Credits to Kishimoto Masashi for the characters.
Chapter 1: A Foreboding Disturbance
Kagami was on his way to meet his teammates at the training ground when he spotted his clan leader striding through the village gates. Obviously back from his mission, the man looked rather travel worn with his long, wild black hair more disheveled than usual and infamous gunbai looking more bloodied than it normally was – not including the bloodstains his dark clothes must be hiding.
Madara paused just inside the gates after a brief acknowledgement of the guards' greetings, head swiveling left and right in a manner not unlike a predator scenting its prey. Smiling mischievously, Kagami headed over to his clan leader. Danzo and Torifu could wait.
"Sensei is on a mission," Kagami helpfully informed the elder Uchiha.
Madara snapped his coal-black eyes to Kagami's identical ones. The man had the most intense gaze Kagami had ever encountered. Luckily he had grown up around the clan leader to know well enough that Madara wasn't quite as scary as he looked most of the time – something that not even the other clans expected, seeing that the Uchiha children all adored their leader and aspired to be like him.
There was a short but drawn-out pause as if Madara were considering denying seeking out a specific chakra signature as soon as he arrived home. Kagami retained a neutral smile, but he was thoroughly amused by this.
"...Where?" Madara finally said, apparently deciding to cut to the chase.
This time Kagami grinned in full entertainment. "Sensei specifically instructed us to not inform you of his whereabouts. He said he'll be gone for about two weeks and that you absolutely cannot storm off after him right after you got back from your mission."
Said in nearly the exact same words Tobirama-sensei had said just before leaving on his mission. The scowl that stole over Madara's face would have been terrifying to anyone who didn't know the Uchiha leader. Kagami resisted laughing else he'd be turned into charred barbecue.
"He," Madara said, glowering at Kagami with a look that would have cowed anyone else, "is not the leader of my clan. Now tell me where he is."
"Meeting an informant on Lightning borders towards Kumo," Kagami responded obediently while silently apologizing to his Sensei. Well, it wasn't like he couldn't not disobey a direct order from his clan leader. And besides, he was certain Sensei wouldn't be that upset with him (he could always drag Hiruzen into the mess considering he still had to pay the mischievous Sarutobi back for the last prank involving rampaging monkeys, Danzo with glittery pink hair, screaming women running naked out of the bathhouse with a murderous Koharu, and a drenched and very displeased Sensei). Plus, while he knew Sensei was strong and reliable, he was concerned since the rumors along Fire Country's and Lightning Country's borders had been quite worrisome of late.
"When did he leave?" Madara demanded.
"About two days ago," Kagami said, tapping a finger on his chin as if in thought. "On a solo mission. He may or may not have mentioned the exact details to the Shodaime..."
Madara's eyes sharpened like a kunai at Kagami's throat. "And where is our esteemed Hokage?"
"Ah, I believe the Shodaime is in his office preparing to leave for a meeting with the Land of Fire's representatives," Kagami shrugged, trying not to laugh at the mocking tone Madara had used to refer to the man touted as the God of Shinobi. An intimidating title it was, but once one met Senju Hashirama...well, it was quite the experience in itself.
Madara's scowl deepened before the man abruptly vanished in a swirl of leaves. Kagami chuckled. He so enjoyed watching his clan leader's and Sensei's awkwardly adorable romance. If only the two weren't so stubborn – Sensei especially. Ah well, things were so much more interesting this way.
Whistling a cheery tune, Kagami continued on his way to the training grounds.
-~~o0O0o~~-
"Hashirama!" Madara bellowed threateningly as soon as he appeared in the Hokage's office in a swirl of slightly charred leaves from his burning chakra.
Said childhood friend looked up from his stacks of paperwork and scrolls in surprise before he smiled obliviously. As usual, it was cluttered in here without Tobirama's interference. Scrolls and papers were piled both on the desk and floor, even jammed into the bursting cabinets and shelves filled with books. A clay cup of cold tea and half eaten dango sat by the papers Hashirama was currently doodling on. What looked suspiciously like dango sauce was smeared onto the paper in the shape of a crooked smiley face.
"Madara! Welcome back. I trust the mission went well?" Hashirama greeted, looking quite happy for the distraction. It was well-known that Hashirama was a competent and loved Hokage, but he also had a habit of sneaking off to "mingle with the villagers" much to Tobirama's annoyance since it was usually Tobirama who had to drag him back to his work.
"Do you have any idea where you allowed you brother to go?!" Madara snapped, dismissing the query entirely.
Hashirama's expressive features – unbecoming for a shinobi as Tobirama often told him – displayed his confusion. "Tobirama? He said he was meeting an informant and would be gone for a couple weeks…"
"He went to Lightning Country! Alone!" Madara roared, ready to throttle the man, friend or not.
Hashirama's eyes went wide. "Lightning?"
"Yes, you half-wit!" Madara snapped, chakra flaring dangerously with his ire since it was clear that Hashirama hadn't known exactly where Tobirama had gone while Kagami had.
"Calm down, Madara," Hashirama said a tad nervously at the dark, slightly murderous glower on him, raising his hands in an attempt at a calming gesture. "I'm certain he's fine…Tobirama is one of the most capable shinobi in the Land of Fire after all."
Madara couldn't argue with that, but he was still irked with Hashirama's obliviousness. Then again, Tobirama was a sly one and had likely provided just enough details of his secret mission to prevent his brother from questioning him further. Madara had witnessed the Senju brother's interactions enough to know that there was a lot of things that Tobirama kept from Hashirama – which wasn't really a surprise considering Tobirama was already a rather reclusive person.
And Tobirama's students were all much too nosy in their Sensei's personal life, in Madara's opinion, following him around adoringly despite already having become chūnin this past month. It wasn't really much of a surprise that Kagami knew, considering his young clan member idolized Tobirama with a passion that had even Madara on his toes...Tobirama was fond of the boy, and Madara certainly didn't need another rival, and not to mention his own kin! The Sarutobi and Shimura boys had duked out during their genin years to vie for their sensei's attention – which had somewhat succeeded since Tobirama had had his hands full smacking them over the heads, leaving Madara left scrambling for whatever scraps of attention Tobirama had for him...thankfully those days would be over since the chūnin were now considered adults and no longer under Tobirama's wing...
Growling in irritation at the Senju brothers, Madara fixed a glare on the older Senju sibling before him once more.
"Give me his mission scroll," he barked out. Whether Hashirama knew where his brother was or not didn't matter, since the coordinates would have been sealed into the mission scroll archives...and even if Hashirama approved of missions, he wasn't always the one looking at the exact details (it was normally Tobirama) and Tobirama knew exactly how to get what he wanted without the Hokage's interference or permission.
"But you just got back from a mission," Hashirama pointed out, looking at Madara's ragged stated of dress and blood stained gunbai. Not to mention the man was nearly out of chakra.
Madara merely looked at him with an expression that clearly stated, So what? Hashirama grumbled to himself. Tobirama and Madara could be so difficult sometimes. Madara hated to be separated from him for long bouts of time considering the mission he'd just been on was supposed to be three weeks and he'd just finished it within a week. And well, Tobirama was the opposite. His little brother was getting aggravated with the Uchiha leader hovering over him everywhere he went (evident in the past month whenever Madara barged in his office looking for Tobirama and Tobirama vanishing with hiraishin as soon as he caught a whiff of Madara's chakra).
"How about we send Izuna instead?" Hashirama attempted to negotiate. Madara would trust his own little brother more than another random shinobi.
"No," Madara said instantly. "Izuna just got back from his mission."
That had been over a week ago, which was more than enough time to recuperate after a mission, but Hashirama wasn't going to argue about Madara babying his little brother. Izuna would not be happy about it again after Madara had very nearly locked him into a tower with cushions all around when he'd received an injury that had put him to bed rest for several days after a mission had gone awry. Tobirama had disappeared somewhere leaving Hashirama to deal with a furious Izuna and upset Madara. His little brother could be so mean...
"Tobirama will be reporting back in two days – that's when he should reach Lightning Country, if that's where he was heading. If there's anything wrong, you can go to him right away, but please rest for now, Madara," Hashirama said, giving Madara his best puppy look. Madara would be entirely chakra exhausted if he went after Tobirama now. As much as Hashirama himself worried after Tobirama every time he went off on a mission, as the Hokage of Konoha, he knew all he could do was trust in his little brother and every other shinobi who left the village.
Madara scowled at him, but eventually he caved when Hashirama put all his might into the pleading look.
"Fine," Madara grumbled, crossing his arms in a fashion he'd picked up from Tobirama. "I'll wait for two days but no more than that...even if he's fine I'm still going after him."
Hashirama knew that was all he would get and nodded in some relief. Perhaps Tobirama could see the future (Hashirama honestly wouldn't be very surprised if this was the case considering the incredible array of jutsus Tobirama had created since he'd been a mere eight-years-old, and not to mention the uncanny knack Tobirama had for knowing things he shouldn't) because when he'd left for his mission, he had told Hashirama very specifically to order Madara not to come after him under any circumstances, or to just delay him at the very least. It was as if Tobirama had known that Madara would come back from his mission in a week rather than three...And also Tobirama was going to get an ear full for not telling him all the details of the mission. The rumors surrounding Kumo were troubling, and it was currently a very dangerous zone with the news of powerful rogue shinobi gathering around its borders.
Madara sent him one last glower, throwing his mission report at Hashirama before sweeping out of the room. Hashirama caught the scroll before it smacked him in the face and sighed, though he did find it endearing how his prickly friend clung to Tobirama. And even if Tobirama didn't outwardly show his affections for Madara, Hashirama knew (from previous experience) that Tobirama would have drowned Madara by now if he disliked Madara's overbearing ways of showing affection. Tobirama could be cute that way…though not many others seemed to realize just how adorable his little brother could be.
Hashirama grinned goofily to himself until he notice the stacks of papers and scrolls again. He needed to get all of these done before leaving the village. With a groan, he thumped his head onto the desk. These would take forever to do without Tobirama's help…maybe he should take a break? Yeah, that definitely sounded like a good idea!
Grinning, Hashirama leapt up. It was nearly lunchtime anyway, and Mito would be on her break from helping at the hospital around this time. In addition, Izuna was not on missions at the moment, so he should have time to join them. Plus, Madara was probably hungry after such a tough mission!
-~~o0O0o~~-
"Would you stop pacing, brother? You'll be pacing in the earth's core at the rate you're going," Izuna complained, putting down the scroll he was – or had been trying to at least – read.
Madara paused in his pacing, throwing a scowl in Izuna's direction. Without saying anything, Madara went to the window and gazed out into the dark Uchiha compound courtyard highlighted by the moonlight. Izuna could tell Madara wasn't looking at anything in particular, however. His brother seemed to be deep in thought, as he had been for the past two days since he'd returned from his mission.
"If this is about Tobirama, I'm sure he's fine. You, of all people, should know that he can take care of himself," Izuna said. Sure, he and Tobirama had been rivals in the past and had nearly killed each other multiple times, but he rather liked the Senju once they had gotten to know each other after the village's founding. They both shared their exasperation for their older brothers after all. Plus, Tobirama's invented jutsus were cool – not that he'd ever say that out loud.
Madara looked back at him with a frown. "He was supposed to report back today."
"He probably reached the border just today," Izuna reminded him, looking pointedly at the dark skies.
"He's never late with reporting," Madara insisted, turning around fully and crossing his arms, aggravation in the tick of his eyebrow. "Something happened. I can feel it."
Madara had an uncanny ability to sense bad things happening to those he cared deeply about. Considering there were probably only three people in the world Madara truly cared for from the bottom of his heart – Izuna himself, Hashirama, and Tobirama (on good days it also included Tōka and Mito and maybe Hikaku on Fridays when Hikaku treated him to a night of saké, and it occasionally included Kagami when the boy wasn't causing a ruckus in the village with his friends) – Izuna immediately perked up, setting aside the scroll, his features becoming serious.
"I'll go with you," he said without hesitation.
Madara shook his head. "No, you stay here. Hashirama is leaving tomorrow morning to meet with the Land of Fire's representatives. With the three of us gone, you will need to stay to protect the village."
Izuna wanted to protest, but he knew what Madara said was true. Hashirama, Madara, Tobirama, and himself were the core of Konoha. They were the most influential and feared village because of their reputations and power built during the warring era, and their abilities to unite multiple powerful clans together. If word got out that all four of them were out of the village…well, that wouldn't be good.
Without another word, Madara left the room with Izuna following close behind. The village was oddly quiet during these late hours, the streets empty of life aside from a few civilians and shinobi returning home from the taverns. They went straight to the Hokage's residence only to find none other than the Hokage's wife, Uzumaki Mito, at the entrance, seeming to have known they would be coming. She stood straight and primly, hands folded in front of her with not a wrinkle in her pristine white robes.
"Mito," Madara said.
"I knew you would come," Mito said, smiling her gentle, pretty smile that would deceive anyone who didn't know she could break a person in half with one punch. "I could sense your disturbed emotions."
Mito was known for her ability to sense hostility and emotions in turmoil. Considering Madara's aggravated pacing since late evening that had woken Izuna after he'd turned in early (Madara's pacing hadn't been loud – it had been as silent as any competent shinobi – but it had been the agitation he felt from his brother that had roused him) he wasn't quite that surprised to see her.
"Hashirama is resting after finishing all of his paperwork…" she said, smiling fondly at the thought of her husband. "I have Tobirama's coordinates, if you wish to know."
"Give it to me," Madara said without preamble.
She handed over the scroll, her smile shifted into a more somber expression. "Please bring him back safe, Madara."
Madara nodded curtly once and turned back towards the Uchiha compound. Izuna followed after a quick word of thanks to Mito.
At the compound, Madara grabbed his pack already assembled for when there were sudden missions. He strapped his newly cleaned gunbai to his back and tugged his black gloves on more snugly. Izuna watched silently from the doorway. It took five days to reach Kumo from Konoha – four to reach the border between Fire Country and Lightning Country. There was no telling what could happen in that time frame.
Tobirama was strong, he knew, strong but–
Even the strongest had weaknesses. Izuna knew it all too well.
Tobirama, you idiot, Izuna thought fiercely, If you die, I'll make sure to revive you myself so I can kill you again for hurting my brother!
Madara finished securing the tanto at the small of his back, pushing his long hair from his face to tighten the knot of the Konoha head protector. The metal gleamed in the candlelight, the swirling leaf symbol – a symbol that signified the warring clans who were now united together – framed proudly on his brother's forehead.
"Stay safe, brother," Izuna said solemnly. And bring back Tobirama.
Madara reached out and put a firm hand on Izuna's shoulder, dark eyes flickering into the Sharingan with a grim expression. "I will."
With that, Madara was gone, and Izuna was left gazing out the window alone as the clouds filtered over the moon, turning everything pitch black.
