The Great Medic (discontinued?)

13: I'm Going to Bury You

Trigger Warning: Mizuki, Graphic Depictions of Violence, Character Death/Trauma, Depictions of Wounds/Injuries

It was late when Naruto finally got home. He'd worked some extra hours at the hospital since he had the weekend off. Granted, the now-genin would have probably worked the whole weekend until he knew what team he'd be placed on on Monday morning, but Kaiya told him that he deserved some much-needed time off after graduating. For once, the blond-haired teen actually agreed - it had been so long, after all, since he'd gotten the chance to relax.

He took a shower and dressed in his pajamas before heading to the kitchen for a late-night snack. Naruto hadn't been able to eat much while working at the hospital, having to be called in and out of the ICU due to patients' health declining rapidly. The genin paused, trying to clear his thoughts of the hospital and those he'd lost tonight... but it was a little hard since one death, in particular, struck a little too close.

A kid had just passed away.

The blond-haired teen finished making his snack, moving to sit at his kitchen table and contemplate. The kid he lost had been involved in a house fire not too long ago. His parents had come out fine with only minor injuries, but the boy had been trapped under debris for nearly an hour. When first responders finally managed to get to him, he'd undergone third-degree burns over nearly forty percent of his body. The kid - he just turned thirteen... not that much older than Naruto, actually - was sent to a burn center where he was treated for a few days before being transferred to the ICU for more intensive care.

"Hello, I'm Naruto Uzumaki." He remembered saying when walking into his patient's room, unable to tell if the boy was looking at him as almost all of his face was covered in bandages. "And you must be Yuri..." The genin paused at the last name on his patient's chart, "Nara..."

Yuri Nara...

Naruto had never heard Shikamaru mention a Yuri from his clan, so there was no telling if this kid had meant anything to his best friends. He was plagued with thoughts, "What if they were cousins? Or childhood friends that had lost touch as they got older...?" If he wasn't bound by HIPPA laws, he probably would have asked the Nara heir about Yuri. HIPPA laws, otherwise known as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, protect a patient's sensitive health information from being disclosed to anyone without the patient's consent or knowledge, meaning that Naruto can't even say the boy's name. Was Shikamaru grieving?

"Time of death 20:03..."

Naruto bit the inside of his cheek; those words were the only thing the blond-haired teen could hear as they pulled the boy's blanket over his face, blue eyes watching solemnly as they dragged his gurney away. He can still painstakingly hear the scream Yuri's parents made when they saw him pulled out of his hospital room, passing the couple by. It made his chest clench and tears rise in his eyes.

The medic-in-training scowled deeply, nearly shoving his unfinished snack off his table, unable to eat anymore. He didn't bother with putting his dishes away, unable to push Yuri Nara out of his head. Naruto stood up hastily, reaching for the comfort of his bed to wash away the memories of a boy begging to stay awake for a few more moments. "My mommy's gonna be here soon, please, I just wanna see her..."

It was his desperate cries that had Naruto pulling his pillow over his ears as if it would block out the boy's loud sobs still ringing in his head. He shoved the blankets up under his chin, snuggling deep within them, hoping to forget it all. "It's not fair..." The genin's mind hissed out almost immediately upon shutting his eyes. There were days where him becoming a medic was the only thing on his mind while other nights had him regretting his decision especially when he would start to lose too many of his patients.