Before anyone says anything: I AM TAKING LIBERTIES. MY HEART CANNOT TAKE ANYMORE HEARTBREAK SO I GAVE MADARA A CHANCE TO OVERCOME THE CURSE OF HATRED BY MAKING KONAN, YAHIKO, AND NAGATO ORPHANS DURING THE FIRST SHINOBI WAR. YES I KNOW THAT'S NOT HOW IT GOES IN CANON BUT FUCK YOU

AND YES I KNOW IT MAKES NO SENSE WITHOUT CANON TIMING BUT FUCK YOU

It's four am fuck I feel like shit

Summary: After Madara activates his Izanagi, he encounters three drenched orphans being threatened by five shinobi. Finding them useful to his future plans, he takes them in and trains them. What he doesn't expect is to grow attached to these shrimpy brats and for the brazen, orange-haired boy who so reminds him of Izuna to force him to change his worldview.

Raining Again

It's raining again. Nagato and Konan don't seem to mind very much, but Yahiko is just about done with the torrential rain causing his hair to flop unbecomingly in his eyes. With an annoyed scowl, he flicks the wayward strands of hair out of his face as he clutches the stolen bag of food close to his chest. Thankfully, the clouds seem to be clearing up, so at least there was that going for them.

Their peaceful walk doesn't last very long, however. The bag of food Yahiko is carrying was liberated from a shinobi camp, and the shinobi were not at all pleased by the theft of their rations. It happens very quickly, and Yahiko doesn't even fully understand what's happened until he is on the ground with a bleeding wound in his shoulder, where a kunai lodged itself.

There were five shinobi there, one looking angrier than the next. The leader – or at least, Yahiko assumes he's the leader from his arrogant posture – grins. "Look, we found our rats." A second later, Konan is on the ground, being held in a tight chokehold by one of the other shinobi, and Nagato is frozen in fear.

"You stole our food, little ones," the leader speaks, eyeing the children in disdain.

Yahiko blinks, once, twice, and throws the bag away. "Have it! Just please don't hurt Konan!" His shoulder is throbbing painfully, but he ignores it in favour of addressing the leader of the shinobi, who grins.

"She's quite a pretty one, isn't she?" the leader says, eyeing the blue haired girl who pales at his words. "Bit too young for me, but I'm sure we could find a use for her. As for the others –" his eyes harden "- kill them."

The shinobi holding Konan tightens his hold as he pulls her away from Nagato. Nagato shouts, but he is blocked by another shinobi who sends him flying into a tree. Yahiko doesn't even have time to react, because by the time he thinks to do so, the leader is in front of him, grabbing the kunai out of his shoulder roughly and holds it to his throat. Yahiko closes his eyes in anticipation, but the kunai never comes.

When he opens his eyes, the man that was in front of him previously is being utterly destroyed by a tall, dark-haired man dressed in red armor. The man that was fighting Nagato quickly intercepts the unknown shinobi, before being killed by a kunai to the heart. The other three rush him, but face a similar end, via the man's kama. The leader, left forgotten, attempts to run away before the man appears in front of him and uses his gunbai to smash his head in.

Silence falls over the small clearing, and the man looks at Yahiko assessingly. His dark, spiky hair falls over his right eye, so Yahiko can only see the left one, dark and cold. He slowly approaches and crouches as he looks at Yahiko's shoulder, before digging into a pocket and removing some gauze.

"Do you know how to wrap your shoulder up?" the man asks, voice deep and inflectionless. Yahiko slowly shakes his head and the man's lips tighten. "Turn around," he orders, and as Yahiko does so, the man begins to bind his shoulder tightly.

Konan and Nagato slowly approach. "Are you a shinobi?" Konan asks, rubbing at the red marks on her throat.

"Yes," the man replies shortly, finishing on Yahiko's shoulder. Digging into his pocket again, he pulls out a small jar of cream, and gives it to Konan. "In three days make sure to check on his wound, and lather some of this cream generously. It will stave off infection," he explains as he stands up, stretching.

"Thank you, shinobi-san," Nagato says quietly, but gratefully. "We would have died here were it not for you."

The man scoffs. "Next time, don't steal food from shinobi."

Konan and Nagato share a look, but it's Yahiko who responds. "We had to. No one takes care of orphans, so we have to take care of each other!" the orange-haired boy argues.

"Is that so," the man replies dryly. "Then, next time be more careful."

"We do what we can," Konan says, "but we don't have any training."

The man blinks slowly. "Yet, you still managed to sneak into their camp."

"Well, we're really good!" Yahiko says, jumping to his feet. "Train us, and we'll show you how good we can be!"

With another slow blink, the man replies, "You don't know who I am. I could be a killer."

Somewhat sarcastically, Nagato looks around. "Obviously," he says, quietly. "But you saved us. You are now responsible for our lives."

The man looks annoyed, but he seems to be thinking it over. "Smart boy," he grumbles, and sheathes his kama and his gunbai. "Very well, then. Follow." Without waiting for them, the man sets off walking on the dirt road, unconcerned as to whether the children would do as he said.

They follow.

"Ne, shinobi-san?" Yahiko asks when the three of them catch up with the man, "What's your name?

The man eyes him, and says, "Madara Uchiha."

When Madara's training starts, it's brutal. The orphans have never done anything so physically punishing, but at the same time, they've never felt this good either. Madara-sensei knows what he's doing, regardless of how tired and sore they are every night.

Yahiko and Konan get attached to Madara-sensei very quickly. Nagato's affection is slower to come – he sees that Madara-sensei doesn't care about them that much, but he is convinced that they will change that, in time.

Sometimes, Madara-sensei goes on without speaking for days. He only barks commands at them, and although usually the three students are quick to obey, there are moments when Madara-sensei seems to lose his patience altogether and storms off for a few hours. They never see or hear what he does during those hours, and although Yahiko is brimming with curiosity, Nagato knows that perhaps it would be better if they let sensei's demons alone.

Madara-sensei's affection comes slowly. Very slowly. The first time Nagato realizes it's even there is when he teaches them the Grand Fireball Jutsu, and Nagato is the first one to grasp it. Even though the flame is small, it's there, and as Nagato looks towards his sensei for confirmation that he'd done it right, he sees a lick of pride in his dark eye. And although Konan and Yahiko didn't succeed – and, according to Madara-sensei, Konan perhaps never would; her chakra type is not suitable – Nagato can see that he is still proud of them. Nagato is so happy with this development that he can even pretend he's not slightly jealous that when Madara-sensei's gaze runs over Yahiko, some sort of warmth enters his eye that wouldn't have been there normally.

It's a sunny day when Madara-sensei tells them to stop and make camp. Yahiko and Nagato make haste and begin gathering wood, but Konan hesitates. Madara-sensei notices, and casts a questioning look in her direction.

"Hey, Madara-sensei… are you okay?" she asks quietly, standing beside him.

Madara freezes as he looks down at Konan. He seems to be battling with himself, before sighing imperceptibly and ushering Konan to her teammates. She looks down, disappointed, and Madara pretends he doesn't care.

As his students fish and make firewood, Madara disappears for a few hours, knowing that, by now, they're strong enough to take care of themselves. He doesn't know when he began caring about the three shrimpy children under his care, but he does, despite himself. So even though they don't see him, he keeps them either within his sight or within his chakra's reach just to be sure.

When he returns to the camp, it's sundown. Something clenches in Madara's chest when he sees the relief in their eyes at his safe return, and he wordlessly sits down in between Yahiko and Nagato, in front of Konan.

"Sensei?" Konan asks timidly, reaching out with a cooked fish. "This one's yours, if you want to eat."

Madara takes the skewer from her, and mutters his thanks, smiling slightly when he sees that this simple action caused Konan's entire face to light up. A few minutes pass, and Yahiko begins to make stupid jokes, while Konan laughs at them and Nagato snarks, and Madara thinks he could get used to this.

"Children," he says suddenly, not really knowing what to say. Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato drop what they were doing regardless. He hasn't been on the receiving end on that much devotion or adoration ever since Izuna died. His eyes shift to Yahiko's and he realizes, not for the first time, that the boy reminds him of his late younger brother. "Children, it's time I told you about my brother, Izuna."

"Izuna didn't die in battle. No, he was wounded in battle. He died at home, holding my hand. His last gift to me were his eyes," Madara-sensei speaks quietly, "and his grudge."

The three students are quiet, but eventually it's Nagato who breaks the thick, uncomfortable atmosphere. He reaches out and holds Madara-sensei's hand. This action startles their sensei, and he looks at their hands in poorly disguised shock. Yahiko's stomach clenches at Madara-sensei's expression, and before he really knows what he's doing, he takes Madara-sensei's other hand. Konan quietly shuffles over, and embraces her sensei.

"He reminded me of you," Madara chokes out suddenly, broken from his reverie. He looks at Yahiko. "Just… your mannerisms. Izuna was the same."

Yahiko grins brightly. "It sounds like he was a great guy, Madara-sensei!"

"Yeah," Nagato agrees quietly.

"Tell us more?" Konan asks, looking up at him with big, amber eyes.

So Madara does.

He tells them of how he was there when Izuna was born. He tells them of how he comforted Izuna when their three other brothers died. He tells them how he butchered Izuna's favourite meal the first time he tried making it as a birthday surprise. He tells them how jealous Izuna was of Hashirama's attention. He tells them about Hashirama.

He tells them about their dream.

Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan vow to uphold Madara's and Hashirama's dream to the best of their abilities.

Sometimes, Yahiko and Madara-sensei argue, ever since the Uchiha shared his dream with them. Yahiko agrees with Hashirama. Madara does not. It's a source of tension that Nagato dislike, although he does tend to agree with Yahiko.

"Love is the key to peace," Yahiko always says, steadfast in his belief, and stares down their sensei. Madara looks at Yahiko, and for the first time, sees Hashirama.

"Maybe I was wrong," Madara mutters late at night, "perhaps he's more like that idiot Senju than my brother."

Another day, another argument. Yahiko is angry, very angry, and he goes off to spar with Konan. Nagato, the quiet force behind Yahiko, stays behind. Madara, looking very tired, stares Nagato down until the boy cracks.

"He's not angry because you're disagreeing with him," Nagato confides, serious and stoic, and so very much like Hashirama's brother that Madara wants to strangle him, "he's angry because you always see other people in his stead, and arguing with them, when really, you should be seeing Yahiko for who he is." Satisfied with this brief explanation, Nagato jumps away, leaving Madara stunned.

Madara leaves that night. He writes a short note. He tells his students that he will be back, in time, that he has urgent business to attend to, and he tells them to take care. He reminds them to always install traps whenever they make camp, and to take advantage of Nagato's rare sensory ability to scout out any potential enemies, and to never let their guard down.

When his students are all asleep, Madara double and triple checks the traps, and adds a few of his own just to make sure the three were safe. He extinguishes the campfire, so enemies wouldn't spot them, and leaves in the dead of the night without a whisper.

He is going to kill Black Zetsu.

He is successful.

Madara summons his eagles and asks them to track his team. Within the day, they return with grave news.

His team has been captured. Madara sees red.

It's all Yahiko's fault. During their time with Madara-sensei, the three were fairly sheltered from the war, but the second Madara-sensei was gone, he wasn't there to shepherd them away from the fighting. Nagato had warned Yahiko that he could sense multiple powerful chakra signatures, but it only seemed to excite the orange-haired boy even more. When they reached the battleground, what they saw floored them.

Senju Hashirama had singlehandedly taken on what looked like an army of enemy shinobi, and all three could see that sooner or later he would be overwhelmed and fall in battle. Yahiko insisted they step in. He said that if Hashirama died then there was no chance that Madara-sensei would see that only through love they could reach peace. Konan agreed, and although he obviously thought it was a bad idea, Nagato wasn't going to leave his teammates behind.

And, true, they'd saved the Hokage's life, intercepting a shinobi's blade just moments before it made contact with Hashirama's back, but it only meant that the Hokage was now focused on saving the three idiotic children who had jumped into battle.

So now all four of them were captive. The restraints on the Senju were ridiculous – ranging from physical (handcuffs, ties, and whatnot), to fuuinjutsu. The Hokage was covered in binding seals from head to toe, and God of Shinobi or not he couldn't struggle out of them. By comparison, the measly chakra seals slapped on the three children's wrists were pathetic. It didn't take long for the Hokage's brother to join them, either.

Although they had heard from Madara-sensei that Tobirama Senju was the exact opposite of Hashirama, being cool, calm, and collected, the younger Senju had all but jumped into battle when he saw that his brother was being taken away. Now the two were used as bargaining chips against Konoha.

"Idiot," Nagato muttered to Yahiko, not for the first time. Tobirama ignored them, in favour of studying the seals restraining him, but Hashirama threw them an amused glance. The man did not seem worried about his imprisonment in the least.

"Shut up," Yahiko whined in response. "You know this was what Madara-sensei would have wanted."

Judging by the suddenly sharp glances from the two Senju in the opposite cell, that was the wrong thing to say. Nagato sighed in tandem with Konan.

"Idiot," Konan, this time, whispered. Her voice wavered though, and she looked at Nagato. "Do you think sensei's coming for us?"

"Undoubtedly," Nagato replied resolutely, closing his eyes as he leant against the cold walls of his cell. "You know he will."

"He left, though," Konan replied quietly. "He was angry."

"He will return," Nagato said. "He always does."

"Yeah!" Yahiko jumped. "Hey, Madara-sensei and I might argue sometimes, but you know he wouldn't leave us for dead!"

"I hate to interrupt," the younger Senju interjected in a dry voice, "who is this sensei you speak of?"

Yahiko guiltily shut his mouth and sat back down, pursing his lips. It was Konan who replied. "Just our sensei. He taught us all we know."

"Did you say, Madara-sensei?" was Hashirama's question, and Nagato cursed Yahiko in his mind.

"He did," Nagato confirmed stoically. "Madara-sensei will come, Konan. Do not doubt him."

Her lower lip wavered, but she nodded. "Yeah, you're right. He will."

"In fact," Nagato spoke, looking up at the ceiling of the basement, "if my sensory abilities are right, he is here right now."

Just as Nagato spoke those words, a loud tremor shook the building, and several people shouted. Yahiko grinned. "Yeah! Madara-sensei, kick their collective asses!"

The Uchiha didn't hear his wayward student, but he didn't need any encouragement to, as Yahiko would put it, kick ass. He sent a shinobi into a wall, and grasped another by his throat. "Where are they?" he hissed, Sharingan spinning furiously.

"You think I'll tell you?" the man grinned through bloody teeth. "We finally have those damned Senju in our grasp, I'm not gonna –"

"What Senju?" Madara growled, as his grip tightened. "I don't care about any Senju. Where are my students?"

The man's eyes widened. "Uh, the three whelps that saved the Hokage's life?"

Madara's Sharingan stops spinning abruptly, and his grip slackens. "The Hokage? What in the world –"

"You didn't know," the man breathes, dazed. "You didn't come for the Hokage and his brother –"

But Madara has heard enough. He slits the man's throat and drops him to the ground, wiping his bloody hand on his trousers. He can't feel his student's chakra signatures. He can't even feel the idiot Hashirama or his incompetent brother. He panics, briefly, before his eyes narrow, one blazing Sharingan red and the other grey with blindness. Containment seals. Of course.

"Madara-sensei can't sense our chakra signatures," Nagato whispers as he tracks Madara's chakra signature, which is prowling around the building like a panther. Yahiko looks at him.

"What do you mean?" he asks, panic rising in his voice.

"It must be some sort of containment seal," Konan says, "they're trying to hide their chakra from Konoha shinobi," she continues, pointing at the Hokage and his brother. "Of course it'll hide ours as well."

Nagato reaches out his senses, and locates the fuuinjutsu barrier. "It's not very strong," he says, and looks at Tobirama. "Madara-sensei said you possess a similar sensory ability. Can you feel the barrier?"

Tobirama studies the boy coolly with red eyes, before lifting his bare arm and saying, "These seals etched into my skin are impeding my ability."

Nagato curses quietly, and looks in the direction where he can feel Madara-sensei's agitated chakra. "He knows we're here," Nagato tells them, "but he doesn't know where. And the seals aren't in plain sight, so he can't use the Sharingan to spot them."

"What do we do?" Yahiko says, determined as ever. He looks to Nagato, who is the most intelligent of their group. "Nagato, there's a reason why you're sensei's favorite. Do what you do best and plan."

Nagato scoffs but manages to throw a weak grin in Yahiko's direction. "I'd hardly call myself Madara-sensei's favourite. But I do have a plan." With those words, he stands up and faces the two Senju who are appraising them with their eyes. "Hashirama-sama, Tobirama-sama. Please teach us how to flare our chakra. If Konan, Nagato and I do it together, some chakra should break through the weak barrier and reach Madara-sensei."

The two Senju look at each other, and it only takes seconds for them to have a nonverbal conversation. Then Hashirama stands up, and smiles.

Madara-sensei is still prowling when Hashirama finishes his instructions. Even though they don't need to, Nagato, Konan, and Yahiko hold hands. Nagato closes his eyes and counts down. "Three, two, one."

On one, all three flare their chakra as far and as powerful as they could. Nagato can't feel anything for a few seconds due to the overload of chakra for his senses.

He doesn't need to.

Within seconds, the ceiling caves in and debris falls in the corridor between the cells. Three guards who were anxiously waiting for Madara try to take him down, but Madara does not have time for them. With quick movements, one of them is put into a genjutsu, one receives a kama to the throat, and the other is thrown all the way across the room and into the wall.

It's all very dramatic, Yahiko can't help but think. With the dust raised by the hole Madara-sensei must have punched into the floor of the level above, they can only see their sensei's silhouette through the slowly settling cloud. That, and a single glowing Sharingan eye.

Madara steps out from the cloud of dust and assesses the situation quietly and quickly. His eye catches sight of Hashirama, and stops there for a few seconds. Hashirama doesn't dare say anything, so Madara doesn't either. Instead, he shifts his gaze to his students.

"Are any of you hurt?" he asks, not quietly, but as settled as the calm before the storm.

Konan smiles at him, a bright smile, and all the tension seems to leave Madara-sensei's body.

"We're fine, sensei. Thank you for coming to get us."

Madara sketches a smile. "I should have never come. You're more trouble than you're worth."

Yahiko groans and leans against the bars of the cell. "We know you're very funny, sensei. But can you please let us out? I'm really hungry and I smell."

"No different than any other day of the week, then," Madara-sensei replies easily. "Move back and watch out."

Dutifully, the three pile into a corner of the cell, and Madara kicks the bars in with enough chakra to break them loose completely. As his three students pile out, he takes the time to look them over. Nothing more than scrapes and bruises, and as far as Madara's concerned, that's just a sign of a good workout. He then looks at Yahiko.

"You were right," Madara-sensei says quietly, losing his easy smile. Yahiko blinks up in confusion.

"What about?" he asks, "I'm right most of the time."

Konan slaps the back of his head and calls him an idiot. Nagato ignores both of them and instead focuses his attention on his sensei. Madara looks back at him, Sharingan eye devoid of emotion. Nagato smiles.

"Peace through love, right?"

Yahiko and Konan stop fighting at Nagato's soft words, and instead look at Madara-sensei. His expression is a bit pained, but mostly genuine.

"I suppose," Madara-sensei replies, before concealing all emotion and turning around to face the two Senju.

Tobirama is suspicious, as always. Madara doesn't really know how to react to him, faced with such unrelenting suspicion, but shrugs internally and locks eyes with Hashirama, who's face is so expressive he couldn't have been more of an open book if he tried.

Madara inclines his head in a short nod, and Hashirama schools his features, but can't help a bright smile breaking out. Without fanfare, Madara kicks the bars to their cell as well. Once the two Senju have made it out, the mismatched group of people head to the surface.

"Hey, hey, sensei – " Yahiko all but sings as he walks backwards facing Madara. " – wow. You're really bloody. I was gonna ask if you wanted to go to that sushi restaurant Konan really likes but I don't think they accept zombies."

"Hilarious," Madara deadpans. Dutifully, Konan pulls out a handkerchief and hands it to her sensei, who uses it to wipe the sweat and blood off his forehead. "I'll buy you a new one, I promise," he says, pocketing the now soiled rag.

Konan shrugs, and smiles. "I don't mind," she says, and runs forward to join Yahiko ahead of the group.

Madara looks at the last member of his team, and ruffles Nagato's hair. He flinches and scowls at his sensei, but Madara just ushers him to the rest of his teammates. Nagato's eyes flicker to the Senju, and he nods.

When all of his students are a safe distance away, Madara reluctantly turns and faces the two Senju head on.

"You're alive," is the first thing that comes out of Hashirama, tone mixed with relief, disbelief, and mild adoration. Madara scowls. He's forgotten that Hashirama had a tendency to be such a puppy.

"How?" is Tobirama's question, because for all of the man's faults, he was the one who carried Madara's body and hid it away, and he would have known if Madara was still alive.

Oh well. He's not about to tell them about the Izanagi.

"Magic," he deadpans, "the Kami has come down from the heavens to breathe life back into my dead body."

"Madara," Hashirama breathes, and Madara isn't fast enough to dodge something he really should have seen coming – Hashirama hugs him.

Madara performs a perfect replacement technique and tugs his students along quickly as Hashirama realizes he's embracing a log.

It's raining again, but they're all going to be okay.