Without having to look up from his work, Tobirama already knew that it was Hashirama who had boisterously slammed open the shoji door leading into his office. After all, the taller Senju was always loud in announcing his presence. Furthermore, the Senju heir's massive chakra wasn't at all subtle for a sensor of Tobirama's calibre.

"Tobirama~ Let's go swimming together!" Hashirama glomped the albino from behind, and even without turning to face the other, Tobirama could tell from just Hashirama's tone alone that the latter was grinning expectantly.

Tobirama's expression was stone cold as he took a deep breath in... and out. In... and out... Then he bluntly ignored the unwelcome visitor and continued to calculate his clan's total income earned from missions.

He had only recently implemented a scheme and was now eager to see if it had brought out the expected results. Whether it had increased their revenue with minimal casualties or was it a total failure. His goal, after all, was to minimalize the mortality rate by ranking a shinobi's skill set and matching it to a corresponding mission.

There was also the need to have a decrease in expenditure due to the ongoing shinobi clan wars -

"Tobirama~" (っ*´∀｀*)っ

With practiced ease, he turned a blind eye to his brother (who was still hugging him like a koala) and leaned closer to the papers with squinted eyes.

His eyesight was becoming worst from all the paperwork he was doing - and as an albino, his eyes were already shite, to begin with. It seems that he would need to ask Madara to correct his eyesight again. That was not something he was looking forward to.

"Don't ignore me, Tobi~!" (T⌓T)

Idly, Tobirama wondered how Madara was doing.

Madara seemed restless when he saw the older shinobi during a skirmish a few days back. It was unlike the Uchiha heir to be so distracted while fighting against Hashirama, and within the safety of his head, Tobirama felt worried for him. He knew how stubborn Madara was about his own health and safety - he would push and push and push until his body could take the abuse no longer and shut itself down.

It had happened before; back-to-back missions for months without rest until one day, Madara just collapsed (and fell into a deep coma that lasted for a chilling three weeks) while they were both having their monthly sparring sessions at the creek.

Tobirama had freaked the fuck out, his mind was completely empty from the sheer panic he felt. Without thought, he (stupidly) rushed to sneak the Uchiha into the Senju compound just because he trusted no other medic-nin but Itama to tell him what was wrong with his friend.

Madara had, after all, thoroughly trained Itama into becoming one of the best (if not the best) medic-nin in Hi no Kuni. And Tobirama was damn proud of his baby brother's achievement and reputation. But, anyway, he hadn't been thinking straight back then about the consequences it would bring when he lugged an unconscious Uchiha heir into his home.

Thankfully, the majority of the Senju militia (the elites of their clan) were off fighting against the Hyuuga that day. If not, Tobirama and Itama would have undoubtedly been branded traitors that day if they had been found -

"Tobi~" (༎ຶ⌑༎ຶ)

As soon as he registers his brother calling him by that wretched childhood nickname of his, Tobirama threw the brush in his hand at Hashirama, feeling intense satisfaction when the neanderthal squawked in protest when the item struck him in between the eyes.

Straddling his chair, he faced his obnoxious older brother, "What?" he bit out without a change of expression.

"Let's go swimming together, Tobi. I'm bored," Hashirama whined, arms flailing in the air as he threw a massive tantrum that would make even toddlers jealous on the floor.

"Why should I care if you're bored, anija? And don't call me that," Tobirama was never fond of diminutives - especially when used on his name.

"But Tobi is Tobi," Was the petulant response to his reprimand.

"No, anija. Just... No."

Pinching the bridge of his nose as if to ward off a headache, Tobirama exhaled while counting backwards from ten. Where were Itama and Kawarama when he needed them the most? He did not wish to be in Hashirama's vicinity when the older Senju was bored enough to whine.

"What about Tobira then -"

Before Hashirama could even finish that sentence, Tobirama's utterly murderous glare cut him off. Brother or not, there was only one person he would allow to call him that. And Hashirama was not him.

"Ooookay. I can see that that is forbidden... You don't have to glare at me like that, Tobirama. I just want to spend time with you, my precious little brother..." (ಥ﹏ಥ)

Tobirama forcefully rolled his shoulders to lessen the tension when Hashirama drooped, a depressing cloud appearing above his head. He rubbed a palm against his face to delay a response. It had been ill-conceived of him to lash out just because of that.

Especially when anija actually appeared hurt by his unconscious reaction to being called Tobira, giving him that look; the one that conveyed his loneliness at Tobirama's emotional unavailability.

It made Tobirama feel guilty enough for him to break eye contact with the Senju heir. He fidgeted (internally, of course) for a bit before nodding once at the idea that was floating at the forefront of his mind. He knew exactly what to do to extinguish that wounded expression from anija's face.

Not swimming, obviously. He was not in the mood to swim in this freezing weather.

"Alright, anija," Tobirama grunted, purposely not looking at his brother, "I'd rather not waste time doing something unproductive, so we will be dancing rather than swimming."

After stiffly saying his bit (had his tone been too harsh? Should he have worded it in another manner? Why was it so difficult for him to express himself in front of others?), Tobirama hopped out of his seat, moved towards his weapon rack, and picked his standard training katana.

Although he was reluctant to leave his work half-done, he was looking forward to trading blows with anija as it has been a while since they had last sparred. Perhaps a few hours of exercise would make Hashirama less energetic while also accomplishing their 'spending time together' quota for this week.

When he only saw Hashirama staring at him with wide, startled, brown eyes, he fully faced his brother with a condescending look, clearly expressing he was not impressed by the eyeballing. What was up with other people and gawking at him?

If it was Hashirama this time who wants to ink him, he would refuse in a heartbeat.

Anija's handwriting and drawings were atrocious. And speaking of inks; should he request for Madara to draw him a design? He was thinking of a red tribal dragon - one that would twine around his body in a manner similar to that of a snake, down to his right ankle.

Knowing that this was not the time nor place to think about those deft, slender fingers that trailed deliciously across his heated skin as they drew permanent marks on his body, he shook his head and scowled at his brother.

"Well? Why are you not leaving to prepare yourself? I may not be your equal in strength and endurance, anija, but I will take offense if you underestimate me. You should know better than that by now."

"W-what?" Hashirama looked cluelessly at him, index fingers poking together in a gesture of nervousness.

"Go to your room-" Tobirama spoke slowly as if he were talking to a toddler, "and arm yourself for a dance. I will meet you at our training yard in ten minutes. Capisce?"

"Uhm... Yes?"

When Tobirama hears the unsure tilt of Hashirama's tone, he could only let loose a long-suffering sigh. This thing would become the Senju head after chichi-ue succumbs to his illness.

Somehow, Tobirama has a feeling that in the future, he would be doing many unethical things to protect his dreamer of an older brother from being eaten alive by the cruel mistress called politics (and Tobirama would gladly do so to spare Hashirama's hands from dirtying. He has been trained from young to undertake all the unpleasant tasks, after all. The clan heir/soon-to-be head should not have to handle such despicable affairs).

"Was that a statement or a question?"

"A statement, of course! Hahahaha!"

Hashirama's mood flipped from nervous to joyous within a split second before he patted Tobirama with enough strength to physically move him from one tatami mat to another. The albino could only watch (while holding his stinging back) as the older Senju skipped out of his office, looking as if he had just won the lottery.

And as Tobirama intimately knows, Hashirama was a sucker when he gambles.

Shaking his head to rid himself of the recent memory of Hashirama drunkenly gambling away some of Tobirama's used fundoshi (why anyone would ever desire them continues to remain a mystery to the albino), he, with practiced movements, shrugged out of his kinagashi to don his black, standard shinobi pants and mesh armor, followed by a short sleeve blue kimono shirt and happuri.

He debated whether he should clip on his fur collar, but decided against it after a few moments. There was no need to use it in a spar; as the initial purpose was to make his shoulders appear broader than they looked, which would then cause others to think him bulkier, which in turn would make them underestimate his speed, which would also benefit him by-

Tobirama forcefully pulled the brakes on his train of thoughts before they could derail into the many advantages of beguiling and misdirecting other people's senses. Sometimes, his brain didn't know what it meant to rest - there was no off button for him to press, always flying from one topic to another.

It didn't take him long to reach his destination or to develop a twitch in his left eyebrow.

If Tobirama was a lesser man, his chin would be brushing the ground with disbelief. But since he had been trained to be a soldier since before he could even properly walk, he discreetly tried to dispel whatever illusion had befallen onto him. It didn't work.

"Anija," His voice was dry as sawdust, "Why are you wearing that and why haven't you prepared your sword?"

Hashirama only blinked, looking clueless in the face of Tobirama's disapproval.

The Senju heir had on an elegant brown kimono with a black obi, held in his right hand was a white fan with pink cherry blossoms drawn on it, and in his other was a shamisen that Tobirama swore he had seen in his cousin Touka's room before.

"But how are we suppose to dance without them?" ఠ_ఠ

That only made Tobirama all the more baffled. What did sparring have anything to do with a shamisen or a fan? Unless one was a ninja from Kaze no Kuni, nobody else in Hi no Kuni uses a fan in a battle. Apart from Madara, of course.

Tobirama still remembered the first time he saw Madara wield his gunbai, hilariously out of place in the hands of a thirteen-year-old, but awed and terrified when the Uchiha actually managed to blow back three-quarters of their forces with just one swing.

Till now, he remained clueless about Madara's full repertoire. The Uchiha heir's mastery over Fire and Wind release was clear for all to see, however, Tobirama had been taught Water release by Madara when they had been younger, once upon a time when Tobirama still struggled with ninjutsu in general.

It attracted much of Tobirama's curiosity; to be in the presence of someone unbeatably was intoxicating.

When he once again noticed that he had been sidetracked, he swiftly returned his attention to Hashirama. No need to get aroused when in the presence of his brother. That would be just wrong on so many levels. Stupid hormones.

"With our bodies," He deadpanned, "What is wrong with you, anija? Are you feeling unwell?"

"Tobirama!" Hashirama suddenly shrieked, tanned cheeks alight in red. The loud volume caused the albino to flinch, having not expected that, "When I said I wanted to be closer to you, I did not mean it in that way. Little brother, I love you, you know that, right?"

Tobirama nodded slowly, wary that any sudden movements on his part would trigger Hashirama into attacking him (or strangling him with hugs). Why was his brother acting so oddly? More so than usual, that was.

"You mean the world to me, Tobirama. However, my love for you is purely platonic. Just like Kawarama and Itama. Don't worry, we can work through this, ok? I won't shun you. But we can't do this type of things even in private, Tobirama. I know you're at the age of finding yourself-"

Finally losing all patience, Tobirama snapped, arms crossed over his chest to hide his confusion. He felt strangely defensive, "What on earth are you talking about, anija? If you don't want to dance, all you are required to do is to simply say so and I'll be on my way."

With a sturdy poker face, he hid the sting that exuded from his chest when he said his piece. His brother didn't need to be so cruel by accepting his proposal to spar and then play the fool afterwards, right?

Hashirama suddenly froze, his skin returning to its usual shade as his brown eyes narrowed at the way Tobirama was tapping irritably on his training sword's sheath. It was a sign of nervousness, Tobirama realizes belatedly, which forces him to immediately still all movements.

With how stupid his brother constantly acts, Tobirama often times forgets that there was a brain underneath all that obliviousness.

"Tobirama..." The Senju heir started, voice oddly soft, "When you said to 'dance using only our bodies', what did you mean?"

"This is getting ridiculous, anija. How else are we suppose to dance if you're holding onto a shamisen and a fan? I do believe that some people are proficient in using them as weapons, but you have never once practiced with either of them. It is dangerous to use them without-"

"Ok. I get it," Hashirama interrupted before he could go on a full tirade about the cons of using unpracticed weapons even during spars, "You're referring to spars when you say dance. And bodies as in taijutsu. Oh for the love of- Tobirama! What is with your wordings today?! They're twice as confusing! Give me a heart attack, why don't you?!"

"Again, what are you talking about? It is only because your brain is dull that my words confuse you so."

"You clueless idiot... I can't believe my genius of a brother has the emotional capacity of a goldfish and the word phrasing of a toddler," Hashirama facepalmed, looking as if he couldn't believe Tobirama was this dumb.

Completely offended, the albino snarled.

"If anyone is an idiot, it is you, anija! Explain yourself properly!" Truly, this was Madara's insane spiel all over again. Had the two clan heirs both been dropped on their head as infants?

"... Wait here for me while I go and get changed, little brother. We can spar then."

Before Tobirama has any chance to react, Hashirama had already run off, leaving a trail of dust clouds in his wake. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he let loose a frustrated exhale.

While Tobirama was weighing the pros and cons of simply ditching Hashirama in order to attend to his duties, Itama came running over, his cheeks flushed red as he panted with exertion.

"Is something wrong?"

Tobirama stoically asked even as his eyes had already begun their examination, searching his baby brother's body for injuries and the likes.

He paused slightly when he notices a purplish rhombus in the middle of Itama's sweaty forehead, previously hidden by his bangs but now seen due to how clammy his windswept hair was, before moving on with his observations (it wasn't a concern of his if Itama and Madara had matching face tattoos from who knows when. Really. He wasn't feeling betrayed or jealous at all. Honest).

"It's chichi-ue! He's deteriorating rapidly!" Itama announced seriously.

"Report this to anija. I will go ahead."

Without waiting for Itama to respond, Tobirama sped off in the direction of his father's bedroom.

Tobirama's narrow red eyes were dark, and in his mind, all there currently was were plans being calculated and discarded at a speed that those with average IQ could never keep up with.

"Madara would be glad. Perhaps this news would improve his mood," He ended up muttering under his breath, his lips unconsciously curled into a small smile.

A/N:

GYAAAAA! I'm super duper extremely sorry for the late update orz... I've recently moved into a new flat (it's awesome ٩(θ‿θ)۶). Unpacking was a chore, though ༼ ༎ຶ ෴ ༎ຶ༽.

2nd year of Uni has finally begun (gotta do a lot of prep work, assignments, etc). I was super pumped to finally get back to my studies. But as soon as I sat in class and opened my textbook... I longed for the holidays to come. Humans, such contradicting creatures we are (－‸ლ).

So~ I hoped you've enjoyed this chapter (◕‿◕✿)!

P.S. I'll soon be going to my clinical placement for an entire month (in a rural area! Isn't that exciting?!). Hence I won't be able to update any of my works for some time (༎ຶ⌑༎ຶ)... Unless I can stop procrastinating and edit this entire thing before I leave!