Shion
Shion had briefly stopped in her tracks. The hall appeared to get longer in her pursuit of the current Lord Uchiha, and she had failed to consider a crucial character to the scene playing out before her.
The Hokage's office will always have at least two people: Hashirama, of course, and Tobirama, who serves to guide administrative work. There is not a doubt in her mind that the third voice she heard was the younger Senju brother; perhaps she willfully disbelieved such a reality. Of course it would be him, it would be highly unlikely that it was anyone else. The Hyuga leader is insular and pays no mind to what is done in the village so long as his clan may function as is. Nara? Yamanaka? Akimichi? Shion's shared conversation over tea with their important women a few afternoons thus far, all groups pivotal but they are not in that office day-in and day-out. So it is the man she dreads most in this very moment.
Gathering her senses, she inhales a deep breath and continues onward. Commitment at this stage is essential, no need to turn back now. She will simply need to act as though she does not feel his redoubtable presence.
As Shion nears the entrance, her pounding heart becomes difficult to ignore. In the doorframe, she reveals herself to the three men. The room falls silent, save for the quiet sounds of breathing.
Hashirama is the first to crack the solid surface of freezing tension.
"Shion!"
"What brings you here?" Madara asks pointedly. His tone indicates a degree of annoyance, but Shion knows him better than that. He's well aware why she's here with the way his eyes shift and his inability to fully turn his attention towards her. The fearsome leader of the Uchiha has always acted rather cowardly in the face of the head family's women. Even long after her father's passing, he must still feel the old man's vitality pulsing through his daughters.
Shion swallows sharply and straightens her back. Her mouth is running dry, and her hands tremble more with every second that passes, but she must remain steadfast. Her eyes dart in Tobirama's direction briefly, although she hopes he didn't notice. His silver hair is as unkempt as it usually is, and he dons a typical black training suit. It seems he prefers it to his clan's traditional attire. In fact, Shion can't quite recall the last time she witnessed Tobirama wearing the Senju pinstripe.
"I believe you are aware," she states plainly. "Can I speak to you in private?"
"Why not speak here, when all parties are present?"
"Madara, do not be difficult. Please."
"I am not being difficult. If I am correct about what you wish to speak about, why not discuss this here and now?"
Shion's gaze bores straight through him. He speaks as though they are the only two individuals in the room despite his evident awareness that they are not. Both Hashirama and Tobirama have yet to intervene. Perhaps they view it as a hasty spat between siblings and do not possess a need to split up the dispute.
For a moment, Shion wonders if she interrupted Tobirama's own revelation of the arrangement proposal. It's just as possible that he knew prior to this day, but in this instance these factors are null. What matters most is that if Madara is correct in his assumption—if he understands very well that Shion is here to confront him about the decision that has been made without her input— then the other half is well informed of it.
Still, she is not particularly keen on her potential betrothed or his elder brother's presence on a matter she would first like to discuss with Madara privately.
"Very well. I will wait for you at your home. I can invite Soran and my mother as well, if an audience to this conversation is what you truly desire."
“That is not necessary, Shion,” he rebukes.
Shion’s exit is just as abrupt as her entrance. After sharing expressions of acknowledgement with each Senju brother and uttering a brief apology for her disturbance, she turns on her heels. Her face burns and nerves take control of her hands' uncontrollable shaking, but in the very least she can say that she did not immediately heed to her clan leader's word.
“I will see you tonight, Madara.”