Chapter Text
Tobirama fought the urge to flinch, faced with Hashirama's furious face, bending at the waist he sat seiza in front of his clan head - prepared to face the lecture he knew was coming.
"How could you?" Hashirama asked, his face impassive and tone cold, so different from his usual over the top dramatics "How could you cut him down knowing what he means to Madara? What he means to my peace efforts. Are you trying to ruin my plans Tobirama?" His voice had grown steadily louder as he continued talking. "Answer me." He demanded, and Tobirama swallowed, trying to push back memories of their father and the punishments that followed when he spoke in that tone .
"No anija." he whispered into the still room, bowing his head to his clan head and praying that he hadn't angered him further. Anija had never punished him like Butsuma had, but then again Tobirama had never angered his brother this much before. Hashirama gazed at him from behind their father's heavy ironwood desk for several moments before opening his mouth "Do you understand what you have done?" he questioned before raising a hand "No, don't answer that." He continued, not letting Tobirama get a word in to defend himself "Izuna was vital to my peace plans, Madara and I created our plans to keep our younger brothers safe, AND NOW THAT WILL NEVER HAPPEN! WITH IZUNA GONE THERE'S NO WAY MADARA WILL AGREE TO PEACE! YOU HAVE DOOMED US ALL, YOUR STUDENTS WILL BE FORCED ONTO THE BATTLEFIELD JUST AS WE WERE!" He roared.
Each word landed like a blow on Tobirama's shoulders and he fought desperately not to let it show, keeping his face still. "Why brother, why could you not stay your blade just this once? Why could you not show mercy?" Hashirama's voice was quiet and tired, his shoulders slumped and his face drawn.
Tobirama opened his mouth to explain but he was interrupted again, "Don't" his anija whispered "Just don't, leave please, I can't stand your presence, or your justifications. It's clear that my peace is impossible with you around."
Tobirama raised his head, reeling, the words hitting him like a kunai to the heart, to look at his brother's defeated figure. Nodding once he stood and bowing low to his clan head he left the room, not daring to look back.
He walked slowly to his quarters, his face and body language impenetrable, a mask he had worn for years before his father now used to not fall apart in public. Only once he was in his bedroom, with his seals fully activated, humming with power, did he allow himself to fall apart.
Anija was right, he was a monster, the heartless demon his enemies claimed he was, after all he knew about Hashi's hopes and what it was like to lose a brother. The pain of Kawarama and Itama's deaths still hasn't faded after all these years, he still felt the absence of the boys he raised and trained no matter how much time passed, and yet he would inflict that on another? On Madara, strong, uncompromising Madara who would do anything for his clan. Who's chakra Tobirama had curled up in after long days and hard missions ever since he had first felt it at the Naka river as a child. How could he do this to him? Already he could feel the Uchiha's chakra go cold and hard with grief as Izuna's flickered - barely holding on.
Licking his dry lips Tobirama hardened his resolve, Izuna was still alive, and while the Uchiha iryo-nin couldn't save him Tobirama could.
Rising swiftly the albino Senju started removing his armour, wincing at the sight of the minor stab wound he had received - he had planned on healing it later but he would need all the chakra he had for this to succeed, so he wrapped his ribs with bandages and hoped that it would do. For such a mission to succeed he would need speed and stealth - his bright blue armour would just slow him down. Dressed in fresh mission blacks he gathered his bags, stuffing them with clothing, the extra medical supplies and weapons he kept in case of emergencies. Double checking to ensure that he had all the necessities, he hesitated before his crowded desk, wondering if he should leave a note. He knew that he wouldn't come back from this, either because he was caught and killed by the Uchiha or if a miracle happened and he came out of this alive - he would have to go into exile to ensure that his brother's dream worked out.
The Uchiha wouldn't trust the White Demon after all. Sighing he grabbed a stray note page and scribbled a quick explanation for Hashirama. Nodding decisively he pricked his finger with his Hatake sharp eyetooth and applied the drop of blood to the hidden compartment in his desk. He hesitated over the papers in the drawer, ceasefire and peace treaties, and down at the very bottom plans for his brother's village. Gazing down at them he knew that it was the right thing to do, he may not be physically present but he could still help with his brother's dream, reaching into the drawer he pulled out the carefully sorted stacks of paperwork and thumped them down onto his desk, closing the drawer with a sharp snap he placed the note on top of the stack of papers.
After a moment of hesitation he added an encrypted message for Touka - an explanation and a reminder that he loved her. While he wished that he could tell her in person, he knew that she would notice that something was wrong and try to stop him. He couldn't let that happen, the clan's future depended on his success, and should he see her, he knew he would fail.
Lastly he grabbed his happuri - the last gift his brother had given him before he was killed, smoothing a hand down the well worn vajra before attaching it to his head with chakra, blinking as the seals activated and his vision sharpened.
That done he shunshined to his lab, activating the seals on the door with a swipe of his bloody finger he entered. Mindful of all the bubbling liquids and delicate seals he crossed the room to the seal array, circling it and checking everything to ensure that there were no mistakes.
Just as he finished a flash of white caught his eye and he cursed, stopping his inspection to approach his desk. Lying there on top of his notes for hiraishin was his fur.
It was an heirloom from his Hatake mother, made from her summons' shed fur, embroidered with seals to keep it clean and secure its wearer's protection. She had given it to him on the eve of his fifth birthday - to celebrate his first kill in the traditions of her clan. He knew logically that he should leave the fur in the lab, as the huge white mantle would give him away in the dark, but he still hesitated. The fur was as integral to his identity as his bone-white hair and the tattooed seals on his body - it was the only thing he had left from his mother after Butsuma had her things burned with her body, decreeing that a shinobi had no need for mementoes.
Sighing he took the fur and stashed it into one of his black mission bags, hoping that he wouldn't regret taking it with him. Before exiting his lab for the last time he looked over the seal arrays once more and took a few liquids off the seal powered tables - putting them in stasis seals. Satisfied that everything was in its place he locked the lab with a drop of blood and regretfully added the seal that would make his more dangerous experiments self-destruct should the worst happen to him.
That done he steeled himself and started running towards Uchiha territory - and his likely death.