#And then later Hashirama saying ''I am going to protect our... or rather MY village'' while killing him. I actually don't remember where I | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

raendown · 4 years

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Pairing: MadaraTobirama Word count: 5816 Chapter: 38/42 Summary: Not all wars are fought on the battlefield. Some are fought at the conference table, with whispers in the shadows, or even in the bedroom.

In a world where the Senju and Uchiha traditional lands were too far apart to have ever made them enemies, Butsuma and Tajima are the ones who come together and sign a treaty of peace. Madara isn’t happy to have his life signed away for him in a political marriage to strengthen the bond between their clans. He is even less happy to have Tobirama make assumptions of him from their very first night together. What follows from there is a journey of healing, of learning, and finding the places to belong in the places least expected.

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Chapter 38

Watching Madara address the council was an exercise in patience. Not because he didn’t believe in what his husband was saying or even because he found listening to be difficult but rather because the confidence practically dripping from him was very attractive and Tobirama wanted nothing more than for this blasted meeting to end. He had a husband to violate in whichever empty room presented itself for his convenience first.

The Police Force Initiative truly was the right place for him here, a job where his passion for the people under his care shone through in such a way that no one could deny he believed in this village. Never had Tobirama loved his husband more than as he sat and watched him advocate for a larger budget just so he could serve better, protect better, provide for the men and women who would be under his command so he could give them the tools they needed to serve the citizens under their protection. It was like watching him slot in to place and flourish right before their eyes. Tobirama was captivated.

And happy. It may have taken a year or so but everything was finally coming around to how it should be - for all of them. Even Izuna looked more relaxed than ever where he sat farther down the table. Tobirama himself had been the one to suggest that he attend council meetings as the head of ANBU and therefore the crux of all information flowing in to the village. He’d let his brother-in-law think it was Tajima’s idea, though, happy to rely on the man’s ego and propensity for claiming every good idea was his own. At least in this instance it served to protect someone else’s ego for once.

“A pretty speech,” one of the minor clan Heads spoke out as Madara wound down. “But do you have the documentation to justify this proposed budget?”

“I do. If you would but open the dossier I handed out you would see that.” Unwilling to bend, Madara stared the other man down until he had no choice but to give in and open the packet that had indeed been given as soon as the subject was broached. Right there on the first page was a table of contents. And prominently listed in that table would be evidence to back up why Madara needed the money and where he would be getting it from.

Tobirama didn’t bother to smother the look of pride he could feel on his own face, undamped by the pressure headache that had been slowly mounting in his temples over the past hour. He hadn’t needed to offer many changes after Madara asked him to look the packet over. The work was good and it was all to his husband’s credit.

“Now, if the council would be good enough to indulge me a little farther, I’ve already spoken with the head of village security and Touka-san has agreed to a joint training program which I’d like to detail for you now.”

“What’s the point in training you both together?” A light scoff came from the Hyuga heir. “Wouldn’t that be more expensive?”

“Cheaper, actually, since we wouldn’t need to provide two dedicated training facilities.” Madara lifted his eyebrow but it was not a defensive expression, merely a judgmental once.

The young Hyuga folded his arms. “We already have many training grounds.”

“If my officers and the security teams work together we will have a better understanding of each other’s patrol routes, better response times, tighter protocol for who has jurisdiction over what, and also go fuck yourself.” Several people in the room covered their mouths, whether to gasp or snicker, but Madara only blew a bit of fringe away from his face. Clearly he was nearing the end of his already short fuse.

Butsuma stood up with the clear intention of bringing him to order but he was interrupted before a single word had time to pass his lips as the door burst open to admit three men, two of them panting and wild-eyed.

“An emergency!” the more put together man cried. “Danger!”

“What is the meaning of this?” Butsuma demanded.

“It’s coming! It’s coming our way! Straight for us!” One of the clearly exhausted men gave a shudder. “We’re all doomed…” And with that his eyes rolled back in his head, crumpling to the floor in a dead faint.

His companion did not waste time checking on him.

“We’re from the team that was sent to investigate the massive chakra presence. I-I know you won’t believe me. But I swear! It’s a tailed beast! A massive fox with nine tails and teeth as long as I am tall and it’s coming for us! It’s coming this way!”

“Someone tell me what the hell this idiot is blathering on about,” Tajima grumbled.

On his feet still, Madara's quiet voice was just loud enough to reach the whole room. “I thought the tailed beasts were just legends. They can’t be real.”

“They’re real,” the soldier moaned. “This one is. It’s massive! And it- oh god. Tetsuo…it ate Tetsuo…”

At last the stress of what he had seen appeared to catch up with him as well. He didn’t faint like his companion but he did waver, catching himself against the wall and sliding down until he could bury his face against his knees like a terrified child. Though Tobirama hated to leave anyone in such a state he understood that this was obviously a crisis on their hands. Psychological breaks could be dealt with later. Right now they needed to think about saving lives.

Unfortunately organizing themselves did not seem to be the first thing on either of their supposed leaders’ minds as it should have been. Butsuma and Tajima were both out of their seats but their eyes were locked in the sort of staring contest that generally prompted the rest of the council to simply sit back and wait out the proverbial dick measuring contest.

“It will take time to gather our forces,” Tajima murmured as if to himself.

“Such a beast cannot be allowed to simply enter the village unheeded,” Butsuma answered, finally something they agreed upon. “Time must be bought.” It was just too bad that what they agreed on was something utterly stupid.

“Consider it done. I myself will go; I will hold the beast at bay until our people can answer the call to arms.”

“You will not go alone.”

They stared each other down until Tobirama felt his temper snap. “This is not the time to worry about pride!”

“My son is correct. Now is the time for action. If you still have fight in you, Uchiha, then let me show you how hot my own fire burns. We take the beast on together.” Butsuma tilted his head in challenge, one his counterpart was only too ready to accept.

“Perhaps not the words I would have chosen,” Tajima said. “I go to protect my village. If you should happen to come along that is your choice.”

They moved towards the window at the same time with all the intention of men who would not be swayed from their paths and even Tobirama himself was startled to hear his own voice call out for Butsuma to wait. More surprised still when the man actually paused to look back at him. He wasn’t even truly sure why he’d done it. Knowing the danger descending upon them all, for the first time since he was a child Tobirama looked at the man across the room and saw his father. Not a good one, no, but the man who sired him all the same.

“Be safe,” was all he said.

He should have expected no less than the puzzled frown that was his only answer before Butsuma turned to leap after Tajima, unwilling to take even a moment for his own son in the face of allowing his rival to upstage him in any way. So much wasted breath. In their wake the room was silent but there was no time for that, someone needed to get these people moving.

“Alright,” Tobirama snapped, taking up the responsibility of leadership only because no one else had yet. “While they slow the beast we need to gather our forces. Izuna, you have your own people to organize and you know their skills best. Move fast, hit hard, and the rest of us will do what we can to keep the attention off of you. Shimura-sama, wake my cousin. Touka’s patrol teams can make a perimeter around the village as a last defense.” Both of them nodded and darted off.

“Won’t we need them on the field?” Hashirama asked. “We should throw everything we have at it!” Tobirama shook his head.

“Even if the fight doesn’t reach the village the debris or backlash of it might. This is supposed to be some legendary massive beast and the civilians cannot be left unprotected.”

“Right! You’re so smart, little brother!” His smile was sharper than usual, the adrenaline of an upcoming battle hardening his normally soft edges. A look he hadn’t worn since peace was made.

Tobirama let that pass; there were other things to concentrate on. “The InoShikaCho clans have extensive experience working together. All available bodies from those clans not enrolled in the ANBU or the patrol teams should be allowed to work as a unit. Do not concentrate on bringing the beast down. Try to slow him, stop his movement, control the field. Madara, you and Hashirama are our two strongest fighters and the Uchiha can move faster than most. I don’t mean to put our people in the line of danger–”

“We’re as ready to fight for our homes as anyone else.” His husband tossed a bit of fringe away from his face. “Attack, not defense?”

“The Uchiha have always been particularly good at burning whatever lies in their path,” Tobirama agreed with the shadow of a bloody smile. He was pleased to receive one in return.

“And the rest of us?” The Hatake clan heir looked ready to sink her teeth in to something already.

Tobirama opened his senses and winced at the sensation of the mass of brilliance bearing down on him. It was a miracle his latent sensing hadn’t felt it as more than a mounting headache, though he supposed that by now he’d grown used to living in the center of so many different signatures all piled on top of each other that a gradual increase simply hadn’t been all that noticeable.

“Support,” he said, a snap decision, wondering at how easily this room of leaders had decided to allow him to take control. “Fill in the spaces when you can. Remove any of the fallen if needed, escort the wounded to medical attention, and allocate a small team to prepare extra weaponry for standby. Hyuga-sama, instruct your people that defending their comrades is more important than attacking the beast. We will not win this battle if there are none left to fight it.”

In the distance something rumbled and Tobirama shuddered at the massive wave of chakra that rolled over them. The beast was angry.

“We are running out of time. Prepare for battle.”

The room scattered as each of them rushed towards their weapons and armor. Fighting in their casual daily outfits could only accomplish so much no matter that each of them surely kept some kind of blade on them at all times. Butsuma and Tajima had promised to buy them time; they would be fools not to use it.

Without a word Tobirama snagged his husband’s arm and reached for one of the markers he had set up around their home. Almost before they had finished shifting through space he was moving, reaching for the stand where his armor sat waiting after its latest repairs. He got one hand on it and then scowled as he was forcibly turned around, irritated to be stopped, ready to tell the other man off for interrupting him. Annoyance melted away as he was pulled down in to a fierce kiss.

“You will be careful,” Madara snarled in his face. “I will not sit by your bedside and pray for your life again. Don’t you dare do that to me.”

“I expect you to do the same,” he said quietly.

“Obviously. If that dumb monster so much as thinks of hurting even a hair on your head I will rip its bloody heart out. Twice you’ve been hospitalized in one year! I refuse to see it happen again!” Still grumbling under his breath, he released his iron grip and stomped over to pull his own armor off its stand.

Tobirama watched him with a full heart. “At least you did not need to sit with me through the second time.”

“Yes, because leaving you in Izuna’s care will always turns out well!”

After that they garbed themselves for war in silence. Strapping himself in to his armor felt to Tobirama almost the same as strapping another persona on to his skin. Here in their home it was sometimes hard to believe the soft and openly loving husband he had become but those feelings had no place in battle. Though it caused him something akin to physical pain he boxed those parts of himself away and firmly closed the lid on them, tucked away to leave his concentration free for observation and strategy, the sort of clear thinking that would keep him alive to come home where he could open that box again.

If there was one silver lining to this situation it would be the chance to see Madara in all his glory once again, a veritable god of war in blood red armor and that distinctive gunbai strapped to his back.

“Let’s go,” he murmured. They had no more time to waste on soft words or meaningless compliments. As they dashed out in to the frigid temperatures outside and took to the rooftops Tobirama promised himself that later he would spend hours describing for his husband just how incredible he looked with that fierce expression – then he very carefully shoved that in to the box as well and locked it shut.

Just past the edge of where the village wall was still being upgraded they crossed paths with Izuna, directing his ANBU with last minute instructions.

“You know what we really need?” he called as they passed him by, breath misting in the air. “A fucking alarm. A village-wide alarm system so we don’t have to go running around like chickens gathering everyone up if this shit happens again.”

“That…is a good idea,” Tobirama admitted.

Izuna stared at him.

“Why don’t you give that some more thought and if we both survive we can hash out some ideas later.” When he turned he managed to catch just the edge of a thoughtful look on the man’s face as they continued on their way and leaped out of sight.

Figuring out what direction to go wasn’t hard. Even without the sounds of destruction and the clouds of dust and smoke rising slowly from the forest there was the oppressive weight of that chakra signature, close enough now that even the most insensitive shinobi would be able to feel it there, hovering at the edge of their mind like a wild animal dragging sharp teeth along their consciousness. It was not a pleasant feeling.

Tobirama and Madara kept speed with each other as they darted through the trees, matching step for step and weaving through the branches in perfect unison. Battle had called them and they had answered. All of Tobirama’s instincts cried out for him to strategize and make plans but he recognized that it was useless until he was able to see the situation for himself. He’d never fought a tailed beast before let alone the Kyuubi itself, the strongest of the nine. Trying to plan for something like that was like trying to plan for the path of a tornado; there was simply no predicting what would happen until it did.

Much easier was determining that they were getting close. As soon as they began to encounter long swaths of forest crushed or burnt they increased their speed. Tobirama pushed through the discomfort of that massive signature to find the cool green feeling of his brother and directed them that way. Shinobi of their power served best at the front no matter the danger they faced.

Seeing the beast for the first time nearly stopped them both in their tracks, however. It didn’t matter how brave a man was, seeing a creature several stories taller than the administration tower would have been a sight all on its own. The oppressive weight of the thing’s hatred was something else entirely.

“We have to fight that,” Madara breathed, his voice only just audible over the commotion around them.

“No,” Tobirama said. “We have to stop it. Let’s go.”

Several bodies lay still in scattered places throughout the carnage, others darting in to carry them away, but Tobirama’s eyes found several directly beneath the feet of the Kyuubi where they could not be safely retrieved. He dismissed them. Later he would mourn the loss of life. Right now he would do what he could to protect the living.

Hashirama fell back to meet them as they approached and Tobirama felt his heart clench at the sight of tears streaming down the man’s face.

“Are you injured?” he demanded. Hashirama shook his head.

“Later,” he choked out. “We have to put this thing down before it takes more.”

“Right. Then let’s do that.”

One quick survey told him that the people of the village were indeed following the strategy he had quickly laid out. To one side Nara cast their shadows to snare legs and tails, Yamanaka threw their own consciousness’ out in an attempt to take over the beast’s, and the Akimichi stood over them both with their bodies expanded to massive sizes, deflecting the lashing tails and protecting their friends.

Hatake and Inuzuka harried the flanks while several Aburame attempted to guide their insects in to any orifice they could use for an inside take down. Uchiha sent flames from the front in brilliant displays while Senju used the earth and the river to push and pull, attacking, attempting to knock the thing off balance. The Hyuga clan were spread through the rest of them, each paired up with another shinobi and moving in tandem as though this battle were a well-practiced dance. Directing attacks to the targets with the most deadly potential, rotating or using their Byakugan to deflect incoming debris, they made the perfect support for anyone lucky enough to work with them.

Just watching their village come together in such a way was enough to make a man burst with pride and yet for all their efforts they made very little progress. Bodies fell and others dashed in to remove them. Screams and thunder rent the air in a near constant litany of destruction.

“I’ll take its head,” Hashirama declared, legs coiling in readiness.

“The back,” Madara claimed. “Watch me tame that fucker.”

“Hold,” Tobirama snapped.

Amazingly enough, they did as he asked, holding until suddenly waves of ANBU burst from the trees in a concentrated attack. Then Tobirama ducked his head to bare his teeth.

“Now, while it’s distracted!”

Hashirama burst forward with his hands already forming signs. Spires of mokuton burst from the ground at his command to reach for the beast’s face and muzzle its jaw. Deep in its throat the Kyuubi snarled – then he screamed with rage and pain as Madara hit him from behind with the largest Grand Fireball the field had seen yet that day.

Letting the two of them work ahead as a distraction, Tobirama scattered kunai marked with his special seal. As soon as he had the layout of the terrain solid in his mind he reached for one and appeared directly under the belly of the rampaging animal. With so much water already scattered about it was the work of a moment to gather a large puddle and swing his arms upwards to slice at the soft flesh above his head, an attack that he hoped was doubly painful with the temperature of the water only barely above freezing. He was gone before the answering scream was finished and gathering more water to go for the hamstrings.

Before he could get close enough a great roar shook the earth and destabilized his footing as the Kyuubi broke through its wooden muzzle, snapping at the branches that reached to capture it again. Tobirama flashed to his brother’s side and pulled him out of the way just in time for one of the many tails to come crashing down where he’d just been standing.

“Thanks for the save,” Hashirama cried. “Let’s try this on for size!”

Only once had Tobirama even seen him use that massive scroll he carried in to battle but it was a testament to how seriously his brother was taking this fight when he threw it down and unrolled it, slamming his palm in to the center. When his summon appeared it carried them both up on its shoulders to tower over the forest and draw their opponent’s attention all to themselves. The Kyuubi didn’t look terribly impressed to see the Several Thousand Hands but Madara clearly was – and just as clearly did not intend to be left behind.

“You think that’s something? I am the one you should be worried about, fox!” His voice came from the ground a moment before he was raised up above it in the headpiece of a fully formed Susano’o.

“Together, my friend?” Hashirama called to him.

“Eat my chakra dust!” Madara hollered back.

Despite his words they moved in sync as only the best of battle partners could. Tobirama spared a moment to roll his eyes at their antics even as he cast one of his kunai and followed it through the air, summoning the river to his purpose.

With their strength combined and aid from all the other clans the amount of injuries dropped significantly, though the battle was still a hard one. The tide was turned with the arrival of Mito, her usual orderly outfit replaced with the minimalistic battle gear of a true Uzushio warrior. With delicate grace she evaded the reached claws attempting to crush her spine and wove between the hundreds of wooden fists slicing through the air to land at her husband’s side. Tobirama appeared at his other a moment later.

“I can seal him,” she announced confidently. “But nothing inanimate will be able to hold that much energy. If I seal him it will be in to a living creature. A person.”

“Any volunteers?” Tobirama asked dryly.

“That sounds incredibly dangerous.” Deftly weaving his signs still, Hashirama kept the beast distracted with his summons while they spoke. “Would his chakra not tear the person to shreds?”

Mito shook her head. “No. This is why I did not come until now; I have been modifying the seal we use to make storage scrolls and I believe that it should contain him so long as there is another chakra to give the array power. Their life will be the safeguard that holds him.”

“I will do it,” Hashirama declared. He looked determined until she laid her hand on his arm.

“No, it cannot be you. The head of one clan with so much power would unbalance the rest. I believe it should be me. It would be dangerous for whoever takes this responsibility to leave the village and I hardly do so already.”

“Make a decision,” Tobirama snapped. “We don’t have time to sit around and chat it over all day. Yes or no, Anija!”

“May the kami forgive me. Yes. Do it – and fast.”

She gave one sharp nod and then Mito turned towards the Kyuubi with fire in her eyes the likes of which few had seen and lived to speak of. With barely a thought Tobirama was away at his own husband’s side, suspended within the Susano’o.

“On my mark be loud. As much of a distraction as you can be. Draw its attention and hold it.”

“Understood.”

Tobirama trained his eyes across the shifting mass of fur between him and his brother, watching until Mito’s tiny form shot forward.

“Now!”

Purple flame exploded outwards in a Grand Fireball nearly the size of the Kyuubi’s head, singing fur and flesh and drawing a scream that must have shaken the mountains from one side of the continent to the other. Several of the men and women scattered below dropped to clap their hands over their ears even as Mito, brave and beautiful Mito, flung her body straight towards the source. For a single moment she existed as a streak of flame across the sky, red hair spilling behind her like a banner as her traditional buns unraveled with the force of such a violent movement.

Then the motion ended as she impacted the beast’s hide palm first, black ink spidering out from underneath her touch. Even the trees themselves quaked with the force of the roar this time, the sound of an animal who knew it was about to be caged. Seeing his chance, Hashirama moved quickly to pin the lashing tails with bands of wood, holding them down for the howls to carry on in stillness.

When the massive form began to ripple and waver Tobirama almost felt a touch of pity for the thing. To be caged for the rest of his life was something he couldn’t imagine. But the feeling was easy to brush away as he looked out at the carnage surrounding them, steeling his heart to the vision of the Nine-Tailed Beast shrinking in size as it was pulled in to Mito’s body. For such a momentous act Tobirama felt almost let down by the anticlimactic silence when it was over.

Mito stood where the Kyuubi had, tall and proud. Then even from a distance Tobirama could see her tremble before she crumpled to the earth like a doll. Hashirama was by her side almost as fast as though he too was able to utilize the hiraishin.

Concern warred with the instinct to give the two of them some space and Tobirama married the two urges by asking Madara to dismiss his Susano’o, taking the time to walk across the clearing by the power of his own legs rather than flashing across with the marker Hashirama carried. When they arrived his hands were already limned in green chakra and his brows pulled together with deep concentration. Thankfully for their sanity he did not look too worried.

“She doesn’t appear to be injured,” he announced as they and several others drew close. “I think the shock of absorbing so much extra chakra was just a little too hard and her mind shut down to protect her until she finds a balance.”

“Are you alright?” Tobirama asked. His brother looked up at him with a wan expression.

“I’m…uninjured.”

With a nod Tobirama turned to Madara, gently cupping that precious face with one hand.

“Don’t look at me like that, I’m fine too,” the man growled. He did not, however, pull away from the touch. They held each other’s eyes for a moment of understanding before Tobirama turned back to the pair on the ground.

“Uninjured is fine but that wasn’t my question. You looked distraught when we arrived.”

“Of course I’m distraught! Look around you!”

The outburst was so unlike the Hashirama that others knew and shock was plain to see on many of the faces around them. For Tobirama, however, it brought him nothing but a clench in his chest. It may have been years since he heard that tone but he would have remembered the heartbreak it carried until the end of his days. The last he’d heard it they had stood over a fresh grave after burying their mother between the bodies of their younger siblings.

“You know better than most than many injuries can look much worse than they truly are,” he murmured. Squatting down, he laid a hand on the other’s shoulder. “I know it seems as though we lost many lives today but until we get a tally from the medics we can’t know that for sure. Many more could have survived.”

Hashirama lifted his face to show that tears once more streamed over his cheeks. “But they didn’t. They’re gone. He’s gone.”

“Who is?”

“Father,” Hashirama whispered.

A great empty nothingness seemed to echo in Tobirama’s chest as he followed his brother’s line of sight down the path to where the Kyuubi must have met with the first line of resistance. Miles away at this point, he wasn’t able to see where the body of his father lay. He didn’t care to. What state the flesh was in mattered little if the mind had gone cold.

He waited for the pain. For the sense of loss. The last time he had seen Butsuma’s face it struck him for the first time in years that they were family – not a happy one, perhaps, but blood all the same. Now the man was gone and with him any chance that they might someday recover the relationship that had never had a proper chance to grow. And Tobirama, to his small secret shame, felt nothing.

“I am sorry for your loss,” he said at last, an empty platitude to fill the silence as his brother continued to stare up at him expectantly. Hashirama didn’t look surprised but neither did he look at all comforted.

“What are we going to do?”

“Get these people back home, I imagine.” That particular wisdom came from Izuna as the man approached. “I’ve instructed my teams to search the area and retrieve any dead or wounded left behind. They took too bloody long waiting for the right moment to make an attack and I’m not happy with their performance. So now since they didn’t actually see much battle they get to enjoy the clean up afterwards.”

“Right. Touka can have any of her people who have a talent for earth jutsu restore the forest as best they can until Hashirama is able to see to the trees.” Tobirama nodded to his brother-in-law, unsurprised by the hesitation before Izuna nodded back.

Between them, Madara craned his neck to peer down the alley of destruction where Butsuma supposedly lay. It didn’t take a genius to guess where his thoughts were drifting. Neither of their first responders had been seen since they dashed off, their blood running hot with reckless competition. If Butsuma had gone to his final rest here in the forest then chances were Tajima had too. Tobirama waited but his husband said nothing, turning his head away with a telling tension at the corners of his eyes. No one present saw fit to mention it.

“Izu is right,” he muttered. “Let’s get these people back to the village. We’ll need to gather the council for a debrief. Shit, wait, Izuna can you also send one of your people to find the rest of that team who came to warn us? There wasn’t time to ask but–”

“We need to know why,” Tobirama finished for him.

“On it.” Just like that the man was off again.

Hashirama used the utmost care as he cradled his wife between both arms and lifted her, for once not looking around to see to others before taking off towards safety himself. Although the greater good often took priority over many things in his eyes there were few if any things in this world that could possibly be more important to him than the safety of his beloved wife. Tobirama watched them go and thought to himself that once he had envied their bond. How funny it was to think of it now and realize that he had the same.

Urging his own beloved to go ahead, Tobirama stayed to organize those wandering around the field looking lost, some of them bearing the frantic expression of those who had lost sight of their loved ones. He urged them to allow the allotted team to comb through the area before descending in to panic. Many injured had already been taken to the hospital and extra bodies milling about would only impede the progress of others reaching the same help.

At a certain point he had to realize that he was mostly killing time, putting off the inevitable as though hoping that the council would meet without him. Unfortunately he knew the one they would not start without was Hashirama and since he would have taken the time to ensure his wife was more than comfortable in the proper care it wasn’t likely the debrief would have even started yet. Not to mention the fact that Madara was likely to glare the lot of them in to submission if they tried to go ahead without Tobirama’s sizable brain there to point out the angles no one else ever seemed able to see.

Knowing it would be better to get this over with did nothing to make him feel any more enthusiastic but still Tobirama forced himself to turn back towards the village when there was only petty busywork left to occupy himself with. The meeting needed to happen. As a council they needed to make a decision on how to react to these events and how to proceed now that their two nominal ‘leaders’ had both fallen. Yet something in the back of his mind couldn’t help pretending that if he never went to the meeting then he would never have to admit that all of this was real.

Clearly he’d been spending too much time in Hashirama's presence for such childish notions to have any hold over him.

What drove him forward despite his distaste for it all was the same urge which had driven plenty of his most self-destructive urges in the past: his need to know. The need for answers that had a tendency to blot out the rest of the world. Tobirama set his feet towards the village center and he would have damned his own curiosity if he wasn’t so achingly aware that he would have eventually gone anyway.

Duty had been bred in to him at a young age, pressed in to his skin so deeply it could almost be considered a personality trait on its own at this point. He might drag his feet and put it off but in the end this was his home and he would do what he needed to for this village. That was his duty and Tobirama had long accepted that he was nothing if not a dutiful man.

To his husband. To his family. To his people.

#rae writes #madatobi #madara #tobirama #hashirama #tajima #butsuma #izuna #mito #fanfiction

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raendown · 4 years

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For the @madatobigiftexchange. Even though my giftee dropped out ages ago I had already finished this lol so I might as well share it.

Pairing: MadaraTobirama Word count: 1568 Rated: T+ Summary: Explosions, experiments, and exasperation. Just a regular afternoon for them.

Follow the link or read it under the cut!

KO-FI and commission info in the header!

Once More With Feeling

When the desk rattled underneath him and the very walls of his home office shook Madara could only think that at least he hadn’t been doing anything terribly important because that had either been an earthquake or an explosion and either way he probably wasn’t going to be doing anymore paperwork for at least a few hours. He felt almost preternaturally calm as he set his brush down and stood up, absently righting a framed photo as he passed it on his way down the hall. Panicking wouldn’t help anyone no matter what madness lay outside waiting for him. Rather than head out the front door towards the village center his first instinct was to head out the back exit where he knew his husband had been locked away in the laboratory at the back of their property for several hours.

Or at least there used to be a laboratory at the back of their property. Madara's left eye twitched as he took in the source of the ground-shaking explosion that had rocked through his afternoon plans. Where once there had been a mokuton-reinforced building with double thick walls and shatter resistant glass in the windows there now stood a smoking crater filled with shattered wood and debris of various unknown origins. Surrounding the wreckage there rose a twenty foot barrier Mito herself had lain around the perimeter of so many dangerous experiments for an occasion just such as this one.

And in the center of that barrier stood Tobirama, perfectly alive despite the blackened state of his face and the small flame burning just over his left ear. Considering the decimated state of his lab he must have had enough time to throw up some sort of protection against the blast else he would have been scattered across the lawn in just as many pieces but judging from the remains of his shirt it must not have done quite as much protecting as he had hoped.

Madara told himself to breathe deeply as he approached the scene of the crime and stopped just at the edge of the barrier, folding his arms across his chest. He waited patiently for the shock to pass and when Tobirama finally turned to look at him he had less than zero sympathy for the guilty expression on that beloved face.

“Had a small oopsie, did we?” he growled. Tobirama offered a smile.

“Just a small hiccup. I almost had it, though. One more trial and I think I’ll be able to–”

“Really? Are you sure? Just one more trial. Or perhaps I should say just one more explosion in my backyard. I was working, you public menace!” Madara took a moment to snap his head to one side and glare down the neighbors staring over their back fence. He kept his eyes narrowed in that direction until all the faces disappeared again, presumably to spread the word that everything was fine. This time.

Tobirama rolled his eyes and shook a layer of soot off both hands so he could make the signs to dispel Mito’s protective barrier. Without it the smoke billowed outwards in massive puffs like a dragon belching smoke rings. Some of it swirled in admittedly beautiful patterns as Tobirama moved through it, picking his way along the wreckage until he was standing on untouched grass and looking back over the mess he’d made with a critical eye. Madara sighed despondently. He didn’t even need to ask to know exactly what thoughts were running through his husband’s mind.

“Do you think Anija has time to raise another building tonight?” Tobirama asked. “Because I really was very close to a solution. If I could just get things set up again I know exactly what to change in the new design. Fireworks sealed in to a diversionary exploding tag, just think of the lives it could save! It’ll work. It has to work!”

“Why did I marry you?” Madara threw up his hands and turned away.

“Hey!”

“You’re a heart-attack waiting to happen! One of these days I’m going to come home and you’re going to have jutsu’d your own head off. And then I’ll have to feed you through your neck or something because kami knows you, of all people, would find a way to live without your head. How else are you going to keep bothering me?”

It was possible he might be getting a tad over-dramatic again but Madara consoled himself that he was nowhere near Hashirama levels of drama which meant he was still well within the boundaries of a reasonable reaction. Surely there was no one alive who wouldn’t be at least somewhat upset by the idea of their spouse blowing themselves up for the fourth time in a twelve month period. There was really only so much one heart could take. What on earth had possessed him to fall in love with such a madman?

Other than the fine ass and the incredible sex and that damnably attractive genius brain.

He made it halfway back across the lawn before something very small yet very noticeable bounced off the back of his head and he stopped in his tracks, deadly frown already in place by the time he turned around to see Tobirama oh so innocently turned away from him, still looking at the wreckage of his lab.

“Did you just throw a rock at me?” he asked quietly. Tobirama didn’t even deign to turn around.

“That would be childish.”

“Yes, because you’re never childish,” Madara snarled, sarcasm heavy in every syllable.

Finally Tobirama turned around to scoff lightly. “Never. But if I happen to have your attention would you possibly consider helpin–”

“No I would not consider helping you recreate the seals before Hashirama has a chance to raise the building again.” He lifted both eyebrows with no surprise when Tobirama immediately began to pout, clearly somehow under the misguided impression that he should be allowed to seek out more dangerous activities just after having stood in the very epicenter of an explosion.

“Are you or are you not, as my husband, supposed to support me in my passions?”

“I think I’m more partial to the duty of keeping you alive,” Madara drawled.

“How boring.”

When he scowled Tobirama simply rolled his eyes and leaned in to kiss him, always an effective distraction from whatever had irritated him. Madara did his best to hold on to his very understandable grumpiness but it only took two more soft pecks for his expression to soften as he shuffled a little closer for a better kiss. Hands slowly buried themselves in his hair, pulling lightly on his scalp, and Madara groaned in to the sensation. Both of them had been so busy lately. With Tobirama locked away in his lab for hours at a time and Madara constantly bringing papers home from the office they hadn’t had a proper amount of time for this sort of thing in at least a few weeks.

A low whine escaped in protest of Tobirama pulling away, soothed momentarily when he was granted one more swift kiss. His husband was smiling when Madara opened his eyes and the sight of him was so welcome, so distracting, that he made the fatal mistake of not paying much attention to the words coming out of that pretty mouth.

“One small little experiment can’t be too bad can it?” he asked in a low rumble. “What harm could it really do to just help me draw a few symbols on paper? They’re only symbols.”

“Mm only symbols.” Entirely distracted, Madara repeated the end of the last sentence in an agreeable manner without giving much thought to what he was saying, anything to bring those lips back to his own. He didn’t even notice when a dangerous smirk spread out across Tobirama’s face in response.

“You wouldn’t mind, would you? All of my paper just went up in smoke but I did need a test subject anyway.”

“Why did you stop kissing me?” Madara whined.

He admired the smile Tobirama gifted him in response, stupidly not reading in to the intent behind such a vicious expression. All that mattered to him was that his husband was kind enough to bend down and kiss him again in that way that promised all sorts of filthy things to come. He asked no questions as he was led back across the grass and in to their home. He thought no more of the smoking crater in their backyard. He didn’t even notice anything amiss when Tobirama snagged a bottle of ink from a side table in the kitchen as they made their way through, much too interested in what the other hand was doing underneath his shirt.

It wasn’t until perhaps ten minutes later that the village was rocked with a secondary explosion, this one in the familiar form of Madara's voice screaming at the top of his lungs.

“FUCKING SEALS! I AM NOT A GOD DAMNED LAB RAT, WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? WHAT DO THESE EVEN DO? I SWEAR TO FUCK YOU MANIAC-”

Down the street with both hands over his ears, Izuna sighed and glared mournfully down at the tea that would surely go cold long before his brother’s voice gave out. What on earth kept those two idiots together was beyond him. How, by the grace of all the mercies that be, was this his life?

#rae writes #madatobi #madara #tobirama #fanfiction

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raendown · 6 years

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Pairing: HashiramaIzuna Word count: 3197 Soulmate au: The one where when your soulmate is in mortal danger you see through their eyes for a few seconds

Follow the link or read it under the cut!

Chapter 113: HashiramaIzuna

Hashirama wasn’t sure whether anyone else realized exactly what had changed. Actually, he was fairly sure his brother understood what happened that day even if they’d never addressed the issue directly. His assumptions were born of the lingering, faintly disgusted looks that Tobirama sent him every time the two clans met for peace talks. But since his brother continued to say nothing about it, Hashirama kept his silence as well while he tried to feel out how others might feel about the situation.

Very few times in his life had Hashirama experienced the flashes of double vision everyone experienced when their soulmate’s life is in danger. Since all of the scenes he’d witnessed had taken place in what appeared to be the midst of different battles, he had assumed two things from such a small amount of information. Hashirama had concluded that his soulmate was a fellow shinobi and also that they must be fairly skilled. If they were a weaker shinobi then their life would be in peril more often and he would experience the world through their eyes much more.

In the midst of battling Madara yet again wasn’t the best time for his vision to split and show him both the world in front of him as well as whatever his soulmate happened to be looking at but he didn’t hesitate to take a good peek and whatever clue he was given anyway. Hashirama certainly hadn’t expected to see his own brother bearing down with sword raised and one hand forming a seal which he recognized only barely. It was a new seal but Hashirama knew exactly what it was meant to do.

He also knew exactly who such an action was meant to be taken against, the only person whom Tobirama could possibly be facing if he were revealing such a brand new jutsu in the middle of dozens of Sharingan which could easily record his movements for later study. Surprise attacks never worked a second time, as his sibling was fond of reminding him.

Almost before he had consciously worked through the realization of what it all meant, Hashirama was already moving. Lucky thing, too; if he had moved even a fraction of a second later he would have been the one wearing a sword through his chest. Of course, his armor provided a great deal more protection than the flimsy covering the Uchiha tended to wear, but that wasn’t the point. Tobirama blistered the air around him with curses as he wrenched his blade to the side at the very last moment, eyes widening upon realizing that his brother was now standing before him rather than his enemy.

“What is wrong with you!?” he demanded in a voice pitched maybe a single octave too high, almost squeaky with panic. Hashirama very generously did not point that out.

“The fighting needs to stop,” Hashirama said. “This needs to stop once and for all. Peace is an option if we could all just talk for five minutes!”

“So go flap your lips at Madara! Don’t jump in front of my blade! Spirits above, Anija, I nearly ran you through!”

Admittedly, he did feel a little bad about that. He hadn’t meant to scare Tobirama. But it was worth it to turn around and see Izuna standing there, his sword still raised and his body still held in a defensive stance, eyes wary, but alive. For a few seconds Hashirama allowed himself to just look, taking in the younger man’s appearance in a way he’d never bothered to before.

It was only for a few seconds, however, and he was quick to acknowledge Madara when his old friend landed close by. Madara hurried to place himself in front of his own sibling and Hashirama thought that was rather nice. How could anyone say the two clans had nothing in common when it was so obvious how human they all were? Didn’t all of them have only one goal: to protect their precious people? Achieving that goal would be so much easier for everyone if they all just stopped trying to kill each other.

Madara took a surprisingly short amount of time to capitulate after so many years of refusing his pleas for a ceasefire. There was a moment when Hashirama thought Izuna might speak up and try to sway his brother but the younger man hesitated and that brief pause was all that was needed. For the first time in countless generations the Uchiha and Senju clan heads had brought their hands together in a gesture of harmony.

The peace talks were both delightful and torturous. Hashirama wondered how no one but Tobirama seemed to pick up on how eager he was for each and every glimpse he could catch of Izuna. On the days Izuna joined them for their councils Hashirama found his tongue stumbling and tying itself in knots more often than usual, causing him to worry that his soulmate might start to think him stupid. It was surprising how little Izuna contributed even on the days he shadowed his older brother. For the most part he sat in his chair and watched the Senju party with cautious eyes, sometimes taking notes but never sharing them, only rarely murmuring something in Madara’s ear and never addressing anyone else directly.

Only once a treaty had been hammered out, the village had been built, and both of their clans had moved in did he slowly begin to speak to a few members of the Senju clan. At first he mostly spoke to Touka, the two of them striking up a rapid friendship, and made no effort to hide the fact that he was flat out avoiding Tobirama. Eventually, however, he did begin to speak to Hashirama on occasion, leaving Hashirama a jittering mess of nerves every time. Since Tobirama obviously didn’t want to talk about it and no one else knew, Hashirama spent a lot of his free time talking long walks by himself and blathering away to the forest trees, asking their silent opinions. Had he been too eager that day? Should he have worded his question differently? Would Izuna think him even stupider now?

Yet as time went on the two of them realized that they actually got along fairly well. When he didn’t have his hackles up suspecting an attack from someone he wasn’t comfortable with, Izuna had a bright energy and an easy smile that he used to charm whomever he happened to need something from.

It didn’t take long before he figured out that Hashirama generally capitulated to his suggestions after just one smile. Obviously he didn’t understand why but that didn’t stop him from taking advantage of it every so often. Not enough to say that he was abusing a discovered power but definitely enough to make it clear that he knew he was a favorite of Hashirama’s for one reason or another and not ashamed to play it up on occasion.

Hashirama knew that’s what Izuna was doing in his office today, using that pretty face of his to bug a favor from the newly elected Hokage. Even knowing he was being cheerfully played didn’t help him find the strength to care. Just seeing that smile flash so easily and only for him was more than worth a few concessions. At least, in his book it was.

“We can definitely have someone look in to finding a merchant that carries those ingredients. I wasn’t aware that Uchiha cuisine was so different from our own. Maybe someday I will get the chance to taste some of your traditional dishes.” Realizing how that sounded as though he were trying to imply something, Hashirama sank down in his chair with red creeping up his face. “Ah, not to say yours in particular, just as a general term? I only meant– what I mean is– I should…do some of this paperwork now.”

“I’m sure I know what you meant,” Izuna cut in with a teasing voice.

“Ah. That’s good.” Slumping a bit more in relief, Hashirama let his own easy smile shine through while trying to fight back the blush.

When exactly he had started to develop a crush on Izuna he had no idea. Knowing the exact date wouldn’t have helped him anyway so he didn’t waste much energy wondering too hard about it. Once he’d managed to get a little control over his over face he parted his lips to say something, but paused when he noticed the contemplative look Izuna was wearing.

“Is something wrong?” he asked.

“Why are you so nice to me?”

“Eh? I’m nice to everyone!” Hashirama chuckled to himself a little. If one listened to Tobirama’s opinion then he was too nice to everyone, too ready to forgive slights or insults that would have most others up in arms. Being angry was just so much work.

“True, but you’re extra nice to me. I don’t really mean much to anything so it doesn’t make any sense.” Izuna cocked a hip and tilted his head. “I’m not clan head so you can’t gain any political advantage from me. Nii-san is the one you’ve been chasing after all these years and you call him your best friend but you don’t do him half the favors that you do for me.”

Hashirama scratched at one ear bashfully. “Am I that obvious about it?” The question was more of a dodge for time than anything else. He was perfectly aware that his affections had always been the most obvious thing in the world.

“It’s kind of hard to miss,” Izuna told him. “I keep trying to figure out why but honestly nothing comes to mind.”

“Well it’s just...that is…you might not believe me if I tell you?”

“Sort of hard to either believe or not believe if you never tell me.” The younger man lifted one eyebrow and gave him a humorous look. “So what is it then, Hokage-sama? I’m quite curious.”

“Ah. Um. It’s, that is, I discovered some time ago that we are, er, soulmates.”

For the first few seconds Hashirama thought Izuna might not have heard him. There was no reaction at first until gradually those dark eyes widened and his lip parted with shock, jaw gaping open while his arms dropped down to hang uselessly at his sides. Hashirama waved both of his hands in the air as though warding off some kind of negative reaction or a denial which hadn’t even been said.

“Not that I expect anything! You never seemed to like me much until the last few months so I know this probably isn’t anything you expected. Or wanted. I was never sure how to tell you or if you would even want to know so I always thoughts maybe if you ever considered me even a friend I might find a way to say something but–”

“Breathe!” Izuna’s voice cut him off suddenly, startling him in to silence. He took a deep breath through his nose like he’d been asked to, realizing that he was indeed fairly winded from speaking so rapidly.

“Sorry,” Hashirama squeaked out.

“Don’t apologize, just– Are you sure?”

Full of nervous energy, Hashirama pushed his chair back and hopped to his feet, scooting around the desk so he could shuffle up and poke Izuna in the chest. “Very sure. Here’s where Tobirama almost stabbed you. Right here! I saw him through your eyes.”

“So that’s why you stopped him that day!”

“Oh. Yeah. Well, I sort of moved to stop him before really thinking about it. But I’m glad that I did.”

“Because it led to the peace you’ve been chasing for so long, right?”

“Well, that too, yes. But I meant I’m glad because it gave me the chance to get to know you.”

If he had the courage to he would have spilled out all of his thoughts on why he thought Izuna was an amazing person and how well they would go together. Izuna was bright and cheery for those that he got along with, a bubbly person who was always ready to have some fun or explore something new. Their energy and enthusiasm would work so well together. Both of them were smart in a more understated way than their siblings.

Not to mention just how attractive Hashirama found him to be. Where most Uchiha had smooth locks of glossy black and Madara somehow ended up with the wildest hair anyone had ever seen, Izuna was a perfect middle ground to them both with his perpetually slightly mussed hair tied back in an elegant ponytail. His eyes had a habit of sparkling with silent laughter and Hashirama secretly loved the fact that he was shorter than average. If they stood close enough he could have tucked Izuna right up underneath his chin.

As much as he would have loved for his destined other half to be excited to finally find him, Hashirama could definitely understand the skepticism still hovering on the face staring back at him. That scene on the battlefield was quite infamous by now and it wasn’t too far-fetched for an Uchiha to be wary of a Senju making up stories.

“I wish there was some way to prove it,” Izuna mumbled to himself. Hashirama beamed at him.

“There is!”

Of course there was. All he had to do was be in mortal danger and Izuna would obtain double vision, seeing through his eyes for a moment. It was such a simple solution that he wondered how he hadn’t come up with it himself in the first place.

Pulling aside the robes his council had designed for him when he took office, Hashirama dipped his hand in to the holster strapped to his leg and pulled out a kunai. Then without hesitation he turned it around and aimed it at his own chest. Later he would hear several lectures from multiple different people about how careless he was with his own life. Only Izuna’s reflexes, as lightning fast as most shinobi’s, saved his life from spilling out across the floor of the Hokage’s office.

Barely a few millimeters before the blade would have pierced him his arm was jerked to a stop as Izuna clamped down on his wrist with one hand, his eyes blowing wide again. Panic colored his features for a moment, swiftly followed by the anger that comes when one has been truly scared.

“You idiot! What are you trying to do!?”

“Well you wanted proof!”

“I didn’t say you had to stab yourself!”

“Did it work?” Hashirama ignored the worry for now, packing away that memory to be examined and swooned over later. For now he concentrated on whether or not his plan had been enough because he was willing to go to much further lengths if that was what it took to convince his soulmate that they were, indeed, soulmates.

Izuna mumbled quietly, “You were really going to hurt yourself.”

“Of course. I had to be in mortal danger, you know? It wouldn’t have worked if I was only pretending!”

“Crazy madman. Yes it worked. I saw myself through your eyes. Which means…oh wow.”

Beaming again, Hashirama held as still as possible and hoped that Izuna wouldn’t realize yet that they were still touching. His wrist was tingling and warm where their skin met, probably just an imagined sensation but enjoyable all the same. Disappointment rushed through him when the grip on his arm loosened only to be replaced by a thrill when Izuna didn’t let go entirely, only lowered both of their arms to hang between them more naturally rather than hovering awkwardly in the air.

He wanted to say something to reassure Izuna that he didn’t really expect anything but the words just wouldn’t come. It was difficult because the truth was that, while he really wasn’t expecting anything, he did want it.

“We’re really soulmates.” Poor Izuna looked as though he’d been hit by a ton of bricks.

“Uh-huh.” Trying very hard not to swing their hands like two adolescent children, Hashirama waited as patiently as he was capable of for how his other half would react. What he got was not what he expected – although he definitely had no qualms with it.

Some kind of garbled noise of surprise escaped him when the fingers around his wrist tightened again and tugged, pulling him down as Izuna pushed upward on to his toes. He fell utterly silent when their lips met, eye squeezed shut in case this wasn’t real, trying to keep the hallucination alive for as long as possible. Kami above, Izuna tasted good. The kiss was soft, slow, and everything he could have imagined it would be.

Already pretty lost in the moment, Hashirama very nearly squealed with audible delight when Izuna lost his balance and caught himself on Hashirama’s chest, pressing them together ever so slightly. On instinct he reached out to wrap his free arm around Izuna’s waist and pull him closer. Then he instantly regretted doing so as it seemed to remind the younger man of what exactly he was doing. Very slowly they pulled apart and Izuna blinked up at him, bemused.

“Well. I didn’t really mean to do that.”

“Oh.” Hashirama bit down on his bottom lip. “I can pretend you didn’t, if you want.”

“I get the impression you would do anything I wanted.” Suddenly Izuna was smirking, eyes twinkling as he watched Hashirama swallow thickly around a tongue that suddenly seemed too large inside his mouth.

Tugging at his collar and trying not to sweat inside his robes, Hashirama tried desperately to seem less panicky than he felt at the moment. “Not anything. I mean, there’s limits, you know? Okay so yes maybe I do give you a little more leeway than most people but that’s – it’s not a big deal! I just like you! A normal amount! Not…um…excessively or a lot or anything creepy that might weird you out and – I should stop talking now.”

“You’re kind of cute when you ramble.” Izuna did his best to remain nonchalant while Hashirama gaped at him, willfully ignoring the ignoring the color rising in his cheeks. “I think I would be interested to see where this could go.”

Considering how long they’d known each other by now, he really should have seen the hug coming. Apparently he didn’t, however, as he let out a wheeze of started laughter when Hashirama caught him up in a tight embrace and spun him in a circle, spouting exclamations of joy. Filled to the brim with more emotion than he felt any human would be capable of handling, Hashirama spilled his happiness out in to the room with laughter and blinding smiles. When he set Izuna back on his feet he held their bodies close together, thrilled when Izuna allowed the embrace.

Then he bent down to kiss him again just because he could. Because they were going to see where this could go. Because they were soulmates.

And maybe also because he was going to need to butter Izuna up before voicing the suggestion that they kind of owed Tobirama for helping them find each other.

#soulmate collection #rae writes #hashiizu #hashirama #izuna #fanfiction #naruto shippuden

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