In all honesty, being bitten didn't really phase Kaji anymore. In fact, this time it almost felt good. Maybe because he actually had a choice in the matter. He petted the ninken's head as his wounds healed. "There we go. Good boy," he said with a smile.
And as soon as the hound was healed, he wasted no time in protecting Kaji, standing guard before the dying, pleading man. Sure, the man was an enemy, but he simply couldn't let someone die like that. Besides, he rationalized to himself, a prisoner could prove useful.
"Cover me," he said to Kyoufu and to the ninken, making his way around to the man. He wasn't going to let the man bite him, he was saving those for his own squad mates. He could at least stabilize him until the battle was over. "Hold still," he instructed, pulling out bandages to start binding the wound.
------ Kaji's trying to stabilize the deserter with the intent of capturing him.
When Kaji saw Koufu running over to his location, a feeling of shame welled up inside of him. Of all the people to see him being cowardly, she was the last person he wanted to see. She was the one whose opinion mattered to him the most.
And yet, she wasn't hear to judge him, or berate him. Instead, she provided words of comfort, trying to say his act of fear made perfect sense. Dammit, after that, Kaji simply couldn't hide behind a tree, especially when she was ready to throw down her life for him.
A small smile appeared on his face as he stood up, grabbing a kunai. "Thank you," he said, "Though for the record, there's no way in hell I'm letting you die."
A small whine caught his attention. He looked over, seeing one of the Nenkin their platoon leader had. At first, Kaji was worried it was about to attack them, until it rolled over, showing the wound in its side. Well, if Kaji was to be the medic, he better do his job.
He knelt down by the hound, gently petting it with one hand, before offering his other arm to it. "Bite." he instructed.
Fear and panic gripped Kaji hard as he watched the utter chaos unfolding before him. After all the pain and experimentation he had been put through, the fear of dying shouldn't affect him.
But it did. It did big time. At least in the lab there was some underlying sense they wouldn't let him die. His healing capabilities were too valuable. But here...he could die at any moment. A straw arrow or shurikan. A blade, or even the hooves of a horse. He could be killed at any time and there was nothing he could do about it. He wasn't a fighter. He couldn't utilize his chakra. He'll, even his healing wasn't controlled. Why the hell was he out here!
"Fuck fuck fuckfuckFUCK!" he yelled out, before scrambling for a nearby tree or rock for cover.
Why was he here? Why did anything think it was a good idea for him to be brought along like this?
Kaji stood by Koufu, clad in the clothing she had given him. This was insane! He didn't know any Ninjitsu, and had only recently started training again, and they were going to send him into a battlefield!? This was utter madness! Their squad leader didn't provide much comfort. He felt like the sort that would probably kill him if he dragged behind...which might actually happen.
This feeling didn't exactly improve once they left the camp. They were confronted by three horsemen and their leader took them out with little effort. He could only be thankful he was on their side...for now.
"I'm gonna die," he muttered to himself. Though who would be the one to kill him was up in the air.
"Just Kaji is fine," he replied. He wasn't too keen on being associated with the family that had essentially abandoned him, "And Kyoufu's been great. It's good to have an actual place to live." A part of him was wondering if he should try on a fake name from now on.
Then came up the training. And once again, Kaji felt a little...underprepared compared to the other two. The talk of Jitsus and katas and the like made him realize just how little he knew. "Well, you've both got me beat. No jitsus, no katas, and eight years of inactivity and malnutrition. A child could probably do more than me."
This was a mistake. Why did he even think he should be here?
Thank goodness for Kyoufu. She was able to really get the conversation started, introducing the pair of them. For a girl who was stuck in a cell for a good chunk of her life, horribly experimented on, she was really quite good at lightening the mood. And if Tsuyika's expression was any indicator, he felt the same way. A good bit of common ground.
As the white haired boy started talking, he instantly guessed Kaji's family name, bringing up the red hair. Seriously, were there no other red haired people in this world? Kaji's expression soured slightly. "Yeah, that's right, for what it's worth." He was still convinced his family had all but written him off, so he was still quite bitter about that.
Kaji nodded quietly. It was his first training session after all, after years of inactivity. Still, he did want to make a good first impression. "Don't worry about me. By now I'm used to being smacked around and left to pick myself up." After all, his own healing abilities didn't work on himself.
And soon, he arrived. A young man with white hair, around the same age as Kaji himself. He took notice of the cigarette in his mouth, and the confused look on his face at noticing that Kyoufu wasn't alone. Not that Kaji can blame him.
"Sup?" Kaji replied simply. It was probably best to let Kyoufu do the talking. He knew nothing of this guy and didn't want to step over any lines.
Kaji couldn't help but chuckle. "Well, I'll make sure to work on both. Always good to have a fall back. Besides, if my cooking ever makes you sick, you can just bite me." It was strange just how quickly Kaji was becoming relaxed around her. Guess it was because she was the first friendly face he had seen in a good, long while.
As they walked along, Kaji thought quietly to himself before speaking up. "So, about this Mist Village. Is there anything I should know about it? Any customs or anything like that? I don't want to cause any problems while I'm there." Being stuck in a cell for eight years didn't leave a lot of time to study. Good thing though, is it left him pretty easy to learn new things. No habits to fight against.
This was the first time Kaji had worn anything like proper shinobi gear. He had never advanced enough in his training to warrant ever being given any. So it really was a touching moment when Kyoufu had given him some of her dad's old gear. Good thing it fit him too.
Of course, he was also nervous for another reason. He was meeting another friend of hers, AND he was going into a training session. Those never ended well for him, and he didn't want to embarrass Kyoufu by being here.
"I'll, um, I'll just follow your lead thrn, shall I?" She had a hell of a lot more experience at this than him. Well, if anything happens, she can always bite him.
Hmm, a medical ninja huh? Kaji hadn't really thought about it. Granted, his ability did allow him to heal. Though the thought of others chopping on him and siphoning off his chakra, wasn't a pleasant thought.
Though with Kyoufu it was different. Being with her, talking with her, he felt he would have no problem giving her an arm to bite one. Strange how things go like that.
At her other suggestion of him cooking, Kaji couldn't help but laugh. "Well, why not both?" he said, grinning. "Fill up your stomach, AND your chakra."
Kaji felt some relief that she didn't think less of him. Still, it made sense. She had only been out for a week. It's not like she would have become some sort of super ninja during that time. But they at least shared the fact they had strong chakras. Hers was just better utilized.
When she offered to teach him, he paused. He hadn't expected that offer. Would he be a good student? Well, he wanted to do something for her. And right now, he was just dead weight.
He gave her a smile. "That would be great! I just hope I don't end up wasting your time."
Well, that was that then. Time to leave this place behind forever. To be honest, Kaji was pretty nervous. After eight years of captivity, he was stepping out into a whole new world. But now, he wasn't alone. He had someone with him. Someone he could relate to. Someone to share these new times with. It was a warm, reassuring feeling.
As she turned to leave, Kaji moved to walk alongside her. He could only wonder what his new home would be like. Much better than the dungeon he had been stuck in, that was for damn sure.
Then came the question. What can he do?
Kaji thought for a moment. "Well, I was rather decent athletically," he paused and looked at himself, "Though...it's been a while since I had a proper workout..." And...that was it. What else could he do? You couldn't exactly develop skills when you were locked in a cell. Kaji suddenly felt very...small.
Now, Kaji wasn't going to claim to be an expert on girls, dating and the like. But he was fairly certain that when a pretty girl asked for you to live with them, that was a very good sign. One shouldn't think too hard on this though. She was most likely being nice, that was all. They had a shared history, and otherwise was homeless.
Still, Kaji couldn't help but laugh, giving her a warm smile. "Sure. How can I possibly refuse?" He glanced back at the shack that led to the dungeons below. It wasn't as if he had any belongings he needed to bring with him.
"I guess we can head there right now. Unless you have something you need to do here first?" Well, she came here for some reason, right? It couldn't have been just for him.
Ah, so a group had gone in here and cleared everyone out. Guess it made sense. The sheer carnage he found couldn't have been done by just one person. Still, it made him feel a little annoyed that he had been left behind. He had been in his cell and entire day before he had known anything had happened.
Well, that wasn't important now. So, she was living in the hidden village of mist huh? When she asked if he had a home, he shook his head. "Not anymore. I was born in the Lightening Country, but who's to say it even exists anymore. I guess I really have nowhere I belong now."
He looked at Kyoufu. "The only thing I really have in this world right now is, well, you. And we've only just properly met for the first time today." He couldn't help but chuckle at that.
Last Edit: Sept 30, 2021 21:19:20 GMT by Kaji Uzumaki
