Chapter Text
"Izuna?" Tobirama sticks his head into his friend's kitchen, glad not to have to do this in public. "Can I ask for your opinion on something?"
"Sure, what do you - " Izuna looks up from the fish he's gutting, and Tobirama almost laughs at the shock on his face. "What the fuck."
"Yes, that's quite a succinct description of my predicament." Tobirama drapes the long tail of hair over his shoulder, the result of his newest experiment. "Is this normal for the seal your clan usually uses?"
"No! Not at all!" Washing his hands quickly, Izuna comes over and fingers the strands. "This is down past your knees! How did you manage this?"
"I simply used the seal I've been developing," Tobirama knows his best friend will know exactly what he's talking about, as it was Izuna who showed him what the Uchiha use to regrow their hair after they sit in their fires. "It's not exactly the same as yours, which is why I wanted to check the results with you."
"Well, I don't know how the one we use actually works - I'm not a fūinjutsu master like you, and I always assumed one of our ancestors stole it from somewhere with their Sharingan." Izuna's explanation makes sense, and Tobirama nods along as it's almost exactly what he expected. "But ours doesn't do this."
"Ah, then would you be willing to do a direct comparison?" Tobirama pulls out a kunai and offers it. "If we both shave, any differences in the results should be obvious."
"Sure," Izuna takes the blade, gathering his hair in a fist. "We can - "
"No." Madara-sama interrupts them, bursting through the door. "You're not cutting that, absolutely not."
"If Izuna wants to shave his head, I don't see why you'd object." Tobirama can't help feeling offended at the idea that he'd do anything to hurt his friend. "It's his choice, and it's not like the hair won't grow back almost immediately."
"No! No one is shaving!" Madara-sama waves his hands agitatedly for emphasis, seeming almost panicked by the idea. "Give me the kunai!"
"Nii-san!" Izuna seems to see something in his brother that Tobirama doesn't, and Madara-sama flinches at the tone. "My rival? Really?"
"Shut up!" Izuna's brother glares furiously despite his red face. "Be quiet before I decide you're overdue for a visit to the koi pond!"
"You could try!" Izuna dives out of the window, already taking off running, and Madara-sama chases him.
"Just watch me!" Despite the rapidly growing distance between Tobirama and the two Uchiha, Madara-sama's bellow is loud enough to be heard clearly. "Come back here!"
There's something he's missing here, Tobirama is sure of it, and it's not just the differences between the two seals, but sunset is a while away and he has nothing else to do today.
He can wait.
This is their house, after all - they'll have to come back sometime.