Unchained
The Aburame arrive the following day; Tobirama finds out mid-afternoon, when a messenger enters the Amaterasu Residence's garden as he is carefully tossing Kiso up into the air and catching him, to delighted toddler screaming and a refrain of "Ageh! Ageh!" as Otoki looks on bemusedly from where he is sprawled on the grass, cringing every now and then and flattening his ears against the piercing volume. Tobirama sympathises with the leopard, but agonisingly shrill volume is a function of childhood and he much prefers this to unhappy silence.
Otoki visiting today means that only Kyōnari has not come to see him since Tōnari placed a Claim on Kiso, but Tobirama isn't too surprised by that; Kyōnari is a very eager hunter but a reluctant babysitter. Not that Otoki or Chikaki are particularly enthusiastic about small human cubs, but that's more to do with their youth. Shizuki is rather more entranced, but he's older and starting to get to the age where he is becoming interested in mating, and with that comes a greater tolerance for childish antics.
His summons age more slowly than he does by virtue of being summons, despite their childhood being dramatically shorter; a snow leopard is out of cub-hood by their fifth year –which is also when they start learning human speech– but the adolescent stage lasts about twenty years and adulthood seems to stretch into the centuries, if Tōnari is to be believed.
Chikaki is the youngest of his summons; he got her barely out of cub-hood and she will not mature for another fifteen years. Otoki is next-youngest, almost twenty years of age now; Shizuki is twenty-seven, recently adult and just starting to make overtures to seasonal partners.
Tobirama will not get to summon any of Shizuki's potential future cubs unless the leopard makes a strong enough impression on a seasonal mate for her to allow him to become a more long-term partner, and even then it will likely be a full five years after the birth before he can so much as meet them with an eye to winning them over; snow leopards are matriarchal.
If Tōnari or Kyōnari had cubs on the other hand, as their summoner he would likely be heavily involved in raising them. However Kyōnari is very pointedly disinterested in either mating or cubs, and Tōnari hasn't had a cub since Chikaki, who was presented to him by her gleeful mother as a scrawny pre-adolescent the year he turned fifteen.
Chikaki is probably never going to stop calling him 'Nii-san'. It hurts less now than it did when he was fifteen.
Tobirama ignores the messenger, but can track the man's progress as much by Otoki's shift in focus as by the man's own chakra. It's an Uchiha, probably one of the younger Outguard; he enters the house and Izuna's office, then leaves again shortly after.
Tobirama has switched to swinging Kiso around in circles –to more joyful squealing, if at a slightly lower volume– when Izuna steps out onto the engawa to watch them. Setting Kiso on the grass –the toddler staggers drunkenly and falls over, giggling madly– he walks up to her, leaning in for a kiss.
"Do you need something, Lord-Wife?" He asks as Otoki ambles over to Kiso and nudges the boy with his nose, rolling him over onto his back; Kiso wriggles into a sitting position, still swaying and giggling.
"Half the Aburame party has arrived," Izuna tells him, taking his hand in hers and idly playing with his fingers. "My Lord-Father is greeting them, and informs me that he will be hosting a Yūzari-no-chaji in the Diplomatic Quarters for them come sunset, which we are expected to attend."
Tobirama feels his stomach sink and a chill overtake him despite the heat of the afternoon. Izuna reads his trepidation right off his face:
"Don't worry, we will be fourth and fifth guest respectively; the three Aburame will be guests of honour. My father wants us to be present so he can demonstrate you are indeed in good health before dialogue opens tomorrow, while denying our guests the opportunity to speak to you of your experiences before restitution for the offense enacted against you –and therefore against me– can be negotiated."
Ah. That makes a great deal of sense. "It is a great honour to attend a chaji hosted by the Uchiha Outguard head," Tobirama notes dryly, relieved that he will not be the centre of attention.
"It is indeed and I unfortunately do not have an unlined tea kimono ready for you yet," Izuna admits ruefully, "but at least it is an evening ceremony, so you will hopefully not be uncomfortable." She pauses, fingers still caressing his hand. "I can walk you through a chaji with sharingan after we've put Kiso to bed, if that would help."
"I would be most grateful." His chakai is now comfortably fluent –as first guest at least; he would barely know where to start serving one– but Izuna has thus far spared him the formality of chaji. Evidently that is going to change. Perhaps at her father's instigation, but he is not so foolish as to not recognise that there would have been formal teas in his future regardless. "Half the Aburame party?"
"This is a mediation, and it was the Senju who requested it; the other four Aburame will be visiting them, to discuss their intent, hopes and goals, and to ascertain the overall tone of the negotiations."
Seven of them in total; considering that one Aburame can kill three trained warriors without lifting so much as a finger, it suggests they are taking matters very seriously indeed. "So half the Aburame are visiting each of the two parties undertaking the negotiation they are mediating, and then later tonight they will compare notes in time for tomorrow morning." He knows pavilions have been pitched down by the Uchiha's southern boundary in anticipation of these kuge guests, and that his brother has been seen growing pavilions of his own on the far side of the river for the negotiations to take place under; this is a far more complex undertaking than the ceasefire ordered by the daimyo the autumn before last.
Tobirama now knows enough about the traditions and practices of both clans to recognise that a genuine peace treaty will not be a quick process.
"That is, I believe, the intention." Izuna pauses. "It is very likely that, after my father had negotiated for my demanded restitution for the assassination attempt, your uncle will express a desire for further negotiations, to form a proper treaty between our clans. If that is the case, negotiating such a thing will likely be deferred until the autumn, when the temperatures are no longer so stifling."
Tobirama nods; where is his wife going with this?
"In which case, the interim period will be used to arrange more hospitable temporary accommodations," his wife continues, "and you will likely be repeatedly invited to call upon whichever Aburame remain to oversee such. And, potentially, attend mixed gatherings with Senju guests."
Tobirama swallows. "I would be permitted to do so?"
Izuna smiles fondly at him, a pang shivering through her chakra. "I do not want to keep you from your kin," she says quietly, "and so long as these gatherings take place on Uchiha land, I do not see a reason to forbid them. However I may not be able to attend them, given my pregnancy, in which case I would have to assign you a companion or else risk my Lord-Father selecting one." She pauses. "Do also consider the awkwardness of travel without chakra, Treasure; someone would have to carry you."
Profoundly undignified, but not humiliating enough to make the prospect lose its appeal. "I have no objections to your assigning me a guard; several guards even, if that will satisfy your father's paranoia."
"Then there may well be occasions for you to wear your summer visiting kimono, Treasure," his wife tells him, lifting his hand to her mouth so she can kiss his knuckles.
Kiso is currently sprawled on his front, happily enthralled with some small thing in the grass –possibly a beetle– as Otoki sits beside him, twitching tail-tip denoting similar focus. Tobirama leans in to kiss his wife again.
"You will bring Keigetsu-chan over the day after tomorrow, in the afternoon."
"As we agreed, Treasure."
Tobirama pauses, then decides to risk it: "And on the matter of husbands?"
Izuna's eyes drop. "I am going to visit an aunt tomorrow morning, while Kiso is out, for a chance to articulate my thoughts to a discreet ear," she says quietly, "and if Kiso agrees to spend the afternoon elsewhere –hopefully arrangements will be made today– we will have privacy for our discussion."
"An entire morning, all to myself," Tobirama teases gently; "is my wife not afraid I will get up to mischief in her absence?"
"And who is to say, Tobirama, that the purpose of my leaving you to your own devices is not to find out what mischief you get up to unsupervised?" Izuna teases him back, tugging playfully on his hand until he leans in for another kiss.
"Even if that involves filling the bath-house pool with cold water for my leopards to play in? Or picking every single flower in the garden?" He asks between kisses, wrapping his other arm around her back and sliding her kimono collar down a little further so he can lean in and kiss the faint scars his teeth have left on her neck.
He's very sure the seal on his back would not keep him from doing either of those examples, or any number of other things calibrated for maximum annoyance and minimal long-term impact.
His wife shakes with amusement against his chest, her free hand stroking lightly behind his ears. "Swim naked if the koi pond if it pleases you, Treasure; just be aware that upon making oneself a subject of clan gossip, nobody will ever let you forget it."
Tobirama works his way back around her throat and jawline to her mouth, kissing her as heatedly as the late spring sunshine will allow for. "I will keep that in mind," he rumbles, finally pulling back, "and tailor my efforts accordingly."
His wife's faintly anticipatory chuckles are music to his ears.
Dressing for the Tea Ceremony is vaguely nerve-racking; Tobirama wishes very much he had a proper men's obi to wear with his brown damask kimono, but he only has the orange one –not remotely suitable for Tea– and so he will be wearing the black obi with the seedpod and willow design, along with the set of cypress-brown obi cords he made for himself while waiting for the ceasefire to be signed. After tying his obi in a drum bow and redoing his hair, Tobirama stares at his reflection in the mirror over his wash-stand and wonders what on earth he's doing.
It's been seventy days since Izuna kidnapped him. Seventy days. His life has changed beyond recognition and is still changing, all in a little over two months.
It's far too late to second-guess himself; Tobirama steps out from behind the screen, kneels to gently ruffle Kiso's hair and press a kiss to the sleeping boy's forehead, rubs Tōnari behind the ears then heads out through the fusuma for his promised tutorial before the chaji. Having a more clearly-defined idea of what will happen and how he should act will do a lot to settle his nerves.
Seeing his wife with her hair done in a very feminine style, decorously dressed in deceptively plain deep purple with the sand-brown obi painted with pebbles and starfish, sappanwood obi cords blending in well with the shades of grey and brown-tinted pink, does a lot to help him find his centre. It reminds him that he is only being invited to this so the Aburame can attest to his health; the main event will be between Tajima and his guests. Even Izuna is attending as a prop; little is expected of her, and even less of him.
"Please take care of me," he jokes lightly as she takes his hands, eyes lighting up with sharingan.
She grins at him, chakra bubbling with joy. "Always, Tobirama."
Tea Ceremony is intended as a restful experience. Tobirama would not ever have believed being served sakura-blossom tea and a long meal with many small courses by Uchiha Tajima could be restful, but the man is extremely good at moderating both his chakra and his physical presence to comply with the spirit of the Tea: the Outguard Head is self-effacing and muted, not so much veiled as clear and empty of anything other than the ritual of serving.
So Tobirama eats neatly, quietly and measuredly, politely pretending not to notice the tiny beetle perching on his collar that landed there as he was being introduced to Aburame Shisaku, who is leading this very polite negotiation. He is sure it is not the only beetle he is currently wearing, given that Aburame Shibun and Shijō were also introduced, but pointing that out would most certainly be impolite.
Given the dark quartz lenses all three Aburame are wearing despite the late hour and the fading light, Tobirama vaguely has to wonder if there's any truth to the tall tales that Aburame are all blind and use their hives to 'see' with. He's not thinking about it –this is a Tea Ceremony– but the idea is floating idly at the back of his mind, along with the various other rumours he's overheard. Like the one about them having no eyeballs at all. And the one about all Aburame being men. Or all being women, despite the evident facial hair two of these guests have.
It's hard to get a solid read on gender through a stiff coat, especially when the shinobi in question mostly smell like chitin. It's not noticeably easier through deep grey kimono with subtly different tiny kasuri patterns, either; that all three of these Aburame are wearing narrow masculine obi and were introduced to him with neutral pronouns makes him wonder if their clan does it entirely on purpose. Not so very different from the methods the Uchiha use to obscure their female warriors, and fulfilling a similar purpose.
Or whether the rumour about their gender being as well-defined as that of their beetles –which is to say, not at all– has any substance to it. There are tall tales about how all the Aburame you see are sexless workers, born of a queen who never leaves their clan grounds and is ferociously defended by elite warriors. Nobody's ever invaded Aburame territory and lived to tell the tale, so the lurid stories live on.
Tobirama thinks it is more likely that Aburame are just as human as any other shinobi. After all, the Uchiha also wear concealing coats and all seem to be male in the field, but these dramatic and ridiculous rumours do not get bandied about concerning them.
Well, other than the one about Uchiha being demons. Because of course only demons would have spinning red eyes that give people nightmares. Tobirama would roll his own eyes at the imaginations of civilians, except that he has relatives who thoughtlessly repeat these fabrications as well; legitimate reasons to fear eye-contact only go so far.
The wagashi served after the final course of the meal are beautiful, each one individually crafted and delicately shaped like a many-petalled flower, elaborately dyed so no two are at all the same. Tobirama eats his carefully, then there is a pause in which the guests go outside into the candle-lit garden so the tea room –in this instance, the Diplomatic Quarters' tatami room– can be swept and refreshed.
Aburame Shijō takes this opportunity to gravely compliment the starfish on Izuna's obi, which leads into a leisurely conversation on crustaceans that Aburame Shisaku joins in with. Aburame Shibun however turns to Tobirama:
"Have you attended a firefly viewing party yet, Uchiha-dono?"
It is deeply jarring to be addressed as 'Uchiha-dono'. However that is the address Tajima established before this Tea, so he has to live with it. "I have not, Aburame-dono," Tobirama concedes, "however my Lord-Wife's koi pond is large and lush, so I have been able to watch the fireflies over it of late." And the dragonflies during the day, which Kiso finds delightful.
"They are lovely, are they not?" Shinbun says, softness colouring their tone. "One of summer's fleeting joys, all the more precious for its brevity. A singularly beautiful display." Their lips twitch: "even those who do not care for insects will praise the beauty of summer fireflies."
Tobirama smirks sympathetically. "My Lord-Wife's young cousin and ward is very taken with the insects in her garden; I have admired many different beetles lately."
He doesn't mention that the light patterns of the fireflies over her koi pond are very different to the ones he is used to seeing over the Senju vassals' rice paddies.
"Did the little entomologist bring you anything particularly memorable, Uchiha-dono?" Shinbun asks mischievously.
"The jewel beetle was very pretty," Tobirama replies lightly, "but the rhinoceros beetle was a bit much." Thankfully Otoki was able to convince Kiso that he should not try to pick up the mantis, but Tobirama was still dragged over to admire it as it munched on the decapitated corpse of a cricket.
"Terrible, that so many children grow out of that joy; I shall pray that your small ward does not, Uchiha-dono."
Tobirama smiles at the thought of a fully-grown Kiso still bringing him beetles to admire, but then it is time for the tea ceremony to continue and the conversation ends.
Once the chaji is finally over and they have stepped outside the Diplomatic Quarters' front gate, Tobirama turns on his wife and takes both her hands in hers.
"Will my Lord-Wife take me to her bed tonight?" He asks, maliciously inconsiderate of their audience. Reading surprise in the chakra of their guests and bemused ire in Tajima's is well within his ability at this range.
Izuna smiles at him. "Would it please my concubine were I to do so?" She asks teasingly, revealing her willingness to enable him in this.
"Very much," Tobirama replies shamelessly, lifting one of her hands so he can lightly kiss her knuckles, then swapping to the other one. Kiso will be asleep in his bedroom right now, babysat by Tōnari, so he will have to either retreat to his own bed to sleep or move Kiso so as to keep his promise to the toddler of sleeping beside him, but that will be no trouble.
"Then let us go home, Treasure," his wife says, chakra bright and laughing as she tugs him close and rests her forehead against his, "So that I might take you to bed and you might discharge your marital duties to be."
"My Lord-Wife's pleasure is not a duty," Tobirama demurs, tone light but utterly serious. Once yes, but no longer; he does not believe she will ever be a duty again.
She smiles at him, soft and heated. "Well then, Tobirama," she murmurs, tone achingly intimate, "we shall seek joy together."
He grins at her, wide and bright and toothy, then lets go of one of her hands so he can tug her onwards. "To home then, Lord-Wife!"
She laughs, heedlessly cheerful as she catches up with him and gently steers him around a corner. "So eager to please me," she teases gently.
"Oh, but your pleasure brings me infinite joy," Tobirama banters back, leaning in to nuzzle her throat and cheek; out of sight of the Aburame, who have so kindly agreed to assist in brokering the reconciliation between their clans, he is willing to go considerably further than simply kissing his wife's hands. "The scent of your body and chakra as you peak in my arms, the hitch in your voice, the trembling of your willing flesh; no other triumph can possibly compare."
"My treasure thoroughly enjoying the many, many victories his position allows him," Izuna says lightly, leaning in to nuzzle him back.
Tobirama smirks, wrapping an arm around her waist as he stops walking and lightly nipping her ear. "That position being," he rumbles wickedly in her ear, "fully sheathed within you as you beg me to fuck you harder."
Izuna shivers in his arms, lust coiling eagerly in her chakra. "I am taking you home and dragging you to my bedroom," she informs him tone light but steely, "and then you are going to strip naked and wash yourself while I watch, and then I will strip naked and wash while you watch. And then I am taking you to bed and you are going to put your back into it."
Tobirama lets himself react to her demand, her desire, her eagerness to give herself to him. "My Lord-Wife is so commanding," he teases, pressing up against her so she can feel his desire, "so forceful, so irresistible. I may not last."
"If you are concerned about your recovery time I can tweak the seal for you," she teases him back, pulling away and tugging him onwards.
"So demanding," Tobirama continues, letting himself be half-dragged along the road, "so determined to make me earn my position in her household."
His wife glances back to eye him, her chakra acquiring a faint edge. "You were the one to invite yourself into my bed tonight, Treasure."
Tobirama quickly rephrases: "I like that you ask, Izuna. I like that you tell me what you want, because when I know what you want I can decide if I want to give it to you. And I want to give you the things you asked for tonight." He walks faster, catching up and leaning in to quickly kiss her. "And, just so you know, I am still eagerly waiting for an opportunity to thoroughly service you within your father's hearing, somewhere he cannot reasonably escape."
By the end of his hurried explanation Izuna has softened again, and his daring tease at the end makes her chuckle against his lips and pause to lightly spin them both around together before stepping through the front gate of the Amaterasu Residence.
"If we do get peace, I will likely have to go to court with my Lord-Father," she murmurs as they walk down the path, "and if I do go and take you with me, the clan delegation would be sharing a suite."
Tobirama is abruptly, deeply tempted to agree to attend court –even in women's clothing– purely for this glorious opportunity. To inflict upon Tajima the same discomfort the man inspires in him, in any way he can contrive? "I can't persuade you to let me have my way with you in the Clan Hall's garden while he's working?" He asks as they take off their geta in the genkan, mostly to try and convince himself that he doesn't want to attend Court as 'Uchiha Izuna's concubine'.
"So spiteful," his wife teases him laughingly, "wishing to torment my father for his narrow-minded misconceptions."
"That's not a 'no'," Tobirama notes gleefully as he follows her into her bedroom, where a jug of water waits on her wash stand.
"It's not," Izuna agrees with a chuckle, turning to kiss him, "but I am not giving my brothers a show, so it'll have to wait until a day when they're both out of the compound. Which, seeing as Saburō is still being punished for his negligence, will take a while yet."
"Fair," Tobirama concedes; it's one thing to do this to spite his honoured father-in-law, quite another to make Madara avoid him for several weeks out of embarrassed mortification. He's not actually seen Saburō since Tōka's escape so it's nice to hear what he's getting up to, even if that involves being punished for allowing Tōka to wheedle sensitive clan information out of him.
"But then," and oh her tone is delightfully malicious, "if it would truly please you to vigorously seduce me within his hearing, I will happily show you some of the house I grew up in, and its garden."
"It would please me very much." Tobirama's still holding a grudge over that thoughtless accusation that so hurt Izuna on the day of the Banner Festival and has every intention of reminding his honoured father-in-law that he is both willing and free to exercise his agency as he wishes within the boundaries of his marriage to Izuna. Elsewhere he may be confined and caged, but here he is heard and heeded.
"Then I will endeavour to arrange it." Izuna smiles sweetly at him. "Now strip and wash for me, Tobirama."
Tobirama grins again, reaching for the ties holding his obi knot in place. "As you wish then, wife."
The aching flutter in her chakra at his words –and the rising heat in her scent and chakra as he slowly undresses for her eager gaze– is delightfully satisfying, if also very stimulating. She smells so good; he's not sure he will last as long as he wants to after all this playful teasing.
Perhaps he should take the edge off now, under her appreciative eyes, so as to better serve her once she too is naked and ready for him? If he tells her why he wants to, he doesn't think she will be remotely opposed.
And indeed, she is not.
Every week on the day Kiso is packed off for the shared babysitting right after breakfast, Izuna spends the next hour in her music room, kneeling in front of that empty altar. Tobirama found this out last week, when he was left to his own devices after Izuna quietly excused herself.
This week he has a range of novels to choose from to pass the time; there is 'The Great Sage Of Evil' that his wife gave him the day before yesterday and that he is making slow headway through –it is written from a rather unusual perspective and the narrative seems to start in the middle of the plot– and also 'General Stands Above Me,' which Izuna set on his shelf at some point yesterday and he found this morning. There's also two rather hefty books both titled 'The Chronicle of Enki Palace,' with smaller markings on the spine indicating a first and second volume of what is presumably a fairly long saga.
He sets those aside for later; for the time being he will stick with 'The Great Sage Of Evil'. It's very interesting, reading a novel told from the perspective of a clearly villainous character.
He keeps a vague awareness of Izuna's location and general feel even as he opens the book, because that's just sensible. Naka-Dragon is in the kitchen, bustling normally and deceptively easy to ignore, but Tobirama makes sure he's tracking both women as he reads.
He's engrossed in the battle with the stone goddess statue and the sudden arrival of an undead –and he now understands what his wife means about this book being strongly counter to Uchiha sensibilities regarding necromancers– when he's jarred out of the novel by Izuna's chakra going flat.
No, not flat; vacant. Tobirama sets his book down and heads out to check on his wife. Getting to the music room is a little annoying since he can't go through her study; instead he has to go through her bedroom to reach the western engawa and then walk around the outside of the house.
Usually people only feel like this if trapped in a particularly strong genjutsu. But who is there strong and subtle enough to trap his wife, and how could he have failed to notice them?
The shōji on this side are open, a low tsuitate set out across the entrance to block the draft. Izuna is clearly visible, slumped before her altar and its gently burning incense with her forearms flat on the tatami, head resting on the floor with that unnerving empty feeling in her chakra. She's there, except she's also not.
Tobirama knows absolutely nothing about kami. Is this normal? Who does he ask?
Well, there's Naka-Dragon. Turning around, he quietly walks back into the house through his wife's bedroom, closes the shōji behind him and heads for the kitchen.
Naka-Dragon is kneading something in a mid-sized mortar, singing a song about rabbits making mochi. She looks up as he walks into view, and stops singing when he sits on the engawa facing her.
"What can I help you with, Tobirama-sama?"
"Is there anything you can tell me about the kami my Lord-Wife serves?" He asks, disliking the persistent emptiness on the edge of his range where Izuna should be.
Naka-Dragon eyes him thoughtfully. "Izuna-bi uses a range of different names and titles, but the important one is apparently 'Imasu,'" she traces the 'being' kanji in mid-air, "as in 'iru'."
A kami whose name is 'exists' or 'present'? That is not one Tobirama's heard of before. "My Lord-Wife doesn't feel very present right now," he mutters.
Naka-Dragon considers this and nods. "Ah, gone walkabout again then; at least she wards the room properly."
"Walkabout?" That sounds very alarming.
"Oh, she won't have gone far; not in physical terms at least. But it'll be far enough that what she's experiencing won't be obvious on the outside. Don't worry about it; she always comes back."
The idea that Izuna has essentially left her body is not a comfortable one, but short of barging in to try and shake her awake –which he now knows is very likely to do nothing at all except distress him further when she fails to react– there's nothing Tobirama can do about this.
"Does doing this help her?" He asks a little desperately. If he can rationalise this, if there's a reason for it, then he can –will– learn to live with it, no matter how odd it feels to his chakra-sense; his wife is present yet not, the absence of her self like a missing tooth and just as sore.
Naka-Dragon nods very firmly. "Oh yes Tobirama-sama; Izuna-bi's always much more grounded after praying, and she doesn't go walkabout like this at all often, I promise. She's much more cheerful after, too; Madara-sama often suggests she take a few hours in front of her altar when she's having a bad few days."
Well in that case Tobirama is just going to have to learn to live with it. "Where can I get an incense stick?" If this kami is such a significant part of Izuna's life he should probably address a prayer of his own to them, out of courtesy if nothing else. If he has at least communicated his concerns and requested they watch over her, that will comfort him that he has done something.
Naka-Dragon sets her work aside and walks across to the storeroom door. "Would you like lavender, ginger lily, sandalwood?"
"Is there star anise?" That is the incense he is most used to and it seems appropriate, given Izuna's chakra scent.
"I'll have a look; there should be, Izuna-bi keeps a larger range than most." She vanishes inside, returning a short while later with a ceramic bowl full of sand and a sturdy incense stick about as long as Tobirama's hand that does indeed carry a strong flavour of star anise, with a faint hint of agarwood and cinnamon. "Would you like me to light it for you, or will you do it from the iori?"
"I will light it from the iori." It is very kind of her to offer, but this is something new and unfamiliar that he is attempting so would rather take a little time to arrange both the room and his feelings before beginning.
He sets the incense bowl on the small chest Izuna provided for him to keep his notes in, the stick laid next to it, then takes a few moments to tidy away his books, straighten his kimono and compose his thoughts. Then he takes the stick and lights it in the iori, carefully carrying it back into his living room and pushing the unlit end of it into the bowl of sand.
It stays upright, which is a relief.
Then Tobirama kneels politely, closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. And another one.
The scent of star anise is strong, but the agarwood and cinnamon soften it into something that is almost restful. He's not entirely sure how to address this particular kami, but incense and manners are –so far as he is aware– universal.
He will do his best to express his hopes and feelings clearly.
By the time the incense has burned down he feels inexplicably comforted. Taking this as a sign that he has somehow been heard, Tobirama opens the shōji to dispel the scent a little and goes back to his reading.
Izuna does eventually come back to herself and get up; Tobirama lowers his book for several long seconds to pay close attention to her chakra. Naka-Dragon is right; his wife does feel much more grounded now. Still bright and fiery, but less volatile; a banked fire rather than a fast-burning blaze. He tracks her through the house –and he appreciates that despite being locked out of his wife's study he can still sense her in there– and into the kitchen as he resumes reading, then lowers his book again as she leaves it and arrives at his door.
"Tobirama?" She asks.
"Come in, Izuna." He can smell she's brought him tea.
She opens the shōji to reveal senbei as well as tea on her tray –only one cup though– and he sets the book aside entirely; evidently she's heading out straight away.
"I will be able to explain to you why I've been calling you 'husband' this afternoon," she says firmly, meeting his eyes as she pours the tea. "I could do it now, but I have already committed to visiting Naka-ba and Kiso will be home for lunch in a few hours, and I promised you more time than that."
"I don't mind waiting," Tobirama repeats; he minds even less now he knows there is an answer to be had, and one Izuna seems to be comfortable with. Well, maybe 'comfortable' isn't the right word, but she seems to think this is the truthful answer and he's rather have honesty than pretty lies anyway. What else can he –ah, of course:
"Kiss me?"
Izuna instantly shuffles closer and kisses him; Tobirama cups the back of her neck to keep her close and deepens it, drawing the moment out.
"I trust you," he confesses after finally pulling away.
His wife's eyes drop, but not in time to hide the blatant emotion painted across her features in response to his admission. "Thank you, Treasure," she says quietly; "I will do my best to honour that."
She does not say she trusts him; Tobirama honestly appreciates her evasion there. The seal on his back makes it clear she doesn't trust him, or that if she does trust him, it's that she trusts him to do his best to get away from her and harm the Uchiha as much as possible along the way.
A ceasefire is not a peace treaty. The Senju are still enemies with the Uchiha, despite having agreed to no longer clash on the field of battle. It is in some ways kind that she has refrained from putting him in a position where he will have to actively choose between the clan of his birth and hers; not being able to choose makes many things much easier for him, and other things so much harder.
He won't know for sure whether his wife genuinely trusts him unless a peace treaty is signed. What she does then will reveal much.
He picks up the teacup. "I hope you enjoy spending time with your aunt."
"I will tell you all about it at lunch, Treasure."
And then he is alone again. More alone, as Naka-Dragon also leaves the grounds; presumably to acquire supplies for lunch or some such. Tobirama ponders the situation over his tea; does he want to just sit here and read? Or does the prospect of causing a little mischief appeal?
He can't summon, so filling the bathhouse pool with cold water for the leopards to swim in will have to wait for another day. Picking all the flowers in the garden would only mean he has nothing to look at for the next few weeks, so he will save it for some occasion in which he desires to be spitefully clear about expressing his displeasure.
Well, there's always his wife's suggestion of swimming naked in the koi pond…
… maybe later. It will certainly get hot enough in the next month or so to justify such a thing.
After a little more thought, Tobirama settles on climbing one of the large, stately trees in the Amaterasu Residence's garden. He takes his book with him, so as to have something to do once he has found a suitably comfortable branch to sprawl on.
Getting up a tree without chakra and while wearing a kimono is a little tricky, but today's kimono is a linen jōfu –and thus easily washed– and he does know how to climb a tree without chakra. The tree he picks is a nice solid ume, lightly sculpted to be spreading rather than just tall, the large limbs holding up the lower canopy easily sturdy enough to take his weight.
He has to jump a few times to get enough momentum to drag himself upwards and onto a suitably sturdy branch, but once there he sprawls comfortably along his narrow perch and opens his book again.
Where had he got to…