"Come on, Tobi~ he's my best friend! I can't possibly just leave him suffering alone~" For Senju Tobirama's greatest dismay, Senju Hashirama, his only blood relative left, an aloof big brother, the clan head, someone who is sentimental and optimistically stupid to realize the possible dangers that always follow him from the shadows, the soon to be leader of the unnamed village (not decided yet but it was obvious), the soon to be the leader of a big settlement that harbours people of all kind and clans, the one deemed as God of Shinobi, is on his knees begging him with the largest kicked puppy expression he has ever seen in his whole miserable life that he prefers his brother's melancholy over this wicked, stupid face . Yet again, both are terrible, horrible, no good things he'd rather avoid dealing with. And a drunken form of him is no better. Even if his big brother holds his liquor quite well, it is just a simple big, bold, red N.O.

He sighed and rubbed his temples from the forming headache that his supposed-to-be big brother is giving him by simply looking at him like that . Despite his big brother's big heart that has a place for the whole planet, welcoming, homey aura that attracts people, all the smiles, jokes, and chats he has with people every now and then, he realized that he calls none of them as 'friend' or 'best friend' which makes him wonder if his brother is just a big actor -but he knows better than to think that. Senju Hashirama, as dumb as he may act, as straightforward as he may seem, and as blunt as he may sound; his brother is no idiot, he's just isn't as logical as Tobirama is.

Senju Tobirama himself is wary of the Uchiha but doesn't hate them. If there is an Uchiha that he will keep hating until his dying breath, it, and with no doubt, is his brother's only friend: Uchiha Madara.

During his free time , he would stroll in the Uchiha compound to check how the clan is cooping in the village and the other clans that joined it (he made a mental note to remind his brother to find a name and a suitable leader for this shinobi settlement). In one of his strolls in the compound, while the Uchiha patriarch was nowhere to be found (or so he thought), he heard a couple of Uchiha groups gossiping about how crude and sadistic he became, losing what is left of his stable sanity after Izuna's death, and that he should not be elected as the future head and removed from his current position as clan head. Tobirama being Tobirama, he changed his appearance to that of an Uchiha (much to his distaste; but it was the only way to blend in) and walked to one of the gossiping groups.

To his greatest surprise, the Uchihas he was walking with did not doubt him for even a millisecond and instantly started chatting with him as if he is one of their own (which technically he is, thanks to the henge).

All in all, everything went well in his secret mission until one of them spoke of the Uchiha patriarch.

"Speaking of which," his voice lowered to nothing but a whisper that only they could hear, probably scared of the Uchiha demon who might be lurking in the shadows now, and continued. "I'm wondering why in hell aren't the elders changing that damned bastard who doesn't even want to grant us hires of the like of his power."

"Speaking of Madara now eh? Don't think Hikaku would be so jumpy hearing you, pal. But I care less. I agree with this statement of yours." one of them commented.

"Me three. Maybe he's just too arrogant to think of producing hires as strong as he is -but whatever. Not like any of us want a copy of that demon, anyway. Who knows, maybe they would just come out like him: power hungry." a third exclaimed.

"Crude and sadists."

"Pfft, c'mon! Even the children's adrenaline rushes through their veins wherever they glimpse his silhouette!"

"As much as I enjoy laughing at this old joke-"

"It's true! I witnessed it with my own eyes!"

"One: I never said you were lying. Two: don't interrupt me when i am talking. So, where was I?"

"Really, Fuji? Really?"

"Well, damn you, Daisen!" Fuji cleared his throat before looking deadpan and continued. "As much as I enjoy laughing at this joke, Daisen, I myself would be on the verge of tears in their stead. Have you not heard that he took his little brother's eyes forcefully in his deathbed?"

"Are you joking?"

"I'm serious, Haku."

"You are not lying. I heard something similar to this, except that he dealt the final blow to his younger brother, after gouging his eyes out." Daisen exclaimed. "Not only that, but only because he is the only one who currently has the advanced form of the Sharingan, I suggest that his place should be robbed from him, some say he killed his father to awaken the Mangekyou and take his place as the clan head."

"Tsk! The tyrant!" In Spite of the many horrible things one could do to his own kin, Tobirama is glad to admit that forcing one's eyes out of their socket is damn horrid.

With every word the gang of Uchihas he was with shooting, he kept a self note to himself to, first, as a logical persons who follows nothing but logic, would make sure if the rumors he was hearing right now are true or not, even if the whole compound was talking about it, asking Madara's personal advisor, Uchiha Hikaku, would be the first thing he would do since the other Uchiha is always stuck to his clan head's side like a loyal dog would to the Inuzuka.

Returning back to his current problem, the kicked puppy is still begging him for advice to help that godforsaken warmonger smile or laugh or even talk again . As if he has anything to do with that Uchiha scum! He wishes his brother understands that he is not willing to help the like of that devil spawn.

"Tobiiiiii~! Pretty pleaaase~"

"Anija, I swear if you continue whining at me, I am not helping you sort out the mountain of paperwork regarding this settlement of yours!" Hopefully, that will work as his big brother's arch nemesis, something that he never won and will never win against.

"Are you threatening me?" If that is what they mean by expecting the unexpected, then he understands it perfectly now. He set aside his quill and straightened his back, staring at Hashirama's drastic change of attitude and narrowed his eyes staring straight into his brother's brown ones.

"What if I am?" Being the one who always wins a staring contest between them, he saw his brother skulk under his melancholic cloud before standing up desperately and huffing, then he stomped his way to the door and opened it.

"Fine! Have it your way! Stay stuck in here enjoying your paperwork while I go and search for my friend!" hmphing, he turned his face away from the younger brother and stormed out of the soon-to-be village's head office and slammed the door behind him.

After hearing his brother's loud footsteps disappear due to the long distance, Tobirama sighed miserably before taking the quill back in his hand and stared at the paper in front of him. Perhaps, Hashirama was right about something being off about the Uchiha. He cares less about his healthcare and wellbeing, but his actions worry Hashirama a lot that Hashirama comes and asks for help from him desperately, showing obvious concern about his only friend. He doesn't care about Madara's smiles and laughs, however, he has been suspiciously silent even during the council and daimyo's meetings. His advisor and right-hand man, Hikaku, did most of the talks for him. No, scratch that, he did all of the talks in his stead. Except when someone asked for his input would he answer them.

Perhaps, Hashirama was right about something being wrong with the Uchiha, something great at that, which made Hashirama greatly determined as to help his friend. Perhaps, he should have helped Hashirama when he asked this from him instead of brushing him off as if the Uchiha is none of his concerns, in which is true, mind you. Then he considered, being his big brother's only close friend, he could only guess that it'd be his brother's downfall if something happens to the former.

He shook his head to rid it of these negative eating thoughts and concentrated on the paper in front of him. Concerning himself of the Uchiha patriarch will do him no good. He should only be wary, suspicious and on guard about and in his presence. Nothing more, nothing less.

With that in mind, he continued working on the load of paperwork to distract himself from any unwanted thoughts.

The fresh memory of the Senju vs Uchiha last battle has dug its place in his mind. Not the war itself, to be exact. But the glorifying figure of the current Uchiha patriarch appearance. Not that he had appeared in a flashy way or anything even though Hashirama knew his friend to be of the kind -but no, not that. It was his aura that was different from their prior battle that they had fought three months ago. At first he had not paid it much attention as the bandages wrapping Madara's eyes caught it. He remembers clearly the hatred, anguish, suffering, anger and sorrow he saw in his glowing, abnormal, red Sharingan.

The way he reacted after Tobirama asked him of Izuna's condition - as if he cared but he doesn't blame his little brother for that. They were in war. And wars mean either to kill or be killed. That is also a ninja's daily life; wherever they go, death follows them. As Madara unleashed his blue chakra constructed, samurai-like, giant shield, he felt the taint in his chakra briefly, before he engaged in fighting him.

Not only was the Uchiha's appearance back then disheveled and off, not only was Madara's air back then so depressing and heavy, his whole posture was like that and still is until now. No matter how many times he outstretched his hand to his only friend, he always looked hesitant before taking it (which was once), and often never even reached it, as if he did, the world might fall on him.

Sometimes also, when the cofounder was staring down at the village, he caught his black holes most of the time distant, as if it was seeing the unseen, or rather, his mind was somewhere far from reality. When he first caught him so off guard and in that dazed state, oblivious around his surroundings, he thought nothing of it. He is a clan head and a co-founder of this newborn village, he was probably thinking of ways to evolve it and make it a better place. So he waited eagerly for that day where his friend would mouth his words to come. But it never did.

When he noticed this shut-down act of his friend continued for more than a month, he became extremely worried, and knowing that his brother is no good with emotions, he could, at least, give him advice or help him in that matter. He should've known better than to ask for help, however.

Reaching the cliff top at first, he expected to see the usual dazed figure of the Uchiha patriarch with sagged shoulders and low on guard to notice his presence standing there unmoving, watching over the village with those distant charcoal eyes of his -but no. All he saw currently was an empty cliff with nothing but the blue horizon in front, the sun and clouds above, and the infant village from beneath but nothing -no one is standing atop it. He frowned at the unfortunate discovery but walked forward nevertheless.

When he reached the steep cliff edge, his eyes instantly fell downwards to the nameless village. If it was any other day, he would've smiled brightly at its constant development, its progress, its fast evolution -but this day is not like any other day. Today, however, he ought to find his friend and stay by his side until he spills his worries and burdens on the empty plate for him to help his friend to look at the better side of the village and raise his spirits up. He needn't plan for it as he is going to certainly do it today, and now.

His gut is grunting with a bad feeling that something will happen today. Something big that is going to change him and everything else if he doesn't act up immediately. So he exhales sharply before tearing his gaze away from the village and turns around to walk away. If he is not here, then surely in the Uchiha compound. Surely.

As he stepped a foot in the compound's entrance, he was met with the usual smiles of acknowledgement and slight bows for his respected status as the founder of the place they resided themselves in, which he returned with a slight nod in a hurry.

The first sign that assured his gut feeling was: no one in the compound had seen him today, so his first resort was to go to Hikari-san and see if her son, Kagami, went to his leader since he always goes to him to either train or just spend time with him. So, to her Uchiha-traditional house he went.

When he raised his fist to knock on the entrance door, it opened before his hand even reached it and a fluffy haired eleven years old boy, holding something in his arms covered by aluminium paper, stopped in his tracks as he saw him. "Hashirama-sama?" the kid tilted his head up a little to the right to stare at the unexpected visitor standing on his doorway. As his name was called, Hikari peeked her head from the kitchen doorway before walking to greet him.

"Hashirama-sama, I did not expect to see you here. What do I owe the pleasure for?" she asked, raising a delicate dark purple eyebrow in confusion.

"Err... I was wondering if you had seen Madara today...?" he trailed, then swallowed, looking at her eyes hoping for an answer that will lead him -assure him that his friend was, at least, seen by someone. Even if just one person. But she shook her head, and he frowned.

"Kagami hasn't gone to him yet. I was in the house all day so, no. I didn't see him."

"I see." he sighed, disappointed by the news. Even if he expected this answer, he still felt a pang of disappointment and a heavy feeling of deep worry for his friend.

"Mi-kun is going to Dara-shishou now!" Kagami's voice reminded him of his presence between the two adults and he smiled at his grinning face. "You can tag along, too!"

"Why, of course." moving out of the way, Kagami waved at his mother while the two adults shared a bidding nod before both he and the kid walked away, fading into the distance.

Both of them broke into a light chatter as they strode down the road heading to the Uchiha clan head house. He didn't ask all of the people living in the compound if they saw his friend anywhere but he did ask a lot of people so it still counts, and he is determined to find him today.

A breeze hit him and everything in its way, sending pleasant prickles up his skin, and with it, it carried a nice smell of gratifying food. He looked around to see if they were near any restaurants but all he found are residences lined up symmetrically. Then he looked at Kagami's hands, and his nose picked up the smell again. "What's that you're carrying?" The Uchiha kid turned his face to him and saw his raised eyebrow and his brown eyes pointing at the aluminium covered thing. Kagami blinked, then mouthed a light oh before grinning widely and looking back at what he was holding.

"Yesterday when Mi-kun met with Dara-shisho he looked so sad, so Mi-kun told mother about it and we decided to make him his favourite to cheer him up!"

"What do you mean by "he looked so sad"?" by now, Hashirama had stopped walking and instead stared at the kid's back with furrowed brows and worried eyes before turning to face him and the child's grin instantly fell to a one of worrisome and confusion but explained what he meant by it, nevertheless.

"Yesterday when Mi-kun met Dara-shihsho at one of Naka river's docks to practice Mi-kun's fireball, he looked very sad and lonely! Dara-shisho usually senses Mi-kun's presence but this time Mi-kun had to throw a fireball because whatever Mi-kun did Dara-shiho never responded! And Dara-shisho went stiff and he almost fell to the Naka-river! Mi-kun is so, so, very worried about Dara-shiho so Mi-kun decided to help Dara-shisho smile again!" alas, he was too focused on what the eleven year old child had said to note that he was done talking. When he realized that, however, he smiled and agreed with Kagami's idea to cheer his friend up.

They may have been near the Uchiha clan head's house, but the walk there felt like walking around the whole fire country in one night. When they reached the house's gates, empty of any guards and silent from any movement, you could say, by one glance at it, that there was no activity in it for days afar.

He knocked on the wooden walls beside the shoji doors three times before hearing soft but thumping and hurried footsteps rushing towards it and a thud followed. He blinked then looked at the smaller Uchiha with a raised eyebrow, silently asking if he had any idea of who was in Madara's house if not him. He could already tell that the said Uchiha's presence is fleeting. The kid smiled answering that it was probably Hikaku, Madara's adviser because, of course, who would dare and enter Uchiha Madara's property if not him, Tobirama, and his adviser? No one. And since he left Tobirama to enjoy the gloom of paperwork, he should have known that it is none other than the Uchiha clan head's adviser: Uchiha Hikaku.

As in cue, the said man slid open the door and abruptly stopped as he saw the two figures standing in front of the house entrance and blinked. His eyes moving frantically between the two before finally settling at the older and straightened up. "What did I miss?"

While the food dish Kagami brought with him appeared to be inarizushi (his friend never talks about himself. He didn't even know he liked fried tofu!) rested on the kitchen's counter, they sat silently with steaming, green tea mugs in front of him and Hikaku while a cold, orange juice sat in front of Kagami. They haven't talked yet about their main topic and the tension is already high. Even that, or it is his gut's bad feeling nagging on him to move and search. To search somewhere where he is certain that he is going to find his friend before it is too late to even bother searching for him- no, he mustn't think of the worse. He knows that his friend won't be reckless and do what every hopeless, helpless person who has suffered all life does and -he screws his eyes shut and shakes his head, erasing those kinds of thoughts from his mind. There is no reason for his friend to go that far. He won't. He won't. He won't. He won't and he kept repeating this for himself to deny this lingering thought. His friend have absolutely no reason to go this far. Absolutely no reason. He wished he was able to shove that eating thought away.

Hikaku's rather loud sip caught his lingering attention causing him to instantly move his eyes to him with a thin, brown eyebrow raised and the other just sighed while setting his mug down on the dark-nearly-black brown chabudai, then looked at him straight in the eyes: analysing him. He blinked, and the other man groaned lightly as if he had expected a different reaction from him. And he just blinked. Again. This time, with a tilt of his head. And Hikaku's dark-purple eyebrow twitched. The only sound in the background that could be heard was Kagami's cackling.

Hikaku set his tea mug back on the chabudai after a seemingly unnecessary long, slurred sip. This time, it was set with a loud clunk caused by the sudden setting force. His head turned towards the green yard with eyes staring distantly as he exhaled through his nose. "Honestly, Hashirama-kun, I'm surprised that the Senju clan managed to stand on its feet against us while you were leading it." he, unamusingly, caught the said man slumping down under a cloud of incredulous melancholy, by the corner of his eye and snorted. "Although, I highly doubt that you were the one doing everything to maintain the unshakable dam that your clan always was." this time, a loud thud was heard as Hashirama's head slammed harshly on the wooden table with a devastated facade and thick, alligator tears shimmering.

The Uchiha clan head's right hand man exhaled through his nose with closed eyes calmly but obviously tense before finally giving attention to his pretending-to-be-hurt guest. Hikaku knew why Hashirama came here, other than to accompany Kagami to Madara's house and to give his friend a deserved visit or to ask him a favor like he usually does. Instead, the Senju co-founder finally opened his wide-for-nothing eyes and realized that something is very wrong with his said friend.

In spite of him being with Madara every day and hour, whenever and wherever he goes, he couldn't figure out what was wrong with his clan head or whatever is swirling in his mind.

Whilst the observant people notice the little things that slip easily from anyone's view, there were obvious signs that didn't take a genius to decipher and an observant to barely notice. Except that, while they are plain to see, only those who know Uchiha Madara personally would say that they are very wrong. For the person who first was haughty and smug, mischievous, loyal to fault, over confident, straightforward and observant, blatant but kind, choleric but forgiving, possessive and overprotective to those whom he care about, that once with a high self-esteem and always self assured in a disdain and always flummoxed, grieving in self-pity and sinking into self-doubt and self-deprecating, self-depriving and self-defeating, maybe even falling victim to depression and soon-

He shook his head as soon as the untoward thought dared to cross his mind. He mustn't think of his little cousin as some lowly being who would stand silent watching loved ones die and soon crumble to join them. Uchiha Madara is far from that, even if the bits of loneliness and self-isolation started creeping up on him, he is not one of these kinds. He is not and will never be .

Hikaku knows better than to think such ridiculous thoughts. After all, shinobi endure, and Madara endures and shoulders more than anyone else. Then again, Madara is a man, and men are humans. He is human first, then a high esteemed shinobi. And since he is that, humans have emotions and a breaking point, which means so does Madara, and Madara's breaking point broke when Izuna died, after his only support died. He probably lived his life in solitary without a shoulder to lean on. It is not that he is noticing things now, it is just that the points connected and the blanks filled.

"Hikaku-san-"

"Hashirama-kun-" both looked at each other with mouths ajar, blinking twice stimulatingly before the older of the room brought a fist to his mouth and coughed clearing his throat. Them speaking up at the same time was expected but still awkward. He closed his dark, charcoal eyes and exhaled through his nose before reopening them again, shining with anticipation. As his raised arm set back folded on the table, he spoke again, knowing that the other man won't start. "Go on first -no I said first so go on. Don't make me force the words out of your loud tongue. You won't like it." God of Shinobi, my butt. The man should really get over his depression. At least, the threat made him clamp his mouth shut and state his business in the Uchiha clan head's property.

"Have you seen Madara anywhere today? I've been looking for him all morning!" really, he knows that, but he needs to hear it from the Senju patriarch mouth for affirmation. The older Uchiha stared at his now cold mug of tea and breathed in.

"I have, indeed, seen Madara today." Peeking a gaze at the other, he saw him swallow thickly and eyes searching his black ones nervously before flickering left and right and his posture slumped a little. He was hesitant to say something, he could see that clearly. And he definitely had an idea of what it is. However, what's more satisfying than having the one touted as God of Shinobi on edge? He smirked slightly at the thought of it.

"I hear a 'but' at the end, Hikaku-san..." he trailed off, gaze falling to the said man again, glistening and desperate. He raised his hand in an attempt to hide his growing smirk, which he succeeded on, but the eyes aren't the mirror of the soul for nothing, so he looked back at the yard, a portion of the koi pond seen at the left corner exactly behind Madara's office, a couple of feet away.

"But that was hours ago. The first time I saw him was when he was in his office doing the little paperwork that I left on his table but that was early in the morning and time sped. At sunrise, when he finished all of his work, he... he pointed out that he was going to have a walk in solitude. Not sure where, exactly, he was heading but I thought it was just taking some fresh air before training Kagami-chan. Time sped, again, to the hour where the both of you deemed my thoughts mistaken. Right now, it is midday, and I haven't caught a glimpse of him since." with his eyes roaming everywhere but the two figures opposite to him, he concluded his speech.

From the moment Izuna's death was announced, Uchiha Madara's life went downhill. Back in time when everything was fine, his little cousin had nothing but his younger brother as a loyal support and comfortable company where he could be just him around. His little brother was everything to him in the time of war and probably his only source of living and his only push to move forward. Aside from him, Kagami, and Izuna, he had absolutely no one that actually believed in him. And yet, he only continued to move forward and ignore the secret disrespect that who-he-is-shielding threw unprotected at his back. Even if some made their disrespect and dubiety discreet, he still smiled and forgave. He still laughed at it and said that by time, things will be okay. He hoped that. He believed in that.

That was until that fatal day appeared before their all-seeing eyes.

Uchiha Izuna had played a major role throughout the life of the Uchiha clan head.

He was like Madara's heart and soul. The sole core of life source that kept him unwavering in front of the harsh moments he saw, the tough days he fought, and stood with an ironed-will like a steel made dam in front of the raising tsunami facing the harshness of the world it threw at him and the challenges that demands his keen attention. However, now that the plinth holding the statue is gone, he crumbled down to Earth in smithereens that had no hope of being brought back together anytime soon. A piece of him was gone and left a wide, gaping hole in the place of his heart. The gap having nothing -no hope to be replenished.

The word 'gone' is an understatement.

At times, when Madara thinks that no one is staring, he would catch him in a slump, looking uncomfortable around no one -even in his own house- and out of place as if someone had thrown him where he did not belong.

He felt something anxious stewing in the days to come. Something was amiss, something that he couldn't let hurt his cousin but at the same time he doubted his ability to stop that -because part of him knew that whatever it was, it was coming from within the man. He hoped, both as a protector of his clansmen and someone who cared for his leader's wellbeing, that Madara did not become one of the shinobi who gave up. And if he can prevent that from happening, he simply would give it his all.

Hashirama met his eyes and swallowed thickly allowing the gulping sound to echo silently but reach his ears nonetheless. His mouth was set in a quivering line and gaze bore its way through the wooden floor, probably thinking. While little Kagami looked at him with brows creating crescents between them and eyes shining with sheer worry.

"Had he... Had Madara always been this..." Hikaku moved his gaze back to the younger Senju and narrowed his eyes at him as the other trailed searching for suitable, less rude but also solemn truth to say, and stayed silent waiting for the other to continue, patiently. "Introvert? Isolated? Both?" he had seen this question coming, in fact, he already had answers for whatever questions both Kagami and Hashirama may shoot. Except if they were personal ones, these Madara's to answer. He is also willing to test -to see how much Madara means to the Senju in front of him. Madara had faced too many betrayals if you count the number of clansmen who turned their backs on him shamelessly.

"Prior to Izuna-kun's death, no." With that being said, Hashirama's brown eyes narrowed and he tore his gaze to the silent floor.

Hikaku closed his eyes at the sight of compassion in Hashirama's eyes. The other man must've known the value Izuna held in his friend's life. Even if Hashirama feels sorry for his friend's loss, if he cares about the Uchiha leader as much as he claims he does, he mustn't show compassion towards him. Madara never forgives anyone who shows him sympathy, or pity alike. Neither the guilt he feels for not being able to heal Izuna that day. He would never forget the hesitation when Madara had to either accept the Senju clan head's proposal and the silent conflict about Izuna's opinion.

Izuna never trusted the Senju. Unlike his brother, who had played and talked to a Senju out of the battlefield and idealized ideas for future peace between the clans, he never thought of making a pact and ally themselves with the Senjus in order to achieve peace to stop the killing and vengeful cycle that they are going through in the warring era. Madara had talked to him about it and to consider it five times but the younger Uchiha never changed his mindset about it, and Madara gave up trying to confront him to accept it. Thus, he had thrown away every peace treaty scroll the Senju patriarch sent him. It may be against his will as he had always put the younger brother and his clan's benefit before his own well.

He would never forget the silent help seeking look Madara wore when he was supposed to choose between shaking Hashirama's hand or listen to Izuna and never again think of allying the Uchiha clan with their arch nemesis. He at the end, gave up to Izuna's demand and retreated.

Izuna brought his fate upon himself and hurt his brother in the aftermath. Hashirama needn't feel guilty or sorry for that matter. They were in a war. And war means to either kill or be killed. Death follows shinobi wherever they go, and Izuna was a shinobi.

"You needn't feel sorry for Madara-kun's loss, Hashirama-kun." He opened his onyx eyes to see the other staring at him with an understanding gaze and nodded silently, waiting for the older man in the room to continue, which he appreciated. "Izuna-kun brought that upon himself, and we were at a war. A battle between death and life. It is not your fault that you couldn't heal him. He chose his fate and destiny alone. He chose death for life, and that's what he got." he inhaled then stood up, walking to the opened door of the house's backyard that leads to the enegawa then the short-grassed field and stood on the doorway facing the green field. He breathed out, then turned to face both Kagami and Hashirama who by now have serious and determined expressions as if they jumped to a conclusion, a course of action, a resolution. He smiled at that, as he knew exactly what they're awaiting from him, so he raised four fingers. "There are four places I suspect him to go to," closing his pinky finger, he continued. "One: The Naka River." he paused, and saw them both nod, so he closed his ring finger and continued. "Two: The Naka Shrine." At that, Kagami was the only one to nod while the Senju raised a confused eyebrow.

"Why would Madara visit a shrine ?" he inquired, and Hikaku sighed.

"Inside the Naka Shrine there is a momentum passed down to the future generations from the Sage of Six Paths and only the Uchiha clan head can enter it. Unless they bring someone with them." Hashirama's mouth formed into a silent 'oh' before it was set firm and nodded. He closed his middle finger and continued. "Third: Izuna's grave." the two of them stiffened but nodded nonetheless. So he closed his index, hand curled into a fist before he fully turned to them and clasped his hands behind his back and continued. "Fourth: The cliff."

"But I went to the cliff before coming here and didn't see him."

"And we lost track of time writhing in silence." with that, the Senju was silenced. He turned his head to look at the colour of the sky -which was still blue- but he could tell the sun's position had changed as the shadows began stretching. He looked taken back, surprised as he had not noticed that time went that fast.

"That much of a time passed while we were just talking..."

"Hn. We are nearing winter, Hashirama-kun. The day shortens, don't you know." Hikaku hummed in satisfaction as he captured the priceless expression with his Sharingan that Hashirama made as his head slumped down on the table.

"It's not even that cold yet~!" and he whined. Oh, this is definitely a priceless moment he'll hold to his grave other than watching Izuna being thrown to the Koi pond. Absolutely priceless.

The Senju's depression this time, however, did not last long as the said man that developed it perked up suddenly and jumped to his feet with a blinding grin that he is certain that if it could shine, it, undoubtedly, will. "Alright! It's decided then! Better we start our SfM mission before sunset hits! Not all of us have the 'All Seeing Eyes', you know!"

"'SfM'?" Kagami raised an eyebrow and asked.

"Searching for Madara mission!" Hashirama beamed. Hikaku wondered how in the name of Sage is Tobirama still sane. He sighed mesirebaly and shook his head. Leave it to Hashirama to give lame names for everything dumb. Even Madara's unimaginative names are more bearable! Despite his thoughts, he secretly smiled at Hashirama and Kagami's enthusiasm. At least, he isn't the only one who cares about his little cousin. He is happy for him for having a caring friend that would leave everything behind to aid him.

Like any Uchiha child, Kagami strode down the streets of the Uchiha compound in a hurry, searching for the fleeting presence of his favourite clan head and best teacher. He had expected that his troll to the Naka river would go smoothly, without any obstacles in his way or disturbance. Alas, he was wrong. In annoyance, his brow twitched.

His walk towards the Naka river was painful. Why? Someone might ask. Kagami is quite a famous child amongst the Uchiha due to his curly, short, black hair and his cheerful, playful yet serious when it is time and ambitious personality. Not to forget about how eldery people sometimes ask him for help, (which he obliges for, and he gains sweets at the end so it is an advantage for him) and sometimes, women and eldery women pinch his young, chubby cheeks (much to his demise. He really wishes he could slap their hands away but then they would just increase their false perspective on his favourite person and he doesn't want that -he doesn't know why people hate Dara-shisho so much. They are stupid!- In fact, he wants to show them how great Dara-shisho is. He is a shinobi, and shinobi bears.). Or his friends wanting to play or train with him. Now, however, he has absolutely no time for any of this. His Dara-shisho is messing and it is his, Hikaku and Hashirama's job to find him before sunset. Only them. No more, no less.

Here he stood, near a dango shop, surrounded by four of his none-Uchiha friends -not really his friends but friends of his teammates- nagging him to go and train with them . Translation: Leave his super important mission and go play tag with them. Which is a big NO NO. Hikaku had given him a once in a lifetime mission that won't repeat -but no, this isn't the reason why he won't be accepting joining them in their little game of tag but the sole fact that his dearest shisho is missing is what is stopping him. Kagami is a big, independent boy and he is the perfect pupil and most loyal member of the Uchiha clan, second in loyalty to Madara to none, not even Hikaku-oji's loyalty challenges his own. So to give up now and go play with his nagging teammates' friends and eat dango won't be a big boy's behavior. Not a mature one, and Kagami is a big, dependable, and mature boy.

There is one problem, however.

Tobirama-oji-chan's students are impossible to deal with. If they want something, they get it.

This time, however, big boy Mi-kun is not going to spoil these unwanted visitors and ruin his super important mission.

"I am not going anywhere with any of you today. I'm really, really busy right now." he tried to reason but unfortunately for him, it should take more than just 'I'm busy' to make them go away.

"But Kagami-kun! It is going to be so much fun! Tobirama-sensei said that he is going to train us and treat us to sweets and even play-train with us! Come on please!" the most infuriating and stubborn out of the five of them, Sarutobi Hiruzen, kept nagging him about coming with them to play and train at the same time but he is not giving up! Even if he highly respects Senju Tobirama, no one, and he means no one will ever take his shisho's number 1+ position in anything. Not even his mother who forbade him from going to Madara's house to train was able to keep him held in chains because of the many times he had left her sight like a professional, sneaky ninja to go to his favourite shisho so she gave up on holding him away from the Uchiha head. So, Senju Tobirama or not, no one is stopping him from his superlative mission. These kids' efforts are futile and superfoulouse. He has, after all, the unshakable-iron-willed determination.

"Hiruzen, no. you can go and train with him but I am not going. I have Dara-shisho to train me and he is the best sensei someone has ever had."

"But-" Utatane Koharu, someone he gets horrible vibes from, she and that Mitokoda Homura and Shimura Danzo's creepy rivalry with Hiruzen. Both of them are bad news. And now they want to steal him from his favorite shisho and replace him with Senju Tobirama. It is not happening. Definitely will never happen.

"No. My sensei is Uchiha Madara-shisho and no one else." that's it! All he has to do is give them the cold glare his shisho throws at Tobirama-oji-chan whenever he speaks about the Uchiha for some reason. So, he did just this before turning around with a calm inhale. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have an important mission to continue." thus, he took off, smirking smugly at his perfect act. This, after all, is how confident big boys act.

After a long long trip to the Naka river -which surprisingly went smooth-, he had finally reached the lines of wooden docks that were separated by fifty meters, empty gaps and created for many purposes other than fire style training. He began running hurriedly towards that one dock that they always go to whenever it is time for some fire style technique teaching.

Skipping every dock he saw by the corner of his eyes and knowing that it is not their usual spot, he continued dashing towards the last docking on the left side, shrugging off every hello and call he got. Madara is his priority. Not any of them, and as Hikaku-oji said: the time is shortening, and they should find Dara-shisho before nightfall.

At last, he had glimpsed the dark-brown coloured wood of the last dock. And so he sped up. As he neared the dock, however, a short -shorter than his shisho; that's not him- silhouette of a bent man caught his eyes and he frowned at the unexpected. This place his shisho chose for him to practice his Katon was deserted and rarely someone went there. So whoever that was...

The closer he got to the dock, the clearel that person became and the more familiar his image appeared. Then he beamed. That was Eichi-jiji! The only elder and clan member -aside from him and Hikaku-oji- that believes in Dara-shisho and everything he does and his decisions! But why is he here...?

"Eichi-jiji!" Kagami shouted and waved an arm to catch the said elder's attention as he ran to him. Answering the child's call, Eichi turned his head to search for his caller and squinted his dark, dull black eyes for a clearer view before widening and smiling at the running child while waving his hand.

Kagami stopped in front of him and fought for breathing. He had been running towards the Naka river the moment his feet touched the outside of Dara-shisho's house. He had reached his limit when he first reached the river as his unremitting limbs ached -but for Madara-shisho's sake, he is going to surpass his limits. Shinobi endure, so does he.

"Good afternoon, Mi-kun." Elder Eichi greeted warmly, extending his drawn smile that was met with Kagami's toothy grin. "I assume you were going to train with Madara-sama today?"

"Yes!" he beamed, but as soon as his grin widened and eyes shone, his expression dulled and looked away fidgeting. Thinking about whether he should tell Eichi about what he, Hikaku and Hashirama are up to now. Eichi is one of the clan's council members: yes. He doesn't object at anything his shisho says: yes, but he has seen his Shisho going out of most of the council meetings dissatisfied with the outcome of it and rarely satisfied (that was then. Now, his expression rarely changes -other than the small smiles he sends either him, Hikaku or Hashirama.). He doesn't really know if Eichi-jiji trusts his beloved teacher like he or Hikaku does. He sees Dara-shisho smile at him (the only elder he sends his smiles for) and Eichi-jiji would return it with acknowledging node of his. What he doesn't know is if this is only an act or if it is honest... Kagami mentally shook his head, he knew better than to think that.

A folded white sheet held by elder Eichi caught his attention and he raised an eyebrow. He saw him bend down to pick something up and it probably this paper he is holding and -big boys aren't nosy. It probably just fell from him and not something he should concern himself with.

As if reading his thoughts, Elder Eichi's smile reduced to a neutral look as he raised his arm that held the paper and extended it to him. Kagami blinked. "This is where you Madara-sama always train for ninjutsu, right? He probably left it for you to read, unexpecting if someone else came and got it. It's yours, read it." Kagami smiled and took the paper from Elder Eichi's hand. Unfolding it, he read its contents and furrowed his brows in worry.

Eichi notices Kagami's odd behavior, he knows that something must be going on but he doesn't ask. Kagami is Madara's student, he will surely figure out the correct and wisest way to solve whatever conflict he has gotten himself into. After all, the Uchiha clan head's judgement should always be trusted and never questioned. He just wishes that, one day, his clanmates would approve of that too. With the arising rumors, however, he doesn't think it'll ever happen but a man can wish, can they not?

"He's not coming today..." Kagami mumbled under his breath. Today, something is really, really, really wrong about his shisho more than what they have discussed back in his house. Even though he doesn't know what is wrong with him, Kagami could feel the loneliness seeping from the neat kanji scribbled on the paper. And for his shisho, he is going to do everything and anything to help him. "Thank you, Eichi-jiji! Mi-kun is going to ask Hikaku-oji instead! Dara-shisho seems pretty busy today." he pouted with fake disappointment. Even if Eichi-jiji cares about Dara-shisho, this mission is top-secret and only he, Hikaku-oji, and Hashirama-san are allowed to know about it because well... they are the only ones who super, super care about Dara-shisho. A little white lie won't hurt as long as Eichi-jiji doesn't notice.

"Mi-kun is going to head off now, jiji!" he bowed in respect and smiled. Waving his hand a little to bid him a good-bye, he turned back to the path he came from and took off to their concurrent rendezvous.

Unlike Kagami, Hikaku has had his long trip to the Naka shrine peacefully. If not mentally, then physically.

Throughout his walk to the shrine, Hikaku's mind had no empty space.

He does know that overthinking things is ineffective but who knows, he may be able to come up with something. The points may have been connected in his previous discussion with Hashirama and Kagami, however, they were only the branches that lead to the main trunk that he has yet to know how to connect the branches to it before reaching the depth of the extended roots.

It is unfortunate that the main causes of the many problems always hides and waits until the investigators find it out does it come out of the shadows and ignite in the spotlight. It is never to anyone's advantage knowing that, however, it is a reason for them to take even the tiniest things seriously and work hard to uncover the truth hidden behind the many truths. And the lack of clues is not going to stop Hikaku from achieving his goal of finding and figuring out when everything started going south with his beloved cousin.

If he knew nothing better though, he would say that his shutout demeanor started after Izuna's death. But there are always other causes for everything and they just needed someone to dig them through and seek them out. In his perspective, the fuel was already poured, it just needed fire to kindle it. And that fire was Izuna. But then again, his clan could have been the fire, Madara its fuel, and Izuna the water. For instance, Madara was the fuel and his clan the fire that kindled him. Izuna's death was the water that has put down the fire that kindled his brother and kept him upheld. And now that the fire has died, nothing is left of his little cousin but smearing ash.

Previously, his youngest cousin was also the fuel to their clan head's inner fire and his only reason to continue his life, or so he told him once. Now however, the only thing keeping him intact and existing is his promise to his last brother's wish.

He knows that Madara is not avoiding anyone from their clan on purpose -not because he is isolating himself from them or desolating himself from the whole world. In fact, it is because they banished him indirectly and are secretly planning a coup d'etat against their clan head if he ever truly turns his strength against his brethren. What he doesn't understand though is: Senju Hashirama was touted as Shinobi no Kami-sama and Madara is the only one who could go in one-on-one combat with the said man. Even if they truly fight each other and their fight lasts four straight days, even with both of them being chakra and physically exhausted, he knows that Hashurama would always come back victorious. And yet, they fear his cousin's strength and not the God of Shinobi? When people view things either the light side or dark side, it appears and so only becomes the way they view them to be. They view his cousins as a tyrant, and so this is how he is in their life. They are blinded by the fear of his strength that they are unable to view the better side of him.

Hikaku inhaled through his nose and blinked, watching his clan members as they passed by. He doesn't know what to make of his clan. As much as he likes them, he also hates them for patting even the ash out. He doesn't understand what is there to fear about his cousin and not the one they agreed to be touted as the God of Shinobi. Or why they created rumors about him. His neutral face turned to a frown and he exhaled.

The Naka shrine to the Uchiha clan is a sacred place but to Hikaku, it is no excuse to build it somewhere far away from the center of the compound but near the outskirts of it. Ninja or not, Hikaku is starting to feel old. From what? He is still 35 for sage's sake and he found no white hairs in his head yet... Maybe he has to search for one but him growing old is not changing the fact that the shrine is still far away from where he is. Either that or he is just exaggerating because, well, he is seeing the big, red pillars that hail its entrance in the distance. That's probably it. He is exaggerating. That, or the whole situation that feels like it's going south every running second is stressing him.

No amount of thinking would help him reach the end of the road he is walking -the conclusion he is trying to figure out. Without the clues that he is lacking, his deduction would come out wrong and it may already be too late to pursue his cousin before what he is expecting to happen happens -he isn't even certain how he should convince himself that what he is thinking would never happen because for all he knows -even if he is scared to do it- his cousin may already be thinking that. For himself, Hashirama, and Kagami to go search for him is probably out of his plan.

He quickened his pace until he was all but rushing to his destination. Passing through the outstanding, red pillars of the Kashima-styled torii, he dashed to the entrance of the navy roofed shrine.

In Uchiha tradition and rules, only the clan head is allowed to enter the Naka shrine. No one else, not even the Uchiha patriarch's advisor is allowed to enter it without the clan head's supervision. That's why they have not set up guards to guard this relic shrine. Everyone inside the clan respects this rule anyway, and they have nothing to do within it so the place is fine. But when either the clan head or a patrol notices someone has stepped the red line, in the patrol case, they would report to the clan head, and in the clan head's case, they'll just act upon taboo breaking and deal with the problem. Right now, though, Hikaku doesn't care. Be it an elder who catches him or a patrol, he has a reason that is reasonable enough to break the rule of entering the shrine. And so, it is what he does.

The moment he set a foot inside the sacred place, he immediately went to the stairs that lead underground, knowing that he would probably find his little cousin there -if he was there- since he talked to him about the momentum thrice about what could it hide and what is written on it and special dōjutsu is needed to be able to decipher it's contents. He -Madara- had managed to decipher a portion of it but still couldn't get the meaning out since it wasn't a lot that he managed to read with Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan. So, he left there until the next time he decides he'll try to decipher it. Though, that was 1 year before the Village was founded. He never mentioned it afterwards.

Throwing two small fireballs at the empty lanterns that were beside the tablet, his eyes immediately -with activated sharingan- darted off skimming and scanning the place.

Unfortunately for him, the place looked like no living should have visited it for ages; it was empty of any life soul and had no traces of it. Madara wasn't in the shrine, or even entered it any time soon.

He deactivated his sharingan, ran a hand through his hair and sighed in dissatisfaction. Disappointment, even. Not about his little cousin, but about the whole situation that he, Kagami, and Hashirama are facing.

Uchiha Hikaku never regretted a choice he made throughout his life. But if there is anything he regrets now, it is deciding to not follow his respective clan head when he decided to take a troll or act the moment he noticed his shutdown behavior. For all what other people from his clan may deem him to be, he had failed on his first promise that he promised himself and his little cousin silently after Izuna's death. If anything, he foreswore himself.

He inhaled deeply then exhaled slowly but shakily. There is no point in throwing the blame for the cause on anyone or blame himself for not doing his job properly as one should. What was done is done, after all, and you can't undo your past actions but fix them. So, mourning now is not helping him or anyone. To find his little cousin and bring him back from wherever he is, he needs to be determined, strong willed, and calm to be able to make the right decisions before running his tongue without thinking.

He watched silently as the fire died before turning back to the stairs and heading out of the shrine and to their agreed rendezvous. If he didn't find Madara in the shrine, there are high possibilities that Hashirama would find him in either places he was assigned too. High, however, would be an understatement, as he has this feeling that is telling him that something was amiss. Whatever it is, he hopes that it is not that fate-ruining.

Insisting that he should take places to search in was a big mistake of his because both of the places he decided to search in were way too far from his friend's house. Like, really, really, really far one could say at the outskirts of the whole village. But it is understandable why these two places were far. One, is because that first place he decided to search in was the graveyard. A place that can't be just placed in the middle of the village or the middle of a clan's compound so it is totally understandable why it is placed in the corners. Place two, well, it is a nature-built cliff so they can't just move it around wherever they're pleased to and he chose to build the village right under it. If he was in a different situation, he would have smiled at the thought of knowing that his and Madara's village is flourishing, expanding, and thriving -no. There is no time to complain about the long distances he'd need to travel to reach the cemetery and search for Izuna's grave and complain about a longer distanced trip to the top of the cliff. He is indeed taking the circumstances he is in right now seriously, he should stop complaining about everything (terrible) that he is facing and endure. He is a highly regarded shinobi, he walked longer distances, this should be no problem in shinobi pace. After all, he has to find him before sunset.

As Hashirama expected, walking to the cemetery was as grim as it always is but the feeling is doubled since he is going to a foreign one. Just because he knows Izuna's brother doesn't mean he knows him as they had no time to get to know each other and he didn't survive the clan war and it is absolutely uncomfortable for him to go and visit a grave for someone he has no connections to. Even if he isn't going there to pray for him to rest in peace, it is still awkward on his side.

Despite that, he couldn't help but wonder how Uchiha Izuna was outside of the battle field. Was he a workload like his little brother, or like his civil big brother with all the kindness he shares indirectly and hides, or like him in cheerfulness if not optimism -but he shook his head and smiled sadly, he could be a brat for all he knows.

Wondering how civil Izuna was won't bring the said man back to life, as he was buried underground for more than two years ago. He had seen previously how Uchiha siblings acted around each other. Either the little sibling annoyed the older one until they got their attention or the older did something mean as the younger one would say. They either mock each other or joke around. He once saw two brothers fight and parted ways until, who he suspects as the younger brother, came and apologized to the older brother. Which was two hours later. He learned lots about how domestic the Uchiha could be when they are with familiarities during his visits to Madara's property, and saw how happy every child was. That, however, made him wonder about his friend and his little brother's relationship. He already knows that they are very close, maybe even closer than him and Tobirama's bond, but he is curious about how they were acting whilst alone and out of the war-zone. Figuring out their connection and how strong their bond was won't help him with finding Madara or make him as happy as he was like back then when his little brother was alive and he couldn't help the crawling guilt building up inside him but he should remind himself of what Hikaku said because no matter how much he tries to deny it, it is still true.

Thus, he shook his head, shoving the thoughts far away from reaching him again and continued dashing to the cemetery with a blank mind but determined eyes and one goal to achieve.

His pace slowed down as he reached the dull atmosphere of the graveyard and gulped. It is not that he never entered a graveyard before but the amount of graves he has to see are killing him. Again, it is not like he has never seen this amount of graves before but watching them again now brings back unpleasant memories that he wishes to forget but doesn't want to forget them as forgetting them means abandoning all of their sweat, tears, and efforts to dirt, and that he doesn't wish do to because it also means abandoning them, the sacrifices that created the graves and the reason they are now living inside the safety of the village's walls. So, he brushed off this unpleasant feeling away and entered the graveyard.

He had to refrain from hugging himself and looking down while he walked through the many, silently laying graves.

While being uneasy in the grave's atmosphere, he had to swallow every miserable feeling crawling stealthily up his spine and speed up his search for Izuna's grave because he still has to search on the cliff too (Which is farther away from where he is now but no problem! He'll manage.) and as Hikaku said, time is at stake. Be it Winter, Summer, Spring, or Autumn, the time remains a blade; if you don't cut it, it cuts you. It is a principle that can't be changed.

Now, after convincing himself that it is nothing, all he has to do is search for Izuna's grave. Since Izuna was the heir of the clan in case something happened to Madara, he was probably buried somewhere where the clan head family is buried, and this place must be looking a bit more unique than the other clan members'. That is, after all, what they -the Senju- do. Thus, to cut short the time, his eyes started scanning his surroundings in search of that unique grave.

After a not very long search for the different graves of the clan head family, he finally found the red Ise-styled torii that was decorated by two mini barely noticeable uchiwa on its kasagi on each corner and three white banners with, also, the Uchiha clan's uchiwa hanging on the shimaki, slanted, and he passed through the hashira instantly.

Behind the red torii were many graves that all held the Uchiha clan emblem proudly on each rock planted on the ground. The names of the many clan heads prior to Tajima. He silently and stealthy passed by every unrecognizable name, eyes keenly skimming for the recognizable names of Madara's father; because there he will find Izuna's grave in addition to his other brothers.

That being said, he had indeed found Madara's family grave directly under a worn but still green tree. First he passed the first two graves with the name Uchiha Tajima and Uchiha Akira carved on it and then three others with the names of Uchiha Ryota, Takumi, and Yakumi followed by Uchiha Izuna. His breath, however, was caught in lungs as he saw the dates that Madara's brothers had died on.

Back in the warring era that was not gone long ago, children were first introduced to the horrors the battlefield could create -if they survived their first day- when they were six of age, like his youngest brother, Itama and many other children from their clan. The clan head's sons are not an exception to this rule. So seeing the 4-5 years difference between their birth date and death date is shocking. Was the rule different within the Uchiha? Did they first enter the battlefield when they were no more than four-five years old? Did Madara enter the battlefield at that immature age? Not like the sixth of age is mature enough to view the war from the inside and outside, but either four or five are... unfair, cruel, crude, nightmarish even. Either that, or the clan head's offsprings are an exception to this rule.

He let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding and exhaled through his nose and blinked away the grief that was building up within him as he mentally shook his head to wake himself up and remind himself that he is in an extremely dire situation. Finding his friend comes to priority before satisfying his curiosity. And so, he looks back at Izuna's grave and notices the three white dragon flowers. So Madara was here... instead of being jumpy that he had a clue, his brows furrowed and a worried expression conquered his face. Firstly, his friend went missing before he noticed his odd disappearance inside the to-be-village leader's office. Next, he goes to check on him and learns that he is nowhere to be found since sunrise, so they decided to separate and search for him. Then, his horrible gut feeling intensifies as does the strong feeling of a highly important point missing (He doesn't know why his gut is telling him that neither three of them are going to find him). Now, now he is standing in the eerie graveyard staring down at three dragon flowers. He knows that visiting graves is virtually nothing, yet, there is something in him saying that something is amiss, something screaming that something is very, very wrong. He doesn't know whether he should believe his intuition or not since he usually senses the shifting of aura.

He inhales once then exhales. His eyes hardening as a renown fire of ambition intensifies. He should go and check out the cliff so he could rendezvous with Kagami and Hikaku before it's too late. He doesn't know what's wrong with his friend and the grasp on the situation is loose but he is defiant that something vastly wrong will happen and he should prevent whatever it is from occurring.

Leaping from building to building, Hashirama's eyes keenly stared at the cliff edge as if his friend would suddenly emerge from it and show his usual slumped self. No, he didn't expect that to happen. Alas, he knows that he won't even find him there but he still goes to it, clinging to the tiniest of hope that he will at least find a clue there.

He resperates, then pursed his lips in a thin line as the soon-to-be-village leader's tower came to view with the bold cliff hovering above it hiding the almighty view that one could experience while looking down on it.

Soon enough, he had to rush past the tower to climb the cliff. He did not flatter for a millisecond, even if the thought of his little brother sensing him and/or seeing him through the window crossed his mind, he didn't care. He will continue his search without any wavering steps. And his brother knows that he had gone searching for his friend and has no right to stop him since he refused to help him and decided to stay stuck in the office grieving under the pressure of heavy mass of paperwork.

At least, that is what he expected first. After climbing the tower and peeking through the window, he had not seen his brother anywhere. And there was some unfinished paperwork and one sat in front of the chair beside a navy quill. That made him blink in confusion as his little brother never left any office he entered without any unfinished work. Not even to take a break for a millisecond or to go and serve himself some tea. In addition, he never left any paper he was working on and the quill uncovered sitting lonely on the table. This is indeed weird but he had no time to dwell on it.

After a while, he had finally reached the rocky surface of the cliff that was standing proudly behind the tower. As he had predicted, Madara wasn't there, but he continued walking to the edge, nonetheless.

He stopped walking when he was no more than three meters away from the cliff's brink and stared down at the village. He couldn't distinguish what was what when he was viewing it from this height despite that, it was a pretty view that will become even more prettier in the future. But he had no time to think of how pretty their dream that is now reality will become in the future as he has one aim, which is waiting for his trigger to go off. So, he backs away from the cliff, and turns his head back to the path he came from.

The deserted land he stood on at the current moment lacked the greenish touch that made the forest look alive but no less beautiful. At this bland land he raced with his friend to reach the top. At this bland land he sat with his friend and idealized what is now seen with their naked eyes. All on this empty, deserted land, and changing it feels like changing their past. Thus, he shrugs off the thought of growing trees on it and continues his scan for something -anything that seems out of place.

Finally, behind a big rock that he skipped unbothering to search on, he found a red framed green scroll. Whilst a half of him was glad and relieved that he had found a clue, his other half was worried about its contents. Suspicious of what it hides. So he gulps, then bends down to pick it up. And so he did, but hesitation hits his every joint as the suspecting side of him wins the duel between his two-faced ryo.

While curiosity nags him to open the scroll and find out what's inside it, he is also scared of knowing what is within it. So he does the old style of finding out what to want forcefully: he grows a flower with five petals with his wood style and picks it up to pluck it's petals with either an 'Open it' and 'Don't open it', and starts with 'Open it'.

Sooner than he thought he would take, he found himself staring at the green stem of what was a flower once with a twitching eyebrow. He knew that he shouldn't have started with 'Open it', yet he did. And this happened. But staring annoyingly at a stem with only yellow pollen and green stem is not going to miraculously change the fact that he had ended with an 'Open it' outcome. Alas, he sighed miserably and threw the stem away before his eyes zeroed to the green scroll that is being held silently in his not very tight clutch and frowns. He really doesn't want to open it, but he had no option as he got an awful outcome with his little petal plucking game.

It is useless to second guess on whether to open it or not, so he decides to just swallow his worries for once and open it. He, after all, does not have much time before sunset hits.

His thumb reached the circular red seal with an uchiwa stamped on its middle and peeled it off, then rolled the scroll open.

He stared and blinked in confusion and kept staring at the extended roll of paper staring emptly at him. An empty scroll is not what he expected. He had expected some elegant kanji drawn on the tan scroll, or something puffing out of it like it does with some storage scrolls, but totally not that. Not an empty one with traces of nothing on its tan front. But now that he thinks about it, it is indeed suspicious as he knows his friend better than anyone when it comes to sending messages. He had seen some when he was on missions outside of the country and most were written in riddles that he had to drag Tobirama out of his lab to decipher them for him. If he thinks again however, they were riddles, this is empty.

Sighing, he rolled the empty scroll and tucked it inside his hoari. He'll ask Hikaku after they find Madara, he probably knows what it is about.

As for what comes now, finding Uchiha Madara is his priority.

One hour had passed silently since Hashirama had left the office and Tobirama had yet to take another paperwork to sign. Apparently, which is unfortunate to him, he was unable to let his mind stray away from the unwanted thoughts that seemed to stubbornly cling to him. He set aside his grey-ish quill and ran his hands through his silver hair then propped his elbows on the table and sighed.

Everything is a mess. The Uchiha patriarch is troublesome even if he is doing nothing.

He rubbed his nasion with closed eyes and then sighed again. He thought to himself that he should probably go and check on his big brother who is probably straying somewhere on the Uchiha compound's edge. He can sense his woody chakra moving in different paces, once fast and the other slow until he settled in shinobi speed before settling again after half an hour. If this isn't weird for him, what is weirder is that there are also two extra rushing chakra signatures for two Uchiha, one was a kid around eleven and the other signature was Hikaku's, he recognized his. So, during the time that he was trying to push away the unwanted thoughts that refused to change their track and be forgotten, something had definitely happened when he was oblivious to the world. This, however, is a deduction that anyone can output -it doesn't need a genius to figure this much out. Then, what is the big question?

Keeping track of these three wandering chakra signatures, he stood up and stretched out the tired muscles that screamed to move after a long period of time of unmoving, probably gone stiff. He needs to get moving and see their progress. Not that he cares about that certain Uchiha or anything near, but the fool is worrying his brother and he doesn't want to suffer his night and remaining days with a sulking Hashirama weeping at him in their house. Deciding this, he walked over the table and left the office not totally forgetting about the paper and quill that are neatly placed on his table but misplaced.

Training ground 13's location was chosen by Uchiha Madara as a place for the future Genin teams to train inside Konoha's forest. It's strategic place allows no shinobi outside of the village to go undetected, even by the many trees surrounding it (unless they were hiding their presence like some shinobi from Tsuchi no kuni), and their safety was guaranteed as long as there was a Jonin at their side. To say the least, he was not really surprised when he felt the three chakra signatures he was keeping track on gather there, silently being followed by four other signatures. Ones that he will never mistake for anyone.

He sighed and shook his head, knowing that none of the two adults and the boy with them -which later he learns as Kagami-, they probably have not felt their pursuers presence. So, he decides to head to them first.

They were a good twenty feet away from the group of three when Tobirama landed behind them silently causing Hiruzen to yelp and the other three to shush him. "Koharu, Homura, Danzo, Saru, what, exactly, are you doing?" he got down on one knee in order to hide his evident presence from being found out. It is not like he is planning on hiding from them forever. He will come out when time comes but now, he'll stay hidden and eavesdrop until he gets the hang of things and interrogates his three students and their friend. Thus, he raises an eyebrow of inquiry waiting for one of them to answer his question.

The kids sweatdropped. They did not expect Senju Tobirama to jump at them out of nowhere. Alas, they had no escape.

"Er..." Hiruzen tried to say something but stammered, probably thinking of a lie to tell his sensei that they were not spying but failed miserably. Thus, Danzo decided to interfere and tell the truth. Senju Tobirama is, after all, no stupid man who wouldn't notice the little of details, always after the the ruth, well informed, observant, and, mostly, knowledgeable. So, he obviously knows what they are doing but is asking them to see what their response will be. A lie? Or truth? Will they be frank? Or dishonest? This is probably a test, and Hiruzen already failed at it. Homura and Koharu are rigid behind him, so it is up to him to answer frankly as there is nothing to hide from this man.

"We went to Kagami to ask him to train with us under your supervision but he refused stating that he was on a very important mission that he should not fail no matter what and refused to come with us. Thus, we decided to follow him shinobi-like." He said, and in exchange, was met with a thoughtful look Tobirama-sensei showed, and gulped, bracing himself for any incoming output. This man, after all, is not predictable. That is what makes him remarkably dangerous to deal with.

A moment of silence had taken over the atmosphere around them, adding more weight to it, allowing those who live in it to feel its heaviness. Tobirama's stretched silence was not helping the four kids and their increasing nervousness. So, when he talked, they mentally sighed in relief for the release of half of the tension but braced themselves for whatever the income is. "What is that mission?" he ended up asking, and this time, Hiruzen answered.

"He said that he was searching for his shisho... um... the Uchiha clan head." Tobirama nodes silently at that, completely predicting the answer.

"He thought we were planning on replacing his position with you." Homura, helpfully added while re-adjusting the glasses on his nasal bone, and Tobirama blinked.

"He even managed to give us that cold look that that basta- I mean, the Uchiha patriarch throws at you!" If his elder brother hears this, Koharu will not be able to continue living her life as freely as she is now. Even if Uchiha Madara did absolutely nothing to anyone, he is still going to be shunned anyway. Even by his own brethern, the people he is giving up his time to protect, shun him from his own home and fear the day he will turn his enormous power against them. No one is a match for him in a toe-to-toe fight except for his brother, after all. And Tobirama does not doubt that day where Madara will turn his back and breach the peace pact, though, he couldn't help but think of the why.

He closed his red eyes and sighed through his nose, before opening them again and be met with the four kids' nervous -trying to act serious- facial expressions and Koharu's ashamed one for letting her inner thoughts about the Uchiha patriarch slip easily. He and Hashirama know very well that Madara, no matter how much he likes killing, would never lay a finger on a child in a wrong way. He made it clear once when he swore that he will tear out his own limbs if he ever kills or even pulls a hair -or hurt a child in any way that one time they found a stray kid stealing from a food stall. Yet, he still finds kids doubt and fear him. Probably adults' influence.

"Perhaps, things will settle down one day, but there will always be battles. Maybe not physical ones, but the ones you cannot see. Those are what you should really fear." Thinking back on that statement that Madara had once told Hashirama in their first celebration of creating the unnamed village, his eyes suddenly widens in realization as the meaning of this came to light. Just by a slip of tongue. Just because the physical war where people die and never see the daylight again ceased to a stop and they came to consensus and sealed the peace pact with a shake of hand doesn't mean the war had stopped. The outer one perhaps did, but never the conflict from within. And from day one of learning how persistent the elders are refusing the idea of peace with the Uchiha, he should've known that it is because of their internal conflict. Because they hate them, despise them, and most importantly, fear them.

Yes, fear is the sole reason behind everything. It is because of fear, distrust arose. It is because of fear, hate arose. It is also because of fear that peace was never accomplished before his ambitious brother and his brother's friend made it possible.

A wave of shame and guilt hit him relentlessly as he realized that because of his fear of the Uchiha clan head -who also happened to be his brother's best friend-, hate kindled itself within him and he began hating the Uchiha more and more, each time convincing himself that because of this Evil Possessed clan, his little brothers died. He realized that when he thinks of who killed his brothers, he pushes the thought of Madara's brothers also died by his clan's hand. Which makes them even.

Yet...

When he always thinks of what the Uchiha did to his clanmates, he forgot - no. He did not forget , he justified . They justified their actions every time one of them spoke of their enemy clan, they, in one way or another, justified their actions by saying: they did this to us so we did that to them -and the karmic cycle never ends.

Fear awakens hate, and hate awakens war, and war leads to revenge.

They were all victims of karma.

They all fell to the trap miserably without a way out.

Helpless, they are.

And yet,

He notices all of this now.

He sucks in a breath and swallows thickly as a wave of guilt and shame hits him enormously, and closes his eyes in an invalid attempt of shoving away the unwanted feelings that kept crawling inside his chest.

Regretting, wishing, and hoping will do him no good now. What was done is done and he can't undone the past. That's why there is a future for every past activity. It is to either fix the problems or worsen them, and he is certain that, with his brother, it'll ameliorate.

By the melodic rustling of grass blades, his eyes snapped open with a different shine in them as his eyes caught the voice of his brother nearing his -their hiding place and looked at the kids that knelt in front of him each in the eyes and they stiffened. "It's getting late. Your parents are probably worried about you. Return to your home." They looked like they were about to protest, but he left them no room for arguments, and silently, they nodded and in shinobi stealth, jumped from tree to tree until he could sense their different chakra signatures meters away from here. Before standing up he sighed, it is time to reveal himself to the oblivious people that are near him.

"-checked the places you told us about and didn't find him. Is there somewhere we are missing...?" Tobirama saw his brother's tanned index and thumb being placed lightly on his grathion as he trailed off thinking, while the older of the group crossed his arms and trailed his sight on them, eyes squinted, and Kagami kicking the grass wearing a worried expression and he sighed. Even when he is doing nothing he still is doing something. How troublesome.

"Oi, Anija!" thrown out of their incorporeal zone, all heads turned towards him, and in response, he got out of the bushes he was once hiding in and stood, with arms draped by his side, in front of them.

"Tobirama-kun." with a node and an acknowledgement of his presence, Hikaku greeted, and he returned it with a node of his own.

"Tobirama." his brother said, and he turned his head to face him and looked averted his eyes. Scowling, he brought them back up to Hashirama's face and opened his mouth to talk but- "Listen, Tobirama, if-"

"Listen, Anija, I-" they both opened their mouth at the same time and interrupted the other. They stared at each other shortly before averting their eyes to the ground. Tobirama clicked his tongue before glaring awkwardly at his older brother. He opened his mouth again to speak, but yet again- "Speak first-!"

"Go first-!" this happened, and both of them grunted unpleasantly with Tobirama facepalming in addition.

(From this day and onward, Hikaku finally learned how these two inverse men are related, and Kagami snickered in the background.)

Feeling that his big brother is not going to open his mouth again to add more awkwardness to the air around them, he sighs unnecessarily loudly and asks him to go first, which Hashirama does, unsatisfied. (He is persistent, yes, but when it is Tobirama he is talking to, there are rare times where he doesn't listen to him; on things he holds dear, like Tobirama offending the Uchiha or Madara in any way. That, he isn't going to stay silent on. Plus, he wants to hear what his brother got to say.) he cleared his throat and began. "So, um..." he trailed off, shifting his weight from his right leg to the left before settling on the right and sighed. His gaze turned hard and those normally warm, dark brown eyes bore into his red ones searching for something in them, or even digging in them to see the very core of his lingering soul. He doesn't blame his brother to be this hard on him when the topic they are going to talk about is the fleeting Uchiha. He completely understands that and totally respects his brother, and after the reality struck realization hit him, he won't jump midway and tell his brother to forget about that Uchiha like he usually does. Ergo, he stands still with silence taking over him.

"Listen, Tobirama," after letting out one last sigh, Hashirama began. "I'm sure that, by now, you are very well informed on what I, Hikaku-san, and Kagami-kun are doing -are searching for." he paused, taking a look at Tobirama for his input but he only nods. So, he continues. "If you are planning on dragging me back to-" he shudders, but continues, nevertheless. "-that place and face my nightmares, I'm not sorry to tell you to return back from where you came from because my friend comes first. I'm telling you, little brother, I'm not going back until I find Madara and make sure that he is well." he paused to inhale deeply, then let the breath he sucked in out. "If you are going to stop me," his dark eyes darkened a little, threatening, and Tobirama shivered. It is not like the glare his brother shot the last time when he was about to kill the Uchiha, not as intense and baring as it was back then but still effective, nonetheless. "I can't promise you anything, but tough luck." he concluded.

Discreetly, Tobirama chuckled and Hashirama sputtered and stared , flabbergasted. All seriousness was gone as if it never existed. "T-Tobirama...? Are you ok?" Tobirama watched in amusement as his big brother suddenly found his name difficult to enunciate and hmphed lightly before a small smile played on his lips, which made Hashirama gawk, jaw dropping to the ground but his thin eyebrows furrowed. Either of worry, surprise or scared, one look at his face and he decided all three. "D-did you hit your head somewhere? T-Tobirama, that's not funny!" he didn't laugh, but snorted at his brother's half-wittedness and shook his head.

"Whoever said I'm here to stop you?" and he blinked speechlessly as his mouth opened and closed multiple times like a fish in need of water. He sighed and refrained from facepalming. He really doesn't know how he managed to stay put with an aloof of a big brother who has the brain of a tree trunk.

Hikaku, bless him, saved him the time of explaining things and allowing his brother to continue with incomprehensible 'Eh's' and jumped in. "You see, Tobirama-kun, we separated destinations and decided to search for Madara-kun in the places where you see him the most, but have not caught a glimpse, and none of us is a sensor. So, could you put your skills into action and help us locate my little cousin?" at that, he nodes. That was why he came here in the first place. It wasn't for what his big brother had suspected, not even before he came to the realization, and in any case, either Hashirama or Hikaku were going to ask him to use his sensory skill and locate Madara. So, he does that.

Stretching out his senses to their surrounding area searching for Madara's familiar burning inferno chakra signature and closed his eyes in concentration. To his east, about 20km to his estimation, there was nothing but civilian signatures going on and about on their day before it ended in the shopping district. To his west, 35km away, resides the Uchiha compound. To his north, the forest stretched out, and to his south, he knows it is where the river where everything had begun is located. Yet, something felt out of place there...

"Anything?" he heard Hikaku inquire, and he, with eyes still closed, shook his head and kept kneading chakra towards the river, a little south-east, scrutinized the area intensely. Scrunching his nose, he opened his eyes and turned his head to his south and brows creased. Walking to the nearest tree to him, he knelt down in front of it and splayed two fingers on the short grass and kneaded more chakra to the said location he is aiming to.

There, 160km away from the village and 180 degrees counterclockwise turn north-west, lingers the familiar chakra of the Uchiha patriarch. Calm and lax, but fleeting in some way. Weird ... he thought, as the usual warm chakra now felt hollow and cold, lacking in... something he's unable to name and disturbed. He narrowed his eyes and decided to inspect it more carefully, but thought twice about it. Even if he inspect the Uchiha's chakra, he'd only know what he feels and what his chakra feels like, and that, he didn't want to dig his nose in what is not his business, but thinking back about how pushed out Madara feels when he is wandering with Hashirama in the village, he thought about satisfying his curiosity and dig in the topic, gaining all the tiniest of details for benediction -but thought otherwise.

He sighed then stood up and turned to face them. And quite much, all three of them were staring hopefully at him. "North-east the river where the two of you met," he pointed at Hashirama before continuing. "But I believe it is a different location than where you both specifically met, and his chakra signature is fleeting and unusually cold ." His red eyes travelled to Hikaku who he saw crossing his arms and stare at the ground narrowly, probably his form of thinking, as he did that before Tobirama showed himself.

"Hikaku-san," suddenly, Tobirama remembered what he had noticed so far in the meetings he and Hashirama, along with Madara and Hikaku, had with the feudal lord of their country about establishing the village and other clan heads that were willing to join the Uchiha-Senju alliance. Since they are at it right now, he might as well just ask him. The said man lifted his head, his gaze travelled to him, and he inclined his head in question. That's all Tobirama needed to know that he got his attention. "I've taken notice that in the meetings, Madara rarely have an input to say. You, however, do most of the talking in his stead. Why is that?" He raised a questionable eyebrow and crossed his arms, patiently waiting for the Uchiha clan head advisor's answer.

While he is aware that his question came out of nowhere, he -Hikaku- had never seen the coming, which explains why his composer became rigid abruptly, his eyes widened and took a half step back unconsciously. While that was the elder's reaction, he caught sight of Kagami by the corner of his eyes. The child had all but retreated internally, hands curled into balls by his side and, if possible, both a scowl and worry (probably about his leader) masked his childish features. And if he had deciphered this look in any way wrong, he could tell that it is masked hatred that may be directed to him. He could tell that it is about his latest victim. About Madara's last (was) remaining brother. About Uchiha I-

"It happened after Izuna-kun's death." Just when he thought about temporarily retracting his question, Hikaku started, voice barely a mumble but still audible. He clamped his mouth shut and listened silently as he continued. "One day, when Izuna-kun was away on a mission for the daimyo that he assigned to him, since he somehow lost his trust amongst the Uchiha, he told me that Izuna is the sole reason why he is able to stand still, and after his death..." he watched as Hikaku's chest expanded as he took in a deep breath and let it out, in spite of ragged body, calmly through his nose. "After Izuna-kun's burial, Madara-kun has lost his core. He isolated himself from everyone -including myself- and stayed up for days straight. Not that he was taking better care of himself before Izuna-kun died but it worsened. Before the alliance, our clan may be one of the strongest in Hi no kuni, but not a lot of nobles and merchants employed us to vouchsafe them in their trips or wants, due to that, we've had a hard time to supply our shinobi with enough weapons and feed the whole clan, so Madara gave up his possessions stating that the future of our clan does not depend on the clan head or authority, but it depends on what the future generation decide." he gritted his teeth and curled his hands into tight fists, eyes gazing downwards as the the matured Sharingan flashed in his eyes, replacing the black orbs, and continued. "Yet, they turned their backs on him and said he's the one who back-stabbed them first, killed Tajima-sama, then gouged Izuna-kun's eyes and killed him. All for the sake of gaining more power." Behind Hikaku, Hashirama had his lips closed in a wavy line, brows furrowed, and fists hiding in his wide sleeved haori. He can feel the tension radiating from everyone. Even from the eleven years old child as the previous scowl evaporated and turned into a full snarl as Hikaku mentioned his clan members. At least, Tobirama does not have to go through the pain of confirming the rumors he had previously heard from that group. In fact, he shouldn't have doubted their realism.

Hikaku's inhalation had a sound, but his exhalation was necessarily louder in an attempt to regain his composer. He closed his eyes again and respirated again, until his temper was fully under control, then opened his eyes again. This time, the Uchiha's infamous dojutsu faded out, and what remained in their place are Hikaku's normal eyes. "This isn't what you want to hear, pardon my sudden emotional burst." the older man hesitantly locked eyes with him, to show his sincerity and truthfulness, before he began again. "He cried for hours, screamed for hours... Until his voice vanished... Until his throat started to bleed. That is why, Tobirama-kun, Hashirama-kun."

The two brothers stood there aligned, completely overwhelmed by the uncanny silence. They had absolutely no idea of this sudden revelation. No lead for them to notice, and no notification for them to suspect. But even if they suspected, a hundred suspicions don't make a proof*. Tobirama himself had nothing to say or comment on, as he was never close to Madara like his relationship with his brother is. The only times they ever talked with each other were business and politics only, nothing out of the ordinary for two busy men who happened to have the same job. No more, no less. However, if he had nothing to say about himself except for feeling the disgust of shame, regret, and disapproval crawl and intensify in him. Although, he surely can't compare whatever he feels with what his brother feels. One look at him and he could tell that Hashirama feels like a foreigner with Madara.

The words slowly sank into his mind and got translated into their simplest form. He ended up with what anyone would come up with but refused to believe that fact. If what Hikaku said is true, then all of these times where Madara was talking, was an illusion created by him. It was never real, and they never talked directly. But then again, he should've known that something was wrong with the Uchiha. When Hashirama comes back from every troll the both of them had, he always mentioned that he answers him with body language instead of talking. But surely enough, he didn't care about the Uchiha back then, so becoming worried about him now after the tragic realization and the true definition of 'Fear', he has no right to be worried all of a sudden. It is sardonic, truly.

"Wait, Tobirama-kun! Where did you sense Madara-kun again?" Came out Hikaku's sudden questioning and when he changed course from looking at the sky to the older man, he seemed quiet... frantic, all of a sudden. But he answered him nonetheless.

"South-east of the village, in the forest where Madara and Anija first met, 160 killometers away with 180 degrees counterclockwise turn north-west." flaring his chakra one last time to check if Madara was still there, and surely, he hadn't moved in any remarkable pace. "He's still there." for a moment, Hikaku's eyes went wide (in panic?) before he was all but shunshining to the trees, frantically moving and dashing away.

"Wait, Hikaku-san!" his brother called after him but the man was already gone from their sight range. Before completely losing track of him (not like they would with his sensory skills), the three of them jumped to a tree before leaping to one another following the older Uchiha.

"South-east of the village, in the forest where Madara and Anija first met, 160 killiometers away with 180 degrees counterclockwise turn south-west. He's still there." The moment Tobirama finished talking, Hikaku was rushing down the forestry road and out of the training ground. He knows that he should have told them before he escaped the scene, but the moment the location left the younger Senju's mouth, he could already imagine his little cousin standing either on top of the cave or it's mouth, brushing away the moss that grew all over it and draped to hide it. Or rather, not its mouth, but uncover the memories that were hidden by them.

When he was telling Kagami and Hashirama about the places where they will most likely find Madara, he had no idea how that certain, memorial place dodged his mind, but perhaps, it is because of the fact he hadn't seen Madara go there after Izuna died, and they were busy with constructing and building the authorization of the yet to be named village and create its law and constitutions. Maybe he didn't have the time to visit the memorial and after Izuna died he was grieving. To Hikaku, it was extremely painful and devastating to watch someone as strong as his little cousin suffer an incorporeal pain and he couldn't do anything to help, except for trying to physically and semi-mentally assist him in what he can do to ease his pain. He tried, even if it was futile, but still tried nevertheless.

He is no Yamanaka to judge his little cousin's psychological status, but he could tell that it is decaying. Even if he helps his cousin improve, his efforts will go to vain because the other party is rejecting the help.

He curls his fists tightly behind him and grinds his teeth as the shameful feeling of utter failure crawled under his skin. He wordlessly promised himself to watch his clan head's back when it was turned and promised to stay by his side and assist him with whatever he does and whenever he wants. He's a man with no regrets. He does not regret anything he had done or had said. He wished, though, that he had paid more attention to Madara's inner conflict.

He exhaled a breath that he didn't realize he was holding and tried to reason to himself that regret what happened won't solve the problem or undo what went. He will not succumb to the eating feeling of failure. The blame is not him for not noticing. It is neither on Madara for hiding. The blame is thrown on no one, and no one will regret anything.

However, by the younger Senju saying where his little cousin is located, his greatest fear is surely going to occur. The only way for him to stop it from happening is to reach the place as fast as possible. He only wishes, though, that he has his clan head's agility or the younger Senju's. And he should reach the place before the others in order to avoid any further disturbing events or, sage forbid, he doesn't want to risk it and see Kagami's face as he loses his last favorite someone right in front of him and by their own hands. He already saw his mother succumbing to her illness and his father's corpse before the casket's door closed on his father's dead face. Just by imagining the child's expression, he fastened his pace until he was on the other side of the under-construction walls of the village.

He can't risk it. I definitely don't dare to risk it! Leaping from tree to tree, Uchiha Hikaku has nothing in his mind but the repeating words 'Move Forward'.

After one final leap, Hikaku finally landed on the healthy, greenish ground south-east the forest where the idealistic visualization of the village began. If not the exact same place, then in the same forest. Except that this land was more shaded and had more trees and little space to walk on.

He stopped for three minutes to catch his breath before continuing his path and hiding behind some thick bushes. From where he stood, he could see nothing but the greenish moss that covered a rocky surface. A huge one. Must be its back . Chanelling more chakra to his feet, he slid them a bit preparing for a full out jump and sprinted up the greyscale, rocky surface that was half the way covered by the green, slipy moss.

The first thing that caught his eyes as he landed on the rough surface was the tall, half standard tree that found a place for itself on the cave's roof, and walked to it. As he extended his arm and put a hand on the thin tree's botany and breathed in, eyes slightly gone wide at how familiar the scene looked behind it. As if this single touch of its botany brought back the rush of past memory lane.

In this very same place, under one of the many trees surrounding the area, beside the river that was surrounded by pebbles from both sides, he could see his little cousins messing around with each other as Madara, who had seen the war for the first time, curled into himself and stared at his little brothers as Yakumi and Takumi splashed water at each other and Izuna, who was a little ball of energy, pranks Ryouta (he sometimes fell to the brat's traps but refuse to admit it).

He remembered when he -at this same place he is standing on top of now- sat down beside Madara and eased his pain of losing the Ryouta and the twins. He remembered how the younger of them blamed himself for not watching out for them more intensely, that he should've jumped to them the moment the Hyuuga trapped them. He remembered, also, that that day is where Madara's reputation started. From the Uchiha prodigy to the Uchiha monster. The taste was foul to his tongue, it was bittersweet to him, but sad to Izuna, and akin to the world crashing on him to Madara.

This place, however, was their only place to escape the awful reality that they lived in, and the only place they could lower their guards and become completely lax without fearing that someone may come out of nowhere and attack their vulnerable, unprotected backs. It holds lots of cherished memories to both him and his little cousin. It is also where his little brothers buried some memorial possessions they had left for their future selves that got no hopes of coming back again. This is probably why he should've thought to check in this place foremost. This is probably why he should have not forgotten to check in this place beforehand. Because this place is definitely where he will find his cousin. Because this place is the only place that held-

A gentle rustle of leaves brought his attention back to reality, and he mentally opened his eyes. Dropping his arm at his side, he walked forward to the edge of the cave mouth and activated his Sharingan to accurately visualize his vision.

He silently dropped down from the cave top and landed in front of its entrance and advanced. Not very far from where he is standing, the river flowed silently with proportional to the current, and the familiar rail of monochrome pebbles lined up, not neatly, but still made a decent rocky, but soft road. Behind that, grass laid, and beyond that, the forest extended. His eyes squinted in concentration and keenly, he scouted the other side.

There was nothing there. He doesn't turn back.

Walking further to inspect his side, his ears caught another rustle. Not one of leaves and long grass blades, but one of clothes. His eyes widened and senses heightened, the rustle of clothes wasn't his, but someone else's.

He turned his head left and right frantically, seeing if his eyes caught something familiar, but none so far. Thus, he stealthy ran into the many trees surrounding the cave and jumped to a tall one for better sight. As he reached the tree top, his eyes nearly missed the black figure hidden in the shadows that the brim trees created as it headed towards the river silently. Instantly, just as the orange sun rays touched the spike of the figure's hair, his heart skipped a beat and eyes went wide slightly as recognition slapped him harshly.

Descending, he silently hid within a bush behind Madara and kept a pair of watchful eyes on the said man's back. He watched as his body trembled slightly as one arm wrapped around himself and the other went to his face in a wiping motion. His heart banged in his chest as he realized that his little cousin was crying and looked away. He gave himself a moment to collect himself before deciding to reveal himself to Madara. Alas, as he opened his eyes, they immediately went wide in horror as his Sharingan followed the hand that held a sharpened, shiny kunai being positioned in front of his abdomen. Without second thinking, he rushed out of the bush and headwards to his last little cousin. "Madara-kun!"

The last thing he saw was the Uchiha clan head's tear stained face before everything turned red.