"That idiot is late… hum, maybe I finally got my wish of getting rid of him for good" said a young Madara, throwing another pebble to the river. He growled when it didn´t reach the other side, but then another rock was thrown from behind him, reaching the river.
"Getting rid of who, Madara-chan?" said a child Hashirama. The Uchiha looked at him with rage, earning only a smile. "Hi, sorry I´m late. I was busy saving Kawarama´s neck from a paper bomb and getting scolded at by him for doing so"
"Why would he scold you for saving his life?" asked the raven with a frown. He have nothing against Kawarama´s change of destiny, the little Senju seemed to be more like Tobirama than Hashirama, and that turned him into an ally in case he risk losing this bet.
"Because he is… another Tobirama" answered the eldest Senju brother, for once without a smile. "For the love of the Sage, I forgot how much of a joykiller he was!"
"Talking about that albino idiot, is he ready to have his liver removed?" smiled the Uchiha in a very creepy way.
"No… because I won´t lose this bet. Prepare yourself to be mine!" yelled the bowl cut kid, raising his finger to sign at the raven. Madara felt his face grew hotter and grab a stone from the ground in silence. "Huh, do you want us to skip stones again?"
"No" answered Madara, reading himself to throw the thing in his hand. "But I have no kunai or battle fan to throw at you, so for now, this will work"
"Wha… Wait! Don´t do anything!" then he tried to use his puppy dog eyes to convince the other boy. "Aren´t we friends?"
"You stabbed me on the back once…"
"That was because you was a menace for everyone, including yourself! And peace!" yelled Hashirama, not wanting to be hit by a rock thrown by his friend (he was once and it hurt like hell).
"And you abandoned me as soon as your pretty little village was done…"
"Hey, that isn´t true!... Well, a little, but that was because you were scary and all the people…" Hashirama looked at the angry as hell face of his friend and stopped, cursing his blabbering mouth. "I better shut up… and run"
"You better" Hashirama started running and Madara soon followed, throwing the small pebbles at the brunette. When they finally were exhausted, they sat down near the river looking at sun setting in the horizon.
"So you have already seen your brothers" spoke the Uchiha, lying near the Senju and breathing in a fast notion. He has forgotten how weak his child form was comparing it to one of an adult, so he pressed his body a little bit over the board.
"Yeah… You should have seen them. Itama is great… well, when he is not crying. He has crying fits as I have depression ones"
"Oh, great, another you" said Madara, hoping that he didn´t miscalculate things. Of Itama survive until adulthood and start supporting Hashirama… he didn´t want to think about it. And even with that the idiot won´t win the bet. Hashirama Senju was the Big Loser, the person who have the worst of lucks at gambling, after all.
"And Kawarama… I think I should keep an eye on him if I don´t want to lose him soon. Maybe he took dad´s words about dying in battle being the greatest of honors too much to hearth and he is willing to do that. Apart from that, he is pretty much like Tobirama"
"Great, another jerk"
"Talking about little siblings, have you already seen Izuna?" asked the bowl cut haired kid, getting to his feet smiling. It was almost time to go home… back to where one of his brothers wanted to kill him and where his father wasn´t talking to him.
"No, I woke up here. I will see him when I get home… I´m looking forward to that and maybe a game of shogi next to our chimney. I´m really tired of winning"
"Hey! I didn´t lose all the time!"
"Oh, really? Then tell me again how the Uchiha clan got the money to build the Nakano shrine and a pretty good part of our compound around the time we started using our shogi matches ad betting pools"
"Okay, I lost all our encounters… shit, maybe I should try and stop gambling before my ludopatie gets me into troubles again"
"So you finally get it" said Madara getting up as well and dusting his clothes. "I guess I will be seeing you tomorrow he… or maybe not. If you could change the past then so could I. And especially this part of my past" he was ready to leave but he caught by his arm.
"Then I will do it right now" Hashirama turned him around and grabbed him by his shoulder. Madara was about to ask for an explanation when the other planted a kiss on his lips. It was happening again! That idiot was stealing his first kiss again!
"You promised!" screamed the Uchiha all red when the kiss ended. "Ja! You have lost the bet! One of my rules was that you weren´t trying anything funny with me!"
"Oh, but you didn´t heard what Hagoromo said short before we left? The Sage of Six Paths told me that kisses weren´t "trying something funny". And for every good turn the past takes I get one from you and I just saved Kawarama…"
"That´s not fair! Oh, why the gods hate me?!" yelled the Uchiha. First it was making sure nobody listened to that grinning idiot, and now he have to make sure the past stays like before? Except for the Izuna part… and Tobirama. He was going to rip him to pieces.
"Tough luck" smiled said idiot. "Well, I will be going, see you soon!"
"You wish!"
-In the Senju residence-
"I´m home!" yelled the eldest brother, expecting a warm welcome from his little brothers.
"Hashirama aniya! Welcome home!" answered a smiling Itama, running to hug him. Hashirama petted his hair… oh, how much he missed him! The little kid was so warm and innocent, a refreshing change after being stuck for a life with the grumpy and bossy Tobirama. They made their way towards the living room, where said albino and the last brother were sitting with their arms crossed.
"Hello, Tobi-chan and Kawa-chan" he was grateful that he could have all his family with him again… and to use their childhood nicknames without an angry albino threatening to rip his eyes out of their sockets.
"Excuse me, Tobirama aniya, do you heard someone talking to me?" asked Kawarama in a emotionless tone.
"Must have been your imagination, otouto" answered said albino. Hashirama rolled his eyes, couldn´t his brothers act less like brats and more like Itama and him? Well, not like him, he tend to act like a little kid almost all the time.
"Oh, come on, are you really that mad at me for saving your neck from that paper bomb?" asked the eldest not really understanding that attitude. Both kids turned around (they have been showing their backs to their brothers all the time).
"Mad at you? I´m fucking furious, Hashirama! You steal my opportunity to shine in the battle!" yelled the third brother, startling the little one. Itama hide behind the brunette, scared of Kawarama´s outburst.
"Well, sorry! What do you want me to do, let one of my precious little brothers die just because he wanted to play hero?!"
"Yes! I would be better if you have…!"
"Kawarama aniya…" started Itama, trying to end the verbal violence. He usually worked as a buffer between Hashirama and Butsuma, Tobirama and Hashirama, Kawarama and Hashirama, Kawarama and Tobirama, his mother and his father… practically he was that house´s peacekeeper. But they were all so angry today.
"Shut up, you damn crybaby!" yelled Kawarama. At this point both the first and the second of Butsuma´s sons got worried, but the third continued. "And if you haven´t noticed, Hashirama, I´m not Itama, who only know how to hide behind your back and… Oh" he realized what he have just done and tried to do damage control before things got ugly. "Sorry, Itama, I didn´t mean…"
"BUAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" too late, the littlest brother was crying at the top of his lungs and running out of the living room. "Mama! Kawarama aniya was being mean to me again!"
"Look what you have done" said Hashirama a little angry. "Itama, please! He didn´t mean what he said, he was just very angry at me!" Kawarama was getting up to help, but Tobirama stopped him.
"Let them, Hashirama aniya is the best making Itama calm down from one of his crying fits"
"Yes, getting depressed! And then we have to look after them until their emotional problems are fixed… for the moment"
"Kawarama!" yelled an angry female voice. Said brother shivered, their mother was pretty scary when angry. "Come here this instant!"
"I´m dead" then the brunette left his albino brother in the living room by himself. Tobirama would be lying if he said that he have no questions for his older brother: how did he knew that Kawarama was in danger? How did he knew that there was a paper bomb in there? Where the hell did he went after the fight? And when in the Sage´s name did he learn that technique… Mokuton? He have been trying to do the same technique all day, but couldn´t. God, this was so frustrating! Not being able to do what his fool of a brother can.
"I´m home" yelled Butsuma. He was carrying something in his arms, wrapped in colorful papers. That was no new thing, he used to bring a lot of presents for Kawarama, sometimes even for Tobirama. The other two brother, the immature and rebellious depressive maniac and the crybaby little weakling only get those on their birthdays.
"Welcome" answered the albino in a neutral voice. "If you are looking for Kawarama, he is in the kitchen getting scolded by mother again"
"Ah? No, I´m not looking for him" then Butsuma added. "Do you know where Hashirama is?"
"Hashirama? Is he in trouble again?" the red eyed boy was worried, but his father said no with his head and lifted the gift in his hands.
"No, the contrary. I need to give him this"
"Oh, then…" now Tobirama was surprised. Hashirama was never priced for anything he did, even more by his father. Butsuma fought all the time with his eldest son, that talked about an era of peace like it was a reality. "He is in Itama´s room trying to cheer him up"
"Then I will be going" Butsuma went upstairs towards his children´s room, feeling a little strange. Who would have known that the day he has to price Hashirama for his achievements will come? And after hearing all the clan talking about his eldest child like he was a hero, congratulating him for having raised such a great shinobi, he decided that it was time to give him a "keep it up" gift as he did with his favorites. Picking up the gift have been a nightmare, firstly because he didn´t knew Hashirama enough to know what he liked. He when through the stores of his clan, thinking about buying him a new set of kunais or a sword like he usually did with his brothers, but then remembered that Hashirama´s armor was damaged in the last fight. Now he was walking towards the eldest with that.
For his part, Hashirama was too busy trying to stop his little brother´s tears to notice that his father have just returned home. When he busted in Itama´s room, both kids were startled, but relaxed when noticed what he was carrying.
"Hi, dad" greeted Hashirama. "If you are searching for Kawarama, he is in the living room"
"I´m not looking for him"
"Then Tobirama? He is in…"
"It´s not for him eather" said Butsuma, putting the package in front of Hashirama. "This is for you"
"But it´s not my birthday"
"You did a great job today, so you deserved some reward " explained the older Senju, ruffling his son´s hair. Then added "What would you like for dinner? Say anything and I will tell your mother to cook it"
"Hum… Are you sure you are talking with the correct son? I´m Hashirama, not Kawarama or Tobirama" said the brunette. Him and Itama were a little shaken at their father´s sudden shows of affection towards the elder brother.
"I know… and I also know that it´s unusual for me to price you, but... today you saved not only your brother but some of our warriors, so you are the hero" smiled the man. "So, what would you like to eat?"
"Mushroom soup?" asked Hashirama. He was never close to his father and in his alternative life he have never ruffled his hair or bought him a gift. Butsuma Senju wasn´t even kind enough to say good things about his eldest, for the Sage´s sake!
"Then that´s what we are having for dinner" said the father, then looked at his son´s hands, that have not touched the package. "What are you waiting for? Open it, you are going to like it"
"Thank you?" Hashirama unwrapped the thing and found a new armor. It was shinny red, pretty much like the one his older self used to wear. "It´s incredible"
"I knew you were going to like it, red was your favorite color" Hashirama smiled and for the first time Butsuma returned his smile. That gave him hopes, maybe he could save his relationship with his father after all.
-In the Uchiha home-
"I´m home!" yelled Madara, opening the door.
"Yay, Nii-san is home!" yelled a little Izuna, running towards him and hugging his elder brother tightly. Madara smiled. Oh, how much have he missed his baby brother.
"Izuna! How have my baby been?!" asked the older raven, lifting the child in his arms. He usually won´t do that, Izuna was little old for this childish behavior, but he just couldn´t resist… the have his baby brother back after all this years. "What would you like to eat?"
"Inarisushi! Make me some!" pleaded the brat, squirming out of Madara´s grasp. "And then train with me"
"Okay, okay, but settle down for a moment" said Madara before going to the kitchen to put on an apron and start cooking. He made what Izuna wanted and even some rice balls for Tajima… if he ever came back after the clan´s meeting. After losing his wife nearly after Izuna´s birth, the man was not the same. He used to stay out until unholy hours in the night, always returning with a stink of alcohol and women´s perfume. With his dad so distant, his older child took on his shoulders the task of raising Izuna and he was making such a good job (or that was what he thought). While he was cooking he remembered the incident when his baby brother said his first word. It was "mama", directed to Madara. His other brother had a laughing fit after hearing the baby calling him that, but it was sort of truth. He did the same jobs as his mom.
"Can we play shogi after we train?" asked the little kid, peeking inside the kitchen.
"Why not? I really want to play with you" answered the smiling raven, putting dinner in the table and motioning for Izuna to come and eat. The kid did as he was told and started eating with gluttony. Oh, his nii-san was the best cook he had ever met.
"And you will sing for me before I get to sleep?"
"Sure"
They spent the rest of the afternoon training in their backyard, Madara trying to correct some of Izuna´s postures when sending a kick or a punch. He even started to show him how to perform a Katon jutsu, ruffling his head affectionately when he made it. Then they went to the living room to play shogi near the chimney, enjoying the game. It was so different from the times he played with Hashirama, the little raven won´t lose as easy as that idiot. When he finally decided that it was too late for Izuna to stay up he sent him to the bathroom, cleaned the brat and himself. Finally he tucked the boy in bed to sleep and started singing a lullaby.
"Good night" he said when the song was over and Izuna was in so deep sleep that nothing could wake him up, but he found out that the kid had his clothes in his hands.
"Nii-san, stay" asked the sleeping boy.
"Okay" answered Madara and got into the bed, embracing his sleeping baby brother in his arms, happy feeling him safe there. "I will never let anything bad happen to you… never again"
Tajima got home pretty late and quickly eat his meal. He have been in a clan´s meeting and then in a bar, sharing some time with a bottle of alcohol. He got upstairs yawning and opened the door of Izuna´s room, looking inside. He saw his two boys in the bed, Madara protectively wrapping his arms around the youngest.
"Mama" said the sleeping Izuna, using his older brother as a pillow. Tajima left the room and closed the door, feeling like trash. He has been so occupied with his own pain that never realized his mistakes. Izuna was somewhat right, Madara could be his parent for all he knows. He got to his room and took the bottle he have in his bed table. He was about to drink from it, but the scene in Izuna´s room came back to his mind and he threw the damn thing to the trash bin. He made a decision, no more alcohol. From now on, Tajima Uchiha was responsible father. He would raise his children, not let Madara raise Izuna on his own.
What do you think? Do you like how the relationship with their parents is improving? Hashi-kun gets to steal another kiss from his little Mada-chan for that in the next chapter! And who should win the bet? Reviews, please!