"Bare your chest," Tobirama orders as his hand closes on the yellow scroll.
"Bring me an Uchiha medic," Izuna counters, eyes narrowed.
"Bare your chest," Tobirama repeats. "There are three types of seals I will use to check your organs. One for passive use, one when you mould chakra, and one for your eyes."
"So bring an Uchiha medic to do it," Izuna challenges.
Tobirama's body language remains impassive, not giving in an inch. "I am, at present, the only one who uses them. As such, even if there was to be one Uchiha medic here, I would have to teach them first, and I would need to be present during the check-up anyway. It wastes time."
"There are other methods," Izuna replies, eyes narrowed. He forces himself to remain relaxed, posture straight as his muscles keep bunching for a lunge towards the Senju in front of him.
Tobirama is unmoved. "My method is the most thorough, having the added benefit of not overloading the medic's senses. There will be no missed information."
"So humble," Izuna mocks. "And yet you are not a medic."
" You chased away the medic," Tobirama reminds him coolly. "Moreover, while you were in a coma, there were countless checks on you. There were many who came to learn about your dojutsu and help you heal. Your present rebellion changes nothing."
Izuna wonders why Madara had agreed to all this humiliation. He wonders what happened to his brother, if they use him as leverage against Madara. Resolute more than ever to get to his side, he leans back, analysing the Senju in front of him.
Tobirama remains silent. Slowly, Izuna takes out his hands from his sleeves and loosens the collar until he shrugs the top half of the yukata over his waist.
Tobirama nods curtly then opens the scroll and takes out the first types of paper seals, putting them over Izuna's liver, above his belly button, over his heart and on his lungs. "You will feel a short electrical charge as they activate," Tobirama warns. "Do not tense."
Tobirama's fingers curve in a modified tiger seal. There is a surge of chakra in him and Izuna feels pinpricks on his skin as the seals echo it and activate. He watches both the seals and Tobirama simultaneously, searching for clues, but the Senju's face remains impassive.
The seals colour in hues of reds, oranges and yellows. Tobirama peels them off, expression shuttered. Izuna watches the slightly reddened skin, waiting for explanations. He receives none.
"Mold your chakra," Tobirama orders as he prepares the second set of seals, long strips of undyed silk covered in unknown symbols written in red ink. Izuna acquiesces, eyes boring into Tobirama's crown as he bends to stick the seals.
The same thing repeats, with the Senju wordlessly analyzing the way the ink has faded from the silk.
"Activate the sharingan," he says finally, not even looking at Izuna.
"No," Izuna counters.
"It is part of the medical check-up," Tobirama says with the first hint of irritation in his voice.
Izuna crosses his arms and throws him a haughty look. His eyes remain black.
"Even a dog would be able to follow these simple instructions," Tobirama mutters disgustedly.
Izuna bristles. Tobirama has made sure to order him around in any interaction, using his advantage to press him down. "I am not a dog, to respond to whistles and be happy with a leash" he retorts venomously. "I am a tiger."
"Your year is the tiger?" Tobirama asks him skeptically.
"Month," Izuna says.
"…your year?"
"Rooster," Izuna replies defiantly.
He can pinpoint the exact moment Tobirama's demeanor becomes smug. "Monkey," Tobirama counters with satisfaction.
Izuna barks a laugh. "We really are fated enemies," he says, eyes glittering.
"It also makes me your elder," Tobirama reminds him.
Izuna bites an incredulous laugh at that statement. "Should I respect you then?" He can see that Tobirama has started to be affected by his jabs, and his hunch is confirmed by the way Tobirama tenses and leans forward, threatening.
"Too bad you are not a dog," Tobirama says through clenched teeth, "for they can be trained."
"Or put down without repercussions if they do not deliver, no?" Izuna asks softly, leaning forward to close the distance between them.
Tobirama scowls. Izuna comes closer, until their breaths mingle. He feels the warmth radiating from the Senju, tastes the chakra coiling inside him, the vast reserves ready to mold, much superior to his at this moment.
Tobirama does not lean back. "Activate your sharingan," he repeats, the puff of his breath pushing against his face.
Izuna's lips pull into a snarl. "Woof," he breathes mockingly. He does not intend to give ground anymore.
The pressure mounts between them, Tobirama's chakra swirling up, roaring and crackling around them, filling the space between, pushing against his own while the Senju stands unmoved, immovable. It rolls off him in implacable waves, with the same finality and implacability just like him.
Izuna's eyes ache to change, the chakra swirling in an automatic response. Tobirama must be trying to force him to activate the sharingan by sheer pressure.
Izuna leans back, closes his eyes and his world changes to red as he activates the sharingan. He has proven his point and now there is no need to drag it out any longer.
He hears Tobirama get up and come in front of him, wrapping a bandage of wet paper around his eyes. The paper is warm, and it becomes unbearably hot as the seal activates, pricking at his chakra system, making his ears hurt as well.
"Do not take it off," he hears Tobirama say mutedly as the Senju's hands grab his wrists to stop him from ripping the blindfold off. Izuna's body goes taut and still, as he calculates Tobirama's position, then quick as a snake kicks at his right knee. There's a satisfying thunk as it connects. Tobirama swears, momentarily unbalanced, and Izuna jumps up, tackling him down.
The scarred skin on his left side pulls, protesting at the sudden movement, a sharp jolt of pain that Izuna ignores as his hands clench on Tobirama.
As they fall, Tobirama's arms close around his throat in a chokehold. They hit the ground, Tobirama willingly or just pragmatically, cushioning his fall. The Senju's legs wrap around his waist, tight enough to restrict his movements. "Stop," he orders. Izuna stills, hands caught between their bodies, clenched on Tobirama's collar and his obi. Another unfair advantage, he thinks as he feels Tobirama's bigger body under him. Tobirama has not been forced to lay in bed for half a year. Tobirama has not been close to death. It makes their differences even more stark.
The pain stabbing into his eyes mutes and disappears, leaving him with a feeling of tender, overstimulated nerves. Tobirama slowly releases his grip and takes the blindfold off. "It is done," he says gruffly.
Izuna opens his eyes, sharingan spinning.
"Deactivate it," Tobirama orders immediately, but this time he does not shy away.
"For you will carve my eyes out?" Izuna quotes. "You said not to use it on your medics, not you."
Izuna feels his own body rise from the deep calming breath Tobirama takes. "It is a sign of aggression," Tobirama says as he raises himself to a half seated position, forcing Izuna to get off him. Staying in his lap is not an option, so he goes back to the chair but does not sit down.
"It is a sign of cowardice, of duplicity not to meet one's eyes," Izuna mocks. Do you think I would attack you? My onjin ? Maybe I wish to treasure this moment forever."
"I do not trust you not to," Tobirama replies. "You still live in the war."
"So you do not trust me," Izuna muses. "Any Uchiha who activates his sharingan in your view is to be treated as a criminal?" He asks conversationally, leaning closer to Tobirama, dipping his head lower to force Tobirama to look up to avoid his gaze. "What exactly are the Uchiha allowed to do?" He asked coldly.
"Deactivate your sharingan," he repeats calmly, "and let me check your body when I need to. Then, we will talk."
"Why do you insist it is to be yourself who does it every time?" Izuna muses.
Tobirama snorts. "If I wanted you dead, I would have left you to feed the vultures. I simply do not trust you with the other medics, from all the histrionics you have pulled until now."
"Painting me the villain?" Izuna sneers.
"And moreover, blind to his faults," Tobirama snaps.
Izuna's lips curl. "Snot laughing at the eye booger," he quotes.
"At least you know you're an eyesore," Tobirama growls.
"Then don't meet me," Izuna offers, resisting the urge to add "snotty brat" at the end. Tobirama understood the insult implicit in the changed order in the proverb anyway. He was not stupid. "I would much rather we all keep our distance. It makes things easier, don't you think?"
Tobirama throws him a cool look. "We live in the same village so we will have to negotiate and accommodate each other."
"Always negotiating," Izuna remarks, lips pulled into a snarl, "always with me at a disadvantage."
"If you don't want a disadvantage," Tobirama snaps, "follow the medics' instructions and get well enough to make your point. While you are recovering, you are of no use to anybody, not your brother, not your clan, not yourself."
"Where is my brother?" Izuna asks immediately. "I asked to see him. Or am I not allowed? Is he also not allowed?"
"Madara is away," Tobirama replies shortly, "with Hahsirama."
"Speak more politely of my brother," Izuna warns.
"I respect your brother ," Tobirama replies. "Madara and Hashirama are in talks with the FIre Daimyo regarding the Uchiha-Senju alliance. They had pushed his hand. The daimyo was not very enthused about us banding together, as he had no assurance he would not be forced to start a war with us."
"Why did you not go?" You seem to enjoy negotiations," Izuna remarks idly. "Or do you only like those where you have the upper hand?"
Tobirama does not rise to the bait. "Deactivate," he repeats.
"I think you misunderstood my earlier compliance," Izuna comments as he pulls the yukata back on him. "You do not order me around." He watches in satisfaction as Tobirama's face darkens. "I dare you say "deactivate" one more time," he warns, tired of the game.
The Senju is so put out at being constantly challenged, Izuna observes with a modicum of amusement. He has to take his entertainment where he finds it, even sad little moments like these.
"I need to check you directly," Tobirama informs him, tone carefully neutral.
"I thought the seals were for this," Izuna mocks. "Most thorough, you said."
"It is a preliminary test to see if I need to make additional checks," Tobirama riposts irritatedly.
"You neglected to share information of this sort," Izuna retorts venomously. "Although it is not surprising in the least. I do not need to know, do I?" He finishes with an ironic tilt of his head.
"As I said," Tobirama shouts, incensed, "get well and then you can go be annoying officially. But for now, stop being a brat."
Izuna steps closer, fisting his arms in Tobirama's collar. His lesser height makes him look up, but it also means Tobirama must do some mildly amusing gymnastics to keep him out of his field of vision, although he is somehow irked that Tobirama leans down, not fighting his admittedly weak grip.
The Senju puts both palms on his sides and activates his chakra, starting his checkup. Too wary to do anything now that Tobirama is literally inside him, he grits his teeth.
"Fucking me would feel less intimate than this," he bites out, hating every second of it.
Tobirama does not flinch nor falter. "Shut up," he orders as he slowly moves his palms lower. His chakra swells into his organs, against his coils, searching, seeing too much of Izuna. He hates it.
When he arrives at the previous injury site. Tobirama takes a step back as he bends down for better access. Izuna's hands also slide down to rest on the inside of the elbow joints. No matter their present difference in strength, he knows that this way he can push Tobirama's hands away if need arises.
He sees Tobirama frown, then go lower until his palms rest on the jutting hip bones. He seems lost in thought. He raises them back up, slowly then loosens the obi, opening the collar of Izuna's yukata to his abdomen. Izuna frowns as well, as he feels Tobirama stop on the left side of the abdomen for a long time, probing intensely.
"Activate your sharingan," Tobirama says suddenly.
"What?" Izuna bites out, nonplussed.
Tobirama briefly looks up to confirm, then shies his gaze away once more. "Did you have it active all this time?" He asks.
"Yes," Izuna reples challengingly.
Tobirama nods. "Keep it activated," he orders, moving his hands further up on his chest, over his rib cage, on his throat, finally cradling his head.
"Have I given you thoughts with my earlier words?" Izuna goads.
Tobirama does not seem to have heard him as his chakra searches for something inside his head. His tenketsu points seem dipped in cold water, while the channels are taken away by a sudden, different rush of energy. It feels as if he's being flooded on the inside, a scratch he cannot itch.
"Deactivate it," Tobirama orders.
"Why should I?" Izuna challenges.
"Because this is a medical check up and I'm looking for anomalies," Tobirama snaps.
Izuna deactivates it, not missing the fleeting expression of surprise and relief at his cooperation. Tobirama was quite tired, Izuna observes critically. He must have been the tipping point.
Tobirama frowns, then goes back to the abdomen. "You have anomalous chakra origin; a very small site here where you have been hurt, a secondary tenketsu point and similarly another node in the occipital lobe. There is a growth with primarily yang chakra next to your spleen; activating the sharingan changes the ratio of yin yang chakra in your brain, making it produce twenty times more yin chakra than usual. I wonder". He continues, "how it would change depending on the jutsu you use."
"I'm not a monkey playing tricks," Izuna snaps, pushing Tobirama's hands away. "And don't you dare study the sharingan on the other members of my clan."
Tobirama smiles sardonically. "I did much more than study them," he shots back, "I researched them."
Searching for their weak points he meant.
"And you should be thankful, because it helped us mitigate the worst damage to the dural sheath of your optic nerves. Your myelin sheaths were being eaten away courtesy of your continuous chakra usage during the convalescence, involuntary as it was." He steps closer, looming over Izuna, face dark. "So do not dare step out of line, Uchiha," he spits. "I expect you to read the scroll with the exercises you have to do and cooperate with whoever is gracious enough to accept helping you. And no, there will be no Uchiha doing it. You will learn to cooperate and live with Senju." A dark coil of satisfaction unwinds in Izuna's belly as Tobirama starts shouting in the last part.
Tobirama takes a deep breath, briefly closing his eyes, and then he is unruffled like before. But he has shown weakness, and Izuna will exploit it and throw him down.
"Continuing your medical diagnosis," Tobirama intones calmly, "you are chronically underweight because of heavy chakra usage. Your body learned how to convert its own energy into yin and yang energy. Which is not a good thing, as you have been doing this since your formative years and stunted your growth. Have you had food shortages during your childhood?"
Izuna bristles, a genuine reaction he does not bother to hide.
"Also," Tobirama adds, "were you to try your earlier stunts with a less talented medic, and managed to fluster them, they could accidentaly fuck up your organs. Should I have you train the assistants?" He asks, eyes glittering. "You can curse them and annoy them however you like if you care not that you might not be alive in the next moment."
"Empty threats," Izuna remarks. "Your verbal bluffs are much worse than your fighting style," he says, watching how Tobirama shoves the scrolls back in his pouch with much force than necessary.
"The second part," Tobirama bites out, "is recovery of fine motor skills. "I found out you play the shamisen."
Izuna blinks lazily, wanting to keep Tobirama's ire fresh. "I do. I would love to have one with its gourd made from Yaksha skin and its guts for strings."
"I used catgut for your wounds," Tobirama replies as he takes the instrument and holds it for Izuna to take along with a beautiful tortoiseshell bachi. "But I consider you good enough to give you a shamisen with silk strings."
Izuna seats himself comfortably on the floor, pulling the shamisen into his lap. The scar still pulls at him, but he ignores it. Tobirama holds out a red ribbon which Izuna takes, surprised. It's the yubikake he uses when he plays his own instrument.
Strange, he muses as he starts tuning the instrument, if Tobirama got his yubikake, why not the instrument as well? Was it damaged? He wonders as he plucks the strings in a slow nagauta.
"Do you know "Ushiwaka's dance"? Tobirama asks him idly. "Or you have not yet studied it?"
Izuna scowls. "I prefer The Raijin in the Field," he replies as he starts moving quickly through song beginnings, searching for the right one.
The door opens. "Pardon the intrusion," a warm voice booms, "but I just heard the shamisen being absolutely massacred- oh, Uchiha-dono, I did not know it was you," the tall, middle aged man continues smoothly. "You play quite splendidly, considering Tobirama gutted you on the battlefield," he finishes with a chuckle.
The first string snapped. "Too much force," Tobirama observes mildly.
"Amateurish mistake," the man agrees, before bowing in Izuna's direction. "Of course, Uchiha-dono is not to blame."
"And you are?" Izuna asked, keeping his voice even.
"Kintaro," the man replies with a bow. "I am part of the council led by your most esteemed older brother."
"Are you?" Izuna asks with the same warm tone. He disliked the man from the moment he saw him. Madara would detest him. "Then you must tell me more details as I slept through the proceedings."
"No doubt Tobirama can explain better than I," Kintaro chuckles.
"Is Tobirama part of this council?" Izuna asks.
"There are four pillars of authority here," Tobirama starts before Izuna or Kintaro can add anything else, "the Hokage, dealing with foreign relations and army general, the administrative pillar, led by me, the third pillar, the council, dealing with both administrative and judicial matters, with power equal to the Hokage, and the Machi-bugyo, which will be led by you, performing as chief of police, prosecutor, judge and in other judicial related business both criminal and civil.
"Who is the Hokage?" Izuna asks. "There are two candidates."
Kintaro seems ready to say something, but a look from Tobirama quells him. "There is no one yet, as at present, the Senju-Uchiha alliance does not need one. It will be needed when outside clans will join, and civilians."
"You are optimistic," Izuna remarks.
"It is a predictable outcome," Tobirama replies.
Izuna turns to the newcomer. "A Senju-Uchiha alliance, a treaty of non-aggression is enough, don't you think, Kintaro-san? No need to step on each other's toes all the time." His voice hardens. "Not when there is a power imbalance between the founding clans. There is no thing like equal power. What good does it do to be thrown together?" He has played Tobirama until this very moment, keeping him in tension ready to snap, and since the opportunity arose…Izuna was not one to miss an occasion. Tobirama does not disappoint.
"Consistent food supply for once," Tobirama thunders, "because you'd have more options than one place. You had this problem when your rice crops failed and your barley crops were blighted."
" If a food shortage occurs, we would be the first to feel it anyway as everybody would first help their own allies," Izuna shouts back, "not to mention, we would be even more vulnerable and we will have to accept whatever terms they make for us. We can go bankrupt."
"I am not telling you to give up everything and squat in the village!" Tobirama roars. "And we are allies now."
"So we have to break our backs for alms?" Izuna snarls.
"You will get more starting resources and help with your crops while getting an additional stipend as a founding clan," Tobirama shouted. "You would know this if you bothered to actually read the terms of the founding."
"Words that sound pretty on paper but do not necessarily reflect reality," Izuna yells.
"The village is in its infancy," Tobirama bellows, "you cannot expect things to magically improve in six months. Documents are still being drafted."
"On the contrary, as you put it, I did manage to improve in these very six months," Izuna sniped. "Not to mention, having a huge population in the same place puts greater strain on resources. If something happens, more people would be affected."
"We. Are. Making. Plans. To. Ensure. That. This. Does not happen!" Tobirama enunciates clearly.
"Is it a good idea to start the village before making all the necessary preparations?" Izuna asks.
"If we do not start it now, it never will," Tobrama retorts irritatedly. So he knows about Izuna's influence at least. He threads his fingers through his hair frustratedly. "Do you want to take part in the next meeting?" He asks. "Only after you read all the documents that were already signed," he adds when he sees Izuna open his mouth. "You will also see that being part of the village guarantees you get functional armour, adequate protection on missions as well as weapons and weapon maintenance separate from the cost of the mission. Maybe that will finally help you live longer on the battlefield," he finishes coolly.
Izuna grits his teeth at the reminder of his failure.. He had eschewed all but the mesh in order to improve his speed. Tobirama was that dangerous. But it had been in vain in the end.
"What do you gain from having us together?" Izuna counters. "A feeling of superiority?"
"Stop being so wound up Uchiha, maybe you just need a fuck to calm you down," the Senju advisor jeers.
Izuna whirls to him, activating his Mangekyo and layering a genjutsu so his eyes would appear normal. He only needs three seconds to render the man catatonic. He gets one, as Tobirama wisens up, takes the man from his field of vision and manages to break the genjutsu.
"You are a patient so I will not take into account what you did," Tobirama grits out, barely restraining his anger, "but if you do it again, after this warning, I will have you imprisoned."
"The Senju also need to learn how it is to be next to an Uchiha," Izuna snarls back. "And that buffoon's insolence to one of the leaders of the Uchiha is exactly what I said would happen."
"Your clan was pariah," Tobirama shouts, "and others need time to adjust to having ticking bombs in their midst. We are working to have you be more palatable to the general population, but your ridiculous pride keeps you from actually making a difference."
"My ridiculous pride?" Izuna asks, aghast. "His insolence warranted much more than that. I was merciful. "
Tobirama's lips twisted. "Merciful?" He laughs. "May we never arrive to be at your mercy."
"I would have preferred dying rather than be forced in your servitude," Izuna spits.
"Die and leave your brother to face the "horde of Senju" alone,?" He asks, ironically quoting his words. "Selfish brat," he snaps.
Izuna's eyes flash dangerously. "So I am to be judged like a common criminal?"
"Everybody who disturbs the peace is a common criminal," Tobirama replies, "no matter his clan."
Izuna snarls. "When insulted, should I crawl at your feet instead, kiss the ground you walk upon and spread my legs for you for good measure?"
Tobirama smiles thinly. "You could have complained to the head of the Senju clan who would have fined him for it, and would have made an example out of him, so that he would lose face, maybe even making him lose his council seat. Or you could have even demanded a spar, or a duel; it would have been within your rights to attack him then. But you attacked a defenceless man with no warning, on neutral ground, and that is cause for punishment. And you also did a disservice to your brother's position in the council."
"So I cannot defend myself?" Izuna asks, eyes narrowed.
"It is how the daimyo punish the shugo when they start disputes on their own and do not care to inform him of their grievances and ask for his judgement."
"Are you daimyo?" Izuna inquires derisively.
"I am one of the heads of the Senju clan, and if you have a grievance to one of mine, you will talk with me."
"And if it's an Uchiha? Will you defer to me? Or in your infinite wisdom, you'd be able to judge the punishment yourself?"
Tobirama frowns. "There is something called "fit to lead," and right now, you are not meeting the qualifications, not in my eyes nor in your clan's."
"You seem to know my clan well," he snarls.
"I did not waste my time," Tobirama informs him. "Nor will I waste it on this fight. Go and train."
"You are starting to get used to giving me orders, Tobirama," Izuna warns.
"Give me the honour of deigning to move your royal ass from here into the humble room we have arduously prepared for you in order to help Your Excellence get back to health. Before the hour of the Pig if possible," Tobirama finishes the insult, crossing his arms. Waiting.
"Fuck you," Izuna replies pleasantly, not moving.
"You won't," Tobirama replies, his gaze falling to Izuna's side. I did.
Izuna inhales sharply. "Duel," he announces flatly.
"Spar," Tobirama corrects. "Heads of the clans are forbidden to duel."
"I thought you would refuse," Izuna remarks as they make their way to a training ground, a spring in his step. He feels energised, now that he can act, the pain and fatigue into his limbs a distant memory.
"I thought we were in Konoha," he comments, as they are walking through what is obviously the Senju compound. His breath plumes white into the frigid air and he suppresses a shiver. He feels the cold more keenly than usual, more so because the room he has been kept in was well insulated and warm.
"Konoha does not yet have the medical facilities to keep you," Tobirama says.
Izuna memorises the layout, looks at the buildings, the clothes and the businesses to calculate the overall wealth, and comes to the depressing conclusion that indeed, just as they expected, the Senju also had it in much greater amounts than the Uchiha. Not that he was unaware, but seeing it for himself in their daily lives, drills it harder. The smells of food distract him the most. He notices the grilled fish stand, the grilled yakitori stand, the soba-ya, the soumen-ya and udon-ya boasting all sorts of toppings from delicacies like seafood and cow meat to the usual ones of wild vegetables.
His steps slow as he takes it all in.
"You can't eat these yet," he hears Tobirama warning him.
Izuna deliberately looks away, reading the signs at a pharmacy.
"Here," he hears Tobirama's voice and turns. "For you," Tobirama says, presenting him a thick woollen scarf coloured deep crimson. Such an expensive colour, Izuna muses, such fine quality. And Tobirama is giving it to him in the middle of the street where everyone was watching how the Senju made gifts to the Uchiha. Power and helplessness.
Izuna's nostrils flare. He rubs his cold cheeks and takes the scarf. "So beautiful," he says to Tobirama, looking him in the eye as he unfolds it. "You look cold," he says in a low voice as he wraps the scarf around the Senju. He smiles. "It looks good on you," he says with a fine thread of irony seeping into his voice, then turns and clacks on the paved road in what he deduced would be the correct direction.
Tobirama is forced to come after him. He hears his hurried steps, then warm wings of red sprout all around him as the scarf settles on his shoulders. He stops, tense, as Tobirama tucks in the ends, arranging it around him as if he were a child. "I warmed it up for you," Tobirama mentions, then starts walking once more, this time Izuna having to hurry to keep up.
Here and there he sees darker colours flash between the lighter Senju as his clansmen approach him for greetings. Izuna smiles and manages to get a trail following him and Tobirama to the training grounds.
Izuna watches him sideways. Unlike the earlier discussion, his demeanor is almost excited. Izuna wonders if it's because he can beat Izuna once more, or if it is because his plans are going well.
Izuna fingers the scarf thoughtfully. The soft material hugs him, warm and vibrant. He takes a deep breath. There is a faint smell of sandalwood and ginger lily mixed with something he cannot quite put his finger on.
He takes it off as they arrive on a large field and Kaoru immediately materialises next to him to receive it.
Izuna analyses the terrain. Flat, with short dry grass the colour of yellowed bones. He steps on it experimentally. Yes, it is very dry. His gaze sweeps the expanse. A fire jutsu could do so much damage in a very short time…
"Taijutsu?" Tobirama inquires from the side.
Izuna laughs. "I am not quite up to the task," he drawls. "Let's use weapons at least."
Tobirama inclines his head. "Main weapons?"
Izuna shrugs.
"No jutsu," Tobirama says.
"No sharingan?" Izuna asks ironically.
"Try to do things on your own," Tobirama replies.
Izuna's eyes narrow to slits as he advances, shriveled stalks crunching with each step.
Kaoru brings him a set of five longer kunai and his sword. Tobirama takes a shorter sword as well, waiting for Izuna to complete his set of stretches. Quite humiliating, Izuna thinks, but he hasn't moved in a long time. At least now he is warm, although his heart is already beating faster from exertion.
"Hajime!" a Senju with burn scars on his face barks.
Izuna takes a deep breath and starts.
The spar officially over, Izuna, hair plastered to his face from sweat, looks at Tobirama through half lidded eyes. He is exhausted, limbs trembling, his breaths coming in short rapid bursts. He gasps for air while the Senju calmly gathers his kunai, checks his weapons and then has a drink. He had managed to make Tobirama sweat a little, but, he thinks with frustration, it is not enough. His muscles burn as he wipes his forehead, already feeling the cold wind leaching all the warmth away.
Kaoru rushes to help him put on his haori and the scarf. Izuna thanks him distractedly.
If he does not take some drastic measure soon, very soon, Tobirama would make sure the power gap between them, between the Uchiha and the Senju would never have a chance to bridge.
He has to kill Tobirama when the moment arises.
But first, he thinks blearily as he sees the shape of distant trees blurry and unfocused, he must make sure his brother has his eyes.