N2.1 (9 am, inside the testing room for Chakragraphy)
Woman: Lift your leg.
Me: The needle’s inside—I wouldn’t dare lift my leg!
Woman: You have to lift it, otherwise there won’t be any signal.
Me: But it hurts, the needle is stabbing inside.
Woman: If you don’t use force, the needle will never come out.
Me: Nani? (What?)
N2.2 （10 am, outside the testing room）
Woman: Sigh, has your report come out yet?
Me: Nope, still waiting. It’ll take at least another half hour.
Woman: I’m getting anxious waiting. I still have to go to my outpatient appointment later.
Me: I’ve got one too, but you know how it is—your scheduled time and the actual time you see the specialist are always at least half an hour apart. No need to rush.
Woman: Why do you think the Chakragraphy room is so busy yet there are only two doctors inside?
Me: Just shows how scarce their skills are… one of them seems to be only writing reports.
Woman: Did you see that guy just now? He almost broke the door down trying to get his wife in a wheelchair in earlier. And in the end, it looks like he really did cut the line.
Me: Yeah, I saw that. Honestly, if you just shout outside, “Doctor, I need you to determine the pricing for me,” that female staff will definitely let you in.
Woman: True, they’re super quick when it comes to money matters.
N2.3 (8 am, outside the testing room)
This man brought his wife here for the chakragraphy test. Because the waiting time was too long, he lost his temper and banged furiously on the door. The doctor inside didn’t dare open it, saying the previous patient hadn’t even put their clothes back on yet.
Me: Why is your wife in a wheelchair at such a young age? Was it an accident?
He: ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), also called Lou Gehrig’s disease.
Me: She looks like she’s in pretty good condition, though.
He: The Kuchiki family’s reiryoku (spiritual power) is unbelievably strong. Last time she went to the first-tier city for a reiryoku scan, she froze the entire machine.
Me: Kuchiki? Reiryoku? Aren’t those Bleach terms? So in this world there are not only descendants of ninjas, but also descendants of Soul Reapers (shinigami)?
He: You must be from another city. This hospital has a lot of Soul Reaper descendants.
Me: Alright… but if you’re Soul Reapers, why do you still need chakragraphy?
He: Because only first-tier cities can do reiryoku scans, and even then you have to book a month in advance. We just want a follow-up. The doctors say chakras and reiryoku can be converted through equations.
Me: Oh right, it feels similar to the meridian system.
He: We don’t really understand either. That’s the information gap between the medical world and us commoners.
Me: So her ALS… is it genetic?
He: Yes. Ice-type reiryoku affects the motor neurons. But in the family it only shows up once every few generations. She only developed it after we married.
Me: And yet you’ve stayed faithfully by her side.
He: We were childhood sweethearts, hehe.
Me: From your hair, your outfit, and your tone, I’d guess you’re from the Abarai clan?
He: That obvious? Haha.
Me: I never missed a single episode of Bleach growing up.
He: You look fine though. Why are you here for this test?
Me: Oh, nothing serious. The doctor in the first-tier city asked me to come to a less crowded hospital for the test, so I wouldn’t have to wait in line.
He: My hometown clinic can’t do it either. We have to come downtown.
Me: And that brain-computer interface on your wife’s head — does it actually work? Did this hospital give it to you?
He: Not at all. We bought it online. They say you have to train the model for a while before it works. It’s only because they offer a one-month no-questions-asked return that we dared to buy it.
(At that moment, the door opened. Mr. Abarai started quarreling with the female doctor, describing his wife’s illness in the most tragic terms. In the end, the doctor let them cut in line.)
As the brother pushed his wife into the room, she cast me a smile that was not a smile. I felt a sudden chill wash over me, and my phone shut down by itself.
short vid for N2.3
End of EP N2. The N-x series is a fork from the main story happening in the city where Patrick lives. These episodes exist for a reason, and they expand the world of the medical ninjas to a broader universe, which you will see.
This is a creative project inspired by the traditions of Eastern shonen manga and Western comics and cinematic storytelling.
All characters, abilities, and world elements are original creations.
Any similarities to existing works are coincidental or intended as respectful homage, without any claim of ownership or affiliation.