Things Just Got A Bit Fuzzy... [Karukaya, or Invite Only]

”Hnn... fuck.”

Jayr couldn't shake her headache. In fact, Jayr's lower spine was also killing her. Medically she could think of no reason behind it: for all of her skill and know-how there was absolutely zero reason she could come up with as to why she woke up feeling like... well, complete hell. The fact that she was out of bed at all was because she knew that Temaki and Karukaya were in the village for vacation – as well as a meeting at some point with her father.

Still; Jayr felt nearly useless and she didn't like it. The pain, which had been at a dull roar at about ten o'clock in the morning when she had finally peeled herself out of bed, was now at a earth shattering roar. It was about five in the evening, and Jayr was already contemplating climbing back into bed and willing away the hours of agony far away from anything that could stimulate her already nasty headache into something far worse.

As it was though, she couldn't muster the strength to get up off of the couch where she was sprawled out; the living room's thick curtains drawn to make the room as dark as possible. Even with the darkness she still had a couch pillow held over her face.

Nearby her Cana sat, whining. The wolf could tell something was wrong – Jayr wasn't her normal bubbly and playful self – and she hadn't left her side because of it. In fact, Cana had passed most of the day without eating or drinking, and had refused to move more then three feet or so away from Jayr the entire time. She knew the rest of her family would have likely been acting the same had Jayr not decided to stay in her own personal apartment – she had offered it as a play for Karukaya and Temaki to stay while they were in the village after all.

As the pain spiked Jayr rolled over on her side and curled up into a ball. Cana moved closer, sniffing at her.

Not the type to worry easily; Karu had brushed off not seeing Jayr all day. They'd been pretty separated overall given that they where getting 'official' things done as quickly as possible, so that they could enjoy their vacation in peace. He had zero idea what exactly was going on today, but he was assuming that Temaki was meeting with the Commander General since he hadn't seen hide or hair of her or Blast since early that morning, when he was bleary eyed and contemplating telling the world to fuck off and snuggling deeper into some blankets. Given no one had told him to get up and be a Jounin, he was taking it as he wasn't needed for anything, and had eventually gotten himself up and out of Jayr's apartment.

He was doing the tourist shopping thing early; he'd promised various members of his family trinkets and such, so he'd been blowing a few months of savings on that. Nothing too special, toys for his cousins, jewelry and such for the older girls, notebooks and soldier toys for the boys; he'd even found stuff for his parents that was something other than a shot glass or kitschy fridge magnet. His mother liked to collect decorative hair combs, and he'd found an actual artist that specialized in them, so he'd ordered one to be made special for her. His father was going to love the bags full of local wares; he was a merchant himself, so Karu had been getting samples of stuff as well as vendor information. Something to help out his dad's business was always appreciated.

He was coming back with bags full of stuff, and thank gods for storage scrolls, or else he'd have had to buy a pack mule to get it all home. As it was, he just had a small backpack, nothing fancy, it wasn't even that full, if a bit lumpy in places from the hard edges; easily carried and nothing that anyone would try to steal. Not many people could get close enough to him, with his skills and the heat radiating from his body... yeah. Getting to close without being used to being around him was a painful mistake. He had a key to the door, but finding it unlocked he assumed that someone had beaten him back, or else Jayr was home. He slipped in, pulling the backpack off his shoulders and stopping mid-step; he was on his way to where his bags where in the bedroom so he could get rid of the pack, but his attention was instantly drawn to the curled ball of human and large canine on the couch.

That... didn't look right. Jayr looked like she was in excruciating pain.

"You... what happened? Are you okay?" Moving over to her, the pack forgotten on the floor where he'd stopped, he knelt down to take a look at her; he was no doctor, but he was a pretty competent field medic, so he was handy to have around most of the time.

WC: 524

524/2000 D-Rank Medical Ninjutsu

Jayr had her mouth clamped shut, tightly. She was doing all she could to keep herself from screaming in pain which was saying something. Given her Taijutsu prowess she was used to putting herself through hell – in fact, her training had always been so hardcore that she pushed herself past limits on a daily basis that most people would ever dream to reach in a lifetime. Which, normally would result in either her twin having to carry her home because she was too exhausted and hurting to walk, or her father.

But this?

This was a whole new level of pain. This wasn't just sore muscles, or a broken bone. This was PAIN.

”She's been like this all day, but it's getting worse. She woke up hurting, but she can't figure out why. She says it's her head and the base of her spine.”, Cana responded as the large wolf made room to Karukaya. The wolf turned and quickly moved across the living room and over to Jayr's medical kit. The handle was promptly grabbed with her mouth and the bag was then promptly dragged across the floor and over to Karukaya. ”There's morphine in her case: the bottle has dosage directions. I don't like the way she smells...”

Cana let out a whine as Jayr's body went ridged and her eyes snapped shut: a hiss noise escaped Jayr that was a mixture between a sharp release of a breath and an attempt not to scream. After a second or two, when the newest spike of pain had passed, Jayr opened her eyes and then reached towards Karukaya while attempting not to move herself too much.

It was then that Cana let out a confused whine of a noise and sniffed at her head. ”... What's that? You have a lump.. two of them... they're getting bigger. What... Are those ears?” Cana wasn't wrong of course; the pain in Jayr's head was caused by a mutation, or change, coming over her body – and the fact that she was tensing up over the pain she was in was only making the situation that much worse. Just like the pain in her lower spine was in fact because of the beginning of a tail that was growing. And the more she fought it, the tougher the ride through it was going to be...

”Karu...”, Jayr managed to get out.

Lumps? Ears? What in the world? He barely gave himself a moment to think about how insane that should sound before his hands where moving, parting her hair to get a better look himself. By the gods,  Cana was right. Half formed ears, growing fast enough that you could notice the changes with a sharp eye and a few moments focus. No wonder she was in a tortuous amount of pain. "You look like hell, Jayr."

Morphine. The sedative effect would do as much good, if not more, than any pain blocking effect. He dug the drug out of the bag, taking the moment to check the label; he carried some in his own kit, but everyone used it differently, he needed to be sure he didn't give her to much by mistake.

The pinch of a needle would likely be missed entirely, but the effects would be almost immediate; it would take the edge off if nothing else. Given how she was laying, and the fact that she was growing ears, he figured the back pain wad likely a tail coming in as part of a set; confirmed by a quick check of the base of her spine. Lovely. Well, if nothing else, he had some tricks for helping with pain and muscle aches; he channeled just a bit of chakra to his hands and began to rub her back; if he could get her to relax he could help her more, and the pain would lessen significantly. "Try to relax. I know that's going to be difficult, but it will help.  You know you can trust me."

Looking around the room a moment, he realized two things,  Coen and Roku where gone (likely on a walk knowing Coen), and no one but Jayr and Cana had been there for hours. Damn, she'd been suffering like this for a while, if the sheen of sweat and miserable air about her was any indication. "We should get you to a real medic... this is worlds beyond my abilities..."

WC: 347

347+ 524 = 871/2000 D-Rank Medical

She didn't feel the pinch of the needle but she sure did feel the effects of the morphine. Such a sweet, and wonderful drug. It was quickly taking the pain from excruciating and almost unbearable down to a dull roar. She could deal with a dull roar; a dull roar was nothing more then the same sort of pain she put herself in after a very long and very hard day of training. Yes, yes she could deal with that.

She felt Karukaya rubbing her back and it helped her to relax: she knew she was safe with him and the combination of the back rubbing as well as the drug now quickly moving through her veins was enough to have her very slowly uncurling herself from the ball she had been in: she was afraid to move too fast and bring the pain back.

When Karu brought up going to see a proper medic she almost shook her head no before quickly stopping herself and realizing that was likely a very bad idea at the moment. ”No.. I don't want to move. The pain's not so bad now...”, she spoke softly, her voice nearly a whisper as her eyelids fluttered closed.

Her mind was feeling a bit sluggish due to the pain and then the morphine, and perhaps that was why it took her until that point when she finished speaking to realize what was going on – she was growing ears and a tail. Oh, such a thing definitely wasn't unheard of: there were all manner of stories and rumors spread by the tourists and travelers of those with animal features – especially those in Yokuchi. But, as far as Jayr knew no one in her family had ever suddenly sprouted ears and a tail. ”I don't think a medic could help me with this anyway... I haven't heard of this happening to anyone else in my family before. But I have heard it happening to other people... especially people in Yokuchi.”, she said softly.

Cana simply rested her head on the arm of the couch so that she could stare at Jayr: something that would have been a tad bit creepy had the situation not been so serious. Cana's nose twitched every so often, but the wolf was far more relaxed now that Jayr was. ”She doesn't smell pained now... “ The wolf then looked towards Karukaya. ”Why do humans grow tails and ears?” She figured she would ask him, instead of Jayr, considering Jayr looked half out of it now that the drug was fully taking effect: something that was causing the tail and ear growing process to speed up significantly now that Jayr was relaxed instead of tensed up and fighting it.

"The morphine blocks the brain from feeling the pain as badly, and it has a calming effect. She'd be a bit loopy if not for the pain keeping her grounded." Humans with animal characteristics? He'd run into a few on the plains; travelers from the desert and natives alike would sometimes be pretty feral looking, but they'd always been born that way, as far as he knew. He'd never come across anyone becoming an animal, even a little bit. Still, he wasn't about to force her to deal with a medic if she didn't want to, and for the moment, she was stable enough for him to calm down. "Come on, let's get you to bed... that's gotta be more comfortable than the couch."

Said couch was wonderfully comfortable, but the bed would be better, and he could get his kit and tools out and work better with the extra space, if it came to that. He shifted around slightly, moving his arms around her body so that he was able to pick her up safely; being a Taijutsu specialist himself meant she was feather lite in his arms. "Humans still carry the genes and ability to grow tails, but since we don't need them, we're not born with them; normally. Primates have completely different ears from other animals, so even if a human was born with atavistic ears, they'd appear pretty normal. This... is canine, by the shape that's forming." He could feel the lump at the base of her spine now, and that was just confirming that in his mind what was happening; as much as he could figure out, anyway.

He carried her to the bedroom and placed her gently on the bed, reaching for pillows and such to arrange a nice fort for her to cuddle into. "Let me get you some cool water, and my med kit. I have analgesic creams that will help some more; they'll take some more of the edge off and keep it from getting worse once the morphine starts to fade. I don't want to give you too much, there's no telling how your body is going to react to it now. This is going to sound weird, but it's a good thing I'm essentially a walking veterinarian; all my medications and tools are tailored to work for human and animals without risking complications and reactions."

He moved away for a moment, to his bag to get his medical kit, then back to the kitchen to fetch a pitcher and some cool water, as well as a rag he could dampen for her forehead. Feverish was a given when you where in extreme pain, so this would definitely help make her more comfortable. Returning, he set the pitcher on the little side table and opened up his kit, digging out the secondary container within that held the bottles of his creams and ointments. He kept his field kit very well maintained, always full of fresh medications, and sorted for ease of use. It was compartmentalized perfectly for him, to the point that he could reach in blind and navigate by memory and feel alone, and be 100% accurate. He pulled out the analgesic cream and some gauze to use to apply it; habits never died and he was trained to use 'proper' procedures; if he wasn't about to put on gloves, he'd at least use sterile gauze. "This is going to feel very cold for a few moments, then the area will start to go numb. Totally normal, trust me." He opened the little container and dabbed some of the cream onto the gauze and began to rub it into the skin around the lump at the base of her spine, being as gentle and careful as he could. It was going to hurt having the area touched, but he was absolutely sure this would help her in the end, so he was risking it.

WC: 686

686 + 871 = 1557/2000

Jayr was quite grateful that Karu was explaining things to Cana, on top of being willing to pick her up and carry her to the bedroom instead of her having to try walking. The less moving she did the less pain she was in – plus, with the morphine now running through her system she highly doubted she would have been able to walk a straight line. The pain was keeping her thinking straight, if a bit slow, but she doubted her body would function quite the same way.

She leaned her body into the pillows after Karu situated them, keeping herself from laying on her back. She positioned her head in such a way that she wasn't laying on her new ears. Cana followed them, of course, into the bedroom but she kept her distance now: she was a bit on the large size after all, and she didn't want to be in the way.

Jayr jerked slightly as she was touched; thought if that was from the pain or the sudden cold she didn't say. She closed her eyes and buried her face into the pillow. The morphine was keeping her relaxed and the more relaxed she was the faster the growing continued to happen. Cana whined and moved a bit closer. Jayr reached out to her until she found the top of Cana's head, where she began to scratch softly: it calmed the wolf down instantly, and it kept her distracted for while Karu was applying the cream.

”I wonder if this has anything to do with the jutsu that Jayr was trying the other day. It.. was sort of the opposite of what I can do: I can become a clone of Jayr. She was attempting to reverse it and become a clone of me. Only, it was strange... Most jutsu take a few tries for Jayr to learn, but this one happened almost instantly – as if her body was waiting for it to happen. That was yesterday... But, it didn't hurt her when she did it. It was a bit hard for her to change back though.” Cana said, hoping that the more information she helped to provide the easier they could figure out what was going on, and how to make it easier on Jayr.

Jayr simply provided a bit of a nod to go along with Can'a statement; as much of one as she was willing to risk anyway. The cream was working to help ease her pain more at this point and she let out a sigh of relief. ”I got into a fight with Captain Yen before training. She saw me hugging Temaki and got jealous... Temaki left though before Captain Yen came up... and she threatened her. All I could think of was ensuring I was strong enough to stop her. Maybe that has something to do with it too...”, Jayr mumbled.

"New jutsu?" That was one hell of a side effect of a jutsu; he knew plenty of jutsu that caused some pretty nasty effects while you learned to control them; but this... this was... wow. Transformations into animals were difficult, while he'd love to attempt them himself, he refused to until he was more sure of his ninjutsu abilities; he was never great with transformations in the academy, so he didn't want to risk the more advanced ones.

Nothing Cana said really clicked with anything in his mind; but he wasn't the most experienced ninja around, and while he fancied himself a bit of a scholar, he was also able to admit when things where far over his head, and this was it. "I have no idea how any of this could be happening. This is so far out of my realms of knowledge. It... I can see it being possible that the effects of a jutsu could do this... but I just can't be sure. We're going to need to hit the books, talk to specialists, things like that. Maybe her father would know something; at the very least he'd have access to the information. Temaki as well; something like this I doubt would be in the books and scrolls that ninja and soldiers can normally access."

He grabbed the clean rag he'd brought in with him and dampened it using the cool water from the pitcher, ringing out the excess and folding it flat so that he could lay it across her forehead. "So long as it's just ears and a tail... I think we can keep this quiet. If it goes much further... we'll have to tell someone, right away. I don't want to risk your health and well being anymore than I am right now..."

WC 318

318 + 1557 = 1875/2000 D-Rank Medical Ninjutsu

Jayr kept quiet for a moment, going over Karu's words in her head. Yes, it made a great deal of sense that if anyone knew what was going on, or could at least get the information on it, it would be either her father or Temaki. This definitely wasn't going to be information that would be easily accessible. As she kept quiet she allowed her mind to wander on what else this could possibly have been caused by; and at first nothing came to her – her brain was still too sluggish from the morphine.

However, after Karu applied the wet cloth to her forehead, something that caused a very pleased sigh to escape her, her mind seemed to kick back into over-drive. Jayr never had been the average member of the military: that much was clear because of her Berserker Rage issue. She was dangerous at best, and could become increasingly so when her rage was triggered. In fact, this thought caused her to suddenly jerk her head up, wincing instantly in reaction to the sudden pain.

”Jayr, what's wrong?”, Cana asked instantly.

”I think I know what's going on... well, it's a guess.” She laid her head back down with a groan – it was taking far too much to keep her head up and remain focused through the pain. ”When I found out about my condition, about the Berserker Rage, I started to do some research on it. One of the side effects is if you continue to enter into the rage you'll grow stronger and stronger as needed. I wonder... when Captain Yen got pissed off at Temaki and threatened her it made me angry. And I mean... angry. I started to get tunnel vision – it's one of the first symptoms of me getting near the edge. All I could think of was ensuring I remained strong enough to stop her from doing anything stupid and harming you or Temaki... That's when I started training that jutsu. I wonder if my body is changing because it feels stronger like that...” She stopped then, too exhausted at the moment to continue. It was an idea; and a very good guess. In fact, it made perfect sense on many levels.

"That... actually makes perfect sense. The berserker's rage is a sort of transformation; it causes all sorts of changes in the body to enhance strength and such... it is possible that the effect was still playing out in your body, and triggering the jutsu caused alternations that became permanent. This is just a secondary effect. If that's the case, there's no telling how far this could go; now or later."

He could only postulate, he could only worry; he didn't have the skills or knowledge to be more help than to keep her comfortable (as much as he could, anyway), and talk, really. He felt... useless, in a small way; which was rare for him. There was that spark of 'I MUST LEARN!' building in him; but that would be for later. Much later, after they where sure she would be okay.

He returned the tub of cream to his pack and closed it for now, moving it so that he could sit down on the bed with her. He wanted to check on the growing ears, since there was something there he could actually check at the moment. If nothing else, he could be useful here; he'd notice instantly if there where any defects or problems to worry about. He was gentle, brushing her hair away and visually inspecting the growing appendages. They looked pretty good, really; they where just... small; like a puppy's; growing to full size in relation to her body.

"Can you hear out of the new ears, yet? They appear to be open, but they're not reacting to sound like I'd expect."

WC: 281

281 + 1875 = 2156/2000 D-rank Medical Ninjutsu

156 Remaining

Jayr nodded, glad that she was making some bit of sense in all of this confusion. The more she thought about it the more legit it became: and it wasn't like it was completely unheard of. She knew of stories of Berserker's from the past whose appearances had been exceptionally frightening: deformities – both animal and otherwise – were a very common occurrence after they reached a certain peak in their physical prowess. It had been something that Jayr had figured she had years upon years to go before having to experience, but apparently given her training methods and overall strength that wasn't to be the case.

As Karu parted her hair, examining her ears, a sound began to come from her that would resemble a purr – only more canine in sound. It was something that Jayr herself wasn't even conscious of doing: and a definite sign that she rather liked Karu touching her – even the little bit that he was. It was, in a big way, very calming to know that he was there and she wasn't alone in this struggle, even if they were basically grasping at well educated guesses at the moment. ”Cana, you're vibrating the bed...” Jayr mumbled, her eyes still closed.

Cana let out the wolf equivalent of a snort suddenly. ”Er, that's not me, JayJay. That's all you.”

Jayr opened her eyes, frowning somewhat as she realized it was her and not in fact Cana as she had thought. She pushed her mind past it – she was just going to go with the flow as much as possible on this – and thought of Karu's question. ”I can hear a bit; at first I couldn't. Now though it's.... all I can describe it as is like trying to listen to someone talk underwater. But, it's becoming clearer, just slowly. ” Jayr focused on her ears, or rather her new ones, for a moment to really get a feel for them. She could definitely tell they were there, there was no doubt about it, and she felt... as if she wanted to move them, in fact it felt almost natural to want to do so. ”It's weird... I mean, I've spent years with Cana by my side... so I know how she reacts to sound naturally – the way her ears adjust. And my new ears want to do that too – but I keep holding back 'cause I don't know if it's going to hurt or not and I'd rather not feel anymore pain then I already am...” Of course, Jayr hadn't stopped to consider yet the fact that by holding back she was likely causing herself the pain, instead of just letting the changes happen and get over with.

Holding back...? Okay, the pain was starting to make more sense. One thing ALL medics knew, the harder you fight against certain things, the worse they fight back. Sheer willpower alone can't stop muscle cramps for example; the harder you fight against one, the more damage you do to yourself, and the more pain you end up with. Maybe...

"I know you're in pain avoidance mode... but how about you try and move them. Just a gentle twitch, nothing crazy. I doubt you really could, they're still underdeveloped and likely don't have much nerve or muscle control yet; but you should be able to. If I'm right... I might be able to help you better. If it doesn't work, well... I can give you some more morphine, you would have reacted by now if you where going to."

WC: 147

2156 + 147 = 2303

D-Rank Medical Ninjutsu 2000/2000
Medicial Ninjutsu D-C 303/2000

”Hnn... alright.” God, she hated this: it was like conflicting knowledge in her brain. One half of her – the medic half – knew that avoiding moving something that wanted to move was a sure fired way to make things worse. Where as the other half of her – the hurting half – didn't want to risk it in case it caused more pain. But, she knew Karu was right, and better she do this here then off at the hospital – besides, she trusted Karu, more so then she would trust the other medics at the hospital even if she did spend a lot of time there working with them.

Slowly she let go of her self control; allowing her body to move naturally and how it wanted to move. Cana made a soft whine of curiosity and her ever-growing ears twitched slightly in response. Thankfully, no more pain occurred from this – in fact, it felt better the less resistance she put on her body. Jayr let out a sigh as she forced herself to relax more: she was giving up trying to control her new body parts, and simply allowed them to move as they “naturally” would. The moment she did this of course the growing process sped up faster – though the pain decreased instead of increasing.

”... That... feels better... actually.”

”Is it just me, or are they growing faster now?”, Cana asked as she moved a little closer – keeping herself out of Karu's way while being able to get a closer look.

She curled up closer to Karu, and her body relaxed more. This was going to go more smoothly now that she wasn't fighting the changes. Thankfully, none of the rest of her body felt like it was changing, which was good - explaining ears and a tail were going to be enough of a chore to the rest of her family and Temaki... she didn't want to add anything else to the mix.

Well, at least they where able to figure that out. He was feeling more confident now; animals where his specialty, and he could fool himself into thinking as a vet while focusing on these changes now that she wasn't looking like she was being tortured horribly. He just didn't do well in those situations; he'd been extraordinarily lucky in that regard, he'd made it as far as Jounin without ever having to watch someone he cared about suffer or die. He was a rare example of a happy life; well, rare among ranked ninja, anyway. Even in peaceful times, there was risk; and that risk was real. Hell, his work with exotic animals was risk as hell; but it had been a good year so far, no injuries, no casualties, no major incidents. Pure luck.

It was good, and bad; good in that he hadn't suffered, bad in that he wasn't as prepared for disaster as he could be. Physically, yes; mentally and emotionally, not as much.

"Good, good. Try to relax some more; focus on the changes without fighting them." Strange advice, but he had a feeling that it would help. If they weren't going to fight, might as well start getting used to them, right? "I'm going to make some noise by your new ears; standard hearing test, alright? I'll have a better idea of whether or not they're forming correctly this way."

The test was simple; merely a snapping of the fingers in the direct line of the ears to see their reaction speed and such; nothing major. A set of snaps, three or so for each ear, as he watched for reaction speed and movements. "They do seem to be growing faster now, yes. It's... amazing to see, really. Months, years really, of growth in a few hours... it's not surprising that it was painful."

Satisfied with what he saw with the ears reacting, "Normal, if a tad slow; but if you're still hearing through water, that's not a bad thing. I'll check them again a little later, once they've cleared out. Your brain will need time to reconcile the dual inputs from both sets of ears." He shifted so that he was leaning over her, checking the growing tail now; it was now very obvious what it was, the hints of fuzz starting to sprout now; matching the peach fuzz on the ears. "The tail seems to be growing properly... I don't see any defects or issues yet. Honestly, beyond the strange factor... you're new animal parts are perfectly healthy, in context of still developing."

Quick adaptation, thank the gods he had that skill. Well, that; and a total and complete ability to not give a flying fuck about weirdness. He was a 16 year old ninja with a talking kangaroo that was basically his son, a small child that looked like a young boy with dragon horns that hatched from an egg that was his second son, in a relationship with his sensei and the daughter of the leader of a neighboring country; and none of that seemed odd to him in the least. His girlfriend growing canine ears and a tail? Pffft, that was nothing, really.

He shifted one last time, moving into a position that would allow Jayr to lay her head on his lap comfortably, an give Cana room to crawl up on the bed with them if she wanted to. Whether Jayr moved to lay on his lap or not, he would start to rub her back soothingly, aiming to help her relax more. "I've got to say, being with you and Temaki, it's never boring. Going with you two that night was the best decision I ever made."

WC: 657

657 + 2303 = 2960

D-Rank Medical Ninjutsu 2000/2000
Medicial Ninjutsu D-C 960/2000

It was easier, now that she wasn't struggling against what was happening to her. In fact, now that she wasn't curled up in a tense ball and was in fact relaxed the whole process was much less painful. Oh, she still felt sore and she was exhausted, but that was nothing that she didn't put herself through on a weekly basis while training.

As Karu tested her hearing she felt her ears shift and move and she wondered how weird it would be to have two sets of ears to fully hear out of when the growing was completed. ”It's... not so bad now that I'm not tense about it. Heh... for all my medical training I should have known better. But I guess that's the difference between being a doctor and being a patient.”

When Karu shifted she did too, placing her head on his lap rather then the pillow. She smiled at his words and cuddled up close to him. ”I'm glad you decided to come with us too. And I'm sure she is as well. Speaking of... where is Temaki?”, she asked curiously. She didn't know if she was meeting with her father, but she doubted it – her father would have told her about such a thing. Jayr didn't like the idea of Captain Yen wandering around with a chip on her shoulder and Temaki unaccompanied – even if she could more then defend herself.

It was then that a little bird flew it through her window with a small letter; it was from Temaki. She pulled the letter off and let the bird fly back out. She unrolled it, and then realized she couldn't focus enough to see. ”Meh.. morphine is still messing with my head. What's it say?”, she asked as she handed it over to Karu. The letter was simple and short; Temaki giving them the heads up that she was training and would be late, and that if they needed her they just had to follow their noses.

"Doctors make the worst patients." Taking the note, he glanced over it quickly before setting it down, "Speak of the devil; she's off training. Not surprising, really; it's got to be refreshing to have new training areas and the different climate; it's so much drier here, even in mid-summer. She says if we need her to 'follow our noses', so she's likely off in the woods somewhere. Likely won't be back until late tonight or into tomorrow, then." With her head on his lap now, he began stroking her hair some; making sure he was careful not to disturb the ears as much as possible. They where getting large now, if he had to guess he'd call them nearly done forming.

"Well, between the morphine and the bone liquefying exhaustion, I don't see us going anywhere today or tonight. You can out off telling your Dad about this until tomorrow. Give us time to come up with a reason beyond 'Fuck off, I don't care' to keep the medics and weird science nerds off you." There was no way there weren't some of those type here; they existed everywhere really, and he'd had a hell of a time keeping them off Coen when he'd first started showing signs of being more intelligent than a normal kangaroo, and every time he showed some new ability they'd come out of the woodwork. He'd been lucky with Roku; the little guy was so small that he was easily hidden. Speaking of Roku, the little child was climbing up the blankets hanging over the edge of the bed; he'd woken up from a nap when Karu had carried Jayr to bed and was being curious. His little horned head appeared over the edge of the bed and he started burbling curiously, "Jayr? Daddy?"

WC: 326

326 + 2960 = 3286

2000/2000 D-Rank Medical Ninjutsu

1286/2000 C-Rank Medical Ninjutsu

So Temaki was off training? That was good, that was very good. Anyone would have to be stupid to get close enough without knowing what they were dealing with – and if Temaki was like her then she likely had essentially roped off an area with nearly harmless traps to keep anyone from getting too close. Plus, there was Blast – the big wolf likely was running patrols around the area while Temaki trained as well, if he wasn't training with her that was. Good, it meant she didn't have to worry about Captain Yen trying anything while she wasn't around: she knew she was going to have to speak to her father about the female sooner rather than later, but definitely not today. ”I figured she might disappear off to the woods for some training at some point.” Even on vacation Jayr herself would have done the same.

”Hm... Yeah, no. I have no intentions of moving further then I have to. I'm quite happy just like this.”, she said softly. If her father showed up, curious as to why he hadn't saw her all day then that would be a different story, but her life wasn't in immediate danger so there was no real reason to alert him about this at the moment, especially given how tired she was. Plus, she didn't want to risk moving the wrong way and causing herself issues.

And then she heard something, something very adorable. Cana was already sniffing at Roku, both because she was curious, and because she was afraid he might fall: over protective fuzzy was over protective. Jayr shifted her head only slightly, quite content with the stroking that Karu was doing of her hair, so that she could look upon Roku. She smiled tiredly. ”Hello, there~” Cana, meanwhile, laid herself down right next to the bed; making an effective cushion should Roku fall.

The little boy smiled when attention was focused on him; he seemed to feed on happy emotions and attention about as much as he did on actual food, so being the center of attention, even for a moment, was like a surprise treat after his nap. Karu reached over carefully and lifted Roku up by the little robe he wore; the boy was so unbelievably lite for his size that it didn't hurt him to be carried that way. He placed the boy properly on the bed in front of them, so he could crawl around and play if he wanted to. "G'morning, little one. Nice nap?"

"Daddy.~"

"I'll be so happy when he picks up 'yes'."

"Jayr? Hurt?"

Oh. Again, random new words. For Jayr's benefit, "So, we've realized that Roku can... sense things. Emotions and the like; he feeds on emotions and such, so it's not surprising. I'm not even sure how I know he feeds on emotions, but Coen agrees with me on that, so we're running with it. Given we don't even know what Roku is... we're just going with the flow now." Roku crawled closer to Jayr, little hands pressed to her cheek gently and his focus entirely on her for a moment, "Jayr pain. Jayr hurt?"

WC: 240

240 + 3286 = 3526

2000/2000 D-Rank Medical Ninjutsu

1526/2000 C-Rank Medical Ninjutsu

He was adorable, there was no question about it. Jayr was slightly surprised though how quickly he picked up on the fact that she was in pain, but Karu's explanation did a lot to placate her curiosity. The fact that Roku could sense emotions was rare; though not completely unheard of from the books and such she had read when younger.

When he put his little hands on her cheek and mentioned that she was in pain, and asked again if she were hurt, she bit her bottom lip and thought about how to explain things to such a young child. ”I'm... growing a few extra parts.”, she settled on by way of explanation. As if to add to it her ears, now having finally finished the painful growing process, gave a wiggle: they were clear now, and no longer sounded as if she were under water – but she was ignoring the strangeness of the difference in hearing to remain focused on Roku. ”It hurt a bit at first, but not so much now... Your daddy is going to make a great doctor.” Which wasn't a lie of course; Karu had indeed helped her a lot, or else she likely would have been on the floor screaming in pain by now or even worse off then that.

"Well, I sort of am already, just not for humans. I'm... three classes and a test away from a proper veterinarian license. Amazing what you can do in less than a year, when you work yourself ragged." He was only partially joking; he did work insanely hard at the things he cared about, and that was one of them. He was nearly done with a license that normally took three years to get, in less than 12 months; while working full time as a ninja with significant rank.

"Daddy smart.~"

"I quit. He's just messing with us now, I swear. He's got a new word every minute. This is faster than Coen ever was. Roku, you amaze me."

"Yay! Daddy happy!"

He just chuckled, he was literally done trying to track growth at this point. It just wasn't worth it anymore; not in the sense of trying to be anything but overly proud and such.

"Jayr special. Jayr strong like Daddy.~"

"Jayr is stronger than Daddy, Roku. Much stronger. Not that it much matters, it just means that she can protect us as well as I can protect her, or Temaki can protect both of us. She's always been special, she's just more so now."

"Roku special?"

"Very special, son." Karu patted the little boy on the head like he liked, and that had Roku giggling happily. In that way only little children could be, he was suddenly very interested in playing with Cana, so he crawled across the bed back toward her and leaned over the edge, reaching with a little arm to poke at her fur.

"Kids, I swear."

WC: 304

304 + 3526 = 3830

2000/2000 D-Rank Medical Ninjutsu

1830/2000 C-Rank Medical Ninjutsu

”Mm.. it's a good thing, too. I know only the basics when it comes to animals, so all of this...”, she motioned to her new ears – which were shifting with every sound at this point painlessly – and her tail which was almost fully covered in thick fur ”Is new to me. Especially since Cana wasn't a puppy when I found her; she was smaller then she is, but not that small.”

She listened to Roku and Karu and chuckled a bit. ”Kid's are adorable... I remember how adorable Cana was when I found her. She didn't have such a big fuzzy butt though...”

Cana's attention focused onto Roku and she lifted her head. She sniffed at him happily enough, her tail thudding quickly against the floor in a rhythmic pattern. She licked at his face and offered the equivalent of a wolfy grin. She glanced to Jayr with bright blue eyes and then licked at her too. ”You didn't find me, you saved me. And my butt isn't that big, puppy.”, Cana said playfully, easily catching on to Jayr's better mood – she couldn't smell the pain in the air anymore, and it was changing Cana's emotions from worrying, to happy.

”... You did not just call me a puppy.”

”What if I did, puppy? What are you going to do about it?”

”I'mma... nothing. I'm too comfy.”, Jayr said with a chuckle. She was far too content to want to move, even if she was feeling a bit more playful. She felt a thumping on the bed, separate from what she was hearing now from Cana's own tail, and lifted her head enough to see her white with a black tip tail hitting the bed. ”Huh... gonna have to get used to that.”

”You're a happy puppy...”

”You keep calling me a puppy and I might reconsider wanting to move...”, Jayr warned, playfully.

"To be fair, you look like a giant puppy right now. I rather like it." Karu was amused by all this, watching how Jayr and Cana or Temaki and Blast interacted made him feel less strange about his relationship with Coen and Roku; how many ninja could say their partners where basically their kids; especially at his age. The way they all acted, it was obvious they where just three little families, that was working on becoming one proper family if things kept going so smoothly.

Roku was so small and light that even a gentle lick was enough to knock him off balance a bit, even when he was crawling around. He could walk just fine, really, but he preferred to crawl still. Once his balance was righted, he grabbed handfuls of Cana's fur and pulled himself up onto her back, stretching to lay down across her and tug softly on the soft hairs. He was fascinated by the texture and feel of the fuzzy, "Cana soft. Like Cana.~"

WC: 177

177 + 3830 = 4007

2000/2000 D-Rank Medical Ninjutsu

2007/2000 C-Rank Medical Ninjutsu

”See? Even Karu agrees. So there..” Cana stuck her tongue out, at least until her attention shifted to Roku once more. He was climbing on her at this point and she didn't mind at all – she was used to children after all, especially Jayr's younger sister Mittens, and Roku was even littler then her and far lighter too. ”I like you, too~”, Cana responded happily, a sound akin to a cat purring escaping the over grown wolf.

Jayr couldn't help but grin at Karu's comment. Oh, she didn't doubt she looked like a puppy now – in fact, she damn sure was acting like one – considering her tail which wouldn't stop twitching and moving.

She listened to Cana and simply chuckled as she cuddled up more to Karu. She was content now, and all of the pain was gone – thankfully. The growing had fully finished too, including the for that now covered both her tail and her ears; blending right in with her very white hair. Jayr let out a relaxed sigh. ”Mmm... no more pain. So much better.”