Don't own Kuroko no Basuke or Naruto.

Don't own the Cover Art.

Chapter Summary: Shuuzou knew he was a disappointment to his parents, but that didn't mean he would let them drag his little brother Tetsuya into their schemes.

Firstborn

Shuuzou knew that he wasn't what his parents expected, but he refused to let their disappointment get to him. It was uncommon, but not unheard of, for mercantile clans and ninja clans to merge so that the shinobi clans had a steady source of income and the mercantile clan had more protection. He also knew that, as the clan heir, he was the most disappointing meeting of genes that his family could have gotten.

He inherited almost everything from his father: straight black hair, slate grey eyes, loud chakra (in the silence of the Kuroko clan chakra, his was like an air horn in a temple), and emotive features. In the absorption of the Nijimura into the Kuroko clan, he wasn't even dignified with their name.

He was Nijimura Shuuzou, a boy born to parents who expected so much more.

In opposition to parents who won't even look him in the eye, his grandmother, the Kuroko matriarch, was a godsend. She was petite, and absolutely beautiful in her gentle demeanor and warm eyes. He would often play at her feet, learning how to control his chakra from her when his parents proved not wanting to do so.

He spent his time between her and the former head of the Nijimura, his grandfather, learning clan politics and business techniques in equal measure. At the age of five, while he was in the Academy (a respectable age for that time, though his parents were mortified that he was aiming to be a ninja at all), his mother gave birth to the child they had been praying for.

Soft blue hair and eyes, pale skin, and chakra as soft as a lullaby; Kuroko Tetsuya was the perfect heir.

But their parents didn't see them as children, they saw them as pawns, and Shuuzou would do his best to keep his little brother safe from their machinations, even if it meant his family's hatred.

Tetsuya loved his big brother.

Even before he could walk or talk he'd loved his brother, who would sneak into his room and talk to him about all that he saw and heard, his gentle voice and chakra that sounded like a falling tree soothing Tetsuya to sleep as he gummed on a moonstone as smooth as those found in the river that Shuuzou had personally carved for him.

Their parents had tried to keep them separate and turn him against his brother, but Tetsuya never listened to them. He would totter after his elder sibling all around the compound, to his other clan members' amusement. Occasionally Shuuzou would give in and carry Tetsuya in his arms or on his back, or take him to the pond where they would put their feet in and laugh as the koi nibbled at their toes.

And then their parents would sweep in, yelling at Shuuzou and dragging Tetsuya away, ignoring their youngest as he cried and reached for his big brother. In a way, Tetsuya did indeed grow jaded and cynical, but it was toward their parents. Shuuzou did his best to keep every promise he made with Tetsuya, and the little boy loved that about him.

And then, when Shuuzou was 12 and Tetsuya was 7, the older boy woke him one night.

"I was promoted to chuunin," the elder boy whispered to him, his hands firm and grounding around Tetsuya's. He took a deep breath, and released it. "The war's not getting any better. They're sending me to the frontlines." Tetsuya felt something inside him crack at that and gripped his brother's hands tightly.

"Why?" He whispered, but couldn't finish. Why you? Why the frontlines? Why are you telling me this?

Shuuzou rubbed his head and Tetsuya realized he was trembling. "My chakra's too noticeable to do infiltration or sabotage missions," he explained, as if he had been told the same thing, and Tetsuya had a sinking feeling that that was indeed what happened. "I'll only be useful in the front distracting the enemy from our other fighters. I'll be able to come back every few weeks, but…not all the time."

"Can I contact you?" He asked, his voice leaking into desperate. "The earrings! Maybe mother or father could –"

"You know they wouldn't," Shuuzou interrupted gently, but smiled before Tetsuya could worry too much. "Grandfather, however, didn't mind at all. I got the earring before coming in here. Find a way to get it, and we'll talk then." Tetsuya nodded in agreement, and lunged forward to wrap his big brother in a hug.

"Please come back," he begged him. Tetsuya was an Academy student now, but he knew what was out there, what his brother was about to enter into.

"I will, I promise." Shuuzou murmured into Tetsuya's hair, and the younger boy put every ounce of faith into his brother's words. After all, Shuuzou had never broken a promise before if he could help it.

He wasn't going to start now.

Shuuzou sighed and lied back on his sleeping bag. He sent a pulse of chakra to the grey pearl he kept on his left ear. I'm good to talk now.

He received a reply immediately. How was the fighting today, Nii-san?

It was alright. I ended up with a puppet master from Suna, and we discussed seal making and puppetry as an art and fighting style between lulls in the fighting. He has an interesting concept of art, and I kind of agree with it on a level.

Oh?

Yeah. He said that art is eternal, lasting forever and not fading away with the sands of time. It implies a great amount of disgust towards transient things like humans, but I can understand in a way. The Nijimura were gem-carvers for generations; it's not unusual for you and me to develop an appreciation for gemstones and crystals, which last for an exceedingly long time if properly tended to. But even those fade away with time, so I don't see how anything could be eternal.

It does sound like an interesting conversation. What was his name?

Sasori I think. He lived with his grandmother and younger brother. Shuuzou shifted and had to stifle a curse as a scrape on his side throbbed at the movement, the grunt of pain rousing his tent-mate.

"Injured again? Tch, idiot." Shuuzou glared at him and took off his shirt at the other boy's impatient gesturing.

"Hurry and heal me so you can go back to your little torture tent, then. I need your griping like I need a senbon between my ribs, Makoto." The other boy sniffed and began dressing the wound, careful despite his muttered insults.

Are you alright, Nii-san? I couldn't contact you for a moment.Tetsuya sounded concerned, so Shuuzou just sighed a little and responded back, ignoring his teammate for the moment.

I'm fine; I just had to talk to Makoto for a moment.

Ah. And how is Hanamiya-san?His younger brother asked neutrally, his slight dislike for Shuuzou's old genin teammate and current partner on the field apparent.

Enjoying this war a little more than he should, Shuuzou admitted ruefully. He probably won't leave the T&I building much when we come back after this war ends.

That is disappointing to hear. I know you enjoy his company. They spent the rest of the night like that, Shuuzou talking to his younger brother miles away through their earrings, only stopping to talk with Makoto before he went to the prisoner tent.

The war ended while Tetsuya was still a genin, his brother returning a field-promoted jounin and with a few more scars on his skin and mind. But his eyes were the same, maybe a little more tired overall, but still warm and welcoming as he hugged his little brother in return.

He also returned, Tetsuya was startled to notice as a cry split the air, with a young child in his arms.

Shuuzou caught his confused look and explained. "This is Daiki. I found him and a girl his age in a ransacked village when I was looking for survivors. They were the only ones I could find. No one else was willing to take them in, so I agreed to do it."

"And where is the girl?" Tetsuya asked, curious, and Shuuzou gestured behind himself. Peeking around him, the bluenette was amused to see a scowling Hanamiya struggling to hold the infant as she pulled on his hair. She had startlingly pink hair, very much at odds with the dark blue of Daiki's hair. "And you will take them both in?" he asked as Shuuzou went to his teammate and relieved him of the child, to Hanamiya's clear happiness.

"I will. Mom and dad will likely disown me for it but," here he shrugged, "they've been looking for a reason to do that for a while now. I have enough saved up that I can afford a good apartment, and you're welcome to visit." Tetsuya saw him hesitate before steeling himself. "Or you can live with me there. It's your choice."

The moonstone he'd had since birth was in his pocket and Tetsuya smiled at his big brother, decision already made. "That sounds nice."

This will be a series of one-shots that are all in the same world. It will just be parts of their lives, so they will not be in order all of the time.

Please review.

Ja ne!