askew, a naruto fanfic

naruto (c) masashi kishimoto. no profit gained from writing this fic

arda legendarium (c) j.r.r. tolkien

a tolkienesque fantasy au. all lowercase. a prequel for "so soon?" but without the genderbend. for naruto secret santa 2018 on tumblr.

there were three mortals in the throne room—the first time they stepped inside since the elven kingdom's founding long ago. its king rose after listening to their plea.

"humans have long endured their incessant attacks." hashirama's voice boomed in the wooden hall. "it's time for us to help. we will wage war against the enemy."

the council was stunned, but nobody said anything—except one.

"brother, don't tell me you want us to discard our eternal life for some mortals."

shocked faces turned towards him, and tobirama could feel the disappointment in his brother's eyes. someone spat, shifting his attention.

"how easy for you to say that, elf," said a mortal, no older than thirty sun-years, the youngest in his group. "you sit here doing nothing for decades while we endure constant orc raids, losing our family to their cruelty—"

the eldest mortal grabbed his arm, stopping his words. he offered an apologetic look to the elven nobles, but tobirama's mood was already soured.

"we did," he hissed, "we lost families to the enemy. humans had a role in their deaths, did you know that?"

"tobirama!"

despite his blatant refusal, hashirama went along with his plan. tobirama cooperated, yet his opinion unchanged. somehow his outburst stayed secret from other humans.

"i'm fine with letting them stay here," tobirama said, as he examined the list of new houses for humans, "but emptying our forest to our doom—that's something else."

"are you afraid?"

"after losing kawarama and itama?" tobirama sarcastically laughed. "no way."

hashirama massaged his temple, shaking his head before telling a servant to call their troop leaders and start their first strategy meeting.

iii

"i want to know what did you mean on the other day."

tobirama looked up from the map spread between them, eyebrows furrowing over the notes from multiple meetings between the elves and humans. "about attacking from two fronts?"

izuna shook his head. "the day i entered the palace. that you don't want to endanger elvenkind."

the elven council had finished another meeting with human representatives. before it's too late, hashirama ended it, and accompanied the guests out. izuna, somehow, lagged behind.

"what of it?" His tone was casual, but his body prepared for an attack.

"you don't care about humankind."

tobirama reached the map's edges, and began rolling it. "i'm just here to do as my brother king asks."

"it's not our fault, you know," izuna half-shouted as the elf was leaving the room with the map. "your brothers' deaths—we weren't even born that time!"

tobirama paused, looking back to coldly ask, "what's the point of this?"

"you need to trust us," izuna said, calmer despite his obvious anger. "we won't leave you in the battle!"

"humans are weak. the enemy has used human spies in the past. your warriors will fall first, then the enemy will kill us all—"

izuna remained, glaring at him. in a split second, an understanding dawned to the elven prince. humans were weak, with a lifespan oh so short that for him it's like another cycle of sunrise and sunset. logically they would do anything to prolong that life, not throwing their entire family head first into a battle with evil incarnate.

"you think," he hissed, "after i witnessed what they've done to my brothers—i'd gladly serve them? my brother has sworn to avenge them—do you think i'd hand him to the enemy?" when the prince didn't respond, izuna continued, "this is what the enemy wants. a distrust among us. you will take any slightest error we made as a sign of betrayal, and you'll convince your king to withdraw, and—"

echoes of laughter cut his words short. footsteps entered the library, followed by two familiar faces.

"you two still here?" madara asked, "izuna—come, we need to fit your armor."

as the men left the elven nobles, tobirama exchanged glances with his brother.

"don't," he said before hashirama could say anything.

"they're the best."

"they can die because of mere cold."

"we can die by grief. they don't. we have our own weaknesses." hashirama shot him a disapproving look as he chugged water. his sparring clothes were drenched in sweat. he took it upon himself to teach them swordfighting, after dumping his paperworks to tobirama.

"madara had three younger brothers," the king said in a barely audible voice, his eyes downcast. "a raid took their lives. did you know that we could've prevented it?"

we?

"what do you mean—"

"my lord!"

a shout stole their attention. izuna ran downhill towards them, a sword in hand. his forehead glistened with sweat.

"i see you finally left your crampy office!" he laughed at the younger elf. "may i have a moment?"

"for what?"

"spar with me." then, after seeing his intended opponent not inclined to reply, izuna asked in a mocking tone, "what, you do know how to use a sword, don't you?"

"just go." hashirama nudged at his brother, holding back his laughter.

tobirama took his brother's sword, went to the field, and five minutes later he found himself lay on the grass with a blade pointing to his neck.

"dead," izuna said with a triumphant smile.

hashirama clapped. tobirama groaned.

"or would be." he offered his hand. "i won't let that happen, of course."

"i'll beat you next," tobirama declared as he accepted the hand.

under the sunlight, izuna's smile looked strangely sweet.

"so." izuna gazed into his mug. "it's tomorrow."

tobirama examined his newly-polished sword, deciding that it's sharp enough to slice even the thickest orc neck. "it is."

a season had passed, spent to train and spar and scout and carefully trying not to attract the enemy's spies. during that short time—even shorter than a blink of his eyes—tobirama knew further about the humans. specifically, izuna and his family.

except for one thing, which the prince didn't dare to ask.

"funny," he heard izuna commented, "none of us ever seen the elves getting ready for war yet you all... looked more prepared than us."

"most of us went to war centuries ago. we also still patrol the wilderness." tobirama sheathed his sword. "i wonder about it, by the way, you have a lifespan so short, yet you're eager to go."

"we don't. we just don't have any other choice."

the elven prince stared at him a little longer. "what will happen after you die?"

izuna sipped his ale. "nothing." he shrugged. "i don't know. elves can be reborn, i heard?"

"reincarnated. elsewhere."

"must be nice."

"not really—not when one's family is still suffering here, across the limitless ocean."

"still nice." izuna's smile was bitter. "you can reunite with your..." he shrugged again.

brothers was left unsaid.

the question tugged at tobirama's heart.

they marched together for half a day. after a hasty breakfast, they separated. the human host would take care of the western pass, while the eastern one would be guarded by elves. tobirama found his sparring partner already saddling his horse before dawn.

"hey."

"my lord—"

"drop it." tobirama winced. "you leave early?"

izuna nodded in silence. he scratched his head, observing his shoes.

"you trust them all?" tobirama asked, gazing at other humans around them. his voice was lowered.

"of course—they're my family."

silence. izuna averted his gaze, uncomfortable. tobirama took it as a cue to go.

"alright... i'll meet you in the battlefield, then." he was already walking away when izuna called.

"tobirama, let's drink once we win this war!"

his heart missed a beat, and tobirama smiled to himself.

vii

"humans can't be reincarnated... right?"

"not until the world is unmade," hashirama answered, "why did you ask?"

tobirama led his horse closer to his brother's. "nothing."

"tell me what's in your mind. we have little time."

their army has lined the eastern pass, shoulder to shoulder. their armor and helmets gleamed in the starlight. the eastern skies had turned purple. it's almost time.

"izuna's younger brothers—what happened to them?"

at this question, sadness befell hashirama's features. "our patrolling group once encountered some humans, who asked them to defend their village. for whole three days these humans followed them. our policy was not to interfere things outside our own border..." he trailed off.

"...and?"

"our patrolling group finally agreed, so they went to the village. but when they arrived, it had been destroyed. everyone... all of them, massacred and left in the open."

he was reminded to izuna's outburst in the throne room.

"it was more than ten sun-years ago. for a long time he blamed us, too. had the idea of making an alliance with us didn't come from madara, he wouldn't even set foot in our forest. he tried to make this work." hashirama patted his brother.

a horn blew. the brothers drew their swords.

viii

the elven host met little resistance from the enemy and their orc troops. their morale raised, their horses drove even further to the barren plain, until the raised mountains where the enemy's throne lay inside. their elven eyes had spotted the human host closing to their place. the orcs retreated. they've met.

confusion rose amidst relieved faces. the great enemy they were so afraid of, easily defeated before it's time for morning tea?

"don't lower your guard!" tobirama barked, his sword wet with dark orc blood. "the enemy hasn't shown up yet—!"

then the entrance to the enemy's mountain exploded, revealing fiery creatures the elves hadn't seen for half a millennium and gigantic beasts they never seen or heard.

for cemturies they had been lay dormant, the enemy had raised new monsters to crush them.

it raised a leg larger than the giant tree in the elven kingdom, crushing the closest warriors into red mud. neither sword nor spear could pierce its scales. its roar trembled the hills far behind them. orcs and fiery creatures with wings made of flame circled them, forcing the humans and elves to get closer to the beasts.

screams. chaos. screams.

"retreat!" hashirama's voice and magic boomed above their heads. a path was opened, but other orcs and fiery creatures targeted the retreating warriors outside of the magic.

"you need to go with them!" tobirama pushed his brother to the back, "i'll handle this!"

"tobirama—no! i won't leave—"

amidst fire and dust, a horse galloped past the chaos. tobirama recognized its rider. "madara! take my brother!"

the second time hashirama's magic exploded, it opened a bigger path allowing many of the warriors to retreat. the enemy's tobirama handled the rear, ready to follow his brother, but the scaly beast leaped—

then his own powers exploded.

it brought down lots of orcs and several fiery creatures, but not enough to take down the beast. its jaw opened, ready to swallow tobirama. he couldn't move, couldn't budge, the last of his energy was spent.

only a handful warriors remained. the traces of the elven king's magic was nowhere to be found.

hashirama had saved most of them.

but tobirama knew he wouldn't come home.

strange, he mused, as the beast's jaw heading towards him, all he thought was face of a mortal who asked him for a drink after this war—

the same face of a warrior who drove his sword into the beast's tongue.

"snap out of it, tobirama!" izuna screamed, taking a discarded sword and continuing to fight. his helmet gone, his armor drenched in black blood.

why is he here? didn't madara leave?

"we need to buy time for our brothers!"

izuna was a mortal, it's not his place, he should be—

his body moved without thinking. their backs met, swords slashing skin and muscles. the elf was ready to protect the mortal, but turns out izuna was capable of protecting himself.

one by one their warriors fell around them, until they were the only ones left standing.

the circle of orcs and beasts was getting smaller. tobirama's sword was lowered. "izuna?"

"yes—?"

"let's drink once the world is unmade."

a breathless laugh left the mortal's lips. "fine by me."

the wounded beast raged. the sky darkened.

there were things he had no chance to say.

the waiting halls for elves were vast, dwelt by souls waiting to be resurrected and reunited with their loved ones.

only one of them made home in the halls, patiently waiting until the unmaking of the world.