Changes: Kaili and Elias(closed)

It has been seven days since the major incident. Elias had spent most of the week in mourning of his parents and his best friend abandoning him. This was not what he had planned nor was it what he had wanted. But things happen the way they do for a reason and so they can only wish Kotone well. Hopefully fate won’t force them to clash in battle.

Life outside of Nazogakure was far from glamorous. They slept in hideouts among the trees. Every night was a new mosquito bite or bug crawling on their bodies and in their hair. The inner circle seemed completely unbothered by the environment. Elias would go as far as to believe that they look more comfortable in the wilderness than they did within village walls wearing their robes.

Out here they had to relearn every basic survival rule that they’ve adapted in the academy. The bathroom was a latrine over 20 meters away from the camp , he must’ve accidentally seen everyone’s ass like three times. And now one of his main responsibilities include burying all the feces underground to prevent the smell from revealing their location.

Also Akili is a clean freak! A complete opposite to Byamba who treats the forest as such. Akili keeps the area sanitized , constantly getting on everyone’s case.  All in all that part isn’t too bad. She has taught the new comers proper grooming, how to shave and prepare for surgery.  This came in handy for days like today where both Kaili and Elias had been elected to go under the knife.

So Elias sits there waiting for Kaili to finish being showered by Akili. An experience that doesn’t seem half as motherly or pleasant as it might sound. Akili showered those two with makeshift pressure hoses as if they were inmates.  So as Elias waited for Kaili to finish his process; he’d think back on seven days ago.

But before he could get too deep into thought, Byamba walked in through the door. He’d make eye contact with Elias and notice the look on his face. “Hey Kid, wanna hear a joke? What do you call about 100lb of dead weight?” , Byamba would ask with the biggest grin on his face. Elias face remained stoic knowing that the punch line was definitely just going to make him regret answering. ” I dunno, what? A body?”, Elias answered. “Whoa! Geez kid you’re getting pretty dark. No, we don’t call it a body”, Byamba says as he opens up a compartment in the room. “We call it, Kozzen! Hahaha”, Byamba breaks out in laughter as he pulls the body out and practically throws it onto a cold operation table.

As he does this his laughter is quickly interrupted by Akili bursting out of the prep room to continuously slap the shit out of the towering Byamba. She’d continuously slap his massive arms while scolding him for throwing the body ,”Fuck wrong with you ding dong, Every time you in here you do this! You need to stop throwing my shit you big bitch! “ “Ahh! Come on just trying to make the kid laugh. Aren’t kids suppose to be giggly and shit? “ Byamba rebuttals. “No bonehead , not when they’re sad, just stay quiet love; you’re handsome when you don’t talk”, Akili responded to Byamba then signals Kaili to come out.  ” Ooookay babes, today is the day! You excited? Yea I bet you are, can’t wait to cut y’all up! Slice , slice ,slicity, slice. Cool part is, this is going to be my first time using my samurai swords for surgery!”

She’d smile big and watch their expressions as if looking for permission to actually use her swords for surgery. Elias’ expression was that of terror, so she’d look to Kaili for permission. Assuming that Kaili wouldn’t give that to her she’d reveal ,” I was only kidding sesh. Well anywho , y’all say your last words and all that cute stuff cute boys do.” She’d give them a moment while preparing the two other beds and Kozzen’s body.Elias would look towards Kaili but not make eye contact. “Hey fam, you ready?”

It had been a life-changing ordeal, one that would leave mental scars on those at its center. While those close enough would leave it with their own demons to wrestle with. One such person, Kaili, had over time chosen to put his away. Like the past, it belonged behind him as he had made his choice to join Elias.

Their living within the wilderness was a nice escape from the thoughts, and the dreams that plagued him in the late hours of the night. Hunting the wild game, proved to be a decent way of training and alleviating stress. He felt at peace when tracking his prey, giving chase, and delivering that dropping blow. After each of his kills he would say a prayer in thanks for its sacrifice. Not to any particular god, but just for the life he had just extinguished.

The day had arrived for him to undergo surgery alongside Elias. He felt tense as it meant he would be forced to interact with Akili. He had not forgotten how she murdered Meiani, and those feelings seemed to not be diluted by time even despite the two of them now being on the same side. He had made moves to keep his interaction with her to a minimal, but now he would have to put it away for now and deal.

The shower was... awkward and in a way painful for him. No words were uttered, at least none from him. A regrettable experience that he would be sure to repress as soon as it ended. At its end, he met back up with Elias and Byamba before Akili began slapping the life from his face. The woman's attempt to get a reaction out of them fell flat on Kaili, as he'd only shake his head in dismissal. Then he'd look at his friend as he spoke, noticing Elias still not able to look him in the eye. "As ready as I'll ever be." He wouldn't push him. Everyone had something to wrestle with.

Elias tried to lift his eyes to meet Kaili’s but he couldn’t. It was as if they were just too heavy and just too burdened. Kaili was their newest member and youngest too but it was possible that he was far better at getting by than Elias was. Whatever the case might be , Elias knew that he’d have to say something to raise some moral.

“New piercings. Kotone had some new piercings that day, I wish I could’ve told her how cool they looked.” He’d smile at the ground hoping Kaili could understand that he’s trying to open up a bit. “It’s like my brain is shattered into a million pieces and I just can’t put it back together, ya know?” Elias crosses his arms and starts shaking his legs . “I know what you saw in there. Back in Azazel. I’m sorry I let you down. I just didn’t know what to do, I froze. “

He’d take a moment and daringly force himself to look Kaili at eye level, hoping to finally meet him eye to eye. “We might not wake up from this. So before we are not us, is there anything you want to ask me?”

"Hold on a second..."

Jinnouchi found himself bursting in, seemingly without permission. This was something that could have been unexpected for everyone, but the former leader of their group had a few words to say to them. At the same time, he was also quite concerned with their well-being.

"There are some whispers here and there about this surgery, there is always a risk. Kozzen is dead and even though we should respect that, right now I can only care for the living, Eli, Kai, you guys are alive, and I wanted to let you know that I'll be working hard so that the house doesn't burn down while you guys recover. "

At the very least, he wanted to reassure them and show them that he was positive throughout all of this.

"Ive been thinking of a name since we left. Exodus, that's what we would call ourselves, in order to share in the dream of having the freedom and removing the manipulation of children to fight ward started by adults, it's better to make a stand towards something that's much bigger than us. They too will have their exodus, the choice of leaving on neutral terms shouldn't provoke people to get paged into a bingo book. If there is anything that can keep you guys alive even if this woman turns out to be a quack, it's your fighting spirit. We made it this far, it's the end result that matters, but both of you need to be alive to see it, to see the fact that we now obtained the power to give others the second chance that was taken from them. "

He looked at both Kai and Eli in the eyes with confidence.

"Consider this your Exodus of your past lives. When you wake, use this power to protect the innocent and make your aspiration of an equal world....a reality."

Kaili listened to Elias as he spoke of Kotone that day. "I think she would have liked to hear that from you. If fate works how I think it does then you'll have your time to speak with her again." He truly believed that the trio was in all respects like siblings when he first met them, so it was saddening to see their split back in Azazel. Then it seemed Elias had more on his chest, which was good. Kaili believed he needed to move forward in order to accomplish what he wanted, however, he would not force this on him. "I think that's fine. You feel as if you're broken. I personally felt weighed down as if I were sinking..." He'd pause unintentionally, as a brief flash of that feeling panged his chest. "But, we all deal with it in different ways. So just give it time and look forward, because there is nothing for us in the past. The future is where we can somehow make amends and give meaning to the things that we have done." The words were hopes Kaili had. He wasn't sure if they weren't meant more for himself or for Elias, but he wanted them to help in some way. Even if he didn't completely believe it would come to pass. Though he would softly place his hand on Elias' shoulder. "You haven't let me down. There is nothing to be sorry for. We went there of our own accords." He would say whilst their eyes finally met. "Nothing. If you have anything you want to tell me then I'll listen. I know all I need to know."

It was then that Jinnouchi burst in to give them his word on how things would go on in their absence. "Sup Jinn. I'm sure you'll have everything under control dude." After which he explained the group's new name and the reasoning behind it. Followed by one of the charismatic speeches that Kaili had come to know him for, it brought a grin to his face. "Yeah, I like the name and it fits us just fine. We shall use this power just for that. Exodus."

Elias was fully prepared to answer whatever hard hitting questions were heading his way. But rather than ask questions,Kaili showed maturity and understanding. Elias didn’t expect this but was very grateful for it. It was one weight lifted from his shoulders.

Suddenly Jinnouchi bursted in. He came in like a ray of sunshine. His positivity and motivational speech had moved Elias. This might have been just what he needed, for after the storm comes the sun. Though Jielko had died, Jinnouchi still is and always remains the sun. The ray of hope to shine through even the darkest of times.

The boost in moral that those two needed right before their life changing surgery came in the form of his words. Elias then knew that no matter how things go, that they’ll be ok. “Thank you bruthas! And Exodus sounds like an amazing name. I have no doubt that you’ll make us proud Jin. Tieros told me that he had some missions for you, please be safe. Good luck Kaili let’s pull through ." He’d smile for the first time in a week knowing that regardless of how hard it’ll get that they’ll pull through.

“Ok babes, I’m going to need you to go. As for you two sexies,  on the table . It’s time to commence!” Akili would say as Byamba would escort them out. Once on the table she’d begin the operations, first by putting the two in a deep sleep with her gas. Once this happens, her operation began.
[/exit]

Comma:

End Topic.

With a nod, Jin went to go outside of the room to give them some space, hoping that they would be fine with the operation. He also used this time to make some more projectile types to use at his leisure. After increasing the durability and putting a mod or two on the projectiles, he would head off in order to make himself scarce.

"I can only do my part now that they are asleep. "

Note- multi creation technique and etc for a few more kunai with mods.

-exit