fusion with another fandom, take it as a kingdom au; connected to chapter 10 of a dance of flame and forest

background madara/fem!hashirama

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the twins would be five this winter. tobirama watched them playing by the fountain, their nannies in tow, occasionally calling him with their high-pitched voice to show their discovery; a wriggling worm or shiny coin someone dropped. their clothes were smeared with dirt; tobirama had long surrendered trying to keep them away from the grasses. he chose not to risk dirtying his clothes, as it was made for court with richly embroidered edges. would be a pain to change again before dinner later.

"lord senju."

tobirama jolted up, his heart racing. he didn't hear her approaching. "your highness," he nodded in greeting.

"auntie!" yelled the twins, running towards her and gave her brief hug. they left four muddy hand prints on her dark grey dress.

"brats," izuna muttered under her breath as she sat on his bench. "was your sister this active as a child?"

"yes."

"so they got it from their mother."

tobirama hadn't seen izuna since the grassplain battle, where he sliced her open and put her in mortal danger. there were always others with them; their siblings, the council, guards. he hadn't said anything in person regarding their last battle.

"i meant no offense," izuna spoke, "but many among us uchiha doubt the throne will accept the twins."

"so why are you telling me this?"

"you're their uncle," she answered as a matter of fact, "whether i like it or not, i owe my life to hashirama. my brother is married to her," she added with a huff. "yet the crown princess title is still mine, unless they awaken their sharingan."

"do you want to be an empress then?"

"frankly, no."

tobirama let the conversation died, dwelling on his own thoughts. he was very adamant on killing izuna, even stating it several times to hashirama.

because if izuna died immediately on the battlefield, hashirama wouldn't offer herself to heal her as a part of the peace agreement. and if hashirama didn't stay in the palace to heal her, madara and her wouldn't...

"it's still strange seeing you without your armor, lord senju," izuna rose, "but i like your court attire better."

tobirama watched her strolled back towards the palace, wondering why she approached him all of a sudden, and left just as abruptly.