𝐓𝐑𝐔𝐒𝐓 | ❏ 𝘒𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘬𝘪 𝘹 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳

✘𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐓✘

-SUFFERING-

KAWAKI COULD TASTE his blood as it poured from the side of his face. It was metallic and warm, a sharp contrast to the cold metal pole that repeatedly beat him over and over.

"Get up." Jigen —the man who towered over the bleeding boy— said, hitting him once more in the gut, this time earning a cry of pain from Kawaki instead of a pathetic whimper. He didn't flinch when seeing tears pour from the boys glossy grey eyes, and he didn't flinch when hitting him again either.

"I said get up, we're not done here."

Kawaki, desperate to not be struck again, wobbled to his hands and knees. His eyes were clouded with heavy tears, and a flow of oozing blood trickled from a fresh open wound at the side of his head. He didn't understand what he had done wrong- all he did was ask what the karma mark was, and now he's being beaten?

Kawaki clenched his teeth together, trying to ease the throbbing in his head. The person who promised to take care of him was now abusing him to this cruel extent. It made him mad.

"W-why are you doing this!? What do you want from m-" Before Kawaki could finish his sentence however, once again, Jigen struck the side of his face. Kawaki saw stars after that. His mind was tipsy and everything spun around him as he collapsed to the cold stone floor.

"You do not ask questions, you obey and do as you're told" Jigen paid no mind towards the small pool of blood that was forming around Kawaki. He was supposed to feel this pain, and he was supposed to grow with it. He needed Kawaki to suffer so that his body develops into a fitting vessel for him to use. He couldn't possess a weak, pathetic vessel- he needed the best of the best, he needed Kawaki to be strong.

A pained groan escaped the boy as he stirred in and out of consciousness. One more strike to the face and he would fall straight into a coma, atleast that's what he thought. Lucky for him, Jigen was quick to 'reassure' him "We can train like this every day, Kawaki. I don't care how many times I have to send you battered and bruised to (Y/N) for healing, you will learn your place here."

There was that name again, the one he had heard in the laboratory. Who was this person? He had never seen them around, yet they were mentioned with high regard from what he's heard. Without realising the consequences to his action, Kawaki blurted out "Who is this (Y/N)? I-I haven't seen her around like the other inners"

A scowl seeped into Jigens expression, and he raised the metal pole in the air in response. Kawakis heart dropped when realising what he was about to do. Maybe doing the exact opposite of what he was told wasn't the best idea.

"I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to ask! I-I won't mention their name e-ever again!" Kawaki desperately braced his face for impact "I won't ask anything of you anymore- I p-promise!"

Jigen observed the terror in Kawakis eyes. He was shaking like a leaf, crying hysterically and ready to take another hit like the pathetic child he was. If it wasn't for the way the young boy shook with grief, Jigen would've hit him twice for ignoring his teachings. But Instead, he smiled, pleased with the reaction he induced.

"It seems you now know your place." He lowered the rod until its tip hit against the cold floor. "It took you long enough to realise that you are not in control here." At that moment, relief washed over Kawaki like a tsunami. He was safe from another hit- a hit he knew he wouldn't be able to stomach.

"As a reward for coming to your senses, I'll tell you something about them." Kawakis eyes lit up as Jigen said that. His curiosity was getting a little annoying at this point so some closure would be good.

"(Y/N) is someone who you have no business with. She's just another hollow, empty tool like you. But that's why you and her were chosen, Kawaki." Jigen tucked the rod away. "You both have no family, no friends, no hobbies. You're just an empty shell with no meaning"

Kawakis heart throbbed with pain the more Jigen spoke. Tears that were once from the pain of wounds now shifted into pains of the heart. His empty, hollow heart. "But now that I have gifted you with the Karma, you finally have worth. As for her, she can finally use her Jutsu for something worthwhile." Jigen gave Kawaki an empty look. "You shouldn't think about anything other than your Karma training."

Jigen turned his heel and began leaving the training arena. He had gotten his message sent clear to the boy, and he was confident that Kawakis spirit was broken enough to be moulded into what he wanted it to be.

And he was right, Kawaki laid crumpled on the ground. His heart was shattered, face drenched in tears and body aching from head to toe. Countless bruises were beginning to form on his arms and legs. And it was only a matter of time that his 'training' would involve bones breaking. Kawaki wanted to scream out but felt a sad whimper escaping him instead.

He was trapped, trapped in a life where his opinion meant nothing. What was he even saying? He didn't have an opinion, even at his real fathers house, he didn't have an opinion, he was always, and forever will be a boy with tape over his mouth- a dog on a leash even.

But that was when he thought back to what Jigen said about (Y/N). Was she also like him? Was there truly a person out there who felt the same suffering as him? Was he not the only empty person out there? Kawakis laboured sobbing calmed a little at the thought, and a small flower of hope bloomed in his fragile heart...

He wanted to see them.