Twin Leaves in the Shadow

第27章

Hashirama rushed through the village, desperate to find Madara. He had arrived earlier than expected, so he knew Madara wouldn't be waiting for him at their meeting location. It was in the middle of the night, so his first thought was to run to Madara's home.

Upon arrival, he banged on Madara's door as tears streamed down his cheeks. "Madara? Please let me in."

Within seconds, the door swung open. A sleepy Madara was shocked to find Hashirama standing in front of him. "Hashirama? What's wrong?"

Hashirama pushed him back inside and slammed the door shut. He fell to his knees before Madara, repeatedly saying "I'm sorry." His voice sounded like whimpering to Madara. Hashirama looked inconsolable and pained, striking fear in Madara.

"What happened, Hashirama?" Madara questioned, sounding almost angry. "Talk to me."

Hashirama calmed himself down just enough to begin speaking. "I have to get married."

Madara looked puzzled. "What do you mean?"

Hashirama covered his face with his hands and sobbed. He was too embarrassed to even look at Madara.

"Hashirama, answer me now."

"I have to marry a woman from the Uzumaki clan," Hashirama uttered out.

He felt Madara's fist clench around the collar of his robe. He was dragged up to his feet to face him. Madara had a look of terror painted across his face.

"What the hell are you saying? You said you were going to fix this," Madara cried out.

"They were threatening war if I didn't accept the marriage, Madara. I had to think of the village and they promised to leave you alone. Just know I didn't want this to happen," Hashirama sobbed. His voice was coarse from all the crying.

Madara let go of Hashirama and stepped back. "So what does this mean for us?"

"They wanted me to end things," Hashirama sighed. He couldn't look Madara in the eye as he spoke the words.

"Is that why you are here then?" Madara questioned. Hashirama could hear a break in his voice. He was crying.

"Fuck. I'm so sorry, Madara." Hashirama turned around to have his back facing Madara. He couldn't face him like this. It was too shameful.

"So, this is it?"

"I don't want it to be," Hashirama sniffled, looking down at his feet.

"Face me," Madara commanded. His voice sent chills down Hashirama's spine. He was frozen in place, afraid to turn around.

"Face me like a man," Madara screamed out again.

Hashirama felt his two hands grab him and whip him around. His eyes met with Madara's nervously. He was was surprised to see him looking back at him with softness in his eyes.

"Is it over or not, Hashirama?" Madara pleaded painfully. He had streaks of tears along his cheeks.

Hashirama thought hard about his question. The right thing to do was to say 'yes, it's over.' Technically, Hashirama was engaged. If they got caught while Hashirama was married, who knows what would happen? However, his heart was screaming at him to stay. He couldn't just let go of everything between them. He wanted to keep fighting. They had been through so much already, so this was just another obstacle for them to get through.

Hashirama wrapped his arms around Madara, burying him into his chest. "It's not over."

He could feel Madara relax in his arms. They stood quietly like that for a few minutes in the center of Madara'a sitting room. Neither of them wanted to let go. As they stood, one question was heavy on Madara's mind.