Capítulo 16: Chapter 16: Family Dinner
"Good bye Shin!" An elderly woman in a pure white dress waved to Shin, as he headed towards the hospital lobby, "Goodbye head nurse, see you next week." Shin waved back. It was Christmas time and the hospital was short staffed, the number of people visiting hospitals close to a big day were simply staggering, not to mention the staff also wanting to enjoy the festivities with their families and asking for half days was also a burden on the rest. All this resulted in temporary staff being assigned to keep up with the inflow of patients, hence all the ninjas that were currently free and were proficient in medical knowledge were requested to report at the hospital. Shin himself had just ended a 24 hour shift and was headed home to spend Christmas eve with his family.
"I am telling you, you have to wait. Your injuries are not serious enough. A doctor will be with you when available. So either sit down or get out!" Shin turned to see a nurse in the lobby speaking to a black hired girl wearing a black and red outfit. The girl grumbled and sat down in the waiting area, "I have been waiting for 2 hours!" "Yukia?" Shin involuntarily spoke as the girl with a bandaged and hanging arm looked at him, "Shin?" Shin walked to her, "What are you doing here?" She pointed to her arm with a dead look, "Why do you think genius?" Shin raised his eyebrow before getting closer and checking her arm, "W-what are you doing?" she asked as Shin drew closer and touched her arm. "You wanted a doctor right?" Shin answered. "You're a doctor?" Yukia asked with skepticism. "Well not exactly but I am the best you're gonna get. Follow me." Shin commanded as he started to walk away. And Yukia reluctantly followed.
Shin took the girl into one of the examination rooms and undid her bandages, using chakra to assess the damage, "Fracture and Shuriken cuts, people usually try to dodge those you know." Shin jibed at the girl as her face reddened. "I did dodge them! It's just a minor cut!" Shin smiled and applied some ointment on the cuts, they really were minor and would heal in days but the fracture was another story all together, he didn't inquire for the cause. Shin used healing ninjutsu to speed up the healing process and heal the fracture. "When did you become a medical ninja?" Yukia asked while Shin rummaged through the drawers to find a cast. "I started training about half a year ago." Shin answered. "I heard it's pretty tough, being a medical ninja. Many quit halfway." Yukia carried on. "Not really, half of it is just memorizing stuff about the human body and how different intensities of chakra interact with different parts of the body. The rest is experience and practice." Shin replied as he started to gently put her arm into the cast. "Right, I forgot who I was talking to, Mr. Genius. -_-" Yukia looked at Shin as he worked. Shin finished up and looked up at her as she moved her head so fast Shin worried she might get a whiplash. "W-well, you guys really need to improve your service! Haha! I was waiting for 2 hours, you know!" Yukia spoke in a flustered tone while Shin wrote down her prescription, "It wouldn't have mattered even if you waited the whole night." Shin spoke as he handed her the paper. Yukia asked in surprise, "What do you mean by that?" Shin looked into Yukia's eyes, he saw innocence and almost hesitated but in the end decided to speak, "I know that nurse. Her brother died 3 years ago. On October 10th." Yukia thought with a confused expression before realization dawned on her and her face dropped. It was relatively well known that the Nine-tailed fox was in a genjutsu casted by the sharingan. No one tells children this but after Yukia had felt the cold demeanor of other ninja, it had left a deep impression on her. She only found out the truth after she asked her father.
"Rest for a few weeks before going back to your training, don't strain your arm." Shin spoke and then turned to leave before halting at the girl's words, "Do you… also think that… that the Uchiha were behind the attack?" Shin turned back to look at the little girl as she averted her eyes under his gaze, he could see grief and denial and some small glimmer of hope that her people were innocent and that someone would believe in their innocence. Shin saw her and sighed, he knew the injustice being done to them and the dark hands orchestrating this deception that would eventually lead to a tragedy, but Shin was too weak to do anything about it so he had stayed away from the Uchiha as much as he could. But now looking at her, he couldn't betray the girl's innocent expectations, this was not how he had been raised. "No. I don't blame the Uchiha. What happened that night was just an unfortunate tragedy, nothing more." Shin saw her expressions change as she gained courage from his words, courage enough to look at him. "Rest, see you later Yukia." Shin waved her goodbye and left the hospital.
After leaving the hospital, Shin's first stop was a sweets shop where he had pre-ordered a Chocolate cake with real chocolate bits. "Shin! Nice to see you!" a man in a white apron greeted Shin as he entered the shop, "How have you been uncle?" Shin asked with a smile as a black cat jumped from the shop window and claimed up to Shin's shoulder. "I've been well. Wait just a minute, your order is all ready!" The man disappeared in the back of the shop while Shin played with the cat. When Shin was Shuling around the hospital, Pineapple was usually free to roam the village but today Shin had sent her here to put in the order for the cake so she just waited here for him.
The man appeared a minute later with a box and handed it to Shin, "Your birthday is next week right? What should I make this time? Chocolate and strawberry? Blueberry?" The man presented several options. Shin thought for a while before replying, "I'll just leave it up to you uncle." the man nodded and accepted the responsibility with a smile.
Shin left the shop along with Pineapple and a cake with a free cupcake. Shin was a regular who visited the shop after almost every mission and had been coming to the shop since he was born. The man had watched Shin grow up and really liked the boy so he sometimes gave him free stuff. Pineapple hopped around the streets, watching the lights and festive decorations that hung from every shop in the village, pawing every new thing with a curious touch.
The whole village was extra lively this time because the treaty with Kumo had been finalized and the village was finally in the time of peace. The whole village had come together to decorate every street and shop in Konoha with green mistletoes and red lights. Shin found it odd that Christmas was celebrated here but it was actually just called the winter festival and had the exact same festivities as Christmas. 'I wonder if Santa is real? Is he like a super powerful ninja or something?' Shin pondered as his eyes were caught by a Hugya couple carrying a small child. It was not anyone important but it did remind him of the kidnapping.
Kumo had tried to kidnap Hinata just after the treaty was signed, it just so happened that this coincided with the Chunin exams in Iwa. 'Guess they really planned it huh.' Kumo only lost an elite ninja while Konoha lost its reputation and Hokage lost the favor of the Hyuga clan. Since Shin spent a lot of free time at the hospital, he heard many whispers about how many Hyuga ninja's stopped taking missions that took them outside the land of fire. It was a big blow to Konoha as the Hyuga clan were very well known and their expertise were highly sought after. Many rich people especially requested the services of the famous clan for escort and protection during travels.
"Meow." Pineapple landed onto Shin's shoulder as they stood in front of an Akimichi Barbeque restaurant. Shin went in and ordered his food to be packed since it was Holidays, the Hirano household was having a small party and Barbeque was on the menu. As Shin was waiting, surrounded by the lively laughter and cheers of friends and families., he thought back to how much he had grown this year. He was now Level 37,a medical ninja who was even allowed to do simple operations and assist with harder ones, a mission ninja with 20 successful missions of which 8 were B-rank and 1 A-rank mission. In Fact since Shin and Atsuki's mission completion rate was so high, the team had been unofficially disbanded with Fujio sensei having been assigned separate missions and Shin and Atsuki being assigned missions as a separate team. This gave the duo a chance to work with other teams with different Chunins and Jonins leading them.
"Thank you, please come again!" Shin left the restaurant and walked back home. The street where Hirano house was located was lit with sparse decorations as well. Atsuki had in fact put up red lanterns and a wreath around the door and hung mistletoes and tinsels around the house along with scented candles. Both Shin and Ryouka were very surprised at his enthusiasm since none of them had done anything like this before. Shin had teased Atsuki red and blue when Atsuki brought home the decorations. Nonetheless they still welcomed the festive atmosphere.
When Shin entered the house it was empty, the sun was still out so he put the things in the kitchen and freshened up. In the meanwhile Ryouka had arrived and the two started to prepare for the dinner. The barbeque was the main dish but they still made other complex dishes such as rice and an assortment of fried vegetables. Pineapple also helped by staying away from the kitchen and keeping an eye on the blue cat that tried and failed to catch the brown mouse in the window that was in the lounge. Pineapple kept giving the other cat hints on how to catch the mouse and got frustrated every time the mouse got away.
Atsuki was the last to arrive home from his training, apparently he had somehow convinced a Jonin to train him in Fujio's absence and since he was not as busy as Shin, Atsuki had completed 25 missions by working alongside other teams. Shin didn't push Atsuki about the Identity of this Jonin but he could see the progress he had been making, Atsuki was now level 29 but his combat skills easily put him on the same level as the other chunin.
The four sat around the table and shared happenings of the day along with a simple meal and sweets. "Hey Shin, since the team has been disbanded, how are we going to compete in the Chunin Exams now?" Atsuki asked while he sat down to enjoy a slice of cake, "I've heard that we can apply as individuals if we get an exception." Shin replied. "Oh, I thought we needed to be a 3 person team. Works better this way, I can finally beat you in front of everyone! Hahaha!" Atsuki loudly declared while Shin smirked in response, "Hah! You wish! This isn't the academy anymore, I can beat you with my eyes closed!" "Oh yah, you wanna try!?" Atsuki spat out cake from his mouth that Shin blocked using Pineapple, the cat was naturally annoyed and chose to scratch Atsuki all over the face as revenge. Atsuki tried to get her off while Shin laughed so hard he got a stomachache.
Ryouka was worried about them when he heard their confidence about the Chunin exams, she had never participated in them but she knew that death was not an uncommon outcome. She had some solace that Shin would not be alone in the exams and knew that Atsuki would protect him. During the year, Atsuki had become a real member of the household, a brother to Shin in all but blood and another son to her. She knew the boy also saw her as a mother as his occasional slip of tongue was anything to go by. Ryouka knew that they were exceptionally skilled and smart, afterall they graduated after just a year and half but since the two never shared any details about their missions, she didn't know just how accomplished the two actually were. Even if she did know, she would worry all the same afterall it was her job as a mother. She would worry for them even if they were the strongest ninja in the world.
Seeing the two playing and laughing, seeing her son laugh so hard, the warmth and love that filled this house. She never thought she would see such a thing again, for 2 years this place was nothing more than where she came to sleep, a place that only reminded her of the emptiness in her heart. But now, she felt that her heart was fuller and her house was a home again. Ryouka couldn't help thanking her emotional self from a year ago that decided to bring Atsuki home in the spur of the moment, that single moment had made her life that much more better. Ryouka couldn't help but smile, 'Are you seeing this, Ichiro? Please watch over our son, Atsuki too. He may not be our son but he is Shin's brother. You too, mother and father. Keep them safe, both of them.' Ryouka silently prayed in her heart before she began to nag at the trio for being too loud.
REFLEXIONES DE LOS CREADORES 
HermitOfLifeMount
HermitOfLifeMount The sun is warmer in the winter.
Estado de energía semanal
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