Medical Interest, Nothing More an Eleceed Kayden x Kartein fic

Medical Interest, Nothing More

Now, Kartein wasn't the type of man to brag (that's a lie; he loved nothing more to preen), but he wasn't named the world's best awakened healer for nothing. He'd dealt with all manner of injuries; he'd regrown limbs, exterminated cancers, restored eyesight, everything. Truly, there was nothing, from injury to illness, that Kartein couldn't heal. Except, of course, a patient who didn't want to be healed.

Granted, even that wasn't entirely true; he could forcefully heal someone if they were weak enough, but why would he? Not that anyone had ever refused his medical attention (not that he was ever the one making offers), but if they did, Kartein figured they deserved whatever foolish end they brought themselves to. Strong awakeners were a different beast, though. It was the body's natural reflex to resist a surge of foreign ability; almost all of his patients tensed up from the kickback at first, but they always dropped their guard when he told them to. For a strong awakener, or at least anyone stronger than himself, Kartein wouldn't be able to get past the patient's natural reflex to resist him if they didn't want him to. And that was fine.

Healing someone who didn't want help was never an idea Kartein entertained, not even for a second.

Until Jiwoo, of course.

Jiwoo would never be so daft as to refuse Kartein's treatment, save for the first occasion borne from the blind loyalty only a protégé could have, but the boy had the unfortunate luck to have a stubborn and prideful mentor with a grievous injury. Frankly, Kartein was surprised at how long it had taken Jiwoo to ask him for help.

It had gone something like this;

Kartein was cooking dinner on one of the few nights when Jiwoo's loud friends hadn't stayed over and had been absolutely basking in the silence of an empty house. Normally, he wouldn't be caught dead cooking for someone else; that was what live-in chefs were for, but Jiwoo's meals otherwise consisted entirely of cheap takeout, and Kartein simply couldn't stand such a poor diet. While not badly off, the boy didn't have the funds to afford a personal chef, and Kartein certainly wasn't going to pay for one on his own (that implied a sense of permanence that he was far too prideful to admit). So, Kartein cooked, much to his chagrin.

It would have been a perfectly normal Tuesday evening, should have been at least, but Jiwoo had to come in with his well-meaning concern and bring up a problem Kartein had never considered before.

"Mr. Kartein?" Jiwoo hopped up onto one of the counters and swung his legs like a child as he waited for a response.

Kartein simply hummed, by now used to Jiwoo's often unprompted conversations.

"You're the best healer in the whole world, right?"

Kartein snorted in a rather undignified manner and cocked an eyebrow at the boy. Of course, he was the best; what even was the point of that question?

Jiwoo looked at his lap and fiddled with his hands, "So you could heal anyone in the world? Anyone at all no matter what?"

"Anyone who isn't already dead, and who I want to heal, yes." Kartein huffed, far less snappish and annoyed by the question than his pride would usually allow for.

"Anyone you wanted to heal, yes of course. But what if-" Jiwoo paused and gnawed on his lip, "what about someone who didn't want to be healed, could you do it then?"

"Why would I ever want to heal someone foolish enough to deny my great skills, hmm? Don't ask stupid questions, Jiwoo."

"Ah, well yes. But even so, could you?" Clearly, Jiwoo wasn't keen to give up the question.

Kartein pursed his lips and gave thought to the idea, potential shortcomings weren't his favourite things to dwell on, "Maybe. It would be difficult to heal a strong person if they resisted me, but I'm sure I could find a way around it. I am, after all, Kartein, there is no obstacle that I can't overcome to heal a patient."