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Fanfiction Blitz of 2019: Day Five of Seven

A while ago I was chatting with RinRin on tumblr about a great Highlander crossover idea they had. Anyway, I got permission to play in their sandbox for a bit. Hope you enjoy.

Immortal AU

Rising to his feet, Tobirama absently brushed the dirt off his hands before looking over the neatly tended graveyard with the satisfaction of a job well done. It had been an agreement between the Senju and Uchiha clans upon the move the Konoha. They had brought their people, they had brought their belongings, but they had not brought their dead.

Intellectually, the albino understood why. There was not one of them, on either side, who had not lost someone to the war. Yet at the same time, to leave the bodies of his kin alone and unattended. Abandoned as the clan moved on. Tobirama could not. The very thought was abhorrent.

Fortunately, given the Hiraishin, it had never been hard to find time to tend to the graves. But, the thought suddenly struck him as he looked off to the west. Was anyone doing the same for the fallen of the Uchiha? They may have been his once enemies. But in death, he knew. All were equal.

Tobirama knew he should have turned back the moment he saw the other clan's graves were in decent, if not pristine condition. He knew that many would say he had no right to be there. And yet, the albino was unsurprised to find himself standing in front of one grave in particular. That of Uchiha Izuna.

It was the work of just a few moments to clear the encroaching greenery, to clean the ash and dirt from the stone. Reaching into his pack, Tobirama pulled out a fresh stick of incense before lighting it and bowing his head in respect.

Though the truth was, the Senju was not quite sure what to say as he kneeled in front of the final resting place of the boy he had grown up alongside, the man he had killed. What should he say? That he was sorry?

That would be a lie. Sorry the fight had been necessary, that much was true. But ultimately, Tobirama had done his duty, as Izuna had done his. Really, what else was there to say? Finally, the albino sighed, bowing his head. "Rest in peace Izuna," he whispered before rising smoothly to his feet. He hadn't made it ten steps when a surge of chakra sent him spinning back around in shock.

"Impossible," Tobirama murmured crimson eyes wide with disbelief. There was no way. Izuna was dead; he had been dead for years. And yet, he could feel the unadulterated panic of that familiar chakra. Chakra he knew as well as his own brother's. His sense of the flame/ash/ozone presence turned from fear to realization, then to a grim resignation; before starting to fade.

Snapping out of it, Tobirama yanked his hands up while thanking the long ago teachers who had insisted he learn at least the basics of doton jutsu. His chakra grasped a neat square of earth, lifting it up and over. The Senju wasn't nearly so careful with the coffin itself. Verily ripping off the lid to grasp the alive, oh kami alive, form of his rival, yanking him up onto the grass.

For a moment Izuna struggled mindlessly as he gasped for air, pinned under the Senju's broader frame, his struggles becoming weaker and weaker before stilling entirely. Honestly, Tobirama chose to see it as a good sign when the other seemed to recognize him, the Uchiha's mouth soundlessly forming the syllables of his name.

Not that said recognition caused Izuna to calm down, the opposite if anything. "What have you done?" the Uchiha rasped, fruitlessly trying to free himself. His eyes flickered from black, to red, then back to black again. "What have you done to me?"

"Nothing."

It seemed his rival did not believe him.

"I swear to you Izuna. I've done nothing."

As the Uchiha's breathing leveled out, he appeared to be more and more himself. Which in this instance, Tobirama reflected, was not necessarily a good thing. After all, an awake and aware Izuna was far harder to handle than a dazed one. Fortunately, while Izuna was far from slow, the Senju was faster.

Tobirama did not hesitate to send a sharp pulse of medical chakra into one of his rival's gates, rendering the other instantly unconscious. For one of the few times in his life, the albino had no idea what to do. The dead did not come back to life. Not ever. No matter how much one wished otherwise. Except in this case, someone had.

Red eyes were grim as he examined his old foe, focusing on the dried blood that coated the Izuna's fingers. The deep scratches on the interior of the coffin's lid. Tobirama did not consider himself to be an overly religious man. However, in this one case, he prayed with all his might that the Uchiha had not been aware all this time. To be buried alive, just the thought made him feel sick to his stomach.

Giving himself a mental shake, Tobirama painstakingly replaced the displaced dirt. Doing his best to ensure the grave looked as though it had never been disturbed. He then carefully, almost gently, lifted his rival into his arms. He still had no idea what was going on, but here was not the place to find out.

I am trying not to be too cruel to Izuna. The first time he revived was by far the worst. After that, being a young immortal it always took him quite some time to revive, and there was no air, so he always died fairly quickly. For those of you who wonder why he didn't spit a fireball or something into Tobirama's face. Chakra is a mixture of physical and spiritual energy, and while physically he is 100% A-Okay like any immortal. Mentally/spiritually well, he was buried alive. If a skilled sensor hadn't been there at just the right moment to feel his revival, Izuna would still be stuck in the coffin.