Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters do not belong to me, they belong to Masashi Kishimoto

-Chapter Three-

Mother

Another stone skidded across the water, sinking in shortly after it hit the halfway mark. His arm was getting tired and he had no idea why he continued. Madara Uchiha wouldn't be ordered around by anyone, especially someone who paid him in flowers. Yet every time he looked down and saw the little girl's happiness he picked up another stone.

It wasn't like Sakura was anything special, just that he hadn't seen such pure innocent joy in a very long time. Even Hashirama, who liked to pretend he was the pinnacle of exuberance, was badly scarred by war. This girl had obviously never seen such horrors before. Been made to fight just for survival.

If she had lost her family to the fighting or disease then it was certain that she didn't truly understand what had happened. Probably hadn't witnessed it. Soon even her shining innocence would be destroyed. More likely sooner than later if she kept wandering in the forest. Another shinobi may have either killed her or decided to use her for sexual satisfaction. Disgusting, but true.

Men were more beastly in times of intense warfare, even children weren't safe. A civilian with no battle prowess was in considerable more danger. He may not care for her in any special way but at least he wouldn't help her be stained by the times they lived in.

That was why, when Madara felt Hashirama's approach, he ceased his throwing. "It's time for you to leave." She eyed him questioningly, looking like she may be stubborn. "I have adult things to tend to."

Her facial expression accused him of lying. "You're not an adult."

He got annoyed quite quickly. "Of course I'm an adult. More adult than you."

She was still highly skeptical. "How old?"

He proudly pounded on his chest, "Thirteen. I'm a shinobi so I'm an adult."

She wasn't quite sure how to dispute that and felt like she had lost this battle. "Fine." Not happy that she was being ordered away, she stomped off.

He noticed her head was held high. She had good posture for a peasant and the attitude of a snooty princess to match. It was made funny by her actual status. She'd learn to fix the attitude when she realized where she stood in life. He wondered how she would have acted if she'd known he was the heir to the Uchiha clan. Surely less uppity.

That was one nice thing about Hashirama, they could behave normally with one another, since the other boy didn't know of his title. Madara occasionally thought about his friend's reaction to learning he was more than just a regular Uchiha. He knew that Hashirama most likely knew what clan he was a part of. The Uchiha had a signature look that every member possessed. Genes couldn't be hidden so easily.

Sometimes he would try and identify which clan Hashirama probably belonged to. Brown hair and eyes were common, you couldn't throw a stone without hitting someone with these traits. For a while he considered the possibility of him being a Senju, but for him to know Madara was an Uchiha and not to have tried anything while being a Senju felt impossible. The impossibility of that scenario went through his mind again when Hashirama popped out of the trees.

The brunette had been a tad somber lately but not enough for Madara to push the issue when he was told there was nothing wrong. Yet right now his depression was apparent from the very start. He settled down next to the river, hugging his knees.

"What's wrong now?" He asked it tentatively, he'd been trolled one too many times not to be weary. Except it was rare for Hashirma to be like this at the beginning of their meetings. The last time he'd seen him act this way was when he'd told Madara his brother had died.

The bowl cut boy was silent at first, then sighed. "My mom is ill again. My father doesn't think she is going to make it."

"Your…mother?"

He heard some sniffing. "Yeah. She's always been real weak bodied, with sporadic bouts of depression. Everyone was really surprised that she'd had five kids."

Stuff like this always felt super awkward. "Yeah, you said you still have a little brother and sister, right?"

Hashirama nodded, "My little brother has inherited a…condition, but he deals with it well. No health problems. On the other hand, my sister…" This was the first he was hearing any of this.

"Has an illness?"

"Not exactly. She just gets sick a lot. From simple colds to more serious things. It has gotten better in recent years, but when she was younger it was really bad. We almost lost her many times."

This was new to Madara since he'd never been worried about losing someone to illness before. Hashirama always seemed as healthy as a horse, it was surprising that his family had illness running through it. "If your mother has been sick before, how do you know this is really the end?"

"After my little sister left her this morning, my mom collapsed and hasn't woken up since. My father kicked me out for being a nuisance." His depression seemed to get deeper at his own words. "My brother got to stay." He rubbed his cheek as if he was recalling a wound, like he'd find a scar there if he scrubbed hard enough. "Has your father ever hit you?"

His rubbing motion suddenly made sense. This was getting deeply personal and he felt uncomfortable. Of course Tajima Uchiha hit his children, it was how he taught them. Whether it was to be better sons or better shinobi. Didn't matter either way, usually the two meant the same thing to his father. He'd gotten the worst of it, Izuna was generally good about following their father's orders.

Madara tended to skirt around it more, apparent by his friendship with an unknown boy. Going about things his father's way would have had him killing Hashirama on sight that first day. Probably Sakura too. Uchiha would be the only people alive if it was up to the older man.

"Yeah."

Sakura ran home in a mood, upset that she had been sent away by her new friend. She was always sent away when her family started to talk of shinobi things. It irritated her so much. They thought she was weak because Tobirama had said that she only had enough chakra to survive on. That if she used any of it her body wouldn't be able to take the strain.

Why should it matter that she couldn't use chakra? Her body could get stronger and she'd master taijutsu. Someone just needed to give her a chance. Big brothers were so stupid.

Angry, she didn't realize she had sped up to an unnatural quickness. Abruptly, her heart started to race painfully. She immediately stopped running and leaned against a tree, breathing heavily. She started to feel as if she was choking and she went to her knees. Coughing, blood spattered across the hand she had close to her mouth.

The girl wasn't worried, this had happened before. Afterwards she'd always sense a sudden surge of energy and feel a lot better. As if a failing organ had been restored. She was fine, the sickness usually passed quickly. The onset was just sudden which made it harder to hide from her brothers, but not impossible. If she kept quiet through the attacks they mostly didn't notice. One day she'd be as strong as them and all this would be behind her.

Once the attack ended, she started for the compound again. She spent much more time out here today than she ever had before. She hoped her mother wasn't too worried. Sneaking back in was even easier than normal. There was less guard activity. She wondered why that was but headed towards her home without questioning anyone. The clan members watched as she passed by them, whispering behind her.

She bumped into Tobirama as she entered their home. His red eyes seemed glazed, it was obvious he was upset. Terribly so if he was showing signs of it. He tended to try to pretend he felt nothing at all. He wasn't very successful. His temper and moments of amusement often snuck through. Sakura lifted her arms up, "Pick me up, Tobi."

Slowly, he leaned down, arms going around her. Except, he stayed crouched instead of standing up. It dawned on her as his body started to shake that her brother was crying. And it wasn't Hashirama. This was Tobi, strong Tobirama. She'd never seen him cry before and even now he was hiding his face from her.

Biting her lip, Sakura tried to keep her own tears down, this wasn't the time to be a child affected by another's mood. In the end she couldn't hold it in, though she did manage to remain quiet. At least until she released a choking sob, arms tightening around her white haired brother.

It spoke to how upset he was that he didn't even try to calm her, lost in his own misery.

This he could take, her resilient desire to sooth him but without words. If he'd broken like this in front of Hashirama, without the other boy knowing what was wrong, he'd get questions when he needed silence. His brother was well intended but he just wasn't like him, he didn't want someone to talk him through his sadness. Sakura seemed to know this instinctively and let him cry on her tiny shoulder.

When the tears finally dried up, for them both, Tobirama took his little sister to their mother. Her crying started again and by that time Hashirama was back, having sorted out his bothersome endless talking. Butsuma sat holding his wife's hand while Sakura was comforted by her siblings.

No one commented that Tobirama's red eyes seemed to have migrated their color to the rims of his eyes. Maybe they didn't even notice, it was so hard to tell. The pinkette's wrecking sobs kept everyone's attention.

It could have been the noise or possibly the fact that what was left of her family was finally all around her, but their mother woke up. Sakura gasped, then shot herself into the woman's rising arms. "Mama, mama don't go!"

Brown eyes looked down at the crying pink haired child. Her daughter was only four, her boys eleven and thirteen. They were just becoming men and she'd had so little time with the little girl they'd found one day in the forest. She could accept that now. Her first daughter had never even gotten the chance to live or even have a proper funeral due to her delusional mind.

She'd needed something to cling unto at the time. If Sakura hadn't come into their lives she would have surely died shortly after giving birth. This girl had let her live a few more years and she would just be grateful to the kami for the time that'd been given to her. Still she would have loved to see them all grown up. They would have to live without guidance now.

She could only wonder what would happen to Sakura, surrounded only by foolish men. Would they know what to do to help her when she became marriageable? Be able to explain what was happening? Oh, her time had come too soon.

Her fingers went through soft pink hair, "Sakura, you'll always be my daughter." The little girl raised her green eyes to her brown. "If nothing else please remember that." Next her eyes moved to her oldest. "Hashirama, you'll make a great leader one day, just don't be blind to evil intentions. Trust too easily given is just as easily broken."

His bowl cut jiggled as he nodded. Far be it from her to judge her child's fashion sense but…"Fix your hair, maybe grow it longer, if you want any girls to be interested. Just make sure your father doesn't cut it ever again." Butsuma nearly chuckled. His wife moved on to their second born, the last of their children who lived.

Tobirama stared back at her for a long time, his eyes jerking about occasionally as if he was scanning the room. It was a condition of his albinism, involuntary eye movements, along with what Butsuma figured was near blindness. He made up for it in his sensing ability but, naturally, he was defective. The boy's red eyes were intimidating and the erratic eye movement made it seem like he was always aware, watching. Though he really was just sensing, and looking in your general direction.

His mother patted the white haired boy's hand along with Sakura's, requesting they switch places. Tobirama did as asked and moved in closer. Her hand went around his neck, bringing his ear to her lips. "You'll be a very strong man, you already are, but you don't always have to be." Her eyes darted in his siblings' direction. "You have people to lean on." She smiled at him as she released his neck.

After that Butsuma ordered the children out so she could rest. Sakura looked back in worry as her brothers pushed her forward and out the door. Her mother smiled and waved at her.

That was the last she saw of her. Their mother didn't make it to sunrise. When the morning came they gathered to bury her. The whole Senju clan stood beside them as she was lowered into the ground. Sakura was unable to keep her composure, some of the older Senju women had to take her away. They were unable to calm her.

It was only as dusk fell that Hashirama and Tobirama came into her room, reeking of sweat and blood. Even on the day they buried their mom, they were forced to fight. She just gazed up at them, drained of her ability to cry. There was nothing left but body aches and swollen eyes. Hashirama kneeled down in front of her, then suddenly there was a stuffed rabbit shoved into her face.

Then in the squeaky voice he had mastered years ago he spoke, "Don't be sad, you still have us." He peeked out above the doll, then glanced at his brother. "You know, I heard that the grumpy one," he jerked the rabbit's head towards Tobirama, "Gives the best hugs. Second only to Hashirama's. Wanna give that a try?"

Sakura let out one big gasp for air from a would-be sob and threw her arms around her brothers, trapping the rabbit between them. Yes, she still had her siblings. They were just as miserable as she was, but they still tried to cheer her up. "You are the bestest big brothers in the world."

They went to sleep that night cuddled together in her room. Sakura held the rabbit close to her heart, not willing to let it go. Butsuma leaned against the wall outside the room, wondering if it was possible for the little girl to remain this innocent. What would be the thing that stained her beyond repair? Her chakra levels were so small that she would be unable to use ninjutsu, and she was very clumsy. Almost as if she had no sense of balance. He'd seen drunks walk a straighter line than she could.

His pseudo daughter wouldn't be able to fight in their war and he, the man who pushed everyone to battle, was just a little grateful. There was far less of a chance of death or disillusionment in a civilian lifestyle. Maybe she would make it out of this unscathed. He could only hope. With that thought he went to climb into his own bed, exhausted from the emotions of the day. He hadn't realized how hard it would be to sleep without his wife by his side.

The next day Sakura kept her rabbit by her side, even after her brothers left. She sat there thinking, while her new hand maiden went about asking what she'd like to wear today. Her mother would have just shoved the kimono on her whether she liked it or not.

This woman listened to her about wearing her brother's clothing, only tsking that it wasn't appropriate wear. She still did as requested though, afraid of the repercussions of not giving the sole female child of the head family anything she wanted.

For breakfast she wanted to only eat the meats and her assistant let her. Her mother never would have allowed this, she'd have force fed her if she had to. In fact she'd done so on numerous occasions. She's never realized how much she'd miss these previously annoying things. Her hair hadn't even been put up to keep dirt out of it. It was always something her mama made sure she did since Sakura tended to crawl about in dirty places. She didn't know how to put it up herself and no one came to her aid.

As the morning progressed, her attitude towards the handmaiden continued to get worse, until in a final fiery explosion, she erupted. "You can't replace my Mama, you ugly cow!" Leaving her stunned handmaiden behind she rushed to conceal herself so that she could escape the compound unnoticed.

After she'd done so, she ran towards her favorite spot, tripping several times and tumbling about. By the time she made it there she was filthy. Her hair had dirt in it and even pieces of leaves from her falls. The rabbit she'd carried with her looked ragged from all the abuse it at taken when it was previously white. She looked nothing like the fifth child of the great Butsuma Senju.

That is probably why, when Madara discovered her despondent form in the woods, it solidified his impression of her as a peasant. He hovered over her, surprised that she hadn't noticed his approach. He didn't try to conceal himself at all. Finally, as his feet were placed in front of her lowered head, she realized someone was with her. Slowly, without an ounce of self-preservation, she raised her head to look at him.

He thought to himself that he could have so easily killed her. She was defenseless and far too trusting to be shinobi. Her jade eyes widened in recognition and she jumped into him, knocking him to the ground. She fell with him, just happy to see someone she knew, even if she'd only met him once.

Disconcerted and tense from having been taken down so effortlessly, Madara had to keep himself from slitting her throat. He took deep breathes to convince himself that she wasn't a threat that needed to be eliminated. This child had a death wish.

Growling, he pushed Sakura off of himself and stood up. "You don't just jump somebody like that, I could have killed you!" It was a little surprising that he felt like he would have regretted that.

She looked up at him with those big childish eyes of hers, "But you wouldn't a done it right?" She smiled up at him goofily. "We're friends, ain't we?"

He pointed at her in defiance, as if to indicate her griminess. "Like I could ever be friends with someone of your status."

Sakura didn't follow his train of thought, believing he meant her position as the third heir of the Senju clan. "Don't worry about that. I won't mention it if you don't." She meant her title, he took it as the friendship she was trying to foster with him.

Realizing he wasn't going to get anywhere with her, he walked back off towards the river, having only come to investigate the noises she had made in her travels. She followed behind him, which he shouted at her for, but didn't try to stop. She picked up a daisy in passing, handing it to him when they reached their destination. "Throw?"

Madara glared down at the flower, but her eyes were pleading so he snatched it up quickly, then shoved it in his shirt to shut her up. "It's called skipping stones." She nodded, taking in the information. She sat down next to him as he skipped his stones, content to just watch him.

After a while he noticed that she seemed a little quiet for her disposition. Although it wasn't as apparent as Hashirama's always was, he could tell that she was saddened by her thoughts. He eyed the dirty stuffed rabbit she clung to like a lifeline. Her mood was starting to affect his throwing and it irritated him.

"Okay, what's wrong?"

She looked up from the river into his coal black eyes, hearing the stone he just tossed plop into the water. "I'm just thinking about my mama." The boy cringed, realizing this was going to get far more emotional than he was prepared for. He thought maybe it would be about a lost toy. He could help with that, but this…he wasn't equipped for this.

His mother had died when he was eight, he'd already been on the frontlines by then and considered a man. No one tried to comfort him and his brothers never came to him to be comforted. This was new territory for him, Hashirama had been the only one he'd talked to about mothers. That conversation didn't go very far and the other boy was more mature than this little girl. He was far more worried about accidentally saying something wrong.

Slowly, ever so slowly, he reached over to pat her back. She didn't react so he took that as a sign that he was doing something right. Sakura fidgeted with the toy in her hands, drawing his attention to it. "Did your mother give you that?"

She nodded, "A long time ago."

He took that to mean her mother had passed long ago. Without knowing how rude he was being he told her what he thought of her stuffed rabbit. "It is incredibly dirty." For a second it seemed like she froze but she didn't take offense, only shaking her head to acknowledge she heard him. She wondered why she felt she'd heard those words before.

His hand, that he'd continued to rub her back with, came around to the front of her. To make sure she was okay with it he pulled gently at the toy. She was very much not okay with this, pulling back from him quickly. He'd been planning to give it a wash in the river for her, since it was apparent she didn't know how to do such things if it was this dirty. He ditched that idea when he saw her reaction.

"That's okay, I'm not gonna take it from you." It had been a very long time since he'd felt this gentle, or needed really. He'd always protect Izuna but they were rougher with each other on a daily basis. The brat didn't need him anymore either. He remembered when his little brother would be all cute, asking him to get things for him and teach him techniques. Now his independent streak had emerged and he mostly did things on his own. Not cute at all.

Sakura had eased back into him, and Madara decided getting her mind off of depressing thing was the best idea. Collecting a few more flat sided stone, he showed them off to her. "Want to learn?"

Her eyes seemed to light up at the suggestion. "Madara will teach me?" He nodded and noticed that, unlike Hashirama, her mood didn't do a complete 180. She was still obviously saddened but was happy to learn how to skip rocks. He supposed his friend was just easier to distract than even children were.

He handed her one of the stones he'd pick up and then demonstrated with his own how it was done. It was very much like teaching Izuna how to do the Shurikenjutsu, which was the only way he knew how to explain it after all. She watched him carefully, trying to replicate his motion when it was her turn to try. The rock slammed into Madara's face.

"Arg!" He crouched down, rubbing at his forehead. It was a dead center hit. "What kinda aim is that?! The river you idiot not me!" Sakura blushed, embarrassed at her blunder. She released the stone too early and it had gone behind her, hit a tree, and bounced back at him. He was upset at having been able to be hit more than at the pain. If that had been a shuriken he would have been dead.

"I'm sowwry." His glare was shut down instantly as she looked up at him with those big green eyes full of apology. He shoved another rock in her hand and turned her towards the river to give her another shot. He turned his face away from her, not daring to look at her. She wasn't cute. She wasn't cute at all.

In fact, he figured out ten minutes later, she was a menace. Sakura had thrown maybe twenty rocks. At least seven of them had landed in his face, most once again hitting the center of his forehead. He was starting to doubt after the third time that her aim was off at all. She was either a math genius, considering all the ways the stones had bounced before slamming into him, or the clumsiest human being on the planet.

As another rock barely missed him, striking the spot next to his head on the tree he was hiding behind, he was fed up. Marching forward, he grabbed her raised arm before she could toss the projectile. Saddling up behind her, he growled, "Just do it like this." He moved her body into the position that worked best for him, angling her arm in just the right way at her side, then he backed away. "Now hold that for a moment."

He made sure he was safely tucked behind his tree again before he told her to restart the tossing motion in that manner to gain momentum. She released the stance, recreated it and gently threw the rock towards the river. It went in the right direction and skipped across the surface twice before it sunk down. He sighed in relief.

Before Madara could stop her, Sakura had tossed herself at him, happy as could be. "I did it, Madara. I did it!" She hopped around him, in remnant of the toy bunny that was still locked in the grip of her left hand. She had not set it down even once during their session, but her mind was no longer on her mother. Shockingly, he had done a good job at distracting her.

A smile slid onto his lips, pleased he was able to do it. "Yes, you did."

For anyone interested I have a tumblr under the same name that will have sneak peeks and announcements.