A number of months had passed and the village was finally completed. Thanks to the combined effort of the builders, all that was left was for a few clans to finish moving into the shiny new compounds and Konoha would finally be the gleaming beacon it's founders had intended it to be.

Speaking of the founders however, it seems they had hit a bump in the road; the road of premonitive assistance they'd been receiving, that is. It turns out the seer hadn't been joking when she said she wouldn't help them until the younger pair learned to get along.

When Hashirama and Madara had gone to visit her two weeks after the incident, they had been turned away at the door where Mila reluctantly informed them that Aroka would only speak to Tobirama and Izuna.

The week after that, the said pair begrudgingly made the trip to see the seer but had barely made it two steps into the room when they shot each other the usual 'I hate you and hope you die' look, consequently getting themselves thrown out once again.

The next week, the pair returned to the silkmakers' village after promising their brothers they would be successful this time and lasted a solid five minutes before Tobirama's urge to throw an insult finally took over and they were promptly kicked out.

Another week passed and they reasoned that having one of them going alone was the best way to avoid conflict, and so Izuna was sent on a solo mission to win Aroka over. He didn't even make it inside the village.

Many more attempts followed, all ending in various degrees of failure, this proved to be a growing headache for Hashirama as the number of issues he needed advice on was growing by the day. Turns out running a village isn't easy work.

"Listen up you two! You're going back to the Imada village and this time it's going to work! I can't stress enough how important it is that you get on her good side!" Hashirama stated anxiously. He grabbed an unfurled scroll off his desk and held it up. "Here are a list of things we need advice on, listed from most to least urgent. Please get answers on at least a few of these." he urged, handing the paper to his brother whom was clearly less than willing to make yet another pointless trip.

"No promises."

"Tobirama!"

"Fine, whatever. Let's just get this over with."

"We'll do our best, Hashirama-san."

"I can always count on you, Izuna. Good luck!"

Tobirama rolled his eyes and swiftly walked out of the room, soon followed by the young Uchiha.

Hashirama sighed heavily, leaning forward to rest his forehead on his desk.

He really, really needed this to work.


At the conclusion of the familiar week-long journey, the young leaders finally made it to the Imada village, though as many times as they had travelled to this same destination, the weariness of trek still tugged at them. As usual, Mila was waiting for them at the gate.

"Welcome back." she greeted with a bow, "please come with me."

Make it through the gate: check

"How has Aroka been lately?" Izuna inquired, hoping she would go easy on them if she was in a good mood.

"She's been well, nothing out of the ordinary, though she has been anticipating your arrival these past few days."

"What for? It's never more than a few minutes before she chases us out again." Tobirama commented snidely.

"Actually, Miss is quite eager to help you and your brothers, it's just that cooperation is important to her so she's giving you a hard time. Please don't take offense, if you make an effort I'm sure she'll appreciate it." Mila smiled encouragingly.

"We'll try." Izuna assured, "Or at least I will."

Tobirama glared at him and would have shot back with one rude remark or another were it not for the fact that they had made it to Aroka's door. For some reason he was rather uneasy, quite unlike him considering they were in no danger at all, but the churning in his stomach reminded him closely of the sensation he felt before a battle.

"Miss?" Mila knocked lightly.

"Let them in."

Tobirama's stomach twisted as Mila opened the door and beckoned them inside.

Make it into the room: check

"Well if it isn't my favorite Senju-Uchiha pair." Aroka grinned up at them, head resting atop intertwined hands. "How have you two been doing?"

"We've been good, but we do need your advice on a few things regarding the village." Izuna said smoothly, getting right to the point. If they were going to be kicked out they might as well get some answers while they still can, right?

"Ask away."

Recalling the first thing on the scroll Hashirama gave them, Izuna chose his words carefully.

Tobirama, meanwhile, was trying his best to hold back the many comments that flooded his mind as the Uchiha spoke. They had previously come to the conclusion that their best chance at success were if one of them did all the talking and the other remained silent, so as Izuna went down the list they had been given, Tobirama tuned them out, deciding not to risk another lecture from his brother.


"I have to say, I'm impressed." Aroka grinned in amusement, head resting against her hand. "So it is possible for you two to get along after all."

Izuna nodded nervously, still half expecting himself to say something that might get them thrown out again.

"Thank you for your advice, Aroka, we appreciate it."

"You're cute, Izuna, no need to be so polite." she chuckled, eyes landing on Tobirama briefly. "Ah, it's getting late and I'm sure you're both tired, you two should stay the night."

"That would be great, thank you."

"Mila! Please show them to their rooms."

The door slid open and the brunette bowed slightly, gesturing for the pair to follow her.

Guiding them down the hall and around a corner, she paused and motioned to two of the doors in front of her.

"These are your rooms for the night. Please call if you need anything, someone will be with you right away." Mila bowed again and excused herself, disappearing down the hall.

Tobirama and Izuna, both having had decidedly enough of each other for the day, split off into their respective rooms without a word between them.


Knock knock

The soft sound pulled Tobirama from his train of thought. Glancing out the window, the pale moon was the only source of light at this hour.

He stood and approached the door silently, sliding it open just enough to see-

"What are you doing here?"

"You didn't seem keen on talking earlier, I thought I could catch you alone." Aroka smiled, "Besides, I couldn't sleep."

Though slightly suspicious, Tobirama moved to allow her to enter.

Aroka smiled again and reached out for the door, slowly tracing it and stepping inside.

"You aren't using your chakra." he observed, closing the door behind her.

"Since you don't like it I thought I'd be considerate. Can we sit?"

Tobirama hummed in acknowledgement and placed a hand on her back, guiding her towards the low-set table.

Taking each step cautiously, she paused when she felt her foot run into something soft, presumably a cushion. As she settled herself and reached out to feel the table, she heard a light shuffling that indicated Tobirama had taken a seat across from her.

"So how has the village been doing?" she leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table.

"Since construction finished it has been growing steadily."

"From what I heard today, Hashirama has some big plans huh? Have you been busy?"

"I've been helping with some of the projects, mainly to do with the structure within our ranks."

"Sounds complicated. Come to think of it, it's been a while since I've seen Hashirama and Madara."

"It wouldn't have been if you had spoken to us the first dozen times we came."

"Are you still upset about that? You know I did it for your own good."

"How is refusing to help us 'for our own good?'"

"You and Izuna needed to learn to get along. And it worked, didn't it?"

"That's debatable."

"At least you two are getting along better than before. Now you can listen to Izuna talk without being at his throat every other sentence."

"I'm starting to think you're too fond of that Uchiha."

"Why would you think that?"

"You called him cute."

"Would you feel better if I called you cute too?"

"That's not what I meant!"

Aroka grinned slyly, tilting her head.

"Tobirama, are you jealous?" she teased, voice lowering to a whisper.

"That's ridiculous."

"So you don't mind if I tell Izuna I like him?"

"You what?" his eyes narrowed instantly.

"Yea, he's so nice and hardworking, plus I think he likes me too." she rested her chin on her palms, an exaggerated look of dreaminess in her eyes.

Tobirama examined her closely, brows drawn.

"You're lying." he stated flatly.

A mischievous smile crept onto her lips.

"You don't know that."

"I know you don't like him."

"How would you know who I like?"

"If you did you wouldn't be talking to me right now."

"What are you implying, Tobirama?" she tilted her head in feign ignorance.

The Senju scoffed indignantly, eyes cast to the side.

"Aw, don't be embarrassed." she chuckled before stifling a yawn. "Ah, it's late, I should probably get going. Sorry to keep you up."

Aroka stood and stretched her arms, a moment later she felt a warm hand on her back and let it guide her towards the door.

She heard the door slide open and turned to face her companion.

"Thanks for the talk. Get some rest, ok?" she smiled and turned to leave. Before she had taken a step, however, she turned around again. She put both hands on his shoulders and leaned up, pressing a soft kiss to his lips. Quickly pulling away, she turned and hurried out the door, her rapid footsteps soon fading down the hall.