Yuto looked down at the patient, sluggishly hanging on the stretcher. It was a female genin, a few years older than Yuto. Yuto was surprised to see there was not a single scratch on the girl's body. He quickly concluded that a poisoned weapon had caught her, seeing the tear in her shirt.
"Captain, she's been poisoned!" Yuto exclaimed.
"No shit? I'll attempt to extract the poison and analyze its makeup," she said.
Yuto nodded, handing her an extracting tool.
She took the tool, setting it down and placing it on a wite cloth.
"Help me remove her shirt!" she said, pulling up the girl's shirt.
Yuto's face twisted into horror, startling back.
"But... captain!" Yuto said.
"your a medic, not her yoga coach! Hurry and do as I asked," she retorted.
Yuto hesitated, but did as he was asked, pulling off the girl's shirt, revealing her purple bra.
He let out a sigh, seeing she had a bra on.
"This is much different from the scrolls," Yuto thought to himself.
Mai grabbed the extracting tool, wedging it in the small cut in the girl's abdomen. She pulled it out, and not even a second later, a clear liquid on it.
"Captain, what is that you just extracted?" Yuto asked, as it didn't really look like poison.
"Don't let fiction fool you, not all poisons are purple," she said with an annoyed hiss.
She applied the poison to a plastic sheet and adjusted the microscope. She started to examine the poison under the scope.
"The poison isn't that strong, but it's fast-acting. It's meant to paralyze and then eventually kill, which is why I couldn't discern it just from the symptoms," she explained, adjusting the microscope.
"Extract the rest and clean the pus from the wound, while I grab the annodote," she said.
"You've encountered this poison before?" Yuto asked, surprised that she already had an anodote.
"The poison isn't rare; it's not surprising that I would have seen it before," she said as if it were obvious.
Yuto nodded as he cleaned the wound with a cotton ball.
Mai then scurried over with the anodote stored in a small glass bottle similar to nail polish.
"Captain, why is the amount so small?" Yuto asked.
"Gaining anecdotes is a lot more difficult than just picking some plants from the forest," she said, clearly annoyed by the naivety.
Yuto was a little surprised as he wasn't aware of the difficulty of the process.
"What is the process?" Yuto asked, curious.
She sighed, extracting the anecdote with a syringe and attaching a needle.
She stuck the needle into a vein on the patient's arm. "Anecdotes are difficult to obtain for many reasons. Obtaining healing herbs is meant to speed up healing; that's what you were referring to before. Anodotes are made from liters of blood extracted from animals injected with the poison after they build up immunity. In some cases, they can be configured from plants into an anodote you consume," she explained, before taking the needle from the girl's arm.
"Poor animals," Yuto said.
"Well, it's either them or a human," she said, shrugging her shoulders, indifferent to the animal's suffering.
"You don't seem to be bothered by that?" Yuto said, questioning.
"I don't get paid to care," she said.
Yuto nodded; he didn't give a shit about those animals either.
"By the way, when can I learn the chakra scaple technique?" he asked casually.
"You're years away from a technique that difficult. It takes precision and knowledge of the human body, and I doubt you'll get far enough in your studies before your six-month training period is over," she said.
Yuto frowned. He needed cutting power in combat because he could only inflict damage when the opponent was off guard. He realized that as soon as the battle became a close-range battle, he fell under the pressure and overwhelming strength of his opponents. he didn't need strength or power; he needed to end fights before the power could be exerted. His spitball lacked power, and his kinjutsu was mediocre, so he couldnt hang in the long-range or close-range. He'd only had success from mid-range because his opponents weren't expecting him to use sealess ninjutsu. His opponents underestimated him and paid for it. He knew for a fact he was more skilled than Touji, but his skill meant nothing if he couldnt keep up with his opponent's speed and power. He needed to make his opponent pay the second they entered his no-no square, and what better way to do that than with the chakra scaple. Since he needed to get further in his studies before he could attempt such a dangerous technique, he would need to fight from long range and use his kinjutsu primarily for defense. Unable to attempt this, he needed to increase the power of his spitball, but this was easier said than done, as it was just spit.
He sighed as he cleaned up the area around the patient, throwing some cotton balls into the trash.
"Alright, that's enough for today. Sit down and take your notes while I handle the patient," Mai said, putting on her gloves.
Yuto just nodded. Today was just overwhelming; he wasn't even the one administering the antedote, and he felt like the patient's life was in his hands. He was sure Mai exaggerated the patient's condition to see how he performed under pressure, but it felt like just that, pressure. He now had an idea of what it was like being a medic, and he realized that no matter the field, a shinobi's job is terrifying, and this did nothing but increase his cowardice.
"There is no escape," Yuto thought.
He walked to the trash can, taking off his gloves and mask and throwing them into the bin. he took off the oversized medical coat and hung it on the wall before squirting some hand sanitizer into his hand and massaging it in.
He sat in Mai's doctor chair, spinning it around before pulling out an empty scroll and an ink brush.
After Yuto finished up with his notes, he left his session for the day. He had decided he would take multiple lessons with Mai throughout the week; unable to make the most of his six months, he could now take his time with his studying, seeing that he now had a tutor. He would use the rest of his time increasing the power of his spitball ninjutsu, seeing it was his off day.
He sighed, walking into the medical sector's bathroom. He took off the hair cover he still had on and looked at his now chin-length hair with a grimace.
"Mind as well, trim it up a bit," Yuto thought.
He pulled out his everyday Carrie scroll, unsealing a hair-care set. He opened the metal box, revealing the surplus of different-sized scissors and combs.
He picked up the pair of scissors, letting out a sigh.
He finally finished and walked out of the medical sector's bathroom. His hair was now shorter, but he opted to keep his bangs framing his face. His hair was no longer long enough for a ponytail, so his short-cut hair complemented his bangs.
He made his way to the facility management sector. The department was small but had dozens of sectors and private grounds. He needed to book a training quarters, but he doubted he'd get a room to himself, considering the large number of people who'd likely be training on the one-off day thier granted.
Yuto walked into the sector through the commonly seen push-open doors around the facility. He had been there before to pick up his essential needs like toothpaste and body wash. The sector was huge, similar to a check-in at a football stadium. There were many desks with civilians, as the village wouldn't waste shinobi to hand out belongings. The facility management was run by an older female, who seemed to be a civilian at first sight, but clearly had shinobi training. Yuto was probably the only one who noticed her tells.
He stepped into the large lobby, walked up to one of the counters, and waited in the small line. He tapped his foot impatiently, waiting for those in front of him.
When it was finally his turn, he stepped up with his arms crossed, clearly annoyed by the long wait.
The woman at the desk looked like she hated her job, just like every other person with a desk job.
She took a sip of coffee from a cup that was clearly reused before speaking.
"How can I help you?" she asked dully.
Yuto sighed. "I need a pass to one of the indoor training grounds," Yuto said, as he wasn't very prone to the fire country heat.
"registration card, hall pass, and schedule," she said, holding a hand out.
Yuto nodded but was confused about why she needed his schedule.
He pulled out what was requested anyway, sliding it on the counter.
"Geeze, this lady looks even worse than me," Yuto thought.
The lady began typing the information into the computer, but sighed, hearing Yuto speak.
"I get why you'd ask for my pass and registration, but why my schedule?" Yuto asked, confused.
She sighed. "I have to make sure you're not skipping out on assignments from your instructor," she explained.
Yuto nodded understandingly.
Right then, she finished typing on the keyboard and handed him a pass.
"sector three A-2," she said.
Yuto took the pass and stored away his registration and schedule, taking the hall pass last.
"Thanks," he said, walking away.
She just nodded.
Yuto made his way towards the training grounds, following the directions on the walls as usual. As he was walking, his face contorted in rage, seeing the familiar mop of yellow hair.
Touji's face became a grin the second he noticed Yuto and his new haircut.
Touji instantly changed the direction he was turning and began to walk in a straight line towards Yuto.
"Yuto! I love the hair, man," she said with a grin, putting his hand out for a fist bump.
Yuto looked him up and down, not amused. "Move your hand before I cut it off," Yuto said an expression of hatred on his face.
Touji didn't even flinch; he looked around, making sure no one was looking.
"What the fuck did you just say to me?" Touji said his face contorted into a sicotic rage, grabbing Yuto by his jacket.
"What do you want?" Yuto asked, annoyed.
His grip became tighter on Yuto's collar, gritting his teeth.
"What did I tell you about respecting your elder's you stupid brat," Touji said, but stopped leaking his killing intent and released his grip on Yuto's jacket, hearing footsteps.
He took a step back as the footsteps came closer from around the corner.
Then came the long curtain of straight black hair following the man as he turned the corner.
"Riku?" Yuto said, a little surprised to see him again.
"Yuto?... and Touji," Riku said, seeing Touji's form next to Yuto.
Riku looked at Yuto's jacked-up shirt and frowned.
"Is this lunatic bothering you, yuto?" Riku asked with a serious face.
Yuto felt no need to lie. "Yeah, starting problems as usual," Yuto said, glaring at Touji.
Touji grinned. "Do I need to remind you of what happened back in the forest?" Touji said, directing his attention towards Riku.
Riku scoffed as Yuto's head turned in surprise, as he wasn't aware of their encounter with each other.
"You caught me while I was gassed. I'd wipe the floor with you any day of the week," Riku said confidently.
Touji scoffed, but there was something in his body language that said that he believed Riku's words.
"I don't have the time to bicker with you weaklings anyway," Touji said, walking off in a huff.
Yuto was surprised as he'd never seen Touji get backed down like that. All it took was a few words from Riku, and Touji ran with his tail between his legs, despite his attempt to do it dignitely.
Yuto watched Touji reattacking form before switching his attention to the approaching Riku.
"Thanks," Yuto said.
"No problem. Guys like him only pick on people they know they can beat," Touji said.
Yuto gave a nod as he was familiar with people like Touji from his previous life, except he was just a wimp back then with no fight.
"What brings you to the training grounds sector anyway, if I remember correctly, Captain Mai warned you about training," Yuto said, castigatingly.
Riku chuckled. "I'm not planning on doing anything serious, just drilling some kata," he said.
Yuto nodded. "What grounds?" Yuto asked.
"A-2," Riku said.
"No way, that's the same grounds as me," Yuto said, holding up his pass.
"Really? We should definitely train together!" Riku said with a smile.
"Yeah, sure," Yuto said, returning Riku's smile.
After a few minutes of walking, they made it to the door to the grounds.
Yuto opened the small door, surprised by the giant room. The room was similar in size to the building where the chunin exams were taken. There was even a blocked-off section with water fountains and benches to rest on.
Riku noticed Yuto's surprised face and spoke.
"First time?" he asked.
Yuto nodded. "I've never had the time to train until now," Yuto said.
"Yes, it's hard to find time here when the instructor assigns a new assignment every day," Riku said.
Yuto agreed with a nod.
"So what kind of training were you planning on doing, Yuto?" Riku asked.
"Oh... well, I've been trying to improve this technique I created, a sealess ninjutsu," Yuto said proudly.
"Really? Something told me there was more than what was on the surface with you," Riku said.
"Maybe I can help," he suggested.
Yuto hesitated as he wasn't really fond of his technique getting stolen; it was the ninja world after all, comrade or not.
Riku noticed Yuto's hesitation and spoke. "Hey, don't worry, I won't take your technique. I'll even show you one of mine if you're still unsure," Riku said assuringly.
Yuto, seeing this, nodded.
"Follow me, this is my newest jutsu," he said.
Yuto followed him there, walking over the blood-soaked sand.
Riku tucked a strand of hair behind his head before entering a stand, as Yuto stood behind him.
He flashed through only three hand signs before spewing out a giant wave of water, soaking the grounds and crashing against the wall opposite him.
Yuto was in shock, as it was his first time seeing water style used before, especially on this magnitude. He wondered why Riku was still a genin if he had such strength.
"Wow! That was amazing, Riku," Yuto said.
Riku chuckled, rubbing his back of his head.
"Well... I'm still working on it," he said humbly.
"Well, with that jutsu, you wouldn't even want mines," Yuto said.
"You wouldn't mind showing me, would you?" he asked.
Yuto shook his head. "Not at all," Yuto said.
"Okay, let's see it," he said in anticipation.
Yuto nodded. "With your speed, I'm sure you can handle a game of cat and mouse?" Yuto asked questioningly.
"Yeah, let's go for it," he said, stretching out his limbs.
yuto smiled.
A few moments later, Yuto and Riku stood across in the open space.
"Let me know when you're ready!' Yuto said.
"I'm all ready over here," he said, before entering a thinking posture.
"Hey, what do you say about making this spar?" Riku asked.
Yuto thought about. "I don't see why not," Yuto said.
Mr Rapunzel smiled.
Yuto unsheathed his tanto, entering a ready position.
Riku just stood there calmly as if inviting Yuto to attack.
Yuto, of course, had no intention of winning this spar, as he knew Riku was out of league in every category.
An unspoken start was spoken with the eyes, as Yuto dashed forward at Riku.
Riku wasn't deterred by Yuto's approaching form, pulling out a kunai.
Yuto clashed his tanto against Riku's kunai, sending a small shockwave out. Yuto didn't know what came over him, but he, for some reason, felt the need to infuse chakra in his blade for the first time. His feet were forced off the ground, sending him back as he landed a few feet away.
He felt the pressure of the strike and immediately prepared to use his spitball ninjutsu.
Riku raised a hand, signaling Yuto to stop.
Yuto stopped, confused, lowering his blade.
"Don't make it a habit to run from close quarters. Its were the shinobi spend the most time during battle, no matter the specialties or skills," he said.
Yuto was a little shocked that he would stop the spar and give him tips, as most would just pound the lesson into him, most being his grandfather.
He thought back to his memories of watching the Naruto anime, and it made sense. Every ninja fought in close range unless they were firing aerial attacks.
Yuto gave a nod and put his blade up.
Riku raised his kunai as well, as Yuto charged back in.
A few minutes later, Yuto was on one knee, breathing heavily.
"Your stamina could use some work, and your kinjutsu i still in the fundamental stage. If I wear you, I'd focus on fixing those before I think about developing your spitball ninjutsu. As it stands, it won't help you move further with your skills without a reference jutsu," Riku said with an encouraging smile.
Yuto pulled himself off the ground. "A reference jutsu?" Yuto asked.
"Yes, you need to study jutsu that involves flurry attacks, unable to further develop the jutsu. You'll need to understand how to generate the power and speed that make jutsu as deadly as they are. Since I don't possess any projectile-like jutsu, I can't be of help when it comes to that. I don't mind sparring with and giving you more tips in the future, if you're interested," Riku said.
Yuto was in complete disbelief. It made no sense why he'd offer him help like that. he doubted it was out of the goodness of his heart. He looked at the older guy, confused.
"Why would you offer me help?" Yuto asked, confusion still on his face.
Riku chuckled. "Look at me, notice anything similar between me and you?" Riku asked.
"Our hair?" Yuto said as they both had straight black hair, despite Yuto losing his length, but then his mind clicked. "Our figures!" Yuto said knowingly, looking at Riku's slender frame.
"yeah... I used to be just like you. Ribs poking through my skin, arms built like twigs. I had to learn things the hard way," he said.
"I once ran into someone who could stop my speed, and my slender body couldnt protect me. It's why I'm still a genin," he said with a grimace.
"It's why you're still genin? What do you mean?" Yuto asked.
He sighed. "I'll save that conversation for another time. I don't mind showing you the ropes, but only if you want me to. I'm not offering to be your trainer or anything," he said, holding his hands up, clearly not interested in being a trainer.
Yuto didn't even need to hear another word. "Of course... I just have one question," he asked.
"Yeah, what is it?" Riku asked curiously.
[Be sure to give me your powerstones]