KIMIKARAKU (AKA KONOHA'S "CORPSE TEAM")
I have yet to do a proper character page for my Naruto ocs, but I thought this would be a fun way to introduce Karua, since so much of her character hinges on this team ✌️
This is an AU where Karua was able to save Haku and Kimimaro from dying and helped them free themselves from their abusive mentors. Their team is colloquially known as the "Corpse Team" because they have all, at one point or another, either died or been on the brink of death—Haku died for Zabuza but Karua used Zabuza's lifeforce to revive him, Kimimaro almost died after his fight with Gaara and Lee but Karua managed to stabilise him in time for further medical treatment, and Karua died and was revived during Pain's attack on Konoha. Their jōnin and Karua's mother, my other oc Akime, also had a near-death experience prior to the team's formation thanks to Karua's father!
Neither Haku nor Kimimaro are particularly fond of Karua at first, given how devoted they both were to Zabuza and Orochimaru respectively, but she has her own reasons for saving them and was never looking for gratitude—just their freedom. Her fervent defense of their lives and right to self-autonomy does eventually wear down their defenses and the group become a team. Both Haku and Kimimaro even get the chance to face their old mentors again during the war and have their character tested: were Karua's efforts truly impactful, or is the influence of their masters too great to defy?
Their whole dynamic as a team is essentially this:
Karua's got her own growth she has to go through with her mentor/mother, though Akime's issues as a guardian are not the same as Zabuza or Orochimaru's (two opportunistic, exploitative groomers who preyed on young, vulnerable children). Akime cares deeply for her team, especially Karua, but the trauma from her childhood and past relationships left her emotionally stunted, and her relationship with Karua suffered for it. Their bond is defined by their enmeshment (emotional incest) with one another; while it's subconscious on both their behalfs, Karua has become the 'head of the household' in her family and is almost like surrogate partner for her mother (who already struggles with seeing so much of Karua's father in her) but THAT is a story for another day.
Their growth as a team has Haku and Kimimaro returning the favour by helping Karua and Akime to recognise their issues and move towards an appropriate parent-child/teacher-student relationship, sort of breaking the cycle of these bonds ending in tragedy.
Haku, as the first person Karua saves and the more willing to change, is definitely Karua's closest friend. However, Haku is lucky in that he has ties to Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura to help him settle in Konoha and move past his time with Zabuza. Kimimaro, on the other hand, has very little to connect him to Konoha besides Karua—who saved his life despite being his enemy—and Haku, who he met for a very brief moment when they were children. He respects Lee's strength, but they only connected as equals on the battlefield, not as peers. Gaara had even more animosity towards Kimimaro, and doesn't stay in Konoha for long. Not to mention, Zabuza died; Haku physically couldn't go back to him. Orochimaru, however, is still around! So. Yeah. Kimimaro has a harder time of it when it comes to embracing Konoha and the team and rejecting his past bonds.
HOWEVER! It does mean that Karua has to focus much more of her time on rehabilitating Kimimaro (not even mentioning that she's the main advocate for his health and his primary nurse/caretaker) and so their bond is a little different. Ultimately, she and Kimimaro are good friends. But the journey to deciding that gets... A little messy...
The world's ending, emotions are high, these freaks are already in a pretty codependent spiral because they've all got abandonment trauma, and they're teenage soldiers on the front lines. MISTAKES ARE MADE!
Everything works out fine in the end though ❤️
(Template by @magpiepaws!!! They have a bunch of other variations for different polycule sizes as well, it's so cool. Thanks for making this! And I used the Shinobi OC Maker picrew by s0uredApple for Karua's image.)
