Birthday's Mornings

Madara sigh in his sleep, and moved his back a little bit trying to recover the ideal of comfort. Something had woken him, but he dismissed it. Whatever it was, he was still too drowsy to find the interest needed to investigate.

He mumbled his eyes still close and moved again. Something warm and heavy was pressuring his abdomen, but again, he wasn't to be bothered, so he tried to dislodge it by pulling his sheets.

"Tsk. And they call you the next Uchiha leader. A leader that is unable to awake with eminent danger crawling close rrr-nhe."

Madara's eyes shot open. That voice was unmistakable.

"Sukuratchi-san. Suppose it was naive to think you wouldn't be present" Madara frown. Judging by the light flowing through the balcony screen door of his room, it was soon after dawn.

"Why? Because Daisuke his here, I'm supposed to be too? I'm not bound by any common laws, oh great next-Uchiha-leader, rrr-nhe." Yellow eyes narrowed as the big cat grinned at him "I do as I please, human, rrr-nhe"

Madara rolled his eyes. Sukuratchi was always prideful of his cattish liberty, but, oddly enough, he had never seen him too far away from Daysuke Obasan. Madara had never really had a friendly affinity with him, but he had to admit he was a powerful ninneko.

"Then, what are you doing here?"

"Despite my love for the big wilderness, I was informed that a certain Uchiha infant was turning sixteen, rrr-nhe" Unlike Madara himself, Izuna always had a soft spot in Sukuratchi's heart "Birthdays are a synonym for free fish, hence, here I am"

"Fine. Then why are you in my room, and not in Izuna's?" Madara looked at the cat annoyed. He was sure he could have at least, two more hours of sleep before awakening hour.

"Because, not - so -great-next-Uchiha-leader, I was drawn to this room by something as delightful as a fat carp" the cat licked his whiskers "and I believe I've waited long enough for you to do something about it. You didn't, so I'm bound to do it for you, rrr-nhe. Because, as a wielder of such power, if I am to believe what has been proclaimed, you had noticed it and just chose to ignore it, right? Rrr-nhe" Madara felt Sukuratchi's nails dig slightly in his stomach as he jumped, and started walking lazily to the screen door, his furry grey tail high in the air.

Madara got up from his futon and followed the cat, sliding the screen door. Sitting in his balcony was his favorite hawk with his claws deep inside something feathery. The bird screeched softly, and jumped on his haori protected arm willingly. He searched for some message tied to the bird's legs but found none.

"The pidgeon, rrr-nhe" Sukuratchi had jump on the handrail and has licking his paw thoroughly.

Frowning, Madara reached for the mistreated body of the brown pidgeon, noticing a small wooden box on its back that he recognized instantly.

This was a carrier pidgeon, widely used by shinobis to deliver messages. But that small wooden box was used solely by some: the Senjus. Madara's felt his blood starting to boil. How would they dare to attack today! In Izuna's birthday! The message was certainly a written harass. He had seen it before, enough times to recognize it. His mind wondered to wild scenarios of mass destruction and stealth attacks. Not today! He would be dammed before he let them ruined Izuna's birthday.

Also, a doubt was conquering his mind. Normally, the Senju-Uchiha rivalry would be postpone during the winter, and the makeshift peace was supposed to last until the beginning of merchant season, so an assault so early in February was strange. The only plausible reason for this would be if they were aware that something was happening today that would deviate the Uchiha attention. And the only person who knew about Izuna's birthday was Hashirama.

Madara gritted his teeth, cursing himself silently. Obviously he had betrayed him. If you could call that betrayal since they were not allies. So stupid of him; dropping his guard in front of an enemy just because of some old time friendship.

"Before, smoke start coming out of your ears, you should read it, rrr-nhe" Sukuratchi's yellow eyes were focused on the pigeon's dead body.

Sighing in frustration, Madara took the little box and throw the body to Sukuratchi. The little scroll felt heavy in his hands as he unfolded it.

Dear Madara,

I'm sorry if this startled you, but I only wanted to wish your little brother a happy birthday. I heartily hoped things could have been different and maybe then I could present my congratulations directly to him. I think I've seen him no more than four times, but I also believed myself to be able to recognize him, since you two look so much alike. Your mother must have been an incredibly beautiful woman (no offense). Anyway, I doubted you are going to show this to your brother but, happy birthday Izuna.

From your former, and still, friend

Hashirama Senju

P.S.: Madara please send the pigeon back. It's one of the fastest and my personal favorite.

Madara looked at the dead body under Sukuratchi's paws. That pigeon wasn't coming back. Should he answer or just burn the scroll and be done with it? Anyway, he had no idea what to say if he was to answer it, so the best option was to burn that little piece of paper and forget it. As his mind start thinking the jutsu and the hand movements he knew he wouldn't be able to do it. Something kept him looking at the black ink in the soft paper. How early had Hashirama awake to send this message without being discovered? And most importantly: Why? Why would he care?

"Stop thinking and answer the kid. I don't intend to spend such a favorable full-of-fish day here because you can't make up your mind" Sukuratchi looked at him wearily "besides, it would be beneath a-soon-to-be-great-leader not to respond. Rrr-nhe"

Madara pretended to ignore the grey cat, but he knew all too well that Sukuratchi was right. He should, indeed, answer. Uchihas were bound to always answer a message - irrelevant if it was threat or praise- an answer was always to be sent. But, what if he was unable to respond? What if he didn't know what to say? Or knew it too well? Sighing, he took the scroll inside. He was Uchiha Madara, and would not flee from his civil duties, no matter how uncomfortable he was, or how much he wished not to do them.

He sat in his low table and released the hawk that screeched gently and flitted to his futon. Pushing a myriad of paper and maps aside, he found some of the small, thin paper used for message scrolls. He hovered his black ink soaked brush over the white sheet, as an intense internal battle was taking place within him. He wanted to scowl Hashirama for being so reckless, wanted to censure him for his lack of consciousness: what if someone had caught such a casual, light hearted conversation between them? He wanted to remind him if that had happened, all hell would break loose and they would be branded traitors. He also wanted to underline that this wasn't good and would not be encouraged on his behalf. But, deep inside, he also wanted to thank him for remember the most important moment of the most precious person in his life, thank him for the childish friendship Hashirama still hold on to, and assure him that he felt the same.

Grinning his teeth, Madara put the brush down and buried his hands on his untamed hair. That stupid, childish, naïve, dumb, silly, unaware Senju! What was about him that Madara couldn't fight? The mindless Senju was like a virus. They had spent a few hours in five years, talking without threatening each other, and already Madara couldn't came up with better insults than "mindless" and "dumb"

"Again, I'm not losing the finest fish because you're having a writer's block" Sukuratchi came inside the room and jumped in his pillow, ignoring his bed partner "You'll have to call someone after. Your balcony is a mess, rrr-nhe"

Sighing in frustration, Madara lower the brush again towards the insulting pure, white paper.

Senju Hashirama,

Thank you for reminding Izuna's birthday. Although, you're right: I'm not going to show him this message. I'm honestly not very fond of the idea of being branded a traitor by my clan and dishonor myself and my family. Seriously what were you thinking? If someone intercepted this message what would they suppose? You need to start being more aware and less immature. Besides, a friendly conversation it's not acceptable between swore enemies in the middle of war; please do not repeat it. I'm sending this through my personal hawk that is a lot more trustworthy than a frail pigeon.

Uchiha Madara

P.S.: Please, in the future, avoid any comments regarding my mother's appearance.

P.P.S.: I'm not sending the pigeon back, unless you want to keep his bloody carcass (for this accident, I'm truthfully sorry)

Madara was fairly happy how the message turn out, he managed to keep it simple; not to rough or too soft. Why he cared with the Senju's feelings was only, and solely, because the said Senju had been kind enough to remember Izuna's birthday. That was it. Closing his eyes, he repeated to himself this mantra a few times, until he felt reasonably convinced.

He got up from the low table and whistled, and immediately, the black and white hawk flew graciously to his arm and let him tie the small message to its scaly leg.

"Finally! I was starting to think that you were writing him a love letter" Sukuratchi raised stretching and clawing his pillow in the process "Hurry up. It's almost awakening hour"

The soft pale light of sunrise stroke Madara's eyes as he stepped out to the balcony, confirming Sukuratchi's predictions. Sighing, he touched the head of the falcon, instructing him to deliver the message only when Senju Hashirama was alone and came back as soon as possible. The bird looked at him with his yellow eyes and tweeted gently, as if telling him it had understood what it was expected to accomplish. Squeezing his arm slightly, the hawk took flight into the warming light.

He kept watching until the beautiful hawk was nothing more than a small dot against the light blue sky. As he stepped back into his room, avoiding carefully the butchered feathery mess, the sign of awakening hour started ringing across the house, reminding him that he had slept no more than 4 hours, between his midnight rendez-vouz with the annoying Senju and being prematurely awake by Sukuratchi. Grumbling about, how all was that infuriating Senju's fault, he left for breakfast. Today he couldn't afford to be late. As he was about to leave his room, Sukuratchi jumped and climbed over to his shoulder.

"I'm to full of Senju pigeon to be walking right now" he answer to Madara's silent irritated question, before wrapping himself around his neck.