Kamaitachi

Otsutsuki Indra once was a cheerful, playful child. He had a best friend who was another brother to him. But all good things must come to an end.

 "Kama! Come on! Father said we could play in the woods today if we looked for plants, remember?" -I can't believe you weren't awake!-, I thought.

Kama sat up, rubbing his eyes. "Oh, I suppose I spent too much time working on that sculpture last night."

"Kama!" I groaned. "Come on, even Asura can remember to go to sleep on time!"

He pouted. "Hey, that's a low blow!" He stood groggily and walked over to his workstation, yawning. Picking up a statuette, he showed it at me, smiling blearily. "Tah dah!"

Taking a close look at it, I gasped. It was a dancing weasel with scythes and armour, raindrops sliding down its twisting form. "Wow...... I wish I was as artistic as you."

He grinned at me. "It's for you. Your birthday is coming up soon and I just finished it." His face lit up, although his posture shifted to a more shy stance. "If we each got a drop of blood and dropped it on it, we'd be kinda like blood brothers. And we can promise that, in out next lives, we'dberealbrothers." He mumbled the last part.

Seeing his anxiety over it, I silently bit my finger and held it over the statuette, ready to let the droplet fall. Face lighting up, he quickly did the same.

"I, Kama Nogami, pledge to be Indra Otsutsuki's brother now and forever, throughout any and all reincarnations, helping him to be his best self in whatever way possible and protecting him to the best of my ability." My eyes widened as he let the drop fall. I took a deep breath.

"I, Indra Otsutsuki, pledge to be Kama Nogami's brother now and forever, throughout any and all reincarnations, helping him in anything in any way possible and guiding him to the best of my ability." I looked at his expressive eyes and knew deep down that I had made the right choice. "Now, get dressed! We're going into the woods!" I interrupted the moment, anxious for playing-time.

He nodded, quickly throwing on some clothes. We raced outside and on, over to the river and forest just beyond. Just as he prepared to wade in, I picked him up, walking over with Chakra, father had said. Pouting again at the unfairness, he ran off with his basket to find plants.

*****

Just as I was adding a particularly interesting plant to my well-organized basket, I heard my name being screamed from around Kama's direction.

Dropping the basket, I used the chakra - It is to help people, Father said- to speed myself, heading towards my all-but-blood-brother. Upon seeing him, I stopped dead. He was being held, blade to his throat, as men accused him of being a youkai-worshiper.

One spotted me, his eyes widening. "It's the youkai heir!" He shouted out, frightened. The men's expressions worsened.

"Not only a youkai-worshiper, but close with the heir, too? It's our lucky day, everyone. Kill it, kill the prisoner!"

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