The Dead Don't Dream
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.
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Tenzo isn't quite sure where he is.
(Or who he is, for that matter.)
He does have a vague sense of identity, of past, maybe snatches of a name…
(but no, not really.)
He looks around, and deems his surroundings to be safe.
(for the moment)
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.
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It isn't until a strangely familiar man walks out of the forest on the other side of the river that he remembers.
(this is the Shodai)
He blinks in shock, because this man is dead.
(dead like Madara)
But this can only be a dream…
(he is Tenzo, maybe Yamato, maybe just ANBU-san)
A haze of warm summer days, cool forest breeze, and a tiny sapling overtake these thoughts…
(he still doesn't quite remember)
.
.
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Hashirama smiles.
"Come and sit."
Tenzo obeys, but only because this is his Hokage, and he sees no reason not to.
(his mind, in the dream-like state that it was, did not perceive the possibility of threat)
"I've been looking forward to this meeting for quite some time."
(not that there is any, though)
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.
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They talk, the wind blows, and when he awakens to see a woman he may just recognize as his mother looking at him and smiling sadly, Tenzo finally realizes that he has died.
(he doesn't remember, except in dreams)
He smiles back though; because he knows that he did all he could.
(the dead don't dream)
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(end)