Coming-of-Age Ceremony
Today was Izuna's birthday, and Utsusemi was attending his coming-of-age banquet. She had changed into a deep-purple furisode patterned with silver threads, and a peony headdress adorned with swaying pearls and jade crowned her hair.
As the evening light painted the Senju Clan Compound red, she said goodbye to the Senju brothers before leaving.
Hashirama Senju noticed the dazzling peony headdress in her hair.
Tobirama, meanwhile, stared fixedly at her pretty face, carefully adorned with makeup.
Bitterness rose in both their throats. This was supposed to be her time to study Ninjutsu theory.
Her regular sessions treating Izuna had always been between seven and nine in the evening, after dinner.
Hashirama Senju could recite what she said every time she left: "I'll be right back. Don't wait for me."
But tonight she was actually staying over, dressed so formally, and that made him instinctively uneasy.
The reason Tobirama Senju prided himself on was crumbling, anxiety playing across his brow. "Brother, does Izuna's injury need such frequent treatment? Even Fei..."
Hashirama Senju gripped his younger brother's trembling shoulder, his smile failing to reach his eyes. "The agreement has been made. There's no need to ask more. She'll return of her own accord at dawn tomorrow."
His nails nearly dug into Tobirama's clothes. Only by doing so could he restrain the urge to go after her.
Itama looked down at his shadow, his outline stretched long by the setting sun. He alone knew the truth.
The supposed daily treatments were merely a cover for a seven-day cycle.
Each time Utsusemi released the seal, she allowed Izuna and Madara to meet for only twenty-five minutes, extending it to half an hour only on the seventh day.
The treatment in Six Paths Mode merely reset his near-death condition, creating a false appearance of health.
She went back and forth every night solely to give the Uchiha brothers their brief reunions.
Though he hated the Uchiha, he had tacitly allowed this lie for the sake of peace, crushing his hatred in the palm of his hand.
And today... today was Uchiha Izuna's coming-of-age ceremony. Utsusemi would spend the entire night at the Uchiha residence.
No, to be precise, Izuna would appear for only two hours. She would spend the remaining time alone with Madara Uchiha, without returning to the Spacetime Tower.
The realization made Itama's knuckles crack, but he merely patted Tobirama on the back calmly. "You don't need to worry, Second Brother. Sister's strength... she's very strong. You don't need to worry about her getting hurt."
Utsusemi walked over moss-covered stone steps toward the Uchiha Clan Compound. When she reached the boundary of the Senju Clan Compound,
Madara Uchiha was already standing at the edge of the shadow cast by a vermilion torii gate.
For once, he had tied up his long hair, its raven-black lengths neatly gathered with a dark-red cord.
The silver-thread Gunbai clan crest embroidered on his deep-indigo kimono stirred slightly in the morning breeze, and a wintersweet blossom was pinned to his lapel.
The elaborate attire, grand enough for a formal wedding, made Utsusemi's pupils tremble slightly.
She could not help smiling, and she stopped to admire him for a moment. "Today, Madara, even the sunset pales beside you."
Rising on tiptoe, she made to brush something from his shoulder, then abruptly withdrew her hand just before touching him. "Even the falling snow has learned to pick a place to settle."
At her sly smile, Madara turned his head, and the blush rising on the back of his neck spread to the tips of his ears.
The young man coughed lightly into his fist and went over the details of the proceedings a little quickly.
After most of the ceremony was over, Utsusemi would summon Izuna for the final ten minutes to complete the key part of his coming-of-age ceremony.
The entire ritual was expected to take ten minutes, after which the three of them would share a private banquet lasting two hours.
According to the ceremonial procedure passed down through generations, the ceremony entered its final stage when the shamisen began to play the "Requiem."
Utsusemi rose as the ceremonial attendants who had scattered salt to purify the space withdrew to either side. Faint blue Chakra glowed at her fingertips as she formed Hand Seals, and countless butterflies of light immediately appeared among the shrine's beams and pillars.
Uchiha Izuna appeared behind the barrier, wearing a black hakama outfit bearing the same pattern as his elder brother's, with thick bandages wrapped around his eyes.
As Madara Uchiha supported his younger brother, his left hand remained poised over his Kunai pouch. The scent of medicine seeping from beneath the bandages mingled with the incense in the shrine.
Only when Izuna placed his finger precisely on his name in the clan genealogy did Madara's tense shoulders relax, almost imperceptibly.
When the third elder presented a ninja tool pouch wrapped in talismans, the rustle of fabric came from the spectators' seats as all the Uchiha adjusted their kneeling positions.
The birthday banquet was held in a tearoom overlooking the Naka River, on a low table personally arranged by Madara Uchiha.
Clams simmered in sweet miso and inari sushi formed a three-legged arrangement, dotted here and there with wasabi pickles and walnut cakes.
Uchiha Izuna's pale fingers rubbed the lacquer bowl of medicinal food as he replaced the sea bream sashimi his brother had picked out for Utsusemi with chawanmushi.
"Utsusemi doesn't like fish," he reminded him softly, his nostrils fluttering slightly beneath the bandages.
Madara Uchiha's memory suddenly flashed back to his first meeting with someone by the river, someone who was afraid even of dead fish. "That was my oversight."
He recalled how Izuna had asked him about the details of how he and Utsusemi had met several times, sounding him out under the guise of casual conversation.
Utsusemi drew the chawanmushi in front of her and smiled. "It's all right. I can just about manage sea fish, as long as it isn't river fish."
"Then what food do you like, Utsusemi?" He coughed lightly behind his hand, the outline of his bandaged eyes curving gently.
"Hmm, beef from the Land of Lightning?" Utsusemi's voice rose uncertainly at the end. It should be beef like wagyu, right?
Madara Uchiha pushed the roasted ginkgo nuts toward his coughing younger brother. "All right, I'll prepare that next time."
Uchiha Izuna listened to the conversation with a smile. Although he had little appetite, he insisted on trying every dish, even if he only touched it with the tips of his chopsticks as a token gesture.