[Mikatakujira Ruto]

The establishment of his small lab near the border of Bird Country had created a greater opportunity for Ruto to pay his young, ambitious "apprentice" some visits. After aiding him with several cases and doing the best he could to provide support, he had spent some time away, working his own medicinal magic throughout the countryside, and some things had changed. The acquisition of an actual career which helped support his line of work was one such thing. 

Usually Ruto travelled by foot, arriving into town with nothing but a bag slung over his shoulder carrying all his earthly goods. This time, he arrived outside Hotaru's orphanage with a small cart. It contained medical supplies he'd used his cut of profits to collect. Though he would need some to keep with him on his travels, it was never a bad thing to deliver these gifts to Hotaru. His aims were noble. Ruto knew this objectively, even if he cared less than his companion did. It was the right thing, helping him whenever he could. 

Gathering all the supplies in hand, they entered the hospital, and greeted some of the young patients waiting there. Some were excited to see them again. They asked that someone could go announce their presence to Hotaru. Idly,  they wondered if he would require any help today. They seemed to have a knack for being in the area just when Hotaru needed assistance with some treatment or another. 

[Uchiha Hotaru]

Hotaru had returned from his trek eastward to reunite with his sister, and since that time he had turned much of his focus back to finding a permanent solution to Konohagakure. His upper office was littered with what little intelligence he had gained about Konohagakure.

That wasn't to say he had forgotten the children of Tori no Kuni. He was still taking care of their needs, but the time he spent with their daily development had lessened. Outside of medical treatments, he had become somewhat of a ghost in his own home.

When Ruto arrived he had a corpse laying on the doctor's bed in front of him with the upper layers of the torso cut open. Surgical alterations had been done to the face to make it look close to his own. Thin steel plates were resting nearby, which awaited his installation. The entire upper office stunk of embalming fluids

When he heard the chime of a bell from below he sighed and tossed a hospital sheet over the corpse. He sterilized his hands and made his way down the staircase, he never used the crank elevator for himself, it was just for getting hospital beds up.

When he arrived downstairs his tired eyes met with Ruto's. He had asked the children not to disturb him unless a guest arrived or there was a medical emergency, and it seemed it was the former.

"Hello, welcome back," Hotaru said. He still referred to himself as Kazutoshi in this part of the world. Though he had sanitized the smell of formaldehyde had clung to his clothing. "How fares the road?” he asked.

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