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moorPrevious Snippets of "There and Back Again 2"
[29 Aug 2021]
Summer bore down upon them, its heat stifling and dry, but Tobirama made his way through the bustling, crowded marketplace outwardly unaffected. His pantry was running low on staples and he needed a break from reviewing his brother’s paperwork. His headache had driven him outside to breathe and distract himself, but his thoughts never fully turned away from his work.
With Konoha still in its infancy, their council was in a constant state of growth and expansion. Their early treaties required development into full laws and statutes; their legal system required refinement; their infrastructure required structuring. Representatives of each of the clans, and even civilians now, assisted in supporting the village. With so much change came paperwork.
Mountains of it.
Risk mitigation and policy review often fell under Tobirama’s purview where his critical eye and analytical mind closed loopholes and prevented possible future abuse. Or, that was the goal. He had been up since before dawn combing through the latest intra-village support agreement, trying to address a growing need for family and particularly maternal support. The village population felt more secure by the day and were taking abundant advantage of the extended border of peace that living in the village afforded them. They took advantage so vigorously that the village was in dire need of more medical supplies, staff, training, and facilities. But outside his brother and sister-in-law, there were few who specialised in medicine to the degree the village currently required—and nowhere near enough to support the increasing baby booms.
Inflicting insult upon injury, the Uchiha were the ones reaping the rewards and expanding their clan the fastest. The Senju were increasingly outnumbered by the day and the potential risk as the Uchiha flourished and spread their reach across the village left Tobirama’s stomach hollow.
And his brother was blind to it. Worse, his brother kept trying to drag him into it, arranging for him to meet other potential citizens, using him to lure in other clans with his reputation for steadiness and reliability, their legendary reputations as shinobi, their positions of trust within the village… All while shopping Tobirama’s marriageability to the most promising ally.
What was worse, Tobirama knew that it made sense to do so. It made sense to parade him around alongside Madara; to convey that blood-sworn enemies could reconcile and thrive, could build not a clanstead but a full village and protect each other, should it come to it. It made sense for his calm, sensible, disciplined personae to complement his brother’s lively and outgoing engagement and Madara’s cool, thoughtful insight. It made sense that other clans would inquire as to how Konoha would guarantee their safety and inclusivity, if they were to tie themselves to the Hokage’s direct family.
It sickened Tobirama that his brother, his clan, and his village were all banking on his arranged marriage—for it was the only way Tobirama would ever see himself partnering with another—to meet their collective needs. He understood how important and necessary it was, especially now, when the Senju needed to bolster their numbers to remain on par with their Uchiha counterparts. It was why he had been working day and night on an unofficial Senju clan marriage law, to promote the clan’s birthrate… even if it made him a hypocrite who would never accept its terms.
Such a law, and its results, would imply that the village was safe to raise their treasured children in; yet he did not want to risk being caught in his own net. No matter what his brother thought, Tobirama wanted nothing to do with married life. It suited his brother, and that was as close as he was willing to get to it. Mito was a fine woman; she suited his brother’s whimsy and irresponsibility well, balancing him and lending him her fierce calm and dignity (of which Hashirama suffered a significant dearth).
But marriage would never be for Tobirama. He would fight to the end of his days for Konoha’s peace, but with the snakes who lived within it, he would never feel safe. He would never put another at greater risk than they already were by sharing a village with the Uchiha; and the target on his potential spouse’s back would be wider by the very nature of being associated with him. He could never do that to another; not a wife, not a…
His brother’s faces flashed in his mind and Tobirama’s feet slowed to a stop as he stared unseeing at a display of tangelos and pomelos. The sun hot upon him as his stomach tightened.
… never, ever a child.
His jaw firmed as he remembered his father’s voice, his hands, his despair as each of his sons passed.
They had lost their brothers in their generations-long battles with the Uchiha. And Hashirama had turned his back on their sacrifices and aligned the Senju with their slaughterers.
Perhaps Mito and Hashirama would have children. He wished them well if they did. He would look out for his nieces and nephews until the end of his days.
Selecting two unripe pomelos—they would last long on his counter—Tobirama paid the vendor and completed his shopping.
In some ways, he truly did hope Mito and Hashirama would found a large village. The Senju needed the numbers.
… But he just could not fathom bringing a child of his own into a world where he may not be able to adequately protect them.
By that same token, increasing the number of Senju would inherently make it safer….
But would it ever be safe enough for that?
As he walked home, then put away his groceries, Tobirama passed by his study. The scroll with the marriage law was tucked away on a shelf behind him where he kept his back to it. Like a ghost it haunted his days, however.
… Could he enact a law he had no intention of abiding by?
Even if it was in Konoha’s best interests for him to comply?
The shadows began to creep across the hardwood floor as Tobirama sat down at his desk once more, focusing on another law, another policy, another scroll, any other scroll than the one that lay heavy in the bookcase behind him.
The village was still young, he reminded himself. The Senju still had plenty of time to thrive. There was no need for the law… yet.
It was a cruel reassurance to Tobirama that Madara probably shared his outlook; after all, the Uchiha clan head had not settled down to look for a matriarch, either.
Tobirama’s fingers tightened on the brush that hovered over the inkwell.
—which meant Tobirama had until Madara set his own sights upon someone before he himself had to make his next move. For once Madara settled down, it would be the declaration of permanency that any lingering Uchiha would no longer be able to ignore. They would all follow suit.
The village would be overrun with Uchiha.
Gods, they needed a miracle.
TBC
ohhh... fascinating!!
Date: 2022-03-08 07:22 pm (UTC)Re: ohhh... fascinating!!
Date: 2022-12-21 07:56 pm (UTC)I know it makes Tobirama's situation kind of bleak, but it's exactly as you said, it shows just how big an impact Sakura made in his life.