Everything has a price

[Trusted Grader]

The doors to the main hospital burst open, shocking the citizens within the hospital, staff was quick to rise and rush towards Yuuto who pushed a gurney. "I need a doctor! This man needs medical attention now!" Yuuto's voice boomed through the hospital, the gentle spirit wasn't the type to raise his voice, guess the adrenaline and the thought of losing his mentor pushed him over the limit.

His hands were focused on his body, not knowing exactly what he was doing but desperately trying something the Karagata channeled chakra through his wounds, he had already cast a genjutsu to help soothe the pain but if he didn't find a way to stop the actual bleed out then there was a chance that they could lose Mondai, seal or not.

He had seen other ninjas do this and his blood was healing of sorts, besides, his Ninshu had been able to heal himself, perhaps he could heal others with it as well? He hadn't reached that level but he figured if he focused on that now as best as he could then perhaps he could push it out of himself. Stay strong Mondai, we are almost there now, just a little bit more and the doctors will help you. Yuuto continued to pour chakra into his wounds, it was a bit haphazardly but in all fairness, he was extremely agitated and desperate.

His heart was racing, yet his sword wasn't in his hands, he was sweating, yet he never sweats. It's the same feeling I get when I am near that monster. Yuuto wasn't one that usually felt fear, but the thought of Mondai perishing caused a ripple to shoot through the Karagata. "I can't let you die just yet my friend" Yuuto continued deeper into the hospital, staff would quickly surrounded him as they began to take over for him.

With a deep breath, the bloodied Karagata leaned against the sterile wall before he slowly slid down to sit on the cold ground, tears rolled down his cheek as his sniffles began to sound out the room. Stop crying, wimp! He heard the voices of his former bullies, he cared not to wipe his face, instead he pushed his knees closer to his chest and wrapped his arms around them, to box himself in.

Please don't die Mondai! Yuuto could still feel his chakra pouring into the Ninshu that was slowly vanishing, he had no idea if it did anything positive or not, his focus was so set on the black dot in front of him that he hadn't noticed that his cloak was activated, drawing a bit of attention to himself once it kicked in. His mind was all over the place but his heart remained strong, he had to believe.

Yes, Kirigakure had one of the finest doctors around, though he had heard rumors of others out there in the world who perform miracles, alas they weren't around to help him in his dire need, no, he had to find the best doctor his uncle had told him not to go to, Naohiro. Yuuto had hoped that he would catch him in this hospital, for he needed the best help Mondai could get.

Please be around here, I don't know who or where Hideki is and don't have time to go find him. Yuuto prayed as his chakra cloak began to vanish into thin air, he was calming down and re-centering himself, now was not the time for panic, he had done the best he could. One way or the other a doctor would now take care of Mondai, for this was the Central Hospital after all and he was a Seven Swordsmen, so he hoped they'd at least try to respect that, untouchable or not.

---

629/600 +1 Control

[Valkier]

"It is essential in such circumstances to never move the patient before proper assessment can be completed. This is the minimise the risk of damage, potentially severe, to the spinal column." Naohiro's voice cut clearly through the low murmur of chatter in a crowded lecture theatre as he indicated a series of diagrams on a wide board at the front of the room. Most of those present clung to his words, eager to learn from a man of his standing, but his own mind was elsewhere, distracted, while he recited. "See here, the angle of the back, how the body is resting? A simple technique can assess the internal damage and begin recovery, but if it were to be moved by an inexperienced hand like so; now you could be dealing with lasting paralysis. The correct course would—" he hesitated, frowning at a sudden clamour outside the room. "Would be to—" He scowled at the door, and waited for a moment the commotion passed on by. "The traditional approach suggests that one should... Excuse me for a moment, class." Tossing a notebook aside onto a desk, he abruptly swept from the room. Because he recognised that voice: Karagata Yuuto.

He collared a passing staff member right as he left the room, dragging the young man around to report even as he began to channel, promptly sterilising his hands and clothes in preparation for whatever might lie ahead. A moment later he strode down the hallway, scattering nurses and doctors alike as he bore down on the sound of agony. It had been Yuuto's voice before, but these screams weren't his. The figure strapped down on the gurney—with many, many thick bands to resist the obvious strength of his thrashing—was none other than Yugana Mondai, Seventh Sword of the Seven Swordsmen. Most of him, anyway.

Naohiro crouched over the figure and took over the triage. The doctors here knew him, his skills and his standing, and were usually content to let him have his way. Luckily now was no exception; most seemed keen to have him take over, too, given the reputation and position of the patient. Several of his staff spoke at once to him as he worked, each rattling off their assessments and concerns. He muttered a few confirmations or denials as he completed his own examination. Not that it took much of an expert eye; everything below the elbow of Mondai's left arm was gone, save a blackened spar of bone and the shredded strips that were all that remained of Mondai's bicep, hanging like a wet, red flail on the gurney. A severe burn to his right shoulder, the skin around it puckered and raw, seared deep. On his neck, too, where his trachea was barely visible beneath a swelling river of blood. And his right leg was a ruin, separated entirely from his body the shattering of his hip. The more Naohiro looked, the more wounds he saw. Blackened runnels of burned flesh wove all across his body. Cuts, tears, and broken things. It was a wonder he was alive at all.

"This is sloppy work." Naohiro muttered, annoyed at the handiwork of whoever had responded first. He glanced up and across the sea of milling assistants to Yuuto, now sat slumped down beside a nearby wall, tears fresh on his face. He tsk'd and shook his head, then turned back to the body with a curse that told the surrounding staff to give him room, and set to desperate work even as the gurney continued to be pushed into an operating theatre. Naohiro glanced back through the doors as they swung closed.

"You! Karagata!" he shouted over the chaos, "Get over here! What the hell happened?!" He scowled at Yuuto's despondant form as if he were the one responsible, the one who had dared wound Naohiro's patient, instead of the one who had saved his friend and brought delivered him here to receive urgent help. But the scowl and tone also served the additional purpose of masking the fact that he actually knew these two shinobi. Not directly, of course—he'd never personally met either—but few outside this room were aware of the connection. That he'd commissioned them both, through various channels, to carry out his will on the front lines of the defence against the Heart Empire's recent invasion. There they'd performed remarkably, and returned to Kirigakure as heroes. He respected their strength, their ability, if not their families. A Karagata and an Untouchable. A curious pairing. A curious bond.

[Trusted Grader]

Yuuto was deep within his thoughts, all the years he had been in combat meant nothing now that he wasn't the one who was injured, his mind raced a thousand paces per second, shifting from the misty challenge to his allies' haunting screams. Out of all the battles we have been in only another Kiri ninja was able to harm Mondai, only Kozan had managed to mangle him... Kozan... That monster. Yuuto gritted his teeth, white-knuckling his fists in frustration, he wanted to make the Shiimu pay but he knew that there wasn't much he could do because he had officially challenged Mondai and he severely lacked the power to do something about it.

The dripping of his tears would stop the second he heard Naohiro's voice, his head violently swung upwards, his left hand wiped the tears from his welling face, and his right hand pushed himself up to a standing position. "Yessir!" Yuuto walked up to Naohiro and fought the urge to not let despair win, especially not now that they were so close to saving his life.

"Kozan challenged Mondai for his place and..." It was at that moment that Yuuto realized that Kozan had truly won, he had finally put fear in him, the trembling was not only for Mondai's life but Yuuto's, for how could he fight someone that could mangle his mentor like that? I... I can't... Yuuto snapped out of his selfish thoughts and pleaded with his eyes, he didn't know Naohiro but the mission to save Kiri was what had connected the two.

His father had talked about his medical skills as well, which had brought him to his hospital, he had never planned on appearing this pathetic in front of the Aisu but desperate times called for desperate measures. This got Yuuto to think about learning the art of Iijutsu so that he could assist others inside and outside of the battlefield, it would suit the boy's "help everyone" persona but he had been so focused on making his father and uncle proud that he had only ever focused on his swordsman skills, only now that his friend was in danger did he realize how unprepared he was for such situations.

"Now I don't know what to do. Normally it's me but I can just... Please help him." Yuuto was all over the place, which was quite unusual of him, his normally combed hair was in a tangled mess and his pristine white clothes were bloodied, yet here he was, ready to assist in any capacity for he truly wanted his friend to survive. Hang on Mondai! The Karagata looked over at his ally before his sad eyes landed upon Naohiro's cold ones.

Yuuto wasn't used to being this jittery, he took a second to catch himself in order to regain his composure, shame washed over him as he now realized who he was standing in front of and how his behavior must appear in his eyes, Get a hold of yourself. Yuuto pushed his hair from his face as he exhaled.

[Valkier]

Inside the operating theatre, Naohiro and a few select other staff, surgeons and assistants, quickly lifted and moved the unconscious form of Yūgana Mondai to an operating table, and within moments the shreds of his various garments were sliced cleanly away. They split the tasks without a word, two of them immediately beginning to track the man's vital signs—within moments he was intubated, and lines were being connected for emergency transfusions and fluids—even while a third strapped him tightly down and began administering powerful anaethestics. Vain attempts were made to clean and sterilise Mondai's ruined body, but the constant upwelling of blood proved difficult until the shinobi among them brought their iijutsu to bear.

Mondai crashed more than once. He'd technically died twice, brought back through arduous resuscitative techniques, before he finally began to stabilise in the most optimistic interpretation of the word. The worst open wounds were staunched and covered, the more severe internal injuries hastily chakra-stitched and held together for the time being. It was here that Naohiro finally hesitated, pausing with one hand still holding closed the shredded remnants of Mondai's femoral artery. Seeing this, the other staff froze, watching him, waiting. A quick tilt of the head, and they bowed and stepped away, leaving the room. They knew to be ready to charge back in at a moment's notice, should he need them.

"He lost, then." Naohiro spoke to Yuuto in the silence that followed, the only figure still left in the room besides himself and the unconscious form of the once-swordsman. A statement, not a question. Nao turned his head to look at Yuuto, eyes boring into the young Karagata from above a surgical mask. "I understand such duels among the Seven are a matter of honour and pride, not just martial prowess. Answer truthfully, Yuuto: Does he want to be saved? Not what you want, but him. I will not waste resources and time on a man who has resigned himself to his circumstances. Will he continue to fight to live, if I save him?" He made it sound like a sure thing, despite the shroud of Mondai's blood staining his clothes and arms. It might be a close thing, even with the strongest will to survive.

Jutsu Used...Show

[Iijutsu • Sterilization Technique]
D-Rank Ninjutsu
The user will channel iijutsu chakra throughout their body at [Control] speed. This chakra will chew away at harmful bacteria and other foreign bodies on the skin, cleansing it until it is thoroughly sterile, and can be spread to objects such as surgical tools or clothing. Users of this technique can additionally choose to sterilize the bodies or wounds of target instead. Once they are sanitized, they remain this way until coming in contact with more bacteria.

*[Iijutsu • Blood Clot Technique]
D-Rank Ninjutsu
After focusing chakra into their hands, the user will hover them over the bleeding wound and begin to channel chakra through it. The chakra will began to thicken the blood, causing it to clot at [Control] Speed. Wounds can be dealt with one limb at a time and the number of wounds that can be tended to within the three (3) posts that this technique lasts depends on their size. Although this technique stops the bleeding, the wound remains vulnerable and will require further care after this has been performed.

*[Iijutsu • CPR]
D-Rank Ninjutsu
After focusing chakra into the hands, the user will place both over the target's chest or back. By allowing the chakra to be channeled throughout the lungs and up through the air ways, any unseen, solid or liquid obstructions will be cleared from these passages and ejected through the mouth, allowing the patient to breathe more easily. Additionally, the hands can be placed over the heart to stimulate it as if it was manually receiving CPR.

*[Iijutsu • Chakra Stitching]
C-Rank Ninjutsu
The user performs a short set of hand seals and then will gently place their index finger at the base of the patient's wound. Once this is done, the user will lift their finger and touch it to the other side of the wound, causing a visible 'stitch' of chakra to appear and hold the wound together with [Control] Strength. This is repeated until the wound has been pulled together. Actions performed with more [Strength] or [Speed] than the [Control] used to create the stitch will destroy it.

*[Iijutsu • Blood Transfer Technique]
C-Rank Ninjutsu
The user must make small incisions into the patient and donors' bodies to open a vein. Once the vein has been opened, the user will begin to channel chakra into the donor and the patient at [Control] Speed. The patient's blood pressure will increase and stabilize itself while the donors blood pressure will decrease due to the transfer of blood. No more than 1 liter (2 pints) of blood can be transferred using this technique without repercussions such as fainting, loss of sensation, anemia, and death. In the event a donor is not available, the user may act as the donor. This also acts to allow the donor and patient to be a synthetic match so as to not send the patient into shock. This technique does not transfer KKG permanent or otherwise to the patient.

[Trusted Grader]

The boy shook like a leaf attached to a dying tree, his stained clothes danced as his body vibrated out of pure adrenaline and fear, the shivering child made so much noise from his metal clanking that he knew that it was best for him to remove his gear, seeing as the doctors and nurses needed every bit of concentration to keep his friend alive. All the while the professionals were focused on their talents, the boy studied their movements, especially their hands how they were glowing with green chakra, he wasn't able to tell what they were exactly doing but was able to deduce some of the actions due to his rigorous reading.

Needless to say, he was both impressed and stunned by the amount of work it took to heal someone when the opposite could be applied to a being in mere seconds, this made the challenge all the wilder for the Karagata, what was the purpose of training a ninja to protect the village if you can just end up being killed by one of your own? His father had tried to explain the logic to him multiple times but he never understood how that would yield better soldiers and not traumatized warriors who didn't even trust that their allies would be there for them.

Please hang in there. Yuuto's facial expression was still frozen and carrying the same expression, that of dread. One would think that the pain of watching your brother die in front of you twice would be enough pain for one teenager to handle, so this day was starting to become an exceptionally testing one, once he heard Naohiro speak once again and took note of the other staff members leaving the room, he knew that something was up and the more Naohiro spoke, the harder he began to shake, his mind almost went blank as he started to panic.

Did Mondai really want to live? Hadn't his life been harsh enough as it is? Yuuto recalled how devastated his friend was when his father had perished, how it had greatly affected him to the point of him not taking his training seriously. He recalled their time fighting against Heart, how they pushed their enemies out of the oasis, how they fought freaking dinosaurs together but it all culminated in the first time they were practicing together and Chiane jumped them, it had been Mondai's idea to join the Seven Swordsmen and Shiv's ingenuity to team the two together, a pair up that worked wonders for them, until Naohiro asked Yuuto a very important question.

Did Mondai want to live or was it Yuuto's unwillingness to let his friend go? Which is it!? Am I being selfish or... Yuuto couldn't decide and for every passing breath it felt like Mondai was edging closer to the finish line, so he did what had to and that was the one thing he hated to do, lie. "Yes, he wants to serve Kirigakure as best he can and won't be able to do it beyond the grave!" Yuuto coldly shifted his gaze from Mondai to Naohiro, he stopped shaking as he spoke for he knew how important it was that he sold the idea, for the truth was that he didn't know if he wanted to live or not but seeing as Yuuto was ultimately left with the choice of living or dying then he would always choose living for there was no redemption for the dead.