Hi Hi! Cheers to another chapter! I hope you enjoy!(:

Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me!

Chapter 2: Hangover

Hashirama groaned as he slowly woke up to a throbbing headache. He rubbed his head while looking over to the other side of the bed to see that Mito had already left for the morning.

Turning his head, he saw the full glass of water that Madara had left on his nightstand last night. A blush spread across Hashirama's face when he recalled the events of last night—when he was caught staring at Madara's enticing lips at the pub, when he hugged Madara and wouldn't let go. He even remembered when he pulled Madara onto his bed and leaned in for a kiss, entertaining the ridiculous idea that Madara might've wanted the same.

He slapped his palm against his forehead and mumbled, "Hashirama, you idiot."

Hashirama propped himself up into a seated position and reached for the glass of water. He chugged the water down, quenching his thirst, before bringing the glass down to his lap. As he traced the edge of his cup with his thumb, he remembered other events of last night, specifically when he constantly asked Madara not to leave him. The thought made Hashirama's cheeks flush with warmth. He hoped Madara would just chalk it up to his drunkenness.

Truthfully, the possibility of Madara disappearing was something that had been worrying him for a while now, but it might've come off a little too… intense last night.

Leaning his back against the headboard of his bed, Hashirama sighed. He didn't know when it all started, his feelings for Madara. One day he was teasing Madara about his crappy rock skipping during their childhood, the next they were enemies, the next they were building up Konoha, and now they're here. Throughout all that, he felt something grow for Madara, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what that feeling was. Initially, he thought his feelings were platonic, a friend he valued dearly.

Hashirama went on to marry and build his community, not thinking much about his brewing feelings for Madara. But he didn't realize those feelings were way past platonic until he was able to pinpoint the reason for the lingering emptiness inside of him.

Ever since finding Konoha, he admits that things went well for him. He survived the warring states with one younger brother left, who he cherishes deeply. He gained the respect and trust of both his clan and his village. He found a loving wife who supported and uplifted him. Despite all that, something was missing, and that missing piece grew larger the more distant he felt from Madara. The only time he felt like everything was right was when he was with Madara, like last night. Hashirama was almost ashamed to admit this though, he built a great life so he should be happy, right? Why did he still feel empty?

Hashirama closed his eyes. He could tell something wasn't right with Madara. Though he couldn't see Madara as often due to being busy as a Hokage, a husband, and a brother, Madara slowly became increasingly absent. He left the village for longer periods of time. He no longer walked the streets of Konoha as often. His smile slowly faded. He interacted less and less with his clansmen and the villagers. His voice no longer had the same charisma.

Hashirama could tell deep, deep down in his gut that Madara was probably going to disappear, and he didn't want that—not when Madara completed him.

Suddenly, Hashirama's eyes shot open.

"Oh crap, what time is it?"

He looked at his clock and saw that it was nearing noon, way past the time he needed to be at the Hokage's office. He quickly got out of bed and ran to the bathroom to freshen up. After getting dressed, Hashirama ran towards the front door but skidded to a stop by the kitchen when he saw a bento box on the table with a note written by Mito. He smiled as he read:

Have a great day. I love you!

-Mito

Hashirama's smile slowly faded as he fiddled with the edge of the paper. Guilt washed over him when he thought about how his feelings for Madara were unfair towards Mito. Mito was an amazing woman, and he really did love her. He really was grateful for her, but something in him still felt missing. He hadn't told Mito anything about his feelings for Madara because he was hoping all of it would pass. But unfortunately, they haven't.

Hashirama quickly snapped back into reality when he remembered he was running late for work. He grabbed the bento box and bolted out the door.

As soon as he arrived at his office, Hashirama was met with Tobirama, who was sitting at his desk giving him a disapproving look.

"You're late," Tobirama said unforgivingly.

"I know, I know, I'm sorry, I had a rough night," Hashirama responded as he walked over to his desk with his shoulders slouched forward, his headache still very much present.

"You should take it easy on me, you know," Hashirama added jokingly as he approached Tobirama's side.

Tobirama stood up from his seat, meeting Hashirama's gaze. "If I took it any easier on you, the whole village would fall," he responded, his voice unwavering, as he lightly tapped Hashirama's forehead with a small stack of papers he held in his hand.

Hashirama pouted and walked around Tobirama to his chair. He let his body fall into his seat and leaned his head against the back of his chair. Tobirama looked Hashirama up and down, taking note of how rough he looked.

"You look awful."

Hashirama sighed. "Thank you, Tobirama. I really appreciate the insult," he said sarcastically as he leaned forward and rested his head against his desk.

Unbothered, Tobirama placed the stack of papers on the desk, prompting Hashirama to look up.

"More?" Hashirama groaned.

"More? What do you expect? You barely get work done."

Hashirama flinched before being overtaken by his habitual depressed demeanor. "You're killing me Tobirama…" Hashirama sulked. He slowly picked up the first page and barely skimmed it before seeing a line for him to sign on. Without hesitation, Hashirama grabbed a pen and started signing. Before he could finish, Tobirama snatched the paper out of his hand.

"Brother! Did you even read it?"

"I… skimmed it," Hashirama admitted.

Tobirama sighed. "This is a petition to relinquish the rights of a large portion of land to the Hayashi Clan, potentially displacing a lot of the villagers. And you started signing the approval line."

"Oh… We don't want that! Sorry, sorry," Hashirama said as he chuckled awkwardly. He proceeded to pick up the next page, but Tobirama snatched that one from him too, along with the rest of the stack.

"Just, just give it to me," Tobirama demanded, exasperated. "Before you sign the rights of the whole village away," he mumbled. He straightened the documents by tapping them against the desk and continued, "Just catch up on your other work."

"Right," Hashirama said as he turned his attention toward the mountain of papers on the side of his desk. He begrudgingly reached for the first page but could barely get through the first sentence due to his piercing headache. He rubbed his temples and sighed; he didn't even want to be there. He hated paperwork with a burning passion.

Tobirama crossed his arms and watched his older brother struggle. He most likely won't get anything done productively in this state. Tobirama let out a sigh. "You can take the day off if you want."

Hashirama's face instantly lit up, a wide smile plastered across it. "Really?!"

Tobirama nodded. "Go relax, catch up on sleep or something, I'll take things from here." He then added, "You really do look awful."

Hashirama was immediately overtaken by his depressed demeanor once again. He didn't have to say it twice. But Hashirama didn't sulk for long, he stood up and walked towards Tobirama. He placed his hand on his younger brother's head and ruffled his hair with a smile. "Thank you, Tobi!"

Slightly pushing his lower lip into a pout, Tobirama responded, "Stop that, brother, I'm not a kid anymore."

Hashirama chuckled, causing Tobirama's eyes to narrow with irritation as he swatted away at Hashirama's hand. "Get out before I change my mind."

Hashirama flinched and immediately scurried out of the office. He didn't want to have to be stuck in the office any longer.

As he watched Hashirama leave the office, Tobirama cursed in his head. "That bastard, oh, now you have all the energy in the world," he mumbled as he walked over to Hashirama's desk and sat down. "I would've had to do majority of this anyway regardless of if you were here or not."

xxx

Hashirama walked down the streets of Konoha, his hands in his pockets, deep in thought. Initially, he figured he could go take a nap to relieve his headache, but then couldn't stop thinking of Madara. Since he had time, maybe he could try and find him. He didn't want to take his best friend's presence for granted, especially since he had the gut feeling that Madara might disappear.

As he strolled the walkways, he caught a glimpse of Madara walking from afar, carrying a stack of books. What were those for? He instantly lit up and waved his hand out above his head to get Madara's attention.

"Mada—!"

"Lord Hokage!" A group of three children ran up to Hashirama, wide smiles plastered on their faces from excitement. They jumped up and down and started tugging at his arm to get his attention.

Hashirama briefly hesitated to acknowledge them because he wanted to greet Madara, but ultimately turned towards the kids and recognized their familiar faces. He squatted down to their level and smiled.

"Hey kids! Kenji, Emiko, Yuta," he greeted them as he ruffled their hair, earning giggles from the three siblings.

Their mother ran up to them, her facial expression appearing apologetic. "Lord Hokage! I'm so sorry, I hope they didn't bother you. Kids! Leave the Hokage alone, he's a busy man."

Hashirama chuckled. "It's fine! Kids, I hope you're not causing your mother too much trouble, eh?"

The kids smiled widely and shook their heads. Then, Yuta, a white-haired, green-eyed little boy, tugged at Hashirama's sleeve.

"Lord Hokage! Come! Look! Come see something!"

For a moment, Hashirama wavered when he felt the pull on his sleeve. He realized that the children wanted to lead him somewhere, which he didn't anticipate since his mind was still on meeting up with Madara. Hashirama briefly turned his head to check if his best friend was still there but found only the empty space where Madara had stood. A fleeting pang of longing washed over him, reminding him of how much he missed Madara.

"Yuta!" The mother yelled as she grabbed the little boy's hand and attempted to pull him away from Hashirama.

Hashirama turned his attention back to the kids, reforming a smile on his face. He chuckled and stood up, allowing Yuta to take him wherever he wanted. "It's okay! Yuta, show me. I want to see!"

The children cheered as they dragged Hashirama to a new destination.

Madara stopped and turned towards the sound of what he thought was someone calling his name. He was carrying a pile of books he owned and was on his way to the library to donate them. He didn't feel the need to keep them at his home any longer since he was planning on leaving the village soon.

He scanned the area around him in search of the source of the sound until his eyes landed on Hashirama, who was laughing and interacting with a small group of kids. A slight grin tugged at Madara's lips at the sight of Hashirama—his radiance, his charisma, his ability to do well with kids—they were all qualities Madara admittedly loved about him.

Hashirama has his community, and Madara believes Hashirama will be just fine once he leaves the village. He thought his absence wouldn't make much of a difference anyway.

Madara turned his gaze back to his path and continued walking, leaving Hashirama behind. He must've been mistaken about the sound.

Soon, Madara found himself at the Konoha library and made his way up the steps. Once he entered, he approached the front desk, gently placed the stack of books on the tabletop, and looked up to meet the librarian's gaze. She was a middle-aged woman with brown eyes and straight dark green hair that fell down the side of her face. She wore a long red casual dress and a white cotton shawl around her shoulders.

The librarian flashed him a fake smile, but Madara did not do so in return. He wasn't the most openly friendly person out there, and these days Hashirama was the only person to get somewhat of a smile out of him.

"I'd like to donate these," Madara said.

The librarian looked down at the books and raised her eyebrows in surprise. They were unique Uchiha books passed down for generations, only a few of their kind, that presented the history before and of the Uchiha clan, along with traditions and fables that weren't t written anywhere else. Since there were only a few copies of each book out there in the world, the librarian was very pleased. It felt like her lucky day.

The librarian enthusiastically reached for the stack of books. "We'd be honored to h—"

"You're donating those books? Why?"

Both Madara and the librarian turned to face their Hokage, who walked up to Madara's side with a concerned look on his face.

Madara raised an eyebrow, surprised to see Hashirama. He swore he was just with a group of children. And even if he was done with them, doesn't he have other things to do besides being at the library?

"Hashirama? What are you doing here?" Madara asked.

Hashirama gently caressed the worn-down book at the top of the stack and turned to meet Madara's gaze. "Why are you donating these? You cherish these books."

Hashirama wasn't wrong. Madara did cherish them. He received these books as a gift when he was a child and has read and re-read them ever since. These books also held fond memories of his younger brother, Izuna, who he often read these books with. But this is why he needed to get rid of them. If he were to leave the village, he needed to leave everything behind and commit to his new dream. He couldn't dwell on sentimental things that would hold him back, as pursuing this new dream required him to be ready to leave everything behind.

Madara finally responded, "I don't see a need for them anymore." He turned back to the librarian. "Take good care of them."

"Of cour—"

"I'll take them," Hashirama interrupted.

Madara turned back to Hashirama. "Why? They'll be good to have in the library."

Hashirama ignored Madara's questioning and smiled at the librarian. "Sorry, Himari, I'm being selfish," he said as he grabbed the stack of books. He then faced Madara. "I'll keep them for you in case you want them again."

"I said I don't need them anymore."

"That could change in the future!" Hashirama insisted, refusing to yield to Madara's point.

Madara sucked his teeth, irritation slowly rising. He decided not to go back and forth with Hashirama any further and turned to start heading out of the library. "Whatever, do with them what you will."

Hashirama watched as Madara left the building. He didn't want their interaction to be over. He still felt pulled towards Madara, a force, a longing. He wanted to keep hearing his voice, keep seeing his face. He wanted to spend more time with him, and he didn't want to take what time he had with him for granted.

Hashirama stepped forward but stopped when he realized he had the stack of books in his hands. He didn't want to take them home that instant and miss out on spending time with Madara.

He turned to Himari, the librarian, and held out the books, flashing a sheepish smile. "Sorry, can you actually watch these for me for the day? I'll come back for them later."

Himari nodded and gladly accepted the books, "They will be safe and secure with me until you come back, Lord Hokage."

"Thank you!" Hashirama said as he hurried out of the library. He called out to Madara, who was just about to turn the corner and walk out of his sight.

Madara turned around looking irritated. What did he want now? It's not that Madara didn't want to see him, no, he was actually surprised he was able to interact with him this soon after last night. But at this point, the more he sees him, the harder it will be for him to leave Konoha behind. Plus, Hashirama already tried to get in the way of him parting with his books, which he found annoying.

Hashirama trotted down the steps and walked up to Madara, who crossed his arms once Hashirama stopped in front of him.

"Don't you have a village to run?" Madara asked, sounding displeased.

Hashirama smiled. "Not right now!"

"Why not?"

"I'm taking the day off."

Madara quirked an eyebrow, "Surely Tobirama isn't too happy about that."

Hashirama scratched the back of his head and awkwardly laughed. "He actually recommended it."

"Oh?" Madara turned around and started walking away, but Hashirama quickly shuffled in front of him, causing Madara to almost bump into his broad chest. "What?" he asked, annoyance evident in his face as he stepped back to create space between him and Hashirama.

"Let's grab something to eat?" Hashirama asked with a smile, hoping Madara would agree.

Madara's eyes narrowed, slightly suspicious at Hashirama's request. Did something happen again? Why was he asking again? Hashirama has other things to do, so why now?

"No," Madara said flatly.

Hashirama frowned. "Why not?"

Madara placed his hand on his hip. Why is he being persistent? He just wanted him to leave him alone. Don't make this harder than this has to be. "Why don't you go do something with your wife?"

"She's busy…"

"No, she's not. I saw her at the flower shop earlier."

"Flower shop?" Hashirama felt a pang of pain pierce his chest. What was Madara doing at the flower shop? Was he getting flowers for someone… special?

Despite the pain, Hashirama forced a smirk on his face. "What were you doing at the flower shop? Are you seeing anyone?" he asked as he nudged Madara in his side. Please, say it isn't so.

Madara grew a bit flustered. "N-no! I was just passing by."

Whew. Hashirama could feel his slightly tense shoulders relax, he didn't realize they tensed up. "Well, I'm sure Mito already has her own plans for today."

Madara sighed. "I still think you should check in."

"Are you avoiding me?" Why won't he just agree?

"I'm helping you solve your problems, Hashirama."

Hashirama pouted. Well, it was a point well made for sure. "Just one meal, I'll only take one hour of your day."

"Hashirama, I'm fine, I'll pass."

"Come on! Aren't you hungry?"

"I'm not hun—"

A growl escaped Madara's stomach, he blushed at the comical timing.

Hashirama smirked.

"Fine!"

The two walked down the streets to their local ramen shop and conversed on their way there, matching each other's walking pace. Hashirama tried hard to contain his excitement, he didn't realize how much it would mean for him to spend time with Madara. He could feel himself slowly drift towards Madara as they walked, their hands brushing against each other intermittently, which sent satisfying tingles down his body. But he didn't want to keep getting too close, he tried to keep his distance to avoid bumping into his friend again.

"I'm surprised that Tobirama recommended you take the day off," Madara added as they continued their conversation.

Hashirama pouted, remembering the interaction he had earlier with his younger brother. "He said I looked awful, so he decided to show me some mercy."

Madara looked over to Hashirama, finally giving himself the opportunity to examine him. He gazed at his skin, it was a bit paler than usual, his cheeks were slightly sunken, and his under-eyes were a bit sunken as well. Well, Tobirama wasn't wrong. But even if he did look a little rough, Hashirama was no doubt still beautiful at his worst. He turned back to focus his attention on the street ahead of him, not saying a word.

Hashirama turned to Madara, offended at the silence. "Why aren't you saying anything?"

"What was I supposed to say?"

"I don't know, maybe to disagree."

"Lying would be doing you a disservice, Hashirama," Madara said through a chuckle.

Hashirama sulked. "Do I look that bad?"

"You just look tired is all."

"Mmm, yeah, this week has been stressful, and I definitely drank too much last night. I think I'm still getting over my hangover."

The two grew silent. Both of them remembered what happened last night but neither of them were willing to recall it openly, nor mention their suspicions.

Hashirama soon broke the silence. "So… what were you really doing at the flower shop?"

"I told you; I was really just passing by," Madara responded with an eye roll.

The two finally arrived at the ramen bar and took their seats. The air was filled with the savory aroma of pork broth and umami. They ordered their meals and conversed, waiting for their food to be served. Madara listened intently to Hashirama, who was now talking about the progress he was making on his garden that he started a little over a year ago. He loved listening to Hashirama speak about his passions. His face always exuded a light that was so attractive to Madara, like now, despite his somewhat tired look.

Soon enough, the servers placed their hot, steaming ramen on the tabletop in front of the two men. Madara didn't realize how hungry he was until he was faced with his ramen: ramen tonkatsu with chashu pork, an over-easy egg, and vegetables. He could feel his stomach eating itself from the inside. He quickly grabbed chopsticks and dug in, sliding the noodles into his mouth and slurping them up, despite how hot the food was.

These days, Madara often forgets to eat. He simply didn't have an appetite because he was always consumed by negative thoughts: the loneliness, the feelings of betrayal, the desire to leave everything behind. His racing mind didn't leave room for hunger.

Hashirama watched as Madara didn't waste time eating his food. He quietly chuckled and found himself taking in Madara's sight; there was a sense of softness to Madara's features. The way his dark, onyx eyes, surrounded by subtle wispy black eyelashes, were glued to his ramen bowl. His subtle eyebags suited him very well, adding to his unique, handsome look. The way his black hair, graced with a blue tint, fell down his face, covering nearly half of it, which sometimes Hashirama hated. He liked looking at Madara's full face back in the day. Hashirama thought Madara was beautiful, especially when he allowed himself to display emotion. But these days, that hasn't been very often.

Hashirama found himself resting his cheek on his palm, with his elbow planted on the table. He smiled as he got lost in the sight of Madara, who was still eating his ramen eagerly.

Madara could feel Hashirama staring at him, and turned to him mid-slurp, with half of the noodles still dangling from his mouth. He met Hashirama's gaze and slurped up the rest of his noodles.

"What? Are you not going to eat?"

Finally realizing he had been staring at Madara the whole time, Hashirama quickly straightened up and tried to come up with an excuse. "Um, yeah I was waiting for it to cool down." He then turned to Madara and chuckled. "You must've been hungry. And to think you didn't want to get lunch."

Madara looked back at his ramen bowl. "Not really, it's just better when it's hot," he lied; he was definitely very hungry. Madara brought his chopsticks to his pork and lifted it to his mouth, taking a bite of the savory goodness.

Hashirama smirked; he didn't believe him. He turned to his bowl and finally picked up his own wooden chopsticks, breaking the bonded pair apart before he started digging into his ramen.

For the time being, they ate in silence, with nothing but the sound of their sporadic slurps, which Hashirama found very enticing. As he ate, he discreetly shifted his gaze toward Madara, so to make sure he didn't notice him looking. He eyed Madara's perfectly rounded pink lips, wet from the ramen broth. He allowed his mind to wander to more inappropriate things, which sent of wave of pleasure that traveled down to his crotch.

In addition to love, Hashirama also felt an irresistible lust for Madara. Like his love for him, he didn't really know when this started, but he gradually started finding himself thinking of all the things he would do to Madara.

Don't get him wrong, he wanted more from Madara—he wanted love and companionship, and he didn't want Madara to leave him. But he couldn't help but think about the ways he would pin him down, kiss him, and make love to him. He wanted those lips against his own, against his skin; he wanted those lips around him. He wanted to whisper sweet nothings in his ear while hearing his moans and hold him in a tight embrace.

Hashirama didn't think Madara felt the same way though, so he tried his best to keep his desires in check. Since he had a wife, he was ashamed to feel like this. But unfortunately, Mito just didn't arouse him as much as Madara did these days, and it drove him insane.

While Hashirama got lost in his lustful desires, he accidentally slurped his noodles a little too hard and choked on his food, throwing him into a coughing fit. He quickly grabbed his cup of water and chugged it.

Meanwhile, Madara gave him a disapproving look.

Hashirama exhaled in relief when the coughing was finally over, then turned to Madara, who didn't offer any help at all. "Were you just going to let me choke to death?!"

Madara softly chuckled, "You're the Hokage, would you really go down that easily?"

Hashirama pouted. He at least would've liked Madara to show a little concern. But he had a point because death by ramen noodles would be embarrassing. Hashirama huffed and grabbed a napkin to wipe his mouth.

Picking up his bowl, Madara drank the rest of the broth after he finished eating the contents inside of it. Hashirama faced Madara once again, finding it to be the perfect time to question him and voice his concerns.

"So, Madara, why were you donating those books?"

Madara gently placed his bowl back down on the table once he was done. "I told you; I don't feel a need for them anymore."

"Why not? You love those books."

Madara sighed. "And I've decided it's time to let them go. What's wrong with that?"

Hashirama eyed Madara as if he were looking through his soul, causing Madara to flinch. "Why are you being so persistent? I just don't want them anymore."

"What's going on?"

"What do you mean?"

"Is everything okay, Madara?"

"Like I said last night, I'm fine."

"I don't believe you."

"That sounds like a personal problem."

"Mada—"

"Let it go—"

"I can tell when you're being dishonest."

Madara grew silent, his grip around his bowl tightening. He didn't want to talk about this with Hashirama. Hashirama wouldn't understand anyway, and there was no point sharing his sentiments with a man who had everything going on for him. Plus, Madara didn't want to burden him, he just wanted to accept his fate and slip away like he was meant to.

"Why can't you just talk to me?" Hashirama added softly.

"I didn't realize you had time to talk with me, Hashirama," Madara said, almost accusingly. What he said, he felt was true. Hashirama was a busy man, with more important things to worry about.

Hashirama grew a confused look on his face. What did he mean by that?

"What do you mean—"

Madara abruptly stood up. "It's been an hour." He began to walk out of the ramen bar, leaving Hashirama behind.

Hashirama quickly stood up and tried to follow Madara but stopped when he heard a voice.

"L-Lord Hokage?" the ramen bar server said as she raised a bill in her hand.

Hashirama smiled sheepishly, apologized, and took out his wallet. He slammed the money on the counter and took off after Madara.

"Madara!"

Madara sucked his teeth and sped up his walk, but Hashirama caught up, blocking Madara's path.

"Hashirama." Madara acknowledged his presence.

"What did you mean by that?"

Madara sighed, "Don't you have someplace to be?"

"I told you I have the day off. Don't try to change the subject on me."

Madara avoided eye contact and mumbled, "I just think you have better things to worry about than my troubles."

"So, there is something bothering you?"

"No, I was just saying. Why do you keep asking? I said I'm fine."

"Because I want to know how you truly feel. And I have a feeling that you aren't okay, Madara." He then thought to himself, "That you'll disappear."

Madara looked into Hashirama's concerned eyes, and at that moment, he thought he felt the walls he built up start to crumble. He entertained the idea of opening up to Hashirama, potentially allowing himself to dump his worries on him like he always did growing up. To lean on his best friend, like he always used to, before Hashirama became his war enemy, before Konoha, and before he became Hokage, got married, built his community, and left Madara behind.

Madara slowly parted his lips, preparing to let out his troubles to Hashirama. Hashirama listened in anticipation.

"Lord Hokage!" A teenage, brunette boy ran up to Hashirama.

Madara shut his mouth and averted his gaze. Of course, this would happen.

As he cursed in his head at the interruption, Hashirama turned to face the boy and plastered a smile on his face. "Hiruzen! What's up?"

"Train me!"

Hashirama brought his hand to the boy's head and ruffled his hair, "Next time, Hiruzen."

Hiruzen pouted, "But you keep saying that. Last time you promised you would train me the next time you're off."

Damn it, he did say that.

Madara took that as an opportunity to take his leave. He turned around without acknowledging Hiruzen's presence and started walking away. Hashirama could feel slight panic settling in; he didn't want to end the conversation here with Madara. He felt like he was getting really close to hearing what Madara had been going through. Hashirama's mind raced with potential ideas to prevent Madara from completely dismissing himself.

Hashirama blurted, "Why don't we let Madara join us?"

Madara stopped in his tracks and shifted his body slightly to face them. What did he have planned?

Hiruzen, who was initially cautious, took time to think about it. Madara didn't seem very… inviting, and it looked like he didn't want anything to do with this. Hiruzen had always been cautious about Madara, especially given the rumors that circulated. But if his sensei was suggesting it, then he figured he should trust it.

Hiruzen bowed and said, "It would be an honor to be trained by you, Lord Madara."

Madara winced, he wasn't used to that kind of treatment from the younger generation. He didn't interact with them much to begin with. "Hashirama is enough to teach you everything you need to know," he said before turning back around and walking off.

Hiruzen stood back up, slightly disappointed at Madara denying his request.

Hashirama bent down to Hiruzen's level and talked towards his ear in a low tone, though still loud enough for Madara to hear. "Don't take it personally, Hiruzen. Madara's just afraid you'll bruise his ego if you're stronger than him."

Suddenly, Madara's competitive nature pounced out. He turned around and gave Hashirama a bewildered look, "Huh?!"

Thanks for reading! Tune in for the next chapter! ^_^