Shiori was once again on her journey, departing for Suna. Her time in Konoha came to an end sooner than she expected, but she was happy about the outcome. She had learned a lot more than she expected.
She learned skills and advice that would work best for someone in her condition. She also managed to read quite a few medical scrolls, and now she was ready to take her exam—well, at least she would be by the time she reached Suna.
It would take her around a week to reach Suna, but since she wasn't expected until two weeks, she wanted to take her time. That should be enough time for her to review her notes and even treat some patients along the way.
Her first stop was still a few hours away. It was a small farming village that mostly provided chicken and eggs to Konoha. Some would think that such a village would be heavily protected and valuable, but the fact was the opposite.
Konoha bought their supplies for them because their price and distance made it the most convenient. To keep the cost of protection low, some retired shinobi resided there through a deal with the village and Konoha.
They hardly ever had to take action, as this was too close to Konoha for any ninja worth their salt to attack. The bandits could hardly cause trouble, as once again, the place was too Konoha for a large group of bandits to be able to gather.
It should provide Shiori with a good opportunity to heal some people without putting herself in danger. She focused on her running. Circling the air through her body just like Gai-sensei taught her.
His advice to her, in addition to the many taijutsu advice he gave her, was to work on her stamina. It was currently her weak point. She had the speed and flexibility to use her fighting style, and she would only improve on it, but her stamina was holding her back.
While it was mostly due to her age, she needed to practice harder to compensate for it. That was why she was running now, doing her best to keep an even speed while also using her sensing abilities to monitor her surroundings.
She took a break every hour for some water and to lower her heartbeat before starting to run again. This type of running was different from a shinobi run, where you used chakra to enhance every single step. It was more natural, without any enhancement from the body.
By the time she got to the village, all her mussels were pleasantly burning. She immediately went to the inn to book a room for the night and took a nap. It was still morning. She left Konoha at around dawn, and she needed a little rest.
She woke up an hour later and had a quick lunch in the inn. It was time to get to business. "Where can I find a medic or healer in this village?" Shiori asked the innkeeper as she paid for her lunch. With her recent payment from Konoha, she will be well off for a while.
"We don't have a healer since we live close enough to Konoha. For emergencies, we usually go to old man Sora. He knows his way around the old remedies. Why? You need a doctor?" the innkeeper asked. She was a middle-aged lady, and while her inn only had two rooms to rent, her small restaurant had good business since it was the only one in the village besides two small pubs.
"I am a traveling medic. I wondered if he would need help before I leave tomorrow." Shiori said politely.
The woman looked her up and down doubtfully but did not voice her opinion. She sighed. "It's not like anything interesting ever happens in this city. Fine… Whatever… He lives in….." She said in a bored tone.
Shiori did not complain.
It turned out that they indeed needed some help. There was a case of bird flu going around, and they needed some help with administering all the medicine to patients since they all opted to stay home and be taken care of by family.
Still, that afternoon, Shiori did her best, helping with as many tasks as she could. A few hours into the afternoon, news of a medic being in the village spread, and there was a queue of visitors, especially since she announced that she was helping the village for free.
Still, she accepted a few gifts of dried food and vegetables that would be valuable to her during her journey.
The routine continued until she finally passed the fire country border. She did not need to draw attention to herself, so she was just a simple traveler. She ditched her regular clothes for a cream-colored cloak.
Light enough to not absorb the sun's heat and different enough from the color of the sand that she wouldn't come out as an enemy trying to blend into the surroundings. It seemed to work as she was not approached by the few shinobi patrols she sensed in her sensory zone.
On that note, since she unlocked her seal, she has been getting better at it day by day. Her natural ability is setting well into her technique. She no longer feels like her senses are wildly latching into everything within reach, and she is not overloaded by the feelings and emotions of those around her.
Her ability was now enhancing her technique. She was getting better and better at sensing people. Even ANBU-level shinobi couldn't hide from her if she focused. She was also getting more feedback during her interactions.
She could not only feel people's emotions and intentions more clearly, but she was also beginning to develop a new ability. She seemed to be able to predict people's emotions and actions—or, more accurately, the shift in emotions.
She was still unsure how to do it, but she discovered it at Konoha Hospital. There was a violent drunk patient who was refusing treatment. The nurses were holding him down while she was trying to stitch the wound he got in a bar fight.
He seemed to have calmed down, realizing he couldn't escape the nurse's hold. But then Shiori felt it. She barely had time to react, but she jumbled back just in time as the man, who later turned out to be an ex-shinobi who was retired due to a permanent injury to his legs, broke out of the grip of the nurse holding his hand and punched where Shiori was a moment ago. That punch would have broken her jaw, at the very least.
Shiori put that incident to luck and didn't think much about it. Still, after a few repeats of similar incidents, not all of which were directed toward her, she began to see the pattern. During his sparring with Gai-sensei and Hayate-sensei, it was the same. Sometimes, she would get a foreboding feeling of what they were going to do next, and she could dodge attacks that she wouldn't have been able to dodge otherwise.
She talked about it with them, and they told her they'd heard of people with such skill before. While they also sometimes experience it, it shouldn't be something she should rely on during the battle, as there was no guarantee that it would always happen.
She still wanted to make it happen. Something was just tingling her senses. Telling her that it is possible and that she should. It was something deep inside her. Something that should not be there. Yet she couldn't tell what. But she knew to trust it.
She shook her thoughts out as she saw a massive sand tornado coming her way. She did not have much time, but she needed shelter. She wouldn't make it to a city. She frantically looked around. She had about five minutes before the tornado would be upon her.
There was nothing around but sand. She looked some more. She also tried to reach through the ground with her chakra pulses to see if there was anything she could use as shelter. Frantically, she raised her area of search more and more.
The storm was getting closer and closer, and she had no way to outrun the storm. Then she felt it. It was too far away, but there was a large hollow rock formation. She wasn't sure if she would make it or not, but she didn't hesitate.
She pushed all her chakra and ran at a speed she had never done before. Her life depended on it, after all. She was laser-focused on her destination. She could feel it getting closer and closer, and the terrifying sound of wind slashing behind her. She tried to go faster, visibly seeing her objective in front of her.
Alas, just as she was about to enter the cave, the tornado caught her up. The only thing she felt was something hard connecting with the back of her head and passing out.