domoz writes

"You can't be serious." Izuna protests. Madara's grip remains as firm as Izuna's fingers around his own knife. "I've told you the tricks he likes to play. This is absolutely something like that. I can't believe you brought him here alive!" Madara waits a long moment after Izuna finishes before answering. "I dislocated his shoulder when I grabbed him." Madara says, instead of anything useful. "He didn't do anything more than swing a knife around before I pinned him. If it's a trick, it’s a very good one. It's one he was willing to die for." They stare at each other for another beat, and Izuna forces himself to look away.

Being active shinobi, the concerns he hears raised focused immediately on the practical -- will they move the entire compound? Be forced to share mission income with the Senju? Ironically they're the sort of questions that Tobirama would be best suited to answer, if only because his manner of speaking would make him sound confident in his answers. But the man remains standing behind his husband, and Madara appears to be stuck calming the elders as they raise their own, less practical concerns. (Why wouldn't they rebuild their temple to Ameterasu in the new village? It gets torn down and rebuilt every twenty years, anyways).

As the only formal guest currently in the inn, Izuna takes his breakfast alone, looking out over a view of the valley as the snow finally comes to a stop. He sighs and forces himself to finish his tamagoyaki despite his lack of an appetite -- they went through all of the effort to impress him, after all, the entire meal was cooked and plated to perfection, despite the weather. But Izuna can only force himself to be patient for so long. As soon as the last bit of food is gone he excuses himself and goes looking again for the stranger that lurks as much in Izuna's thoughts as they do in the building.

The Senju doesn't need to know all that. The Senju tilts his head to the side and says, "That seems like an exceptionally good in for a long term undercover mission, even if unwilling." Togakushi growls and throws his knife with enough force to stick into the wall, but the shinobi in front of him doesn't so much as flinch. "Fine, sure, whatever." His tone probably matches the horrible broken smile he can feel twisting on his face. "I probably do know stuff that would be useful to you, but I want something in return."

He means it. He spends the first two hours hunched over Izuna, the hands on his chest glowing bright but barely moving. Madara doesn't move either, even as his entire body begins to ache with tension. When the healer's hands finally reach the other cut, he pulls the water out in one long movement. The liquid is tinged pink, and after a moment it snakes into a bubble. Tobirama glances at it with narrowed eyes before his fingers twitch and a tiny section at the bottom of the bubble falls free and splashes into the empty bucket still sitting at his side. "Send that to your poison specialists." He pushes the bucket back towards Madara without looking away from Izuna. "If they still cannot find anything, feel free to send it to the Senju to have ours look at it as well."

That's probably something they should look at doing away with as well. Hikaku mentally sighs and adds it to the list as he nudges his way into one of the groups. In the corner of his eye he can see Izuna waves someone off with a smile before turning to leave -- as early as he can do so without it seeming like he doesn't support his brother. So whatever talk they had must not have gone too horribly, if he's still willing to put up a front for him in public. Hikaku is distracted further from the conversation he meant to be listening to when another figure darts out of the crowd to follow him. Asahi is right on Izuna's heels as he leaves, and when he notices his follower Izuna's expression immediately shifts from polite to completely exasperated. Ah. Whoops.

"You want my statement?" Hashirama raises his voice -- the doors to the hall are open and he knows it will carry out to the crowd that has gathered outside -- "I believe that Tobirama acted in righteous self-defense against a man who would have killed him. I believe he fled in fear of his life. Those things are not crimes. My orders are to approach him with caution and return him home whole and uninjured." They don't start shouting after him again, even as he turns and walks away. He keeps his head high as he passes the clansmen who have come to appraise him, and his shoulders straight, despite the way it feels the weight of the world is on them.

He has the look of a man patiently waiting to hear about how his plans have been ruined, which Togakushi is more than happy to oblige. "There is no undercover." Togakushi snarls, "There is only a clan full of idiots who mistook me for one of their own and dragged me two countries away for it!" They'd thought him to be the result of bloodline theft, and back then he'd been too weak to do anything but bite and scream as they'd carried him away. When their stupid 'essence-sight' bloodline had never shown up he'd been deemed a failed attempt, and when the sharingan he was supposed to have never showed up either, he had no way to prove to them that he wasn't a delusional brainwashing victim.

She's asked such a question to enough clients that she's lost count, but the confidence isn't there today, and Tobirama doesn't even acknowledge it immediately. "Are the books the brothel's property or yours?" He asks after a moment, "I'd like to take them with us if we can." She has nearly a full shelf of books on various subjects, not quite on display, in the alcove next to her closet, and all together they would be far too heavy to bring anywhere. So maybe he's planning on sending servants to pick up her things? He certainly seems to have enough money for something like that. "They're mine." She answers, voice weak with relief. They're practically her most prized possessions.

• Right before the end of PIDW Airplane posts an update that basically says "Hey due to a mix of health and personal reasons I won't be able to post for a while sorry!!"
• SY, who is in the hospital with horrible food poisoning isn't happy about this!! Something like this right after a cliffhanger??? Really??? And he's not got a lot else to do In the hospital, so he kind of... accidentally... doxxes Airplane...
• He was just looking for an account that he thought that hack author would check since he's obviously not looking at zhongdian, honest!!! But it turns out that this person lives somewhat nearby where SY does and is much cuter than he expected some hack author to be
• So he maybe goes to wander around the area (its nearby!! He's allowed to go on walks isn't he!!) And as a matter of fact finds Airplane!! Right on the sidewalk!!!
• And starts off with a rather aggressive introduction before realizing that his favorite shitty erotica author 1) has obviously healing electrocution burns, 2) is?? Way too skinny? Like on par with SY himself and hes chronically ill, 3) is standing outside a social services office and 4) appears to be carrying everything he owns with him on his back
• He immediately feels so guilty that he pivots from angry ranting to guiltily offering him a place to stay or, he can at least pay for a hotel room?? SQH does a very brief amount of mental calculus on if he'd rather deal with government bureaucracy or getting kidnapped and axe murdered by a crazy fan, shrugs, and chooses the latter.
• When SQH point out that he can't pay SY back in any way SY tells him that he can pay him back by writing a better novel!!! SQH teases him about being a devoted fan and offers to let him read some unpublished extras and backstory stuff (like SJ & YQY backstory, that sort of thing). Predictably, SY likes this a lot more and complains that it wasn't in the novel, in turn Airplane laments that if more readers were like SY he wouldn't be in this situation in thr first place.
• Related: SQH can't update because his laptop is fried. SY claims "to know a guy". SY does not know a guy, but he has money, so... (the files are fine and saved in like 3 different cloud locations, Airplane already learned that lesson)
• But PIDW ended on a cliffhanger! SY doesn't want to wait!!! So he bothers Airplane until he finds out that Airplane actually haS two endings waiting in the wings and he still hasn't decided which one to post. Reason being: he's kinda 80% done with writing a sequel of sorts, but he knows if he posts it it will basically get his zhongdian account nuked and remove his chances of making money from it ever again, because the current readers of PIDW would HATE IT
• Sy eventually argues that *he's* a reader and that Airplane should let *him* read it and if he deems it good then it's certainly good enough to post!! SQH finds this very funny because SY is not the average PIDW at all, but decides to allow it
• The sequel in question is a slow burn romance from Mobei-Juns point of view that leans heavily into drama and political intrigue. He stands by Binghes side and quietly pines and remains loyal and Binghe slowly discovers that devoted loyalty and understanding is actually the thing that makes him happy (vs empty relationships with his many wives)
• (Mobei Jun is written in a very grey-ace way, not understanding the carnal desires of other demons but would do anything for Junshang if asked etc etc)
• SY ADORES this book and thinks that if it were posted online it would be his #1 favorite. He really relates to MBJ as a protagonist and Binghe is still the best!! And then he is completely blindsided when the two of them have tender emotional gay sex
• Being SY, he absolutely tries to justify this to himself as like, aha,what a clever subversion...! You can tell because this sex scene was way better written then all the ones in PIDW, but obviously they aren't gay (He is too flustered to bring this up to Airplane in person despite having no problem doing so with the het stuff)
• The novel ends with, like, Bingge sealing away Xin mo and promising to be just as loyal to his general as MBJ is to him, and is very obviously romantic to the point that even SY can't miss it. So he goes back and rereads it to make sure it was actually meant to be a romance (...danmei) novel all along. And then again just to make sure and he's kinda losing his mind a little because he really related to MBJ in this book and... MBJ had gay sex??
• Of course you also have the "and they were roommates" situation going on at the same time. The rituals are intricate. Airplane is aware that's he's giving SY some kind of sexuality crisis but he has no idea how intense! He's genuinely fine having an unrequited crush on SY. Homoerotically teasing him is fun and it doesn't have to go further than that! Hes not really in a place to be doing any dating anyways and bro-cuddles have him covered!
• Side note: I like the idea of SY being very proud when Airplane gains weight bc its Physical proof that he's taking good care of his friend and also maybe catering to what he finds attractive
• When SY finally gets to the point where he asks about his sexuality, Airplane pretty much gives him the "I don't see a point in labels, I just like who I like" speech.
• SY who loves categorizing and labeling things: can you do that?? Is that allowed??????
• He then gets pointed to Baby's First LGBTQ resource website, and after determining that he's maybe not gay but maybe is something else immediately jumps into googling "how to date your best friend who is also your roommate"

Izuna remains hunched in on himself with his head pressed to his knees for the better part of a half-hour, willing the urge to go pick a fight out of himself. This, more than anything he's ever done, he doesn't want the Senju to scrutinize. The actual action is a very simple one. A new order goes out to a handful of agents -- the ones he trusts most won't be crosschecked by Tobirama or his brother, and of those only the ones he can speak to himself in person. If they encounter the man in the mask, they are to approach. Carefully, friendly, because if they can get close enough to speak to him they are to try to arrange a meeting with Izuna himself.

"…Report? Report?!" Togakushi's voice raises with his incredulity, but the Senju only rolls his eyes and slaps his hand to the wall. Some seal blooms under his palm to spread across the wood and for a moment Togakushi's ears ache like he's dived deep underwater before the feeling recedes. The feeling is only enough to make him pause for a moment before he goes on, "What the hell would I have to report to a Senju?" Red eyes blink once -- and they make the back of Togakushi's brain itch. There's something important about them, probably sharingan related, but the thoughts get shoved away to deal with the more important issue that is the Senju saying, "On the knowledge you've gained while undercover here, one would assume."

Sneaking Izuna into his lab is a simple process. He sends a summons to Touka telling her it was a false alarm and slips past the night patrol with the an unconscious Uchiha slung over his shoulder like a bag of rice. His heart pounds as he does it -- perhaps the trap will be sprung here, as he slips over the compound wall, or now, when he deactivates the seals that keep unwanted visitors out of his lab. Only when Izuna is laid out and restrained on an operating table does his calm truly return to him.

"You should focus on your work." Tobirama says, and the rage Izuna feels is so potent that it would blind him if not for his sharingan. "You should mind your own business." Izuna snaps back. Maybe he senses that he's touched on a nerve, maybe he doesn't actually care that much at all, but Tobirama doesn't retort. He blinks, turns, and walks away like nothing was said at all. Izuna sags as soon as he hears the door close. The heat in his chest is still swirling inside him but instead of making him want to spit fire is starts to clog up his throat instead.

Announcing the plan to move forward with the village to the clan goes over awkwardly, to say the least. Madara is right to phrase it in the way that he does, 'the daimyo honors us and offers us his support' so that no one can argue about whether it should happen or not, but when he's finished explaining there isn't even a hint of celebration in the assembled crowd. As Madara finishes telling them that no one will be required to move from the compound the main reaction Hikaku can see is uncertainty. People meeting each other's eyes with frowns and whispers and ill-concealed glances at the veil-wearing omega standing behind their clan head.

"Is it not our way to turn a blind eye to the private affairs of a household?" Hashirama asks, low and even, "Was it not your choice to allow my father to raise his sons how he saw fit? At this moment, as far as I'm concerned, the only thing Tobirama is guilty of is behaving as he was trained to do." Truthfully, Hashirama lays the blame at his own feet far more than he does at his brother's. He's watched helplessly for years as their father's treatment of Tobirama worsened, did nothing but apologize even when the wounds inflicted on his brother were made in his name. If Butsuma was going to die, then Hashirama should have been the one to take responsibility and do it, and he should have done it long, long before Tobirama felt driven into a place where he had to.

Tobirama glances up at her for a moment before going back to staring at his own calculations. "I take it Kana is too busy to see me again?" He asks with feigned disinterest. In the corner of his eye, Rika's ruffles the feathers on her neck. "Yes. Senju-sama is valued as a summoner of course but priority must go to the one who summons earlier." She recites as if she's memorized the exact phrasing. "Is my service not up to my summoner's standards?" Tobirama pauses in his writing for a moment, brush tapping on his bottom lip. He could complain, he supposes, though it would be petty and unlikely to come of anything worthwhile, considering his debt. Rika is young and does not actually do a bad job; it would be easier for all involved if he just treated this as an inconvenience that comes with signing an unbound summoning contract, and yet…

He does not opt for anything to tight or complicated, nor does he try to nudge Izuna's chakra with his own. He just braids it in strands tight enough that nothing but Izuna's own chakra could leak through, but ties them together with the equivalent of the sort of knot that can be undone by simply pulling on one end. He won't have to focus on that way, but leaves it simple enough to remove later. It leaves the one sided-bond fragile enough that Izuna could potentially break it simply by flaring his chakra too suddenly or strongly; given that he's an Uchiha and prone to bursts of sudden emotion, Tobirama will simply have to pay attention and account for it.

"Why doesn’t Madara delegate like this? This seems far more effective than the system he uses." "It's a good question, Tobirama-sama. I really wish I could answer it for you." Tobirama glances up to see the wry look on Hikaku's face, and his eyebrows climb when he realizes that Hikaku is being serious. "Hm." Tobirama answers. As he turns to continue looking through the reports Hikaku is hit with a dread-inducing premonition that he intends to try and do something about it. "Myself, Izuna… Dozens of people by now have tried to get him to let some things go, but…" Hikaku shrugs helplessly. "He won't budge. But it's not as though things don't work like this!"

Izuna does not find him on that mission, but with proof in hand he sends orders to keep an eye out. His Shiro is eye-catching and doesn't even go out of his way to avoid civilians. Slowly, reports begin to trickle in. Izuna files them away not in his office, but in his sleeves, to sneak home and analyze in secret -- this is a project too personal to be trusted anywhere else. The sightings are odd; he'll appear in one village and then another, but not in any of the ones in between. Sometimes he's helped people, or sat down to paint, but often he seems to be simply wandering. When Izuna looks at the pins spread out on a map, his heart quickens and turns. There is a central point to them, a village that, if it was the base of Shiro's comings and goings, would make the other appearances make sense. But that village is Konoha.

He jams the latch of the door closed with so much force that it comes loose again and he has to turn and fumble with it in frustration. He lights a candle with a flick of fire jutsu then turns and -- He screams, shoulders colliding with the door as he jumps backwards, because the Senju is in his room, leaned against the back wall, arms crossed and head tilted like he hasn't a care in the world. He looks at the knife Togakushi draws from his sleeve with nothing more than a raised eyebrow, clearly unimpressed. The desperate need to not fuck this up keeps Togakushi from throwing it at him. "Well, Uchiha?" He says, "I assume you have something to report?"