desolate minds

vii. with red in your eyes

Sasori's hold tightened slightly on the sleeping brunet as the memory of their parents' death replayed through his mind. He had not been there, but it always felt like he had. Sasori knew who their killer was, and that was enough to paint a picture of what their final fight had been like.

His teeth gritted, and Sasori's sorrow quickly turned into anger.

'Sakumo Hatake. I hope you suffer. I hope you burn.'

Kyojin shifted in Sasori's arms, releasing him from those dangerous thoughts. Tears trickled down Kyojin's own cheeks, startling Sasori back into sanity. He wiped away the tears on his brother's cheeks, all the while ignoring the ones on his own.

Sasori wondered what Kyojin dreamt of.

× × ×

Within the Niijima clan compound, Murai was no longer the playful and sly young boy that others knew him as. He reverted within himself, becoming expressionless and silent. Instead of skipping along the dirt path with his head held high, Murai walked with his eyes on the ground. Stares of disgust and annoyance followed him; not too far behind were the whispers.

Murai increased his pace.

He wished he could quickly go home to his grandmother, but things were never that easy. At the end of the day, Murai was to report to the Niijima clan head without fail. No exceptions, and no excuses.

"Report."

With a bowed head, Murai obeyed the command directed towards him. Not once did he look up and make eye contact with the owner of the voice. After he got smacked around a few times, even Murai learned to keep his head down. Jin-hime's father seemed to believe that violence was the perfect solution when it came to winning over submission.

"Jin-hime is progressing as normal. Ninjutsu remains to be where she is the strongest."

The gruff man before him nodded, his fingers tapped idly at the chair, as if it were a throne. "I see... Is she still set on marrying this boy— Kyojin was it?"

At the mention of his friend's name, Murai swallowed nervously. It was never his intention to get Kyojin involved with the clan, but Murai knew he couldn't lie. The clan head was smart and would catch on to it instantly. Even if he didn't, the information could be easily gathered from someone else within the clan.

So Murai nodded, biting the bullet and fessing up all that he knew. "Yes, but he does not appear to be interested in her. Jin-hime isn't deterred, however, and has said that she'll wait for him."

"As expected of my Jin-chan," The man snorted, but Murai was not surprised by the sudden change in attitude. He had always had a soft spot for his daughter after all. "Is this Kyojin a good character?"

There was no hesitation when Murai replied, a small, secret smile on his face.

"He is perfect, Niijima-sama."

× × ×

Jin began training as soon as she was able to walk. Of course, the training wasn't too difficult or obvious even. Her father disguised it in the form of games and simple chores.

"Let's see how fast you can clean up all your toys, Jin-chan." At first she wouldn't move a muscle, appearing disinterested in the challenge, but the longer her father stared at her with those hard and calculating eyes... she would soon relent and play along with his games.

Sometimes her training would frustrate and irritate her. She hated how she could never get a break on a day that wasn't important to the clan. There was only one part of her training that she didn't mind; dancing.