Author's note: Hello there fellow readers, it's me again! I apologize for the wait on this chapter, but let me tell you that my muse can be a major bitch when she wants to.

Along with this, I have a few other stories in the making, though I have no clue when I will publish them at the moment.

So, for now, please enjoy Chapter 2 of "Breaking the Habit"!

Chapter 2: Resulting conflicts

When Madara awoke to someone shaking him, his years of training and pure instincts went into overdrive. He withdrew a weapon from his pants leg and swiped at the blonde above him. Madara's opponent dodged it narrowly and jumped back about twenty feet. This gave the twelve year old time to leap to his feet and assume a fighting stance.

"Hey! What the hell was that for?!" The blue eyed blonde, whom Madara estimated was around three or four years older than Hashirama and himself, yelled in indignation.

Madara looked out of the corner of both eyes, catching sight of Hashirama, Izuna and Hashirama's brother, Tobirama he remembered. All of them were still unconscious, but thankfully seemed unharmed. The Uchiha heir snapped his gaze back to his opponent. "Okay, who are you and where did you take us?"

"Huh?" The blonde tilted his head slightly. "What do you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb with me!" Madara snarled. "I'm talking about that illumination jutsu you used to kidnap us!"

"Now wait just a minute, you-"Naruto was cut off when an arm stuck out in front of him and diverted his attention up to his sensei. Scowling, the blue eyed blonde turned to the white haired sage. "What the heck, Pervy sage!"

Jiraiya gave Naruto a piercing glare, which effectively backed the blonde jinchuuriki off, then turned his attention to the budding adolescent before them. "Alright, who are you?"

Coal black eyes narrowed, a calloused hand tightening around his weapon. "And why should I indulge my name to someone like you, old man?"

"Because this 'old man' can put a brat like you down in an instant after the stunt you just pulled."

Madara scoffed, a very...Uchiha-like smirk adjourning his face. "As if an old man like you could ever be a threat to me."

There was a moment of tense silence, hovering over the three like a thick fog. Madara opened his mouth to press further, but was caught off guard and couldn't voice anything for as soon as he blinked, the older man was barely three feet in front of him, dark eyes gleaming down at him.

Jiraiya gave the younger boy a slight smug smirk. "You were saying, brat?"

'I didn't even sense him move.' Madara could only grit his teeth as he was hit with a wave of anxiety. Whoever this man was, he was good. He himself had been stronger than most adults by the time he was ten years old, that included the Senju scum he faced almost on a regular basis. So to find someone whose speed was unlike anything he has ever seen frightened Madara more than he was comfortable with.

"Now that we've gotten that out of the way, I'll ask again. Who are you?"

He was once again assaulted by anxiety, but the twelve year old disguised it well, sending a piercing glare to the man towering before him. "Isn't it common courtesy to give your own name before demanding for someone else's?" No way was Madara going to give out his name so freely. He would then see something he could never un-see.

The tense atmosphere evaporated almost immediately as Jiraiya broke out into what could be described as a dance. "I am the hermit of Mount Myouboku: the wise, the gallant and ever so dashing Jiraiya of the Sannin, the Toad mountain sage!"

'What the literal hell was that?' A raven colored eyebrow twitched as Madara attempted to comprehend what he had just seen. To any on lookers, the heir of the Uchiha clan was doing a fantastic impression of a fish. Slowly, he brought his hand to his face and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Alright, Mr. Toad sage, you win. My name is Madara."

Jiraiya was rather taken aback by that answer, but all too soon glared at the Raven haired youth. "I don't suppose you last name is Uchiha, is it?" He inquired in a slightly condescending tone.

This time, it was Madara who was taken aback, and he could feel his heart beat start to accelerate. "How do you know that, old man?"

"Okay, kid. Just what game are you trying to play here?"

Madara scowled. "I'm not playing a game! My name is Madara! Now how the hell did you know I am of the Uchiha clan?"

Naruto scrunched up his face and looked over to his Sensei. "Hey, Pervy Sage, how can this guy be an Uchiha? I thought all the Uchiha were dead except for Itachi and Sasuke!"

"Come again!" The pre-adolescent exclaimed. "What do you mean "dead"?"

Jiraiya narrowed his eyes further and answered. "Eight years ago, Itachi Uchiha wiped out every single member of the Uchiha clan except for his little brother, Sasuke Uchiha. Everyone in the ninja world knows of that."

By now, Madara had nearly slacked in his position, torn between being infuriated at what was exchanged and being sick at what he learned. He looked out of the corner of his eye to rest on his unconscious brother's form, reassuring himself that Izuna was still alive.

"And besides," Jiraiya continued. "Even if there were any survivors of the massacre, I find it hard to believe that anyone would name their son "Madara"."

The raven turned back to the sage and glared. "Why is that?"

"It's a well known fact that Madara Uchiha is an international traitor who perished during his fight with Konoha's first Hokage, Hashirama Senju, at the Valley of the End." He paused. "Even if Madara Uchiha were still alive, he would be a decrepit old man, not a snot nosed little brat like you."

A shadow fell over Madara's eyes, his fists clenched at his sides. "You're lying. You have to be." Came out of his lips in a harsh whisper.

"Sorry kid, but there are plenty of sources that say otherwise. Now drop the act and tell me who you really are."

"I am who I say I am! I am Madara Uchiha, not some imposter!" The preteen snapped, near desperation coating his voice at this point.

"Oh really? If you are indeed Madara Uchiha, then pray tell how you came here," Jiraiya said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I don't know! I-" Madara threw out his arm and gestured to the prone forms of Izuna, Hashirama and Tobirama behind him. "WE were at the river. Our fathers found out about the meeting between me and Hashirama and staged an ambush. Next thing I know, a bright light comes out of nowhere and now we're here!"

"You really expect me to believe that story?"

"Yes, because that's what happened!"

Neither said anything, their stares unwavering. The tense silence was broken by a sudden groan in the background. Madara whirled around and saw Hashirama in an upright position with a hand cradling his temple.

"Hashirama!"

Wood colored eyes snapped open, and the twelve year old lifted his head to meet his best friend's coal black eyes. "Madara?" Hashirama looked around almost wearily, catching sight of Naruto and Jiraiya standing near Madara and also his unconscious brother and Izuna laying next to him. "What's going on? Where are we? What was that light?"

A tired sigh escaped Madara's lips. "That's what I was trying to find out. If what this old codger was saying is true, I have a feeling we're not home anymore."

Hashirama furrowed his eyebrows then averted his gaze over to the older duo. "And they are?"

"Let me guess,"Jiraiya said. "You wouldn't happen to be Hashirama Senju, would you?"

The brunette's eyes widened. "H-how do you know that?"

Jiraiya sighed, running a hand down his face. "Before I answer that, can you validate your friends claim that you four were...kidnapped by a bright light?"

"Yeah! Our fathers and brothers were fighting at the Nakano River when a bright light appeared out of nowhere, and it must have taken us and our brothers here!" Hashirama explained, waving his arms around and making animated gestures throughout the entire thing.

Stroking his chin, Jiraiya hummed in contemplation. "Hm, you both could still be lying. However!" He yelled before either preteen could protest. "There is one other possibility that could explain how the younger versions of Hashirama Senju, Madara Uchiha and their brothers could even be here, though it is a bit of a stretch."

Madara scowled. "Well? Out with it, old man!"

A white eyebrow twitched, and the sage muttered something that sounded like "ungrateful brat" under his breath. "There exists an almost unheard of space-time ninjutsu that was "invented" by the Rikudo Sennin in his youth. With it, the barriers of time meant of little consequence to him. However, he realized the dangers of such a technique and sealed it away. The only reason I even know of this is because some of his old notes remained intact and were recovered."

"Okay," Naruto drawled, clearly not getting where this was going. "What do you mean the barriers of time meant little to him?"

"In Layman's terms: time travel. He figured out a way to go back and forth through time whenever he pleased, but sealed it due to the implications of even messing with time."

By the end of the explanation. Both Madara and Hashirama were doing fantastic impressions of fish. It was Hashirama who recovered first. "So that means..."

Jiraiya's face became solemn. "This means that you boys were taken a century into the future."

Hashirama's shoulders slumped, a bewildered look on his face as the revelation set in. Madara, on the other hand, just looked even angrier. Though their...time wasn't exactly a good place to be, it was still home for them, still familiar. Now there were essentially stranded in a foreign time without their families, and this scared them more than anything.

"Why? What would anyone have to gain from this?" Madara's coal black eyes held a gleam of anxiety, his fists shaking and clenched so hard that they bled.

"I wish I could tell you, kid. But it looks like you're stuck here until we find a way to get you home." Jiraiya exhaled through his nose, a displeased expression etching itself into his visage. "And since We're the ones who found you, that means the four of you are our responsibility, for the time being."

"Great," Madara muttered, running his hands through his hair with a stressed out expression in his face. A hand squeezed his shoulder, and the twelve year old opened his eyes to meet the wood colored irises of his best friend. Hashirama appeared to be as stressed out as he was, but a reassuring expression marred the brunette's visage that made Madara feel better. At least he wasn't alone in this.

"So, um..." Hashirama said, fidgeting under Jiraiya's hard stare. "What exactly are you going to do with us?"

"For now, you four will be coming with us to Konoha," Jiraiya explained. "There are things that need to be discussed with the Hokage, especially now since you four are here."

"Konoha?" both boys questioned.

"Ah, right," Jiraiya said. "You wouldn't know. Konohagakure is the village you two formed together as adults, starting what is now known as the hidden village system. All the other nations adopted this system, creating their own hidden villages to support their countries."

"Really?" Hashirama asked hopefully. "So, kids are safe from having to fight in wars?"

"Not exactly. They are trained in the Shinobi Academy to become genin. Once they graduate as genin, they are considered full-fledged shinobi. Shinobi are then tasked with missions of specific levels based on their ranking in the system."

It was at this point that Hashirama became overly happy, little sparkles shining in his eyes. Madara inched away from the Senju, feeling awkward since the idiot seemed to be radiating joy off of him in waves. Very suddenly, the Uchiha preteen found himself being embraced by his friend, the brunette laughing jovially in his ear.

"We did it! We did it, Madara! Our dream, our village, it came true!"

Madara tensed up, his teeth gritted in a slight snarl, and his cheeks flushed at the sudden display of affection. "Alright, alright, I get it! Now, will you kindly let me go?"

Hashirama seemed to pause then he backed away from Madara as if he had been burned. He rubbed the back of his head with a sheepish grin, and a similar blush tinted his cheeks. "A-ah. Sorry about that, Madara. But, this is great, isn't it? We built our village. We don't have to fight each other anymore!"

"Y-yeah," Madara tried to sound as enthusiastic, instead becoming awkward and instinctively crossing his arms over his chest. A large part of him was elated upon learning that their "pipe dream" became a reality in the future, meaning that he could protect his brother, and, as Hashirama said, they didn't have to fight each other anymore. However, a nagging feeling in the back of his mind kept his smile from becoming genuine, He remembered what Jiraiya told him earlier about his older self deflecting the village and fighting with Hashirama's older self at a place called the Valley of the End, something that resulted in his future self's demise. It bothered him endlessly that he still didn't know the entire story of what happened after Konoha's creation, and he couldn't understand why he would leave the village that would pretty much ensure he could protect Izuna better.

It occurred to him that Hashirama didn't know this yet. As much as he wanted to keep this bit of information hidden, Madara knew full well this was going to come up sooner or latter.

"Hashirama," Madara opened his mouth to tell his friend the more unpleasant news when the sound of clashing metal reached his ears. Alarmed, he and the other three turned around to see Izuna and Tobirama in a standstill, their blades locked between them.

'Oh crap.'

Author's note: And that's it. Again, I apologize for the wait and I hope to not take so long again.

A special thanks to HeartofPureSilver for all her help in forming this chapter!

See you all soon!