Unsettled and Staring at the Rabbit Hole [Requesting Kushin]

[Shinrya Kahako]

[OOC: This is private, but I hit the character limit due to my awesome thread title]

The halls were quiet here. It was different from the hustle and bustle of the ER or general clinic. Was the silence like that of the study rooms? No, it was quiet in those rooms, yet one could still feel the energy in the air. The loud silence that blanketed those rooms were full of thoughts and theories. The rooms were alive and pleasant even if they were quiet. Here, however, the silence was deafening. As if any sound made would annoy the occupant on the other side of the door at the end of the hall, and the intruder doomed to suffer for the infraction.

At least, that was what it felt like to Kahako as she stood at the end of the hall leading to Kushin’s office. To say she was intimidated was an understatement. She only met the man once before. It was brief and she only passed along information. He probably wouldn't have remembered her, but she definitely remembered him. For the sixth time on her way to this wing, Kahako took a deep breath and brushed her hair behind her ear, clearly nervous. She straightened her medical coat that draped her normal attire of red and black, and checked the papers and files she held in her hand.

She was coming unannounced and recently promoted, but in her defense she did not know how to being to request a meeting with the Medical Sennin. There were several matters she wished to discuss with him. Ideas and requests... proposals and worries she knew in her bones needed to be brought to his attention. For these reasons, Kahako took another deep breath, summoned her courage, and walked briskly down the hall to knock on the wooden office door, hoping beyond hope that he wasn’t exceedingly busy. Or even more so angry that she didn't request a meeting before knocking on his door.

 

[Junan]

Re: Unsettled and Staring at the Rabbit Hole [Requesting Kus

There was a knock on the door.

Looking at his watch he frowned in thought, before checking his calendar to make sure his mind was correct. Sure enough, no appointments booked. Looking at the door he focused his thoughts and heard the heartbeat. Good it wasn't Deta then. Yet the pace of the heartbeat could mean one of several things. Person on the other side might have just been on a run, or they were excited, or perhaps afraid.

So really it didn't narrow much down at all.

Now all that it came down to was how important did he view what he was currently doing. It was research mostly. Taking information which he'd gained from the recent missions to the villages which had suffered devastating losses and comparing the notes with the information he'd found in his own search across the countryside. The two steel contraptions sitting on his desk were unlabeled, nothing giving away where they had been constructed, and so he was doing what he could to learn about the company he suspected of creating the issue.

Could it wait an hour, or however long this unexpected meeting would take place for? In the end the answer was, yes.

Come in.

 

[Shinrya Kahako]

Re: Unsettled and Staring at the Rabbit Hole [Requesting Kus

Come in.​

Despite how normal sounding his words were, Kahako still jumped a little before fiddling with her papers, reaching for the doorknob, and putting her game face on. “Shitsureshimasu,” Kahako said before opening and closing the door. By the time she turned around, her face was serious and blank. Unless Kushin had an ability to read minds… or pulses… he would have had a hard time detecting how nervous Kahako currently was. She bowed, “I am sorry for disturbing you, Kushin-sama, and I know I do not have a pre-arranged meeting, but I have a… request. A proposal of sorts that is in need of your approval. If you have the time, I am hoping you will hear me out.”

As she spoke, Kahako pulled her first paper from her first folder and handed it to him. It was a simple letter she wrote herself requesting to be transferred from the Youritsu to the Sentou Henkan. “I understand that these requests can normally be handled by the medical chiefs, however as I understand it the current leader of this subdivision is currently,” she paused, unsure of how to phrase her inability to find and contact him, “indisposed.” She rifled through her first folder again, this time pulling a pristine, plastic-covered booklet. “Additionally, I have a proposal, and this is the reason why I am bringing my transfer request straight to you.”

She laid the booklet down on a part of Kushin’s desk that wasn’t completely covered in paperwork, and turned it for him to read. This was a project Kahako had been working on shortly after she began her studies into the realm of psychology “With your and the ANBU Sennin’s permission and cooperation, I would like to set up a small clinic inside the Sileo Tempestas.” Kahako looked into Kushin’s eyes, her nervousness calming as she exposed the brain-child that she had been formulating for the past few years. This was her pitch, and she was going to sell it as hard as she could. “No one is under illusions about what the ANBU do for Kumogakure and Lightening Country as a whole, although officially any sane individual would deny it.” She flipped the page of her proposal. “There is a mental strain that comes with performing ANBU missions. It is a strain that eventually ends with our agents finding a permanent place in the mental ward of our hospital… or a permanent place in our mortuary due to suicide.

“Through this clinic, I want to circumvent this as much as possible, but that isn’t the only reason why I would like to create it.” Kahako flipped the page again, knowing that every minute she spent talking was another minute she could possibly lose Kushin’s attention. “Although I, admittedly, do not know the current situation inside the Sileo, I do know that there could possibly be instances where POWs are under strict ANBU control and will need medical attention. The Sileo is the best place to house and keep prisoners under question. And, depending on how dangerous they are, moving them here could end up being a potential risk to the hospital as well as to the village as a whole.

“I have yet to bring this to the ANBU Sennin, but if you deem this a good idea, I will request a meeting with him immediately to hopefully see this plan set into motion.” Done with her elevator pitch, Kahako took a deep breath. She stood on the other side of Kushin’s desk, hoping beyond hope that years of studying Satou and the human psyche wouldn’t go to waste. Setting aside the folder that once held her transfer request and proposal, she waited for his response. All the while holding a thin, black folder that contained an entirely different matter.

[OOC: I would like to mention that this clinic will be important for the mission arc that I am planning, but how it is created and what it will be used for can be altered by Kushin and Ayumu in any way.]

 

[Junan]

Re: Unsettled and Staring at the Rabbit Hole [Requesting Kus

A woman entered, something about her told Kushin he'd seen her before, but he was the medical sennin, he met dozens of people a day, so he didn't know who she was. She apologized, which was a good first step, and followed up asking that he hear her out. Well he wondered now if an hour estimation might be a little short if it was going to take this long simply to get to the beginning. Still she was trying to be polite, something he simply didn't really understand so he did his best to do the same.

Hurry up.

He said frowning and pointing to the seat, informing her that he would hear her out. There wasn't any urgency in his voice, only a slight tone of annoyance, but this was his version of polite, not that she'd know that.

She pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to him requesting transfer from the Youritsu to the Sentou Henkan. He frowned at this, he could understand why it came to him, he didn't mind dealing with matters regarding the squads. The squad leaders were people who were often invisible to the world, people who were leaders in the branch before Kushin was even an MiT. He felt that the lack of knowledge on the new Sennin, and the lack of trust in him would be somewhat glossed over with the promotion of those individuals to involved leadership positions.

It had worked better than he'd hoped. He'd kept all the control and if something went wrong it would result in it being their fault. What more could he really ask for? Though he'd heard rumours that Karubin had once more left his self-titled wing to wander around in the daylight. Honestly Kushin wondered how long for.

At any rate that wasn't the issue for the moment. The girl was wanting to set up a clinic in the Sileo. She had his attention.

He listened to what she had to say and after she finished he let her take a breath before he replied.

The current situation with those prisoners is that they don't come to the Hospital, if they're mortally wounded and die over there then that's the ANBU's issue for not requesting a medical shinobi present during the interrogation. Though they do have their own branch of semi-trained mednin in ANBU clothing these shinobi could barely pass as first aid workers in the offices of Raiden's Eye. Negative, perhaps, but at the same time she would likely note that for the most part it was unrelated and certainly wasn't along the lines of "no" which is the likely total response if Kushin were going to deny the idea entirely.

The Sentou Henkan is a branch dedicated to the profession of being able to work with ANBU on missions. The emphasis being "on missions" suggesting that what she was requesting didn't quite sound like that was what she was aiming for. What you are requesting is setting up shop in the ANBU HQ enabling easier access for the ANBU to medical supplies and treatment at home base. This in turn places more of a resource strain on Hospital funds for not much in the way of Hospital benefit. Or at least that's how I see it at this moment in time. Perhaps I am wrong and you could elaborate on how it might benefit the hospital?

In the end Kushin was the leader of the branch, and although he could see the benefits for the village going through with this change he had people to pay, and a limited staff supply in the medical branch as it was. To create a small medical bay which would need to be manned 24/7 would mean that he would need at least seven staff stationed permanently to the ANBU as in house mednin. Seven because there were three shifts a day, seven days a week, that was 21 shifts slightly too many for four to perform without overtime being worked, and chances would be that there would be days where they would need more than one mednin covering the duties so on call would need to be implemented as well. The additional two would be there so that there could be a rotating roster allowing the mednin to continue their own individual training and take part in missions to continue furthering their skill set. Something that Kushin greatly encouraged as it was his desire to have a strong Kumogakure, and a strong Kumogakure didn't happen by mednin standing by bedsides all day every day.

So seven staff would be required at Chuunin rank. That meant that he'd likely need to send two trainees there as well, they would do the cleaning up and learn from the other staff some of the basics. So now it was up to nine and this still didn't include that he'd need to have several staff in the main hospital ready to leave and head to the ANBU base should they need more than two mednin during some period of time.

Then there would be the supplies.

A good idea, but he needed to know how this could be brought about without too much stress on his limited resources.

 

[Shinrya Kahako]

Re: Unsettled and Staring at the Rabbit Hole [Requesting Kus

Kahako leaned back in her chair and listened while Kushin questioned her proposal. His initial reaction to her was… off-putting to say the least, but she wasn’t deterred. She already thought about some of the weak points in her proposal: stretching of resources; needing a full staff available at the Sileo thus taking away staff from the hospital itself. She did, however, know someone that would help her in that endeavor. Raiden, she didn’t want to have anything to do with him though.

“Kushin-sama, I do know that the main purpose of the Sentou Henkan is to help ANBU on missions. This clinic is a separate proposal unrelated to my main duties and responsibilities.” She looked at him with a stern eye, making it clear she did not appreciate her competence being questioned. “Regardless, I do believe this clinic can help the hospital and the village in more ways than is realized.” Still, she had Kushin’s attentions and for that she was grateful.

“The members of ANBU need some form of psychological supervision, Kushin-sama.” Kahako thought of Ayumu and the difference of his position and his personality. “Despite their usually upbeat attitudes, which through my studies I find to be extremely unusual and all the more worrisome, they go through serious mental trials that would break even the strongest of minds. This can make them potential liabilities on the field. I have seen this first hand with my own eyes the day that the King of Bear was assassinated by one of our own ANBU members… a high ranking ANBU member might I add… thus straining relations between Lightening and Bear.” Kahako looked down at her hands, “I was the one who informed you of that unfortunate occurrence, Kushin-sama.”

She looked back into Kushin’s eyes. “Additionally, though the request of a Mednin at interrogations does solve the issue of transport, it doesn’t solve the lack of medical equipment that could be needed, nor the time wasted moving both equipment and mednin to the Sileo. Time and effort the ANBU and our Mednin staff sometimes do not have. Unfortunately not all of us have a cure-all vial stashed away in our coat pocket at all times.” Kahako gave a small grin, “I most certainly am not that skilled in chemistry.”

It was here Kahako paused to allow herself a moment to breath. A passing thought occurred that he might still find no need for the clinic in the Sileo. If that were the case, would she just let it die off? Or would she find another way to get what she wanted? Bridges to cross upon arrival.

“Though the shortage of staff, of which I am sure you are considering among the resources lost, is unavoidable I do have an alternative in regards to acquiring funds, medical resources, and equipment.” It was here that Kahako looked at her hand resting on her arm chair and started tapping her finger softly. “Higa isn’t by any means a well-known name, but my family has been in trade for many generations. We have accumulated a reasonable amount of wealth and connection to suppliers, and my father, the current head of our family, is looking for contacts to open trade with Kumogakure and the rest of Lightening along with any other allies. I am sure he would be willing to provide any funds necessary in order to help keep peace within the country. Despite what many people say, war is not good for business unless you are a weapon’s dealer. And mentally sane special op shinobi can be very good for business.”

She let the silence fill the air for a second as she placed her offer on the table. “Of course, everything provided would be sent directly to the hospital that would then be proportioned out however you see fit. I am sure this would alleviate, or even help the hospitals limited resources, don’t you think?”

 

[Junan]

Re: Unsettled and Staring at the Rabbit Hole [Requesting Kus

It was her time to clarify and explain the things that Kushin had identified as potentially problematic. She explained that he understood what it was that the Sentou Henkan was, that was good. He entirely missed the tone of annoyance and stern gaze, instead taking it as her explaining that much to him rather than annoyed at his potentially questioning her competence. She said it could help the hospital, but he hoped that although it isn't currently realized that it would be realized by the end of this conversation, otherwise it was unlikely to go ahead.

She started with the psychological evaluation of the ANBU. Which was a fair assessment to make, they did often seem a touch insane, but then again so did half the shinobi in the village, there were very few sane shinobi like Kushin around, in his mind. She brought up the murder of the King of Bear country. Ah, so that was where he recognized her from. She was the one who informed him of this as well as Masao and Kitsune's imprisonment. A smile crept upon his face as his mind wandered and he relived the moment when Daiki looked up at him with terror as he realized that he was naught but a pathetic bug about to be crushed underfoot, and then the glorious splendor of torturing and killing all those who had taken part in the joke that was the trial of Masao and Kitsune, followed by the feeling of triumph as he stood face to face with the second in command of Hoshigakure, holding up the dead body of Daiki. All the witnesses he'd left alive testifying that it was a man who matched Daiki's description. An E-Rank transformation jutsu proving to the Star Shinobi that Shinobi from Kumogakure should never be tried by a civilian court. The look on the beasts face as he looked at his fellow shinobi strewn around the town, dead, mangled, massacred. The knowing look of a man who wanted so desperately to rip out Kushin's throat, but also knew that doing so there and then would spell the destruction of his entire village. For Kushin was the savior of the town.

Snapping back to reality from his little daydream of murder and mayhem the rather evil looking smile disappeared from his face. His mind whirred to pick up on what had been said. She was pausing, so possibly had picked up on Kushin not paying attention. Going back and then forward he recalled the topic being discussed and what had been said. Time being wasted transporting supplies and equipment too and from the Sileo for interrogations, and admission of not being skilled in chemistry, the joke failing to reach Kushin just as annoyance had earlier. Though this time he did kind of notice the small grin and so wondered if she found her lack of skill in chemistry amusing... he frowned slightly.

She now got to the resources part of the issue. She spoke of her family name, and effectively talked about putting her own personal money into the project. Then followed this up with an unfortunate falsity. War was good for Kumogakure, that was what Kumogakure existed for. She spoke of the money going to the Hospital itself for that then to be transferred into this operation.

Kushin however never liked the idea of the branch taking private funds, it always reeked of bribery and Kushin hated being on that end of that subject.

How about this instead. We approach the ANBU Sennin with a proposal of setting up Sentou Henkan's base of operations in the ANBU facility. This grants ANBU training facilities access to those shinobi who are meant to be capable of working with the ANBU on their more dangerous missions without getting in their way. In return for the ANBU opening up their facilities for this group, the group will also be the local medical bay, performing the duties which you have described, psychological assessments, medical practices, that kind of thing. I'm sure it would help the ANBU branch if those who got hurt through training didn't need to make their way to the hospital to be healed. In addition to this there would be times when the Sentou Henkan could train members of the ANBU in medical techniques, enabling them to perform the basic jutsu aspect of the medical branch.

He leveled his gaze at her.

This way you have the personnel to keep the office open when it needs to be open. The group who are meant to work with the ANBU are more accessible to the ANBU and the ANBU receive in house medical treatment as they need it. There is no real issue for the hospital this way as members of that squad tend to be less in-house mednin anyway.

 

[Shinrya Kahako]

Re: Unsettled and Staring at the Rabbit Hole [Requesting Kus

Kahako smiled. It wasn’t a smirk or even a sly smile. It was a brilliant, full-on smile. At least, as far as smiles go for Kahako. Kushin would never know the reason why, and Kahako would probably never get the chance to tell him, but her respect for her Sennin grew immensely the moment he silently declined her offer. She hated the backdoor deals that came from private funds. Heck, it was why she threw away her birthright as heir to the Higa family. But she knew others desired gold sometimes more than they did air. If it was what was needed to get something that she felt would help others, so be it. She was, however, happy to find that there was at least one person in power able to throw away the temptation with little to no thought, and provide a better offer. The continued avoidance of her father was an additional plus.

Granted, Kushin still intimidated the hell out of her, especially when he stared at her like that, but at least she could respect him more. “Understood. Then I will make arrangements for a meeting with the ANBU sennin at your next convenience,” Kahako said, taking any additional notes afterward should Kushin have said anything else.

Now that she was done with everything that was of most importance, Kahako clenched the black folder that was still in her hand. “I have one more item I wanted to discuss with you Kushin-sama. A few years ago on a low level mission I performed, I encountered a creature I believe to be… odd if not disturbing. I was told that my findings would be looked into, but the mission itself was marked as classified and nothing more was done to my understanding.” She handed him the folder which contained her mission report and a personal sketch of the creature from memory. “I could not access the mission file until my recent promotion despite it only being a simple mission that wouldn't usually warrant such discretion. The animal was inuzuka, but it had hyuuga eyes, Kushin-sama. I haven’t heard anything else about the creature since I encountered it, but I worry that it is still out there and potentially dangerous as it almost killed the child I was in charge of finding. I was wondering if you knew anything about this creature or if there were more like it?” Kahako’s eyebrows wrinkled in worry when she remembered the encounter. It was probably a dead end, but something told her that she needed to find out if the creature was still alive. Did someone create this creature that wasn’t loyal to Kumo, or was it the village that created this creature for other reasons? She had so many questions and not enough answers.

 

[Junan]

Re: Unsettled and Staring at the Rabbit Hole [Requesting Kus

He had thought that the affair was over for the moment. Sure there would be further meetings, likely he'd have to make sure that the ANBU Sennin was willing to have this take place as well before they would then need to have a meeting with Hayata Shin on the same topic who would then decide the end fate of the proposal. This would likely all take time, but the girl before him was smiling. He could only assume because they had found a way to make it work, he had no clue on the real reason.

Yet there was more.

She passed him a mission folder which as he opened he was greeted by a sketch of a creature he remembered fondly. So it was still alive. Though really that wasn't of a surprise, of course it was alive, he created it after all. Animal testing was so much fun. He read the report however and it seemed as though something had called the creature away. Unfortunately he knew he would need to lie here, as despite her current rank it wasn't high enough to warrant too much information. He would give her the information she needed to know and no more.

Besides. He didn't know how much he could trust her.

We have had reports of it previously, though we don't know the true origins of the creature there are programs which could have led to its creation through Kumogakure's research department, but we don't know if that is where it was from. Through Kinjutsu research were were wanting to see if we could create an animal force which could be used in Shinobi Combat. Certainly some Inuzuka wolves were used in those experiments but we have nothing recorded about one breaking out or being released. The last was true. They'd certainly not reported that happening. What I question is why it left. A possibility is that the creature is a creation from a similar line of study to ours, and that its creator called it at that time. If I were you I'd get a warrant to investigate the Inuzuka clan base and get whatever information you can from them, after which you may find the owner. If you find the owner then you find the pet.

 

[Shinrya Kahako]

Re: Unsettled and Staring at the Rabbit Hole [Requesting Kus

Just as she had expected, nothing had been done in regards to the creature, and what was worse was that the village had the technology to create a creature, but might not have created this creature exactly. Which meant it might not have been someone in the village that called the creature away. Kahako sighed a little, “I had hoped it was one of our experiments... very well.”

She did not pick up the feeling that Kushin was hiding anything from her; he gave her the approval she needed and that was all she asked for. Kahako stood from her chair, “I do not wish to take any more of your time Kushin-sama, and I thank you for the information. I will update you if I learn of anything else. If it isn’t too much to ask, I would also like to request for a travel passport. I have a feeling that these investigations might end up taking me outside of the village.” She said with a bow. Once she received it, she would be on her way and out of his hair. She had a lot to prepare for, and even more to accomplish.

 

[Junan]

Re: Unsettled and Staring at the Rabbit Hole [Requesting Kus

He frowned at the request for the passport. The creature had last been seen inside the village but he supposed that that didn't mean it would remain there. However to escape Cloud it would be seen by the ANBU, he was sure of that. Still, he could understand her potential need to travel, and he didn't really care.

Taking her passport and stamping it, signing the appropriate location and placing in a months worth of time for the passport to be valid for he slid it back across to Kahako.

Good luck with your mission. He said after she picked it up.

[topic left after Kahako has gone]

 

[Shinrya Kahako]

Re: Unsettled and Staring at the Rabbit Hole [Requesting Kus

She was quite surprised at how quickly and silently he approved her travel passport. Granted, she came unannounced and was taking up his time by standing there, so he probably wanted her to leave now. “Thank you, Kushin-sama,” she said with a bow. Without another word, she gathered her materials and walked out the door. Once it was securely closed and she was at least ten feet from his office she paused and turned to lean against the wall with her hands clasped together and her forehead touching her knuckles.

‘Raiden-sama,’ she said with eyes wide in disbelief, staring at the ground, and pure relief written across her face. ‘Thank you for letting me survive that encounter. I will never talk back to my parents, and I will eat all my vegetables at dinner. I will be a good, innocent girl until I am married, and then I will be a faithful, supportive, and loyal wife… I will always brush my teeth before bed and when I wake up in the morning, and floss three times a day. I will help any old lady I see cross the street even if she doesn’t need to cross it. I will help her with groceries, help her cat out of the tree, raking her leaves in the fall… anything she needs… I will…’ Kahako continued for a good few minutes before she could think of no other ‘good deeds.’ Deciding that would do and her altar-wall had heard enough confessions, she pulled herself away feeling better, continuing her day happily as she got everything she wanted.


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