Following Up on a Feeling [Rin]

“It’s good to see you, Rin~!” The little rap that the timid teen gave her door making Sophie jolt as she slurped down a little more water, after stuffing her bottle back into the small fridge she had in her office, the school nurse showed off her enthusiasm for the upcoming meeting by practically crossing the room in a single bound and pushing her door open with a broad grin. Usually the type to invite people into her office from her chair in order to provoke a kind of casual atmosphere, a little of the professional anxiety that Miss Sequoia had been feeling shone through as she beamed at the girl, hoping that she might put that bit of paranoid worry at her observation might be put to bed.

“Come on in, honey, I’m glad you stopped by!” Perhaps a little perkier than she might have usually been given how she had been waiting for this meeting for the past couple of weeks or so, the school nurse had been like a coiled spring or perhaps even a panther waiting to strike and now saw her chance to release that tension that had steadily built up. Obviously the second metaphor a little off since she didn’t want to prey on this girl and rather keep her safe rather than harm her, as Miss Sequoia stepped aside to let the young woman in and when she had made sure to lock the door behind her to prevent interruption, she beckoned toward one of her comfier, cushioned chairs that she had near her desk for her young appointment to sit in before slipping over to the kettle that she had near her sink and fridge and filled it up.

“Can I get you a drink, Rin? I have several kinds of tea or coffee if that’s what you prefer?” Approaching a delicate matter and wanting the youngster to feel like she could relax around her, after turning her kettle on, Sophie opened a small drawer and pulled out a couple of mugs carrying designs of American comic book heroes before setting the on the desk on front of her.
“And some cold drinks as well, water and a few fizzy or fruity drinks if that’s more to your taste?” Flashing another grin to the girl as the kettle began to hum as heat filled the liquid within it, Miss Sequoia lightly nudged her fridge with her toe as she waited expectantly for the answer of her potential patient, rolling out a welcome mat for a youngster that she hoped she hadn’t made the right guess about. After all, child abuse was no easy matter to broach…

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Low on sugar…? Having scanned the medical report on young Miss Kurama a few times since meeting her and not seen anything in particular regarding incidents of hypoglycaemia or related conditions, Sophie made a mental note to follow up on such a notion either during or after the examination as she delved into her fridge and rooted through some water, purple stuff, even some Sunny D before finding what she wanted to give to the girl.

“Here you go, generally Cola has the most sugar content of most carbonated drinks… Though it’s not great for your teeth hopefully it will provide you with a nice little sugar boost, if you don’t dislike it that is!” Offering a glass bottle that glistened with moisture thanks to how cool the fridge had kept it before being relieved of that cold confine, the nurse trotted back to her table and began to prepare her own drink of some nice fragrant tea and found herself surprised when it was her patient who began asking the questions.

“Heh, well I’m happy to listen to anything you have to tell me, Rin?” Smiling warmly at the blossoming young woman who sat in the chair only a few feet away even if she was a little confused and curious as to why Rin might have wanted to mention a story, Sophie nodded at the girl and hoped it proved fruitful toward either confirming or alleviating the suspicions she had. However, as she listened, while it did not suit that particular requirement she did find herself feeling rather moved by the experience.

That special quirk… The ears of the young doctor perking up as her shy companion mentioned the magnificent qualities of the young woman’s blood, having seen the file on Rin she couldn’t help but feel an urge to examine and experiment with that unique and potent medical material but had decided that matters of a safety should have become her primary concern. Perhaps, had she not been given a worrying impression in regard to her first meeting then Sophie might just have asked nicely for this indigo-eyed youngster to loan her a sample or two of that miraculous substance, but for now had been more concerned with her well-being.
“Heh, I’m not surprised that the hospitals were keen on the ultimate universal donor, the properties seem both fascinating and rather useful~” The kettle at Sophie’s side clicking to tell her that her water was ready, the pink haired girl smiled gently at her young charge before scooping the bearer of heated water up and filling her mug with it.

“When I was a youngster, with my quirk, the school nurse often used to ask me to come help if a pupil or someone got hurt? It’s how I got my first taste of medicine… Sounds like it was the same for you, really?” Fragrant flavours shooting up through her nose as a draft of steam rose from her receptacle and seized her sense of smell, Miss Sequoia looked upward as the ongoing story reminded her of her own youth and shared a few details that she felt overlapped between them, hoping to better foster their relationship as she scooped her own drink up and moved over to the chair where Rin was sitting. Forgoing her usual office chair and instead slipping into the other of the more comfortable chairs near the girl, as the story continued Sophie piped down a little and blew on her drink to cool it off before she could drink it.

Do we have an unexpected romance~? Smirking a little as a ‘special’ friend by the name of Hideaki was mentioned, the nurse couldn’t help but notice the little smile that her student gave as she spoke of him and her wonder at where the story was heading made her guess at romance. Really the tale having twisted and turned around enough already that Sophie did not expect it to lead to the account of abuse that she might have feared, with a quiet and observational manner she listened to the next turn that this anecdote might take for her.

Ironjaw… Sounds more like a Vigilante than Villain from the description, though there were times when the differences were rather slim. Remembering her own more active days as a quirk-using seeker of peace but unable to recall the name that Rin mentioned in any of her encounters, the former Hello Nurse grew a little more misty eyed as she thought of times that now felt a little less civilized. Seemingly a free for all where people took what they wanted and those who thought it their responsibility to stop them acted just as bad half the time, Miss Sequoia knew all too well the differences between the classifications of individuals was at times simply a matter of politics and favour, and certainly any who raided the wrong bank accounts might well be labelled as a criminal by those who saw their ill-gotten wealthy going to worthier sources. Hopefully, the support of government might do better in helping the media to resist the urge to flip-flop over the flavours of friend and foe now things were better regulated?

Angelic? As in wings… Fits a couple of people, but the powers beyond that… The brow of the blue eyed beauty knotting a little as yet another legendary figure was mentioned, much like Rin, Sophie couldn’t place such a soul. Certainly those with feathery wings and halos often being likened to the angels of old religions, the former vigilante vixen could find no soul who was particularly noted for the reformation of villains in any regard. Though, the Yokohama Vigilante scene was probably not quite the same thing as a larger place like Tokyo, so who knows?

This is… Taking the sheet that was offered to her more out of curiosity at first, it took Sophie a second to really realize what was going on in the picture. Not exactly terribly well versed in the names that the students had chosen for the heroic futures and only really realizing that the great hero to whom the story had referred was the girl in the room with her, as a slow sense of recognition in regard to the truth dawned on Sophie she felt a shiver pass through her and her eyes stung. Heart throbbing at the sweetness that the image displayed, with beads of water building up in the corners of her eyes the nurse looked up to the girl who had now stood up and before she could say anything found herself awed again.

“G-Goodness…” The wordy woman finding her vocabulary was a little lost as she looked at the stooping girl in front of her and listened to her request, Sophie lifted a hand to her mouth for a second before wiping away her tears and then gently reached out to tuck Rin’s head back up to face her as she responded.
“That’s… A pretty inspiring story, Rin?” Holding out the picture that she had to assume was no doubt a treasured item for her, the pink hair of Miss Sequoia swayed as she shook her head out and tried to get a hold back on those few heartstrings that had just been tugged at.

“Naturally, with a person so determined and dedicated, it would be rather a misstep of mine to turn you away…” Letting out a small sigh and standing up too, Sophie slipped past the young girl and moved over to her desk in order to rest her slightly cooler cup of tea upon it as she turned over the request in her head. The heart of the girl obviously wanting to leap at this chance to ‘claim’ a young, kind and bright mind she could mould in the image of a healer, her mind however quickly seemed to slam the brakes onto such a suggestion for a wide variety of logistical reasons.

“I’d love to teach you how to be a doctor like me, but there might be some obstacles to that… For one I’m barely qualified myself and rather inexperienced in the field of teaching?” Turning back toward Rin and pulling her hands together now that they were free, in contrast to the confident, coquettish and capable bearing that she usually carried herself with, Miss Sequoia felt rather less assured in the matter of education. Certainly talented and able to carry out her duties in a fine fashion thanks to her training, the school nurse had barely finished her own long education and the rational part of her doubted the ease with which she could ‘distill’ the small amount of experience she possessed.

“And, perhaps more importantly than that, our principal will no doubt have mapped out how your education is to proceed in regard to heroics, and he seems unlikely to take the idea of shoe-horning in an advanced and broad topic such as medicine in a schedule that is no doubt rather stacked already?” Also concerned about how the bullish and battle focused boss of the academy might feel if she was dragging a student away from her other topics of learning or even her time for rest and reflection in order to study, as tickled by the notion of having an impressionable soul to pass what she did know along to, would it even work in a school like this? Yuuei first and foremost a school for fostering those with the ambition to become a hero rather than a healer, for certain both the principal and perhaps the association of heroes would need to approve this notion before it could ever be seriously considered.

“So, while I think it’s a wonderful idea, I fear it would show great irresponsibility to leap at such a chance without fully looking into the details of such an idea? I’m sorry if that disappoints you…” The heart of the Yuuei healer panging with pain as she felt like her pragmatic approach might well have cut at the dreams and ideals of the girl in her company, Sophie shook her head again and let out a sigh as she considered the harsh mistress that was reality. Wanting to encourage this girl as much as she could be also knowing the dangers that lay in recklessly raising her hopes, though Miss Sequoia had been rather touched by the tale she had been told in the minutes before she now found herself feeling rather dejected in it’s wake…

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“Have you thought about adding something, like a warning alarm and monitoring system, that you could wear to let you know you’re getting close to your limit?” The knot in Sophie’s brow tightening at the matter of young Miss Kurama’s possible quirk related mortality, she quietly but clearly tried to offer the girl a little solution that the extreme problem that she faced.

“There are some smart minds in the support class as I understand it, and I’ve counselled a few students to seek them out to help with negative effects of their quirks. Given the dire nature, I’d be happy to lend some of my expertise in designing something that could monitor your blood pressure or something to guage your overall loss of blood?” Concerned by any loss of blood but the simple fact being that the nature of this girl’s Quirk necessitated it, as a physician Miss Sequoia found it her duty to try everything she could to preserve every bit of health she could in her patents. Rin clearly the reckless sort who tended to put others first, though the school nurse had her reservations about continuing to allow her to use such a risky power she also knew she would have a hard time putting such a sanction into place, and hoped that at the very least she might be able to curb the worst result as much as she could.

“Listen, it’s not as if I’m refusing to teach you at all, my only concern is the level with which I could teach you? I’m cautious about raising your hopes to highly but naturally, I’d be happy to help you learn about medicine in your own time, and given how keen you are will absolutely speak to the principal to see if there might be some ‘holes’ in his schedules that might be exploited for studies that suit your ambition?” Finding the eyes of the enthusiastic youngster and looking into them with a mix of worry and encouragement, Sophie wanted to spell out that while she might have been a little firm with her reply, she wasn’t brushing the idea away at all, and simply wanted to be given the chance to better explore the possibility.

“Perhaps it might mean you have to skip a physical activity lesson or two a week to study with me but given how hard he seems to push the students at times, that might be no bad thing…” Smiling at Rin as she gently teased the Spartan methods of the man in charge and hoping that the young woman understood that she would support her as best as she could, Sophie lightly rested her hand on the shoulder of her student as a further measure of encouragement before straightening up and smoothing out her lab coat as she decided they had maybe become a little waylaid in regard to the original purpose of this meeting.

“Now, let’s see how you’re healing up, shall we?” Offering a warm and smiling gaze to the girl as she gently began to check the timid but seemingly determined damsel for what signs of her injuries remained, Sophie found herself relieved to discover that not only had her hornet stings and the bruises she had carried earlier largely faded, but there were no new ones in their place. As her little mental flag from before might have indicated, Miss Kurama was somewhat lacking in weight and the nurse found herself wondering if she might need to give her some advice and support on nutritional needs, but that was easy enough to deal with.

“Rin… These?” Put at ease for a moment by her small and minimally invasive task of rolling up the sleeves of the young woman and checking around neck and legs, it was only the sharp and scrutinizing eye of an expert that managed to spot those easily overlooked scars on the wrists of the girl that happened to be highlighted by the right ray of light.
“How did you… Get these scars on your wrists?” The heart of the nurse suddenly seeming to give an explosive throb as she discovered evidence of possible self-harm or worse attempts to take her own life, panic pushed the pink haired woman into a serious and sober countenance as she looked toward the face of the femme she had been examining. Not at all aware that Rin might have needed to puncture her skin in order to enable her power’s use and some naïve part of her instead assuming she could somehow draw blood from herself without the need for such crude methods, Sophie immediately assumed the worst and felt a shiver pass through her spine at the notion of this sweet girl being involved in such dangerous business…

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“That’s… How you need to activate your powers?” Lashes and lids fluttering in shock at the answer she was given, Sophie felt a mix of horror and anger at what had been going on her life so far, particularly her school life. No doubt needing to employ her abilities as part of her lessons and things in order to hone them, the nurse felt no small amount of annoyance that her tutors either hadn’t noticed or seen fit to bring up the issue with her, but none of the irritation was directed at the girl herself.

“Listen Rin, you can’t keep doing this…” Looking at those white scars again before closing her eyes and pulling her fingers up to wrap around the hand of the girl, after opening her brilliant blues again Miss Sequoia looked deep into the irises of the young girl as she pleaded with her.
“From a medical standpoint, it’s a disastrous way to go about things… Cells can only divide so many times so eventually wounds here won’t heal properly, at best you’ll end up with some nasty scar tissue in the area and at worst you’ll risk hardening your veins like a junkie. And there’s the infection risk…” Hoping that perhaps she might be able to better convince her by fully describing some of the medical complication of her method, while the young flesh of the girl was no doubt staving off the worst symptoms that wouldn’t always be the case and it was a habit that needed to be curbed as soon as possible.

“Ideally, given the nature of your quirk and the risk it poses for you I’d ask you avoid using it at all, but I know a girl like you won’t be able to resist if you see someone in trouble so…” Sighing gently as she used her free hand to move up and lightly grip the shoulder of Rin reassuringly, while it seemed as though all the pink haired doctor had done today was chide and disappoint the girl in front of her, she hoped that her student understood that her sober reactions were sourced from concern.
“Promise me you won’t use it until we figure out a better way for you to draw your blood out?” Leaning a little closer to the dark haired youngster and looking into her eyes, Sophie implored her to take better care of herself in spite of her giving nature. After all, any good medic needs to keep themselves able so they can help others.

“It shouldn’t too hard, some form of cannula we can use like a tap should be enough to do the job I’d say, and will hopefully be a lot better for your health than repeated self-harm…” The blue irises of Miss Sequoia lifting upward as on the spot she had already started to fashion an idea they might be able to employ to save this girl the trauma of hurting herself to use her abilities, mentally the nurse envisioned something similar to what one tended to put into the arms of patients in order to deliver antibiotics and chemicals rather than using repeated injections, but surely there was a way they could achieve the reverse?

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“I think anyone can be a hero, regardless of their quirk. Some of the Vigilante’s I knew either had no quirk or ones that weren’t well suited to combat but with the right approach were still effective?” Smiling gently at the question of Rin’s as she realized her more serious manner might have been worrying the girl, Miss Sequoia remembered her fellow Aegis team members and especially Takahashi who had taught her martial arts to compensate for her lack of combat quirk ability.

“You just have to find a way to fight that doesn’t hurt yourself too badly? I mean, you won’t be able to save anyone if you’ve passed out or something right? As a medic, there are times when your own safety is the best thing for a group. Sometimes, you have to hold yourself back from being reckless?” Recalling the times when she herself might have wanted to take a more active role in things and had to remind herself that her team needed her healthy when they were not, Sophie hoped that her experience and gentle encouragement might steer her student on a safe path toward heroism. Usually, those who threw themselves at danger for the sake of others tended to be called martyrs, after all.

“Tomorrow…?” Frowning a little at the shy objection that the girl made to Sophie’s insistence, even if the work toward her suggestion was done overnight, with a prototype the nurse doubted that Rin would be comfortable enough using it.
I wish she’d come in for this check-up a few days sooner… Such a troublesome case because obviously the medic had to weight up the cost to her health and also the cost to her education, with a sigh Miss Sequoia realized the best compromise she could come up with for the situation even though it wasn’t one that had what she would consider the best interest for the girl. Sadly, given her response, even if the pink haired woman forbade the use of the quirk she imagined it would likely be met with a reluctant defiance.

“OK, then new plan. Tomorrow is the last day you can use your power like that, how does that promise sound? If something new comes up, I will contact the principal and put you on medical leave, but I will let you use your powers in a pinch tomorrow if it is absolutely necessary? Please try to avoid it if you can.” Frowning a little and wishing she had some other way around this so she could enable this young woman’s desire to learn and grow without risking her health, with some reluctance and a serious tone of voice, Sophie spelled out the fact that this exception would be her final one. Certainly not wanting to enable the girl in harming herself, a part of the nurse within cursed the mechanism through which the quirk of her student functioned, but did not want to hold that against Rin at all. It wasn’t her fault that the quirk was problematic.

“Furthermore…” Standing up and turning away from Rin after a few seconds and then striding over to her desk and picking up a pen, Miss Sequoia pulled a permission slip from her drawer and quickly wrote out a small note in handwriting that was uncharacteristically neat for a doctors scribbling.
“Once your lesson is over, show this to your tutor and make sure they let your next teacher know you will be late for your next class because you’re coming to me straight after. I’ll use my quirk to make sure any injuries done to you will be put right as rain in a matter of minutes so as to stave off any complications, OK Rin?” Holding out the piece of paper that was written and indicated that the girl in front of her was to come straight to the nurse’s office for treatment after her training tomorrow and then signed with her signature, though her Aqua Vitae couldn’t stave off every consequence of further incisions she could speed up the recovery for sure. Sophie’s conscience at least demanding at least this, while the session so far had seen the physician coming off a little sterner than usual she hoped that her student at least understood a little of why she was so concerned…

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That must be a disconcerting sensation… I wonder if there’s some way to dull the feedback? The topic of her student’s apparent sensitivity something that Sophie found a little intriguing but also somewhat worrying, she couldn’t help but feel a little curiosity as to how to tinker with it, both as a matter of intellect and necessity. For certain what sounded like a heightened ability to perceive pain something that might prove problematic in the wrong circumstances, the nurse found herself wondering if her student’s quirk might mean she could bypass things like pain relief, which seemed a worrisome prospect to consider? Furthermore, she must have had some form of special brain make-up to handle all that sensory information or something. It was scary, but fascinating at the same time.

“I won’t lie and say your quirk will be the easiest to deal with, but hopefully it should just be a case of finding ways to properly manage the more negative effects while enhancing the benefits?” Sophie sensitive enough however to not get too lost in the merits and curiosities of her student’s quirk, with a gentle smile the nurse lightly patted the shoulder of Rin and hoped that some of her more serious observations and pieces of advice might sink in without affecting this shy youngster’s confidence too much. Not wanting to damage her sense of self-esteem but rather instil what she felt might be a lacking or heavily reduced sense of self preservation, before her student departed Sophie offered a few words of encouragement in the hopes of lifting the spirits of the dark haired girl.

“Stay safe, Rin. As charming a girl as you are, I don’t really like the idea of you spending a lot of time here as a patient~” Flashing a grin at her student as the young girl departed before looking toward her desk and wondering how best to approach the principle about the topic of teaching her some beginners medicine, it was only now that Miss Sequoia remembered that the drink she had made had been sitting on her desk for some time now.

It's gotten rather cold…[/is] Lifting up the mug of fragrant tea which had been sitting long enough to lose some of its warmth, perhaps it was a mark on how seriously that the nurse had taken her discussion with Rin that she had managed to forget about it despite her compulsion to consume liquid that was usually so fervent. Naturally the impulse seeming to reassert itself as soon as Sophie found a drink back in her hand, despite the lukewarm nature that her beverage now possessed, the school’s chief of medicine still swallowed it down eagerly before setting her cup to one side and starting on an email. Thinking it best to keep the principal informed of what she had demanded of Rin following her training tomorrow so that the girl shouldn’t be challenged about the authenticity of her note, Sophie also wondered if the little note she dropped to the man might also help to establish some correspondence on the other matters that this little check-up had raised…

Thread Complete• Rin Kurama • 519 Words