This story is about Mangetsu and Suigetsu Hozuki. I don't know much about Mangetsu, so he's probably mega-OOC, but I've become hooked on the brotherly relationship of younger Manga and Suig. So, this takes place sometime when Suigetsu is very young, probably six or seven. Just a little outlook on what their life might have been like in the very beginning. If you have any comments, don't be shy, drop a review! Concrit is welcomed, as is anything else you have for me. Now, enjoy the fluff...

Through the branches, the last rays of sun are able to trickle through. Mangetsu's gaze, which had been focused on the water-color sky for what felt like hours, shifted, landing on the figure beneath him. A small white-haired boy sat on a thick branch, legs swinging lazily as he hung his arms over the bow in front of him. In his hand was a water bottle, small and dented, with a bent straw that he kept sipping from. Mangetsu sighed.

His chest felt heavy. His throat was parched, his stomach empty, and his arms ached from the constant duress of his swinging sword. Mangetsu was exhausted, but he dared not let it show. For beneath him sat his likeness: his younger brother, Suigetsu.

"Here, Manga-chan." Suigetsu looked up at him as he passed the bottle. Mangetsu took it, painfully aware of how light it was, but he didn't say a word. Forcing a smile that became more difficult with each passing day, he took a tiny sip, making sure there was still some left if they needed it later.

"Thanks, Suig." Suigetsu scowled at the nickname, glaring up at him with a fiery look in his violet eyes, the exact same as his brother's. Mangetsu grinned, a lot less forced this time. Looking at Suigetsu was like looking into a mirror, though back in time. Their mom had always said that they were like twins, born a few years apart. Thoughts of their mother brought the weight back to his chest, and a frown returned to Mangetsu's face.

A light breeze ruffled through the foliage, blowing leaves everywhere, and he closed his eyes as the sharp sunlight peered through new openings, nearly blinding him. Through the wind, he heard a light huff beneath him, and he glanced down. Suigetsu was staring dully out into the horizon, his legs kicking in a bored way. His blade -normal sized, yet large on his small body -hung next to him, shimmering in the dying sun, swinging in rhythm with his legs.

"Mangetsu?" He asked suddenly, not looking up, and Mangetsu's frown deepened. Suigetsu had come up with the "clever" nickname 'Manga' for his older brother, since their names both ended with 'Getsu', and he found it "Too repetitive." In retaliation, Mangetsu had begun calling Suigetsu by his hated nickname 'Suig'; a name he only used when teasing his younger brother. The only time Suigetsu called him by his full name was when he wanted to talk about something serious. And after a day like today, Mangetsu was not in the mood for something like that.

"Mangetsu... How much longer are we gonna have to live like this?" Suigetsu's voice spoke with the brash childishness that was to be expected of his age, but at the same time there was a hint of what felt like condemnation in it. Like he already knew the answer, yet he still wanted to hear it spoken aloud. Mangetsu didn't reply, he just kept staring at the skyline.

How was he supposed to explain something like that to someone so young, he wondered wretchedly? How did he tell his younger brother that they might be living like this for the rest of their lives? How could he tell him that "The rest of their lives" might not even stretch past tomorrow for all he knew? Horrid thoughts like these did not belong in the mind of a child his age, much less one of Suigetsu's. 'Shield Suigetsu, protect your younger brother' were the last words he could remember his mother speaking to him, and even now he still abided to them strongly.

The two Hozuki brothers lead a life that Mangetsu was not proud of. The things they did -had to do, he told himself over and over again -were looked down on. Killing for profit, fighting for their lives each day, not knowing if they'd even live to see the next one... This was their schedule, to be followed strictly daily, no exceptions. It wasn't something he liked, and he knew, with each sniffle and whimper Suigetsu tried to hide, that his little brother hated it too. But, this lifestyle was not an option. It was necessary for their survival, and if this was what he had to do to keep them -to keep Suigetsu -alive, then he'd do it.

"Mangetsu?" Suigetsu repeated, poking his leg with a nervous tone in his voice. Mangetsu looked down, a sad smile pressed on his lips.

"I don't know Suigetsu." He whispered, the weight in his chest slipping into his voice. "Why?" It was a stupid question, one he already knew the answer to, but like Suigetsu's, it was a question he still felt impelled to ask. Suigetsu's eyes narrowed, his face scrunching up into a curious expression.

"No reason. I just... I don't like this." He murmured, his eyes soft with something Mangetsu could not define. A quiet sigh escaped his mouth, and he slid down next to his brother, watching the darkening sky.

"Neither do I," He confided, squinting against the last rays of light as they slipped beneath the horizon for the night, leaving the world in a dark silence. "But for now, we don't have much of a choice." He could almost feel Suigetsu deflate next to him, and it made his heart ache.

"Oh." His voice was tiny, soft and weak. Vulnerable. Mangetsu wished at that moment, more than ever, that there was something he could do about it, that there was some magic way to fix everything, but there wasn't. He was as powerless as his brother.

"Sorry, Suig." He murmured, and he was. Truly and utterly sorry that everything was out of their hands, that he was powerless to dictate any sort of change. Next to him, Suigetsu let out a yawn, leaning toward him and slumping against his side tiredly.

"S'okay..." He slurred, voice riddled with exhaustion as Mangetsu gathered up his sword and the bottle, slipping them into their bag. "S'not your fault." Suigetsu let out another yawn. Mangetsu could see his eyelids drooping as his head slid into his lap, body curling up like a cat's, cradled by the thick branch.

"'Sides," He muttered, his voice silent, "As long as I've still... Got you-" He was cut off by another yawn, but he continued through his exhaustion, "Then I don't really mind..." Mangetsu softened, a smile spreading across his face, unseen in the dark as the youngest Hozuki drifted into sleep.

It was times like these that made the aches and the pain all worth it. It was this that got him through the fights and the battles.

"Good night, Suigetsu-chan." He murmured, stroking the child's hair softly before leaning back against the trunk of the tree, heaving his legs up onto the branch.

"Night... Manga-chan..." Suigetsu mumbled in return.

And there, beneath the stars, the two brothers Hozuki were, for once, at peace.