[Yamamoto Shosuke]

Shosuke was familiar with almost every inch of the village hospital - Whether it be visiting a sick patient or attending to one as a physician himself, he must have wandered across this place thousands of times over the last five years. However, this was a new experience.

Blessed with a relatively sturdy body and a robust physique, he had never really been sick before. Or, at least, never to the point of needing hospitalisation.

All that was, unfortunately, a relic of the past now.

The figure of the village's most promising medic-in-training was laying down in a bed, his lower torso and legs covered with a blanket. In the pitch black like this, only able to see his silhouette, one might have mistaken him for just a regular patient, perhaps he had been struck down by the flu or some other minor illness that merely required an overnight stay. Yet, the bandages wrapped around his face, serving almost like a blindfold, told a different story.

If he was honest, Shosuke should have been happy to be alive. After all, he was one of the first, if not THE first, Yamamoto member to go through the ritual as an adult and survive. Yet, it seemed the mountain was not content to let him leave completely unscathed, for fear of losing its grasp on the hearts and minds on the Yamamoto clan. No, it had left him his life, but had taken something in exchange.

The doctors said that, given time to heal and a lack of further exposure to bright light, partial sight should return to him. They couldn't say whether that would be days or weeks, months or even years, all they said was "time".

Sho had never been the most naturally insightful into other people's emotions, but he could feel it somehow - They were deliberately not putting a timeframe on it, because they didn't know.

They didn't know how long Shosuke would remain blind for.

That was the worst part, in his opinion - the ambiguity, the fact that nobody felt comfortable giving him even a general ballpark figure of how long this condition would last. That was how he knew it had to be serious, because they weren't being flippant or playful about it.

These people who he had worked with as coworkers for years were treating him like a terminal patient, too scared of being wrong to make any guess.

It was so damn frustrating.

Sho didn't have time to spend here on his butt. He had work to do - Atagi had lost both his arms for his village, and he was learning to deal with it and move on. Sho wanted nothing more to be out there and joining him, even if his eyes had to remain shrouded behind these damned bandages.

But it seemed like the village had other ideas about that.

476 words | Jokyū Rei

SPOILER: Click to show

D-rank EXP: 1/8
Jutsus Used: None

[Jokyū Rei]

One of her doctors was down...

Rapid footsteps, heels clacking on the flooring of the hospital, could be heard from a mile away. Heads turned as they were heard, from fellow staff to visitors to patient as it was heard. Many of those people bowed as she passed, the green-haired woman making her way to the nurse's station to pull up Shosuke's chart. The nurse at the station handed the file to Rei, and as she walked towards Shosuke's room, reading his charts. From what she could tell, he had hurt his eyes, and before she could even fathom what had happened, she opened the sliding door to his room, closing it firmly behind her before walking to his bed.

"What happened?" The question was short and to the point, as would be between a doctor and patient. But there was obvious concerned in her voice, as would be the case for a colleague with another. She placed the file on the small table at the foot of the bed, noting the bandages on his face. Of course his charts would tell her some kind of story, but she wanted to know exactly what happened to render him in this state. "But more importantly...how are you feeling?" Her voice was as gentle as she could muster, despite the fact that she knew she was going to have to find someone to cover his duties at the hospital for the unforeseeable number of days.

"And don't even think about getting out of bed until your eyes get better..." The woman knew the man well enough to know that he would secretly be frustrated at his state. He was like her in many ways, being able to do nothing because of his position would drive him crazy. But he needed the time to heal, and if he wasn't going to do that on hos own, the orders of the head medic and his supervisor would have to suffice. Sighing a little, she couldn't help but feel for him, because of his predicament.

TAG: Yamamoto Shosuke

[Yamamoto Shosuke]

Inside the room, everything was pitchblack. Apparently it had been a security precaution to keep the lights off whilst nobody else was in there, just in case something happened to his bandages.

The worst thing that could happen right now, the doctors had said, was that he be exposed to more light before he was ready. Even so, the lights had been turned on and off a few times since he had been in here with people visiting.

However, even without the lights on, Sho could feel the presence of someone coming into the room even before the door swung open. He wasn't quite sure how he knew it, but he supposed that was the entire point of the ritual in the first place. Sight without sight..

Though it would never quite replace his eyes, he supposed he had to be glad for what he still had.

Still being quite new to the sensation, like getting used to a sixth sense, Sho didn't have as much information as he would like about the person who entered the room. He could tell they were there, but that was it. None of the more impressive abilities that had been described from other members of the clan, but perhaps they would come in time.

Then he heard the voice, and even without eyes immediately knew who he was talking to.

"A-ah! Doctor Jokyu, you really didn't need to come down here for me..."

Jokyu Rei was the current Head Doctor of Kumogakure. A talented medi-nin in her own right, he had looked up to her in recent years for being a bastion of strength and indomitable willpower.

She had been infected with a strain of the plague back during the worst of it, and whilst she had recovered from the plague itself she had been left with permanent side-effects, even without being transmissible.

For someone to be so touched by malady and sickness and yet continue to care about other people over herself? She was a true icon and idol of his. He deeply looked up to her, and felt a little humbled with her seeing him in his current state of weakness.

"I'm sorry, boss. I was preparing for the Clan Election and undertook a ritual to enhance my abilities. It seems like it had a couple of side-effects though and... well, long and the short of it? I landed myself in here.

Can't see worth a damn, and nobody's telling me how bad it is. Guess that says enough in of itself though."

There was only so much that he was able to tell an outsider, even if he liked them on a personal level. After all, clan abilities and hijutsu were supposed to remain a secret, even in a clan as pragmatic and blunt as the Yamamotos. All that had been reported was that he had been exposed to excessively bright light and burned his retinas.

"As for how I'm feeling... Well, I'm sure you don't have to imagine that it's not great. I'm just so damned frustrated. I don't have time to be resting.

Between the clan elections, my need to redeem myself after the exams and the people still needing medical attention from the earthquake? Every second counts."

537 words | Jokyū Rei

SPOILER: Click to show

D-Rank EXP: 2/8
Jutsus Used: None

[Jokyū Rei]

Rei listened to the boy intently, nodding her head despite his inability. There were some moments when she wondered what kind of clan ritual would leave a boy blind like he was, and with no real definite date that he would regain sight, the woman was more than sympathetic at his circumstances. She let out a small breath of air, formulating her thoughts as she lifted his charts to look at them. She had heard that he represented the village in the Chuunin Exam, though judging from his own words, she could guess that they hadn't gone so great. It reminded her a little of her own exams, back in the day, but that was quite some time ago, and perhaps things have changed with the transcendence of time. but she could feel the frustration and hear it in his voice. "I'm guessing the exams didn't go very well? If it's any solace, my exams hadn't been all that great either..."

She had come out of it with the new title, but it hadn't come without its consequences. The woman tugged at the necklace around her neck absently at that point, exhaling and looking back at the boy's charts. "Well, if you trust my medical judgment and know of me as a person, I unfortunately cannot tell you exactly how long it will take for you to regain your vision..." She allowed her words to sink in to the boy for a little while before continuing, 'The good news is, you will regain it, and that there will most likely not be any side effects or lingering effects after you regain said vision. While I completely understand your desires to train or to better yourself as you speak, if you want your vision to come back faster, you mustn't take off those blindfolds under any circumstance." Rei would stress the word 'circumstance', knowing is rather stubborn nature. "The only time your blindfolds are allowed to come off briefly is at the dead of night, with no exterior light present."

She was more firm than she had ever been, having seen so many patients of hers take her advice and throw it out the window. She trusted Shosuke's judgement, trusted that he trusted her enough to know when she was being serious and when she was not. To be fair, she was rarely not, and all words out of her mouth in this hospital carried the same weight regardless of who listened to them. After a couple of minutes of thought though, she would put down his file to think of a possible solution. "If you must train, Shosuke..." her voice was light, "While I don't recommend it entirely, you are allowed to, sans vision..." That was as much as she could offer, wondering if he knew the implications she had for this particular statement.

[Yamamoto Shosuke]

It seemed Rei had no idea how truly lucky Sho was to get off with just this injury. The ritual wasn't attempted often with adult subjects simply because its body count was too high. Back when there was the plague, it could be concealed and attempted because there were a plethora of other natural causes that a doctor could end up dying from, but nowadays? Well, it was much more controlled because every Yamamoto counted and it would have been too difficult to cover up.

That said, it seemed like that wasn't the only thing that she was ignorant of.

Sho paused for a moment as she spoke, listening to her intently. So she didn't know? He supposed that made sense, he certainly wasn't aware of all of the results of past Chuunin exams, but considering what had happened he had sort of assumed that more people would find out about it. After all, how often did a Shinobi refuse to fight his opponent because they happened to be a child?

Sho couldn't help but internally let out a breath he hadn't been aware he had been holding since the Chuunin exams themselves. He had worried that even if the Raikage could forgive him that people back at home would see him as a coward or a liar or holier than thou. But if Rei didn't know about one of her own staff members, he had to assume that nobody else would either. Or, at least, so he could hope.

"Yeahhh... something like that."

Sho wasn't a great liar, it was obvious from the way that he spoke that there was something that he was hiding about the Exams, but it was also clear that he seemed relieved.

If Rei had any pity for the poor boy, she would know to leave well enough alone and not push on this particular issue. After all, there were many, many worse things for them to focus on in the interim.

Nodding along to her diagnostics, Sho couldn't help but ask a question. "No external light present... does that include the moon? Until I'm fully healed am I not allowed to look outside?"

There was a certain irony in that - Not only was Sho a user of Mokuton in a place where plant-life was few and far between due to the sheer altitude, but now he couldn't even look at what little they did have for inspiration without risking blinding himself further. It was almost like life had decided to play a cruel joke on the young Doctor.

Then, at last, she mentioned something that he didn't understand. Train sans vision? She seemed like she was concealing something with the way that she said that, as if she was making some sort of hidden suggestion. Ironic then that he couldn't see it.

Did she know about the blindsight of the Yamamoto? It wasn't like it was kept a complete secret, but it also wasn't something that was supposed to be discussed quite so openly outside of the clan. Or was there something else she had in mind?

"What are you talking about, Boss? I can't treat any patients like this. I might end up giving a patient the wrong medicine or misdiagnose something. How am I supposed to train my abilities whilst I'm like this?"

It was a weak, feeble protestation, but it was clearly meant to be. It was more of an invitation to explain her idea, to extrapolate on what she was saying. But he couldn't just go out and ask for it directly. That wasn't how these things worked.

599 words | Jokyū Rei

SPOILER: Click to show

D-rank EXP: 3/8
Jutsus Used: None

[Jokyū Rei]

go towards where your heart lies and not what your mind tells you to be

---

"Yes, I mean absolutely not light, Shosuke." Again with the firmness, as though she was trying to tell a child not to do something. Indeed, given his age, perhaps Rei did feel that he was somewhat like a child, and his stubbornness at times didn't help matters. "Your eyes need time to rest, and any risk of light will affect their ability to heal. I hardly think it's out of the question to ask you to not use them for a couple of weeks in exchange for no further complications once they do heal." The woman heaved a small sigh and went over to take a seat at one of the chairs patient families usually sat in when they visited their loved ones.

"I am not telling you to treat patients. I would never allow you to go near a patient without your eyesight, not only because you're putting patient lives on the line. We are liable to them just as we are liable to ourselves, an oath we took when we first became doctors." Rei was certain that Shosuke was well aware of the oath he had sworn by when he first became a doctor. She thought about it for a moment, thought about ways to explain what she meant. "You have other senses other than your eyes or rather than sight that as doctors we often neglect. With sight being taken away now, you have to count on your other senses to help you. There's so much that you can do with them in your daily life even that would help you in the long run." Rei got up from the chair and moved towards the edge of his bed. "If you're as frustrated about being unable to see as you claim to be, get up from that bed and do something about the frustration."

She moved closer and would attempt to take a hold of one of his arms to prop him up into a seated position. "Learning to use your other senses can help you in times of trouble when sight isn't something you can count on. But to train that will require a lot of concentration from within. You have to open your mind and your heart to the fact that you can't see, and that you now have to supplement that in some way. Stand up slowly and let's try to use some of your other senses to do some simple things, okay? Training doesn't have to be anything extravagant; it just needs to be something that you look back on later and realize that you've learned." And with that she would try to help him get into a standing position, all the while holding out both of her arms in case he needed support.

---

[Yamamoto Shosuke]

If Shosuke was frustrated before, her speaking to him as if he was a child was not helping. He supposed he wasn't the only person in the hospital who struggled with bedside manner, because more than anything he felt patronised by the doctor overseeing him. Sure, he was a genin, but he had at least enough common sense not to do anything stupid. Or, at least, so he thought. The very fact that he had landed himself here, though, might go some ways to disproving that.

"So then what's the point in removing them at all? Other than changing bandages of course. If there's no light, I wouldn't be able to see anything anyway. It's not like..." He found himself starting to go off on a rant, before firmly biting his tongue and pointing his head away from her, head lowered.

He was frustrated and she wasn't helping matters, but it wasn't her fault. He shouldn't be ranting at her over something like this.

Sho generally liked to think of himself as the adult in the room in most situations. He was smart, logical, and usually had a good grasp of how to handle himself. But it was moments like this that reminded him that he was still just a sixteen year old, still as fallible and irritable and prone to teenage surliness as the next kid.

In a kinder world, Sho would have spent his teenage years relaxing, studying and playing games rather than attending medical suites and getting injured trying to become stronger. But this simply wasn't that kind of world.

As she spoke, as she gave him a lecture on the importance of his other senses, Sho took what she was saying to heart. As she spoke, he tried probing out with that sense he had been given in the ritual, trying to test the boundaries of it. He could feel other patients across the floor, sense their emotions, their heartbeats, the very way they held themselves.

He could tell that the person in the next room had just been given devastating news as their heartbeat had quickened aggressively. He could tell that someone downstairs had just fallen over and was being helped to their feet by someone standing by them. And he could tell that the birds on the roof of the hospital had apparently come in for the night to roost.

It was a whole world of information, things that he would normally never be privy to. These things that lay beyond his sight, his hearing, his sense of smell, and if he continued to train with it the information would only grow stronger, more powerful, more potent.

Even still, to have to sacrifice one sense to gain another was... Well, it wasn't great.

"Doctor Jokyu, can I ask a question?" Sho asked finally, his head once more snapping up to look at her through sightless, bandaged eyes.

"How do you do it? Your own health has been wrecked for years, and yet instead of focusing on that, you look past yourself to the people you treat.


I know that having your condition for as long as you have, you must have learned to accept it as part of your daily life, but... how do you find time to care about others when your own body is constantly betraying you?"

The question might have sounded rude, but there was something in the way that he spoke, something in his tone that conveyed almost a sense of awe, or at the very least deep respect. Perhaps if she was able to do it, he would be able to too, given sufficient time to adjust.

613 words | Jokyū Rei

SPOILER: Click to show

D-Rank EXP: 3/8
Jutsus Used: None

[Jokyū Rei]

go towards where your heart lies and not what your mind tells you to be

---

Rei understood the boy's frustrations, understood them all too well. To not be able to use a sense or a part of the body that a person usually was so accustomed to using, even relying on for that matter, was more than just frustrating. The woman allowed for his frustration to be shown through, for she would perhaps done the same had she been his age. She had seen many who had questioned why they had to lose functions even temporarily in the past, so he wouldn't be the first. "The point is to be prepared for everything, and sometimes preparing for the worst can't be done until something of equivalence happens..." she retracted her outstretched arms, listening to him speak.

The statements he made were not unjust. Rei smiled sadly, somewhat glad that Shosuke couldn't see. She always put on such a strong front, pushing past the obstacles of illness and possible death looming around every corner that she herself had forgotten just how difficult it had been for her to reach that point. Another soft sigh escaped her lips, her eyes cast away as she thought about what he had said. It was true that during the early stages of her illness' initial flare, she had been just like him, if not worse. Rei had lost people to the plague, and had had questioned whether she even deserved to live. And then when she was given the will to live, the one person who had given it to her would be taken away. The world wasn't a kind place, especially to the head medic. "Once you see that your own health doesn't and should weigh above others, and once you find purpose in your life the way I have, you'll be able to look past your own circumstances..." she whispered.

It hadn't been an easy road, and it was a continual struggle each and every day. As the boy had said, she had come to terms and accepted the fact that she was forever going to struggle with her illness, that was not any secret. But there was more to it than that, knowing that she could make a difference to those around her had become her one driving force especially after the death of Keisuke. "Once you've seen death, tasted it, and been so close to it both physically and psychologically, there's not much else that can phase you, Sho. I am not really the saint that your words paint me as; I've simply learned that if I was destined to die at some point, that I'd rather die knowing that I could make a small difference in the world."

Especially because she couldn't save the one man she had so desperately wanted to...once upon a time.

"What made you want to be a doctor?" a question she perhaps should have asked before but had only now surfaced because of their current conversation.

---

[Yamamoto Shosuke]

In a way, Sho knew he was being unreasonable. If the doctors were correct, and he had no reason to believe they weren't, then his sight would return given time. It wasn't like Atagi where he would have to get used to life without them completely, it was a momentary inconvenience. Even so, this couldn't have come at a worse time.

Had this come but six months earlier, Sho would have been able to take his time with this. He could have waited, he could have used the time to learn some new skills or to practice something that he would normally otherwise not be able to. But the Clan Elections loomed on the horizon like a reminder of incoming doom, and even ignoring everything else there were still people that needed his help.

Yes, Sho had been instrumental in helping and treating the people in the village when it had been destroyed by the earthquake, but many of the long term patients were still here. He had told them he would only be gone for long enough to attend the Chuunin exams and they were still waiting for him to come back.

In the end of the day, he made a promise, and not being able to fulfil it was the worst part of all of it.

"But it does." Sho retorted, his words surprising even his. He wasn't being a smart aleck or a contrarian, it seemed as if he was genuinely disagreeing with her for more than just paltry, emotional reasons.

Perhaps it was a result of having Atagi around so recently to boost his confidence but for the first time, he felt like he was standing up for himself as more than just a servant of the people.

"I'm a Doctor, Boss. I'm supposed to help people. A friend of mine recently told me that that's the value of my life - being able to help save others, and there are other people who need me. No, I'm not intrinsically worth more than them, but I can do things that others can't.

There are maybe less than 100 people in the entire village with proper medical training, and we're a village of thousands. Every single one of us taken out of the fold, even for a short time, puts other people's lives in danger.

I'm not saying I'm special, and this isn't the "Child of the Mountains" bullshit my elders are peddling. This is me saying that I do not have time to wait around and let people suffer, get hurt and die whilst my eyes recover."

There was something about the way that he spoke, a conviction that he didn't seem to have before the Chuunin Exams. As long as Rei had known him, even distantly, he had seemed a shy, introverted and nervous individual who kept to themselves. This moment of protestation wasn't one of selfishness or self-centredness, but a sincere belief that what he did was important.

"You want to know what made me want to be a doctor, Boss? It was the plague. I didn't wanna cure it, I wasn't even sure if it could be cured, but I saw what losing folks did to people. That void nobody could see but everyone could feel. Even when I was in the Academy, I could feel it.

Maybe cos, as a Yamamoto, I was closer to it than most, but I felt that if I could do something to help people, if I could help others? Then that was worth while."

As he spoke, Sho thought about what he was saying. All of this was true, but there was something else there as well, something deeper. Something that he hadn't admitted to anyone else, unwilling to share something this personal. But perhaps Rei was one of the few who could understand it. 

"The Yamamoto saved my mom. They took us in when I was still a baby and treated us like family, even when we were all but strangers. I wanted to do that to someone else, to pass along that kindness.

Even if there would be people I couldn't save, as long as I saved some that was enough. That's why I hate the idea of waiting so damned much. Cos the longer I wait, the more people that go without getting help."

656 words | Jokyū Rei

SPOILER: Click to show

D-Rank EXP: 4/8
Jutsus Used: None

[Jokyū Rei]

go towards where your heart lies and not what your mind tells you to be

---

Rei nodded her head, raising an eyebrow at the conviction in his tone. She understood where he was coming from, understood that it was half driven by a sense of duty and another by passion. No doctor could or would be a doctor if it was pure responsibility. She nodded her head silently, waiting for the boy to finish, all the while thinking of her response. There were two or three approaches she could take with this conversation, none of which were intended to mold it into trying to change his thinking.

"I understand how you feel...we as doctors are hard to find. In fact it takes many years to foster and train someone into becoming one, as you know. I know you have a sense of duty to the village, to our people, and perhaps I might even argue that you have too much of that sense. I'm not saying you should disregard the village and the sick, but like every other human being, doctors get sick too..." her voice trailed, clearing her throat slightly as she found herself ironically preaching about something that she knew very well from first-handed experience. "And Sho, just because you can't see momentarily does not make you unable to be a doctor. You might not be able to see patients, to treat them directly. But there's a lot you can do. For one, if you develop your other senses, you might be able to help more people in the long run."

She wasn't even trying to sympathize at that point. Rei knew well what he was feeling and of its frustrations. And she would want to acknowledge those feelings, even if it meant that she'd have to guide his focus away from the immediate so that he could grow as a doctor and as a person. "You are a good doctor in your own right, and being stripped of your sight is indeed frustrating. I want you to take that conviction and frustration and mold it into something more because I know you're capable...." she breathed in sharply at that point, her hand fluttering to her chest. Because he couldn't see, she knew that she had more liberty to show what became of her when her illness flared. She closed her eyes, focusing on her breathing as best as she could, all the while not shifting any of the focus away from Sho.

---

[Yamamoto Shosuke]

It was funny how much Sho's conviction had changed in just six months. Six months ago, Sho had been a guilt-driven nervous wreck barely concealed under a cold, logical exterior. He had helped people, but it had almost been out of a place of selfishness, wanting to help them to mollify his own guilty conscience about leaving other people behind. Now? Well, now it was something else entirely.

He was still stubborn, still bull-headed, he still seemed to have this belief that he knew what he was doing at all times, but there was something about it that had changed. Perhaps it was just natural growth, but there was something about him that one might say reminded one of Azarea or Atagi.

"You say that Boss, but you found a way to help people even whilst being sick."

Perhaps the dig was a little cheap, getting too personal with it, but the fact remained that that was how he saw it. Jokyu was being a hypocrite - She had put aside her own health, her own conditions, and found a way to treat people. Sure, her health condition was less crippling and all-consuming than his own was, she hadn't lost any of her senses to the plague, but even still...

She said that his duty to the village, his desire to help people and save others, was excessive. But what did that make her? Jokyu Rei was someone who he looked up to explicitly because she didn't let anything stop her from helping others.

Even if she insisted she wasn't a saint, she didn't need to be - she just needed to try. Even that was more than most. That was why he was so resistant to completely giving up, even just for a short time.

He knew that he was being unreasonable, that already he had done more than most himself. In the earthquake evacuation, he had single-handedly coordinated and handled the medical treatment of the villagers. Even as a genin, he had shown himself as capable and loyal over and over again.

Even so, it seemed like an endless race, the only real endpoint where he could say that he had done "enough" was when he was dead.

Finally, Sho sighed with frustration, feeling his fist clench and unclench itself just over the blankets that were draped over his body. It wasn't done aggressively, but more in the way that one might squeeze a stress-ball, forcing all of the irritation out of his body physically.

"If you have any suggestions, any lessons, any directions I can take... Please let me know.

If there's anything that I can do, even in this condition, I want to do it. There are people out there who are suffering more than I am, so letting myself relax seems... wrong."

465 words | Jokyū Rei

SPOILER: Click to show

D-Rank EXP: 5/8
Jutsus Used: None

[Yamamoto Shosuke]

The conversation ended with little to no practical advice, nothing to act on, nothing to move forwards with. It was unbelievably frustrating, coming from one sick person to another. Still, he supposed, calling their conditions similar was like comparing apples and oranges. She was sick, but it wasn't disabling. The worst of the plague was gone, and though its effects lingered they were like an echo in a canyon rather than screaming in one's ear.

Shosuke, ironically, had almost exactly the opposite problem than she did. His condition wouldn't last long, at least that was what the nurses kept insisting, but whilst it did it felt like it was disabling. It was all encompassing, like everything that could go wrong at once was going wrong. He couldn't see, and so that opened up a whole other series of issues.

Only... he could. That was the weirdest part of it. He didn't even need to turn his head to do so, he could see everything around him in 360'. Every day that passed, the vision grew stronger, and that came with its own host of problems. He couldn't STOP seeing. It was like someone had stapled his eyes open, even when he tried to sleep it was there, like trying to sleep with his eyes open.

In that darkness, a small part of him wondered if this was a blessing or a curse.

231 words | Wakahisa Kenichi

SPOILER: Click to show

D-rank EXP 6/8
Jutsus Used None

[Yamamoto Shosuke]

It had been days now, and it seemed like it was getting worse.

Shosuke was stuck between a rock and a hard place. His body was hale and hearty outside of the blindness so it was getting all full of pent up energy, making him want to go out and have walks around the hospital, The problem was, whenever he caved and did so, he found himself being subjected to extreme nausea.

Despite not being in an active war or during an active emergency, the Kumo hospital was a very active place with a lot of people walking about. With each day, his sensory abilities were growing larger and larger, and that meant that the more he walked about the more that his senses grew stronger. Or, in other words?

He could feel them.

In the periphery of his "vision", more and more of them by the day, and they felt... invasive, predatory. Like insects crawling upon one's skin.

Having never experienced something like this before, it was an ability that he wouldn't even have been able to conceptualize before this began. It was something he had heard about, he had understood the blind-sense of the Yamamoto from a purely technical perspective, but to live it? To experience it, or more accurately to not be able to stop experiencing it? It was maddening.

He was going to need help.

229 words | @closed

SPOILER: Click to show

D-Rank EXP 7/8
Jutsus Used None

[Yamamoto Shosuke]

It was done, Shosuke had sent the request for a meeting. Though he had yet to receive an answer one way or another, he somehow got the feeling that she would agree to it. After all, she was perhaps the only other person in the world who could truly understand what he was going for. She had caused it, after all.

Yamamoto Eri, his ostensible cousin.

From the moment that she had given him that potion, everything had changed. Yet, she had framed it so innocently. Die or succeed, grow stronger or perish in the attempt. That made it sound like it was a snap-second decision, a coin toss; Snake eyes or boxcars. She had never mentioned anything about recoil, about having to live with the consequences of surviving.

As he once again bound the wrappings around his head, he took deep breaths. She would come, he was certain of it, and she would help him deal with the consequences. It was their shared mistake, it was only fair for them to move on with this together. Besides, she was a true Yamamoto, she had experience in this as a kid. It was a different kettle of fish growing up with it than it was as an adult, but she would have to do.

She would have to.

218 words | @open

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D-Rank EXP 8/8
Jutsus Used None