Jet waved to her coworkers and watched the cleaning grew enter the cell thanking for her service while others were just grateful this wasn't as big of a mess as usual but Jet paid it no mind as she left the T&I department and headed home, but of course opting to use the roofs instead of the streets below as she didn't feel like causing a panic this late in the day. The sky was dimming, a streak of full vicious colors as the creak of night slowly rose ashore on the edges, plentiful stars peaking out the edges and a moon rising. It didn't take long for Jet to reach her house well Maki's house. After a lot of arguing and Jet dodging various smiting tools that got a little too close to her head they managed to make up. . .sort of. They still had their disputes every once in a while but Maki was pleasantly surprised that she met with Akira and it went well! Who knew right? Seriously Jet was going in there expecting for the worst possible scenarios or opting out entirely. Instead however Akira gives her his well wishes, approving her rank up to spec jounin whenever she gets the chance to and take on her own students! For how many times the children at the academy were traumatized by her it was a shock they would allow any able genin near her aside from a mission (at least then they were pretty sure she wouldn't pull something and protect her teammates otherwise she will face harsh consequences)

Still it was a pretty big deal considering its well...her. She admits she isn't the most stable person nor the kindest nor the role model or good Samaritan or caring or well you get the picture. Bottom line she would have never became or even considered being a sensei in her lifetime unless she had to. In fact she considered just getting her rank up training a bit then apply for ANBU and eventually captain. So this was a little out of her ways, something she didn't formulate in her plans. But she guess it should be expected. Almost everyone who became a spec jounin were expected to pass on their teachings to the next generation since if they managed not to die yet they must've known something worth learning. Besides who would let her in ANBU without testing her skills in leading a squad or caring for the future of Iwa.

As Jet showered she carefully removed the bandaged wrapped around her waist and hissed softly as she disinfected the wound. You see dear readers the very one whom she torture hours past was actually a former teammate, as temporary as he was to be. They were on a mission together but suddenly they were ambushed. It was a covert operation so no one outside of the mission disposal office should've known but right beside her she was blinded sided. Of course she managed to kill them all save for her wayward rogue and bring them all back to the village. She was caked thoroughly in blood but no one question it and let her through once she explained her situation. It wasn't the first time she returned to the village soaked in blood and gore nor would it be the last. Heck only the newbie on patrol feel a little sick she had some brain goo on her fists. So with no one stopping her she proceeded to give a basic rundown and offered to take care of the traitor herself getting what she needed to then left.

Of course as soon as she stepped out of the shower Maki was right there pissed as hell and demanding why the hell she didn't go to the hospital. To save herself the headache she simply said she was headed there now and got dressed in a black crop top, joggers and her panda hero boots before heading out, through after seeing it was snowing pretty heavily she grabbed a large fluffy black coat too and headed out. Now here she was in the waiting room waiting for a basic check up since the wound was hardly serious at all.

719

Yesterday had started off well.

Shindou had cancelled all of his planned activities for the day yesterday when he had realised on his calendar that it was his sister’s birthday. He seldom did forget that date, but as they grew older and their schedules became ever more erratic, he supposed it was unavoidable that eventually certain dates - even ones that they thought were as special as he thought this one was - would soon be gone from the forefront of their memory. He didn’t feel regret though. He had remembered it in the end, and as all the events that fogged his mind from remembering this day had been related to improving their living standards, he felt it was justified. He simply wouldn’t hold any expectations when it came to his birthday in case Sena, like he, forgot, although given the kind of younger sister she was, it was unlikely that she would forget his birthday just like that.

The girl probably had it scribbled on a notepad of very important dates which she checked once every week, planning for the next month, knowing her.

The two of them had spent the early morning preparing for their day like any other day, and then Sena had spent the rest of the morning and well into the afternoon healing the few people who had come to their door. Poor people always did prefer their treatment over the hospital, because it was given for absolutely no cost. While Iwagakure did have safety nets and financial aid for its citizens that covered all the costs of medicine and healthcare, there was a stigma attached to such people in the eyes of the other locals, and it was difficult to shake this off when they went to receive treatment at the hospital. Some people simply didn’t like the strange stares they often got from others, and so preferred to go for their services instead, where everyone was as poor as they were and so much less likely to judge.

This tedious, tiresome, but rewarding work ended in the late afternoons. Sena normally had to work well into the night before she managed to finish helping everyone who came to see her, but with Shindou’s help for the day, they had quickly managed to thin out the numbers enough that the two of them were able to spend the night together. Given their financial state and need to lay low, however, they had gone on a quick stroll in the village, enjoying time as brother and sister (and Shindou even acted the part and bought her a small trinket that she spotted in a small shop, though he had absolutely no clue what it was, for her birthday) before coming home and enjoying apple pie together, which Sena had cooked for their dinner.

Curiously, though, the next day Sena had experienced severe stomach cramps and stomach aches. Not knowing what the issue was, neither she nor Shindou dared to use a random herb to try and alleviate the pain, in case it was something much worse. Shindou suspected that it was the apple pie and possibly some ingredient she had used to spice up the flavour that ultimately reacted poorly with her body. It was for this reason that he was currently at the Iwa Hospital, where their health records were stored, so he could get a certified official copy and see if there were any allergic reactions that they had missed or forgotten about.

Shindou himself was fairly doubtful of it, but he had come anyway, just to be sure.

The hospital held some of the few records of their existence, while the rest were kept highly confidential in their father’s study. Most of it was heavily outdated, but it didn’t erase the fact that it gave him a lead on them if he ever decided to truly pursue them, believing that his investment in them was far more worthwhile than a few million dollars in his business…

… But that was something for another day. Those worries Shindou would address after his sister was feeling better, and to do that he would need her health records. Being her brother, he was fairly confident he could get them, so here he was, standing in the Iwa Hospital, having just talked to the clerk, who had told him she would be in touch with him, and for him to wait his turn.

The waiting room was rectangular in shape, with a long corridor leading straight up to it from the entrance. Rows of chairs were placed at the walls, while more were placed in the center of the room to optimise the space they had. Shindou walked to the wall opposite the front desk and saw an empty seat beside a pale woman whose white hair was cut short, with blue eyes that held a mysterious glow to them, but not in the supernaturally strange sense. She was dressed in a black coat, effectively hiding whatever injuries may have needed her to come to the hospital, though she may have been perfectly fine, like him, and here for something else entirely.

Shindou walked up to the woman, he himself dressed in such a way as he normally would where only his eyes, the bridge of his nose, and a small tuft of cobalt hair, were visible, while the rest of his body were hidden away. He wore a dark blue bandanna and a scarf mask that obscured most of his face, with a forehead protector bearing the symbol of Iwa tied to his head, over the bandanna. The rest of his outfit was mainly a blue top with large pants, and some silver thrown into the mix along with metal platings, thought most of this was hidden underneath a blue robe, while whatever remained otherwise uncovered was wrapped up in white bandages.

“Excuse me,” he asked, “Is this seat taken?”

990 words

”Hmm? No, it’s not. Feel free to take it. Not like many people are coming to come in this late,” she had replied.

Shindou took his seat beside her, and for a few moments, the two of them sat in relative silence, amid the bustling waiting room as patients arrived and left in good fashion. The girl crossed one leg over the other, visibly wincing slightly from the action. Not so much pain as much as it just hinted at discomfort at the action. What would cause discomfort though? A recent mild injury, or an old, serious wound? It didn’t look like a serious wound. The action of crossing her leg would involve raising it and then dropping it down, and that involved the illiopsoas and the quadriceps, while straining the other hip and thigh muscles. It was unlikely her calf or foot had been injured, since the act wouldn’t have put much if any additional pressure on them, and psychologically, it was likely the leg she lifted that contained the injury, or either hip.

It didn’t look like her legs were injured, though bandages could have been concealed underneath the pair of joggers that she wore. They weren’t exactly tight, so they didn’t reveal any elevated surface where rolls of bandages would have been applied. If she had an old injury, would she wear joggers? If she had a recent mild injury, would she wear joggers? Both were equally likely. While the human mind was tailored to subconsciously attempt to avoid discomfort and injury, joggers by themselves didn’t truly reveal much, and he would need to witness more of the girl’s behaviour if he were to discern if it were the legs or the hips that received the injury.

After his quick and somewhat unsuccessful deduction of the silver-haired beauty sitting beside him, he leveled his gaze straight forward, waiting patiently for the nurse to call his number. As the two of them waited in the silence that neither bothered to break, a buxom nurse dressed in a somewhat inappropriately revealing attire walked up to the two of them, the sound of her heels against the floor one of the consistent noises that filled the room. She held out a regular blue clipboard, with several forms attached, the topmost of which was labelled ‘Change of Personal Information’.

“Yuurei-san, can you fill out these papers for us. It’s been some time since you last visited us,” the nurse said, addressing the girl beside him.

Some time? It would mean she hadn’t been here in awhile. Either she was suffering from a serious, long-term injury, or she just suffered a very recent one. Still nothing new.

“Tsk tsk, I still don’t get why shinobi hate hospitals so much,” she said after the girl had finished filling it all up. Apparently there was much less information to update than he had thought. The woman then turned to him, handing him the clipboard, where he inadvertently spied the woman’s name as Yuurei Jet. “Here you go sir, I need you to fill this out too since it’s been awhile since your records were updated. When you’re done, just wave to the woman at the desk over and she’ll take them. I have to go now since my shift is over. Good night you two.”

He quickly accepted it and flipped the page up to see a new, fresh form, not wishing to read up on her other personal particulars, as useful information as that may be for the future. He quickly checked the box labelling that none of his personal particulars needed to be updated, since he heavily doubted much of his life had changed from the last time he had been here. Even so, he took the time to look through his information, making sure that all of it was accurate before he would pass it back.

“You seem to be put off by hospitals,” Shindou said. It wasn’t so much a question as it was an observation in an attempt to make idle conversation between two people. He didn’t have much to go on about her unless he wished to sound creepy and begin asking if she had been stabbed or slashed on her recent excursion. “Any reason?”

727 + 990 = 1717 words

Saying she didn't like hospitals was an understatement. She despised them. Not a single moment spent in them was done happily.It dug up things she rather not remember. Things better left buried. Skeletons in closets. Heck most tend to forget even she was human though wore the skin of monster. . .just like them. The ones responsible for ruining her life and creating the monster she is always will be. She could say that she was hardly any better than them. A couple morals, loose ones as is, didn't amount to much. Never rape or sell humans into slavery. Lie little as possible. Never torture for fun only necessity (yes that included reliving stress) and a few others but yet she will admit, has admitted those detestably creatures succeeded in making her like them. Jet only hopes not worse. She breathed in deeply. Trying to calm her nerves before she had a flashback to darker times. Of that one particular day within the village where she wandered aimlessy and on a thin thread ready to snap

If only that man saw us now, what would he think

Spoiler:

She was lost, so much so that she allowed herself to be trapped by a pair of assassins who somehow had gotten into the village, sent by that man. A one timer had fended them off and sent her to the hospital but she refused to take their aid, if she did questions would circulate, questions she didn't want to answer. Perhaps if things had gotten better with a white haired beauty she would accept the sterile environment.

Spoiler:

He was the first and last person she ever saw as a friend, perhaps more. Maki was a good person and all and she trusted the Uzumaki with a lot but they were only bound by their past life bound in chains. Slaves didn't make friend for fun but for survivial but only the uzumaki got out, she got out and doesn't have to watch her back every few moments unlike Jet. Jet will always be running, as far as she could leaving a trail of bodies in her wake. One of those bodies she almost wish it were his...

Spoiler:

Training yes...she did learn something. She followed a lead to kumo and therefore nanashi. She trusted him, ignorantly so and ran to him for help but she had to test him, test if he could withstand all of her baggage. The duel and as expected she was thwarted but then woke up healed by one of his own clones. She would've stayed and perhaps reveal the truth, what she really was and what skeletons she hid in her closet. What a fool she was to do so. To come here almost felt like asking for help from him. He was the head of the medic branch of the anbu and managed all the hospitals in iwa. All of them. Every single one except for clinics and clan owned ones. The very thought made her sick to her stomach.

Maybe this was a bad idea after all. However once her name was called she got up holding her stomach since she felt it drip and the bandage soak up some blood. She sighed looking tired and much older than her nineteen year old self and towards the young man who one day will grow tired as well "They remind us shinobi of a life worse than death both past present then future. You'll come to understand yourself one day." Turning away and following a nurse, a red head this time through a locked door she turned back for a single moment and waved "See ya around kid"

2546~
Trained: 2546/4000 Buki A-S
[EXIT]

For a small moment after he had asked his question, the woman to his right, Jet, remained suspiciously silent. A small part of Shindou suggested that she hadn’t heard his question, or she was instead consciously and purposefully tuning out his words and ignoring him, though for what reason, Shindou didn’t know. The only visible response she had given was when her name had been called by one of the nurses working in the hospital. This one was a redhead, and was in every way a carbon copy of the blonde that had attended to them before, only her outfit was by far much more decent than her blonde counterpart’s.

Jet stood up and said, almost as if a reply to his answer, “They remind us shinobi of a life worse than death both past, present, then future. You’ll come to understand yourself one day.”

Shindou’s only response was to turn his head slightly to the right to see her go from the corner of his eyes, though he doubted Jet acknowledged it. She certainly came off as someone who had been dealt an unsavoury hand by fate in life. Of course, being ninja, many of them were able to relate to experiences like that, even if it was to different extents; it was practically in the job description that they would have to brave horrors that would break any civilian time after time without shaking. It was definitely one of the less well known facts about ninja that often went overlooked whenever stories glorifying the deeds of ninja were passed around the campfire.

The cobalt-haired boy remained silent on the issue, suppressing easily his own opinions on the matter. On one hand, he was confident he hadn’t yet seen horrors equivalent to what Jet must have gone through herself. The dull look plastered onto her face just moments before her name had been called told him she had some darkness to her that wasn’t well publicised, and for good reason. It was probably because of this that he wasn’t in the best position to respond. On the other hand, someone with experiences as intense as what he suspected may not be in the mood to be corrected right now, especially when it was already their turn for the checkup.

Jet only turned back once, just before she walked through one of the many doors lining the hallway, to bid Shindou goodbye with an audible, “See ya around, kid.”

Shindou never got the chance to reply, as the door closed firmly behind her, and he heard a lock click shut. His mind took a second to register what she had said, which was longer than he was used to, even as his feet brought him to the counter to retrieve his sister’s medical documents.

“You’re my age,” he replied absently.

[Exit]

481 + 1717 = 2198 words

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