Floor to ceiling windows let in abundant sunlight inside the elegant, massive and private greenhouse with a black marble pool decorating the center. Different sized white and orange-colored koi fishes idly chase each other in the clean water, sometimes butting their heads for scraps of food. The well-maintained trees branch around like a green maze, stretching from the clean pool and following the borders of the stone-paved roads. It's truly a garden to admire but the young messenger hurries along the stone-paved grounds, not sparing a glance at the hand-carved, skillfully lacquered wooden statues which are all shaped like the legendary three-legged crow.
After all, he proudly carries his crow, wings spread, right over the skin of his chest. Although, he feels like his heart beats so fast that the crow tattoo could carry away his erratic heart with its powerful wings at any moment.
The messenger, a young teen with quick feet, doesn't make a single noise until he reaches the sturdy bench where a well-dressed middle-aged man stands. He waits to be acknowledged by his boss who keeps pruning a beloved bonsai tree, not sparing a glance to his sweating underling until he finishes caring for the bonsai.
The last weeks have been nothing but frantic digging and careful-walking-on-eggshells. The whole organization didn't leave a stone unturned to find Yamada-sama's killer and yet, with all their resources, money and threats, they only had speculations and no hard proofs. Of course, Oyabun-sama is the person most affected by the loss of his blood and the blatant move against his authority. If Yamada-sama wasn't avenged soon, other yakuza clans will question Oyabun-sama's power as head of the clan.
It's a matter of honor.
"Report."
The boy swallows and wills to stop his trembling hands. It doesn't work. "Rumors, Oyabun-sama."
The absolute leader of the yakuza clan glances over his broad shoulder, his handsome face, carved with aging lines, is more prominent with his displeased frown. "Weeks." He spits the word, making the young boy flinch and almost swallow his dry tongue. "My nephew has been tortured, his corpse left on a highway to rot and all we have are rumors?"
The cold fury in his tone is backed by even colder blue eyes and the messenger bows as an excuse to hide from his boss's unforgiving gaze.
"Our organization must be filled with incompetent morons! Are you pathetic nobodies aware that it's your heads that will roll if I'm not presented with the actual killer?"
"E-every rumor has an ounce of truth." Under the uncontrolled and justified anger of his Oyabun, the boy shakes like a leaf readying for fall. "And we 3 witnesses."
"Tell me." And that's an order he must obey if he wants to keep his head attached to his shoulders.
"We know that Yamada-sama was last seen at the Green Lotus." The boy slowly straightens his spine. The Oyabun hasn't moved a muscle and the way he looks at the messenger makes him feel like he's a disgusting bug second away from being squished. "The b-bartender heard Yamada-sama speak of, he told him about a white man. T-this man had a gun. Roughed him up a-along with Shizu-san. They, uh, also mentioned a blonde woman." He's rambling like an idiot and fear of retribution just makes his shaking even worse.
"The identities?" the Oyabun interrupts, patience wearing thin. "Who are they?"
"We don't know yet!" Blue eyes narrow and the messenger hurries along with his soul moments away from leaving his sweaty body. "We managed to backtrack Yamada-sama's trail to, ugh, to the Sumi district. A prostitute remembers s-seeing Yamada-sama and Shizu-san. They were very drunk, swaying and swearing lot and – and running from someone."
"Sumi district is Root territory." The pruning shears glint as the boss leans over the well-groomed bonsai. At this point, the young boy looks through his trembling lashes, shoulders hunched and head down while warily eying the sharp blade. "If my idiot nephew pissed off the wrong person then every single resident will be tight-lipped." A deep, careful inhale. Then, the boss slowly lowers the pruning shears onto the glass table. The sound sharply cuts between them and the messenger starts praying for a God he doesn't believe.
With an angry growl, the Oyabun throws the pruning shears. The tool sinks half-deep into the wooden statue near the young boy. Inches away from his cheek. The messenger feels light-headed, the room brighter and the sounds drowned by his drumming heartbeat. Warm blood, his blood, trickles down his pale cheek. His death would be a casualty from the anger his boss is radiating like a flame.
"The third witness?"
The messenger is so busy praying that he almost misses the question. The young boy snaps to attention fast enough for whiplash and his spine screams from the tension as he bows again. The expression on his boss indicates that he won't repeat his question.
"One of our dealers," The teen swallows nervously, wiping his sweaty hands on his ripped jeans. He makes an effort to slow his speech to avoid stuttering. "Found Yamada-sama's cufflink near a certain store. A white man runs it. O-one of Root. We asked him to scoot the area and – and our dealer, he said that a blond woman comes and goes –"
"My nephew," the Oyabun begins, slowly peeling his gloves off. "Was killed by a professional, no proof, no motive, no witness. Nothing. If you ask me, one too many coincidences are enough."
The messenger swallows nervously. Cold sweat gathers over his pale forehead as he waits for the order.
"Find the girl and send a warning."
"On a scale from one to ten how pissed off are you?" Shin asks. Ino depicts the same childish, joyful note that Shin uses from time to time. That man changes his mood faster than a pregnant woman with a craving and body image issues.
Sai is silent and still. Ino wants to peek around his frame and look at Sai's expression, burning with the curiosity to know but also hesitant to leave her meat shield against Shin. She can't guess at what the tattooist is feeling by staring at his broad back but Ino is going to take what she can.
"Forty-eight."
Shin whistles. "You don't pull back your punches Lil-bro."
"Okay, this is getting ridiculous." Ino declares stepping out of Sai's shadow as her fear get shoulder checked by irritation. Both siblings turn to look at her tall frame. The blank expression on their face indicates how they forgot about her in the first place. Wrong move. "I'm right here, boys and as much as I don't care about your pissing contest or boy club secrets –"
"You don't care about secrets?" Sai has the balls to look half-amused. Ino almost wishes he has his indifferent mask back on. Almost. "Ino you can't stand being left in the dark. You're too curious for your own good."
Baby-blue eyes narrow. Well, he had a point there but. "Excuse you, can you not interrupt my monologue?" Shin snickers like the preschooler he is and the glare Ino send his way only makes him cackle more. "Like I was saying before I was rudely interrupted. Something is definitely going on around here and while is none of my business to stick my nose into it, I believe I poked around too many times to turn back now."
Sai's eyes are unreadable but Ino does her damned best to find a flicker of anything. She can't draw her own conclusions without Sai giving her something to speculate on! Their last fight is still fresh in her memory so Ino starts from there.
Just when Ino thought they were getting somewhere, Sai backed off again.
You want more and sincerely, Ino, I don't know if I can give you that.
Ino knows she's pushing Sai into a corner but the tattooist's rejections were always second-handed at best, he has yet to flat out tell her to get lost for real and Ino hides behind that. It's cowardly, certainly, but Ino can play dirty if it gets her what she wants. Furthermore, any blind, deaf and mute person can agree that they've been shamelessly flirting with each other, never shying from physical contact or holding back with their teasing and bickering.
And, now.
He threatened his own brother for her.
Ino is somewhere between flattered and shocked.
Shin wanted her dead – actual murder kind of dead – and he casually spoke of torture. Both brothers move around without making a single sound, their movements have the grace of a warrior. Sai knows how to wield a gun and he's more than capable of carrying out his threats. His shop is in the middle of some strong gang territory but no one comes to bother him. Connecting the scattered dots around, thinking off all their interactions Ino comes up with one, single conclusion. Sai has his shades of dark and he must have had some shady deals in the past that had him gain powerful enemies. Enemies that might corner Ino to hurt Sai.
Her mind takes her to a conversation she had with Hinata while eating her confused feeling with delicious home-made cherry brownies when Ino had thought herself crazy to even pursue a dangerous man like Sai. A man, her righteous father would never approve of and her success-oriented mother would look down at.
Hinata's voice whispers softly in her ear. Are you afraid of him?
That night Ino's answer was half-baked, no actual resolve to back up her ever-changing emotions – who's the pregnant lady with the mood swings now? – she warred inside her mind, between logic and attraction, feeling a bit lost on what to do.
After Shin slammed his way into her morning Ino can admit to being scared but that shock and fear melted away when Ino took refuge in this old, run-down, always empty tattoo shop and its infuriating, blunt and good-looking owner. Sai's presence soothed her and she felt safe.
Are you afraid of him?
No. Ino isn't.
And this time, her answer is fast and steady. She believes it. Is she playing with fire? Is she biting more than she could chew? Could she look past her own prejudices and morals to actually want a criminal in her life? Intimately and emotionally, Ino craves to knock down Sai's walls and carve herself a place under his indifferent crop-top attitude that Ino finds as adorable as it's infuriating.
What's strange is that Ino actually wants to go through with it. She's not someone who's easily intimidated or scared away with a threat or two. Ino might have to wear her big, badass girl pants on and start practicing her ninja moves to keep up with the possible shit-storm coming but she wants.
Sai never braves to take their relationships to the next level and try to form a connection – emotional or physical – because his desire to protect her from his enemies is greater from his own needs. His enemies, not himself.
She might very well be his Achilles Heel. Capitals needed and intended.
"When I woke up this morning, I decided that I would get out of your life," Ino tells him. Sai's expression shutters closed completely and Ino itches to rip his mask away. Although, she understands. It's almost second nature for Sai to hide behind a blank expression as self-protection but Ino won't let him hide anymore. Not on this. "But your idiot brother here," she lifts a manicured hand towards the gray-haired man who has the audacity of raising his brows as if he's somewhat innocent and not involved in any way with the situation at hand. "Provided me with some missing pieces."
It's strange how calm she feels while looking deep into Sai's dark eyes. Maybe all her self-preservation has left her body the moment she barged into this shop almost a month ago. Truthfully, she doesn't need bothersome things like that. Self-preservation gets in the way of her fierceness and bravado.
"Ino," her name comes out thin and breathy as if Sai's close to begging. The tone alone does things to Ino. "Don't involve yourself further." Please, hangs out in the air almost visible to the eye.
The blonde scowls, involuntarily, but the expression stays firm on her chin and brows. "That could've worked before Shin threatened my life. And if your own brother can, I really don't want to know what your enemies can do." She makes sure her voice is reasonable, attentive that Sai is listening to her instead of dismissing her for her own good.
As if possible, Sai pales even more. In two steps, he walks right into her personal space but doesn't reach out to touch her. His dark gray shirt brushes her thick coat with every breath and Ino digs her long nails into her palms to keep her hands still. He looks like a lost little boy with his dejected, wrinkled nose and sad, long-lashed obsidian eyes making him look years younger than he actually is. Ino's fingers itch to smooth Sai's worry lining his forehead; however, she doesn't fall prey to the urge.
"You can't protect me by keeping me in the dark." She softly says and Sai lets out a painful sounding whine at the back of his throat. That pitiful sound pulls at her heart easily and Ino gives herself permission to lean closer so their chests are touching. His cold hand gently brushes up her fingers, skims over the soft skin of her palm and keeps sliding until he closes his pale fingers around her slim wrist. Ino breathes out of her nose slowly, noticing the distinctive smell of coffee accompanied by something like charcoal. The blonde raises her chin to catch Sai's gaze before saying, "I'm a big girl. I can decide what to do with my life. Just tell me what or who to avoid."
"That's either gonna get you killed in a blink or let you survive till New Year's." Shin pipes in. Ino twitches away from Sai, remembering that the knife-happy older brother is still in the shop and enjoying the show with a weird emotion playing in his eyes.
Sai doesn't let her wrist though. The cold touch reminds Ino that she isn't alone with her desire to be close.
"It's a gamble brother." Sai points out. "I rather not risk her safety."
Shin shrugs. "Well, luckily Miss Legolas knows how to fight. Kinda. Oh! Idea!" Ino and Sai can't help but lean closer. "Give her a gun. Would be faster than teaching her new moves." He adds cheerily as if all their problems are solved with his genius.
Ino does her best not to jump over Sai and strangle the smirking Shin. That would mean leaving Sai's touch and Ino's been craving that for too long to pass it up for Shin. "What if I shoot someone?"
She's discussing possible murder and actual gun safety with a mentally unstable asshole. Ino's morning is shaping up to be really nice.
"That's the whole bloody point, Blondie."
Ino's smile could cut through the glass but Shin just raises one daring brow. "I meant shoot dead."
Shin's own smirk rivals hers. "Good thing we know how to get rid of corpses."
"I'll make sure she aims your way, brother," Sai mutters while taking off his dark bandana and running his fingers through his hair.
The mood in the shop changes and Ino's shoulders sag without the extra tension. A metaphorical, or literal, bullet is dodged and Ino feels a touch lucky. How this will affect her relationship with the eccentric tattooist Ino isn't sure yet but she's very eager to find out. She knocked down another wall, she took a step closer and all it took was to have a knife pulled on her. Lucky, indeed.
Of course, her mouth runs on its own before Ino can slam her filter over it.
"Your brother is kinda scary. Not wanting to meet in a dark alley kind of scary."
Shin's shoulders shake with the half-poor attempt at hiding his laughter as a cough. Actually, he isn't trying at all. "I should inform you, I make excellent company especially in dark alleys." The wink at the end of his sentence is not only gross but also hundred ways unnecessary.
Sai must be thinking along the same line as Ino. "That's your cue to leave brother," Sai says while herding his reluctant brother towards the door. Ino's wrist tingles without the pressure of his touch. "I'll call you later. After I speak to Ino. Privately." His dark eyes narrow and Shin whines like a petulant child before Sai actually and seriously pick the grown adult effortlessly and throws him out of the shop like Shin's a sack full of rotten potatoes and not an actual human being.
Ino gets an immensely sick satisfaction from it.
"You do throw everyone out from your shop." Ino playfully kicks Sai's knee while a smile takes over glossed lips.
Sai's own lips twitch in amusement. "Only those I care about."
It's such a backhanded comment and yet Ino's heart hammers inside her chest like she just heard a confession and a proposal at the same time in a beach during sunset.
Sai does care and has a really shitty way of showing it but… he does. That's enough of a start. Ino can carry them through the rest, the responsibility falls on her fantastic shoulders because obviously. Sai has the emotional level equivalent of a cactus.
Ino clears her throat. "So…" Sai's brow twitches in a charming arc and Ino does not notice how strong his jaw looks. Damn you, hormones! "I was promised a tattoo."
The simple sentence carries an undercurrent of a different kind of tension Ino isn't ashamed to sick on the tattooist. She knows her mark hits the mark when an innocent muscle in Sai's jaw jumps and his eyes darken with open hunger.
Ino is getting more than a tattoo if things go her way.
(They rarely don't.)
Sai doesn't attempt to stop his whirling thoughts as he leads Ino towards the back, his hand uncertainly hovering over her slim shoulders. Ino silently follows him inside the work station room and watches Sai shut and lock the door behind them.
"Can't be too careful," Ino says, voice casual.
Sai absently nods, still fiddling with the doorknob to avoid turning. Things got out of hand so fast and Sai wants to blame his moronic brother for all the misfortune he gets as of late but he isn't such a coward to hoist it all at Shin.
Her eyes had been so wide with fear; Sai remembers easily, Ino's bloodless lips and shaking knees. Sai jumped into action, touching her while checking for injuries, frantically searching his brain while he went through all the possible bad scenarios. Every single one getting worse and worse while Ino's face looked so fragile between his large hands.
He should have never let Ino continue popping around his shop, his apartment, his mind because Sai is getting greedier. He aches to grab Ino, hide her to keep her safe. Out of reach for anyone that could hurt her. It's scary how fast and easily another human being becomes the center of his life. It's unexpected how his carefully hidden emotions rise up with the simplest gesture from Ino. Sai wonders if the blonde is even aware of the earth-shattering effect she has on him daily.
Something inside him is chipping away like old paint and Sai's terrified of what's emerging. Exhaustion weighs heavily on his mind as he closes his tired eyes and rests his forehead on the door.
Ino was ready to walk away. Her words ring repeatedly in his mind and every letter scratch at his mind, taunting him, and Sai should celebrate that Ino has grown a sensible bone and decided to do the right thing for once and listening to him. Ino deserves so much more than Sai could hope to offer and while they had kissed on a few occasions Sai smartly never let it escalate. You can't miss something you never had and go through that path of physical connection is just another recipe for disaster. Sai has no business of being jealous or greedy.
They are lucky that it was Shin. No one else would have gone easy on the girl and Sai sees red with the thought of Ino, so close to him and in danger against an old enemy or even a snooping Root member. The list of possible threats is so long that Sai just craves to break out his knives and start hunting.
And Ino stands behind him. Sai can pick up her breathing pattern and the rustling of clothing; she's shrugging her coat off and hears a dull thud over leather as the coat lands on an armchair. She's blissfully unaware of the massacre that's playing in his head and Sai sees no reason to hold back.
"Had it been any other," soft clicks of heels bring her closer. He can smell her flowery perfume. "Ino, I would've snapped their bones one by one. You can't even fathom the lengths I would go to torment them. I can't have you hurt, that's out of the question. I would just break."
"Good. I expect to be avenged." Ino jokes airily. Sai questions her actual intentions.
He expects disgust or fear or something along the lines but instead, he gets slim arms winding around his torso. Sai blinks. Unless his sanity slipped and started to conjure the presence of Ino on his back, Sai is hallucinating. Instead of complaining, Sai gives in just once – another just once in an endless list of just once but it's just never enough when Ino's concerned – twists around to bring her into his embrace. Ino breathes in, rubbing her face onto his shoulder and melts into his arms. Sai has countless of fantasies that start like this. Innocent affection that leads into hungry and rough sex over the nearest surface, however, it's surprising how content he feels with just hugging her close. His lips tremble faintly, countless words twisting inside his mouth but never quite leaving his lips.
Ino pushes her face closer into his neck; her cold nose contrasting with her warm breath leaves Sai defenseless. He stares down at the golden hair under his nose with barely contained hungry emotions. It's so difficult to deny what he wants when Ino fits so nicely into his side. To constantly have near the thing he desperately desires and to remind himself why he can't.
Every single time Sai decides to never see this woman, Ino thrusts herself back into his personal space.
Sai would be the first person to say that he's a fucked-up human being and the thought that Ino could even glimpse at how messed up he leaves a bad taste at the back of his throat. He is not a good person let alone a good friend, how is he going to not hurt her?
Sai doesn't know any better.
"Why aren't you afraid of me?"
He's torn between wanting to look into her eyes or avoid her gaze. Sai feels raw, exposed in ways that make him feel weak.
"I have worse fears, like failing my mid-terms." Ino dryly laughs and Sai finds himself snort. "I'm absolutely sure that you won't hurt me, intentionally. How can I not when you're always putting me first? Making sure I'm alright-"
"You could die because of me."
"Or I won't," she counters. "Sai, the future is unpredictable. I can die tomorrow in a car crash, I could fall down the stairs next year or I could die of old age. No one can predict or even prevent death."
Ino pulls back, a cute frown on her face. Sai pokes her brows absently and when Ino nuzzles closer to his fingers he turns his palm over to cover her from cheek to jaw.
For a moment, Sai enjoys the simple contact of skin on skin. "What if you regret? You're entitled to change your mind."
"Do you want me?"
The question takes the wind out of his sails, leaving Sai to hiss through his clenched teeth. Ino brings her own hands to cup his jaw, forcing him to look into her serious eyes. She won't let him wiggle his way out with a half-assed answer.
"You can't even begin to imagine," Sai says honestly.
It pays off with a twitch of Ino's lips. "Well, I like you too. A lot. Maybe one day I'll like you less, or I could like you even more. Now, tell me, are your big bad enemies the only reason you're reluctant?"
Sai's own hands cup Ino's that still cradle his face. He lets his eyelids close, feeling overwhelmed with Ino's warm skin on his cool cheeks and her perfume tickling his nose and her body pressing close, Sai is under attack and all he wants is to surrender.
What's stopping you?
Life. Reality. Danger.
"I'm a horrible person Ino." It's easy to admit when his eyes are closed. He doesn't have to watch her face change to hate. "I've done unspeakable things and I'm still the man that has done all those gruesome things. I didn't retire, Ino, I still get assignments and I complete them. This life… once it gets its claws into your soul it doesn't let go."
"Sai-"
"You want to decide yourself?" once started, Sai can't stop. He feels anger bubbling up his chest. "That there is a good man deep inside me? Something worth cherishing? That I could easily walk away from this path and start anew as nothing happened? I can't change. I won't change. It's a part of me. Didn't you hear me admitting that I would torture another human for your sake?"
"I believe I already said this, but, it's worth repeating. Sai, I don't want you to change." Sai grudgingly opens his eyes. Ino's face is inches away from his and she looks angry. Her nails leave behind half-moons on his face and Sai welcomes the pain. "I like my life and I like it more when you're in it. You stubborn asshole stop denying yourself the truth! Don't you see that I feel safer around you?"
Sai grits his teeth, he tries not to be affected by Ino's admission but it just curls around his chest and squeezes so tight Sai struggles to breathe. He barely catches the rest of Ino's rant.
"You've been putting me on this pedestal like I'm a perfect, model citizen myself! I have my faults, parts of me that I don't like. But I don't let myself intervene with what I desire. I, at least, try. Stop being a coward!"
Momentarily stunned, Sai can only stare. Silence stretches out as Ino stares him down, eyes sharp with an undertone of heat. She seems to be one hundred percent done with their push and pull bullshit and Sai imagines this to be their make it or break it point.
Sai's gaze falls down. Then, he smiles. A tiny crooked thing, completely self-directed and mocking at his own helplessness.
"You're not a monster to me." Ino stubbornly says. The statement leaves Sai breathless because it's true. He is a monster even though Ino refuses to see it.
Make it or break it.
"I'm an assassin." This time its Ino who's stunned into silence. Sai's gaze zeroes on the widening eyes and hitched breathing. "You said you don't want me to change. Well, Ino, then I shall also admit, I enjoy killing. And that makes it impossible for me to give up this profession."
Omake
Perched on the sturdy railing, Shin's gaze travels over the new recruits shuffled close in the underground arena. The fresh blood are young. The oldest looks 13 or 14 but Shin searches for the younger ones, knowing that they either can excel remarkably or fail miserably. No in-between. After all, the experimental medicines cooking in Root's creepy labs leave a higher survival rate the younger they get.
Shin's hand unconsciously reaches up to touch his silvery-gray hair. Just a month ago, he was an ordinary-looking brunette and now he had yet to not flinch at his expression at mirrors. It's still his face with his nose and eyes but while the hair color is fairly new the style is exactly the same. Shin wonders why sometimes the person mirrored back looks anything but him.
A sharp whistle rings in the arena, effectively pulling Shin to the present. He doesn't hear the footsteps but the scent of pine and cedar warns Shin of the approaching figure. Shin nods his head as a greeting when Tenzo slips next to him.
"New recruits?" Tenzo asks, his dull brown eyes look down and Shin catches a faint flicker of sadness before it's carefully locked behind thick walls.
"Looks like it."
Tenzo makes a soft sound and Shin's head turns to the older male. Tenzo was the senior rank that had welcomed Shin when he had arrived 6 years ago and helped him settle down and get used to the strict environment of Root. So, they are buddies as much as buddies they can be inside Root.
"Danzo-sama thinks of assigning you one." The casual tone implies his mood but Shin can read his face like an open book. Tenzo isn't a great liar and he certainly isn't pulling his leg.
Shin's fingers close around the metal railing and his pale fingers melt into the metal a little. "What?" he asks, throat tight. "I'm not ready – Tenzo, I can't assume responsibility for a brat! The meds play with my head, you know that! I'll end up killing the poor bastard."
Tenzo shrugs but his brows fall over his eyes. For a moment, Shin catches glimpses of scalpel marks at Tenzo's hairline and he politely avoids looking. Tenzo doesn't talk about the project he was experimented for and Shin never asks, but rumor has it that it failed in the worst way possible, leaving from the hundreds of test subjects Tenzo as the only survivor.
"A good dose of fear will mature them," Tenzo says, shrugging again.
Shin rolls his eyes, ignoring the way his stomach turns around and bitter acid climbs up his throat. He can feel his lips stretch unnaturally into a smile. "That's something Orochimaru would say. You're hanging too much with him."
"He gets a bad rep around here but Orochimaru isn't that bad." Tenzo counters but Shin can see the tension leave his expression and counts it as a win.
"Gotta trust you with that one."
Turns out, Tenzo is correct. Two hours later Shin stares down at an incredibly small child and wonders what he did in his past life to be saddled with this.
The kid barely comes up to Shin's waist and even though he's tall for his age, still, the brat should be at least a head taller if the number 6 on his file isn't a mistake. Of course, he gets the runt of the litter. Shin didn't sign for this.
Shin closes the file and the brat is looking at him, dark eyes unnaturally old for his short life seem too big on his pale, dirty face. The kid is wearing an oversized brown shirt that hangs down from one bony shoulder and moth-eaten black shorts with frayed edges. Twig like arms and legs are covered with bruises and scratches that Shin can bet aren't there because of clumsiness.
"God, you're creepy." The kid blinks – finally if this is unexperimented brat Shin doesn't want to see the after result – "And you need some major fashion intervention. And a haircut. Also a bath. A long one."
The brat blinks again before slowly nodding his head without breaking eye contact. He looked as lost and insecure as Shin which kinda helps him calm down. The older male really didn't want to deal with any of this but orders are orders. He knows what happens to soldiers who disobey.
"I'm Shin. I'll be 'your brother' from now on." His trained eyes catch the ghost of a smile playing on the brat's lips and not even the long, oily hair can hide the shy joy in his eyes. Shin's heart bleeds a little for another innocent kid that will have to grow up in Root. Just for a heartbeat. "Your name will be Sai. Welcome to hell and I hope you survive."
Shin lies easily while smiling wide and feels another mask set over his expression.
The brat responds well to the medication and Shin is almost impressed by the non-existent whining. Aren't kids handful, annoying crybabies that test the patience of their parents? How can Shin get rid of the brat if he doesn't give him a reason?
Shin must have won the lottery because the brat turns out to be a complete fighter. He follows the routine carefully, completes his training without a complaint and takes his medicine religiously.
More than once, Shin catches Tenzo giving him a knowing grin and with a look that says, that brat is your problem and seems like he's coming to stay. Shin grins and waves a middle-fingered salute to his friend. Brat-sitting isn't in Shin's agenda but from the looks of it he has to reschedule.
Strange how that doesn't bother him too much. Maybe the brat isn't the worst thing to happen to him.
It must be the meds talking, Shin decides.
Sai is frighteningly creative when it comes to killing. The brat is calculative, merciless, smart and silent and all of these are perfect traits for an assassin. He strikes without a scrap of hesitation, his grip on his weapon of choice strong and doesn't flinch when blood spills.
Whispers around the barrack paint the brat as a demon. He fights and fights and fights while he kills and kills and kills.
Shin thinks of his own missions, of tightly woven lies and carefully constructed identities. He thinks of the information he brings while looking down at his hands and thinks of smaller, paler, younger hands scrubbing warm blood.
It's fucked up.
His ability to feel sympathy shriveled up and died centuries ago but it's difficult not to be invested when the target is a boy that's attached to his hip. Shin oversees his training, whistles at his impressive sketches, sit with him at the cafeteria, helps him clean and dress his wounds. They are bonding, Shin can feel it, and he does his best to run away from it.
One night during a nasty storm and even nastier nightmare, Shin hops down the bunk bed and slithers his way under the thick comforter. Sai's skin is cold and clammy and when the lightning illuminates the small room Shin sees bloodless cheeks and misty eyes.
Sai flinches, a move that ripples through his thin frame and instead of letting go Shin pulls him closer. He knows, deep in his bones, that he shouldn't care and that it'll hurt like a bitch when one won't return from an assignment one day but it feels right to wrap his arms around Sai and to bury his nose in sweat-soaked black hair. He isn't supposed to want this, the affection and closeness and familiarity but he does.
The voices in his head quiet down and Shin slips into slumber.
6 more years later (a time frame spent swaying between hate and hope) Shin can admit with fondness that he comes to love Sai. The fact that the kid does all the chores in the house –except cooking, that's one thing they won't master soon – and he's downright hilarious to tease might sway his opinion but who cares. Shin loves Sai like the brother they portray to be.
When they train together, Shin doesn't pull back his punches because he wants Sai to survive his missions. Sai must suspect that Sai knows this, with the way he never complains when they have to drop by the medical ward with broken bones and deep lacerations.
If the tough love will bring Sai back to their house in one piece then Shin's happy.
Shin barely looks legal but he charms his way into buying a two-room flat in a quiet area of Konoha. The building looks hideous and their neighbors either have very loud sex or very loud band practice. The noise must drive Sai crazy and Shin lives off to see the small signs of anger from his poker-faced little brother. A clenched teeth here, a twitching eye there. Shin cackles up like mad –some days he feels mad. He's invincible and indestructible like the world is his stage and he positions and manipulates people how he wants. One moment he smiles and another he slits another throat – when he catches one.
Each day, the little boy grows more into the shadow of an adult and Shin will, one day; lose the opportunity of pinching Sai's baby-fat chubby cheeks. Sai looks so young still, especially when he lets his lips curl in that smile so fake but yet capable of capturing the hearts of the old ladies of the neighborhood. That smile curves up, puffing his round cheeks like an adorable hamster and Shin loses it.
It turns to a game. Shin calls it stealth and dodge training but Sai call out his bullshit as annoying and immature. Which isn't completely untrue.
Whether the young boy trains or does his chores, whether he's home or on the streets, Shin appears out of thin air and fondly, rudely pokes his cheek. Sai does his best to avoid his older brother's grabby hands but Shin has a decade more experience under his belt and somehow that annoying digit always digs into his puffing cheek.
It's not only the gesture. The accompanying shit-eating grin and that glint in those crazy eyes saying got you, ticks Sai more than the actual poking. Shin can tell and he absolutely loves it.
Sai is so fun to tease!
Shin's favorite ambush is during grocery shopping. Sai's hands are full of purchases and he has to be careful how he maneuvers his upper body with the added weight and find a good balance not to fall ass or face first. Sai levels him with the most adorable baby-scowl every time Shin accomplishes to poke him in the face and that's a satisfying win.
One too many attacks do become predictable. That's why Shin never strikes with a pattern. After all, Shin doesn't want to bore Sai or wear the novelty off. (The fact that Sai needs to be a little more child and less adult has nothing to do with their stupid game. Shin can(t) ignore the scars accumulating in that younger body and the effects of experimental medications…)
Sai needs to let loose more often and Shin needs to amuse himself with something. Two birds let me introduce you to one stone.
At the end of the day, at the beginning of the day and during the day, Shin is an older brother. He looks out for Sai for his selfish reasons and not because he's following orders. He wants Sai to be happy, for him to be normal.
Shin just prays that they aren't too broken for normal.
