Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Everything’s been going well lately; therefore, Tobirama knows that something is bound to happen any day now.

Meanwhile, as he runs, he reflects on his current mission— finding and saving the son of a prominent noble. 

The noble’s men were attacked and the kid was kidnapped while travelling. A single guard survived and, having connections in the Senju clan, went to them for help. Usually, a promise of compensation wouldn't be enough, but both Tobirama and Hashirama are willing to help children even without pay.

The site of the attack is still there, untouched by humans. Tobirama can detect every spot where a jutsu was used; in some cases, he can even identify what jutsu it was. It is clear that the attack was no coincidence. What’s worse, the kidnappers were prepared for everything, leading Tobirama to believe that they have someone among the lord’s people.

It is a good thing the lone survivor came straight to the Senju. Most likely, the kidnappers will contact the lord in the next couple of days with demands. 

From the abundance of different chakra natures to the number of people, Tobirama concludes that the attackers are from all over the continent and have formed a band for whatever reason. 

It is not good news for Tobirama. He's alone in his pursuit, and no matter how good he is, he won’t be able to win against all of them. Nevertheless, Tobirama follows the faint traces to their current hideout. For now, he will have to extract the kid without alerting the missing-nin and come back with a team to take care of them later. 

“You’re getting sloppy, dear friend ,” a voice speaks up from behind Tobirama while he’s surveilling the hideout. For the second time in his life, Izuna manages to catch Tobirama off guard.

Before Tobirama can retort, Kako speaks up from his side, “No fighting, boys.” Gesturing at the shabby hut, she continues, “I assume you’re here for the kid.”

Tobirama is alarmed by her knowledge about the kid so soon after the attack on the caravan.  He is somewhat appeased by Izuna’s next words, “Kako’s a great sensor. She noticed the kid, and when we sensed you nearby…” he shrugs his shoulders. “It’s obvious that the child is a hostage.”

“...hence, we decided to assist you,” concludes Kako.

“And why should I trust you?” Tobirama can often sense emotions, but it is rarely enough to decipher shinobi’s intentions. Both Kako and Izuna are strangely content, although there is some anticipation simmering in their chakra, which can mean a lot of things. Some are not so positive for Tobirama, considering his situation.

“We’re here on our own mission,” Kako reveals. “The bandits took a scroll we need and have generally been causing a lot of trouble recently,” she elaborates and grins unrepentantly. “So we’re liberating them of everything they stole and getting rid of them for good measures.”

“Care to join us? You know, since our objectives are similar and all. A nice bonding activity for new friends,” Izuna goads with an insufferable smirk.

If they are, indeed, sincere it would work out great for Tobirama, but he’s not an idiot, so he hums noncommittally and waits for more information before agreeing. “So what’s the plan?”

“Sasuke and I will sneak in and take everything of value. You extract the kid. Once we’re all out and safe, we blow up the building and make sure no one else leaves alive,” Kako suggests as if it was normal to rob bands of missing-nin blind and exterminate them on the way out.

Looking at Izuna for more information, Tobirama only receives a shrug and a “What? It’s quite straightforward. Go in, do your part, get out and boom.”

Without another word, the two suppress their chakra to a point where Tobirama can sense them only because he knows where to look, and soon their signatures disappear inside the building. Left with no other choice, Tobirama follows.

Once inside, Tobirama notices that the bandits aren’t as vigilant or prepared as he feared. He does have to kill and hide a few of them, but overall, he gets in with no problem. 

The kid is curled up on a sleeping roll in the corner of one of the better-guarded rooms. Tobirama does his best not to scare the boy and explains that he’s there to rescue him. Once that’s done, Tobirama leaves the building without running into any other living being.

Kako and Izuna take a little longer to exit the house. They join Tobirama in the trees.

“Cover the kid’s eyes,” Izuna warns him.

Tobirama barely has time to act on Izuna’s suggestion when, with a quiet ‘Activate’ from Kako, the building goes up in flames.

Tobirama can feel dozens of distinct seals activating simultaneously, but it looks more like a single enormous explosion. It is frightening how easily the building is destroyed, taking numerous lives with it. 

The three shinobi wait for a little longer to make sure no one survived and vanish without leaving any traces for the locals who are bound to show up soon.

They travel in silence until it’s almost too dark to travel any further. That’s when they run into their first obstacle. 

During the day—when they’re all awake—they can work well enough together while staying on guard. Now, however, Tobirama is on his own, and there is no way to divide watch duty in a way that everyone can feel safe.

Kako offers to take the first watch.

“I can take the middle watch. You’ll need more energy to protect the kid when we split up,” Izuna volunteers, directing the second statement to Tobirama.

“How do you know that I won’t kill you as soon as you’re asleep?” Tobirama asks suspiciously. “Better yet, how do I?”

“Honestly, we don’t,” Izuna admits with a shrug. “But Kako’s usually right about this kind of thing. And I trust her. Besides, you’ve been a good enough teammate so far, and I know that no matter what rumours say, you are honourable. As for you… “ he shrugs again and smirks. “I guess you’ll never know unless you try.” 

In the end, Tobirama relents and gets into his sleeping roll with the kid, while Izuna gets into his own. It takes a while for Tobirama to relax enough to fall asleep.

Izuna’s presence this close is unsettling, however, the calmness and trust in the Uchiha’s chakra helps Tobirama relax somewhat.

Feeling his body relax bit by bit Tobirama is struck with the realisation that he, in fact, does trust Kako. After all, they did fight and escape together, and despite everything, such an experience does invoke some measure of trust. Kako's humming also contributes to his quick relaxation and sleepiness.

He is woken by a whisper of his name. From instincts gained over the years of being a shinobi, Tobirama sits up and has a kunai ready in one of his hands and is positioned to protect the kid even before he is aware of his surroundings. Only then does he remember yesterday's events.

Izuna is crouching an arm's length away and holding his hands positioned to indicate that he’s not a danger at present. It’s not like a ninja is any less dangerous without a weapon. Regardless, his gesture is appreciated so Tobirama nods and relaxes minutely

Quickly Izuna informs him that all was clear during his watch.

Tobirama takes in the camp and its surroundings. While it is still dark, there are already signs that it’ll be dawn within a couple of hours and soon after, they’ll have to move.

Getting out of his bedroll, Tobirama realises that Izuna is not getting into his own. In fact, Izuna doesn’t seem to have one. 

“We usually just share. Kako has extra, but I forgot to ask her before she fell asleep,” Izuna informs him, dare he think, sheepishly, when Tobirama wonders aloud about his lack of a bedroll.

With a minute hesitation, Tobirama offers Izuna his own just for the night.

To his surprise, Izuna accepts the offer with only a glance and manoeuvres himself around the kid. While Izuna falls asleep comfortably snuggling the boy in his arms, Tobirama is confronted with all the thoughts he pushed away previously.

Contrary to popular belief, Tobirama does not hate the Uchiha. Even his and Izuna’s constant fighting is no more than both of their desires to protect their respective clans.

Before their so-called ‘friendship’, Tobirama believed that Izuna didn’t trust him nor his entire clan to keep their word if they ever made peace; however, the past hours prove Tobirama's assumptions false. After all, just hours ago, Izuna admitted to thinking of Tobirama as an honourable man despite their ongoing rivalry on the battlefield.

As the minutes tick by, more and more realisations emerge from the depth of his mind where Tobirama had hidden them away. 

First came the memory of how easily the bandits and their hideout were taken out.

Then the knowledge that Izuna and Kako had the ability to mask their chakra well enough to hide from most sensors. Even Tobirama himself—thought to be the best sensor of his generation—was able to sense them only because he was searching for them. With this in mind, Tobirama realised that they could have snuck into the Senju encampment at any time. It once again proved that Izuna wasn't trying his best to eliminate the Senju. Only to defend his clan's people. 

After he was done speculating on all the ways Izuna could harm the Senju clan, Tobirama's thoughts turned to Kako. She is clearly an incredibly clever Nara with some really unusual ideas and a personality to make friends with Uchiha Izuna. Despite his personal feelings, Tobirama didn't think of Izuna as hard to befriend. Even so, judging by how close the two are, Kako has to be quite strange herself to put up with Izuna's quirks.

To add to that, Tobirama himself witnessed how easy it is to work and fight alongside Kako. And since they are friends, Tobirama has no doubt that the two are quite devastating when they work together. In fact, just yesterday, they managed to infiltrate and plant explosives all over the hideout in just a bit longer than it took Tobirama to rescue the child, and that would require good, maybe even great, teamwork to accomplish.

Tobirama recalls his assumptions about Kako when they first met.  How had he thought she was unremarkable and plain?  Clearly an example of how appearances could be deceiving.

As the first rays of dawn light up the sky, Tobirama wonders what unexpected information he will learn today. 

At sunrise, he wakes Kako and lets her be the one to wake Izuna. The morning starts sluggish. 

They eat rations for breakfast and leave as soon as they remove all evidence of the camp.

Contrary to what Tobirama expects and to what was hinted at the previous night, both Kako and Izuna insist on accompanying him on the trip to the Lord's mansion.

“We’ll wait for you in the closest town,” Kako informs him while Izuna is instructing the kid to not mention him or Kako to anyone.

Still reeling from everything, Tobirama returns the kid and receives his reward. By the time he is done with his business and almost in town, he can feel his friends (what a baffling thought) sitting in one of the most popular noodle shops in town. 

As is to be expected by now, Kako greets him cheerfully while Izuna just grunts. 

“It’s a tradition to eat ramen after a mission, so I took the liberty of ordering for you too. If you’d like me to order something else next time …” Kako babbles. 

With a sigh, Izuna interrupts her and explains, “Our other best friend is obsessed with ramen. After mission dinners somehow became after mission ramen somewhere along the way. Speaking of… “ the Uchiha gives him a look over and continues with a sarcastic note: ”Congratulations, you’re a temporary member of the team, hence ramen.”

Perhaps new, unexpected information about his rival-turned-friend should no longer surprise him as much anymore, but regardless, Tobirama is caught off-guard by the fact that there is a third in their friendship. For the life of him, Tobirama cannot imagine another person that would fit with the Nara and the Uchiha. 

“Hmm. I guess given his name, Naruto was doomed to love ramen.” Kako contemplates aloud.

“Love isn’t the word I would use. I wonder if he ever eats anything that is not ramen.” Izuna scoffs.

Tobirama cautiously asks, “So, what’s he like?”

Izuna snorts.  “He’s sort of like your brother–an overenthusiastic idiot. Hopefully, when Madara meets him, he’ll realise we really are all just best friends.”

“Unless he assumes we’re in a threesome or something,” Kako chimes in.

What , he thinks. Izuna starts snickering. “You should have seen Madara’s face when he thought I was dating Kako. It was hilarious.”

“Yeah, well, Naruto is always making friends when we don’t expect it. This one time, we were guarding a bridge builder, and two missing-nin attacked us, but Naruto managed to befriend the apprentice, and we all became friends,” Kako explains.

“And don’t forget about Naruto’s motivational speeches.” Izuna groans.

“Yeah. His talk-no-jutsu.” Kako snickers. In her mirth, Kako fumbles with her chopsticks and manages to break one.” Oh, drat,” she curses and pulls out another pair from–

From where? Tobirama goggles. What just happened?  Was that just really good sleight-of-hand?

His attention is once again drawn to the conversation when Kako snaps her fingers. “Oh, this reminds me.” She sits up and directs her beaming smile towards Izuna. “You’ve been complaining that you don’t have sensei’s sword anymore and can’t find anything good enough to replace it with.” A moment and a chakra burst later, Kako throws something long at Izuna and continues speaking, “I know it’s not as good, but I thought you might still like this.”

After a better look, Tobirama realises that it’s a sword. Where the hell did she just pull it out from? Also–

Sensei? Tobirama thinks.  There’s someone out there teaching Naras, clan-head-line Uchihas, and–maybe–whoever this ‘Naruto’ is?

Kako notices his preoccupation.  “It’s Hammerspace,” she says. What?

“Kako, that doesn’t explain anything,” Izuna says long-sufferingly. “It’s a sort of storage seal she uses that’s really convenient and absolute bullshit magic, if you ask me.”

“You know seals?  Who taught you?” Tobirama blurts out.

“No one really. I just thought it would be useful. Sealing is really underappreciated. It’s a shame that more shinobi don’t learn it.” Kako says. “Actually, I’ve heard that you’re really good at it. Wanna help me with a few of my ideas?” Kako babbles.

“Now you won’t get rid of her until she’s satisfied,” Izuna groans loudly. ”Hey, Kako. I don’t think anyone would appreciate you geeking out over food. How about you tell him about the time you and Sensei went undercover as siblings for a week to get a pig statue.”

“Oh yeah, that was an interesting incident.  So we needed to get this statue, see–” and so began a long, baffling story with almost no details that gave away where or when this happened, or who this “Sensei” was, exactly, but left Tobirama with the firm impression that he didn’t want to meet the man, whoever he was.

Apparently, he’d solved the problem of them receiving too much attention by carefully inciting two men of high standing into an argument about porn with each other. Porn.  Who does that?

Despite Izuna’s first successful attempt at a distraction, Kako managed to come back to the topic at least five more times before Izuna’s distractions finally worked, although Tobirama was sure it was just temporary. Meanwhile, he got to hear about how Kako faked being a ghost that one time, as well as the time they, together with their Sensei and the other friend, were sent to steal back a cursed statue. Tobirama heard a few more unbelievable stories that seemed more like something from an action book rather than a real-life event. But the craziest must be the one where a series of shrines were built in a pattern that made up a seal to increase the fear of anyone who’s inside it. According to Kako, the longer one stayed within it, the more they got scared of the silliest things. To a point where some people would get frightened by their own shadow in the middle of the day.

By the time all three were finished eating and ready to go, Tobirama felt thoroughly baffled. However, at the same time, he had to admit that he did enjoy the conversation. In fact, he could hardly believe how expressive Izuna was. Don’t get him wrong, Tobirama saw him express anger, determination, resolve and a dozen other emotions on the battlefield, but none of them came even close to the friendly and exasperated best friend trying to manage his slightly eccentric friend. This Izuna—or Sasuke as Kako seems to prefer calling him—is … well, friendly. He jokes and banters freely, even with Tobirama. 

Omake:

“So… Sealing!?“ Kako pipes in just as they are about to get out of the noodle shop.

“For the love of the kami, Kako. Can’t you let this go?” Izuna slumps back onto the table, dramatically miming hitting his head on the tabletop. 

“I mean I could…” Kako drawls and then breaks into a, by now, familiar mischievous grin, “But where would be the fun in that.” A moment and another thunk from Izuna’s direction later Kako continues, “Besides, someone on this team has to take up sensei’s quirks when he’s not around.”

“That’s it. Let’s go, before you get tempted to pull out those orange books,” Izuna growls, though it sounds more playful than angry, and pulls both Kako and Tobirama by the wrists out of the shop. 

This is most definitely a new experience for Tobirama, but somehow it also reminds him of Touka.