AN: I'm sorry for the long wait. I've been kept very busy with work and I don't foresee another chance to get another chapter out for at least another couple of months. I hope you like it!


Tobirama scowled as Hashirama practically manhandled him out of their house that evening, intent on meeting Sakura for the first time while she was conscious. His older brother was practically beaming as he shoved him out the door and gleefully said,

"It's not as if she doesn't know that we are Senju, brother. What harm is there in seeing her in person? She did help us after all!"

His brother was so happy it almost hurt to look at him. Hashirama had been dying to meet Sakura ever since he had found her in the woods. Now that Tobirama was failing to find sufficient enough reasons to delay their meeting any longer due to his grudging admittance of them being Senju, he was not taking no for an answer. After all, what harm could she do to them caged like she was? According to him, Tobirama was just being a highly overprotective younger brother who needed to loosen up a bit. Or, as Hashirama had put it, he needed to take that stick out of his ass.

He didn't appreciate that sentiment. It never hurt to be too careful with the Clan Head when there were always Uchiha prowling about. He had already lost too many in this war. He did not think he could handle it if anything happened to Hashirama when he could have prevented it.

He made a noise of disgruntlement, which was the closest thing he would say to an admittance of defeat, as he stumbled out the door and tried to regain his footing. Reluctantly, he allowed Hashirama to lead him towards their makeshift prison. He was not about to become the clan's entertainment for the day by giving them the spectacle of watching him be dragged, quite literally, to their destination. Hashirama would drag him by the scruff of his neck if he had too and Tobirama was not willing to endure the humiliation of that. Hashirama did not care if he made a ridiculous scene like Tobirama did.

As he sullenly trudged along after his practically skipping brother, giving nods of greeting to any clan members that crossed their path, he once again pondered upon the seals that had surrounded Sakura. After he had left the woman earlier that morning, and knowing that his brother was likely not awake, he had gone to the place she had appeared in to study the area once more, looking for clues that might have been missed. It had been his first time inspecting the area, having been too preoccupied with clan matters and keeping an eye on their captive.

The area had been just as Hashirama had described it. The grass was flattened outwards in a circular pattern around a central point. That point still bore the intricate seals from before, though they had appeared to be fading. He had edged nearer to the seal, taking care to follow Hashirama's footsteps in order to preserve the scene a little longer, and had knelt by the seal only to discover, when he had placed his fingers along the edge of it, a strange sense of familiarity.

It was this feeling that was bothering him now. He had never seen such a seal before. He could not ascertain why it would feel that way to him. The chakra behind it had long since faded away even by the time Hashirama had stumbled upon it. Though, by the looks of it, it must have taken a large amount of chakra to activate. There had been nothing left, but the ink coloured pattern burned on the grass, which appeared to be mostly illegible script. The design was atypical for an Uzumaki or summoning seal. With that knowledge, he had then proceeded to try and memorize it so he could redraw it for the Uzumaki, should it be gone by the time they arrived at the Senju grounds. After all, their clan lived quite far way and it would take them weeks to arrive once they received his missive. The sentry that had been posted to observe the area had given him little useful knowledge about it either. Nothing about the area had changed since the initial incident.

A hand was placed on his left shoulder, startling him back to reality. So lost in thought by the problem before him, he had stopped paying attention to his surroundings. How uncharacteristic for him. Hashirama stood facing him with his right hand on his shoulder, mouth set in a determined flat line. His dark eyes held a glint that Tobirama was all too familiar with seeing. Though, it was unusual to see it out of battle. Whatever it was that his older brother had decided, it would probably be something that he would not agree with and there would be no changing his mind about it either. He resigned himself to this as he questioned,

"Yes, brother?"

Hashirama's grip tightened ever so slightly on his shoulder,

"I need you to wait outside," he paused, as if waiting for Tobirama to object, "There is something I wish to ask of Sakura in private. I am sorry."

Hashirama continued to stare him down as he speculated upon what the other Senju wanted to discuss with Sakura. His curiosity and desire to protect Hashirama was great indeed, but he nodded in quiet acceptance as he gazed back upon his brother.

"I will wait here then. Do try not to get yourself injured," he smirked, watching relief flood over his brother, even if there was a hint of annoyance behind it.

Hashirama scoffed, releasing him from his grip and turning towards the prison. Tobirama watched him go, crossing his arms and preparing to wait. With his sensory abilities, he would be able to tell the instant anything went wrong, if they went wrong. While he waited, he stretched out his senses to the area around him, feeling his clan go about their daily activities, the patrol teams at the outskirts of their territory, and even the Uchiha within their clan borders. All seemed unusually quiet for now. He doubted that the peace and quiet would last. Peace may have seemed more and more likely between their two clans, with more and more Uchiha appearing to be reluctant to fight, but Madara was still adamant in his refusal for peace after he had severely wounded Izuna.

Secretly, Tobirama still thought they should have killed Madara when they had the chance, but he had to admit that the death of the Sharingan user may have rekindled the Uchiha Clan's desire to wipe the Senju off the map. Besides, his own brother would probably never forgive him, seeing as Hashirama seemed to believe that Madara would bring about peace eventually and would become a great asset to have as a friend. He just did not see what his brother saw in that unstable clan. But, alas, he was not the head of the Senju, so, if Hashirama desired peace with them, then he would try his utmost to fulfill his brother's desire. Just like Hashirama, he desired to see future generations not having to suffer the conflict they had endured.

After a few minutes of contemplation, he headed towards the building and leaned against the wall, looking up to the evening sky. The day's blue skies were turning into a stunning array of reds, oranges, and golds as the sun started to set, casting long shadows onto the ground. Today had turned out quite beautiful compared to the torrential rain of yesterday. Though the cool crispness of the air let him know that winter was on its way. Idly, he watched the clouds drift by as he allowed himself to relax for the first time in a long while. As he waited, exhaustion from the past twenty-four hours crept up on him and his eyelids soon felt heavy. 'That's right,' he recalled, 'I haven't gone to sleep yet…'

He debated on heading to his bed for a bit of rest, despite the fact that there must have been a reason Hashirama wanted him to come and wait outside, when he heard the door being opened. He turned towards it, expecting to see just Hashirama exiting.

Instead, he was greeted by the sight of pink hair and nervous green eyes. She immediately bowed to him and he stiffly nodded back to her as he sent an inquisitive look to his brother, "What are you up to, Hashirama?"

His tone was steely as he looked at them both, pushing himself off the wall and turning to face them properly. The darker brother grinned sheepishly and brought a hand up to rub the back of his head.

"I figured that now would be just as good a time as any for her to look over her two patients."

There was something behind his brother's look that betrayed that there was an ulterior motive to allowing her out. Probably nothing serious so he let it go for now. Sakura kept glancing between them, looking a bit starstruck. Hashirama was well known throughout the land for his unique wood style jutsu, but Tobirama, while fearsome in his own right, did not think his reputation had spread very far compared to Hashirama. At least, not as far as her extremely distant village, if her description of how far away it had been was accurate. In his mind, he filed away the look for further examination later on. Now was not the time.

Hashirama took the lead to head towards the tents, Sakura walking beside him to not give her as easy a target as Hashirama's back, and he, himself, walked behind the two of them, keeping a careful eye on the kunoichi. He noted that Hashirama had already removed her chakra seals. She was quiet as they walked, but seemed strangely relaxed in their presence. He frowned. Such an unusual woman, she was.

When they entered they entered the tents, the two patients respectfully greeted Hashirama and him before they exclaimed a loud thank you to Sakura with matching grins. Both of them had recovered remarkably well in their absence, a testament to Sakura's healing skills. Tobirama had not expected them to look as lively as they did. Sakura looked a little abashed as she said that it was no problem to help them. She was just doing her job. Then, once again the confident medical nin from before, she approached them and asked to see their hands.

Tobirama and Hashirama moved to the side, just out of range of Sakura's hearing should they talk quietly to each other. For a moment, they silently watched as Sakura got one of them to flex their hand and then started to gently press on the end of each finger, asking if they could feel the pressure. The look on her face turned happy and relieved at her patient's answers. Good news then.

Still keeping an eye on her, Tobirama half turned to his brother as his brother looked towards him.

"Tobi," As Hashirama drew out the despised nickname, Tobirama suppressed a cringe.

"I'm letting her out of the prison. I do not think that she is a threat, but I want you to keep an eye on her and make sure she does not leave the compound. At least for now."

Tobirama blinked and then frowned. "Are you sure that is wise? We still do not know why she is here or how her transportation came to be."

He wanted to be blunter than that, to outright disagree, but Hashirama did not have his usual carefree look. No, he had that serious look from before. The one that usually only came out in dire situations. He most have learnt what he had wished to know from the girl, but it seemed he did not like the answer. Yet, he still deemed her safe enough to have around.

"I know that you do not trust her and I can't say for sure that I do either, but I see no reason to keep her imprisoned. I learnt what I needed to know and, to me, she her story matches what you've told me."

Tobirama's eyes were drawn to Hashirama's feet as he tapped the ground once. His eyes snapped back up to his brother's as he recalled the make of the prison's floor. Wood. It was nigh on impossible to hide anything from Hashirama with his connection to the wood around them. Had Hashirama just been verifying everything? He had been with her for quite a long time. Much longer than just asking a question or two. Intrigued, he asked,

"Just what is it that you learned?"

Hashirama turned back to Sakura, who had moved back to examine the man's face, and sighed, "It is not my story to tell, I am afraid. Suffice to say, I believe her. Should the need arise, I will inform you, but, for now, please trust me. Perhaps, she will tell you on her own. I can say this, however, she did not come here willingly, but I think you knew that."

Trust was something Tobirama had trouble giving on most occasions, but his brother was one of the few he gave it to unquestionably. Despite the haunted shadows that seemed to pass over his brother, he acquiesced. He looked back towards Sakura as well, wondering just what she had informed Hashirama of to cause such a look. Hashirama spoke up again as Sakura finished with her first examinations and moved to the other man.

"I will let her stay in the building across from here. She will need supervision even there. I was th-"

Tobirama interrupted before Hashirama could suggest who to watch her.

"I will keep an eye on her then. Should I be called away, it should not be difficult to find another to keep watch."

By staying with her, he hoped to glean the information from her that she had told Hashirama, even if he did not particularly feel like playing jailor to her at all times. Hashirama nodded, "If that is what you wish."

They fell into a comfortable silence after that discussion, using the time to observe and think. After a short while, Sakura said her goodbyes and approached them, seemingly satisfied with her results. Respectfully, she reported with an easy confidence born from years of practice in the medical field,

"Lords Senju, I am finished with my examinations. They are healing very well and I do not foresee any future issues with the use of their hands."

Hashirama grinned and patted her on the shoulder, "Great! Let's get going. I'll show you where you will be staying for now."

She smiled softly and allowed Hashirama to guide her out the tent. Tobirama, once more trailing behind, shook his head.

This was not a good idea. He only hoped he was wrong about this.