One Is The Loneliest Number
Date: July 6th, 13 aNb
Time Until Stage 2 Ends: 1 Hour, 15 Minutes
Time: 10:45 AM
After five days of chasing Inugami from one side of the Village to another, with neither hide nor white hair to be seen and not so much as a flicker of presence on any of the sensory types' augmented senses, it was almost as if the medic-nin had fallen off the planet! The emergency depots had - one-by-one - all received Sho's Flying Raijin tags and had shown signs of the gardens being tended.
This morning, however, the Hokage had called in the two rookie Genin teams that hadn't participated in the Exams and issued orders for them to report to the Hospital for Triage duty. Neither Sho nor Miho Hyuuga had shown up for the muster, but Hiruzen Sarutobi has informed the others that the ones absent were already on special assignments issued by the Medical Corps or the Exams Committee.
Team 11 and the two Genin of Team 13 approached the Hospital with trepidation, but none more so than Motoko Hata.
'Will Sho-sa actually be here? Karin-nee says he hasn't been home since he reported to the Hospital's supply depot after breaking his hand.' The swordswoman's worry was downright palpable to those around her. 'Has he been living in the emergency depots? What's he been doing?'
Okito Tanaka put his massive hand on Motoko's shoulder in a mirror of how the slip of a girl before him had comforted him the night of Hashimoto's renaming ceremony. "This, too, shall pass, Motoko-chan… It's the rocky moments that make the smooth ones all the sweeter; Yuri-sa and I have had them, too… None worse than my last duty assignment: away for four years, unable to call her or my family because of the highly sensitive nature of the mission. I'm going to be thanking my lucky stars she said yes for years to come…"
Motoko sniffled, patting his hand gratefully as they approached the front desk.
"Teams 11 and 13 reporting for triage duty." Tanaka reported to Dr. Retsu, Chief Hospital Administrator - a position held by Sho's grandmother until eleven years ago - and current Dean of Traditional Medicine Education: the program that his fiancée, Dr. Yuri Mao, had graduated from five years ago come the end of the month. Dr. Isane, Dean of Mystical Medicine Education and Commandant of the Ninja Medical Corps, was Saki Inugami's most direct successor, having been given both mantles eight years before to allow Saki to enjoy what time she'd had left, stood beside Dr. Retsu.
Konoha's population exceeded over 100,000 men, women and children, 30% of whom were ninja or ninja candidates, provided they could afford the substantial cost to attend the Academy. Less than 10% of the 30% were ninja medics. Because of this, the Sandaime had funded both medical education divisions, but neither program was considered superior to the other: a doctor was a doctor; seniority and positions were the only stratifications permitted. Ninja received priority access to ninjutsu healing while the non-ninja medics ensured the health and well-being of the rest of the Village.
Isane Hyuuga blinked her pearlescent eyes. "Oh, my; there seems to be some confusion Okito-san… Mao-kohei needs your team for triage and aiding the Hyuuga rescue/recovery team Lady Miho is leading at the 44th's Emergency Medicine outpost!" She glanced at the wall clock. "If your team hurries, you'll make the 11 AM assignment briefing so you're ready to go when the Second Stage ends at Noon!"
Motoko Hata bit her tongue hard enough to draw blood in order to keep from screaming in sheer frustration! 'No, damn it, I wanted to see Sho-sa!' She cried internally as the taste of copper filled her mouth. 'Is that so wrong?!' A mental sigh of frustration rattled in her skull for allowing herself to have a moment of Raiden-esque impulse control failure. Covering her mouth with one hand, she slipped a single finger inside and used her limited skill with the Mystical Palm - one of many things, along with a rudimentary understanding of the Roshsyan language, that she'd learned from Karin-nee during the nearly two months Sho-sa had remained stuck in Mizumiyo Palace.
Tanaka and the four Genin that had aided Hata's fruitless search for Inugami threw her sad looks of condolence as Okito straightened. "Understood. Team 11, let's go!" The Hata twins, Hashimoto and Kyouran made a rapid exit to get to their intended destination by their scheduled time.
"So, umm, Hyuuga-sensei; how exactly does this 'triage' thing work?" Kimiko Itou asked as she and Nakahito suddenly found themselves alone.
"Oh, it's a pretty streamlined process at this point. In fact, let me just give you the briefing that your friends will get once they reach the 44th." Sho's ultimate supervisor in the Medical Corps explained as she set down a map. "The Hyuuga clan, with assistance from Team 11 and others, will send in searchers to locate the 81 Exam candidates from the Forest of Death, excluding anyone who completed the Second Stage and were permitted access to the Tower, and bring them back to the Medical Outpost being run by Yuri Mao here." She tapped a rectangle southeast of the fence circling the Forest. "There, injuries will be graded on a scale of low, medium, high or critical condition. Low and medium injuries will be given the choice of tele-transport as availability allows or they can be coded as walking wounded and can come here under their own power. High and critical injuries will receive a basic patch job and they'll be teleported to the triage area that young Mr. Inugami is setting up on the ER side of the hospital, where they will receive more in-depth care on the spot or be rushed into the ER."
"Wait, Sho's ALREADY here?" Nakahito asked, surprised. Motoko hadn't perked up the way she had the morning of the Ohs Incident, suggesting Sho had not only kicked Motoko out of his head, but had somehow blocked her chakra sense of him.
Isane nodded. "Since the middle of the night. He was looking a little rough - five days of facial hair growth, bags under his eyes, the whole kit and kaboodle. I was honestly worried if he was going to be able to handle the favor he asked me for a few days ago, but after he had a few hours of sleep, a shower, and a fresh change of clothes, he's like a new man. That'll serve him well during the 36 hours on, 12 hours off clinical rotations during the Tokubetsu training phase."
"Favor?" Itou asked, curiously.
"For the Chuunin-grade matriculation of the ninja medic program, a student must take point during a major medical event; coordinating the whole thing from top to bottom. I'm Saki Inugami's successor; I owed her everything I am today, so I had no qualms putting her once black-haired grandson that I remember wandering the Hospital, as comfortably as if he was home, in charge of today's Triage program."
Nakahito and Kimiko glanced at each other, sharing the same thought. 'Sho's preemptively finding an excuse to not be in a position where Motoko can talk to him…'
"Anyways, that's the basics. The two of you will start seeing action probably starting around 12:30 as the tele-transport phase begins in earnest. I assume you two only have basic first aid training, give or take what you've picked up from seeing Sho-kohei in action?" The duo nodded. "We'll mostly have you handling the low and medium priority injured, then. Bringing them water and basic pain relievers, maybe help move a stretcher or two; things like that."
She made a follow-me gesture, which Team 13 acknowledged. "The candidate recovery process shouldn't take longer than an hour and a half to complete; they didn't know it, but the liability waivers they signed were coated with a chemical tracer that is fluorescent to the Byakugan, so the collectors will easily be able to spot and trace the people that failed to pass the Second Stage. Then, depending on how many finalists there are, they might have preliminary matches. Injuries caused in THOSE matches will be tele-transported here as early as 3 PM." She smiled at the Genin. "All-in-all, you're looking at being done for the day by 4/4:30."
Dr. Isane guided them through the ER center, where dozens of doctors and nurses were putting finishing touches on quick response tools and equipment trays before heading to the back door.
"Can everyone hear me?" Sho Inugami's voice boomed through the doorway.
"Oh, we're just in time for him to do the mission briefing…" The Hyuuga doctor said excitedly. "Saki-sensei was a masterful orator; I'm curious if Sho-kohei inherited that skill."
The trio of Sho's medical corps boss and his teammates stepped out onto a flat concrete parade ground that showed - and smelled - signs of being recently sterilized. There were color coated rings that started with dark red closest to the door, descending to orange, yellow, and finally green. Inugami was balancing himself on a gurney, his voice being projected by some trick of chakra as there were no speakers visible. To the surprise of his teammates, he hadn't replaced his broken cosmetic lenses, so his heterochromic eyes were on full display.
"Good morning, my fellow medical professionals, hired ninja, and even volunteers. For those that don't already know me, I'm Sho Inugami and I'm the lucky bastard who volunteered himself to run this rolling nightmare to be, which shows you I'm a glutton for punishment!" This elicited laughter from the veteran doctors who had been through this process before and knew the young man was speaking the truth. "I look out and I see faces I've known since I was a toddler roaming these halls, trying to grasp what my family has done here for three generations. I will not be so much of a micromanager as to question your skills and abilities, though I MAY talk your ear off asking you questions if I see any techniques or procedures that I haven't encountered yet afterwards, so, you know, fair warning!" His grin was infectious, getting more laughs.
Itou and Haruno looked at each other in confusion; this wasn't the self-recriminating Inugami they'd been expecting to find.
This was a Sho utterly in his element.
"Now, I'll be honest with you all, I have a bit of a curmudgeonly reputation at the Ninja Academy and I know my parents and grandmother's tirades when in a bad mood are the stuff of institutional legends. I'm dealing with a lot of stuff in my personal life at the moment, so if I accidentally bite your head off today, I apologize in advance; I'll be doing my best to keep that suppressed." He grinned again pointing down to a fellow teen beside him. "But I'm going to try and limit my vitriol to Hiro Jeitsy, who's agreed to be my right hand for the day. Can I get a hand for him? He's gonna need it." There was a smattering of applause and Hiro scratched the back of his head in embarrassment at the attention.
"As of last count, taken five days ago when the Second Stage started, there were 81 candidates remaining; 27 teams. At noon, we will receive a radio announcement as to how many Finalists there are, which is when we will know how many potential wounded to expect. Hopefully there were no fatalities during the Exams and the injuries won't be of the life or death variety, but - let's be honest - collectively, we're not that lucky." He looked down at Jeitsy. "What kind of odds would you give that, Hiro?"
"Conservatively? 10,000-to-1. Realistically? Up it by a power of 10." The medic-nin that was returned to the Academy for remedial education shouted his answer for the crowd.
Inugami nodded. "Long enough odds that even my girlfriend's twin brother wouldn't bet on them. And HE'S nearly as big of a sucker for bad bets as Lady Tsunade-sama!" This elicited a laugh from Dr. Isane and the other doctors that were old enough to remember the Goddess of Ninja Medicine.
Inugami checked his watch. "We're 45 minutes to go-time, folks. Double and triple check your stations. You should already know your zone captains from when you checked in. If you see a problem, report it ASAFP. If you can't find your zone captain to do so, find Hiro or myself." He clapped his hands twice. "Let's gear up people!"
There was a smattering of applause from the medical staff as everyone began to disperse. Inugami did a quick backflip down to the ground and put his hands on the gurney, breathing heavily once the crowd was down to him, Jeitsy, Isane, Kimiko and Nakahito. "Ugh, I'm having a major introvert day, Hiro… It wasn't too obvious, was it?"
Jeitsy shook his head, passing the white-haired young man a bottle of water, which vanished in a few gulps. "It beat the shit out of that so-called pep talk from the guy that was in charge of this during the Exams two years ago."
"A good waterboarding would have beat the shit out of Hanataro's whimpering when the scope of the job hit him." Inugami sneered; the grumpy mood he'd just warned the crowd about surfacing.
"Nicely done, Sho-kohei." Dr. Isane grinned at the rising star of the Mystical Medicine Education program. "Saki-sensei would have been proud to see you in action. I've got to get back to my duties; keep up the good work!" The older woman, around Kurando's age, departed, leaving Team 13 with their wayward member.
Inugami sighed; of the conversations that he was going to have regarding Ohs' little tantrum, this was likely going to be the easiest. "Hiro? Can you return the gurney and grab me another few bottles of water? I suspect I'm going to need them before we get started in earnest." Jeitsy nodded, grabbing the wheeled bed and dragging it off. Once he was out of earshot, only then did the medic-nin turn to his teammates. "Hey guys…"
"He-Hey guys?!" Haruno practically exploded, grabbing Inugami by his jacket. "We've been looking for you for five days straight you asshole! Motoko-chan's been worried sick over you!"
"I know." Sho agreed, a genuinely pained look crossing his features. "Hell, Haruno, you actually came the closest to finding me at depot number 8. If you'd used that Dragon's Eye jutsu that Karin shared with you, you would have caught me; I had been moments away from putting up my target tag when you entered."
"I… You…" Haruno finally threw a punch in sheer frustration.
Inugami caught it with ease and a grin.
"Uh… Shit…" Nakahito stuttered, having flashbacks of Jiraiya of the Sannin doing the same thing to him before throwing him nearly 10 meters in the air. "Sho, I…"
"No, no, you earned a freebie for what I've put you through..." Inugami admitted as he released his hot-headed teammate's hand. "I'm sorry, you two, that must have been con…"
Suddenly, Kimiko Itou grabbed Sho in a hug.
Surprised, the medic-nin fell silent.
"It's okay, Sho... Motoko-chan explained the whole Ohs thing so he wouldn't be able to trick us again." She whispered tenderly. This was the man that had both killed for and bled for her Uncle down in River Country. "But I'm not sorry for slapping you to hit that asshole passenger of yours."
Sho made a noise that was somewhere between a chuckle and a sob and Itou felt a warm wetness on her neck. "No, I'M the one that's sorry, Kimi! I didn't tell you because Ohs seemed to be under control - even affable. Gods, you should have heard him laughing when you caught Haruno in that messed up transformation!" Itou giggled at the memory even as Nakahito groaned.
He sighed, shaking his head after drying his eyes. "But it must have been an act… He snapped the reins while I was weirded out by the suggestion that Aniki intended harm to Whiskers or a member of his team. I was so lost in my own head I didn't even realize what he was doing or saying UNTIL you slapped me, Kimi." He grabbed Itou's hands. "I owe you so much for standing up to him for Motoko-sa's sake…"
"Are you kidding?!" Itou scoffed. "You saved my Uncle twice! I now have stories of my parents that I never had before because you did that. Besides, Momo and Hinata are practically sisters to me; I'd protect them with my life if necessary."
Nakahito looked nervous. "Speaking of your passenger, he's not going to be making another appearance anytime soon, is he? He kinda scared the piss out of me for a few moments there."
Inugami shook his head. "Do you remember when Iruka-sensei was teaching us the rope escape technique and between Sakura and Kimiko they all but mummified you in ropes?" Haruno nodded as Itou smiled at the memory. "Swap ropes for chains and from seated in a classroom to being buried alive in an unmarked grave in my head and you have his situation until I can figure out how to purge him of his autonomy."
"Great, so you'll be talking to Motoko later, right?" Kimiko smiled hopefully… And then she saw the look on his face. "Right, Sho?"
"I… I can't." Inugami sighed. "Not yet."
"And why the hell not?!" Both Itou and Haruno demanded at the same time.
The medic-nin put his hand to his chest; his fingers actually shaking. "The impulse that Ohs acted on… I've literally spent part of the last five days running every medical and psychological diagnostic test I can think of, hoping - PRAYING - that it was some kind of external influence, but all of them were a bust. That means that somewhere inside there is some part of me that is capable of being THAT cruel to my Goddess of the Dawn. Maybe it's contained as part of Ohs, maybe it's not." His head slumped. "I would never be able to forgive myself if something like that happens again. I know Motoko will - undoubtedly HAS already - forgive me for Ohs' outburst. But I need time to be able to forgive MYSELF first."
He sighed as he looked at Kimiko. "You KNOW how much I hate asking for favors, but…"
Itou reached up and squeezed Inugami's shoulder. "I'll help her understand. Although - just for the record - as your friend and hers, I think you're handling this the wrong way, Sho."
"Seconded." Nakahito chimed in, giving Inugami's free shoulder a light punch.
The medic-nin chuckled self-deprecatingly, tearing up again. "To be honest, thirded, but it also feels wrong to be forgiven for letting myself be suckered BY myself while Motoko-sa is the one that suffered for it."
Inugami noticed Jeitsy returning with the water he'd asked for, smoothed out the creases in his uwagi from Nakahito grabbing him and wiped his eyes again. He coughed once. "I'm going to have you two stick to the green and yellow zones. They'll be in better shape and they might have that frustrated aggression that comes from bombing out." He snapped his fingers. "Speaking of bombing out, Hiro, do you have those..?"
"I gotchu, fam." Jeitsy agreed playfully as he pulled out a bottle with a rubber bulb on the cap from his vest and handed it to Nakahito. "New and improved Satou Clan pheromone blocker, fresh from Mom's lab. Squeeze the bulb before you open it for a full dose. There should be enough to last you through the Finals if any of the Satou passed the Second Stage and are here past tomorrow."
The fire jutsu specialist followed orders before grimacing. "Ugh! Tastes like spoiled milk."
"Tell me about it… But it'll protect you against every documented pheromone mix that we were able to test." He grimaced as he handed a second bottle to the kunoichi. "Just make sure you don't let them touch you if they have a predatory or hungry look in their eyes."
"Why not?" Kimiko asked, confused as she did the same as Haruno. "Odd; I don't taste anything."
"Obsession." Sho clarified. "It's what Amaya used on the Traitor to make him so docile. We couldn't risk simulating that pheromone because it literally destroys a person's personality and sense of self."
Jeitsy nodded. "And you don't taste anything, Itou, because the pheromones are estrogen based, so they're more effective against males. The female version of the blocker isn't as concentrated as it needs to be for us." He gestured to Nakahito, Sho and himself. "For you it's like needing a raincoat while we need wetsuits."
Nakahito grimaced. "Speaking of wetsuits, is it wrong of me to hope those pricks from Hidden Rain got eaten by something for what they did to Hinata?" The others shook their heads. "Good."
* * *
Time: 12:00 PM
Time until Stage Two Ends: 0 minutes
"All stations; all stations. Chuunin Exams Stage Two is now complete." A voice crackled out of the radios at Sho Inugami's hip - as he moved about the Hospital making final random spot checks - and a similar one that sat on a concrete slab that served as an emergency operating table in the 44th Training Grounds Medical Outpost, which was circled by Dr. Yuri Mao, her fiancée Okito - whom she was leaning against like a mighty oak that had nearly half a meter of height on her; a beatific grin on her purple haired and eyed face, Miho Hyuuga, and Motoko Hata, whom Mao had asked to work triage with her while Tanaka and the boys would help ferry the injured from wherever the 25 Branch Hyuuga trackers found them to the fence.
"And here we go..." Mao whispered under her breath.
The radio crackled again. "The final count is 7 passing Genin teams, leaving 60 candidates to be located..." The voice paused. "Correction, 57 candidates to be located now. Recovery team, we have the bodies of three Kumogakure ninja at the Central Tower; they're already chilled, so no rush."
Tanaka frowned. "I wonder why they have them..."
Suddenly Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice crackled on Tanaka's personal walkie radio. "Okito; I need you to come to the tower and collect the Grass ninja immediately. They need to be seen by Ana-chan in the JRD; we have confirmation of a False Student incursion."
Tanaka's throat bobbed roughly in fear as he looked to Miho - who shared the look - while Yuri looked confused. Motoko, however, had the look of someone recalling something that she'd heard, but couldn't remember the full context. Her lips moved as she silently tried to repeat the prophecy from memory.
'That's right; she heard the last half of Ryoushi's prophecy when we were collecting Dragon Heart herbs for Yu-sa back before that mission to River Country. I told her to put it out of her mind until the time came or she'd drive herself crazy puzzling over it... We're 31 days away from the Finals on August 6, when Sarutobi-sensei will... Will...' He forced himself to end that line of thought; the Sandaime needed him to do his job, not pray that the prophecy was wrong.
Too many of the pieces had already been confirmed for such a vain hope.
"Diamond Turtle acknowledges. I'll be there in 15." He glanced at Miho.
"I'll pair Raiden and Hashimoto with one of the Tokubetsu hunters; they'll be fine until you get back." Tanaka nodded gratitude to Miho before he kissed his future wife on the forehead.
Miho followed him out. "Fifty-seven!" She called to the gathered Branch Hyuuga. "Tokuma!" A Hyuuga with a do-rag style forehead protector like the one Tanaka wore with a pair of long bangs framing his face ran up. "Lord Hokage needs Tanaka for an urgent ANBU tasking, so I'm assigning his Genin to you." She gestured to Hashimoto - whom had already assumed his werepanther state, his golden blonde tail whipping with anticipation - and Raiden, who glowed faintly as he practiced holding the Raiken Muscle Amplification at a 50% boost.
"Gladly, Lady Miho."
The Jonin paused. "I need to ask you a personal favor; me to you, not acting Head to subordinate." Tokuma nodded. "There is a trio of Rain ninja that have eye masks on: one with both eyes exposed, one with a single, and the third completely covering them. They have not only threatened injury to my personal Genin, but they inflicted an emotionally tortuous Genjutsu on Lady Hinata, who is currently somewhere in the Forest taking the Exam for the first time." Tokuma grimaced slightly. "Fortunately, Lady Hinata's team includes an Abarame and an Inuzaka, so even if they didn't pass I'm not particularly worried about her safety as much as I want those Amegakure brats out of the Village ASAFP. If they're injured, I want them treated and thrown out as fast as common decency allows. If they're dead... Well, I won't exactly be sending a condolence wreath to their funeral."
"Understood, Lady Miho." The Tokubetsu Jonin activated his Byakugan, his eyes moving ever so slightly as he checked people with fresh tracer dye on their hands. "No... No... N... Oh, there they are." He smirked. "They're close to the Tower, but they're piled up like so much cordwood that I nearly mistook them for a multi-limbed monstrosity." His eyes narrowed as he looked closer. "I'm seeing signs of all three of them being concussed."
Dr. Mao emerged from the bunker-like relief station as Tokuma relayed the Rain trio's status. "Are they conscious?" The Tokubetsu Jonin shook his head. The civilian doctor reached for a belt and pulled three orange ribbons out and handed them over. "High priority. Tag and transport the second you return with them."
"And feel free to NOT be gentle with them, Rai, Hashi!" Motoko Hata growled as she emerged. "They're after my Sho-sa and are lucky I don't have Haruichiban with me!"
Miho Hyuuga's wine colored lips pulled into a slight smile. She couldn't fault the girl for her feelings...
She would, however, have the tele-transport medics on standby to keep her from causing a diplomatic incident.
"Hunters!" Miho called out to the 75 ninja gathered: 25 Hyuuga Hunter/Trackers and 50 others to help carry the failed teams out together. With 57 candidates to fetch, it shouldn't take the teams more than one trip through the Forest to get them all. "Go get them!"
* * *
Time: 12:35 PM
Okito Tanaka was on his return trip from collecting the bodies of the three Hidden Grass ninja that had their faces melted off by a technique known to have been created by Orochimaru to make flesh masks for concealment purposes. The three dead ninja were in a large diamond case the Jonin hefted with ease; they'd elected not to use the traditional black scroll in case there was useful evidence that could be destroyed. Orochimaru knew Konoha's processes and procedures up through his turning rogue-nin eleven years ago in three weeks; it would be like him to set traps that would trigger when they were implemented.
'This face stealer jutsu is nearly as twisted as the Niidaime's Edo Tensei technique; using human sacrifices - usually captured enemy soldiers - to resurrect the dead under his control as indestructible puppets to serve as equal parts psychological warfare and cannon fodder. It's such a vile...'
Tanaka screeched to an abrupt halt as he recalled Ryoushi's follow-up prophecy, given when Team 11 had been returning from the Land of Rivers mission back in May. "The most vile of the Second's forbidden techniques! Orochimaru is going to unleash..?"
"OH MY GOD!!!" A voice screamed in horror before vomiting loudly.
The Jonin oriented on the noise and ran into a moss covered rocky clearing that was sprayed with thick combat-grade senbon needles, blood, and viscera. One of the Hyuuga Hunter teams was standing over a trio of bodies that had been... What..?
'I guess I can only describe it as having been pulped like a freshly-squeezed orange.' Okito thought to himself as he set down the diamond coffin that only he could open. 'But what could have done this? A massive boa would have crushed them a little, but would have then swallowed them. Earth jutsu would have pancaked them. It would have needed the strength of Earth but the flexi... Shit, shit, shit!'
A battle between One and Nine...
Okito moved up to the one by himself, waiving off the other ninja. A white headband hanging loosely from what had once been a man's crushed skull, his skin ruptured in dozens of places - one of which crossed a long healed scar that ran through his right eye. "Please, please, PLEASE don't let there..."
Tanaka opened what was left of the figure's jaw.
Sand filled the dead man's mouth.
Only one entity on the entire continent could reliably control sand to do this kind of damage without causing an ecological disaster!
"FUCK!!!" The Jonin roared, spooking some birds in the trees above. He grabbed his radio. "Sarutobi-sensei! Suna sent Shukaku's Jinchuuriki to the Exams!" The other three ninjas' jaws dropped in shock.
The resigned voice of the Sandaime echoed in the clearing. "I was already aware of this fact, Okitaio. I assume you found bodies?"
"No, I'm freaking out because I found wrung out toothpaste tubes!" Tanaka spat back sarcastically. "You doing shit like this is why Asuma didn't talk to you for nearly a decade, Sensei!"
The Hokage sighed, hurt at the memory his former bodyguard had alluded to. "It's the Kazekage's youngest, Okito." The Jonin winced as he realized the political ramifications. "The boy met all the qualifications to participate; we had to grant him entrance to the Exams. General Baki has made guarantees that the boy is under control. Whomever you found must have provoked him."
The Hyuuga held out the bamboo hat with a village identification plate on it from one of the other bodies. Tanaka nodded. "Looks like it was one of the seven Amegakure teams."
Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed once again. "Transport those remains to the JRD as well. Hopefully, that will be it for the fatalities this time around..."
The Jonin made a gesture and three small boxes formed around what little was left of the Rain ninja. The Hyuuga Hunter and his two assistants grabbed the boxes while Tanaka shouldered his own burden. "To the tele-transport station; double-time!" The Jonin ordered before leading the corpse procession crew back towards the depot.
* * *
Date: July 6th, 13 aNb
Time: 1:05 PM
"Jeez... Look at all the wounded!" Hiro gasped in shock; the entire triage courtyard was filling rapidly as the injured began to arrive in earnest. The Rain ninja that had been eyeing Sho five days before were amongst the first to arrive and had already been moved inside for concussion protocol treatment.
"Aniki said there were 153 people heading into the written exams and we saw 81 of them signing the usual liability waivers while delivering supplies." His gaze looked over the 54 injured and dying ninja without pity: 12 from Rain, 24 from Konoha, 3 from the Grass, 12 from Sand and 3 from Waterfall. "Excluding the three confirmed fatalities from Kumo, we seem to be missing…"
"Make a hole!" The massive form of Motoko-sa's Jonin boomed as he carried a massive diamond coffin large enough to hold three bodies from the tele-transport station where the round-robin tags of the medical ninja assigned to the task hung silently between uses. "JRD business!" Following in his wake was a trio of Leaf ninja carrying boxes too small for intact human remains.
There was a sudden electricity in the air around them that made Sho take a deep breath as he felt a rush of adrenaline give him fresh strength as the diamond body "bags" passed by.
"Well, looks like our Moms and my Dad aren't coming home tonight; the JRD is going to be burning the midnight oil before we send those bodies back to their homelands." The ANBU guards assigned to the JRD appeared at the emergency room entrance and took the too-small boxes from the ninja that lacked clearance to the JRD. "Shit, the JRD ANBU came to meet them; that's not good. Looks like they're not coming home tomorrow either for that matter. So much for my plans for the next few days..."
"For fuck's sake, Sho! Those people are actually dead!" Jeitsy protested, pointing at the retreating Tanaka and his companions. "Doesn't that mean ANYTHING to you?!"
"They signed the releases and knew the risks. Besides, considering what's IN the 44th Training Ground, you'd expect the body count to be higher than 10%." Inugami clapped the shoulder of his one genuine peer in his Academy year. "Don't weep for the stupid, Hiro... You'll be crying all day."
"Don't wee… Fucking hell, you REALLY need to make up with Hata-chan, Sho... You're regressing into the prick we all loathe and hate." Hiro grumbled. "Let me go get her from the 44th's triage station and..."
"Jeitsy?" Inugami growled warningly. "Don't you FUCKING dare butt into my life, too... I already have two teammates, Karin, and - undoubtedly when I see her - my mother doing so... I need your help with my love life as much as I need to snort asbestos while eating lead paint chips."
Hiro Jeitsy held up his hands. "All right, staying the fuck out." He frowned as the Exam proctors arrived, indicating that all the teams that failed the Second stage of the Exam had been accounted for. "Holy SHIT!" Hiro Jeitsy gasped in awe.
Inugami's head was instantly on a swivel; the failed Genin that had been sent back for remedial education wasn't known for outbursts without a reason. "What?! What is it?"
Hiro pointed over to where the Konoha teams that had failed were gathered. "What's missing from this picture? Or rather WHO is missing?!"
Sho's analytical eye zipped over the gathered Konoha Genin and before long a low, genuinely impressed whistle escaped his lips. "The Hokage had better give Iruka-sensei a pay bump or a bonus. All three rookie teams made it to the finals; that's GOT to be some kind of record!" He then chuckled in the tone he used when "Oni" was about to get off on someone else's misery. .
"What? What is it?!"
"I just realized you must be out a fucking mint…" Jeitsy's face screwed up in confusion. "Well, you gave me 1-to-4 odds on Team 7 to make the final round, so you owe me 250 Ryou on my 1,000 Ryou bet."
"Well, duh, even with Naruto dragging them down, they have Uchiha, this year's number 1 rookie, and Sakura, this year's number 1 kunoichi!"
"Did you forget you gave me 5-to-1 odds on Team 8 and 10-to-1 odds on Team 10? Not to mention the 20-to-1 on Aniki's team. That means on my 4,000 Ryou worth of bets, you owe me 35,250 on TOP of the refund you owe me for betting on my friends and antagonists, Mr. Sportsbook." Hiro's face fell. "How many others placed similar bets?"
Jeitsy went pale. "Oh, fuck me in the ass with a rusty spike! Uh, Sho, buddy…"
Inugami raised one hand to cut him off. "Double or nothing."
The other medic hesitated mid-conniption. "I'm listening…"
"There are 21 candidates that passed: 3 from Hidden Sand, 3 from Hidden Sound, and 15 from here if my memory serves. There's no way they're going to hold 20 matches for the finals, so…"
Jeitsy nodded. "Prelims; I think I see what you're putting down... So if a single member from a team makes the actual Finals then I pay double on the bet, otherwise I'm off the hook…" Inugami nodded. Hiro mulled it over. It would be a fiscal disaster for him if Kabuto's team or a member of Team 10 made the finals, but the Suna ninja that had placed bets with him were extremely confident in the team lead by Baki - the three children of the Kazekage himself! "I'll chance it. Deal."
"Good." He looked over and grimaced as he saw Amaya Satou and her team approaching. "Oh hell… Talk about what I DIDN'T need today."
Hiro's eyes went wide, clearly attracted to the way Satou's hips swayed seductively as she walked. "THAT'S the Suna chick that's feuding with Hata-chan over your emo ass?" Inugami nodded. "Damn... She's even hotter than Raiden described!"
"I heard that a number of people from my Village were injured." Amaya announced preemptively when she got close enough to Inugami to not shout. "I've got O positive blood and Kane is O negative; we're here to help."
Inugami sighed internally, it had been pleasantly silent there since he'd locked Ohs up five days ago. 'I already knew they had the most useful blood types thanks to Kyouran's claws drawing their blood in Kawa City… Who the hell did I piss off to have these aggravations in my life?'
The senior medical ninja nodded. "Fine. Suzuki, wasn't it?" The brown haired bruiser nodded. "I'll take yours, Hiro, you entertain Ms. Satou."
Neither Hiro nor Amaya seemed particularly pleased by this. "We need to talk, Sho... It's…" She inhaled deeply so her bosom swelled. "...important." The Suna kunoichi stressed while giving him a lurid look.
Satou, while working through the intel provided by the Otogakure spy over the last five days, had seen Inugami without his flame haired cunt the entire time. In fact, at one point, she'd seen her prey stop dead in his tracks and run the other way mere seconds before Hata had appeared from the direction he'd originally been walking in!
Only the fact that she'd been in the middle of the task she'd been assigned for the good of Sunagakure had stopped her from pursuing Inugami before now. Since he was clearly on the outs with the bitch that had come between them in River Country, maybe she'd be able to…
Irritated at her advances at a time like this, Inugami pointed over to the injured. "I might be low on sympathy for them, but THEY are what is important right now, Ms. Satou. More than that, I'm the one in charge of this whole triage operation! If you really want to talk, find me after I'm off duty later."
All four of the other ninja could hear the implied "if you can" in his voice.
"What about your purple-eyed friend back there?" Jeitsy asked as he surreptitiously took another swig of the anti-pheromone medication his mother had helped formulate based on Anastasia's research; just to be on the safe side.
"Tarnia's blood is wonky, she can take any blood type when she's injured, but when they ran tests to see if she could donate - after they got around her fear of needles - they found it wouldn't work. No one could explain it." Kane explained. "She's got a limited medical jutsu ability, so she'll go help patch up our people."
'Interesting…' Inugami thought, wondering if Konoha's superior medical equipment might be better at analyzing this phenomenon. Suna's medical advancements were primarily in the form of toxins and antidotes. "Well, come along so we can get to patching up the losers over there." He led Kane away as Tarnia went to check in the Suna Genin.
"So, Hiro was it?" Amaya Satou asked, pressing her body against him while blinking her blue eyes seductively, once she was left alone with the younger medic. "How about we go somewhere you can take whatever you want from me..?"
Jeitsy swallowed roughly; her appeal still getting to him even though her pheromones weren't. "Help me…" He whimpered under his breath as a predatory grin crossed her lips.
* * *
Time: 1:43 PM
Motoko Hata sighed as the last tele-transport departed the medical outpost. The work of categorizing and treating the wounded, while sounding complex, was surprisingly easy; despite her limited cross-discipline training.
'I guess I learned more from Karin-nee than I thought I had...'
The kunoichi felt a brief chill across her neck as Mao-sensei handed her a water bottle. "I said it before and I'll say it again; if the whole ninja thing doesn't work out for you, you'll make one HELL of a nurse. Although after your work today, perhaps 'Doctor' would be a more appropriate future title for you." The purple-eyed civilian doctor smiled as Motoko flushed at the compliment. "Sho-kohei wasn't exaggerating your capability when he recommended I request your team to be assigned to me this morning..."
Motoko, who'd been in the middle of taking a sip, suddenly began to drown as the water went down the wrong tube in surprise. "Wh-What?!" She coughed in shock.
Yuri blinked in surprise. "Wait, you didn't know?!" The kunoichi shook her head. "In the morning staffing meeting, I was asking who in the current programs - mystical and traditional - was in need of triage practice; you know, doing the job I gave to you. Hiro-kohei was the only name that came up and Sho-kohei called dibs to help at the main hospital's triage ward that he was running."
'Sho-sa was in charge of operations and he picked Jeitsy over me?' Hata asked herself, feeling hurt.
"I was about to select one of the residents on the civilian side when Inugami coughed and said, 'It's not officially in her ninja record yet, but my sister has spent a few days each week for the last two months teaching my Motoko-sa the basics of ninja medicine... She's at the point where she needs to try to sink or swim on her own, to gain the self confidence that she knows what she's doing without Karin-nee or me there to backstop her. I'll stake my professional reputation that she's ready for it.' He then grinned at me. 'Plus, if you request her team, you get to order your fiancée around and he actually has obey.' That alone made the suggestion worth a shot." Yuri Mao giggled. "But his confidence in you clearly was not overrated."
The swordswoman was silent for a long moment.
She found herself being flooded with conflicting feelings that she could barely name, let alone begin to process. Frustration at not being able to track down Sho-sa for five days. Irritation that he clearly arranged to keep her away from getting near him. Pleasure that he'd had the faith in her to risk his professional reputation on her skills. Pride that she'd PROVEN his unspoken - to her - faith in her hadn't been in vain.
Then the tears started.
"Why, Motoko-chan, whatever is wrong?" The confused civilian doctor asked, sympathetic to the girl's plight.
Hata, slowly at first, but with increasing speed as talking allowed her to vent the negative and positive emotions flooding her. The kunoichi passed along the same sanitized version of the events on July 1st that she'd shared with Sho's sister, but then expanded on the fruitless search for Sho, her hopes of seeing him this morning only for the seeming "error" of the mission pulling her out to the building she now found herself in.
"...and I just KNOW Sho-sa's still beating himself up." Motoko concluded. "He's too angry at himself, too hurt at the thought of Yakushi-san being anything other than his long-term friend that helped mold him into who he is now. I miss him so much! I want to hold him... I want to beat the stupid out of him! I..." She sobbed into the doctor's shoulder. "I wish I'd never seen what I saw!"
The kunoichi suddenly felt two very different sets of hands on her shoulders. Startled, she turned her head to see both Miho Hyuuga and Okito Tanaka standing over her; supportive expressions on their faces.
"I've lost count how many times I've seen things I wish I hadn't, Motoko-chan." Tanaka breathed gently as a haunted look crossed his face. "As recently as a little over an hour ago." He glanced at his fiancée and made a nod to the next room.
Miho Hyuuga, noticing the gesture, helped disengage the younger kunoichi from the non-powered doctor. "Plus, you were more right than you know. Kabuto Yakushi is not what he appears to be, though I didn't find anything to confirm that he's a threat."
Motoko looked at Inugami's Jonin in confusion. "I... I don't understand."
"According to Yakushi's file, he was found by Nono Yakushi, a medic-nin captain, after the Battle of Kikyo Pass during the Third War. She disappeared the year before Sho-kun ran into that boar and Inugami met Kabuto the year AFTER the boar. All well and good..."
"Okay..?" Motoko breathed a confused question.
"Except that Iruka has no memory of Kabuto ever attending the Ninja Academy. Except the records at the orphanage that Nono helped run have no records of Kabuto from two years after the War onwards - no adoption paperwork, nothing - he just falls off the radar until he reappears six years ago as a Genin. And there's no denying his skills, even if we don't have any documentation as to where he learned them."
"And Sho-sa would instantly pick out a faker..." Hata agreed confidently. "So we're thinking, what..?"
"That's the rub, Motoko-chan..." She ticked a finger. "One, he could have been adopted out and the paperwork was lost - after Nono's disappearance, the Orphanage's management went downhill - and he trained in one of the satellite Villages until his skills merited a transfer to Konoha. Two, he was recruited by Danzo Shimura's Root division," The swordswoman looked confused. "Think of it as an ANBU within ANBU, which would explain the black hole his history is; I only know they exist because of Kakashi-senpai." Now the Jonin grimaced as she ticked a third finger. "Or three, he's an infiltrator with spot-on documentation that took advantage of known loopholes in the system that let him hide in plain sight for six years now. You have NO idea how much I'm hoping it's either of the first two..."
Hata's expression soured. "But knowing Sho-sa's luck..."
Hyuuga nodded. "I'm pretty sure he used up his allotment for the year when whatever happened between the two of you in Mizumiyo happened."
"Kabuto is in the Finals." Miho blinked - she'd been so focused on coordinating the search that she hadn't paid particular attention to the results. "He wasn't brought back by the Hunters; nor were Hinata, Shino, Naruto, Shikamaru, or Chouji." The orange-haired girl announced, naming her friends followed by Sho's that were still in the running for Chuunin promotion.
"That's some good news..." Tanaka agreed as he and Mao finished their conversation. Yuri pulled out her prescription pad and wrote something down on two of the pages. "Another one - and we realize the notice is last minute - but Sarutobi-sensei made an opening in his schedule..."
Mao handed the sheets over to the two kunoichi; they said each woman's name and had +1 afterwards. "So we're getting married tomorrow; you're both invited to come and bring a guest of your choosing."
Delight chased away the clouds on Miho and Motoko's faces. "Are you going to be able to pull it off that quickly?!" Hyuuga asked in surprise.
Yuri Mao smiled sadly. "I lost my family when the Kyuubi attacked the Village, so we're planning on keeping it small; Oki-sa's family, his team, you, and everyone's plus-ones. Naru-chan and I have long since planned the cake, so once we're done closing this place down, I'll head to the Bakery and get her started on it."
Motoko looked at the invite in her hands; would Sho-sa let her ask him?
* * *
Time: 1:35 PM
"Hop in the chair, Suzuki-san." Inugami said as he turned the lights on in one of the rooms dedicated for blood donations and began grabbing supplies: needles, tubing, pint bags and - most importantly - a bottle of blood replacement pills. The latter allowed for larger volumes of blood to be donated and then be instantly replaced by converting the consumer's chakra into a synthetic substitute that would do the job until the donor's body generated fresh red blood cells over four to eight weeks. "As a universal donor, I assume you've been through this before?"
Kane Suzuki nodded. "I can donate five pints before I start to get too woozy to use the BRPs. They tap me like a pony keg every 6 weeks unless I'm on a mission."
'Jackpot.' The medic thought to himself as he tied off one of the Suna man's thickly built arms with a rubber tourniquet and prepped the draw site. 'A single pint won't be missed and it'll last for years!'
"I'll be perfectly honest with you, Sand; after our teams ran into each other in Mizumiyo Palace, I did my research on you and your teammates. The stories of 'Suzuki the Collector' don't paint you as the altruistic type. Slight poke..." He slid the needle into the limb with practiced ease; getting the initial flash of blood that indicated a successful arterial hit.
"That has got to be the smoothest needle insertion I've ever experienced; if you hadn't said 'Slight poke' I don't think I'd have felt it." The bruiser whistled as Inugami attached the first bag and removed the tourniquet to let the blood flow freely. "And you're absolutely right; I normally donate blood only because I'm given orders to do so. Today is different."
"Oh? How so?"
"Well, you clearly saw through my whorish cousin's transparent intent to try and vamp you under the premise of donating - even insisting I come along so you wouldn't turn her aside on general principle - which is why you foisted her off on that other poor bastard."
Inugami chuckled. "Yeah, I've been riding Jeitsy pretty hard today, even though assisting me running the triage fills one of the last gaps in his Genin medic-nin matriculation form, giving him that rank within the Corps even if he never becomes a field ninja Genin like the two of us." He smirked. "Given what Hashimoto reported of the interactions between you and your cousin when you whupped his ass in Kawa City, I think if anyone can understand not wanting to be in a confined space with Amaya 'bitch-of-the-first-order' Satou it would be you."
"Who the hell is Hashimoto? I thought the name of the kid I fought was Takahashi!"
"Same kid." Sho agreed as he swapped a full pint bag for an empty. "The Pride of panthers that he's training a member of adopted him and gave him a new name back in May."
"Well, his intel is good. I have my reasons, but I despise my family. It's why I wanted to meet you, to really size you up when you're not pretending to be that dandy 'Maya fell for in the Palace..."
"I take it this is where you declare your intent to claim my forehead protector the first chance you get?" A smirk crossed the medic-nin's lips. "You do strike me as being a worthy opponent; if that's my fate, you're welcome to it."
"Hang on a bloody fuckin' instant... If we're gonna do this - and believe me we fuckin' will the SECOND we're on neutral turf - I'm not coming for you; I'm coming for the forehead protector of the Decimator's grandson!" A smile of a man anticipating a delicious meal crossed his features while a third bag began to fill. "But not for the reasons you're probably expecting... See, I could care less that your grandmother slaughtered the Clan. Hell, I wish she'd reduced the Compound to scorched rubble - wouldn't have affected me or Amaya; our bitch mothers were off on a mission when the Decimation occurred." His eyelids became heavy as he began to feel the blood loss. "No, I want to kill you Inugami, to claim that trophy around your head, so I can lord it over those misogynistic twats the rest of my life. 'Saki the Fire Queen roasted your haughty asses and got away with it. I killed her grandson, something none of you ever got close to doing; that makes me better than the rest of you!' That kind of thing."
"Wow, they've really fucked you up in the head, haven't they, Suzuki..?" Sho said candidly - he honestly didn't mind the death threat as long as Kane didn't cross the line. "And here I thought it was just your cousin that was twisted..."
Kane Suzuki laughed as Sho replaced the donation bag a fourth time. "I don't say this often, but I almost hope we can fight to a draw; you know, REALLY drag it out - especially if you can take out some of my clan cousins in the process so they realize just how superior to them we both are; Aya-baasan practically eats the mask she hides her burns behind any time she has to admit a man is better than a member of the Clan! An epic battle to the death, winner takes all, over the span of decades!" He chuckled. "Hell, the thought of that alone would make me hard if I still had enough blood to get it up at the moment!"
The medic-nin shook his head as he started the fifth and final bag. "You're a weird one, Kane, but at least your motivations make sense from what I can see if your view of the world. Amaya? Not so much." He opened the BRP bottle and dropped five - one for each pint taken - into a pill cup.
"Am... aya? Pfft. Das EASY..." Kane slurred. "Yer stoopid ass was KIND. Dose bishes ain't even kind to e'ahoh'her." Suzuki gave a toothy grin as Sho removed the draw line and put a combination of cotton ball and bandaid. Kane stared at it for a moment as Inugami hid the last blood bag in one of the storage seals on his uwagi; making an illusionary fifth bag join the other four in the open cooler on the floor. "And ya dinn't e'en wanna FUCK her; das rarer dan a S'tou vergin over twenny! She wuz hot 'n bother'd 'til yer gurl shuh 'er down, den pss'd yuh were Leaf, den sc'rd cuz yer granny burned ours."
It took Sho a few moments to parse Kane's rambling, but then he began to get it. He handed over the cup of pills. "Down the hatch, Suzuki."
The Suna ninja crunched the deep red pills before summoning an impressive amount of chakra despite his half-aware state. "Whoo! Fake blood; that'll cure what ails you!" He paused looking at the pile of blood bags. "Where was I?"
"You and me spending decades trying to kill each other for my forehead protector while showing your kin how powerless they are against us." Sho answered with a wry smile.
"Oh, fer real? That makes me hard just thinking of it." Suzuki chuckled - gesturing to his pants to prove he wasn't lying. He'd clearly completely forgotten about talking about his cousin as he hopped out of the chair. "You seem like a cool dude and I LOVED how you and Orange utterly demoralized my bitchy cousin, but I REALLY hope I catch you outside Konoha on the opposing side sooner rather than later, Inugami." He made a playful wave. "Toodles!"