Ichigo's Lab Partner {B-Rank}

Mission Details:

Meika did not really know how to feel about her new current assignment. After one of her hospital visits, one of the assistants there requested for her help. They asked if she could help Dr. Sato with an urgent mission. Despite Meika lacking in the studies and skills that involved medical terms, the assistant reassured her that since a professional was going to be present, having Meika at the side wouldn't be a problem.

It was Dr. Sato, who would be in charge of the operation, and Meika was there on standby to assist him in anything he needed to be done.

After she heard the details about the operation, Meika couldn’t help but be a little hesitant. It wasn’t normal for the raven - haired woman to feel uneasy with a task. It took a lot to make her confidence falter even in the slightest.

But that's what happens when she gets involved with the dead.

At first, it wasn’t much of a bother, since the young woman hardly noticed much of a difference in the beginning. It was as if she was unaware of what was really going on around her. But sometime after awakening her clansman's bloodline, Meika had experienced odd situations with what appeared to be spirits.

Spirits were more than just the essence of nonliving things or things that used to be alive. It was many other things like energy itself.

It made the kunoichi feel like some sort of oracle, which is why she wasn’t all too excited about being in a room to study a corpse. It wasn’t even the sight of gore itself that turned her off. It was of what could be lingering around it. Something that only can be sensed by her.

That wasn’t really something she was going to discuss with Dr. Sato though. . or to any of his assistants. She didn’t need them to think of her as some loon. Meika caused enough trouble as is for the doctor.

So here she was. . twenty minutes after Meika finally agreed to assist in the operation. Standing within the office of the morgue. She was waiting for the arrival of the man she knew as Ichigo, the famous Dr. Sato. Meika had arrived at the office a little early. Ready to get this job done and over with. Her nose wiggled a little from the weird smell that lingered within the atmosphere.
{WC: 405}

Stat page:

One file after the other, turning paper by paper. Safe to say he was going through all of the information quite diligently. There wasn't a day where Ichigo didn't spend time looking for any lead related to the assassination attempt at his life back in the Land of Tea. However, to no avail. Not that the drunk expected things to be easy, the fact he survived in the first place could be called a small miracle in itself after all. Such would be the fate of those in a position of power, many individuals lurking in the dark waiting for a moment to strike. Jealousy and lust for power at its finest. 

Sitting in his office the Deputy would be leaning back in the chair ever so slightly, gathering his thoughts on the matter as he was waiting on a report. Not that long ago did he sent out a couple of ANBU shinobi in search of anyone who met the description of those possibly responsible for the attack. Wielding both the responsibility and authority as the second in command the blacksmith's son would put his sources to good use. "It's only a matter of time now" the man spoke under his breath, only for himself to hear. 

And there it was, almost as if Raijin himself heard the Deputy's thoughts. With a simple press on a button of the intercom Ichigo answerred the incoming message of Ichika, his secretary. "Yes dear? I see. Tell them to meet me there, thank you". Quite the good news if you'd ask him. Standing up he'd prepare to head to the hospital's morgue where the ANBU had brought a body for the Head of Kumogakure's Medical Institute to inspect. If all went well they finally discovered and took care of the culprit who tried to take Ichigo's life. 

Making his way over as he was headed to the morgue, the Doctor made sure to ask for two Genin to assist him during the investigation. Not that the man required any help but he figured it might be a chance for the younger generation to gain a bit of experience regardless of them pursuing a career in the medical field. "Ah, I see our first troublemaker arrived", Ichigo's booming voice filled the room as he addressed Meika. "How've you been?", a bit of small talk as he put on his coat. Before beginning any investigation or procedure, Ichigo informed the kunoichi that they were waiting for the last person to arrive. "There will be one more joining us today". With a friendly smile on his face he could hardly wait to finally find out who the one trying to get rid of him was.

(WC: 450)

Speak of the devil. A regal, pedigreed accent, alto in tone, sounded out right after Dr. Sato indicated her participation.

"Ryoinsatsu Baruga, reporting."

The woman walked in with an attempted neutral expression, but there was a mild cringe on her face, a narrowing of her eyes that indicated that she either did not want to be here or did not like the smell. Unknowably to the other two, it was the latter. Professional though she liked to appear, she couldn't help the fact that she was a privileged child growing up. The scents of comfort were perfumes and incenses, clean sheets and flower gardens. Only recently had she grown comfortable with whiffing death and decay — never before had she smelled preservatives quite so pungently.

Well, learning opportunities, she supposed. Medical knowledge never really hurt to have, and Baruga was considering potentially pursuing the subject in the future. It would be necessary to at least familiarize herself with the basics of the trade: corpses, chemicals, surgery, the like: before once considering the application of chakra. ...Ah, but in all honestly, it was still incredibly droll. She couldn't bring herself to enjoy such a place as a morgue, no matter how much she internalized the necessity of it. Maybe she should have started with books, instead?

However, her expression obviously brightened up as she saw the girl with the tattoo that she had such a lovely conversation with in the past. Her eyes flickered directly to Meika, a far cry from her usual focus. Subtly, she tried to scan for the tattoo she'd seen in the past, borne purely out of curiosity, she'd assure you.

"It will be a pleasure to work with you, Dr. Sato. ...And, a-ah, you as well, Ms. Meika."

She snapped back to attention after allowing herself that particular indulgence. After all, today's mission was of quite the serious nature: the usual autopsy report was one thing, but it seemed that this body would be directly related to Dr. Sato. She'd do well to pay him close attention during this mission, lest she be marked as a complete amateur in the art of current political events.

"I'm of the understanding that we're to assist you at the table in determining the identity of your assassin, Dr. Sato. Are there any particular parameters we need to fulfill?"

Always verify the mission if possible. God knows some of the lower-rank assignments lack a sense of literacy at times, but in this case, she simply wanted to ask more information of the good doctor as to her specific role. After all, neither her nor Meika were registered nurses or — anything of the like, in the case of a dead body.

---

WC: 451

Stat Page:

“Ah~ it’s been a while Dr. Sato. I was beginning to wonder where you'd disappeared to.” Meika stated after hearing Ichigo’s booming voice fill the room. The doctor really enjoyed reminding her of the mischievous behavior that the raven haired woman seemed to possess. He did happen to be the one that usually caught her in the act of doing something she wasn’t apparently supposed to be doing.

Ichigo announced that their team effort will also include another member. Before Meika even had the time to wonder who it was that would be joining them, the door would open as Baruga entered the examination. “A pleasure indeed princess~” The kunoichi’s phantom eyes would brighten up as she recognized the brunette lass.

Everything seemed to be in order as the examination team gathered at the morgue. Meika moved to equip herself with any personal P.P.E ( personal protection equipment ) that was required before beginning the operation. Even if she wasn’t the one doing most of the hands-on work, which would more than likely be the doctor himself, it was always safe to be sanitary from the dead things. With a wicked smile, one that wasn’t really expected in such a situation, Meika stretched some gloves over her hands.

The corpse of the victim would be out on display for the party of three. Baruga questioned for further details on what the genin of the operation was intended for. Meika was fully ready to hear Dr. Sato’s instructions. The sooner that this mission is completed and successful, the better. It was time to uncover the details of this victim’s death and lay them to rest.
{WC: 274 | TWC: 679}

As he engaged in what could be considered a casual conversation Ichigo noticed the person they were waiting for had arrived. "Welcome, Miss Baruga". Not long after the kunoichi made her appearance the young woman's expression suddenly brightened as she laid eyes on the little troublemaker, Meika. "It seems the two of you have met before? Don't tell me you snuck out to the hot springs again?". Although his remark would confuse the princess, the nickname apparently given to her, Ichigo would obviously be referring to the first time he came upon the vixen who wondered about his disappearance. "Aw, were you worried about me?". With a smirk on his face the Deputy figured it wouldn't hurt to briefly inform the two kunoichi of the recent events in the Land of Tea.

Before doing so, the blacksmith's son suggested they'd wash and disinfect their hands first, always keeping hygiene in mind. Maintaining health and preventing disease, especially in a hospital. "It's been a while indeed. A request was made, asking my person to mediate the Kage Summit in the Land of Tea" he started to explain. However, everything discussed during the meeting would be kept private as such matters weren't exactly something the ears of a Genin should reach. "And that's where I met this fellow" the doctor pointed at the lifeless body of the assassin. "The moment we tried to return home this one attacked us. Further investigation revealed he was hired by someone in Kumogakure, an attempt by someone who must have their eyes on my position as Deputy Kage. But as you can see, I came back in one piece". The last sentence was said with a slight smile, even though the circumstances weren't exactly laughable.

Now that they got that out of the way it was time for them to begin their mission and tackle the task at hand. "However, I'm not here to bore you with stories of my adventures so let's start shall we?". The purpose of them being there was to determine the cause of death, rather ironic considering Ichigo himself was responsible for the dead man's demise, but that didn't mean Meika and Baruga wouldn't be able to learn a thing or two. "Miss Ryoinsatsu, as you said we're supposed to figure out this individual's identity. Any idea how that can be done?". There were a couple of things that could help with that, the question was if the two kunoichi would be able to come up with an answer.  

(WC: 418, TWC: 868)

Baruga politely covered her mouth with her fist and cleared her throat, trying to fight down the blush that Meika was giving her. Damn these pretty women who seem to teleport into hot springs when she's vulnerable. If it becomes a pattern, then Baruga may very well perish as a result. — Though, from Dr. Sato's teasing, it seems that Meika might be the type of person to frequent hot springs. Hm.

(The hot springs would later that week gain a repeat customer, but Baruga simply could not tell you who it was, or what they were doing there. Entirely coincidence.)

In any case, work. Once more, she needed to focus. Already in standard field gear, it was simply a question of taking the time to sterilize herself properly as she listened attentively to the Deputy Kage's debriefing. Lab coat, then protective pants, then rubber boots. Then as she slipped into her long smock, Baruga's eyes flickered to the poor bastard on the operating table once his name was mentioned.

Well, less poor, more entirely uneducated. Small difference to her, but it existed.

Tie hair back, then head cap. Wash hands properly. Gloves on, then mask. She felt a bit like a student doing all this, but that's because she was one, in a sense. And, by and far, having proper protective gear was better than operating in the field — she'd heard tales of battlefield autopsies and, worse, battlefield transplants, and she would hate to think of what would happen if somebody gouged out an eye to use as their own. Every day she gave thanks to the greater powers that the Ryoinsatsu bloodline dies with the user.

Which, of course, means praying to her bank account. The gods didn't do much other than sap her money out of her pocket, so they'd yet to make a convincing argument.

Having been asked a question, Baruga replied in an even tone, professional as always. Even if she had no actual experience or deeper education, she'd at least done her auxiliary reading.

"Assuming he left no trace of identification on his body, be it a protector, ID, or otherwise — or if it was destroyed — then a DNA test would give the most supple answer, assuming they or any family are in the Kumogakure databases. However, this is the slowest option. Fingerprinting is slightly faster, but especially good assassins burn their prints off their skin. Visible identification, such as physical traits, tattoos, or any defects like scars, would also point us in the right direction. Bloodline organs would be damning, hence the ninja mortician's rule of thumb to preserve the eyes first. And finally..."

She squinted as her eyes flickered to the man who, sordidly, put the subject in their current state.

"...Determining cause of death and confronting any potential witnesses is the simplest and most effective form of identification. But I assume we can't simply ask you."

---

WC: 488
TWC: 939

Meika couldn’t deny that she enjoyed finding herself in soothing hot springs, or even luxurious bathhouses. It was very therapeutic, to say the least. It was also an interesting place to meet people.

Ichigo began to discuss the situation, and of the events that led to the dead body laying on the table before them. The mention of the Kage Summit at the Land of Tea explained a lot about Ichigo’s recent absences, Meika always knew he was a very busy man. Not only was he the doctor that ran Kumogakure’s hospital, but Ichigo was also an important asset for the Kage himself. It was no surprise that someone would be after his life.

What made Meika want to chuckle, was that they only sent one man after him, expecting one body to do the job. The assassins very much underestimated their Ichigo.

The problem was, despite the hired hand being already dealt with, the one who hired him was still oblivious to them. They were still lurking in the shadows, rubbing their hands together like some sort of villain who was eager for their trophy.

But Kumogakure wasn’t going to just let that happen.

The discussion changed as Ichigo proposed a question for Baruga. He wanted her to find a solution to their identity problem. While Baruga came up with excellent options that would help identify the assassin, Meika thought to herself on that question.

She had heard of a clan technique that the Kamigawa was famous for, no doubt there were other varieties of that technique. However, Meika wasn’t familiar with how to perform the clan technique. It would have been a perfect solution, as the technique allowed the person to read into the person’s or object’s past history or events. This would have allowed access to any hints of who this person was, and who they were working for.

But unfortunately, this wasn’t the case. They would have to come up with a more strategic method for the moment.

“I believe it would be too risky. If the one who hired the assassin resides in the walls of Kumogakure, would he really risk hiring someone who was close to him? Would he be willing to hire someone who wasn’t within our walls?” Meika listed the questions after Baruga’s knowledgeable intel. “When it comes down to finding out who hired this hand, I believe that the two must have either had some form of contact with one another or the passing of letters to discuss the plan. There is a chance that a guard would have seen another meet up with our victim here, or possibly witnessed our hidden villain exiting the gates if our victim is from elsewhere.”

Meika paused as she looked upon the dead body. “That is IF we can even trust our own guards.”

---

{WC: 470 | TWC: 1,149}

With all the necessary preparations done and everyone geared up it was time to start the examination. Ichigo, having asked a question, allowed both kunoichi some time to come up with what they considered a suitable answer. A couple of minutes passed, time well spent as both Baruga and Meika eventually replied to the current matter at hand. "Someone's done their homework" he said with a playful smile on his face. The Drunk had listened attentively to the princess' words, only taking the word once she was finished speaking herself. "Correct, through the usage of DNA we would be able to determine this individual's identity, the same goes for fingerprints". Although the young woman was right about both methods taking ample time, it would be of no concern to Ichigo as the investigation had been running for quite a while now. Of course, that was something he'd be keeping from them for the time being.

Kumogakure's Deputy paid close attention as it was now Meika's turn to share her opinion on the matter, the little troublemaker taking a different approach than her fellow Genin. "You are right, that is something we'll be taking into account when looking further into this". For now the doctor decided to return their focus on the state of the body and figuring out how the man succumbed to his injuries. Those with a certain amount of knowledge when it came to the medical field would be able to find out that the individual's legs were broken and had the upper part of his body reattached to the lower after his torso had been blown off. The first wound was inflicted due to Ichigo using the Swamp of the Underworld, crushing the man's legs after getting caught in the technique. The more gruesome wound was inflicted due to being blasted away by the Multiple Lotus Nonself Connected Cannons, a destructive technique known by those holding the Natural Berserker bloodline. 

Obviously that was all information he kept to himself for the time being, after all, it wouldn't exactly help the two kunoichi if Ichigo answered everything for them. "Now I want you to take a good look at his body and search for all types of wounds you can find on there". It wouldn't be rocket science to discover at least a couple of injuries, even for those not specialized in the medical arts. "Regarding the person responsible for all of this, I'm a big softie" he'd reply with a big smile for now. Unless you came for him or Kumogakure of course.

(WC: 426, TWC: 1294)

Nothing to do but dive into the man's actual injuries, then. The medical team that put him back together were competent at their jobs, thankfully, so when Baruga pulled the sheets off of the body, the man wasn't spilling viscera and didn't smell like any part of him had rotted quite yet. All sense of life had left when they punctured his artery and drained his circulatory system into an analyte recovery bucket, so she didn't feel nearly as squeamish once she got used to the preservative smell.

Bone and muscle. That's all any human was, once the soul was gone. Bone and muscle, to be rent apart and broken apart like any common livestock butchered up for dinner. A human's innards had the same shape, color, function, and sometimes even taste as the common pig or cow or lamb. This assassin — skilled in his lifetime, perhaps, with years more experience than Baruga — was nothing but bone and muscle now, sat on a table like the pile of meat he is.

Fucking pathetic.

"I will assume our well-trained medical ninja have done their professional prognosis," Baruga began, "and I will assume that any further surgery would be both unnecessary and would sully the cadaver further. Do help yourself, Ms. Meika."

Stepping forward, Baruga took her time. She tried to feel for each bone, pressing her fingers firmly into flesh. His limbs felt unusually stiff, but she was uncertain if that was the rigor mortis or any internal structures causing that. The strange shape of the legs in particular were interesting to her — rather than slightly bending, they were unusually straight, and there was a strange thinness where the tibia should be, but her unsureness demanded she said nothing of it at this point.

She did note the most obvious injury, however.

"Well, we can rule forced seppuku out. His abdominal cavity is completely empty, and his skin's pulled all along his stomach like it's trying to hide something. I suspect you blew a hole in his stomach. Ninjutsu? No signs of burning or electrical scars, though, which is strange. No cuts, so not Wind Release. And his cells aren't completely waterlogged, either: I know what that looks like. If it was Earth, then there would be far more bones crushed than what we're seeing right now. So not any —"

Her eyes widened. And then, Baruga cleared her throat, taking her hands off the body and crossing her arms.

"— Ah. Perhaps, Dr. Sato, it's a bloodline technique you've been using recently. Maybe one of the ones logged on the ATF expense reports?"

The daimyo, her father, so loved to complain and whine whenever Kumogakure needed coin. This included the extra maintenance costs driven by the upper division forces alone, whether in training or general shenanigans. She didn't know the specifics, but she did know that the good doctor had a bloodline and, alas, was tearing up the training fields in his routine practice — like any other high-ranked shinobi, really.

Oh, right, one more thing.

"In any case, the body is so obviously Uchiha. I assume an organ transplant may occur soon."

---

WC: 525
TWC: 1464
Thread WC: 3907

The Baruga princess uncovered the poor bastard that laid on top of the medical table’s cold surface. The sight wasn’t very pleasant, but nothing that Meika couldn’t handle. The man’s skin was sickly pale, and his lips were blue from being nothing but a dead corpse. Judging from the reattached torso, Ichigo had done a wonderful job at butchering this person to his death. 

Meika approached the lifeless body as Baruga voiced the invitation. “Don’t mind if I do. .” Her phantom eyes scanned over the corpse. Looking to take any notes that may pertain to the injuries that this man had suffered. Anything that was unusually out of place, was indeed marked within her mind like a list. 

“I agree with Baruga. I don’t see many hints of elements used to execute these wounds, but also I don’t see a sword or hammer doing this either. Although, the deformed shape of the legs leaves me to question how they were crushed.” 

The raven haired lass wiggled her nose once more from the smell. 

Each of the females gave their input, although Baruga had already covered all they really needed to pay attention to. Meika raised her eyebrow at the Deputy after her examination of the body. “A big softie you say? I would almost deny that. By the condition of his torso and what Baruga pointed out, this poor thing was hit by a blast that was powerful enough to tear his innards and torso. . perhaps completely from his body. .if not almost completely.” Meika’s lips curved into a mischievous smirk as she teased their Doctor. “Sounds like a brute to me; Dr. Sato.” The Kamigawa chuckled a little afterward. The Deputy really did possess incredible. . and destructive power. Meika hoped to be the same sometime. Even if she was more handy with being an illusionist. “What’s next? Or are we about done here, Dr. Sato?”

---

{ WC: 316 | 1,465 }