Kawarama didn't bother to disguise his blatant staring, his pair of chocolate brown eyes had sharpened as they assess the person sitting to his left. For one, Tobirama did not seem to notice the weight of his gaze; which was a first for his paranoid, always on guard second older brother. To Kawarama's eyes, it looked like Tobirma had been practically living inside his head since breakfast.

If Kawarama wasn't disturbed by how weird the older Senju had been acting during their journey to the Uchiha compound, he would be now. Never has he seen Tobirama without a frown or a scowl on his face before. It was downright bizarre, actually, especially after that impressive display of melancholy during their depressing journey.

While nibbling on the tip of his brush, Kawarama finds it hard to tear his gaze from Tobirama's face, softened by the lack of frown lines as the older Senju read through a drafted version of the treaty. And with nobody and nothing else inside the main tent to distract him from the odd picture non-scowling Tobirama made, Kawarama could not help but notice how much younger his brother looked right now.

Shaking his head at the random thoughts he was having, his eyes returned to his own version of the draft, written from top to bottom by their clan's leading arch nemesis (with haphazard doodles of venus flytraps at the edges drawn by yours truly, of course).

Uchiha Madara sure does have some neat handwriting, his mind comments idly.

It also kind of reminds him of Mito's, if he squints at the right angle. There was just something about the way the characters align that made Kawarama think of Fūinjutsu. But that was impossible. The Uchiha clan aren't allied with the Uzumaki clan, and thus, should not have any access to high-end Fūinjutsu scrolls and/or tutors. Even basic storage scrolls were hard to find in the market. So why does the way these characters were written remind Kawarama so much of those proficient, Uzumaki Fūinjutsu masters?

Realizing that he was, yet again, distracted by something random, Kawarama couldn't help but frown.

For these past few months, it had been getting progressively harder for Kawarama to concentrate on anything or meditate to clear his mind (yesterday and today have been a blessing for him, however. His mind, for once, quiet). Perhaps the stress was getting to him and he should release all the excess energy by sparring with Itama, but he would rather not if he could. Whoever had taught his little brother how to fight must surely be an escaped resident of a loony bin, because clearly, they have a problem with their head. Only an insane person would teach Itama how to crack someone's skull open with a flick of a finger.

Who would teach healers how to fight, anyway? Kawarama mentally complaints. Or rather, who would teach an excellent male shinobi how to become a pansy healer? Clearly, there was something wrong with Itama's 'mysterious' shishou for encouraging a little boy to have dreams about healing rather than killing. The former was a woman's job, dammit!

His glare soon found their way to Tobirama's straight-back figure.

In Kawarama's opinion, everything was Tobirama's fault. If their family's ice queen had not convinced their father to allow Itama some space to grow into his talents in the first place, their little brother would not have become a swishy healer.

In the first place, how exactly did Tobirama even find a skilled teacher outside the clan for Itama? Or how had he convinced father (strict, unbending father) to allow an unknown and potentially dangerous person to teach Itama? They don't even know who this teacher was or what clan they hailed from or how skilled they were at the art of Iryō Ninjutsu. Even after all these years!

Although Itama now has a reputation as The Legendary Healer, Kawarama was still pissed that Itama chose to have such a pansy designation. Was he not ashamed of purposefully undertaking a female's job? Curse Tobirama for putting such stupid ideas into Itama's head.

Ah, right. Speaking of Tobirama, Kawarama has a feeling that he was missing a crucial piece in the puzzle about his brother. And he would not rest until he figures out what it was. And in order to dissolve this nagging sensation in his gut, Kawarama would try to dig for the cause of this very un-Tobirama-like behavior via his normal means; chatting.

Disguises and espionage have always been Kawarama's forte, and he has succeeded in many covert infiltration missions over the years. The only difficulty he would be facing during this subtle interrogation would be that Tobirama wasn't like his normal targets, as the ice queen was far too intelligent for his own good.

"You appear to be in a good mood. Did something interesting happen?"

Kawarama made sure that his tone remains lackluster as he shuffles through a stack of documents, not bothering to look away from the scrolls even when he feels those eerie red eyes (insert shudder) on his person; as if he wasn't really interested in the answer but was asking anyway because of boredom.

"Perhaps it is I who should be asking you that question, Kawarama," Tobirama drawled. "It isn't often that you deem it significant to open a conversation with me. Has something noteworthy happened to have garnered your curiosity?"

The 'chat' has only just begun and Tobirama was already in the midst of twisting their position around, casually steering their conversation to be about Kawarama rather than himself with an ease that took Kawarama years to master. How utterly infuriating.

Fortunately for Kawarama, he has already prepared for this; having predicted that Tobirama would be tight-lipped and distant even with family ('cold-hearted bastard that he is', an echo of a voice said in his mind, piercing yet dim, as if it wasn't really there but he was too used to its commentaries to notice).

Kawarama shrugs his shoulders and turns to Tobirama while playfully rolling his eyes, ensuring that his body language remains lax and open as he tries to subtly take the reins again, "You being in a good mood while in Uchiha land, duh. I think that's enough of a reason to make anyone curious, no?"

"Indeed?" Tobirama hums dispassionately, lazily shifting to rest his chin atop a fist with his eyes half-lidded as he inspects another scroll, looking blatantly disinterested in furthering their exchange. "I suppose that paperwork has always had a calming effect on my bearing. To say that I appear to be in a buoyant mood is rather unexpected to hear, however - though it is rather understandable for others to mistaken my lack of expression with that of contentment."

It took a while for his mind to remove all those excessively big words and restructure them into easier-to-understand phrases. After it did, Kawarama could feel a boiling need to puke blood. Truly infuriating.

If Kawarama was a lesser man, he would have already been gnashing his teeth at the lack of enthusiasm his brother was obviously broadcasting, as well as the not-so-subtle jab at his new habit of avoiding Tobirama; started not a few months back. Brothers, they may be, but Kawarama and Tobirama's relationship was beginning to take a deep dive into an active volcano.

Of course, it wasn't Kawarama's fault. Tobirama was entirely to blame for behaving so suspiciously as of late.

Rather than showing his irritation, however, Kawarama made a show of grumbling petulantly, "You're my big brother. Can't I take interest in what makes you happy? Why do you have to make it sound as if I don't care about you?"

"Because you haven't as of late," Kawarama could only gape at the other Senju's blunt (and factual) accusation, said in a dispassionate monotone. "However, when you put it in that way, I suppose I could set aside a minute or two of my time for my dearest little brother."

With that, the ice queen finally sets aside his brush and turns to Kawarama with an indulgent expression on his stoic face (or so Kawarama assumes since his brother's expression was still as cold as an ice statue), though it was painfully destroyed by the condescending tone he had used.

Kawarama could feel his blood pressure rise at the blatant sarcasm rolling off of Tobirama's tongue, and all he could do to remain calm was to remind himself of his objective, his very important objective. He finally has Tobirama's attention. It would not do to lose his temper now, of all times.

After taking a deep inhale, he forces his lips into a brotherly smile.

"Thanks, I guess," Kawarama shrugs, discreetly forcing down the tensed lines of his shoulders to retain his appearance of relaxed. "So, care to tell the class why you're so cheerful this morning? Did something exciting happen?"

"Does something have to happen for me to be in a good mood? Am I not allowed to be, as you so eloquently put it, cheerful, once in a while for no apparent reason?"

... and Tobirama was doing it again; answering a question with another question. Kawarama couldn't help it. He deadpanned.

"You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?" Kawarama accused while trying not to sound as if he was accusing. If anyone was wondering, yes, he was failing badly at it.

"And what, exactly, am I doing on purpose?" That condescending tone was back again but this time, it was with one white brow raised.

"That! You're doing it again!" At Tobirama's calm silence, Kawarama has no choice but to play along and elaborates with clenched teeth. "Answering a question with another question, brother dear."

The other white brow joined the other. Tobirama's ice queen persona and haughty disposition were really starting to get on his nerves. Rather, it had fried so many of his pet peeves that Kawarama has to wonder how he hadn't exploded just yet.

"I have always been like this, Kawarama. You should have known that by now," Tobirama pauses, his lips curving into a mocking smile. "Or have you recently developed retrograde amnesia these past few months? What has driven you to forget all of my mannerisms, Kawarama? This is... disconcerting, to say the least. Are you in need of assistance, little brother?"

Again with those backhanded comments! Sage damn it! Why was Tobirama so keen to throw shade at him, anyway?! Kawarama's head hurt from thinking about the way his brother talks. Or rather, it was beginning to get harder and harder to concentrate now - as if someone had rattled his head with a sledgehammer.

Suddenly, as if he had just been struck by a carriage, Kawarama was reminded of the fact that Tobirama has always been a vindictive bastard. All of this grievances he was receiving was probably due to all of the pranks he had dropped onto his brother's bleached head and the borrowed items he had lost.

"Are you being difficult on purpose? If this is about that red sword I borrowed from you..." He tested tentatively, unsure if he had metaphorically stepped onto Tobirama's toe with that question, but at the same time, confident that he must be wrong.

After all, it had been ages since that incident. His brother has a lot of weapons, anyway. A mere sword, especially if it was something Kawarama suspects had been looted from an enemy, shouldn't be that important (despite Itama's nagging that that red sword was a gift from Tobirama's beloved. As if his ice queen of an older brother has the heart to fall in love. That was laughable at best).

When Tobirama pretends to think for a moment, Kawarama was immediately on high alert. After a while, the palpable tension was broken at Tobirama firm nod, not at all denying that he was just being a petty bastard for holding onto such a stupid grudge for so long.

He grumbled angrily.

"Kawarama, you-" Tobirama seems to forcefully cut himself off by biting his bottom lip. A frown appeared in between his brows, but they disappeared just as fast as they appeared. "I was beginning to worry that there has only been hot air inside that head of yours," Before he could so much as to throw a fit at that utterly unnecessary and mean opinion about his intelligence, Tobirama picks up his brush and returns to his scrolls, but not before dealing the verbal death blow to his ego as an infiltrator. "If only your desire to return me my Akabane is as burning as your desire to interrogate me. I try my best to give you the benefit of the doubt, little brother, but it is of no surprise that you continue to disappoint me. Unfortunately, it has become a rather familiar feeling as of late. Now if you would excuse me, I have paperwork to go through."

Knowing a dismissal when he hears one, Kawarama didn't hesitate to storm out of the main tent with clenched fists and a tight jaw, the brush in his hand had long shattered. He knows that if he had stayed any longer, he would have committed a foolish act of attacking their clan's heir. It would have labeled him as a blood and clan traitor - and what good would that do when he was trying to catch the real traitor red-handed?

He would take a step back for now, but soon enough, he would figure out what Tobirama was hiding. And if his suspicions about Tobirama and Madara were confirmed to be true, he would take action. Brother or not, Kawarama would not tolerate betrayal.

Unfortunately, he was too blinded by rage and suspicion to notice the pair of red eyes, full of upset and worry, drill into the back of his head as he took to the rooftops, along with a pair of crimson eyes and three tomoes doing the same, but with alarm and dismay.

Madara had been minding his own business, drinking saké by the windowsill on his lonesome and watching how the surface of the pond has slowly been turning a beautiful shade of orange as the sun rises when he jolts to a stand, the wards having sent him an alarm; alerting him of Zetsu's fleeting presence.

An unpleasant chill was crawling up his spine as he bundles Kazuha into his arms and swiftly ran into Ryouta's bedroom. He didn't bother to say anything, only handing his startled little brother the now-crying infant and fled through the window.

As soon as his feet touched the grassy ground, he leaped onto the rooftops and rushes towards the direction of where his wards had sensed Zetsu, his own chakra compressed to its limits. Better safe than sorry.

Another sense into the general area of Zetsu's appearance made Madara almost trip on his own feet. Why Tobirama's chakra signature was within touching distance from the flare concerns him greatly. Anxiety made his mind conjure an image of Tobirama being possessed by Zetsu, which made him push himself to run faster.

It took a few tries to shake off the nerves and compartmentalize those dreadful thoughts away, but he manages whilst pulling out his gunbai from his storage seal tattoo and lands silently atop the main tent's roof. He senses Tobirama and another person inside, their chakra familiar to Madara but not quite as well.

It didn't take long for the other chakra to spike ever-so-slightly, becoming agitated and muddled - a distinct sign that Zetsu had latched firmly onto their mind and was beginning to play puppet master. After a moment, Madara was alarmed to see that the familiar chakra belonged to Kawarama, the adolescent having thrown himself out of the main tent, face flushed red with anger as he rushed off into the direction of the compound's main gate.

His teeth had bitten the bottom of his lip so hard that Madara wasn't at all surprised to taste blood in his mouth. Dismayed at the discovery that Zetsu's victim was someone he couldn't just kill, Madara clenches his eyes shut.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!

To have Zetsu penetrate through his defensive wards after only a day meant that Kawarama has been its host for quite some time. It could have been years, for all Madara knows. What a miscalculation! For him to have forgotten to secure Hashirama's family with protection seals from Zetsu was a lapse of judgment and a basic mistake that could potentially cost him everything.

Hashirama had been his brother from another life, for Sage's sake, and he knows that Zetsu was after one of them in order to use them to put the Juubi back together again and free Kaguya from the moon. He knows all of it (despite how he was struggling desperately to stay alive 'inside' of Kaguya, he was aware of what was happening 'outside'), yet he hadn't taken steps to protect Hashirama, his then-best friend.

"You stupid piece of self-centered shite, Uchiha Madara!" He hisses angrily to himself as he uses his right hand, bare of gloves in his haste to eliminate the dangerous threat, to cover his clammy and pale face. He needed to think of a plan to fix this, stat!

["No, Madara, you're not the savior... and it's over."]

He throws his gunbai, uncaring of the noise it made when it landed somewhere in his haste to press a palm against his chest, right over his heart; where it throbbed angrily at the phantom sensation of a hand penetrating through his left shoulder blade and exiting through the front of his chest.

["Yes... The stone monument left by Hagoromo. I changed its text. I wrote that the Infinite Tsukuyomi is what would save the Uchiha."]

Madara fought to breathe through the nauseating pull of his gut, through the taste of metal on his tongue, through the echo of the fucking voice whispering manipulations in his head.

["When Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama became transmigrants... I was certain... that Madara could do it. And that it'd be my first step in my mother's revival."]

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" He growls, his whole body trembling from the onslaught of memories as he claws angrily at his chest.

["For shinobi, Madara's corpse was like a treasure box. Tobirama, who was studying the Sharingan... decided not to dispose of the body..."]

"He should have... He should have..." Madara mumbles deliriously, unaware of his surroundings and how he had fallen to his knees. At the tentative touch of a hand on his bicep, Madara dazedly looks up, the dilated pupils of his Mangekyō Sharingan meeting narrow red eyes. "You should have disposed of me, Tobirama."

Without any warning, Madara abruptly collapses with his eyes rolled to the back of his head and blood leaking from his tear ducts. Whilst his exhausted body rests from the effects of pushing itself well over its physical limits after the suicidal stunt Madara had pulled following Kazuha's birth, his mind was filled with never-ending memories of his past and present remorse.

A/N:

Oh, snap. I wonder what's gonna happen next? Any thoughts?