Bleeding? Again?

[Willoria]

Every day was long, there was no sense marking it with a comment as such. Karugata Asami limped her way out of an alley, a smirk plastered on her face. There was a cut above her left eyebrow leaving a trail of blood down the side of her face. The right side of her lower lip was split open and bleeding still too. Her left hand rest over a wound in her side, blood seeping between her fingers from a kunai wound. But still she grinned as she stepped out of the alley, resting a hand on the nearby wall to get her breath back. She was grinning because yet again she had walked away from a beating from a Karagata. They weren't exactly uncommon, between her name and usual demeanor, Asami was a frequent target of their ire. Her lack of a family mark, the kraken, didn't help her case either. Without the mark she simply drew more attention to herself.

But today she wasn't the only one who had left bleeding. Two boys and a girl had come at her this time, one of the boys had hobbled off on his own but the boy and girl were still in the alley groaning over their wounds she had left them with. She certainly hadn't paid her own price for it, but this time Asami had been able to defend herself. And after her encounter with Karagata Shinjiro, such a small victory left her feeling better than she had in a long time.

Still, she was tired, and the pain was causing her head to pound. She found a place against a wall and slid down to a seated position with a groan, taking a few deep breaths to try and steady herself.

[TyDie]

As was the norm for Ryu by this point in his new life with the entity known as Hisan, the young genin walked his way down a quiet side street of the village with a large sack of meat slung over his shoulder, dripping blood behind him as he walked. "One of these days... I need to teach you... how to curb your fucking appetite. This isn't just killing my back, it's killing my bank damnit! Meat isn't cheap you know." Can't help it kid, we all gotta eat. Find me a cheaper food source if it's such a big deal. Ryu just rolled his eyes, as he almost always did when Hisan chose to talk to him like his opinion meant nothing, before continuing on his way. But suddenly, the mist around them began to thin, and Ryu's nose turned to the air like a bloodhound. Sniff... Sniff sniff... he had grown incredibly familiar with that smell.

It was blood. Much fresher than the bloody cuts slung over his back.

Hehehe... a snack, maybe? "Seriously Hisan, do you think about anything besides your bottomless stomach? It's probably human, and probably not an enemy. So no, we're not eating them. In fact, we're not getting involved at... wait." Ryu was obviously speaking to himself as he strode through the mist, not even caring at this point how crazy he sounded. However, he gave pause the moment he saw the woman, leaned against the wall, a small trail of blood following her as she had moved from... wherever she had gotten her ass beat. But she looked familiar, and it took a few moments of analyzing her before Ryu realized why. "Haven't I seen you before, woman? Pretty sure it was the same situation too, leaning against a wall or some alley trashcan while you bled. It was just a week or two ago... just how often do you find yourself on the wrong end of a blade anyway?" It wasn't like Ryu to stop and talk to a stranger, let alone one who was in the midst of possibly bleeding out...

But the frequency of this woman's assaults had piqued his curiosity. He had to know if she at least gave as good as she got.

[Willoria]

Honestly Asami almost didn't hear him. She took a couple steadying breaths, opening her eyes when she felt eyes on her and noticed the boy looking at her. It took a few blinks but eventually she realized he had spoken to her, and what he'd said. The grin quickly came back to her lips. "Oh you know how this village is... its pretty regular... especially when I'm not good at shutting up." she remarked, laughing. Her voice was strangely quiet, the girl being naturally and oddly soft spoken by nature. "Pretty sure last week my mouth picked a fight with a Jounin... or stronger. Could hardly see the fucker move.... this time though just a couple of genin who got in over their heads. I think two of them are still bleeding back there." she motioned to the alley she had come from before pushing off the wall and taking a few steps forwards, starting on the path back towards her home, or perhaps the hospital, she hadn't decided yet.

"Nothing a stiff drink can't cure." she added, laughing. "Never stops entertaining me though... watching the way a Karagata reacts to being told 'fuck the kraken'." she added, winking at Ryu. "Who're you anyway?"

[TyDie]

Ryu smirked at the woman as she explained herself, pushing herself up to her feet while talking about how she had just left a few genin in the alley bleeding. And her words, god above he had thought the same thing more than once, so he couldn't help but chuckle as she insulted the emblem of the Karagata family. "Tch, haha... You do have quite the mouth on you huh woman? It's alright, I couldn't care less about that family either. I'm with you, fuck the kraken." To Ryu, the only thing the Karagata meant was Shinjiro, and that bastard's name still left a bad taste in his mouth after the way he had been interested in his twin sister. Heh, I don't think i've ever seen you so interested in someone who wasn't your family. This is new... I like this one, Ryu. Let's not eat her.

He fought the urge to laugh at Hisan's complete 180, but he did make note of it. After all, this was a first for Hisan as well; the first time he thought of another human being as more than meat. Perhaps there was hope for the creature yet... She asked for his name, and Ryu responded simply. "Kazuki, Ryu. Claimed by the Muramasa or whatever, I hardly remember the proper and honorable introduction for my family. I get a cramp in my tongue when I try to talk all fancy like that, but I am Muramasa family. So like I said, I couldn't give a fuck about the Karagata, in fact i'm glad to see someone else willing to take them down a peg or two. Plus, I've got respect for anyone that can handle ass kickings like you and keep that mouth of yours running. Takes a special kind of courage to act like that... well, that or your just plain stupid. Could be both I guess."

He smiled at his own quips at the woman's expense, knowing that she might fire back at him but honestly not caring. He wasn't sure why, but something about the way she simply didn't give a fuck about the consequences of her words... It kind of excited him. "All kidding aside... you gonna get that knife wound looked at? It looks pretty deep."

[Willoria]

Asami outright laughed at more than one of his comments. "Definitely both... last week I got my ass handed to me when I decided to smart off to that damn genma host. You know the one right? Shinji-fuckface." she said, rolling her eyes and chuckling again. "Got my ass kicked but it was worth it." She ran a hand through her hair, hardly realizing she just left traces of blood through it now too. "Sadly I can't outrun the Karagata forever. I'm Karugata Asami. Part of that part of the family that's barely above slave... but fuck them. I'm still surviving, still became shinobi." She shrugged, grimacing as she realized she was starting to ramble from one subject to the next.

'Shit... last time I did that I passed out...'

Asami took a deep breath to steady herself once more before looking at Ryu. "I might... might skip ahead to the peach bourbon, not sure yet." she replied, shrugging. "Most of the medics are hardly better than butchers anyway, probably better off getting drunk and stitching it myself." It took a few moments, but something had finally clicked in her head. "Kazuki...? As in the Overseer of the Seven?"

[TyDie]

Ryu shook his head as the woman mentioned her name, and suddenly everything clicked in his head. With a name like that, it's no wonder she despised her family so much. "It's a wonder you're a shinobi at all, let alone still breathing with that name. After mouthing off to that 'fuckface', you're definitely lucky to be breathing. Genma host aside, he's not a weakling. But since he was chasing my sister's tail, I'd be happy to see him get his own ass kicking one day. Smug, arrogant bastard..." Ryu spit on the ground as he spoke about Shinjiro, wishing to himself that he could be strong enough to take the bastard on himself. But sadly, Ryu just wasn't there yet. With years of training and understanding what Hisan could do, maybe one day he could stand a chance... But not today. She made one thing clear throughout all of this, insulting the Karagata as well as one of the strongest shinobi in the village, all why she bled from a gaping wound.

"You've got a bigger sack then most fully grown men I've met, Asami."

He would make a move towards her, his eyes watching that wound of hers closely, as his mouth began to water at the sight of the blood. Sometimes his body just reacted on it's own, the damn monster inside of him urging Ryu to do such nauseating things. Asami was clearly coherent enough to piece together information, so he wasn't worried about her passing out or bleeding to death... yet, anyway. But the mention of the overseer position left a bad taste in Ryu's mouth. "Yeah... Ryoga was my father, and Ren my mother. I'm descended from two Overseers, and i'm still no where near strong enough to even join. It's infuriating..." Ryu dropped the bloody sack on the ground next to him with a sickening squelch, then tore part of his cloak off before balling the cloth up. "Bite this. This is gonna fucking hurt."

Whether she did as he asked or not, Ryu would force the tip of two of his fingers into the woman's wound, all the while focusing on Hisan. "Come on you bastard... help me help her... You said you like her." Could've asked first y'know, before you dug two knuckles deep inside her. Hehehehe, that sounded bad. Alright damn it, i'll help, but it won't last forever. Eventually, as Ryu had asked, Hisan's fleshy material began to manifest within the woman's wound, forming a 'plug' of sorts to keep her blood in. Luckily, Hisan's 'flesh' was red, so it would appear to just be a giant clot. "There... It'll hold until you can get hammered and butcher yourself. Hopefully."

[Willoria]

Asami snorted as Ryu remarked about his parents. "If I thought DNA made us strong I wouldn't be here, kid." she replied, shaking her head. "My parents were just lowly dock workers, killed when they got int he way of a member of the main family one day. Even going to the academy was supposed to be a trap, a ploy to get me killed." she added. "So don't bitch, if you don't like where you're at, fucking change it." Her expression quickly changed though as he walked closer to her and offered her a scrap of cloth from his cloak.

She took it and bit down on it, but still wasn't entirely prepared for what Ryu did next. She groaned, hardly able to help the bit of a whimper that came from her mouth before she spit out the cloth. "Gods, you fucking cunt." she snapped off at him, glaring at him a moment even as he helped her by using Hisan to plug up the wound. As he removed his hand she looked down at it. It felt strange, but for a shinobi of her rank and experience she had no way of knowing it was anything but chiton. "Well you got something from them didn't ya?" she remarked, shaking her head. "Maybe you could teach me some of that shit, might help."

She wasn't the kind enough sort to outright thank Ryu, but it was certainly in her demeanor.

[TyDie]

Ryu scoffed as the woman mentioned her own lineage, and how her parents were essentially dirt under a Karagata's heel. Her words against him were harsh as well, basically telling him to fix his problem if he had one... but it wasn't as if it was a lie. Ryu had fallen out of place since the introduction of Hisan, and it was high time he got back on the horse so to speak. With or without Hisan, the boy had aspirations, and a whole slew of things to do before he reached them. Plus, he had no need to accost her; she had already gotten her ass kicked once today, and the trick he had used to fix Asami's bleeding problem was payback enough. However, he smirked as the woman mentioned he inherited Ryoga's penchant for Chiton.

"That wasn't Chiton. Don't worry about what it was." was his response in regard to Hisan's power. "I'm pretty garbage at ninjutsu as a whole truth be told. I took to the sword far easier, my sister inherited the chakra side of things. I just... have a few other tricks up my sleeve to make up for it." What's all this talk of sleeves and tricks? I don't think i'm a trick, i'm just a.... partner. That's all. Hehehehe... Ryu hated that Hisan saw things the way it did, but in truth, it really wasn't wrong. And in fact, It's philosophy was about to be proven right... "Hey!" A young voice rang out over the mist, and as if on queue the sun broke through what was left of the mist, revealing that a young boy stood at the entrance to the alley where Asami had exited from.

Ryu turned and quirked an eyebrow; the kid seemed largely undamaged, but shortly after another kid with a seriously messed up leg emerged from the alley with one of the bleeding genin over his shoulder. "Tch... Friends of yours, Asami?" He was pretty sure he knew exactly who they were; at least, the bleeding genin and the kid with the messed up leg were the ones that jumped the woman in the first place. Whoever this newcomer was, he was fresh and undamaged; likely a friend of the kid who came to help rescue their bleeding friends... and probably beat the snot out of Asami some more. "You'd do well to leave her alone, unless you want your ass kicked too! That scum doesn't deserve protection!" Ryu shrugged a moment, rolling his eyes at the kid's flex. "Look, this isn't my problem, and I don't intend to make it my problem... But if that's a challenge you're issuing, you'd better rethink it fast. I don't care if you're ninja or not, i'll leave you in a worse state then your friends if you keep pressing me. And as for her... she's been through enough I think. How bout you save your buddies, and I'll save mine."

It was... incredibly strange for Ryu to not pick a fight. Even weirder was the fact that he was already referring to Asami as a 'buddy', and willing to let this entire situation go just to put an end to it all. This was so unlike the hot headed red haired teen that would normally square up with some dick hitting on his sister, even when he knew he was outmatched. Much different than the Ryu that would pick a fight the moment someone called him a bad name. Hey... can we eat those ones at least? They smell good... Well, at least Hisan still wanted to pick the fight. But unless he was really provoked, Ryu really just wanted to break away from all this and get Asami to his grandmother. She could patch her up right...

[Willoria]

Asami raised an eyebrow, looking at Ryu strangely as he referenced the power he used to patch her up. "Somehow that isn't comforting." she said, rolling her eyes. "Just because you don't take to ninjutsu immediately doesn't mean you can't learn-." Asami found herself cut off by another voice, turning her head to look over and see someone new. She didn't have to wonder who he was for long as the other two appeared and she realized someone had gotten reinforcements. The girl sighed heavily and pushed off the wall again, wobbling on her feet for a moment. "Definitely not friends." she remarked, sighing to herself as she drew one of her swords into her hand.

Asami kept the wall behind her for the moment with Ryu in front of her, but her gaze to her left to watch the newcomer. "You don't need to get involved, Ryu." she told him quietly. "But they're not going to let me out of their sight either." she added, clearly intending to fight the kid by herself, and whoever else might have been with him, in spite of the fact that even standing was difficult for her at the moment.

[TyDie]

Ryu looked to Asami, who clearly intended to defend herself in spite of her injuries, and smirked in response to her telling him he didn't have to get involved in this. "You're right, I don't have to. But i'm also not going to stand idly by either. If blood is gonna flow, you'd better believe i'll be taking my share." Ryu looked to the kid, a taller boy, maybe 11 or 12, with a thin build and brown short hair. He wore typical ninja attire and had the emblem of Kiri emblazoned on the front of his sleeveless black shirt. And now, in his hands, he held two Kunai, poised to strike or throw at a moment's notice. "Last chance dude, Just turn and walk away, or you'll get fucked up too!"

Before Ryu could even give voice to his defiance, the boy let loose with one of the kunai, the weapon moving with startling accuracy straight for Ryu's eye. He moved to grab at the weapon, but it was clear that he wasn't going to be able to grab it in time given the short distance. However, there was another who was on guard from the beginning, and who was eager to show himself; in an instant, a bright red tentacle of Hisan's making sprout out from Ryu's shoulder and intercepted the kunai inches from his eye. "...Bad move. Now we have to eat you." And that's my cue! Hehehehe! A moment later, the tentacle whipped the kunai back at the kid, who narrowly avoided getting stabbed in the leg by it.

By the time the kid turned his attention back to Ryu, the young genin was engulfed by the same red mass, his body sprouting a good six inches as the red flesh manifested around him. His body bulked, his jaw lined with several rows of sharpened teeth, and his hands bore rending claws. The other injured kid, who had just got his second friend out of the alley, came back just in time to watch his ally cower as Hisan revealed itself. "Well, you heard the kid. Time to get in my mouth." Hisan's tongue hung out from it's mouth, saliva trailing down from the tip of his tongue as it imagined the flavor of such young prey. Of course, the kids didn't stick around very long after a show like that; the healthy boy, full of fear, still had a mind to scoop up the injured and bleeding woman, while the other boy with the messed up leg hobbled away with his other bleeding friend. All in all, the four genin had no interest in fighting... whatever the fuck Ryu was.

Once they were fully out of earshot, Hisan let out a hearty laugh. "Haaahahahaha! The looks on their faces were priceless! Although, I really do wish one of them was ballsy enough to fight. Man, i'm starving!" As if he had completely forgotten Asami was there, Hisan reached into the bloody sack of meat that Ryu had earlier dropped, producing a large cut of flank steak. It then proceeded to swallow the large chunk of raw steak whole, it's jaw unhinging like a snake as it made a sickening slurp, ensuring not a drop of blood was wasted. And then, once it's hunger was temporarily sated, it finally turned to Asami. "Oh. Right. Forgot you were there. Uh, huh. This is awkward, isn't it? I think that's the word you humans use for these moments of strange silence."

[Willoria]

So one had ever fought a battle for Asami, she had always fought her own, no matter how injured she was at the time. She had definitely never had anyone try to protect her before either. It was rather strange, watching what came next. She wasn't entirely prepared for what she was about to witness though. She felt strange enough watching someone try to protect her, but the creature that formed from Ryu himself was beyond anything she had ever seen before. She could only watch in silence as it scared off the genin, and went so far as to consume raw meat from the bag. She didn't even have words to speak as it turned and addressed her directly.

Honestly she could really only say one thing. "What the fuck are you?"

Blinking she turned her head and looked down at the wound in her side that Ryu had patched up for her, and she didn't put her sword away just yet. "Uh... I think I preferred talking to the kid." she said rather dumbly as she stared at Hisan. "Not sure if I'm gonna pass out or vomit...' she muttered under her breath, blinking as she hoped she wasn't about to pass out. She knew it was blood loss, but the last thing she wanted was for someone to think it was out of fear of this... thing.

[TyDie]

As the kid's screams disappeared into the distance, Hisan and Asami were stuck in a bit of an awkward staredown, and for a moment Hisan wasn't sure if the woman was going to pass out, attack, or throw up. But one thing was clear; his emergence had startled more than just the kids, and he wasn't one for this 'awkwardness' that humans apparently felt. "Yeahhh... I'm not one for talking either. At least, not to anyone that isn't 'the kid'. So... hold that thought." With another salivating slurp Hisan reached into the burlap sack, removing what looked to be the stomach of a pig before gulping the organ down raw in a matter of moments. He didn't even chew, his throat expanded as the organ slid down his throat.

"Alright, now i'm gonna go. Nice ta meetchya woman." And then, just as quickly as Hisan manifested, the red flesh that made up the creature receded within Ryu's pores. His body shrunk, a few bones popped into different places, and before she knew it the short Ryu stood before her again, a small dribble of blood on his chin, which he promptly wiped away with a bit of his cloak. "I uh... didn't mean for that to happen. But hey, it worked right? Lemme get you back to my grandmother, Baba is an amazing medic. She can patch you up way better than Hisan ever could." The creature scoffed in Ryu's mind, but he had scarred Asami enough as it was. She didn't need to hear any more from the creature within Ryu.

[Willoria]

Asami simply watched in silence as the creature spoke to her, and even as he consumed another piece of raw meat or organ. She really wasn't entirely sure what it was the thing ate, but watching Ryu transform back seemed to be the last thing she could handle. She hardly heard what was said but suddenly her body buckled as she doubled over and vomited onto the ground at her own feet. It took her a few moments and a few coughs before she was able to wipe her mouth with the back of her hand and tried to straighten up. "Uh... sorry." she said quietly, clearing her throat as she looked at him a moment.

"Your grandma huh?" It had taken her a few minutes to remember just what was said, but eventually it came back to her. "That thing... healed me..." She took a deep breath and let it out slow, shaking her head. "That's.... alright then." She thought about turning down Ryu's offer, but when she reached up a hand to run it through her hair, she was suddenly reminded of the blood on her head and she sighed once more. "Alright... lead the way."

[TyDie]

Ryu visibly winced as the woman finally had all she could handle, spilling the contents of her own stomach along the ground at her feet. "Yeahhh... That's a normal reaction to Hisan. Let's get you to Baba, that might also be a sign of concussion." Ryu let her regain herself, and once ready, he extended his left hand to her to lead her along while he reached down with his right to pick up the sack of meat. "Sorry, it's fresh stuff at least. No odor. Hisan only likes the fresh stuff. Much to my dismay... I can't even stand cooked food anymore. It's terrible." It was clear that Ryu and Hisan definitely had different tastes, but given that Hisan was the hungrier of the two, it usually got dibs on what kind of food they partook of. Which meant like, 95% raw meat and 5% bone marrow.

As Ryu took the woman by the hand, he'd make sure to take the quickest route through the village that he could. His house was just around the corner thankfully, but that corner had a few back alleys to travel down. "Heal... isn't the right phrasing. it's more like he just plugged the hole in your side, to keep your insides on the inside. But you're still bleeding, and baba can fix that. Truth be told though, i'm surprised you haven't run off yet. you're only like, the 5th person to meet Hisan face to face, and most of the others ran. Maybe you're just not up to running yet, huh?" He chuckled to himself as they made their way, Ryu turning to make sure Asami was still conscious from time to time. She took more than deadly hit, and still she was able to walk. That alone was a testament to her physical strength, but Ryu wasn't blind either. she was struggling, and she wasn't much older or stronger than he was. She had a limit; he only hoped she would hold out long enough to make it to his grandparent's home.

[Willoria]

"Yeah... I don't think a concussion is out of the question." Asami admitted grumpily, some part of her hoping that was really the issue and that she didn't have such a weak stomach as to be unable to deal with Hisan. The creature was strange and grotesque, but Kiri was filled with such things. As Ryu offered his hand, Asami took it without much thought. It didn't even hit her that she hadn't really held hands with anyone since her parents had died. She shook her head as Ryu explained the meat, and his change in appetite. "Must be hard to cope with." she admitted. "Most bad days, at least for me, can be fixed with a good drink and a decent bite of food. I can't imagine being forced to eat things like that for the rest of my life, and not even enjoy it..."

She honestly had questions, things she wanted to ask him, but for now the girl buried them as he went on to explain what he had done to 'heal' her. "Makes sense... gross but makes sense. So long as I don't end up with something like him in me too we're good." she joked, chuckling lightly before going into a coughing fit. She could taste blood in her mouth again, causing her to sigh rather heavily, even as she was asked if she wasn't up for running yet. "Honestly Hisan isn't the strangest thing I've seen... or at least, it doesn't seem to be after me. Which is a nice change of pace if anything. Pretty sure Shinji-Shithead wants me dead, him and that genma in him."

[TyDie]

Ryu held Asami's hand rather tightly as they walked through the village, mostly because he wanted to be sure the woman wasn't about to tip over, lose her footing, or pass the hell out as she walked. She turned the attention back to Ryu's relationship with Hisan, while also putting a thinly veiled comment about her own concerns regarding the creature's fragment within her. "Yeah... living with this bastard has proven to be hellish, but everything has it's benefits. We try to focus on the positives over the negatives, but sometimes it's hard to tell when one begins and the other ends. The longer we spend together, the more 'together' we become." Ryu paused a moment in his step as he realized that he hadn't told anyone the depth of the connection to Hisan; not even his sister. He wasn't sure if he liked that or not, but something about Asami made him want to divulge everything to her. It was like he could already confide in her... maybe it was because she was injured?

Who knew? Certainly not him.

"As for you... I'm certain your safe. From what I can gather, Hisan is one of a kind. That little chunk of himself will wither and die in a few hours, and he'll pull more energy and mass from me to replace it." He looked back to her and smiled as he rounded one last corner and strode down a residential street with her close behind him. Before long, a nice, large building would appear before them, with a walk up porch that lead to a dark wooden door. "Alright, lets get you inside..." Ryu would open the door without a knock, leading into a small entryway. Normally he'd kick off his shoes but he was more worried about Asami right now. leading past the entryway was a small hallway. To the left of that hallway was the kitchen, and to the right a dining room, while the far end opened up into a spacious living room. On the other side of the living room were sliding glass doors that revealed the back yard, complete with a small koi pond and a large cherry blossom tree. And back there, Kazuki Yoshiko immediately noticed Ryu and his new 'friend', striding along the wet grass of their back yard and slipping inside elegantly, yet purposefully. "Haa... Why is it every time you come home with someone new, they're bleeding Ryu?"

Yoshiko's eyes studied Asami while she spoke to her grandson, who became quickly indignant. "Hey, I didn't cause any problems! Not this time anyway..." Yoshiko's eyes darted to Ryu as he made his little quip, but she saw the honesty in his eyes and let out another sigh. "Well, we'll get acquainted while I take care of you. This way Ryu." Yoshiko would lead the way back down another small hallway to the right of the living room, and Ryu would look back to Asami as he aimed to lead her down behind his grandmother. "She's good. Promise."

[Willoria]

The house was unlike anything Asami had seen before. Most of her life she'd grown up in the slums, staying in the same small apartment her parents had lived in once. Only recently had she started putting together money to move out, and walking into Ryu's house was quite a shock. 'Guess name and status has some benefits after all...' she thought to herself, looking around in surprise as she walked into the home with Ryu. As they met his grandmother, Asami was again struck with something akin to awe. The woman was elegant in every way, perhaps what most would assume a woman should be but for Asami it was a bit of a shock. After all, her 'raising' hadn't included an adult in a very long time. She shook her head as Ryu said he hadn't been the one to cause trouble and she quickly spoke up. "It's true, he actually kept me from getting beat worse..." she said, almost literally biting her tongue as her words trailed off.

The girl was prone to vulgarity and suddenly she felt embarrassed by that. Standing before a woman so elegant left her wondering how to actually express herself. She looked over at Ryu as she was led by him down the hallway behind his grandmother and she didn't even realize she was starting to blush a bit. "You realize you've brought home the equivalent of a stray mutt with fleas and rabies, right, kid?" she asked, still trying to get over the shock of everything she was seeing. She wasn't sure exactly what she had been expecting when Ryu said he was taking her to his grandmother, but the entire thing was a culture shock to Asami. In the slums and alleys, even when she was getting her ass handed to her on a regular basis, she felt like she belonged. But here? Here she wasn't just a stranger, she felt like a steaming pile of shit on an ornate white rug.

[TyDie]

Ryu grinned at Yoshiko as Asami corroborated his story, even going as far as to say that Ryu had kept the situation from getting worse. "Well color me surprised, usually the boy is known for being brought home by some chuunin or higher with claims of picking fights. I never expected i'd see the day that he de escalated one." Yoshiko winked at Ryu in playful jest, and Ryu frumped in response, letting out a small 'hmph' as if he was offended by the woman's remarks. Once Yoshiko had walked down the hallway, Ryu whispered to Asami with a chuckle. "Heh, she might look like she's in her 30s but there's a reason I call her 'baba'. Yoshiko is over 60 years old, but that should show you how good she is. I heard her Iijutsu skills keep her looking young."

"Are you done with your whispering, child? I do believe this woman's needs are more urgent than your rumor mill." Ryu practically froze as Yoshiko made clear she may not have heard what he said, but she knew he had said something. "C-coming Baba." Ryu stammered over himself as he took Asami by the hand and led her into a room towards the end of the hall. It looked like a patient care room, like one might see at a hospital, though it wasn't nearly as well stocked as a true hospital room. But there was a bed that could be moved as needed, an overhead light, and shelves stocked with various basic needs of the medical trade. "Alright, get on the bed, let me have a look at you." Yoshiko smiled warmly at the young woman as she ushered her towards the bed.

"Now, I can tell you don't bear the same pedigree as us child. I want you to know, it's quite alright. Raising the former Overseer and his children has hardened me to whatever vulgarity might find it's way out of your mouth. Plus, there is catharsis in the use of such words, especially in pain. Do whatever you must to comfort yourself... even if it makes my ears turn red." Yoshiko chuckled as she tried to put the woman at ease, as it wasn't hard to see that Asami felt like a fish out of water here in Yoshiko's home. But once she had laid down in the bed, Yoshiko could begin the process of figuring out what was going on, and how best to fix it.

[Willoria]

Asami was giving Ryu a strange look as he spoke of his grandma's abilities in Iijutsu and her visual youth. She thought about asking him if he realized she could probably hear him, he didn't seem very good at whispering, but as if on cue the woman spoke up and Asami couldn't help a snort of a laugh. "Busted." she told Ryu in her normal quiet voice, which was barely above a whisper itself. She allowed herself to be led into the medical room, eyes wide as she saw it all. To them it might not have seemed like much, but to Asami this was better than what she was accustomed to. "Wow... the slums would probably kill for access to a room like this..." she muttered, remembering how many times she'd wound up in a room full of fellow patients and barely competent medics, stripped down for healing.

Though as Yoshiko spoke, addressing Asami's uncouth upbringing, she couldn't help a deep blush. 'She might as well just say I'm the filthy heathen in the room...' she thought to herself, sighing as Yoshiko told her to get on the bed. Without much thought, and being used to a certain lack of privacy, Asami pulled her shirt off before getting on the bed. This left her still in a sports bra to cover herself but showed off her wounds and gave better access. In addition to the cuts on her face and the wound in her side however, there was a still fairly fresh and barely healed wound on her chest. Extending from her left clavicle and across down to her right ribs were three or four claw marks. There were also several areas of week old bruising over fractured ribs on her back where they would have connected to her spine in the back. These older wounds of course were the result of her encounter with Karagata Shinjiro.

[TyDie]

Yoshiko hummed to herself in thought while Asami got herself ready, the woman's back was turned to the girl as she stripped. Meanwhile, Ryu wasn't expecting that at all, and when she took the shirt off, Ryu was immediately shocked. Not by the nudity though, that didn't even register to him at first. It was more the gigantic wound across her chest, vicious claw marks not unlike that of a ruthless animal. And almost immediately, he had an idea of who had inflicted it. "Shinjiro did that... didn't he?" Yoshiko turned as Ryu spoke and realized immediately how severe those wounds were. "Goodness girl, that wound is grisly. Who or what on earth inflicted it? I can cure it of course, just like I can cure that kunai wound in your ribs. One moment."

Yoshiko's hands began to glow green in an instant, her superb chakra control allowing her to use iijutsu without a single hand seal. Immediately upon pressing her hands to Yoshiko's stomach, Yoshiko winced. "So many bruises and breaks, improperly healed. You bear the body of a woman twice your age... I'll have to perform long term care to really fix all of this damage, but none of this is beyond fixing. Just, there's so much..." When Yoshiko removed her hands from Asami, she looked to her and then to Ryu, who had taken to staring without realizing it. "Ryu, show some respect! Goodness me, you've never been the type to gawk." Ryu, who hadn't even realized his staring, shirked away flabbergasted and stammered as he left the room, bumping in to the doorframe on the way out with a heavy 'THUD'.

Yoshiko laughed to herself while she moved to the door and shut it behind Ryu. "That boy really is the spitting image of my son... It's scary, actually. But lets get back to you, Asami. That wound on your chest is especially troubling. It's infected actually, i suspect you've been pouring the alcohol in the wrong place; it does little good in your stomach and liver." She began to chide the young girl for her underage drinking, knowing full well the signs of minor liver damage as a result of alcohol. "Regardless... If you would like, I can mend all of your old breaks, contusions, and of course cuts and stabs. I suspect however, you're one of those who likes your scars, aren't you? Call it intuition, but you strike me as that kind of Kirigakure ninja; the one who takes pride in their wounds as if they tell some story of greatness." Yoshiko couldn't really help but to make these assumptions, especially after the woman had mentioned hailing from the slums. Ryu really had brought home a stray, hadn't he? But even Ryu had a sense of intuition, especially in relation to people; there must have been some reason why he took an interest in her, aside from her obvious career as a shinobi. Yoshiko would find out what that was eventually; she was tough as nails on the outside, but she clearly lacked any kind of upbringing or friendship...

[Willoria]

Not many things made Asami blush, but as Ryu asked about the wound on her chest she did blush a bit. It wasn't the wound that bothered her per se, but the circumstances that surrounded its infliction. "Yeah, it was Shinjiro." she said quietly, reaching up a hand to awkwardly scratch the back of her head. "I'm pretty fucking good at goading people and I seem to be especially good at getting the worst reactions out of him. It took him awhile to find something that scared me, and when he finally did, he was like a dog with a bone." Her nose wrinkled up a bit, not wanting to admit to Ryu what that actually was, for a multitude of reasons. The chief of which was the fact that he struck her as a protective sort, and the last thing she wanted was to send someone after the genma host on her behalf, intentionally or not.

Thankfully her mood wouldn't stay low for long, before long she heard Yoshiko chide Ryu and looked up in time to see him run into the door. She couldn't help a snort of a laugh, covering her mouth a moment to recompose herself as the other woman worked on healing her. She grimaced as the woman worked, some discomfort coming with the healing of course. She looked at the other woman a moment and shook her head. "I want to keep the scars but not for some stupid foolish notion of glory. As far as I'm concerned glory doesn't exist in this world. That's a lie they tell people my age so that they'll sacrifice themselves." she said almost coldly, shaking her head again. "No, this is what members of the main family do to people like me. We're playthings and practice dummies at best. I need to remember that."

[TyDie]

Yoshiko clicked her tongue in annoyance as she heard the woman confirm Ryu's concern; So the Genma host had gotten rough with this one? "Hmm... This is the first time I've treated a wound doled out by Vorashu's host. I hope it won't prove to be too different from a typical laceration..." Yoshiko was already in the process of some light healing, dealing with the Kunai wound first as her hand began to glow with healing chakra. Slowly but surely the wound left in her ribs began to mend, the trickle of blood that was still making it's way out of her open wound ceasing after a few moments. "The immediate threat is dealt with now. I'll take a few moments now to regenerate some of your blood, you'll feel tired at first as I cause your body to ramp up it's hemoglobin production but it will pass as your blood oxygen levels rise."

Yoshiko would then begin to restore the woman's blood supply, but she had lost quite a bit so this was going to be a while. However, it would give her more time to figure out what made this girl tick. "Glory does exist, child. Just not in the way that you've been taught. What i'm doing right now, saving a life... I find glory in this work." Yoshiko let out a small sigh as she spoke, shaking her head before expounding. "This village has been amazing, but there are times where I disagree with the ways of the military. The brutality, the violence, the treatment of those less fortunate. I guess you could say that I've softened in my retirement, heh... In the end, all of the fighting just leaves me with more work to do. And the main members of your family are some of the worst when it comes to giving me more work."

She made clear it wasn't Asami that she blamed for this, or at least she tried to, but Yoshiko was jaded at this point. So much strife she had seen over the years, even her own son had fallen victim to it.

[Willoria]

Asami blinked a moment as Yoshiko referred to Vorashu. She had intentionally not mentioned Shinji being a genma host but in hindsight it seemed like a stupid precaution to take. Everyone in the village knew who he was and what was in him. It seemed dumb to hold that back. Sighing, she pushed her thoughts back as she let Yoshiko do her work, hardly doing more than making a bit of a face when it hurt. As Yoshiko explained what she was doing next, Asami simply nodded. "Maybe I should come to you more often..." she muttered, chuckling to herself. "The clinic in the slums is just full of fucking butchers."

Asami frowned as Yoshiko spoke on glory, shaking her head lightly. "Violence is about all I know." she admitted quietly. "My parents were just dock workers, did everything they could to stay under the radar. But one day they crossed the wrong person in the main family and were murdered in the streets." Asami shook her head again, looking down rather than up at Yoshiko's face. "Ever since every day has been a fight to stay alive. Even going to the academy was just supposed to be a way to get me killed by my peers. No one thought I'd survive." She sighed to herself. "There won't be a chance for glory for someone like me. If I'm lucky I can make myself a decent assassin or something, just to have a function here."

[TyDie]

Yoshiko chuckled as she continued to funnel healing chakra through Asami's body, ramping up her body's blood production with chakra stimulation. "Tch, they're not medics Asami. I'd be willing to bet half of them have no idea what they're doing. You're much better off coming to me, and i'm happy to help. It's one of the few purposes in my life that I still have." After a few more moments of maintaining the Blood Production technique she was using, Yoshiko lifted her glowing hand from Asami's stomach and an instant later, her hand stopped glowing. "It's a start at least. I don't want to push your body too hard, you may be tough but this is a different kind of drain."

Yoshiko smiled down at the young girl in the bed before walking towards the foot of the bed, where there was a small supply closet. "Ryu! Water basin and a cloth please?" As she spoke, she produced a red blanket from the closet and used it to cover the girl's body, not only to keep her warm but to make her decent. A few moments later, Ryu walked into the room with a large metal bowl of water and a washcloth in hand. "Here Baba. How is she?" The young boy was clearly concerned about Asami's well being, but Yoshiko gave a small nod and a smile. "She'll be okay Ryu. It might take a few weeks, but all of this is manageable. I'm going to go prepare some medicine that will ease your pain and promote this healing. Ryu, can you keep your eyes on the task and not the girl's body? I need you to clean up the dried blood and dirt."

Ryu stammered for a few moments, both embarrassed that Yoshiko would think that of him... and bashful about looking at Asami's body. But eventually he steeled himself and frowned at his grandmother, setting the basin down on a nearby table and crossing his arms. "Of course I can! God Baba, my hormones don't rule me." The woman grinned and chuckled at Ryu as she walked past her to Asami's bedside again, running a hand gently through her matted hair if Asami would allow it. "You're thirteen Ryu. Don't lie to me." Ryu rolled his eyes and grumbled under his breath, while Yoshiko looked at Asami and winked with a grin. "You know... Violence is all you know, but you're still young Asami. You could learn more. I... could teach you more." She didn't wait for a response from Asami, instead turning to head for the door and speaking only as she was about to leave the room. "Think about it. I'm going to prepare the medication."

Once Yoshiko was gone, Ryu finally let out a deep breath he had been holding for a few moments, letting go of his frustration while he dipped the washcloth in the basin of water. "Here. Lets get rid of that dried blood your side first. Just uh... keep yourself covered by the blanket. No need to expose anything unnecessary." A small blush formed across Ryu's face as he wrung out the washcloth and waited for Asami to do as he asked. It was pretty evident that despite what he had said to Yoshiko, he wasn't at all comfortable in this position.

[Willoria]

Asami's eyebrow quirked as Yoshiko mentioned the 'only purpose she had left'. She knew of course that the former Overseer was her son, and that he had died, but she was suddenly realizing she had never really thought about the man as a son. The village had mourned but his family had been hurt so much worse. Remembering what it was like to lose her own parents at such a young age she suddenly came to realize just how much she and Ryu had in common. But she didn't say a word. Empathy, kind words, these were things that hand never been Asami's strong suit, and even thinking of them made her feel awkward as hell. She left the subject along and instead remained quiet as Yoshiko worked on her. Of course as she summoned Ryu and even mentioned his hormones the young woman couldn't help a small snort of a laugh, which she quickly covered with a cough.

Though she was still smirking as she listened to the conversation between the two. She was surprised when Yoshiko spoke to her again, a confused look crossing her face as the older woman left the room and for a moment Asami felt completely dense as she tried to think just what she had meant by that. Ryu's remarks drew her attention and she smirked at him again, shaking her head. "Honestly it's not a big deal, Ryu." she said, shifting the blanket to give him access to the healing wound on her side, though not revealing much else simply because it had been his request. "A body is just flesh, blood, bones, and organs. It's hardly worth being embarrassed over." she added, turning her head to look at him.