Konoha's Weasel Prince

Summary: Itachi never got to use his Susanoo in his fight with Sasuke. As soon as the Kirin hit, he was sent back through time to the founder's era and it was up to him to ensure a safer and surer future for Konoha and the world at large. KisaIta TobiMada HashiMito others mentioned

The news were taken as well as both Itachi and Mito had known they would be taken, with Hashirama crying almost a literal river when his wife told him he was going to be a father. The entire village was rejoicing and it was the first sign that this alliance was going to be more than about simple (complicated) clan politics. Their cheer was so genuine and so contagious that even Madara couldn't help but let a tear slide down his cheeks.

He nearly choked up and had to leave the room when Hashirama and Mito asked him to be one of the three godfathers for the child, forgoing old traditions and making new ones as they went. The Uchiha Clan Head was pretty sure Itachi and Tobirama were in similar states of being humbled by such a request and the baby hadn't even been born yet when it became clear that it was going to be spoiled rotten.

The collective happiness that spread through the village at the news a a first newborn arriving in these peaceful times lasted for days, weeks, even, and Mito and Hashirama received many sincere congratulations in that time period. Following their various traditions, each clan gave the couple a unique gift that they hoped the young one will be able to enjoy once they come into the world and Konoha was in serious threat of a flood if Hashirama kept crying like that. And for once, Madara didn't begrudge his old friend such disgraceful behavior, for he understood. While he might not have ever been a father, he had greeted four little brothers into this world and had held each and every one of them before even his own father had. Babies had such a strong impact on people so Madara let him be. Besides, not only was Hashirama becoming a father, but his and Madara's dreams were finally coming true as the village showed the first signs on unity in this celebration.

Madara still found it hilarious how quickly Uzumaki Ashina had run back to congratulate his daughter. They must have just returned home when the news reached them, as they were still carrying the same things they had with them for the official wedding ceremony. The only new things brought along were numerous gifts for the future parents and the still unborn baby.

However, with Hashirama finding out he was going to be a father, he had to spend more time with Mito so they can finally get settled into their future roles. They had to remodel their home and prepare a room for their new addition and that can't be done when 90% of Hashirama's time was spent in the Hokage office, so his duties had to be split. He now did only one forth of the work, the rest equally divided between Madara, Tobirama and - who else - Itachi.

Itachi, Madara was very fond of and saw him as his and Izuna's fifth and fourth younger brother respectively and he loved spending time with the twenty one year old. Spending every day, hours on end, with him was going to be a delight and a treat, as Itachi had seen a lot more than they have, never having been shackled by an ongoing war like they have. He looked forward to getting to know the younger man even better than he already did, as Itachi still had many mysteries they have not solved around him. He was really going to enjoy spending all that time with him.

Senju Tobirama, not so much.

It wasn't even that he was a Senju - that would have been very hypocritical from Madara if he didn't want to work with one of the members of the other founding clan - or that he was Izuna's long time rival and had placed many of the scars his brother carries on him - although that did play a huge part in it at the beginning - that bugged Madara so much about the younger Senju brother. It wasn't even the white haired bastard's possessiveness over Itachi - from what Hashirama said, Itachi was Tobirama's first friend and so Madara understood that need to make sure that first friend was still there; despite how much he rebuked the idea of peace and their friendship since that day on the river whenever Hashirama brought it up on the battlefield, Madara still cared deeply for his friend and had forbidden everyone else from engaging Hashirama in battle for fear of some of his kin getting in a lucky shot - that got on Madara's nerves.

It was actually just how very similar they, Senju Tobirama and Uhciha Madara, were that rattled the Uchiha Clan Head's nerves. How alike yet oh so seemingly fundamentally different. It was disconcerting in many ways and Madara never liked things that he couldn't understand and Tobirama was the second greatest mystery of Konoha, right after Itachi.

(The third was how they all got any work done in the first place, with how crazy their group was. Really, people wondered if Konoha's conception was some sort of miracle.)

While it was true that they differed in many aspects - Tobirama was calm, cool, collected, rarely raised his voice, built more for speed than brute strength, a suiton user unlike any other, a Senju and Madara was hotheaded, quick to react and be provoked, easily brought to yelling, a lose cannon in quite a variety of scenarios, loved head on battle that measured strength and stamina and the best goddamn katon user in history so far (and he had no doubt for generations to come; he wasn't being arrogant, it was simply fact with his chakra reserves and control) - they were still far too similar in others that it unnerved quite the number of people, their brothers and cousins included.

For instance, they both were extremely smart people. They made leaps in logic that sometimes not even Itachi could follow, not even the smarts of the Nara and Madara was always a bit too smug about it. Tobirama liked to pretend that he was annoyed by it but the Uchiha had seen him repressing a smirk one too many times to really believe that Tobirama minded his smugness at confusing the so called genetic geniuses. They were the best to bounce their ideas against each other, back and forth, until they've found the best way to fulfill those ideas and make them a reality.

They were both competitive and argumentative and that didn't always end well. While it was at times useful, as they teamed up against whatever idiots and their idiotic suggestions they were facing at the time, they were also just as likely to pick a bone with each other and argue for hours on end. It more often than not drove whoever was watching them up the wall or right out of the room in fright when their massive chakras flared in annoyance. They were two opposing forces of nature and when they clashed, things were always heated and tended to go right up to the border of being a natural disaster.

Usually, Itachi was thee to dissuade any storms before they could break out. It was another trait they shared; they both loved and respected Itachi a little too much to really upset the younger man. They also - like everyone else - liked to compete for Itachi's time and while Madara wasn't as bad in this regard against Tobirama like Izuna was (some rivalries die hard or just transform and this is exactly what happened between the two younger siblings), they could still get rather carried away.

What usually brought them really together was their Academy project. As surprising as it had been to find out, Madara had gotten used to the idea that Tobirama had an extremely big soft spot for kids and that his greatest passion in life seemed to be to teach the future generations. And Madara had no problems finding the roots of that passion, as Madara knew it came from the same place as his own passion for protecting the kids came from: both of them have lost younger brothers, have seen too many too small coffins and were both sick of it and wanted to make a change. In different and yet completely the same way, they wanted to protect the kids and teach them to protect themselves when no adult is around to do it. Hence the Academy. They both wanted to ensure these kids will live long past the ages their younger brothers died at and so they worked together, tearing apart anyone who tired to in any way undermine their Academy. They even tore Hashirama a new one when he tried to suggest they slow down on the development of the Academy to focus on relations with the clans that have yet to stop their stupid wars. No one dared cross them on the matter of their project and it was coming along wonderfully.

Izuna still snickered whenever their red eyes flashed dangerously when someone dared mention the Academy at the Council meetings with a complaining tone of voice and how everyone just shut up for a minute or two before changing the subject. Madara suspected half of those people will have their lifespans shortened by a third with the amount of fright he and the younger Senju installed in them every fifth or sixth meeting. He also suspected that Itachi might be developing a migraine from all of their combined antics, the poor thing.

Another thing they were really similar in, Madara had noted, was their work ethic and devotion. Or, as Toka liked to call it in exasperated tones, their workaholic tendencies that neither denied existed. Tobirama was by far the worst in that regard but Madara was a close second with Itachi running for third place. It was made worse by them needing to convince Hashirama that no, he cannot delay this or that paperwork pile or this meeting and that project just because he didn't feel like working at the moment. Or ever, the lazy bum. And since he was now spending even less time in the office, the paperwork fell on the three of them and Itachi was the most sensible out of them. Then again, it might have had something to do with Tobirama refusing to let Itachi overwork himself due to some past illness that no one wants to tell Izuna and Madara about and Madara had found it a mute point to ask over time. Still, as Itachi was forced to leave work far earlier than them, Madara and Tobirama tended to pull more than a full overnighters, at the very least three every week. Izuna swore he was going to grow gray hairs before his time and he blamed them for it. Toka only complained if the nights piled together and it ended up being 72 hours of no sleep or more.

But it was just so hard to stop working sometimes when they were around each other, especially when they were working together on some project. It was like they fed on each other's determination and focus to fuel their own and they were just so relaxed when working like that that they didn't even notice any strain on their bodies or the time that was passing them by. Madara remembered the first working session they had like that, how two full days have passed, the two of them constantly bickering and exchanging ideas, absently eating each other's lunch or drinking coffee and tea from each other's cups without noticing, ignoring all who entered the room as they discussed proposals for how to protect the village, where to place which compound, how which house should be built, if they should build one big or several small temples, how long the market should be and so on. Four straight days have passed before it was finally brought to their attention - in the form of an intervention by Hashirama, Itachi, Izuna, Touka, Hikaku and Mito - just how unacceptable such behavior was and then they were dragged off to bed while Itachi and Hikaku took over.

When it happened the second time, Itachi had gone out of Konoha to the nearest bigger civilian residence and returned with what appeared to be some sort of timer that civilians used to make sure they cooked things long enough. It went off every three hours to remind the two workaholics to take a small rest, eat or drink something and actually use a bathroom - the first time they had nearly developed chronic pains in their stomach from not using the bathroom at all for three days. More than a few people have called them idiots for it.

And while all of this was just fine, what really surprised, delighted and unnerved Madara about why he was so similar to the white haired Senju was how they acted around and towards their family. It had taken him a shameful two months to realize this, but in his defense, Tobirama had always been so cold around him that he had simply concluded - poorly, he will admit but only to himself - that the man was an icicle regardless of company. But the more time he spent around the infuriating genius, the more he realized that much of his own ideals rest within Hashirama's little brother.

Tobirama was fiercely protective of his family, much like Madara was of his. He had very few people who he considered precious and he would do anything for any one of them, as opposed to the rest of the Senju who loved their whole clan and more. Hashirama himself, despite having his precious people, still tended to love everyone but like a mass, not for individuals with the exceptions of his closest family and Madara - and his family, by extension or else Madara would have kicked his ass a long time ago and this peace wouldn't have lasted. It's the sort of behavior an Uchiha is very likely not to understand, as they will always, always be loyal to their family first. Tobirama must have realized that, at some point, as he was now trying to instill on everyone that the village ought to be like a family and Mito's and Hashirama's wedding and the news that they were expecting might have very well inspired that idea. That was the first sing of unity among them all and only a blind man would have not seen how Madara's own clansmen had changed their tune. They had been the first to vow to protect the little one when they were born and the peace that will protect it and every other child that came after.

Tobirama had realized that the Uchiha can only be so completely loyal to family so he had started working on a philosophy that Konohagakura was one big family and that they must look out for each other. That will give the Uchiha the initiative to love the village like they love their clansmen and make them the most fierce protectors Konoha could hope for. Madara must admit to being impressed by such cunningness.

But he is even more impressed at finding someone with such similar ideals to his own. He does not want a peace that encompasses all, like Hashirama dreams. First and foremost, he wants a peace that will protect his loved ones. He doesn't really care if the rest of the world burns; his family will survive. That is why he will be the first Uchiha who will declared Konoha not just his home and the dream village he dreamed up with a bowl cut buffoon, but as his family.

Their ruthlessness is the final trait their share, he and Tobirama. They are not like Hashirama. They are not nearly as half as forgiving as he is. They are not nearly as willing to bend for someone else if they know they have an advantage. They can do what needs to be done to protect those they care about, to fulfill a mission that will give their clan an advantage. But they are still fair and they will never kill a child, even if ordered to.

It is safe to say that they are a nightmare and a dream time at the same time, for both their allies and their enemies.

And that bothers Madara, because he might have, sort of, maybe started somewhat liking the younger Senju. If as nothing else, than a friend and that was disturbing enough as it was. He had always thought he would never be able to trust the man let alone to the point that he now knew all of the other's moods, knew how he would react to this or that, could rely on him to have his back in politics and battle both and the understanding that had somehow developed between them. It went from never allowing Tobirama to be in the same room as Izuna alone for longer than a second to letting the albino spar with his younger brother and Madara would always value Izuna's life above his own. It spoke volumes to his clansmen just how close he had gotten to Tobirama, despite their constant bickering. He often wondered if Tobirama was even aware of just what sort of honor Madara was bestowing him with by giving him that level of trust and believing that he will not betray it.

He wondered if the other could ever understand what that might imply if it was left unchecked.

He knew Itachi seemed to understand it, from the knowing and understanding glances the younger kept throwing his way. He knew it was only a matter of time before the foreigner - as some still called him, despite him now officially being part of Konoha - acted on his observations. Madara just didn't know what to expect from him. It was a very big possibility that Itachi would confront him about it, maybe try to make him understand his feelings or something like that. Or he might be the type to try his hand in matchmaking, also a possibility, if Madara didn't act on his feelings first. It was hard to tell what method someone like the clanless young man might use to approach this strange situation. And the Uchiha Clan Head knew he will approach this. Itachi wanted everyone to enjoy the peace they have made and Madara and Tobirama were both his friends, people he cared about. There was no way he was going to let them flounder through this or make a mess of it. Or worse yet, which was a very high possibility with them, to ignore it altogether as they might be wont to. Itachi will definitely interfere before he and Tobirama potentially mess it all up. Hopefully.

'Hopefully?' The Uchiha thought with a frown, completely tuning out the Hyuuga Clan Head that had called the meeting of the Clan Heads Council regarding this or that matter, Madara didn't know, as he was a bit busy with his own and Itachi better be listening or else no one was going to stop Hashirama from giving in to whatever the Hyuuga wanted this time around. 'What is that supposed to mean?'

Surely he didn't actually want it to go good, right? Right? He couldn't actually ... lik-

"Thank you for attending today." He very nearly jumped out of his skin when Hashirama's voice broke off his train of thought, turning wide eyes to the Hokage. He had to fight off an embarrassed blush when his eyes landed on the man's younger brother, one white brow arched judgmentally at him, no doubt because Tobirama had noticed that he had spaced out. Itachi was shaking his head at him (or so he thought) so Madara kind of wanted to pray for the earth to open and swallow him up just to avoid any interrogation that might come from those two. He could already see Izuna scheming ways to make him talk and Madara knew he won't be able to avoid his little brother asking annoying questions. Just great. "We will have to look over your proposal one more time before we get back to you. I suggest we vote tomorrow?" There were murmurs of agreement and Hashirama beamed. "Alright!" He chirped, already standing up, in a hurry to go and join his pregnant wife. "I officially declare this meeting over. I wish you all a pleasant day!"

And before anyone could try and saddle him with more work or questions, the long haired brunet skipped out of the room. The others soon followed until only Izuna, Toka, Hikaku, Tobirama, Itachi and Madara remained. Without much thought or hesitation - hey, he couldn't afford it, as he had no idea what the Hyuuga had been blabbering about for the past hour and forty minutes while he was lost in thought and he had to make sure Hashirama won't agree to something unorthodox, like the seals the Hyuuga place on their branch family members for instance - he turned to Tobirama. "So, could you give me a summary of what he was talking about?"

The white haired man gave him a startled look, which Madara thought was weird enough. Wasn't that why Tobirama had looked at him so strangely a few minutes ago? "You ... weren't listening?" And ... that wasn't a reproach. How odd.

Madara shook his head. "My thoughts wandered. He was too monotonous for my brain to handle. I would have died of boredom and that is not a dignified way to go." Toka and Izuna snorted in agreement while the younger Senju suddenly looked uncomfortable.

"Then we have a problem."

"Oh?" A fine black eyebrow arched under a spiky fringe. The eldest Uchiha present looked curiously at Tobirama as the other ... fidgeted. 'What the actual hell?' Tobirama never fidgets!

"I ... was far too preoccupied with my own musings and contemplations to fully focus on what was being discussed. I am ... ashamed to say that I have no idea what we are voting on." Madara was aware that his jaw wasn't the only one that dropped after Tobirama finished speaking. Senju Tobirama, not paying attention at a meeting? Izuna actually stuck his head out of the nearest window to check if fire and brimstone were falling from the sky or any forbidding clouds were on the horizon. Nope, no apocalypse in sight.

"Is this some sort of witching hour or something?" His little brother asked, looking back at Tobirama as though he had just grown a second head and five more limbs. Which would have actually been more likely to happen - some of the man's experiments were crazier than any of them wanted to contemplate - than him not paying attention. Usually, he was the one reminding everyone just how important these meetings were to the integral structure and security of the village.

"It feels like we entered a twilight zone." Toka agreed and Tobirama rolled his eyes at them and their dramatics.

"Don't be like that." Itachi finally spoke up, coming to their defense. "Even Tobirama-san, just like Madara-san, is allowed to make a mistake, have a bad day, not listen for once." If he were anyone else, Madara would have expected him to shrug. "They are still only human, after all." He then threw a deadpan look at Izuna and Toka. "And you're not really in the position to criticize them. You weren't listening at all, either. You never do. You looked ready to fall asleep! At least they could pretend to have been listening as to not offend Hyuuga-san." The two looked rightfully chastised and looked away in guilt and embarrassment.

"You looked a bit distracted, too, Itachi." Hikaku teased, winking at the twenty one year old. "You seemed deep in thought. What were you thinking about?" What? Even Itachi hadn't listened? Konoha was doomed!

"I was plotting world domination, but don't worry." The ponytail wearing raven said in a sarcastic drawl. "I can multitask." And he promptly ignored the startled looks sent his way. Madara couldn't believe he was joking like that. But at least someone had listened and they could justify it when they say no. And they will say no. The Hyuuga have brought up quite a few ridiculous proposals to the Council by now and every one had been justifiably turned down.

''So, what was the meeting about?'' Madara asked, hoping to distract everyone from plots (of world domination or otherwise) and the fact that no one but Hikaku and Itachi (if only by halves) had listened to the proposal so they can actually get something done. The look Itachi sent his way had Madara repressing an uneasy gulp, as it promised that this was not over.

Mercifully, he let it go for now and filled them in on what they missed and that was it.

For now.