Long Time No See
Needless to say, Hashirama was surprised by who showed up at his house that day. At first he didn't recognize the boy, but a quick introduction had him pouring out apologies as he let the boy inside and fixed up some tea for the both of them.
"Izuna, it's so nice to finally meet you." He said as he placed down the tray holding the two tea cups onto the coffee table and taking a seat on the couch, whereas Izuna had taken to the armchair.
"O-oh? I was worried you might not want to speak to me, seeing I was the one who dealt with your brother..." Izuna said, glancing off to the side. Hashirama smiled softly. He hadn't known what to expect when or if he finally met Izuna, but so far he was pleased with what he was seeing.
"I don't blame you for doing what you did. You see, Madara spoke to Tobirama about what happened, and naturally he confided in me because he wanted me to know that everything was okay. I apologize if that feels like an invasion of privacy, but I want you to know that I'm not angry in the least." He assured the young Uchiha. Just as Tobirama had his reasons for going behind Hashirama's back, Izuna was the same for getting those drugs. He was being threatened, and the only thing that made Hashirama mad out of all this was what those sick bastards were going to do to poor Izuna.
"Thank you, Hashirama." Izuna said, sounding relieved. The Senju offered the same smile, glad to make the boy more comfortable.
"So, what was it that you came here for, Izuna?" Hashirama asked politely, sipping his tea. Izuna took a breath and straightened his posture.
"I know I might be asking a bit much of you, but I need to know about Tobirama." He stated, taking Hashirama by surprise yet again. "My brother has been asking some really weird things of me lately as well, and the answers I found spiked my curiousity. You see, before, when I was still in rehab and meeting up with your brother, I did a background check on him..." Izuna fiddled with a ring on his finger at the look Hashirama suddenly got on his face. "I found out that Tobirama is registered as a murder suspect.
"Please, for the good of both our brothers I need to know what happened." Izuna said before Hashirama could interrupt. He was being far too intrusive, he knew, but Madara was his highest concern right now. He had to know if his relationship with Tobirama was dangerous, and he also needed to find out where this Amai guy fit in. What was it that put both Tobirama and Amai in the same boat?
"Izuna...Tobirama has a past that not many should know about." Hashirama began cautiously. He didn't know how much he could share with this boy, but he did know how Izuna felt. He worried for Tobirama just like Izuna worried for Madara. "There isn't much that even I can share with you legally, but..."
"Tobirama!" The Senju flinched as he felt an all too familiar spit-wad hit the back of his head. Tobirama growled as he scratched the thing out of his hair.
"What do you want, Ameyuri?" He asked irritably. That woman sure had a way of getting his attention.
"The answer to number five." The redhead stated blatantly. Tobirama rolled his eyes, glancing back at his paper to see what the question was, but he gaped when he turned back to her.
"No way! That's like the longest one, and the teacher will be back any second now." He had left after receiving a call from the office, not even going to get a temporary teacher because he was in such a hurry. Of course Tobirama was curious, but more often than not things that involved teachers didn't interest him.
"Oooh, come on! There's no way I'm going to get it right - I don't even know where to start!" Ameyuri complained, slumping over her desk.
"You can start by looking it up in chapter seven. This is open-book." The albino reminded her before turning back to his own work. He really hated math.
"Yuck." He heard the girl mumble. Just then, the teacher came back in, looking a tad distraught.
"Tobirama Senju, you're needed in the office. You may want to pack your things." He said with an odd look toward the senior. If Tobirama didn't know any better, he'd almost say the man was giving him a look of pity. What in the hell was waiting for him in the office?
Tobirama did as told and packed his things up slowly, trying to bide time to prepare himself for whatever he was going to meet. His stomach clenched angrily at the thought that this might be about him and Madara again, but for some reason he got the feeling it was another thing entirely.
Walking down the halls, Tobirama was hoping to run into Madara by chance, just to see him once more. It was fourth period and school would be letting out soon, and he didn't know if Madara could find another ride home so late. Now Tobirama felt guilty for having to ditch him like this.
Tobirama knocked on the office door a couple times before hearing the principal's voice telling him to come in. He did so, letting his eyes lag behind his movements a bit to prolong the meeting. Upon finally meeting eyes with the second person in the office, Tobirama wished he could have procrastinated longer, or maybe not have come at all. When he saw those disturbingly familiar eyes, every childhood scar on his body seemed to burn against his skin, reminding him where each and every one came from. Aside from those disfigurements, Tobirama's body was numb, and painfully so. He could feel his heart racing, but every beat was like an agonizing stab to his chest. Part of him couldn't believe what he was seeing, part of him was furious beyond belief, but another, small part of him, a sick, twisted child's memory in the back of his mind, was simply glad to see him after all these years.
"Father..."
"What the hell are you doing here?!" Was the very next thing that came out of his mouth. He didn't give a damn that the principal was sitting right there. "Who in the hell do you think you are, showing up at my school out of nowhere after being gone for so long?! How dare you come here after what you did to me! How dare you!" His clenched fist was stopped just inches from the man's face, grasped by a larger tanned one. Tobirama was shaking with fury, but there was no stopping the tears that welled up in his eyes. "You sick, twisted son of a bitch!" His voice cracked at this last.
Butsuma gave a silent nod to the principal, and the man gave one in return before standing to leave. Tobirama took no notice of him - he was not going to chance taking his eyes off Butsuma for a second. Every fear, every therapy session, every painful sting he took to his back were creeping back into his mind, making it difficult to see anything but red. It was almost as if his vision had been covered in the blood of his past.
"Tobirama you need to calm down." The brunet said quietly, his expression still as steady as it had been when Tobirama came in.
"Calm down? Are you fucking kidding me?! You just show up at my school, call me out of class and you're telling me to calm down?" He wrenched his hand from his father's grip, clenching and unclenching his jaw as he spoke. "You have got some nerve doing this to me. Does Hashirama even know you're here? Do you have the gall to look him in the eyes again?" He challenged. He could just imagine what Hashirama would say to him after all this time.
"Son, this isn't about Hashirama." Tobirama was about to mouth off again about not wanting to be called "son" by this bastard, but wasn't given the chance. "This is about you and Amai." Well if there was anything that would silence him, that was it. Butsuma wasn't around when Tobirama got mixed up with Amai, but for some reason it didn't surprise the albino that his father knew about it. With his wife in the drug business back then it was only natural that he'd pick up a thing or two. Even after leaving he was probably keeping tabs on his children. "Someone has been looking through your records." Butsuma finally said; Tobirama's eyes widened.
No. No that wasn't good. If someone saw that stuff, he'd be ruined for sure. "Who?" He asked tentatively, though it may have seemed a stupid question.
"I don't know, but I traced the hacks back to this area. I knew that you and your brother were living here so I thought I'd come check it out." The elder stated. "Tobirama, who have you been talking to lately? Is there anyone you know who might want to dig up your past?" He inquired, but Tobirama was having enough trouble with his spiraling thoughts.
"I...I don't know. Amai is the only one who would have any reason to...but he doesn't remember any of it!" He pointed out helplessly. Amai couldn't remember what happened, it was impossible. There must have been someone else that knew about it, or else they wouldn't have any reason to be looking through his records.
"Have you spoken to Amai lately?" Butsuma asked; Tobirama shook his head. He hadn't really spoken to Amai since they broke up. That was when Amai began to get all these ideas about Tobirama, filling in what he didn't know. He'd always been like that. "And you're sure there isn't anyone else, no one at all?" The elder persisted. Tobirama thought hard: who did he know that could possibly, even remotely take an interest in Tobirama's past? Who would have any reason to-
Suddenly it came to him. Izuna! Of course! He was in the drug-dealing business even before Tobirama was - he must have given him some kind of background check when they started dealing with each other. And that must have been when he started finding out certain things...but he couldn't know much. Tobirama had made it a point to cover up as much as possible - that much was evident in Amai's memory loss. And now that he was being made aware of Butsuma's involvement, he wondered if perhaps he'd done his own part of burying what was left of that incident.
"There may be one person..." He said finally, but paused as he remembered who he was talking to. "Look, I can take care of this myself. Thanks for the heads up, but I don't want your help." He said, turning to take his leave. He'd have to ditch the rest of school, but considering that there were bigger things at stake than his grades, he could deal with that. Regardless, a hand came to lay on his shoulder, adding enough pressure to stop him though without seeming forceful.
"Tobirama...I'm here for you, when you need me." The man said quietly.
"You're here for me?" Tobirama repeated incredulously, turning around again to face his father. "That's the most bullshit I've heard come out of your mouth since Mom died! I don't ever want to hear you lie to me like that again, you bastard!" He wrenched himself out from the brunet's grip and stormed out of the office without giving him a chance to stop him again. He was already sick of seeing that man, and it'd only been a few minutes. He would never forgive Butsuma for what he'd done to him and his brother. He abandoned his children, and didn't deserve them anymore.
There was more than one dented locker left in Tobirama's wake as he exited the school.
I'm so, so sorry for the short chapter. But, someone felt the need to rush me and I've encountered quite the writer's block. I didn't want those of you who have been waiting patiently to have to continue waiting while I try to get through this, so hopefully this will work for now. Again, I'm really sorry, but seeing as I may not be updating for a while I thought I might as well put this up.
