Tobirama heard no sound of training as he entered the cave, not even a sound of breathing.

For a brief moment, he was afraid Izuna wasn't there. But then, he sensed him, and it was as if he was warmed from the inside and out, not out of relief but out of happiness.

When he stepped out into the large cave with the lake, he saw Izuna being bent down over what looked like something wrapped in lush, expensive fabric. He was almost disappointed to see the Uchiha was dressed, and smiled at his own self for his disappointment

"I thought to ask you to train with me", Izuna said without even looking up, his voice echoing in the vast cave, but Tobirama could hear the smile in his voice.

"Train?" Tobirama asked. "With you?"

He cursed himself. What a ridiculous, stupid thing to say.

But Izuna didn't seem to even notice. As he approached, the albino saw that the black-haired beauty's face was calm, pale like the moon. Tobirama wondered if Izuna thought about last time they had been here as much as he did himself.

Izuna opened the heavy black velvet and revealed two swords. One, he recognised as the slender one with the black-and-red hold that Izuna usually trained and battled with. The other one was a scythe, with a brown leather hold, shorter than the Uchiha's but broader, heavier, stronger. The egg was razor-sharp, tended to perfect deadliness.

Izuna held the scythe up, and it looks uncomfortable in his hand. He handed it over to the Senju.

"I thought it might suit you. If it feels good in your arms, see it as a gift."

Tobirama was so touched by this, he couldn't speak. Does the same go for you? He wondered in the storm that was his mind. If you feel good in my arms, may I see you as a gift as well?

As Tobirama lifted the scythe, he expected it to feel strange in his hand. Why shouldn't it, when a swordsman as skilled as Izuna couldn't make it look easy? But to his surprise, it was the most agreeable sword he had ever held. It felt like an extension of his arm; a part of his soul. He immediately loved the scythe.

Izuna's lovely face broke out into a smile, and he looked incredibly satisfied with himself, not at all bitter that the sword suited the much bigger man better.

"Thought so", was the only thing Izuna said.

Then, before Tobirama had time to understand what was happening, Izuna lifted up his own sword, and swung it at Tobirama.

Tobirama's body had reacted faster than his mind, and he lifted the scythe and met Izuna's sword. The clang of the collision echoed in the cave, ebbed out into a lovely ringing in Tobirama's ears; the two swords sounded fantastic together.

"Please", Izuna said, his face still calm as the moon. "Do me the honour and train with me."

Tobirama's brain finally caught up with what was happening, that the Uchiha wanted to fight him and not with a blunt sword, and when it did, his face broke out in a grin. He felt a tingle of something delicious travel from his mind down his spine, down to his fingertips.

"With pleasure", he said darkly.

They started to fight. At first, Tobirama was careful due to their sharp weapons, scared to hurt Izuna, but then, when he realised how well and truly formidable Izuna was, he began to relax, enjoyed the sensation as he fought the man he loved so desperately.

Tobirama realised that he hadn't seen Izuna in his full form before; that when he had seen him fight, he hadn't needed to be himself fully. But now, fighting Tobirama, he saw exactly how good the Uchiha was, and the fact that Tobirama was the man to bring it forth from within him filled the albino with such pride, it lit up something within him that made him not warm, but hot. At the same time, he got a feeling for his own greatness; a feeling of exactly what it meant being the second best in the Senju.

They danced together, took part in what could only be described as fatal love-making as they moved around each other, yearning for closer, while at the same time keeping away from another. They used neither fire nor water as they danced, only the swords. Tobirama was a body-reader, keeping his eyes on Izuna's limbs to predict his movements, while Izuna read Tobirama's eyes, not using his bloodline's deadly red eyes but only his own, soulful dark ones. From time to time, Tobirama would look up from Izuna's body and find the smaller man stare at him with such intensity, it almost made the bigger man stop dead.

But he couldn't, because this fight was real, and even if he would never, ever hurt Izuna, and he felt the same energy from the Uchiha, stopping would be dangerous considering they had sharp swords.

Then, Izuna changed. And Tobirama realised that even if he himself had done his uttermost, that he had given his all to this beautiful, moon-coloured man, Izuna had held back.

Izuna's eyes turned red. Tobirama jerked as he made contact with them. With one swift movement, Izuna threw his sword to the ground, came close to Tobirama yet used the power of his eyes to render the larger man unable to use his scythe, and managed to grab hold of his black polo.

But Izuna didn't push him down and mount him. Instead, he lay down and pulled Tobirama with him. Tobirama grunted in surprise as he landed heavily on Izuna's lithe body, dropping his sword which sent sparks flying as it scraped the cave floor, and when he looked at Izuna in surprise at what had just happened, it was as if those blood-red eyes bore into his soul.

Tobirama was panting. Izuna was panting. Izuna's dove blue silk robe was drenched with sweat, so was Tobirama's polo.

"What do you see?" Tobirama asked, his brows furrowed as he looked at the blood red ocean of Izuna's eyes.

"You", Izuna said. "I see you."

Tobirama bent down and kissed him.