***
"I think we dream so we don't have to be apart for so long. If we're in each other's dreams, we can be together all the time."
A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh
***
Tobirama didn't mean to keep it a secret from Hashirama.
Really.
It was just…a lot of things happened very quickly all at once, and it slipped his mind…
Again…and again.
To the point that Tobirama hasn't even talked to Madara about what the hell they're doing. They just came together in the quiet moments, and it was some of the most pleasurable times of Tobirama's life, but it was also fleeting.
Madara always looked gratifyingly surprised when Tobirama approached him, and annoyingly in control when he was touching Tobirama.
He was always so intensely focused, something Tobirama hadn't experienced outside of someone trying to kill him before. It was heady, but also something that made him uncomfortable outside of their private moments.
Thankfully, they didn't have too many because Hashirama's prediction turned out to be correct.
They were at war.
A letter they hadn't managed to intercept from the current Daimyo to the other clans, no doubt called for their execution, and even though they couldn't see the letter, they saw its effect through the Land of Fire.
The closest clans closed their borders.
Not that they were worth much open after the fire, Izuna pointed out.
There hadn't been a single job for any of the clans in the Uchiha Compound, while the others had seen a huge influx of work.
Yes, because the immediate response to a natural disaster is to off all your enemies, Izuna had snorted.
The trade routes had been closed.
Technically, they were destroyed, you know, by nii-san, Izuna corrected.
The conversation had devolved after that when Tobirama attempted to strangle Izuna, but the Uchiha proved to be weirdly flexible, and the rest of the people at the meeting decided they were done with both of them and left.
"Your brother is the worst!" Tobirama had announced, sneaking in through Madara's window that night.
Madara had laid him down and sucked his cock until Tobirama forgot he even had a brother.
He was making notes about how deep Madara could take him down his throat, and his curiosity about his own ability. Madara sprawled out next to him with his pipe and a cup of chilled honey wine, naked as the day he was born and utterly unashamed.
Not that he had much to be ashamed of. He was a spectacularly built man, even Tobirama could admit that, and he wasn't put off by the abnormally large amount of scars Madara had accumulated over his life. Most of them were a few years old now. Madara's skills had grown so much in the last five years, alongside Hashirama's, that it had gotten less and less common for either of them to be injured.
Tobirama had been happy about that for Hashirama, and he supposed he was happy(ish) about it for Madara now.
Mostly.
A little.
He'd be happier if he could figure out how Madara had solved hirashin first. His eyes narrowed as he studied Madara, running through the options in his head. Madara was no idiot, but he'd never shown any interest in creating his own jutsu. He simply mastered those that already existed. Although, admittedly, he did adapt and combine them in ways very few people would have ever considered or been capable of.
He had the capacity to be incredibly creative, but he didn't seem to care, which was infuriating.
Tobirama scowled, but Madara ignored him. Sprawled out and ridiculously attractive in his repose.
He was just so annoying, and Tobirama had no idea why.
***
Tobirama was scowling at him again.
Madara had no idea why; it seemed to happen often during the quiet moments after their pleasure, but the white-haired man never left until something called him away, and Madara kept his mouth shut to make sure it stayed that way.
Sex seemed to calm Tobirama's body, but focus his mind, which he supposed he shouldn't be surprised by. As it made Madara extremely lethargic and relaxed. Enough that it didn't bother him when Tobirama poked at him, fulfilling his own natural curiosity. He hadn't ventured towards the Sharingan, which Madara understood.
If he didn't have to carry it, he'd never go near it either.
A pulse of pain, like a single pound of a headache, made him snort. She had to have her say, no matter what.
She'd been quiet for longer than usual, but Madara had been enjoying the peace too much to really dwell on it.
Things were going so well, all things considered, in this lifetime that he was terrified she would take it away at the slightest mistake. The longer she stayed silent, the smaller the chance Madara had to fuck it up and lose everything.
Hashirama was happy, practically walking on air, at the way things were going, the new war aside. Neither of them was as worried about that as they were about Zetsu missing in action. There was no telling what that living rot was planning, and neither Madara nor Hashirama wanted to be taken by surprise again.
The other clans would come around. They always did.
Madara took a long pull from his pipe and frowned.
"What's wrong?" Tobirama finally put the scroll away, rolling over to prop himself up on an elbow and peer down at the Uchiha.
"Nothing." Madara's response was automatic, so used to only sharing his deepest thoughts with Hashirama.
Tobirama's brow creased in disbelief and annoyance, and a wave of guilt immediately came over Madara. His mother and father had always taken great pride in their ability to confide in one another. Madara hadn't understood the appeal until he'd met Hashirama and learned it was possible to share your darkest and most ridiculous thoughts with someone and not have them ridiculed.
Even if Tobirama one day tired of him or only ever kept him as a casual companion, there was no reason Madara could treat him as much more.
In his own mind and heart, at least.
"We are at war," Madara said at last, taking a sulky pull on his pipe.
The crease in Tobirama's forehead cleared as a look of understanding crossed his face. "Ah. Yes. It is not so surprising."
Madara turned to him in surprise. "You don't think so?"
Tobirama shook his head. "No. You and Anija assumed too many would share your dream, when in reality, it was always more likely that more would be opposed."
"We didn't assume too much," Madara muttered. "We always knew not everyone would agree."
Tobirama smirked. "And yet you're upset by it nonetheless."
Madara blew out a lungful of smoke, watching it disperse above them as he tried to find the appropriate words. "I am upset…"
Tobirama waited patiently, more so than Madara had initially thought him capable of being.
He started again. "I am upset because Izuna's safety depends on this. My clan's safety depends on this." That terrible weight settled over him again. "Everyone's safety depends on this."
"You are not solely responsible for everyone's safety," Tobirama pointed out, and despite the logic in his words, it did nothing to lift the weight from Madara.
"I led them into this. Hashirama and I. Their safety is on us more than anyone else."
"Everyone had a choice to follow. To stay after. To stay even now." Tobirama paused, thoughtful. "Even I could have chosen to leave the moment I stopped agreeing with either of you."
"You don't agree with either of us." Madara snorted. "You're just too stubborn to leave your brother."
Tobirama scowled, adorably annoyed at being so easily understood.
"But you are right." Madara sighed. "And somehow, that makes the desire to protect them even stronger." Tobirama's flinty gaze didn't waver, so Madara continued. "What if we are wrong?" His voice was quiet as he said it. He'd never admitted such fears to anyone but Hashirama, and they rarely admitted them to one another either. Almost fervent in their belief that if they didn't say them out loud, they weren't real.
Tobirama seemed taken aback by his honesty. Or surprised at the vulnerability. Either one surprised Madara, because he felt like a bumbling fool who couldn't say what he wanted on the best of days, and yet everyone claimed they were cowards in his presence.
Well, not the Uchiha, but they were blood and required to love him despite his foolishness.
"What do you mean? Exactly?" Tobirama pushed, calculating.
"I mean," Madara took a deep breath, held the air in his lungs until they started to hurt, and let it out in one long gust. "What if this alliance fails? What if the village fails?" Tobirama's eye twitched at the mention of the village, and Madara couldn't stop himself from rolling his eyes. "This compound is basically the village now, so you might as well get used to it."
Tobirama scowled but didn't argue because he knew Madara was right. As much as he hated admitting it.
"What if it all falls apart and we can't stay together?" Madara continued. "What if we turn on one another? Even more will die than they would have if we'd stayed at war."
Tobirama frowned, ran the numbers in his head, and decided Madara was an idiot. "You're an idiot."
Madara squawked, indignant.
"We have made it this far. Through incredibly stressful situations. The longer we do, the less likely we are to fall apart in the future." Madara's expression lightened. "The more likely scenario is that single clans will decide to leave after deciding the village is not what they wanted." Madara's face fell. "You cannot believe that every clan that comes will stay?"
Madara flushed. "Well, no, perhaps not- wait, why not? If they took the risk in the first place, why would they leave after doing all the hard work?"
Tobirama sighed, and there was something like pity in it. "Not everyone is as determined as you and my brother." Not everyone is as crazy either, but he doesn't say that part out loud.
Madara squinted at him, struggling to comprehend giving up after doing that amount of work. Wasn't that just a ridiculous waste of time and effort?
Tobirama seemed unruffled by his expression, stretching out long, long, long, deliciously pale legs, and Madara temporarily lost his train of thought.
He hadn't gotten to kiss every inch of those legs yet. Who knew if he'd get another chance? Tobirama could tire of him at any moment, and Madara would be left with nothing but memories sharpened by the Sharingan to sustain him for however long it took
He set his pipe aside, reached over, and grabbed one of those bony ankles. Tobirama yelped as Madara pulled his leg up to his mouth, leaving Tobirama awkwardly sprawled over him as he put his lips to the arch of his foot.
Would Tobirama freak out if he sucked on his toes?
The white-haired Senju was wide-eyed and shocked, watching Madara's lips move over his foot with just enough force to be almost ticklish.
Maybe best to save that one.
"What are you-" Tobirama trailed off as Madara's lips moved to his ankle and sucked a hickey onto the divot.
Poor Tobirama looked scandalized, his face turning red as Madara smiled against his skin and left another purple mark just above the first. He started making his way up Tobirama's knee as the man's hands twisted in the blanket, and he bit his lip red.
But his eyes never left Madara, and he made no move to stop him as he advanced. Tobirama held himself perfectly still, like he was afraid any sudden movement would stop Madara's journey.
Little did he know, nothing was going to stop Madara now, aside from Tobirama telling him to, and watching the brilliant Senju turn all of his considerable willpower to remaining silent as Madara set his teeth into the sensitive skin of his inner thigh.
Such a disciplined, powerful man Madara had in his bed.
What a pleasure it was going to be to make him scream.
***
Hashirama was sure why Tobirama was in a sour mood the next morning at breakfast, but after asking what was wrong the first three times and nearly losing an eye to a chopstick, he stopped asking.
It was strange because Tobirama looked better than he had in weeks. He was finally getting some sleep, and his skin had lost the unhealthy pallor it had carried since they fled the Senju compound and now had a glow Hashirama had never seen on it before. Hashirama had left Mito and Izuna in bed to spend some time alone with Tobirama, aware that it had been difficult to do so lately and worried that Tobirama was feeling left out.
It was a relief to see him doing so well.
He was Hashirama's last brother and the main reason Hashirama still dreamed of the village. In all those lives he'd lived, it seemed like Torbirama was always the last man standing, left behind to carry on after the rest of them had passed into the Pure Land. Hashirama would like to give him at least one life where everything didn't end up on his shoulders.
Where Tobirama could be lazy like a fat cat in the sunshine and gorge himself on food and sake, and who was he kidding, Tobirama would gorge himself on his experiments and his weird research and be happier than anyone else.
The thought made him smile into his rice, which made Tobirama's eyes narrow over his own. "What's wrong with you? Why are you smiling like that?"
Hashirama sighed. "Always so suspicious. Can't I just smile because I'm happy?"
"No. Whenever you smile like that, it means something crazy is going to happen."
Hashirama pushed his lips out in a pout, offended. "It does not. It just means I'm happy!"
Tobirama wasn't buying it, and there was no changing his mind when it made it up. Hashirama's brother was uniquely skilled at being stubborn. Sometimes Hashirama despaired of it, but most of the time, he had learned to recognize its value. Tobirama was either destined to suffer great tragedies or great responsibilities in all his lives, and that stubbornness kept him sane.
How was Hashirama supposed to be mad about that?
"It's funny," Hashirama started, studying Tobirama as he slurped rice and soup that was mostly flavored water. Their supplies were running low again, and Hashirama had tried to give him the bigger bowl only to get a kunai in his face. "You claim to be the anti-social one, but I think you are much better with people than I am."
Tobirama's look was a spectacular study in disbelief and doubt. "What the fuck are you talking about? You love people. You love everyone. Isn't that why we're here?"
Hashirama laughed nervously. "I wouldn't say I love everyone…" It occurred to him that he and Tobirama had never spoken honestly about this subject, and he might be about to say something that cost him his last brother, but Tobirama deserved the truth. He had stuck by Hashirama thus far. "The truth is, brother, I love very few people."
Tobirama raised an eyebrow, silently urging him to continue.
"I love you. I love Madara and Mito and Izuna…" He trailed off.
Tobirama became paler and paler as his silence continued.
"That's it. Those are who I love love. I suppose I love the race of shinobi and humans as a whole, but it is not the same, nor nearly the same strength as my love for the four of you."
"Hashirama…" Tobirama trailed off, horrified.
"I want what is best for the whole world, but especially you four. And I loved others in the past. Midoriko." Hashirama smiled sadly at the memory of her. "But Madara is truly the one whose love is all-encompassing. I love you four, but I have gone on after losing love before, and I could do so again. Each loss makes me a bit more bitter, perhaps. A bit less loving towards everyone else, I suppose." Hashirama paused, thoughtful. "Father was a disappointment, but I never loved him enough to hate him. And mother was…simply there."
Tobirama trembled. "And what of our brothers?" Hashirama had always been strange when it came to talking about Itama and Kawarama, like he remembered different people than Tobirama did.
"I loved them," Hashirama assured him, but the smile was weak. "But I do not know that my life changed much after they were gone? I was always planning the village, and I wanted all three of you to live safely in it. I wanted to watch all three of you grow up and fall in love and succeed in all your dreams, and it saddens me greatly that Itama and Kawarama didn't live long enough to do so. But my goals have always remained the same."
Tobirama looked like he was struggling to keep up. "I don't- I know you've always wanted the village to protect us, but I am still here, so it's not strange that you still want it."
Hashirama chewed on his lip. "I suppose that makes sense. I feel regret, I guess that is the right word. That their deaths did not change my life more."
"Do you think anyone's death would?" Tobirama asked. Hashirama had always, despite his wild emotions, been terribly practical at his core. It made him an excellent leader, but he was starting to see how it could seem cold to others, including Hashirama himself.
Hashirama gave it the appropriate consideration and began to look slightly guilty.
"I will not be offended if it is not my name," Tobirama assured him. He had always believed that Hashirama would have to go on without him at some point, and he wanted his brother to go on successfully, not be destroyed by his loss. Besides, Tobirama suspected he knew the name that Hashirama would say before he did.
"Madara."
And he was not disappointed. "I figured."
Hashirama relaxed a fraction.
"I will admit," Tobirama chose his words carefully. "That I was surprised you and Madara did not continue your romantic relationship."
Hashirama froze, gaped, and then gagged. "Oh no, we, we enjoyed figuring things out together, but we both prefer to have those relationships with others when there is a choice."
Tobirama frowned. That implied there was a time when they didn't have a choice?
"We are…soulmates in a way." Hashirama continued. "There has never been anyone else who has shared my interest, my desires, my dreams, the way he has. We are true equals, two sides of the same coin. I do not know that we could exist without each other." They certainly hadn't ended well in any life when they'd been separated. "I wish to see him every day of my life, but I wish to open my eyes every morning to someone else and close them every night to someone else. I want to raise children side by side, but not together. I want to gossip about the others we love together, go on vacations together, and have our loved ones gossip about us. Is that strange?"
"Yes," Tobirama answered without hesitation. Hashirama winced. "Your friendship is ridiculous on many levels for many reasons, but I don't know that it is a bad thing. Not anymore." Tobirama sighed. "Before all this, I would have said yes, absolutely, utterly. But now, I have started to think that perhaps this world made it necessary. I don't disagree that we couldn't continue on the way we were. I never disagreed with that."
"I know," Hashirama assured him.
"But I also don't know that I could have ever mustered the blind faith needed to walk your path with you. I still don't know if I could. I don't think we think the same way about things, about how to achieve them." He clarified when Hashirama's face fell. "I prefer a plan, step by step, you are much more…" What was the nice way to say impulsive and rash? "Spontaneous."
Hashirama sniffed. "That doesn't sound that bad."
"We are brothers, but our ways are different." It was the first time Tobirama had realized it and not felt like a failure, like it was some insurmountable chasm between them. "Perhaps that is necessary to achieve your dream."
"Well, I certainly don't want to worry about the sewers or the paperwork," Hashirama joked weakly.
"The details were never your strong suit." Tobirama agreed, wry and somewhat fond. "I don't think they are Madara's either."
Hashirama pondered that. "He is better at them than I am at any rate, but sometimes his mind works so fast that he forgets others can't keep up."
Tobirama looked thoughtful at that.
"He doesn't even realize he's applying strategy to things sometimes," Hashirama added ruefully. He didn't know who was to blame for the constant battle-state Madara's mind remained in. Tajima? Kikyo? Kaguya?
Life?
***
It was strange to hear Hashirama talk about himself. Somehow, despite growing up together and spending most of their lives together, Tobirama had never heard Hashirama speak so honestly about his feelings.
There had always been something about him. Something different. Tobirama had been too distracted by how different they were to fully understand it, but listening to Hashirama now, it started to make a bit more sense.
Hashirama had always been different, but not the way Tobirama was different. Tobirama's difference was understandable. He was a genius. His thoughts were beyond the comprehension of most other people, and he had grown used to it. The ache to belong among his peers had disappeared while he was still young, the concerns of the clan and whatever secrets Hashirama was keeping from him overwhelming any childish desire to be part of the group.
But Hashirama's different was…more. People felt more comfortable with him because he smiled, he was emotional, and he seemed like a fool sometimes, and all those were part of his true personality, but Hashirama had never let anyone close.
Not the way he'd let Madara close.
He'd never shown anyone the respect he showed Madara, not even their father. Tobirama was the closest, and the realization made Tobirama proud and a little anxious. He always worried so much about what Hashirama thought of him; realizing he was second only to Madara was reassuring. Being first in Hashirama's regard was a level of suffocating pressure Tobirama did not want or need. He still had nightmares about those years after they'd lost Itama and Kawarama and Hashirama, and Madara's contact had been limited by Butsuma's surveillance. Tobirama hadn't been able to take a single step without Hashirama's presence clinging like a shadow.
It was the closest he'd ever come to trying to honestly harm his brother.
Tobirama might exist at the fringes, but Hashirama was so far above, and people didn't even realize it. A god among men and the gods, Tobirama remembered, only cared so much for mortal business. Or they cared too much and never stayed out of it. But they were always a step removed. No one mistook them for normal humans. Hashirama, for all his faults, and Tobirama attributed many to him, had always looked at the bigger picture. That was the point of his dream of the village. Of his grand theory of peace.
It was baffling that their bloodline had produced the two of them. Aside from Butsuma being a third-generation clan leader, there wasn't anything special about it. Not special enough to justify the two of them, at least.
The more he thought about it, the more he realized it was the way Hashirama cared that set him apart. He cared deeply, but distantly.
That was it.
Hashirama cared deeply, but distantly. Like a malevolent, bemused god. No matter how physically close to him you were, somehow, he was still above you.
And yet it was Tobirama people got frustrated with, he mused. Hashirama was very, very good at convincing people they were the same as him, though, and Tobirama would never waste his time with that.
How strange it was that they had lived this long, this much of their lives already, and they were only just beginning to truly understand one another.
***
The war started after breakfast.
Tobirama picked up on a large mass of chakra signatures moving towards them from the west and south, the lands of the Akimichi, Hyuga, Hagoromo, and Nara.
The force was large. Significantly large, and Tobirama had paused when he first sensed it, taking several minutes to concentrate and map it fully. It was mostly Hagaromo and Kaguya shinobi, which made sense. They'd been after the Uchiha for years, to the point that they'd even been allied with the Senju for a time under Butsuma. Until their backstabbing and level of cruelty had led most of the Senju shinobi to refuse to work for them no matter what Butsuma threatened. Both clans had changed leadership multiple times since that time, and Tobirama wasn't sure what their current disposition was, aside from not being friendly to the Uchiha or any of their allies.
There was strong representation from the Akimichi, Nara, Yamanaka, Hyuga, and several other notable clans from the Land of Fire.
Everyone, it seemed, but the clans currently hold up in the Uchiha Compound. All of whom, besides the Uchiha and Senju, were on the smaller side.
Much smaller.
The force coming was three times the size of the active shinobi they had currently.
They'd been shoring up weapons in preparation, and they had an advantage in that the fire had destroyed any place to hide on the advance to the compound.
"It's smarter to meet them away from the compound," Tobirama argued. "If we engage too closely, we endanger everyone in it."
"And we endanger the injured if we engage away. And they could send a second force to attack the compound." Izuna returned.
Mito looked like she was contemplating braining them both with her teacup.
"The Hagoromo were always going to be a problem," Hashirama murmured.
Madara nodded. "And the Kaguya. It's disappointing; their strength would be useful."
Tobirama froze as he saw Madara and Hashirama stiffen, then glance at one another slyly. "No."
They glanced at him but couldn't meet his eyes.
"No."
Mito and Izuna glanced between the three of them. "What's happening?" Mito demanded, wary.
"They're shinobi too," Hashirama pointed out.
"And they've had blood feuds with the Uchiha for years." Tobirama pointed at Madara. "Would you really be okay setting all that aside?"
Madara frowned, and it was easy to see his anger, since he rarely bothered to hide it. "For the future I would…put it aside." But he twitched as he said it.
Izuna's eyes narrowed. "You want to bring the Hagoromo and Kaguya into the alliance? They'll never agree."
"We can at least offer them the chance," Hashirama said as Namikaze Mina stepped inside.
The bright blonde clan leader had become one of Madara's closest advisors since her arrival, and Tobirama mostly approved of her strong moral compass and moderated approach to everything. She was a good balance when Madara, Hashirama, and Izuna made their judgments based solely on their emotions, and Mito and Tobirama relied solely on logic.
And she was getting used to being stuck in the middle of all of them.
Tobirama and Izuna offered their hands for balance as she waddled over and kneeled, careful of her protruding stomach. She'd been growing larger by the day, and all of them were on edge, fearful of the memory of Ren and her tiny baby girl.
"This kid is going to be a giant," Izuna muttered, staring at her stomach. Mito swatted him, but Mina only ever looked amused when people commented on the size of her belly in comparison to the rest of her.
"What are you arguing about now?" Mina asked, already amused.
"An army is coming. They're several days away, but it is a significant force. Mostly made up of Hagoromo and Kaguya, but supplemented by the other clans." Tobirama explained.
Mina sighed, "Well, we have been expecting this."
"Brother and Hashirama want to invite the Hagoromo and Kaguya into the alliance." Izuna put in, scowling. "The other clans all refused already."
Mina raised an eyebrow. "And you wish to exclude them, why?"
"History and culture." Tobirama put it succinctly. The Namikaze clan leader already knew exactly what those would mean, and she did nod in understanding.
But then she said, "And that is the standard you wish to set?"
Tobirama and Izuna scowled at her.
"Logically, it is difficult to ask, let alone believe, that everyone would be able to set aside past differences that extreme." Mito pointed out.
"They hunted our children." Izuna snarled.
"And we were all at war with one another at some point or another." Mina was always calm. It drove Tobirama and Izuna nuts when they tried to argue with her. "Are you saying you don't think they are allowed the chance to change?"
"If they are going to change, they need to do it themselves. We hold no responsibility for that." Tobirama snapped.
"I agree. Change is only effective when the person changing wants to change for themselves." Mina poured herself and Mito another cup of tea and glanced at Hashirama and Madara. "The Senju and Uchiha are a prime example."
Her compliment sounded like a trap, and both Izuna and Tobirama eyed her suspiciously, while Madara and Hashirama looked pleased.
"Although it would not be incorrect to say that it worked for your clans because they had a safe place to undergo such a change."
"Safe?" Izuna squawked.
"We were literally burned out of our home," Tobirama argued.
"But you were shielded from annihilation." Mina countered. "Not the safest, but safer than it was. Safe enough, perhaps. Otherwise, that change would have happened under your father's."
Both Hashirama and Madara snorted in derision.
"Do the Hagoromo and Kaguya not deserve the same chance?" She asked.
Tobirama's lips curled up in a snarl, the memories of all those small bodies left behind in the wake of the child hunting parties.
"Everyone deserves the same chance," Hashirama grandly announced.
Izuna threw a rice ball at his head, Mito expertly ducking out of the way at just the right time.
"Lord Madara?" Mina prompted, and Tobirama turned his scowl from his flailing brother to his secret lover.
Madara shifted nervously. It was funny how obvious the signs were now that Tobirama was close enough to them. He picked at the sleeves of his kimono, poked his fingers together, and looked everywhere else to try to avoid answering. Unfortunately, everyone around the table knew better than to give him the out, and they kept staring until he hunched over with a defeated sigh. "What does it say to the world that we claim to be doing this for the betterment of the shinobi race, for the world, and then we turn around and 'but not you'." He shook his head. "The hands of the Uchiha are far from clean. Neither are the Senju nor any other shinobi clan. The life we chose does not allow for it. So what right do we have to demand change for ourselves but to deny it for others?" He gnawed on his lower lip. "If we follow that logic, others can follow it against us."
Hashirama picked rice out of his hair. "That's what I said!"
Mina hummed. "One is the ideal, one is the practical, but the idea is the same."
Izuna let out a gusty sigh and slumped over the table, resigned.
Tobirama tried to keep the scowl on his face, but there was enough logic in their argument that he couldn't. Excluding people based on personal opinions was exactly how situations like the shinobi clans at war for generations happened to begin with.
"Playing on those differences is how the Daimyo kept all the clans from uniting against him." The Namikaze were more aware than most of the Daimyo's methods used to control the clans.
Tobirama changed the subject. "We still have a few days before they arrive."
***
Preparations didn't take long. It wasn't like they could send the civilians away to safety. There weren't any shinobi away on missions to call back to boost their numbers.
They had 746 active shinobi, 342 of whom were still recovering from injuries, of which 116 would not be able to participate in the battle at all.
They'd need at least a hundred on the walls of the compound. Ideally, they'd have even more, but there were so many people in the compound already, they literally didn't have room after pulling everyone who'd been sleeping just outside the walls in the Inuzuka, Aburame, and Hatake tents.
So, they really had 304 healthy shinobi and 226 that were okay(ish) to fight and would hold the walls and rear.
Given that the combined force approaching them was distressingly close to a thousand…
Tobirama was honest with himself. He'd never faced odds quite that bad before. He doubted anyone had. The Inuzuka had almost a hundred trained ninki,n and the Aburame their bugs, which would help, but the Uchiha wolves had refused to participate. As had Kuromaru and Okuninushi. The Law of Noninterference, Jiro had explained, pouting that he didn't get to fight, while Tobirama was secretly relieved because the wolf tended to trip over his own feet when he was excited.
It explained why Kikyo had also left, since she considered herself bound by it as well.
Tsume hadn't, though, and Tobirama was surprised to find he liked her more than at least one other person.
It was a significant loss of strength, and Tsume seemed to find Tobirama's frustration with it amusing.
She kept telling him to relax. "There's not much you can do about it, pup. Why waste time and energy dwelling on it?"
"That's your advice?" Tobirama snapped. "You're supposed to be teaching me. Give me something better than that."
If anything, his surliness just made her more amused, but she played along.
And really, Tobirama should have known better. He'd known her for all of a few weeks, and it seemed to be a defining characteristic of her personality that she liked to sow chaos.
She blew out a stream of smoke and gave him a considering look. "Alright then. Are you counting on Madara and Hashirama to be on the battlefield?"
Tobirama stared at her. Next to him, Jiro perked up, looked at Tobirama, and his ears immediately flattened. "What the fuck?"
***
"What the fuck?" Tobirama demanded when he caught Madara and Hashirama putting on their armor after storming across the compound, Jiro on his heels.
Both men froze, half-dressed.
"Uh…" Madara, wide-eyed in panic, glanced at Hashirama.
Hashirama, bug-eyed and already sweating, glanced at Madara. "So…"
***
Kasumi peered over the carefully stacked blades in her arms as she made her way through the compound. Next to her, Renji struggled under the weight of a dozen scrolls of sealed weapons.
"Why are we doing this again?" He whined.
Kasumi shook her head. "Because we need to make sure there are weapons stores spread out across the compound."
"If they get over the walls, no one's going to remember where they are. They're just going to panic and grab whatever they see."
"And if we put weapons everywhere, then there's a good chance that's what they'll grab." Kasumi saw the logic, but Renji just didn't like the work of lugging heavy things back and forth. "We need to put these in the garden of the main house."
Renji groaned with much more effort than she thought was justified.
Kasumi rolled her eyes, amused but unwilling to admit it. "Come on, it's just around the corner."
"WHAT THE FUCK?!"
The scream startled them both into dropping their supplies. Renji yelped when something landed on his foot, and Kasumi coughed at the dust thrown into the air.
"Was that…" Renji hopped around on one foot, whimpering.
Kasumi managed to get her voice back. "That was Tobirama, wasn't it?"
They both glanced at the main house as another scream rang out. "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU THINKING?"
"I think I just saw the walls shake," Renji said in awe.
Kasumi grabbed him by the arm and dragged him away. "Let's get out of here before we get dragged into whatever pissed him off."
***
Hashirama and Madara had decided that they needed to approach the Kaguya and Hagoromo with the same dedication they had shown the others.
Which meant going in person.
Alone.
They were the only two in the compound who thought it was a good idea, but the entire compound combined couldn't change their minds.
Hashirama talked about grand ideas, the universe, and bringing the world together. Madara talked about the two of them being capable of handling the numbers left behind on their own and not leaving the compound with fewer defenders.
Tobirama couldn't decide which one of them to argue with first, and the most unfortunate part was that they both knew him well enough to take advantage of his internal debate and ran away before he could decide.
They could make the Kaguya and Hagoromo compounds in two days, the same day the force was estimated to arrive at the compound. Perhaps the news that Hashirama and Madara were heading for their unprotected compounds would be enough to turn away some of the attacking force.
"Do you think there may be sensors among them that could warn them of Hashirama and Madara?" Mina wondered as they sat with the clan leaders and Uchiha captains around a map to plan the battle. The fox was sprawled in her lap. He looked to be dozing, but Tobirama didn't trust anything about the fox and kept a wary eye on him no matter what.
"Sensors are rare." Tobirama considered. "But it would be foolish to rule out the possibility entirely."
"Neither the Hagoromo or Kaguya bloodlines are known for producing sensors." Izuna pointed out. "Maybe the Yamanaka or the Nara?"
Mito hummed thoughtfully, but Aburame Shina added. "The Hyuga. The Uchiha are known to produce sensors tied to the Sharingan; it would make sense that the only other bloodline with a dojutsu could do the same."
Hatake Gintoki and Toushirou Hijikata were both focused on the map. "The blood wards will prevent the Byakugan from seeing through the walls, but it won't stop them from actually crossing them. If the walls fall, the sheer chaos will be the end of us."
Gin scratched his nose. "If we fight with the walls at our backs and shinobi with long-range specialties on the walls, we'll have a strong defensive position."
Reshuffling the occupants of the compound was proving to be the most challenging aspect. They were putting the children and the elderly in the very center, followed by those of any age that couldn't fight, then fit civilians that could at least wield a blade just behind the walls manned by shinobi. It was a lot of movement to get done so quickly, and it couldn't be temporary because they had no way of predicting how long the battle would last.
Tobirama rubbed his temples.
Mito sighed, the most expressive sigh Tobirama had ever heard. "Someday, we are all going to look back on these times and laugh as we speak of our victories. We will forget all about the suffering that occurred between those moments."
"Someday." Inuzuka Mayu agreed. Tsume's daughter was particularly skilled at always seeing the positive side of things.
"If we could get there soon, it would be appreciated," Gin grumbled.
"All of life is a cumulation of events. Some you know are important as they happen, some you would never expect. But they all must be treated with the same devotion as they happen." The Namikaze clan leader spoke like a sage more often than not. Normally, Tobirama appreciated it, but not at the moment. "Let us just hope that Hashirama and Madara are successful. If they can bring the Hagoromo and Kaguya into the alliance, it's likely the other clans will reconsider. The Daimyo's hold will weaken; he may be open to negotiation."
"So it all rests on Hashirama and Madara. Again." Izuna's voice was flat, but there was rage in his eyes. "Funny how they are always the ones carrying that weight."
"It is always them, because they chose to carry it," Mito said gently. "And because they are capable and see it as their responsibility. Do not take away the honor of their choice in your anger."
Izuna pouted, but subsided.
Hijikata frowned. "We still need to have contingency plans in place. Just in case they fail."
***
The Kaguya compound was…dramatic, to say the least. Walls made of bone rose from the ground like spears, stained a snow white from the years of sun. They rose higher than most, thinning to sharp points at the top. There were stories of enemies of the clan being impaled and left to the carrion birds until there was nothing but bone left.
Hashirama had never really believed them before, but as he stood outside the walls of the compound, he could almost make out faded blood stains on the tips.
Lovely.
He sighed.
The Kaguya were known for their bloodlust and their battlelust and little else. Descended directly from Kaguya herself, they were a living reminder of the madness that had existed inside the Ōtsutsuki. But the Senju were descended from Asura and the Uchiha from Indra, and both clans carried the traits of their ancestors, too.
Both the good and the bad.
And he knew that the Uchiha took special pride in the occasions that their Shunko defeated the Kaguya's All-Killing Ash Bones. The two taijutsu techniques were diametrically opposed, with the Kaguya's based internally in their bone and the Uchiha's being focused externally in their chakra.
Hashirama's mokuton was the only thing among the Senju that could match the Uchiha's Shunko and Susanoo, and the Kaguya held the only other technique. Hashirama had fought members of the Kaguya in the past, but never one possessed the All-Killing Ask Bones technique.
It would be interesting to see how it held up against the mokuton, but it was unlikely the Kagua had left behind anyone who had it.
It worried him, the idea that Tobirama, Mito, Izuna, and the others were left to face that, but they were far from weak.
They would be alright.
There was a very good chance that Hashirama was the one who wouldn't make it back. If they'd underestimated how many were left behind or how many had turned around to return when they'd sensed Hashirama's chakra headed towards their compound.
He had strong chakra control; he couldn't hide it completely, but he could hide the majority of it.
He stopped, let it flow out of him like a tidal wave, and waited. The Kaguya hadn't noticed him before now, suggesting they hadn't left anyone who was a trained shinobi. The Kaguya didn't tend to live to old age because of their bloodlust, which meant most of the people in the compound were too young to train or women, because the clan's archaic values didn't allow women to be shinobi.
As his chakra shook itself free of its confines and expanded, the mokuton stirred, and he called it forward and into the ground, pushing it towards the bone walls of the compound.
The mokuton answered with its own version of bloodlust, the unrelenting drive to grow and spread. To take over everything.
It took hold of the bones making up the compound wall and pulled as it grew, dragging them down as the vines burrowed into the bone, shattering it from the inside out as it pulled down each one.
The wall collapsed piece by piece, leaving behind a field of shattered white bone shards, and revealed the scattered shacks made of bones that made up the homes of the Kaguya and the terrified members of the clan.
They'd run out of their homes when the wall started to fall, and they were gathered in the center of the buildings that remained, women of all ages clutching one another and children. A few boys, no more than ten, shaking as they held up weapons as if that might actually be enough to stop
Hashirama, if he were actually there to kill them.
It was pathetic, but it tugged at Hashirama's heartstrings nonetheless.
"Hello," he said as pleasantly as possible.
They were shaking in terror, eyes wide, faces as white as the bones they made everything out of. None of them responded.
"Ah, I come in peace?" He tried, but if anything, they looked even more scared. He took a step closer, and they collectively stumbled back.
Hashirama sighed. He appreciated that they were too scared to attack him, but being so scared, they couldn't hear or understand a word was worse. "I'm not here to hurt you."
"St-stay b-back!" One brave little boy managed to stutter. The blade in his hand shook so much he'd have had a hard time hitting a giant tree stump, let alone a shinobi. "O-our sssshinob-bi are are on the-eir wayyy."
Hashirama wasn't a sensor, but he knew a lie when he heard one. It was the downfall of the Kaguya. Once the chance of battle was assured, not even their own survival would make them turn back. It had been that very nature that had seen their annihilation in that first lifetime and in every one since. These were the only members of the clan that would survive today, which was sad, but less troublesome in the long run.
He gave the boy a gentle smile, and his mother snatched him back, looking far more angry than afraid. "Stay back, Senju. Is this what the great Senju have become? Attacking women and children? Where is your so-called honor?"
Hashirama raised an eyebrow, "I'm not sure a Kaguya can talk to a Senju of honor."
"We tell no lies about who we are." Another woman hissed. "We don't claim to be noble or above the bloodshed we all make money on."
Hashirama considered and decided they had a point. The Kaguya certainly didn't claim to be anything but battle-hungry warriors. They didn't even try; it was why they'd never gained much influence or wealth as a clan. They made people, including other shinobi, uncomfortable. "Maybe if you did, your clan would survive."
Children wailed, some of the adults started to cry.
Perhaps he should have considered how that would have sounded before he said it. "I'm not here to kill you, but you must know your own blood well enough to know that none of them will return from this battle alive."
"You think so highly of your clan?" The first woman spat at him. "There's barely any Senju or Uchiha left."
"Ah, that would be a great over-estimation." No doubt fueled by the daimyo. That old man was becoming more and more troublesome.
She faltered, shared a worried glance with a few of the other adults.
"We have lost a painful number," Hashirama explained. "But we are nowhere near defeated, and we have added the Inuzuka, Aburame, Hatake, and Namikaze to our cause. What is your name?"
She paled, and whatever doubts Hashirama had about what they knew faded. "Chie. They call me Chie. My husband is the clan leader."
"Then you are leader in his absence." Hashirama decided. "You can choose to join us instead of starving to death in the coming years."
Chie seemed to be frozen in shock.
"You know other clans will come after you for revenge once you are alone. They will not care that you are not fighters. That you had nothing to do with anything that happened outside these walls. I will swear to you on my honor that no Senju, Uchiha, Inuzuka, Aburame, Hatake, or Namikaze will call in old debts, but that still leaves many clans, and they will whittle you away until there is truly nothing left of the Kaguya."
"Is that why you're here?" She snapped. "To tell us what we already know? To rub it in? Is this some Senju torture method?"
"No, no. Of course not." Hashirama frowned. "I want you to survive. To join us."
Chie and her clan stared at him. She had her clan's markings on her forehead, but they were smaller than the men typically wore, and her black hair was pulled up into two buns on the top of her head. If she didn't carry the stress and backbreaking work of a hard life so obviously, she would have been a beautiful woman. "You want us to join you? To become Senju? Or Uchiha?"
"No. I want you to become whoever you wish. You do not have to join one of our clans. You can even stay Kaguya if you wish, though you should probably work on controlling that battle lust if you wish to survive long term. We are building a village, made of many clans, where we will set aside old hatreds and grudges and friendships and alliances and become one."
"Become one?" Chie repeated, confused.
***
"There will be no clans in this village where our children will play together. Will grow up safe and protected. No longer dying on battlefields before they've even started to become adults."
The terrified Hagoromo stared at him as the walls of their compound smoked.
Madara had perhaps been a bit too enthusiastic when he'd announced his presence, but it had stopped them from attacking him foolheartedly.
"That is the way of shinobi life, Uchiha. You know that. Why change it?" The only one who had the courage to speak to him was a young woman only a few years older than Madara himself. She had a babe strapped to her back and a small boy clinging to her leg, but she stood firm.
"Because it is no longer working." Madara pointed out. "Our children die on battlefields before they ever have children of their own. How old were you when you married and had a child?" She flinched. "Probably younger than you should have been, yes? That has been happening everywhere because we are dying at too high a rate to maintain our population. All the clans will die out in the next hundred years if this continues. Why shouldn't we try to stop it? Try to stop Kaguya from wiping us all out of existence?"
"The Kaguya clan?"
"No, the Mother of All of us." He pointed to the sky, where the moon hung invisible in the daylight. "Ōtsutsuki Kaguya."
"From the old stories?"
Madara nodded. "Gods do not just die. Your clan knows this. She has come back before, and she is back now."
Her eyes widened, the rest of her clan behind her murmuring in fear and surprise. "That's who attacked you?"
"One of her agents," Madara admitted. "Attempting to carry out her will. And he will not stop. He may be focused on us now, but once we are gone, he will turn his attention to any other clan that remains. You are too practical not to realize that."
The pale-skinned, pale-eyed Hagoromo clan members glanced at one another, as unsure of trusting Madara as they were sure he was telling the truth.
The Hagoromo themselves had used the same tactics against other clans after all. It was part of the reason their alliance with the Uchiha had fallen apart.
"What is your name?" Madara demanded of the one who'd been brave enough to try and order him out after he'd burned their walls to ash.
She straightened, pride overcoming her fear. "Miturashi Kanna. I'm second wife to the leader of this clan."
Right, Madara had forgotten that the Hagoromo practiced multiple marriages. At least inside their walls. Outside, no one, including the Daimyo, was willing to acknowledge any wife but the first wife. Generations before the Hagoromo had lost out on their chance to become a noble clan when the clan leader had taken a second wife despite the first wife's opposition. Normally, no one would have cared, but the first wife in that situation happened to be a favored cousin of the Daimyo, and she had made sure her husband's clan had lost their chance when her husband refused to divorce his second wife. She'd never given him children related to the Daimyo either, and the clan had been relegated to minor status and disfavor ever since.
Madara couldn't imagine that it had been a pleasant house to live in. What husband was so stupid as to disrespect his wife that way?
But he couldn't just ignore another clan's culture because he didn't like it either. "Where is the first wife?"
"Dead," Kanna said bluntly. There wasn't much love lost between the two of them.
Madara raised an eyebrow, "Impressive."
"From illness." She snapped, flushing in embarassment as the insinuation. "She has been ill for years."
Madara shrugged; he didn't particularly care, but it did make things easier for him. "Then you can surrender on behalf of your clan."
"What?" Kanna wasn't the only one taken aback.
"Why the hell would we do that?" One of the shinobi left behind to guard the compound demanded.
"Well, are you going to fight me?" Madara asked honestly, because they hadn't done anything but cower so far.
No one spoke up. Madara was confident he would win even if they all attacked him at once, but he would never discount the chance that luck would be on their side, and there was always a small chance they could win. "Or you could join us." He offered.
Kanna's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "In this village you're going to build?"
Madara nodded.
"Filled with our enemies."
Madara sighed, annoyed. He hated having to explain things over and over, and it was taking all of his control not to start yelling because it wasn't getting through their thick skulls. "We are making the offer to every clan, regardless of history. All shinobi deserve the chance for peace and safety, but it is understood that all those who join will set aside past hatreds. The village will be full of friends, not enemies."
Kanna clearly wasn't buying it, and neither was anyone else.
"Hashirama is making the same offer to the Kaguya."
Kanna's eyebrows rose. "Really?"
Madara nodded. "We have already made the offer to the Nara, Yamanaka, Akimichi, Hyguga and several other smaller clans that have refused."
"So you're village will be destroyed before its ever built. We would be signing up to be slaughtered."
"How weak do you think I am?" Madara demanded. "How weak do you think Hashirama is? Have you forgotten who we are and what we have already done?"
Kanna bit her lip. He was starting to get through to her; he could see the hesitation.
"Have you forgotten the ghost stories you tell your children about us?" The Mangekon spun to life, and Madara's chakra pulsed, settling over the area like a blanket of fire. "We will destroy Zetsu, and we will defeat Kaguya. We will build our village, and we will bring peace to the shinobi clans of the Land of Fire. You can survive with us or die without us."
Kanna snorted, "Well, obviously we want to survive."
"Then do it with us!" Madara screamed, frustration finally getting the better of him. He was a heartbeat away from stomping his foot like a child. He took a breath and extended his hand. "A new dawn, a new day, where your children will grow up without the constant threat of war. Where you will have allies and friends around you at all times. Where there will be peace and rest for us all."
***
"Where there will be peace and rest for us all." Hashirama extended his hand.
Chie hesitated, glanced back at her clan.
***
"Where there will be peace and rest for us all," Mito promised, flanked by Tobirama and Izuna. Namikaze Mina, Aburame Shina, Inuzuka Mayu, Tsume, and Hatake Gintoki and Hijikata, a neat line behind them.
Lord Akimichi shook his head. "It has been decided. You will surrender, or you will die for your treason."
"There is no treason in peace," Mito said softly. "But if that is your choice," she drew her fan. "You will find your peace in death this day long before the rest of us."
***"
"Home wasn't a set house, or a single town on a map. It was wherever the people who loved you were, whenever you were together. Not a place, but a moment, and then another, building on each other like bricks to create a solid shelter that you take with you for your entire life, wherever you may go."
Sarah Dessen
***
~ tbc