Winter, Konoha Year 16.
Seven days remained until the wedding.
Kagami Uchiha stood at the window of his rented little house, looking out at the gray sky.
There was a hole in the window paper. Cold wind poured through it, stinging his cheeks, but he was oblivious.
A trace of a heartfelt smile, one not seen in a long time, hung at the corners of his mouth.
"Senju Tsubaki..."
He murmured the name, a flicker of barely concealed smugness passing through his eyes.
Senju Tsubaki. A former member of the Senju Clan. A member of his teacher Tobirama Senju's clan.
What did that mean? It meant this marriage would formally make him an in-law of the Senju Clan! It meant he would no longer be that down-and-out Uchiha, abandoned by his clan and living on his teacher's charity! It meant his standing, his future, his prospects would all change completely because of this!
"Lord Kagami."
A respectful voice came from behind him. It belonged to his only "trusted subordinate" still willing to follow him-a Genin named Iwa Uchiha, who had mediocre talent and was not particularly bright, but made up for it with loyalty. When everyone else avoided him like the plague, only Iwa Uchiha remained willing to follow him and call him "Lord Kagami."
"What is it?" Kagami turned, the smile not yet entirely gone from his face.
"I just went to look at the wedding house." Iwa Uchiha lowered his head, his voice hesitant. "The house... is a little old. Several patches of plaster have fallen off the walls, and a few roof tiles are missing. It needs repairs. There's... practically no furniture. I asked around. A decent set of furniture, along with repairs to the house, would cost at least... five hundred thousand ryo."
Kagami's smile froze.