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"I'll go with," Izuna says, tapping his fingers on the hilt of his katana. He ignores the look his brother is sending him from across the table.
Hashirama blinks, but his smile doesn't falter. "Ah, Izuna-san..."
"It's fine, anija. A little show of force isn't uncalled for."
Izuna snorts. Sending the both of them is overkill and they all know it. But he'd rather go with the White Demon himself rather than sending one of his cousins to represent the Uchiha. He, at least, has a better chance of surviving a betrayal - from any side.
"I'll meet you at the gates tomorrow morning," Tobirama addresses him directly, and then moves on to the next item on their agenda.
Izuna pays attention —he's not going to let the Senju take advantage of them through something as banal as building plans— but the rest of it is just reports of current projects in various stages of completion. Some are ahead of schedule, some are behind, but everything is grinding forward in a way that means those working on site could soon be living in houses instead of tents. The village his brother dreamed of as a child is being built from the ground up.
And now that they've set themselves on this path, Izuna is not going to be the one who ruins it.
(He resents it, of course. That his injury is what got his brother to bend. That their clan is moving away from their ancestral lands to live in a village alongside Senju. But he's also never felt so loved. His brother laid down his weapons and begged for Izuna's life over any other responsibility or concern.)
Madara tries to catch him after the meeting ends, but of the two of them, Izuna's always been faster. He's not going to be persuaded to let someone else take his place, no matter what Madara fears. He is not going to let himself be relegated to the sidelines, like some delicate princess that needs to be kept in a castle, and he is not afraid of Tobirama.
◊◊◊
Maybe Izuna is a little afraid of Tobirama.
Tobirama holds him close as water whips around them, scything down anyone who dares to get closer. Izuna has been on the other end of this jutsu before, but it had been more targeted on him personally rather than the area attack it is now, the water expanding out and away to mow down the group that had ambushed them.
Izuna keeps his hand tight on the wound in his side, trying to stem the flow of blood. It's an eerily similar match for the one Tobirama gave him months ago, except that it's on the wrong side. Someone failed to pass that information onto the Hagoromo, who are apparently trying to break up the Senju-Uchiha alliance before it even really begins.
When the water falls back, the ground around them has turned into mud, dotted with shorn off limbs in a way that suggests that will all soon bleed out, if they haven't already.
"You couldn't keep one of them alive?" Izuna asks through gritted teeth. It would be better to know if this is a splinter group or the entire clan is against them.
"Let me see," Tobirama says instead, his hands already glowing green.
Izuna lifts his hand away from the wound and hisses as Tobirama's chakra sinks into him. It feels just as alien as before, somehow not clashing with his own fire-natured chakra but still wrong in a way that makes him want to jerk away. His side prickles with discomfort, but it's nothing compared to the sharp pain that is receding as his body is healed in minutes instead of months.
"You'll need to limit your chakra use for a day or so until the healing stabilizes," Tobirama says. His fingers gently press against Izuna's side, testing the new skin.
"Nobody told me that last time."
"Mm. Your brother was told, but you were also bedridden. It wasn't as much of a concern."
Izuna breathes out. He's cold, and apparently he shouldn't be circulating his chakra. Fuck. He hadn't packed anything he could use to keep himself warm, because it's spring and he's an Uchiha.
"Here."
White fills Izuna's vision for a second before he recognizes the fur collar in Tobirama's hands. It's warm and soft as it settles on his shoulders and tickles the skin of his throat.
"Do not push yourself past your limits," Tobirama says firmly. "If you don't tell me when you need to stop I will carry you the rest of the way home."
Izuna slants a suspicious look at him. "You would trust me that close to your throat?"
Tobirama's lip curls into something that could charitably be called a smile. "If you're going to try to kill me, you won't do it here, Izuna."
An inexplicable fondness slinks up his ribs and settles under his heart. Tobirama is correct, of course; it would be stupid to kill him here, where everyone will suspect him first. But maybe. Maybe there won't be a need for it at all.