Tsuneko woke up to weak gray light filtering through her window. She knew from the look of it that today would be one of Kirigakure’s iconic misty days. Rising from her bed to look out, her violet eyes confirmed it. Perhaps it would clear in the afternoon, but from her experiences over fifteen years of living in this village, she doubted that that would be the case. She allowed herself a moment to miss the generally bright, sunshiny weather she had experienced in Konohagakure, before getting herself ready for the day. Her daily routine was concise, and it wasn’t long before she was dressed comfortably in loosely fitted, black sweatpants and a forest green sweater under a gray rain coat. It wasn’t precisely raining; however, it might later, and the coat would serve to keep the dampness of the fog out. She tied her forehead protector on over the Kaguya markings on her brow, and hesitated a moment by the small table next to her freshly-made bed.

Sitting on it was a snapshot of a young man with brown hair and light green eyes, her cousin Hayato, and, more oddly, a fragment of bone; the latter being from her newly-met cousin, Eiji. She had meant to run a few tests on her “souvenir” to satisfy her personal curiosity about this man whom had turned up and pulled a blade of bone out of his wrist, undeniable evidence of the Shikotsumyaku and validity to his claim of being a Kaguya. Reasoning that today was as good as any, since she was heading to the Kiri Hospital on a mission regardless, she picked up the bone fragment and tucked it into a small gray and purple box that served as her medical kit. Already stocked with various supplies, she slipped it under one of the strips of elastic designed to hold a scalpel, of which she only had one, and slipped a strap onto the box before putting it on across her body, as one might a purse or messenger bag. She would have necessary supplies provided for her use at the hospital, but as a medical ninja, she considered it part of her duties to always have tools for healing on her at all times, even if just for the brief trip to the hospital. Donning a closed-toe version of the popular shinobi shoes, she set off on that short commute, leaving a very clean but small studio apartment behind her.

Having already eaten a good breakfast at her apartment, Tsuneko headed straight to the hospital. Familiar with her surroundings from years of being a candy striper and following doctors around before she was old enough to begin working as even an intern, she made her way into the locker room and, placing her kit and clother into her assigned locker, changed into a provided pair of green scrubs. Her forehead protector marking her as a medical ninja, she didn’t bother to don the white medical coat that she had earned the right to wear; she was scheduled for surgery today and, when meeting the patient, that headband would encourage more confidence than any other medical paraphernalia. Medical ninja were highly valued in all areas of the hospital because of their ability to accelerate the healing after an injury of a surgical procedure.

Arriving on the surgical floor, Tsuneko found, to her delight, that Michiko Hamasaki was working. Her odd grudge – of sorts – against doctors did not extend to nurses, and Mrs. Hamasaki had been particularly kind during the course of her mother’s fatal illness. In turn, having started hanging around here at a young age, Tsuneko had learned to respect nurses for the invaluable work they did and her skill with Medical Ninjutsu and the benefits it gave her patients put the girl on Michiko’s “good” list. After greeting each other, Michiko said, “Congrats on your promotion, by the way.” “Thanks Mrs. Hamasaki,” Tsuneko replied. “What’s on my schedule for today?” Checking her chart, the nurse answered, “An appendectomy on a Miss Aki Haruguchi in Room 229. They’re about to put her under, if you want to go talk to her.” It was said as a suggestion, but she knew that a brief visit before the procedure was expected of her. “I think I will. Who’s heading the surgery?” she asked, knowing many of the surgeons by name. “You are,” Michiko said with a smile. “It looks like they’re taking that promotion seriously.” Beaming at the nurse, inside Tsuneko was an understandable mix of excitement and nerves. She knew that the rank of Special Jounin would come with some changes, but she didn’t realize just how much trust would be given to her.

Quieting bother her expression and her emotions, she looked appropriately sure of herself and serious when she met Ms. Haruguchi, a civilian girl near her own age. After introducing herself and instilling confidence into the nervous patient, she left the room to allow the staff to put the girl under while Tsuneko readied herself for surgery. “Readying herself” entailed slipping into a restroom stall where she could be alone, and no one could see her anxiety. [i] ‘You can do this. You can do this. You’ve done plenty of appendectomies before, and you know what you’re doing. You’ve got this…’[/color] she gave herself a pep talk in her mind.

Scrubbing in, she met the rest of the surgical team within the operating room a few minutes later. Most of them were just as anonymous looking as she knew that she, herself, was in the sterile apparel demanded by protocol for the safety of all involved in the surgery. “I’m Tsuneko Kaguya,” she identified herself, projecting far more surety than she felt. Without any other preamble and before she could make herself more nervous, she got to work.

This was not her first surgery, just her first one alone, and she knew her way around the various surgical tools. Taking the scalpel from the prepared tray of tools, she made a small incision near the patient’s right hip. Switching tools, she used bovie electrocautery to move through the tissue underneath and limit bleeding. The heated flesh had the same unappetizing smell as always, and it was nothing new to the surgical team or her. Taking the scalpel once more, she made an incision in the outer layer of the muscle. Carefully, she used scissors to open the incision so that she could then use a clamp to stretch open the main part of the muscle. Back to the scalpel, she made another cut in the underneath muscle, the body of which would be similarly clamped open. Locating the peritoneum, she made an incision into it. Then, using her gloved hand, she located the appendix and brought it up into the wound where it could be seen. The patient was fortunate in that her appendix had not ruptured. Using clamps and her scalpel, Tsuneko was able to remove the whole appendix without trouble. Dropping it into a metal bowl provided for such a purpose, she went back and cauterized the appendical stump to prevent blood loss as she moved into the next stage.

Removing all of the clamps, Tsuneko concentrated chakra into her hands. When a faint green glow appeared, even through her gloves, she began using the Chiyute no Jutsu to carefully heal all of the necessary cuts that she had made. After about a minute, the girl’s abdomen looked identical to how it had before the procedure, minus an inflamed appendix under the skin.

Stepping back from the table, Tsuneko politely said, “Thank you all for your work.” With the blessing of having no complications, the girl had done much of the actual procedure herself, but she knew and appreciated that they had all played some role in the preparation or execution of the surgery. With a courteous inclination of her head, she stripped off her surgical gear and exited the operating room. Her calm, professional exterior masked her excitement on the inside. She had done it!

Spoiler: