Hashirama looked worriedly at Madara. He'd come to find him minutes earlier, not emerging very far from the darkened doorway to the main house, and only caught his eye briefly but it was enough. Hashirama knew Madara well enough to recognise the look on his face. He was worried, bordering on manic, restless, strained, even shocked. Hashirama doubted anyone else would be able to discern all those emotions, except perhaps Izuna - and maybe Sakura.
He'd followed his friend into the house, silently through the dark corridors to enter a room with a single candle lit, that Sakura and Itachi were standing inside of. There was a lot of tension in the air. Both were panting, Sakura looked a little frantic and avoided eye contact. Itachi seemed more expressive than he'd ever seen him, staring at Sakura with a rawness that made Hashirama think they'd intruded on a very private moment.
The pair left with few words despite his and Madara's protests. Now, Hashirama stood in the same room with Madara, who hadn't moved and was staring at the doorway with a frown.
"What happened?" He asked the silent Uchiha with a quiet, nervous voice that was unlike him.
Madara reached over to the door and closed it, Hashirama felt the seal activate. The room was silenced. Something had definitely happened here.
"They told me I was a monster," he said quietly.
Hashirama flinched at the harsh words. Surely that wasn't what they said, he knew the pair well enough to know that they would never have said those words. They had obviously revealed more about the future, but what did they say? Was it something similar to what they'd told him?
"They wouldn't tell me what I did. Only that I became the greatest threat against the world that was ever known," he continued.
He looked at Hashirama, and Hashirama felt his heart reach out for Madara. He looked so lost.
"You're not a monster, Madara," he said gently. "That can't be everything they said. They wouldn't have said anything at all if they believed you were a monster."
Madara frowned in thought.
"They said that I was used by this evil thing they're here for," Madara said, his frown deepening. "They told me that in their time, this... cycle of hatred was broken... and so when they came here, it broke inside me too." He looked away. "If they didn't come here, what would've happened?"
Hashirama clenched his jaw.
"I would be here," he said with stern confidence. Madara looked back at him. "Madara, you are my brother. Never forget that."
He didn't understand exactly what Madara was saying, clearly there was much more to the story of Itachi and Sakura's future than they'd revealed to him.
Madara gave him a strange look.
"Brother," he said, his voice hollow. "My brother."
Madara was lost in his head, and it was worrying Hashirama. He'd never seen him like this before.
"What else did Sakura say?" Hashirama asked, knowing that somehow if Madara thought about her, he'd be able to ground himself again, he'd made his feelings toward her clear earlier, though not in so many words.
"That I'm not the same man. To stand by you. That the future will be brighter if I'm here."
His brow was furrowed and Hashirama couldn't help but give a small smile.
"You should listen to Sakura," Hashirama murmured to him. "She's one of the people who can really see you."
Madara shook his head and sighed, seeming to come back to himself.
YOU ARE READING
Sacrifices for Peace
Fanfiction[PART ONE: SACRIFICES UNIVERSE] It had begun with Asura and Indra, and ended with Naruto and Sasuke. The war was done, Kaguya was sealed, and everyone thought it was over. They were wrong. It should never have come this far, and the Otsutsuki brothe...
