A casual walk along sun scorched sands was a wonderful way to awaken One's self within the mist of the morning. It was still the hour of the sand man and all He wanted to do was return to the bed in which He rose from earlier that night.
However, He was on watch duty and could not abandon the post that was carefully given to him. His small feet left barely an imprint upon the vast area - vast compared to Him.
Days had passed since He had reawoken from his slumber. His father was no where to be seen, and by proxy, the brothers in which He devoted himself to.
Oh, dearest of kin. Where art thou so loud withdinst the morrow morn?
"Isaaaaaa!"
He stood corrected.
Two pairs of pattering feet sprinted at Him with the fullest intentions of taking Him down to the ground, grubby hands outstretched in excited displays of brotherly love. The same brotherly love that made Him dodge to the side and watch as the younger duo collapsed in on themselves.
"Boys," He grinned at the two, "to what do I owe the pleasure of seeing you today?"
"C'mon, bro!" The youngest, Asura cried.
Indra piped up beside his brother, "We wanted to see you before you went!"
"Before I went?" He asked, with a cocked eyebrow.
The duo linked arms and gave an eye shining grin, willing to match the heavens above.
"Pa said you were going for a biiiiig old nap!" Indra said with emphasis on the 'big'. Asura nodded to his brother's words before opening his own mouth.
"Yah! He said you were gonna go sleep 'n let us train!"
The boys bounced around the eldest for a moment before settling on grabbing at his arms, pulling in the opposite of either set of cardinal directions with gleeful chanting. "C'mon! Take us for a swim! Let's go!"
He gave a mock sigh, untangled his arms, and hoisted the squealing children into them then up on his shoulders; ignoring the way their knees found him to his collar bone. He took few strides to the water that lay to the West of him before stepping on the liquidous body - like it was solid stone.
The boys cried victory cheers at the admittance of the eldest and began demanding direction as if He was a vessel and they the captains.
Isamu smiled. Time would tell for their relationship.
—————
His hand reached up to pat the slimey skin of a six tailed slug, who's body stretched around him.
"Brother, are you sure you must?" Came the quiet grumble.
"Saiken, you know I must. Father has foreseen that our brothers cannot handle life without a guide," Was the response. "I have yet to live to my namesake."
"But brother-! What if… you do not reawaken…?"
Isamu's head began to nod with the force of gravity, the previous quirks of his mouth dropping. "Then so be it…"
A thunderous cacophony of footsteps made their displeasure known as an angered snort left the five tailed horse that sat nearby. Kokuo was the quietest about her displeasure but she made it known, with her mighty white head nuzzling against Isamu's entire body.
"Brother, what if Father forgets of us?" She asked.
Minor outcries came from the rest of the pack.
"Father would never!"
"How could you say that, Kokuo?"
"I'll make him forget you in a minute!"
The eldest of them all chuckled under his breath before patting the white beast firmly - as you would with a large dog. "I would sooner wake up as a corpse than allow Father to forget even a single one of my beloved siblings."
Son Goku grunted in a confirmation before returning to the giant rope that Isamu had procured for him; with minor difficulty. The boy thanked his father internally that his siblings swore to not grow much bigger before he awoke; he wouldn't have enough time in the world to gather enough entertaining birthday presents.
"But what if?" The only girl whispered, eyes turned downward. "You and Father are mortal… you more so than Father - what if you… you do not survive the process…? What will happen to Oneself and Brethren?"
A baited breath was held in that moment.
Isamu was not pleased, but he understood how his siblings felt. He was more fragile than the rest of his family… it came from being the eldest of a mortal born mother and thereby receiving all the bad parts before his blood brothers.
Yet, he still was more sturdy than the average human.
Especially when it came to his father's Ninshu - Isamu was a professional at even the most difficult of techniques.
"I tell you, Kukuo," they all perked up, "if there is one day where you feel that I absolutely must awaken, then I shall place a false safe in my slumber. You must all share a piece of your Chakra, one by one, in order, to awaken me."
Quiet mumbles filled the room before everyone relaxed. "Of course, brother."
"Maa… was that so hard…?" Isamu's head finally dropped against his chest and a warmth filled the space surrounding him.
The beasts all back up slowly but surely, and took the final glances at their eldest brother before settling into the darkest of the cave - with more than just one watching the way his breathing slowed and mouth chilled into a casual line.
"I see Isamu has already begun."
The heads all turned to face the wisest man upon the green earth and they all perked. "Father!"
Hagoromo pet each of his more beast-like children on the closest body parts as he made his way to his eldest child. Had it only been 20 odd years since the eldest child welcomed brothers - and just last year, a brood of siblings - into his arms?
Oh, how time flew.
The Sage of Sixth Paths took a step back, and Hagoromo the Father stepped forward as he sat beside the one son that looked so much like his mother and not enough like his wife - with a far more calm approach to world peace. Hagoromo was proud to admit that his eldest son definitely knew the idea in which he stemmed his beliefs from, but was shamed to admit that his son acted more on the side of shadow than light.
It took a lot out of him, to arrive this day and wave off the slumbering child. It would take even more out as he realised just… how many temples he would have to build.
Ten, in total. Ten… and a burial site for the body of his mother.
The Sage finally took a step back forward and waved off the Father as he turned to look at the worried, chubby faces of his brood. "Isamu is going to sleep for a bit, my children. Shall we go see the sites for your temples?"