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 found he was learning rapidly how to deal with his memories as well as live in this completely different time. There were many differences and life itself happened at a vastly different pace, but Madara had learned to adapt from a young age in both lifetimes, so he got used to it.
Gaining back a lifetime worth of memories was the more difficult part.
Remembering people he had once known but who were no longer of this world was hard on him. He'd just remember an old (new) face and would want to approach that person for a chat about who he used to be only to learn or remember that they were dead already. Or the few that were still alive simply hated him for whatever he had done to 'wrong' them - yes, he was indeed thinking with the air quotes in place. Until proven otherwise, Madara refused to believe he would purposefully attack a village he had helped found, build and name. Everyone was allowed the benefit of the doubt and he was still uneasy about the few fragments of memory he had regarding that something taking away his free will - despite him not remembering or even being the same person at this time. These people seem to have forgotten that he wad born in a completely different time and had been raised by entirely different people who had never held a knife for any reason other than to prepare a meal.
It was tougher than he was willing to admit - for some reason, unlike with his schoolmates' scorn, the opinions of these people mattered to him, as weird as it was - but he was used to it. He knew Tobirama had figured out why Madara never seemed particularly bothered by these experiences even though he had these moments of looking at the teen as though he expected Madara to run without ever looking back and he seemed haunted by the possibility. Madara knew it would be useless to try and reassure him that his fears were in wain and that he won't leave. Tobirama was neither blind nor stupid. He knew what extended exposure to such treatment could do to a person as well as Madara did, but Madara was indeed used to it and he knew Tobirama hated that perhaps even more. But it is what it is and Madara knew nothing will change the villagers' attitude and he was forcing himself to adjust once again.
Their fear, he understood, and he could fake it till he'll make it that he understood their hatred, too. It was nothing new. If he, when he understood next to nothing as to what could make a human dislike and scorn another human for no other reason than jealousy and envy as a child with not even a decade under his belt, could survive through such a treatment from his peers and his - supposed - family, then he can take it and survive now, when he knew how to rationalize and compartmentalize it all.
So time passed and seasons changed twice until his birthday was close upon them once again. Madara wasn't entirely sure how he felt about celebrating another birthday mere months after the last one, especially one that ended in disaster, but everyone else seemed to be rather looking forward to it so Madara let them have it. The difference in time here and in the century he had grown up in was something he had adjusted to by keeping two calendars that allowed him to follow both dates and the passage of time. On Utaha Sakura's birthday by his old calendar, he secluded himself for most of the day in the room and looked through the pictures he'd brought with him, reminiscing about the old days when he had thought her to be his loving mother, the only one in the world who loved him. And she had been, indeed, and he missed her, he would not lie, but he refused to live in a lie. Sakura had perhaps been his mother in all the ways that counted but the lie had been unnecessary and had ended up as a wedge between him and the rest of his maybe-family. He didn't blame her - she'd loved him perhaps more than her own flesh and blood children - and he found he couldn't even blame Ren, either. Not after seeing that pathetic sight and reading that letter. He'd never finished it before it all went up in flames.
In order to keep himself sane on his 'mother's birthday', he created his own calendar, the first day of the year starting when he had arrived in this time with Tobirama. He ended up having fun with it. Keeping three different calendars was excellent mental exercise that he needed in the face of a lack of schoolwork as he'd grown used to it.
As time went by, he felt himself losing interest in his past - the twenty first century - and instead focused on the life he had lived here and that he was living right now. Remembering four younger brothers and his parents, all buried now, prompted him to try and better understand his past and the clan he had grown up in. Who Uchiha Madara was as a person was heavily influenced by the people he had grown up around, by the ideals he had come to cherish and the knowledge and way of life that had been passed down to him. Hikaku and Kagami proved priceless in this endeavor of his, as Hikaku had grown up with him barely a year younger and had as such been there at the beginning while Kagami had practically been raised by him and as such had his ideals passed down on to him. Madara learned a lot about himself as a person and not just the war persona everyone else could tell him about and only saw him as. It was refreshing to hear stories about how he would have spoiled his brothers rotten had they lived long enough or how while strict, he was a fair and caring mentor. Kagami definitely seemed to idolize him, even if Madara couldn't quite see why. He only tried to live up to the expectations the boy was unknowingly piling up on his shoulders.
In some ways, Hashirama was invaluable in this, too. As an older brother and as a man who had lost half of his siblings, he understood the past Madara's reason to fight the best, almost as well as he understood Madara's dream of peace. They had shared it, once, before Madara's last brother had died in battle. Then, Madara was only doing as his last brother asked of him in his dying breaths. Hashirama didn't seem to understand this. He didn't seem to understand what had driven the then-Madara to give up on peace outside of keeping his clan safe and away from pointless fights.
Madara didn't need to have all of his memories back in order to feel the all-encompassing love he'd felt towards Uchiha Izuna. The mere mention or thought of his name awake a longing and sorrow in his heart, but he was just glad that it had dulled enough not to drive him into madness with the pain of loss. Madara did remember that.
Perhaps asking Hashirama hadn't been the smartest idea. The man seemed to love his dream in the sense that nothing and no one was more important than it. Madara could not support that. It went against the very blood that coursed through his veins. The Uchiha were all about love. It's what awoke their Sharingan and allowed them to become stronger. Love is ultimately what drove them to madness but no Uchiha would ever rather rip out their own heart than lose their minds. An emotionless Uchiha would be terrifying and wrong. The teen could not imagine ever sacrificing or letting go of someone precious for some dream of peace.
If he could, he knew he would sacrifice Konoha just to see his younger brothers again.
Tobirama seemed to understand that. Madara had made the mistake to accept Hashirama's invitation for a night out as old friends. It hadn't occurred to him that the older Senju brother would get plastered and then babble like any other chatty drunk. He'd expected more from the so called God of Shinobi. Though the brunet had had many interesting things to say. Madara shuddered at the mere thought of Edo Tensei. He could understand Tobirama's drive behind the jutsu, but it scared him. Scared him how tempting it was to ask the man to do it just once. He resisted.
He didn't hold Hashirama's hair out of his face when he puked out of sheer spite at the man for the many complaints he'd dropped about Tobirama's 'emotionlessness' and 'coldness'. That was his first friend the log brain was talking about! He could save his hair from vomit by himself.
Since learning more about himself can only take him so far since not even Hikaku or Kagami knew everything, Madara shrugged it off and moved on with his life. He found great joy in distracting Tobirama from important work with Science that would usually allow the man to relax, at least. Ever since that first crazy experiment - Madara the Unburned, thank you very fucking much; Kagami had been badgering him ever since to teach him, though Madara himself didn't exactly know how he so instinctively wielded his own chakra to coat himself in a thin but powerful barrier as protection - he would barge in whenever he sensed Tobirama get reckless or agitated enough for him to worry about the man's blood pressure. The other Clan Heads would not be pleased when he would then drag his friend out with enticing new experiments on how chakra usage would have made some special effects in movies so much better. It was fun, for the both of them, even if they terrorized Konoha with their own version of a hoverboard - the gunbai released wind chakra; with the right amount being fed into it, it hovered and Madara had had his skateboard phase early enough that he knew how to ride on it. Many Uchiha were scandalized by how their ancient weapon and symbol of power was being used. Madara didn't give two fucks. Tobirama had been interested if the gunbai could be used as an AC if fed water chakra - or scared the shit out of random people by enacting horror movie scenes.
Madara loved the most that he was instilling twenty first century pop culture references into the young minds of Konoha's children. By the time they start going out on missions and facing enemy shinobi, they will be driving the outsiders insane. And he planned on teaching them the whole texting thing, too, to drive the villagers, especially the village administrators bonkers. Tobirama had been confused as fuck when he'd seen how people texted on phones and he was a fucking genius. And it was as good a code as any.
Madara was a petty troll that loved serving petty revenge cold.
These people wanted to be dicks to him? Well, at least he could give them a legitimate reason for it. Screw those fuckers!
Besides, it was the best fun he'd had from his birthday when he went ice skating with Tobirama and his kaa-ch- Sakura. He deserved some fun every so often.
Like now.
"Eat my snow, Tobirama!" He called gleefully as he sped down a snow covered hill, a wild grin on his face as he skillfully avoided all of the trees and made sharp turns in an attempt to lose his friend. His gunbai was apparently made to serve him however he pleased, as it was a fantastic snowboard. Yes, using it as a hoverboard was fun but he'd never attempted snowboarding and he had been curious whether it really was similar to riding a skateboard. Madara was no expert, since he'd just searched for any movie he had with actual snowboarding and then watched those with his Sharingan active, so it didn't really make a difference to him. It was great fun, though, to stir the snow around and throw it into unsuspecting passersby faces.
Tsunade, who was sitting on his shoulders and clinging for dear life while cackling like a mad girl, definitely agreed.
Tobirama, who had been smart enough not to even try to learn how to ride a hastily Mokuton created board on the go, unlike Hashirama, Kagami and Toka, had instead summoned a snow leopard and has been chasing after them for the past fifteen minutes.
Madara was pretty sure the two Senju and his former apprentice were making like cartoons down the hill. Knowing Hashirama's rotten luck, he'd probably already hit a tree at this point.
Hikaku and Mito ought to be waiting for them somewhere with hot drinks.
"Mada-jii! Mada-jii! Jii-chan is gaining up on us!" Tsunade shrieked with giggles and Madara threw a glance over his shoulder to see that, indeed, Tobirama and his summon - he was pretty sure he'd called her Kaida - were now a dozen meters away, eating up more than two thirds of the former distance between them.
"He better not be cheating," Madara groused, turning back to look at where he was going. "And ideas, Tsuna-hime?"
"Go to the Valley! Go to the Valley!" The little blond called excitedly.
Madara would have chuckled except he was a bit too preoccupied with one very important fact. "What valley? Where am I supposed to go?"
"Towards the river!"
"The Naka River?" He asked almost cautiously even as he used a random rock like a jumping ramp to get airborne and put more distance between them and their pursuers.
"Yes!"
"Alright, hold onto your socks, Tsuna-hime." He shot out a hand, grabbed onto one younger tree and used it as a pole to sharply reverse his direction. He heard Tobirama cursing at him from behind because kyuchiyose or not, a snow leopard can't make that sharp and sudden of a turn. Tsunade cheered and Madara smirked. That and the jump earlier had created enough distance between them that there was no way Tobirama will catch up until they reach this valley he had no knowledge of. Perhaps he still didn't have enough of his memories back to remember. He trusted that it will come back to him when the time is right.
"That was awesome!" The little girl shouted in his ear, her hold onto the straps of his chest armor that usually wouldn't be visible or acceptable except this once when he'd taken off the shoulder guards for exactly this purpose was sure and strong, like he'd told her to. She was even channeling some chakra - impressive for a four year old - to hold on better. It's what made Madara confident and bold enough to do half the tricks he'd been trying out so far. "Jiraiya and Orochimaru are going to be so jealous!" No doubt, especially the white haired boy. He seemed to idolize Madara in some way. Probably how boys his age idolized superheroes. It was cute. "Do that spinning thing again!"
"As the princess commands," he replied with a chuckle, searching for a rock to be an appropriate ramp so he can jump up and do a 360 degree flip in the air. He thinks Tsunade would have loved thrill rides like roller coasters. While he can't build a roller coaster - he wasn't an engineer, after all - he could always simulate the same experience.
Tsunade's shrieking laughter in his ear didn't bother him, despite the volume.
"Madara, slow down, you maniac!" Tobirama shouted from the distance and Madara and Tsunade pouted in tandem, even though they didn't know it.
"Hmph. Should we go faster, Tsuna-hime?"
"Pump it, Mada-jii," came the serious reply and Madara turned his head enough for them to share a diabolical grin before he pressed forward to get more speed, rearranging himself to have the least air resistance. Tsunade, knowing this, hunkered down as well and they both laughed when they went even faster.
He wondered how long it will take for Tobirama to snap and just Hiraishin in front of them - or on top of them, just to teach them a lesson, the sadistic snowflake - to stop their dare-deviling.
Red eyes flicked left and right as he weaved through the trees, noting that the slope was losing its angle and they will soon find themselves on flat ground. He figured it was a good time to stop, anyway, or else Tobirama will nag at them. Something neither of them wanted to be subjected to. So Madara straightened up and allowed for them to naturally loose speed until they finally came through to a small clearing made by the river bed.
What surprised him was the waterfall and the two huge heads he could see from this angle. He froze in place when he realized one of the heads was a fairly good representation of his own, the other unmistakable as Senju Hashirama.
"Come on, Mada-jii! The view is better from the lake!"
"Lake?" Madara absently repeated, letting Tsunade drag him towards the edge of the cliff by the waterfall besides Hashirama's head. He automatically picked up his gunbai and sealed it away again before forcing himself out of his daze in order to watch after Tsunade, lest she fall down the cliff. It's not that he wouldn't be able to catch her but he'd rather not test fate. He hadn't exactly had an easy life, either time, after all. No reason to test his luck
"Yeah! It's really pretty but the big statues are super cool! I recognized Mada-jii as soon as I saw you!"
"I was hoping my eyes were playing tricks on me," Madara grumbled even as he approached and looked down into the valley he had not known even existed. The second he saw it, though, he froze all over again, a cold, chilling sensation racing up his spine.
"Tou-chan calls it the Valley of the End. He won't tell me why, but I think he built it because Mada-jii died that first time. He was really sad for a while but he's happier now. I don't understand why no one showed Mada-jii this place by now but adults are silly so I decided to show you myself." Tsunade sounded so proud of herself but Madara found he could barely hear the words she was saying.
The sight before him was familiar, even if the last time he'd seen it, the lake was new and the ground was still smoking from the destructive force that had carved the valley where the Naka had once flown undisturbed. The destruction had been cleaned up and the walls of the cliffs had been smoothed down to look like a natural valley, not a clashing point of two shinobi titans and their strongest jutsus. The scenery almost looked like something straight out of a fairytale despite Madara knowing that it had come into existence through a battle befitting demons. When it had all ended, it had looked like hell and Madara had had a sword sticking through his chest, piercing his heart, killing him-
"Anyone who tries to harm it ... whether they are my friends, siblings or my own children ... I won't forgive them!"
.
Cold. He was so cold. Why did everyone hate him? Why did his clan hate him!? He wanted to protect them! But they didn't trust him and they didn't want anything to do with him. He was a burden to them, to their peace. Never mind how many times over the years he had begged them for at least a ceasefire. He was the villain.
.
"Don't worry, Madara. I will appreciate all that you are. Mother will thank you. You are the savior of this world. You will end all shinobi and bring eternal peace as Mother's vassal and vessel. Give in, now, like a good boy. There is nothing else you can do now."
.
Water and rocks flying everywhere. His chakra was surging so hard through his body that his hair moved with it, his armor moved with it. Yet his blood was cold in his veins, his spirit struggling to get free but there was no use. Madara could not get free. But he refused to go down without a fight. That parasite will have to fight him for his body and his chakra.
.
"Further more ... There's no way in hell that Madara would be chosen. Everyone knows that the true founder of the village was you, Anija. Even the Uchiha acknowledge this." Pain. Why was there so much pain? He'd known this. No one wants him here. But this pain ... It wasn't just from then. To know, in a general sense, that the white haired man had no trust in him was one thing. To hear it come from that voice ...
.
Scorn everywhere he goes. Scorn and fear and hatred. What had he done to deserve it besides fighting for his people, his family, his life? How were they any different?
.
"Uchiha demon."
"I heard he stole his own brother's eyes to gain more power."
"Rumors say that he was the one to strike Uchiha Izuna down to stop himself from going blind."
"He's a weakling whom Hashirama-sama protected out of misguided fondness. He has no strength of his own."
"Tajima-sama would be horrified to see this monster he'd once called son."
"He's no Uchiha."
.
The wet sound of his last brother's breathing was horrifying. There was nothing he could do. Izuna was gasping out his last breaths and all he could do was sit beside him and cry tears of blood as his new eyes adjusted and healed. Not a day after the beloved chest stopped rising and falling, a grim, grieving Hikaku came with the news of a Senju squad, fifty warriors, nearing their borders. Madara didn't hesitate. He tore off his bandages that covered his eyes, took his gunbai and left for battle. No armor, no other weapon or equipment on his person. He hadn't changed, eaten or bathed since Izuna was struck down and he could not sleep even with Hikaku forcing a sleeping drug down his throat. He had refused to leave Izuna's side no matter the consequences to himself. Now Izuna lies dead and Madara will fulfill his last request, even if it is at the cost of his own life.
.
"Why do you stay around, Uchiha? The Hokage has been chosen. It's Hashirama. The final word is his. Your opinion doesn't really matter anymore," a drunk Hyuuga sneered at him as he passed the bar. Everyone there laughed along, as though he had said the funniest thing any of them had ever heard.
"Just leave! No one wants you here anymore!"
.
He stared down at Kagami, who was looking up at him hopefully, the application form feeling laden between his numb fingers. His young apprentice didn't seem to realize how this was affecting his shishou. "Please, Madara-sama! My best friend Torifu says that it's great and that there's a lot more to learn!" An arrow to his already bleeding and battered heart.
'It's for the best,' he thinks to himself and signs the form that puts Kagami not only under another's tutelage, but also under another's care. 'It will hurt less like this. I always wanted him to have a bright future. That's not with someone like me, who only knows war and loss.'
He faked a proud smile - the smile part, never the pride in his young apprentice - as he handed back the form and watched the curly haired boy dance and run around his home office before running off to tell his new sensei the good news. Not even a thank you or the once usual 'You're the best.' He forced himself to swallow the lump in his throat.
'Congratulations, Madara. You're the first shishou or sensei an Uchiha outgrew. Might as well put away the extra slippers. No sane person would come back once they managed to get free.'
.
"I'm sorry, Madara, but I can't spend any time with you today. I'm busy."
"Then let me take on a part of your work so you can finish earlier, at least."
"You're such a great friend! Maybe if I finish early, I'll have time to take Mito out on a date! We haven't had one of those in a while. It will be so nice!"
" ... Right."
.
A thick form is slammed onto his already full desk of papers, nearly scattering them from the force of it. "This is bullshit, Uchiha! Why did you disapprove of a joined orphanage? Why should your clan not participate in the new traditions we're setting for the entire village? I thought this was what you wanted so why aren't Uchiha children approved for the orphanage? Are you still clinging so much to clan over village?"
"Because they're Uchiha children. There is always caretakers within the clan. It's the Uchiha way."
"You want to isolate them from everyone else so they can never inherit the Will of Fire we're trying to teach the new generations? You know, so things don't plunge back into war once Anija is dead? Or is that what you're hoping for?"
He kept his voice level and didn't allow any emotions to show. "I've already approved them for the Academy. They'll be plenty exposed to other clans' children and to the new education system. They don't need to be put in an orphanage when they have people who will care for them."
"Are those people even willing to take them in or is it just out of duty?" Sneered the younger man and Madara felt his calm facade close to breaking soon enough. "Can they provide them the love willing parents would give them?"
"I never took you as an Uchiha child expert," Madara sneered back, glaring.
"Well, Kagami doesn't seem to mind."
He froze. Killing intent spiked before he could get his chakra under control so hard, he could feel Hashirama running back towards the Tower even if he'd left barely fifteen minutes ago. He smoothed his chakra fluctuations down and sent the other man his calmest, blankest look. "Get out."
"Uchiha-"
"Get out or I will risk Hashirama's hatred by skewering you on Susanoo's blade."
Tobirama stayed for a moment longer, his face, too, going blank before he nodded and left, leaving the forms on Madara's table. He wanted to burn them.
Tobirama said nothing when he found them - aggressively - signed the next morning on his desk.
.
"So you can teach even someone like you some new tricks, huh?" Came the mock teasing question after he had bowed out in favor of giving the Aburame the training grounds that had been promised to the Uchiha since the building of the village just because the other clan's bugs preferred it there. Not even because they needed that environment, but because they preferred it. Never mind that the Uchiha did need that stone covered terrain for them to safely practice their katon jutsus and that the field they got instead was useless to them in all its 'natural beauty'.
"It seems that's the only way anyone will accept me in this hypocritical village. Only as anyone else but myself."
"What are you mumbling about under your chin, Madara? No one's asking you to be anyone but yourself. Don't go spouting nonsense like that. Someone might overhear and take you seriously."
Madara smiled bitterly at Tobirama for proving his point exactly.
.
"Are you preparing for a mission? I've never seen you submit this much complete paperwork."
He didn't look up from where he was arranging the stack he'd just finished. He can't very well leave all of these forms on whatever poor bastard was going to take his place.
.
"Madara-sama," Hikaku began, sounding hesitant as he watched his Clan Head don his trademark red armor. "Perhaps you shouldn't go on this mission with us."
He froze mid motion, not saying anything.
"I'm worried about you." That didn't make him relax any. Hikaku sounded close to fretting. "You work too much, you don't sleep enough, I don't remember the last time I've seen you eat and I can't recall when Kagami visited you. You know you can talk to me if something's bothering you, right?" He didn't say anything. His cousin sighed. "Look, I'll just take a bigger unit. You should get some rest and relax for a bit-"
He finished putting on his armor, took a single katana and a half prepared weapons pouch and left for the mission by himself. When he returned, he told no one about the three broken bones, five bruised ribs and the poison running through his veins still.
His only worth in this god forsaken village was his strength and his ability to do missions alone that would usually require entire platoons. He won't let them fault him in this.
.
"Madara! Please stop this!"
"I will rid this world of shinobi so there can be true peace!"
.
"You've been quiet," the observation came out dry and wary from his doorway. He didn't look up. "What are you planning, Uchiha? To overthrow Anija? To attack the Senju and make us your slaves? To kill us all? I have bad news for you. None of your clansmen will follow you."
He remained silent, finishing another form and picking up the next one. He didn't react other than blink when a stone was thrown at his window and broke it, the rock hitting the floor of his office. The Senju that was visiting him nearly went into war mode.
"I have things to do. If you're done here, don't let the door hit you on the way out."
.
"You're not acting like yourself."
"You don't know me, Senju."