Izuna never found himself wishing that the Senju had gotten a mission over the Uchiha before, but as he pulled his foot out of the freezing mud with a squelch only to sink back down to his ankles on the next step he couldn't help but wish it was one of them having to deal with this.
It was cold enough to hurt his ears. There was a fine mist in the air that kept soaking through his clothes and making him feel freezing no matter how much chakra he brought up to his skin. Izuna was pretty sure the thing he was supposed to be hunting down didn't even exist. And to top it all off, he wasn't even being paid!
But here he was, sent out into the world to find his first mission and build reputation and goodwill as the young son of the Uchiha clan head, duty bound to accept when some simpering fool sent him after an umibozu, of all things.
Privately, he hoped that whatever was causing people to disappear out this way only to wash up on the shore in chunks was actually something interesting like a crazy rogue-nin, and not the boring truth which would probably be that people were being shocked by the cold water, drowning, and being torn to pieces by the rocks.
When he arrived at the spot the headman of the village had directed him, he had to admit with a sigh that he was probably right. Oh, the river itself looked fine -- a wide slow moving thing, at least on the surface. But water could be deceiving, and the surrounding landscape was downright treacherous. It looked like this river had once flowed through a cave that had since collapsed, leaving the land around it covered in winding ravines and jagged outcrops that could have once been stalagmites.
Or, he considered as he reached one and started climbing for a better vantage point, this was all made with doton and there are bandits waiting to ambush me?
As if he would get so lucky. If he had been the one make an ambush spot, he would have cleared out some of this fucking mud!
The whole area was quiet -- maybe even suspiciously so. The mist muffled even the sound of the river flowing, and while he was thankful there wasn't any wind to chill things further, it lent the whole area an eerie quality.
Izuna scowled at himself for having the thought. It wasn't a fucking yokai!
With a huff he shook himself off and circulated more chakra through his fingers to keep them warm and prepared for a long day of looking for evidence of literally anything.
Several hours later, soaked through, freezing cold, smeared with mud, and supremely irritated, Izuna had yet to find proof that anyone had actually died, much less what of. The most exiting thing he'd found so far had been a snake den -- and not even venomous ones.
"Stupid fucking village headsmen and their stupid fucking yokai." He muttered to himself as he crossed the river for the third time, "Aren't these things supposed to live in the ocean anyways?"
"If you're talking about the umibozu, then yes."
Izuna would blame the cold for the way his kunai flew wide on hearing that voice, because admitting that Tobirama Senju had surprised him would be unacceptable.
He was perched up on one of those stone spires like a watching hawk, not even in his full armor but in a kendogi and mesh to allow for more speed, with a ruff of white fur over his shoulders. Red eyes flickered to watch the kunai fly by, but they were so off course he didn't even have to dodge.
Tobirama's expression remained blank but Izuna just knew he was being made fun of. And to top off Izuna's perfect day, it was at that moment that he felt a cold drop hit the top of his head and slide into his hair, as the mist chose this moment to resolve itself into a freezing drizzle of rain.
This was… Horrible, actually. Izuna was already exhausted, lower on chakra than he should have been because he'd been using it to stay warm, and oh, surrounded by the Senju's favored element. Tobirama had to have known that too, and yet had chosen to greet him instead of getting in a surprise attack. Annoying as he was, Izuna knew the other boy didn't taunt people unless he was certain he couldn't lose, and that meant either Tobirama knew just how bad of a situation Izuna was in or…
Tobirama's words caught up with him and he nearly growled out loud at the realization.
"There's no way both of us got sent after a stupid spirit!"
"It seems so." Tobirama replied flatly, "The headman seemed to think you could use the help. Of course, I happened to be duty bound to accept him."
Oh, but of course. Because the Senju had the same tradition of sending out their main house kids out to build reputation with civilians, and of course, this Senju would stumble on the same joke of a mission Izuna had. And of course, this couldn't be like a normal mission where they could compete with each other. Oh no, If Izuna ended up dead here, it would look like the Senju cared more about their grudges than missions and traditions -- a black mark on their reputation. So Tobirama hadn't attacked.
And, yes, of course, that meant Izuna couldn't take the chance to kill his rival either.
(It also answered a question Izuna didn't know he had. Tobirama was the same age as him)
"Well, I seem to think that headman is an idiot." Izuna spat.
A snort in response, then, "Why does it matter what you think, when it's indisputably true?"
Izuna blinked.
Was that… A joke?
Eugh. Whatever. Izuna sneered up at him -- the bastard didn't even have mud on his shoes!
"And I suppose the honorable Tobirama Senju has a way to lure an ocean spirit out of a river?"
The pale boy tilted his head like a cat watching a bug.
"No." He said, "But I have some ideas to figure out what it is here that kills people. Which I'm going to try once it's stopped raining. It should be a suitable enough solution."
Then he leapt from his spot to disappear into one of the many ravines without a word of warning. It took him a moment, but --
"Hey!" Izuna called, "You got sent here to assist me, don't go running off!" Like hell he was going to let Tobirama take all the credit!
Tobirama hadn't gone far, though. It looked as though he'd found another entrance to the rest of the cave system. One shielded from the rain that was starting to come down increasingly hard. The Senju boy was waiting with crossed arms, but far enough inside that Izuna could get out of the rain.
"Why haven't you attacked me?" Tobirama demanded.
The headache that had been threatening to bloom for hours suddenly burst behind Izuna's eyes.
"Are you stupid? If either one of us dies here the civilians will think of us and our clans as honorless murderers." More than they already did. And if the civilians hated you, the daimyo was sure to follow.
"Oh." said Tobirama. Blinked. "I suppose that makes sense."
A beat of silence, before Izuna leaned back suspiciously and asked, "…If you didn't think about that, how come you didn't attack me?"
The Senju shrugged.
"I assumed your clan would take me killing you during this tradition as a grievous offence and use it as an excuse to escalate hostilities."
They would, and they would, but… He scowled.
"I would think you would enjoy something like that."
In fact, were Izuna gone, it may very well put the Senju at a tactical advantage.
"Hardly." Tobirama scoffed, "Half the battles our clans fight are already a pointless waste of resources, I see no reason to cause more."
…Most of the battles their clans fought these days were for pride over any real tangible gain, true. But Izuna had always assumed Tobirama fought like he did because he was so prideful.
He had never met his rival off of the battlefield, so Izuna didn't know if the way he reached up to rub at his eyes was a shocking display of vulnerability or just a normal thing that he did when he wasn't trying to kill people. It was weird, regardless.
"Whatever the case, we're hardly going to kill each other now." Tobirama sighed, "So… Truce?"
Izuna didn't stop his lip from curling in disgust at the idea, but…
"Fine." He huffed, "Truce. Just until we're done with this mission."
The was a long moment where neither of them moved -- then Tobirama wrinkled his nose, took a step back, and sank down to cross legged on the ground. Not wanting to put his back to the cave entrance or his rival, Izuna took another step in before finding a spot to wedge himself between two stalagmites.
Izuna wasn't sure if he should be offended at the way his rival only spared him a glance before fixing that heavy gaze of his on the cave entrance. But he had his own problems to worry about, namely that he was fucking freezing. He really couldn't justify using up more chakra to keep himself warm with Tobirama right there, but it was talking all of his training to stop his teeth from chattering.
Apparently he wasn't doing it well enough, because not a minute had gone by before Tobirama's deep voice cut in from nowhere with, "You know, it would be a lot easier to warm up if you dried off, first."
"Not all of us are suiton masters!" He snarled. And yeah, now that he looked, the Senju was suspiciously dry.
Tobirama opened his mouth, but closed it just as quickly with a slight frown.
"If you freeze to death I'll be blamed the same as if I killed you." He said. Then raised his hands in a dog seal, "Don't panic."
Izuna didn't have time to panic, before his mantle pulled tight against his body and -- and all the water in it was flung out of the cave. It was already over by the time he was on his feet again, his sharingan spinning from the instinctual response to fight and catching Tobirama's unimpressed expression in perfect clarity.
"You couldn't fucking warn me first?" He shouted. Now that it was clear he wasn't under attack he didn't know what to do with -- that. With his sworn enemy being helpful.
"Would you have let me?" Tobirama challenged. Which… Fair. Izuna hadn't been willing to change clothes in front of him and letting him use a justu like was worse by far. But that didn't mean it was okay.
"Actually." The Senju continued, "With the weather as it is hypothermia is still a real concern. If I did the same trick on some wood, would you be willing to start a fire?"
There was no way Tobirama didn't have a way to start a fire himself, which meant… This was either some kind of trap, or a peace offering. Izuna let out a long breath.
"Fine." Izuna grunted. "But I'm not going out there again."
"Of course not." Tobirama agreed snidely, fluidly rising to his feet and brushing past Izuna. Putting his back to Izuna as he stepped outside and, raising a hand, and -- well, why wouldn't he have a jutsu to keep the rain off of him, at this point?
As soon as he was out of sight, Izuna groaned and shuffled his way to the back of the cave to find a better vantage point. He wasn't going to let himself be caught having to make the choice between having his back to the cave entrance or Tobirama again, at least.
He dismissed his sharingan and rubbed at his own eyes. What a horrible mission and a horrible tradition. They were a noble clan, why did they have to care about what a bunch of civilians thought!?
All told, the Senju didn't take too long before returning, bundle of wood under one arm. He was still dry, and with another simple hand sign, the wood was too. He didn't even greet Izuna before kneeling on the floor and starting to pile it together. Izuna watched for a long moment, a little dumbfounded before blurting out, "What are you doing?"
Tobirama didn't even glance at him, "Building a fire."
"Not like that, you're not!"
Now the Senju looked up, glaring somewhere at Izuna's chin.
"I know how to build a fire."
"Yeah, if you want us to run out of wood in an hour." Izuna pushed himself closer on his knees until he was close enough to snatch a branch away. "Give me that."
Tobirama grumbled something but he didn't actually protest, instead turning his head and … Pouting?
What?
"Well?" Tobirama prompted, and Izuna realized he had been staring. He tore his gaze away and set up a proper fire that would last the night, and maybe it was petty of him to want to show off that he could do fancy jutsu too, but there was enough spite in him to nail a one handed, one sign fireball to set it alight.
Something about the fire between them released the tension. They both moved back to their respective cave walls, and little by little Izuna felt his shoulders start to drop.
They really weren't going to kill each other. Tobirama wasn't the kind of person to waste this much effort on mind games of this kind.
That didn't mean Izuna didn't reach for a kunai when Tobirama moved to take something from his own pack. A sealing scroll, and out of that… A bento.
Oh. Huh. Come to think of it, Izuna was kind of starving, actually. Aware of the way Tobirama had gone still to watch him, he pulled out his own, smaller bento (because some people had to pack light instead of relying on sealing scrolls). It looked like their meals were fairly similar, in that they both had onigiri. But where Izuna had smuggled a jar of chili paste in with his food, Tobirama appeared to have some kind of sweet looking pancake. One that he wasn't even all that interested in, if the way he picked at it compared to the rest of his food was any indication.
But it looked… kind of good. Tobirama had glanced at the jar in his hand more than once, and yes they had a truce, but that didn't mean Izuna had to be nice. It would be really funny to see the Senju try and handle an Uchiha level of spice. It was with that in mind that Izuna blurted out, "Trade with me!"
Tobirama froze with food halfway to his mouth. Slowly lowered his hand. Did not scoff at Izuna, for some reason, but instead raised an eyebrow.
"Terms?"
"The rest of this" He shook his jar of chili paste, "for the rest of your pancake." Was it a dorayaki? If so was Tobirama some kind of heathen?
"Hm." Tobirama narrowed his eyes in consideration. But they'd both already eaten their food and had ruled out poison, more or less, and he was a curious bastard so after a moment he said, "Acceptable."
"Right." Said Izuna. "Okay, so --"
What followed was akin to the world's most awkward hostage exchange as they both edged around the fire, getting just close enough to be within arms reach to pass over the goods. The jar of paste was small and their fingers brushed as Izuna handed it over.
It took an enormous amount of self-control for Izuna not to jerk away at the feeling. It wasn't even out of disgust, but more surprise. For some reason he'd expected Tobirama's fingers to be as cold as his personality, but they'd been warm. It was a stupid thing to notice, was probably only true because Izuna hadn't fully warmed up from being chilled itself, but now that he knew he couldn't unknow. It wasn't like there was anything he could do with that information either. It was just… There, now. Tobirama Senju was his worst enemy, was probably his age, and had warm fingers.
Izuna distracted himself by biting into the pancake, which did have red bean filling and was delicious and also meant he now had to add 'not a fan of sweets' to his mental catalog of facts. Across the fire, Tobirama made a show of examining the chili paste, rubbing it between those long fingers, and smelling it before finally putting a smear that was probably entirely too generous onto one of his remaining rice balls.
Izuna chewed slowly and waited for the reaction. But Tobirama didn't pant or cry or reach for water. His pale skin grew a little pink with the heat and he hummed a noise that sounded considering but positive.
"Is this fermented?" He asked in the kindest tone either of them had used to interact with each other probably ever. Not that that said much.
"Uh." Said Izuna distractedly, "Yeah."
With no suffering to be had, Izuna's attention was now wholly drawn to how, when Tobirama had finished his onigiri, he'd wiped the rest of the chili paste off his lips with his thumb, and a sliver of pink tongue had darted out and licked the rest off of his finger.
Izuna had known, objectively, that Tobirama was attractive. Pretty, even. But it hadn't mattered, because Izuna hadn't been looking. Now, between the forced proximity and the unexpected humanity, he wasn't sure he could look away.But he had to. Because Tobirama was glancing at him again, and he would never explain what he had just realized.
"The dorayaki is good." He said lamely, "Uh, great, actually. You're kind of a fool to trade it away."
The other boy paused, "I'm not a fan of beans."
Izuna did not choke on his next bite. Not sweets, but… "Beans? Could you get any weirder, Senju?"
Tobirama just shrugged, like it was something he'd heard before.
Before too long they had both finished and warily packed their supplies, Tobirama apparently content to put the rest of the jar in with his things, which Izuna wasn't even going to try and start an argument about at this point, because he doubted he would win.
Izuna glanced at the cave entrance, where it had grown dark and the rain was still steadily pouring down. They may have a truce, but he wasn't so stupid as to try and sleep in front of the Senju. He doubted Tobirama would try either, which meant they were both in for a long night. Tobirama looked like he was settling in to meditate, but Izuna needed something to do with his hands. His kunai were plenty sharp already, but maybe his shuriken…?
Izuna could be patient. He could,he was a shinobi. But he didn't enjoy it, and this wasn't a situation where he nessicarily had to be, not when there was someone he could bother right here.
"So. Senju. What are your thoughts on this…" He waved a hand, "…Umibozu stuff?"
"If you're asking if I think it's really a yokai, I don't." Tobirama responded dryly, "I had first assumed bandits, but if that's the case they're either not chakra sensitive or incredibly good at concealing themselves."
Ha! Him too? Izuna clicked his tongue, "I didn't find a single trace of anyone else around, and I was here all day. Not even any bodies."
"I believe the headman said they found parts. As I said before I suspect there's something in the water flow. Perhaps an underwater cavern collapse changed the currents -- whirlpools can keep bodies trapped for quite a while."
And bash bodies against the rocks until they broke apart. Izuna really didn't like that they'd had the same thought process, actually. He shot Tobirama a dubious glance.
"And you think you can fix that?"
Tobirama raised an eyebrow, "Do you think you stand a chance of being able to do anything at all?"
"You--" Izuna jerked forward to point at him, heart speeding "You can't say that until you know what the problem even is!"
"Interesting how that works, isn't it." Tobirama deadpanned and fuck it was like the other boy was tailor made to push all of his buttons.
Izuna threw his hands up, "There's nothing wrong with coming up with a plan of action based off of what we know. It's probably the water! You're good with the water."
"And you're not." Tobirama countered. He was smirking.
"But if fixing it requires moving earth I know I'm just as good if not better than you.
"But we don't know that yet." Tobirama pointed out, leaning forward just slightly, "It may not be a problem with the waterflow at all."
"But it probably is!" Izuna shouted back. Stopped. Leaned his head back and breathed.
Izuna would not fall prey to something as stupid as teenage hormones. He would not. Tobirama Senju was not supposed to be pretty, and he was not supposed to be fun to argue with!
"But sure. I guess we don’t know enough yet. Does the water tell you when the rain is going to stop, too?"
"The air pressure, actually." Sure, he can do that too. Sure! "It's not totally accurate, but I'd say it'll be hours yet. Probably around sunrise."
"Great." Izuna grumbled. Then forced himself to shut up and stop talking. Tried to keep his focus on the cave entrance as much he could, but really, it wasn't wise to take his eyes off of his rival, so just a glance at him, here or there, and were his eyelashes always that long?
Gah!
Izuna snapped his gaze back to rain outside.
It was going to be a long night indeed.
The rain broke right as the sun rose. If Izuna wasn't so bitter about how Tobirama had been right he might have taken some time to appreciate the way dawn looked, dyeing the sky pink through feathered clouds. As it was he listened for the sound of rain, and as soon as he measured a full breath between one drop and the next decided that enough was enough.
"Rain's over." He announced, pulling himself to his feet, "Sun's up. Lets get going Senju."
Part of him tensed, waiting (eager?) for Tobirama to argue with him, but the Senju just rolled his shoulders and rose, walking past Izuna and out of the cave with only a grunt in response.
Neither of them were quite willing to let the other out of their sight; as they moved, Izuna kept Tobirama in the corner of his eye and could tell that the other was doing the same to him. When they'd scaled the ravine Izuna paused long enough to have the Senju glance back at him. But Izuna couldn't help it -- he'd had to spend an unfortunate amount of chakra to keep himself warm, but the stupid suiton master apparently had no problem using it up to keep his shoes clean.
"I hate you." He said, just on principle.
"I can assure you the feeling is mutual." Tobirama replied, dry as his clothes even in the middle of a rainstorm.
Well, Izuna didn't feel like dealing with that shit again, especially not in front of the Senju. Now that he knew where he was going, it was the work of a few chakra assisted bounds to take him from one stone spire to another, finding one that gave him a good vantage of the river and setting in to wait.
Tobirama didn't seem to be in any hurry, strolling past him and onto the river a full thirty seconds later.
He only spared Izuna a passing glance before kneeling down and starting to make hand signs. Slower than Izuna had ever seen him do it, enough so that he could probably copy them without the sharingan -- but the surge of his rival's chakra had him activating them on instinct, anyways.
It was clear that this wasn't a jutsu meant for combat. Ponderously slowly, the water in front of Tobirama began to shift and split. In front of him, the river became two tendrils that pulled apart from each other, until they had separated entirely and there was empty air all the way down to the riverbed. But he hadn't stopped the river, it still flowed to either side, held apart by chakra for a considerable distance before it met again and continued onwards.
Izuna was reminded of the rumors they'd heard last year of the Senju somehow redoing their entire irrigation system over one winter. It didn't sound so ridiculous anymore.
Still holding his hands in a rat seal, Tobirama looked up at him again.
"Well?"
Well, it looked impressive but with his sharingan on, Izuna could see the sheen of sweat appearing on the Senju's brow, even though the chill had persisted into the morning. Finally at least something made him sweat.
"If you think I'm going down there, you're insane."
"At least use your damn eyes!" Tobirama barked in response.
"…Fine." He huffed, probably too quiet for his rival to even hear. He didn't dare try and stand on any of the water Tobirama was manipulating, which made the only place he could get a decent view was as close to Tobirama as he could manage. Which was fine. Izuna was perfectly capable of controlling his suddenly conflicting urges; all he had to do was manage them until they finished this damn mission. Then he could get some distance and get over whatever this was.
Taking care not to actually touch the Senju, Izuna leapt down and approached the edge, craning his neck over the gap.
The river was much deeper than it looked from the surface, and with the sun still low in the sky it would have too dark to see in the bottom without the sharingan. With it though--
"Well those are bones." He remarked with a grimace, "And… an arm."
It was grey and waxy looking, but most of the flesh was still there, so it had probably only been down there a few weeks at most. The bones were scattered around the entire riverbed, but there were gaps in the rocks where tunnels continued past where even Izuna could see that tended to have piles around them.
"Looks like the cave system goes underwater too. Wanna bet sealing those off would fix the current?"
"I'd be a sucker if I did." Tobirama replied tonelessly.
There was a long moment where neither of them moved, before Izuna finally gave in and glanced up at the Senju, who was looking back at him, completely deadpan.
"What!" He snapped.
"I thought you were better at moving earth than me?"
"I told you I'm not going down there!"
Tobirama's expression did not change, but his eyes flicked down to where he was still holding a hand sign, and by extension the river, back to Izuna, who balked. Yeah, fine. Tobirama could do everything else, but not two jutsu at once, apparently.
They had a truce, Izuna reminded himself, and more important than that, Tobirama and his entire clan would suffer consequences if he did not return from this mission alive and in good health.
"For every drop of water you get on me --" Izuna threatened, "I'm going to burn off that much skin."
Then he turned and leapt in without waiting for a reply -- before the Senju could see his face go red with whatever weird mix of embarrassment and indignation that conversation had made him feel.
He touched down, stones shifting and cracking beneath him. As much as he would like to mess with Tobirama and take his time, he was the one liable to get a river dropped on his head if something went wrong.
It was boring, unglamorous, work to walk from tunnel to tunnel and make walls of earth to seal each one off, but ultimately most shinobi work was like that. Tiring and tedious while still managing to be dangerous on top of it all.
It had probably only been five minutes or so when Tobirama's voice came from above, sounding uncertain in a way he hadn't even known the Senju capable of.
"Izuna…" His voice echoed weirdly, down here, "…Turn around."
Normally Izuna would scoff, but something about Tobirama's tone…
There was a truly massive shape in the water, just past where Tobirama was splitting the river apart. It was more than twice the size of a fishing boat, obscured by the murkiness, but clearly a fish from the way it moved. It was not a genjutsu. And it was moving towards him.
Umibozu!?
Izuna moved, a single bounding leap getting him halfway out from under the river's surface, feet stuck to the water Tobirama was controlling. That was as far as he got before several things happened in quick succession.
The fish erupted through the wall of water (a catfish -- one that big had to be someone's summons, right?), though it was unclear if it had been trying to attack or if it was just so large that it's momentum hadn't allowed it to stop when it reached the unexpected end of the river. It didn't really matter, in the end, because Tobirama's jutsu dropped, and the water he'd been holding apart all started to rush back in.
Izuna cursed, but he was faster than stupid water. Nothing was stable enough to stand on, but with a series of short scrambling jumps he was able to make his way out of the bottom of the river just fine. That wasn't the problem. The problem was that the river returned to it's original flow all at once, and in doing so made a great wave that flooded the river from it's bank carrying the fish with it. Behind him.
It was all he could to keep ahead of the wave, the bulk of the fish snapping clear through the stalagmites he had to dodge around. For the first time since he'd appeared, Izuna was paying no attention to where Tobirama was or what he was doing -- which was exactly why he was so surprised when he was grabbed around the arm and yanked. He lashed out on instinct, kneeing Tobirama right in the gut (ha!) -- Tobirama grunted in pain, but managed to keep them on course -- dragging Izuna out of the path of destruction and into a another cave opening just in time for the fish's tail to slam the wall -- hard enough that had one of them been caught beneath it, it would have shattered bones.
It was followed by the rest of the water, and though Izuna was in no danger of being swept away, there was a heart stopping moment where he was underwater, before the wave moved through leaving him sputtering and coughing. In this, at least, Tobirama was not doing much better than him.
There was a long moment where neither of them moved that Izuna used to take stock of the situation. The crevice Tobirama had dragged them to was narrow and only got smaller as it continued, leaving hardly any room to maneuver. He and Tobirama were all-but chest-to-chest, clothes soaked through, both panting for breath, and neither of them were going anywhere on account of the massive fucking catfish that was flopping around just outside of their shelter.
Then, to make their horrible situation even worse, Tobirama said, "I don't think it was a water flow issue."
"If you continue that thought --" Izuna wheezed, "-- I'm going to gut you."
Tobirama didn't push him. Though, really, what more was there to be said on the matter? The villagers had convinced a spirit had been killing their fisherman because what else were you supposed to make of a fish that big?
Both of them jerked back as the fish's floundering sent another spray of water and debris into their makeshift shelter. Annoying -- doubly so because the movement made their legs brush and remind Izuna no only how close they were, and ah, yes, even drenched the Senju's skin was warm.
"A fish that big should probably suffocate quickly." Tobirama said, head turned resolutely to look at the danger outside instead of the one in front of him.
Izuna's sharingan was still on. Hadn't been turned off since he'd looked at the riverbed. Could cut through the dim light and make out that the tips of Tobirama's ears had gone pink.
No way. No way, no way!
"Good." Said Izuna, and purposefully shifted so that their knees knocked together again. Tobirama glanced at the movement, expression mulish, eyes averted so as not to meet Izuna's, but the blush deepened.
Izuna… Wasn't really sure what to do with that information. This close, he could admit that he kind of wanted to --
No! He did not want to kiss Senju scum!
Only… The thought was like a curse, because now that he'd thought of kissing and Tobirama it stuck to the front of his thoughts, even over the fish flattening the landscape outside. If he had been able to leave, it wouldn't have been a problem. Just a stupid passing thought, one that anyone would have when those pink lips were pouting right in front of them. But he couldn't leave, and the other option was to sit in awkward silence until the moment passed and Izuna missed what was likely the only opportunity he was ever going to get.
Ugh, but he was good at being convincing.
"Hey Senju." He said, conversationally as he could manage around the nerves that suddenly had his stomach twisting around what he was about to do, "You know, I'm kinda pissed off that my dad made me take part in this stupid tradition."
It was as good an excuse as any.
Tobirama shot him (well, his nose) an incredulous look, "…Okay?"
"So I'm deciding to do something that'll piss him off in revenge."
Tobirama was a shinobi, perfectly capable of looking underneath the underneath. He'd probably figured Izuna out already -- but that didn't matter, really.
What mattered was the way Tobirama went carefully still as Izuna pulled himself closer. Didn't attack or throw Izuna out to be crushed to death by way of giant fish but instead let him put a hand on his jaw, tilt his head until it was at a better angle for Izuna to lean in and slot their lips together.
He hadn't thought kissing Tobirama would be at all nice -- had assumed this, too, would be a fight, but Tobirama just made that inquisitive hum again, parted his lips and let Izuna take what he wanted. Let Izuna nip at his lower lip and taste every part of the Senju's mouth in an admittedly sloppy kiss.
(Tobirama's lips were soft. Another thing that Izuna knew, now).
"I see." Was all what Tobirama said when Izuna pulled away, though his clinical tone was belied by the way the pink blush had spread to his cheeks. And then, "I suppose that as long as we're doing things in the spirit of upsetting our fathers…"
Any jab Izuna might have been thinking of making about the Senju being passive flew right out of his head when Tobirama leaned in and kissed him back.
It was -- all-encompassing, maybe, was the best way to describe it. Tobirama crowded them closer, chest to chest, wet clothes rubbing together. Put one of those warm hands on the back of his neck and Izuna should have cared more about that, but he didn't, really, not with the way the Senju stole the breath from his lungs, kissing like he was going to devour him whole.
Outside there was a rumble and a crash as the giant fish broke through another stalagmite. Neither of them even looked.
If Izuna made a noise, it was only because a rock dug into his back. And if he was panting when Tobirama leaned away, he was certain it had something to do with all the running he'd done earlier.
"Wh--" He started. Stopped, because he needed to breathe and his voice was too strangled. "Why the fuck do you know how to do that?"
Tobirama coolly raised an eyebrow, as though he wasn't out of breath himself, "I've practiced."
Practiced. Practiced?! Who the hell had been willing to kiss Tobirama besides him?
"With who?" He screeched.
Tobirama's shoulders went up. He probably would have crossed his arms if there had been room.
"Plenty of people. Do the Uchiha not train their shinobi in seduction?"
Trained in seduction? No! And Certainly not those in the main house!
"I suppose it makes sense…" Tobirama continued to himself, "You are much more protective of your bloodline, and have powerful genjutsu users on the whole…"
"Shut up." Said Izuna, "Shut up, shut up --!"
Well, he had a way to make Tobirama shut up. One he agreed with, if the way he kissed Izuna back was any indication.
As another bonus, they were both too distracted to take note of when the fish stopped flapping around. Another win, as far as Izuna was concerned, because that meant he didn't have to face Tobirama being right about something again. It was only when things started to get dangerous for Izuna (that is, when one of Tobirama's hands found their way to his ribs and he did nothing to stop it) that he pulled away and announced, "I think it's dead."
Or close enough to it. Tired enough that it's movements were sluggish twitches that were easy enough to dodge around, which is what Izuna did as he peeled himself away from Tobirama to go see.
…Well it was certainly a giant fish. It's mouth gaped open and closed, showing off massive boney plates covered in teeth. It probably ate people whole.
Well, no harm in being certain it was dead. Just to prove a point, he glared at Tobirama before -- "Doton: Rock Pillar Spears.".
The pillar of stone pierced the fish straight through the gills from below, and set off more weak flopping which with something that size was still dangerous enough to send Izuna leaping back. The move found him standing next to Tobirama, again. He pointedly did not look over at him.
The fish was too big for him to take a convenient trophy as proof. Not one that wouldn't slow him down, and for what he planned to do next, speed was important.
"Well, Senju. It's been fun."
That was all the warning Izuna gave before he turned and launched himself up the shoreline, towards the village. If he got there first, his clan would get the credit, and he refused to not get something out of this mess.
His teeth were chattering by the third minute. His clothes were still soaked through and the wind chill of moving so fast was sapping all the heat the could produce away. Maybe he should have convinced Tobirama to dry him off again before taking off but -- no. Winning was more important.
Suspiciously, though, Tobirama didn't seem to be catching up to him, not even when he diverted some of his chakra to keep himself from freezing again. Slowing down to investigate was it's own kind of trap, though, so Izuna didn't. He just stayed particularly wary, especially as he reached the first building of the little fishing village that had offered him the job.
No amount of searching with the sharingan found any traps Tobirama might have left behind, just curious villagers who looked at him with a weird mixture of fear, awe, and pity.
Well, the point was to impress them, so with his head held high, Izuna walked to the center of town, where the village headman who had started this mess was hunkered down over a shogi board with a smoking pipe in one hand. He nearly choked on it in surprise when he saw Izuna, eyes bulging wide.
Izuna needed this to be done with as soon as possible, so he bowed low before the man could even greet him.
"The umibozu problem has been dealt with. The Uchiha clan thanks you for the opportunity to serve."
"How is -- what -- what happened?" Oh, how dignified. Izuna made sure his thoughts didn't show on his face by the time he straightened his back.
He opened his mouth, ready to spin a tale about how he'd nearly been eaten, when an annoyingly familiar voice chimed in from behind him.
"The culprit was a giant catfish." Said Tobirama, rolling out a scroll, "The weather is cold enough that I believe if you send men immediately, there may be good meat left."
Fucking bastard, when had he--?
Tobirama activated the seal and did the thing Izuna had opted not to, presenting a long, long whisker that he had cut off the fish. And it hadn't slowed him down at all, because of his damn sealing scrolls!
The headman had finally scrabbled into a sieza; he bowed at the waist.
"Please, let me thank the Uchiha and the Senju both for their work today. You have saved the livelihood of this village. And though we don't have money to pay you, we can offer you hospitality. If you'd like ah -- a warm bath perhaps, or a meal…"
That did all sound tempting, but Izuna knew he wouldn't be able to relax enough to take it with Tobirama here. Making out in a cave when you'd almost just died were one thing, a bath was quite another.
"There is no need," Said Tobirama with a bow of his own, "We were just doing our duty."
"Yes!" Agreed Izuna with a smile that he hoped didn't look as furious as he felt, "As for me, the day is still young, and there may be others who need help yet. I'll be taking my leave."
He took one step back. Another.
"Senju." He said, side-eyeing his rival.
"Uchiha." Came the bland reply.
Izuna leapt for a roof and then towards the tree line -- in the direction of the Uchiha compound just to be safe. Now that their truce was over, there was no telling what the Senju might do -- though the same was true for Izuna as well.
He paused on a branch, lifted a hand and brushed them over his lips.
He might go figure out what they taught the Senju in seduction training, for starters.