one_long_mission | [open] a way to beat the cold

Itachi understood a better than Sasuke did. He also knew that, for healing, chakra could be a godsend, but at the same time, any part of him that had been healed by chakra had eventually reverted back to its diseased state. Chakra could heal the damage, but it couldn't prevent it from happening again.

All the shinobi medics said nothing could.

But this man was offering a different approach that just hadn't been tried. And Itachi was open to that.

Renji promised he would do his absolute best.
He and this disease,m after all, had an history of old rivals. He knew it was preposterous to think of a cure, but if he could at least improve the quality of life and aid the body in gaining back what he lost, somehow... it would be just one good stride forward.

He could tell moving may not be the best option. "You most likely wish to remain in this home, so I could most likely visit as often as you wish for me to." he knew there was no way that this little brother would let him go, either.

Itachi would never leave his little brother. He couldn't, just as he knew Sasuke would never want to leave him. But when Renji mentioned moving, Itachi didn't seem entirely opposed to the idea.

"I don't have... anywhere else I could go, really..." He earned a small amount of money by doing odd jobs at the temple, but that was hardly enough to live off of. Here, he explained, he at least had a place to stay. There were medics who generally stayed here too, for better or worse. "Though this house... being as far away as it is, does make going into the village... difficult."

He used a lot of energy simply getting up and out, far less enjoying himself.

"Maybe... maybe we should think about... something new."

Maybe there was a room at the temple he could rent instead of earning money. Maybe there was a smaller place closer to the east side of the village - nearer to the onsen, the clinic, the Academy where Sasuke attended classes...

"Together." He added, if the boy even once thought differently. "Of course... Together."

Sasuke gave a hum. "You know... you're right. Being here means we are far away from a lot of places that'd be better being closer." a light frown as he pondered. "We have Sakumo-san here though. We've got the wheelchair, but.. what would be.. new?"

"You do not have to give an answer right away." the medic reminded Itachi. "Pressure is often not a good counselor, after all.. so do take the time you need." he gave a light, reassuring smile.

"But niisan said together! That means you, too!"
"Ah.. is that so?" he actually found himself blushing ever so lightly. He rarely felt so welcome, and these two... well the two brothers were certainly endearing to watch.

"It may take time... but perhaps we could find a small place for ourselves... that's closer to what we need." he pondered thoughtfully. "But whether I have the means to do it..."

Mikoto, then Kabuto, then later Sakumo, and to some extent even Rock Lee had been home caregivers at some point. Even little Sasuke helped with some of Itachi's daily tasks. He knew that living alone would be impossible. Supporting a household, even moreso.

Some cities had assisted living complexes that you never found in shinobi villages - places where the elderly could live somewhat independently, but still have nurses and other caregivers around for daily assistance. In shinobi villages, clans often took care of their own (or killed their own), but this was closer to a civilian city than a shinobi village.

Perhaps there were other options.

"Maybe it's time... to look at things from a civilian point of view, hm?"

"I wish I had some comparison points, but I was far too young when my father passed away, and I have only heard of my grandfather's troubles." Renji gave a light sigh. One could say Itachi was going to be the first live specimen of the disease he would have the opportunity to study and work on. "I am unable to provide a reference point to how they dealt with their own trouble." he gave a light sigh.

"It's okay, Renji-niisan." Sasuke assured with a big smile. "We can find somethin for sure!"
"I know old civilians here have children and grandchildren taking care of them... but this is hardly an option we have..." he gave a light hum.
"I wanna take care of niisan too." Sasuke pouted.
"You are already doing enough, little one." Renji assured him with a smile.

It wasn't long before they reached the house. Rather than let Sasuke go fetch the makeshift ramp, he insisted that he could make it from there. Renji still helped him up the steps, though, with Sasuke following behind with a folded wheelchair.

"This is my room..." he ushered their guest inside.

He knew the doctor was taking it all in, getting a better picture of what life with this condition was like. Itachi sat on the bed, where he spent quite a bit of his time. (The drawing above it was too cute, though. Far too cute.)

The side-table was stacked with various jars of medicine - a cocktail of medicines Sakumo created to treat the disease and ease the various side effects each of them produced. There was an IV pole in the other corner, but it seemed the pills had replaced intravenous medicines in most cases. Most of his belongings were medical supplies, though he had a few scrolls, weapons, an assortment of new clothes, a dinosaur plushie in a nurse's outfit, etc.

"There's a chair by the window... if you'd like to sit down."

All Renji could picture were the last fragments of dim memories he had of his father. He bit his lip and forced these into the back of his mind, because this was completely and utterly unprofessional behavior, to let his emotions take him over.
He did take the offer to sit, feeling his legs weakened, and extended a hand to study each of the medecine bottles, taking notes of their compositions, penning them all down.

Ssauke, meanwhile, had climbed on the bed to hug his brother. "You know, niisan, if we need money, I'm sure I can help out at shops after school!"
Renji gave a light smile at that, continuing his collection of notes. That boy made him wish he had a little brother of his own...

"When have you last been given an IV drip, or had any change in prescribed medecine?" he inquired, turning to another page of the small notebook he had brought.

Itachi gathered the boy into his arms, telling him they'd be just fine. Sasuke was the best brother anyone could possibly get. Itachi hated to see him worry.

"Aside from last year's... flame fever outbreak..." because he was going downhill so fast nothing but an IV was going to stop that infection from wreaking havoc. "it's been... almost a year, I think."

The last time Sakumo had a drip in him was before the Kotoamatsukami jutsu. And he yanked it out himself when he sent the IV pole itself through the window. (But he didn't like dwelling on that incident...)

"There have been a few modifications... to the pills... to find something that could make it so I could eat something. Whatever anyone makes... it makes me feel sick."

He still had a few samples of some of the older medication, from Kabuto, Orochimaru, the village apothecary, even one last vial from Sasori that he'd been saving all this time. He'd been on a real mess of things, and could point out by feel which ones worked, which ones did nothing and which ones all but defined his fear of medic nin.

"This..." he found the old familiar vial. It was an intravenous solution. "This was what everyone tried to replicate... No one has been able to, or they... just refuse to. An old teammate of mine was an unrivaled expert in poisons. I rationed it... once he was killed, but it could keep me going for a couple weeks, usually, before the symptoms started coming back."

Maybe it was because he was healthier then (or just plain sicker now...) but he didn't remember it being as debilitating as any of the solutions Kabuto made or the pills Sakumo started him on. He was never a big eater, but at least, back then, he wasn't constantly throwing it back up. Back them he could still stand toe to toe with the rest of the Akatsuki.

"It's the last dose I have left..." he handed it over to the medic, a true sign of trust if ever there was one.

"I see... and along with with these other few, then, it seemed to be the one that had worked the best.." he carefully claimed the vial and seeked out padding he kept at all times available in his satchel, perusing the tiny inscriptions. "Some things are simply noy available here, or... at least not in this village. I can see the reluctance people had in making this, but..." he claimed a deep breath and nodded. "I will give it my best."

"I got an idea!" Sasuke piped up. "You say some stuff isn't available in this village, but what if others have it?" he all but threw himself off the bed, biting into his thumb as he went, summoning his trusty crow as he landed. "Maybe he can go look!"
"..a messenger? People may be wary of its form. These are scavengers, after --ow!"
"Don't say bad things about him, or he'll yank your hair. Don't even think bad things!" Sasuke pouted and gave a light whistle, the crow landing upon his head and settling there, although still glaring.
"He's not sorry, Renji-san. You should apologize first, else he's not even going to deliver anything you'll even write."

After an apology and some planning, Renji wrote to ask if the village closer to them had any of what he seeked, or anything that could replicate its intended effect.
"It's going to work for sure! You'll see, nissan!" that was true teamwork.

Only time would tell if their teamwork would produce results. Itachi hoped that the neighboring villages would have some of the ingredients, or perhaps, be more open to producing poisons. Not all of the villages were friendly, so there was a chance that someone like Sasori existed in one of them. The crow just had to find it.

In the meantime, Itachi reached for the tubing of his oxygen tank. After the days they'd had, he certainly needed to take it easy.

"Thank you... for your help." He smiled.

"..hm.. they gotta know he's friendly though... even if they see the message, from afar it might look like some sort of scavenged trash.." Sasuke gave a hum, pondering, before reaching over to take a roll of bandages and make some sort of scarf from it, tying it loosely around the little crow's neck, penning down their own symbol for Michi in black ink upon one of its ends. "There! That's better." he gave a nod. "I'll be counting on you."

Renji gave a light smile. The little was truly endearing. "They do work hard, for you.." he murmured privately to Itachi. "Who knows if they haven't been working harder than me all this time. It seems I have some heavy catching up to do."

The little crow nuzzled Sasuke's head, chirping a salute before taking off out the open window. Itachi watched the little aura of charka fly away, settling comfortably against the pillows.

"He's the best brother in the whole world..."

Not that it was any secret...

And so the days passed, with Renji making visits to show his progress or lack of, Sasuke having his crow fly off to the villages within reach, at least one per day... until finally, after a week had passed.

"Niisan, niisan!" he showed up one afternoon before Renji visited. "Look, look!!" he was holding up a small thick plastic enveloppe, within which was packed two more layers of protection... and a powder that may or may not be familiar. "He came back with something from that village in the far east!!" and the crow was cawing happily too.

Itachi was still sleeping, but the familiar voice rang out through the halls. He groggily rubbed his eyes and activated his sharingan.

"Hm?" he groaned a little, pushing himself up. "What'd he bring?"

Unfortunately, Sasori was the poison specialist, and Itachi didn't know all of the ingredients that went into his medicine. He picked up one of those ingredients a couple of times - from a particular apothecary in the Howling Wolf Village. But that man was the only man who could make that particular compound. Had the crow found something comparable here?

"Careful, Sasuke... If it's the real thing... we should keep the package closed, until Renji can examine it." By itself, this ingredient wasn't a good thing. Itachi knew that much. "...It's poisonous."

"That's why it's all wrapped up in lots and lots of layers." Sasuke gave a nod. He knew not to open things not meant for him. "But they didn't ask for any money... I thought they'd send a message tellin us what they have. maybe it's a free sample...?" It was indeed entirely possible that somewhere, a soul good enough existed to give them what they may need.

"It's okay though, he remembers where he got it from~" Sasuke gave a nod. His crow was indeed becoming quite an amazing help these days.
After some more time had elapsed, Renji came for his usual visit, and rejoiced at their tremendous progress. Taking the powder, he promised to have it over, along with the medecine if all went well and this was the real thing or the equivalent.

And so, after on more day, he was able to produce a sample he had brought over.

"Do you think... your crow would let me look through his eyes... the next time he takes that journey? If it's the real thing... I would like to know where he goes... See who would be so willing to hand over something dangerous so easily..."

Sasuke's sharingan weren't advanced enough for that kind of technique yet, but it was simple for Itachi. It was usually something he did with his summons as part of controlling them, but with Sasuke's crow, he had the feeling asking for permission trumped asking for forgiveness.

About the time he was asking the question, Renji arrived.

The boy looked over to the little crow, who was staring at Itachi.
"Would you trust nii-san? He wouldn't ever hurt you I promise."
There was a light caw before it flew to the bed, walked upon the pillow and stared with one eye from up-close. It took off again, briefly flying, to land atop Itachi's head and nestle there with a satisfied chirp.
"He said yes!" Sasuke cheered. "Thank you, mister crow!"

Renji chose this moment to arrive. "So lively here. I trust you are all hopeful that I was able to replicate the medicine, hm?" he claimed the seat Sasuke had left for him, sitting down and reaching into his satchel, unwrapping the vial carefully.
"It has a slightly different coloration, since I have substituted two ingredients for others with the same properties, which may even turn out to have more beneficial effects. "I have used waspberry root extract instead of one of the chemicals that I was unable to replicate, not due to skill mind you."

"Waspberry? You mean raspberry, right?"
"I do mean waspberry. You have never known of those? I suppose they are reserved for medicine after all. The fruit itself holds no nutritional value. It gets its name from the fact it is yellow and black."
"Whoa! Ever heard of those, niisan?"

Itachi's crows rarely landed on his head. So this took him by surprise. There was a fair amount of laughter to greet Renji when he arrived.

Seeing a vial at all was both exciting and anxious. The list of ingredients meant very little to Itachi. He was unfamiliar with most of them. And he couldn't get his mind past the fact that this was obviously something that had never been created before. Just like the first attempts Orochimaru had made, this could be the beginning of trial and error. It could have any number of unforseen consequences, both good and bad. It could cure just as easily as it could kill.

He finally pulled his thoughts together to notice the unusual color. The dehydrated powder was a strange shade of yellow. It would have to be reconstituted, of course, with a saline solution, and the color would likely fade.

"What's next?" He asked.

Any kind of trial run of this solution would require Itachi to stop taking his current medication and let it filter out of his system. Depending on how harsh the solution would be to his veins, Renji may need to put in a more permanent line in a larger vein. Sasori had mentioned it once or twice, but in the Akatsuki, such an obvious visual weakness, even if it would be obscured under the cloak, just couldn't be risked.

"We cannot have you take it in right away. It would be best for you to pull off the other medications until your system has cleared them. It appears your initial one could do much all by itself." and really, in an ideal world, this could be at least stabilized enough with minor help from other solutions.

"I must say I have no experience treating something like this, as rare as it is within the village... but I wish to dedicate all the time I can to researching ways to improve your physical condition so that you can do more by yourself. It sounds as if your system has degraded for so long.."

Sasuke couldn't understand very much of all that, but it was fine to him, since he was now busying himself with feeding his crow a few berries.

A week, at least, would be needed for the medicine to completely filter out of his tissues. But Renji suggested a taper, to hopefully avoid any harmful withdrawal effects.

Over the course of a few weeks, the doses were reduced to nothing. It was rather interesting to see the change in Itachi when the medicine finally dropped below a certain threshold. With the overwhelming nausea gone, he actually felt hungry! And when he ate, it didn't come right back up!

The tradeoff, of course, would be the return of symptoms. The fatigue hadn't fully gone away, and many of the daily aches and pains seemed to be a bit worse. He was also frequently out of breath. It would take more time, though, for enough blood to accumulate in the lungs from damaged vessels to obstruct breathing. Small amounts were probably already leaking, but this seemed to be a product of a weakened heart. (A separate issue from the disease, for the most part, but something Sakumo must have been attempting to correct with his drugs as well...)

It was the increased strain on his heart that made Renji suggest they move their trial to a more adequate medical facility. Unlike the disease, which took time to take back over, this was happening far too quickly. It would need to be dealt with.

Renji had mentioned surgery in the past. There were implantable devices that could maintain a healthy rhythm, but he was concerned Itachi might not make it through a delicate operation in his current state of health. There were medicines he could use in the meantime, of course, ARBs, ACE inhibitors, long-acting nitrates, and hydralazine to reduce the stress on the heart and to prevent further muscle damage. But he was trying to solve problems, not just treat symptoms.

Clearly, this was not going to be easy.

[open] a way to beat the cold

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