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"Pffft-!" Shouta couldn't help it. That made him laugh! Hard! He was fine. It didn't look like that small healing had taken anything out of him.

"Don' trai'a dufen' yersulf kid- yull juss mak'erself luk nuts! Buleef meh!" Devonte said; speaking from experience. Unconsciously, Devonte started playing his guitar again...the tune of the song his mother always sang. It was a bit off, but it was still beautiful.

In response to the Mizukage's earlier statement, Shouta smiled and said- "Ya know...it wouldn't be so bad, helpin' yuu guys out up 'ere. Tho... it'iss pretty cold out- BLLLUUUUGG!" Shouta vomited, making Devonte just laugh harder.

"AHAHAH! YOU REALLY HAVE NO HEAD FER SAKE, DO YA?"

"Ughh...Shut it, Dev." he goraned. Then Shouta noticed a young woman approaching them. She had long, black/brown hair and golden eyes. She was rather thin, tall for a girl her age which seemed to be about the same age a Keichii. She wore a belt that had metal plate with the Kirigakure symbol on it. Her clothes gave her somewhat of a regal appearance, that was enhanced by the way she carried herself. Though she moved gently and looked as if she couldn't hurt a fly, there was something stern in her eyes. Something that made you not want to be anywheres near her! She stopped, standing in between Devonte an Shouta. Shouta stared at her gently, though a bit emotionlessly, with the bottle of sake still in hand. Devonte seemed to be avoiding eye contact. Gazing around at everything, the snow; the guitar; Keizo's body; Rakutsu; Keichii- anything that wasn't her. He pulled out another cigarette, having just finished with the last. Even doped out, he seemed uncomfortable in her presence. He looked nervous and a bit...guilty? ashamed? It was hard to tell. The girl just stared down at Devonte, then at Shouta.


"Is this what Devonte has reduced you to brother?" she said, coldly. Accusingly. Shouta's eyes darkened slightly. Devonte's head was still turned down towards the snow, but his eyes were looking up at the young woman's shoulder. He just took another gulp of sake, his cig held between his middle and ring finger. She eyed the brown haired ninja with a look of hatered and disgust. "He cost you your eye, and now this. I don't see why you don't come back to the clan." Devonte drew a sharp breath. Her words hit him hard, apparently enough to snap him out of his ever-cheerful mood. He looked away. That was definitely guilt and shame in his eyes.

"Is there something you want, Miss Kurosawa?" he said calmly, though spitefully. He wasn't even reffering to her as his sister. He gave a quick, appologetic glance at Rakutsu, then one to Keichii. He had really hoped they'd never meet the rest of his family!

"yeah.... heh.... see ya there...." she breathed out. Her words echoed through the Mizukage's mind. Sanae was already dead, but Suijin kept speaking whatever came to her delirious mind. "This wurld... is fulla scumb...and strife....and pain....but... I guess we all just have to learn to live with it.... and make the best of things.... right?...bare through it.... be 'appy.......I know we coulda made it better...." she said with a grin. She could barely tell what she was mumbling. And even smiling, she shed a tear for the Kusakage. One of the strongest women she had ever known. "Ah'll just have ta see what ah can do....." 'to make it better...' She looked up at the man who held her. He was crying. She chose the first song that came to mind and luckily, it seemed to work. "hey jude.....don' make i' bad... take uh sad so~ng 'n make it better.... rememba to let 'er into your heart. Then you c'n start to make it better...." she sang softly, but strongly. If music was the bridge to heaven... then she'd just have to lend her dear friend a hand on her journey.

Looking up at the new Kusakage, Suijin opened her mouth to say- 'yeah, I'm fine' but all that came out was a mouthfull of blood. A wave of pain swept through her body from her stomach. She gripped it, only to be struck with ever-more searing pain. "ARH!" she grunted. She looked down at her gut to see one damn ugly bruise that had some semblance to a foot shape. It was blue, red, purple and even black on some areas. She wondered where the hell that had even come from, then she remembered when that one Tengu had kicked her. She thought all she'd get was a bruise....but apparently it had resulted in something worse. She was no medic-nin, but she guessed that it was probably internal bleeding. Between gasps of pain she raspped- "...apparantly not..." The alcohol in her system was helping to dull the pain a bit, but it still hurt like hell! She couldn't aske Shouta to heal her, he was too low on chakra and looking back at her friends she saw the young woman standing with them. s**t, that was not good! She wheezed and spat out blood, screaming at herself in her head for being so stupid and letting herself get injured like this! And THEN not getting it checked out!!!

"The same thing all of the main branch wants- their younger brother back. And I want my older brother back." Her tone was still cold, but it had some sincereity to it. She eyed the shinobi of Snow questionably, but truned her attention back to Shouta as he spoke.

"Hmph. And Devonte? I don't suppose you want both your older brothers to return so we can submit ourselves to 'Lord Kurosawa's' will?" Shouta scoffed.

"Valon is a great man! And that traitor is not my brother!" she shouted, jabbing her finger down at Devonte. She took his statement as a direct insult to the leader of their clan. Mostly because it was.

Dev practically flinched, and clamped his eyes shut. He couldn't stand hearing this. He was drunk and he couldn't take hearing this from his little sister. The only interaction he'd had with her outside these unpleasant visits was when she was a little baby, able to do nothing but eat, sleep, cry and crap herself! And now she hated him! He wished he could forget the beautiful yet cold woman before him, and remember the Gwynevere that just giggled when he poked her belly and called her 'such a fatty for something so little'. Jokingly. He had loved that baby sister of his. Her smiles had given him such comfort in the stern, hateful air that hung in the Kurosawa compound. But now she hated him too. From the depths of her soul she hated him. It was all in her eyes, and he couldn't bare it. Even now- all those years later it still pained him to have such hate felt for him by a child he only ever loved, and one who barely even knew him. He said nothing and seemed to pale as guilt crept over him. His arm and a half shook as his shoulders tensed. Keeping his eyes closed, he bit his lip and just silently begged for her to leave. Shouta noticed this, and his eyes darkened ever more. He stood, swaying a bit, but once he was on his feet, he stood tall; a good half a foot over her head.

"Oh yes. Only a real great man would stab their younger brother in the back!" he spat back at her as he stared down the Kurosawa girl.

"Valon was merciful enough to let him live.... Though I can tell you now, he deeply regrets that!" she said, cruely. She shot her glare at Devonte with her last few words, "As do we all."

"Yeah, 'n duz that ******** also regret being a lying p***k all 'is life?" he sputtered. His look of shame turned to a sneer of disgust as his brother -more importantly, what he endured at his brother's hand- was mentioned. His response was a powerful back-hand punch from Gwyn. "UUHUFF!!!" he grunted as he was kocked into the snow. She hit him hard! Obviously not holdng back an ounce of her contempt for him. He hadn't even tried to dodge it. His reaction time was off from the alcohol and even if it wasn't, he wouldn't have anyway. Nearly twenty years had passed since that day, and he still felt he deserved this...and more. So he simply took the full blow, as if somehow hoping to attone for his sins.

"How dare you speak of my brother in such a way. You wothless scum! Why Lord Kurosawa would ever spare the life of such a failure is beyond me." she growled.

The main branch of the Kurosawa clan

"'Eeey, Rakutsu..." Keichii started. He sat up slowly. The snow had felt nice and helped a little to calm his spinning head. Of course, the frosty attitude of the newcomer worked as well as any icepack.

"Y-Y'should know, it ain't aour place ta mes with otha clans, y'know..?" FFFF--he stood up too quickly. Keichii looked rather ridiculous; missing a sleeve; doused in blood; hair messier than usual while swaying on his feet.

Keichii glared sharply down at Rakutsu, but turned quickly to the new girl with an ominously bright smile.

"I gotta 'gree with mah sister, though. This ain't the place ta be pickin' fights. 'Less ya got somethin' pertainin' ta the war we got goin' on out there, Ah suggest ya git on yer merry way..." Keichii's grin soured, "'Cos I'm really NOT in the mood ta hear yer whiny bellyache'n!"

Keichii's rant was cut short by a swift wave of nausea. He gripped Rakutsu's shoulder for support and turned to ignoring everyone else in favor of keeping ahold of his stomach. He was murmuring something about "Prissy-a** clans" and "thought the Tengu fixed that already..."

Gwyn's eyes fired with rage, that amplified with the white-haired man's comment. "You insolent little-" she raised her hand to strike Rakutsu, but she didn't even get close. Shouta's hand was wrapped firmly around her wrist, and his eyes looked more frightening than her's.

"You would do well to show Lord Yukikage and his sister some respect, Gwynevere." he said flatly. There was a menaceing growl in his monotoneistic statement. He was actually very thankful for Keichii and Rakutsu's stepping in. It gave him reason to treat her more harshly than he typically would. Gwynevere, as well as the rest of the Kurosawa's main branch needed to be put in their place no matter what measures were taken. "You wouldn't want to do something foolish and disgrace the Kurosawa name.....or was taking the life of the only sane Kurosawa woman not enough?" He stuck a nerve. It was a painfull nerve to strike and he would regret saying it later but he needed her to leave. Or he and Dev could both end up losing it. Gwyn's eyes widedned, as if she couldn't believe that Shouta, of all people would say such a thing. And it was true; normally he would never be so cruel- that was one trait that he had not picked up from his family. But she was hurting Devonte, more than just physically. The members of the main branch -their sibilings- had done enough to him without having Gwynevere join in. "Why don't you just crawl back to the main branch and have your big strong older brother protect you with ignorance." he grolwed accusingly; his hand still clutching her wrist. Devonte just stared into the snow as he tried to right himself. But it was difficult when drunk and with one arm. He'd fallen on his stump that was once his right arm, thus adding to the pain from Gwyn's blow. He spat blood into the snow. His teeth had torn a hole into his cheek when she hit him, and it was bleeding quite a bit.

"He is your brother as well... and he wants to see his younger brother's eyes...not filled with such contempt for him...." There was a long silence between them.

Devonte had the same sentiments as his older brother apparently.... but Dev would never get that wish fulfilled. But maybe it would be better if Shouta returned to the Kurosawa compound..... Devonte was the outcast here- not Shouta. Devonte was about to say something. Maybe-

"Well that is one wish Valon will not have fulfilled." Shouta said firmly, like that was his final word on the subject. As if he knew what Devonte was thinking. He shoved her hand away and stared her down with eyes that commanded her to leave. Reluctantly, she complied. And with the same gaze with wich she came, she turned to leave. Shouta watched her closely, waiting for her to be a certain distance away untill he'd let himself relax. She stopped, a few yards away and turned her head to them once more. Her eyes were different, they were even colder than before.

"Let me remind you why your name was taken from you..." she said softly. Too softly for anyone of them to hear, but Shouta read her lips and he saw her bringing up her hands into a handsign....an all too familiar one to Shouta and Devonte. Shouta's eyes went wide with fear, as did Devonte's. She said something that they didn't need to read her lips to know what it was. A horrible cry errupted from Devonte's throat. Shouta whirled around to see his older brother convulsing with pain.

"DEVONTE!!" he was at his brother's side in and instant, keeling in the snow beside him. Devonte was lying on his stomach, face down in the snow, clawing at the ground. No amount of alcohol could dull this pain. Because it was linked directly to his brain. But when did- 'When she hit him! That's when she must have done it! That's when she set this up!'

Dev was gasping for air and screaming out in agony. It seemed that the focus of his pain was coming from his back. When Shouta touched it, ever so gently, more pain swept through Devonte. He was sweating, and on top of his cries he was hyperventilating. Not good! Fear filed his eyes... but there was something different about his gaze....it was a look that Shouta, too well remembered. "Valon...E..va..." he murmured between gasps. s**t! He was going into a panic attack, and his mind was regressing to his childhood. Tremmors shook through him. Shouta had to check out how far this had gone.

"Devonte... how old are you?" He had one hand on Devonte's forehead, the other on his neck, checking his pulse.

"t-...welve."

He was afraid he'd say that. "No, you're not. Listen to me. You have to calm down!" he ordered softly.

"i just....passed the.." he continued. He was delirious. He thought it was the night he had come home after passing the chunin exams again...

"No, listen to me! You're not a chunin anymore! You're a jounin. You're thirty. Suijin's the Mizukage now. Remember? You nominated her just last month. I became a doctor a few years ago..." he was trying to get Devonte to remember who he was now. If Devonte stayed like this much longer and his mental state would only get worse. After that.... "Dev, come on! Snap out of it! Dammit I can't help you right now! You need to snap out of it!" he pleaded. He was too low on chakra to use any jutsu beyond minor healing. But Devonte kept screaming in pain. This wasn't like a genjutsu.... Shouta couldn't tell him the pain wasn't real because it was... it was just the wound that wasn't real anymore, but what did that matter? Devonte wasn't imrpoving. Shouta whipped his head around, trying to find something- anything that he could do! The only people who could reverse it were those who knew his clan's jutsu, but he couldn't go to them! Even if he begged they would never help Devonte! His eyes looked desperate. Devonte's cries were horrible to listen to. "Dammit Devonte... Why...why can't I ever ******** do anything!!!" 'Why is it every time you need me I'm useless!!!" Gwynevere had stood, motionless for a time. When Devonte had collapsed a smirk had crossed her lips. As if proud of herself. She turned on her heels and continued to walk back to the where the Mist nin were camped out.