Characters seen here are from the Usagi Yojimbo comics and "The Real World: Part 1" episode from the 2003 TMNT series. I do not own.

"Oh Gen …"

A high, strained, but furious voice made Usagi's ears twitch.

"This is completely unacceptable!"

The Ronin glanced over his shoulder. The Ninja leader was staring at the goat healer whose nostrils flared. Unlike the doctor's voice the Neko's was cool, but dark … "Is it?"

"Yes, you should not have bound the rhino's hands together, behind his back no less, after dislocating his shoulder!"

"What do you propose?"

"Let me put the injured arm in a sling until I can put it back as it should be!"

"And the free arm, what of it?"

Usagi spoke up. "He can brace himself on my own shoulder as he walks into the Healer's workplace." The Ronin looked down at his friend. "Is that acceptable, Gen?"

His friend's response was short and strained. "Yep!"

Not waiting, in case someone tried to stop him, Usagi pulled out, not one of his swords, but a knife he'd successfully hidden in his kimono. He cut through Gen's bond's as quickly as possible while still being careful. They fell apart.

Gen groaned deeply. Usagi knew the Bounty Hunter wanted to scream but was way to stubborn to. The goat Doctor was soon beside him. "Raise him up by his good arm."

Usagi got up on his feet and moved. While he did, he glanced around. The Neko ninja were standing by, staring, but not interfering, yet. They were close, but not too close. The inner circle around them was about two strides from them in any direction, except one. Behind he and Gen, the way to the building the goat doctor had come out of was free of ninja.

Usagi took a hold of Gen's good arm. Then he pulled up. He tried to be careful without appearing to be gentle about it. Treating Gen gently before their enemies would embarrass the Bounty Hunter.

The goat assisted with obvious care from Gen's other side. They got him sitting up. Then the healer ordered them to pause.

He put Gen's injured arm in a sling. Finally, they concentrated on getting Gen to his feet. This mostly consisted of the rhino pushing down on Usagi's shoulder to leverage himself up. When he was standing, Usagi and the healer got Gen slowly walking to the healer's place of business. Once inside, the goat closed the door behind them and motioned toward a table near the back wall. Then the healer began to speak. "Now, we need to lay him on his stomach and chest."

Usagi's eyes caught movement. He looked over to see a small kid poke a head, with barely visible horns coming up from straw-colored fur, out from behind some very large vases. The healer also noticed. He looked to the child and said, "Get the rope and weight!"

The kid rushed over to another part of the room while Usagi watched. Then the healer called Usagi's attention back to his friend's needs. "Now we need you to use your good arm and leg to get up on this table, chest and stomach down, as I said before."

"Why can't I just sit in a blasted chair?!"

"Because the best ways I know to reset your arm involve you lying as a described on this table."

"Oh. Alright then."

It took time and effort. There were a good deal of terse words from Gen. Finally, though, they had the Bounty Hunter where the healer wanted him. The doctor had Gen hang his dislocated arm over the side of the table. The healer then turned to the kid goat. "Hand me the weight."

Usagi's brows lifted. "The weight?"

The kid did indeed hold out a weight on a string to the healer. The doctor took it from him and began to talk to Gen. "Now I am going to tie the string attached to this weight around your wrist and let it hang from your arm just over the floor. Thus, the need for you lying on this high table."

"Whatever you need to do, healer …"

"You should not attempt to grab the string. That would work against the process. Also, before we begin, if you desire this to go faster …"

"I do."

I need to see the flesh over your shoulder and the affected bones' shapes beneath it. I'd also like to look you over for other wounds you may have sustained. So …"

"You can cut through my kimono or remove it."

"Yes …"

Gen started to rise to his knees using his good arm. Usagi went forward to help him. He'd known Gen would mend a kimono over and over again, but not let an unnecessary cut be made to it.

He and Usagi might have disagreed whether this one was necessary. Still, the Ronin decided not to fight him on it. When the piece of clothing was off, Gen laid down again.

The healer began to look for cuts and scrapes. Perhaps the doctor had realized this in the first place, and thus concentrated on the dislocation: Rhinos have very tough skin. The worst looking places other than the shoulder were those the chains had tightened around forming deep bruises. The doctor looked eyes on his assistant. "Get cool clothes, ointment, and bandages for these bruises."

The kid nodded and walked off to do as instructed, Usagi assumed.

The healer then looked back to the out-of-joint shoulder. "Now, we will use the weight hanging freely from your wrist and I can also push and manipulate the shoulder back into place."

The rhino huffed. "Go on …"

"I can give you opium to knock you out for the process."

"Now you're talking."

Usagi watched with great apprehension for his friend, but the amount of opium the doctor administered did seem small. Some time after taking it, Gen seemed more drunk than unconscious to Usagi. The Bounty Hunter did seem to tolerate inebriation well. Perhaps opium was the same for him? Nonetheless, the rhino still seemed aware of the painful things happening to him.

The healer began to work on the shoulder and soon Gen was grimacing. To distract himself from the sight of his friend in so much pain, Usagi looked to the goat kid as he treated the bruises on Gen's leg. "How long have you worked here?"

The goat kid glanced at the door and then to his teacher. The healer, though he kept his face turned to his work, glanced at Usagi out of the corner of his eye. His lips pressed together and brow furrowed. He answered. "About three years now."

Usagi's ears fell in shame. Necko had amazing hearing. Now that he came to think of it, the things the healer had said to his apprentice could be mistaken for things said to him. He had aided the healer outside. Perhaps the ninja did not even know of this goat kid's existence. For obvious reasons, his teacher would not wish them to know of it if he cared about his apprentice at all.

Gen was holding up remarkably well. Of course, Usagi could hear the groan of the table as his friend gripped it with almost as much pressure as he was gritting his teeth with. Still, he hadn't struck the healer yet.

Usagi began, as he'd watched Donatello do some time ago, to explore the healer's place of business. Jars, many jars sat everywhere. Herbs hung from the ceiling. There were shelves of scrolls.

The hound at the pottery stand seemed to have spoken correctly. The healer seemed quite well supplied. If he did not recall something right away, more knowledge seemed right at his hoof-tips for grasping again.

It took time, but much sweating, griping the table, and growls later the joint snapped back into place. At the last jolt that accomplished this, Gen seemed to pass out. Usagi was grateful for that.

The healer untied the string and even set Gen's now recovering arm back onto the table with the rest of his form. Then the healer went and took a jar off a shelf. Usagi's eyes followed him. He didn't speak. The Necko were likely outside listening. Still, he wondered what was left for the healer to do.

Usagi wondered still more when, instead of carrying the jar toward Gen, the healer cleared a space on a smaller table and poured a substance like dust out of the jar onto its surface. The healer then ran his hand over it. He leveled the dust mound out into a smooth, thin layer on the table's surface. Finally, he began to write in it.

Usagi's eyes widened. He moved up to watch. When the goat removed his hoof from before Usagi's eyes, the Ronin could read a message on the table's surface. "Were you escorting our young Daimyo to this place? Was he injured?"

The goat looked to him. Usagi simply gave him back a somewhat impassive, somewhat angry stare. The healer met that gaze, then looked back to the table.

He smoothed the dust layer out again erasing the words he'd written into it. Then he wrote others. "Whoever you were or were not traveling with, I know I want Noriyuki, young and inexperienced as he is, not Hebi or Hekiji, collecting rice from us."

The healer ran out of space. He looked to Usagi. The Ronin gave him a small smile of approval. The healer then smoothed away the words and wrote more. "I also want my young apprentice away from this place. If they do not get what they want, or even if they do, the ninja out there may slaughter us all."

The goat looked up at him. Usagi simply sighed and let a somewhat impassive face pull down slightly in serious sadness. The goat repeated the process of erasing and writing again. "I want to send my apprentice away from here with the supplies I gathered to go with you earlier. He can warn whoever sent you ahead, and perhaps the Daimyo as well. He may also help heal your injured co-traveler in my place."

Usagi's eyebrows rose. He looked at the healer with a silent question written in his expression. The goat looked away, ran his hand over the dust again, and wrote another message into it. "I have attempted to hide him from them. I think I have succeeded, but I need a way to get him out of the village and away from it without any ninja seeing him flee." The healer looked meaningfully at Usagi.

The Ronin looked to his friend and then the young goat. The latter was already wearing the satchel his master had earlier begun to take with him when they'd tried to leave together. Usagi sighed and lowered his head. Then he knelt before the youth.

He met the kid's gaze. The young apprentice looked back at him with a straight, but tense face. Usagi raised an arm and pointed. He mouthed "That way." Then he let his arm fall.

The kid nodded. He pointed in the same direction. Usagi nodded.

Then the Ronin rose to his feet. He pulled free his longest sword, turned, and marched to the door. He went out it quickly and shut it hard behind him. Then he strode out into the street. "Willow Branch" shone bright in the setting sun's light.

What do you think will happen now?

God Bless

ScribeofHeroes