𝐓𝐑𝐔𝐒𝐓 | ❏ 𝘒𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘬𝘪 𝘹 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳

✘𝐈𝐌𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒✘

-MEETING-

YOU HATED THE SMELL OF HOSPITALS or anything related to it really. For as long as you could remember you had been confined to one, be it from your early years in your village or to now, as a child, hidden away in the depths of the Kara organisation.

You were a tool. A mere object bought with the intention of being used for wrong. Being born into a clan that specialised in healing Jutsu (The Iyashi clan to be specific), your special Jutsu allowed for you to have an incredibly large chakra pool— that if not shared, causes rapid illness. And because of that, every hospital, organisation and government in the land wanted your clan to themselves. They needed your chakra, and it didn't matter what they had to do to get it...

It didn't take long for you to be stripped from your family and sold to the highest bidder. The screams of your mother as she tried to clutch you close still lingered in your dreams, much like an afterthought, only for you to blink it away— along with any tears that might've formed. You were betrayed by every adult you knew after that, spending your days going from place to place, used and abused for any drop of chakra. It made you sick. So sick that you swore to hate every last adult you saw.

But now there wasn't much you could do except for stare at the clock in your isolated coop. Time passed by with every gradual tick, and by now it was routine. Wake up, wait for Amado to bring in a patient, fix up whatever chakra issues they had going on, and repeat. You couldn't remember the last time you had been outside. There wasn't a thing you wouldn't pay to smell the fresh morning air or run in a field of green grass. All you knew was the repulsive smell of prescription pills and the cold metallic floor of a medical ward.

But before you could delve deeper into self-pity, your attention snapped from the clock above Amados desks and towards the exit of your room. Footsteps, they approached from afar and stopped at the base of your ward.

"Amado must have a patient for me" You thought as you stood from your bed.

The door was unlocked with the scan of a hand. Nobody could get in here besides Amado or the other inners, so to nobodys surprise, it was him. He entered the room with a hospital bed trailing behind him; resting on it was what looked to be a young boy. Amado didn't bother with greeting you as he walked in, he was the type to cut the formalities, especially for an 'outer' like you.

"The Vessel has been chosen" he spoke amidst the silence.

The hairs at the end of your arms suddenly rose. "Vessel?" You repeated carefully. Stunned, you took a step closer.

'Did he just say vessel? Does that mean they finally succeeded with their experiments?' This was brilliant news— it meant that maybe you'd get a break, heck, even a chance to escape! Your stay in Kara usually revolved around the search for a 'Vessel'. You weren't quite sure of what that exactly meant but you knew that it was important. And with that issue out of the way, less eyes would be placed on you!

"Yes, your job is to help balance his chakra pool. It's currently unstable because of the Karma mark." Amado parked the hospital bed by the heart monitors. He talked to you as he began hooking up the boy to the various medical equipment. There were all sorts of things in the room, from defibrillators to pulse oximetry's— it was a doctors paradise.

"Jigen has high hopes for this one, so make sure you treat him well." Amado took a deep inhale from his cigarette. It was previously wedged between his teeth, but now he freely played with it. He always reeked of that nasty stuff.

'Tch, typical adults' You thought to herself when slowly creeping up to the hospital bed.

"His name is Kawaki. If he wakes up, relay a message with his name to your stereo." Amado gestured towards the little phone-like device by the wall "He's too unpredictable to be awake for these later stages, got that?"

Amado finally finished with hooking up the equipment and allowed for you to take a closer look. Peering over the railings, your eyes scanned the boy up and down, fascinated.

"Kawaki..." you tested his name, familiarising yourself with it.

Kawaki was different from the usual patients you'd receive. He had short, untamed black hair that was layered with blonde at the sides. In it were the small remains of the Karma seals infection— black liquid to be exact. You found yourself wanting to touch it, but was distracted by his frighteningly frail shape. He looked awfully fatigued, like skin and bone; signs that he wasn't taken properly care of.

His pale skin also bore the aftermath of the mark as it was embedded with black tattoos that swirled around his limbs, forming intricate designs that you've never seen before. They were unique in the sense that youfound them beautiful— different from the same old grey colours you saw every day.

He looked to be around your age too and with a sort of cute face, which made you excited for some reason. Perhaps the idea of making a friend made you feel so, so you decided to question Amado about it.

Quietly, you asked "...will he be staying here?"

Amado spared you an unimpressed glance, taking note of your suddenly shy demeanour.

"Obviously, he's the vessel." He said.

A small smile seeped into your expression in response, an extremely rare sight for someone as glum-looking. Does that mean you had a chance at making a friend? Are things finally looking up for you?

"But I'm sure that's not what you meant, so let me rephrase myself" But alas, Amado had to break you out of your fantasy and plant you firm onto the ground once more "No, you won't be able to talk to him. With that Karma seal on his hand, he'll be monitored like a hawk."

And just like that, all your dreams of finally not being alone shattered in an instant.

"Just do your job, kid." Amado, unbothered to see the soul-crushing look of defeat in the your eyes, took a deep inhale of his cigar before walking out of the room. He closed the door behind him with a little 'click' and let you be.

It was then that you learnt that 'friends' were a stupid fantasy for even stupider children. Nobody actually cared about you, not him, and not this 'Kawaki' kid. You turned to face him with a sigh.

"Alright Kawaki, I'm sorry you have to go through this..."