Fuda #40 [video]

[idealism]

[Tsuzuki has wanted to avoid making this video, but he doesn't see any other way. During the weeks since Hisoka came back from his abduction, he simply hasn't fared well. He's even gotten worse, which made no sense. Now that it's gotten to the point where he can't leave the house any more, he's quickly running out of options.]

This might sound like an odd request, but... I know we have several healers in town. Who are the strongest ones?


[He looks over his shoulder to make sure Hisoka is nowhere around.]

....I suppose doctors could work, as well. The bottom line is, I need help.

Comments

[idealism]

[Her calmness only proves to him that she knows what she's talking about. But it doesn't calm him down right at once, because he's had too long to rile himself up about it.]

We're in 25. It's one of the houses to the west, right by the woods.

...Things are complicated with him, But I'll explain when you get there, okay?

[medicalpunch]

To the west, by the woods. All right, I'm on my way; I'll be there momentarily. Keep an eye out for me, okay?

If it's complicated, then I'm exactly the right person to ask. Whatever it takes, he'll be okay.

[She doesn't have much in the way of supplies, but that isn't necessarily a problem.]

[idealism]

Alright. I'll keep the journal open, in case.

[starting action?]

[medicalpunch]

I'll be quick.

[And she is; it's not too far, and if Tsuzuki's keeping an eye open he'll see her making her way quickly toward his house, firm determination in her stride.]

[action!]

[idealism]

[Tsuzuki isn't good at waiting. He watches the window anxiously, unsure if he should leave Hisoka to go outside, or if he should wait inside and make sure he's comfortable.]

[In the end, he lets the empath rest on the couch as he tentatively goes outside to greet her - because it has to be her. No one would have walked with such determination unless they had a reason for coming here.]

Are you the healer?

[It occurs to him belatedly that he's nor given her his name.]

I'm Tsuzuki.

[medicalpunch]

[She looks up to him -- geez, he's tall -- and nods.]

I am - my name's Haruno Sakura.

[She'd offer pleasantries, but from the worried look on his face and the tone of his responses on the journal, she figures it's better to cut to the chase.]

So the patient's inside? Can you tell me something about his symptoms?

[idealism]

Yes, he's...

[He hesitates before he speaks, but that doesn't stop him from gesturing that she's free to go inside. The sooner the better, after all.]

He has trouble staying awake, and he's lost a lot of weight lately. I'm really worried it might be his curse.

[medicalpunch]

[She takes the gesture as the invitation it is and heads in, still listening.]

A curse? [And, of course, the first thing that comes into her mind is Sasuke's curse seal.] Can you give me more information about it?

[cynicism]

It killed me once. That's all the information we've got. [Is the quiet voice announcing its presence in the living room. Hisoka's stretched out on the couch in anticipation of their guest. He's a small thing, especially for a sixteen-year-old, frail and jaundiced and hot to the touch. His eyes are only half-open, but for a healer he'll do his best to interact.]

It.. Took three years last time. It shouldn't be happening this fast.

[idealism]

[Even though he knows the story by heart, it still sounds worse when it's told by Hisoka. He turns to Sakura, his face showing a blend of pleading and apology, tempered by the fact that they're at home.]

Hisoka, this is Sakura. She might help. Sakura, this is my partner Hisoka.

[medicalpunch]

[She nods in answer to that pleading look. Whatever she can do, she will; it's ingrained in her, as in any good healer.]

I'll do my best.

[And then she turns to Hisoka, focusing herself on him. That's not a phrase a medic-nin normally expects to hear, but Sakura's heard a lot of things she didn't expect to since coming to Luceti, and she's been explicitly warned about dead people. So while she does a slight double-take at the words, they don't faze her more than that.]

Was that before or after you came to Luceti?

[And as she asks, she moves to kneel beside him, taking in the basic symptoms.]

Is there a physical mark of the curse, a seal or something similar?

[cynicism]

Before. [He ignores the pleasantries, struggling to give out as much information as possible before he fades out again. His eyes are glassy and unfocused as it is.]

Do you have shinigami in your world? I.. can't tell if you're Japanese. [Being Japanese is a fairly huge deal as far as Hisoka's concerned. It means getting to skip over the 'no, not a literal death god' conversation.]

..Yes, there's a physical mark. [He strains to lift an arm and pull his sleeve away from it, displaying a fairly unmarred arm, if too malnourished and thin. As much as Hisoka's sure that everyone can see his curse marks all the time, they generally don't appear outwardly except in highly specific situations. Dying isn't one of them.]

[idealism]

[Tsuzuki cringes, unsure why he feels so terrible about it. Hisoka is usually more aware.] There's usually a mark there.

But... Don't try to remove it. I don't know if it's safe to do that. Could you maybe just....Help him with the pain? And maybe help his strength just a little?

[medicalpunch]

[She looks quickly too Tsuzuki.]

Don't worry, removing it isn't my immediate goal here. Something like that... well, it would take a lot of specialized work, and time to set up. For the time being...


[She refocuses herself on Hisoka, examining his arm. No visible mark, which... well, Tsuzuki answered that. But there are different ways for seals to show.

She reaches out, her cupped hand hovering just over Hisoka's skin, but not actually touching him; it's her chakra that does that, a gentle green glow that soaks into his skin, seeking out the energy of the seal in an attempt to track it down.]

I'm not Japanese, whatever that is. Shinigami... no. Only in stories. And even then... not really.

[cynicism]

[There's a whimper of discomfort as her spirit seeks to connect with the root of his pain. Triggered by the prompting, his arm glows as if burned anew, a bright red pattern of arcane symbols spreading out from his wrist until it covers both arms and both sides of his torso.

But Hisoka won't have any extra insight to add. It hurts, and quickly reduces him to twisting and moaning. Make it stop.]

[idealism]

[He's not used to seeing the curse spread across the skin that way. It looks like it's alive. It's startling enough that he tenses, turning worried eyes to Sakura and Hisoka both.]

Make it stop.

[medicalpunch]

[Her eyes narrow as she tracks it, feeling the way that baleful energy uncurls through Hisoka's system. She can't block it, but she can at least help...

Her energy shifts, moving away from the seal itself, now working to soothe the pain, calm overstimulated nerves (or in the worst cases, partially block their signals temporarily), and reinforce his body to fight the effects the seal puts out.]

It'll be all right. I'm sorry I had to do that. It's a terrible thing, this seal...

[cynicism]

[It's burning and fire and pain and suffering and it's under his skin and he can't make it stop and--

And then Sakura calms the fire in his skin until it's at palatable levels. He slowly unclenches, still trembling and whimpering in a fully inelegant manner.]

[idealism]

[Tsuzuki instinctively touches Hisoka to make sure he is okay, his concern evident. He doesn't have to say anything. Just seeing the curse slowly fade fills him with hope.

He hasn't seen a person heal someone else since... well. It has been a long time. It's just as amazing each time, and he's grateful that she could do something for Hisoka that he's never been able to.]

Thank you, Sakura.

[medicalpunch]

Don't thank me yet. This isn't fixing anything, and I can't leave his nerves blocked. This is just... space to work.

[Unable to treat the cause, she can only attack symptoms. Hisoka's body is firing into a fever to defeat an enemy the fever is powerless to destroy. She can help with that, sliding into his immune system in a slow, complicated process, soothing it, sending the messages that tell it the fever is no longer needed. She doesn't want to suppress it fully - the last thing he needs is a secondary infection - but she can at least bring the fever down or break it, and it will stay that way for... a while. She doesn't know how long, not with the curse as strange to her as it is.]

Whoever did this is a master of it. [And she means that in the worst possible way. To look at this, all she can think of is Sasuke in the Forest of Death, the fever burning in him from Orochimaru's poison.]

[cynicism]

[And in time, even his simpering dissipates. His body relaxes, the muscles in his face falling slack. It's been weeks since he was this free from pain. He may very well have a celebratory nap.]

[idealism]

[When Hisoka slumps, Tsuzuki is there to catch him. It looks exactly as if he fainted, which initially makes Tsuzuki suspicious. But that might just be because they're talking about Muraki, and everything about him makes him nervous. He frowns and looks away from Sakura.]

I know. He brags about it.

[medicalpunch]

[Shades of Sasuke and Orochimaru weigh heavily on her in this, and she frowns.]

He's not here, is he? The one who did this.

[idealism]

No. ...He was, for a while. But we were lucky and he left.

[Unwilling to let Hisoka go, he simply adjust his hold on him so that the younger man can nap on him without getting a cramp somewhere.]

Have you encountered curses before?

[medicalpunch]

Something similar enough to this, yes. My teammate...

[She pauses and grimaces, then shakes her head.]

They're difficult to unmake, and that's not even accounting for the differences between the curse seals of my world and this. [She taps Hisoka's arm lightly, where one of the lines had shown.]

But I can make him more comfortable, and help his body rally to fight the effects of it.