Brothers

Hayate pushed open the door to his home. A familiar pair of shoes sat in the entryway.

A smile immediately appeared on his face, but he quickly put it away. He was now a proud Anbu trainee, no longer a student at the Ninja Academy. He couldn't let his feelings show so easily—especially not in front of the brother who had suddenly left the village for days before coming back.

So he tried to look calm as he walked inside.

Baiye was sitting at the low table in the living room, sorting the medicine in his medical kit. He looked up when he heard the footsteps.

"You're back?"

"Yeah."

"Hm?" Baiye eyed him up and down suspiciously. The first thing the kid usually did when he came home was demand food, but today he was quiet.

"If there's nothing else, I'll go change."

"Did you just get back from the Anbu?"

Hayate paused and stood up straight. "Sorry, brother. We've been told to keep those matters confidential."

Baiye put down the bandage in his hand. "Even from family?"

"Yes. After all, nobody knows who the other countries' spies are."

Baiye felt more puzzled today than he ever had before.

What had he just heard? Spies? Was Hayate treating his own brother like a foreigner?

Oh, this kid needed a lesson.

"Don't change yet. Come out with me for a bit."

"Huh? What for? Can't it wait until I've changed?"

"Of course not. I wouldn't want you to change twice, would I? What you're wearing is fine. Even if it gets dirtier, you'll still only have to wash it once."

Hayate froze. Before he could make sense of that, he heard the next sentence.

"Oh, right. Now that you've graduated from the academy, remember to wash your own clothes from now on."

"Huh?"

"Let me see how your Shunpo is coming along, and whether you've been practicing properly while I was away." Baiye stood, picked up his Tachi from beside the table, and weighed the scabbard in his hand. "The moment you step outside, run for the training ground. I'll chase you at half my current speed. Every time I catch you, your butt gets a smack."

"Huh?"

Hayate felt more puzzled today than he ever had before.

He was still standing there, trying to process the sudden test, when Baiye reached the entryway, pulled the door open, and glanced back at him.

"Start."

The moment Hayate darted through the doorway, Baiye moved too.

The night wind whistled past Hayate's ears, and the streetlights stretched into blurry trails of light. He pushed off the ground desperately through the shadows of the trees, sending dead leaves flying with every step. He really hadn't neglected the Chakra version of Shunpo these past few days—his push-offs were steadier than before, and he no longer kept pitching forward like he had at the start.

But Baiye followed two or three steps behind, his footsteps keeping pace, unhurried as ever.

Smack!

"Ah! Brother, you're really doing it?"

"Less talk. If you don't speed up, forget about reporting for duty tomorrow."

Smack!

"Ah!!!"

[Shunpo: B (2/10000)]

Of course, Baiye couldn't really use half his speed. He'd been bluffing. His Shunpo was on a whole different level now. On the way back from Rōran, when his proficiency had reached the C-rank bottleneck, he had spent three hundred Fate Points to push it to B rank. Now, using Reiatsu alone, he was faster than he had been using Reiatsu and Chakra together, while consuming less Reiatsu and making less noise.

He had thirty-four Fate Points left.

He followed Hayate at an easy pace, occasionally stepping forward to give his little brother's butt a light smack with the scabbard. He controlled the force perfectly—it hurt, but wouldn't injure him.

As he smacked him, he looked up at Hokage Rock in the distance. The stone faces of the successive Hokage were little more than blurry outlines in the night, and a few windows in the Hokage Building were still lit.

Officials from the Land of Fire had met the survivors of Rōran halfway and taken them into their care. Rōran had been a country, after all. Though it now existed in name only, the Land of Fire still had to handle the business of taking in its surviving people. After that, only the ninja remained, so they traveled much faster and made it back to Konoha in just one day.

Minato, who had led the Rōran mission, and Tsume Inuzuka, who had led the support team, would of course report on the mission. But Baiye figured he would still be summoned when the time came. The matter was too important, and only Minato and Baiye had seen the Third Kazekage Puppet with their own eyes.

He just didn't know when the summons would come.

Smack.

Another hit. But this one didn't feel quite right—there was no expected scream. Baiye looked up and saw Hayate standing there in a daze, his face full of hurt.

Baiye looked around and realized they were already at the training ground.

"Mm, my mistake. I didn't notice we'd arrived, so I gave you an extra smack out of habit."

Hayate's face flushed red. Baiye rested the scabbard on his shoulder.

"How about you hit me back?"

"Okay!"

"But I'll run."

"...Then how could I possibly catch you?"

"But I promise I'll adjust my Shunpo to match your speed."

Hayate's eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Come on."

The moment Baiye finished speaking, Hayate vanished from where he stood, striking first with a sneak attack. His right hand swept out in an arc, all five fingers spread, reaching straight for Baiye's scabbard. He had chosen a good angle: it looked like a frontal lunge, but he actually curved slightly around to the side, hoping to use the momentum of his turn to seize the initiative.

Baiye tapped the ground with his toes and stepped half a pace back. Hayate's fingertips brushed past the edge of the scabbard, catching nothing but air. Then the scabbard flipped around and landed lightly on Hayate's butt.

Smack.

"I forgot to tell you: every time you swing and miss, I get a chance to hit you."

"Ahhh! I'll fight you!"

Smack!

"Ah!"

The outcome was never in doubt.

Even with their Shunpo speeds matched, the difference in how quickly they could start and how agile they were was like heaven and earth.

Hayate crouched on the ground, clutching his butt. He hadn't managed to touch Baiye even once. His eyes were red, and he stubbornly turned his face away, refusing to look at him.

Baiye fastened the scabbard back at his waist and crouched down in front of him.

"Get on."

"I don't need you to carry me! I can walk by myself!"

"Come on."

Only then did Hayate reluctantly climb onto his back, burying his face in his brother's shoulder. Baiye stood, supporting him behind the knees, and walked at a slow, steady pace. The night wind blew through the treetops along the street, and the streetlights cast pools of warm yellow light across the ground. The barbecue shop had already closed, and the owner was bringing in the sign by the door. The street was quiet, broken only by the soft sound of shoe soles on the stone pavement.

"Brother, am I useless?"

"What's wrong? Weren't you acting like you could take down Shisui any day now and beat everyone your age?"

"Hmph."

Baiye shifted him higher on his back. Hayate's arms rested over his shoulders, his fingers gripping his collar. The grip wasn't tight, but he didn't let go.

He had probably seen too many outstanding ninja after joining the Anbu and felt uneasy.

"Not just anyone can join the Anbu. You could say everyone who gets in is a genius... They're not just any old Tom, Dick, or Harry like your former classmates."

Hayate said nothing.

"You got into the Anbu, which means you're a genius too. So don't lose heart."

They were silent for a while. After they turned the corner, the roof of the Hayate Clan house came into view. The branches and leaves of the old tree in the courtyard reached over the wall, swaying gently in the night wind.

"Brother."

"Mm?"

"I've used Transparent Release a few times in the Anbu lately."

Baiye murmured an acknowledgment. He had known for a while. From the moment he picked Hayate up, Responded and Medical Ninjutsu had been working through his little brother's body and soul. The traces left in Hayate's body by Transparent Release's Bloodline Disease were faint, far less severe than Baiye's own condition back then, but still visible. He probably hadn't used it many times, or for long each time.

"Remember what I told you before? Don't rely too much on Transparent Release."

"Yeah, I remember."

"Good. You're an adult now. You can make your own judgments."

Hayate's fingers tightened a little.

"I won't let you down."

Baiye was quiet for a while. One of the paving stones underfoot was loose and shifted slightly when he stepped on it. He went around the stone and continued forward.

"You've never let me down."

Hayate buried his face even deeper.

Baiye felt a small patch of warmth and moisture on his shoulder, but said nothing.

He had watched this little brother grow up. From giggling at three as he stepped on Baiye's shadow, to getting into fights at eight because other people spoke ill of Baiye, to now—joining the Anbu and beginning to learn how to protect Konoha in the dark. Sooner or later, he would face an enemy's Kunai alone and make decisions of life and death on his own.

All Baiye could do was make him strong enough before that moment came.

Until Baiye himself became strong enough to protect anyone he wanted to protect.

The courtyard gate opened before them, and the old tree's branches and leaves rustled. Baiye carried Hayate into the entryway, then bent down and set him on the floor.

"Go take a bath. You have to report for duty tomorrow."

Hayate quickly wiped his eyes with his sleeve and ran for the bathroom without looking back.

"Don't forget to wash your clothes."

"I know!"

Baiye placed his Tachi on the table, sat back down at the low table, and continued sorting the medicine in his medical kit. He had used quite a bit on this mission and would have to restock at the hospital tomorrow.

Outside the window, moonlight filtered through gaps in the old tree's branches and leaves.

It cast a small patch of silvery-white light on the tabletop.