Their third brother was due to be born any day now. Ayumi spent a lot of time sleeping and eating to make sure her son would be healthy and Butasuma was busy preparing for the birth. Both Hashirama and Tobirama worked with the servants to ensure that their mother was in the right health to give birth. Aside from the training they'd begun again, a lot of the brother's free time was dedicated to them. Their Tou-San was too busy to reprimand them for it, and they abused the hell out of that opportunity. As it turned out, Ayumi went into labour one day before the older boys Birthdays. Unfortunately, that meant that they were kicked out of the room as soon as the Albino woman started having contractions.
The brothers paced in agitation before they were joined by their father. However they were too concerned to care when the man gave them a glare for not being perfectly composed little Shinobi. In fact Hashirama paced back and forth across the floor so much that he began to wear ruts in the wood. "Anija, I understand that you're worried, I am too, but you're beginning to wear ruts into the wooden floor" Tobirama pointed out about ten minutes later when his brothers pacing was beginning to annoy even him. "*sigh* Sorry Tobi-Chan, I just wish we could help in some way!" Hashirama replied. After a few hours of worry and screams from their mother, a loud wail broke through the silence. All three males gasped and stilled at the cry. It was a few minutes later that the midwife came out, "Senju-Sama, your son was born healthy and his mother is fine. You may go in to see them now" she said.
Butusuma rushed into the room, leaving his two oldest boys standing in the hall. Both of them were poised and ready to move into the room as well. They'd been waiting long enough to meet their Otouto. Upon entering the room the two saw their Kaa-Chan, tired but happy, and holding a small bundle in her arms. Hashirama walked over and lifted Tobi up so he could see. Ayumi smiled at both of them and tilted the bundle in her arms. The baby had lightly tanned skin and a small fluff of light brown hair. The oldest reached up and lightly tickled the child's cheek with his finger. Kawarama made a sound and reflexively turned to the new presence. Hashirama beamed, "he's adorable Kaa-Chan, though not as adorable as Tobi was" he said, cooing at his new brother. "What's his name Kaa-Chan?" Tobi asked, trying and failing to hide his blush.
"His name is Kawarama" Butasuma replied instead. "Awww, hey their Kawa-Chan, I'm your Hashi-Nii, and this is your Tobi-Nii" Hashirama said. The Head of the Senju Clan scoffed and rolled his eyes. The boy was nearly three years old, he was not a baby anymore. And yet he still insisted on acting as such. Along with that and his stubborn softness- the man would have to see to his eldest soon. He may be a prodigy during training, but he had consistently failed every mission he'd been given up 'till this point. If it turned out that he had to train the boy himself to beat that weakness out of him, then so be it. He turned and left the room after a moment to ensure that his wife and youngest son would be fine. It was time he formed a proper training regimen for his Heir.
N/Ĥ
The next day, Hashirama was woken before the sun was up by Butusuma. His Tou-San told him to wash up and dress and meet him in the Training yard in 10 minutes. The boy did as asked, before pressing a soft kiss to Tobirama's forehead. The younger boy still needed more sleep and the brown-haired Heir wasn't going to wake him. Slipping through his house, Hashirama made it to the Training Yard with 2 minutes to spare. His Tou-san was already their waiting for him. Butusuma nodded at seeing the boy arrive early before explaining what he would be doing, "it's time for you to take the next step in your training," he pulled out a set of Kunai before pointing towards the wooden posts, each crudely painted with a circle on it to serve as a target, "your first task will be to hit within the circle with the kunai, start!".
Hashirama spent the next 30 minutes throwing kunai. As he was still so small, his strength level was still a bit too low to throw the knives properly, even with Chakra control. After a few minutes Butusuma had the boy stop and check his progress. Turns out he had hit inside the targets quite a few times, but still missed more than he'd hit. The Senju Clan Head scoffed "your aim needs more work," he muttered to himself. Hashirama scowled, what did the man expect, he was three. After that, since much of the day would be spent on celebrating his eldest's Birthday's, Butusuma let the boy go get ready. He met Tobirama on his way to the bath, "Good Morning 'Nija! It's our Birthday today!" The two year old exclaimed excitedly. Hashirama grinned, "it is, Happy Birthday Otouto!" he said, ruffling the younger boy's hair.
"I have to get ready first, then it's your turn, okay?" he asked. Tobirama nodded, "hai Hashi 'Nija!" he replied cheerfully. After bathing, the servants helped dress the boy "young master, you look so handsome in your Birthday Kimono" one of the women said. That was something they had been calling himself and Tobirama since they were born. Either young master, young lord or Hashirama-Sama. Something that had only begun over the last year was that he had begun growing his hair out in tribute of his first Kaa-Chan, Kushina Uzumaki. So far it reached just past his shoulders. Tou-San didn't approve.
(Flashback) "The boy should keep his hair short, it's a liability in battle. Someone could grab it, or it could catch fire. In case you forgot, we are at war with the Uchiha. Their main Elemental Style is fire. If his hair catches fire, he'll either burn to death or have to cut it off anyway. It would be simpler to keep it short" Butusuma argued. "He want's to keep it long to be a better Shinobi!" Ayumi countered. "Hashirama has decided that if he is to become the best Shinobi that can, then he should learn how to do things like avoid enemies, and deceive them by making them believe that he is a woman. Deception is a part of the Shinobi life, is it not?" the woman asked.
The Senju Clan Head huffed, but thought it over. Everything his wife had said made sense. Perhaps he should let the boy try it for now. And later, if it did become a liability, it could always be cut. Butusuma nodded, "alright, he can keep it long for now, but if it becomes a problem, you will keep it short from that point onwards, do you understand Hashirama?" he asked, turning to the boy who had been watching the proceedings silently, "hai Tou-San" he replied calmly, but on the inside he was cheering. (End flashback)
Another woman brushed his long hair, "your hair is getting so long Hashirama-Sama, it looks very good on you" she stated. The boy grinned, "thank you, I think so too" he replied. As the servants helped him dress, he couldn't help hoping that today would be good. After he was ready, the servants bowed to him, "we are done young master" the head servant said. The boy hopped up from his seat, "thank you all very much for helping me get ready today" he said with a bow. The head servant shook her head, "oh no, please, there's no need to thank us, we were happy to help you get ready for today, I hope you enjoy yourself Hashirama-Sama" she replied. After bidding goodbye to the servants, the young boy hurried to where his Otouto has most likely already finished getting ready.
Tobirama steped out of the room almost as soon as he reached it. "Hey Tobi-Chan, you look good this morning" Hashirama said cheerfully. The two year old smiled and nodded, "thank you Anija, since we have some time before the celebration, why don't we go see how Kaa-Chan and Kawarama are doing?" he asked. The long-haired boy grinned, "sounds good!" he replied cheerfully.
N/Ĥ
They found their mother and baby brother in the nursery. Ayumi was breast-feeding her youngest in the rocking chair placed in the room. "Ohaiyo Kaa-Chan!" Hashirama exclaimed cheerfully. The woman looked up in happiness, "Hashi-Chan, Tobi-Chan, good morning, Happy Birthday dears, I was just giving Kawarama his breakfast before his bath and dressing," she explained, "how are you both this morning?" she asked. "We're good, how is Otouto this morning?" Tobirama asked. The white-haired woman smiled, "very energetic, he wanted to be fed as soon as he woke up, which was earlier than we were" Ayumi replied. Hashirama chuckled, "that sounds about right for babies, especially newborns. In the books I've read, it said that newborn babies need to be fed every 2-3 hours" he said.
Tobirama looked shocked, "they need to eat that much? But he's so small" he said. Hashirama nodded, "that's exactly why he needs to eat so much, or in his case, drink. Babies need a lot of food because their bodies have only just started to grow. They need the nutrients and energy from the food, because they need to grow a lot. Their lungs need to grow so that they can breathe well, their heart needs to grow so that their blood gets to all the right body parts and they need to become stronger fast so that the muscles that doo all of that can work properly. Until they start to 'grow into their bodies' as it were babies need a lot of food" he explained. Ayumi looked shocked but proud, "where did you learn so much about babies Anija?" Tobirama asked. Hashirama sweat-dropped, 'well, when I was going to become a father I sort of freaked out and read every baby book Sakura had- but I can't tell them that'.
"I read up on it before you were born Tobi, I wanted to know as much as possible about my new baby brother" Hashirama explained. The white-haired boy nodded in understanding, "okay" he replied. Ayumi smiled at her oldest, "do you want to hold him Hashi-Chan?" she asked softly. The brown-haired boy became nervous, "me? I don't know if I should-" before he could finish his sentence, the nursery doors were flung open, "their you two are!" Butsuma exclaimed upon spotting his two eldest, "everyone is waiting for you!" Hashirama stood up, "everyone?" he asked, confused. "The Clan, the Elders, even our cousin Clan, the Uzumaki are here now, and you are all just sitting around!" Tou-San exclaimed. Hashirama's eyes widened. Uzumaki Clan members. As in the Clan he never got the chance to meet. "The Uzumaki?" he asked softly.
"Our cousins, now come, quickly!" Butusuma replied, grabbing both boys by the wrists and practically dragging them out of the room. "But what about Kaa-Chan and Kawarama?" Tobirama asked. "They will follow when they are ready, hurry, we can't keep everyone waiting!"
N/Ĥ
As it turned out, the Senju, as well as most Clans of the era didn't actually celebrate a child's Birthday until they were at least three years old in most cases. Not only had the child proved to be healthy enough to live that long, but they had also survived their first brush with the war. However, since Tobirama was born on the same day as his older brother, the Clan decided to allow him to attend as well. Now back when Hashirama had been Naruto, his Birthday had fallen on the same day that Kurama had attacked the Hidden Leaf. It had never really seemed right to celebrate on a day when everyone else was mourning, so he had never done it. As such, his first Birthday celebration should have made him happy. But unfortunately for the young boy, that wasn't really the case.
"Oh he's such a little Prodegy, you must be so proud Butusuma-Sama!" "only three years old and already the young master is working on elemental manipulation!" "both he and Tobirama-Sama are so smart! How wonderful for you!" None of them actually cared about him. It was only about his intelligence, or talent, or how strong he was. And they weren't just all over him either. Tobirama received the same treatment as well. "I heard that young master Tobirama is already studying advanced Chakra manipulation and control!" "he's so quiet and obedient!" "you must be so proud of your Heirs!" Listening to those people talk about him and Tobirama like that- like they weren't even people made him feel sick to his stomach.
'Now I know How Konahamaru always felt, constantly being in the shadow of the Third' he thought. However, neither boy could say anything, they had to simply stand by their Tou-San's side and accept the comments graciously. It was so tedious and frustrating! Eventually Hashirama spotted their Kaa-Chan in the crowd, carrying Kawarama in her arms. She seemed to be having a bit of trouble navigating the crowd while making sure the baby wasn't hit by the many guests. Hashirama turned to his father, "Tou-San, Kaa-Chan is having trouble with the crowds. May Tobirama and I go and help her?" he requested. Butsuma turned to look down at him, then back up to where his wife and youngest son were, before nodding, "mind your manners and don't insult anyone" he replied.
The brown-haired boy breathed a silent sigh of relief at this, before he grabbed his younger brother's hand and began to lead the boy through the crowds and towards their mother. Suddenly he bumped into someone on his way over there. "Oh, my apologies, I didn't mean to knock into you" he said politely. Upon looking up he saw a shock of bright red hair elegantly done up in two buns and large grey eyes. The boy blinked, having only seen that particular shade of red on three people before, all of whom had been Uzumaki. "That's fine, I wasn't looking where I was going" the girl replied. She squinted at them harder for a moment then brightened, "oh! Are you the Senju Heir and his younger brother, the ones this party is for?" she asked.
Hashirama blinked hard then smiled, "that's right, my name is Hashirama Senju" he bowed slightly. Tobirama copied him, "I'm his younger brother, Tobirama Senju" he said. The girl smiled, "it's very nice to meet you both, my name is Mito Uzumaki".
To Be Continued