I'm Just a Medic

Learning first aid was fun, Zen thought. It felt like she was in the right place. It was as comfortable as wearing tailored clothes. And the surprising thing was that she was learning these new things like a sponge to water.

Karin is not far behind. If anything, the little girl is surprisingly talented in the field. If Zen could understand the procedures based on her limited knowledge from the previous life, Karin, on the other hand, understands it purely out of context and imagination. (No matter how much Rae dumbed it down for them)

But of course, in the course of Zen's life (either which of the two); when good things happen, bad things will follow.

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Rae was actually expecting this. Everything was going too smoothly for her liking and ever since they came to Takigakure, great things have been happening. They got their place with a good deal; Rae got a job on her first try; Karin and Zen became friends with the Village Leader's son; they became greatly acquainted with their neighbors; both Zen and Karin are invited to study in the academy. And all the while, Rae was just waiting for the other shoe to drop.

And it did. It's just on a rather larger scale than what Rae was expecting.

Oh, joy.

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Multiple massive explosions were felt on five different points of Takigakure, sending its citizens into a frenzy with civilians running for their lives and ninjas dashing to the source of the explosion. The alarm signal was loud and haunting that people would surely hear it even in their sleep.

Civilians were ushered to take refuge by the temple, surrounded and protected by Genin shinobi.

"Are you not going to help?" Zen whispered to her older self.

"I don't think they'd ever need my assistance" Rae whispered back, earning a pointed look from her younger counterpart; fully knowing what would happen on this day.

With a defeated sigh, Rae stood up from their place and approached a familiar Genin.

"Oi, Shibuki" She called with a deadpan. "Take me out there. I can help"

The young man stopped short of worried-hysteria and looked at the woman in confusion. "What?"

"I'm a medic" Rae explained. "I can help treat our wounded"

The refusal was obviously at the tip of his tongue before he was cut off by a rather close explosion and a sharp agonized shriek.

"Follow me" Then he quickly turned and ran with Rae not far behind.

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After leaving the safe zone, Rae created a few solid clones to help her carry and transfer the wounded shinobi to the nearest possible safer place without compromising either the civilian citizens and the fighting ninjas. The battle went on for hours and the wounded kept piling up. Other Takigakure shinobi would also bring in their wounded comrades. To her relief, it only took them a couple of seconds to process that it was her that was tending to the wounded with iryu ninjutsu.

She was tending to an amputee when it happened. There was an ominous glow of blue chakra that illuminated the whole village and then came the feeling of power behind it. If she hadn't felt it before, she would've choked on the sudden pressure behind it.

"D... dad" It was a choked whisper, but Rae heard it nonetheless.

Shibuki was staring at the source of the dense chakra in horror. He only took a step forward and his fellow ninja are already stopping him.

"You can't, Shibuki-sama" One ninja croaked sadly.

"b-but--!" The young child's eyes reflected his wild terror for his father. The man holding him back could only look elsewhere in sadness and shame. The same could be said with the others in the med camp.

"Let me just finish this" Rae grumbled as she put in extra effort to heal the stump.

Multiple eyes looked at her in disbelief.

"What?" One of her patients asked, bewildered. But Rae didn't deign him an answer and wrapped up the stump instead with bandages.

"Done!" She sighed. Standing up from her previous position, she began stretching out the kinks in her body. She ignored the eyes that watched her every move and focused on her current task. Once she's done, she turned to her audience with a smile on her face.

"It's time for me to join the party"

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A hand grasped at her loose civilian shirt. A trembling voice followed quietly.

"Will you save my father?"

Looking back, Rae could no longer see the confident genin she met all those weeks ago. What stood in his place was the fearful child she first met in her last life.

Did his confidence leave him when his father died? Probably.

Gently removing the hand on her shirt, Rae gave it a firm squeeze.

"I can't promise you anything like that" She confessed. And she could see the world crumbling at this child's feet. "But what I can promise you is that this assault to the village ends tonight"

Without another word, Rae disappeared into the night.

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As expected, Hisen was beyond saving. The price of drinking the Hero Water was too horrible to fix. The only way to save the old man was to regenerate every single cell in his body. But that is an impossible feat in this time and place. Takigakure is not equipped with advanced medical equipment that Konoha has. Even with Rae's advanced healing and sealing techniques, the process is too complex and near impossible.

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Taking a deep breath, Rae exhaled a large plume of smoke. The assault on Takigakure might as well lasted the whole night. Currently, the citizens are mourning their loss, especially the death of their village leader, Hisen.

It was with great regret that Rae couldn't do anything to heal the kind, old man.

"Why couldn't you save him?"

If Rae was surprised about the appearance of her younger counterpart, she didn't show it.

"You..." Zen trailed off, "You could've saved him"

"I couldn't" Rae whispered in regret.

She took a moment to inhale deeply from her cancer stick before continuing after rather tired exhale.

"I could've put him in a coma, but that would only delay the inevitable"

Crushing the stick on the metal rails, Rae turned to her younger self.

"Would you do that to the poor old man? To make his son see just how much suffering his father is in, only to die in the end? No?"

Walking past the child, Rae ruffled her hair softly. With her voice filled with regret, she said: "I may be an Iryu-nin but I'm not a God, kid. I can't save every single life there is on the battlefield."