Itachi was barely able to lift his hand to knock before the door flung open and revealed a beaming Hashirama Senju, flanked by his exasperated younger brother.
"Itachi! Welcome!"
Hashirama practically dragged him inside, and it was only his lifelong training that kept him from stumbling at the force of the movement.
"Hashirama, let the man go."
Tobirama chopped his brother's arm and Itachi was released from the hold of the exuberant Senju, much to his relief.
"Apologies for my brother," Tobirama said to Itachi. "He's been extra annoying today. I'm afraid he's been excited for this evening."
Hashirama pouted at his brother, and Itachi fought back an eye-roll. Tobirama continued to ignore Hashirama and spoke solely to Itachi.
"Come," he said to Itachi. "Since our last dinner, the table has been repaired. Dinner is almost ready."
Itachi nodded, casting a glance to the dejected Hashirama who plodded behind them, as Tobirama led him into the dining room. Itachi was surprised to see the seals he had put up were still in place from their first dinner. They had even been improved upon, no doubt by Tobirama. He raised an eyebrow to Hashirama, who gave a knowing shrug.
"It turns out having a sealed room can be quite useful," Hashirama supplied.
Itachi took a seat. They were all sitting adjacent to one another, an effort, Itachi supposed, to make the dinner feel less like an interrogation with a clear divide. He wondered if Madara had arrived to eat with Sakura yet, and felt a churning in his stomach. He wanted to go back and observe them.
Hashirama began to chatter away while Itachi barely listened. He kept his eyes firmly planted on the center of the table, nodding every so often to some inane question or other, and only looked up again when the doors were closed and the three of them were alone. Hashirama's babbling ceased and Tobirama let out a sigh of gratitude for that. Itachi could see the tired bruising under the man's eyes, both of their eyes. It seemed their day was long and hard after the spar in the afternoon.
The food steamed in front of them and Itachi began to eat, uncaring about politeness at the moment. He was too distracted and too hungry to be bothered with it, particularly in front of Hashirama, who also began to shovel food down his throat with a speed that rivaled Naruto. But Itachi knew his reasons were different. Hashirama wanted to talk business, Itachi wanted to get home.
"How is Sakura?" Tobirama asked him.
He meant about the dinner with Madara, after Madara's earlier display.
"It's Sakura," Itachi replied unconcerned. "She's fine."
Hashirama let out a low chuckle. "She certainly packs a punch," he said, putting a hand to his ribs.
Itachi eyed the First Hokage. "When she's flustered, she reacts violently," Itachi told him. "There was really only one other person she reacted like that with, and he was her best friend. It's a sign of her trust in you - even if only on a subconscious level."
Hashirama's eyes widened in delight and he looked at Tobirama with a beaming smile that Tobirama didn't return. He only continued to eat, a thoughtful look on his face.
"She trusts me."
Hashirama seemed far happier than Itachi would have guessed. But then, he shouldn't have been surprised, he was a man of extremes. Maybe it would've been better if he didn't say anything.
"I would say 'as far as she could throw you,'" Tobirama said with an odd smirk, "but she could probably throw you pretty far."
Hashirama laughed and Itachi looked blankly at the man who made a terrible joke, and who smiled like it was excessively funny. He looked between the two of them and wondered if it was simply the circumstances of their upbringing that didn't allow them to learn what good jokes actually were.
YOU ARE READING
Sacrifices for Peace
Fanfiction[PART ONE: SACRIFICES UNIVERSE] It had begun with Asura and Indra, and ended with Naruto and Sasuke. The war was done, Kaguya was sealed, and everyone thought it was over. They were wrong. It should never have come this far, and the Otsutsuki brothe...
