Ashura's Big Brother
Summary: Ashura has always admired his big brother: Indra's strength, his talent, his grace, his beauty and elegance... He doesn't take it so well when one of his friends shows the same admiration.
A/N: Ashura is a bit unsure of what his brother thinks of him in this one. Indra doesn't care about the stares he is receiving (this is the patriarch of the stoic and always popular and ogled Uchiha we're talking about here). Hagoromo is just confused by his younger son's animosity towards one of his newer friends and what his elder's got anything to do with it. Brotherly fluff. A rather pointless fic I got stuck in my head and just decided to go with it. An experiment, if you will. I still hope you enjoyed it! Please leave a review!
Ever since he could remember, Ashura knew he admired his older brother Indra more than anything else in the world, even their father, the Sage of Six Paths. There was just something about the older Otsutsuki brother that was made for admiring and Ashura always knew he wasn't the only one aware of this.
Otsutsuki Indra was a very handsome teenage boy of fifteen summers. He had long, thick, wild brunet hair that rivaled chocolate in its color and slightly paler skin than his younger brother or father. His features were sharper than Ashura's but slightly softer than Hagoromo's, yet the older Otsutsuki brother could look ten times scarier than their father if he glared. He was tall for his age and of a great built. His face looked very mature with the lines running down from his eyes towards his mouth at an angle with his aristocratic nose. He always looked immaculate, not a strand of hair daring to be out of place. His clothing was always clean and tidy and he never reeked, not even after long and intense hours of training; he always washes off before joining the rest of the world.
Indra was also incredibly smart. He was the prodigy of the two Otsutsuki brothers, needing very little time to learn something new that their father - or occasionally, their Uncle Hamoro - would teach them. People often wrongly assumed that Ashura got depressed when he realized just how much better his brother was and always tried to cheer him up whenever Indra was asked to demonstrate something cool he had recently learned. In truth, Ashura was the one looking forward to seeing it the most. After all, he greatly admired his brother.
Indra, despite not showing it to anyone but Ashura, was very kind. He was always gentle towards the younger Otsutsuki brother, helping him with his training and studies and always making sure he didn't hurt himself. He was caring and always listened to Ashura's problems, if the boy ever had any. He didn't care if it was a stupid matter or not. Indra was also an animal lover. Not of animals like dogs or something like that. Indra liked exotic pets, such as hawks and crows and that tiger that one time. But he still played with Ashura and his puppy.
And Indra was popular. Very, very popular. With almost everyone. Because of this mysterious air he had around him and his often times seemingly cold attitude, people seemed infinitely drawn to him. He would walk down the streets and everyone would turn to stare at him. Rare few dared come speak to him, since he always gave off this "stay away" vibe and it was intimidating. Even Ashura had difficulties approaching him on his bad days, too shy and too reluctant to further upset his brother. However, Indra always welcomed him with gentle eyes even if he lacked a smile. His good looks earned him many fans, mostly girls, while his skills earned him envious rivals and admirers. Indra never paid them any mind, not at all caring about their ogling. He got used to it after a while, since he had always been receiving these stares. If he looked at someone, they would squeal and faint, earning a twitching eyebrow from the heir of the Otsutsuki Clan.
His popularity grew when he activated his Sharingan, eyes as red as blood with three swirling tomoe around his pupil. Everyone wanted to see them, wanted to have an excuse to be close enough to the prodigy to touch him. But his eyes were unnerving to most that see them. Their father's eyes, the purple concentrated-circle patterned Rinnegan was forgotten as the creepiest eyes ever and were topped by the Sharingan. For a while, people looked fearfully st Ashura, fearing the day he, too, would get such s creepy gaze. But Indra encouraged him to ignore their stares, he told him they were jealous. And they really were, but Ashura knew it wasn't because of a power he knew he probably will never receive, but rather because he got to hold his brother's hand. These occasional gentle gestures from his brother towards him won him back the fans he hadn't really missed and girls started fawning all over him again. He was fifteen and would soon be perfect for marriage, not to mention how handsome he was and from what powerful family he came from. At least he won't have trouble finding a bride, as there were more than enough willing girls in their village.
Ashura grew used to his brother's popularity. He was used to walking down the street only to see people flocking to Indra's side, wanting to get his attention. He grew accustomed to sharing his brother with all these people. He knew he couldn't do anything about it without seeming unnecessarily rude and shaming his brother and father and he knew Indra couldn't do anything about it for the same reasons. So he knew he had to pretend he was okay with sharing his brother while, in truth, it actually bothered him quite a bit. Indra knew this and Ashura knew that Indra knew it and Ashura knew that Indra knew that Ashura knew that Indra knew about it. The younger brother felt himself getting confused and completely off topic. So yes, Ashura was a bit possessive of his older brother and Indra had no problem with it. People didn't realize it and they didn't even want to pay attention to it if they did notice it.
So for years, Ashura would pout whenever his brother had to entertain important people with Ashura tugging at his robes and people glaring at him for trying to distract Indra. Hagoromo would eventually come and excuse both his sons and it would be Indra who picked up his brother and entertain him for a while before he was pulled back into the crowd again. Ahsura put up with it and learned to protest in a more acceptable way, but this time ... this time, this kid was crossing the line.
It had been a nice evening that Hagoromo had decided to throw a celebration during the winter festival. Indra and Ashura had to attend, like every other time. And everything was going the same as it does every other time. Only this time, a new kid Ashura's age, a few months older, was there with his other friends. They were having a good time, running around a little and playing a small, harmless prank here and there. It was all fine until they became just a little too noisy and Hagoromo sent Indra to quiet them down. Hagoromo had once wasted his time with trying to get them to quiet down, only resulting in getting pranked himself or something similar, until he learned that his older son was, for some reason, idolized by Ashura and his friends and he just sent Indra to deal with them.
And indeed, Indra's very presence made the kids suddenly very shy and quiet. Ashura apologized and promised they'd be good, getting a pat on the head from his older brother before the fifteen year old left to resume with the annoying small talk that made his Sharingan impossible to hide because they always angered him one way or another. Ashura's friends just stared after the older Otsutsuki in the never changing awe as he walked away, but the new friend didn't know Indra yet and he was instantly taken in by his appeal. Like many others before him. Yet this is the first person that Ashura felt he needed to keep away from his brother.
Ever since that night, the boy kept coming to the Otsutsuki Mansion almost every day and would stay there the whole day, trying to catch the older brother but mostly being stuck with Ashura and Hagoromo. After all, Indra wasn't just a genius, but a perfectionist and a work addict. Their uncle, Hamoro, always said that the older son had picked up all of Hagoromo's deadliest traits, including his eyes and those workaholic tendencies. Only Indra didn't drive himself into the ground. He knew his limits. But he still stayed out far later than the boy was allowed to stay and so the kid would have to leave and come back the next day, only Indra left pretty early in the mornings, too, unless it was some special day, like a holiday or someone's birthday.
Hagoromo didn't mind him being there, until Ashura started acting out. It was nothing major, but he'd throw in some strange but slightly mean comment - only slightly, since Ashura didn't really have a mean bone in his whole body - and then the boy, recognizing the slight, would start fighting with him until they were ready to attack each other. Hagoromo didn't understand how his usually gentle and peaceful son could turn so aggressive around this one boy. But he couldn't forbid the boy from coming around again since he was the only son of one of their new allies, an overprotective single father whose other two kids and wife died the winter before due to some deadly flue. The man had important connections to the sea and the fish they could buy from the seaside villages was doubly cheaper with their connection to him. So he tried reprimanding them both, each and every day, before something finally gave.
Ashura was naturally an emotional child. Those who were envious of Indra often said that Ashura was nothing else but all the emotions Indra removed from himself and made a physical form for. Those people usually ended up doing embarrassing things under Indra's eyes' influences and making Ashura - as well as everyone else - laughing at their expenses. The point was, Ashura was rather sensitive. Especially if someone were to say his brother didn't love him but rather just put up with him because he had to. Hagoromo had politely asked the boy to leave and, with a sniff and a rather rude declaration that he will come wait for Indra again tomorrow, he had left.
Hagoromo then went in search for his younger so, finding him locked up in his room and hearing him crying his poor, little heart out as soul wrenching sobs escaped the short haired brunet. The Sage tried getting Ashura to either come out or let him in, but Ashura just kept sobbing until he cried himself to sleep. Running an old hand through his slowly graying hair, Hagoromo went back to the living room, waiting for either one of his sons to join him. Hours later, one did. Needless to say, Indra was not pleased to hear about his baby brother's treatment and told Hagoromo - not so nicely - that he'll get rid of that kid tomorrow for the old man and that he'll take care of Ashura now. Apparently, if Indra was asked, Hagoromo had done enough damage.
And so, Indra found himself now in front of his little brother's room, not even mothering to knock as he slammed the door down with his foot. Ashura jumped up in shock from where he had been sleeping restlessly and Indra's eyes burned red when he saw the dry tear tracks on his brother's face. But he didn't let his rage take over him as, with a huff, he walked over and sat beside the younger boy on the bed. Ashura didn't look up at him even as the genius wrapped his arms around the younger.
"What's wrong?" He asked after a long stretch of silence that he wasn't at all used to from Ashura. The little brunet loved talking his ear off and, had it been anyone else, he would be dead ten times over by now. But Indra had a soft spot for his brother, no matter what the circumstances were. He didn't like this depressed aura sticking to him at all.
"Tsu-Tsubasa s-said you don't l-love me!" Ashura finally sobbed out, crying his little heart out all over again, leaning his face into his brother's chest and trying to hide from the world. "H-he s-said you only p-put up with m-me because you h-have to!"
Indra glared in the direction of that new boy's house. He didn't know anything special about him other than that he was Ashura's age, spoiled rotten to the bone and could be very mean. He now knew his name,too, and that he's soon going to be dea- Indra shook his head. No, he couldn't think like that, it'd only get him in trouble and who'd look after Ashura if not for him? Not to mention the younger would feel guilty if he got in trouble because of him.
"And what authority is he on my emotions to say such a thing?" Indra asked of his brother with an arched brow, finally getting Ashura to calm down. Still tearful black eyes looked up at his older brother as Indra ran his fingers through the short hair. "What does he know about my feelings of love towards my only and most precious little brother?"
Ashura couldn't help but grin shakily as realization hit him with those words. "None. Nothing. Thanks, nii-san." He answered as he now snuggled up to his brother with a content smile, falling asleep in an instant. The emotional roller coaster had wiped him out, despite his little nap. Indra just shook his head. He had actually thought they'd need a longer conversation for him to talk some sense into the younger, but then he realized he needed to man his father, uncle and brother up because they had the worst crap of novels lying around instead of some exciting yet intelligent books befitting their status. Indra will have to see to it, as their tastes were driving him insane. He had not just compared reality with one of those ... things some lovesick moron had written.
Hagoromo found himself confused when he saw Indra carrying his sleeping younger son into his own room before closing and locking the door. He looked at where Ashura's door should be and sighed, already wondering how much he will need to pay for the repairs done to the door and the door frame. Indra had not been gentle when he had knocked it down, after all. But he ignored it and just went to bed for the night.
The next morning, Tsubasa was delighted to see Indra waiting at the front porch with half of the Otsutsuki's house tenants watching curiously to the proceedings. They were all just as displeased with Tsubasa for the way he treated their young master so they were more than eager to see Indra rip him a new one. But Tsubasa didn't see this, nor did he see how the other two Otsutsuki were watching from within the living room, where they can take cover should Indra's explosive but rarely displayed temper get out of control. Tsubasa saw none of this, only his ideal, standing there all cool, graceful and powerful with crossed arms over his chest and a glare on his face.
Not a minute later, Tsubasa ran home crying his eyes out as Indra's cold words sliced up his little heart. Tsubasa had thought he could be mean towards others, thought it to be fun. He never knew how much it could hurt to be on the receiving end for once. And no one could be as cruel as Indra could be. He was part sadist at heart, something he apparently inherited from his grandmother. But Indra hadn't been needlessly cruel. He just used harsher words as he set the boy straight for daring to even suggest he didn't love the younger Otsutsuki. He was proud to be Ashura's bid brother and he had no qualms with setting anyone straight should they not realize it on their own.
From that day onwards, no one ever saw Tsubasa say another mean thing again and Ashura's smile rarely left his face. Indra felt rather accomplished.
OWARI
R&R