Rasa Hontetsu is an only child.

Isago Hontetsu is not his parent's beloved child.

He spent his first few years of life under the watchful eyes of his mother, oblivious to her uncertainty and suspicion. That was, of course, because he was a normal child. He didn't have any "freakish" intelligence or uncanny learning curves.

Isago was born into the world crying from the shock of suddenly being able to breathe again. From then on, he never uttered a single word until he was four. His parents went from doctor to doctor, trying to figure out what was wrong with their child. Isago was written off as mentally challenged though they couldn't find anything wrong with him.

No one thought that selective mutism would show up in an infant.

When he was old enough to understand what normal meant, Rasa was assured that it does not, by any means, make him boring. He could be perfectly normal and perfectly happy. His father believes that he'll become a "fine shinobi" someday and his mother wants him to take over the family business.

Rasa is his parents' only child.

He lives with his mother and his father...and…

And one other person.

He's not sure who the other person is, having only caught a glimpse of a dark brown yukata and amber eyes just once at age three. Like any other curious child, he asked his mother on the identity of the mysterious figure.

When his brother was born, Isago was told to stay away from him by his mother. So Isago resigned himself to watching over his baby brother from a distance. His affection might not be welcome, but Isago has no other family. He only has his brother, and one day, that may change as well.

Rasa's mother pursed her lips, eyes closed off and grim, she told him that it would be better off if he forgot what he saw. Asking his father yielded similar results, but the man had the tact to distract him with new toys to play with. Rasa soon forgot about the stranger that also lived in his home. He was, after all, only three. He had no reason not to trust his parents, and both of them told him it was nothing to worry about.

Rasa is his mother's beloved child, his father's pride.

The lady next door asked after his brother on Rasa's sixth birthday.

Rasa doesn't have a brother.

But the story that Chise-baachan weaves of a dark-haired boy with amber eyes is compelling. How his "brother" got apprenticed to a famous jonin of the fuinjutsu corps, how he was a prodigy that comes once every generation.

And would Rasa follow in his footsteps?

Rasa tilts his head quizzically for a moment, wondering if Chise-baachan has gone senile. But a memory from the time he was three comes back to him.

Dark hair.

Amber eyes and silent footsteps.

The one room in the house he is never allowed to go, how sometimes if he strained his ears, he could almost believe someone was on the other side of the door.

His big brother.

Rasa nods.

Isago found himself apprenticed to Bakuha no Harue, soon all of his time was spent away from the house and the people in it. He couldn't bring himself to care, his nightmares had created more tension with his family. They weren't the only ones relieved to see him go. Isago didn't want to spend his days sitting in his room silently anymore.

Rasa entered the academy without much fanfare, but his teachers would always compare him to the elder brother he'd never actually met. A sense of pride burned softly in his heart while jealousy simmered in the darkness around it. Rasa wasn't average by any means, but somehow no matter what he did, he couldn't catch up to his brother. The brother that never bothered to meet him, though Rasa knows it has something to do with his parents' actions.

But his parents were lovely people, so it had to have been something that his brother did. However, that didn't mean Isago had to avoid everyone, did it?

Didn't Isago care about him at all?

Sometimes, if Isago is tired enough, he can forget that Rasa is his brother. He hasn't met the younger face to face yet, but every time someone tells him how talented Rasa is, Isago can't help the pride from choking his words. Yet even so, anger and resentment always manages to wither his good mood. Why couldn't he have been the one that his parents loved? Isago knows the answer, but he can't fix his own broken soul. So he tries to forget, maybe then his questions would stop hurting.

Rasa meets his elusive elder brother properly for the first time in training ground thirteen by chance. He's hiding from Yashamaru after accidentally insulting Karura. He watches the stranger flow through katas quickly and efficiently, entranced by the fluidity and grace. Amber eyes make contact with his own brown ones and he freezes.

He remembers those eyes. Tongue tied up and utterly unprepared for the situation though he had been agonizing over it for years, Rasa could only manage a weak whisper,

"Nii-sama?"

Charcoal colored brows scrunch as Isago's eyes narrow. Rasa barely takes one step out of the shrubs he ensconced himself in before his brother shunshins away.

The first time that he officially met his younger brother that wasn't from watching Rasa on rooftops and finding the best way to navigate the house without coming into contact with anyone is in training ground thirteen. Isago had been ordered to work on his katas by Harue-sensei. He hadn't expected a visitor, so he ignored the Academy student lurking in the desert shrubs with faint amusement.

That is until the shrub called him "nii-sama" with a familiar voice.

Isago couldn't bring himself to stay any longer after that, though the memory of unhappy brown eyes remains seared in his mind.

Dinner that night is awkward as he rains question after question on his unhappy parents.

Why didn't they tell him he had a brother?

Why does his brother hate him?

What does his brother like?

Where is Isago when they should be eating together as a family?

Wh—

"That monster will never join us at this table," his mother grinds out, face stormy, "We've been more than generous by allowing him to stay here. Never speak of him again, understand?"

Rasa turns to his father, hoping the man would object but finds his mother's anger mirrored,

"You should listen to your Okaa-san, she knows what's best for you."

His relationship with his parents becomes strained after that. Rasa keeps his mouth shut, but can't help wanting to understand. What had his brother done to warrant such hatred? Everyone else only had good things to say.

That night, he couldn't sleep from the turmoil tearing through his mind. A soft rustle by his door draws his attention.

"I'm sorry."

Those are the first words Isago ever spoke to his younger brother. The syllables that fall from his mouth are heavy but not heavier than his guilt. He had heard the argument that went on downstairs at the dinner table. Isago knew that if he stayed, he would end up driving his family apart. While he had been barely spending any time with them, it was time that he left for good. He couldn't deprive Rasa of his parents, Isago wouldn't put his younger brother through the same hell as him.

It's ironic how his first words to his brother is an apology…

And a goodbye.

When Rasa reaches the door and yanks it open, there is nobody in the hallway.

Y'all had enough angst yet? Isago's family situation is messed up.

Bakuha means all that goes "boom". Which fits Harue because she likes blowing things up, a lot.

And we also introduce his younger brother, I wonder if any of you saw that one coming.

Mizu