"Footwork, Izuna." Madara said firmly. His face blank as he watched his younger brother train, yet his eyes betraying the warmth he felt upon being able to spend quality time with the boy. Dark orbs followed Izuna's movements, making sure to pick up on every minuet mistake made in order to fulfil the raven haired boy's request.
Earlier that morning, his younger brother had been following him around aimlessly, pleading with him every couple of minutes to join Madara in his training and work on honing his skills also. The hopeful eyes that had looked up at him with such love and devotion, had dissolved any refusal dancing on his lips; instead Madara had sighed lightly before giving Izuna's hair a small ruffle and granting the younger boy a tender smile, telling him to follow.
Panting slightly and stopping for a small moment to glance back at his brother, Izuna wiped the sweat from his forehead and brushed his raven hair in the process; his dark eyebrows furrowed and created a minor crease between them. "Sorry, brother." He said sincerely, quite disappointed in himself that the brother he so adored and idolized had found fault in his attacks, he needed to be better, stronger. He needed to impress Madara, be his equal. Determination burned in his eyes as he moved his gaze back towards the target before him.
Once again resuming his position he paid extra attention to the placement of his footing; his 13-year old body made speed the strongest aspect of his attacks and so he focused solely on using this to maintain his balance and footwork as he charged at the tree.
Activating his Sharingan to make training his brother easier, he folded his arms across his chest. Madara could not help but soften his features in adoration as he watched his younger brother; he was thoroughly impressed with Izuna and how well he had been developing in combat lately, even if the elder Uchiha did not show it outwardly. The boy was a prodigy in his own right and his skills were far superior to any child his age. Madara knew that there would come a day when Izuna became equal to him in both status and battle skill; pride flared within him upon this thought and his lips quirked up in a small smile.
Madara still blamed himself for his sibling's deaths. All three of them had been under his care, his protection, he was the most skilled among them and his parents had entrusted him with the responsibility of keeping them alive. He had failed. Now only one remained; Izuna and he knew within his very soul that he would never allow the younger to come to any harm. He would never allow anyone to kill his remaining brother. It was an oath he had made upon learning of his siblings slaughter on the battle field and it was not a promise he would take lightly nor break easily.
Upon seeing that Izuna had begun to slow down in exhaustion he made his way gracefully to his brothers side and placed a hand on his shoulder, halting Izuna's movements and making him look up at Madara in confusion, slightly startled at being interrupted.
"Is something wrong, Madara?" Izuna asked expectantly, trying to mask the heavy breaths that escaped his airway.
"Come, Izuna let's take a break. It's counterproductive to train until you collapse and recuperating will help your stamina." Madara said smoothly, giving the younger a slightly warm look and deactivating his Sharingan to reassure him that he was not disappointed or angry at anything Izuna had done; merely worried for his well-being. As Izuna caught his breath, he gave Madara a somewhat sheepish look and apologized profusely, before his expression morphed and he granted his elder brother a loving smile, pleased at the affection Madara constantly showed him.
Taking his hand off his brother's shoulders, Madara walked towards one of the trees just outside of the training area, there were many to choose from within the forest however this tree was the closest and also had the most shade. Gracefully situating himself underneath the oak, making sure he was shielded from the blazing globe in the sky, he rested his back against the tree and closed his eyes whilst crossing his arms across his chest; patiently waiting for Izuna to sit beside him.
The younger watched Madara intently. Izuna admiring his elder brother greatly for the fluid movements he possessed even when performing mediocre tasks and wished he could be as talented as him. Even though Izuna knew he was superior in skill to many Shinobi's his age, he was nowhere close to the level his brother was it.
Sighing lightly to himself, he was pulled out of his musings as he realized Madara was waiting for him to walk over and join him in the shade; grinning to himself he jogged over to where Madara sat and assumed the same position his brother was currently in. His grin softened into a content smile and he relaxed in the comfort of the moment.
He treasured time spent with Madara greatly, due to the elder Uchiha being a prodigy and the most gifted among their clan, he was always called to help in the war against the Senju, rarely ever getting time to return home. Yet, whenever he walked through the door to their house, Izuna would always be there to welcome his brother back and tell him of the latest techniques he had mastered. Madara was only happy to indulge the younger; listening to his ramblings, helping him train and spending as much time as he could with Izuna before he was inevitably called back into battle. Although Madara was strongly opposed to the idea, it was Izuna's dream to join his brother in the war someday, fighting for their honor, their clan, and more importantly fighting beside each other.
"You've improved since the last time we did this, Izuna; I'm impressed." Madara remarked, pride seeping into every word spoken and his eyes opening as he directed his gaze toward his younger brother; acknowledging the fact that he had grown quite a bit too.
Izuna looked at him and his eyes widened after the words left Madara's mouth. A small flush began to appear on his cheeks and a slight grin wormed its way onto his features; elated at the complement he had just received.
"Thank you, I've been training a lot brother, while you were away." Izuna said enthusiastically.
"I wouldn't expect any less." Madara said, smirking slightly at the younger boy's determination to be as strong as him. Raising his hand, he ruffled Izuna's hair playfully and his smirk only increased upon seeing the small pout forming on his younger brother's face.
"Hey!" he whined, swiping at Madara's hand and patting his hair back into place, Izuna gave Madara a small glare and crossed his arms across his chest at blatantly being treated like a child. His pout only increased as the minutes ticked by.
In response, Madara gave a deep chuckle and pulled back his hand, folding them both behind his head and resting them against the tree; still watching Izuna sulk and huff at his treatment from the corner of his eyes. After a moment of comfortable silence the younger spoke again. "Do you think I'll be able to help you fight any time soon, Madara?" he asked, anticipation swelled within his stomach upon thinking of his goal.
As his features took on a more serious appearance, Madara sighed heavily. "Izuna, you know how opposed I am to that goal of yours. Why don't you stay with mother and father, use your skills to help them with work?" he suggested, knowing almost immediately that Izuna would refuse; his brother was as equally as stubborn as he himself was. It was a trait they shared aside from their physical appearance.
"But Madara, you promised! I don't want to stay at home and do nothing! I want to help you fight; you said so yourself I've improved a lot! So why won't you let me!?" Izuna cried, his brows furrowing in frustration at both his brothers reluctance and himself for not understanding why Madara never allowed him to join the war.
Regarding him blankly for a few moments and waiting for the younger to calm down, Madara released a short, tense exhale of breath from his nose before reaching over and pulling Izuna towards him with both hands; trying to ignore the look of irritation on the others face and his refusal to look back at Madara.
"I don't want to lose you too, Izuna. I've already failed to protect half of our family, I couldn't bear watching you die also." Madara said softly, his expression almost sad as he looked upon the younger raven leaning against his chest. As soon as the words left his mouth he felt Izuna begin to relax his posture and ease into the embrace.
"I won't die brother, I promise. You don't need to protect me, in fact I'll protect you. I'll become so strong; you'll see! And then no one will ever be able to harm us." Izuna said determinedly, turning his head to look back at his brother with conviction; he knew he would give his very last breath to ensure Madara survived, even if the elder protested to this particular train of thought.
Chuckling lightly at Izuna's expression and the fire behind his eyes, Madara broke the slightly tense atmosphere and brought his hand up to flick the youngers forehead.
"Very well, Izuna. Once you are ready you can join me in battle and fight by my side; as if I could deny you anything." The elder said with both an affectionate smile and tone of voice. And as he watched his younger brothers eyes look up to him with such idolization and adoration, he knew that he would do all he could to stop Izuna from coming to any harm. None would lay a finger on the younger Uchiha whilst Madara was there to fight them off. None would ever attempt to kill Izuna whilst Madara was there to destroy them with a single flick of his Katana; he would never allow Izuna to die. After all, isn't that what elder brothers are for?
I hope you enjoyed this, and I hope they're both somewhat in character; they're both actually quite difficult to do. I know it seems like Madara's a cold-hearted bastard in the anime but if you read up on his past, he was actually very affectionate towards his brother.
PS: I'll try and write another chapter of 'Just Another Broken Soul' tomorrow I just really wanted to write this fic.
Reviews are always welcome lovlies!
Thank you for reading, much love!