Team 10 - Bonds in the Medical Bay

Cherish was groggy, not because of the numbing feeling she felt in her leg nor the lack of a hangover she was supposed to have but because she was remarkably sober. Ususally she was sober but the taste of alcohol never left her lips if that made sense at all but right now at this moment she was completely and utterly sober. Her jug was near her, and for the most part the sterile white room she was in was empty, she sighed as she remembered exactly what had happened. She had lost in the very first round of the finals to a girl probably half her age, and if that wasn't worse the girl had done it with just one arm.

She was ashamed, not because she doubted herself she knew she was tough she had real world experience and she didn't use other genin as her measuring stick. Especially since she was a support shinobi training to become a medic, no that wasn't what shamed her it was more of the fact that she had lost in such a way. She didn't even know whether she would be promoted or not, she had tried to show off her skills while attempting to win but it wasn't enough. Thinking back she could of made some better decisions but she had instead gone for the alcohol first instead of attempting to fall back on her medical ninjutsu training and taijutsu skill. "I'm sorry for being such a failure..,Nee-san" Cherish muttered to herself closing her eyes which glistened with tears, not of physical pain the Medical Nin were really efficent and she had Orama Care like all the other genin rank shinobi but from emotional pain.

This was coupled with the sadness that came from her parents not even bothering to check on her they were probably ashamed of her as well. Hopefully her teammates did check in, even if it was just Omito since she knew Summer had a match coming up but she really needed the support at the moment and considering she had no booze on her person to drink her sorrow away it would be nice to be surrounded by friends.

Omito had just watched his friend get defeated by a little girl who was obviously super powerful. Of course that was his next opponent. He wanted to test his strength against her for sure, but he had mixed feelings about fighting her. He wondered if he was really strong enough to beat her. She beat Cherish, and Omito thought of himself weaker than Cherish, so he had no clue of how he was going to manage winning, or even preforming well. He was going to try his best though, he still had to prove to everyone he was great, he just had to win.

The boy was walking down the hall of the large stadium, trying to get to the medical bay, where Cherish was at. He was going to go visit her to see how she was doing. He knew it had to be pretty rough to lose a fight in the Finals, that's why he was going to go and try to comfort Cherish. Omito wondered how she was holding up, hopefully she was doing alright, he didn't want to see her cry again. Soon he found the place and walked up to the front desk that was stationed in front of the room where the injured people were, "Hey, I'm here to see Cherish Dokusei. Can I go in?" The lady smiled, "Go on ahead, and congrats on your win!" Omito nodded, "Thank you." He was pretty happy he won his first fight, but he broke his finger when doing so.

The boy would open the door to where Cherish was at, his light sea green eyes wandering around until he spotted her. He waved and smiled a he walked over to where she was at. She didn't look so good, but he knew it would help if he put on a smile. Omito walked over to the bed and sat at the end of it before looking over to Cherish, "Hey Cherish." The boy didn't know what else to say, so he just smiled at her.

Th first person to check up on her wasn't Summer but Omito, that was understandable like her he had already fought and thus could afford to rush here the moment her fight ended, She would attempt to blink her tears away but one would escape forcing her to lift up her hands to hide it and wipe her eyes managing to smile at the sight of him. Hey Ghosty, you did really well in your fight, not like me. Your going to be fighting her next right? Kick her smug little butt for me, I didn't really know much but it was as if she could locate me even through the smoke so she's got to have some sort of sensory thing going for her. Cherish said while sitting up, ignoring her own sadness to try and give him info to help him in his next match that way if he beat her opponent she could at least have some closure.

She can also hit like a brick, I had my rock armor on and when she hit me it not only shattered but my arm felt like it almost got dislocated. If not for it I would of been done much quicker, so be careful okay? Ugh I was so stupid, I've gotten so reliant on my earth movement and concealment that I negelected the other stuff I could do. I could of used my chakra scalpels and took her on in close combat with Azure Fist or something, ugh I'm such a failure. she said slamming her fist on the bed and looking down.

Omito watched as she tried to wipe the tear off her face so he wouldn't see she was crying. He felt really bad, he wished that he could help her feel better some way so he wouldn't have to see her so sad. She then told him that he did a really good job in his fight, causing him to blush under his mask as he scratched the back of his head with embarrassment, "Haha thanks." She then told him to beat Jazz in the next fight and that she had some type of sensory. Omito smiled, "Yeah I'll beat her, don't worry about it." He actually doubted that he would be able to do that, but he still had to try. Cherish then told him that she could hit really hard and she even felt a hit through her rock armor, she warned him to be careful, causing him to give a little laugh, "I always am."

The boy listened to her as she explained that she could of did other things in the fight that could of possibly led to her victory. Omito shook his head when she called herself a failure, "No you're not. A failure is someone who gives up and is hopeless. You just got to work really hard, so next time the same thing doesn't happen. If you keep trying and doing your best you can't be a failure." Omito thought Cherish was one of the furthest things from a failure, "Anyways, you looked great out there. Despite losing, you were still trying to win, even when you found yourself at a disadvantage. You're really strong Cherish, you just got put up against a really tough opponent. Look at all the things you did do, like making it to the finals. So many people can say they didn't make it. And remember that one time when you replaced Summer's eye? That was quick thinking and must have took tremendous skill. She could of loss half of her vision after all. So to me you are far from a failure." The boy smiled towards his friend, his light sea green eyes meeting her's.

Cherish would still be worried but she did have faith in her teammate and even if he lost then at least he could weaken her for Summer to meet in the finals, she had the most confidence in Summer. It wasn't that she was biased it's just she knew that Summer had more training and skill at the moment than Omito did though she didn't know exactly who she was up against in the next two rounds. She would perk up though at his words smiling a bit she was thankful that he at least thought of her that way, she knew Summer did at least she didn't really know what Sensei thought but other than her Nee-san Omito was the third person to actually say she wasn't a failure and that meant a lot to her. Thanks Ghosty, and yeah your right I'm not a failure I just...hope the judges see that too. So slight situation. I am out of booze and now I can't drink away the throbbing pain in my leg and the med nin said I can use chakra so if you could be an awesome friend and fill up my jug with water so I can put the remaining three Rice grains into it to make some sake that would be wonderful. Cherish said pointing to her jug and making a pleading face, she was desperate for some sake.

"THAT WAS THE WEIRDEST FIGHT I HAVE EVER HAD IN MY ENTIRE LIFE!" Summer's voice echoed from out in the corridor as she had already met with and spoke to the lady at the receptionist desk, after all it had only been a couple of weeks since Summer was in her recovering from the incident that lost her an eye. Cherish had done amazing work but she had to make sure that there were no complications and she had spoken to several of the nurses a lot and so they knew of her bond with her team and with Cherish in the hospital it wasn't difficult to immediately get pointed to her room. Anyway after her outburst she opened the door and then ran in, undoing her swordbelt on the way and placing her weapons on the ground before crawling up onto the bed.

She was very careful in how she handled Cherish, making sure to avoid the wounded areas as she flopped over her best friend, cuddling her tightly. She hummed softly for a moment before sitting up, draping her legs off the side of the medical cot, resting on her hip and one hand. "Stupid Ada didn't even try and fight me. We just ended up talking about each other and our teams and then he forfeited... I mean, I don't mind, it means I get to move on but still, feels a bit hollow." That was pretty much all the summary of her match that was required. It was quite unfortunate but Summer was mostly going to be ignoring Omito, Cherish was wounded after all. "I was so worried when I saw the damage you had taken, it made me really scared, Cherish. How are you feeling, have the nurses treated you well?"

Omito nodded when Cherish thanked him, it seemed like he did his job, she wasn't as down about it as before. Then she asked him to go fill up her jug with water so she could make some sake. She gave him a pleading face, causing him to laugh, "Yeah, I'll go fill it up for you." He grabbed the jug and left the room. He knew there was a sink down the hall from the room. He turned the water on and held the jug under it so it would fill. As the water went in, Omito looked at his pinky. It was still broken. Cherish had said she could use chakra, but he didn't want to ask her. After it was full, he turned he water off and made his way back to the room. He opened the door and waved with his left hand once he saw Summer, "Hey Summer." He then went over to the bed and handed Cherish the jug, "Here you go." He then took his position at the end of the bed and leaned back. Cherish wasn't that tall so he had room to lay down. The boy put his hands over his chest and closed his eyes, he was still tired from his fight with Rai.

Cherish would brighten up even more when Summer entered the room. "Girlie!!!" Cherish exclaimed and would happily nuzzle against Summer's side the best she could without moving her body all that much, her shoulder and back that was hurt was thankfully the other side Summer had moved next to. You won I'm glad, thank you Ghosty your the bestest. Um, um well the medical nin warned me to take it easy no serious training for 2 weeks at least anything involving movement or chakra circulation into my leg, while my right shoulder and back should be completely healed in a week. That girl really messed me up, if I didn't have my armor she would of broke my shoulder out of it's socket according to the medics and whatever she used to pierce my leg left a 2 inch hole in my calf....who does that like really. Cherish said first thanking Omito and then going into detail about her injuries ending with a pouting face sure it wasn't as serious as it could of been and she was thankfully covered but still.

She would make a grabbing motion with her left hand the moment Omito walked back in with her now water filled gourd and once he placed it near her she would fish out the three grains she still had and drop them into the water. "The cover should be on one of those seats I'd shake it myself but I only have one good arm right now so who wants to do the honors and shake it up for me." she said managing a sheepish smile as she felt like she was asking for a lot of favors.

"Yeah, she was super rough on you, but then again that shows she was scared of what you could do if she let you do it, eh? She had to go that hard on you in order to take you down, anyone else would've been in big trouble." She chuckled quietly, holding her friend close for a moment before kissing her cheek and hopping off the bed. "Oooh, I'm gonna beat her up so bad when I get a chance, chop chop!" She growled, miming swinging her sword as she moved around the bed, kicking the cover of the gourd up into her hand and then placing it onto the gourd, pushing it in so that it was sealed before she picked it up with both hands and started to shake it. As she done so she hummed a soft tune and sashayed her hips in time with both it and the shaking of the gourd, feeling the liquid splash around inside it.

"Huh, this is actually quite heavy, must be a pain in the butt to carry around." She chuckled and spun on the ball of her foot, stopping with a stomp and continuing with the shaking, a smile on her face. "Then again, carrying around four Nagamakis isn't too much fun either, they are all really heavy for swords, probably comes from the size of them." She put the gourd down, pushing her hair over her ear and then moved over to give Omito a hug. "Sorry, Omi, was worried about Cherish so much that I completely forgot about you, hope you aren't too bothered." She said with an embarrassed blush, looking down at the ground and then finding a chair of her own to drag over next to Cherish's bed, placing it down and sitting on it, resting her head next to her best friend.

Omito quietly listened as he leaned back against the bed, his eyes closed. He was still paying attention to the conversation, he was just a little tired. The boy listened to Summer how anyone else would've been in big trouble against Jazz. Greeeaaat. Looks like I'm going to be in big trouble next match. Omito thought this to himself as they continued. Cherish asked for someone to shake up the gourd. Omito was about to do it but Summer got to it first. Soon he felt arms wrapped around him and he opened one eye to see Summer hugging him. He wrapped his right arm over her back and shook his head to her comment, "Nah, don't worry about it." The boy knew the two girls shared a tight bond, so he wasn't feeling some type of way from Summer.

"Uhuh..I guess your right. Cherish said ducking her head a bit in embarassment before blushing at the kiss though it would quickly fade away as she would fist pump to Summer's declaration. "Not if Omito gets his revenge first!" she said flashing him a bright smile though she honestly wanted him to just do his best and be safe at the end of it because it seemed like Jazz didn't know the meaning of restraint. Well no she did but she was more on the edge of hurt you really bad but nothing lethal just really painful. She would raise an eyebrow at Summer's comment about her gourd before rubbing her neck and puffing out her cheeks a bit. "It really is, it even slows me down in combat but how else will I have a constant supply of booze for both drinking and my techniques. Mainly for drinking.. kidding... I'm not an alcoholic okay." she said looking away from Summer to instead direct that at Omito as out of the two he was less exposed to her drinking habits. Well no he wasn't but she figured he'd support her denial while Summer would shake her head while laughing away her lies knowing that Cherish was in fact an alocholic.

"She isn't an alcoholic, it is a hobby, nothing more." She said to Omito before turning her head to stick her tongue out at Cherish, giggling softly and giving her a smile before going back to lying down, her one uncovered eye closing over as she contemplated for a few minutes. "Omi's abilities means he should be okay against Jazz unless she pulls some new tricks out of the bag. So just do your best yeah, I'll stay here with Cherish and we'll wait for you to come back, yeah?" She smiled brightly at him and stretched out for a moment, doing her best not to punch Cherish in the face with the stretching and letting her pink eye just wander around the room. "Well at least you're in good hands, yeah? The medical station here in Kohai is actually pretty good, and they are taking good care of you." She nodded and then got to her feet before wandering over to her swords and picking them, draping them over the back of her chair as she sat down once more and drew the first of them, the normal nagamaki. Reaching into her pocket she pulled out a whetstone and set to work keeping the edge sharp.

Omito laughed a little when Summer explained that Cherish wasn't an alcoholic. He then nodded his head when she said he could when the fight because of his abilities. He felt like he had a chance of beating the girl and getting revenge for what she did to Cherish. The boy sat up and then hopped off the bed. He then smiled towards his friends, "Well I'm going to go watch the other fights, see if I can get any useful information, just in case if I end up fighting anyone else." Omito then waved, "See ya guys later." The boy then walked out of the room and towards the stadium.

[EXIT]

Mmhm, they are really nice and I'm rooting for you Ghosty kick her butt! Cherish said cheering a bit but trying not to move to much since she was still in pain, once Omito left she would sigh and look upward at the ceiling trying not to brood on her loss. She hoped Omito would win though as he was really such a good fit for the team he had helped her out when it came to worrying about Summer's eye speaking of which. Hey..how's your eye it's not giving you any problems right the drain I mean? Cherish asked mainly curious about how Summer was adapting to it. She didn't have the largest chakra reserves on the team, that privledge was Cherish's but then again she didn't use her chakra too much so it wasn't too much of an issue she guessed. Still she didn't know the repercussions of what she had done to save her friend and how it would affect her career in the future beyond just retaining her entire eye-sight.

"Bring her down, Omi, you can do it!" She cried out with a massive grin, throwing her hands into the air for a moment before giggling and settling down once he had left. She sat up a bit and then crawled up onto Cherish's bed, sitting next to her legs so that she wouldn't move anything and hurt her friend. Kicking her boots off she swung her legs about for a moment before responding. "My eye's okay actually, it feels weird not having depth perception most of the time but I can get around that with Vexos. I don't think I ever properly thanked you for saving my sight, it means a lot to me as a swordswomen and my parents are happy that you had the initiative and quick thinking to do it as well. Thanks a lot Cherish, I owe you one." She smiled to her friend and reached over to gently take her hand with both of her own, giving it a soft squeeze. "Without my hair covering it or my headband however... The world looks kind of weird, yeah? Everything moves really slowly and I can end up hyper aware of everything happening around me but it takes a toll on my chakra reserves... I can handle it just now but I wouldn't want to keep it running for an extended length of time. How are you feeling anyway? Well about that at least, you seemed really bothered by it, yeah?"

Cherish would blush, she didn't think it was worth Summer owing her she would do anything for her friend as she was her first friend she didn't really have anyone else to talk to before Summer came along after her Nee-san passed. But Cherish would keep that to herself for now and instead would smile shaking her head slightly. No worries you don't woe me, your my bestie. Cherish said with a thumbs up before darkening a bit at Summer's question making a face before replying. "I'm just afraid I won't get promoted because of my showing. I didn't get to really show what I can do and she beat me so effortlessly it made me feel weak. I know I mainly focus in support but still I thought I'd at least be able to hold my own and not lose like that. It was the first match...and I lost." she wanted to fulfill her promise to her Nee-san so badly and if she didn't get promoted then she would feel like everything her clan and parents said about her was true she'd be a failure. "I just don't want to be a failure reject Dokusei anymore.."

Summer gave out a loud huff and shook her head, reaching over to gently rub Cherish's tummy rather than give it a poke as she was going to do. Her friend was in a lot of pain and Summer didn't want to add to that even in the meaning of adding emphasis to what she was about to say. "Oi! None of that, Cher! You done great everywhere else, that girl was just a mean piece of work and she went way too far and took it super seriously. It was as though she was trying to kill you, she probably would have tried if the rules didn't stop it. Just because someone is stronger doesn't mean that you are weak. I mean... Would I call myself weak if I took on a Kage and couldn't win? Of course not, each of us have our own power levels and together we are stronger than anyone, you hear me? You aren't a failed Dokusei at all, you are my best friend, a wonderful friend. In that you are an absolute success and I won't have anyone putting my friends down, not even my friends." Summer declared loudly before sitting up and pressing her lips to Cherish's forehead and giving her a cuddle.

Cherish would listen to Summer's words deciding to cheer up glad that at least Summer believed in her, she was right they were stronger together and even if her family didn't see that she had her team to fall back on. She would resolve herself to always keep her team together regardless of what happened in the future because unlike the clan that put her down constantly Omito and Summer always had her back. "It's like you said Nee-san, family isn't determined by the blood coursing through your veins but by the connections and bonds you make in life." Cherish thought to herself leaning her head on Summer's chest. "Thanks for having my back girlie. Your right, I was being stupid. So..did you get a good look at the other competitors that are still in the running, besides Ghosty and Jazz. it was a subject change, to something more pressing she was thankful that Summer did stay with her, even though she could of been spectating the matches to get more info on who she was going to fight.

Summer made herself a little more comfortable, making sure Cherish's head was sitting fine on her chest and gently running her fingers through her friend's hair, a soft hum leaving her lips. "Unfortunately not, I was watching your match mainly and then I got so worried about you that I bolted straight here. I probably should have been watching what was going on but I'll be fine, don't you worry." She chuckled quietly and nodded, leaning back and looking up at the ceiling. She was a little bit worried about the upcoming fights but she knew she was going to win, she was going to be the best and she was going to make it up to her friends and make Jazz pay for what she done. No one got away with hurting Cherish like Jazz did. Reaching up, Summer fixed her forehead protector, getting a small flash of light under it as she done so before making sure it covered her Kyougan and giving a nod. "We're going to become the best, Cherish... I know that. I can feel it. It's something that I've been thinking about." She whispered quietly, her singular, gleaming eye never leaving the ceiling as she spoke, a smile sitting peacefully on her lips. "I hope you think so too, together... Nothing can stop us. I wonder how Omito is getting on, hopefully his fight is going quite well."

Immediately after Summer brought up Omito's fight, the doors to the room would swing open with a couple of med ninjas that were carrying a boy on a stretcher. Blood covered the boy's body so it was hard to tell that it was Omito. For sure his two teammates would recognize him though, right? The med ninja talked in a serious tone, ordering the other one to take off Omito's shirt. They then began the healing process on his wrist and shoulder which were both cut open. The two girls would be able to tell that the shoulder injury was more severe. Omito had just been defeated by Jazz. He tried to last as long as possible but she finished him off fairly quick. He was unconscious when he was brought in.

Cherish was really comfy maybe it was Summer's warmth or the morpine but she found herself being gently lulled to sleep by the sound of her teammates heartbeat. "Mmmk.." she said closing her eyes but before she could completely drift off the doors would bang open causing her to open her eyes and look over. Medical Ninja rushed in carrying someone covered in blood at first Cherish was confused but she would easily recommend that build, hair color it was Omito and she would let out an involuntary gasp her eyes tearing up as he was far worse off than her. "Oh Mother Goddess No...Omito what happened to you?!" Cherish said immediately wanting to rush over and hold him only to cringe as her injuries made it too painful to move to fast. She wouldn't take her eyes off of him though the tears flowed as she tried to pay attention to what the medics were doing. She couldn't see it clearly but she saw that if not for the medics stemming the blood flow he probably would of bled out from his shoulder wound the wrist injury was bad as well.

"No...this isn't.. she's so cruel why is she doing this to us girlie. Cherish would turn to her best friend and would grip her shirt. "You have to fight her in the finals. No, not fight you have to win, promise me that you'll win girlie. She can't just get away with this and your the strongest out of all three of us." she wouldn't break eye contact until Summer replied as in that moment she felt a burning anger like she hadn't known since she was told her Nee-san died to the Dobutsu.

It had been fairly comforting to just sit there and hold Cherish, to enjoy her company silently and to relax for a small while. Summer was pretty sure she was going to fall asleep as well like this but then the doors slammed open. Summer sat up, her eye widening as she immediately saw who was on the stretcher. "No..." Her voice was barely a breath and she hopped to her feet, moving over and looking around and between the Medics in order to make sure. She hadn't been wrong. It was Omito on the bed. Her hands immediately leaped to her mouth and tears sprung to her face. She had never seen someone she loved covered in so much blood... She had never seen an enemy covered in so much blood. "Omi..." She gasped out, tears streaming down her cheek. She moved back to Cherish and immediately wrapped her head in a hug, holding the girl's head to her chest and sniffling. "You don't move... You'll just end up hurting yourself. Those medics are looking after him, he'll survive."

She looked down into Cherish's eyes and nodded firmly to her. "I'm going to win. I won't let her get away with doing this to you two, I won't have it." She growled out, clenching her teeth. "I promise." She hissed out and stepped away from Cherish before picking up her swords. She snapped each one into place and rested her hands on Vexos and Glimmer, feeling their souls pulse within. The young samurai took a deep breath through her nose and her weapons responded, they could feel her emotions, they knew that they had punishment to enact. How could someone be so cruel, how could they do such a thing? Summer clenched her teeth and then turned to nod at Cherish. "Look after Omito, I have some fights to win... I'll be back soon." She looked down to the ground, reaching up to fix her forehead protector before she walked out, weapons clanking softly. No mercy, if that was how Jazz wanted to play... Summer wasn't going to stoop to her level.

All Cherish could do was nod and watch as Summer left the room only to refocus on Omito, her hands gripping the sheets of her bed tightly as she watched the medics. If anything it only hardened her resolve, she would become a medic-nin, no the best medic nin possible so that anyone who tried to hurt her team would never be able to take someone else from her. She had to get better, things like this just couldn't happen to her and her loved ones anymore it wasn't fair, and her tears would now be filled with anger. Anger at the situation, anger at her helplessness and most of all anger at the person who did this to Omito, she'd never forgive Jazz Kukinorite. Never until the debt was paid with interest, even if Summer did collect that debt she would make sure to do so as well, one didn't hurt her teammates and get away scot free.

(Topic Over)