[attr="class","addy2body"]In the depths of the shinobi training facility, thick-walled rooms lure the antisocial and the overeager. Walking down those polished halls gave no indication to the intense training going on within each room, though neither did the ones inside have any idea what happened without. The chuunin's chosen domicile for the evening was almost eerily silent, and it gave her pause - purple eyes lifted to stare at the door, sensing imminent danger perhaps, before settling back on the table in front of her.
Right arm was bandaged tightly from shoulder to fingertips, blood staining the cloth in seemingly random patterns. It clashed with her choice of civilian clothing, merely a comfortable dress with sleeves torn off for more room. After a moment of reflection, a few handseals were deftly performed, a practiced ritual; chakra thrummed from her inner reserves, down the wrist, to the fingers. At first the green glow enveloped her whole hand, but she focused and molded it to just the index finger, ghostly scalpel blade extended. Left arm splayed in front like a canvas and she brought the scalpel down midway between the wrist and the inner elbow, soft flesh parting beneath.
Her expression remained neutral, watching the blood flow to join dried puddles on the very worktable she sat. It was clear that whatever her motivation, she had been doing it for some time, because it provoked little reaction. There was only a moment near the end of the cut where the sensation crested beyond her tolerance, a surprised cry bursting from her lips to echo off the walls and then, again, silence. Lips remained parted, panting, thick hair tied back into a messy bun but it still clung to her forehead from the sweat. Below the new cut there were several newly-healed marks, the skin pink compared to the paleness around it.
"A clean cut is not difficult to heal," she mused, seemingly to no one. "Jagged edges, old scars, a pierced vein, a puncture - these are more difficult. A pity that we are not actively at war, that I need to practice on myself instead of a real patient.." or, she thought, a target. That would be more fun.
[attr="class","cbody2"]My normal stoicism was broached by a sudden scream. I hadn't really expected that here, at least not one so sudden and piercing. There was no beating of flesh, no sound of body against pavement, and no usual thrum of chakra. It had seemed to be otherwise empty in this facility when I had gotten to it but clearly it wasn't. At least I had hoped as I myself was a skeptic even knowing there were beings capable of willing souls. It was protocol for a Jounin to make rounds of the facility every so often - utilizing less-than-secret hallways that snaked about the facility haphazardly. While normally the walls were quite thick - solid with layers of soundproofing material, the walls that separated the rooms from these hidden hallways weren't. Often trainees were watched, less to make sure they didn't die and more often to examine disposition. How one approached training and self-growth spoke volumes as to their potential. The creation of a tool for killing was not one paved by those who didn't have the knack for it.
Clearly she did.
I watched for a while from behind what was a slotted portion of the wall hidden such that it was impossible to discern, two way glass doubly separating one room from the next. Iwa hadn't had someone with a capable Dojutsu beyond the major; kage, in years so this was all it was necessary to veil the hallways from even the most prying of normal eyes. It was mesmerizing to see her work if only because of the ability to switch herself off. She was broken. We could use that, but this needed a deft touch.
A sound echoed in the room for a moment as I unlocked the door with a press of a button, exiting the hidden hallway into the hallway proper, opening the door and speaking at the same time.
"Continual precise cuts like that will eventually scar, yes. Medicial Ninjutsu can't do anything for that yet anyway. Theory goes," I shifted, as I stood pointing over to where she had cut. "eventually the body sees that as healed flesh. Then you're out of luck - that's just how it'll be. The answer is Fuuin."
I tossed a book in her direction, a simple primer on Fuuin.
[attr="class","addy2body"]As she brought her finger down to make another cut, the door swung open, causing her to pause with the blade just barely touching the skin. A bead of blood welled up there, mesmerizing her until she forced herself to look up at the intruder; the chakra scalpel dissipated. It was a face she recognized, twofold. Firstly, most importantly, Shoichi was the 'oh-so-capable' Jounin of her platoon. In other words, her boss. Secondly, during her formative years of training her father had met frequently with his parents. They had never been introduced directly but Naoko was not one to forget someone her father had discussed being a strong individual - full of potential.
Her emotional range was still dialed down, there was no surprise in her countenance as the book flung in her direction, merely a hand lifted to catch it. She set it down on the table and then wordlessly, two handseals. The blood dripped down her arm from gravity, she paid it no mind, chakra-glowing fingers pressing over the wound and watching as the flesh stitched itself back together. Thread by thread, cell by cell. It was only at this point that her lips split into a smile and purple eyes glowed with familiarity.
"Evening, Shoichi~" it was practically a purr. The girl stood up, needing the vantage because of her height, head tilting side to side as she gazed over the primer's cover. "In truth, I don't know much about sealing techniques. They were discussed briefly during my medical training, but only as an option for using advanced techniques on the battlefield - a supplement. How do you suppose fuuin could solve the riddle of what is considered healing?"
Yeah, sure. The obvious answer would have been to open the book and start reading, but that sounded utterly boring compared to quizzing the man standing before her. They had rare occasion to talk other than this, and to have his attention focused on her own advancement was a boon. Naoko grasped a piece of cloth from the table and wiped away the blood before it could dry, humming to herself, waiting for his answer. Despite her friendly attitude, her muscles were quite tense and she held herself on guard, half facing him like she expected he would attack.
[attr="class","cbody2"]"Hm?" I immediately responded, looking at the girl dryly for a moment before waving my hand dismissively. "There is a fundamental difference between being learned and understanding. I only know the concepts, in truth I am as utterly ignorant of the fine details."
My feet had already started moving before I finished my sentence, arriving at her side before crouching down to the floor, my finger tracing upon blood that had pooled there - her blood. While she could heal her wounds at will this fluid wouldn't so easily disappear. Ironic. It would take a genin lamb quite a while to fix this mess. It was always surprising to me but blood stained both wood and stone in equal measure, and only hours of scrubbing would erase that fact.
There was a dry spot in the table near where she had worked, likely where her actual arm had laid as she had worked on herself; small but enough space for demonstration. "Conceptually, hand seals are blueprints for one's chakra to bring about some effect. They are standardized, but the results are never exact. Each of us changes the effect if ever so slightly. But fuuin-seals, are more like rote instructions. There is no will in it, no ability to change or alter. Fire is fire. Wind is wind. Seal and unseal."
I drew a seal that looked far more complex than its function, utilizing her blood as medium. It was a basic seal with a hidden twist. When finished my palm pressed against it, lighting it up, and in a flash all the blood that had previously been on the worktable dry or otherwise disappeared. My hand splayed out in performance, showing the effect and allowing her to inspect before pressing upon the seal again and allowing the blood to pool back out.
"Seal and unseal are the most basic concepts, but only basic if you look at it so simply. Seal the bodies ability to heal itself the wrong way - such that you can heal it the right way. That's one answer. Again, I'm no expert nor am I saying this is the most sensical option, only one of them. I'm sure someone as . . . . - driven and knowledgeable in the medical field as you could find better ones."
[attr="class","addy2body"]Naoko's gaze followed him closely, every move he made, not bothering to hide her particular interest when he smeared some of her blood onto his finger. The scholar in her wanted to admonish him for doing so without gloves, because who knows what is in someone's body fluids, but.. lucky him. The pedantic tongue was held in favor of a demonstration. Another step taken in his direction allowed her to peer closer while he deftly drew a seal; this was practically another language to her, yet he was confident. Just a bit of chakra and the room tidied right in front of her eyes!
"Ohh~ That's handy~" she mused, before mouth snapped closed, letting him continue his speech. Head nodded once, twice. The long pause in his so-called compliment making her clutch her chest in mock distress, though she did not outwardly comment on it. "I see. 'If' chakra is applied, 'then' perform this action. Theoretically a simple task, but it sounds like the hard part will be conceptualizing it while creating the seal.." the kunoichi mused out loud, tapping one slender finger against her chin.
She turned away from him, instead focusing on the primer. With a few quick motions it was flipped to the table of contents and, scanning it, she found the topic that most interested her. Shoichi would be forced to wait in agonizing - she hoped - silence as the paragraph was consumed, memorized, considered. A quiet hum breathed from her lips. Deciding that this information was not sufficient, she drew her finger down the page and continued reading, eyelashes fluttering with every hesitant blink.
Then, finally: "I am not sure I fully understand this part, to be honest. The design of the seal seems to not actually matter, the intent infused with the chakra does. I suppose it makes sense.. it is not unlike any other jutsu we use. Still, even jutsu tend to have specific handseals used to channel said intent. How will a seal maintain its concept after time has passed? How does it maintain its concept before being used at all?"
The theory pained her. Perhaps it was just overthinking, though. "I shall try. You see, scar tissue and your normal skin are made of the exact same material. Mystic Palm can heal new marks that are would-be scars because we can control the way the tissue is growing, but once a scar is formed.. you are correct that it is beyond medical knowledge to heal it in that state. I mean, I suppose you could remove the offending skin and try a re-do, but that seems inefficient. The reason for scars is not in the material, but rather, how the material has oriented itself. The collagen of healthy skin is woven randomly; scars are woven in one direction."
With a sigh, Naoko untied the bandage around her left arm, letting it pool into a pile on the floor. Most of the arm appeared perfectly unmarked, except for a long - yet clean - scar along her inner elbow. It was cut along the crease, so not particularly noticeable until she extended said arm. Purple eyes studied the mark.
"I don't believe I could accomplish this yet. However, my theory is that you could use a seal on one part of your body to take some healthy collagen and relocate it to the scar tissue, mixing the two together? By randomizing the orientation of the tissue, it should blend back in to the skin around it."
[attr="class","cbody2"]Her theories were of course sound, but I could offer her nothing but platitudes. This was again the extent of my knowledge and mere speculation on my part. Of course, I exuded nothing but confidence; that was the game. I had hoped to spur some light in her eyes for a subject that didn't include hurting herself - at least to some degree.
The wait of her interest and sudden dive into the texts I gave her didn't at all bother me. I simply shifted and walked over to the wall to adjust the lighting, turning a dial that illuminated the room further than it was before. "That's a good question and the answer is, I'm not sure anyone knows exactly. The seals are standardized for a reason and the history of why isn't something that I've delved into, but am almost sure isn't fully known - that is why one uses any specific seal beyond this is how it is done is completely lost knowledge. Well, no harm in trying right?"
I hovered over her a moment and took the book into my hands, reading it as I dipped a finger into the pooled blood. Of course, seals could be written in almost anything, and typically just in ink. But I always had a sneaking suspicion that if there was vitality to the medium - something more than artificial, it would have a greater effect. In the case of taking this shot in the dark, the help was necessary. My free hand positioned the book in a manner of which I could more easily see it and on the page I was searching for, thumbing the books contents quickly. I was searching for the correct verbiage to describe just what I wanted to will the seal to do. In this case, it was exactly as she had said. A specific set of instructions, 'seal' the scar, 'seal' normal skin, 'mix' both, and then 'place' non uniformly back to the parts where either was taken.
My finger wrote the seals in that order, choosing a spot of her scar to start with. The scar itself was much longer than I had confidence in being able to 'target', so I attempted to tackle only a quarter of it. "Don't breathe." I pressed a finger into her skin and allowed my well of chakra to activate the seal.
[attr="class","addy2body"]Naoko locked her gaze on his face as he spoke, though her thoughts were half with him and half racing through the possibilities of this new theory. It was a shame that her own sealing proficiency was next to nothing, mere conjecture at this point, yet suddenly given such an importance on her list of goals. There were so many applications she could come up with just off the top of her head, ways to heal and ways to hurt, that she felt her heart beating faster in excitement. Lashes fluttered and then she refocused on Shoichi, who seemed so much closer than before. Her breath caught in her throat.
Finger, skin. Blood, seal. The Jounin's chakra started to infuse that localized area, but there was something wrong. This sense of impending doom flooded her breast, constricting it. Running on pure instinct and adrenaline the chuunin hit him in the center of the chest with her free hand, the force of the blow coming at the ball of her palm - sending all of her strength into a localized point that would surely send him sprawling backward unless he braced himself. Simultaneously, a new scream of pain wrenched itself from her lips and she staggered back, now gripping the arm over where he had written the seal. A grimace etched her face, paler than normal - wide eyes moving to stare at the spot.
At first, there was nothing outwardly different, at least to Shoichi if he had collected himself or protected himself quickly enough to look in that moment. Yet her lips remained parted, shocked, grip tightening until the knuckles went white. Blood peaked out from where her palm met the flesh of her arm, started to drip down her fingers and onto the floor. It was clear even to the untrained that her grip was holding back something much worse than this deluge. Naoko made no immediate move to fix whatever was wrong, too stunned to do more than take a gasping breath.
[attr="class","cbody2"]The punch hit me square on, but it wasn't enough to broach my countenance. Though stronger than the average individual, she still was leagues below me in physicality - let alone the idea of proper preparation. It was a good punch though as all sort of jerky-instinctual-punches were. It did hurt, but I didn't move. The pain did little to prepare me for what happened next though. "Oh. . ." I spoke, as I saw the blood, noting that whatever had happened due to the mistake wouldn't likely be a simple paper cut. No, this was playing with a bit more than a knife, this was rearranging one's flesh. For an infinitesimal moment I mused on what laid beneath that hand, expecting the worst. This would be hard to explain if I couldn't fix it. Oh, I sorta fucked up didn't I. Still, this wasn't beyond the point of recovery.
While I wasn't a medic every shinobi had training in basic wound care, and such training immediately begged me to begin the process. I acquiesced. Bandages were of course readily available in these training rooms and I immediately shifted, fading before returning within teh same moment, ripping a bandage with my teeth before attempting to utilize my superior strength to move her hand and quickly apply it. I didn't bother to look. There was no doubt that she could heal whatever had happened, at least in part - but it was unlikely she'd do so before she calmed down. The bandage would at least quell the flood for a moment.
"Listen, heal it - now. If you let that go for too long you won't be able to, you'll pass out. I don't think whatever is under there can't be undone."
My body shifted a bit as I looked into her eyes, the features of my face upturning as a smile crossed my lips. "In fact. . you know. . this is the perfect chance to actually try your theory isn't it? I'm guessing my knowledge in the medical field just isn't deep enough to facilitate the raw will to make it happen. You however, can likely do it. Heal it fully - then we can restart the process. Except, you can do it."
I had a feeling she was just crazy enough to do it.
[attr="class","addy2body"]Naoko focused on taking many deep, calming breaths despite the sensation of her heart pumping - no, squirting really - blood out of a hole in her arm. Even the pulse was louder in her ears than the movements Shoichi made as he prepared to assist her. Her grip was like a vice on her arm, acting as a tourniquet of its own, albeit a rudimentary one born of pure instinct. His idea to treat the wound was not a bad one, though the cloth was already started to soak crimson and her head was getting lighter by the moment.
"Ah," she mumbled, staring at the floor; longing for it, really. It would have felt good to lie down and sleep. Somehow the calm, rational tone of the Jounin managed to pierce these thoughts, and purple eyes snapped up to his face again. Eyes were wide, pupils contracted. Instead of wasting time with a response, her hands shook while forming the needed handseals. It hurt just to move that arm, so it was lucky that she could instead channel all of that chakra into the uninjured hand.
The bandage was tugged off and tossed aside, revealing the gore in its entirety, a veritable chunk ripped from the flesh and...? It had disappeared, somewhere. Hopefully not to reappear unexpectedly when some hapless genin was training in the room. Naoko carefully worked to target her chakra into the wound while struggling to keep a hold of her thoughts and consciousness, although everything came back in stark clarity when the edges of the wound finally melded together. A relieved sigh. What was once a fairly thin scar was now a knotted mess in the crook of her elbow.
Tongue flicked out, slowly moistening dried lips. "Careless, for you," the kunoichi practically hissed between her teeth. There was a wave of cold anger that she struggled to clamp down on. How dare he do this to her with no thought? "I would have expected you to realize that some form of medical knowledge would be essential - in combination with the sealing - to attempt this. Knowing the theory does not give you the experience needed to change someone's very cellular structure."
Mid-sentence, with no hesitation, the chakra still lingering on her fingers solidified and she flicked the hand at his forearm. It would feel like nothing at all, at first, because of how cleanly the scalpel sliced through the top layers of flesh. Shallow and calculated, but betrayed a bit by the way her eyes narrowed. However, not an attack. She brought back her fingers which were now coated in some of his blood and, after quickly wiping away remnants of her own, began to draw a seal over the new scar.
Pause. One variation was made to the seal he had chosen earlier, though she did not comment upon her artistic choice. Most of the blood was now transferred; she licked the rest of it from her finger, glancing up at him. "I'll try it. Further blood loss will be dangerous, but from an aesthetic standpoint, I have nothing to lose. To be frank, I believe I can at least do it better than you have." There was no fear in the way she said it, though she doubted he would be able to save her if this went poorly yet again.
A fatigued gasp and two fingers pressed to the seal activated it, his blood illuminating. Her eyes narrowed. More chakra surged in; teeth grit. And then it simply disappeared, scar and all.
[attr="class","cbody2"]She had the spark clearly, or at the very least my failure had sparked her resolve to commit to attempting it herself. It was of course true that medical knowledge was likely required to complete these theoretical seal, but I was just as sure a seasoned fuuinjutsu expert could likely do it without any at all - it was a fairly simple seal. I had no delusions that I was anything more than a layman - if that, but it was interesting to see how far I could go on rudimentary knowledge. In fact, not all was lost from the experience. The effect produced by this failure seal was interesting that much I could see from the hole left in her arm. Something to write down. I thought on it only for a moment before I dispatched any ideas I had on applications to watch her work. The very almost illogical nature of how chakra could simply heal wounds always had escaped me - its why I was not seasoned on it, but it fascinated me nonetheless.
My trance was broken by a sudden nick and my head immediately turned to the source - where a thin line widened with the ebb of blood. "Ouchies. . . How could you?" The bandages I had procured previously had already been wrapped around my arm in that moment, securing it such that the clean cut could heal naturally by way of simply being 'pinched' together with the tautness. Cheeky.
"Now then, I'm quite sure you can do better yes I'd be surprised if you couldn---" And it was gone, unceremoniously.
"Huh, well, there you have it. You know, considering on how well that was completed, you're probably actually on to something. As in, there could be some sort of market for this procedure. Since this doesn't do anything actually necessary, as its something purely cosmetic it wouldn't be something anyone would really force you to share. Shinobi are always getting scars, and it'd be a good way to practice. I don't think many you encounter would ever be quite as clean and concise."
I thought for a moment before continuing, "Similarly, there aren't many seals that add in anything medical like this. There are a few much more high level complicated seals sure, but there is a whole range in-between this and those that aren't even explored. Tell you what, lets continue this line of thinking, its beneficial."
My feet moved before I was done talking completely, sitting onto the chair and putting my legs up onto the table as if to lounge. "What else?"
