Written 04/24/2015

Idea: Hashirama is getting married, happy to change with the times. Madara has become obsolete and has nothing left to protect, and no one left to fight.

Characters: Fem!Hashirama, Fem!Madara, Male!Mito, Tobirama, Izuna

Pairings: Fem!Hashi/Male!Mito, unrequited Fem!Mada/Fem!Hashi

Warnings: Some serious angst. Implied suicide.

Madara can't help the deepening of her scowl as she watches Hashirama walking through the village on the arm of the Uzumaki boy, chirping up at him happily with a grin on her face. Madara remains in the shadow of the building she was leaning against, arms crossed over her chest as she watches the pair with narrowed eyes. The sight of the two of them together was making her nauseous and she couldn't deny it any longer.

Madara had figured out days ago that she couldn't stand the polite, soft-spoken Uzumaki boy who had come to the village to marry her self-proclaimed "best friend".

He was too soft. His hands lacked the callouses that both she and Hashirama had developed back before they were even teenagers, and there didn't appear to be a scar to the boy, and Madara couldn't stand it. He was too soft to be of much use. He hadn't had grown up in battle, forged in fire, as she and Hashirama had been. He had grown up in a stable environment, had never felt the hopeless pang of loss as his siblings died off one by one, had never had to fight for his very right to live, was able to give Hashirama all the children she wanted something that Madara couldn't do because she was useless, always so useless -

He's marrying Hashirama tomorrow.

Madara hated him.

She sneered from where she was hidden as young children ran up to the couple, laughing and grinning as only children who had never experienced war could.

Her mind had been made up nearly the second the engagement had been announced, eight years to the day that marked the birth of the village. Their village. Madara's and Hashirama's. A fact that everyone liked to conveniently forget the second Hashirama had been voted Hokage. (Madara had long forgiven her for that though, she knew that the Senju was more cut out to be the face of the village, nurturing it like her plants to grow, and thrive, where as Madara was better suited to keeping the village safe, using the reputation she had built for herself to keep any and all threats far away from their little Haven.)

Now though, now it was only Hashirama's village. Madara no longer belonged, and she knew it. She was a relic of a time that was quickly being forgotten, she had become obsolete as a new generation was born, and it was time that she faded away along with the memories of a much more violent and brutal time.

Izuna's eyes burned in her sockets, but she would not cry. She could not cry. The village that she had dreamed about, had hoped for, had been born, but it was no longer her village. It was no longer her dream. It couldn't be hers, and she couldn't help but wonder if it ever had been hers, but it did not do to dwell on such things, not when she had loose ends left to tie before she could disappear into the history books.

She was sitting on top of the recently named Hokage Monument when Tobirama found her, headband and kunai lying innocently in her lap as she watched the village celebrate the marriage of it's beloved leader.

"My sister was wondering where you were earlier. She was upset when she didn't see you at the ceremony." He said from behind her, voice clipped because even after five years of working together they still couldn't get along (she could never forgive him for what he had done, even if she managed to respect his intelligence). Madara shrugged.

"She'll get over it. She'll have a hoard of brats to look after soon enough anyways, that'll keep her busy." Her voice was flat and she could almost hear the Senju's eyes narrowing at her back.

"Whatever stupid thing you're planning on doing, don't do it." The bastard just had to be smart, didn't he? She snorted.

"And why shouldn't I do it? Hm?"

"Hashirama will never forgive you." Asshole.

"Maybe that's what I want." Her eyes cut to look at him, and she smirked at the flash of confusion she saw, before looking out over the village again. He took a few seconds to regain himself before speaking again.

"If you hurt the village, she'll kill you." Fucking asshole. Madara stood up now, kunai one hand, the metal plate of her headband gripped tightly in the other, chin raised.

"While you and everyone else might have forgotten, but this village is mine too, not just hers. I helped build, and I have given my everything to keep it safe." She hissed at him, more venom in her voice than she meant to have. Another pause.

"... Then what do you plan on doing?" She gave a bitter laugh and shook her head.

"Nothing. Not a damn thing. I have no reason to plan anything, not anymore." And now the Senju looked really confused, brow furrowing as he stared at her. Madara looked out over the village, seeing the people celebrating in the streets, able to make out the center of the village where she could barely see Hashirama and her new husband, sitting in the middle of all of the festivities.

"You should get back to your sister. I'm sure that she's noticed your absence by now." And now Tobirama really is on edge, because Madara is almost being nice to him, and he's not sure if he's worried, or terrified, or maybe a bit of both, because he can't figure out what the hell is going through her mind.

"And I'm sure that she wants to see you too, so you should probably go to her as well. You've kept her waiting long enough." He says, before her eyes catch his and it's all he can do to keep from stepping backwards in shock, because the Uchiha's eyes have always glared at him, spat fire at him, and held so much hate for him, but now there's just-

nothing.

"She's going to have to wait even longer I'm afraid." Madara murmurs, and raises her hands, looking down at the metal, bearing the symbol that Hashirama and Madara had come up with together, and bore proudly for the past eight years, and it's all she can do to even look at it now, before her right hand rises, clutching the kunai tightly, and Tobirama's eyes are wide now, and any other time she'd mock him for showing such obvious emotion, but now he's lunging forwards, knowing what she's going to do, and trying desperately to stop her.

A single thick gash scores the symbol of Konohagakure, cutting it clean in half. Madara drops the headband onto the ground like it burned her, the kunai follows it, and Tobirama looks at her with wide eyes as she stares blankly at him.

"Take care of Hashirama for me. Make sure she's happy." Is all the former Uchiha clan head says before she disappears in a burst of chakra, and then all she knows is running, because she won't go back, can't go back, not now, not ever.

Maybe in some other life she would have been bitter, and wanted revenge, and to make Hashirama have to kill her, but in this lifetime here and now, Madara is just tired, she is so tired of everything. She has nothing left to protect, and no one left to fight, and all she wants to do now is to see the river where it all began one last time,and then she will be able to reunite with her family, with Izuna, again, because her work here is done.

(Madara cries when she sees her brothers and parents again, and her mother hugs her tightly and brushes her hair back and exclaims about how beautiful and strong her precious daughter grew up to be. Her father gives her an understanding nod. Izuna is crying too but he hugs her and his eyes are back where they belong now, and then her other brothers are throwing themselves at her and all she can do is cry.)

(Hashirama names her first daughter Madara and promises that she will grow up loved for whoever she wants to be. She grows up to be great.)

(The first thing Hashirama does when she eventually dies is punch Madara in the face, before hugging her tightly. The two are never separated again.)