It had only been a few days since Kichiru had last visited this site, mainly due to the hectic nature of having to prepare for his upcoming Bashar exam, the contents of which would be completely unknown until he showed up. All he could do was train day and night, studying as much as he could to prepare for whatever the proctor might have in store for him and his fellow students. "I know it's going to be tough Kasumi, but it is also going to be a lot of fun. You know how much I like a challenge!" He smiled as he spoke towards the memorial that had been created for those lost in the various attacks on Sunagakure. "I'm going to become a Bashar and then climb the ranks just like you. Though you better watch out, I might even make it higher than you!" If anybody were watching him, they'd see him laugh out, almost as if he really did see his elder sister standing in front of him and they were simply talking as siblings might. Teasing one another in that way people who truly love one another do.
"I wish you could tell me what to expect, but I guess that would ruin the fun! Oh! I forgot to tell you, I made a few friends the other day. Well, one of them was a big older, but still! You'll laugh when you hear about when this guy, his name was Roku. He wa-" A yelping sound instantly broke his concentration as his eyes darted over to the origination of the sound, which appeared to be within one of the nearby alleyways. Without even thinking of the consequences, Kichiru ran off in the direction of the noise, hoping he wouldn't be too late to help whatever seemed to be in distress.
Though it wasn't an ambush, nor was it a person who had tripped and scraped their knee. Instead, what Kichiru found was a young canine, probably only a year or two old. From the sight of it, it had limped down the alleyway from the other side and collapsed only a few feet away from the end of it where it might have attracted more attention to its current state. Which was, without being too graphic, unpleasant. Something appeared to have bitten the young dog quite ferociously if the gash in it's side, still fresh with the blood that leaked out from it and into the pool that slowly formed within the whimpering figure. Kichiru dropped to his knees before the dog. "No, no. Oh my, what happened to you? No, nevermind. We're going to get you some help, the hospital isn't far from here!" He quickly reached out to try to pick up the dog, only to be met with a deep growl and a showing of teeth. It was clear that he wasn't going to be able to move the dog without sustaining horrible injuries himself.
I have to..
So instead all he could do was try to help himself. He had only learned his first medical jutsu a few days prior and hadn't really had too much time to train with it, though it wasn't the time to focus on the negatives of the situation. All he could do was try. And so he did, placing his hands on the fresh bite wounds. His chakra slowly started to form around his hands in the form of a pleasant green glow, though far weaker of a glow than would normally be expected of a trained med-nin. He did this for about a minute before takes his hands away, only to see that the dog's movements had slowed. It was clear that he was still alive, but the bleeding had not fully stopped, only slowed. If he had more time... Or more skill, he might have been able to save the young dog from it's fate. He knew that, at his current rate of exhaustion, he wouldn't be able to keep going for much longer, and nor would the dog be in the state to wait long enough for him to get help. Their destinies were sealed: The poor dog's death and the boy's failure to stop it.
And so he wept on his knees, his face against the ground beneath him and his hands simply resting on top of the dog, feeling as its heart-rate and breathing slowed down. The boy who always had a smile on his face. The student who never feared to ask questions and be seen. The future shinobi who promised to protect the people of this village. Those all faded away in that instant as quickly as the tears shed from his face or the blood pooled beneath them, covering the gloves he wore. Gloves that he had been given by his family. They were the only thing found belonging to Kasumi after the destruction of the Djinn had been stopped. Besides a few pictures that adorned their home, this had been all he had left of his elder sister.
At least, that's what he thought. It was the case that materially the gloves were the only thing he was given that belonged to her, but to think that was the end of the story would make one quite mistaken. When she died, she had done so heroically, using the last of her strength to help patients escape from the crumbling mess that was the Medical Center. In doing so, she had become trapped under a falling piece of debris that pierced through her torso. Even if she managed to escape, the bleeding would have been too much for her to deal with, nor could she even hope to get outside quickly enough to find help. Instead, she accepted her fate. Though she did not reflect upon the meaning of death in her final moments, or even upon the lives she had potentially saved. Instead, she thought of her family. Of her father, her mother, and her younger brother, Kichiru. With her final moments, she depleted what energy she had left into the gloves she wore, imbuing them with her chakra and, if you believed in such things, doing so left a piece of her that would stay in the world, hoping that the gloves would find their way to her younger brother, which they had. Even in death, she vowed to continue protecting him as to nurture the pure heart she knew beat within her beloved brother.
Please... Someone help me save her...
And so she kept her promise, as Kichiru would soon begin to notice a strange feeling emanating from his hands; more specifically, from his gloves. As he looked up, he saw a similar glow to that of his medical jutsu before. It was slightly stronger than his, but not by much. If he checked, he would feel that the dog's breathing had almost slowed to a stop. Instead of focusing on the strangeness of the situation, he decided to pour whatever chakra he had left into another attempt of the jutsu as teared continued to stream down his face, blurring his vision as he stared intently at the dying dog. As his chakra poured into the technique it would begin to glow even brighter than before, to the point of being blinding for the young child. If anyone had been looking, the dark alley-way was momentarily illuminated with the evanescent green glow of his chakra. Within a few seconds of this, however, Kichiru noticed his vision had blurred far beyond that of simply being muddied with tears. Instead, he had exhausted himself to the point where he found himself unable to keep his eyes open as he fell onto the cold ground.
Minutes later, he awoke to an odd feeling. Wet? Perhaps it was the blood, but it wasn't quite as warm as one would expect. But it was also a bit.. slimy?
What the...<i></i>
His eyes widened as his vision finally came into focus, a bright smile weakly forming on his face as he looked into the energetic eyes of the dog he thought had surely passed away moments after had he fell unconscious. Weakly, Kichiru managed to weakly push himself into a sitting position as the small dog hopped onto his lap, continuing to lick away at the bits of blood that still stained the boy's face. Instead of the green glow, or even a weeping cry for help, laughter filled the alley-way. It wasn't long before he found the strength to hop back onto his feet with the dog at his side, circling around him as she wagged her tail excitedly. The patch on her body still revealed where the bite mark once was, but all that was left was a neatly closed wound.Somehow, he had saved her. Kichiru crouched down in front of the dog, smiling as he scratched her behind the ears.
"You know, I'm sure Mom wouldn't mind it if I took you home. I think I'll call you Kas."
