"Her temperature is 39.7. Hoshino-san, what do we do? She's never fallen down like this before...!"
"I know, damn it. I already called a medic-nin from the hospital, should be here any minute now."
Lady Hoshino was beyond frustrated.
No, frustration was too light to put it.
Satou Claire had always been a healthy child. Illness was not something that affected her, and she never came down with fevers like the others. On the extremely rare occassion that she did, she would often just take a day or two to recover. Now, though, for her to just collapse, burning hot like a lamp... it didn't make sense.
It didn't make sense!
Claire was decently active. More than others, that was for sure. Always did her part when it came to the chores, and eager to learn at all times. She saw how the child gave it her all whenever it came to playing with her friends.
Yet...
Here she was. Laying in bed, covered in sweat and her face reddish. Clearly struggling to breathe, too.
'What could this even be? A heatstroke? No, it isn't that hot. And she hasn't been long enough for that to happen, either. Then, a viral infection? Again, she never catches colds this bad.'
Hoshino grimaced at the sight, dipping the towel in ice-cold water one more time.
'Could it be the flu? Pneumonia? God help us if it's something that can spread.'
None of the signs matched up! The more she searched for an answer, the less fucking sense it made.
She knew how to deal with cuts, bruises, or even broken bones, no matter how rare it was for that to happen. Mild colds, sure. Kids often get sick because their immune systems are still building, especially so in winter.
This, though... It had her beat.
This wasn't a cold that could simply be fixed with some rest in bed and a damp cloth.
'I should've taken up the medical course when I had the chance, damn it.'
She hated being helpless like this. What if it got worse?
If it did, and things came to worse... she wouldn't know what to say to—
The door knocked.
"What is it? I'm pretty damn busy right now!"
It opened, and in came another one of the caretakers.
"Hoshino-san, Aizawa Isamu is here," she said, relief clear in her voice. "According to him and the symptoms, it shouldn't be anything dangerous, but he's going to check up on Claire-chan just in case."
"Finally. Thank heavens, this has me worried sick," Hoshino muttered with a frown.
A moment later, and...
Step.
A man with his black hair slicked back, wearing a green flak jacket, stepped into the room, a small, almost teasing smile on his face.
"Salutations, salutations. I came here as soon as I heard you call, Hoshino—who's my little patient? Who's dying? I'll make sure they don't, none of that on my watch."
"Hah, as laid-back as always, Isamu. Poor girl is boiling alive, and I don't know what the hell I could do to help."
Isamu chuckled at that, "I see, I see. Boiling alive, you say. And seeing the state she's in..."
The girl breathed heavily, sweat running down her flushed face. Unconsciously, her hands clutched weakly at the sheets.
"Sounds about right. May I have a look?"
"Please do so."
He took a couple of steps further into the room, and stood beside the girl.
Then, he performed a short series of hand signs, before aiming a palm at her.
"[Diagnosis Technique!]"
A green glow emanated from his palms.
"Saying it out loud just to show off, eh?" Hoshino teased, though the worry still hadn't gone.
"Yes. It is mandatory if I want to work at maximum efficiency, you know," Isamu replied, his eyes closed as he focused on the inner workings of the girl's body. "This isn't anything new to me—probably just a high fever, and nothing else."
His faint smile dropped to a slight frown.
"Her chakra network appears to be normal. Her lungs are normal, and don't seem to have any fluid buildup. No visible infections or inflammation, either. Her heart rate is elevated, but that's to be expected. In fact, she's healthy, I'd dare say. However..." his tone became serious. "Her heart rate is unusually high, and a significant amount of blood is rushing to her brain, as if it was working in overdrive to fight off something. This must be why her temperature is so high."
"That's basically the same thing as a fever. How does that explain the almost deadly state she's in? It's 39.5, for god's sake!"
Isamu rubbed his chin, thinking carefully about what to say. "Normally, the body raises its temperature to fight off pathogens and trauma. But in her case... none of that is present, nothing that would naturally trigger this kind of response. The only plausible reason behind this, to me, is that her brain is experiencing extreme stress, therefore the body is directing all of that blood flow in order to process and adapt to all of it as soon as possible, quite literally working itself to the point of exhaustion."
"Then why is this happening? What's causing her to be like this?"
"Hmmm."
The emerald glow from his hands vanished, and he looked at Lady Hoshino.
"I wouldn't know for sure. A sudden influx of information, perhaps? But that is not possible. She can't even use chakra yet, yes?"
"…No. She can't. Her core still hasn't been unlocked."
"I see. Shadow clones are obviously out of the question—I've had some, to put it lightly, idiots, come to me because they overdid it with them and ended up with heavy headaches. Not as extreme as this case, though; never seen anything like it. Apologies for thinking it was just a mere high fever at first."
"Will she be fine?"
Isamu adjusted his jacket, "Definitely. Albeit, she'll have to be transferred to the hospital. There, we will care for her until she recovers—shouldn't take more than a few days or so. I doubt she'll be conscious for much of that time; the mental load is a big deal. At worst, I'll call up a Yamanaka and have them limit the girl's brain function. They're more specialized in the mind stuff, and way better than I am."
"...That's a relief. An actual relief," Hoshino murmured. A whole anvil had been lifted off her shoulders, how could she not feel the tension melt away after hearing those words? "How much do we gotta pay you?"
"Pay? Nah."
Isamu shook his head.
"This is on me. You cared for me while I was still growing, how could I ask you to do that? I've come this far only because of your teachings, Hoshino.
…Though. I wouldn't say no if you let me stay for dinner after this. I haven't really eaten anything since morning light."
She blinked at that.
Then, the old lady began to laugh heartily.
"Pwahahahaha! Of course you can, you stupid fool! Just make sure Claire-chan doesn't croak first before thinking about food, hm?"
"Naturally," Isamu replied with a half-smile, adjusting his jacket once more. "Keeping my patients alive is my priority as a medic-nin, after all."
/////
[Konoha's Hospital.]
"There we go."
Isamu stepped closer to the hospital bed, preparing a small set of vials and tubing.
"IV line is done and set. This will keep her safe from dehydration, and also provide nutrition. Assistant, remember to dampen her towel in ice cold water every hour and a half, and keep an eye on her vitals.
"Sir, my name is Itsuki. Stop calling me assistant."
"Assistant Itsuki, then," Isamu replied with a smirk, "Just do what I say. Hoshino will literally have my head if Claire isn't taken care of properly—you haven't seen how she used to be back then."
A shiver ran down his spine. He remembered the few times he tried skipping out on chores when he was still a child. It definitely wasn't pretty, not at all!
He shook his head, pushing the bad memory aside.
"Anyhow, that's all she'll need for recovery. Hydration, nutrition, and constant monitoring until the brain stops demanding such herculean effort from the circulatory system. Got it, Itsuki?"
Itsuki nodded firmly, adjusting the IV line and checking the tubing. "Understood, sir. I'll make sure to do my part."
"Knew I could count on you."
With that, he took one last glance at Claire.
Then, he left the room, with one thought, and one thought only.
'I hope the food's still warm by the time I get back.'
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