Rin looked over the scroll again, turning it to examine the fine detail of the sketch and instructions. Partial seals were included here and there, Rin having picked up enough from the old pervert and Kushina herself to understand they'd been rendered 'dead.' In effect, they were missing key pieces of the activation matrix that would allow them to absorb chakra. Beyond that, though, they were complete, along with the descriptors for all of the materials and designs.

"Well, what do you think?" Kushina asked as she stared off into the evening dusk.

"I think... I think this is so far beyond me it isn't even funny," Rin sighed as she slumped back into the chair. Massaging her forehead, she took a deep breath. "Who did this?"

Kushina shrugged. "Hiruzen won't say, just that they've got a prodigy in the medical field."

Rin frowned as she looked at the woman who was, at the very least, akin to a beloved older sister, if not a replacement mother figure. "You have to suspect something."

Kushina snorted and favored Rin with a wry glance. "I do, but even if what I suspect is true, all it means is that this is entirely on the level."

Rin drew in a startled breath and let her eyes drift back to the unfurled scrolls and small pile of notes. "I'd almost thought Orochimaru had come back to the village." Kushina's face twisted into something utterly opaque at the mention of the rogue Sannin. "Although I think these seals and the repair to your chakra coils... it almost seems like something Jiraiya and Tsunade working together would be required for."

At that Kushina chuckled. "All three Sannin? Isn't that a thought." She was quiet for a long moment, a smile still on her face as she pondered the moment of quiet amusement. "So, which one do you think will work? Any of them?"

Rin snorted and shrugged. "I have no clue, nee-chan. You'd be better off asking Jiraiya once he drags his sorry ass back to the village for once. Like I said, this is Sannin-level stuff. Everything I know says any of the three designsshouldwork if whoever this is isn't completely insane for even suggesting it."

The older redhead nodded with a jerk. "Then the question becomes... should I do it? Even the 'civilian' model would let me walk again... the armored one would let me get out in the field again, but..."

Rin looked at the third one. By far and away the most complex of the artificial spines on offer, which was saying something in its own right. The separate notes were mostly in regards to that one. The words 'time dilation factor' were featured prominently, which had taken her a long moment to puzzle out the meaning of as one continuous phrase. Individually, they'd been easy to decipher, but together they painted a very odd picture.

"Putting aside how crazy this is, even the designer notes how stressful this would be on your body, Kushina." Rin frowned as she watched the speculative gleam in her loved one's eyes. "You've been... out of commission for almost a decade now and you have two kids to think of. Do you really want to risk it? Do you really think you should risk it?"

Kushina sighed, her shoulders slumping as rare vulnerability crossed her face. "I hate it, ya'know? I just... more than being stuck in this chair all day, all of my chakra's tied up in keeping my body alive and I can barely use it to do anything." Watery blue eyes flickered away from the younger girl, shame at the moment of weakness showing. "I love Narumi and Enkai, you know I do, but Enkai is about to enter the academy and Narumi is going to be leaving on missions pretty soon. More than that..."

Even though Kushina trailed off, Rin knew what she was going to say. She'd spoken at length on the matter of her crippled state when heavily intoxicated. More than even a normal person, Kushina had been a jinchuuriki. She'd been one of the select few shinobi on the entire continent granted the power of an immortal force of nature at their disposal. To be reduced to the state she was now... in some ways it was worse than death.

"I can't approve of something I don't actually understand," Rin settled on stating neutrally. "We could see if Hokage-sama would allow me to be present for the operation." She wondered who would be on the team assigned for the surgery and, momentarily, dared to wonder if Tsunade would be returning...

Unlikely, but if she'd gotten word of this development, possible.

Kushina snorted, taking a breath and recomposing herself. "He's playing this one close to the chest. I think he was a little reluctant to even offer it, considering-" Kushina stopped and shot Rin a guarded glance. "-everything."

The weight of that glance made her wonder what secret lay behind it, but she knew better than to press for an answer.

"It can't hurt to ask, at least," Rin shrugged.

Kushina hummed noncommittally.

…

"And I will play... A GENIN SQUAD!" Lee declared proudly with a grin. "Then I will equip them with masterwork katana!"

"Very good, my youthful student!" Guy cried with an equally wide grin as he looked through his cards, frowning suddenly. "In turn, I will play 'Economic Shortages' on my rival!"

"Ooooh noooo," Rin faux-moaned in defeat, her voice a flat monotone. "Now I have to suffer through poverty in addition to the constant need to move around and treat civilians to maintain good relations with the surrounding regions."

Guy's grin faded somewhat and he actually looked a bit apologetic. "We must do what we must, Rin! For to do any less would be a disservice to our village! In that name, I will move my forces forward!"

"Well if we've got to do what we've got to do..." Rin cocked her head tiredly and pulled a card free, tapping down resources in short order. "I'll activate my trap card. 'Explosive Ambush,' which destroys the shinobi with the lowest speed rating among your army. Which, because you've equipped your jounin with all of that gear..."

Guy threw an arm over his eyes as he cried out, "How foolish have I been to walk straight into a trap! In repentance, I will do ten laps around Konoha before my next turn!"

"Guy-sensei! I will come with you!" Lee cried, his own eyes glistening. "Part of the blame rests with me for not helping you see through the trap!"

"Lee-kun!"

"Guy-sensei!"

In a blur of blue and green, the twin beasts of Konoha vanished to pursue their punishment. Rin sighed as she leaned back in the chair. "If those two keep doing this, the game's going to take forever."

Placing my own cards down on the table, I nodded, twitching at the distant memories of playing Magic: The Gathering until three in the morning with a tension headache because some asshole had to be the free-range chicken and slow the fucking game down.

...must resist the urge to introducestax decks.

...even if it would be a great lesson in attrition-style warfare. Hmm...

"So you're Kotaro, huh?" Rin asked me, looking over with a raised eyebrow as she visibly scanned me. "That civvie friend of Narumi's."

I nodded. "Pretty much."

She tilted her head. "Not one for many words."

I arched an eyebrow in turn. "I learned my lesson about talking to random jounin after Obito."

Her lips stretched into a sudden smile as she barked a quick laugh. "You poor kid, no one deserves that." She was quiet for a moment. "So how's Narumi doing, anyway?"

I shrugged. "Good enough. She still likes to pick fights with Satsuki, but I think I've hammered it home how they need to behave in the field."

"Not quite what I meant," Rin stated, scratching at her cheek and opening her mouth to say something when I cut her off.

"Mind if I ask about the marks?" I probed, tapping at my own cheek for emphasis.

She blinked, released a gust of air in a long 'ahh' of acknowledgement. "Lemme' guess, wanna' know if I'm Inuzuka?"

I shrugged again, "Just curious."

She shook her head and grabbed her drink. "Nah, but I get that a lot. Dunno who my dad was, my mom worked over in the district. I just liked the look." She grinned. "It helps that a lot of enemy nin think the same thing and waste time looking for my dog."

I huffed a laugh even as a speeding bullet of burnt-orange hit me.

"Thank you! Thank you-thank you-thankyou!" Naruko cried, giving me a hug that would probably leave bruises if I didn't have tricks to fix that.

"You like the coat, then?" I smirked as I patted her on the back, right over the Uzu spiral.

"It's awesome!" Naruko squealed, pulling back and spinning to show off the hooded coat I'd gifted her. "I'mma show it off! Thanks again Kota!" Then, like the ball of energy she was, Naruko bounced off to do as she'd said.

Rin huffed in mock-irritation. "I betIdon't get a hug like that for my gift."

I grunted and grabbed at the platter of snacks I'd set off to the side.

"Still... orange coat with blue flames along the bottom? Looks like the fourth's style." The words were casual, non-judgmental, but I knew the intent behind them. Because, unlike Naruko's status as Konoha's WMD, her status as the child of the Yondaime actually was a state secret. Granted, it was something of an open secret among a certain class of people, I'd gathered. Itachi knew, though I only knew that because he'd taken me aside to have a firm conversation about what I could and could not talk about. That was something I'd normally get from a superior officer or my jounin leader, but under the circumstances...

"I made Satsuki a black one with red flames and the Uchiha fan on the back, and Yakumo got one in purple with gold flames." The latter had been a bit of guesswork for me, as the Kurama didn't exactly have 'clan colors' like a lot of other clans did. Or, at least, not officially. There was a preference for shades of purple, lavender, and mauve though. I'd ended up picking gold as a secondary because it was one of the few colors that worked well with those shades and wouldn't clash with the white feather-esque design ofher clan symbol. "Satsuki looks up to the office of the Hokage anyway, what with her brother being the heir-presumptive, and this way it looks like a stylistic choice for the team."

"So no one stands out, clever," Rin commented, taking a drink. "Still, if you made them, you're in for a lot of trouble when they get damaged or worn, since they'll come to you to replace them."

I snorted and almost said something, but I'd learned my lesson by this point. There was no need to advertise the fact that those coats were much more than just lightly-armored fabric. I'd give the girls the full run-down later, including the various defensive measures built into the woven seal-work I'd painstakingly put into them.

Catching Tenten's eye as she looked over, a somewhat envious gaze lingering on Satsuki and Yakumo's new articles of clothing, I gave her a wink and a nod. Her expression instantly brightened and her shoulders relaxed.

Rin chuckled, "Can't leave a friend out, huh?" She tilted her head. "Or a girlfriend?"

"That has yet to be determined," I answered vaguely, and as she opened her mouth with the unholy glee of a woman sensing relationship drama, I moved to burn that bridge before she crossed it. "Of course, I could invite Obito over since he's been edging around the periphery ever since he showed up."

Rin winced. "Okay, okay, I'll back off. Geez, you're a prickly one. No idea how you ended up with so many girls following you around."

Do not mention Kakashi, do not mention Kakashi, do NOT mention Kakashi.

We lapsed into silence for a moment, waiting for Guy and Lee to return to continue the game. After a few beats, Rin decided to continue to poke me. "So, I talked to Enkai. He says you know your way around medical jutsu."

I hummed noncommittally.

"You registered at the hospital?" Rin asked directly.

I took a breath, deciding how best to answer the question. Hiruzen had put a halt to any idea of me personally attending medical cases even if I was more than capable. To that end, he'd been more than agreeable to handing over problem cases and other records for me to work on in my free time. Part of it was a need for experimental testing of any prosthesis I developed in preparation for what would become my daughter's body and part of it was sufficiently bribing the old man so that he would allow said daughter to be manifested into the world.

Which, from a pragmatic point of view, I completely understood, given she was only partially human in a metaphysical sense.

"I'm on call for emergency cases unofficially," I ended up saying, then adding, "since I'm not formally part of the shinobi armed services."

Rin frowned at that, but nodded. "Good, at least you're doing the minimum. Konoha needs more trained medics."

I opened my mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the return of Guy and Lee. The former with barely-elevated breathing, the latter noticeably out of breath. "Yosh! We return triumphant! Lee-kun, grab yourself refreshments! It's important to stay hydrated!"

"Yes, Guy-sensei!" Lee pumped a fist and turned towards the drinks on the buffet table.

"Ah, do not think the rest of the game will go your way, my tenacious rival!" Guy grinned widely and crossed his arms over his chest. "Even if Kota-kun here is the creator of this game, my genin have studied it deeply and I know the strategies to win!"

Rin gave me a look with raised eyebrows and I groaned internally as I realized she hadn't yet learned about that specific detail. Before she could enquire, as she obviously wanted to, Guy leaned forward a bit and lowered the volume of his voice, instantly causing us to both pay close attention. Serious Guy was never something to ignore, after all.

"After the party is over, I would like to ask the two of you to consult on a private matter," Guy stated, his face turned towards us, but his eyes carefully tracking his apprentice. "I have received a message from the Hokage that a specialist believes they may be able to treat Lee's condition and do not have sufficient knowledge on either seals or medical techniques to judge the viability of the proposed plan."

I allowed myself to jerk in surprise in what I hoped was a believable fashion even as Rin visibly stiffened and had to restrain herself from looking towards Lee.

"That's-" She cut herself off before nodding slowly. "Sure, why not? It won't be the weirdest thing I've seen this week."

Guy and I gave her a mildly curious gaze with obvious interest, even if mine was feigned. Nodding, the other jounin gave her a bright smile and a thumbs up, "You have my gratitude, my hip rival! I will owe you one."

"I guess I can, if it'll help," I stated with some affected lack of surety. "If we're talking about seals on a person..."

Which no one outside of a select few knew I was experienced in and it had been impressed upon me how direly it needed to stay that way. Seal masters who worked with ink and paper, wood, or metal, were... well, not 'common,' because seal masters weren't common to begin with, but they were unremarkable. Sealing specialists who were adept at working with more complicated mediums like human flesh were much rarer, and therefore much more likely to be targeted.

"You have my gratitude as well, Kota-kun," Guy grinned, even as my mind twisted back to Rin's curious response to the request. I had a good guess as to the cause, as well.

So Kushina asked her about the replacement spine. Eh, I'd want a second opinion, too. Still, I'm surprised Guy is calling me of all people in-

Konoha's Blue Beast gave me a wink as his face turned to speak to Lee. Specifically, he used the eye Rin wouldn't see.

-stupid canny jounin... and that means I'll have to file a report with Obito, too. Damn paperwork.

Still, Satsuki approaching with Yakumo in tow, both wearing their new cloaks quickly changed the topic of conversation. Coincidentally, I ended the game with my next turn and sent the two beasts on another round of physical atonement for their lackluster performance. If that meant I'd get to spend more time with the girls instead of the pair of loud shinobi, well... it was at least a happy coincidence.

They wouldn't have wanted me to hold back anyway.