Author's Notes: Because the twins are cute, but they are not the same person.
Sakon couldn't remember a time when he and Ukon were apart. Their bond had always been encouraged. First by their parents, what little Sakon could remember of them, because family loyalty was important and they were all their parents had. Second by the dark woman, whom they had been sold to after their father's health failed and their uncle needed money to invigorate the family's business, because beautiful twins were ever so much more exotic and valuable when they were together. Last by Orochimaru-sama, after they had killed the group of thieves who had murdered everyone else in their troupe and he had taken them in, because they fought like one warrior and half a fighter was worse then none. Sakon really couldn't have cared less about the details, because no one ever tried to separate him and his brother and that was all that mattered.
They weren't one person though, no matter how it appeared that they were each other staring through a looking glass. Ukon was the elder brother. Sakon was the younger. This might have meant something slightly ominous if their family hadn't traded them for gold like cattle, but with nothing to inherit, there was no need for contention. Ukon was the protector, and Sakon was protected. No matter how hard they tried to appear equal to outsiders so no one could spot a weak link and exploit it, that was the way things were. Neither minded. They were too much a part of each other to ever be resentful for long.
There lives made up a careful balancing scale. Ukon was the wiser, but he needed Sakon's ease with people to even try to function. Sakon couldn't keep his bravado without the knowledge that his brother would always be there to back him up. He found himself withering under Tayuya's insults or Kimimaro's cold stares when his brother wasn't in the room, and Ukon didn't even try to hold up a conversation unless Sakon was there to finish it. No one ever noticed, because where one twin was, so was the other. Both Sakon and Ukon made sure of that.
Tayuya was a challenge, one only Sakon ever bothered to meet. Ukon found her irritating, but he allowed his brother the enjoyment he received from the constant verbal sparring with their sole female comrade, the only somewhat-friendly fighting of siblings that the younger twin couldn't satisfy with his own blood.
Jiroubou was too quiet for Sakon's liking, but Ukon enjoyed the silence. Unlike the others, Jiroubou never insisted on interaction, and only with him could Ukon feel normal without his brother.
Kidoumaru was a strange mix that both twins found intriguing. Cautious and foolhardy all at once, he was considered both the most sensible and reckless of them all, but the latter only showed when the dark-skinned shinobi was risking only himself. Kidoumaru had started out with nothing, and would not endanger what little he had gained. He appealed to them, but for completely different reasons. Sakon appreciated a counterpart to his most ill-advised doings, and Ukon welcomed a fellow guardian. Sometimes it was nice to have someone else look after the idiots.
The one person Sakon and Ukon could agree on was Kimimaro, because neither of them could forgive one who had hurt their precious person. Neither of them ever forgot. And in that, the twins would always be unified. Kimimaro might have been the future container to Orochimaru-sama's dream, but loyalty to family always came first. Always.
Some childhood lessons stayed embedded longer then others.
