. She forced a smile on. “Thank you for coming, Saeko-sensei. I can’t say I expected it, but it’s nice to have a nice surprise for once. If you’re looking for my attacker, you don’t have to go far.” In an oddly casual move for her, she jerked a thumb in the culprit’s direction. Her other hand claimed the amethyst, allowing the other gifts to rest on her bed and table. The gem rested in her palm as she turned to the puppeteer. “You too, I hope. I’m sorry that I don’t remember your name. Things are still a little fuzzy sometimes.” That, and they had never introduced themselves. “But you didn’t have to come, and you did anyway. Thank you. I, er… wish I had something to offer, but I guess we have cake now…?”

She dropped all semblance of niceties when she returned her gaze to… Well, her. Eishi, according to the staff. She had a lot of questions to ask – and some sense of closure to gain from them. She had half-convinced herself that voicing them was a waste of time; they all implied basic human decency, and that the woman had cared for her trainee’s life when she stepped onto the field. If that was the case, she would still be up and walking. She knew she couldn’t expect an answer she could consider acceptable, but curiosity got the better of her. “Why?”

 

[Eishi]

I took in Yukiin's statement, giving him a strange look as I admonished him with a bit of a humorous tilt to my voice.

"Last I checked, you were questioning Eishi as to why he was even going to bother to try and save her life. Good to see your change of heart" I shook my head and chuckled as I watched a third party enter the room. I was already somewhat taken aback that Yukiin had shown up at the same time as I did, but I decided not to question it. He more than likely saw me at some point and followed along. If it truly were just coincident that three people decided to visit at nearly the same moment, that was pretty incredible. I hadn't planned to spend more than a couple minutes here for formalities sake before leaving. This third party, however, seemed a little 'weird' if I had a word for it. I don't know, she rubbed me the wrong way, enough so that I didn't even bother to help when she spilled stuff all over the place. Regardless, I wasn't going to voice any discontent as I listened without another interruption.

Once it got to asking about who was responsible for the injury I just let the comments slide off of me. This had been why I had come, wasn't it? To take Eishi's faults in his place and let the girl vent at 'someone'. I took it silently until she simply gave me a nasty look and quietly asked me a question.

"Why what? Why did it happen?" I asked, not bothering to wait for her to respond to repeat her question. I just went off what I thought she meant.

"The 'correct' answer is it was an accident and I didn't mean for it to happen. The honest answer is that I overestimated you and my mistake nearly cost you your life," I lied through my teeth as I gave my pre-scripted responses. Eishi was going to owe me so much for taking this cute little girl's ire in his place. Whatever, I knew what I was getting into I mentally sighed as I kept my poker face towards Asami, not showing much emotion despite my internal conflict.

 

[Byakko Yukiin]

"Information was lacking, this one is better informed now." Yukiin responded, casting the remark across the room to their previous instructor with the force of tongue that would've cleanly cut to bone. This entire affair was proving more grating than he had the ability to stomach and if the bedridden one was a shinobi then her attitude gave him no signs of such a fact. Blaming others for her failure to respond appropriately? What would the students she'd had to have maimed to be in her position think of her...to know just how weak she was pretending to be and how little she respected her position or the weight it required her to shoulder.

What annoyed him the most was that her vital spark, the warmth nestled deepest within her flesh and coiled around her spirit, only seemed to flare in response to indignity. It was a character flaw that he could associate with well. She could fight couldn't she? She had the will, but only if she was pressed to do so...so why didn't she press herself into having the desire at all times when it was needed?

The girl had the two tools she needed to carve herself into better form but instead she chose to sit there and respond only to any remarks that cut her deep enough that she registered it as a wound. The puppeteer eyed her with a passing of the eyes that seemed to regard her more as a malfunctioning machine than anything else as he considered just how much trouble it would be to work out a vital kink in his puppets if they were similarly broken...but he would still do it.

The metal manipulating one was fair to criticize his confusion, he didn't understand at the time but he had gained more perspective on the matter over the past few weeks.

"Sami, if I have correctly inferred your name, you misunderstand. This one did indeed choose to come because he has the mind and force to make these decisions because he emerged from the same instruction with far less serious injuries and recovered without assistance. He wished to understand what the difference was between the pair of us and it has been made clear enough - you misunderstand yourself. We put our lives on the line, we refuse to fail, and we practice in the same manner that we will perform in the field because to do any less is to disrespect ourselves and our village yet here I see a spark of passion that was absent on the battlefield...yet you returned from the dead, so clearly you chose to continue your life despite having no regard for it before..."

"Ask her how many students didn't graduate because you prevented them from doing so, it's her branch, I'm sure she could tell you." Yukiin gestured to the latest entrant to the room to clarify to whom he was referring before returning to his speech. "How many people did you hurt? How many dreams did you crush to powder? How many families would kill for their son or daughter to be you instead of dead trying to cure our affliction? You can feign weakness all you want but you were strong enough to get here, to a place that hundreds of people couldn't, and you're strong enough to change this facade...you could've decided to die on the table. They worked on you, you know? My superiors thought you were worth mending just like our instructor thought you were worth saving and just like the main branch thinks you are worth retaining...all of Kumogakure believes you to be something of worth.

"Even you did when you refused to die so this one is not here to pay a pleasant visit or to wish you well, he is here because your recovery is unacceptably slow and rather than using that vital energy of yours to repair the flesh and emerge sooner you're here wasting it to spit venom at someone who assumed you were strong...this one thought you might've become so wounded you couldn't use chakra anymore and that would explain away the problem but no, you've just decided to be here despite having the option to be anywhere else."

He rose, his expression not lifting with the rest of him and remaining in the dredge-filled depths of the disappointment he was experiencing. She wasn't the one he was looking for, she couldn't be...but that didn't mean she wasn’t kin of a stripe. It didn’t mean it upset him any less to behold this mess. His face molded itself back into its solid, crystalline, form instead of the mess it had been prior as he looked over to the instructor.

"No, you did your job."

Yukiin moved to the exit of the room and pulled the door free, holding it in place. "This one apologies for the lack of knowledge of your name Main Branch representative but my instructor is incorrect to take the blame, as a Medical Shinobi it is this one's concern that a peer sustained injury and was not able to be sufficiently treated in the field. If you would like to insert any type of botanical arrangement in an orifice, the punishment is accepted but he would prefer if this incident would occur outside.”

He moved beyond the threshold and excused himself the room, muttering to himself as he did so. “The helmet is a needless precaution anyways...senbon would go right through the thing, it restricts field of vision, and the applied pressure to the head could impair blood flow...terrible idea..."

[Exit]

 

[Takaki Saeko]

Asami's not-so-subtle gesture confirms my suspicions.

"You!" I point at the Wuxia Reject. "I knew you looked suspicious! But I didn't think you'd go that far! Sami here isn't some sub-literate academy student you can toss in the '90 percent mortality' bucket like an Englishman binning a knife! She's special to me! Now I really am gonna follow through with my threat! Bend over and drop yer pants!"

Before I can roll my figurative sleeves up, though, the Doll Child interjects, and in a way that I wouldn't have thought possible for someone who seems so robotic in nature. Hearing him out cracks my resolve to impose my brand of flower-scented anal justice on sami's injurer, because for the most part what the Doll's saying is directly, painfully true. In this business it does take a certain type of confidence to succeed, and self doubt only leads to failure and death. It's like the common perception of the higher ranks of Cloud as a bunch of insane assholes more of a danger to themselves than their enemies: probably true, but serves an important purpose.

As the Doll Child putters out, I unclench my fists. "That...won't be needed. Besides, I really don't wanna know if you have an asshole, anyway. That's between you and your refrigerator--I mean, girlfriend." My gaze shoots to the Wuxia Reject. "You're not quite off the hook, though. I doubt you're gonna tell me your name or branch, but I'll find out. And I'm gonna send you a complaint. So if you've got no further business here, I'll ask you to leave us alone."

Whatever Wuxia says to me (or not), I just shrug and shut her out while focusing on Asami.

"You know, he's not entirely wrong. Even though I doubt he actually pisses or poos. Never trust someone who doesn't need to use the can. They're not like us, and they can never understand us. Still, I agree. Shinobi career's not for everyone. Some people are too fundamentally good-hearted for this shit. You're a genin now, so if you did want to retire, it'd be no shame and you'd even get a small pension. You'd still have to work for a living to support yourself, but there's a lot of work to be found even in Kumo. But if you wanted to give it another go, I'll have you know that I'll do everything I can to help you out. I have a soft spot for problem cases, as you might've figured out."

I bend over and pat her cheek. "Get better first. Then, make your decision. And above all, don't stop fighting."

[TL]