Want to read ahead of schedule? Head over to Patreón @ for +20 chapters
[ https://www̧̧.patreón.com/azureawakening ]
The link is also in the synopsis
A/N - Thank you, Michael Scheele for becoming Azure Awakening Patreón!
<<<>>>
"Kaoru! Be careful!" Akane shouted as she saw the kunoichi's arm reach forward, dagger in hand and aimed straight at Kaoru's back.
She flared her chakra without hesitation and launched herself between them, unsheathing her blade in the process. But speed was never her strength. She excelled in raw power, not reaction time, and in this moment, that difference mattered.
Scorpio's dagger, forged from a strange green metal, was already closing in.
Kaoru turned just as it reached him, the movement saving his life but not sparing him from harm. The blade slashed across his chest, not deep, but enough to tear through his robe and draw blood.
"Shit," he cursed through gritted teeth, staggering back as his dark blue robe was slowly painted crimson. He reached up instinctively, applying pressure to the wound while activating his Suijingan. The glow in his eyes sharpened, scanning his own body for internal damage.
'Damn it. I still can't track the flow inside my own body… but this…'
He couldn't perceive inside, but the blood spilling from the wound told a different story. It moved erratically, pulsing with an unnatural rhythm. He'd seen people bleeding dozens of times. This wasn't normal.
'The flow's disrupted. That's not just a cut… Was I poisoned?'
His gaze snapped back to Scorpio, who was already trying to flee. But Akane was relentless. Every swing of her sword was heavy, precise, and close to lethal. The mercenary had no time to breathe, no space to maneuver. She was focused entirely on survival, her body twisting and ducking to avoid the blade with growing desperation.
"Don't kill her! I might need the antidote!" Kaoru shouted, loud enough to cut through the clash of steel and chakra.
Akane's body froze in place, her blade just inches from Scorpio's neck.
It was all the mercenary needed.
With a quick step, she shoved Akane aside and tried to break into a sprint. But the moment her foot hit the ground, streams of water rose and twisted around her limbs, shaped into binding coils that clamped down with brutal force. Her arms and legs were pinned instantly, and her waist was yanked backward before she could take another step.
She hit the ground hard, completely immobilized.
Ao and Orihime rushed into the tent just seconds later. The sight of bloodied Kaoru made Ao's expression darken as his gaze locked onto Scorpio.
Without hesitating, he turned and barked sharp commands to the shinobi outside.
"Capture every mercenary who entered the camp today. No one leaves. If they don't resist, bind them. If they do, show no mercy."
His orders echoed across the clearing as Takimura shinobi moved in swiftly, surrounding the remaining mercenaries.
Confusion and panic rippled through the rogue-nin as they saw themselves surrounded.
"We didn't do anything!" one of them shouted, his voice cracking. "That guy with the shark teeth… we're not with him!"
"Are you going to kill us because that bastard insulted the kid?!"
"I don't know what's going on," Katsuro muttered, "but let's not make it worse."
He slowly unstrapped the massive scythe from his back before setting it on the ground with both hands. "They're not here to kill us," he said under his breath. "So don't give them a reason to."
The others followed suit. Weapons were dropped. Arms raised. None of them dared provoke the shinobi now flooding into the camp.
And one by one, chakra-suppressing seals were applied as Takimura's nin moved in to detain every last mercenary who had entered the camp.
"Kaoru, are you alright?" Orihime rushed to his side, eyes locked on the wound as she knelt beside him.
Scorpio tried to rise again, but Ao knocked her out with a brutal kick to the head. The blow was so fierce that Kaoru flinched, a spike of panic shooting through him.
"I need her alive!" he shouted. "I think I've been poisoned."
The glow of his Suijingan intensified as he scanned Scorpio's body. Her internal flow hadn't weakened, she was still stable. But even before he could breathe a sigh of relief, Orihime had already forced him back against the chair and tore open the front of his robe to inspect the wound.
The look on her face made his stomach twist.
There was dread in her eyes. Panic. Her hands trembled for a moment before she coated them in a green glow, pushing chakra into his chest to begin her scan.
"I'll be fine, Elder Orihime. Don't worry about me," Kaoru said with a forced grin, trying to calm her down. But his words didn't reach her. The expression on her face only darkened.
Her hands worked faster.
"Akane!" Orihime suddenly shouted, her voice sharp with desperation. "Go to the medical tent now! Tell my assistant to give you the satchel where I keep Lady Tsunade's gifts. Hurry!"
She didn't even wait for a response before turning toward Ao.
"Check her, now. If she has an antidote on her, take it. If not, wake her up. I don't care how. Break every bone in her body if that's what it takes."
Ao gave a sharp nod and crouched beside Scorpio, his Byakugan already active. His jaw was tight, and Kaoru could see the tension behind his normally composed expression.
'Is the chakra flow in my body disrupted?' Kaoru wondered, trying to assess himself. But no matter how hard he focused, he couldn't find anything out of place.
'If I could just see inside myself… I could push the poison out, but this damn restriction makes it impossible.'
He clenched his teeth, trying to suppress the rising anxiety.
"I'll save you," Orihime muttered, her voice low and shaking. It wasn't meant for him, it sounded more like she was trying to reassure herself.
Kaoru looked down at his hands. The color was off, paler than usual. The blood loss had taken a toll, and his chest still throbbed, though the wound itself had already been sealed by Orihime's chakra. She'd left it open for treatment, but it wasn't bleeding anymore.
'I feel fine. Not even dizzy.'
The thought had barely formed when the tent around him tilted.
Everything began to spin.
Thankfully, he was already sitting. If he'd been standing, he would've hit the ground.
"Elder Orihime…" he murmured, trying to sound calm, "everything's spinning."
Orihime's eyes narrowed instantly. She turned toward Ao and gave the order without hesitation.
"Drag that bitch outside and make her spit out the antidote. Leave me alone with Kaoru."
Her tone held no trace of hierarchy. In this moment, rank didn't matter. And though most of the camp fell under Ao's authority, he didn't question her. He gave a tight nod and carried the unconscious mercenary out.
Kaoru blinked slowly. His lips were growing heavy, sticking together as his body dulled.
"Elder Orihime… I don't think she has the antidote," he whispered. "Even if she did, I doubt she'd give it to us."
He looked up, his voice softer now, his body slowly betraying him.
"She knew t-the chances… of dying were insane… but she still tried to kill me." Kaoru spoke slowly, resting between words.
Orihime nodded solemnly. "I know, child. That's not why I sent Ao out."
She took a deep breath and steadied her hands over his chest.
"Kaoru, I know that you can control water no matter where it is, even if it's blood." She whispered, still keeping it a secret. "But it seems you can't sense the poison inside you. I'm going to help."
She leaned in slightly, her voice calm, focused, and steady now.
"I'm going to insert my chakra and flood the poisoned areas. I'll move it through your body. All you need to do is sense where my chakra goes and pull it outward. Drag it out. The poison should follow."
She didn't say what they both knew: that the chance of full extraction was slim, almost zero.
But time was all she needed.
The poison was fast-acting, but fast meant fragile. If she could buy just a few more minutes, if Akane returned with the satchel from Tsunade, they'd have a real chance.
Kaoru closed his eyes and focused, locking his awareness on the chakra Orihime was channeling into his body.
'If I had trained myself to sense water particles instead of seeing them, I could've handled this on my own.' He couldn't help but curse his own negligence, but then quickly pushed the thought aside. Regret wouldn't do him any good, and distraction could cost him his life.
He emptied his mind and concentrated.
Soon, he began to feel her chakra moving through him, pulsing gently until it clustered in several areas. Without hesitation, Kaoru seized control over those zones and pulled. Every ounce of moisture he could command surged toward the surface. His chest wound split open again, and thick, dark crimson liquid, far denser than blood, spilled out.
He repeated the process.
Each time, he grew weaker. But his mind grew clearer.
The poison was leaving. Slowly. Painfully. But with it, so was his blood, far too much of it. His strength was fading fast, and the Suijingan flickered as the drain on his energy grew heavier.
'Let's prioritize the heart… and the brain. Leave the rest for now. Should've done that first, damn it… No! No time for that!' He snapped his thoughts into focus, shifting his efforts toward the vital organs.
The relief was instant and so was the collapse. He felt sharper, but also dangerously close to passing out. The poison clung to his blood, and without time or precision, each pull took more from him than it should.
"Mmm…" He tried to speak, to tell Orihime he couldn't hold on much longer. But his lips refused to move, his voice catching in his throat. All that escaped was a strained groan.
"Quick! give it to me!" Orihime's voice rang with urgency and hope. A moment later, Kaoru felt something cold press against his chest. The cold spread quickly through his whole body. It was icy at first, then burning hot, the kind of heat that felt like fire curling through his veins.
"Aaagh!" he screamed, the pain ripping through him like a shockwave.
But with the agony came clarity.
His vision returned in a flash, and the haze vanished. He opened his eyes to see Orihime kneeling before him, her face buried in his lap, her shoulders shaking as she sobbed uncontrollably.
Then, he spotted Akane. Her face was as pale as snow. The contrast between her ivory skin and crimson hair and eyes was almost absurd, and despite everything, the sight made Kaoru chuckle faintly.
The moment he smiled, something inside her broke. She threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck, holding on like she'd never let go. But the force of her jump was so strong that it knocked them both over, and Orihime fell with them. However, in that moment, none of them cared.
"What's going on?!"
Ao froze in the doorway.
All the color drained from his face as he took in the scene - Akane sobbing on Kaoru's chest, Orihime clinging to his legs, her face buried in tears.
For a split second, Ao's mind shut down.
'I had one job… Protect the most gifted shinobi I've ever met… the future of the Land of Water. And I let him die… right in front of me.'
He stood motionless, consumed by guilt, until Kaoru moved, trying to sit up.
"I'm fine, Lord Ao. It's just a misunderst…"
His words were cut short by a raw, broken scream from outside, full of agony.
It wasn't just pain. It was despair.
All three of them immediately bolted for the exit, leaving Orihime alone, who could not care less about the outside. Kaoru was trailing behind the others, his body still shaky and struggling to balance. When he finally stepped out, what he saw made his breath catch in his throat.
Scorpio lay on the ground, her body charred in places as if all the moisture had been sucked out. One of her eyes was gone, replaced by a blackened crater of scorched tissue. All four of her limbs were broken, mangled from sheer blunt force.
Mizuki stood nearby.
Three massive scorch balls hovered above her, pulsing like miniature suns. Tears streamed down her face, but there was no sorrow in her expression - only unrestrained fury, trembling behind clenched fists.
But the moment she saw Kaoru, she stumbled.
Her body eased. The fireballs shivered and then vanished. Her fists relaxed as the rage gave way to relief and fear, tangled together.
"I thought I lost you too…" she whispered, her voice cracking as she stepped forward and rested her head gently on his shoulder.
Kaoru wrapped his arms around her, drawing her close.
"You didn't," he murmured softly. "I'm not going anywhere."
**
A/N - I'm weirdly proud of this chapter. I wrote it in one go, as if the entire scene was unfolding right in front of my eyes. Usually, I have to plan, write, read, edit, and then repeat. But this one was different xD
I hope I managed to convey the emotions and the bond I wanted to show. I also hinted at a few things here that will play an important role moving forward :P
Reminder - Break Tomorrow
----------------------------------
If you can, please support me on P@treon
pat reon.com/azureawakening
(no space)
You can read up to 20 chapters ahead on P@treon!
The link is also in the synopsis