Konoha Hospital, Konoha
Mental health ward | 3rd floor
Even in the constant madness that is a hospital, nurses are doing laps across the bleach-stained floors, seats always greeted by new visitors, screams, moans and cries blending into one symphony of heartache and blood... the blood is always there, even not a serious injury or life-threatening situation, haemophilia is not tolerated.
But in all the sanitised chaos that is Konoha's hospital, there is a section of the building that is barely monitored, like a ghost town between two busy cities.
The mental health ward was an idea that never truly got nurtured, a hallway lengthy enough to rival a training ground but barely had footprints. The janitor deemed the area hazardous.
Ino Yamanaka bravely volunteered to lead the entire unit. All patients, documents, reports, and check-ups were on her pale shoulder; even her medical rags were swapped out for a violet one-piece suit that ended just above her ankles, with a snatched waist. The purple top covered her skin as Tsunade had recommended.
'Those patients aren't normal, Ino. They can get... excited when a pretty woman is near them.' Tsunade's warning plays in her head.
A woman as expressive and confident in her femininity as herself knows when that could be used against her.
"At least I still look cute." The Yamanaka heiress spins on her office chair.
Her office is very small, just enough space for paperwork, and hoarding levels of cabinets and a coffee mug that will be reeking of coffee beans by the end of the day.
Knock, knock...
"Lady Yamanaka?" A soft voice calls from behind her door.
"Come in Aya." Ino projects.
The rookie chestnut-haired nurse enters her office, and in her skinny arms is a profile page that can belong to any one of the dozens of patients of the ward.
"Kazuya is having another episode. " Aya gulps, eyes holding hope of being guided to deal with the situation.
"Sigh...I'm coming. "
---
Kazuya Matsui is a tan-skinned male in his late 40s, with dirt-brown eyes that stare at nothing for too long, his brown hair is a mess reaching his lower spine, and the man has given up on attempts to maintain it.
Before he was registered here, he was a member of Anbu Root, once known as Weasel. A man who led the lights of Izumi Uchia and Kakashi Hatake.
A man who once led squadrons of elite shinobi is now confined to 4 white walls and hospital gowns.
Click
The sound of the metal door groaning open made him stiffen for a second.
"Yamanaka. " He acknowledges the new presence.
"Matsui-sama." Ino greets her elder, despite his current status as her patient, she treats him with respect.
"Please, I told you not to call me by my surname. Kazuya is fine." The former Anbu smirks at her.
Ino mimics the smirk but hers was a bit more forced. "My apologies Kazuya. " Ino corrects herself.
He chuckles at it. "Do we have another session so soon?" He quirks a brow at her.
"No, this isn't a formal meeting, I wanted to see if you're doing alright?"
"That's hard to answer honestly..." He stands up from his bed, pacing in small circles.
"I'm sane enough to know you don't make random check-ups, what is it that you want Yamanaka?" Kazuya presses, his friendly smirk vanishes, and in its place is the calculating look of a seasoned ninja.
Ino balls up the fabric of her pants.
"To be honest, Kazuya...I want to ask you something. " She confesses.
"Ask away?"
Ino let's a sigh, "You're file revealed that you slaughtered your squad during an espionage mission and instead of reporting it to Danzo you chose to come here, on your own will. Why?" Ino asked.
"Danzo would've killed me, I didn't deserve death, that would be too easy," Kazuya answers.
"Why did you murder your squad?"
"I was helping them."
"Helping them?" Ino hangs on his words.
"The life of an Anbu is hell, Yamanaka. Your whole purpose is to please the evils that order you around, many of the men I've fought with had been consumed by the evil, I've seen too many people lose hope in humanity or the will to think on their own. Death was the only thing they could choose without interference. " Kazuya looks at her, every word he spoke was his truth, no lies or excuses for his actions, just honesty in its most raw state.
"...Thank you for your time. "
----
The important lesson you will learn as a medic nin, is that medical ninjutsu can do wonders for the body but when it comes to the mental aspects, specifically the working of the brain. It is a whole different study.
The brain has major parts:
Amygdala, the region responsible for processing fear and sensing threats.
*As a shinobi, this part is hyperactive.
The Hippocampus, is the memory center that distinguishes past and present memories.
*Trauma can mix up old memories with reality, leading to possible episodes.
The Prefrontal cortex, human thought processes such as decision making, controlling emotions and resisting impulse is it's domain.
*Damage to the area can result in impulsive actions and irrational thinking.
The majority of the patients in this ward experience levels of PTSD from Shinobi work, most are scarred from near-death encounters, mental exhaustion and for the extreme cases, a few are living with the burden of post- 3rd great ninja war PTSD.
It's no secret that the 3rd war relied on child soldiers, some nin fresh from the academy and thrown into battle against enemy ninja with years of battle experience compared to their amateur starts.
"Lady Ino?" Aya whispers her name. The green nurse is shadowing Ino, every step she takes, adjusting her posture to seem more confident and peeking at her superior's notes.
"Yes, Aya?" Ino quirks her brow at the brunette nurse.
"If we can't treat them with medical ninjutsu, then how can we expect to help them?"
"That's the thing Aya... we have to figure it out."
"Sigh–" Aya grumbles, keeping pace with Ino.
---
Ino came to realise that shinobi are still human, even with the abilities to manipulate nature, walk on water and process information faster than a regular person could ever attempt.
'The mind doesn't function like the body.' Ino mutters.
The blonde-haired kunoichi is back in her office, sheets of paperwork to attend to and yet her biggest concern is chakra.
'Medical ninjutsu is heavily dependent on Yang release to heal the body but it has zero to no effect on mental health. Yin release is a spiritual chakra that is mostly used in genjutsu activation but usage on healing the mind could be risky... maybe it's worth the risk.' Yamanaka concludes.
The smell of dry coffee hits her nostrils, bringing her back to her responsibilities.
"I'll check in with Tsunade about my theory later, right now I need to speak with my father about our kekkei genkei"