Story Summary: Madara, because he's not an idiot, takes about four seconds to realize he's been turned into a furry beast. Looking at his shaking legs, the black fur bristled up in agitation, he understands that he has no idea how he got himself into this mess. MadaTobi Fox!Madara, SEMI-GRAPHIC VIOLENCE.

Story Warnings: Graphic violence, cursing, blood, amorality, war, death, the consumption of human meat by animals.

back at it again with the second chapter :D

shi-bi no kitsune

ii.

Waking up is something that Madara does every day, and yet, it feel unnatural as he shifts slightly, head pounding. His thoughts blur together into a sluggish glob of nonsense and he squints his eyes open, hoping he'll see something that will trigger his mind further awake.

A brightly lit wooden room greets his watery gaze, a large window across from him opened to let the soft breeze invade the room. Madara sniffs slightly, the scents in the room invading his senses. There's the vague smell of green that seems to follow him everywhere he goes, but there is also that same woodsy scent that he had smelled on Tobirama when the man had offered his hand to him.

Tobirama?

Madara jolted up, dizzy from his abrupt shift. He blinks, trying to clear his vision, and it is then that he notices the figure hunched over a desk in the corner of the room. Tobirama's back is to him and Madara can just faintly make out the sound of a brush being put against paper. Madara stares at him for a moment, just taking in the situation, before he shakes his head, some of his fur going flying at the motion. He shakily stands, stretching his limbs out as he arches back, satisfied when he can hear and feel his back bone pop slightly, letting built up pressure escape.

So, he's somehow found himself in what he can only assume is Tobirama's room in the Senju compound. He grimaces in his mind when he remembers his thoughts right before he passed out, the incident still sending a curl of disgust throughout him. He vows to stay away from meat for the immediate future, especially if he reacts by gagging and fainting every time he's confronted with it.

"Awake, are you?" Tobirama's deep voice breaks him out of his thoughts.

Madara looks at him from his spot on a bed, blinking up at the man. Tobirama is dressed casually in a dark blue yukata, the fabric wrinkled in spots. It's a startling sight. Madara should have never had a reason to see the younger Senju brother in any state of dress besides armor and it leaves him flustered for a second, his tails twitching behind him.

"My name is Tobirama," the Senju offers, a curious tilt to his head. "I apologize if I offered you offense when I offered you meat."

Madara blinks, caught off guard. Was Tobirama aware that he wasn't a normal fox? Was that why he was talking to him like he had some kind of sentience? His tails twitch again and Madara feels like an idiot. Of course the Senju knows he's not a regular animal; he has four tails for kami's sake! Madara himself isn't a particular religious person, nor does he believe much in the supernatural, but he supposes Tobirama might. Madara had been informed that he was more of a science man, but he guesses that doesn't mean that Tobirama could look at a fox with multiple tails and not think of all the mythical stories that surround such creatures. Madara, with a lack of ability to voice any greeting, simply yips in return, startling himself slightly when the noise is louder than he intended.

Tobirama's lips twitch slightly, something like amusement flashing in his eyes, before his face is once more neutral. It looks more relaxed though, like neutral is just his natural state and not like he's forcing his emotions away. "Do you have a name?"

Madara yips again because, yes obviously, but he isn't exactly sure how he's supposed to communicate such a thing to Tobirama. Or, now that he thinks about it, if he should confess his identity. Hashirama had always been the one with the dream of peace, not his younger brother. Madara doesn't think Tobirama dishonorable enough to hurt him as an animal, but he would believe him smart enough to keep him locked away should he learn of Madara's identity. Resigned, Madara admits to himself that he'll probably have to give a false name if he even manages to find a way to communicate with the man.

"Hm," Tobirama hums in reply, a hand coming up to smooth his hair down as he contemplates something. "I'm afraid I won't be able to guess your name. Would you be offended if I simply called you Shi?"

Madara, relieved that Tobirama wasn't going to start throwing out names and expecting Madara to pick one, simply yipped and slowly nodded, struggling to get his body to move in the way he wanted it to.

"Shi-san it is," Tobirama agrees. "I suppose you're probably hungry and thirsty by this point; you've been asleep for two days already."

Two days?! That was worrying, Madara fretted, his tongue flicking out over his jaw in a sign of nervousness. He supposes somehow being transformed into a fox would take the energy out of someone, but the adrenaline crash he had experienced probably played a larger role than anything else. He'd crashed after fighting before, what shinobi hasn't, but he's never experienced anything close to what happened at the border between their territories. It was an important detail to a puzzle that Madara didn't have all the pieces to.

"Tobi-kun!" a warm voice shouted, the door to the room slamming open.

Madara jumped, hackles raised as a beaming Hashirama made his way into the room, delight written all over his face as he stared expectantly at his brother.

Tobirama's blank mask was firmly in place by the time he turned to look at Hashirama, a dispassionate, "Don't call me that," his only greeting.

"I know you've been itching to get out of the compound, especially since your last outing ended with you being attacked! I recently got a missive from the Uzumaki: a couple of their shinobi have gone missing and they're in need of a sensor. I offered your services!"

"Thank you for consulting me, brother," Tobirama states with no emotion, though Madara was interested to note there was a slight twitching of his eye which gave away his annoyance.

"Oh! Who's your little friend?" Hashirama coos as he catches sight of Madara's disgruntled form, the powerful shinobi practically collapsing at the side of Tobirama's bed to stare at him.

Madara glared at him with the best of his ability, uncomfortable with being in the same room as Hashirama when at such a disadvantage. Hashirama and he had always been equals on the battlefield, unable to beat the other, and with him being unable to protect himself in his usual way left him feeling vulnerable.

"That is Shi-san," Tobirama informs Hashirama, watching as the older man offered the large fox a hand to sniff.

Madara, simply because he was curious, gave a few cautious sniffs. Hashirama's scent differs from Tobirama's, though he supposes he shouldn't be surprised by that. They both share the wood scent that Madara is starting to suspect is a Senju thing, but Hashirama also smells like, well, wet dirt. It makes Madara sneeze abruptly, his lip curling up in offense at the scent. It's not bad, per se, but Madara has never been a fan of the way the earth has smelled after a heavy rain. The smell of it was always cloying to his tongue and he realizes that the effect is just amplified now that he can smell so much better.

"He bit out one of the Kurama agents' Achilles tendon," Tobirama informs the giggling man.

That gets a reaction from him, his giggling cutting off quickly as the man pulls his hand back from Madara's mouth. Madara wouldn't have bitten him, has no desire to ever have any part of a human in his mouth again, but he finds it amusing to see Hashirama pale slightly as he stares at Madara's sharp teeth.

"A-Ah, well-," He stutters nervously, laughing sheepishly as he stands and takes a few steps back. He flinches slightly when Madara tracks his movements, his head tilting like he was curious about Hashirama's actions. Mostly he just found it funny to see the slight spark of childish terror that was in Hashirama's eyes. Tobirama, even though he had seen the aftermath, had only looked at him with gratefulness and curiosity. Hashirama seemed to have a much weaker stomach.

"I hope that you can leave soon," Hashirama tells Tobirama, eyeing Madara up out of the corner of his eye as he turns to his brother. "They're hoping to find their comrades alive."

"I can leave before nightfall," Tobirama replies, turning away and ignoring Hashirama now that his purpose has been concluded.

Hashirama grumbles a little at this, but he still looks at his brother with fond exasperation. He gives Madara a nervous look, his eyes finally catching onto the four tails behind him. His eyes widen and he quickly turns and flees when Madara lets out a fake yawn, revealing his teeth in all their glory. The door shuts with a firm click.

"Ridiculous," Tobirama mutters to himself, huffing as he turns around to glare at the door. "Doesn't know how to knock."

Madara yips at that because he relates so much. Izuna never bothered to knock whenever Madara was in his own room, always just barging in to yell or complain about something new. He loved his younger brother, wouldn't trade him for anything in the world, but he deeply wishes that the younger Uchiha would just learn to understand the concept of privacy.

"Come with me," Tobirama addresses him, standing from his desk and making his way to the door. "I can find some blackberries in the kitchen for you to eat."

Madara, embarrassed when his stomach growled at the offer, jumps down from the neatly made bed and follows Tobirama into uncharted territory.

The hallway has the same kind of decor that Tobirama's bedroom had, brightly lit with cool, neutral colors placed everywhere. It wasn't that dissimilar to the Uchiha compound, though there were far more uchiwa fans hanging over everything then there were vajra hanging around the Senju clan compound. The house they're in is relatively quiet, on the soft sound from the outside making any noise. Madara briefly wonders who all lives in the same home as Tobirama and Hashirama, but he is distracted when the make their way into a surprisingly advanced kitchen. The Uchiha, while not the poorest clan out there, weren't wealthy. Most of their clan wasn't decked out in armor like the Senju were. Their wealth seems to be more advanced than Madara had guessed though as he looks around the kitchen. The Uchiha frequently used kamado as ovens still, not having the metal to waste on bigger iron stoves. The Senju don't seem to have that problem, as such a stove was sitting in the clan head's kitchen, other things such as iron pots hanging from the walls.

"Shi-san," Tobirama called his given name, snapping Madara out of his observations.

Madara padded over to the Senju has he set down a small bowl of ripe looking blackberries in front of him, a dish of water following soon after. Madara felt slightly degraded for having to eat out of a bowl on the floor like an animal, but beggars can't be choosers, especially since technically speaking, he was an animal at the moment. With a resigned huff, he bent down and carefully took a few berries into his mouth, their sweet taste bursting on his tongue. There was a subtle tartness to them that Madara thinks he's never really tasted before and he takes another mouthful, now eager to fill his stomach. He licks his jaw once he's finished, swiping up any stray bits that might have escaped. He slowly darts his tongue out, trying to figure out how to maneuver himself into drinking the water. After he manages to only get his fur slightly wet, he pulls back, stepping away from the dishes.

"I'll take that," Tobirama tells him, scooping up the dishes and going to the corner of the room where a sink rests.

Madara stares after him, his mind wandering as his stomach rumbles again, an uncomfortable feeling falling over him. The berries were good and the water refreshing, and yet his stomach is still chewing at itself, a sense of dissatisfaction falling over him. A memory of the way the meat had tempted him, the blood dripping down his throat, makes his entire body lurch, his stomach gaping with want. He shakes himself, quickly dismissing the thought. No, he would be satisfied with berries and insects. He felt no need to crunch on any type of meat, let alone human. It wasn't normal.

"I have to pack for my mission," Tobirama tells him as he approaches, having put the dishes away while Madara was lost in thought. "I can take you back to where I found you once I leave."

Madara yips, standing from his seated position and stalking after Tobirama as he leaves the kitchen. They find themselves back in Tobirama's room and Madara leaps onto the bed, lazily lounging as Tobirama packs a bag for his mission. He isn't quite sure what he's supposed to do when Tobirama drops him off. He'll have to get into the Uchiha clan compound somehow, and with Madara being missing for two whole days, the clan will be on high alert. To be honest, they're more likely to shoot him dead that the moment then to let him in. He finds himself at loose ends as he watches Tobirama tie his bag closed. If he can't return to the compound, what is he supposed to do?

"Are you ready Shi-san? I can take you back now," Tobirama says, hefting his bag onto his back. He had changed into more practical mission clothes when Madara was distracted, the sight now more familiar than the more relaxed one from earlier. The orange light of sunset is filtering in from the window, setting both Tobirama and the room ablaze. Madara stares at the waiting man, ear twitching as he thinks. Tobirama had been kind to him so far, had given him food and kept him safe, so maybe he could go with the man on his mission. It would give him a safe place and allow him to think about a new plan to try and figure out how to change back.

With his decision made, Madara breathes deeply before hunching back and then springing forward, clumsily launching himself at Tobirama. The Senju grunts, buckling slightly in surprise at the sudden weight in his arms, before he straightens himself up, blinking in surprise at his bundle.

"I suppose that means you want to come with me?"

Madara yips in confirmation, tails twitching as Tobirama softly puts him on the ground.

"I suppose I could take you. It would give me the chance to further study your behavior," Tobirama contemplates. "Alright. Let me gather some provisions for you and we can be on our way."

Madara follows the man as they once more head to the kitchen, excitement finding its way into his veins. This would be an entirely new experience for him, traveling with a shinobi that wasn't an Uchiha. Tobirama had proved himself to be rather interesting and Madara finds that he is looking forward to what else he might discover about the younger Senju brother.

theyre goin on an adventure~