|Chapter 1|

Sunlight drifted in through the open curtains, sifting onto the floor, reflecting off the mirror on the wall opposite. Minutes dragged on, seconds flew by, and still the silence continued. Dust floated in the unmoving, stale air.

Outside the boudoir were two young men; the first was rather tall, easily towering over the younger male, with long dark hair and dark eyes. He had a tanned complexion and a kind face. The second man, younger by five years almost, pursed his lips. His hair was as white as snow, and his skin was just as pale; his eyes seemed to be shards of red ice.

"Shall we enter?" asked the younger male, looking inquisitively at the eldest, who shook his head. "Why not?"

"It would be improper," was all the elder brother said. He resumed thinking peacefully, patiently waiting, unlike his brother. "Tobirama, relax for now. They will not be coming for another hour yet."

"Yes, perhaps so," Tobirama cleared his throat loudly, eyeing the door. "However, things still need to be prepared—"

"And they will be," Hashirama calmly told him, a slight mischievous twinkle in his friendly eyes. "I promise you. Everything will go according to plan. That, we can all be sure of."

Tobirama sighed, leaning back against the wall before pushing himself off again. "But what if she has not woken up by then? She is meant to prepare the guest rooms, the feast. She is the hostess, after all."

Hashirama tutted him playfully. "She will, Tobirama. She will be awake and prepared by then."

Tobirama scoffed quietly. "It seems far from that, Hashirama. She still needs to open her door."

"Then do the honours for her."

Tobirama stared at him. Something wasn't right, he was certain of it. Then it clicked. "She is already awake and preparing everything, is she not?"

Hashirama laughed heartily. Smiling, he said, "She barely slept. She did most of it herself, in fact."

Tobirama sighed. "Why did you not tell me?"

"I wanted to see your expression," Hashirama admitted unabashedly. "Now I have, let us move on. I believe she has just the Great Hall to finish." Hashirama began walking down the corridor, with Tobirama lagging behind as he walked ahead. "Hurry up, Tobirama."

By the time they entered the Great Hall, they were left in awe. Lanterns hung from the ceiling in various bright colours; galas of flowers adorned the armour and swords that decorated the walls; the tables were in lines, vaguely reminding anyone who looked at them of soldiers waiting patiently in a queue; and the highest table, reserved for only the finest Shinobi of the clan, sat proudly, with polished silver plates gleaming in the intense light.

Hashirama smiled.

Tobirama looked to his left and spotted the person responsible; he called out to her, "Satomi-chan, where do you think you are going?"

Tresses of golden orange tumbled down her back, released from the ponytail she usually wore. Her amber eyes snapped up to meet his. "I should change my dress before Mito-san arrives. It would be rude not to, Tobirama-kun."

"Yes," Tobirama nodded, his crimson eyes glowing strangely. "I will let you go this time."

Satomi gave him a kind smile, rolling her eyes. "Yes, Tobirama-kun. Thank you." She was gone from sight as quickly as she had caught his eye.

Tobirama turned to Hashirama, "So?"

"So what?"

"When are you going to ask Mito-san for her hand in marriage?"

A light primrose dusted Hashirama's cheeks. "What makes you think she will say yes?"

"I have been talking about it with Satomi. She agrees – Mito-san will not turn you down. Women know how their minds work, it seems."

Hashirama laughed. "Are you confessing that you are as clueless as I am in these affairs, Tobirama?" He looked down at his younger brother.

"I am not as clueless, but clueless nonetheless, yes," Tobirama said, "I admit it." He looked around the Great Hall, absorbing the sight with hungry eyes. "It seems Satomi is more feminine that first perceived." Hashirama laughed at him. "You cannot deny it – even you did not think she would manage such a feat."

"No, but I do not marvel at her work like you do. You are truly besotted with her, Tobirama."

Tobirama rolled his vermillion orbs and rested his gaze on the highest table. The biggest chair was reserved for Hashirama, as he was the clan's newly-elected leader, and the one on his right was solely for Tobirama. However, it was no secret in the clan that the seat beside Tobirama belonged to his lover: Senju Satomi.

Coughing, Hashirama awoke Tobirama from his reverie. "Mito-san will arrive shortly with her clan. Are you ready to receive our guests?"

"I believe so."

"Then stop dreaming about Satomi-san. It is inappropriate," bit out Hashirama cheekily, grinning.

Tobirama rolled his eyes, unimpressed. "Why is it unsurprising that you only acquire your cheek when faced with nerves, Hashirama?"

Hashirama laughed heartily, smiling brightly at his younger brother. Unbeknownst to them, two Shinobi stumbled down the bottom of the hallway, unsure of their whereabouts, looking around suspiciously. The first one to notice the two Senju brothers standing at the Great Hall's entrance was the younger male, who narrowed his eyes at the sight of them, in particular Tobirama.

He nudged the other man, who turned and spotted the Senju brothers immediately. At the same time, Hashirama looked over the top of Tobirama's white hair and saw them. His face broke into a friendly smile. "Hello, kinsmen, how are you feeling?" Even his voice was jovial.

Tobirama rolled his head round and squinted at the two men; both had darkish hair, nearly as dark as Hashirama's long hair, but they also had more masculine—could he say?—faces. They were both attractive men in their own right, he had to admit rather begrudgingly. They were probably only half Senju, however, because the only other Senju member he knew with a sharp face was Toka, whose mother was from outside the clan.

Before either could answer, Tobirama curtly asked, "What are your names?"

The eldest gritted his teeth momentarily. He never liked Tobirama much. "Senju Makoto, Tobirama-sama."

Noticing the undertone of resentment, Tobirama narrowed his eyes and nodded curtly and then stared at the younger male, who had a more relaxed posture. "And I am Senju Jiro."

Of course, both of them were lying, but due their impressive control of their chakra, Tobirama could not detect that with his sensory skills, and instead said, "Very well, then. Where—"

He was interrupted by a soft voice cooing, "Is everything all right?"

All four men turned around, greeted by a small smile resting on Satomi's painted red lips. Her eyelashes were darker and looked longer, framing and empathising the intense amber hue of her eyes. She wore an intricately-designed red kimono, with a deep navy obi. In Tobirama's eyes, she looked exquisite.

"Well?"

Tobirama cleared his throat and stepped towards her. "You look stunning, Satomi-chan." She beamed at him. He turned to face Hashirama, "I thought you had to greet the Uzumaki clan, brother."

Hashirama gave him a peculiar look. "We have to, yes. Come on, stop gawking—"

"Brother!"

"—and follow me. We need to wait for them by the border. I am certain that Satomi-san will be able to manage readying the clan for us, will you not, Satomi-san?" He faced her.

She smiled politely, bowing slightly to her new leader. "Of course, Hashirama-sama."

Hashirama laughed faintly. "You may drop the –sama, Satomi-san. Since when I have asked you to call me by such an honorific?"

She stared at him, bemused. "I—"

"No matter," Tobirama cut in impatiently, making Satomi scowl at him for interrupting her. He sent his brother a firm look. "We need to be moving on, brother. The Uzumaki clan—"

"Yes, yes, I know."

The look Tobirama shot him told all who were present that he didn't believe his own brother's words. "Then ... can we depart now?" he asked cynically. Satomi rolled her eyes, smiling pleasantly. "Before the sun rises tomorrow?"

Tobirama turned and looked at Satomi, who smiled gently at him. "Stay safe, please, Tobirama."

Both of the newcomers noted the dropping of the honorific. What surprised them more was when she raised to her tiptoes and lightly kissed his cheek, trying to not stain the whiteness with red lipstick.

Tobirama's hand clasped hers and he leaned down to whisper in her ear, "I promise I will return, just for you."

Satomi smiled ruefully. "I would hope so."

Hashirama cleared his throat, a tad embarrassed at his brother's uncharacteristically romantic gesture. Normally, Tobirama would have taken Satomi aside, to a different room even, and said something so sincere to her. But he did not. Briefly, Hashirama wondered if the presence of the two new faces had something to do with it. Most probably, seeing as Tobirama was somewhat territorial. "We need to get moving, as you kindly pointed out, brother."

Tobirama scowled at him. "Brother—"

"Tobirama, the more you argue, the longer your journey will take," pointed out Satomi quietly, facing all four men, "Just go and be back soon."

Tobirama nodded. "I will."

Satomi smiled weakly and stepped back, so that Tobirama and Hashirama could pass her. She watched them until they turned the corner and vanished. She sighed. Turning to look at the remaining two men, she asked them, "So where are your stations?"

"We were dismissed from parole, Senju-chan," piped up the youngest man. "We were serving on the east boundary."

"I hope there was no trouble there."

"There was none."

It seemed like an awkward moment had arisen because of the abrupt closure of the discussion. Finally, Satomi said, "You two should get ready for the celebrations this evening. I do not know how long the Uzumaki clan will be."

"A good idea," remarked the youngest, peering at his brother. "Do you agree?" All the elder man did was nod, not peeling his eyes away from the friendly face of Satomi. The younger man turned to her, "We will see you shortly ... ?"

She offered her hand daintily. "I am Senju Satomi, Jiro-san."

He shook her hand, smiling falsely. "A pleasure, Satomi-san." He turned to his brother, "Shall we depart now?"

"Yes."

Okay, just to say — I'm going by the anime version of Tobirama's eyes. I know they're dark, before anyone corrects me, but if anyone reading this has only ever watched the anime then ... well, you can guess my reasons.

Also, this is purely experimental. If people don't like this story, I won't pursue it and instead will focus on my other Uchiha-Senju story. So, anyway, thanks for reading! Ciao. R&R!