Shinobi Isekai: Round Two

Ding Dong

Tobirama sighed, closing his eyes and counting backward from ten to keep his mounting ire in check. The seal was ruined. He would need to start over, spend another week setting up the delicate array on another scroll begged from the elders using ink he would need to make himself, as he was no longer allowed to requisition any from the storerooms—a restriction which would soon extend to scrolls, he was sure. Worst of all, his sensei would be cross in that quiet, unjudging way she had, all the while insisting that, no, she was not actually cross, and could Tobirama please stop projecting human emotions onto her, thank you.

With slow, exaggerated movements, he set down his calligraphy brush and pushed himself up out of the somewhat uncomfortable position he'd been in for who knew how long, his face all but pressed against the velum. Settling back againstly his heels, he looked up at his older brother with a carefully cool expression.

"Anija," he greeted, pointedly not wiping at the ink splattered across his face and clothing. "Can I help you?"

To his credit, Hashirama's chakra felt chagrinned, flickering earnestly as he reached out and smudged the ink on Tobirama's cheek. "Sorry, Tobi, I was too excited."

Tobirama shook his head, unclenching his teeth before speaking. "It's fine," he lied. "What do you need?"

Immediately, all signs of remorse left Hashirama's chakra, replaced by his characteristic exuberance. He grabbed hold of Tobirama's wrist and pulled him to his feet, dragging his younger brother along behind him. This was an unsurprisingly common occurrence, not a single flicker of chakra catching his attention as they rushed across the village to the common training ground. Butsuma and Itama were there, along with a handful of the elders who insisted on making Tobirama's life harder than it needed to be. They were all strangely smug, clearly pleased about something. Itama's chakra came across as sheepish, almost shrinking under the attention, but he brightened as his brothers approached.

"Anija, aniki, you're here!"

Tobirama bowed to his father, waiting to be acknowledged before bowing to the elders. Only then did he turn to his sibling.

"Itama," the youngest of Butsuma's living children deflated a bit at his stern tone. "Maybe you can explain why Hashirama dragged me here?"

Itama bounced from dejection to excitement as quickly as Hashirama. "Even better, I can show you!"

Tobirama watched as his brother placed his hands together in the Snake seal, his chakra rushing through his coils in a familiar way. Red eyes widened as the chakra seeped into the ground, grabbing hold of roots and infusing them with energy. They burst through the ground, wrapping feebly around Itama's ankles before falling limp, the boy panting heavily from the effort.

"Did you see," he asked, voice expressing his joy almost as clearly as his chakra. "I can do it again if—."

"I saw." It was hard not to. The brilliant light which accompanied mokuton was almost blinding. It was why he avoided the training ground frequented by his older brother, no matter how much Hashirama begged him to join in. It was just too hard to concentrate. "Congratulations, Itama."

The elders were nodding among themselves, heads bobbing as their chakra flared with satisfaction.

"How auspicious," the worst of the lot crowed. "The mokuton is a fickle thing; two bearers in a generation is unheard of! You must be proud, Butsuma."

Tobirama felt his father's triumph. "Indeed. With sons like mine, it's hard not to be."

His brothers radiated pure joy and Tobirama let himself pretend, just for a moment, that he was included in that statement. His delusion was short lived, however, as Butsuma turned his attention onto him.