Time Heals All Wounds
Summary: The day Tobirama died happens earlier, during Hashirama's time as Hokage when they are at war with almost every new village but years after Madara's death. Only he didn't die. He somehow ended up in a time not his own and met a familiar face he though gone forever. Can he get back? And what of his new friend?
Madara woke up on his seventeenth birthday sandwiched between his fox and his ninja roommate with little to no recollection at all from the night before. He didn't need it for him to guess that Asama must somehow be at fault. Honestly, he wished he could say he was surprised, even the slightest bit, but there was a good reason he never told anyone where he lived upon moving out. His family was fucked up as it was.
Him waking up woke Tobirama up and they were both surprised to find that it was already noon. Madara had no doubt as to who took care of him after whatever happened last night to cause him to forget it all so he was a bit surprised that the other seemed so well rested. The man must have been awake until the wee hours of the morning.
Madara wasn't sure if he'd ever been so grateful.
Or so fucking annoyed that his window was in such a position that the neighbor's floor to ceiling back doors reflected light straight into his room no matter the time of day. He groaned and didn't care that he buried his face against the chest of a man capable of snapping him like a twig. He just wanted that light gone. His eyes hurt. His head felt lie a giant nine tailed fox had stomped all over it and that didn't even make any fucking sense! All he knew and cared about was that hazy feeling of a hand soothing him throughout the night as a cool sensation filled his senses.
"Headache?" Tobirama asked in a gentle, though raspy from sleep, whisper and even that sounded too loud. By the eternal flame, whatever drug had been dumped into his drink - as that was the only explanation, fuck - had seriously messed him up. He felt like dying would be a better experience than this. At least death promised rest, which he wouldn't mind at all.
"Hn," was the only response he could manage to give but at least it seemed to be enough for Tobirama, who immediately put a hand over his forehead and partially over his eyes, giving him shade from the blasted sun. He wished he had had the presence of mind yesterday evening before they headed out to at least close the curtains if not the blinds, but yesterday he had thought he would welcome the sun waking him up as he sure as hell hadn't planned to get drugged! He wished he could blame Tobirama for not watching his drink better but the man came from a vastly different time and culture and while he was a ninja, he probably thought people were past it trying to kill or poison each other. After all, the wars were over. What else would someone like Tobirama presume. Besides, Madara knew who was truly to blame and he dearly hoped that Asama will get alcohol poisoning and would need his stomach pumped. That was a more agonizing pain than the forced withdrawal Madara's body was going through. Well, his head. His stomach seemed blissfully ache-free, for which he was grateful, though he was hungry. Small mercies.
There was a popping sound before the room fell into moderate darkness - the blinds were drawn and the curtains over them; even after all this time of not being in this room, Madara still remembered perfectly well how everything used to be - another popping sound and then there was a blessedly cooling sensation running through his head, his eyes, and the ache started steadily fading. Though he found it odd that while his head easily accepted the healing coolness, his eyes seemed to almost burn in protest for a long moment before the feeling faded. Huh. That was weird. No less weird than the other weird things that have been happening to him since he dragged Tobirama's ass home, but still a new weird.
Madara held perfectly still and relaxed into the sensation as he let Tobirama do whatever it is he was doing until the last traces of his headache and the aftereffects of last night were gone. He then finally opened his eyes to the relief of darkness and smiled into the Senju's chest, not bothering to move away. He was perfectly comfortable, after all. "Hm, thank you."
The white haired, red eyed man in question just gave a hum of his own in response, hand moving from his forehead into his hair, scraping gently against his skull in a very pleasant way that made Madara want to purr like a content cat getting the right spot scratched. "Happy birthday." And that only made him smile wider. For years now, his birthday had been lost in the whirlwind of winter holidays and the only person to ever say 'happy birthday' to him was his mother. He guessed that at least to her, the day he was born was important. This year, though, he had Tobirama and somehow just one more person made all the difference. If the albino had not been precious to him before, he certainly had a place in Madara's heart now.
"Thank you. Come on, we need to get dressed. Kaa-chan must have been waiting for a while."
Whatever Tobirama had done to get rid of the headache, it had worked like a charm and Madara felt as well as he had yesterday. Though his eyes itched a little but washing his face seemed to help so he didn't worry. He was evidently fine and he had always had the best eye sight in his family. Though now that he knew about the Sharingan, he guessed that at least made sense. Of course he had better eye sight. His eyes were anatomically completely different! He wondered what else they could do. Tobirama hadn't been overly specific about them, after all. Madara had a feeling he'll have to figure it out by himself. Whatever Tobirama knew about the Sharingan was second hand at best.
Tobirama was fully exasperating in the variety of clothing he had - which was absolutely none - but his mother didn't even seem to notice. All she did was smile at them and silently beckoned them out of the house. Ren was nowhere to be seen, Shotaro was playing some game on the PlayStation and his mother assured him that the twins were off playing with a friend. All of his elder siblings seem to have returned at the ass crack of dawn and were hung over enough that they can't move from their beds. Neither Tobirama nor Madara felt the least bit guilty for not offering the miraculous cure Tobirama had used on him. He had been a victim of foul play - may Amaterasu have mercy on Asama if either of the roommates gets their hands on him - while they were victims of their own stupidity and needed to learn a valuable life lesson.
Once they were safely outside of the house and heading for his mother's car, Madara was glad to have had the foresight to have Tobirama hold Kurama as his mother descended upon him with happy kisses and near suffocating hugs as she congratulated him his day of birth. He felt no shame in clinging to her as tightly as she was to him, enjoying the attention and love, soaking it up like a sponge. His siblings didn't even realize how lucky they were to have their mother every day of the year. Madara had lost more in not being able to see her every day than from merely leaving home.
"I hope Tobirama-kun wouldn't mind joining us today," his mother said after she let him go and Madara smirked at how uncomfortable said man looked to be included in what was clearly a very special day.
"I don't wish to intrude."
"He's coming," Madara assured his kaa-chan, who only smiled brighter, a bit more mischievous before they both ushered Tobirama into the car. Madara was honestly impressed with how well the shinobi was taking being in such a strange contraption, but the albino had always been more curious than anything about all the new things he got to see and learn about. "So, what should we do this year?"
"Ice skating, since it's the season for it, after the breakfast and the presents," Utaha Sakura answered immediately as she swiftly drove out of the house driveway just as Ren's car came into view from the other direction of the road. She hit the gas and sped away and around a corner before his father could even hope of trying to follow them. This was, funnily enough, completely normal and Madara had the added bonus of seeing Tobirama have a mini panic attack at the sudden acceleration. The speed lasted only until they were a safe distance away and heading towards the center of the city to no doubt the biggest ice rink in Tokyo. "I made you inarizushi but I figured you might not want to eat anything lighter than soup for breakfast after last night, so I made miso for now. We have some fish fries for Tobirama-kun and a few other snacks as well. After the ice rink, I thought we might go for some hot chocolate. Later, we could even go for a movie. I think there are a few interesting ones in the theaters right now, so I'm sure we can agree on one to watch. I made reservations for dinner at that one restaurant you didn't hate and then later on we can go for ping pong. I have to make sure you're still in top form, after all."
Madara grinned, anticipating the day ahead. "Can we just stop by the dojo on the way? Akira-sensei would skin me alive if I don't visit her on my birthday."
"Of course, honey. We can stop there first, since I doubt it will take all that long."
It still took half an hour. Tsunomade Akira had always been one of the rare people who had never turned their back on him and had remained fond of him for years. Not just as her best student and the champion of and from her dojo, but as a person as well. Every year, she insisted that Madara must spend at least a few minutes with her on his birthday so she can give him his birthday present. She didn't like Christmas, nor did she celebrate it, saying it was not a traditional Japanese holiday, so she never forgot about his birthday in the rush of things. She was a nice lady and even got him a gift, much to his embarrassment. Apparently, she had heard about what had happened to his street.
He wondered what she would think if she learned he had been the one to cause it in the first place.
Still, he clung to the beautiful wood, decorated box full of hair clips and leather ties that will actually hold his mane in place instead of just slipping or snapping under the strain as they bid her goodbye. The younger Utaha made sure to usher Tobirama as fast out of there as he could. Tsunomade-sensei had an eye for talented fighters and he really didn't need for Tobirama to demonstrate the difference in competitive and experienced fighting to the death. Tsunomade-sensei's teasing wink and lecherous grin weren't helping, either, especially not when he flushed bright red because he knew exactly what she was thinking and was guilty of entertaining the same insane, impossible ideas. He definitely didn't need Tobirama or Sage forbid his mother catching on to that.
Thankfully, kaa-chan didn't take them to some sports arena for ice skating, rather just to the one in front of the nearest bigger mall. Tobirama ate breakfast with them before scattering off when kaa-chan took out his presents. Madara sort of didn't want the man top go but he realized that this was an intimate moment and that maybe it caused Tobirama to miss his own family. He let the albino go and instead focused on what his mother had been so kind to get him.
Two gifts, one for his birthday and one for Christmas as she knew he was likely to scramble out of the house at the first opportunity he got tomorrow. There were rare few things that he could stand less than Christmas. Especially since the last time he had spent it with his family, his siblings had been extra obnoxious about it.
When he opened his gifts, he felt his eyes water. "Kaa-chan, this is too much."
"Nonsense, honey," his mother waved him off, as though buying him a new phone and a new MP4 player was insignificant, especially with the 256GB memory cards she bought to go with them, even though the phone has 4TB internal memory and the MP4 another 32GB. "I know you lost yours in the mess that happened at your house and you won't let me help you buy a new house again so I thought this is better. I know how much you love your music and those movies you get attached to. Well, this way, you'll have more than enough space for that and the eBooks you like to read! Happy birthday, Madara."
The boy just flung himself into her waiting embrace and thanked her over and over again. Not for the pricey gift, but for caring enough about him to actually get him anything at all and especially something that might allow him to enjoy the things that he loved. He didn't have the money to pay a monthly fee for a library card but he did have enough to download books. His mother was obviously an angel in disguise and he envied his siblings for having her every day of the year and despised them for not appreciating her more.
Sakura, of course, insisted that they immediately try it out and Madara indulged her, finding one of the songs he really liked and letting Hold On by Fivefold wash over them and trying not to think about the weird dreams he had last night of a boy with a bowl-cut, a younger kid who called him brother or a summer that had so much potential but had ended up being a life lesson he was sure his past self never forgot. He was just glad that his mother preferred Won't Let It Go by the same band, though that one resonated deep within him, too, if in a different way, a way that perhaps hurt even more. He'll be having trouble listening to all of his favorite songs soon if the stupid dreams persist.
Tobirama joined them after the fifth song they'd listened to, arching an eyebrow at Madara's teary eyes but he just smiled at his friend. Tobirama probably took his cue from a calm Kurama that nothing was wrong, the overprotective fox that he was wouldn't have allowed Madara to come to pain. He kind of snickered upon realizing the two got along only as far as Madara himself was concerned. It was sweet.
It was really not fair how easily Tobirama took to the ice despite stepping into skates for the first time in his life. Madara would have written it off as shinobi grace but Tobirama had drawn him close when he had nearly stumbled during his first round around the rink. "Channel chakra into your feet and let your instincts do the rest." Then he had pushed Madara away and laughed as he started flailing around, finding great amusement when the teen almost fell over. Instinct, however, did kick in and Madara regained his balance. Though he hesitated to channel chakra, afraid of any past-life flashbacks. He ended up doing it, anyway, out of sheer spite and annoyance when the albino started skating around him in mocking circles.
He heard his mother yelling at them to be careful when they started a game of tag on the ice. The Senju was noticeably faster, even as Madara let himself get lost in the chase, but Madara was by far more maneuverable. At one point, the world bled red and came into sharp focus and no matter Tobirama's speed, he could not catch Madara. The boy laughed, delighted, to see some frustration appear on the man's face. Clearly he regretted advising Madara to channel his chakra. Though even that became unnecessary. The longer he had the Sharingan active and watching the people around them that actually knew what they were doing, the easier it was to copy their movements and Madara soon found himself doing tricks and flips just to taunt his friend. Tobirama had brought it onto himself, really.
Madara even had the opening and took his sweet time to skate over to his mother, take her hands and spin her in a few circles around one the ice before dodging Tobirama's lunge with giggles spilling from his lips and then continuing their game. The albino was pouting but he at least seemed to be having fun, too, despite the sullen air he projected to get Madara's mother's sympathy and get her on his side. Madara ran and evaded before eventually letting his kaa-chan catch him, as the bastard had no doubt known would happen. As if Madara would ever deny his mother anything, let alone the opportunity to hug him and hold hands with him as they skated over the ice. Though the woman did boldly take Tobirama's hand and put it in Madara's free one.
Not that he minded. His fingers were far too cold and he would enjoy another's heat.
It was even better when he buried his fingers in Kurama's fur, when they were done. The fox huffed at him but didn't try to wrestle away so he knew it was fine.
"If your fingers are always so cold, why don't you just get some gloves, Madara?" Kaa-chan asked after they got their hot chocolate when she noticed and the teenager could only shrug. It's not like he didn't want a pair of gloves. It's just ...
"I never seem to be able to find the right pair. Wearing just some random gloves always makes me hands itchy." Judging from the looks Tobirama was stealing his way as they munched on some star fruits his mother had packed as snacks, Madara could only guess that the itchiness might have something to do with his past self's life and perhaps fashion choices. Just the thought made him scowl. He was suffering from cold fingers because of a fashion statement from over a century ago?! 'Sometimes I really wish there was a way I can delve into my own soul and beat the crap out of this apparent past version of myself.'
But, alas, it was not to be and he wasn't about to let such crazy things ruin the rest of his day. Not when it was going so far and his mother and him managed to rope Tobirama into watching a ninja movie, of all things. His kaa-chan was probably perplexed why Madara spent the movie laughing his ass off and why the Senju was grumbling all the way through, from start to finish. Honestly, the depiction of ninjas was a classic Hollywood image that most of the world misguidedly imagined the second the word ninja is uttered. When he wasn't laughing at his friend's grumpiness - Tobirama knew Madara had picked this movie to get back at him for using his weakness for his mother to win their game - the two were complaining to each other about the stupidity of the movie and how little accuracy there was to the 'ninja arts' the characters exhibited. Honestly, bitching about the inaccuracy of the movie was so much better with a companion who can actually bitch back, unlike with Kurama just nodding along or outright ignoring him.
The day seemed to have gone by way too fast for Madara's liking - an unfortunate and inevitable side-effect of waking up at around noon due to having his stomach poisoned by a spiked drink, fuck you Asama - when they found themselves at the restaurant his mother mentioned when they had started, hastily ushered into some suits to be properly dressed for the occasion. She'd gotten a rental for Tobirama, despite him insisting that there was no need. The Utaha were rather well off, financially speaking, so she didn't even bat an eyelash at the price of her chosen for even one evening and instead scolded Tobirama for trying to make things difficult and recruiting Madara into 'guilt-tripping' the snow colored man into accepting it. Madara just got a kick out of seeing his friend so rumbled by how easily the woman bulldozed over him. He seemed used to it and the Utaha knew it was due to having a scary cousin and sister in law.
It still made him snicker.
"I'll be right back," Sakura assured as she headed out of the restaurant to retrieve the camera she had forgotten so she can ask a waiter or someone to snap a few pictures of them when the cake arrives. She'd been taking random photos throughout the day and Madara knew that he should expect them to be done by the time they head home. Sakura was a ruthlessly efficient woman and her poor secretary knew better than to leave his phone off or not check on his email, especially today. It was the same every year, even before he got shunned by his siblings. Madara seriously pitied Ahora-san sometimes. "You boys behave."
"If this is your mother in this life, then I am fucking relieved I've never met the woman who gave birth to you the first time around. She was rumored to be an actual dragon." The reincarnated Uchiha couldn't help but laugh at that. Hid friend really did sound a bit scared! Though the mention of a she-dragon caused a sting of pain and loss in his heart that he tried his hardest to ignore. Past memories were not things for his present self, he had made that decision and he stuck by it. They were too few and far in between and for the few that he currently had, he had no context nor proper chronolization. He wanted nothing to do with them when they didn't belong to him. He didn't want to be Uchiha Madara if it cost him his friendship with Tobirama.
He was distracted from his unhappy thoughts when Tobirama suddenly took out a box seemingly from out of nowhere - he knew better by now, but the few people around them who saw the small puff of air and heard the muffled pop of releasing something from the storage seal seemed to be under the impression that it was magic - and extended it towards him. It was simply wrapped in blue wrapping paper, nothing Christmas-y thankfully, and had a single bow taped on, a beautiful shape of red. "You got me a present?" The incredulous raven haired male asked even as he took it in hand almost reverently. He had no idea how Tobirama got him a present when the man had no actual money and refused to take any when Madara tried to give him. He just hoped it wasn't stolen.
"Open it," his friend prompted and Madara snuck a peek at him through his fringe to see he looked a bit fidgety. Over a present to a boy who would be grateful for a few kind words on his birthday? Surely Tobirama knew Madara would treasure whatever it is that he had given him.
He was careful as he unwrapped the gift and opened the little boy. He wasn't even aware of the tear that slid down his face or the hand that came up to his mouth as he gasped, black eyes completely ensnared by the necklace in front of him. An uchiwa fan, the bottom half colored white while the upper half was made out of a single, perfectly cut red jewel - A pyrope, a part of his mind whispered - all of it in a silver pendant, on a silver chain. "I ... I ... "
"Turn it to the other side," Tobirama gently instructed and he did so without protest. (Why were his fingers shaking?) There, he found engraved kanji, careful and precise, spelling out Love and Honor horizontally and Blood and Fire vertically like a cross. The words stirred memories and emotions alike and this time he didn't bother to suppress them-
A kind smile on a beautiful woman's face, beloved and familiar. Safe. 'I'll be strong. You'll see. I'll be just as strong as you!'
A small weight in his arms, black eyes gazing up at him adoringly. Precious. His to protect. 'I'm sorry I wasn't enough. I will love you always. Please forgive me.'
Three other boys following after him like ducklings, always so elated to get even a scrap of his attention and affection. Priceless. Innocent. 'Your big brother will protect you, no matter what.' (He'd failed.)
A boy, younger than him roughly a year, so shy in standing next to him, so hesitant to bother him. Clan. Loyal. 'I will not let you down.' (He'd failed.)
A face framed by wild, curly hair, a beaming smile full of adoration and respect - for him - when so many feared to even look his way. Trusting. Innocent. It was up to him to set this boy on the right path so he can survive. It is not with him. 'I'm so sorry.'
A stern face that still softened upon seeing him. A strong hand on his shoulder, rarely ruffling his hair in affection. Training him, to be strong so he can protect himself, his brothers, his clan. 'I miss you.'
"Happy birthday, Madara," Tobirama all but whispered and a choke escaped him as he brought the pendant to his lips. His eyes were burning and he was crying. He wasn't even sure why at this point - the past or the present? All he knew was that his emotions were too much for him.
Smart like a Nara. Loyal like a Inuzuka. Consistent like an Aburame. Emphatic like a Yamanaka. Friendly like an Akimichi. Devoted like a Hatake. Persistent like a Maito. Stubborn like a Lee. Respect like a Hyuuga. Embrace like a Senju.
Love like an Uchiha. Eternally, unconditionally, beyond logic or reason, beyond time and life and death.
Madara could no longer run from his nature than he could from his need to breathe. He would just have to stop denying it and this ... Well.
"Did I upset you? I apologize if-"
"Thank you," Madara cut him off with a watery but one hundred percent real, genuine smile. (Tobirama was of the opinion that it was unfairly breathtaking.) He carefully pulled out the necklace and locked it into place around his neck, tucking in the precious present away from curious eyes. It felt right to have it there, so close to his heart. like a brand, a reminder of who and what he was.
A snap of a camera startled them out of their focus on each other and they both turned to see a sniffling Sakura after just having taken a picture. In fact, half of the wait staff was holding back tears. (They knew the Utaha family. They knew the difficulty with which Madara had lived due to his siblings' scorn.) Madara's eyes widened and he flushed as red as the stone in his new necklace in mortified embarrassment. On the other side of the table, Tobirama seems to have went from a snow rabbit to a cooked lobster.
The rest of the dinner was almost awkward after that, with Sakura gushing at the two friends and having waiters take pictures of all three of them from time to time. She had Madara and Tobirama take a picture together with Madara's necklace fully in view. He wondered how that one had turned out and couldn't wait to see it. He and Tobirama were different like night and day in appearance, after all. Did they clash? Or did they bring each other into harmony?
The day ended for them in the big observatory at the edges of the city - Utaha influence, while not the most far reaching, reached far enough to get a private tour - when the clock struck twelve and they finally got back in his mother's car, tired but obviously in a rather cheery mood. Madara kept fingering the necklace the whole ride back to his parents' house even as he and Tobirama shared a whispered conversation about how the Senju had struck a deal of exchange for the necklace - thank the mother of chakra it wasn't theft! - and Kurama seemed to be on his best behavior, actually letting Tobirama pet him.
The biggest surprise, still, awaited him at 'home'.
It was late, so they made sure to be quiet as they entered. Madara didn't even bother to be bothered how good he was at sneaking around since he knew damn well why and denying it at this point - to himself, anyway - would just be him insulting his own intelligence. He and Tobirama didn't make so much as a whisper of a sound. Tobirama said everyone was asleep, anyway, and Madara knew to believe the man's sensory abilities.
But there was a light turned on in the kitchen and the three - four, if you count Kurama - exchanged looks, not sure what they should expect to find. None of them had ever even entertained the idea that it would be Utaha Ren, asleep at the table with a chocolate birthday cake with the words 'Happy Birthday Madara' in red frosting and a present, to be waiting for them. Madara had not received a present from his father since he had moved out. Not even the year when he had moved out, despite him still living in the house when his birthday came by. The man was drunk, or at least tipsy, given that half of a wine bottle had been drained while he waited. Whether that had been an original part of the plan or just a way to waste time while awaiting their return was impossible to tell, but the most curious thing on the table was a small envelope sitting next to his present, some sort of picture underneath it. His kaa-chan stiffened upon seeing it.
Madara didn't notice, feeling a pull towards the envelope. It felt important, his instincts were screaming at him that it was. "Madara-" he heard her call out but he already had the envelope in hand and found himself staring incomprehensibly at the picture underneath, of a pretty black haired woman with dark brown eyes and skin a darker shade than his own but not b much. He didn't understand.
Tobirama came to stand beside him, curiosity - and no doubt shinobi experience telling him it could be a trap so the man came to be available if that turned out to be the case - all but rolling off of him in waves as Madara opened the envelope and slid out a note written in Ren's own hand, addressed to him.
Not two sentences in and he felt like his world fell out under him.