Cordarone (Hashirama x Madara AND Tobirama x Izuna)

2. Ghost boy (Izuna)

Izuna would grow to be of the firm belief that you didn't know true fright until you had experienced the fright of hurting others.

The little boy had experienced many occasions when he had been afraid to be hurt. One had to, with a father like his. And he would come to experience even more such occasions caused by all sorts of dangerous people.

But he had never known fright as white-hot as the one when he came across the riding soldiers three days after he had been forced to leave his home.

And it wasn't because they were frightening. It was because Izuna now knew about the terrors of his curse.

At first, the soldiers had been mocking him, not wanting to spoil this opportunity to have some fun. When the boy had become increasingly nervous as they circled him with their horses, they enjoyed themselves even more.

What they didn't know was that the boy was completely unafraid of them. Had he had no knowledge of his danger to others, he would just have stood there, waiting patiently for them to grow tired of bothering him. But he was nervous because he didn't want to hurt them or, worse, their innocent horses!

It didn't take long before one of them jumped off his horse and, upon trying to grab the boy's collar, learned about the curse.

"This boy is evil!" he roared as he held his burnt hand.

"What happened?"

"He burns!"

"Nonsense!"

"Try for yourself!"

"Sure. Let me see... Ouch!!"

"I told you!"

"What should we do?"

"Let's leave!"

"We can't just leave a child like this on the road!"

Had cursed children been a common thing, they might not have batted an eyelash at this particular one. But those of the soldiers who had done a bit more reading knew that cursed humans were an extremely rare finding. In fact, centuries had passed since the last known one.

"Let's take him to the king and let him decide. This is a spectacular occurrence."

And so it was that they opened a wooden box half-full with of clothes the soldiers brought for the trip, cut a hole in it for the boy to breathe, dumped him into it, and rode off to the king and queen carrying the box between them.

Izuna had been silent in the box for the entire trip. Of course, he had heard what the soldiers had said, and knew he was to be brought to the king and queen. He was terrified of hurting them, but his terror didn't win over his wits; he knew that he stood no chance against royal soldiers, no matter how small and fast he was.

But as the cavalry came to a halt, and Izuna came to understand they were outside the gate to the royal gardens, he started to panic. He begged to be released, insisting that he did not want to hurt anyone, that they should just let him go so that he could live the rest of his life alone, out of reach to harm anyone.

He did not know that a white-haired boy his own age was standing in the palace hallway, watching the spectacle as he was carried in.

Izuna had resolutely refused to look out the small window that had been made for him, but as he was carried by the soldiers through what must have been several great hall and corridors judging by the echo of the guard's shoes against stone flooring, curiosity took hold of him and he looked out, and he gasped at what he saw.