Author's Note:
Yuuto Shigaraki = The First One for All user predates the canon name reveal.
Hisashi Shigaraki = All for One. He's two years older than Yuuto in this story.
The sands of Tatooine stung Yuuto's eyes, making it hard not to cry. He bit his lip until it bled. Hisashi was acting brave, so the least Yuuto could do was not make it more difficult for him. After all, Hisashi was the one being sold away.
Two human men wearing black stood before a wagon full of people. The ragged prisoners huddled in balls for protection from the two suns overhead. A few of the slaves glanced through the bars at the two children with looks of sympathy.
Hisashi stared straight ahead stoically. He squeezed his little brother's hand, offering what meager comfort he could. Yuuto sniffled. He was only six years old and trying his best not to cry.
The siblings' master was a winged Toydarian with a long snout and webbed feet. He took a pouch of credits from the two slavers, then said, "Take the older boy."
Instinctively, Yuuto's grip on his brother's hand tightened. Even though he knew it would do no good. Nothing could stop his only family member from being dragged away. Who knew what horrible fate might befall Hisashi? The other slaves whispered about how the Hutts killed for amusement. It could be even worse. Off-worlders traveled to Tatooine to pick up lab subjects or to slake evil lusts.
Hisashi whispered, "Listen, little brother. No matter what, promise me that you'll survive. As long as you're alive, I'll find a way to come back for you. I'll always find you!"
His words cut off as one of the men grabbed his arms and yanked him away.
The tears dripped down Yuuto's face openly now. He couldn't stop them. It was all he could do to hold back his screams, knowing if he made a scene, he'd be beaten later.
As the man shoved his older brother into the wagon, Yuuto cried, "I promise! I'll live, and I'll save you someday!"
Their Toydarian master laughed. It made Yuuto want to scream or leap for his owner's throat. But he'd promised his older brother to survive.
He suppressed a cough. Now he was on his own, he needed to be strong. If only he could become a hero who would save his big brother and all the other slaves too.
Yuuto stood before the dusty road and watched as the wagon faded into the distance. Someday, somehow, they'd find each other.
TEN YEARS LATER:
Jedi Padawan Yuuto Shigaraki had felt strange and uncomfortable ever since arriving on this swamp planet. The locals, an amphibious race with fish-like heads, kept pointing at him and whispering. The innkeeper had stared at him with her large lips hanging open until Master Yagi had cleared his throat and reminded her that they still needed their room keys.
Most embarrassingly of all, their informant who had reported sighting a Sith on this planet had taken one look at Yuuto's face, then run away screaming.
This lack of local intelligence had led to the trio of Jedi hacking their way through a swampy jungle looking for a Sith.
The humidity had all of them sweating buckets in their robes. The tall trees with purple fronds had huge roots jutting up from the ground, serving as tripping hazards. Vines with red flowers wound down the trunks. The pollen tickled Yuuto's nose. His throat already felt sore from coughing. Not for the first time, he wiped his nose off on his sleeve.
Pushing a tree vine out of his face, Jedi Master Enji Todoroki growled, "Padawan, do you have family from this planet? Because I would swear everyone we meet recognizes you."
"Absolutely not," Yuuto said. "I'm from Tatooine. A desert planet couldn't be more different from this muck hole." He shook a bit of mud off his boot. The tree cover was so thick he could barely see. Branches overhead dripped down on him, soaking his robe.
"You must have done something," Enji growled. "People are terrified of your face!"
Jedi Master Yagi frowned. "There's no need to take that tone with my padawan. We've been with him the entire time. He's done nothing wrong. This must be an unfortunate coincidence."
Enji grunted. Being stuck on a mission with Master Yagi always seemed to put him in a foul mood. Yuuto could tell Enji had some sort of bad blood with his teacher, although he had no idea the story. From what he could tell, Master Yagi was blissfully oblivious to the other Jedi's hostility.
Red light flashed through the darkness. Enji staggered backward, bleeding from the neck. If he'd been a second slower, the lightsaber would have taken off his head.
Master Yagi leapt forward to meet the attacking Sith in a dizzying exchange of blows.
Yuuto knew he should act, but he could only stare. He whispered, "H-Hisashi?"
The Sith's face was covered, but no disguise could prevent Yuuto from feeling his older brother's presence in the Force.
From under a black mask, red eyes locked with his. Then they widened with surprise.
For years, Yuuto had dreamed of returning to Tatooine, freeing the slaves, and saving his brother. He'd kept it a secret locked up tightly in his heart, since Jedi were forbidden to have attachments. But this had been the real reason he'd pressed himself so hard to become ready for the Trials while barely sixteen. Now the bottom had dropped out of his entire world.
Hisashi made a small noise, then he turned and fled into the jungle.
"Come back, big brother! Please!" Yuuto screamed. He chased after the Sith with reckless abandon, but he only succeeded in tripping and falling into a bog, then getting lost until Master Yagi found him.
Back at the inn and wearing a fresh robe, Yuuto sipped a warm cup of coffee at one of the round dining tables. It chased away the chill in his bones.
Master Yagi patted him on the back. "You must feel terrible. I'm so sorry, Yuuto."
Enji snorted and itched at the bandage on his neck. "Stop coddling the boy, Toshinori. It's his fault we lost the Sith."
"The terrain worked against us," Master Yagi said. "No one was to blame."
Yuuto whispered, "How do you turn a Sith back to the Light Side of the Force?"
Master Todoroki sneered. "You can't. Once an unworthy soul becomes snared by the Darkness, there's no escape. Evil will forever taint their destiny."
"Don't talk about my brother like that." Yuuto slammed down his mug.
"Your brother is a Sith—"
"A slave! Do you deign to remember the suffering of those trafficked on Tatooine? Who the Jedi ignore because the Outer Rim isn't important enough to matter? Hisashi didn't just wake up one day and decide to become evil for no reason! He was sold to someone who probably forced him—"
Enji said, "Then the kindest thing you could do for your brother would be to kill him in order to put him out of his misery."
Yuuto swung his fist at the Jedi Master's face.
Toshinori grabbed his arm to stop him. He whispered, "Yuuto, please."
Warm sympathy filled those words, along with the unspoken message: it would be a bad idea for him to punch a Jedi Master's teeth in right before his scheduled Trials.
Yuuto took a deep breath. "I'm going to mediate." He headed upstairs to his room before he did something that would be briefly satisfying but he'd regret later.
Behind him, he overheard Enji say, "That boy isn't fit to be a Jedi—"
Toshinori interrupted, "You went too far. Do you think what you said to him is in keeping with the compassion of the Jedi Order?"
After walking down the hallway, Yuuto pushed open his bedroom door. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the darkness. Then he saw the figure standing by the window.
A breeze rustled the curtains. Moonlight made Hisashi's face glow. Unmasked, he had several new scars. The teenager looked well-fed, but he had shadows under his eyes. He whispered, "Yuuto. I'm leaving this planet, but I had to see you. I can't take you with me. I haven't killed my master yet. But soon—"
"No, you should come with me!" Yuuto stepped forward, hand outstretched. "The Jedi will help you, protect you from this so-called master."
"Will they?" Hisashi's lips twisted into a sneer. "Or will they kill me on sight?"
Remembering Enji's words, Yuuto had no reply.
"Just stay alive, please, little brother. I'll come back for you. I promise." Hisashi's gaze burned the darkness. He leapt out the window.
"Stop, please! Even if no one else will help you, I will! You're my big brother!" Yuuto lunged forward, but it was too late. Hisashi was long gone.
Yuuto collapsed to his knees, sobbing. Master Yagi ran into the room, drawn by his screams. He took Yuuto into his arms and held him as he wept.
For the next several weeks, Yuuto ransacked the Jedi library for information on how to turn a Sith back from the Dark Side. He ought to be studying for his Jedi Trials, but Master Yagi never once chastised him. He only brought Yuuto cups of coffee late at night and tried to coax him to rest.
Unfortunately, Master Todoroki had been telling the truth about one thing: there were no records of a Sith ever returning to the Light. Each holo-recording repeated the same popular Jedi platitude: "Once you start down the dark path, it will forever dominate your destiny."
On the other hand, from what Yuuto could tell, the Jedi didn't generally try to redeem Sith. They simply killed each other on sight.
Yuuto had his nose buried in an ancient book when Enji threw open the door.
Brusquely, the Jedi Master said, "We've found traces of the Sith apprentice who was once your brother. I'm headed to the lower city to track him. Do you want to come along? Perhaps you could convince him to turn himself in peacefully."
"Of course! Thank you!" Yuuto leapt to his feet.
In retrospect, he should have asked many questions. Why was Enji telling him this? Since when had he altered his attitude toward Sith? Did Master Yagi know? But in his eagerness to see his brother again, Yuuto didn't think to question his good fortune.
Besides, he trusted Master Todoroki. Even though the master had never liked him, they were both still Jedi.
Master Todoroki led Yuuto through the lower parts of Coruscant. Buildings packed tightly together. There wasn't the slightest sign of greenery here. Litter covered the narrow sidewalk. A trash can lay fallen on its side and covered with graffiti.
They stopped at a dingy bar with an electric sign hanging crooked. Loud music blared from inside. A light rain drizzled overhead.
Enji said, "I'll stand by the back door in case he comes out that way. Otherwise, I'll leave you two to talk alone."
"Thank you so much for this chance, Master Todoroki," Yuuto said. "There's still good inside my brother. I know it."
Enji only grunted.
Yuuto stepped into the bar. Species from across the galaxy crowded around the round counter. A silver droid with eight arms made several drinks at once. Yuuto could barely see in the dim light. The music was deafening. Several men in the corner smoked. The scent drifted over, making Yuuto cough.
"Little brother?" A robed man stood up from behind the table of smokers. His hood slipped back, revealing white hair.
"Hisa—" Yuuto coughed some more, unable to speak.
Hisashi ran over. "Do you have your inhaler? Where is it?"
Yuuto felt a sudden warning through the Force. He tried to speak, to move, but his body was sluggish.
Enji Todoroki leapt through the still-open door with his lightsaber blazing. He swung at Hisashi's neck. The Sith barely blocked in time.
"Get away from my brother!" Yuuto screamed, jumping onto Enji's back and punching him.
Enji reeled. "How dare you help a Sith!"
"You lied to me! You used me as bait to lure my brother out!" Yuuto bit Enji's ear. The Jedi master howled and threw him to the floor.
Hisashi grabbed his little brother's hand. "Run!" Together, they fled out the door and down the rainy street.
They could hear Enji following after them. Hisashi yanked Yuuto behind the fallen trash can. He put a finger to his lips.
Yuuto knew a Jedi master ought to be able to sense their presence, but he also trusted that his big brother knew what he was doing. He nodded.
The Dark Side swirled around Hisashi. His eyes turned yellow. It was an unnerving sight. The hand clutching Yuuto's wrist tightened. He'd probably have bruises.
Enji ran past their hiding place.
Only after the Jedi master was long gone did Hisashi release his grip. He smiled. "I was always good at shielding."
"I'm sorry, big brother," Yuuto whispered, unbearably ashamed. The second time he'd met his brother in years, and he'd nearly lured him into a deadly trap. How would he ever get Hisashi to trust him now?
"You didn't know." Hisashi patted his head. "Unfortunately, I still don't have a safe place to stash you. But if the Jedi are willing to use you as bait or perhaps even have a hostage, it's not safe to leave you, either. I may be able to keep you by my side if I pass you off as a prospective Sith apprentice."
"No!" Yuuto jerked away. "I'm not leaving the Jedi temple. I'm certainly not turning to the Dark Side." His heart hammered. The dark shadows seemed deeper. For the first time, he became painfully aware he was a mere apprentice all alone with a Sith.
The two brothers stared at each other as the rain soaked them both. Finally, Hisashi said, "Do you remember the story of the Cursed Father and the Sacrificed Son?"
"Of course." It was a Tatooine slave legend about a famous gladiator who was thrown into the ring with his own son, separated from him as a child. The Hutts had taunted the father with the truth only after he'd killed his own son. "I always hated that story. Especially because it's probably true." Some Hutts enjoyed forcing family members to hurt each other.
"Whether factual or not, it's a tale with a warning about what the masters do to slaves. Just look at the two of us. Sold to rival gangs. Now forced to fight each other." Hisashi spread his arms wide, as if offering an embrace. "Neither the Jedi nor the Sith matter. All that matters is that we both get out of this alive, Yuuto."
Those words struck a cord deep inside Yuuto. After so many years apart, he barely knew his older brother. Such was the fate of many separated slave families. But he wanted to take a leap of faith. Tatooine culture said that family had to come first. No one else could be trusted. The bond between them was the one thing that couldn't be sold away.
But there was one point that Yuuto couldn't agree on. "The Jedi and the Sith aren't the same. The Sith hurt innocent people and the Jedi protect them."
Hisashi snorted. "They brainwashed you, didn't they? The Jedi ignore slavery on distant planets like Tatooine."
"And the Sith actively traffic in slaves. Like you. I vehemently disagree with the Jedi on many things, but you don't get to pretend that the Sith aren't even worse." Tears welled up in Yuuto's eyes. He forced them down. A small sob entered his voice. "Master Yagi saved me from slavery. He's always been kind to me."
"Ugh, at least my master never pretended to be care about me."
"It's not like that. He's not pretending," Yuuto said. "Come back to the Jedi Temple with me. Master Yagi will talk to the Council. We'll convince them to help you."
"Don't be stupid," Hisashi hissed. "A Jedi just tried to kill me! No thanks to your gullibility, I might add. You clearly don't have any influence among them. But I have enough power to protect you, if you come with me."
Guilt pierced him at the reminder of his mistake. Even so, Yuuto could only reply one way. "I can't."
Hisashi held out his hand. "You're the only one that matters to me, little brother. Come with me."
"I can't." Yuuto took a step backward.
Hisashi's hand twitched toward his lightsaber. For a moment, Yuuto feared he would be attacked. But Hisashi only said, "The Jedi will never accept me. Sooner or later, you'll have to choose." He turned and walked away.
Yuuto stood alone on the city street. Much older now than their first separation, he did not cry. But the rain dripped down his face like tears.
When Yuuto returned to the Jedi Temple, bedraggled and lost inside, he was greeted by an angry Master Todoroki and immediately thrown into a cell. Nothing was here except a bed and a toilet. Staring at the tan wall, he gritted his teeth and tried to meditate the pain away.
When Toshinori entered the room, Yuuto threw himself forward for a hug, crying, "Master Yagi!"
"It's okay. I'm here." Toshinori patted his padawan on the back. "Please tell me what happened."
Sitting on the plain white bed, Yuuto poured out the whole story.
Toshinori's frown deepened with every word. "Enji told the Jedi Council that you betrayed him and helped a Sith apprentice escape. Needless to say, he left out the part where he lied to you in order to use you as bait to kill your own brother. I'll talk to the Council. I'm certain they'll punish him and let you out of here once I explain the whole story."
Yuuto looked at his hands. "How could Master Todoroki do something so cruel?"
"Enji's first padawan was his son, and Touya turned to the Dark Side. There are some unsavory rumors…people say that Enji deliberately tried to breed a child strong in the Force and that he trained his son brutally hard. Regardless of the truth, Enji struck Touya down with his own hand. Ever since then, he's been obsessed with killing Sith." Toshinori sighed. "I think it offends him on a personal level to see you trying to save your brother, because he couldn't save his son. He wants to believe that you're destined to fail. Otherwise he wouldn't be able to justify himself."
Yuuto felt an un-Jedi-like flare of anger. "That's no reason to kill my big brother!"
"I agree. I'd never excuse him no matter what he's been through." Toshinori patted his apprentice's hand.
"Do you think I can save Hisashi?"
"I don't know. I've never heard of a Sith being redeemed. But you're brave for wanting to try. You have a good heart, Yuuto. If the Jedi chose to reject that part of you, then maybe they don't deserve you."
"Thank you." His mentor's approval meant everything to Yuuto. Master Yagi had picked him even after every other Jedi had rejected him as too weak in the Force, too sick, or too full of anger.
"I have to go." Toshinori rose. "The Council is in a state of crisis. Chancellor Tsubasa was revealed to be the Sith Lord Darth Ujiko. The Jedi are sending a team to arrest or kill him. Enji insists on going along, of course. I fear he plans to kill all the Sith apprentices, even those who might have been forced into it like your brother."
"No…" Yuuto whispered.
"I'll try to convince the Council to leave Enji off the mission. Failing that, I'll at least insist on going along." Master Toshinori headed for the door. "I won't let him kill your brother in cold blood or refuse to accept a surrender. I promise."
Yuuto failed to feel reassured. This left open the possibility that Hisashi might be killed in hot blood. But he couldn't ask Master Yagi to hold back in battle.
Instead, Yuuto waited until he was alone, then picked the lock on his cell door.
The Jedi Temple had no guards. Jedi were expected not to try to escape the holding cells because this would tarnish their honor. Yuuto found his lightsaber in a basket, then left a note for Master Yagi. He headed straight for the Chancellor's mansion.
His identification as a Jedi got him past the guards. Yuuto wandered down the ornate hallway, seeking his brother in the Force.
Hisashi found him first. He pushed Yuuto into a wall and hissed, "What's wrong with your brain? You walked into a Sith's lair and announced yourself as a Jedi! You're just lucky I bribe the staff to bring information to me first."
"Big brother!" Yuuto beamed. "I'm so glad I found you. The Jedi know about Darth Ujiko. They're coming here to kill him. You have to escape."
"I take back my earlier remark. That's incredibly useful information." Hisashi tapped his chin. "After I tell Darth Ujiko this, the old fool will finally make me his official apprentice."
"No! You were supposed to leave with me!" Yuuto cried. The reality of what he'd done caught up with him. If the Sith Lord was warned in advance, many Jedi would die. Master Yagi intended to be among that group. If he caused his teacher's death, Yuuto would never forgive himself. "Please, big brother. The Jedi are my friends."
"They've messed up your mind with their fake kindness. The Jedi are just another bunch of masters. They don't matter. No one matters except the two of us."
Yuuto leapt backward and ignited his lightsaber. "I won't let you, even if I have to fight you." His blade wavered. "If you truly care about me, then you'll stop."
"Of course I care about you. That's why I'm going to keep you safe." Hisashi's smile looked unhinged. "My vault is close enough to ready."
Vault? Yuuto didn't like the sound of that. He leapt backward from his brother's lightsaber thrust.
So they were really doing this. Playing out that horrible Tatooine legend. Yuuto felt lucky he'd already cried all his tears.
The two brothers circled each other in the narrow hallway, both silent and focused.
Hisashi moved first, charging forward. Yuuto skidded backward as he blocked with his own lightsaber. His back touched the candelabra on the wall. Nowhere to run.
Instead, Yuuto darted forward, ducking low under his brother's glowing red blade. Sparks flew as they clashed again.
Again, they circled each other. Yuuto felt a twinge of pain. He touched his cheek and found a streak of blood.
Even after all these years, he had a bad feeling he was still the weaker brother.
Hisashi charged again. Yuuto ran ahead of him down the corridor, parrying from behind. His goals had shifted to escaping the mansion and warning the Jedi Council—no matter if they expelled him for his treachery.
Rounding a corner, Yuuto slowed. Hisashi dropped low and kicked his leg. Yuuto stumbled and spun to recover.
The Force grabbed his robe and yanked him sideways. As Yuuto fell, a lightsaber bit along his shoulder and into his side. He screamed in pain.
The blow had been calculated not to go too deep, he could tell, but also to cripple his sword-arm. His lightsaber clattered to the floor. Hisashi loomed over him, his image blurry.
A voice came from a distant room down the hallway. "Ah, is that a young Jedi I sense?"
Hisashi's triumphant smile froze. This had clearly not been part of the plan.
"Bring him to me," the dark voice ordered.
Hisashi didn't move.
An invisible hand lifted Yuuto off the ground and dragged him down the hallway and through an open door.
At first glance, this room could pass for a normal chancellor's office with a desk, an orange carpet, shuttered windows, and paintings of landscapes hanging on the wall. But Darth Ujiko was seated on a ridiculously cheesy throne made from real-looking bones. His eyes gleamed Sith yellow behind his googles. He wore a black robe. His grin looked corpselike on his withered face.
Yuuto floated in the air. He tried to summon the Force to break free, but with his weaker powers, he might as well have been a kitten fighting a lion's grip.
He spat blood at the Sith's face.
Darth Ujiko easily dodged. "None of that, now." He spoke as if disciplining a pet. Raising one hand, lightning formed on his fingertips and shot forward.
Pain consumed Yuuto. The agony lanced through every part of his body and the light burned his eyes. He arced and screamed. The whole world turned red.
When he returned to awareness, Yuuto lay on the carpeted floor, tasting blood in the back of his mouth. His burn dug into his side. Even more pain twitched through the muscles all over his body. Hisashi stood between him and the Sith. Sparks danced down his fingertips. He must have redirected the lightning.
In other words, they were both in a lot of trouble. Yuuto tried rise to his hands and knees, but the icy hand of the Dark Side of the Force slammed his chin back into the ground. Darth Ujiko laughed.
Hisashi cleared his throat. "Master, please allow me to have the boy. He's strong in the Force. I'll break him into one of us." His voice had a trembling note he couldn't quite hide. "Call it a whim, a boon in exchange for my many years of useful service."
"A whim? I know he's your brother. You two look very much alike. Your Force signatures are even more telling." Darth Ujiko tapped his skull armrest. "Sith can't afford weaknesses. I'll make you a counter-offer. Kill him, and you'll finally become my official apprentice. I'll teach you the most sacred secrets of the Dark Side and how to obtain my longevity."
"It's not a weakness," Hisashi insisted. "He could be a useful tool—"
"Hisashi," Yuuto interrupted. "I'm not turning to the Dark Side."
Glancing over his shoulder, a bit of fear leaked into Hisashi's gaze. "Yuuto, don't be difficult, not right now."
"It wouldn't matter if I did, because he doesn't want me." Yuuto coughed up a little blood. "He wants to make you kill your own brother, because that sort of thing amuses him. Just like the masters in the tale of the Cursed Father and the Sacrificed Son. You can't talk your way out of this one. You're going to have to choose."
Darth Ujiko cackled again. "For the first time, I can almost see the family resemblance. I thought you must be a complete imbecile, to try to redeem my most gifted student. I know Hisashi. I know the deepest, darkest desires of his heart. He has no true choice."
"No, I don't." Hisashi stepped forward, raising his lightsaber over his little brother's head. Yuuto lay still.
Swiftly, Hisashi whirled around and threw his lightsaber at Ujiko. The Sith gurgled as he was impaled to his own chair. Lightning started to crackle around him. But Hisashi moved even faster, pulling out a vibro-blade and slitting his former master's throat.
Yuuto sat up. He was not surprised. He'd never had the slightest doubt what his brother would do. "Nice toss, big brother."
Hisashi knelt down and applied a bacta patch to the worse injury on Yuuto's side. "I hope you realize that I just blew years of plans for you."
"Evil plans, no doubt."
"And you're not even sorry about it!" Despite the annoyance in his voice, Hisashi's hands remained gentle as he treated his brother's injuries.
Yuuto rolled his eyes. "Come on, big brother, did you seriously want that guy's form of immortality?" He gestured the corpse. In death, Ujiko had wizened even further, shrinking in on himself. The knife had rolled across the floor, leaving a trail of blood. "Whatever he did turned him into a shriveled husk. You're far too vain to sacrifice your good looks."
"You're actually right. The Dark Side has some serious downsides. I've been researching Gray Jedi techniques." Hisashi applied a smaller bandage to a cut on Yuuto's cheek. "Mostly I just needed him to make me the heir to his political power and fortune before I killed him."
"I'm sure you'll come up with new schemes to obtain money and power soon, big brother."
"Easy for you to say! Jedi are sworn to poverty!"
Yuuto sighed. "Look, you're suffering from the sunk cost fallacy. Did you really want to spend more years bowing and scraping to Ujiko? If you'd killed him after becoming his true apprentice, he might even have been a little proud of you. This way, he died knowing that he'd failed to mold you into what he wanted. Just look at the pissed off expression on his shriveled old face."
"Huh, that does make me feel better." Hisashi perked up.
"Thanks for saving my life, big brother."
"Yeah, yeah, that goes without saying."
The door swung open, interrupting their conversation. Four Jedi poured in.
Unfortunately, Master Yagi was not among the group. For Master Todoroki to have arrived so fast and with such a small party, he must have left without waiting for the Jedi Council's formal orders. Yuuto winced to see Master Todoroki accompanied three of his former padawans: Moe Kamiji, Onima, and Kido. The people he'd be the least likely to be able to reason with, but he had to try.
At the sight of their lit lightsabers, Yuuto leapt between the Jedi and his brother with his arms spread wide. "Hisashi killed Darth Ujiko. He's not a Sith any longer."
"Once a Sith, always a Sith," Enji snarled. "Get out of my way, and I'll do what you're too weak to do."
"You have to believe that, don't you? Otherwise you wouldn't be able to live with the guilt. Master Yagi told me what happened to Touya." Yuuto spoke to the other three Jedi, appealing to them. "Master Todoroki is biased. Search your feelings, and you'll see that Hisashi's signature has a mixture of Dark and Light. You know he must have killed Darth Ujiko—I'm not strong enough to have done it. Surely that's enough evidence to take us before the Council, for a fair trial."
But none of the three would meet his eyes. They might have doubts about the justice of this, but not enough to defy their old Jedi master.
Enji snarled, "If you protect this monster, then you'll never become a Jedi."
"Then I quit." Yuuto picked up the knife that had killed the Sith Lord. In one swift motion, he cut off his padawan braid. He thought briefly of Master Yagi, but he knew his teacher would understand.
Yuuto threw his braid at the Jedi. Under the cover of his dramatic gesture, he stole a stun grenade from Kamiji's belt. A little trick he'd acquired during his shady childhood.
As the grenade went off, Yuuto grabbed Hisashi's arm. Together, they leapt out the window.
Glass and wood shattered everywhere. The Force protected them and softened their fall. As the two of them raced down the darkened street, Yuuto said, "I have a plan to replace the money you lost out on because of me."
"Oh?" Hisashi raised an eyebrow. "What did you have in mind?"
"First, we go to Tatooine."
"That must be a bad joke."
"Second, we start a slave revolt and destroy the Hutts."
"Now you're talking!" Hisashi laughed.
As he ran by his older brother's side, Yuuto had no regrets about leaving the Jedi. He'd never been any good at the no attachments rule, anyway.
OMAKE TIME!
Omake: Place your bets now on the winner
Yuuto: (Researching how to redeem Sith at the Jedi library.)
Hisashi: (Whistling cheerfully as he builds a Jedi-proof vault.)
#I picked a third option #This is the best possible ending for everyone #Hisashi wouldn't have liked the Dark Side ruining his good looks and Yuuto was never happy as a Jedi
#
Omake: The Origins of the Title
Author: Let's find a nice quote about family for the title this story.
Hisashi: There was this movie my brother and I both loved as a kid, about a little girl and her very cool blue alien friend. The alien was my favorite character. There was a quote in there I still remember: "Ohana means family. Family means no one gets left behind or forgotten." I try to live my life by that quote.
Author: Go away. I'm not letting you make Lilo and Stitch creepy.
Later:
Author: Hey, who changed the name of my story? All for One!
#
Omake: Jedi-isms
Toshinori: Padawan, next time Master Todoroki angers you, try telling him, "I will meditate on your words."
Yuuto: Why?
Toshinori: It's the Jedi way of saying "Go fuck yourself" and we all know it.
Later:
Enji: Your brother is an unholy abomination past all saving.
Yuuto: I will mediate on you fucking yourself.
#
Omake: How I Met Your Mother
Izuku: Dad, how did you meet Mom?
Hisashi: Well, it's a long story. (Launches into the entire tale of this fic.) And that's how I met your Uncle Yuuto!
Izuku: Uh, that was certainly interesting, and I felt quite surprised to learn some aspects about your past, but when are you going to tell me how you met my mother?
Hisashi: This was all necessary backstory to get to my first meeting with your mother. After Yuuto and I left the Jedi and the Sith respectively, we studied became Gray Force Users together. Yuuto launched his campaign to free the slaves on Tatooine, and I made certain his operations were always well-funding by robbing the Hutts blind. Since your uncle never had much of a head for politics, I generously stepped up as leader of our floating space station of freed slaves. During our negotiations for admittance into the Republic, I met Senator Inko Midoriya, and the rest is history.
Izuku: That was awfully short compared to your story. I feel like you're hiding something.
Yuuto: He is! He told you that long spiel to tire you out so you wouldn't ask for more details. He's embarrassed to admit that the first time he laid eyes on your mother, he accidentally walked out an airlock.
Hisashi: YUUTO!
#Don't worry, Inko is still alive in this AU #Everyone is happy, the end
Author's Note: This story exists because Yuuto begged me for a chance to be a Jedi. He stole Kazuki's lightsaber and wouldn't give it back until I wrote this.