I thank my friend LexKixAss for the use of her twins. As always, Naruto belongs to Kishimoto.
Osamu inched his foot a fraction to the left so that his toes pointed next to Hizashi's left side instead of directly at him. His hands, raised in the standard jyuuken position, remained relaxed to the trained eye. Feint, his body said.
The corner of Isamu's mouth twitched. Gotchya.
The twins stood opposite Hizashi and were trying to figure out a way to best the clan head. Even with their skill in reading his movements, it didn't happen often. Hizashi had already done enough latent damage to Osamu's abdominal coils to warrant a visit to a med-nin later, and his brother had lost the ability to form chakra in his left arm. Altogether it wasn't leaving much room for hope that they'd win this spar.
Hizashi had suffered far less during the fight, but didn't remain unscathed. They'd nicked him three times in his right shoulder, thanks to a sacrifice move that had thrown Osamu face-first into a muddy patch of ground, and landed one solid hit to his left hip, which left him tensing his jaw each time he turned it. It was their best chance to win, and thus they weren't going to take it. Hizashi would be expecting them to exploit the weakness. In that they had a chance to surprise him.
Though they gave no signal or warning between each other, Osamu and Isamu sprinted forward at the same time, weaving back and forth to try and throw their intentions. Isamu ran in first, rounding Hizashi's left side in his false attack, while Osamu dropped low to strike at his good hip. Osamu never made it.
Other than to parry it, Hizashi ignored Isamu's feint and brought a palm strike down hard between Osamu's neck and shoulder. That was a finishing blow. If Hizashi had wanted, he could have positioned his hand closer to Osamu's neck and done serious damage to the nerves in his spinal column.
Hizashi held up his hand to stop any remaining attempt from Isamu. "You two are becoming predictable."
If half his torso wasn't currently on fire thanks to that last attack, Osamu would have been wholly offended at the idea he and Isamu were predictable, though Isamu displayed the appropriate disgust at the notion in his place.
"When one of you is a distraction, it's always Isamu. It makes your attacks obvious, especially when one of you is covered in mud and you can be told apart."
Osamu rubbed some crumbling bits of dried dirt from his face, reluctantly admonished. He'd never noticed they fought that way, and, glancing over to read Isamu, his brother hadn't either. We're getting complacent.
So it seems. Isamu huffed.
"We'll do better to vary our style more," Osamu said. "Thank you for sparring with us."
Isamu helped Osamu to his feet so they could go find a healer when Hizashi motioned for them to wait. "If you aren't too injured, there is another matter I need to discuss with you both."
Osamu quirked his brow. What did you get caught doing?
Isamu's eyes widened and his mouth twisted into a scowl. Me? I haven't been caught in months.
"You're not in trouble, if that's what you're thinking," Hizashi said, ending their silent conversation. He waved them to follow.
On any other occasion, the twins had no problem going to their clan head's office or being called to it during the course of their duties, but Hizashi rarely asked them personally. Osamu and Isamu exchanged a curious glance, hoping the other had read something they'd missed. Neither had.
Once inside, Hizashi sat down behind his desk and began searching through stacks of folders and loose paper until he found a plain black binder filled with clipped bundles of paper. He set the binder in front of him before meeting their patient gaze.
"In two weeks, all members of the clan council will be giving their recommendations on who they believe are suitable as potential husbands for Hinata. Because of the genetic problems we are now aware of, our options are much more limited." He tapped the binder. "This is every single male in the clan, within a reasonable age range, who does not carry the recessive trait. No one else is being considered."
The firmness of his tone, more like a command than a fact, made Osamu wonder if Hizashi had noticed Isamu's favoritism towards Hinata—they carried the gene—though neither Neji or Hinata had and they were far closer to Isamu than Hizashi. Osamu let his eyes flicker toward his brother. A fraction of a second to gauge his reaction, or lack thereof, as it were.
Isamu showed no outward emotion to the news, neither surprise or dejection. He was a proper, controlled Hyuuga. It wasn't as if they hadn't expected it when they learned they'd inherited the gene from their father, but it still must have been a bitter truth to Isamu. His fondness for Hinata had never fully developed into a romance, but as she turned more into a teenager than a child, Osamu had noticed touches of affection in his brother's eyes.
"The rest of the council will be choosing candidates based on their suitability for the clan," Hizashi continued. "That doesn't mean they will necessarily be a good match for Hinata. I rather loathe to admit it, but I'm out of touch with the branch family. Most of these people are nothing but names on paper to me. So I'm passing my choice to the two of you."
Neither twin attempted to hide the shock that left them dumb before their uncle. After a moment, Osamu managed to say, "Hizashi-sama?"
Hizashi made no mention of their confusion other than to let slip a quiet chuckle at their expense. "You know Hinata and you know the people in this clan better than anyone. I don't want to see Hinata settle for whoever is as best for the clan. Even Hiashi and Atsuko developed feelings for each other in time, and if that is all I can offer Hinata in this ridiculous situation we've been put in, then I want to be certain the potential is at least there. So I'm asking you, as people who care for her, help me choose someone she can live with."
Osamu turned to his brother, but Isamu didn't return his gaze. Isamu remained still, eyes on the black binder, and a dimple formed in his cheek as though he were biting the inside of his mouth. It was best they got home where Isamu could show his emotions in private before it all became too much to control.
Osamu stepped forward and picked up the binder. "You have our word, Hizashi-sama."
They exited the office in silence, Isamu in front of Osamu, and walked with as much haste as they could without appearing to rush through the house. Once free of the building, decorum was replaced by speed. They ran home, and Osamu was relieved that no one else was there. They were at the awkward age between living with their family still and moving out on their own. The twins had spoken before about moving out and getting a place together, but necessity hadn't been a factor, so they'd remained as they always had. Complacency was becoming one of their great weaknesses.
In the safety of their house, the emotions Isamu had controlled so well fought for control of his face. A wry smile curled his lips and he shook his head, disbelief and humiliation dominate.
"He wants us to find her a husband." Isamu ran a hand through his hair and kicked the bottom of the kitchen chair out from the table so he could sit. "I believe this counts as irony."
Osamu set the binder on the table and pulled another chair out so he could face his brother. "We knew that they were going to be finicky with anyone who carried the gene."
"I know. It's not like I imagined being with her, but . . ."
"You felt," Osamu finished for him. Leaning forward, he gently pulled Isamu by the neck until he heard the soft clink of their metal forehead protectors connecting. "It's not wrong to feel."
"But it can be stupid," Isamu said, though he didn't pull away.
"Nah, just human. Until now there'd always been a bit of hope. Not much, but you don't need much to keep going."
"And now we get to go through all the people who do have a chance. Oh joy." Isamu rolled his eyes and separated from his brother. He flipped the covered of the binder open with more force than necessary, making it clatter and bounce on the table top, and thumbed through the bundles of paper. Each showcased a different person, some older than them, some younger. Isamu stopped at a familiar face. "Nobu! He gets considered? He can't stand the main family."
"Whoever said the clan was fair," Osamu said, though it was difficult to keep the sarcasm out of his voice.
Isamu shook his head. "Why did I have to end up liking Hinata-sama?"
"Us? We were bound to end up with Hyuuga women, you just set your sights too high." Osamu might have been joking, but it wasn't the same taunting he normally reserved for his little brother's crush. Now wasn't the time.
Bitterness seeped into Isamu's gaze, an old expression that had come and gone from both of them over the years. A longing neither of them talked about. But instead of letting the thought pass as they normally did, Isamu allowed it linger. Osamu's body straightened, causing Isamu to take notice. The brothers stared at one another, not in silent communication, but with a nervous anticipation that traveled through their bodies like lightning waiting to crack across the sky.
"We might have a chance for more than Hyuuga women if we didn't work for the clan," Isamu finally said.
Osamu shifted uncomfortably. "It looks like we're going to talk about this."
"Maybe it's time we did. It's not like we haven't both been wanting to do more than guard the compound every day. Maybe it's time we asked to return to duty."
"We had very good reasons for leaving."
"We did, for thirteen year olds too close to be separated. But it's been six years since then. We've grown up. I want to think we've matured a bit, too."
"That's a tall order for us," Osamu said with a skeptical expression crinkling his face.
Isamu laughed. "True, but miracles do happen."
Propping his arm up on the table, Osamu leaned his head against his hand and closed his eyes. If they were going to bring up a subject neither of them wanted to admit to, he would consider it with nothing less than honesty, which was hard to do with someone reading his feelings before him.
Isamu wasn't wrong. They both had been wanting something more than their current situation. They missed the action and uncertainty of going on missions. In a way, they even missed their teams, or perhaps the idea of a team, of working with other people who didn't all look like them. In the first few years after coming to the clan, that longing was easily overpowered by knowing they were together. They could blame it on being twins or on their skill with insight, but whatever the reason, they were too bonded to separate back then.
Now? Now was . . . not back then. The desire for more came often and was not as easily squashed, especially after Suna's attack on Konoha. It was the first real action they'd had in years, and as horrible as the event was, it reminded them what they were missing. Neji and Hinata didn't help either, seeing what they were accomplishing, how close they'd become to their teams. Osamu had never regretted staying together, but he did regret not being able to embrace that time of his life.
Osamu opened his eyes again and looked at his brother. There was what he saw and what Isamu truly wanted. He needed to know the latter. "Tell me what you think."
Isamu closed the binder and pushed it away. He didn't answer immediately, and in his gaze Osamu could see the same self-analysis he'd gone though. "I don't want to lose working with you, but I'm tired of our friends not even bothering to ask us how we've been, because they know it's the same as before. I'm tired of training but never using my skills. I'm tired of being an observer, and . . . and I think I'm willing to pay the price to change that."
Osamu took a moment to absorb what his brother had said. When they were first made chuunin and came back to the clan, they believed that was it. They were together and that was all that mattered, but as he got older, Osamu knew deep down that one day being together wouldn't be enough to actually keep them together. It seemed Isamu had reached that point, but had Osamu?
When he looked at his little brother, he knew it didn't matter if he was ready or not. A sour expression remained on his mirror's face, without even an attempt to hide the disappointment and loss of hope that had given Isamu's grievances a sharp kick to the forefront. Being together wouldn't matter much with one of them miserable. If Isamu needed to go back to active duty to be happy again, then they'd find a way, even if it meant a year of D-rank missions to rebuild their experience.
"All right. We'll go to Hizashi-sama and ask him to speak to Tsunade-sama on our behalf. Maybe if it comes with a recommendation from him we won't be stuck with lost pet duty."
Isamu watched Osamu's hesitation as only a twin with insight could. "Are you sure?"
"I'm your older brother. It's my job to make sure you're happy." That, Osamu realized, was the truth. He might have wanted to stay together still, but only if things could remain the same. Now that they'd spoken their feelings aloud, they were real, and that couldn't happen anymore. It had to change, and Osamu was content with that. "Besides, if we get put on different teams, we'll get to see who climbs the ranks faster. Being older, of course it will be me, but I'll enjoy seeing you try to keep up."
"Really, Aniki, don't you know that youth always wins?"
"Only with Gai." Osamu laughed with his brother. Then, quieter, he said, "But first we do what Hizashi-sama asked. We can't very well leave Hinata-sama's future up to the clan council."
Isamu tapped the table in front of the binder, his gaze low but ever attentive. "You're right. The least we can do is see she has a chance." He opened the binder and exhaled. "I want her to be happy."
Osamu smiled. Maybe they did mature some after all.
