He was kind and generous. He was respectful and polite. He was compassionate and viewed life as something not to be taken lightly, regardless of who it belonged to. He was Hidan, or so many believed at first sight of him.
Growing up in Yugakure wasn't quite so easy for Ai, the younger twin brother of Hidan, who the world would come to know as an infamous rogue ninja and member of the Akatsuki. Ai's brother, Hidan, having a tendency to be abrasive and crude, especially in delicate situations, was always in contrast to Ai, who was the gentler of the two, much to Hidan's annoyance, which he never failed to express how much it annoyed him in the form of physical violence towards his brother.
There was such a great difference between the brothers in personality and behavior, that Hidan himself, at times, had a hard time believing Ai to be his actual blood brother, with their sharing the exact same face being the only thing to convince him otherwise.
"You're such a wussy, Ai! And you got a girl's name, you pathetic piece of crap!" 12 year old Hidan yelled as he kicked dirt into Ai's eyes, who lay on the ground shielding himself after his older brother shoved him down.
"When are you gonna man up and stop. acting. so. damn. girly!" Hidan spouted as he heightened his effort in abusing his younger sibling.
"I'm not girly, Hidan! I just don't think it's right to be mean!" Ai yelled as he continued to defend himself from his brother's assault.
"Oh yeah? Then why do you wanna be a ninja? You think ninja's aren't mean!? They kill people and that's as mean as you can get!" Hidan asserted to his brother asAi began to pick himself up and dust himself off, with Hidan having ceased his attack on him.
"Just because they have to kill people sometimes doesn't mean they're all mean people!" Ai said as he started to tear up.
"You're never gonna be a real ninja with an attitude like that. You have to be ruthless and willing to kill any and everyone! That's what ninjas do!"
Ai wiped his eyes and looked at his brother's disapproving face.
"I can't believe you'd cry after something like that, Ai. I barely touched you and here you are being a girly sissy! When I grow up, I'm going to make sure no knows you're my brother, because I'm going to kill you or mess your face up bad enough so we won't look alike anymore!"
"You're a jerk!" Ai scream as he lunged at Hidan, who he felt had finally crossed a line.
The two brothers struggled in the dirt for awhile, until eventually, they both became worn from their fighting.
"Haha, I knew something like that would rile you up, Ai." Hidan said with a huge grin on his face, as he lay flat on his back, still tired from his tussle.
"Consider it a big brother's love." He continued. "I had to do something about that prissy personality of yours. So, I said something to make you angry enough to finally get some fight out of you. Now, whenever you need to, you can use that to help you out."
Ai was slightly confused at his brother's words.
"W-what do you mean, Hidan?" Ai spoke still wiping tears from his eyes, as he sat up near to his brother.
"You don't get it? Okay, let me explain. Since you act so nice about everything, whenever you need to get mean like a real ninja, just remember what I said to you, and you can get angry enough to fight like a real man!" Hidan stated boldly.
"So you said that to ... help me be a better ninja?" Ai asked, shocked at this revelation.
"Yeah, of course. I know I pick on you and call you names like crybaby, girly, wuss, and stuff, but you're still my younger brother, so I kind of have to help you. If you're going to be a ninja, I have to make sure you can defend yourself and don't get yourself killed."
Ai felt, in an odd way, that this was Hidan's way of truly showing he cared for him, and so instead of rejecting his brother's words, he embraced them.
"Thanks, Hidan. You're a great big brother."Ai smiled cheerfully.
"Yeah, I know. Just don't go back to being a sissy on me, okay?" Hidan lamented.
As time moved forward, Hidan would eventually come to leaving his village and his brother behind. He grew to bear an infamous name throughout the nations as a rogue ninja, as an international criminal, and one of the more merciless members of the Akatsuki, though not by much. And while Ai felt a certain sadness from hearing just how far his brother's desire for bloodshed had come, he felt this was sadly unsurprising, and yet he still held a certain love for Hidan, that he knew only he could understand being his twin, and being someone, the only one, who remembered his brother's caring side.
Ai soon came to leaving his own village much like his brother did, seeing that it no longer was a hidden village. He did so with permission to maintain his duty as a ninja and offer his skills to whoever contracted him or whichever village would take him in; however, many in his village, those who adored Ai, were against his departure. And though he would not heed their words, he understood their reluctance. Having the same face as his brother Hidan would be something that could turn into a heavy burden upon Ai. Notwithstanding, Ai didn't feel it right to give up his duty as a Shinobi, altogether, nor believed it fair to leave it all behind because of his brother's crimes within the ninja world, and he instead would simply seek somewhere else he could live without the shadow of his brother hanging over him.
He knew it would be an uphill battle, seeing none outside of the village even knew Hidan had a brother, so weren't likely to believe he was his twin, and thus, making it also likely he'd have to face many who sought his life for things his brother had done. But, Ai was prepared to face it all.