The bleeding would not stop. The cut was deep; cutting through flesh and muscle. Blood was draining from this shinobi's leg. He was losing blood fast. It made her wonder how this young man had not gone into shock yet. Whatever weapon made this wound, it had cut through the main femoral artery. Time was a factor in survival. If she did not act fast, this young man would die. She could not lose another patient. She just had to save a life, even if it cost her many things.
The young man was becoming pale as she tried to tighten the tourniquet to keep the wound from bleeding any further. In all the chaos, she had to make sure he was responsive or breathing, but there seemed to not be any movement from the shinobi. His pulse was faint. She shouted over her shoulder to one of the other healers as she had her hands on the man's thigh to apply pressure since the tourniquet seemed to not be working. This man was fighting for his life she noticed. It might have been another reason why he did not scream or beg to die. He might be reserving all his strength for recovering. A fighter usually has a chance- if the Gods favored them. She knew to well and seen wounds that caused limbs to be amputated.
Through all the struggle, he was dead.
There was nothing more that could be done. His pulse was not present, no breathing, and the bleeding from his wound continued. Her lips quivered with teeth chattering out of her frustration. She slammed her hands on the table causing those around her to jump. She shouted and cursed with tears streaming down her cheeks. Another one. She thought to herself. Another one!
"Lady Tsubaki, there was nothing we could do to save him. The wound was too deep and…" One healer spoke.
She was not having any of it. Her anger, her hard work, all wasted trying to save a life. No reassuring words could keep the anger from her eyes.
"I saw it myself. We could have saved his life if the herbs to stop the bleeding would have worked but…" She clenched her hands. This was a losing battle for her. While the war raged on by the two clans, many young shinobi would come to her for aid.
But death was never kind to a healer.
"Ami, go and clean yourself. Get some good while you're doing so." Tsubaki said, wiping her hands on her clothing already covered in dried blood. "The rest of you will bury the body once you all cleaned yourselves."
Ami nodded her head along with the others. Tsubaki knew they were tired and wanted to be home with their families, so she had to calm herself. It was something to take a break before the ordeal of burying another body. Tsubaki noticed that Ami walked to one of the tables where white linen was stacked. She took one in her hands and walked over to the young man's body to cover. Tsubaki closed her eyes feeling the fatigue in her body. This is the fourth death this week. She thought to herself.
"Lady Tsubaki?" She opened her eyes to her name. Ami had already left, but there were three women inside looking at her with worry in their eyes. Tsubaki gave a weak smile towards them for reassurance.
"Go. I know you need clean up and I will be fine." They seemed satisfied with her answer and left her to her musings. The still silence was a relief for her.
She looked towards the body of the dead young shinobi. Such a shame to have a life wasted. He was a cute kid in her eyes, but she did her best to keep him from crossing over to the land of the dead. Bowing her head towards the still body, she offered a small prayer to his passing.
Outside, the area was littered with shinobi in blood tattered wraps. Some missing body limbs, others facing life of hopelessness, and others holding on to something that may never be. Her village was a refuge for the wounded of the war. It seemed every day there was a funeral with fresh new graves being dug. The air smelled of death and soon, the war would come to their village of it wasn't already there. For too long, she has tended to the wounded. Nice young shinobi who found Tsubaki to be their saving grace from death. Sadly, not many would survive the night after she tried to clean their wounds. There was just some cuts that could not heal.
When Tsubaki gathered her thoughts she called for a few men to go and bury the body of the young shinobi. Another funeral, another grave of someones loved one.
She breathed in the air that the wind blew. Her face caked in specks of blood, but her arms and hands were the worst. She looked as if she had paint spilled on her and her clothing wasn't any better. She had to go back to her home to get away from the death that seemed to plague her village. She did not want to be bothered. Tsubaki wanted to be alone with her thoughts. She wanted to get the blood off of her and change into fresh cloths. But, as a healer in her village she had to tend to the shinobi.
If only I had one day of peace. She walked through the village where people were staring at her. She was too tired to make conversation or hide the blood, but it was rather noticeable on her anyhow. She knew not to go too far from the wounded and luckily she had her home near them for if they ever need assistance she was there.
Tsubaki wasn't the only healer within her home. Her mentor: old lady Tokiko was there also tending to the wounded. She would tend to them while Tsubaki was away for the meantime. The Gods favored her today. Only ten shinobi were in need of intensive care rather then a while army. Tsubaki would have to pray for her thanks later and offer something for the good fortune.
When Tsubaki reached the end of the village, she could hear a small stream nearby. Walking towards it through a small clearing, she bent down to see her reflection in the mirror. Tsubaki was just twenty-three years of age. Her long black hair was tied up and her green eyes looked to her hands. Since she was here she might as well clean herself up.
The peace was what she needed after having to deal with death. Saving the lives of people was no easy task for her. She had a small amount of chakra, but was no warrior. Tsubaki only had her knowledge of healing and caring for the patient to make death painless. Tokiko had taught a young Tsubaki that when a patient is close to death, talk to them. Get the patient to talk of happy times. Memories seemed to make the patient feel at ease.
She sighed as she tried to scrub the color off her tanned skin. It wasn't coming off easily unless she took a proper bath. Even her clothing would have to be beat to get all the blood from every little fiber. If there one thing she did not like about being a healer was having to scrub and buy new clothing because of the stains.
Tsubaki began to wash her face until she heard something in the distance. She gasped loudly when she saw three men in-front of her. Two of them bloody with cuts that could easily heal, but it was the third man she noticed that seemed to be in the worse condition. She noticed how long the unconscious man hair was. It was almost touching the dirt, she added. But these men looked menacing. Tsubaki noticed their clan symbol and had to remember that most of the wounded in her village held that same symbol. Her heart was pounding loudly against her chest and her mouth went dry when she remembered.
The two men noticed the young woman was covered in blood, but could not sense very much chakra on her. "Are you the healer woman of this village?" one of the men asked.
Tsubaki noticed that her hands were quivering from the nerves. She stood up quickly when asked by one of the men and ran towards them to make sure that the unconscious man that they held had no serious injuries. The two men held out kunais to keep Tsubaki at bay.
"I am no threat and yes I am a healer. I just need to check on him to make sure that he is in no serious pain." She said.
"You are not going to seriously treat him out here?" Tsubaki would had slapped the shinobi for the stupid question, but held back from doing so.
"No, but it is best to make sure there are no hidden wounds. He could have serious internal injuries that require treatment. Quickly, let's go to my hut. We have other wounded there." She said as she was trying to find any mortal wounds on the man's body. She grunted loudly as it was hard to tell with his armor. One thing Tsubaki noticed was how handsome this shinobi was, but kept the thought in the back of her mind.
She had a life that needed to be saved.