It wasn't that hard to finally get the man to let her in. Stubbornness was a treat all good medics had in common. So when he finally let her in, she made sure to take note of her surroundings. Inside, the house was by no means clean, but it was an acceptable condition.
There was no trash or heavy dust, but it was clear he wasn't someone who could take care of the place regularly. When they entered, there was an open area that seemed to be the living room and kitchen.
There were a few cabinets, a fridge and stove, and a sink in a corner with a small table that had two chairs. There was also an old, worn-out sofa to the side. There were 3 doors. One was probably the bathroom, the other the bedroom and the last one was a study. She could tell that it was a study since the door was open, and she could see the shelf of books and books and papers lying on a desk. She followed the man to the kitchen area.
"Well, do you want some tea?" he asked as he headed to the stove.
"That won't be necessary for now. I may have to recommend some herbal tea for your condition, so I will make the tea after I'm done with the diagnosis." She said and pointed for him to sit on the chair.
He sighed and walked to the chair. He didn't seem to be one for small talk, so she didn't make any conversation. She just used her diagnosis Jutsu and told him about what she found.
She wasn't a miracle worker, but there were definitely things she could do to help him. She could help him with the hygiene. Then she knew a medicine that could help with the joint problems and reduce the pain and inflammation.
She could also use her chakra to reduce some of the already there damage. He also seemed to have some digestive problems, which were easy to solve. Most of his problems could, in fact, be solved with regular medication.
He had a small infection, which she had medicine for, but she had to visit him for a few days to monitor it. Overall, it wasn't something impossible for a medic.
She just had to check again with the shop in the village and set a regular delivery schedule for his medication. He was very healthy for his age. There was also a mold problem in the house, which she had wanted to take care of before leaving.
She told him all of this and then took out some of the medicine she had with her to make him the medicine needed for the infection. She made it into a powder form that could be consumed as tea since the man told him he hated pills.
While the tea was brewing, she started cutting his hair and beard. She also started asking him questions about his diet to see what needed to be changed.
It was nighttime when she got back to the inn. She was so tired. His personal hygiene was not as bad as she thought, but with his limited mobility, it was hard to help him. But she managed to give him a proper bath and a bottle of her sleeping drug to help him sleep better at night. He just had to take a spoonful of it, and he would be dead asleep.
She also did some of the initial healing with chakra. By the end of it, they were both exhausted. She took a quick shower in the inn herself and went to bed.
The next few days were much the same. She would visit Yuki in the morning, do a healing session, help clean his house as much as she could, and leave near sundown. She also started doing some repairs to the house to make sure it wouldn't get destroyed.
She liked to think he was warming up to her. He told her some stories about his younger days. He used to be a hunter. He liked going to the woods and hunting all sorts of animals. But his age finally caught up to him, so he got this little house and field, trying to make a life for himself.
Unfortunately, all the farm work soon became too much for him, and it was getting harder and harder for him to live on his own. He also didn't have any savings, so he wasn't sure what to do. It was sad to hear, but it wasn't a story she hadn't witnessed before.
As much as she wanted to, she couldn't help people beyond her means. But still, she decided to do her best. He already looked more energetic, and his cranky mood was toned down. She wondered if his mood was due to the pain.
After a few more days, it finally happened. From the first day she started cleaning, she could see how Yuki would get nervous when she went close to the study door. She always made sure to make it look as if she had no intention of going in.
The man never directly told her not to go inside the room, but it was clear he didn't want her to. Maybe he was afraid if he directly told her not to, she would get more curious to see the room as most children would.
So he was just trying to always observe her and stop her if she went in. Her opportunity came today. She was doing some deep cleaning indoors, and Yuki was working in the garden. She took her equipment and went inside the room.
She put the bucket and mop near a wall and picked up the duster. The first rule of cleaning is to clean from top to bottom. She started dusting the shelves while simultaneously looking at titles.
Most of the books were old storybooks or historical books about elemental nations. She wouldn't be able to look through the books in the daytime, but maybe she could sneak in at night.
Still, she needed to find a reason to sneak in. She made her way to the desk in the middle of the room. There were a lot of scattered papers and old journals. She quickly glanced through them.
She was starting to make a picture in her head. Yuki was making a Unified historical document about their village. She was still trying to figure out how some of the things in the bookshelf were related when she heard a coughing sound and looked up.
"Something caught your eye?" He asked. His tone was annoyed but not outright angry. She may have a chance with this.
"Yes. I've never seen such in-depth research about a single village." She nodded, trying to exaggerate the excitement in her voice.
"Well, it is my life work after all. Want a short summary?" He asked, and she nodded.
"It started long ago in the warring clan's era. This piece of land was just an empty forest. But one day, a clan decided to settle here. There is not much information about the choice of specific location, but this place was a respectable distance away from their closest ally." Yuki took his seat at the table and started showing pages from his document.
"About an hour at shinobi speed. You see, the clan which resided here was not a normal clan. Their name has been forgotten, but they had a unique kekkei genkai that made them unable to stay in proximity to civilians." He showed her some drawings.
The drawings were a map. Which looked to be a settlement. All the houses and main buildings were cramped into a central area surrounded by a tall wall. Outside the wall were the farms. Overall, the village was small, probably housing less than 50 people.
"They had to isolate, so they chose this place to do so. Sometime before the formation of the villages, they were wiped out. Later, some merchants settled in the ruins and made this village." Yuki said as he turned to another page.
She could clearly see some remnants of it in the current layout of the village. The city center with the residential buildings is where the old village was, and then the newer additions spread away from this center, making it a lot more spacious.
He moved on to tell her more about the economics and how the merchants form the village. It was a fascinating lesson in history, but it still left her with a big question.
"But Yuki-san. If your research is focused on history, why do you keep so many children's books." She knew for a fact that he was unmarried and didn't have children.
Yuki stared at her for a few moments before letting out a sigh. "You see, it's about the clan that resided here. The merchants that moved in documented that the dead bodies were just left to rot."
"No one came to raid the city even though it's been years. Even more strangely, all the bodies were female. At first, they thought that it might be that All men left for some sort of fight."
"But after looking around, they noticed none of the children were male, and also, all the clothing and items in the house belonged to women. So it made me wonder. What kind of clan only has a female population?"
"It may not be as strange in these days, but back then, there were not many female shinobi. Let alone enough to form a village. How did they reproduce if that was the case."
"It all seemed strange to me until I remembered a childhood story. About beautiful women in the woods who would sing and allure men deep into the woods, and when they were far enough, they would kill them, so if you ever hear a singing woman in the woods, you must run the other way."
"It all made me wonder. Could it be that the stories were about that clan? Did the women have some sort of Jutsu or hypnosis that allowed them to control their victims?"
"The shinobi items found in the woods mostly pointed to them being specialized in long-range fighters. Their armor was too thin and light. So they must have valued speed. Their weapons also hinted at long-range fighting." Yuki pointed to some scrolls.
"Those scrolls hold accounts of all the items and discoveries they made about the clan. A fight took place inside, but the outside walls were intact with no signs of forced entry."
"So whoever attacked them must have been let in. The fighting also took place from the center of the village. This all points out one possibility. Whoever attacked them was not deemed an enemy to them. They were betrayed." Yuki said as he scratched his beard, deep in thought.
What he said made sense. "So why are you so interested in the history of a dead shinobi clan?" She asked.
"Because, kid, I don't think they all died in the attack. The stories I mentioned. There is a reason they are told to this day. Every once in a while, someone goes missing without a trace." He said, his face darkening.
Shiori thought about what she learned. She didn't expect Yuki to be so cooperative. But She was grateful. When he talked, she could feel a sense of desperation from him.
It seemed as if he wanted to do something about the situation, but he was unable to. Maybe the events of the past few days were what convinced him.
Seeing someone as young as he did all the heavy lifting around his house, using Jutsu to control elements. It must have made him believe her to be invincible.
Oftentimes, shinobi forget how far removed most civilians are from anything shinobi-related, especially in nonshinobi villages.
Things that she did, like lighting a fireplace, using an earth jutsu to level a piece of land, and the small Knick knacks, must have seemed magical to him. he could also see her doing all these without trying.
She still planned on snicking in tonight. She spiked his dose of sleeping drug for tonight so he wouldn't get up. She would sneak in, confirm everything he said and plan.