While Tobirama struggled to form a coherent sentence, Izuna had him in a tight hold and was whispering words of comfort into his ears. He knew he should feel bad for making Izuna worry, but Hashirama's harsh words still rung in his ears, overshadowing all else. Everything hurt. His head throbbed and ribs ached with pains of the past, but his heart hurt most of all. The ache dulled the longer Izuna held him, but he knew the only person who could fix him was Madara. And Tobirama just couldn't face him yet. He knew he shouldn't be, but part of him was still afraid. Madara was a good man. But when he yelled, he was so much like Hashirama. When Madara was angry, it consumed him. His chakra flared with something harsh, and his eyes- those beautiful eyes- burned with a ferocity that Tobirama had only ever seen in battle. Just like Hashirama. Madara was different, though. He knew that. Madara hadn't hit him, hadn't even attempted. He knew that Madara was angry about the scars, and mad at Hashirama for causing them, not at him. But those eyes were so familiar, and so frightening.
"Tobirama!"
His head snapped up, and he finally realized that Izuna had been calling out for him. By the frustration on his face, he must have been trying for a while. But his face softened when their eyes met, and a hand stroked its way through Tobirama's hair soothingly.
"Are you alright?" Izuna asked. Tobirama nodded, but received a frown in response. "You're crying." When he reached up, he found that Izuna was right.
"It seems so." He pulled away from Izuna's arms reluctantly and curled in on himself, hands scrubbing at his face furiously. It seemed that he'd been doing nothing but upsetting himself since getting to the Uchiha compound. Worse, his being upset was worrying the brothers. Pull yourself together, Tobirama.
Izuna closed the distance between them again and pulled Tobirama's hands away from his face. Seeing how clearly upset Tobirama was, he cooed affectionately and reached up to scrub at the tears himself until they were gone.
"Tell me what happened." Izuna sat back on his heels expectantly.
"I can't." Tobirama knew if he spoke about what Hashirama had done he'd cry again.
"Fine," Izuna said with a sigh. "You don't have to tell me. But you have to tell Madara."
Tobirama instantly shook his head. It was too much to ask of him. How could he face Madara now? He was still afraid, and that would likely make him more angry. Getting him upset again would fix nothing.
They sat in silence for a long while until Tobirama calmed himself. Even after the racing in his heart slowed, his hands still had a slight tremble to them. But he was calm enough to keep his breathing even and force the tears back. A glance at Izuna made it obvious that he was being analyzed. His sharingan was a bright contrast to the pale skin and dark hair, and he must have been using it to observe Tobirama's body language. Those eyes missed nothing. They tracked every breath, every movement of those shaking hands. He was waiting for Tobirama to be ready, but Tobirama didn't know what for. All he knew was that it was something to do with Madara, and it was important judging from the grim look on Izuna's face.
When the shaking in his hands finally stopped, Izuna must have decided he was ready, because he guided them both toward the bed and took a seat. He waited patiently until Tobirama was comfortably settled against the pillows, and then took a deep breath to steady himself.
"I'm sure you know of the history between our clans. We descend from the sons of the Sage of Six Paths, and our families have been at war for many generations. The Senju clan is known as the clan of love. Though, you have made me question how true that name is." Tobirama felt he should have argued for his clan, but he couldn't really. The Senju had always been cruel to him. "On the other hand, we Uchiha are plagued by what is known as the curse of hatred. It is not born from any sort of evil in our hearts, but out of our strong love for those around us. When Uchiha love, we love with everything we have. Our sharingan is awakened when we are overcome by extreme emotion, and our mangekyo are born when we witness the loss of those that we love. When they are lost, part of our souls leave with them, and we are driven to near madness with hatred for the world that took them from us.
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Well, that was unexpected
FanfictionTobirama was not ready to be tackled mid-sprint by a blur of dark spikes. Nor did he expect to wake up two days later in the heart of his enemy's territory. But there he was: wearing unfamiliar silks (that felt like absolute heaven) in a bed forei...