Hashirama slowly came to, groaning at the throbbing pain in his shoulder. For a moment, he was confused as to where he was, but soon remembered what had happened before he passed out. His first mission, getting separated from his older clansmen, the Uchiha Shinobi finding him, his subsequent torture at their hands, his father coming to save him, that Uchiha trying to kill his father while his back was turned, how he had killed him with Tou-San's sword- that thought caused him to shudder, his first kill in this time had been when he was one and a half years old, how sick was that? And finally passing out afterwards. Now, all he had to do was figure out where he was now.

He slowly pushed himself up, hissing when the throbbing intensified to a sharp stabbing pain. He tried to grab his shoulder to ease the pain, but flinched away when all that did was make it worse. Hashirama grit his teeth to keep from crying out loud. He knew that the Shodai had been able to heal his wounds just by focusing his Chakra to the afflicted area, but he didn't think he was that good yet- he hadn't even started learning medical Ninjutsu. The boy took several deep breathes and tried to distract himself by examining his surroundings. He was in a plain room with wooden walls and floor. Hanging on a stand near one wall was a small green suit of traditional armour, and folded next to him on the floor was a light green yukata style shirt with a pair of light blue pin-striped kimono pants. After taking all this in, he concluded he was in his room in the Senju Clan compound. Hashirama sighed in relief, it looked like his father had brought him home after he had passed out.

Suddenly the sound of wood grating against wood alerted him to the door of his room being slid open. The boy spun around, already tensed and ready to bolt up and attack if it was an enemy, then mentally slapped himself. He was safe in his Clan compound, why should he be so tense? Then he slapped himself once again, this was the Warring States Era, why shouldn't he be tense? For all he knew, enemy Shinobi could have snuck in and killed everyone, and be after him next. He knew it sounded paranoid, but during these times, you never knew what was going to happen. His eyes landed on the sight of his mother and he relaxed, sensing her Chakra signature as the same familiar warmth. Ayumi walked into her son's bedroom, hands supporting her large belly and smiled softly at him. "Kaa-Chan" he smiled gently, happy to see a familiar face. Ayumi walked up to him and sighed deeply, embracing the boy as much as she could as she couldn't bend over at the moment. Hashirama hugged her back, being mindful not to squeeze her belly too much.

When she pulled back she looked him over with a critical eye and sighed in relief, "oh Hashirama, I'm so glad you're alright- I was so worried when your father brought you back covered in blood and told me you'd not only been tortured by the enemy, but you'd also had your first kill!" she gasped with horror, raising her hands to her face. Hashirama frowned when he remembered what had happened when he'd killed that Uchiha, and he lowered his face, so that his fringe shadowed his eyes "I- did feel guilty at first- when I realised that I'd just killed someone, but the thought that I could have lost Tou-San had I not done anything was too strong- I meant what I said before, I will protect my home, my people, my friends and my family, if anyone threatens the things closest to me I won't hesitate to kill them, nor will they receive my forgiveness- but, that doesn't mean I won't feel guilty about it afterwards, after all," he smiled grimly, "we are human first before we are Shinobi" he said, staring directly into his mothers eyes. Ayumi held her son close to her once again. His determination, will and courage was something that caused others to want to follow him. He was a being of light in these dark times, and she knew that he was the one who would save their Clan from falling into hatred.

"Hashirama, I am proud of you and I know you will be the one to save us" she told the boy. She soon pulled back and searched over his body with her eyes, "how do you feel physically son? Are you in any pain?" she asked gently. The brown-haired boy gently touched his shoulder, "a little, but not too much, in fact-" he paused as his stomach rumbled. Hashirama blushed and chuckled in embarrassment, "I'm actually really hungry" he replied. Ayumi giggled softly, of course her son would want food right after he woke up, "alright then, I'll go make you something- any requests?" she asked. His stomach rumbled again, "mixed mushroom soup?" he asked hopefully.

Unfortunately, while many things about the former Uzumaki had stayed the same, his favourite food had not. He slouched slightly in depression, he wanted Ramen! His mother giggled, "would you like some Ramen as well Sochi?" she asked. The Senju nodded eagerly. While no longer his favourite food due to his new body's sense of taste, Hashirama did enjoy Ramen as well, particularly grilled vegetable Ramen, to his great shock, as he'd never been one to enjoy the taste of vegetables in his former/future life. Man that was confusing! Ayumi smiled, "I'd better get cooking then, I'll bring your food to you as soon as they're ready" she replied. The Senju frowned, "do you need any help?" he asked, knowing how hard it had gotten with her recent pregnancy.

The white-haired woman shook her head, "no, it's fine, get some rest Sochi, I'll bring your food to you once it's done baby" she replied softly. Then she left his room. Hashirama closed his eyes and carefully lay back down, flinching and groaning slightly in pain. He slowly began to relax his body. He would be two years old soon, not to mention his baby brother would be born soon. He hoped he could help Tobirama not to be such a serious stick-in-the-mud Shinobi this time around. Oh who was he kidding? With the war going on, it was no wonder that the white-haired Senju ended up being so serious all the time. The brown-haired boy closed his eyes as he tried to relax.

N/Ĥ

A few weeks later, Hashirama had recovered enough for civilian level activity. The young Senju was sitting in his bedroom reading some medical journals. He knew the Shodai Hokage had been a famous Medical Ninja during his time among other things, and he wanted to get a head start- especially with his Kaa-Chan soon to give birth. He wanted to be there to help in case he was needed. On another note, his second Birthday was coming up soon as well. With both events so close to each other, it made the boy wonder if Tobirama would be born on his Birthday. Nah, that would be too coincidental. Anyway, the Clan was planning this big thing to celebrate his survival to this point.

While his first Birthday had been a huge spectacle, this second one was bound to be even morso. Despite the lack of childhood birthdays in his life as Naruto, the Senju toddler was not looking forward to this. Yes he may like attention. Yes, he may like people giving him gifts. However, he liked receiving heartfelt meaningful gifts from people who actually cared for him. Everything he was bound to get would most likely only be because he was the Senju Clan Heir. He, like Konohamaru from his old life hated it when people didn't recognise him for who he was. So when everyone around him constantly referred to him as: "Senju-Sama", or "young master" or "Honourable son" despite knowing it wasn't their fault, and trying to be as kind, caring and respectful as possible, he could still feel his blood boil: 'that's not my name Dattebayo!' he would be screaming inside his head, while giving a kind smile to the unfortunate Clan member who was speaking with him.

Right now, as he flipped a page, the brown-haired child wondered about his baby sibling. He was fairly sure that it was going to be Tobirama being born, and hoped both his Otouto and Kaa-Chan would be alright. Tou-San didn't seem too concerned, but Butasuma was already starting to get colder towards him. The last time the man had shown actual care and concern had been his first mission, when he'd gotten hurt. On that night, he'd actually seemed a lot like his previous father, Minato Namikaze. Since then though, he'd been a lot sterner and less kind. The only reason he wasn't being forced to train right now was that he was in the tail end of his recovery. If there was one thing the Senju Clan did right, it was give adequate time for recovery of wounds.

However, though not as obsessed as the Uchiha from what he'd heard from Sasuke and Itachi, the Senju was still very Clan oriented. Everything he did, as Heir, reflected on the Clan. His level of strength and status as a Prodigy had to be up to par because he represented the Clan. He always had to have proper behaviour and manners, as fitting of his status in the Clan. Yeah, he could see why Itachi had hated that. Even he, who despite being a member of the Uzumaki Clan in his previous life, had never had that kind of pressure put on him before, could easily tell just from his current experiences, that it wasn't fun.

He felt like he was already being crushed from everything. He couldn't even imagine it getting worse! Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Examining the person's Chakra signature, he relaxed- mostly at least. "Come in!" he called. His door opened and Ayumi walked into his bedroom, one hand on the door and one supporting her stomach. When he saw her, Hashirama quickly leapt to his feet and rushed to her side, "Kaa-Chan, what are you doing! The medics said you should be resting!" he exclaimed in worry. He couldn't help it. After losing both his parents on the day he was born in his previous life, his worry and care for his second mother was extremely high. The white-haired woman smiled, glad to have such a caring son, "no, no, I'm fine, I just wanted to come for a visit, that's all" she replied.

Hashirama blinked and tilted his head to the side, "a visit?" he asked curiously. Ayumi giggled, "that's right, did you know, they just started kicking today" she replied. It took the brown-haired boy a moment to understand what his mother was saying, before he lit up in excitement, "really Dattebayo!?" he exclaimed happily. The Albino woman smiled and nodded, placing a hand on her stomach, "oh, their they go again, he, he- they aren't very active, but when they are, they have a very strong kick" she giggled, before looking down into her son's big, wide eyes, and she couldn't help giggling again, "do you wannna feel?" she asked softly. Hashirama nodded and slowly and gently placed his hand on his mothers stomach, feeling a sudden *tap* against his palm. He gasped. That was his Otouto. Tobirama. Little Tobi-Chan, who would be here soon. The Senju grinned wide and leaned into his mothers stomach, "hey their baby- I'm your Nii-San. I can't wait to meet you Otouto, and I know that you'll be as precious to me one day as Kaa-Chan is" he said softly.

He was rewarded to more taps against his palm and fingers during his mini speech. It was true. He'd never had a sibling before, the closest thing would be Sasuke. However, this would be his first real little brother. They would be related through DNA. But more than that- their bond would be right there from the start. Nothing against Sasuke, but if his first, well, previous parents had been alive and been having a baby, he would be equally as excited. He couldn't wait!

To Be Continued