Kindling

“Don’t you think this is kind of a rough way to do this?” Touka asked as she watched her little cousin move around his room, Tobirama paused and sent her an annoyed look “Have any of the other ways I’ve tried worked?” he asked he pointedly as he ran damp fingers back through his hair. Touka grimaced, no, no they hadn’t, and honestly she- and everyone else- was getting a little annoyed with it really “No” she sighed “not sure how he can have missed it, bloody idiot, everyone else knows what you’re trying to do.” Tobirama raised an eyebrow at her even as he rubbed his skin with lightly scented oil “Not exactly trying to hide it” he pointed out and she shrugged, pushing off the window to come fuss with his hair “Damn good thing too, if you were you’d have to go right back to shinobi school for abject failure.”

She stepped back and sighed again, he looked good in a white kimono shirt that only barely covered his hip and was belted on haphazardly over his mission black pants- without wraps because he was smart- which hung loose and low on his hips; add that to the hair pushed away from his face and the faint eyeliner she had applied he looked both like he had just rolled out of bed and grabbed whatever was closest and also like he was ready for a good fuck (he probably was, her little cousin was always thinking ahead – oh, great now she was think about how often Tobi had ‘thought ahead’ about tonight, yay mental image…), yup, if your taste ran that way he looked more than a little alluring. Thank god, if she had to watch him flirt or listen to him plan out what to try next to get the man’s attention like one of his experiments- only one that made him sad- she was going to kill something, kill it dead. Ok fine, what she would really do would be to go find that fucking Uchiha and bring him back for Tobirama as a gift, clan head or no; why Tobirama was so stuck on the man she had no idea.

 Izuna chewed hard on his lip, watching his brother move around the room gathering his armor and a bag that Izuna didn’t want to know the contents of (ew, no) “He’s really pretty, I mean, if you like that sort of thing” the Younger Uchiha offered, Madara ignored him and Izuna gathered himself (he didn’t want to be telling his brother what a good husband Tobirama would be, he didn’t) “He’s wicked smart, you’ll enjoy having someone to talk to brother; he’ll keep up with you. And you know he’s strong so he can have your back and I already pointed out he’s nice looking and-“ “Izuna! stop. Ok? Just, stop. I know he’s attractive, I’m not blind and I know he’s smart- fuck everybody knows he’s smart- and I know he’s strong, he keeps up with you after all. That’s not the problem ok? He’s clearly good spouse material.” Izuna frowned at his brother’s back where Madara was staring at his bag “I don’t understand, from what we know the Senju and their sister clans hold Marriage Hunts sacred, that they would never go against a bond made under the eyes of the gods, so what’s the problem? You hunt the Ghost and you get a good husband and your peace with the knowledge that they would never go against it, what’s wrong with that? This is the reason I brought it to you after all.” He shifted, a dark thought growing in his mind “Did- did you have someone else brother? Do you not like him?”

Madara shook his head “There’s no one else and you know it brat. He’s… he’s not the problem either.” Izuna drew in breath and Madara spun to look at him, a dark look in his eyes “No, shut up. I am not going to be happy about running another shinobi- a man I respect- into the ground and fucking him like an animal for the sake of peace. Even if I have to do it I’m not going to be happy about it. so shut the fuck up.” He snarled, stomping from the room. Izuna stared after him did he really think-?! Oh. um. huh. That made Tobirama’s expression- as close to sulky as Izuna had ever seen- in the last battle make so much more sense. Madara really hadn’t been reacting to – oh shit. Izuna launched himself up from the bed, racing down the stairs and only just catching his brother at the door “Ok” he said in a rush “I thought you were- I don’t know- playing hard to get, or didn’t want to do anything until there was peace or I don’t know, but Madara if you can’t – if all you can think of doing is, um, lying back and thinking of the clan or something then you shouldn’t do this. In fact if that’s what’s going on you’re not going to do this not if-“ Madara was looking at him funny when he slammed a hand over Izuna’s mouth “Oh shut up, it’s not the who, it’s the how. Tobirama isn’t the problem.” He muttered, looking embarrassed.

Well, that was something, he had been worried for a minute there that he had misread this whole thing; it was way clear what Tobirama thought and Hashirama had put up with it with less wailing than normal so as long as Madara wasn’t against it, it would be fine. Izuna was good at this, it was a good idea and Madara would be happy with the Ghost once he had a chance (and ok, Touka Senju was blisteringly hot and he would like a chance to see her throw him again please and thank you and that seemed much more likely in peace. Also, Madara needed to get laid. Izuna could put up with the Ghost for that). Madara ruffled his hair and slipped past him and just before his brother broke out in a run “Go get yourself a man!!” he whisper yelled after his brother, turning inside with a happy hum and his brother’s shrieking in the air.

Madara had no idea what Izuna thought was going on but he was pretty sure that his younger brother hadn’t figured out what Madara was planning, which was- in his defense- more or less what Izuna thought he was going to do; he was going to do a Marriage hunt for Tobirama Senju, it’s just that he had put a lot of thought into it that his brother probably didn’t realize or he wouldn’t have tried so hard to convince Madara that Tobirama was a good matched (which was sweet of Izuna really, Madara knew he didn’t like the Senju much). He took a deep breath as he landed on a branch near the Senju compound, it was almost time; he was ready he reminded himself, he was Ready, he even knew what he was going to say to convince the other man to go along with it (no fucking way was he going to rape Tobirama, so the Speech was important); all he had to do was call the hunt and then catch his prey (which was going to be hard enough really) and then hold him still long enough for him to explain that he was doing it for a reason and it was a chance at peace and Madara would be a good husband, really he would! He would be the best husband and do whatever Tobirama asked and maybe the Senju would pet his hair and tell him he was good and-!! The Uchiha shook himself, it would work. But first, the hunt.