[shitai mitsuki]

WE'RE LITTLE DIFFERENT FROM THE BEASTS THEMSELVES

From Kusagakure to Konohagakure. Mitsuki, though only recently returned to active duty, was becoming something of a world traveler. This was proving to be problematic in some regards. Just as much as she needed food and water and a place to sleep, Mitsuki had a more primal hunger that needed to be sated, and outside of the confines of the Shitai clan compound, without access to the relatively empathetic Kumogakure medical corps, she didn’t know how to access what she needed. She had been told that her accommodations would be taken care of, but did that include her more… unique dietary needs? Had there been any communication with Konoha’s medical corps? She had made it this far, but her need was growing dire. Yet she dare not risk brazenly waltzing up to a foreign med corps shinobi and requesting access to their blood storage; with it being only her first week in the Hidden Leaf, she had no desire to ruin her reputation so easily. Her position, temporarily, was to be attached and training with the Leaf’s medcorps; assisting with missions or whatever else they might need. She felt like the premiere delivery girl of the Cloud—ever wandering, never home. Mitsuki was inventorying supplies, clipboard in hand, when she blinked and suddenly found herself within the chilly confines of the hospital’s blood storage. How she got here, if anyone had seen her, she didn’t know. But she was alone, for now, and who knew how long that would last? Surely one bag wouldn’t be missed… but as her delicate, pale fingertips grazed the surface of a bag of blood, she heard the door behind her creak open. Mitsuki snatched her hand away in a panic, eyes wide, clutching her clipboard to her chest as she prepared to stammer a half-baked excuse to whoever had just walked in.

Hyūga Raika -- 307

LAIKA OF THQ

[Hyūga Raika]

446 words shitai mitsuki zipped up coveralls, no weights

To be honest, it was lucky for Mitsuki that Raika wasn't the type to go around with her Byakugan activated, knowing that it often made people uncomfortable, not just because she could seemingly see everything around her all at once, but also because the sight of the veins standing out on either side of her face could be quite jarring and unsettling for them. As it is, just walking into the cold storage for blood bags and the rare organs prepared for transplant or study, she's actually surprised that somebody else is inside. She personally hated this part of the inventorying work, but she'd been promised a little bit more medical training from the team if she would help them with this part of the job, and she really needed this training. As it was, she was wearing her coveralls fully zipped up, so that only her head, neck, and hands were exposed, with her Konoha headband loosely tied around her neck. Her straight black hair, as always, is pulled back in a ponytail, with one lock hanging over the side of her face and her purple eyes quite strikingly visible in her wide-eyed facial expression. Her combat boots clomp against the steel floor as she steps in. Her weapon pouch and her Hung Gar rings are put elsewhere for now, as she's not likely to be doing any kind of combat while just inventorying medical supplies.

"Oh, I didn't realize someone else was in here. Hah, you look just as surprised as I feel!"

Apparently, Raika hadn't noticed what this stranger had been about to do, and so she didn't feel any kind of real suspicion towards her. She had a clipboard, so she had to assume she was also meant to be there. The Hyuuga carefully braces the door with a nearby box of surgical silicon tubing so that it doesn't shut on the two of them while they're in there before she steps on in, putting on a show of shivering as she does so, even as she has to duck her head to fit through the doorway; standing at 6'3", she seemed used to the fact that doors weren't generally made to accommodate someone with her height.

"Always hated how cold it is here. Just as well that we'll have to do it quick while the door is propped open like this."

She gives the stranger a smile, then seems to notice that she's wearing a Kumogakure headband around her waist, which brings to mind the boy named Yamatsu that she'd been on a mission with pretty recently.

"Oh, you're a Kumogakure ninja, right? Well, it's good to meetcha. I'm Raika Hyuuga."

”

by Pinn @ THQ

[shitai mitsuki]

WE'RE LITTLE DIFFERENT FROM THE BEASTS THEMSELVES

Face-to-face with this woman—though face-to-chest may have been a more apt description, as she was a full foot taller than Mitsuki—she found herself stunned into speechlessness, floundering for her words in a way that was distinctly unbecoming of an Adjutor Heiress, and which her grandmother would no doubt have ruthlessly scolded her for had she been here to witness it. Even with Grandmother hundreds and hundreds of miles away, Mitsuki felt the ghost of her disapproval, and so she straightened her back and lifted her chin to look the other woman in the eye. She schooled her expression, artfully tamping down her rising panic as she realized that she was not, in fact, in trouble, and had done nothing wrong that anyone would be able to get her in trouble for. Yet. Mitsuki returned the other woman’s smile, and inclined her head in a polite greeting. "Yes,” she said. "I am Shitai Mitsuki. It’s a pleasure to meet you as well.” Truthfully, while Mitsuki had been objectively aware that the blood storage was quite cold, she hadn’t noticed any particular discomfort; her own blood ran so cold and so slow that chilly was a rather permanent state of being for her. Still, propping the door open was a kind gesture, and not one that escaped Mitsuki’s notice. "It’s very well organized,” Mitsuki said conversationally, "So it should go quickly.” Even as she spoke she was making efficient little tick marks on the sheaf of paper on her clipboard, vibrant green eyes flicking between the paper’s contents and the hanging bags as she made her notations. "I’m on temporary loan to Konohagakure’s medical corps. One of the jounin agreed to some supplementary lessons if I helped out with some busywork around the hospital.” Mitsuki paused in her writing, tilting her head quizzically at Raika. She really was a large woman—thick muscles, silky hair, a pretty face. Beautiful blue veins beneath the pale skin of her throat. "He mentioned another genin would likely be there as well,” she continued, affixing her gaze to her clipboard. "Is that you, Hyuuga-san?”

Hyūga Raika -- 347

LAIKA OF THQ

[Hyūga Raika]

437 words shitai mitsuki

Raika seems either unaware or unbothered by Mitsuki's wandering eyes looking her over. If anything, she would probably have been used to it by now, and at least Mitsuki didn't seem grossed out by her musculature, unlike most of the Hyuuga clan that she'd met upon her return from Kawa. In fact, Honno and Tamiko were the exceptions to this rule; if he felt disgusted in response to her muscular body, Honno was really good at hiding it. Raika nods once in Mitsuki's reply to her explanation that she was there to help out with the Jounin's job in inventorying the medical supplies in exchange for some training in medical lessons.

"Yep, that's me! Sounds like he scammed us both with the same offer. Eh-heh."

The Genin returns to her own clipboard, noting each bag of blood as she goes and of each type. It was boring work, but at least Raika was learning that blood actually had a type; with how little legitimate medical training she'd actually received, it was quite a surprise Raika knew much about the medical side of Ninjutsu at all, but that had been due to her clan's insistence on training other things, instead. Raika was still a very curious Genin when it comes to medical training, and she needs all the training that she can get, so even if this is something of a scam to get Genin to do the Jounin's busy work, it might give the Hyuuga something to learn about while she's here. This does, however, give her a chance to talk to somebody that she seems to have a similarity with in terms of interests.

"Have you done a lot of training in medical jutsu? I've only had a little, but I keep getting told that I've got a lot of promise, so maybe I'll be a great medic ninja some day!"

Raika's excitement is nearly palpable, as her coming back from Kawa means she has only a few friends, and even fewer that she can even discuss her interest in medical training with. She pauses in her scribbling on the clipboard to look at Mitsuki, noticing her staring now for the first time and feeling a little bit playful and flirty once she catches the other kunoichi looking, apparently not realizing that the reason for her staring isn't quite the same as what she's assuming. Regardless, she unzips her coveralls just a bit, making a little show of it as her dark gray tank top is revealed, as well as a lot more of her musculature.

"But jeez, these clothes really do trap the heat in."

”

by Pinn @ THQ

[shitai mitsuki]

WE'RE LITTLE DIFFERENT FROM THE BEASTS THEMSELVES

Scammed us both. The corner of Mitsuki’s mouth tugged into a wry smile, but she did not reply to this; it was not her place to decide whether or not she was being scammed into anything. She was an outsider in this place, and while she had been treated very hospitably thus far, doing a little extra grunt work was to be expected. Especially when she was getting some free learning out of it. Even this, she supposed, was a learning experience. It was helpful to remind herself of which blood types were compatible with which others; not something she needed to worry about for her own purposes, but if she were going to focus on learning to heal others, then it would be important down the line. O- was the universal donor, AB+ was the universal recipient, O+ could only receive O- or O+, and on and on… Tick, tick, tick. Raika’s enthusiasm was… charming. Mitsuki was unused to anyone engaging with her so enthusiastically about medicine—even members of her own clan had a tendency to be reserved, even when speaking about their life’s work. "I have some small skill with medical ninjutsu,” Mitsuki said, sliding down to begin checking off the last items on her list. "But only for my own use, I’m afraid. I’m hoping to learn more about how to treat others.” The zipper of the coverall came down. Mitsuki’s emerald gaze followed the line of Raika’s throat to her collarbone. Subclavian arteries, she recalled dimly, the beginning of her anatomy lessons with the medcorps rising to the forefront of her mind. Her mouth was dry. She was hungry. "Are you a taijutsu practitioner?” Mitsuki asked. Her voice cracked; she cleared her throat. "I prefer hand-to-hand combat myself, but I’m afraid that I only know a few techniques so far. I’ve been struggling to find a school of martial arts that feels natural.”

Hyūga Raika -- 317

LAIKA OF THQ

[Hyūga Raika]

403 words shitai mitsuki

Raika almost seems even more excited when she notices Mitsuki taking an even closer look at her while she's got her coveralls unzipped, though she's a little bit disappointed that the other woman is more interested in discussing what type of fighting they specialize in, at least for the moment. The Genin is still clearly quite eager to talk to this stranger more, especially since she's only interacted with one other Kumogakure ninja before, and it had been quite short, since they'd only been able to talk to one another during the course of their mission, and this was a more relaxed kind of setting.

"Oh! Yeah, I mostly focus on Taijutsu. That's uh... kind of the Hyuuga's thing. Sort of."

She didn't really need to go into detail about the fact that the Hyuuga clan actually focuses almost exclusively on one form of combat, while she'd actually been one of the few that had chosen to branch out into other styles of combat, although she'd only done enough work to learn a few techniques of the Goken style from some oddballs in the Kawa swamps. For some reason, they'd been wearing fully green jumpsuits, which she'd thought at first had been for the purposes of camouflaging themselves, except that they also wore bright orange leg warmers that would easily have them spotted. Not to mention the fact that they were loud and boisterous, rather than quiet like most of the people in Kawa.

"Most of the techniques I know involve my clan's own Taijutsu, so I'm afraid I'm not much help with finding a style for you to train in order to be more focused. With any luck, I'll be learning more styles than just the Hyuuga clan's Taijutsu."

She gives Mistuki a smile, but then seems to remember that she's supposed to be doing an inventory of the blood bags, having been distracted by the conversation with this white-haired kunoichi. She marks off the last bag on her side of the storage, then turns to look at Mitsuki again, curious about whether or not she might help her learn a thing or two about the medical field, since she'd mentioned an interest in that, too. Unfortunately, she doesn't know how to voice this request, and she'd barely known how to make such a request of Shikajin, the Nara that had started her on this plan to learn more about medical techniques.

”

by Pinn @ THQ

[shitai mitsuki]

WE'RE LITTLE DIFFERENT FROM THE BEASTS THEMSELVES

"I could tell,” Mitsuki said, a slight, warm smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. "You seem stronger than most.” Raika awkwardly navigated around the subject of her clan’s Taijutsu, an uncomfortable dance that Mitsuki was all too familiar with: her own clan’s secrets were tightly held, infamously reviled, and boundlessly precious all at the same time. The Hyuuga had much more of an impressive reputation than the Shitai, and for good reason, but Mitsuki understood the requirements of a secretive clan well enough to know when a subject was better left alone. There was a small stretch of silence as they both focused on their work. Mitsuki checked off her last bag and glanced up at Raika at the same moment that Raika looked at her, and if there were any heat in her blood it surely would have rushed to her face. Was it possible that Raika knew, she wondered--was it obvious, how hungry she was? How brutal of a temptation their surroundings were? "I-I’m hoping to tie anatomical knowledge into my taijutsu training,” Mitsuki said after a fraught moment. "Um—pressure points, arteries. There’s something poetic about using the same knowledge base to help and to harm, don’t you think?” She slipped her pen into the clipboard’s handle and took one last survey of the room before nodding decisively—and making a mental note that there was a surplus of AB+ blood. Maybe if she could pull their instructor aside later, she could ask… "Shall we report back?”

Hyūga Raika -- 250

LAIKA OF THQ

[Hyūga Raika]

363 words shitai mitsuki

Raika takes at least a little bit of interest when this Mitsuki woman states that she's looking to combine her use of Taijutsu with medical ninjutsu, which is intensely interesting for Raika. In some respects, Raika was actually looking to do something similar, though from the sound of it, Mitsuki is seemingly interested in a fighting style that takes some cues from the Hyuuga's Taijutsu, particularly similar, though not the same, as the Hakke series of attacks meant to stop the flow of chakra by striking tenketsu points. Instead, this fighting style described by the other Genin seems more about hitting body pressure points to have an effect on the body. In contrast, Raika was looking to use medical ninjutsu to improve her own body and give herself some way to get in close without risking death in the middle ground or at long range.

"Oh! That's actually very interesting... Maybe I'll have to look into that myself a bit and even ask you for some notes sometime..."

Raika seems to take notice of the way Mitsuki is looking at her, and misinterprets her apparently shy staring, making the dark-haired Genin think that this foreign shinobi was ogling her, which of course only makes Raika even more full of herself than before. She puts on a wry smile when Mitsuki suggests reporting in, and she looks through her own clipboard a bit more to make sure she's gone through the entire checklist.

"Well, it wouldn't hurt to do one last quick check all at once..."

With this said, she activates her Byakugan, causing the veins on either side of her face to bulge out as her lavender eyes become far more white, and she takes a quick visual inventory of the blood bags. She notices something... different about this Mitsuki woman, but she can't put her finger on it, really. But she also decides that it's rude to pry like that, and she mentally chastises herself to leave it well enough alone. Once she's counted them out a second time, this time via her clan's doujutsu, she deactivates her Byakugan again and nods once firmly.

"Yep, counted out! Let's go turn this in."

”

by Pinn @ THQ

[shitai mitsuki]

WE'RE LITTLE DIFFERENT FROM THE BEASTS THEMSELVES

"We’ll see if I get anywhere with it,” Mitsuki replied, ducking her head bashfully. "It sounds interesting in theory, but would be much harder to put into practice, I think.” Though perhaps not for someone like Raika, who seemed very confident on top of being physically intimidating—Mitsuki looked like a rather strong breeze could bowl her right over, and was terminally wary of engaging too enthusiastically in close combat. When Raika activates her Byakugan, Mitsuki politely averts her eyes in spite of her own curiosity. It seemed voyeuristic, almost, to watch someone use an ability like that, and she herself rather firmly disliked it when she was watched as she was feeding. It was only reasonable to extend the same courtesy in return. A prickle of anxiety skitters up Mitsuki’s spine as she considers the potential ramifications of someone with doujutsu looking directly at her. Not all were sensory-type, she knew that much—the Omori of her own village were more concerned with sealing than sensing—but she wasn’t familiar with the full extent of the power of the Byakugan. Could Raika see her terminally slow heartbeat, the cool temperature of her blood? Would Raika know she was a monster? If she did, she said nothing, instead cheerfully confirming that their work was sufficiently complete. Mitsuki swallowed past the lump in her throat and nodded as well. Mitsuki carefully closed up the storage room behind them as they left, ensuring the door was properly sealed so that no more cold air could escape, and then led the way back to the nurse’s station their instructor was manning in the inpatient care department. "Sensei,” she greeted softly as they returned, "Hyuuga-san and I have finished in blood storage.” "Great work, ladies,” the man briskly replied, collecting both of their clipboards. "I’m just about to do my rotations—would you like to come along?” Mitsuki nodded, but glanced at Raika as if seeking approval that this was sufficient "payment” for their services.

Hyūga Raika -- 327

LAIKA OF THQ

[Hyūga Raika]

326 words shitai mitsuki

Although Raika does notice the slow heart rate, she somewhat assumed that it was that this woman was just some form of athlete. What kind of athlete would have so little muscle, she had no real idea, but she knows that people that engage in vigorous physical activity for long periods have a somewhat slower heart rate, although that's mostly the extent of her medical knowledge on the subject. Thankfully for Mitsuki, her eyes couldn't really measure temperature, and if they could, she likely would have chalked up the low core body temperature on her freezing herself in the refrigeration unit. In all likelihood, Mitsuki wouldn't have much to worry about, although there wasn't a way for the other woman to know that.

With her Byakugan no longer activated, she doesn't catch any of the nervous tells from Mitsuki, being mostly oblivious to them without the intense scrutiny that might have been afforded to her by her clan's doujutsu. She follows after the white-haired ninja, looking about curiously at the inpatient clinic and the busy-looking nurses rushing to and fro, all of them apparently too busy to work on the inventory job that Raika and Mitsuki had been tasked with. At the mention of her clan name, she perks up to the conversation Mitsuki is having, feeling a bit odd about being referred to by the name Hyuuga, but then again, she'd rarely called herself a Hyuuga in Kawa. She should probably get used to it, especially if she's really going to try and reclaim her title of heiress.

With their clipboards collected and an offer to come along on the medic's rotations, Raika's mood seems to perk up even more.

"You bet! Who do we get to poke and prod on your list first? Is it gonna be part of the triage or the convalescent patients?"

Apparently, Raika had picked up a few words here and there while she'd been in the hospital so far.

”

by Pinn @ THQ

[shitai mitsuki]

WE'RE LITTLE DIFFERENT FROM THE BEASTS THEMSELVES

"Triage,” Mitsuki said aloud, "that’s… preliminary assessments? Convalescent are patients in recovery after treatment?” Raika seemed so much more experienced than her in matters of actual medical treatment. Mitsuki knew her way around a dead body, was getting comfortable with the placement of arteries and veins, but treating real, living patients with obvious injuries had proven more difficult for her thus far… likely in part due to her lack of knowledge of medical ninjutsu outside of her clan’s teachings. When she received the affirmation that she was correct from their sensei, Mitsuki looked relieved that she’d gotten something right. "Convalescent,” the med-nin replied to Raika. "We’ll be taking vitals, administering medication, updating charts with developing symptoms if necessary. You can just watch for the first patient, then I’ll have you each practice on your own after. Got it?” Their first patient was an older woman who had a hip replacement surgery some two days before, and was undergoing care until she was well enough to return home. The med-nin’s bedside manner was impeccable, making lighthearted conversation with the elderly woman, introducing Raika and Mitsuki to her, and cheerfully narrating what he was doing to the two girls in a tone of voice far less brisk and professional than how he’d spoken to them prior. He checked the woman’s heart rate, blood pressure, asked after her pain levels and bowel movements, confirmed that she’d eaten; he showed the girls how to check on her prescribed medications and appropriate dosages on her chart, then showed them how to retrieve the appropriate measured and dispensed medication that the pharmacy delivered like clockwork. It went smoothly and was explained in excruciating detail, Mitsuki hanging onto every word and frantically taking notes in her own little notepad. A young boy was their next patient, arm bound up in a cast and sniffling as the trio entered his care room. The med-nin turned to Raika and nodded encouragingly. "Hyuuga-san, feel up to the task?” he asked, handing the clipboard to her.

Hyūga Raika -- 335

LAIKA OF THQ

[Hyūga Raika]

578 words shitai mitsuki

Raika turns her head to look at Mitsuki when she mentions both triage and convalescent care, which were some concepts she'd picked up from walking around in the hospital. She had only been in the hospital setting a little longer, at least long enough to pick up on the meanings of the two different types of care herself. Despite only having learned the meanings of both terms very recently, she still gives Mitsuki praise for knowing these terms as well.

"Yeah, you got it! You learn quick."

She's told they'll be learning to take care of the convalescent care patients, which makes a bit of sense. They're usually not so serious that it would be too terrible if they made some small mistake during this low-level training, even though they were probably going to be more involved in triage care if they were made med-nin. While Raika thought the emergency care was more important for them to learn, she understood to reason for taking on convalescent patients for their first round of training.

While Raika was often loud and boisterous, when she was meeting the old woman as an assistant, she was rather more subdued and quiet, which would be quite a shock for most people that know Raika more personally, but she was also fully aware that now was not a good time to be her usual self. After a quick introduction from the doctor, she stays out of it and only watches the interaction between the doctor and the old lady, apparently fine with taking mental notes.

On their arrival to the next patient, this one with a broken arm, Raika is eager to go on in and show off what she can do, so when the boy is offered to her as her first patient, she gladly shows her eagerness by accepting the clipboard before walking right on in.

"Well hey! Shinkatsu, right? How'd that happen?"

Although the boy's words are practically incomprehensible behind the nearly constrained sobbing, Raika nods in apparently understanding. In reality, she has no idea what the kid is saying, but with the clipboard lifted up to her face, just high enough to hide her eyes, she activates her Byakugan, causing her purple eyes to fade to a nearly complete white. The clipboard hides her eyes as well as the veins standing out on either side of her face. While the boy tells his winding story, Raika is mostly using it to distract the boy while she takes measure of his heartbeat through the use of her Byakugan, counting out a full half a minute to be able to jot down his heart rate accurately before she deactivates her Byakugan to talk to him some more.

"You're very brave, Shinkatsu, y'know that? Big tough man like you!"

She's at least sincere, even if she's not quite as pure-business as the one instructing them. She still manages to get information about his blood pressure and his diet, as well as his pain, which of course scored highly. Raika also hands him a cup with a single pain relief tablet inside and then hands over a cup of water when he takes the pain relief pill before she returns to the doctor with all her notes taken, now speaking much more seriously than she had with the young boy.

"He's in a lot of pain, but his broken bones are already starting on the self-healing process at least. It'll take a while still."

”

by Pinn @ THQ

[shitai mitsuki]

WE'RE LITTLE DIFFERENT FROM THE BEASTS THEMSELVES

Had there been pulsing blood to rush to her cheeks it might have done so; as things stood, Mitsuki only smiled bashfully and cast her eyes downward at Raika’s praise, a pleased warmth unfurling in her gut. She hung back while Raika checked in on the boy, a near beat-for-beat replication of her focused attention and frantic note-taking with the first patient. Raika was thorough and cheerful, though Mitsuki noted with some confusion that she didn’t deploy the same skills and techniques that their instructor had; instead Raika hid behind her clipboard, staring intently for an entire thirty seconds before pulling away. From where she was standing Mitsuki could only catch a glimpse of those same veins bulging at the corners of her eyes. Pleasure curdled to fear as suspicion and paranoia began to sink in. Her initial wariness may have been more correct than she’d realized; if Raika was deploying the Byakugan in this setting, for this apparent purpose, then there truly might be no limit to what the woman could discern about Mitsuki’s nature. "Good work,” their instructor said approvingly as he re-collects the boy’s clipboard. And just like that, as if all was normal, they moved on to their third patient. Mitsuki took a shaky breath, trying to calm her trembling nerves. Their third patient was a shinobi: a woman in her early twenties who had suffered from a series of stab wounds while out on a mission. She’d since stabilized, but she was still in the hospital for another two days while being monitored to ensure no infection took hold and no complications arose. "Your turn, Shitai-san,” their instructor said, handing a new clipboard over to Mitsuki. She took it, trying her hardest to conceal the sudden wash of anxiety that threatened to overwhelm her, and stepped forward. She conferred with the woman; Mitsuki’s tone was delicate, higher than her normal speaking voice, soft-spoken and flutish. After confirming that no odd symptoms had arisen she checked the woman’s bandages and found that one on her hip was crimson with blood; a stitch had popped, likely in her sleep. She would need to clean the wound, re-do the stitches, and apply new dressing. Mitsuki knew this objectively: the information rang through her mind as if it were being shouted at her from across a vast field. She knew the procedure. She knew what she needed to do. Blood smeared onto shaking fingers as she peeled back the bandage; Mitsuki’s breath caught in her throat, her pupils blown so wide and so black that only the barest glimmer of green remained. "Hyuuga-san,” she said, whisper-thin, "I think perhaps you should take over.”

Hyūga Raika -- 444

LAIKA OF THQ

[Hyūga Raika]

341 words shitai mitsuki D-rank XP training: 7/8

Raika barely hears herself being called over, being referred to again by her last name in a nearly formal manner. She really should have insisted on having Mitsuki call her Raika, but she'd just have to correct her after they've sealed up this woman's wound. Almost immediately, she activates the Byakugan as she moves in, but she can see that the wound itself is simply a broken stitching that's come undone just a bit. Raika wonders for a moment why she would call her over, especially when her heartbeat was so slow, like the other Genin was almost completely relaxed. Relaxed, or half-dead. With a bit of a shiver, she tosses that thought out of her head and focuses more intently on just stitching the wound shut, making sure to slip the needle in deep enough to hold the tissue, but not so deep that it would sew up any deeper than what was necessary.

Thankfully, only the external stitches had broken, none of the internal ones, so it was simply a matter of slipping the curved needle in through one side, between the separated flesh, and out again before carefully pulling tight to draw the wound closed again.

"Just keep her sedated, all right? Don't want her to feel any more pain than necessary."

Raika is otherwise silent as she works, focused intently on her job of sewing the wound shut, and so paid very little attention to her temporary teammate in this work. Somewhat off-handedly, she hopes to herself that their sensei doesn't take Mitsuki's request for assistance from her as a sign of poor training, or anything worse than that. With the job done quickly, the Hyuuga sighs with relief at having fixed the stitching and pulls a roll of gauze closer, handing the end of it to Mitsuki to hold as she wraps the gauze around the wound.

"I know it's hard to do it when you're asleep, but try not to move this hip around too much, all right? The stitching isn't all that strong here."

”

by Pinn @ THQ

[shitai mitsuki]

Raika slid in to take over without question or comment, something that Mitsuki was deeply, fundamentally grateful for; the young woman took a swift step back, extracting herself from the immediate visual sightline of the bloodied bandage as quickly as she could. Obediently, mechanically following Raika’s directive, she triple-checked the patient’s recently distributed medications to ensure nothing would interact poorly, then administered a light sedative to help numb the sensation of Raika fixing the woman’s stitching. As soon as her part was done she glanced back at their instructor, trying to gauge just how badly she’d messed up—as if this wasn’t an extremely simple treatment that any burgeoning med-nin could do. Instead of anger or frustration she found only curiosity on their instructor’s face. "Shitai… Mitsuki, was it?” he asked, and she nodded in mute affirmation. His brow furrowed, and he excused himself briefly as he went back to the nurses’ station just down the hall. Mitsuki held the end of the gauze as Raika handed it to her, keeping her gaze lifted politely upward as the other woman worked. Their patient, sedated, only hmm’d in quiet acknowledgment of Raika’s advice; Mitsuki took it upon herself to write a note in the woman’s chart that stronger sleep aids might be necessary to ensure she remained still overnight. "Thank you,” she said softly, not quite able to meet Raika’s eyes. "I apologize. That was… unprofessional of me, but I appreciate your assistance all the same.” Their instructor returned then, knocking lightly on the doorframe and gesturing for the two women to go back out into the hallway. "Hyuuga-san, why don’t we go check on our last patient together?” he said. "Shitai-san, I’ll have you go back to blood storage—this last patient is due for a blood transfusion. Here’s the information you’ll need.” He handed her not one piece of paper, but two—the first was indeed the requisite information for the patient in question, but the second was for her eyes only, and she breathed a quiet sigh of relief. "Yes, thank you,” she said. "I’ll meet you both at the patient’s room, then.” Then she disappeared down the hall; when she rejoined Raika and their instructor at the patient’s bedside, it would be with a carefully cold-packed supply of blood in hand and looking vastly rejuvenated, her pink tongue running over the surface of her sharp white teeth.

Hyūga Raika -- 399

LAIKA OF THQ