And the answer to last chapter's question... Obitopede, of course! (he's the co-conspirator of EVERYTHING)

Anyway, what is with all these depressing chapters lately? Oh well. Here you go. I'm not quite satisfied with its ending, but that's all right...I liked how I ended it, but not how I jumped from the beginning part and didn't finish that. Oh well. All you need to know is that they get better with time...

And: A SHORT ONE! Short story ~

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Maybe it's because I don't really know what happened to Hashirama (all that's given is that he fell during one of the many wars after Konoha's founding). That, and Obitopede appears in this story. That, alone, should be proof enough. Also, my titles don't make sense.

Chapter 16: Will of Fire

If a more depressing scene could have been described, Toka would have paid to see it. Nothing was more disheartening and gloomy than dropping in during dinner to see the three figures staring silently at their meals, none of them touching anything. It was silent.

"I was just dropping by to— are you all right?" Toka was worried, now, when none of them even turned to look at her. It was then, that she noticed, sadly, that a fourth table set had been put out, but the seat remained vacant. It had only been a week, and none of them were saying a thing about it. Mito, especially. It was rare to see her come out of her room, these days. Toka was relieved to see her outside, but upon seeing the situation, realized that nothing had changed.

"Hello, Toka. Care to join us?" Mariko turned now, her eyes apologetic. Mito nodded robotically, and Tobirama continued staring at the table.

"It's okay. I just wanted to inform Tobirama that a messenger bird from Suna came in, and it has a private message for him. That's all." Toka nodded briefly, glancing at the white-haired Senju, but the man remained silent. His eyes flickered momentarily to her in an expression of thanks, acknowledging that he'd heard her. Toka took that as her cue to leave, and briskly stepped outside again. She wondered if the food would be eaten at all, that night. Mito certainly didn't make it, so Toka assumed that Mariko had picked herself up and made the meal so that they didn't suffer further from their grief.

None of them had expected it to hit as hard as it did. Even Tsunade had begun crying, and as soon as the child's wails were heard, the Senju's hearts broke.

"We should eat." It was a suggestion that lacked the power to become an order, and Mariko watched as Tobirama dejectedly fingered his plate. Mito seemed as if she was trying hard to muster up some sort of enthusiasm, but lacked the willpower to put forth any other emotion except sadness.

Hashirama's seat remained empty. The group ate their meals because they had to, and then Mariko cleaned up. Mito disappeared to her room for another week, with only Mariko dropping in to provide her with some food and drink every day. Tobirama went to read his message from Suna, still unable to don the robes that had once been his older brother's. He'd worn them once, during his coronation as Hokage, but not once had he smiled. In fact, the villagers could've sworn they saw a tear slip down his face. They could all relate to him—the entire village was crying for their fallen leader.

"This is not for myself," Tobirama had said. "This is for my love of this village, my love for my brother, your Hokage. This is for the man who loved Konoha more than anyone else.."

He paused then, as Konoha held its breath and a few choked back sobs.

"This is not for the Senju, nor is it for Senju Hashirama. This is for the father of Konoha, and for—" Tobirama couldn't finish. Beside him, Mariko squeezed his hand, and Mito nodded at him. "For the Will of Fire that is his dream. We will continue to love this village just as much as he did, because this…this village is his heart."

Someone yelled out "Hokage-sama!" then, and several began to cry. Even the stoic jounin and the stone-faced Hyuuga let tears fall down their faces.

"Senju Tobirama, you are now the Second Hokage."

The white-haired man turned to Mito, a clear tear marking a path down his cheek. Mito lifted the Hokage's hat to Tobirama, who bowed his head and allowed her to put it on.

"Make your brother proud."

I imagine an emotional Tobirama. Which is not in character, but at least in the moment. I'm sure everyone loved Hashirama. (See what I did there, not including the Uchiha?!) =3=

Meanwhile, Obitopede informs Old-Mandara in his bat-cave...err...cavern, of Hashirama's passing. And Old-Mandara cackles, whilst waiting for a random child to fall through the ceiling, and at the same time, making strange Hashi-clones from the Gedo Mazo... (lol)