A Brother's Duet:

A Tall Tale Chpt.1

When he told me of the tournament I knew he wanted me to be there, to avenge his fallen students. How could I not? They meant everything to him. Yet there was a gnawing, restless feeling in the pit of my stomach. What had he done for me? After he met Genkai he completely ignored me, it was like I never existed. And she, she never gave me the time of day either. If I didn't know any better, which I might not, I'd say she was a bit afraid of me. Those two spent all their time devoted to each other, leaving me to train by myself. It grew to a point where I barely saw him, then to where he was always absent.

I quickly got up, brushed myself off and headed for the pond.

Hate.

Anger.

Rebellion.

Defiance.

Betrayal.

Redemption.

Murder.

All this swelled up inside of me like a hot air balloon.

Hate- what's not to see? He left me for her. He left his own flesh and blood for a woman. Sure she was beautiful, and hard not to love, but to have forgotten your own brother for love made me see red as my already boiling blood, boiled hotter.

Anger- anger follows hate. It's an aftermath, the mass of destruction after ones demise. It flowed through me like a flooding river, chilling my bones, and freezing my blood. I was angry with him for coming to me for help, for my understanding and I gave it to him. I was angry with myself too, for letting me do this. He doesn't deserve the help and understanding I practically threw at his feet.

Rebellion- rebellion, counterparts with anger. It brings out this strong desire to turn against the ones that mean the most to you. I want to tell him that I won't go with him, that I don't understand his motives. Whirling emotions cloud my mind, but the one that sticks out the most is rebellion. I don't want to go to that damnable tournament, just because my brother asked me to. Yet at the sight of his face after the destruction of his students I curse myself and move on, knowing someday I will need his help and that he might not be there...God I hate myself for these times.

Defiance- is a brother to rebellion. Funny I should compare them as brothers, seeing as they work better together than I ever will with mine. For the love of any God that's watching over me, I am the older of us, yet here I am following him around like a lost sheep. I am really that pathetic? I want to stand against him, put my foot down on the matter that I am not going to that tournament, and that he will have to deal without me, which I'm sure he can since he's proved he already has. But as any good mother has taught her sons, I am his older brother, I should be looking out for him, and God knows that I'd feel guilty if something happened to him. I am growing soft in the corners of my mind and it is slowly seeping throughout me like trickling water.

Betrayal- speaks for itself. It's as simple as that. Betray him and let him see what it is like, leave him for someone else, leave him in the dark to be endlessly wondering what is going on through that damn head of mine. Let him wonder if he'll ever see me again. But no I couldn't do that, I just can't bring myself to stoop that low, although the pleasure of leaving him behind is too great for one man, for one insane man I might add, to stand.

Redemption- is a new feeling that has yet to make a big appearance. You don't know how hard it is to control this feeling from overpowering all the rest. It's an inner struggle just to let myself go limp and follow him to the end.

Murder- ha! How I would love to skewer that perfect face of his, to watch him scream and writher in agony...to watch as blood paints with its red fingers, everything it touches. But that's the inner demon in me. Besides, I can't bring myself to skewer the only thing I have left in this miserable place they call earth.

The pond looked more enticing than could ever thought imaginable. These strings of bombs these pathetic ningens call emotions are really starting to blur everything. Without pausing to unwrap the clothing that hung about my form like a pillowcase, I started to slice through the calm waters, taking in the refreshing feeling it had. How long had it been since I had a moment of peace? Even alone I couldn't escape the torment of little demons chasing one another through my mind. I could not rid myself of these, these emotions. I was up to my neck in crystal liquid before I decided to halt. Realizing I couldn't go any farther without swimming, I took in my surroundings. I sighed as I thought of our childhood. Everything had been so simple back then. Training hadn't even crossed our mind until adolescence. Even then we stayed together, like wax to a candle. And just like the candle we had our moments where we dripped away from one another. Now the candle has burnt out, the wax gone, the wick charred.

Now my clothes swam about me, almost as if they were trying to free themselves of this burden. One by one I slowly peeled them away, save for my boxers of course...I know what you are thinking and I'm not about to fulfill your giggling thoughts. I had left my shoes a long time ago, now my clothes and I were partially free from burden. I knew I wouldn't retrieve them; they would sink to the bottom for some unlucky fisherman to catch. As for me, my burden was just beginning. At least for now I had some weight lifted. Tilting my head skyward I caught a few drops of rain. It suited me fine. Diving under I swam to a lagoon I had only recently discovered. Already a light fog engulfed me and seaweed tugged at my ankles and pulled at my legs; I swam onward. Bullfrogs let out deep, throaty croaks of understanding to one another, for the second time that day, I found myself sighing. They were happily living amongst each other...they had the comfort of knowing they were safe with each other's presence. I had no such thing, only despair, hatred, and loneliness. I shook my head sending wisps of wavy hair into my face, eyes, and mouth. I dunk my head under relieving it from wispy tendrils of hair. I had come along way, but I bore no pain, in fact I was almost sad this journey was about to end, for there in front of me was a rock, not an ordinary one mind you, but a boulder the size of a small house. Ok not so wide, but it was tall, although you only saw part of it, for it hid its mass underneath the murky depths. As I swam nearer, a wave of comfort washed over me. As I clambered up upon it I felt solitude. Here I gathered my thoughts and tucked them away for later use. But as of now, I would think of no such things, just peace.

You would think a man like me wouldn't have such emotions. You'd be surprised. What I hadn't realize was that in due time I was about to become ruthless. I was about to sell my soul to the devil for the sake of my brother and my own greed.

Now I bet you're wondering how I got out of that plant. For one thing I'm immortal, that plant, however, was not. I surprised myself. My brother didn't come, even if he hadn't submitted himself to hell, he wouldn't have come for me anyway. I believe he was disgusted with me. Who could blame him, so was I. Looking back, I thought to myself, 'what had I done? Why did I do that?' The restless, ruthless spirit that had me by the throat during the tournament, was now raging inside of me. Raging inside the plant, making its grip tighter. Flashes of murder, deceit, lies, blood, screams of agony filled my mind every waking moment. They raged on loudly, making it impossible to tell my breathing from my screaming. It took ages before I submitted myself to silence. I let those memories wash over me like waves. And soon that restless demon in me resided to dark lonely corners, never to be seen again. I was able to find peace within myself, and it wasn't easy. By doing that, the plant released its monstrous grip and I fell free. But I was terribly weak. I could hardly stand let alone walk. My voice was still shot. My throat burned of acid. Even demons had to eat, drink, pee and sleep. The only problem I didn't have was peeing, me being male of course. Sleeping while your mind raged, your throat burned, your screams of torment never ceasing, and you hunger for freedom, doesn't exactly make it easy.

Slowly I began to realize that while it may not be tasty, the plant was, after all, edible. And it did rain splattering the plant and I with liquid. There were leaves all around me so catching droplets was easy, it's when it rained that wasn't. It didn't rain enough, yet some how I survived. Maybe it was my will to live, my stubbornness, or my will to make things right, to prove to whoever, that I will get out, and make good out of all the years I wasted.

I bet you're confused. I'm looking back on my past, which was what happened before the tournament, I have jumbled my thoughts together. Some thoughts from the past and some from the present are sliding into each other. As of now I am sitting on that rock again, collecting my thoughts and getting ready to tell you the tale of a lifetime. I hope that by reading this you've changed your view on me. I know that there will be times you'll hate me, want to crush me, yet cry with me at the same time.