Scene #3226: Apprentice Work, Apprentice Pay

Owner	Pose
Sakura Haruno	Flowers had not quite been certain how to adjust to the idea of having an actual apprentice, of sorts. She was something of a loner these days, and the medic had taken a little bit to figure out how to even go about teaching someone who didn't actually use chakra before deciding on a mixture of the methods she had learned by and a whole lot of making it up as she goes. For today's lesson, she's in the little medical office within the tower, sitting on the examination table with a large white bucket next to her. She's wearing a labcoat, as normal when in her doctor's persona as she'd found it made people take her slightly more seriously, as she waits on Kyra to turn up.
Kyra Hyral	Today, Kyra's not exactly sure what to expect though so far most of the apprenticeship had consisted of routine tasks involved in running a medical lab. Resupplying. Glassware cleanup. Running the autoclave. Rotating chemicals. Most of the time she'd been busy with the kind of tasks expected of lowly interns. Kyra shows up on time today though she doesn't exactly seem like the most enthusiastic of people when she walks in. She pauses as she does, spotting Sakura right away, waiting for her in person and dressed in the Serious Business labcoat. "Heya." she greets, unshouldering her backpack and setting it next to the doorway. "What's up for today?"
Sakura Haruno	Not that Sakura actually even had all that many uses for rotating chemicals, even if she did keep supplies of blood in the nearest refridgerator. Which was also the one where food was kept. "Well, today I thought we might start with one of the most basic pieces of chakra healing, or see if you could provide something approximating it." She'll lift up the bucket, then set it down on the ground, showing no strain in spite of it being quite large and filled with water. And, in fact, with fish - some sort of trout, six of them. "That's going to be dinner, so don't worry too much about how hard you're going to fail. The goal is going to be to try to get them to breath as long as you can out of water. It's a little bit like helping someone who's drowning, only completely the opposite."
Kyra Hyral	"Oh?" Kyra's eyebrows lift, interest invading her features. "My world has something called chakra as well but from what I understand of the way things work for you, it's a completely different thing." She edges closer to the bucket, peering in to spy the fish swimming around inside. She looks up again at Sakura, an eyebrow raised, "Huh...that's...well, that's different. I...um...assume it means hijacking the oxygen exchange rate in their gills when they're out of the bucket or something...? Man, this is something I never fathomed doing. Show me?"
Sakura Haruno	Flowers will nod, then lift a hand up. Green energy will start to flow to it. "Well, it's part of what I'm worried I can't teach you. But don't worry - even if we can't find anything in common here, there's plenty of more mundane skills I can give you. There's an anatomy text I'm going to be assigning you either way after this." The ninja will grab one of the fish out of the bucket in a single smooth motion, and it will naturally start flopping and trying to get loose. Sakura will wait a few moments, then bring it down to the exam table, feeding the green energy into it. It'll calm, breathing starting to come through, as Sakura directly stimulates the oxygen through a rather tricky use of energy. "It's a little tricky - I could basically do this as long as I cared to, but that took me months to get quite right. Luckily for you, I'm not doing what my instructor did - whatever you fail with is just food for the office, not the only thing you can eat until you get it right."
Kyra Hyral	As Sakura starts to manipulate her chakra, she'll see Kyra murmur something and gesture with a hand. A flicker of yellow energy follows as she uses a Scan spell to get a very detailed reading of just what Sakura is doing. It registers has mostly foreign to her except for the part where it is energy being manipulated. "Huh. Well, I'm willing to give anything a try. At its core, magic is about manipulating the energy state of the magic particle in very specific patterns. That being said, I've never seen what you're doing right now done before-" she seems to maintain the Scan spell as Sakura picks up a fish from the bucket and keeps it breathing in the air. Kyra goes very, very silent as the fish adapts and calms down, not saying a word, keeping her intense stare on Sakura's hand. The spell ends and she looks up at Sakura. "...did your instructor at least let you cook the fish first?" Kyra makes a face and goes for the bucket of fish. Sakura will quickly learn that the first obstacle the white mage encounters is catching a fish. Without finely honed ninja speed, she's left chasing the scaley creatures around the bucket, splashing water all over the floor in the process.
Sakura Haruno	Sakura will watch the mess, water splashing onto her leg. "I'll get more water if you make too much of a mess. Anyway, this obviously isn't that useful a skill by itself, but it does teach a number of useful bases - manipulating oxygen can help with stabilizing patients, and it's very precise work. Too much or too little and you'll kill it." "And of course she let me cook it. Or have it cooked by someone, usually, I'm kind of a terrible cook." Sakura will admit. "It wouldn't be too healthy to eat that much raw, and trout is terrible uncooked. Also, generally terrible. I mostly avoid fish these days if I can. It was quite a motivator, though. Grab for where they will be, not where they are." Apparently, the mednin considers trying to grab the fish to be another form of training.
Kyra Hyral	"Yeah I was going to say-" Kyra speaks, not looking up as she chases fish in a bucket. "-trout isn't typically used in sushi and I don't think I've ever had it /raw/. I dunno, I guess I just kind of assume that all ninja training is super sadistic since the majority tend to be super hardcore. Or a little crazy like that Rock Lee guy was." Kyra pauses, listening to Sakura's tip, and puts both hands in the bucket. She starts using one hand to chase while the other hand lies in wait for a passing fish. She spends about a solid five minutes or so doing this, splashing even more water on the floor, before she manages to grab a fish and /not/ have it slip out of her hand. The other hand promptly clasps around the first to secure the fish and she draws it from the bucket, proudly dripping water. "Got it!" She carries the fish away from the bucket over to the table where Sakura had placed her fish, though not letting go of the squirming trout. Kyra grows quiet and looks to be concentrating, though nothing seems to be happening. The fish is still thrashing and gasping. Sakura, if she can sense it, will see that Kyra is moving energy around, though it's not the familiar chakra nor is it doing anything to alter the oxygen flow in the gills of the fish.
Sakura Haruno	"No, not all ninja training. Tsunade was a big believer in harsh training, and at that point in my life I probably really did need that approach." Sakura will admit, not having been a very good ninja in her youth. "And Lee is nice enough." Sakura will not be the one to dispute that he's crazy. "It's worth noting, probably, that by ninja standards I'm actually quite slow and much more known for raw strength than speed. At least by powerful ninja standards. Little less so with a sword, but I've stopped using those." That's not going to get an explanation, but she'll give a smile, watching rather carefully. "Okay. I admit I'm not sure how to judge the energy you're using, but it doesn't seem to be affecting the gills yet. Make sure you're focusing on that area at first."
Kyra Hyral	"Does it take hardcore, sadistic training to become a powerful ninja?" Kyra asks eventually, breaking her silence. This doesn't really seem to help with her concentration either and the energy kind of 'breaks down' into flowing via a pattern that Kyra's familiar with: a simple Regen spell which provides healing over time. It doesn't do anything to help a fish that can't breathe, though. At the feedback, this spell stops, followed by the energy flow. She takes a moment, takes a deep breath, and begins again with the same non-chakra energy. Slowly, she seems to focus the energy into the gills but it doesn't seem to be accomplishing the task of moving the oxygen molecules correctly. Sweat starts to bead on her forehead but despite her efforts, that fish is doomed to expire out of water. There is a faint look of frustration on her face. "I'm not sure how to target the oxygen." she says.
Sakura Haruno	"Um, it's usually that or a horrible past of some kind, or genetic advantages. Lee is about as happy as any ninja I know, and he's overcome an incredibile disability." Sakura admits. "I had the most normal life of any of my classmates, at least until Konoha fell." She'll gently take the fish away once it has passed, smiling. "Don't worry too much about it. They're all getting cooked whether or not you succeed, but this is a good way to practice." "It's not so much the oxygen itself you target. You should try to make the slight tweak to the biology to let it handle things, if possible. It's far more efficient that way, though it's going to be a quicker death if you get it wrong."
Kyra Hyral	"Incredible-oh, right, he said once that he can't use chakra, right?" Kyra seems to think about this for a moment, then shakes her head, "That is a pretty incredible disability on your world, isn't it?" Kyra returns to the bucket after Sakura takes away the non-dead fish. "Oh good, I'm glad that this is being done on something that's going to die anyway." A few minutes later, Kyra catches another fish from the bucket using the two-handed method she developed earlier. "No? Really...hmmm. Directly tweakng the biology...now /that's/ something...I mean I have done that before but genetic manipulation is waaaaay different from altering a currently living lifeform on the fly." She carries the new fish away from the bucket and resumes concentrating. The energy is flowing through the fish again and after about a moment, blood starts leaking out of the gills and the fish stops moving. There is the vaguest hint of trauma in Kyra's eyes before she quickly sets the fish aside.
Sakura Haruno	"That's the method I'm using. Though it's worth noting that it means you either have to make it only last while you're working, or you have to put it back if you're going to put them back in the water, or they'll end up just the same." Sakura sees the look in Kyra's eyes, though, and sighs. She doesn't actually have the heart to be a cruel mentor, which is part of why she hasn't tried in the past, so she'll at least explain. "Look... there's a reason we start with these. One of the worst lessons for anyone who wants to be a healer is that you won't always win. It's better to learn just how fragile things really are with something that's destined for a frying pan, anyways."
Kyra Hyral	Kyra only nods as Sakura instructs on the particular method the ninja uses to pull this off. Since the oxygen manipulation thing wasn't working, she seems inclined to try this different track to less than stellar results. "It's...it's not just that. A few months ago, there was this guard...my friends and I were investigating this storage unit in Happy Valley and there was this security guard who was dying. His throat was cut. I went to go heal him but I accidentally killed him instead." Kyra looks away as she says this, focusing on the bucket full of fish. "It's...yeah, I don't want to do that again." Kyra scoops up another fish and starts trying again, though her concentration seems poor now.
Sakura Haruno	"Okay. Well, that's reasonable. Look, a throat being cut is quite severe; if the arteries were severed, there are maybe a dozen people in the entire Union that could save someone under those circumstances. It's nothing to be ashamed of; all you have to do is try to get better." Sakura may have a slightly different view on that than most, though, being a paid killer in the past and all. Even if she was good as those went. "Anyway, this is half of your assignment - I want to see if you can get this at all. This place goes through so much food that you can practice all you'd like. The other half of it..." Sakura will let Kyra work, and will move to a drawer, pulling out a large, heavy book. "Humans and varients are by far the most common form life takes in the multiverse. I saw that diagnostic technique earlier; that's good to have access to, but the best thing you can start to do for learning mundane forms of healing is to study the anatomy of what you're going to be working on. These methods are a lot more dirty than magic or chakra, but they'll let you work even if you're otherwise out of energy."
Kyra Hyral	"Yeah...yeah it is." Kyra admits, still sounding pretty defeated about the previous incident. "Still, I didn't mean to finish him off in that moment." She sighs, the fish continuing to wiggle in her hands, the energy not helping, but not immediately killing the fish right away like last time. She takes another breath and tries to calm herself to concentrate. But she pauses to listen to Haruno's instructions, "So you want me to go through all the fish in this bucket?" she asks, looking up at the pink-haired ninja. Her eyes move to the anatomy book and she nods evenly, "Humans are exceptionally common in the multiverse! This is perfect, actually, since I know anatomy is going to be in the advanced classes if I take the medicine path in post-gradute school." Her gaze turns back to the fish, "That means a solid leg up much later." She falls silent, focusing on her fish. She doesn't seem successful with this one either and, after several more minutes, sets aside another asphixiated trout.
Sakura Haruno	"For now. There should only be one or two left. I can catch more for another time, but I'm presuming that you'll need time between attempts to recover, and to consider methods to improve. Let me know anytime you're wanting another try at this and I can get you more fish." Flowers leaves the book aside for now, watching the further attempts, actually approving of the multitude of attempts. "I've got a list of the most common non-artificial lifeforms throughout the multiverse if you want to work on alternative anatomies after this. I'm through approximately five hundred and fourty of them, myself, and counting." This is actually a great percentage of her free time, though. "It's probably more efficient to focus on a few at first, and your own is the most important - if you can't heal yourself, you won't be any good if you get hurt on a mission or the like."
Kyra Hyral	Kyra catches her fourth fish. She's actually gotten pretty good at catching them now even though there are fewer fish in the bucket. "So how many times should I try this before we decide that I might not be able to do this...?" she seems reluctant to ask this question, like she doesn't want to accept that she can't get how to do this particular technique. Despite her failure so far, she immediately starts trying again. "I would, yes, be very interested in that. I'm curious as to what the second most common life form is after humans! As for the artificial ones...I learned a trick from Orphen on healing that kind of person. Maybe I could teach it to you but I'm not sure if it's fully mastered yet." She falls silent again as she tries to manipulate the energy. Still no success. "Oh, yeah. I definitely agree with that." she sets aside another dead fish, this one bleeding out again, but she's not as disturbed by this. "How long have you been at this?"
Sakura Haruno	"Well, it took me a few hundred fish to get it right. It's more if you're not able to affect the biology, you won't be able to affect it in the right way. And if that were the case, I don't think you'd have some of them bleeding like that, so I believe you can do it." Flowers shrugs a little. "I can try it sometime, but chakra is very specific in its ability to impact the living, and we do have other experts for non-biological injuries. I started learning as a medic when I was thirteen, and I'm either twenty six or twenty seven now." Which is an odd answer, of course.
Kyra Hyral	"Oh, well, that's a good sign then, isn't it?" Kyra brightens just a little, "Still. I think we can count on having lots of trout to eat in the near future." Kyra looks knowingly at the line of dead fish on the table. "Hmm." Kyra goes to catch her final fish for the night. "So you've got well over a decade of experience with this. No wonder that you've got it locked down so solidly. It might help me later to just watch you work your chakra through my Scan spell, though. If you don't mind me kind of just being a voyeur a few times." She leans against the table as she works with the final fish though that too starts to bleed out. She only seems a little bit frustrated, helped by the fact that she knows it took Sakura a long time to get this too.
Sakura Haruno	"Of course. I'm happy to demonstrate anything you want to see, given that I have an appropriate patient at the time. We'll work on Psyber a few times, at least; he won't mind as long as it doesn't go into anything written down." Sakura will start to gather up the deceased fish, placing them back into the bucket for easier care. "Not that I usually work on fish. It's also worth noting that I am, by far, the most skilled living mednin from my world, so.. don't feel like you're failing too badly, okay?" Sakura asks, showing her softer side now. "...Oh. One other thing. Do you know how to sew? If not, learn."
Kyra Hyral	"Psyber will let us experiment on him...?" Kyra says, slightly disbeliving. "Is he immortal? Because I really don't want to end up messing up the boss man." She sets aside the last fish and goes to wash her hands thoroughly. Despite this, the fish smell persists. "Ah-" Kyra blushes just a little, "Thanks, Flowers, that does help. It wouldn't surprise me if it takes a year to get this stuff. Sewing? I can sort of sew. Mostly just to repair clothing. Are you thinking stitches?"
Sakura Haruno	"Oh, not experiment, just he gets himself hurt a lot. I'm thinking for you observing, not treating, mind." Sakura will state. "And yes, it's the most effective low-energy way to work. I don't know about your magic, but it's also a little bit like sewing to use chakra to knit skin together, sort of." Not really, but the fine dexterity required is similar. "Anyway, feel free to stay for dinner. There's plenty of room in the lounge for studying." Sakura will offer, heading out of the little office, holding the door open for her student.
Kyra Hyral	"Oh. Yeah. I bet he's helping Priscilla right now with the crisis on her world so he'll probably need healing soon." Kyra nods, "Hm, well, it's a little bit like knitting skin together? More like encouraging it to resume its original held-together shape?" Kyra picks up the anatomy book that Sakura placed out for her. She starts leafing through it, walking as she does, exiting through the office door. "Thanks. I think I'll go chill in the lounge and read this until it's ready." She looks up from her book and grins again, "Hey, thanks for showing me your chakra healing."