CN War, death, violence against people, loss of loved ones, blood, description of fatal injuries

Izuna's gift

Two months earlier

Madara panicked when he saw all his brother's blood. No! No, this simply could not have happened! He wouldn't allow it! His breath was going far too fast as he desperately tried to stop the blood pouring out of Izuna. Too much, far too much! What should he do? What could he do? There he was now possessing this wretched Mangekyō, there had to be a way! His gaze flickered and a stabbing pain ran through his skull. Black dots danced before his eyes.

He was finished. He had failed.

Hashirama still held out his hand to him, a determined expression on his features. The idiot probably really meant it. But could he really still help Izuna? Was he really that strong?

"Brother ... don't ...", Izuna gasped as blood ran from his mouth. "You must not trust him. That is ... a lie."

Izuna had to get away from here as soon as possible, away from the Senju dogs who were to blame for all this. Madara fished a smoke bomb from his pocket, then fled.

He ran as fast as the wind. All that mattered now was getting Izuna to safety. He did not even think of ordering his men to retreat. Izuna was all that mattered.

"Hang in there, little brother."

Izuna lay motionless in his arms, the blood still flowing from him as if he wanted to paint the whole world red with it. But as long as he was still bleeding, he was alive. Dead men no longer bled. That was the straw to which Madara clung with all his might.

He stormed into their village and to their house like a demon gone wild. "A healer! Now!" he roared. Someone from the people they had left behind had to have healing skills. Someone!

The Uchiha who had stayed behind in the village were irritated by his wild appearance, but soon it was clear what the reason was. Whispers quickly arose and the news spread like wildfire. A young woman with knowledge of medicine was quickly found and rushed after Madara.

Madara had laid his still unconscious brother gently on his futon. Bloody tears ran down his face, but he ignored the pain in his eyes. Izuna seemed not to have been relieved of his pain even in unconsciousness, his face contorted into a grimace. His breathing, however, was shallow and far too irregular. The blood streamed more slowly.

The kunoichi knelt down opposite Madara next to Izuna and immediately began to examine him. Others rushed over to help her. Madara hardly noticed what they were doing, his gaze fixed on Izuna's face. The Mangekyō burned every detail, no matter how small, into his memory. The small scar on his chin where a stone had hit him as a child. The dimples on his cheeks. His slightly crooked nose.

Unfortunately, Izuna was not allowed to remain unconscious for long. Brutally, he was yanked back again. He screamed in agony. Madara grabbed his hand and brushed a sticky strand of hair from his face.

"I am with you, Izuna-chan. You are safe. Hang in there. Hang in there! Please. Don't leave me. Please ..." The last came only as a croak from his throat. Madara was still crying bloody tears.

Izuna spat blood. His breath gurgled in his throat, and the sound was enough to make bile rise in Madara.

"Uchiha-sama, it's too late," the kunoichi said regretfully. Why was there sweat on her brow? How long had she been here now? "No one can do anything for Izuna-san anymore. The most I can do is take away his pain."

"No!" roared Madara. "I forbid it! Save him!"

He jumped up and grabbed her by the throat. He stumbled as the black spots in front of his eyes grew larger, but hammered her against the wall anyway. The paper tore. She kicked her feet and tried to free herself from his grip but was not strong enough.

"Please ... don't ..." she gasped.

"Save him!" he hissed. Then he let go of her.

She fell to the ground, but picked herself up with a sob and knelt beside Izuna again.

Madara sank powerlessly to his knees and stared at his bloody hands. Eventually the darkness descended on him and with it came silence. His own heartbeat pounded in his ears. The world stopped.

With a soft clack, the door was pushed open and two people entered. Madara didn't look up, but the chakra signatures betrayed Naoki and Kimora. Those two, of all people.

"What did you do to the kunoichi?" demanded Naoki. "She was completely in tears and stammered that a demon had possessed you. And looking at this, I guess she's right! You left our troops on the battlefield and left them defenceless at the mercy of the Senju. Why that didn't end in a massacre I don't know, but we have too many dead, wounded and defected for just one day."

"Izuna," Madara hissed. "Izuna was wounded."

"Yeah, I guess everyone can see that much," Kimora clarified. "But he's a shinobi, you didn't seriously expect to be able to protect him forever, did you? Tragic, yes, but such is our world. You shouldn't have betrayed your own people, not for this. If this continues, I wonder if you're even fit to lead this clan anymore. A shame, after all the hope Tajima put in you."

Every word was like a blow. Physical wounds perhaps only Hashirama could inflict on him, but this hit just as precisely. His chakra began to seethe, the last remnants he had left.

"I am protecting my clan," Madara hissed. "That is what I swore to do. And Izuna is part of that clan! If you think I am unfit to lead you, then challenge me according to tradition."

Naoki snorted. "You keep your eyes closed, after all you used to think so highly of them. Looks like it is indeed time for someone stronger to replace you. The eagle has no claws anymore."

"Izuna is part of this clan," Madara repeated stubbornly. "And I won't just let him go. Hashirama can ..." He interrupted himself.

"The demon from the woods can what?" continued Naoki coldly. "Heal him? Hardly. Even if he were theoretically able to do so, why would he? He's our arch-enemy, a Senju. You can hardly just let him walk in and lay hands on Izuna."

But that was exactly what had crossed Madara's mind. If anyone else could help Izuna, it was Hashirama. On the battlefield, he had fallen into blind panic and let his instincts guide him. But now that he had time to think about it …

"Madara, you're losing your mind," Naoki continued.

Hashirama had to come. And these old people disappear, otherwise he would rip their throats out on the spot.

"You'd better go now," he said calmly.

It was his tone that finally made the two elders realise that they were playing with their lives here. Without another word, they turned away and closed the door behind them.

Hashirama. Hashirama? What was he thinking? Panic must still have a hold on him if he had really considered this. What a fool he was to think Hashirama would want to help him after all he had done to him. Izuna had been right, this was a trap for sure. So no Hashirama. But who then?

The pain in Madara's eyes had become almost unbearable, even for him who was used to pain. He clawed his fingers into his clothes and somehow tried to control the torment. The darkness contracted, its claws closing tighter and tighter around him.

"Big Bro ..." he heard Izuna's weak voice at some point. So faint that it was barely audible.

He lifted his head and opened his eyes, but the darkness remained. Confused, he touched his cheek with his fingers and felt the dried blood crusting his face. But no, it didn't matter now. He scrambled to his feet and stumbled to Izuna's side, groping for his hand.

"Big Bro, you're ... blind," Izuna whispered.

"It doesn't matter," Madara replied. "I'm with you, that's all that matters. You'll get better, soon enough, you'll see."

Izuna was silent, and if it weren't for his erratic, shallow breathing, Madara would have feared the worst. He stroked his little brother's face, feeling the warmth still dwelling under his skin. That calmed him again.

He leaned down to Izuna and rested his forehead against his brother's. "We are together," he whispered. "That's all that matters."

"Madara ...", Izuna brought out with difficulty, but did not finish what he had wanted to say.

He heard footsteps from outside. Someone was kneeling on the tatami in front of the door. "Uchiha-sama, a message has reached us from Senju Hashirama." Hikaku's voice.

"Get lost, I don't have time for this!" sneered Madara.

"Uchiha-sama, it is an offer for a truce. Perhaps you should …"

"Get lost, I said!"

At that, Hikaku indeed said no more. Madara heard him push the door open a little and place something in the room, probably the message he had spoken of. With a quiet clack, he closed the door again and moved away. Madara stayed where he was.

"Hey, Big Bro, I got something for you," Izuna whispered. "One last gift. It's not much, I know, but maybe it's enough to kick some more Senju dog butt."

"Izuna-chan, shut up. You need to save your strength."

"There's not much left to save. You've always been blind to the truth. This is the end of me. But my eyes ... you can have them. There should be one or two shots left. Take them."

Madara's breath caught and his heart stopped. He froze and looked at Izuna with eyes wide yet blank.

"Take my eyes. This is my last wish. Protect our clan."

Izuna's will. His last wish. All he had left in this world. It was all he could do for his little brother. Mechanically, Madara reached out a trembling hand.

"Protect our clan …"

Light returned to Madara's world, but darkness nested in his heart.

Izuna lay still.

Madara stared down at his little brother, his whole body frozen. He could not move a muscle. The silence in the room was almost unnatural. Through Izuna's eyes, he saw for the first time truly what had been done to his little brother.

Tobirama's attack had been brutal and without mercy, almost cutting Izuna in half, literally ripping his guts out. It could just as easily have hit Madara, the result was the same.

Madara clenched his hands into fists, his fingernails dug into his palms until he bled. But he didn't feel the pain, he felt numb and empty. The loneliness pressed him down like a weight weighing a ton and robbed him of his breath.

A pitiful croak escaped his throat. Then he retched as his stomach cramped. He just managed to turn away, then he fell to his hands and knees and vomited, and when his stomach was already empty he was still retching bitter bile until his throat burned and his guts were nothing but a thick, hard lump.

He clawed his fingers into the tatami and tore it open. Tears flowed freely from his eyes, even if he had wanted to, he could not have held them back. Powerless, he slumped to the side, his hair hanging tangled in his face. Then his eyes fell on the scroll that Hikaku had brought.

Trembling, he crawled towards it and reached for it with swinging fingers. He let himself sink heavily against the wall and plucked open the ribbon that held the scroll together and opened it. The characters blurred before his eyes, their meaning not reaching him. Only one thing he perceived.

"Please allow me to help Izuna," Hashirama had written. "This is not conditional, I ask nothing in return. I don't even expect you to let me leave alive again, but please, allow me to save your little brother. It is not too late."

Madara glanced at Izuna. Heedlessly, he tossed the scroll aside. From somewhere he found the strength to return to Izuna's side. He reached out a hand to tenderly stroke Izuna's cheek, but when his fingers touched the skin, he froze. Desperately, he gasped for air as his throat tightened. That feeling ... There was no life left under that skin. The irrepressible desire to scrape off his fingertips and erase all memories of the feeling of dead, cold skin overwhelmed Madara. All at once, the smell of entrails, blood and vomit became overwhelming.

No. No, this was not Izuna. This lifeless piece of flesh was not his little brother. With a primal scream, Madara leapt to his feet, the Mangekyō gleaming blood-red and vicious in his eyes. An irrepressible force coursed through him, propelling him forward. This sin of ripping something as pure as Izuna from the world had to be atoned for!

With a single, powerful burst of chakra, Madara set the room ablaze. And because that still wasn't enough to erase the feeling of lifeless skin, Madara surrendered the rest of his house to the fire as well. When even for him the heat became too overpowering and the smoke bit at his lungs, he stumbled out the door.

A cluster of terrified villagers had already formed a safe distance from the house, murmuring as they watched Madara's rampage. The crowd parted as the two elders, Kimora and Naoki, made their way through.

"What is the meaning of this?" demanded Kimora. "Madara, you've gone completely mad!"

Madara pierced her with his gaze. Murmurs rose as the people saw Izuna's eyes.

"Just like in the stories," Naoki gasped. "You stole Izuna's eyes to gain the eternal Mangekyō!"

A malicious grin twisted Madara's lips. "One last gift from Izuna to wipe out the Senju dogs."

Oh yes, he could feel the power of his eyes. Something had changed. Both Izuna and he had felt for a long time that their eyesight had diminished the more they had used the Mangekyō, which was why they had dispensed with it as often as possible. Nevertheless, in the end Izuna had also been almost blind. But now, with Izuna's eyes, Madara saw more clearly than ever.

Flaming, Sunanoo sprang into life, larger and more formidable than ever. Such power! It was unbelievable. Madara believed that with it he could turn the whole world upside down.

"We'll go to war if it's the last thing we do!" he proclaimed.

The people around him backed away from Susanoo, many raising their arms protectively in front of their faces.

"Madara!" shouted Naoki. "Come back to your senses. You left our people behind, we are defeated! Not even now will you be able to stand alone against the Senju. If you lead us into battle again, it will be the end of us."

Susanoo stretched the blade. The flames demanding the house roared up. Madara became as icy cold as the bitterest winter. "I will avenge Izuna."

Last update here to let you know that the text will be discontinued on FFnet. However, I will continue it on ao3 along with all other texts as usual. I stop posting on FFnet in general.