[open] a way to beat the cold

[itachi_san]

Itachi was keen on experiencing the winter traditions, but after a while, the cold was starting to get to him. Ice emblems may have brought luck, but they didn't bring warmth! He wasn't as emaciated as he was when he was at his sickest point, but he was still quite thin and the cold made his joints stiff and his bones ache.

Yes, a trip to the onsen was certainly going to be in order...

Comments

[itachi_san]

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.

[one_without_wings]

"..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."

[itachi_san]

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...

[one_without_wings]

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_san]

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."

[one_without_wings]

"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.

[itachi_san]

"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.

[one_without_wings]

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_san]

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.

[one_without_wings]

"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.

[itachi_san]

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.