Chapter 56 - Andromeda Atlas

Sakari managed to keep the mood light once they reached the town. She was good at that.

(And this helped probably more than any of them realized, as it kept jittery victims calm in the worst circumstances.)

"Looks like we get to visit Karin-san after all! I'm so going to have to visit the comic shop here, too, I bet there's a new issue of Haru-Kuru out!"

"Haru-Kuru…?" Juugo said. The curiosity in his voice was almost childlike.

"Yeah, it's only my absolute favorite."

"Well, what is it…?"

"Well!" Sakari was almost bouncing from the question. "Haru-Kuru's a superhero that's got a Curse Seal, see. But she's learned to control it and use it for the forces of good! But she also has a pretty average life when she's not punching bad guys. She's a librarian."

"…really." Juugo had a gently-growing smile on his face.

"Uh-HUH! She's been really popular with kids that have Curse Seal mutations. She's sort of a role model! The artist's daughter is actually a Seal Victim herself, she was the inspiration." Sakari nodded a few times. "I think it's fantastic. So many kids read it and they're told, yeah! There's nothing wrong with them! They can control their conditions!"

"…it sounds very nice," Juugo said. "I wouldn't mind reading it. It sounds very nice."

"Oh! Well I'm sure I can lend you an issue sometime!" Sakari said.

Juugo gave a big, almost sheepish smile back.

"We're here," Hajime said.

The door to Karin's clinic was unlocked, but the sign in the foyer said that the Doctor Was OUT.

"Karin-san! Hello, are you around?" Sakari called.

There was no response.

"Karin-san!"

"Ninako, check and see if she's somewhere in the house," Hajime said.

"Right."

A moment of searching. Juugo, who did not wear shoes, shuffled his feet nervously. He barely fit in the room.

"She's sub-level. In some sorta examination room. She's got another person with her, and…"

Ninako tried to restrain what was obviously some sort of horror on her face.

"…oh, jeez, I think that's a kid…"

Juugo was the first to move.

"Asaoto, that has to be him…!"

"Juugo-san, please!"

Sakari followed.

And all the rest.

Juugo, evidently, knew what he was doing. There was a sliding door near the back of the house and he near ripped it clear off of its hinges in opening it.

"Juugo-san, please, calm down a little, okay?" Sakari said.

There were stairs made of concrete, and Juugo began going down them. Naturally, the team had to follow.

They could hear Karin yelling.

"I told you, get out of here! Now! Just leave already!"

"Karin-san, excuse us!" Sakari called out.

"But-"

"NOW!"

And as they arrived on the bottom step, they caught a glimpse of a white-skinned man with bones in his arms.

That disappeared in an instant.

The bones clattered to the concrete floor in a hollow cacophony.

They looked like human bones.

Almost.

Reflexively, Ninako tried to track him but his chakra was gone in an instant, well out of range.

Karin came out of a back room and closed the door behind her. She was breathing heavily, a hand wrapped tightly around her stomach.

"What… are you doing… in my house…?" she said.

"Karin-san, who was that man?" Sakari asked.

"Are those bones…?" Jimichi asked, voice quavering.

"You tell me… what you're doing here… first… okay…!"

"They're with me, Karin… They told me they could help…" Juugo said, quietly.

"Juugo…" Karin's expression softened, just a little bit, as she caught her breath. "You brought them here?"

"I needed to see Asaoto, and they said they had to come with me…"

Karin took a moment to take off her glasses and rub her forehead, her temples.

"Karin-san, we were just responding to a call-in," Ninako said. "We kind of had no idea that you were treating Juugo-san personally, or his son."

"Well, I am." She pressed her glasses further up the bridge of her nose. "Juugo's a special case, and he doesn't apply to your work, okay?"

"Karin, is Asaoto here…?" Juugo was holding his fingers in his fingers.

She sighed, heavily. "Yes, Juugo, he arrived maybe two hours ago." Her voice had gotten very suddenly gentle. "But he's still very sick, okay…? I was in the middle of treating him when you all barged in."

"Oh…" Juugo said.

"We're very sorry, Karin-san!" Sakari said. "We didn't mean to interrupt."

"If… you don't mind me asking, though, Karin-san," Jimichi said. "Does… Asaoto-kun have the same condition as Juugo-san? I mean, we don't doubt that you have everything under control, but it'd be nice to know what's going on."

"…it's similar. And I do have it under control," she added, forcefully. "You four don't need to worry about him, okay? Now if you'll excuse me, I should probably get back to work."

"But, um." Sakari was raising her hand, almost sheepishly. "Karin-san, what are these bones…?"

She couldn't stop staring at them.

"They're…" Karin's eyes were almost closed. "…nothing for you to worry about, okay? Just… biological waste. I'll have them incinerated after I'm done here."

"But, ah, what are they from…?" Jimichi said, quietly. "If you, ah, don't mind me asking…"

And it was then that the door behind Karin opened of its own volition.

And a very, very small child peeked out.

"Mommy…?"

He was very, unhealthily, skinny. Green eyes were sunken into deep, red-bruise-colored sockets, and every bone could be seen in his little hands. His hair was white, and very thin.

"…is that Daddy? Is he here?"

Juugo was across the room and the child was in his arms before Karin could.

"No, he's—!"

Object.

And it suddenly became very apparent where the bones had come from.

They were Asaoto's.

Somehow, Juugo managed to hold the child—naked, and incredibly tiny, especially compared to him—in the crook of his arm, despite the enormous spikes of white bone that were coming from out of his spine, and the joints and ribs of his left side. There seemed to be more bone than boy.

"…I'm not done treating him," Karin said, quietly.

Jimichi had his hands over his mouth. Ninako's stomach squirmed; she felt like she was going to throw up. Sakari's hands clung to each other.

Only Hajime looked on with any sort of composure.

Juugo was mumbling apologies.

"Asaoto, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, are you hurting? I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have lost control like that…"

But Asaoto.

Was smiling.

"It's okay, Daddy…" He had a very little voice, and it was thin, like his body. "I tried to hold on longer but it started hurting too much so I decided to go see Mommy… I'm sorry I scared you, Daddy…"

Juugo was sniffling.

"It's okay, Daddy, honest… Mommy's been taking them out of me, it doesn't hurt any more…"

He reached up with shaking twig-arms, and he put his hands on Juugo's face. There were blue veins under his skin.

"I promise, it doesn't… Please don't cry, Daddy, it doesn't hurt any more, honest…"

It was Hajime who spoke up.

"'Mommy'?" he said, looking at Karin.

Karin's expression was supremely uncomfortable.

"…he… calls me that. I'm not really his mother, but I've been… treating him since he was an infant. So I might as well be…" She cleared her throat. "…Juugo, can you please carry him back to the examination room? I'm not done yet."

"Karin-san, what in the world is wrong with that boy…?" Jimichi had somehow managed to find his voice.

"…it's a genetic disorder," Karin said, flatly.

Ninako ran up the stairs, looking for the bathroom. She didn't feel like she was going to throw up any more. She was going to.

"Well is there anything I can help with?" Jimichi said.

Karin sighed. "Well, I had to shoo out my last assistant because he was being such a little pest. I could use the help."

"Was that who he was, that man with the bones?" Sakari said.

"Yes," Karin said, through her teeth, "he was. He wouldn't leave so I had to force him out with damn ninjutsu. That boy, honestly…"

"I'm sorry, Karin-san," Sakari said, almost on reflex.

"Well I'd be more than happy to help with anything," Jimichi said, stepping forward, almost a little too quickly.

"Oh, me too! Um. Would you like me to help incinerate these? You have a furnace, right?" Sakari said, raising her hand.

Hajime was heading up the stairs, looking for Ninako.

"In the back, down the far hallway, to the left," Karin said. "Just put them in there, I'll burn them myself, later, okay?"

"Sounds fine to me!" Sakari said.

"Jimichi-kun, you can come with me, okay?" Karin said.

He followed her.

Asaoto was still comforting his father.

"Please, Daddy, don't worry, don't be sad, I'm fine," he said.

Upstairs, Ninako was wiping off her mouth in Karin's bathroom with a towel. Her eyes were watering.

She felt Hajime's hand on her back.

"Are you feeling all right?" he asked.

"Yeah, just… a little shaken," she said. "That poor kid…"

"It's a little… disturbing," Hajime said.

"Tell me about it…" She was breathing very deeply. "No idea what came over me, though… I mean, I've seen worse…"

"Maybe because he was so young."

She didn't answer.

"Ninako, even I was unsettled, it's okay."

She put her hand on his back, and held on, tightly.

"You think you'll be all right?" he said.

A pause.

"Yeah," she finally said, wiping off her face with her sleeve. "I'm fine."

Eventually, Karin and Jimichi got finished with their work.

Asaoto, without all the bones, looked even smaller than he had before. He was finally clothed, in a white t-shirt that would have fit Hajime or Jimichi normally, but fell over him like a religious garment. Juugo was carrying him everywhere.

Presently, he was eating yogurt at the kitchen table, with hands that weren't trembling nearly as badly, sitting in Juugo's lap.

"So what's his story?" Ninako asked Jimichi, in the hallway outside the kitchen. "Did Karin-san tell you anything?"

"She said she'd explain to us once Asaoto-kun went down for a nap. All that bone growth takes a lot out of him. Jeez, that poor kid…"

"I can't imagine…" Ninako said. Her hands tightened underneath the pocket of her hoodie.

"He's such a trooper, though. He didn't cry or anything when you guys were extracting those bones," Sakari said.

And Asaoto did, eventually, go down for a nap. He and Juugo retreated to some unseen room, the boy waving weakly at Sakari as he went, yawning. He had his legs, more like wooden dowels than limbs, pulled up to his chest.

"Living room," Karin said.

She sat down with difficulty, not bothering with refreshments.

"So, then. I'm sure you all have questions."

"Quite a few, Karin-san," Jimichi said. "I'm really concerned about Asaoto-kun."

"Yeah, I… don't blame you, okay?" Karin said. "He's been making my life just that little bit more uncomfortable, ever since Juugo found him."

"He's a foundling?" Ninako said.

Karin nodded. "Goodness knows where he found the poor thing, but he was in an awful condition and Juugo was just… well, he was beside himself, and I had to do something to help."

"How long ago was this?" Sakari said.

"Four, five years ago. He was just a baby. But his bone growth was already a problem." She had her hands in her lap, and they curled into tight fists at the recollection. "Poor thing looked more like a ball of spikes than a child. Couldn't even move."

"Oh, my…" Sakari touched her lips, unable to do much more.

"Were you and Juugo-san in contact before this happened?" Hajime said.

"Oh, well of course. You all… do know who he is, right?"

Four very confused glances.

"He's the origin of the Curse Seal. Patient Zero, as it were."

"You're kidding," Sakari said.

Smiling.

"No, no kidding. I actually developed the CV's by analyzing the enzymes in his blood that cause his berserker state and coming up with 'counters' to them. Well, once he and I ran into each other again, that is. He came to me for help because he was having the hardest time keeping control of himself after the war."

"Ah, that's… really neat, actually," Jimichi said.

Karin's smile was sharp and glossed with pride.

"I'm aware that he's not on any of your records and, frankly, it's probably for the best, okay? I've been treating him with custom therapies for years now. CV's don't work on him as effectively."

"Oh, jeez, good thing I never tried to use one on him, then…" Jimichi said.

"Wouldn't have made much of a difference. Don't worry about it, okay?" Karin said.

"So, then, you've been treating Asaoto-kun on the side, as well?" Hajime said.

She nodded.

"So what's the cause of his condition? Another sort of curse seal?" Ninako said. "Or a second-generation mutation, something like that?"

She shook her head. "No, he… well, I suspect he's a remnant of a clan formerly native to the Land of Water. The Kaguya."

"Kaguya?" Hajime said.

"It's only a hunch. None of them are supposed to have survived," Karin said. "The only thing I have to go by is the fact that some members of that clan had a… kekkei genkai that allowed them to control the growth of their bones."

"And you know that how…?" Hajime said.

Karin gave him a hard glance. "Orochimaru was in possession of the last living Kaguya, or so I thought. I helped treat him myself, when he was still alive, though only the records remain of him."

"Oh."

"Moving on," Karin said. "Of course, Asaoto and that particular boy aren't terribly alike. For one, Asaoto has no control over his bone growth and is prone to… 'attacks' where… well, you saw the aftermath of one."

"Poor thing…" Sakari said, softly.

"It's… very unfortunate," Karin agreed. "Like I said, when Juugo first brought him to me he couldn't even move. It took me days to figure out how to remove all the bones. It's much more manageable now, okay? Usually his attacks aren't this severe, but I'm finding that his stress level often has something to do with it."

"Have you come up with any sort of treatment…?" Jimichi said.

"Groping in the dark here, honestly," she replied, with a depressed shrug of the shoulders. "I hope in a few years to be able to come up with something like a CV just for Asaoto, to stop the growth during an attack. But right now it's just too early, okay? All I can do is make sure that Juugo keeps him calm and that he's kept on a high-calorie high-nutrient diet. His attacks are murder on his metabolism, you saw how skinny he is…"

"Karin-san, that's awful…" Sakari said.

"You don't need to tell me, okay? I wish I could do more."

Her eyes were downcast, brimming with regret.

"So have you asked where… Juugo-san found him, ever?" Ninako said.

"Oh, I've asked, but he never goes into detail." She sighed. "The only thing I have to go on is the fact that… well, years ago, Juugo and that Kaguya boy—Kimimaro, that was his name—were very close. So if he were to find some child, abandoned, that resembled him so much—with the bones and everything—then I wouldn't be surprised if he just latched onto him like no tomorrow. He's already so devoted."

"And given his condition…" Ninako said, her hand on her chin. "I mean, if it was already apparent as an infant."

"Mm. Lots of people would get scared," Karin said, "so I wouldn't be surprised if he were abandoned by his… original family because of it. And Juugo had a habit of… wandering before Asaoto. That boy's forced him to settle down, so he's closer to me. Just in case."

Karin was holding her head up with her hand.

There was a silence.

And it was.

Not a comfortable one.

"Um, Karin-san…?" Sakari had her hand raised, unnecessarily, again.

"Yes, Sakari-chan, what is it?"

"I hope you don't mind my saying this… but you don't look at all well," she said, her brown eyebrows rising and knitting together. "And besides, aren't you expecting?"

The question was.

Not a comfortable one either.

"Sakari-chan, I appreciate the concern, but I'm fine, okay? The… little one is, too."

"Well, I'm glad to hear that, but it just seems like this is all very taxing on you, Karin-san," Sakari said. "Asaoto-kun and your work here in the village and everything. Even with assistance, with a baby in the house…"

"Sakari-chan."

Sakari pursed her perfectly-shaped lips. "I'm just wondering if it would be easier if… we had Juugo-san and Asaoto-kun brought to our curse seal rehabilitation ward in Konoha, if only for a short while."

"No," Karin said, the barest of edges in her voice, "I don't think that's necessary."

"Karin-san, I'm just a little worried about you," Sakari continued. "You're marvelous at your job, but…"

"Have you thought of seeking outside help for Asaoto-kun, at all?" Jimichi said. "I mean, you're probably the most skilled doctor for miles, and it must be difficult handling everything alone."

"No, and I don't need to."

Karin suddenly sounded.

Very angry.

"You do know there's a reason I handle everything alone. It's not like I'm doing this for fun, okay?"

"…what is it?" Sakari said, when no one else did.

"The Land of Water is… a little off-the-hinges when it comes to rare bloodlines. There's already a fair amount of refugees living in town and nearby that I have to treat, Asaoto included. The last thing I want is for them to get their grubby hands on him for their purposes. He's only six, for heaven's sake. He doesn't deserve that, okay?"

"…that's… kind of a good reason," Ninako said, when no one else did.

"More than you probably know," Karin said.

"Then wouldn't he be safer in Konoha?" Hajime said.

Karin paused.

"We do have facilities that could treat him, and more staff on hand, now that I think about it," Jimichi added.

"If you gave them proper instruction on how you were treating him before," Sakari added, also.

Karin took off her glasses.

"I'm sure we could help Juugo-san, too," Jimichi said.

Karin rubbed the skin between her eyes.

"It'd be a lot easier for you, Karin-san, I'm sure," Sakari said.

"Hey, hey, aren't you guys kinda… ganging up on Karin-san like this?" Ninako said, managing a laugh.

"I'm just worried, Ninako, for Karin-san and Asaoto-kun both. Oh, and I'm sure we could help Juugo-san more, too…" Sakari said.

Karin rested her head against her hand again, her fingers touching her eyes. "Look, all of you, I appreciate the worry. But I'm seriously okay, okay?"

"Is it what's best for Asaoto-kun, though?" Hajime said.

Karin gave him an eye full of electricity.

"I don't think you're in a position to judge, Hajime-kun."

"Yes, though, ah—this is just my opinion—but it might be better for him at a larger facility, where his father could also be cared for. I mean," Jimichi cut in, "Juugo-san expressed quite a bit of regret about having to live so far away from towns and cities because of his condition."

"But we can handle that!" Sakari said.

"Juugo," Karin said, "is different, and there are reasons why I treat him myself, okay?"

"Guys, please…" Ninako said.

"We should at least ask Juugo-san if he'd be for it," Jimichi said. "It's only fair, Karin-san."

Sakari gasped.

"Oh, oh, and! If you went to Konoha with them, at least for a little bit, you'd be able to talk to my mom about… that stuff," Sakari said.

Karin paused.

And put her glasses back on.

"Ah. So you know too."

"Know what, Sakari-chan?" Jimichi said.

"Just the bare facts, and I picked up on a few other things," Sakari replied, but not to him. "She's kept me sort of informed. I think it'd be a good thing."

Karin glanced at the ceiling.

And sighed.

"Fine. There's no use arguing any further, it seems. Go ask Juugo, once Asaoto's awake from his nap. But not before then, you understand? They both need their rest," she said. "If he's interested then I'll go with you all back to Konoha for a few days—and only a few days, those two aren't the only ones I'm responsible for around here, you know—and get your staff down there caught up to speed. But I'm going home afterwards, okay? I'm due in two months and I don't want anything happening to me this late."

Karin began to stand, with difficulty. Sakari helped her.

"You're making a good decision, I think," she said.

"Yeah, well… we'll see, okay?" Karin replied.

"Guys," Jimichi said, aside, once the two of them were out of the room, "do you have any idea what Sakari-chan was talking about?"

"No clue," Ninako replied.

Hajime didn't.

Juugo, once asked, was more than receptive to the idea of moving to Konoha, for Asaoto's sake. Though a little scared.

"Are you sure they'll be able to handle me…?" he said, with a quavering voice.

"I'm absolutely sure, Juugo-san. And Asaoto-kun will be much better off, I think," Sakari said, with a voice sweet as caramel.

"I'm excited," Asaoto said, with the littlest voice.

He ended up staying at home, falling asleep again in Karin's guest room, under a blanket that was twice as thick as he was.

Sakari went back with Juugo to Hakyo to get his things packed up. And to get the chickens taken care of.

(Juugo and Asaoto had named all of them. They managed to find someone in town that would keep them and promise not to eat them.)

In the meantime, Jimichi called the hospital to inform them of the incoming patients.

In the meantime, Ninako was making arrangements for their transport out the next morning—there was no way they could have gone on foot, given Karin's condition—and somewhere to stay until then, given how little room Karin's clinic had.

In the meantime, Hajime managed to catch Karin alone.

"If you don't mind, I have a question for you," he said.

"What is it?"

They were in a side room. Sterile, with counters and fluorescent lights, like a kitchen that wasn't made for people. It was where Karin mixed her medicines, and it was what she was presently doing now.

"I wasn't aware that you and my father had a past with each other."

Karin's hands ground a red substance with a mortar and pestle.

"And how do you know that?"

"Juugo-san informed me. He mistook me for my father when we met."

She sighed.

"It's not much of a past, if you're curious about the… extent of it, okay," she replied. "He and I collaborated in a team for a couple of months, before he..."

Her hands stopped.

"…decided that I wasn't of use to him any more."

She continued her work, her eyes forced down.

"Sounds like him," Hajime said, flatly.

"Hm."

"And Juugo-san was a part of that team?"

"For a time, yes."

Karin reached for a bottle full of plastic capsules, poured a few into her hand, broke them apart, and ground the contents in with the rest.

"So why did he form a team with you and him?"

"You really want to know?"

"Well, it's…"

Hajime's eyebrows lowered, and he frowned.

(He told himself that he didn't care about his father, but.)

"He doesn't talk much about his past. I'm just curious."

"Hmph. Why am I not surprised," Karin said.

She reached for another ingredient, a broken off piece of something waxy and brown.

"He asked for my assistance in killing his brother," she continued. Matter-of-factly. "Though he ended up changing his… goal quite a bit, in the process, okay."

"…oh," Hajime said.

(Genuinely surprised.)

(And almost wondering why.)

(What little Hajime knew about his late uncle was that he was a martyr, a tragic hero, a role model.)

(This seemed unthinkable.)

(Then again.)

"I was mostly tossed aside once the war began. And from there, well. I don't think there's much else to say, okay?" Karin said. "Does that answer your question?"

"Yeah. Thanks."

He struggled for a way to.

Smother the silence.

"What is that you're making, anyways?"

Karin took the powder, now a rust-blood-rose color, and began spooning lumps of it into little paper squares.

"It's medicine."

"Oh. For someone in the village?"

"No, actually, for me."

"Ah."

"I'm bringing enough for a short trip over. It keeps the little one healthy. Don't want to risk anything."

"Ah."

"You can leave if I'm making you uncomfortable, okay?"

"Ah. Um. Sure."

So Hajime left.

And Karin sighed.

(He reminded her of Sasuke, only far more tactful and freely awkward, in both behavior and voice. Goodness, those eyes.)

The night passed without upset. Asaoto had no attacks.

(Ninako found at least one room with two beds in it.)

(And, of course, it went to Sakari and Jimichi.)

And, in the morning, once everything was confirmed packed, once Karin left a note on the fridge ("For my assistant. It's only courteous of me to tell him where I am and when I'm coming back, even if we… fought yesterday.") they set out via transport to Konoha.

Asaoto managed to stay small and calm. It was supposed that his excitement—of the good kind—was keeping his stress level down. He was kept wrapped in a blanket, however, and never out of Juugo's arms. The air-conditioned transport was too cold.

When they arrived, Yakata was the first thing that Karin saw.

His face and his arms were burnt and his cheeks had bandages stuck to them.

Her eyes met with his eyes, large, and so, so black.

(…oh, goodness.)

(His eyes.)

(Were the same.)

He ducked behind a girl with thickly-lashed, dark eyes, like his. She was tall, and her hair was long, and she managed to hide him almost completely.

It affected Karin more than.

She could possibly have ever cared to admit.

(…oh. That was…)

(…him.)

For the sake of everyone else, she pulled herself together, and told herself that the squirming in her stomach was because of the unborn child, and not the boy.