It happened too quickly to stop.

[abileunaspada]

Who: Adela Milani (abileunaspada), Neji Hyuuga (heavenly_earth), & OPEN (Post-event only)
Where: Several kilometers outside of Konoha, near the western border of Fire Country / Konoha Hospital
When: September 5th (late night), 6-10th
Notes: Acting on the rumors of a powerful doujutsu, an enterprising missing ninja has decided to give himself greater power to make himself more appealing to a new village. This, unfortunately, doesn't end well.
Warnings for gore, violence, and language.

It hurt so much.

Adela was panting heavily, her good eye wincing and tearing up as she watched the blood drip down to the dark and dead leaves beneath. Her hands and the kunai she found were stained with her assailant's blood; the scuffle had ended his life, but she felt so sick and dizzy - not to mention her eye stung and she didn't want to open it. And she may have gotten stabbed a couple of times as well, though the fact that she only saw blood and no other fluids was probably a good thing. Still...

Where was she?

Knocked out, taken to the middle of no where, and she had fought an angry missing nin with the intent of taking her eye based on that stupid fucking rumor. Wonderful. With a grunt she got to her feet, dizzy with blood-loss as she tried to find her way. The moon was still giving enough glow to see through the trees, but she was barely armed and had no strength left... She was going to die out here.

Damn it, she couldn't die like this! In her own frustration she slammed her fist into a nearby tree, though it didn't take her too long to cling to said tree for support. Her world was starting to become more black as well, driving her to feel even more angered and frustrated. She hadn't even gotten to catch up to him... She hadn't even gotten the chance to become Hokage... This wasn't fair! No, she had to survive, she had to... Even if it was looking more and more hopeless.

That was when she heard the rustle of branches above, and immediately Adela took the bloodied kunai in an unstable grip - one wrong move and it'd slip right out of her hand. Who was coming now, someone who was with that ninja...?

--------------------

The smell of hospitals always got to her. She sighed, feeling heavy in her bed when she finally regained full consciousness. There was an IV drip in her arm and a heavy gauze taped over her injured eye. No one had talked to her yet, save for a nurse telling her that she could have visitors. How would her eye recover, though? She didn't know, she just knew that she still felt kind of dizzy and tired.

Still, she turned towards the curtain seperating her from the rest of the room. At least she was near the window and it was sunny out, if a bit cooler than it was before. She had to wonder just who would come to visit, if anyone at all. It all happened so fast... Would anyone have even heard about what happened? She remembered someone coming for her last night, but save for possibly the Hokage...

It was probably going to be a lonely recovery, depending on how long she was in there. Damn everything. Why did someone have to act on that stupid rumor...?

Comments

[heavenly_earth]

Neji had barely heard any details before he'd turned on heel and headed straight out the door, Byakugan flaring to life. He took the rooftops out of the village and into the trees, following the direction the witness saw Adela being carried. By all rights, this was an ANBU assignment, but there was no time to double back to HQ and change then still have a reasonable hope of catching up.

Facts ticked off in his head as he sped through the branches. The assailant was in quite the hurry, because Neji found a solid lead within the first twenty minutes. He was rewarded with a blue glow on the edges of his vision and immediately adjusted his course. But a closer examination made him stop, dread and sick pitting his stomach as he watched something out of his own nightmares unfold.

This wasn't about Adela's Kekkei Genkai.

Rage flooded his system, chakra surging to his feet as he flew through the canopy with a burst of speed that could rival his mentor's. He could see Adela fighting now, half-blinded and throwing out desperate attacks, and he only just remembered to keep a grasp on his own surroundings before he missed a branch separating him from her.

The missing-nin was dead, and Adela was critically injured. The fresh scent of blood caught up to him just as he closed the distance. Neji landed heavily on a sturdy branch above the scene, breathing hard because unlike Gai, he couldn't keep that speed up for long. She whirled to face him, and he dropped down to the ground, holding his hands up in a peaceful gesture. Veins faded as he performed a final sweep of the area to assure the enemy shinobi had been acting alone, and everything looked so much worse in full detail.

"It's me, Adela," he soothed, despite the anger boiling under the surface. She was a wreck, covered in blood that shone deeper than her hair, a wild ferocity in her one good eye. She was heavily wounded, but the adrenaline was keeping her up for now. That made her all the more unpredictable.

"I'm here to help," he continued, taking slow, measured steps toward her. Suddenly he was grateful not to be in ANBU gear. "We need to get you to the hospital."

[abileunaspada]

"... Neji? That's you, isn't it?" Adela murmured quietly, squinting through the moonlight. She recognized the Byakugan eyes, that voice... Someone from outside of the village wouldn't have known to replicate him specifically, right? Her grip on the Kunai was shaken, torn between loosening and keeping it tight before the decision to drop it was made for her -- it slipped right out of her hand a moment later. A quiet curse and she shook her head, finally kneeling down to put pressure on the stab wound around her torso -- her arm could be ignored for now... But her torso and eye...

It was by then that her adrenaline started to fade, her willingness for the situation to just be over getting in the way of any common sense as she tried to just remain conscious then, "... You're right... Is it far?"

[heavenly_earth]

"Yes," he answered softly, and quickly closed the distance when her weapon dropped from her hand and she knelt to the ground to cradle her wounds. Neji crouched in front of her, pulled some hair out of her eyes to acclimate her to his touch before he tried anything else.

"It's not far," he assured. Gently, gently, there would be time for anger later. "I can get you there in under an hour."

His hands moved to his own wrists and ankles, stripping off the weights he'd forgotten about in his pursuit. He'd come back for them later, but for now he'd be carrying extra weight without them, and she needed to get back to the village as fast as he could possibly carry her. He couldn't look at her mangled eye for long, but he prayed she wouldn't lose it despite all evidence pointing to the fact that she probably would. If only he'd gotten there sooner..

Hand on her shoulder, ready to shift and support her back. "Are you ready to go?"

[abileunaspada]

"Yeah... It really hurts," Again Adela was mumbling, taking a shaking breath before she shifted to try and get a grip on him. By all rights she should have been continuing to put pressure on her wounds instead, but she didn't know how Neji wanted to get her back to the village. Under an hour... It happened so fast, if that was the case. She wasn't knocked out for long before he had...

That missing nin had...

"He tried to take my eye... Sliced it when he found out I didn't have a doujutsu," She couldn't help shaking a little then, glancing away from Neji as she started to feel more furious with herself. How had she let it happen? It happened so fast, she had been in the main city before she was knocked out and the next thing she knew she was waking up to him trying to remove her eye... Damn it, why wasn't she strong enough to stop it!?

[heavenly_earth]

"I know, I'm sorry," he said, knowing there was nothing he really could've done, but wishing he'd been there regardless. "You shouldn't have had to go through that, but you're safe now."

What right did anyone have to attack someone and attempt to claim what wasn't theirs? But more than that, to attack someone as a result of a baseless rumor..

But she was grabbing onto him now, blooded hands staining white, and his eyes were drawn to her wounds. He should really try to wrap them up, but in his haste, he'd brought next to nothing except the most basic tools along with him. It was a gamble any way he thought about it, to sacrifice time for precaution. Mind made up, he shifted and got his arms underneath her, pulled her up with him as he stood.

"Stay with me, Adela," he urged, and leapt up into the trees. "We'll be home soon."

OPEN TO ALL - Hospital Visits

[abileunaspada]

She finally knew. They had managed to save her -- her body would take time to fully recover from the blood loss, but she'd at least be out of the hospital in a few days. Even so... Even so...

Adela's fist was gripped tight in the sheets as she sat up, glaring down at them with her good eye. She could feel it moving, but it didn't feel the same anymore. The eye that was injured... What they said wasn't right, was it? That she'd actually been blinded? That they couldn't do anything about it? That bastard had won in blinding her?

It was impossible not to feel angry, furious with the man who had kidnapped her. Even though she had killed him out of self defense (and would have to protect the village), that he had done that based off of a rumor with absolutely no backing... She couldn't help it. A couple of tears fell before she wiped at her good eye, sighing as she tried to lay back and look at the ceiling. There was no point in getting upset over it, even if it was really hard not to. She did what she could, Neji and Shisui had done what they could -- for that, she was grateful. Even so, it just made her feel even more useless to the village than ever...

Sept. 7th, ~9am

[ghostpepper]

Minato had written her the night of the 6th after hearing about the incident. He knew his wife would want to know, and he was right. Her immediate thought was to go as soon as she got his letter, but she had to leave instructions first. On the morning of the 7th, she left a list of things to do and a note for her new assistant, explaining that there had been an emergency back home and she'd be back when she was originally scheduled to on the 17th. She stuck a note to Karin's apartment door telling her she had left the village a few days early on a personal emergency and she could come along when she wanted, but would she please at least take some kind of escort to the travel seal?

She rooted out one of her ANBU and led them as fast as her legs would go to the travel seal and then through Konoha's gates to the hospital. The ANBU dropped in a chair in the lobby to wait while Kushina sped through the halls to Adela's room. Some of the medics shouted after her, but she paid them no mind. She needed to see Adela and make sure she was okay. After nearly seven years, the girl was like a daughter to her. Worry was still written all over her face when she knocked once on the room's door and slid it open with a loud thud.

"Adela!"

[abileunaspada]

She jumped a little at the statement, blinking hard at Kushina before she relaxed on the incline of the bed. After a beat she smiled, her shoulders slumping as she just tried to show that she was glad to see the other, "Kushina-San. I didn't know you were in town."

Truthfully she had seen Minato a little earlier, though it was brief -- he didn't have a lot of time, only stopping by to say that he'd told Kushina about what happened. Even if she hadn't wanted Kushina to worry... It still felt good to have her there.

[ghostpepper]

Even if Adela was smiling, she was still worried. She pulled the door shut and grabbed a chair from against the wall to sit in next to her bed.

"Minato wrote me last night. I just got here this morning. I would've been here sooner but... Well..."

After spending two weeks with her in the office, she was sure Adela would likely remember what sorts of things could have held her up.

"How are you doing?"

[abileunaspada]

"A lot better than I was. I'm stable and they're letting me eat -- even if the hospital food is nasty, it's better than just water and an IV drip," Watching the other with her good eye, she kept up the smile for appearance's sake. But, if she was asked about exactly what happened -- well, even with her best efforts she wouldn't have been able to keep up that smile for long.

That it had happened at all...

"M'glad he was worried too, kind of. I didn't wanna make either of you worry... Sorry about that."

Sept 6th, afternoon

[heavenly_earth]

It was one of the stranger summons he'd fielded, woken to hear there was a rabbit waiting for him in the lobby. He dressed, ticking through people he knew with summons, then shrugged as he made his way down. Uchiha Shisui, he discovered via note with an update on Adela's condition and an invitation to visit. Neji thanked the rabbit for delivering the message and headed out for the hospital.

On a last-minute impulse, he darted past it and ducked into the Yamanaka's flower shop, then doubled back. He found her room without trouble and knocked briefly on the door before entering.

"Adela," Neji greeted as he moved for the window. "Uchiha-san tells me you're doing better."

He set a glass vase on her bedside stand, three vibrant lilies poking out to give the room some color. Moving around again, he took the seat next to her bedside, and let his eyes take in her overall condition. But he stopped on her bandaged eye with a frown.

"How are you feeling?"

[abileunaspada]

"... Still sore. But the medics said I'll recover, mostly."

She couldn't look at Neji then. At least, not right that second. It took her a few seconds to sigh, her eye closed when she spoke again.

"Thank you... If it wasn't for you and Shisui-san, I wouldn't have made it. I would've bled out in the middle of no where."

Sept. 8th toward the end of visiting hours

[sensethis]

Karin's first stop after getting into Konoha was head for the hospital. She'd checked with the nursing station to see where Adela was and made her way there with quick strides ignoring the annoyed looks the staff was giving her for cutting her visit so close. As it was she almost barged right into the room, and just barely caught herself from sliding the door right open. Taking a deep breath she knocks to announce her presence before sliding the door open and slipping in.

She has to pause trying to figure out the best way to handle the girl. "Hey," she finally settles on.

[abileunaspada]

Ah... It was...

"Hi," Adela answered, nodding as she saw up a bit more in the bed (even if she could have just adjusted the thing to help her sit up). She was still sore, struggling to move a little without putting too much strain on her side, but she'd been doing better over the past few days at least.

Honestly, she's kind of glad that Karin's seeing her like this instead of weak and completely on pain killers. By then she'd at least recovered mostly, and although her arm and side were tender they were mostly healed thanks to the medi-nin there at the hospital. The only thing that really made it obvious that she was still injured was the fresh gauze over her eye by that point.

[sensethis]

Well she didn't tell her to go away so Karin was going to take that as an invitation to sit in the chair by the bed. Considering what snippets of conversation she'd gotten since getting into the village Adela didn't look horrible. She looked a lot better than the village gossip made her sound.

"You know they make you sound like you're at death's door. Glad to see they were wrong." She says dropping her chin into her hand, red eyes intense as they swept over the girl to reassure herself that the medics had everything well under control.

[abileunaspada]

"... I was when I first came in, I've improved a lot over the past couple of days," Her murmuring was barely above a whisper as she looked away. No, in terms of her health she wasn't too terrible (save for her eye), but in terms of her spirit... As much as she hated to admit it to herself, it still wavered. The experience had been traumatizing, and she knew that things like that were regular among ninja but...

Damn. Why couldn't she just get over it...?

09/08 early in the morning

[not_thedragon]

Sasuke hadn't really registered it when he'd stopped by the hospital last evening for the morning schedule, but there it was again when he signed into his shift: Milani, Adela. Not in ICU, which was at least a relief, but the initial attending's intake paperwork was nothing short of infuriating -- someone had attacked her on the strength of a rumour? -- and the surgeon's post-op notes were even worse.

Blinded ... even for a shinobi without a doujutsu, it was a death-knell. A ninja without depth perception could learn to compensate, to be sure, but she'd be off active-duty for who even knew how long?

Sasuke looked at the clipboard outside Adela's room one last time, hoping that the information might change (it didn't), and then stepped in, accompanied by the wafting smell of Mikoto's usual get-well soup.

"Adela?" He kept his voice low, in case the painkillers still had her knocked out.

[abileunaspada]

Ah? She blinked, sitting up (a little too fast, damn it that hurt her side and the fact that her hand went there immediately was proof of it) with surprise. Wait, what?

"Senpai?" Needlessly said, she was surprised at seeing Sasuke of all people. It was followed quickly by a pained expression as she glanced away from him, not really liking that he was seeing her like this. Actually... Hating it. It seemed like all she could ever do in front of Sasuke was screw up or get herself hurt, and this wasn't any different... And she had lost an eye, to boot...

[not_thedragon]

"Hey --" He frowned immediately, moving to her bedside with the sharp efficiency of any annoyed medic. "Don't move so suddenly when you're injured like this."

The flask of hot soup was set to the side as he gathered chakra to his hands, movements businesslike out of habit as he gestured for her to move her hand from her side. Her look away meant that he added verbally, brisk: "Let me see."

the aftermoon of the 7th

[thebestuchiha]

He felt so guilty about this... and kind of really wanted to kill something himself. He'd thought just staying in the village would have been enough, but someone being able to take someone out and hurt them? It meant it was time to do a full sweep and redo the security.

It also meant he felt super guilty he hadn't set a guard on her, and he steeled himself, a wry smile on his lips as he peeked in. "Heard you were going the extra mile to be like me."

[abileunaspada]

"Hokage-Sama," She was a little surprised to see him... But it was still nice. Kushina had already visited her, as had Shisui and Neji... It would've only been a matter of time before she saw Obito, she guessed. Sighing a bit, she leaned back against the pillows and nodded.

"Not the way I wanted too - I'd rather have gotten closer through hard work or skill, you know?" She deflated a little, not smiling but softening her expression so that hopefully Obito would get that she wasn't really being serious. This... All kinds of sucked. She was still angry over it, despite what she had told herself earlier. But that didn't mean she was going to stop, not in the slightest.

[thebestuchiha]

"It's not that big a deal you know. I went a few years before I got this thing." He touched under his left eye. "So don't fuss about it. Talk to Kakashi if it really bugs you, he runs around with his sharingan covered more often than I do. He'll put you straight on how to compensate, yeah?"

He quieted a moment after saying that. "So tell me what you remember okay?"

Brace yourself for another episode of 'Ami Trying to Social'

[thelittleprincess]

Ami froze in the doorway, eyes wide and a brief expression of panic flitting over her face. She looked, for all the world, as though there was a pack of wild horses bearing down on her instead of being on the threshold of the room of an injured and crying girl a few scant years her senior. She clutched the small box of manju she had brought as a get-well-soon gift like a shield and carefully edged into the room.

"Senpai." She cleared her throat awkwardly, trying not to think too hard on the memory of her, slack and bleeding, of the rush Shisui had been in, of being left, frozen and unsure until a bunny—of all things—ferried a message to her that she could go home. What was done, was done.

And, if what she had overheard from a pair of gossiping nurses was correct, what was done also happened to be permanent. She shuffled forward, inch by hesitant inch. "...I'm glad you managed to survive." There. That was...that was a thing people said, right?

Oh dear XD;

[abileunaspada]

Ami --

She rubbed at her eye again, blinking before sighing and smiling. That... Really wasn't the right thing to say, but she couldn't help feeling just a little cheered by that anyway. The intent came through.

"I'm not gonna make a full recovery, but I should be able to return to active duty within a few weeks."

... She didn't feel as lucky as that sounded though. Damn it, her eye... Why did she have to lose its sight. It could have been worse, she could have lost vision in both her eyes or lost her eyes period, or have bled to death, but... That really didn't stop the situation from being shitty in general.

"What're you doing here anyway? Did Shisui-san tell you about me being here?"

[thelittleprincess]

"Active duty?" She tilted her head to the side thoughtfully. "Well, even if projectiles are out of the question, your ninjutsu abilities should still be fine." Or... was she not supposed to mention the eye thing? Damn it. She quickly latched on to the offered change in topic.

"You were delivered to Sensei during our training session," she informed Adela. "So I knew you would be here. Sensei did mention that visitors were permitted, as well." She paused, then lifted the box in her hands a little higher. "I brought you manju."

Her tone was a bit more grave than that comment really merited.