Saviour

4.

The door to my hospital room crashed open.

"Is he here!?"

"Hashirama, what the fuck..." I complained groggily, having been woken up by him.

"Madara, is he here!?"

"No, why would he- Oh..." I said, suddenly remembering he had come in the middle of the night.

"He's been here, hasn't he?" Hashirama looked at me sternly.

My fingers automatically went to my lips.

"Thought so", Hashirama said.

"But that was in the middle of the night! Not recently. Where is he now?" I asked.

"Gone."

"What?"

"He left the village. He told me we didn't share the same dream anymore, then left before I could catch him... But I thought he might've come here first."

Hashirama sat down on the couch, seemingly exhausted. He put his elbows on his knees and slumped his head. Suddenly, I very, very much wanted to get out of my hospital bed.

I went to Izuna's grave the first thing I did. Just as last time, I felt more grounded, more clear-minded, than I'd done since I killed him. Actually, even more so now. I was able to think, to see, to analyse. The guilt had slowly ebbed away. Was it associated to the kiss... I put my fingers to my lips again and shivered. A light breeze played on the skin on my face. I had none of my red makeup on, having come directly from my hospital bed, despite the protests of the medics and my brother. I had donned my black turtleneck and trousers but longed to get home and shower.

The kiss had definitely caused some of the guilt to disappear. Was it because I saw it as forgiveness? And why was the forgiveness from Madara so essential for me? Usually, I only cared what I thought about a matter, but this time my own outlook on what I'd done hadn't changed. But Madara's might have... Was that enough? Was the reason I felt so much guilt because I had caused pain to someone I...

But where had those feelings come from?

I remembered the desperation in Madara's eyes as he realised his brother was fatally wounded. That love, that incredible sense of family... It was attractive to me. There was nothing more to say; it was attractive to me.

Suddenly, there was a rustling in the leaves behind me.

I turned and was met by a pair of red eyes.

No... Please no... Not again....

But this time, I wasn't transported to hell.

It was a huge field, so vast I neither saw where it begun, nor where it ended. The field was covered in grass and yellow and purple flowers. I felt a warm breeze around my feet, so exquisitely done you could believe it was real. But this time, I knew it was genjutsu because Madara had created it in such a way that I knew it was. It was extremely skillfully made.

Suddenly, I saw him in front of me. He had a calm expression on his face as he observed me. He wasn't clad in his usual Uchiha robe, but a white one that contrasted his hair nicely. That hair... I wanted to run my hands through it so badly. I looked down on my hands, and was surprised to find I was clad in a black robe, that in turn contrasted my white hair. I looked up again, and saw a figure walk towards Madara.

It was me...

I saw myself, in the black robes, walking over the field towards him. He turned round, held out his hands, and I stretched mine out and took them. We stood there for a while, smiling, before the image dispersed and vanished.

And so did my surroundings.

Instead, another scenario was presented to me. This time, a beach. Madara sat on his knees while the waves engulfed the parts of his white robe that were in contact with the sand. I could only see him from behind, so I didn't see his face. He slowly but steadily took his robe off, baring his back muscles to me. I swallowed. A raft appeared out on the lake, a body on it. Madara weaved some hand signs, and a great fire ball came out of his mouth, caught the body, lit it up so it burned.

It was Izuna's body.

After it had burned down, Madara sat down and wept. And once more I came, in my black robe, this time kneeling beside him, putting my big arm around him. He put his head on my shoulder, entwined our fingers in my lap.

And the image vanished.

I landed with my feet on some dark floor boards. I was in a bedroom that was steaming hot, nothing but a large double bed with heavy white sheets, the scorching sun shining through the window. There were two people in the bed, panting.

"Madara..." I heard my own voice.

"Toby!" It was Madara.

And I was back on the grass. I slowly sank on my knees. I was exhausted, but not to the extent as after the previous genjutsu he'd trapped me in. This time hadn't felt like years, but like minutes. But still, it made my body tired. I looked up at him under my fringe, saw him stand over me, looking down on me.

"I thought..." I panted. "I thought you left."

He stretched his hands out. I took them and he helped me up.

"I'm leaving now", he said.

"What if I asked you to stay?"

"Ask", he said.

I was quiet.

We had our eyes locked together, searching for something within the other. I didn't know what.

When I didn't ask, Madara smiled a sad smile, then turned to leave, the Uchiha symbol on the back of his silk robe glistening when it reflected the sun.

Desperation made me do it. Desperation and a desire for him. I took two long strides, my head swimming a bit still after the genjutsu, put my hand on his back and turned him around. I put my hands on his shoulders, looked down on him. His eyes were huge, questioning, his lips glistening.

And I kissed him.

"Mmm..." he moaned and lifted his hands, not sure what to do with them.

So I took them, backed him up and pinned them against a tree, pushing him against it with my groin.

I massaged his lips with mine, desperately eating him, and he was eating me, too. I felt him keep his mouth open for a while longer, asking for my tongue and I gave it to him. I felt the front of my trousers becoming wet as my tip was dripping. I explored his mouth with my tongue and he started making delicious little mewls and moans with his vocal cords.

And we broke free, panting, mouths agape, still just a breath apart.

"Ask me to stay", he breathed.

"No", I answered in a soft, dark voice.

He looked at me quizzically. "You don't want me to stay?""

I put my finger underneath his chin, lifted his face up, inspected it. His eyes were ginormous, the delicate lines underneath them accentuating them. He had a sharp nose and a pointy chin, contrasting my strong face. His lips were plush, glistening with saliva; I didn't know if it was mine or his. "I respect you too much to ask such a thing of you", I said to the man who was three years older than me. "You're capable of making your own decision. If you want to stay, I know you will. If you want to go, you'll go."

Madara looked at me, teary-eyed. What happened to the man whose eyes shot daggers at me, who almost killed me with his genjutsu? I saw only softness within him now.

He freed his hands of my grip, which I still held pinpointed against the tree. He sneaked his arms around my waist, and gave me the most sensual embrace, licking his body and groin close to mine.

Then, he took a great leap and disappeared.