—- —- —-

Well, little Senju Hashirama had certainly gotten his wish.

"Ugh!"

Madara stared fiercely into his former friend's dark eyes. Their swords clashed for the fifth time that morning. Sweat dripped down from the backs of their necks. The swords shook in their strong, yet trembling hands. After quickly retreating, they both moved forward again and eventually found themselves locked in a battle of strength.

"I don't...want to have to fight you, Madara..." Hashirama said, breathing heavily. He jumped back as Madara did the same, and skidded to a halt. "This is enough..."

"Neither do I..." Madara finally admitted. "But it doesn't matter. And that's Uchiha Madara, to you." His Sharingan glinted dangerously in the bright morning sunlight before the two ninja found themselves thrust into thick forest, where the sun's warm rays suddenly became something of a rarity.

Hashirama frowned. Several years had passed already since that day when Madara had declared himself his enemy. Would this never stop...? He clenched his teeth as he took a blow to the stomach; he really needed to stop getting distracted in front of him. But he is...

Taking no pleasure in this fight, Madara huffed before blocking the next blow aimed for him. Was this life? Was this how it was supposed to be, forever hating opposing clans while they were hired to fight them, never finding peace? He had no time to think on the subject further as he was suddenly pushed back against the trunk of a tree. He shut his eyes at the force, and when he opened them, he saw Hashirama standing in front of him. Even though they were of equal height at the time, it appeared to Madara that the Senju was the taller.

"What do you want?" he said angrily, not liking being pushed into a corner. He began to peel himself off the tree and attempted to land a punch on the other boy's face.

Hashirama caught the fist aimed at his face with ease, and held it in the air beside him. "I want to talk with you."

"About what? The lovely weather we've been having?—"

The boy's eyebrows rose. "Oh, you've noticed it, too? The past few days have been so nice, but today it got cold again—"

Madara scowled, and looked to the side. "Stop it, Senju. This is no time to try to bond with me as my friend." He noticed Hashirama stop his banter, and both pairs of dark eyes met equally. "We are enemies now." He narrowed his eyes. "We've been enemies."

Not the least bit relaxed at seeing Madara deactivate his Sharingan, he continued to speak. "Do you...remember what we used to talk about? Back in the day?"

"I said stop it, Hashirama! All of that talk...was nothing but bullshit. Look at what our families are doing now!"

He frowned, hurt. That was obvious enough. "Yes, I know! My clan is being killed by yours!"

"And mine is being killed by yours!"

"..." They stared at each other harshly...an expression that only close brothers could understand.

Brother...?

"...And so? What are we doing, now? Madara." Hashirama felt a chilly breeze cool his head; his headband, soaked with sweat, became cold, and goosebumps rose all over his body at the airy sensation. He unconsciously gripped Madara's fist a little tighter at the cold feeling.

The Uchiha felt the grip around his hand tighten, and took it in offense. "We...are not doing anything."

Not really listening, Hashirama let his mind slide back in time. He was remembering...

—- —- —-

'Adults are idiots,' Tobirama had said bluntly. 'If we want to put an end to this senseless killing, we should just make a truce.'

'But how can we form a truce? What about our own comrades who got killed? Neither side will be able to forgive the other,' Itama had responded. 'There will always be retribution.'

'Keeping talking like that and we'll be burying you real soon,' Tobirama had scolded gravely. 'There will never be any peace if both sides keep on seeking vengeance. You and the adults are becoming too passionate. What we need to do is repress our emotions, and set in place some rules. Only then will we be able to avoid all this useless fighting.'

—- —- —-

Hashirama looked into his old friend's deep, dark eyes and searched them earnestly, ready to speak just as bluntly. "Madara...I think we should talk to our clans about making a truce."

"..." His former friend was silent for a moment while he recalled the conversation he'd had with his younger brother just last year.

—- —- —-

'You should have heard the ridiculous things that Tobirama said to me, today. He's decided he wants a truce,' Izuna had said. 'Can you believe that, big brother?' After some silence, Izuna then stared at him suspiciously. '...Has his brother talked to you, as well?'

Madara shook his head. Hashirama? 'No.'

'If he does, brother...don't listen to him. Mother told me that she once tried the same thing when she was younger, with Tobirama's uncle...they had secretly been friends! But then...the Senju double-crossed her!'

This had surprised Madara. 'What?'

'She was telling me stories...a little before she died...' Izuna had returned his piercing black eyes at him, looking him seriously.'That's why I know I can't believe Tobirama. The Senju clan cannot be trusted,' he finished strongly.

—- —- —-

Returning from his memories, Madara broke the short silence, and spoke blandly. "Do not speak to me of such useless things." He pulled his hand back from him.

This shocked the Senju, and made him furious. "It's not useless! My brothers died thinking we could maybe have some peace in this godforsaken world of shinobi!"

Madara met his friend's sorrowed gaze, seeing the tears that must be stinging his eyes, and felt his own spirits sink low. Did Hashirama actually think he wanted any part of this? This was life! There was no other way. He felt the presence in front of him rage with a burning fire of hope.

He wanted to reach out and touch his face, and tell him that this was all pointless, and that they should not be standing here, hiding from the others, doing nothing but drowning themselves in such...idle chatter.

If only he could tell him...

He decided not to speak the other half of his mind. "Hashirama...it is an impossible dream," he said finally, leaning in close, leaving almost no space between them. "Don't try to drag me into this nonsense, again..."

The young Senju stared intensely at his friend, unaware of the effect he was having on the Uchiha. "Well, when you change your mind, you know where to find me..." But Madara slipped away from him, just as easily as the other times Hashirama had tried to get a moment like this with him.

"I won't give up," he asserted again firmly, with not only his mouth but his eyes, the fire in them unwilling to falter at his friend's words. He watched, helpless, as his friend walked away and spoke once more:

"For now, I will leave you...and while I may know where to find you, I do suggest that you do not try to find me."

Madara let the cold words dangle icily in the air as he left, not letting his heartbreak ever be known to this...hopelessly kind Senju.

He...does not want to be reached... Hashirama closed his eyes as he felt the cold wind caress his face, unable to tell whether nature offered the gesture in comfort or hurtful finality. He shivered, and opened his eyes. I will reach you someday.

That is a promise.

—-

That night, another Senju had a tough time sleeping.

—-

'Adults are idiots,' he says plainly. 'If we want to put an end to this senseless killing, we should just make a truce.'

'But how can we form a truce? What about our own comrades who got killed? Neither side will be able to forgive the other,' Itama says back thoughtfully.

He glares at him. 'Keeping talking like that and we'll be burying you real soon,' he scolds gravely. 'There will never be any peace if both sides keep on seeking vengeance. You and the adults are becoming too passionate. What we need to do is repress our emotions, and set in place some rules. Only then will be be able to avoid all this useless fighting.'

—-

"Itama!"

"No..." Hashirama falls to his knees beside the young boy. "No, no..."

Tobirama stands beside the two. His face is a silent mixture or grief, and disbelief. After a few minutes of grieving, he places a hand on Hashirama's shoulder. "Anija, we need to leave..."

Suddenly, something doesn't feel right. He gazes at Itama's corpse, and then back at his three family members who'd arrived with him at the field. And then he realizes.

He hadn't been there. He wasn't. There.

—-

He awoke, gasping. The boy sat up, and stared at the wall in front of him, sweat covering his face and hair. Stupid dream...

He got up and quietly exited the Senju home for the second time that night, hoping the cold, punishing winter air would stop this foolishness that had been plaguing him these past few years. He found an even colder spot on the ground outside their home, and then sat on it, attempting to meditate or whatever it was that Hashirama had been trying to get him to do. So he tried; but all that kept blocking his mind was Itama, and what he had said to him just weeks before his death.

And then...Hashirama.

—-

He can see that he is very upset; so is he.

"How could you say something like that to him? Who says things like that?! And now look, we've already buried him!" Tears fall down from Hashirama's eyes.

He can't feel anything but guilt. He only stares back at his brother's face, trying not to look bothered by his words.

"Why don't you say anything, now? Or are you going to tell me that I can't mourn his death, either, and that I'll end up just like him! Am I becoming too passionate, Tobirama? Is that wrong?"

He cannot come up with a reply. He does not want to. He has nothing to say, and only wants to break down into tears, and be forgiven for his inconsideration. He wishes to be surrouded by Kawarama, Itama, and Hashirama, just sitting together like they used to. Training together like they used to. Having fun like they used to. Just being brothers.

But that cannot happen; Kawarama is dead. And now, so is Itama.

Tobirama keeps a straight face as he is subjected to Hashirama's distress.

"You should really learn to be nice! Have some feelings, for once! Itama is dead and you have not shed a single tear!" He stares at him hard. Frustrated and unable to stay any longer, he turns his back on him.

His only brother can only stand there, and when Hashirama turns and leaves, the tears come; and they do not stop. He cries, alone.

—-

A few, quiet minutes of reflection went by when he suddenly became startled by a person standing beside him. He looked up to meet his father's dark eyes.

"What are you doing out here, boy?" his deep voice asked, sounding annoyed and concerned at the same time.

"I can't sleep, father," he said bluntly, returning his gaze in front of him, halfheartedly studying the numerous trees in the forest several hundred yards in front.

"I mean, what is with that position you're in?" he questioned, staring down at Tobirama's crossed legs and overall calm posture. That boy wasn't one for sitting look so relaxed and all that nonsense. In fact, he couldn't recall a time when this boy—his wife's doppelganger, he liked to think affectionately—wasn't standing around with his arms crossed, tagging along with Hashirama wherever he went.

Tobirama and his older brother...they were like mother and son to each other, almost; except, their roles would continuously reverse. Tobirama would follow him like a lost duckling, but when Hashirama needed his head on straight—and several times he did, that boy!— then Tobirama would step up and hold him back, at the same time preventing himself—their own father—from knocking some real sense into him, into that constantly daydreaming genius son of his.

"It is a form of meditation; Hashirama thought I could benefit from it. But so far," he said, mumbling softly, "it's not working at all."

"...And is there a reason why you're meditating out here, in this cold temperature, and at this time of night?"

"I can't sleep," he repeated simply.

His father shook his head. "Ah, well..." he said, turning around, and then stopping. Hashirama was leaning against the doorway of their home just a few yards in front of them. He sighed. "I will be going back inside; however...I believe your brother wishes to say something to you." He turned away from his youngest son and stepped back inside their home, moving past his eldest without a word. Once inside, he watched Hashirama exit the doorway and make his way beside his brother, looking down at him with a soft, kind expression.

Butsuma almost envied the look Hashirama was giving him. His mind temporarily slipped into the past. How he missed his own brother and sister... His older sister would give him that exact same look when he himself had been troubled as a boy. The Senju closed his eyes in pain at their memory, and left the brothers alone.

—-

"Whatcha doing, little bro?" Hashirama plopped a hand onto the boy's head.

The ninja in question looked up at him. "What do you think I'm doing?"

"Trying out that meditation technique I taught you.." He saw him begin to nod his head grudgingly and added, "...And failing it completely." He received a dirty look. "Aha, just relax, Tobi-chan!"

"That's what I've been trying to do," he muttered. "And quit calling me that!"

"Anyway, seriously, it's cold out here." He shivered and sat on the cold ground, huddling next to Tobirama...or at least trying to. "Aren't you cold? Look, the plants are certainly freezing!" he said, pointing to various frosted-covered plants nearby. "And it's really late. Or...really early. I can't tell."

"Go back to sleep, anija," he responded plainly. Why does everyone want to bother me when I just want to be alone?

"Well, I can't just leave you alone out here, you know."

Iiiii! Tobirama turned his head to his left and glared at his brother's face, which was just inches away. "Since when can you read minds?"

He raised his eyebrows, causing a few nearby dark brown strands of hair to fall beside his eyes. "It's not that hard to read yours. Obviously you want to be alone, that's why you snuck out and are now sitting here, trying to kill yourself in this damn. Cold. Air," he finished, teeth finally beginning to chatter.

Tobirama finally began to shiver, too, and brought his knees up to his face, crossing his arms over them and then letting his chin rest on them. "So is there a reason you have come here? If you know I want to be here by myself."

"Because I know you've been having nightmares again," he said sharply, quietly. He flicked the side of Tobirama's head.

He turned back to him. It was no use lying. "Every year, no big deal. All the time."

A moment of silence passed. "...I remember what you said to Itama that time."

Tobirama's eyes narrowed at the ground.

"...And I'm sorry for what I said...after that." He remembered after Itama had died, but before he went to see Madara, he'd confronted Tobirama, hurt and angry. "'You are becoming too passionate. Keep talking like that and we'll be burying you real soon'...is what you said."

"And that is exactly what happened..."

"But not for the reason that you think. Itama had gotten upset over Kawarama's death, and he was letting it get the best of him...but father and uncle talked to him a week later..." Receiving a curious look, he tried to guess what Tobirama must be thinking: 'Then why were you so angry with me if that's not what happened?' He continued, "Actually, I didn't know...I found out sometime later that Itama received a lecture from them..." He gazed down. "I shouldn't have been angry with you. Itama's death had nothing to do with his anger and feelings over Kawarama...

"I'm sorry."

Tobirama met his eyes. "Why do you apologize? You were angry, and that was fine...you should not have to apologize for having feelings."

"Yes, but my feelings were out of line. You were not to blame. What I said those years ago...must have been hard to hear..." His heart felt heavy. If it had Tobirama who had told him such things...he didn't think could've taken it. "Hearing such words...must have been painful..." Hashirama knew if they'd been directed at him, he wouldn't be able to sleep, either...maybe not ever.

Tobirama observed his older brother. He really feels sorry for such a trivial thing... But even for such a trivial thing, Tobirama noticed, his heart felt lighter, as if he'd just been released from a huge burden; and for such a trivial thing, Hashirama was sure feeling sorry about his actions. It was beginning to become clear that this conversation had indeed been good for the both of them. He slowly let Hashirama lean onto him, finally, letting his head of long hair rest against his shoulder. "Itama was...very wise...understanding the cycle of hatred in this world at such an age..."

Hashirama was quiet for several moments. After thinking for a while about their lost siblings, Tobirama began to wonder if his big brother had fallen asleep. So he shifted, causing the boy the stir a bit. No, not asleep. "What are you thinking about?"

Silence.

"I fought with Madara again, today..."

Tobirama turned his head at the sudden change in topic. "Really? Is he dead?"

"..." His brother flicked him again. "So damn blunt, you! Argh." And then again.

"So did you?" Another flick. "Ow!"

"NO...God, Tobirama...I wouldn't kill him," he said, only then realizing the implications of his statement once he'd spoken it aloud.

"..." He continued to look at him curiously...almost...suspiciously...? "Why not? If he tried to kill you, would you not do the same?"

Hashirama thought for a moment. "Actually..." He placed his left hand over his eyes. "That's the thing...I don't think he was trying to. Over the years, whenever we've met...and fought...it feels like he's become less and less antagonistic towards me."

His younger brother noticed the face in front of him start to turn a certain shade of red. "Come on, let's go inside...I know you can't really handle the cold as well as you think you can..." He stood up and pulled him up, as well.

Now it was Hashirama's turn to look at him curiously.

As they walked back to the house, Tobirama said softly, "Just don't do anything stupid. He's our enemy—on the battlefield, off the battlefield. It's no use getting close to someone when either of you may not be alive the next day because of one another...especially when the other might not feel the same way about you..." he added in an even quieter voice, completely going unnoticed by the hopelessly oblivious Hashirama.

"He is my friend, Tobirama...I can't just kill him, and I don't think he wants to kill me, either. So...we're okay. I think." He received a doubtful look, and lowered his voice further once they stepped into the warmer air of their home. "So really, don't worry about it. And...I didn't just fight with him—we also talked."

Tobirama noticed Hashirama's face start to glow. "About...?"

He could barely contain his whispering. "A truce!"

"...A truce?" He blinked. "Anija, have you gone mad?"

Hashirama stood there, shocked. "What do you mean?" he asked. 'We should just make a truce...only then will we be able to avoid all this useless fighting.' "You're the one that came up with the idea in the first place! What's wrong with it now?"

"For starters, what was wrong with it before? What makes you think any clan—forget about the Uchiha—what makes you think any clan would agree to such a thing?" The two Uchiha flashed through his mind.

"What makes you think they wouldn't?" He studied his brother's expressionless face. Still, something was there; he could see it. "You...talked with his brother, didn't you? Izuna." Still the same pokerface. He thought for a brief moment in amusement that if he, Tobirama, and Madara were to ever play against each other in poker, he'd definitely lose; he wasn't sure who'd win, though...

"Yes. I did. Once..." he replied carefully.

"When...?" he asked, not sure what surprised him the most—the fact that Tobirama had (instead of simply murdering him) actually talked to Uchiha Izuna about it, or that he was actually admitting to doing so...

"...Last year."

"Last year! Tobi! Why didn't you tell me...?!"

"It wouldn't have made a difference! They wanted no part of it," he said, crossing his arms.

"And so you...just...gave up?" ...'They'? he wondered.

He gazed at him levelly. "For now..."

Hashirama raised an eyebrow. "No, not for now. Now, ...we try again." He let his firm words linger in the warm air for a moment. And then, suddenly remembering, he looked into Tobirama's eyes and grabbed his arm—who eyed the hand on his arm in annoyance before returning his dark-eyed gaze to his older brother's curiously smug face—and began to whisper, barely able to contain his excitement. "Also, Tobirama...there is something I need to show you..."

—-

A/N: So it looks like this is the end for now. Meanwhile I have been writing up a long story (HashiMada/MadaHashi, Tobirama/Kyoko) based in this same universe, titled Zephyr, and the conclusion to this final chapter has been included in the prologue.

Thanks for reading!