vii. with red in your eyes

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Sasori dealt with the death of his parents like most had expected he would. He grieved and mourned their loss, unaware of how he could move past it. There was no way he could turn to his grandmother for comfort; she had just lost a son and (though not by blood) a daughter. Chiyo was in mourning too; unable to focus fully on her grandchildren while she wallowed in her own grief.

Sasori had thought maybe he was doomed to spiral into depression. Perhaps he'd go mad, or maybe he'd grow cold instead. None of those conclusions seemed to be meant for him, however, as Sasori found hope in someone he hadn't initially considered before.

The redhead was saved by his very own baby brother. Kyojin held the sun in his hands and shoved it into Sasori's arms, pushing away the darkness that had originally been festering within him. If Sasori were to picture what his life would be like without Kyojin in it... No. Such a thing was impossible to imagine.

"Nii-sama, do you have an antidote to this poison? Komushi dropped the one I had."

Sasori looked up from the book he was (barely) paying attention to, his musings vanishing from the forefront of his mind. Kyojin stood in his doorway, sweating what looked like buckets. His clothes were drenched, his skin was awfully pale, and his pupils were dilated. If this were a new occurrence, Sasori's heart would stutter before being overwhelmed by a silent panic.

This was nothing new, however. Kyojin's interest in poisons had skyrocketed throughout the years, as had his proficiency with them. Skill was not the same as experience however, so the young brunet was still a bit more careless than Sasori would like.

With a sigh and a shake of his head, Sasori stood from his seat at his desk and moved to where he stored his antidotes. The redhead glanced back at Kyojin once more, scanning over his condition and the symptoms he was showing. Kyojin was trembling, looking like he'd fall over at any moment, and yet he stood tall; Sasori inwardly gleamed with pride. His little otōto was strong; a fighter.

"Have you thrown up yet?"

"No, but the nausea is there."

Nodding his head, Sasori pulled out a vial of the correct antidote. Kyojin held out his hand for it, but  Sasori merely snatched it away before signaling his brother to take a seat on his bed. Kyojin obeyed, but not without a groan in complaint.

"Were you experimenting with the Yellow Jessamine?" Sasori helped Kyojin lay back before he opened the vial and presented it to him.

"Yeah," Kyojin replied after he tossed the antidote down his throat. He sighed heavily, relaxing further into his brother's bed. "I'm trying to blend it with the Candelabras Cactus... Maybe...make it more lethal...?"

A small smile made it's way onto Sasori's face as Kyojin began to doze off. Antidotes usually had that effect on the brunet; either making him drowsy, or completely sluggish. Sasori began to gently comb his hand through Kyojin's damp locks, moving them away from his face so that he could see his brother more properly.

Kyojin looked a lot like their mother; with gentle features and soft skin. His hair and eyes were the same dark brown their mother had as well. Some would say that Kyojin looked average (especially when next to Sasori), but the redhead had always found Kyojin to be beautiful.

After he had set aside the empty vial, Sasori settled in beside Kyojin and held him close to his chest. For a moment —just a moment— Sasori put his walls down and placed his mask aside. He relaxed fully, and hid his face in the crook of Kyojin's neck so that he could cry without worry.

He felt so blessed and lucky to have Kyojin in his life. His little brother was all he had left; of course there was Chiyo, Ebizō, and even Komushi but... None of them filled his heart like Kyojin did. None of them would ever be as important to him as Kyojin.

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