As a child he didn't even notice it all that much, that stretch of skin, slightly raised like goose bumps. He'd assumed everyone had it, that it was perfectly normal.
But then summer came, and with the summer came the heat, sweltering days spent at the lake, his papa teaching him to swim. It was then that he saw the other boys, really saw them for the first time, and realized that there wasn't a single one among them who had a mark like he did.
Papa, what is that thing on my chest?
It's a seal, a leftover from something that happened a long time ago. Don't worry about it, Gai.
But why do I have that?
Because every Maito has one. Look, papa's got one too, right here!
What does it do?
It doesn't do anything anymore.
Then what is it for?
I told you, it's not for anything anymore.
Papa!
Now don't make that face…
Tell me, Papa!
Well… okay… Hmm… Many, many, many years ago when your great-great-great-great-grandfather was still a little boy just like you are now –
I'm not little!
Haha, you're right! He was a big boy, just like you! Anyway, at that time shinobi lived in clans – that's big families—
I already knew that! When does the story start?
It won't start at all if you don't stop interrupting all the time, Gai.
I'm sorry, Papa, pleeeease I really want to hear it.
Okay, so where was I? Ah, yes, clans. They travelled all over the world and sometimes they would get into fights with other clans. That's what happened to our clan. They fought a much bigger, stronger one and they were defeated. But instead of killing everyone, the head of the other clan had an idea. He used an incredibly powerful sealing jutsu on the survivors that gave his clan control over their chakra system. From then on, your great-great-great-great-grandfather and his family had to live with that clan and work for them. They weren't allowed to have any possessions, everything they'd owned they had to give to the other clan, they couldn't go anywhere without permission and they had no say in clan decisions. They were forced to live like slaves.
That's horrible!
Yes. And it went on for many years, but then, by the time your great-great-great-great-grandfather had become an old man, something had changed. You see, his children had grown up along with the children of the clan and while marriages between members of the two clans were strictly forbidden, friendships and love still bloomed despite the rules, and so when the granddaughter of the man who'd invented and used the terrible sealing jutsu became head of the clan, she decided to abolish the rules. Because there was no way for her to undo the juinjutsu as it was far too powerful -so powerful in fact that it carried over generations without having to be renewed, never even fading- she decided to destroy every piece of information regarding its use. She even told her people that using the seal was a crime punishable by death and that everyone who knew about the juinjutsu was to take the knowledge to their grave. And you know why she did that? Because she'd grown up with this other girl, you see, a girl who'd carried her pack when she was tired; a girl who'd brushed her hair every morning; a girl who'd held her when she cried, who'd kept all her secrets. That girl was her best friend, so she wanted her to be free.
Then what happened?
That's it. The head of the clan let the Maito clan go and sooner or later everyone forgot about the seal.
That's it? But… that can't be all! What happened to that other clan?
It lost some of its power and after a few more generations it was integrated into one of the newly founded hidden villages.
Which one?
Well, actually… it was Konoha.
So they're here?! The guys who beat us and stuff?!
Gai, that was centuries ago! Plus, they let us go, remember? For most other clans being defeated was the end; everyone was usually killed. If you think about it that way, what they did wasn't all that bad…
What was the clan's name? You haven't told me yet! And what happened to the head of the clan and her friend?
Hey, it's way past your bedtime already! Look, I'll tell you the rest tomorrow, okay?
Gai had been ten years old when he'd found out that the light blue symbol shimmering through the skin over his heart like a strange, malformed and misplaced vein belonged to the Hatake clan.
He'd run home from the funeral, his heart pounding furiously in his chest, rain pelting him even as his father chased after him with an umbrella.
It doesn't mean anything anymore, Gai. Kakashi-kun has no idea. Even Sakumo-san didn't know. And if he had, we'd have laughed about it and that would have been it.
Why didn't you tell me?
It's not important, Gai. The past doesn't decide who we are.
…He beat me. Every time. I can't defeat him. We never could beat them, right? Is that… Is that thing… Is that why we can't use ninjutsu or genjutsu?
…
Tell me, father!
Gai… now's not the time.
…
Don't blame Kakashi-kun. He needs your support now more than ever.
He doesn't want me to be his friend. He doesn't even want to be my rival! He thinks he's better than me!
And he is. Gai'd thought it back then, he'd thought of Ebisu talking endlessly about family trees and clans and bloodline limits and how they defined a shinobi's life, how you could tell who'd be legendary and who wouldn't, sometimes even before they were born.
"Every Sarutobi is Hokage-material, that's a fact."
That voice had been in his head and pushing against the inside of his eyeballs was a picture of Tettsui-sensei retying his hitai-ate over the mark on his forehead.
"As a Hyuuga I know exactly where my place is. For better or worse."
Gai, however, had balled his fists and squared his shoulders. He'd thrown himself against the tide. Fate. He'd bite off his tongue before he'd say the word.
He'd beat Kakashi, and when he did, the mark would fade.
Gai was sure of it.
A.N.: New thing, soulbond-y kind of shit. Inspired by a naruto_meme prompt I really hated, hence I'm anti-filling it here. I'm not sure about this yet. Might not go anywhere. I'm only going to do this as long as it's at least vaguely fun for me.
