Chappie Eleven:Good Luck

"It's the strangest thing I've ever heard of, sir. I don't understand how it is possible for her to be alive right now without chakra!" exclaims Otoha-san. "Rie-sama has assigned a twelve-man rotational cycle to keep the poor girl receiving chakra. We only have apprentices and starting medics on the case, since the patient doesn't have any specific or life-threatening injuries, but even inexperienced medic nin and nurses are a valued asset to the hospital. I've heard Rie-sama complain about how frustrating it is to be using resources on something this silly."

Otoha-san bites her lip in subtle disagreement. "I can't help but think about how awful it is for her to say that. I understand that as a hospital we have to prioritize our patients, but I became a nurse because I wanted to save as many people as I could. Even the life of a disabled foreigner is important to me. And I can't deny that I find it interesting how she has survived over a decade without a single drop of chakra in her system. Amazing, isn't it?"

Shikaku nods in agreement with the nurse while his gaze fixes upon the patient. The patient-young teens, female, no physical indications of kunoichi training-lays still on a hospital bed, pale and unconscious. She looks to be halfway through the Shinigami's front door. Shikaku sucks air through his teeth as he turns around and saunters away from the hospital room.

"Troublesome."

"I pity her." Inoichi says later that morning, staring sadly at the sickly figure resting upon the bed.

Shikaku leans against the wall, focusing his eyes away from the patient and instead onto his lifelong friend. "Hokage-sama won't be happy to hear about you being here." He can see the edge of Genma's open-toe sandals hanging just below the window's top sill. The tokubetsu jounin is probably using chakra to vertically relax on the brick walls. Even on the guard duty, that tokujo somehow manages to always come across as if without a care in the world. The Nara in Shikaku silently applauds it.

Inoichi's eyebrows lower. "I'm here strictly as a visitor. I know I'm off the case, and I won't ask you, or anyone else, for details, nor will I impede any investigations you, or anyone else, make. I understand that my actions prior to my dismissal proved that I was incapable of objectively handling this case, and I am always liable for my actions. As Head of my clan, that is my responsibility. That being said, I acknowledge my emotional involvement towards this patient, and I know that I must do everything I can to help her, even if it is simply staying by her side while she struggles to live."

Shikaku wisely does not comment on Inoichi's illogical support of a random foreigner.

Inoichi sighs and rubs his forehead, resting his elbows on the chair's handrests. "Ask away, Shikaku."

"What can you tell me about the subject's state of mind?" inquires Shikaku.

"Her mind is strange. It's vastly different than any I've encountered before. I wonder if that's because she's from a different world," muses Inoichi. "I wasn't able to deduce anything significant about her personality, other than she has a very strange mental image of herself, and she seems to value knowledge and family more than almost anything else. The vagueness of her memories, the momentary lapses in clarity, the disrupted flow of consciousness, and the collapse of her mind didn't exactly help me."

Shikaku rolls his head, trying to work out a twinge of pain in his right shoulder. "I thought maybe she used some sort of jutsu to trick you in her mindscape, but with this latest information… What a troublesome situation. I wonder if her lack of chakra has anything to do with the interference you experienced when you used your jutsu."

"It's because she's dying," Inoichi states bluntly. "My theory is that although her world doesn't need chakra to function, ours does. Everything in the Elemental Nations has chakra, even the air itself. Therefore, it makes sense that something without chakra can't exist."

Shikaku mulls that over for a minute, then leaves the room with a quiet sigh of, "That's such a drag to think about."

Shikaku stands upright on the hospital's brick walls, chakra allowing him to stay upright even though he is now parallel to the ground. Genma lays before the Nara's feet, also using chakra to stay on the wall, but perpendicular to the ground. The tokujo's already settled in a lazy stance, with his hands behind his head and his feet stretched out before him, as if the bricks are comfy feather pillows. Shikaku's foot lightly taps Genma's shoulder. The man peeks an eye open, rolling the senbon hanging out of his mouth.

"Hey, Commander. What brings you to the hospital?"

Shikaku will admit to anyone who cares enough to listen that Genma's eternally casual drawl always gets on his nerves. Then again, Genma's casual drawl gets on everyone's nerves, a feat previously thought to be achieved only by Nara.

"You know people within ANBU, specifically the Hunter-Nin unit, right?"

Genma only raises an eyebrow in question, and even a little disbelief, rolling the senbon around in his mouth.

Shikaku shrugs. "I'm not asking for names. I just want to ask a quick question to the guard from this morning, the one that was watching over our foreigner over there." Shikaku tilts his chin towards the window just below Genma's hipbone.

Genma exhales softly and closes his eyes again. "Ah, I think I know the one you're talking about. Ask me the question and I'll pass it on."

"I wanted to know exactly what were the actions the subject displayed just before Kaname-san interrogated them."

Genma hums in thought, and chews on his senbon leisurely. "Lucky you, Commander. I recently talked to them, and it just so happened to come up in our conversation. From what little I could gather, it seems like the subject never really posed a threat. The subject only reacted after it was obvious they were being detained, and most actions were made to avoid contact and attempt to escape, not harm. Honestly, it was painfully obvious that the two were outmatched, and the subject ended up tripping over themselves anyway." Genma's lips twitch a little, a small smile stretching around his senbon. "Apparently the subject was irritated enough to throw the hunter-nin a middle finger."

Shikaku's eyebrow's fly upwards, and he unabashedly snorts. "Seems like this subject has got a little fire in them."

Genma smirks. "Can't say I disagree with you, Commander. Though I do find it a little demeaning to keep referring to them as a subject."

Shikaku glances through the window, spotting Inoichi still seated and staring at the young girl in the hospital bed. "What else are we supposed to call them? We can't get a name with the language barrier."

Genma looks back to the sky with a nonchalant expression, eyes fixed on a cloud merrily floating by. "I only said we shouldn't call her that, not that I had anything better to suggest other than that."

Shikaku stares at Genma for a moment, before rubbing a hand down his neck and then scratching at his goatee. "Keep an eye on her, Genma." He tenses his legs to jump.

"Shikaku, wait." Genma works his jaw for a moment, senbon bobbing, before softly asking, "How do you know? Even as Jounin Commander, that's…"

Shikaku smirks. "I'm a Nara, Genma, and the Jounin Commander. All shinobi differ to me, and don't forget you're a jounin too. Only a tokubetsu, but that doesn't make you any less of my responsibility. As a soldier under my command, it's my job to ensure your safety to the best of my abilities. I will always do whatever I can to keep my people safe."

"Huh, you're actually kind of cool, Commander." chuckles Genma. "I always thought you were too old to be cool."

"I'm 38, brat. That's only eight years older than you." snaps Shikaku.

Genma gasps theatrically. "Wow, eight years? That's even older than I thought! Gee, Commander, why don't you take a quick lie-down, you might get heat stroke on a day like this-"

"Stop being lazy and stand at attention, soldier." grunts Shikaku, and he leaps away with a grumpy expression. Genma's laughs follow him, along with a receding cry of, "That's rich coming from a Nara!"

Shikaku clicks his tongue. Fucking brat.

Shikaku enters Ibiki's office, respectfully nodding at the Head of T&I. "Thank you for seeing me on such short notice Ibiki."

Ibiki motions for Shikaku to sit, placing his elbows on his desk and interlocking his fingers. "It's no problem, Commander. I expect you came here for my personal report of the prisoner?"

Shikaku nods and leans back, preparing to stay here for a while during Ibiki's analysis of the subject.

Ibiki composes himself into a comfortable position, and begins, "My first impression of the subject, based solely on Kaname's report, was that they were a failed sleeper implant into Konoha's civilian population. I believe that my theory still stands; the 'foreign language' and 'foreign map' can be excused by a scrambled mind. Though I will admit that it would be something of a stretch, it certainly is not as much of a stretch as the prisoner being from an entirely different dimension."

Shikaku pointedly arches an eyebrow at the personal anecdote. "Be professional Ibiki. It's a drag to have to deal with your's and Inoichi's rivalry during times where village security is concerned." Shikaku sighs as Ibiki's lip curls before the interrogator composes himself. The people Shikaku works with were so troublesome sometimes.

"Excuse me, Commander." Ibiki apologizes. "I don't know much about the technology they carried, but I was able to retrieve a photo the subject carried." Ibiki pulls out a page from the yellow folder open on his desk and hands it over to Shikaku, who scans it briefly before motioning for Ibiki to continue.

"I took a picture of their photo and was able to correctly deduce that both unknowns represented by the photo are of great importance to the prisoner. I suspect they are most likely family, either cousins or siblings through a single mutual parent. During my interrogation, I employed first a genjutsu. It's normally used on prisoners of war or missing-nin that we are trying to obtain information form. It imitates the stress created by indeterminate timeflow and solitary confinement. It's great for sweating out any tough-guys we have, but it tends to have very negative effects on the psyche of a civilian. The subject immediately caved to the stressor, so it's safe to assume they were never trained, or have forgotten, how to manage their emotions like most shinobi are taught to do.

"I took advantage of that, and used Killing Intent to press for information. Just like with Kaname-san's interrogation, they only responded with those strange sounds, which R&D claims is another language. In order to figure out if they were faking, I abstractly threatened the safety of the prisoner's family by ripping the photo while still using Killing Intent. The prisoner seemed to get the message, and instead of meekly accepting it, reacted fiercely in opposition to me. In order to reestablish control, I enhanced my KI. The prisoner fainted not a moment later."

Shikaku purposely does not react to Ibiki's report. It takes a certain kind of immoral bastard to push a little girl to unconsciousness with only Killing Intent. Then again, in the world of shinobi, anything goes. "Your conclusions?" Shikaku inquires.

"They're civilian, is what I thought right after they conked out." Ibiki bluntly replies. "Only civilians fall from that meager amount of Killing Intent. They way they never sensed the genjutsu, or even tried to flare their chakra, just reeked of inexperience with any aggressor. We never found any weapons within their possessions, and the only time they acted aggressively was when they tried to escape from the hospital, and when I blatantly threatened their family. But that doesn't really explain the whole map and language thing, now does it? Unless they're crazy, of course, which we should never rule out."

Shikaku stretches as he stands up from the chair. "Thanks for the input, Ibiki," he yawns, and manders his way towards the door.

"Commander," Ibiki begins, pausing briefly before asking, "Do you really think this girl is from another dimension?"

Shikaku turns with a carefully blank expression. "I don't know yet, but it's my job to find out. You'll hear my conclusions when I get them, Ibiki." With that, Shikaku walks out the door, wondering when exactly his life became so troublesome.

"Thank you for meeting me on such short notice, Kaname-san." Shikaku greets as Kaname enters the room they'd agreed to meet in. It's actually one of the cells in T&I, but it works for their purpose.

Kaname politely bows. "Thank you for considering me of importance in this matter, Commander."

"There's no question about the value of your input, Kaname-san. You're a famously reputed member within T&I's forces, and you were the first to meet with the subject. Your impression of them is just as influential as everyone else's. Please, sit." Shikaku explains, motioning to the chair across from him and lazily propping his elbow on the table so that he can later lean his head on his palm.

Kaname smiles briefly as she settles into the chair, saying, "Your words honor me, Commander. I am humbled by your consideration."

Shikaku waves off her overly polite acceptance of his compliments, and offhandedly notes to himself that she must be valuable indeed, to come back from a mission with a scar so close to her jugular. "Don't worry about it. Let's get straight to the point, shall we? I want to know your first impressions on the subject. I heard your review to the Hokage, but I particularly want to know about the physical reactions the subject had to your use of iryo-jutsu, both their language and map, and any other specific details you couldn't share at the initial report."

"Here is the map, sir," she says as she hands over the page the subject drew on. Shikaku looks it over as Kaname allows herself a long moment of thought. "Regarding the language," she begins, "I don't think I will be of much help. I could attempt to replicate the sounds, but I can't guarantee the accuracy of it."

Shikaku folds the map up and stuffs it into a pocket on his jounin vest, gazing at the wall in thought. If there was an expert on phonetics and interpreting ancient languages, he'd bring them in to talk to Kaname. Except there hasn't been a single record of anyone with such a selective career in his collective memory, and he used to spend his Academy days cutting class to shuffle through countless library books just for fun. The map also does not match any he's ever seen before, and the only change between a map of today's countries and a map from 100 years ago are the political boundaries and territories between lands.

In other words, he's pretty much got zero leads right now.

"Let's skip over the language, then. Tell me more about the subject's reaction to chakra."

Kaname takes a moment to collect her words, before saying, "When I used iryo-jutsu on the subject, it felt like I was trying to fill an endless void." Shikaku's steady gaze lands on Kaname, and she matches him in intensity.

"The body absorbed my chakra as fast as I could apply it." she continues. "The rate of consumption was remarkable, if only in that it seemed as if it would never be fulfilled. I don't know if her exposure to my chakra hastened her illness or delayed it, but I do know that if that girl is to survive, she will need chakra. Since the Mystical Palm technique appears to be effective, it's best to continue using that. We cannot risk losing her while trying to find an easier alternative. I admit that I refuse to believe in Hisako-san's theory of alternate dimensions without solid proof, but I am not blind to the advantages of having this foreigner on our side.

"I suggest attempting something to create something similar to a soldier pill. We already know that a soldier pill is like an adrenaline shot, forcing our body to the limit to produce chakra. If you can somehow emulate that process, but with the Mystical Palm Technique, it should suffice. It would keep her alive long enough to find another way, at least." Kaname finishes her assessment with a gentle shrug.

Shikaku smiles at her. "I will consider your words carefully, Kaname-san. Thank you very much for your report."

Kaname stands and bows as deeply as is appropriate. "I am at your service, Commander."

Shikaku motions for her to leave. As the door shuts quietly behind her, Shikaku mentally reviews all the data he has collected. He stands, and grunts as his back pops. It's been a long day, filled with troublesome news. He decides to do one more errand before he turns in for the night.

"Hisako-chan, I've got a proposal for you."

Hisako peers up through the fingers of her right hand, pausing in her attempt to rub away a headache. Shikaku yawns as he drops off a three-page proposal for her branch of the Research Department.

"I know your team usually doesn't focus on chakra supplements, but I need to keep this entire debacle low-key, and you're the only ones who know and are in R&D." Shikaku runs over this scenario one last time in his head, and figures the best way to ask his cousin to do the impossible, is simply to ask it. "I need your team to create a pill for the Mystical Palm technique."

Hisako jolts in a strange, aborted attempt to either escape completely from Shikaku's range of sight, or throttle Shikaku bare-handed. All in all, she ends up jerking in her chair and banging her knee against her desk rather viciously. "Son of a bitch!" she hisses, before glaring up at him with gritted teeth "You can't be serious, Shikaku!"

"D'you think I'd take the time to walk all the way over here without reason? That's very troublesome of you to think of me, Hisako-chan. I figured you knew me better than that." Shikaku states mildly, not caring much as Hisako blatantly ignores him and scans the proposal order with horrified interest.

"Shikaku-sama, I can't… my team is strictly formed for mechanical research. Our expertise lies with engineering! You can't expect us to-"

"Just engineer a pill that will initiate the Mystical Palm technique, then."

"Shikaku!" she cries, anger and disbelief twisting her features into something unsettling.

"I know, Hisako." Shikaku sighs. "But I don't have another choice. The Hokage explicitly told me to keep this whole shebang under wraps, yet already we have three T&I high-ranking officers poking their noses and thirteen medical nin working directly with the patient. Including your team of four, the patrolling team that found her , and the gate nin that brought her in, and the various bodyguards she's had, that brings the grand total of people exposed to this to 27. It's ridiculously difficult having to constantly impress to them the importance of keeping their mouths shut. At most, I can spare you bringing three more people into this, but that's it. If I had another choice you know I would take it, Hisako. I need this girl to live, and the only way she can live is with medical jutsu. There's a detailed report in there, along with the Hokage's approval to do whatever you need to do in order to speed this up. Experiments, materials, research, anything you need, you can get it with that." Shikaku rolls a shoulder as he turns to face the door, wishing he didn't have to do this to his own cousin. "I suggest you start with Orochimaru's research into prolonged supplements and the collection of chakra into an inanimate object."

Hisako stills, eyes blown wide. Shikaku swallows, reminds himself of his position as Jounin Commander, and walks out of his cousin's office with a dismissive, "Good luck, Hisako-chan."