one_long_mission | [open] a way to beat the cold

It did take some time, long past closing time, before they woke up. (Madara first, Itachi... Quite a while later.) The attendant stayed with them, even though it meant getting hime late. There was a stern warning to not take any trips to the onsen for the next few days, especially for Itachi, as his temperature regulated itself again. But there was still no blame.

"Easy now..." The attendant helped Itachi sit up while the medic looked him over. "Almost gave yourself heatstroke there. If you're going to fall asleep like that, do it on a pallet upstairs."

"Niisan!" Sasuke hugged his brother, sniffling lightly. He had been scared, but with his brother awake, things were looking better. "Thank you so much, mister!"
"Renji. If you need me again, I have a clinic nearby." a pause. "...although it might be too far for you to usually get to any quickly." If Itachi could see, the man was the spitting image of the one he had seen in his dream.

Madara gave a light groan, rubbing his forehead. He was still feeling the side-effects, but that was normal.
"You both should get some more rest whenever you can. Since this place is closing down, how about borrowing some beds at my clinic?"

Itachi nodded wearily. He was still dizzy and a bit confused. He was likely a bit dehydrated too. He wasn't going to be able to walk back home. "Think... That's a... good idea... Ren...Renji..."

That name... It sounded so familiar. As did his chakra, though Itachi wasn't completely sure why. The dream, like most dreams, had already broken into pieces. Some, like the feeling of satisfaction and pride as the peace treaty was signed, were so very clear. Others, like the faces of his ancestors, were already starting to blur.

The attendant had already fetched their clothes, folded neatly in little piles. Itachi and Sasuke certainly weren't strangers to him.

"Please, take care."

Madara, usually somewhat skittish about being touched, seemed not to mind as the medic wrapped him in a towel and picked up his clothes. In fact, the boy fell back asleep, soon murmuring 'Izuna' or 'Tou-san'.

Sasuke helped his brother get dressed, and after waiting and assisting them, Renji thanked the staff and led them to his clinic.
"The beds are as comfortable as I could make them... but they still do keep all the standards the profession needs." he apologized for the flatness, discomfort and height, placing Madara down into one, clothes on the chair beside the bed, and brought the thing blanket over the sleeping child's torso.

Renji insisted to run a small check-up on Itachi, in order to hopefully administer what he may need... although he knew much of this condition seemed it may never improve.

Itachi was too exhausted to care about the comfort of the bed. He'd passed out on far flatter things before, and he almost passed out a few times on the short walk over. Sasuke wouldn't let him. He kept talking to him, encouraging him. The winter weather did help cool their body temperature, but Renji was concerned of how much a shock it had been on their system too.

One thing was clear, though. From the way this medic laid his hands, he was using chakra. He didn't seem to be a full ninja medic, but he did have some training in medical jutsu

"You're... shinobi... Like us?" (Well, to varying degrees.)

"...ah.. well, I have not received any formal training." the medic shook his head. "My grandfather was a shinobi. All I know is that an illness took him away. The same that claimed my father..." he took a deep breath. "I am an Uchiha by blood, though." although he was never told the clan's history or seemed to possess a sharingan.

"What did you say your name was?" Madara blinked, eyes wide. "Renji? Renji Uchiha? You're the spittin image of someone from my clan!"
"I must apologize. I was born here. This may be a simple coincidence."

Itachi could sympathize with that. He could hear his little brother's voice saying those things about him one day, and that always touched a bit of a chord. But to find that they had family here, family that they didn't even know existed, was rather exciting. (Sharingan or not, blood diluted over time, it didn't matter. He was an Uchiha.)

"I've only been here... a little more than a year..." He replied. "Sasuke and Madara, less... This world, it brought us here. Much like it... probably brought one of your relatives... years and years ago... It's nice to know... that some get the chance to live... their entire lives here. Though, I am sorry... for your loss..."

There was a fleeting thought in Itachi's mind as he spoke - if their condition was anything like his, if this man's interest in observing them stemmed from that which he feared may be his own future. What if this was something that plagued at least a few other Uchiha, but only late in life, at an age few Uchiha really ever reached. What if there was something that could be done? What if...

He was too tired for what if's.

"...yes... I am glad for my life here, even though my occupation limits my travels within the village. I try and remain within reach of those who need me."
"Wow!" Sasuke exclaimed. "So we got a medic in the family!"
Renji gave a chuckle, reaching out to pet the boy's hair. "You certainly don't look like you'll need a medic, boy."
"Nu-huh! Cause niisan needs all the medics he can get. He's better off than he was months ago! "

"I am certain what you meant was 'medications'. The number of medics will never change anything. In a few cases they may even complicate matters. Some may have ways to deal with the issues that others would frown upon even though perfectly valid, but--- ah. I digress." he shook his head and slid his glasses back up his nose. "You must wish to rest soon as well, right?" he lifted Sasuke up to another bed.

"Niisan's gonna be okay?"
"I promise he will be better tomorrow." he gave a nod before stepping back, near Itachi's bed. "I do wish to run a few tests overnight... if you would give me permission."

Sasuke was so healthy and happy. It made Itachi smile to watch their interactions. He knew his little brother had hopes of learning medical ninjutsu. Perhaps this could be someone who could help make that dream come true.

Itachi gave his permission, but it wasn't until the middle of the night, when both kids were sound asleep (Sasuke surprisingly asleep in his own bed and not draped over his niisan) that they began to speak of more serious topics.

"There's... something about what's wrong with me... that interests you..." he whispered. It was less of an observation, more of a probing question.

"Yes. There is." the medic admitted. "Both my father and grandfather died of this." he murmured. "The same degenerative condition. My father was reportedly affected first on his kidneys. My grandfather had respiratory problems that were unable to be properly diagnosed and yet from the records were frighteningly similar to yours."

Madara gave another light whimper in his sleep, murmuring out his brother's name occasionally.

"I have noticed your heart is failing. It is a big operation, but within a week, if you wish, I could be able to take it on." Renji offered.

Itachi gasped. There were others, other Uchiha that had the same condition, even if they were originally from another universe. The fact that he was offering solutions to the other things that had been plaguing him paled in comparison to that.

"Are... are you sure?" he stuttered in surprise, trying his best to still keep his voice down. "They really had... something like this?"

A similar condition that affected the small blood vessels of the body, an autoimmune disorder with such a widespread inflammatory response... Could there really have been some kind of genetic predisposition to it? It certainly couldn't have affected all Uchiha, or his disease wouldn't have been such a mystery, especially after encountering dozens of Uchiha from other timelines. It had to be only a small handful... but that alone was frightening. More importantly, was Sasuke at risk? Were any of the Sasukes at risk? And what of Madara?

"What do you know... about it so far?"

Renji gave a light sigh. "I cannot be certain, but perhaps a few individuals have predisposition it it. Our inbreeding may actually have irremediably doomed a few individuals and their subsequent progeny." he shook his head slowly. "I am not certain if we were all simply unlucky, but with my grandfather having this, as well as my father, and..." there was an awkward pause. "... I wish to improve the current treatments and drug that are used. I wish to find a cure... someday."

"I understand..."

Itachi did understand. There was no doubt about that.

"If I can help... I will. I can share... what the medics who have treated me have done... It's not a cure. But it is a treatment. If it wasn't for that... well..."

There was little need to say they wouldn't be running tests right now. Itachi probably wouldn't have even been alive.

"Yes. I can continue the treatments if you wish. I hope I can also be able to improve, even if a little..."

Madara whimpered again, shifting and calling out Izuna's name.
Renji moved to Madara's bed, gently placing a hand upon his shoulder. When the boy all but clung to his entire arm, he simply sat on the nearby chair, letting him do so.

"..ah... don't hesitate if you wish for a drink, or feel hungry." he seemed available at any hour of the day or night, even though it was unclear how many hours he had been up.

Itachi was rarely hungry. Whether it was due to disease, his own body gradually approaching its end or a learned fear of side effects from treatment, he didn't know anymore. Without separate medicine to deal with the nausea at first, he often found himself having to choose between treatment and food. Or having that choice unpleasantly made for him.

He admitted as much to Renji.

The medic could probably have guessed as much. Itachi was very thin. Too thin, really, for his own good.

"I'd normally ask for a little tea... but I don't want anything that warm right now. Thank you, though..."

Renji inquired about the medecine he used to cover the nauseous waves, intending to procure it in all haste, and listed off a few simple foods that he thought may not be so terrible to digest while being still highly nutritious in value.

Since Madara was still clinging to his arm, he was trying to gently detach him, and hoping he would stop rolling and whimpering.

"I can bring a few sample pills tomorrow..." he insisted, apologizing that he wasn't entirely sure how Sakumo made some of the remedies. It was always trial and error before they found something that had more benefits than ills. The current combination certainly helped.

He heard Madara's cries, and slowly made his way over. He shouldn't have been out of bed, but he knew the sounds of nightmares when he heard them. He knew what the boy went through.

"Would you like me... to sit with him... for a while?" he offered. "Madara was brought here... from a much earlier time. A time of war. He's... had a lot of hardship... Too much too soon."

"If you require me to move, I may need you to look out for him, yes." after all, he could try a generic remedy.
"...time of war, has he? Poor boy..." he shook his head, running his fingers through those short dark spikes of hair. "We have never known war here. He is... in good hands."

As soon as Renji was off to fetch something to help with nausea and an appropriate, small meal, Madara whimpered and clung to the nearest source of body heat.

Something was better than nothing, and Itachi knew he had to eat to keep his strength up.

So he moved a chair close to Madara's bed and sat down, letting the boy find temporary security in his arm. It was the least he could do, and he would gladly do it too.

By the time Renji came back, though, Itachi was slumped over the edge of the bed, sound asleep. It was a perfect portrait of a kind and gentle older brother, too sick and weak to be everything he wanted to be for those kids, but having his heart in the right place. He was a man worth saving.

There was a light, but sad smile at the medic's lip, and he left the medecine and food on the small table nearby. These three did look like a family, in a way, with Itachi being that older, sick but still loving and caring brother.

He claimed a deep breath and sat down on another chair, determined to wait for the other's waking. After all, he did have to see how this food would pass.

Unfortunately, it was going to be a long wait. There were days where Itachi would be up, out and about. But there were also days where he barely woke up at all, and if he did, he didn't have the energy to get out of bed. Such was life.

He didn't stir again until dawn broke through the window and Madara freed himself from his arm.

"Guess... I... fell asleep there..." he admitted with a little embarrassment as he rubbed the sand from his eyes. Had they finished running tests before that? Itachi wasn't sure.

Madara gave a light hum, seemingly disoriented as he inquired which day it was, muttering something about seeing that doctor in a dream, then thinking he looked way too familiar.
Once the day was revealed, however, he gave a near-screeched. "I'm gonna be late for those classes!" and he found that he just would have to use the clothes he wore yesterday. He called out to Sasuke before leaving that he could take the day off if he liked, and that he would cover for him.

Renji meanwhile approached Itachi, having ran a few more tests, gotten results and made at least one medication he thought could be a successful even if microscopic improvement.

Itachi sat up with a stretch and a groan. He was pretty sure Madara hopped right over his head, but was already out the door before he could decide for sure.

There was still food on the little table, and a few pills. Itachi was wary of new medication, tough. It had nothing to do with the skill of the doctor. He'd just had enough bad reactions to various powders and poisons, that he was always skeptical.

"That's... to settle my stomach?"

Food was rarely an appealing sight in the morning. Even though he'd hardly eaten anything the day before, this was no exception.

"These will take a few minutes to settle, yes... if you wish to have them, that is." he would not force people to take anything. They were masters of their own choices, after all. He had only lost one patient this way, but it was their choice to let themselves waste away. The treatment was there, but they never took it.

Guilt would forever fester within him, but then... it would perhaps have consumed him even more had the treatment been forced and the man continuously berated him.

"I did prepare something else... once your body has energy. Even with the current treatments, I believe that there is no way a body can heal without having the energy to."

That certainly was true. At one point, Itachi would have been satisfied to let himself waste away like that - an escape from the pain, the guilt and the never-ending side effects. It almost happened too. Had it not been for the crow and its genjutsu... And Sasuke, of course. Sasuke was that tiny sun in a vast sky of dark, suffocating clouds. But Itachi couldn't even find hope in that until the kotoamatsukami had been cast.

Since then, Itachi's recovery had been slow. He was happier, at least. He found pleasures in simple things, in loving family and in new friends. Physically, there were strides as well as setbacks. But his body never seemed to have enough energy to go around, and Itachi honestly couldn't keep up with that kind of demand.

"All right..." he swallowed the pills with a little water. "Perhaps it would be... a good idea to come back with us. So you can get a better idea... of the treatments I do have."

With luck, he'd manage to eat a little something before they left.

Renji!!

Yup~

Well, it does pull from all worlds. Or perhaps a reincarnation?

Maybe a descendant from one Uchiha that came there ages ago

Hehe, shinobi blood

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