reasons to breathe (c)

The pain came in waves, but being a shinobi, Kiyoshi didn't let it cloud his mind and judgement. Pain brought a new sort of clarity, one that kept him anchored in place and refused to let him go until it subsided, not much different than the squirrel that was inflicting the damage on him. Above his quiet coos of reassurance to the tiny creature (something surely not even his sister had heard from him) and the gradually subsiding vibrations that were its growls, he could hear his sister saying something, but at the moment, he was concentrating more on her actions than her words.

As she positioned herself next to the boulder, he understood what she planned to do. Even as she lifted the rock, she talked, words strained with the effort the ordeal put on her body, and in the moment there was enough space for him to act, in one quick movement, he had slipped a hand in the space his sister had created, simultaneously tugging and scooping Bright Eyes out. It seemed that the squirrel had finally understood that the two meant no harm to it, and it had let go of his finger and had let itself relax in his hands, body limp. It was only then that the teen let himself register whatever words had been spoken as the rescue had occurred.

Shaking wet hair out of his eyes, he decided not to reply to Hitomi's words. There was nothing more he wished to say regarding the matter, and even if there were, he wasn't about to speak any more of his mind. He wasn't about to call the next head of the Hane a liar either; he had no idea what might happen to him should his sister let that slip in front of his father. Instead, he turned his attention to the squirrel, which had feebly stuck its tongue out to lap at his wet (and now rather bloody) skin. There was much to do, and it was his excuse to remain silent.

First, he would have to take care of his hand. Being a rodent, there was a pretty good chance that Bright Eyes didn't have anything like rabies, but he could never be sure. He would have to get it checked when they returned to the village, but for now, he would have to leave his life on the line and just ignore the possibility of disease. Wiping the blood on his hand on the edge of his shirt (thank god it was black) to get a good look at the wound, he sighed. It would be nothing serious, though considering how deep the bite marks were, there was a good chance it'd scar.

"Here." Once Hitomi had let go of the rock, he would hand the squirrel to her. Though the creature would tense for a moment and make a noise of protest, it would once again relax and let itself lie limp in the girl's hands. Now Kiyoshi's hands would be free to treat himself.

Reaching his uninjured hand into his medical pouch, he pulled out a small roll of bandages. Usually, he would've gone with an adhesive for something small like this, but he was afraid it wouldn't be enough to staunch the flow. It was with this he dressed his wound. Even with one hand, it was a clean wrap, quick and neat; bandage wrapping was something he was more than familiar with, after all.

"Okay, let me see it." But before that... He tapped one of her arms. "Don't forget to have your arms looked at, just in case you pulled something." He would let her make what she would of it; to him, he was just following protocol. Despite his status as fledgling, he couldn't exactly ignore the duty of a medical ninja, since he himself was training to be one.