A/N: Sorry, I'll proofread this again tomorrow morning. I just caught a cold and it's driving me crazy with the stuffy nose.

Guest: Oh believe me I considered both of those options, but then I felt this didn't need to pair anyone up. You can still see this as slash and it'll probably work because it seems the story gives off slash vibes when I don't intend to.

The hospital corridors were quiet, sounds of shoes scuffing across the floors made by the nurses who were on duty. It was a slower day where there was no one being sent to the ER or anyone who was heavily injured. There weren't any children prancing around in the hallways while their parents visited their moms and dads. Today was quiet.

It was a tick of a clock striking the next minute that brought Mito out of her thoughts. She picked up her pace down the room doors, past the lobby and reception desk to the entrance of the hospital. She looked around for a bit, checking if her husband had arrived yet.

The children the patrol unit had found unsettled Mito. She didn't understand what two injured children were doing on the outskirts of Konoha. One was an Uchiha judging by the boy's dark hair, matching eyes and the crest on his shirt. What pulled at her was the boy named Naruto.

"—to?"

Mito was supposed to be the only Uzumaki in Konoha so what was an Uzumaki boy like him doing near the village?

"Hello?"

She frowned. Should she trust his word? Blonde hair and blue eyes were most definitely not a trait of the Uzumaki clan.

"Mito?"

Mito started at the sudden voice and nearly jumped back when her husband's face was in front of her's.

"Hashirama," she said and smiled. Her gaze shifted to the men behind Hashirama and she glanced at him.

"They wanted to come," he said, grinning. The two men behind Hashirama frowned.

"Don't lie. You're the one who dragged us here," Madara hissed. Beside him Tobirama sighed and glanced to the side.

"Brother, shouldn't you be working instead of visiting the hospital?" he suggested. He received a hearty laugh in response and it made him want to leave his brother for paperwork right now.

"You didn't tell them?" Mito asked, raising her eyebrows.

"No," he said.

The woman sighed, used to her husband's antics. "Follow me," she said, ignoring Tobirama's and Madara's protests and complaints. Hashirama walked closely next to her.

"Who are the children?" Hashirama whispered, making their little chat private from the grumbling pair further down the corridor. Mito glanced at her husband before watching the room numbers they passed by carefully.

"I don't know. When the patrol unit found them, they were lying on the ground and quite injured." She pressed her lips together, unsure how to say it.

"But?" Hashirama raised the question. If the children were some outsiders or from the village, his wife wouldn't have asked him to come. They had to be special.

"Based on the shirts they were wearing, one of them is an Uchiha and the other an Uzumaki…" Mito said, her voice clearly hinting concern by the end of the sentence. Hashirama's face lit up, a smile creeping onto his lips.

"That's…quite interesting. An Uchiha child wouldn't surprise me but an Uzumaki child? What's going on?"

"That's why I brought you here. It's…unsettling," Mito said, running a hand over her other wrist. "The thing is, he doesn't have the traits of my clan. He has blonde hair, not red. He could be lying, stealing the shirt from another Uzumaki to pose as a member of the clan."

A hand on her shoulder pushed her, making her face her husband. They came to a stop and Hashirama looked at her gently.

"Don't worry too much, Mito. I trust your judgement. If you felt you had to bring them into the village, then they are probably good children," he said, firming planting his hands on Mito's shoulders as reassurance.

Mito stared at Hashirama for a while and nodded.

"Are we there yet?" Madara asked, glancing left to right, wondering which room they had business in. His face hit a something as he turned and realized it was Hashirama. "Hey, don't stop all of a sudden," he snapped.

"Puh." Hashirama covered his mouth with a hand. The man's face was already pissing Madara off. "You're so clumsy Madara," Hashirama teased.

"Shut up and keep going."

Tobirama stepped beside him and they exchanged looks.

"What?" he said, not hiding his dislike for the man. Tobirama's gaze left him and he followed after his brother.

"Uchihas," he snorted.

"You…" It was a mumble, but it grabbed Tobirama's attention as he halted in his tracks, Mito and Hashirama moving ahead of them.

"Did you say something?" Tobirama sneered. He wasn't usually like this. He was always calm and observed things silently, calculating thoughts racing in his mind; however, when it came to this particular man, nothing could restrain his emotions.

The other man glared at him and he stared down at Madara, enjoying their difference in height.

"I know very well that you don't like me and you know very well I feel the same."

What was the Uchiha trying to get at?

"But quit putting me and my clan down for the sake of your petty superiority complex," Madara snarled, flaring his sharingan at Tobirama. He brushed past the younger with a huff.

"Superiority complex you say?" Tobirama mumbled, seething. He whipped his head, stretching out an arm and grasped the other's high collar, yanking Madara back. When he saw Madara's face come into view, he quickly looked down to the floor to avoid the man's sharingan. He stumbled backwards as Madara landed a kick to his stomach. Tobirama clutched his stomach, cursing that he had gotten distracted by a trivial detail.

"You," Madara started, shoving Tobirama into the wall with his forearm pushing against the man's throat.

Tobirama growled and swung his arm. Madara caught his fist with ease.

"Cannot defeat me," Madara finished. His eyes returned to their original colour and he made his way to Hashirama and Mito. He didn't bother to care that the other man scoffed, but the next words Tobirama said set him off.

"As I thought, you're scared. Brother would hate you if you hurt me. That's why you can't hit me, isn't that right?" Tobirama taunted. He stared hard at Madara's back, waiting for a reaction. There was no way the man wouldn't do anything. Madara was an Uchiha.

So come at me, like the Uchiha you are.

"You can't stand to be hated by Brother," he stated. "Do you know why? Should I tell you why?" Tobirama sauntered towards Madara whose pace had slowed. He stopped about a meter from Madara.

"—ut up…"

A hoarse whisper reached his ears. Tobirama continued regardless. "Let me tell you why. It's because Brother's all you got. No one left in this village ca—"

"I said shut up!" Madara shouted and before Tobirama could react, Madara lifted him up by his shirt, his arm drawn back. Tobirama didn't back down, glaring straight at the man. A hand clasped around Madara's wrist halfway through the punch.

Who it was was obvious. Madara didn't need to turn around to see it was Hashirama. He let Tobirama go and huffed.

"You guys need to stop getting into fights and start getting along," Hashirama said. He squeezed the wrist in his hand and looked at Madara.

Madara flung Hashirama's arm away, freeing his hand from the man's grip and strode to catch up to Mito.

"Mada—"

He didn't need to hear what Hashirama had to say. He didn't need to see Hashirama's disappointed expression.

Hashirama sighed, glancing at his younger brother. "Be nice, Tobirama and…it isn't true. People in the village care for Madara," he said.

"If by care you mean being shunned by his own clan and feared by the rest of the population, then yes, the villagers care for him very much."

"Tobirama," Hashirama warned.

"I don't think I'm saying anything wrong," Tobirama said and shrugged, pushing past his brother.

"Which room is it? Let's hurry and get this ridiculous visit over with."

"It'll be the next room on your left," Mito answered, right behind Madara. She quickened her pace, keeping up with the man. She wouldn't want his first impression on the children being a scary man out to get them. It didn't help he was already in a foul mood.

"What's wrong?" she asked when Madara faltered in his steps in front of the door.

"Nothing…" Madara replied and slowly slid the door open. He was met with the faces of two children staring at him, tensed. Hashirama pushed them all into the room and closed the door softly.

"The blonde one is Uzumaki Naruto and the black haired one is…Sorry I didn't get your name," Mito introduced the children starting from their names. She hesitated at the pale face of Naruto and serious face of the nameless boy.

A hum of acknowledgement from Madara snapped something inside of Naruto. His chest tightened and welled with dread. He grit his teeth and leapt towards the man.

"You…bastard. What are you doing here?!" Naruto roared. Sasuke was instantly on guard, in a defensive stance. He became severely aware of their situation, four pairs of eyes on them. He swiftly grabbed Naruto's arm, tugging him back to the bed.

"Stop, Naruto."

But Naruto struggled against Sasuke, elbowing the other in the face.

"You…Bring us back! What did you do to u—" Naruto's sentence was cut off, muffled by Sasuke's hand clamped over his mouth.

He almost blew our cover.

"Naruto," Sasuke called Naruto's name again yet to no avail in getting the other to calm down. He switched his hold on Naruto to better subdue him, Naruto's cussing falling on deaf ears. Sasuke held Naruto in a headlock with one arm and held both of Naruto's wrist together behind his back. Sasuke sighed.

"Sorry, he's still shaken up…" he said, feigning innocence.

The members of the room had looked on the scene, curiosity written over their expressions. None of them made a move to intervene, simply watching how things would unfold.

"Shaken up? Sasuke what the hell are you talking about?" Naruto shouted and pulled on Sasuke's arms to loosen the man's grip. "Let go…Sasuke. We have to beat him, if we don't…Sakura-chan, Lee, Gaara, Kakashi-sensei, everyone will be in danger!"

"Stop and calm down," Sasuke said sternly. Naruto craned his neck to look at Sasuke in complete confusion.

"Why are you telling me to stop? Why would I need to calm down when he's right freaking there?" Naruto spat, exasperated by Sasuke's attitude. Madara was right there. He was so close and Sasuke was telling him to calm down? To stop? He continued to thrash against Sasuke's hold and paused, a thought dawning upon him.

"You're…on our side right?" Naruto asked wearily. His gaze locked onto Sasuke's. He didn't want to believe otherwise, but all his friends were confident that Sasuke wouldn't have bothered to show up and fight against Madara who was trying to take over the world. They were confident he had no interest in the war.

Something flashed across Sasuke's face—Naruto couldn't make it out—and it was immediately washed away by a neutral expression.

"Yeah…I am," he answered, glancing at the four people standing by the doorway. He wondered how much information they could spill before a cover story wouldn't be enough to mask their shady background.

"Then…" Naruto murmured. Sasuke returned his attention to Naruto. He could feel the other shake in his hold. He felt his arm twitch, preparing himself if Naruto decided to try and attack him, throw his rage at him.

"Let me go so I can get him. He'll pay. Right here, right now. He's the one responsible for everything…" Naruto began struggling once more and growled out in frustration at the other's persistence.

"Can you forgive him, Sasuke? Can you forgive him for pushing Itachi, whether it was indirectly or not, for being branded a traitor? He was the one that made all of you doubt—"

It was a low blow, he knew it. Naruto just wanted to get it into Sasuke's thick skull that Madara had to be taken down now, that he was dangerous. The man they had come so close to beating, had sent them back in time because he couldn't defeat Naruto and Sasuke was standing right in front of them. Sasuke wanted him to stop? Stop what?

"You just don't know when to shut up do you?" Sasuke bit through clenched teeth. He let go of Naruto, the boy slumping forward from the sudden release of tension. Sasuke jammed a hand to wrap around Naruto's throat, driving him down into the mattress.

Hurt eyes stared back at him as he squeezed lightly. Naruto didn't show signs of panic, lying still and it unnerved Sasuke.

You trust me.

I trust you.

Their eyes didn't leave each other and they didn't notice when they were pulled apart.

"Hey, hey, children, don't fight," Hashirama said softly, helping Naruto sit up from the bed while Tobirama dragged Sasuke further away from Naruto under the arms.

"…But..you…" Naruto was at a loss. "Don't you care for the others?" he asked hesitantly, a strained smile on his lips to hide his distress. He swallowed, the silence lingering in the room unbearable. "Don't you understand if we don't do this now…"

"You're the one who doesn't understand, Naruto," Sasuke cut in sharply. "Doing something here won't change anything. What is it that you should be doing? Think hard about that."

After the adults had successfully calmed the two children down, they either learned against the wall by the door or sat in a chair across from the children. To their surprise, the children didn't throw a fit, scream or jump at each other like they had earlier. Even though they were sat onto their respective beds, if they really wanted to, the beds were close enough that they could tackle the other down.

The questioning then began, Hashirama starting off asking for the black haired boy's name.

"Uchiha Sasuke," the boy said and all heads turned, except Naruto, to Madara. They were expecting the man to go ahead and inform the boy's parents or offer to take Sasuke home.

Instead, they realized their expectations were no where near what reality was with Madara's narrowed gaze.

"Who are you?"

The man near Madara motioned a hand. "He's Sasuke. He just said didn't he?" Hashirama stated the obvious. His wife seated on the chair beside him let out a small sigh.

Tobirama grunted, folding his arms over his chest. "When you can't even recognize your own clansmen then it's no wonder…"

"Tobirama."

His mouth shut with one word from his brother.

"I know my people when I see them and I'm saying I've never seen this kid," Madara said, slightly irked by the younger Senju's lack of trust in his capabilities as the Uchiha clan leader.

Despite his clansmen whispering behind his back, scorning him and cursing him for being mad, Madara was protective of the Uchihas. He memorized every single of them and knew their names. This Sasuke boy wasn't one of them.

It was unsettling because Sasuke had the physical traits of an Uchiha: black hair, dark eyes, and a lighter skin tone compared to the Senjus. The only thing that would solidify his claimed identity would be the sharingan.

"Maybe he was left behind and couldn't find his way back," Hashirama suggested.

"No." Madara shook his head. "I'm sure all the Uchihas moved settled in the village. There shouldn't have been anyone left behind. Besides, it's been years since this village was created."

Yet there's one missing child here, Tobirama thought, holding his tongue.

"Where are your parents?" Mito asked.

Together, Sasuke and Naruto looked at her and said, "They're…"

"Not here anymore." It was Naruto.

"Dead," Sasuke finished.

Hashirama and Mito exchange glances. Mito knew her husband was up to something by the gleam in his eyes. He asked a silent question and Mito nodded, giving him permission to act as he pleased. She trusted he wouldn't do anything rash.

"Naruto, we'd like you to come and live with us," Hashirama said, crouching down in front of the boy. He took Naruto's little hands in his. "What do you think?"

Taken aback by the sudden offer, Naruto could only gape. "Uh, n-no. I'm not…I don't think," he sputtered. He looked to Sasuke, asking for help. Sasuke looked back but didn't say anything. Naruto was met with Hashirama's cheery smile.

"How about it? Rather than return to Uzushiogakure, why don't you live with me and my wife here in Konoha?"

Why was the Hokage keen on adopting Naruto? Sasuke came to the conclusion that it was to keep an eye on potential intruders and spies but knowing Naruto, he would think it was an act of kindness. A generous gift to a poor war-orphan.

"…What about Sasuke?" Naruto's gaze slid back to Sasuke's, frowning. Hashirama threw his head back, laughing. It baffled everyone in the room, save for Mito.

"I was thinking since he's an Uchiha that Madara should take Sasuke in," he said.