When you were both little, you were the best of friends, two little alphas who used to spend their time running, playing, and training. There were almost never any fights unless it was over who got to eat the last tempura. Shinjuro had brought you to the Rengoku estate from a very young age after rescuing you, so you were raised and treated like one of the family in that house since no one had ever vouched for you or looked for you.

As you grew up, you and Kyojuro debated who would inherit the Hashira position when the time came, because Shinjuro had instilled in you both that you both needed to be strong... Of course, until the man broke down. It didn't really matter who took the position; you were both supposed to be friends anyway, but being alphas, this ended in an argument that literally led to bites and scratches. If it hadn't been for poor Senjuro, who threw a bucket of water between you and you to separate you so neither of you would get hurt, things would have ended worse.

It all ended with the fact that, even though they were enemies, Ubuyashiku appointed them both to share the title of Hashira because they both displayed excellent swordsmanship skills, and he couldn't simply settle for just one. This led to meetings, where, despite showing due respect, they were always discreetly nudging each other or pinching each other because they couldn't tolerate each other's presence. Even if they still lived under the same roof.