In what felt like a welcome period of silence (read: I thankfully don't remember any of it) my sleep was perturbed by voices.
"So, doctor, can you tell us what happened? Why do you need us both here?"
That was the sound of my mother. She looked scared. She had been since I was diagnosed some time ago.
"I required your presence because you both need to hear what I have to say. And I am here to provide support if the needs arise. I will ask you to please listen to what I have to say before I can answer any questions."
"Provide… support? Is it that bad? "
Typical dad. He just asked you to listen and not ask questions…
I still couldn't help but smile a little.
"Yes. But please listen to me until the end"
I heard a little tap on a surface sounding like wood.
"Your child was brought here one week ago for a case of PCG. It's quite rare but not unheard of, as you know. Usually when this appears the standard procedure is to give the patient a Chakra limiter and wait for the body to be accustomed to having limited Chakra income while the patient's coil completely forms. With them, the body will start to generate less Chakra to meet the lesser demand. Thus kick-starting a balance, before returning to a normal production after a few years.
Yesterday at 2:13 the seal stopped working and the young Shinji was assaulted with the environmental stimuli of everything in half a kilometre radius."
"You put… a faulty seal… on my PUP!? "
That outburst was courtesy of my mother. Killing intent started to permeate the air.
Tap. That noise again.
"The seal was perfect, madam Inuzuka. Its template was designed by Jiraya-sanin in person and was thoroughly applied by our service. Please let me continue."
The doctor spoke in an unaffected voice. Like having the killing intent of the matriarch of a clan known for its savagery in your face was nothing more than a common case of the Mondays.
"At 2:14 the nurse in duty, miss Akali, was notified by our surveillance system that young Shinji started to feel distressed, she came into the room, assessed immediately the cause of the problem and tried fixed the apparently faulty seal by creating an empathetic link to your son's brain in order to alleviate his burden."
Tap. That noise again. Coming directly from the doctor's chair. This guy have a weird tick.
"At 2:16 I was awakened by the scream of Miss Akali and came directly here. Miss Akali was non-responsive on the floor, screaming to 'make it stop'. I did the sensible thing and reorganized her brain chemistry for a microsecond. Not enough to damage her brain but longer enough to put her in an induced coma. For her own good. Then I fixed your child's seal."
I felt my parents' anxiety relax, however minimally.
"But we have a problem with that. A problem you should be aware of."
Aaaaaaaand anxiety back to full.
"And what…" I felt more than heard the anger in the caaaalm voice of my mother. "...Is the problem, good doctor ?"
"The seal was designed for infants with a crippling anomaly." The doctor continued, still not affected by the one-step-to-blood-lust voice of my mother. "It works by absorbing passive Chakra, converting it to harmless heat and is set to the measured generation of the patient while he's resting. So…"
The doctor's voice suddenly stopped. I didn't feel my mother attacking him so I guess it was because what he was about to say was hard to explain, more than he had just been turned into a corpse.
"I can see only two reasons that can even begin to explain what happened. Your child's Chakra generation just spiked, which is a problem in itself… Or that he tried to use his active reserve and broke the seal through brute force. Both are alarming in their own rights."
…Oops, yeah I totally did that. Sorry?
"And why… Are those a problem ? good doctor"? The voice of my mom was now definitively feral. I hoped that she didn't go full murder soon….
"If his Chakra generation just spikes, without warning or reason, it means that whatever we can do, your child must always be under suppressant. So that the next spike doesn't kill him on the spot or cripple him at precisely the wrong time during his ninja career."
I felt dad recoil in horror. Mum was more controlled but… Not by much.
"And the second reason?" She asked, and I could feel the anguish in it.
"Your child tried to use his own Chakra. When no one was looking. Which is NOT something a 8 month old baby should be able to do. I guess you understand what I am trying to say."
"No…" Mom's voice was broken.
"He can't be… I was… I was THERE ! I HELD HIM IN MY ARMS ! The smell matches! He can't be a spy! WHO WOULD KILL A BABY AND SUBSTITUTE A NINJA IN ITS PLACE TO SPY ON US!"
"The same one that kills each other every day, plants a demon in your belly and sends them back to your family. Shinobi history is filled with tales that are as unbelievable as this one. And you know it's true because you were there."
At that point, I felt my father's protectiveness wash over me. Weirdly enough, that was the moment my ninken decided to wake up from his nap. Slowly stretching himself, the fleabag looked at me, then shrugged his shoulders and went back to sleep. Thanks for the emotional support…
"But, we have ways to verify if your son is not compromised. Usually an Inuzuka can compare the scent of the person but your… Situation forces this method to be considered untrustworthy. I hope you can understand our reasoning, much as it pains me…
Discarding that, we can ask a Hyuuga to check the presence of any jutsu. Or lack of. To be more thorough, a skilled Aburame medic can compare his blood with yours. But all of that will leave one avenue of uncertainty…"
"Brainwashing… The perfect spy is the one that doesn't know he is one…" I heard my father comment in a broken voice.
I was starting to tremble. I attracted the very worst kind of attention on me and I was going to pay the price VERY soon.
"Or simply mind control." The good doctor oh-so-helpfully continued. Fortunately there is one foul proof method to verify this. Though…" The doctor's voice, calm and professional until here, switched to tired. Or resigned.
"This method requires your approval and… A warrant from the council."
"From the…" My father spoke, astonishment in his voice. "What kind of technique requires…"
At that moment I felt the spark of understanding in his mind.
"The Yamanaka… You want to mind-walk my son…"
OH NONONO NOOOOO FUCK NO! THAT'S THE WORST IDEA IN THE HISTORY OF EVER!
"While a baby's mind cannot be understood, it can still be read. And since only a mind reader can know what a child's psyche looks like, it cannot be fooled. But…"
REFUSE MOM ! REFUSE FOR THE LOVE OF DOGGY JESUS THAT MIGHT MAYBE EXISTS !
"If it's the price I… I will accept. I cannot fathom the idea that my child is… Is compromised…"
My mom slowly said, resignation and sadness in her voice.
GET FUCKED MOM! I HOPE YOU STEP ON A LEGO AND AAAAAAARGH NO ! I AM NOT IMAGINING MY MOTHER GETTING-OHSHITIMGOINGTOPUKE!
"But for the sake of my oath, I must say this. While the mind-walking of infants is not unheard of, it's also not a well used method... And as such not well developed. Once a baby was found in a destroyed village. The Yamanaka in charge tried to read the baby's mind in hope of identifying the guilty party but the child… Resisted. Maybe because of panic, maybe because of refusing to relieve the death of his parents, the part of his brain responsible to analyse images from the eyes suffered… Damages. The child became blind."
"If I smell a single Yamanaka close to my pup then the council will take an early and completely voluntary retirement." Mum continued her phrase in the same sad and resigned tone as before. Making it weirdly even more scary.
THANK YOU MOM ! YOU'RE THE BEST MOM THAT EVER MOM-ED !
"I understand your point and… On a personal note, I completely agree with it. But you must know that if the council decides that this… Mockery of medicine is required then I will have no recourse."
"Unless… There is... One other possible explanation..."
The voice of my mother sounded, not quite broken but… Resigned.
"My father…"
Surprise and curiosity pinged my senses, coming from the doctor.
"Yes, your father's reputation was quite high during his career. But we do not have enough data. Your father was.. An outlier in the shinobi system. We have no data about him since his growth was always considered "normal" due to the time he lived. So we can't draw any conclusion about it."
"We have records of his childhood. We didn't give them when we integrated the village because they are a secret that was never really…Sought of. He… You know who he was. You know WHO imprinted with him. And you know his track records. So, if giving them to you means my child can live freely… I am willing to… To…"
Waitwaitwaitwait what the fuck is going on ? OK, they think I am a potential spy. OK, using Chakra while being in the "below one year old" range was a bad idea. I was bored okay? But I didn't know that, but why does my mum sound even more resigned and scared?
"Thank you, then we will simply observe the growth of your child, Lady Inuzuka. You have my thanks, and not because I want my hands on those files, I do, to be honest, the tales of the Wise were always one of my favorite stories about a time where I was too young to understand what "being at war" means… But as a doctor, I need proof that your child is neither destroying itself simply by breathing or a potential security breach. I'm sorry mister, madam Inuzuka but this is fact. We have… Too many examples of both situations in our history to take any chances… And if we can't prove that he is not a spy through obstruction on your part… You know what will happen."
"I.. I know… I've… I've killed too much of...Those... 'Situations'... Myself…"
And then I heard the last sound any child wants to hear. The sound of your mother crying, trying and failing to stay silent in a perfect definition of how NOT respect Shinobi rule #25. And the sound of your father being powerless except taking her into his arms. And failing to stop her cries.
One week later I was returned home, still with the Chakra suppressants, and orders to have a checkup every Monday.
One month later the suppressants were removed because my 9 month-old body developed completely functional and matured coils. While usually it takes years to even form them…
Can't I just stop drawing attention to myself ? For five minutes ? PLEASE ?