The battle of wills between Hashirama and Madara had reached an impasse as all parties involved sat down for their meal. In order to prevent the Uchiha from storming away again Hashirama wisely dropped the subject and agreed to help his rival master the Mokuton. Hashirama stared down at his food with a disheartened expression. He had hoped to have a rather pleasant morning with his beloved Uchiha after their first real joining in years. A small sigh escaped his throat as all his daydreams about it vanished in an instant. At the same time Tobirama was glancing over at Madara every once and a while, still convinced that this whole situation would blow up in their face. It went without saying that Tobirama and Madara didn't trust one another, especially after the Izuna incident. Each side blamed the other for his death and it was no surprise that Madara would have already killed Tobirama if it wasn't for Hashirama.
Not a single word was uttered throughout the whole meal. The only sounds that could be heard were the movements of chopsticks and the chirping of the songbirds out Hashirama's window. As Madara finished up his breakfast he stood up and glanced over at his lover. He noticed that Hashirama had barely touched his food and remained in his sulky position. A small growl escaped his throat as he slammed his fist against the table as he stood up. "Grow up Senju!" Madara clinched his teeth together and formed a rather tight fist out of his annoyance. "You are Senju Hashirama, the only man I've deemed worthy to be my rival. It's pathetic seeing you carry on like a foolish child." Again the Uchiha hissed as he stormed back to the bedroom to change into something more appropriate for training.
Tobirama looked rather shocked as he heard Madara lecture his brother and glanced over at him. "Are you just going to sit there and take that from him?" While the Uchiha's words sounded harsh, it did seem rather appropriate at the time.
Another small sigh escaped Hashirama's throat as he slowly lifted his head to return his brother's gaze. As their eyes meet, a small smile crept on Hashirama's features. "I'm not running from the truth Tobirama. In the entire world, I'm the only shinobi who has ever fought with Madara on even footing. He would never outright say it, but he respects my power. It's unbecoming for me to act like a child about this. As Madara's lover, it's my responsibility to both support him and help him become the best he can be." The Senju felt a renewed sense of resolve flow through him as he came to terms with the situation. Quickly he finished up the rest of his meal and followed after Madara.
Tobirama just sat their shaking his head, amazed at the complexities of their relationship. Even though Tobirama still had doubts about everything he decided to drop his objections and simply chose to observe how things progressed. A small smile appeared on his own features as he got up and glanced up at the blue skies. "That is how you'd want me to precede, eh Izuna?"
Madara let out yet another breath as he pulled his arms through the long sleeves of his training shirt. On some level he was upset that Hashirama thought that little of his abilities. As Hashirama already pointed out, Madara held great respect for his own and desired to reach that very same level of power and technique. After tying his outfit closed the Uchiha leader started to head out to the backyard to being his own training. Not surprisingly, the Senju's property had a rather large pond and patches of trees that Madara figured Hashirama had grown himself. Madara took a deep breath as he walked up to the pond and gazed down into the water. A small smile appeared on his features as he saw the image of his beloved brother Izuna gazing back at him. Knowing that his brother was watching him Madara felt even more confidence flow through him. To begin his training, the Uchiha closed his eyes and began to relive the battles that he had with Hashirama, paying special attention to the hand signs that he used to create every jutsu.
Hashirama blinked as he saw Madara standing there but figured he was conducting some mental training. Carefully he walked out to him and stood by his side, waiting for him to recognize his presence. Not too long after Madara slowly opened his eyes and muttered, "You finished pitying yourself?" Even though Madara's words were harsh the older shinobi simply nodded and took hold of Madara's shoulder. "I should have never doubted you, Madara." In a quick motion he turned the Uchiha round and locked eyes with him. "Never again will I let my faith waver. You are Uchiha Madara… the man who has conquered my heart." Madara was slightly taken back by Hashirama's words and before he could respond he found that they were locked together with a make-up kiss. The Uchiha closed his eyes and allowed himself to be taken by the Senju again. Hashirama was relieved that he was able to patch up their relationship and that the feelings expressed last night returned.
Before Hashirama could get carried away, Madara lightly pulled back and glanced at him. "We'll have plenty of time for that. Now is the time for training." A small laugh escaped Hashirama's throat as he nodded in response. Madara was still Madara. His strength was always the top priority but considering events, Hashirama couldn't blame him.
"Not that you need much of a lesson on how to perform the Mokuton, but please allow me to explain the details to you." Madara nodded as he stood there folding his arms across his chest. His attention was solely on Hashirama's explanation. "As you are aware, there is no fundamental element of wood; it's created by using the Change in Chakra Nature of both water and earth simultaneously." Those simple details were obvious to the Uchiha. "Generally I'll do earth with my right hand and water with my left. The important thing is getting the mixture just right. Shall we give it a try?"
A Kekkai Genkai was generally something that came naturally to the individual where that power resided. Even though Madara was of the Uchiha, a rather confident expression appeared on his face as he slid into a stance. Due to his advanced battle experience he was already familiar with both water and earth natures. He took a deep breath as he developed water and earth chakra in their respective hands before bringing them together. For a moment there was no movement from the ground or the nearby mountain ranges. After a few brief moments a small seedling formed in front of the Uchiha. Hashirama blinked a few times and looked down at it with a happy expression. Madara on the other hand wasn't as pleased with the lackluster attempt. "Don't be disappointed with the result Madara. We all start somewhere. Although I'm the master of the Wood Style I didn't get it at first either. Some don't even get a seedling until they are several years into training."
Madara let out a small grumble as Hashirama tried to cheer him up. He wasn't use to 'failing' on his first attempt at anything. 'I can do better than that.' The Uchiha thought as he once again attempted to create the proper mixture of water and earth natured chakra. Almost instantly a small cluster of trees began to form from the ground around them. For Hashirama it was a rather unique sight observing it from the outside end. When the trees came to their proper height Madara stood back up letting out a small breath. "It's strange using another Kekkai Genkai. At least I have the understanding down."
Hashirama nodded in response pleased to see that Madara was grasping it so easily. He walked over to the tree and examined its texture. Madara stood there crossed arm waiting to hear Hashirama's criticism of his work but none came. "You're a natural genius Madara. With the fundamentals down I have doubt that you'd have trouble with my various other ninjutsu." A smirk appeared on Madara's features as he heard Hashirama complement him. He had little doubt that he could perform them since he witnessed them several times before with his Sharingan. At the time he was unable to copy the result, but now with the Hashirama's cells it would be possible.
Madara being Madara couldn't help but jab Hashirama without wise remark. "I AM an Uchiha after all. We have no equal when it comes to our compactly to learn jutsu." Once again Hashirama couldn't argue with that statement. By himself, Madara had already learned and copied pretty much every chakra nature available to him. With that comment Madara decided to try out Hashirama's other simpler ninjutsu. Hashirama kept his distance, watching his beloved perform every jutsu as skillfully as himself. The dark haired Senju let out a small breath and then glanced up at the sky. 'Guess I was worried for nothing… eh Izuna?'
Before Hashirama's worries could completely leave him, he suddenly heard a loud, ear curling scream from Madara. The older shinobi snapped out of his thoughts again and shifted his gaze to find the Uchiha on his knees, grabbing the left side of his face. Hashirama's eyes widened at in horror as he saw his beloved shaking from overwhelming pain. Without any hesitation Hashirama ran over to Madara, placing his hand on his back to signal that he was there. "Madara! Madara, what's wrong?" Hashirama knew that most of Madara's injuries had healed themselves. His mind was racing; trying to understand what had come over him so suddenly.
Between each painful grown Madara shouted, "My eyes…. My eyes feel like they're burning." Again surprise ran though the Senju's body. Hashirama knew that the last time something of this nature happened was back when Madara was feeling the effects of the Mangekyou Sharingan. What didn't make sense to him was why the trouble would be returning after all these years. The switching of eyes was supposed to solve all the problems associated with gaining those special eyes.
"Madara let me see…" Hashirama stated as he slowly tried to peel away Madara's hand. With his free hand, Madara slapped Hashirama away. The elder shinobi frowned in response. "Madara please… "
After a few moments the pain started to dissipate and Madara started to breathe normally again. When he removed his hand Hashirama didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. Madara's Sharingan was just as it always was. To make sure, he waved his hand in front of Madara's face only resulting in yet another strike by the Uchiha. "Everything's fine. I'm alright now." Slowly Madara got to his feet and started back to the house. "That's enough training for one day… I'll pick this up again tomorrow."
Hashirama stood there with the same worried expression from before. He wasn't so sure that Madara as alright. 'Oh Kami, please tell me that it's not so…. Please tell me that Madara's Mangekyou is trying to steal his light again. I don't want Madara to be blinded…'
As Madara returned to the house his own expression grew somewhat serious. He didn't understand what had caused the intense pain either, but he doubted that it was resulting from his Eternal Mangekyou. 'Must be an unforeseen side affect of Hashirama's cells. I'll have to explore this further.'
To be continued…
A/N: Sorry for not updating for quite a while. Life has really been keeping me busy between college and conventions. Now that I'm on summer break, I hope to be able to update a bit more.
What could be causing Madara's new eye problems? Could it be a further warning to stop using the Mokuton or is it a precursor to a new power? Find out in coming chapters.
