AU, Madara never left Konoha, but he lives day by day thinking of the what if i had done it
Sunny day, lovely temperature, people taking a stroll to catch the early morning sun, kids playing, everything looked like a picture of life, a growing seed that blossomed right in the moment we took a look at it and yet, the man looking through the window seemed everything but at peace. Madara stared at the vase next to the window of the Hokage's office. Like everything in this village, it seems to shine. Everything touched by Hashirama does. He closes his eyes.
Seven years have passed since the hands of the most powerful shinobi of their time united in peace, forming the very foundation of shinobi system, the very first village, the foundation of peace.
Yet Madara wasn't happy. It wasn't for his lack of direct family, his lack of love life, or his apparent chosen solitude, it was because Madara, for five of those seven years, has had a feeling in his gut that told him to leave.
This place would be the end for him, for his kind, for the powerful lineage of the Sage of the Sixth Paths' eldest son. His mind reminded him.
Yet, nothing has happened, the clan continued to live, the kids grew, the plants blossomed (again) and everything turned into a lovely circle of life and love, that very very deep into Madara's mind, harbored the dark thoughts of a person not accustomed to peace, of someone who did everything for peace without understanding what it would entail. A simple, beautiful life that did not fit what he was made to be. Unfortunately for Madara, his teen years were plagued with wars, training, and more war. But he was alive, and Izuna wasn't. He was already lucky for seeing peace and living past thirty.
Madara did not feel lucky.
Madara grew up to be and do war. His own body carved through extended training, endless war, inherited hatred, and most of all, hate for the Senju. Yet here he was. This scared Madara. What if he was growing weak, along with his clan?
We need to leave.
Yet he couldn't say this out loud. What would his clan do if he had just made a clan meeting and asked everybody to pack and get ready to leave to the cold and wet northern Land of Fire?
He would get ignored.
Hated even. Madara knew this.
The clan was all he had left now, who knows what would he do if he left; perhaps comeback and bring chaos or something along those lines, he knew his anger grew like fire.
The Uchiha were fine here, even happy. The people had gotten tired of the bad circumstances the Uchiha clan had to live through the last hundred years of war and although he had certainly made more than any other clan head, he still wasn't able to give his people proper food and quality of living without endless fighting. Something that Hashirama, no, Konohagakure, was able to give them.
Madara loves his clan, and he knows the clan members will fight for the Uchiha with their lives, he knows that as he knows the name of his four dead brothers, but he also knows that the young men that fought right next to him now have wife and children, need to feed them, to give them proper medical care, and most of all, want to raise them in a peaceful environment.
Madara has no kids, thus he can't put himself on the situation of most of his clan members, and things are different in times of peace. Madara turned into a huge pile of 'what am I supposed to do now with myself?'.
Kids are out of the equation.
He is too scared of commitment. Of being tied to something. He always had problems establishing friendships and adding that for five years he has had the need to leave the village, he knows that he can't promise a woman to always love her and raise their children properly. What if he found love in a woman or in children and they suddenly died? He smirks while looking through the window, Uchiha Madara does fear something, even if right now he's got nothing to lose, he fears love, and abandonment.
Madara looked at the door as it opened and the infamously cranky Uzumaki Mito busted into the room carrying a box of god knows how many documents. He takes his eyes away from her and back to the panorama the big windows offered him.
As she sets the box in the desk and starts selecting documents and putting them in piles, she asks Madara: "Madara-sama, good morning, have you seen my husband? I seem to have lost him".
Turning to her, he eyes the growing stacks of papers. "Morning, Mito-san. I am waiting for him; I suspected he had overslept again". He said, with a tinge of amusement.
She smiled. "No, thankfully not, he actually got up very early and by the time I woke up he was gone. I suspect he is running from his paperwork" Mito glared so hard at the wall Madara was afraid it would crack. He lifted an eyebrow.
Sighing and getting closer to the desk he asked. "Typical Hashirama. Is there anything I can help with?"
She put her finger in her mouth like she always did when she was stressed: "I suppose you do, but we still need Hashirama's signature in most of the papers. This man is driving me crazy" She said, putting both hands over her face and dropping her body onto the chair at the other side of the desk.
He smirks. "And you've only been married for 5 months" Yes, they only just married, Hashirama had his doubts, he voiced them to Madara often, who would just sigh and tell his old friend/enemy/whatever to just marry because it doesn't look good to be village head and have no family. Then Hashirama would just look at Madara thinking why am I getting this from you exactly, but the discussion often ended there, because yes it was a discussion. Hashirama was afraid of choosing the wrong woman, or something like that, who knows what that man thinks about his wife. Although Madara was all negativity about marrying, he knew that if being a single 35 year old clan head was bad, then being a 36 year old village head was totally wrong. Also Uzumaki Mito wasn't a disgrace. She came from a respectable clan, was a respected kunoichi, high ranked at that, was in the prime of her power, was responsible, and all those things a village's first lady had to be. Some argued the age difference was a little debatable (10 year old difference), but Mito wasn't a brat, she behaved much better than people twice her age, so it wasn't that bad.
Mito smiled and nodded, slumping even more, if it was possible, on the chair.
Madara realized that through the years, he came to know everything about probably everyone's love life. He didn't know if it was because he was a privy old lady on the inside, or if he was so lonely he paid more attention to other's relationships than himself. Maybe it was boredom. He clearly couldn't be himself in this village, what was he supposed to do? Walk around and say hi to everyone? Help elderly people? No, Madara was made to trash around screaming with his sharingan on, spitting fire and splitting old people in half. That is what he has been doing for his entire life.
Mito looked at Madara for a moment.
"We've been together for a longer time than five months, though I do understand what you mean, marriage changes relationship dynamics, the prospect of children change dynamics, the world expects us to walk around hand in hand showing our appreciation for each other in everyone's faces, a lot of things that make a man's head explode. I should try to talk to him about us when I see him, I need to keep him in check, after all if I don't do it, no one will, more now that Tobirama is away". Madara only looked at her, and opened his mouth to mention that he didn't mean that Hashirama's absence was because of her, that it had only been a friendly commentary about how annoying can Hashirama be, when Mito suddenly straightened up on the chair and smiled at him.
"Thank you Madara-sama, your knowledge of relationships is certainly surprising, and welcomed. I will leave this here, decide yourself if you want to begin with the papers, I will now go look for my husband, good bye". As fast as she said that, she was out of the room, the sound of her shoes echoing through the stairs
"You're….welcome, Good bye" He said, obviously to himself. Since Mito didn't stay long enough to hear him, and the knowledge that he was suddenly some kind of romance guru made him have a brain fart.
Madara was left alone, at the Hokage office, wondering if he had really said all those things to her, listening to the conversation in his head, trying to remember something that he clearly missed or forgot, or god knows what. He concluded that the woman's brain is weird. Suddenly refreshed of not being married, Madara sat down and began doing the papers. Still unhappy, but less burdened.
Who the fuck is the Mizukage?
Five hours earlier.
Brown eyes as deep as earth look at the window. The sun is about to come up. He untangles himself from his red haired wife and gets out of bed as swiftly as he can. Not making a noise, Hashirama dresses and grabs a hood, since he can't take his time to brush his hair.
He slowly walks to the door and rushes out before he can see if Mito wakes up to the sound of the door or not, because he can't chicken out right now, he has a mission.
An important one.
Once outside of his lovely self-made wood home, after sidestepping an unimportant looking box, Hashirama walks through the pat out of the village and slips through the forest silently, so that not even guards can sense him and when he is at a good distance, he sprints through the woods, feeling the cold air of early morning, his hood falls of his head, but he continues, he has to get there.
Three and a half hours earlier
Mito is so pissed right now; she can't even begin to describe what she is feeling.
She knew her husband usually got home late from the Hokage Tower, since the upcoming Kage meeting was giving him headaches. She understood that he took his time in the bathroom after coming home, showering all the tension from his shoulders and relaxing in the hot water.
He usually leaves a mess in the bathroom, but puts everything in order when he gets up, while Mito prepares the breakfast they're going to take to the Hokage tower.
Today he wasn't in bed and he dared to leave a mess in the bathroom.
Sighing to not explode, Mito begins to clean up the mess Hashirama left behind and tries to calm her anger. It's only a bathroom, it's only a bathroom, it's only a bathroom. She tells herself. Obviously not being able to make breakfast that morning, Mito decides she will make earlier her husband go out and buy something when she gets there.
After getting ready for the day, she decides to go to the Hokage tower to glare with all of her existence at her husband while they eat breakfast with Madara, (And sometimes Tobirama if Madara's in a good mood. But her brother in law is away in a mission so…). After putting on her shoes, she opens the door to see a box of documents and papers for Hashirama, that he clearly decided to ignore on his way out. She sighs again, and grabs the box, preferring to save her anger for her husband.
She goes up the stairs ready to release her anger and when she opens the door, she is forced to stay calm and save up her anger again, because her husband is not there, only Madara, who looks dazed as if he had been in deep thought before she opened the door.
As she sets the box in the desk and starts selecting documents and putting them in piles, she asks Madara: "Madara-sama, good morning, have you seen my husband? I seem to have lost him".
[...]
After a small but enlightening conversation with the Uchiha clan head, she walks out more optimistic than ever.
"Well?" Asked Hashirama, to his brother who was in full war gear, looking ready for a fight, compared to Hashirama who was wearing regular clothes and a strange hood over his head.
"It's almost done" Said Tobirama, obviously looking very unhappy. He hated the Uchiha and hated even more doing stuff for him. Only doing it because Hashirama pleaded him to go in his place, to see how the statues were going.
They were currently in the Land of Fire's border. A couple years ago, while Madara and Hashirama retrieved the tailed beast, soon after the foundation of Konoha, a large crater was created in the area, it ended up being the most majestic waterfall the Land of Fire had ever seen, and Hashirama had the brilliant idea to turn it into something for the later generations.
He knew Madara doubted his own position in this village, and he wanted to erase those doubts for him. Hashirama's idea was simple. Something that showed them as equals, as the founders, that marked the alliance they had made over half a decade ago, for the future generations to see, and that made known to all those who crossed to the Land of Fire from the north, that this area was his and Madara's.
So the idea of two statues came to him.
He and Tobirama walked together over to the waterfall and Hashirama smiled. He truly smiled because he knew this was perfect. Over a hundred meters tall, etched into the rock, two statues, separated byte waterfall, stared at each other in a friendly hand sign that demonstrated the good will of both Uchiha and Senju. The workers were just finishing the details on Hashirama's armor. If they were doing the details this early then it would be done soon.
Hashirama looked at his brother with a grin in his face. "Tobi this is better than I ever imagined, this is perfect, I'm sure Madara will love this", Tobirama only stared at him, and turned around to look back at the statues. "I guess so, if it is what you want to think, the statues are surely majestic. But pretty rocks won't swoon Uchiha Madara into peace".
Hashirama only smiled. "Little brother you are missing the whole point. This is not to swoon Madara into peace, we already have peace, we've been united for years" Looking back to the statues he continued "These statues are a symbol, unfortunately we don't have one of those fancy photographs they invented last year of when we and the Uchiha joined in peace, so I want to make something that will show the future generations that regardless of all the blood that ran through us, like the water that runs through the statues, we still managed to push all hate away and became a family" He finished.
As usual, when his brother when into one his heroic teachings, Tobirama sighed and smiled, not knowing what to answer, because really there was nothing to question Hashirama about, even if Tobirama himself had doubts about the Uchiha.
"Well, look who arrived"
That was the first sentence Hashirama heard when he walked into his and Madara's office. He looked at the Uchiha with a small smile and closed the door after him.
Now this was weird. Not only was Hashirama missing for a couple hours but he suddenly turned into a quiet person. Madara lifted his right eyebrow and after putting some hair behind his ear, he continued to work with the pile of documents Mito had left him earlier that day.
"Your wife was here"
"…"
"She looked angry"
"…"
"…Hashirama" He warned.
Suddenly Hasirama jumped from his position in the middle of the room to Madara's face, standing on the other side of the desk, hands on it and a huge grin.
Madara leaned back into the chair slowly and turned his head slightly to the right.
"What?!" He said clearly annoyed.
Hashirama just smiled even more and sighed, taking a seat in the chair he put his elbow in the table, rested his head on his hand, crossed his legs and blinked.
Madara knew this was going to be bad.
"I might have done… something" He finally said, breaking his silence.
"Ugh…" Madara suddenly looked disgusted.
"Hashirama I thought you had stopped gambling, your wife is going to kill you, not that I care, but I care about her being angry on my face and ruining a whole days work and-"
Hashirama suddenly waved his arms in front of Madara "No, no no noooooo, Madara, my friend, I just did something amazing, that everyone, including you and yes including you don't say no, is going to love".
Madara just closed his eyes for a couple seconds and sighed. Opening his eyes, he finally looked at Hashirama and smirked.
"Did you finally get rid of your brother?"
"Haha you're so funny, no, actually…" Madara crossed his arms an put on a light scowl "I kind of….ikindofmadetwohugestatuesofourselves"
"Wha-"
Hashirama stood up and said clearly:
"I made two huge statues of ourselves, on the crater we made that other time" He said smiling, to suddenly sit back down and look at Madara "Madara you haven't even seen them don't make that face"
Madara's scowl had only deepened, and he started breathing really heavily.
He got up from his chair and-
BAAM
"Hashi". Standing over the door she had just broken down, Mito Uzumaki looked at her husband almost lovingly but both Madara and Hashirama, who were suddenly stopped in their tracks by her entrance, could see the evil glint in her eyes.
Hashirama just smiled again. "Mito, you have to hear what I did"
"I can tell you what you didn't do this morning "
"Umm…saying good bye?"
"No, try again".
After thinking for a couple seconds, Hashirama looked around and saw the box that earlier today, was sitting outside his home, with that, he sighed.
"Sorry, Mito, I didn't know the box was important "
She closed her eyes and frowned deeply, and she was about to explode when she caught Madara standing there looking like he wanted to leave, and remembered their conversation from today.
She sighed and decided she would return the favor to him by not exploding in his face, because she knew how much he hated to be around whenever she fought with Hashirama.
As Madara slowly sat back down into the chair, she followed by grabbing a chair from outside the office, and dragging it back next to were Hashirama was standing and sat down there.
"I'm not going to explode, but just so you know, it's not the box". She finished.
"Then what-"
"Later"
With that looking utterly defeated, Hashirama sat down on his chair, suddenly looking very small.
Madara decided to end with this nonsense and cleared his throat. "Hashirama, I already began to work with the documents in the box, there are a couple dozen documents you need to sign and we need to discuss the formation of a new shinobi village"
Hashirama perked up to that information as Madara continued.
"Apparently the land of water has united its clans and formed what they have called" Madara rummaged through his notes, having forgotten its name and continued "Kirigakure, and they already have a head, the so called Mizukage or whatever, who signed the letter addressed to us, but did not inform us of his real name".
"It's amazing that such a kekkei genkai-dense population like that of the Land of Water suddenly decided to make an alliance" Mito answered, forgetting her anger. "What were the motives of his letter?"
"Apparently, he is just informing us." Madara answered lifting an eyebrow. "I didn't detect a single thread of malice from the letter, but he might as well be warning us"
Suddenly joining the conversation Hashirama looked scandalized."Madara don't say that you sound like Tobi" Madara growled. "I bet he just wants to have a good start, presenting his village to the existing ones and showing that he has good intentions, after all Water has always been kind of creepy: weird kekkei genkai, mist everywhere, weird people, and you know, he wants to present a good image of his newly formed village" Hashirama finished.
"Still, I don't trust them, and since you mentioned your brother, I bet he'll mistrust them too" Madara replied. "Two against one"
"Hashirama. Such letter is suspicious, after all, we haven't been in peace for a long time, with so many villages forming in the last years, things are prone to evolve into a new form of conflict". Mito said, holding his hand on hers. "We might as well be cautious"
Nodding at her Madara said"Three against one". He paused and after taking a sip from a water bottle lying next to his chair, continued "We will discuss this more thoroughly on the next village security meet up, for now, let's answer this letter in a way that it changes nothing".
"No good intentions, neither bad, no names, that sort of thing?" Hashirama asked
"Yes"
"I hate that sort of thing"
"Tobirama-sama, the statues are ready"
He lifted his eyes from his food to the constructor known as Hisano and nodded to him. "Thank you, the village appreciates your efforts, do you want to travel back now and get paid, or do you prefer to wait until the morning?"
Hisano began to think, his crow feet making themselves more deep as he did. "We should stay here or the night, it's late, and everyone is tired, including myself, besides we're not too far away from Konoha so it's not too dangerous, I think"
Tobirama nodded. "As you wish". Leaving his plate next to the rock he was sitting on, he got up. "I'll scout and check for possible dangers, but rest easily I'm sure there are none, it's just a precaution" He clarified after seeing some fear in the man's eyes. The man nodded, "Sure, thank you for your protection, by the way, we've never been so well taken care of".
Tobirama nodded. "No problem, just doing my job". With that Tobirama disappeared from the man's sight, deep into the night.
"Oh…."
"OH AINT A GOOD ANSWER"
"My my, I totally forgot about that."
"Don't play dumb Hashirama, we've got an agreement. I'm no lovely housewife who can't do anything else besides cleaning the floor, we've got an agreement!" She repeated.
"Mito please, I was just teasing you, I meant no harm in my words" Hashirama complained.
He understood why she acted like this though. It took Mito all of her life's achievements to be allowed to be a kunoichi at her age at the Uzumaki clan. She had to be the best to be allowed. And she is, but she still thinks people are trying to turn her into the perfect wife and demands equality in everything, especially marriage.
That does not bother Hashirama at all; the Senju were one of the first clans to freely allow women to be kunoichi, he is all for equality, especially when it concerns his wife, but he can't help but feel as if Mito thinks he is the enemy.
Arms crossed, eyes looking at the floor and a subtle change in expression implying that she is about to cry. That is all Hashirama can see before she grimaces and suddenly puts a hand on her face. "I'm sorry I-"
Hashirama smiles and lifts both his hands before removing hers from her face and setting them besides her body. "Don't worry I know, just don't think I'm the enemy, because I'm not, I am your husband" And I love you, Hashirama wanted to say, but this is just not the moment, he thought.
"I know I just…I feel very bad right now Hashirama, I'm sorry, I just…you know when you have a feeling of …déjà vu or whatever I just ..feel like …just bad and I get really angry and I know it's not about you, and I just had some really good advice on our relationship and…I just feel like… I keep pushing things into you, you know? God, did you even wanted to get married? Am I good enough? I know you probably barely feel for me but oh god, I just feel like I am imposing on you to be a husband to me and I barely want to fit into the role of your wife and I'm sorry don't know what I am saying" She finished looking down.
"You know, you're cute when you get like that"
Mito glared at him lightly, the anger on her glare ruined by her light blush.
"I know, I know. Still you shouldn't think badly of yourself for not wanting to fit in the wife role model or whatever, I think you've been a good wife, you've kept me in check and get along with Tobi which is hard enough and you are probably the only woman in the world who can stand him-scratch that, person in the world who can stand him as well as I do; and help me with my official duties, and make breakfast for me and Madara, and you actually get along with Madara with is kind of weird taking into consideration that he usually talks badly of woman who marry but you must of impressed him with your mad sealing skills because he is all for you being there at the office and helping us; and you already have two of the most difficult people down, damn you're good, and then there's me who can't just handle being married to so much red without wanting to make it more red, so I just stand here and make you blush like crazy saying crazy things about how beautiful you are, or how good you smell-"
"Hashirama stop trying to win me over"
"I can try"
"You're already my husband"
He smiled and so did she.
It was during the middle of the night, while drinking a cup of relaxing herbal tea, wearing a loose yukata and staring at the small pond behind his house in the Uchiha district, that Madara stopped in his tracks and dropped his tea into the dirt at remembering that Hashirama made two huge statues of themselves, briefly calling it bullshit, Madara tensed again and reminded himself how serious Hashirama looked.
Standing there at his backyard, yukata close to fall of his shoulders, hair everywhere and head slightly tilted to the left that Madara widened his eyes, sharingan flashing into life, and disappeared from his backyard only to run to the very place Hashirama mentioned the statues were.
"Tobirama-sama, thank you very much for your escort and security during the last week". Hisano bowed deeply as he and his workers made it to the Konoha gates safely thanks to Tobirama.
The albino nodded and with a quick "No problem" He disappeared and appeared straight into Hashirama's office
"Tobi! So happy to see you, is it done?" Hashirama asked happily, some paper flowing around to the floor after Hashirama clearly lifted his head from a nap the moment he felt Tobirama's chakra.
"Yes it is brother"
"Ahh, I'm so happy, I wish Madara was here so I could take him right now, I assume nothing happened during your stay?"
"Nothing brother, but Is of Madara that I wanted to talk to you about"
At this Hashirama panicked: "Something wrong with this statue?!"
Rolling his eyes Tobirama replied "Nothing besides that he exists and now has a statue, but the fact that he showed up at camp, in the middle on the night, almost shirtless, sharingan spinning and talking about how he was going to kill you for really making the statues"
"Oh yes I might have mentioned it to him, I think he didn't believe me and…went to check for himself?"
"Doesn't change the fact that he wants to kill you"
"It's just Madara's way of appreciation"
Lifting a white eyebrow. "Whatever you say brother"
"Oh my god he didn't show up in the middle of the night?!" Mito smiled behind her hands while she ansd Hashirama, along with her step brother Tobirama, made the trek to the highlands of the border to check on the statues that had made Madara so angry.
"Yes, he scared a little kid, and then went somewhere, still screaming" Tobirama finished
"Ah well I just hope he didn't destroy them haha" Hashirama said, arm behind his head and a slow tail of sweat going down from his forehead. I really hope he didn't.
"We'll know soon, Hashi" Mito smiled lightly.
"I WAS WAITING FOR YOU HASHIRAMA!" War fan in hand, standing in his own giant head, yukata full of leaves and small scratches, Madara looked furious. Tobirama scowled.
"I'll TAKE CARE OF YOU LATER, MADARA!" Hashirama said pointing at him, to only add. "Can you just get down from there and admire ourselves".
Completely dumbfounded by Hashirama's answer, Madara shrugged "Why now?, seems like we can never get along Hashirama"
"Good morning, Madara-san"
"Good morning Mito-san"
Midday tuned into late afternoon and, after Tobirama returned to Konoha for security measures, Madara, Hashirama and Mito stayed at the border a while longer. While Mito soaked her feet on the small lake the waterfall caused, Madara and Hashirama stood close to the three lines, watching their statues as the sun went down.
"So?. Deep brown eyes looked expectantly at charcoal black ones
"It's worse than I thought"
"Madara, this is to symbolize-"
"I know-Madara interrupted,-it's horrible but…I like it"
"Our clans will be seen-Hashirama paused-, we will be seen to the future generations as comrades" Smiling he looked at Madara, who looked deeply in thought for a second, before smiling lightly back.
Maybe it's not so bad. "As comrades, huh… Well… if that's how… we… will…" .
After hearing this conversation, Mito smiled and turned her eyes to the sky.
So it's over. This one shot has some kind of funny background. I started writing it like two years ago, when I had some mad madamito feelings, something about Hashirama not being a good enough husband for her or whatever, it has been sitting on my hard drive for ages and a couple months ago I started to review it and added some stuff. An originally adultery madamito fanfic turned into Madara's musings, with a huge light tone over everything. I'm kind of really done with all the Indra and Ashura angst so I wanted something light.
It's clearly an AU, Madara is OOC in some situations, even though the quotes are from the manga, the context is different. Mito is OOC as well, I'd say completely OOC, I totally hate her perfect first lady output, I think she's much more than the Shodai's wife.
As for Hashirama and Tobirama, I couldn't tell, I guess they can be considered quite OOC, or quite in character depending who reads, I have a huge trouble with personalities like Hashirama's, who was painted to be the god of shinobi and all that shit and turned out to be Naruto from 80 years ago; as for Tobirama's, I personally just don't care about him enough to do a deep reading of his character.
Anyway, I hope you like it. This fanfic took me ages, and my changing emotions regarding the manga is why.