#mizunokami

[menokami]

Absence of Light

[starter for @mizunokami]

Well, shit.

He was starting to lose them. The snow clinging to the mountain range was an ill omen, as was the pitch black of the sky beyond. A storm was coming, but that didn’t seem to slow Madara and his ill-chosen lover down at all. Their pace was brutal. Izuna was already breathing hard, felt the sweat bead on his forehead, soak his back. Where were they going at this break-neck pace?

On top of keeping up with them, he also had to mind his cover; being caught by his brother’s sensory abilities was always a high risk. But Izuna had been given the task of observing Madara since before their father had ‘passed’. He’d gotten very good at not being noticed.

And someone had to keep an eye on Madara, for his own good. 

[kiiroisenkoh]

Desperate Times

@mizunokami 

“Be careful-” 

“Where’s Hashirama-sama at?!” 

“What the hell-” 

Pain. Hot pain rushed through his body, each breath a hurdle of it’s own to overcome as he was carried. He’d just wanted to help. Minato had stayed as unaffiliated as possible, as neutral as possible. So when that man had came begging for him to help his wife, he had accepted, as he had many times in the past. Turning away those in need wasn’t something he could do, not when he had the ability to help. 

That was biting him in the ass at the moment. Without his seals, everything was too much, painpainpain, what is air, oh god it hurts - 

Those hands laid him down onto a tatami mat, orders being barked to find the nearest healer, be it Hashirama or whoever was free. None of them had prepared for this today. A few of the Senju had been helped by this man though, had returned to the clan without being injured, even given reports of being fed and taken care of whilst they were treated. How could they not repay their debt? To let someone that had saved their lives suffer was something they would not allow to happen. 

Until an adequate healer was found, the most they could do was to make this man as comfortable as possible for the time being. His chakra was erratic though, wild winds blazing about, flinching from nearly every touch given. Twelve years, he’d had these seals on his arms for twelve years. 

The backlash was torture in itself. The overload was worse than torture. In that moment, Minato wished for nothing more than death itself to take him and just end it all. 

[zankouu]

@mizunokami

  Right now seemed to be the best moment to tackle this. Sasuke had been hovering close to his master the whole day, uncharacteristically hesitant to engage with him. Sasuke was usually not afraid to ask things of Tobirama, knowing as long as he was polite and demure, Tobirama was decent to him.

   Of course the matter at hand was sensitive. Sasuke was way below Naruto’s station, and he was about to admit their relationship to Tobirama, who was bound to not be thrilled by it. Tobirama didn’t want any trouble, and Sasuke didn’t want to give him any, but he hoped to make this official and have his master’s permission to protect him from any repercussions.

   He knocked against the doorframe and bowed. “Tobirama-sama, may I speak to you for a moment?” Though the window, the setting sun was dipping the room into an orange glow, and a breeze flowed through the open door of the terrace. Hopefully the beautiful, relaxed atmosphere was going to work in Sasuke’s favor. And not only that, Izuna was nowhere around.

   “It’s about..something personal.”

[kinokami]

A Favour

[small starter for @mizunokami]

Tobirama was never late for work, and it was rare that Hashirama beat him to the office, but today, he’d already worn grooves into the ground as he paced. This was a bad idea, a completely ludicrous idea, even for him.

Maybe Tobirama would help him. More likely, he would dismiss him, but a brother could hope for support.

[sennokami]

Hatchling

starter for @mizunokami

There he was. The little pale brat that dad brought back one day. Madara watched him running around with Izuna distrustfully, his eyes narrowed. For someone who was supposed to be Hashirama’s brother, he sure didn’t look like him.

”Keep him safe for me. Please.”

Madara jumped down from his perch. He’d been content to give Izuna space for now, mostly because dad obviously had something planned, but enough was enough, right? It was bad enough that he was just running around with his little brother but he hadn’t been even there when the brat Senju got brought in. Now he was attached to Izuna like a leech.

He walked up to the two boys. They had their heads bent together, deep in whatever discussion they were in the middle of. “Izuna, Maki-san needs help skinning today’s game. Go help her.” He made a shooing motion at his brother. “And you --” he gave the Senju a curt nod, “-- you’re coming with me to clean out the aviary.”

[sennokami]

The Name of Satisfaction

starter for @mizunokami

Madara avoided Tobirama after the incident in the forest. Even when Hashirama tried to leverage him into working with him, Madara cited dislike and disgust until he ceased his efforts to make peace between them. There was an argument, a tense, quiet one, conducted in bed, but, well -- that was a necessary sacrifice.

Madara would rather choke and keel over dead than tell Hashirama what was actually going on.

During that, Tobirama worked on the seal. The new one was doubly stronger than the last was his promise. It didn’t stop his heat, but it was supposed to suppress his symptoms to non-existence.

It worked. For a given definition of worked, anyway. Madara did stop losing his mind if he sniffed Tobirama nearby, but that was... something of a problem now.

He stopped noticing alphas entirely. And whatever part of him it was that ruled his nature was disturbed by that. Like some part of him was missing, or something like that, and the thought niggled him everyday he woke up and his nose said there was nothing there.

He ended up scratching the seal. It was idle habit, nothing more, but he couldn’t quite stop himself from it. His avoidance of Tobirama came to a forcible end too, when Hashirama was called to the capital again.

“One of these days,” he predicted darkly, scritching the seal again, “the daimyo will come into conflict with the village. Something must be done when our relationship is no longer so mutually profitable. The Hokage is not a dog to be summoned as the nobility pleases.”

[menokami]

[small starter for @mizunokami]

Another diplomatic mission. He was getting tired of these long, arduous journeys. Not because they were dangerous, but because they were not. It seemed like the daimyo as well as the other shinobi nations had learned a lesson about trying to take down the Hokage. 

Why Tobirama insisted on having an escort was beyond him, but it did please Izuna to be responsible for that man.

[sennokami]

The Ones Left Behind

starter for @mizunokami

Everyone in the clan was fast asleep when Madara knelt in front of the stone cenotaph deep within the Uchiha shrine. Even the insects were quieter at this time of night, when everything was hushed and walking outdoors felt illicit. Madara had only a small lamp with him, and he put it down next to the monument.

There were names carved on it, all of them belonging to Uchiha clansmen. Men and women honored for extraordinary service, for great sacrifice, for exemplary acts... the best of them, gone before their time. His eyes lingered on one name as he gently set down his incense stand.

Madara prayed with everyone else when it was time for them to honor their dead, of course. But there were some things he needed to do in his own way when there was no one present to watch and judge him.

He lit up one stick of incense and inhaled its sweet smoke. It was the kind that Izuna liked best. He would always pick it out when it was time for them to honor their brothers. He brought other offerings too -- the candy that his brother had been fond of and a twine-wrapped bottle of sake.

Getting comfortable, Madara poured out five cups of sake. Four of them, he lined up on the edge of the cenotaph, one for each lost brother.

“Kou, Kuro, Toga... I’m sorry I haven’t had a chance to visit as often,” he said quietly, bowing his head. “Is Izuna with you now? Receive him kindly. He’s our little brother after all.”