AN: Wow, it's almost March. I apologize for any strange/OOC character development in advance. I hope you enjoy this chapter, though!

Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Naruto.

Chapter 5: Madara's Back!

A little recap: Female OC, nicknamed Shiro, trains under Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara while living by herself in the forest. Shiro was introduced to Senju Tobirama (Hashirama's younger brother) just last chapter...

OC (Shiro) POV:

From that day on, whenever Hashirama came to visit/train/play, his brother trailing him, he seemed a bit more alert to his surroundings than before. I concluded that Hashirama was making sure that Madara was nowhere near the area, because there was sure to be a stressful fiasco of epic proportions if Hashirama's friend and brother recognized each other. I could just imagine the fallout that would happen.

I also keeping an eye out for the black-haired Uchiha's presence, but he still didn't show up for weeks.

Thankfully, Tobirama only came a few times, mostly to "keep an eye on the white-haired midget" as he called me. I didn't take offense at the boy's comments, considering I didn't view him as an enemy. Really, he was "Hashi-chan's cute and fluffy-haired little bro," as I liked to call him. I wasn't going to steal his older brother away. What did he take me for, some sort of human trafficker about to make off with his older brother and sell him to some crazy megalomaniac scientist?

Madara finally showed up one day when Hashirama and I were training (without Tobirama, thankfully), and I was trying and failing to mold my chakra into visible kanji characters that would float in the air. This was intense training for me, considering I had to implement both chakra control and my increasing knowledge of the Japanese language. I also had the unfortunate task of dodging projectiles thrown at me. I had to say, the training methods were harsh, but the results were visible. And chakra really was a hack. How else would I go to sleep every night exhausted to the point of insanity and wake up bright and early the next morning feeling like I had plenty of energy to burn?

One moment, I was dodging only one set of blunt projectiles, and the next, I was dodging a series of sharp kunai, a few scraping against my arm. I almost freaked out at the thought of a possible enemy, but then I saw a familiar mop of black hair.

I grinned, bounding up to the older boy who was standing next to the tree line. "Mada-kun! Mada-kun! Look, look, I can make pretty colors!" Urgh, I've been around Hashirama's exuberance for too long.

I thrust my hands palm up in front of me, concentrating my chakra to them to form a floating mass of chakra. Then, by changing the frequency of the chakra, I was able to change its color, smoothly transitioning between colors. It resembled one of those LED stage light that could change to any color depending on the programming.

Surprise colored Madara's face in the form of extreme deadpan.

"What in Sage's name are you doing?"

"It's pretty!" I cheered, making my little chakra blob float and fly about. "It's awesome, right?"

"No."

I fought the urge to pout or burst into tears at the slight feeling of disappointment and hurt that seemed to poke at my chest. I was mentally an adult, darn it. "Fine," I sighed, dismissing my chakra blob and reaching for my various weapons holsters. "You'll probably like this better, then," I said, and threw kunai in the direction of three swinging logs. They neatly impaled the logs, and I'd done it without looking in the direction I'd been throwing.

"Madara!" Hashirama shouted, having finally finished checking the surroundings for his brother's presence, and running toward named boy at full speed.

The older boy stared impassively at me, as he easily side-stepped the still secretly-Senju boy, his eyes flicking toward the logs. "What about objects that you can't predict movement of?"

I slumped at that. "Hashi-chan won't let me use him as target practice." He didn't even comment on the fact that I managed to write out "Hello," on the logs. Why do I even bother?

Said "Hashi-chan" was sulking over by a nearby tree trunk, poking at the earth with a stick at being ignored.

Madara scoffed at that. "Hashirama is too predictable. Use animals."

"That's bullying!" Hashirama cried, jumping up from his crouched position and pointing accusingly at Madara. "Don't hurt the poor animals! Tell him that you can't bully the poor animals, Shiro-kun!"

I eyed a butterfly that was now fluttering by Hashirama's hair. Butterflies are conducive to the ecosystem. Actually, most living creatures are. Wait, weren't some animals members of summoning contracts? What if I accidentally offend a groups of summons by using random animals as target practice?

"Mada-kun, I cannot condone target practice of innocent creatures," I concluded verbally, nodding sagely.

"Tch, you soft-hearted fools," was the irritated reply. However, after a few moments, he smirked. "Practice on the animals you're hunting, then. If you don't improve, you won't eat."

And with that, he began throwing rocks into the stream, disturbing all of the fish that were currently visible, and I was quickly launching kunai in hopes of having fish to eat. I would go to aim, but then Madara would drop another rock, causing the fish to veer.

Well, it wouldn't do to let him know that I'd begun stockpiling food in case of emergencies, now could I? Still, I had to keep up the act that I was desperate to eat, and therefore, train. Really, though, I was desperate to get more proficient at everything, because any small advantage or disadvantage would make the difference between life and death once I left my safe haven in the forest. The same spot I'd stayed in for the past five months without discovery.

But, for the moment, I was content staying where I was.

ACK!

I barely managed to stop the kunai head straight for my eyes, my arm coming up at the last second to swat it out of my face. I felt the adrenaline running through my system as I gawked at the source of the thrown kunai.

"Do not get distracted," Madara said, his face expressionless.

I nodded quickly at the reprimand. I wasn't going to die because of inattention. I wasn't going to waste my life because right now, I had people I cared about, and I wouldn't want them to be saddened over me dying a stupid death. I wouldn't want to be one of those classic examples that teachers would use in class about what not to do-

*CRUNCH*

OW!

Darkness.

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for more! ~VM