Green and Red

Izuna had always had an obsession with tea. Green tea, red tea, flower, seed, root, spice, bud, you name it, he had it. Madara wasn't sure how his younger brother had obtained all of these curious specimens of tea, but when it entertained the guests, he didn't complain.

Apparently the Senju were really big on tea. Tobirama, with his hands behind his back, walked down the lean corridor with Izuna, who held an oil lamp in his hand. It was dark all around save for that small light, and Madara noticed his brother and Tobirama paired well together. Izuna was exactly one head shorter than the Senju, and judging from Hashirama's sated expression, he'd realized it too.

Tobirama held a quiet conversation with Izuna as the two walked towards the wooden storage room where all the tea was held. The young Senju wore a clean white Yukata which exposed part of his neck and back quite handsomely, setting off the chiseled cut of his jaw. His white hair stood out by the light of the lamp, whilst Izuna's short but soft black locks shined dully. It was somewhat shocking for Madara to see such a sight, when he was so used to seeing his brother and the other Senju battling to the death. To see them now, together, wearing nothing but lightweight yukatas, stripped of their armor… The sight formed a lump at the back of his throat.

Suddenly, Tobirama gave a short, gruff laugh. Izuna's soft voice rang out after it. They were gravitating towards each other now, the conversation growing louder and the two were soon joined comfortably at the shoulder. From what Madara could make out in his place a few paces behind, they were talking about Chrysanthemums.

Hashirama had been disturbingly quiet for the entire duration of the trip, which worried the Uchiha leader. The four were comfortably walking through a narrow hallway of wood, with no outside light at all. The floor gently sloped downwards, deeper into the earth. Madara had protested this at some point, but Izuna held firm to his belief that tea grew bad faster when exposed to light and warmth.

Finally, the small group reached the sealed wooden door, behind which Izuna kept all his precious herbs. They were quite a bit underneath the ground now, and it had gotten quite cold. It seemed like overkill to Madara, but Tobirama just nodded at the state of the obviously pristine cellar.

The door was opened, and both Senju men looked in appreciatively at the massive collection Izuna had accumulated over the years. They drifted off to one side and stood politely outside, making sure they were not touching anything, but discussing the wonderfully preserved state of each herb, seed or plant.

"Ne, Nii-san," Izuna turned towards Madara all of a sudden, startling the young Uchiha leader. "You haven't spoken in a long time. Are you ill?"

Three pairs of eyes now looked upon Madara, who had no response thought up and was rather in too much of a daze to function properly. It was quite strange, but perhaps it was the overwhelming stench of preserved herb that was affecting him in such a way.

The silence grew palpable, and Madara became acutely aware he was expected to say something in particular, but he just wasn't catching on. "You're not wearing any sandals." He blurted, hoping his face would not flush too much to be seen in the dim light.

The shortest pause ensued, but Hashirama, being the keen man he was, jumped right in. "Why yes, Izuna-kun! And I thought you were fanatic about the cleanliness of your tea cellar?"

Izuna flushed and looked down at his exposed feet, jumping up a little in embarrassment. He made a little sound, somewhere between a whimper and a groan. Everyone laughed. Well, almost everyone. Madara was battling the urge to vomit. He excused himself and strode quickly away from the group, hoping his stomach would settle and his head would clear. It wasn't the smell, for he'd been in this cellar with Izuna countless times. It was the heady presence of the Senju men that choked the very life from his body, the air from his lungs. He needed to lie down.