[Uzumaki Ichigoni]

[googlefont=Crimson Text]

くたばれ
The Gojira was a large warship with three masts and multiple decks, and was best identified by the large reptilian figurehead above that was so big that the command deck was built into it. As a show of force to would-be pirates and even enemy shinobi villages, the ship sailed to escort merchant vessels to Yuki no Kuni, and then from there it sailed toward the closest docks to Iwagakure in Tsuruoka. The ship itself carried communications meant for their allied village, and it would be loaded with trade goods from the region before it departed back for the waters of the east.

It had been a long voyage from home across the northern ocean. Ichigoni had never been this far west in his life, nor had he ever felt so ill. The admiral’s quarters of the Gojira were below the first deck. Usually when the ship came into port on a foreign visit like this, the Uzumaki would want to be ready to disembark and meet with representatives of the country. But this time that duty had gone to one of his subordinates.

Instead, he lay in his queen sized bed with a faint yellow green hue to his skin and a soaked through tissue paper stuffed into the hole of one of his nostrils. Absent his usual headband, it was replaced by several wash rags. One sitting on his forehead and the other draped over his missing left eye. A simple white t-shirt was worn and his body was tucked like a caterpillar under wooly red sheets. But he was still shivering. Teeth chattering. Yet somehow sweating.

His own medical staff needed rest and resupply, and so an allied medic was being allowed to board the ship to attend to the sick officer. With the instruments native to the ship, they hadn’t been able to get a proper diagnosis of what illness ailed him, so there was hope that they might be able to make a determination here in Tsuruoka.

When Souma arrived, she would be escorted by two genin who were ensign aboard the ship and brought through the middle deck, up a ladderwell, and then through a hallway that had jade busts of Kirigakure’s kage lined up down a hallway. Then through a room with tables and furniture, with maps hanging on the wall, and then right outside the room where Ichigoni lay sniffling.

🗡️

[Souma]

Souma

Of the Tantetsu Clan

Chuunin, Iwagakure Medical Corps

Uzumaki Ichigoni | 315 | notes

It might be a touch disconcerting when the medic arrived. Medics, after all, tended to look the part. Grizzled war medics, slender village nurses, spooky research mednin- there tended to be a look, a stereotype, they could at least remotely cleave to.

Tantetsu Souma was not one of those mednin.

The girl- and she was, indeed, a girl, despite the confirmation that they would be receiving a Tokubetsu Jonin and one of Iwagakure's best- arrived garbed in... armor. Heavy plated armor, with a formal looking obi of twisted metal cable knotted behind her back in a very war-like approximation of the otherwise delicate garment. Her hair was not only an odd shade of pale blue, but fell in glassy strands a couple fingers thick, and her build made it clear she was one for getting into the thick of things.

And the first thing she did upon arrival was bowing delicately to the ensigns.

"Hello. I am Tantetsu Souma, Tokubetsu Jonin. I am here to tend to the unfamiliar sickness plaguing your... crewmate? Captain? The missive I received was not overly clear? I would like to bed led to him." A relatively flat tone, though not entirely without intonation, and a very formal mode of speaking without slang or contractions. Odd, this one.

She followed without trouble onto the ship and into the hallway with the jade busts. She marveled, briefly, that they did not topple mid-voyage, and proveeded in to the door of the patient's bed rest.

Three knocks. Sharp, clear. "Medic," she stated clearly before starting to open the door, her voice quite businesslike, and stepping in to shut the door and offer another polite bow. "I am Tantetsu Souma, Tokubetsu Jonin. May I ask your name and symptoms?"

"Don't work smart, or hard. Work smart, then hard."

Template by: Monkey

[Uzumaki Ichigoni]

[googlefont=Crimson Text]

くたばれ
"Kaigun-daisa,” one of the genin told her without thinking about it.
"The admiral of our fleet,” the other repeated. "No pressure though!” they jested. When she went to enter the area, one of them scrambled away to look over the bobbles of the reception room while the other stood guard.

Ichigoni’s garnet eye opened at the announcement of a medic entering. There was a tired bag underneath it. He sniffled and wiped at his nose, then moved his hand to make sure that his mangled left eye socket was covered properly.

"Come in,” he called back to her. The Uzumaki moved to sit up, holding his eye rags over his face with his left hand.

Souma would see his neatly cleaned room. Near the entry a dark navy blue overcoat was resting on a hook accompanied by a black tricorn. A folder lavender sweater and white trousers were laid out, likely in preparation for this day before he got sick.

"Thank you for arriving so soon,” he said with a throaty voice, followed by a cough. "I’m just a little under the weather though, my subordinates are overly worried.”

He broke into a coughing fit again, sitting up seemed to have made his congestion worse. Once he regained his bearing he spoke one more time. "I’m Uzumaki Ichi—” cough "—goni.”

🗡️

[Souma]

Souma

Of the Tantetsu Clan

Chuunin, Iwagakure Medical Corps

Uzumaki Ichigoni | 294 | notes

Souma's eyebrows did slide upwards slightly at the explanation that it was the admiral of an entire fleet she was seeing to. That left her to take a deep breath and release it slowly. "Very well, then. To the admiral."

Souma surveyed the room for a moment as she entered, before satisfying herself with what she found and moving inwards, hands folded primly in front of her as she approached. "You are quite welcome. It is my pleasure to render aid to those in need. Which I am sure comes across as... hm. Perhaps self important or condescending? But I mean it literally. It is nice to be able to put my skills to use bettering the lives of others."

She glanced at the rags on his face and offered simply, "I have been responsible for overseeing a number of amputations and prosthetic replacements. If it discomforts you to keep your eye covered, for whatever reason, please do not do so on my account. I assure you, I will be fine."

The claim of being a "little" under the weather had her squinting in his direction. "You are bedridden with cough and - based on the wet cloths- fever. You are not "a little" under the weather, you are in the middle of fighting off a full-blown respiratory infection. You should take it seriously and be grateful you have subordinates more interested in your recovery than they are bitter at picking up your slack."

She bowed at the introduction. "A pleasure to meet you, kaigun-daisa. How long have you been experiencing respiratory distress and elevated temperature? What other symptoms are you suffering?"

"Don't work smart, or hard. Work smart, then hard."

Template by: Monkey

[Uzumaki Ichigoni]

[googlefont=Crimson Text]

くたばれ
"Eh, no prosthetic, just not all there. Lost it a long time ago to flying debris,” he said. For a brief moment his mind drifted back to the Sanbi attack, before he forced himself back to the moment that he was in.

Ichigoni closed his good eye for a moment and removed the cloth rag from his other. A dull white orb rest absent a pupil. He usually did keep it covered to avoid certain hygiene issues, but he supposed it made sense to allow a medic to see it in case there was anything wrong with it. It appeared to be completely fine other than being enucleated.

"They seemed pretty eager to coup me up in here,” he said to Souma. "I still think they just want a break from my inspections, though.”

There was a stifled laugh that turned into a cough into his sleeve. He could feel thick mucus from his throat kicked up into his mouth. His nose wrinkled as he forced himself to swallow so that he could speak again.

He’d listed off every symptom that he could think of, "Umm. Let’s see— I’ve got a lot of snot, a headache, and my throat feels sore.”

🗡️

[Souma]

Souma

Of the Tantetsu Clan

Chuunin, Iwagakure Medical Corps

Uzumaki Ichigoni | 214 | notes

"I see. I am sorry if discussing it upsets you. I hope you can forgive me- I intended to set your mind at ease," Souma stated quietly, unsure if she'd crossed a line or not. She did take a moment and look at the pale, exposed orb, considering it for a moment. "I see what you mean about not all there. I see why you keep it covered, too. You are welcome to do so, if it helps to keep dust and detritus out."

"Maybe that is their reason- or perhaps they have significant concern for your wellbeing. If you do not know for sure... perhaps best to believe the best of them?" asked the doctor curiously.

Souma found herself wincing at the cough, and noted it to herself. "I see. And chills? Fever? Nothing of that sort?" She asked mildly as she busied herself taking notes. She hadn't asked how he preferred to be treated medically, so she wasn't going to assume he was up for someone just jutsu-ing away his sickness, and made sure she had a scrip for mundane medicine to break the infection instead just in case.

"Don't work smart, or hard. Work smart, then hard."

Template by: Monkey

[Uzumaki Ichigoni]

[googlefont=Crimson Text]

くたばれ
The Uzumaki shook his head. One day, perhaps, he’d have vengeance against the beast that took his eye. His clan and grandfather held first place in his heart for ire, however. "Don’t worry about it. No offense taken. It was a long time ago, after all.”

He cough-laughed when Souma told him to believe in the best of his crew’s intentions. He’d been speaking tongue-in-cheek before, but he decided to entertain the discussion more seriously instead, if only because he was bored of being alone in his room. "Perhaps I should. I came up in a more cut-throat Kirigakure, but the times have changed for the better it seems, just as it has for your people. Anyways, yes I do have a small fever. Chills periodically, but not right now.”

He sighed. "The ship's medical personnel are still somewhat freshman. They’ve provided conventional treatments, but they aren’t of a high enough grade in skill to take care of this issue with their ninjutsu. Aside from a small team, most of my people are either genin or sailors. I do still hope that you might be able to treat me here. I am sure Iwagakure would be a beautiful sight to behold, but I have business to attend to elsewhere.”

🗡️

[Souma]

Souma

Of the Tantetsu Clan

Chuunin, Iwagakure Medical Corps

Uzumaki Ichigoni | 376 | notes

"Thank you for your allowances in favor of my curiosity," Souma stated simply, indicating sincere appreciation for his willingness to share his condition with her. "Time does not heal all wounds, all the same. So I appreciate that you are understanding and open."

"Mh. Noted. Fever and intermittent chills," Souma stated making a mental mark of it. "And I suppose you're right. It is a little difficult for me to feel like they have improved, though. Not because I believe they have not, but the older and more experienced I become, the more exposed I am to the reality of things. So while the situation improves, I suspect the facets of it to which I am exposed objectively depreciate when compared to prior sets of exposure. It is a fallacy to feel they are deteriorating, but it is hard not to feel so when I am handling much of the worst work to repair those putting themselves on the line," she stated, all of it relatively level toned.

"That is understandable. Most villages keep their most talented on reserve. The most frequent place to find the worst wounded is at the village, after all, considering it is the end goal of essentially every field mission. I am pleased you have medical staff on hand to ameliorate the worst of your condition all the same. I hope you have given them your thanks thus far?"

Souma stood back a pace and considered, then nodded. "I see no evidence that your illness is more complicated or progressed beyond what my abilities can manage for you. Fever is a sure sign the body is attempting to fight an infection- or at least believes it is- but you have enough co-morbid symptoms to eliminate the possibility of most illness-mimicking toxins." A pause. "And, to be blunt, even if it were a very clever toxin, I could remedy that as well." She nodded, almost to herself, then paused. "Are... you certain you do not wish to seek more conventional treatment? The technique to end a sickness rapidly is... unpleasant in the extreme. I will need to restrain you."

"Don't work smart, or hard. Work smart, then hard."

Template by: Monkey