The Incendiary

Mommy dearest had a variety of ways in which she could piss her off. She left her shoes in the hallway that one specific way that created a little obstacle course to everyone in the morning, couldn’t make two pieces of toast even though they both woke up at the same time, just overall made for a very bad roommate.
She was also a very bad hospital check up companion. It’s not like Kinno was hoping for handholding, but her mother looked positively more petrified than she did. “Fuck’s wrong with you?” she grumbled under her breath, careful not to lose the face of childlike wonder she basically screwed on her face.

“So many people.” Her mother whispered back, so white she could very well blend in with the peeling plaster behind her.

Damn, she was so chill with it just a day ago. But hospitals freaked every healthy being out, and them being caravan people didn’t warrant them many hospital visits. She assumed her mother was simply uncomfortable with the new territory, afraid to slip up within the unfamiliar. But she could hand it to her, she was handling it like a champ. In and out, got treated and now they were just waiting for some scan results and a proper med nin. It seems like civilian lives weren’t a priority here.

“Mkay, my turn.” She got up as soon as the nurse motioned at her, leaving her mother unmoving on a chair. Who would’ve known, this is what took down the traitorous killing machine. Some fluorescent lights and a white bedspread.

She walked inside the office, smiled at the nurse more out routine than a genuine want for engagement, and sat down on the examining table. “Name?” the nurse didn’t smile back.

“Kinnosuke Fuuma.”

The woman in white frowned. “I have an Uzumaki down.”

Well, that was unfortunate. “Oh yeah, that’s my father’s clan. I go by mom’s now,” the disapproval didn’t leave the nurses face, so she quickly put on a little sadder face, “ya know, since the… attack…” she wasn’t even lying. Introducing herself as Uzumaki, benefitting off of someone’s death caused by her immediate family, it just left a bad taste in her mouth. Then again, so did being an indirect accomplice to organized genocide.

“Well, I have to keep it official.” There was no going through her, she realised. But what was worse, she just realized her name, her records, everything is now about to enter the system. And call her paranoid, but she wasn’t all that happy about it.

She nodded anyways, and let the woman start the examination. Standard check, a little frown here and there, some wide eyed stare at her badly healed wounds and burn scars, but overall a very quick and easy eye scan. “You Uzumaki people heal fast.” The nurse mentioned offhandedly. “Well, lay back, I’m gonna do the basic mystic palm scan. Afraid I can’t do anything else, ain’t a medic nin.”

She blinked. That was a bitter tone, a too bitter tone. “I’ve not seen one yet.” Keep it simple, but keep it juicy. Because while this might be just some oldschool professional discontent, it really seemed like a drastic shortage of proper medics here.

“Neither you will, kid. That’s why I didn’t call your momma in, even though I should’ve. She must be ready the moment a medic has time, can’t make em wait. The fights are getting more frequent now, they need all hands and more.”

Kinnosuke didn’t like the sound of that. She had a feeling that busy medics and frequent clashes meant she was somewhere in the timeline where she didn’t want to be. Now, it wasn’t like she could do much about it, but she was at least going to make sure there were no machinations of fate which she could avoid. “Sounds bad.”

“Damn right it is, everyone trying to eat away from our borders. If you ask me, they should get them back for that.” She rolled her eyes and took off her gloves, “why am I telling this to a child, anyway. Stay still.”

The palm grew green, and her world got black. Very fast, very painfully.

Very pretty trees. Pain. Raining. Red, purple, greed, clouds, madness, pain, pain, dea-
And the kid-woman was out of the door. She pulled herself from the nurse’s grasp, ignoring the pale faced woman’s shaky commands even though they grew louder as the distance between her and the table she was laying on grew. Some bottles and other equipment were knocked down as she tried to make the exit, dizzy and still hurting, choking down vomit and tears. Her only thought was the hallway. Hallway meant the front door, front door meant a street and then far, far away from this weird green shit and the woman who knows how to hurt her with it.

“iss Uzumaki, Uzumaki-chan, jesus, Uzumaki!” Damn, she could hear her, she just didn’t want to stop, she wanted to be discharged, this was shady and they were hurting her, damnit she was a aperson with free will, damn them all-

She found herself on the ground, weight pressing on her back, her arm twisted behind her. She distantly heard this shrill voice telling her to calm down and slowly, gradually, her vision returned properly. Facing the cold tiles underneath her, she breathed in and out, trying to push all the trees back where they came from. The pain was subsiding, her arm being a more pressing and uncomfortable issue.
Whoever was holding her was about to fucking break it if she didn’t get out from under them. Sadly, they seemed to be keen on strongarming her into submission, so she made a show out of calming down, stopped wriggling and grunted out words of confirmation.

The moment she felt the weight lift off, she scrambled the fuck away from her attacker till she was back to back with the waiting chairs. “What?” she managed to wheeze out, trying to locate her mother in the hallway. Sadly, it seemed like some unlucky medic had already whisked her away. It was just Kinnosuke and the overzealous staff now. And her attacker. Who was a proper child.
A very bright-coloured child. “Are you okay?” With some compassion it seemed. Funny, the deathgrip on her arm didn’t warrant that question.

“If I’m not, it’s cause the bones don’t hold proper anymore.” She spat out, noticing there was, indeed, some puke and saliva on her shirt. That brought her some satisfaction, knowing that the bright ass little girl was holding her down while covered in bodily fluids. Must’ve smelled rancid.

The nurse was watching from afar, slowly creeping closer as if not to spook her. Too late for that. “Well, you looked like you were about to hurt yourself. I ain’t gonna let a clansman of mine get hurt, dattebane.”

Images of a little girl, curly hair, talking about her favourite comic book and the differences between dattebane and dattebayo. Storm outside. Damn, her head still hurt like a bitch. “So you figured breaking my arm is better? Like hurting myself, but safely? Damn, you all are nuts.” She stood up, shaky on her feet like a newborn goddamn Bambi in scene one. “Also, who are you?”

“Shinobi-san, I think we have it under control now.” The nurse managed to move a few feet closer, getting a little more assertive as she saw Kinnosuke was able to stand up and seemed ready to end the pointless argument in favour of retrieving her runaway patient. “Uzumaki-chan, if you could please come with me, we’ll have a medic with you shortly to asses the situation.” A picture of professionality all of a sudden, glancing at the child in front of her with every word she spoke.

“Yeah no, we don’t,” she was still shaking a little as she said that, her mouth way too dry now to form words properly. The language, especially in complex situations, was a little bit of a mouthful for her still, even after Emiko and her rigorous schedule, but now it felt physically hard to speak. Well, her mother advised her against showing off anyway, “we really ain’t gonna do that.” Just as she taught herself, a deep breath in and one more out, “Imma wait here for my mom, and you,” she wholly pointed at the red-haired assaulter, “can say sorry.”

The older, younger, girl bristled, her face somewhere between worried and offended creating a beautiful concoction of rightfulness. “Look, I assessed the situation and chose the best possible outcome without casualties.” Well, bite her if that wasn’t recited.

“I’ll go get you some painkillers and a washcloth,” even though the nurse eyed her puke stained clothes with the look of a critical observer, Kinnosuke still felt a surge of aggravation. Like, if she didn’t make her puke, they wouldn’t be having this problem now. It wasn’t exactly a voluntary reaction. “Meanwhile, you wait here. And lay down for god’s sake.”

Where was she supposed to do that? On the plastic chairs, or back on the floor it was? “Don’t worry, I’ll watch over her Waki-sensei.” Her forceful knight on the shining white horse reassured the nurse with a bright smile and, in Kinnosuke’s opinion, a very undeserved honorific both from grammatical and situational perspective. That woman was no medical professional whatsoever, let alone a nurse. A danger to little girls, that’s what she was.

Too tired to argue anymore, she sat back down on the ground, feeling the cold tiles ease the discomfort little by little. “Who are you?” If the question didn’t work once, she would try again and again.
“Kushina Uzumaki, dattebane.”

Oh, so the red hair wasn’t just a fluke. “Kushina, please don’t squish people. You are very strong, could’ve broken my arm for real.” She was officially, and happily, throwing Emiko’s teachings out of the wind. She had a pass, of course, being a patient and all that.

“Sorry for that,” the girl, Kushina, who Kinno felt like should actually know something about, sat down right next to her in a very clumsy seiza, “I was acting on impulse.” As she was sitting there, Kinnosuke noticed that while there was still some pretty big size difference, she looked a lot less intimidating and a lot more like a real child. Damn, Kinno really was being a dick about the whole thing. There she was, looking like a child, berating another child about trying to help her. Albeit very forceful, the intention was good. And the gnawing feeling of just knowing you should know something was not going away.

So, she shook her head and tried to get some smile going. “Nah, just, tiny bones. Still, better you than some big ass nurse.” She wasn’t going to thank the redhead for being an assault monkey, but she could at least offer some reassurance. And she wasn’t even lying too much, everyone was tall and wide to her these days.

“Why were you running anyways?”

Kinnosuke shrugged. “She did the green hand thingie. I got sick, so I got scared. And when you are scared, you run, right?”

That made the other girl perk up. “No, you don’t.” She suddenly seemed taller again, “you face the danger and unease head on and deal with it as fit, like the future hokage should.”

“Loud. Head hurts.”

“Yeah.”

Quiet, nice, and quiet. The headache wasn’t as bad now, and she felt the nurse approach sooner than she opened her eyes. So she outstretched her arm, palmed the pills and the cup of water and was ready to resume her time passing activity, listening to the panicking people running up and down the hospital hallways, when she felt something poke her.

“What is your name, anyway? Like, who am I guarding?”

Kinnosuke couldn’t help but wonder who Kushina thought she was guarding her against, apart from the scary ass nurse, but hey, different world means different rules. She only wondered why someone wearing what seemed to be an official dog tag, or shinobi headband according to her sources, was bored or not needed enough to sit with her. “Kinnosuke Fuuma.”

“But they said Uzumaki.”

“Yeah, bummer ain’t it?”
………………………………………..

“I have no idea what’s wrong with you.”

A very reassuring sentence from equally as reassuring looking woman. The young blonde looked like she had already lived through her best days, moving almost robotic-like through the procedures and her sudden pain attacks. Kinnosuke couldn’t attempt another escape, as this very much trained medical soldier was well versed in tactics to keep her metaphorically strapped to the chair. Well, she assumed the literal straps were also considered an option. “Really?” The response was only partially sarcastic.

The woman ran a hand through her already very messy and sweaty ponytail. “Well, apart from the obvious. We are gonna run some tests after I speak with your mother, but it doesn’t seem like any preexisting condition related to chakra or sensitivity. It might be an Uzumaki thing, but I might have to check that, whether it relates to their sensory ability perhaps?” If she was waiting for her mother to provide any meaningful insight, she was about to be very disappointed. Kinno was sure Ameyuri was only interested in male biological components of that clan, and even those were very specific. As for Kinno herself, she had no idea what Uzumaki people did or didn’t have. “How are you feeling?”

“Damn, compared to the nurse, you are much less painful sensei.” She was also very miserable looking, and Kinno felt a surge of pity every time she heard the doctor speak.

But it was also true. The way this woman administered her care felt a lot less invasive, and while it was still painful, she didn’t feel any surge of vomit coming on. It was more reminiscent of her migraines she used to get back at the camp. Which was rather uncomfortable, but not debilitating. She could live with that. The fact that she was dead tired helped some, too.

“I’d sure hope so, I am the best medic this village has.” The way she said it, it seemed to be more of a hindrance then something she’d take pride in.

Kinnosuke chuckled. “Well, there ain’t many of you to begin with.”

The blonde ninja stilled for a second. “Why do you think that?” While her tone was natural, conversational just like before, the little pause felt off.

“Just repeating what I’ve been told.” Kinno shrugged. Backtrack. Now.

The blonde woman’s eyes narrowed at that, but with a knock on the door she turned away from her and reached for the handle. Opening it for a second, she only shook her head and motioned for the kid to wait.

The room itself wasn’t in the best conditions, and there wasn’t much to keep Kinnosuke occupied. Bleak hospital furniture, bleak walls, the smell of disinfectant and death, general bad feel and something foreboding that made one contemplate about their life. And while she usually tried to avoid that train of thought, it was getting hard for her too keep up with her own rules after the intense treatment. She wondered if maybe, telling someone would be good. Like, her migraines and flashbacks of little to no substance were worrying enough, but this recent development was worrisome. What was the worst that could happen? Maybe they’d tell her it’s some schizoid thing, give her some meds, lobotomy for what she cared. Maybe someone had an answer, some religion thing, something she could cling to better than her ignore and deny strategy. Perhaps someone could offer her a piece of mind.

The blonde woman seemed like a good candidate. Smart, clearly working a lot, pretty impersonal, already suspicious of her… shit, she was a refugee. And her mother killed her father and subsequently the most of the villagers for some petty cash. She’d omit those details. Could she omit those details? They’d question her the moment she did something suspicious, and it would be weird enough to get through the reincarnation and the fact that she might have information about a work of fiction resembling her current life, their lives, but there was no way to get around being an accessory to a war crime that would shake Geneva convention to the ground. They couldn’t have a way to go through her head, right? Like, she was just paranoid. Shaken, paranoid and tweaking a little.

“Your mother needs to stay in the hospital for some time.” The gentle hand on her shoulder made her jump from her seat.

Her blonde saviour held her gaze with that computer generated type of sympathy. “She’s getting a surgery, isn’t she?” Kinno asked. Honestly, it wasn’t that surprising. The cough was getting worse and when she thought her daughter wasn’t looking, she’d almost wail in pain. It was a miracle she’d lasted this long and still appeared somewhat presentable.

The woman nodded. “Multiple.” She then looked at Kinnosuke once again, more thoroughly now. “Now tell me, is your momma really an Uzumaki?”

Fuck. “Why?”

“Look, I don’t care. But I’ve seen firsthand how fast the Uzumaki recover.”

Kinnosuke felt like a kid with her hand in a cookie jar. If that cookie jar was a bunch of very insensitive and illegal lies. Damn it, she was reincarnated to spend her life in a prison, or an orphanage. Did they even have immigration laws? “Okay, look. Papa was an Uzumaki. Mama is not. We don’t talk about it. You can imagine why.”

An eyebrow was raised. “I certainly can. Can you?”

Kinno shrugged. “They say I’m smart for my age.” An understatement at best.

“They do, don’t they? Tell me, how old are you again?”

“Dunno. Might be three, might be younger, or older.”

The blonde leaned against a wall, giving Kinno a little room to breathe. “Is your dad here?”

“Dead.”

“Yeah, is he here?”

Fuck her. “No, he’s dead. Not alive anymore.” Kinno announced in the most even and very unimpressed tone she could generate.

Her doctor rubbed her forehead in an exasperated motion, but she could clearly see the small smile tugging on the woman’s chapped lips. “Who are you staying with, now that your mom’s in a hospital?"

Kinno crossed her arms behind her head, stretching a little. Seemed like they were done with all the procedures now, hopefully. “I dunno. Maybe I’ll get a dog?”

"We need to get you someone to take care of you in the meantime." The doctor sighed. “Where do you live?”

“Can’t tell a stranger.” She felt a stronge urge to sneeze, and she was getting more sleepy as the whole ordeal progressed. Those pills were some good stuff. “Besides, can’t you just see that somewhere in my papers anyways?”

The woman started laughing at that. Not some boisterous laughter, but even the chuckle sounded like a first after a long time. “Our documentation is lacking.”

“It’s right in front of that Takoyaki place. Blue door, second floor. Don’t know the streets yet.” What’s the harm in telling her that? If she wanted to, she could’ve killer her already. And they had nothing to steal anyways.

“The genin you were with will take you, hopefully before you pass… out…”

She was out cold like light.