The Konoha hospital receptionist, Yakushi Himari, arrived at the hospital early in the morning. A man however was waiting at the door to the hospital. He smiled at her in greeting.
"It's good to see you again Saul-san. Here to help out again?"
Himari unlocked the door to the public reception area, where she opened the door and let him in. She felt a little nervous at his tall, powerful presence. He seemed to dominate the area around him, moving with measured strength and calculated grace. Once inside, she quickly fled behind the reception desk for a semblance of societal safety. Himari made herself busy.
"Yes... About my earlier request though, is there any way you could arrange a meeting between Yakushi Nono and I? There's only so much I can learn from medical anatomy textbooks after all."
Himari frowned. The man was not a root operative. Why was he being so insistent about meeting her mother? Surely it wasn't just about learning something like medical ninjutsu, right? Nobody truly bothered to learn this - certainly not a genius like Saul. He had to have some other purpose.
"As I said yesterday... Mother is not at the hospital at the moment. She doesn't want to meet anyone anymore, except for her sons and daughters."
Saul frowned. This mere civilian receptionist was being more difficult than he imagined. A single use of Genjutsu, and she'd change her tune in a mere instant. Now he tired of her antics.
"I understand." He smiled gently, "That's alright. Actually I just remembered, I needed to return a book."
Saul reached into his bag and pulled out the previous handout on human autonomy.
"I've memorized the contents of this one. Do you guys happen to have any books related to anything past bones, muscles, or skin? I'm still getting better at healing bones, but nerves and organs are next on the list of learning. For some reason they're not mentioned in most of the books."
Himari smiled weakly as he approached. "I'm sorry, but we don't have public materials available on those areas. The potential for abuse is too strong."
*Sigh.* She was really completely useless to him now, wasn't she.
Saul arrived at the reception desk, book in hand.
"Here you go."
The woman gulped. Even from his amicable smiling expression, she could sense that something was off. Himari felt more nervous than ever.
"What's wrong?"
"N-nothing!"
Suddenly the door to the hospital bust open, and a fat, heavily breathing man walked in. He glared at Saul before smiling in the ugliest way possible.
"So you came! Haha! Come with me - Kito practically lives at the hospital!"
The invisible pressure that had been surrounding the receptionist vanished. She felt as if she could relax again.
"Sure thing, Ugai." Saul casually handed the book over to Himari. "Lets go."
The big man lumbered past him before Saul followed. He'd handle Himari later. For now, learning at the hospital was still potentially useful to him. If he had no better options left however, Saul would not allow a mere civilian to halt his progress. He would not waste time on coddling her concerns or feelings.
Ugai knocked politely, something that seemed uncharacteristic for the man, before announcing his presence.
"Boss! I brought the newbie! Can I come in?"
A tired voice rang out from behind the wooden door. "Come inside, Ugai."
Both Saul and Ugai entered the office room. Kito was sitting in a reclining chair, resting his tired eyes. The man was in full uniform even now, dressed in a tan overcoat and Teletubby style headwear. Saul had no idea why they wore such a ridiculous outfit, but this was a big part of the reason why he wouldn't be joining the medical corps any time soon.
"This is the genius Genin I was talking about who showed up yesterday. He healed all the injuries you assigned to me no problem, yet he didn't seem exhausted at all!"
Kito opened one eye, smiling softly. He ignored Ugai's constant glazing. "Welcome to the Konoha hospital, Saul. Thanks for helping out the other day."
Saul smiled, scratching his head. "You're welcome, Kito-sama. Actually I came at first to the hospital to try and find the person you mentioned to me earlier, Yakushi Nono. However, the receptionist told me I should wait until she wanted to meet me, or something. I figured I'd just help out until she came, but... She didn't show up while I volunteered for over half the entire day, yesterday."
Kito frowned. "Himari said that? But the director hasn't even shown her face at the hospital in months. Otherwise, why would a Chunin like me be running this place? I told you to come to the hospital, so you could get a proper introduction from one of her daughters..."
Saul frowned. That bitch had been leading him along the entire time.
"Really? I guess I must have misunderstood her earlier. It's no harm anyways, I'm always happy to help people in need."
Kito breathed a sigh of relief. "That's great! Mogusa should be arriving soon to take over my shift. For now though, Saul, can you come with me? I'm out of chakra."
"Sure."
There was a giant huff in the room. "What about me, Boss?"
"Ah, Ugai?" Kito scratched his head. "I'm glad your willing to help but... Don't worry about this. Just keep doing what you're used to. Thanks again for your continual help, Ugai."
Kito handed him a list of patients as Ugai scowled. He left the office, cursing under his breath.
After that little incident, soon Kito and Saul were seen walking out of the office quickly. The man moved fast despite his exhaustion, Saul noted. Soon they reached a different wing of the hospital. Kito ushered him into one of the wards.
"This is where we treat the people with auto immune diseases."
"Auto immune diseases? You're referring to the illnesses by which the body attacks itself?"
"Yes." He sped up his walking. "I have a patient suffering from myocarditis."
Myo, meaning muscle, cardi, meaning heart, itis, meaning inflammation. The body itself was attacking the patient's heart? Saul frowned.
"The Mystical Palm Ninjutsu cannot cure such illnesses, Kito. Even if we heal the damage it will come back again after a certain time."
"I know. I know." The man gritted his teeth. "But sometimes you have to do what you can to keep those you cherish alive."
Opening the door, Saul was greeted by a sickly, young girl sitting up on a hospital bed. She had long brown hair, blue eyes. She looked to be seven? Eight? Saul looked back at Kito and saw a resemblance.
"Sweetie, how are you feeling?"
"I'm ok Dad. You're here earlier than usual."
She pulled up a drawing to show to him. The artwork actually looked fairly decent - nothing Saul would expect from a child. It depicted a family of three, Kito dressed in his normal medical wear, a girl resembling herself, and a long haired woman who was hovering, over a nearby lake.
"Sayuri... Dad loves your drawing."
She grinned. "Isn't it nice? I had a dream where we were finally able to go out of this hospital one day. When we went out to fish, Mom was watching over us."
Kito seemed to be trying his best not to tear up. "Maybe tomorrow, Sayuri. If you're feeling well enough to go out, I can take you out with me."
"There's no point Dad, I don't want to be in a wheelchair. There's no need for you to go through the trouble."
Kito was silent for a while. He seemed to struggle on the inside for a while, before sighing.
"Maybe Sayuri. Maybe. Maybe tomorrow will be special. Just give Dad a second, ok?"
"Okay!"
Pulling Saul out of the room, the man talked very quietly. He didn't want Sayuri to overhear.
"She's suffering from the same auto immune disease that killed her mother. I tried to learn Medical Ninjutsu in order to try healing my wife, but... She passed away. Sayuri is the only one I have left."
Kito bowed his head.
"Saul, can you help treat my Daughter? Between managing the patients of the Hospital, I just don't have enough Chakra. I can't justify letting several others die just so she can live a normal life."
"Why are you asking me, instead of the other members in the corps? I'd like to know the reason."
He bowed even further. "Most of them are like Ugai. They have no chakra to begin with, much less any to spare doing extravagant feats of healing... But I heard what you did yesterday, when you volunteered. Everyone you treated left fully healed. I know my daughter is much more difficult in comparison but... Please."
Kito was a good man, too good for his own good. How could he let his own Daughter, Sayuri, grow up like this? How ridiculous. If it were up to Saul, he'd let several people die in exchange for his daughter's happiness.
Saul lifted the man up by his shoulders.
"Do not be ashamed to ask. I'd be happy to help, Kito. And if you pay me," Saul smiled, "I can make sure your daughter gets to live a much more normal life from now on."
Author's Note: Saul is continuously collecting funds from multiple different sources. Sakura, the Duke of Fire, and now Kito. Right now he simply doesn't make enough from missions to feed Hinata and himself to fully support their bodies, and it's causing training bottlenecks. This is why he seems so greedy for money. Higher level training, especially physically, requires such monetary support.
Author's Note(2): Sorry not home at the moment, having to fill in for someone's shift. Haven't gotten the chance to edit the ch yet but releasing it now. Hope you guys enjoyed it.
Author's Note(3): Lol while i was out forgot to release on NovelBin as well. Releasing it now along with today's ch, sorry