Medical Training (D-rank mission)

Spoiler:

303....304....305....


Yako's footsteps echoed through the halls of the academy as he looked for the classroom where he was supposed to receive his medical training. It felt like only yesterday that he roamed the bottom floors of this building as an academy student. In fact, it wasn't actually that much longer ago than yesterday that he WAS an academy student. Not anymore though. He was a full fledged genin now: a shinobi. The only reason he would rivisit these halls would be to to give or receive training, though knowing Yako's track record that might actually turn out to be surprisingly often. Today's mission was exhibit A. His very first mission as a shinobi forced him to come back to his roots and learn some more instead of going out into the wide world. A fitting start.

306....307....308! There it is.


As he turned into the designated classroom, he was met with a sterile, empty space filled only with a couple of basic cabinets, a blackboard and 3 rows of desks. From these desks, 2 youngsters, a boy and a girl, gave Yako a brief blank, glance before nodding and turning back to themselves. Fellow genin, probably, but from a different year. He didn't know them and honestly wasn't planning to get to know them either. He didn't come here to make friends but to learn, and as he plunged himself behind one of front desks at the opposite end of the others, he took a second look around the classroom.

Awfully barebones. Wouldn't have hurt them to put up a poster or something, but then, I suppose they don't give these kind of trainings very often. I hope this instructor is any good, though.


[1]

A couple of minutes passed as more (assumed) genin trickled in. Yako absent mindedly doodled in his notebook. Shuriken. Kunai. Graphite tools for killing time rather than people. Eventually, the loud thud of a door closing shook him out of his trance. A deep, raspy yet warm voice began speaking.

"I suppose this everyone"

An older man shuffled to the front of the room. A short, chubby shinobi with a big nose and a brown beard riddled with patches of grey. Yako estimated him to be somewhere in his 60's. With no doubt the medical shinobi that would be teaching them the ropes. He was unassuming-looking, but Yako figured that these looks might be deceiving. Barely any shinobi ever dies in his or her bed. Any man who lives to see his 60's must be worth his salt. As the man took his spot besides the blackboard and reached for a piece of chalk, he continued.

"Welcome to your first medical training. You can all call me mister Bantil and I'll be your instructor for the day."

With a gracious motion, Bantil wrote his name on the board and turned back to the classroom. As he spoke, his attention shifted between the different people in the audience. A seasoned teacher, no doubt.

"So we're in the academy of Kumogakure. The most advanced medical ninjutsu is widely accessible. Why even learn basic medical practice? Anyone?"

A loud and lanky genin from the back shouted first.

"You're not always going to have chakra!"

"Very good, that's an important one. You still want to be able to tend to a wound when you're out of chakra. Anyone else?"

A girl from the mid left joined in.

"You may also want to preserve chakra for more important things, I guess?"

"Yes, very strategic. If a wound is not very urgent and easily treated with conventional, non-shinobi methods, you may want to preserve that chakra for when you need to tend to a more serious wound or need to face an opponent. Any more?"

The room remained silent. The obvious answers seemed to be given. Yako could take a guess, but wasn't too keen on being the one person breaking the silence and having eyes focussed on him.

"This one is a bit more far fetched, but you may need to educate others when you're rebuilding regions and helping locals. You can't teach a villager iryõjutsu, but you can teach him basic concepts such as hygiene and bandaging."

Bantil's final point took Yako by surprise. Medical shinobi evoked an image of courageous men and women tending to their wounded allies on the battlefield. Never once did he consider that they would take on a societal function of sorts. He didn't sign up for training bumpkins, but then on the other hand, there probably weren't people more qualified for training bumpkins on the principles of medicine than medical shinobi.

[2]

As time went on, Bantil went through the basics of first aid, drawing, gesturing and mimicing as he went along. Yako frantically penned the key information down, trying to create some document for future reference. It was difficult to keep up. Bantil rushed through it as a breakneck pace, likely aware that a single day wasn't quite enough to get a grasp on all the basics. Still, he had to make do.

"ABCCS -> Airway, breathing, circulation, conciousness, safety. Always put your own safety first. A dead medic can't heal anyone"

"Clean the wound. Desinfect if possible. Pathogens are the battlefield opponents that you don't see."

"Don't move a wounded person if not necessary or obviously safe. You don't want to be the medic responsible for yanking open vertibrae and paralyzing a patient"

Despite the tight schedule, there was even time for some practical experience. Yako was handed some instructions and bandages to practice patching up wounds and placing someone in the recovery position; No small feat considering the fat, sweaty kid he was paired up with. Still, Yako found himself with his nose in his notebook most of the time, writing down thoughts and clues he wanted to check back on down the line. Since he was not consistently going to use this over iryõjutsu, there was no way this information would anchor itself in his brain. He needed something to fall back on in case it was necessary.

"Always roll the bandage towards the heart. You don't want to trap blood in a limb."

"Make sure a bandage isn't too tight or you'll cut off a limb from the circulation. If the patient can feel his veins thumping: Loosen it up."

"Gauze first. Cotton second to absorb blood. Do this the other way around and your patient is in for a painful removal."


[3]

The end of the afternoon neared and Bantil took center stage for a second.

"Allright boys and girls, it's time to....wrap up...."

The cover of his scraggly beard just barely showed the outlines of a grin that revealed how pleased he was with his pun. As no one laughed however, he retook his composure and continued.

"If you could all leave your material and instruction leaflets at my desk, you're free to go. Don't forget to pick up a first aid kit on your way out, I put a box of them at the door, "

Mumbling and the sound of chairlegs scraping over the linoleum floor filled the room as a Bantil, not quite finished with his wrap-up, cranked up the volume.

"I'm also giving a toxicology course. Consider signing up if you're interested in more medical theory or if you simply want to learn mroe about poisons. They're really common among shinobi and knowing about them would serve you well"

One of the last to leave and feeling sorry for the well intentioned veteran, Yako swung by his desk before heading out.

"Thanks for today, sir. I'll consider joined your toxicology course."

[4]

[exit]