The Promise

There was no treaty, no witness, just a single sentence. The sincerity and honesty behind it gave the promise immeasurable weight. They both understood that this was the moment true trust began.

Hashirama took the hand Madara held out, and the two exchanged smiles.

A sudden cry of surprise rose nearby, followed by a child's delighted shout. "Fireworks! Look, fireworks!"

The crowd stirred and surged toward the launch site. Hashirama and Madara turned toward the southern sky at the same time. A scarlet firework bloomed against the deep blue night, then faded in a moment of brilliance, leaving only wisps of gray-white smoke. The crowd held its breath and waited. A moment later, three or four clusters of vermilion rockets shot skyward, just as hoped. Their overlapping bursts blazed with a breathtaking splendor. Cheers erupted from the crowd.

Hashirama glanced at Madara. "Want to go watch together?"

Madara shook his head. "I'm not interested in fireworks."

Remembering the exquisite fireworks at the celebration in Muyun City, Hashirama had to admit Madara had good reason to say that. Unlike the common folk who had survived the troubled times, someone like Madara, who lived at the top of the pyramid, had seen every sort of novelty imaginable. It would have been strange for him to run over and watch excitedly like everyone else.

The shops around them had grown less crowded, and Madara looked pleased. "It's finally a little quieter. Since we've come all this way, let's try some of Konoha's specialties."

Hashirama explained, "Konoha was only founded recently. The so-called local specialties are all things brought here from ordinary people in various countries, like takoyaki, goldfish scooping, and puppet shows... You're probably familiar with them."

"Yeah, but I've never tried them." Madara caught Hashirama's surprised look and cleared his throat, turning away. "...A clan head has to maintain his image."

Hashirama paused, then smiled. "All right. Let's go."

And so, a strange sight appeared at a stall on the street: two top-tier shinobi crouched down with their sleeves rolled up—scooping goldfish!

The shopkeeper wore an awkward expression. "I'm sorry, honored shinobi, but this place isn't suitable for you..." What kind of physical abilities did shinobi have? They were quick-eyed and quick-handed, and they had chakra! One shinobi could put a little shop like this out of business! It was an unspoken rule that places like this didn't serve shinobi.

Madara pretended not to know and teased him with a smile. "Refusing service to shinobi? Would you call that a kind of discrimination?"

The shopkeeper's expression immediately turned uneasy. Hashirama helplessly tugged at Madara's sleeve, then smiled at the owner. "We'll return the goldfish we catch to your shop. This is to cover the cost of the paper nets we damage." He handed over a stack of money.

The owner let out a breath of relief and respectfully provided them with a pile of paper nets.

Madara picked one up and gave it a try. In a flurry of motion, he scooped up several goldfish without damaging the net at all. The corner of his mouth lifted, and he turned to Hashirama. "Too easy. Let's try a different game."

"Your call," Hashirama said.

Madara poked holes in all the paper nets, then raised the only thing left: an empty ring. "Make a net out of chakra and scoop up the goldfish. Ten-second time limit."

Hashirama looked back at him and raised his own empty ring with a smile. "Sure. I accept the challenge!"

The two of them were having the time of their lives. It was another matter entirely how the Senju and Uchiha clan members who happened to pass by reacted—with exasperation, shock, and utter disbelief. Meanwhile, the First, Tengzhi, and Tobirama had been making their way along the streets, partly for fun and partly to inspect them. When the fireworks began, Tobirama, who enjoyed a lively crowd, went along with everyone else. The First had told his younger brother to keep an eye on things in case anything went wrong—after all, most people were gathered there now—then said goodbye for the time being and headed against the flow of the crowd, toward the quieter streets.

But as he turned around and lowered his head, he found himself face-to-face with a pair of bright, dark eyes.

The First was surprised. "Tengzhi?" Wasn't the boy supposed to be with Tobirama?

"You're going to look for him again," the boy said with certainty, gazing straight at him with eyes much like his own.

This kid... The First had no idea what to do with his son, who was elusive and feigned frankness while being genuinely devious. He bent down and pinched the boy's cheek. "Come along, then!"

Senju Fuji tilted his head up and blinked, enjoying the rare tenderness from his father. "He doesn't want to see me, though."

The First smiled. "As an excellent shinobi, you have to learn how to tell whether information is true or false."

Senju Fuji gave his palm a sudden slap of realization and nodded. "I get it. It's a matter of attributes, right?"

The First: "..."

Uchiha Madara sat alone high up on Kage Rock, looking down at the lively village below. The full moon was round as a silver platter, its clear, brilliant light illuminating the craggy rock face. He sat in a hollow in the stone, his long, drooping hair blocking the only sliver of moonlight that reached him. He was completely swallowed by the shadows. Darkness and light divided him from the village as if they belonged to separate worlds.

"Madara."

He knew who it was without turning around. "You can find me even here? Did you grow a dog's nose?"

The First smiled but said nothing. He tossed him one of the jars of sake he was carrying. Uchiha Madara popped the lid, and the strong aroma of alcohol rose up. He took a swig from the jar. The burning liquor shot straight to his head, and he couldn't help coughing before wiping the drink from the corner of his mouth.

The First found a place beside him and sat down on the ground, gazing toward the brightly lit area. His low murmur scattered into the evening breeze. "How could I not know where you are..."

Uchiha Madara's fingers tightened around the jar. He turned his face slightly away, avoiding the probing glance from the corner of the First's eye, and changed the subject as if nothing had happened. "This sake is strong. Don't you have important things to do tomorrow?"

The First lowered his eyes and played along. "Don't worry. Drink as much as you like. I'll give you the day off tomorrow. My constitution is special, so alcohol doesn't affect me."

Uchiha Madara scoffed. "There are so many good things about the Senju constitution. This is the one bad thing."

"Yeah. The more I drink, the clearer my head gets." The First spoke with self-mockery. "Senju Hashirama, forever clear-headed."

"Wasn't this your choice? For Konoha." Uchiha Madara turned his head toward him and raised his jar. "Forget it. Why talk about this on Summer Festival night? I'll be the first to get drunk."

The First raised his own jar. "I'll join you."

The sake wasn't good, at least not to the First. Under normal circumstances, he didn't drink; even at banquets, he would politely decline people's generous offers. Only when he was with Uchiha Madara was he willing to drink jar after jar alongside him. He could clearly feel the strong liquor burning a line from his mouth down to his stomach, while a different sort of pain churned in his heart, stirring up feelings he couldn't put into words. It was as if only this way could he share the pain this man bore alone.

Uchiha Madara didn't like drinking either. Alcohol dulled a shinobi's senses and impaired his agility in battle. But once in a while, he needed to blur his judgment and release the pent-up feelings inside him. Other than killing, only alcohol could help.

As they drank, one jar was quickly emptied. Uchiha Madara turned to the First and tossed him the empty jar. "Got any more?"

The First pulled another jar from behind him and tossed it back.

Uchiha Madara caught it neatly. He looked at the full jar, then at the other man. "This much? How did you get it up here?"

The First only smiled. He swapped his own jar for a full one and popped the lid. "By the way, Tengzhi wants to see you."

Madara's expression immediately turned awkward, though it was hard to make out his face in the shadows. He took a long drink and tried to keep his voice steady. "Oh? That kid's living comfortably outside, isn't he?"

"You're the one who keeps rejecting him," the First said, watching the person in the shadows. "Otherwise, he wouldn't have left the village just to stay out of your sight as much as possible."

"Are you blaming me?" Uchiha Madara's voice betrayed no emotion, his face submerged in darkness. "He's already gotten so much, things he should have and things he shouldn't... What else does he want?"

"It was my insistence back then. It had nothing to do with him." Though he couldn't see Madara's face, the First kept his gaze fixed on him and spoke quietly. "He's innocent."

Forced by that gaze to turn his head away, Uchiha Madara closed his eyes. "...Then my attitude toward him is my choice, too. It has nothing to do with you."

Behind the rock, the boy heard Uchiha Madara's answer. His tightly clenched hand, tense with unease, fell limp. His eyes, usually so calm, grew hot. He hesitated for a moment, seeming to want to walk over, but in the end he stopped and quietly turned away.

Silence fell over them.

After a long while, the First said softly, "You knew he was there..."

The only response from the shadows was a cold snort from Madara.

The First sighed. "You were still looking forward to him coming back, weren't you, Madara... You clearly care about him. Why do you always put on this act?"

"Senju Hashirama!" Uchiha Madara finally turned to look him straight in the eyes. His black eyes caught the moonlight, reflecting a sharp, cold glint. "Stop making assumptions! I'll say it one last time: I don't want anything to do with that kid!" He let out a cold laugh. "If he wants to keep wandering around in this world, tell him not to come near me!"

Senju Hashirama watched him in silence.

At last, everything around them grew completely quiet.

The village's uproar reached the lofty Kage Rock as nothing more than faint, distant noise, so light it seemed ready to fade away. Fireworks bloomed continuously in the night sky across from them. But none of that excitement had anything to do with the two people here.

They sat facing each other in silence, with only the sound of their breathing to be heard. They kept drinking, one mouthful after another. Before long, all the jars were empty. The empty jars lay scattered everywhere, rolling about. One rolled over the edge of the rock and shattered with a sharp crack.

Uchiha Madara's limbs had gone weak, his mind a muddled mess. At last, he stumbled out of the shadows, his face bathed in the pure moonlight and flushed with drink. The First quickly caught him.

He reflexively raised a hand to block the one reaching for him, but let his guard down the moment they touched. Uchiha Madara clutched the other man's sleeve and narrowed his eyes, carefully studying his face.

"Senju Hashirama?"

"Yeah, I'm here."

"Senju Hashirama."

"Mm-hm."

"Senju Hashirama..."

At last, he collapsed into the arms of the man within reach. The First held him halfway in his arms, gently stroking his flushed, warm face as he sat quietly in the evening breeze.

The furrow between Uchiha Madara's brows gradually smoothed. In his sleep, he murmured a name indistinctly. "Izuna..."

Thanks to ◇聆听丶寂寞在唱歌り for sending a gift!

I had a reunion with my old classmates today and discovered that all my friends from back then had turned into gorgeous women. I felt so proud!

Our class really did have a high standard of girls~~ [smug]

What? You mean me? Well... [looks around] I'm "beautiful on the inside"!

Everyone: [speechless] Basically, you can't tell by looking at you at all, huh =.=!