A/N. Multi-chapter fanfic taking place before Konohagakure was founded (Warring States Era).

Paring: Senju Hashirama x Uchiha Madara
Warnings: yaoi, OC character, AU
Disclaimer: Naruto is owned by Masashi Kishimoto

Madara stared down at his hands lost in his own thoughts as he rotated the brand new engagement ring on his finger. The cold steel of the ring resembled exactly how this engagement had come to be, arranged and without any emotional attachment. His father, Uchiha Tajima, had decided that it would be beneficial for the clan's succession when Madara would marry a strong kunoichi from the Hyuuga clan. His fate already being long sealed before he could even begin to think about whom he would want to spend his life with. Matters like this were decided factually, not romantically, by the current elders of the respective clans and he could only obey those decisions. He had met her once, briefly, during a meeting about the potential forge of their clans. Her hair was black, down to her mid-waist and her eyes had that typical white-lavender color that every Hyuuga member inherited. Her name was Taka which in itself had made Madara grimace in irony as her name translates to 'hawk' and falconry being his favorite hobby it had been almost too coincidental. They exchanged short introductions but didn't have much of a chance to get to know each other before one of the elders posed to conjoin the two of them. There were only advantages for the clans thus it happened.

Madara snapped out of his thoughts as he sat on the engawa (Japanese wooden veranda) of his bedroom when Izuna burst in to announce the family was about to have dinner. "I will be right there, Izuna." He said as he pushed himself up out of his cross-legged position on the floor. His younger brother could sense there was something on his aniki's (older brother) mind, but hesitated to ask and instead nodded leaving Madara to get ready to join them for dinner. Madara took a deep breath collecting himself and glancing in the mirror to give himself a once-over to see whether he still looked decent enough. The family was sitting in the main room of the house around short-legged dining table chatting away about the daily fusses. Madara sat down on the empty pillow, giving his elders a greeting as he scooped some rice onto his plate followed by his mother's famous roasted vegetable skewers and finally some mackerel. He enjoyed his mother's cooking very much just like the rest of the family members. Tajima spoke to Izuna about the progression of his taijutsu and katon abilities while Izuna seemed to beam at his latest achievements. Madara smiled watching his younger brother's excitement and thought to himself that he would surely miss these conversations when he would be married and no longer living in his childhood home. Would Izuna be alright without him? Who would be there to protect him when he was gone?

After dinner Madara excused himself and put on his shinobi shoes and his long, indigo Uchiha mantle in order to head out for a while. "I will be back around midnight," he announced to his father and waited for his nod of approval before leaving the manor. The air outside was chilly at this hour, but one could sense the upcoming spring in the breeze that danced through Madara's hair. His walk was steady and had an undoubted destination. He wanted to take his mind off the fact that his entire life was about to change and there was no better place to do so than the river bank that separated his clan's grounds to that of the forest. He welcomed the soft burbling and glittering of the water in the moonlight as his feet hit the stone pebbles of the river bank. There was something about the water that could heal every part of his soul just by staring at it for a while. After some time he picked up a pebble and brought his arm back then swinging it forth to release the pebble as it skipped the surface of the river several times while Madara turned away to head back home. The unexpected loud smack of pebble against flesh startled him as he turned himself around in an instant only to reveal that his oldest friend had caught the pebble in his hand. Memories of their fond times spent by the river came flowing back to his mind; the many days they had thrown and caught each other's pebbles, the laughs they shared and the training they had done. All of their meetings had been kept secret as, during the course of their growing friendship, they discovered that the other was a rival of their own clan.

"Hashirama…" Madara said whisper-quietly as the brown-haired man smiled at him from across the river. It always amazed Madara how Hashirama knew about his presence by the river when he never shared with anyone where he went to on his late night walks. But then again they had gotten to know each other so well they could almost read the other's mind. "It's been a long time, Madara." Hashirama said almost regrettingly when he tried to determine how long ago it had been since the last time they saw one another here. He jumped over the river landing not far from Madara, but still keeping a slight distance in order not to spook the Uchiha. "I hope you have been well?" Hashirama inquired with his usually bright tone of voice. He never failed to notice that something was the matter with the raven-haired man and tonight was no different when observed Madara's eyes. There was a certain emptiness in them, a rather dull, mist-like essence swirling around. Usually the riverbank was a place for them to share their dreams and their sorrows, however something seemed to hold Madara back from sharing his thoughts this night. Hashirama was in no rush to pressure him knowing that it would only make things worse.

"Well enough." Madara replied shortly, not giving away much to go on. "You?" He asked. It was quite odd for him to ask how someone else had been, but he made an exception for Hashirama. Why? Even he wasn't sure what made the Senju so special. "I've been well, thank you Madara." Hashirama said as he scanned Madara's face for any sign of an opening to continue their conversation. It seemed that Madara was onto his intentions and turned his face away from the moonlight so the shadows fell over his eyes and veiled what was hidden in them. Hashirama wanted desperately to reach out to his friend and make his worries go away, but he knew that Madara wasn't too keen on physical contact and the amount of time they had been apart would only make it harder for him to accept that closeness once again. Finally, he decided on "I've missed you Madara" to try engage him back into their friendship. Madara chuckled under his breath at his comment and did not say anything for a moment before he told Hashirama he had to head back to the Uchiha compound. With Madara's back facing him Hashirama hoped that he would get at least one sign that Madara still valued their secret friendship as he tossed the pebble that he had held onto up into the air just to the left above Madara. Reflexively Madara's arm extended upward to catch the pebble without fail before he disappeared into the forest. Hashirama watched him go as his mind could focus on only one thing: that moonlit glint of steel around Madara's finger as he caught the pebble.

TBC