✔️Heal My Heart {Kakashi Hatake}

105 | curing diseases

Ikari led us right up to a massive steel building sectioned off behind a high barbed wire fence. The sign on the gate - which was locked with at least five different combination codes - read 'Danger: Quarantine'.

"This is the place," he said, and marched right up to the gate and pressed the intercom.

"State your name and purpose for visit."

"Uh..." Ikari glanced around. "There's a few of us. Ikari of the Hidden Cloud, Zanko of the Hidden Mist, Sakyū of the Hidden Sand, Miyoshi of the Hidden Leaf, and Yokina of the Hidden Stone. We're a team of medics that were sent to help with the cure."

There was a pause, then an electronic beep. "Someone is on their way to grant access. Thank you."

We stood and waited for a couple of minutes, then a man holding a lamp and wearing a HazMat suit appeared from a solid steel door and approached the gate. When he got closer, I made out the bag that was also slung over his shoulder.

The gate clicked open, and the man faced us. "Thank you for coming to help," he said. I couldn't make out his features through the suit, but I guessed from his voice that he was probably middle aged, maybe late forties or early fifties. He went on, "as the disease appears to be highly contagious, I have to ask that you please wear these suits within the compound. You'll also be given a doctor's access card to grant access at any given point."

He took the bag off his shoulder and unzipped it, revealing five HazMat suits identical to the one he wore. "You can put them on over your normal clothes if you want."

I considered telling him I didn't need one, seeing as I was virtually immune, but I pictured Kakashi's reaction if he found out that I had turned down protection against a fatal disease and decided against it. Besides, I wasn't sure how much time I'd get to slip outside and switch my chakra between every patient. Better safe than sorry.

"Do you have any that are a little smaller?" Yokina asked, glancing down distastefully at the yellow suit that hung on her like a giant plastic blanket.

"Sorry. One size fits all," the man said, picking up his lamp. "I'll take you in to the reception area, and you'll be assigned to your first patient." He paused for a moment. "I really am grateful to you for coming to help. A lot of us have lost family to this, and we'll all be glad to see it cured. If there's anything you need, just call for Hiretsuna."

"We will." I placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder, rather clumsily through the thick suit.

The man - Hiretsuna - nodded thankfully. "Right this way, please."

We were taken through the gate and into the compound. It was difficult for me to make anything out through the thick suit, but I could see and hear well enough to tell that the place was heavily protected from bacterial attack with all sorts of methods, some of them unfamiliar to me.

A figure at the reception, unrecognisable because of the suit, handed us a pile of identification cards then indicated for us to go through a sliding glass door. On the other side was a series of doors each with a large window beside it looking in on a pure white room with a hospital bed upon which lay the patient, a woman with long, brown hair that was sprawled out on the pillow. People in HazMat suits swarmed around her.

"How many patients are in here?" I wondered aloud, but of course none of us knew.

"So what's the plan?" Sakyū asked. "Do we go one per patient, or do we go in as one big team?"

"We'll need to be able to communicate quickly with each other, so one big team will probably work best," I reasoned.

"If you'll actually communicate," Ikari grumbled.

"Hey, I might act like a child sometimes, but I'm not stupid. When innocent lives are at stake, they are my first priority," I said firmly.

Ikari made a little noise. I couldn't tell if he was scoffing or sighing. "Is anyone opposed to being in a team?"

There were no objections. Ikari nodded slightly. "Alright. We'll start off in here, and see what we can find."

Yokina was the first one inside. She said something to the medics already in there, and they all streamed out once the rest of us had gone in. I noticed that many of them seemed extremely relieved, judging from their stances.

"So what first?" Yokina asked. "Should we take samples, or start healing?"

"Well, what are the symptoms?" I asked. "We should see if we can combat those first, and try and keep the poor woman alive long enough to cure her."

Sakyū stepped up to the opposite side of the bed and started inspecting the patient. "Intense fever, the brain appears to be swollen, and..." he frowned. "It's hard to tell, but I think her chakra is eating her alive."

I recoiled. "That is definitely not good. She's a civilian, she should barely have any chakra."

"What little she has is killing her," Sakyū said.

"Anyone know how to hold that off?" I turned to the others.

"I can halt chakra circulation," Ikari offered. "But it won't stop the chakra festering."

"What I really need is a chakra sample," I mumbled, removing my gloves.

"What are you doing?!" Yokina moved to stop me. "Do you have a death wish?"

"It's fine." I moved her hand away from my wrists. "I'm sort of immune to chakra diseases. If worst comes to worst, my chakra will be unusable for a day at most."

"You sure?" Yokina hesitated. I dropped the gloves to the floor.

"Positive," I replied. "I wouldn't take the risk if I wasn't."

"Alright," Yokina said uncertainly.

I carefully touched the patient's skin, making sure only to lightly brush it with my fingertip. I drew out the smallest amount of chakra, and immediately felt it start eating at the very tissue in my fingers.

"That is a dangerous disease," I mumbled, taking a dead leaf from my pouch. I transferred all the diseased chakra into it, and the leaf began to crumble in on itself. "Ikari, can you stop the circulation in this?"

"I can try," Ikari said uncertainly. "I've never done it on a leaf before, but I suppose there's a first time for everything."

He took the leaf and after a moment, handed it back. "I think it worked."

"Thanks. I'll take this down to the lab and take a look."

"I will come," Zanko said, surprising me.

"Okay. I could probably use some help. Thanks."