That's where the blood's supposed to be [Solo]

An Apple a Day

Mission Specs:

Meatball had been eating well and growing big and strong. Was this what it meant to be a proud parent? Goro wasn’t sure.

Regardless, Murata seemed to heavily imply that the responsibility of owning a penguin(!) meant that he should be taking care of himself at LEAST as well as Meatball, and Meatball had recently gotten back from a vet appointment. The next step was logically to sign up for a vet appointment himself- no, uh. A doctor’s appointment. Yeah.

Part of him, however, felt bad about leaving the flightless bird home alone. So he fashioned a little bandana around his neck before leaving the Mizukage estate before leaving. Meatball- oddly enough- had no issue following him.

Goro wasn’t entirely sure where the ninja hospital was, as he’d technically never had a checkup. He vaguely remember hearing things about a combined civilian hospital, or a weird emergency ward, or whatever, but it slipped his mind. Food for thought.

The appointment was probably in a half hour or so, so he had time. There were only so many buildings that looked… hospital-y. A lot of the newer stuff constructed during the second Mizukage’s reign tended to be in nicer areas of the village. All he had to do was wander around there and ask questions.

On his way, he stopped by a food stand and ordered some grilled fish skewers for himself and Meatball alike. Obviously, since the penguin didn’t have fingers, he slid the pieces of fish off and fed them by hand. On the plus side, he only got pecked once!

[WC: 262]
[Total WC: 262]

His arrival in the sterile, clinical environment saw the thick smell of bleach and antiseptic make itself known to him. Medicine was interesting, on paper- but more often than not, blood and gore just made him woozy.

Hopefully, it wasn't too late for him to pull his specialization documents and request an official change. He liked helping people, but there were surely ways to do that without... Looking at their insides.

Goro swallowed. How could he ever hope to hold a candle to anyone as a ninja if he was afraid of blood? Afraid of hurting others? 

He was already a burden. His throat clenched unpleasantly as saliva burned down his throat. Maybe there was... Some shortcut, or something. Genjutsu usually didn't involve gory deaths. Neither did sensing techniques, or teleportation stuff, or... 

...Anything else. He was technically sold into being a shinobi, he knew that on a theoretical level. He couldn't go back to being a civilian until he'd fulfilled his years of service. He might not be assigned to combat or anything else, but he didn't want to feel like dead weight. 

Meatball chittered discerningly between his shins, having plopped himself nearly atop his feet when Goro sat down in the waiting room. 

There had to be a way. Maybe he just hadn't found it yet. He let flickers of a mystical palm come between his fingers, dancing between the digits like a bastardized aurora borealis. Goro's gut twisted itself unpleasantly.

He decided that he hated the sight.

[WC: 250]
[Total WC: 512]

“Err… Murata, Goro?” the attending nurse called out, checking the clipboard to make sure she got his name right. He stood up with a flush, Meatball waddling absently behind him.

“It’s Tanaka,” he mumbled correctively, following her into an examination room. She eyed the penguin oddly, but didn’t make any motions to stop him from entering, thus earning her bonus points and probably reinforcing the perception of ninjas being weird as hell in her eyes.

She ran through the basics, stuff that anyone could do. Blood pressure, height, weight, medical history (though he earned an excruciatingly odd look when she couldn’t find anything recent), that sorta thing. She tossed a hard candy his way before heading out, likely to get the actual doctor. Goro looked down- some kind of lime flavor. Maybe she got it from Chizu.

He was left to his own thoughts for five, ten, twenty minutes… Or perhaps it had only been one or two. He didn’t- and never had- a good perception of time. Deadlines and assignments were difficult unless he was constantly reminded, and he forgot about things pretty easily- something that had been the bane of his academy teachers and lab superiors alike. It was one of the reasons he carried a clipboard; it’s pretty difficult to forget stuff if you’re constantly writing it down, after all.

The doctor arrived shortly after that- a glance at the clock confirmed it had been about four minutes. She asked him a lot of questions that he half paid attention to, cross referencing charts and other papers that likely held information on him that even he didn’t know about. Maybe they were lab records, or stuff shipped over by his parents, but whatever it was was being looked at very intently.

Was something wrong? Another few minutes of incessant questions (was this how people felt when he asked them stuff? Surely not… Right? Right?), she came out with a form to take home to his guardian. He skimmed it- something about medication or whatever, and looked expectantly at the doctor.

She explained that he should start taking vitamins and melatonin to assist with nutrition and sleep- they had likely been causing him duress recently. Should the problems persist, he would be welcome to come back and attempt prescription medication. She slid a bottle of gummy vitamins into Meatball’s backpack as the penguin stared back up and blinked vacantly.

…Huh.

Well.

Newly enlightened as to his health, he took his leave, thankfully having basic insurance to pay for checkups like that one. Hopefully the gummies were good- and who knows? Melatonin might be able to unfuck his sleep schedule. He wasn’t optimistic, but he’d give it a shot.

After a few moments of walking, he picked up the penguin gently and made his way back to the Mizukage estate. Where could he put the stuff so he wouldn’t forget it? His nightstand? The kitchen counter?

…He’d work that out later.

[WC: 492]
[Total WC: 1,004]

(Exit)
Claiming: +10 stats into vigor
+2,100 ryo for genin pay memes
+10 AP
+1,004 words into Ninshu

Approved