A Match Into Water / 8

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Hashirama took in a breath, lifting his arms to the sky before bringing them down to the ground by his feet. His mission was supposed to start soon, and he was instructed that his uncle would be meeting him the minute the sun disappeared from the sky. After training that day he'd stopped home only to wolf down enough food for half an army and to bid his family goodbye before leaving early, mostly just because he was getting restless staying inside.

Tōka gave him a lucky white headband with the Senju clan insignia on it. She was probably the one who was the most excited for him, and the most confident. Kawarama was excited, too—but he was still a bit young to understand what he was even getting excited about.

Hashirama could hardly tell Tobirama and Nuka apart anymore. Their reactions were more or less exactly the same. Tobirama gave him a small smile and wished him luck, confident in his ability but with an underlying layer of concern all the same. Nuka's expression practically mirrored his— except she didn't hold back from giving him a hug, and saying all the things Tobirama wouldn't always say out loud.

"My papa will protect you." She mumbled when she'd hugged him goodbye. "Don't be scared."

He didn't know very much about his uncle's abilities, aside from his medical knowledge and experience. Before his father started dragging him out for daily training sessions, he vaguely remembered Tōka saying that he was a genjutsu specialist as well; he pouted at the thought, realizing he knew next to nothing about genjutsu. His father had once given him a horribly brief lesson on it, and he could tell it just wasn't his favorite subject.

Hashirama sighed, hoping that maybe he could learn a little more about it over their mission. His uncle Atsu was admittedly one person he really looked up to, but never spent as much time as he wanted to with. He was just so different from his own father.

It was just as he completed his series of stretches that he gave a startled gasp, seeing the man himself standing right in front of him not even five feet away. He had the same carefree, lofty smile that he always had on.

"Ah—uncle!" he cried out in his surprise, "…How did you get there without me noticing?"

The man shook his head in amusement, lifting two fingers as he approached him to poke him on the forehead. Hashirama took in a sharp breath as his senses seemed to intensify; he blinked, furrowing his brow in confusion as he starting hearing things around him he didn't hear before. It was the little things, like the sound of footsteps and the birds chirping that he realized he had been completely deaf to.

"Genjutsu," Atsura clarified, "That one was simple. You won't notice everything just by keeping your eyes open. You should pay more attention next time."

Hashirama blinked. It was strange being scolded by him—the smile was still stuck on his face as he did it, and it felt more like helpful advice than the stern lashing that he typically received from his father. He didn't feel any sort of disappointment coming from him, which was a sharp contrast to his father. And because of that, he just nodded in understanding and smiled back.

"Yes sir!" he dutifully agreed, "So is it time?"

"Almost," his uncle started walking towards the gate, Hashirama following right at the heels, "You look awfully excited."

"I am!" he confirmed with gusto, "Training all the time is getting boring."

Atsura gave a quiet chuckle. He sincerely hoped the boy's first mission wouldn't turn out to be a total disaster—it would be a shame if he couldn't maintain that enthusiasm.

"Alright," he paused to get his attention, "Well then before we leave, we need to debrief."

Hashirama straightened up as his tone became more serious. His dark eyes focused intently on the older man as he crouched down, eyes trained outside the Senju's walls.

"You know that we have small units of three patrolling the compound's outskirts at all times, right?" he asked. Hashirama nodded quickly.

"Well, there have been a number of sightings of unfamiliar shinobi in our territory lately. And by that I mean, just outside of our territory." He corrected. "They're getting a bit too close for comfort, so your father has decided to double our numbers just to stay on the safe side. This is a relatively low risk mission, and it's unlikely that we'll even run into an enemy to engage."

Atsura looked calm to the point Hashirama wondered if the man even cared if they ran into the enemy or not. His smile was back and he looked as unworried as ever—to the point that Hashirama was almost inclined to believe the foreign shinobi sightings might not have even happened. It was only the words that came out of his mouth that signaled they should keep on their guard nonetheless.

"Either way, we need to be careful. You should always be prepared for the worst." His smile faded. "The worst case scenario being, enemy shinobi manage to slip past our defenses and make a break for the compound."

"But if it's only a few of them, they wouldn't be able to make it very far anyway, right?" Hashirama contemplated, "I mean, there are hundreds of Senju at the compound."

Atsura turned his eyes to the sky lazily, his mind rewinding to a day he should have been prepared for the worst, but wasn't.

"Hashirama, do you remember what happened to the old compound?" he asked.

The boy nodded, "Oh. I remember it happening, but not exactly…how." He scratched the back of his head. He had only been three years old at the time—it wasn't the clearest of memories, but seeing your home erupt into a blazing inferno wasn't something you typically forgot.

"That happened because the enemy slipped right past us. Just one. One enemy gaining the upper hand can lead to several, and before you know it, everything could be falling apart right in front of you."

Hashirama suppressed a shiver. It sounded like he was talking from experience.

"So you need to be thorough. Take everything seriously. And always expect the least likely scenario, however bad it may be."

With a somewhat nervous gulp, Hashirama nodded as he soaked in the advice. Then he blinked and the carefree look was on his uncle's face once again, throwing him for a loop.

"So," he continued on, pulling out a small map of what looked like a bird's eye view of the compound and the surrounding area. "Here, here, and here are where we and the other two groups are going to be searching."

Hashirama furrowed his brow looking at the map. The compound was essentially a triangle; normally they had two teams patrolling the two sides that faced the more open grasslands, and another that covered the side that sat on the base of a tall densely forested mountain. Atsura kept his finger on that end of the map.

"Have you ever explored this side of the compound?" he asked. Hashirama shook his head.

"No, everyone told me it's dangerous. Are we...going there?" his uncle smiled.

"Yep," he confirmed, "Don't worry. Eventually it would be best for you to become familiar with that environment. It is dangerous, yes, but that is to our advantage. The Senju know the forest better than anyone. As the heir to our clan, you need to become one with the forest."

"... One with the forest?" he asked skeptically.

"One with the forest." Atsura repeated, "Until it becomes a natural defense. It will be your ally. You have to learn to know it as well as you know yourself. It will take a long time for you to create that bond. But, don't worry... It's nothing you need to worry about today." he reassured, starting towards that direction with Hashirama in tow.

"Hashirama, if you were the enemy, where would you strike?" he asked after a moment of silence.

"Not from that side of the compound," Hashirama replied, blinking unsurely.

"Why not?" Atsura questioned, "Would it not make the most sense to attack where the enemy least expects it?"

"Oh." Hashirama realized, "Yeah, I guess maybe it does make sense." Turning his head down thoughtfully, he then rounded his uncle with newfound energy.

"But you just said we know the forest better than anyone! It would be a lose-lose situation for them either way, wouldn't it?" Atsura chuckled.

"One would think." he agreed. Hashirama deflated slightly, huffing quietly. They proceeded towards the destination quietly the rest of the way, which was not the easiest task for Hashirama after stepping foot outside the compound for the first time since he was three.

The land outside the Senju walls looked relatively the same for a while. The terrain became much more rugged as they got closer to the mountainside, where the forest was much thicker. Even the moonlight just barely escaped the tree's covering here.

"How much further do we have to go?" he asked quietly.

"Shh." Atsura hushed, putting a hand to the ground. He concentrated on something briefly before finally looking at him.

"This far is fine." he motioned for him to settle into the base of a tree next to the one he took cover behind.

"Hashirama," He got his attention, "If for any reason we need backup, spike your chakra like you would to break out of a genjutsu. The other groups will come looking. You know how to do that, right?"

"Ah, yes." He confirmed, his face turning red in the slightest remembering how easily he'd fallen for the last one. Atsura smiled and gave a nod, signalling the start of their mission.

Miyako hummed quietly as she weaved her youngest niece's hair into a braid. She was more content now in this time of her life than she had been in the longest time. Nuka had forgiven her—or so it seemed, her children were alive, and the newest one will have been born out of love and not out of duty.

"Your mother always wore her hair like this." She mentioned carefully, tying the end with a ribbon.

"She said that way it would look just as pretty as mine, but it would be twice as practical."

The braid fell just past her shoulders. Nuka felt like she had too much hair for a girl who was only five, but she never really complained. Tōka's hair was even longer and she never did anything with it. Miyako had offered to do the same with her hair, but she had been denied as the older sister preferred to leave it as it was. She didn't like people touching her hair.

"Tell me you like my hair." Nuka zeroed in on Tobirama, who had been on his tip toes staring out the window at the time. When he looked over, there was a pause as he realized she had been talking to him. The moment he opened his mouth to reply, he was saved as his younger brother proceeded to throw himself onto his cousin's lap.

"I like your hair!" Kawarama exclaimed with boundless energy. Tobirama grinned at his younger brother's antics, quietly breathing a sigh of relief. Nuka fell for the distraction easily, beaming at the sandy haired boy who looked up at her with big black eyes.

"Oh, Kawa-chan," she used Tōka's nickname for him, "You're so much sweeter than your brother!"

Kawarama giggled as she gathered him into her arms, squeezing the life out of him in a hug. Tobirama shared a glance with Tōka, almost positive that they were thinking the same thing. Nuka didn't seem to like his younger brother very much when he was born—but she seemed to love him now to the point that Tobirama had to wonder whether or not he was the favorite cousin anymore.

Nonetheless, he was happy being at home. He had adapted to his father's training schedule even better than Hashirama had, but he still missed being around his cousins, along with his mother and younger brother. It wasn't often anymore that they all got to be in the same place at the same time.

Of course, his father was absent. If he were here, along with his uncle and Hashirama…

Tobirama smiled at the thought. He never cared much for the birthday parties the clan threw for he and his brother, because there were just too many people crowded around him that he didn't even know. But the thought of his closest family all being together was a heartwarming thought. He supposed he would have to appreciate today, as it might be the closest they would get to it for a while.

Kawarama was more than content where he was. It was Nuka that spent the most time with him, even more than his brothers, so he always seemed to drift towards her whenever the family was together. As he grew up, it became harder to tell which of his brothers he was more similar to; he was about as excitable as Hashirama, but at the same time he was shy and preferred to stay either by himself or with a close family member.

But unlike Tobirama, he was closer to his mother and didn't seem to care about fighting for Butsuma's attention. Which was a good thing, in the eyes of most.

His mother didn't seem to be too worried about Hashirama. She expressed a complete confidence in Atsura's ability, and it seemed as though she would've trusted him with the lives of all of her children at the same time if she needed to. Tobirama didn't know what to make of their relationship—she worried about them more when they were left with their own father.

She was noticeably happier since they found out she was having another baby. Tobirama assumed most people would be, but he couldn't help but remember how she was always irritable and stressed out before Kawarama was born. Not to mention how long it took for her to actually give birth to him.

He sighed. Hopefully it wouldn't be so hard on her this time.

"Hey." Tobirama spoke up to his cousin after his mother had left the room, "Are you worried?"

The blonde looked at him in confusion with big red eyes. She stood up, Kawarama having wandered off to play with Tōka.

"About Hashirama? I thought we decided there was nothing to worry about."

Tobirama shook his head. "Not that. About mom." Nuka blinked, frowning in realization. And for a moment she said nothing, only averting her eyes obviously not wanting to admit it. Tobirama got the hint.

"Is that why you were mad? When you found out she was having a baby again," he clarified, "And why you didn't like Kawarama before?"

The way his cousin tensed up and clenched her fists for a moment gave it away that he had hit the nail on the head. He was taken aback when she flashed him the same annoying smile he always saw on her dad's face.

"Caught me red handed." She admitted shamelessly, "But I'm always worried. Don't you know that by now?"

"Why?" he asked. His interrogation didn't throw her off in the slightest. She grinned at him like she didn't care—like her paranoia was no big deal.

"I dunno." She lied. Tobirama gave her a blank look, letting her know that she wasn't fooling anyone. Her smile dropped for a moment when she turned to face him, grabbing both of his hands in hers before it came back as if it never left.

"Because," she started, "I'm scared of losing people I care about." Tobirama frowned. His eyes slid away from hers, drifting over to his younger brother.

"I am too." He admitted, "But… there's not a whole lot we can do. When it comes to my mom, at least. So you shouldn't be so worried."

"Why are you trying so hard to comfort me, cousin?" she tilted her head, the stupid smile still on her face. He wrinkled his nose.

"Why are you still holding my hands?" he looked down at them like they were gross before giving her the same look. Her smile quickly turned into a scowl before ripping her hands away.

"Well, fine! Looks like you won't be getting a shoulder to cry on next time you worry yourself into a hole in the ground. Bye!" she waved particularly close to his face on purpose, walking out of the room and towards wherever his mother had wandered off to.

Tobirama's eye twitched, giving her an odd look as she left that he normally saved for his elder brother when he was being an idiot.

…

"Aunt Miya." Nuka got the woman's attention, finding her in the kitchen hovering over a pot of something.

"Hmm?" Miyako hummed in response. Nuka pulled a chair over to where she was standing, climbing on top of it so she could look her in the eye without breaking her neck.

"Do you think if Lady Chizuka teaches me for long enough, I could take her place?"

Miyako looked over at her with an appraising look, smiling at the interesting questions she always seemed to ask.

"As one of the elders?" she thought for a moment, "Well, I don't see why not. She's getting old, and eventually someone's going to have to. That's a wonderful goal to have."

"But how old would I have to be?" Nuka continued, "Does it matter?"

Miyako gave a laugh. "Well, five years old is a bit young." Nuka wrinkled her nose.

"I'm almost six." She corrected, putting her hands on her hips in a sassy manner that reminded the woman sorely of her sister.

"Ah, my mistake." Miyako humored her, "Though I'm really not sure. That's a question I would ask her. I'm sure she's been in her position for a very long time."

"Yeah, she acts like it." Nuka crossed her arms. Miyako had to hide a smile, not wanting to encourage the girl to have that attitude too openly.

"Why do you ask? Is that what you want to be?" Nuka closed her eyes, contemplating the thought.

"I don't know. But I don't want to just exist for no reason, I want to be able to make a difference. And Hashirama is going to need help when he becomes the clan head." Miyako looked at her with so much pride she thought she might burst.

"Well I'm sure he will appreciate you very much. But hopefully he won't need to be the clan head too soon, so I'm sure there's no need for you to hurry." She put a hand on the blonde's head adoringly.

"You will be incredible no matter what you do. Your mother would be so proud of you."

The smile her aunt gave her in that moment was so full of love it was heartbreaking. Trying her hardest to ignore the way her eyes welled up in the slightest, Nuka looked at her aunt in curiosity.

"How did you do it?" her voice was quiet, "How did you learn how to live without my mom?"

Miyako was thrown at the inquiry. Nuka never asked about her mother.

"I—I'm… not sure." She replied hesitantly, taking a breath as she tried to find the right words.

"Life often forces us to do things we don't think we're capable of doing. If I didn't move on, then life would move on without me. That would be no different from dying. And if I accepted that fate, Hanako would've never forgiven me."

Miyako looked away. It would've been just another notch on the list of things her sister couldn't forgive her for.

A lot of Hashirama's training first started with a map. Of the compound, the immediate area around it, to the general layout of the entire Fire Country. His father stressed the first two like nobody's business—but to his credit, the Senju clan was rather well known for their ability to blend in with their environment just because they knew it so well.

The Senju compound itself was embedded into the base of a mountain that was almost completely covered with a thick layer of trees. The mountain was one of the largest in the fire country; though no one ever would have known, as to a certain altitude the mountain was surrounded by a genjutsu that to the eyes of most made it much smaller.

Hashirama never found out who it was that controlled the genjutsu. Whenever he asked, his father would say that it had been that way long before they started occupying its space. Nobody really knew.

But with a genjutsu specialist on his side and his mission giving him the chance to explore, maybe...

"Okay, Hashirama," Atsura started, "This genjutsu will alter the environment around us, so no one will see or hear us. But you still need to move carefully and hide your chakra signature."

"Okay," Hashirama agreed from the tree opposite him, "How reliable is that genjutsu?" he asked merely out of curiosity. His uncle smiled back at him.

"Don't worry. I use this one regularly enough that it's second nature. Only an Uchiha would be able to break it."

Hashirama blinked and a moment of silence passed.

"Even if that happens," Atsura took the hint to explain, "then don't panic. You were trained to do much more than hide."

"Ah—right." He acknowledged.

The two of them took off into the trees, taking a path that Atsura probably knew well enough he could take it with his eyes closed. But then that would defeat the purpose of their mission.

The Senju clan drilled their shinobi relentlessly on how to use the environment to their advantage—hiding in trees and other foliage was expected to be easy, even for the newest of rookies.

The moon was high in the sky for a while, providing the only source of light in the area. Hashirama suppressed the urge to look around, considering this was one of the first times he'd ever been outside the compound for this long. His uncle insisted that they talk as little as possible, despite the genjutsu. In a sense, the dead silence was ominous—but at the same time, it was comforting in comparison to what could be happening instead.

A few hours passed, and there was not a foreign shinobi to be seen. Hashirama would have probably been bored if it weren't for the adrenaline that came from his fear of messing up.

It was when the moon was finally starting to set that he nearly jumped out of his skin as he heard a deafening crack.

His head snapped over to the tree his uncle was hiding in, noticing the man's back had straightened considerably. He looked calm nonetheless, and he looked up with narrowed eyes.

Hashirama followed his gaze only to look in confusion at what looked like an actual crack in the sky above him. His eyes widened in alarm when the sound came again, the crack getting bigger until it looked like a giant spider web.

"There they are." Atsura observed. Moving over to Hashirama's tree in an instant, he grabbed the boy and jumped down. Hashirama wasn't sure what had just happened; he held his hands over his head to shield himself from the sound of something shattering, but when nothing fell, he opened his eyes to see the sky looked perfectly normal.

"…What?" he asked incredulously.

"Hold onto me." His uncle replied seriously, racing through a set of hand seals before he started sinking into the ground beneath him. Hashirama managed to recognize that something was wrong quickly enough that he didn't argue.

Squeezing his eyes shut, he held his breath as they moved underground for a while before Hashirama realized he could breathe. How was that possible?

It didn't matter. His uncle resurfaced above ground in just less than a minute, pulling the boy out along with him. He looked at Atsura as he waited for him to explain what was going on—it was kind of frustrating, knowing that just talking could put them in danger. Hashirama was angry at himself for not being able to assess the situation and react as well or as quickly as his uncle.

A tense moment passed before Atsura's shoulders relaxed in the slightest.

"Our genjutsu was broken." He confirmed.

Hashirama jumped when he saw someone perched on a tree next to them out of his peripheral vision. His knee-jerk reaction was to pull out a kunai in his defense. He would have tried his sword—because Kami knows he was excited to try that out—but he didn't, remembering they weren't meant to engage the enemy unless he was told.

The man in the tree held a hand up at his action. Hashirama let out the breath he'd been holding—it was just another Senju on patrol. He'd forgotten they weren't the only ones out here.

That was a relief. Hashirama forced himself to calm down enough to assess the situation.

Their genjutsu had been shattered. The enemy was without a doubt, an Uchiha. But they couldn't be sure how many there were—even Hashirama knew it only took one to break down a genjutsu. There were a total of nine Senju patrolling the area. That means that as long as they outnumbered the Uchiha, then… everything would be okay?

Hashirama wanted to pull his hair out and groan at his own terrible mission plan. He could just imagine Tobirama shaking his head at his idiocy and lack of organization right about now.

There was a completely different sort of sign language that shinobi used in delicate situations like these. They would stagger themselves roughly in uneven lines with a sensor nin at the end of each one, sniffing out the enemy's chakra and slowly guiding them forward until they surrounded the enemy. That was basically the plan for their mission in the event that there really was enemy shinobi sniffing around.

Another group of three should be quite a ways away from them at this point, he concluded. Atsura signed something to the Senju in the tree—the sensor nin, who signaled back with urgency.

"Three of them." Atsura trained his eyes towards the direction the sensor had pointed. "Hashirama."

Hashirama stood alert when he was addressed, adrenaline starting to flood through his veins.

"We're going to engage. Don't look them directly in the eyes."

He nodded determinedly, following without question as they closed in on their opponent. They moved from tree to tree silently, stopping when his uncle held an arm out. Hashirama poked his head around the tree he was hiding behind, expecting to catch sight of an Uchiha for the first time.

Except there was no one there. He blinked in momentary confusion as he looked over to Atsura, who had his eyes narrowed in the same direction with his hand tightened around the hilt of his sword.

Hashirama furrowed his brow, completely confused—there was no one there, what was he looking at?

Then his uncle charged forward into the seemingly empty clearing, when it finally hit him that he had fallen for a genjutsu again whereas his uncle had not. Spiking his chakra without a second thought, he felt the illusion dissipate; hardly a second later, he heard the swift footsteps of an approaching enemy behind him.

Hashirama cursed inwardly, realizing that breaking the genjutsu had alerted the enemy to his location. Gripping his own sword at his waist, he pulled it out and turned around in one swift motion, clashing with the enemy's weapon before it hit.

While he was sure there would be a number of things he'd forget to do in his first fight with an Uchiha, he never expected it would be the most important thing to not look them directly in the eye.

He gasped. He did look him in the eye, yes—but nothing happened. The Uchiha was too young, Hashirama doubted the Sharingan had even manifested yet. That was why he gasped and why he hesitated—and probably how he ended up on his ass two seconds later.

Would his uncle even blame him? This kid couldn't have been any older than Tobirama.

Picking himself up in haste, the boy's attacks kept coming and Hashirama was too busy dodging to even notice the slice he'd gotten on his shoulder. This kid had obviously been thrown out to war much sooner than he had, which threw him for a loop since his own younger brother had only just started training.

The Uchiha swiped at him horizontally, and was unable to dodge when Hashirama ducked and kicked his feet out from under him. He didn't recover very fast, and Hashirama cursed when he felt himself hesitate again, when he had the chance and he could've killed him right there but he couldn't because that boy was probably someone else's younger brother and—

"Stop hesitating!"

His uncle's voice snapped him out of his moment of panic and moral conflict. Unfortunately his opportunity had been lost, and not only did his enemy have time to recover, but he also had time to abandon his sword and race through a number of hand seals after creating distance between them. Hashirama froze for a split second before realizing he needed to get out of the line of fire—literally, as the sky was soon lit up with a giant fireball coming right at him.

There was a moment of panic knowing that he wouldn't be able to dodge the entire thing. Then he was hit with a different kind of alarm when he felt a hand on his ankle, yanking him underground before the fireball made contact. His fear quickly dissipated, knowing right away who it was.

Hashirama was grateful for the silence. In those short moments before surfacing he calmed himself down, trying to accept the reality of what he really had to do—either kill or be killed. That boy wasn't going to have mercy or sympathize with him because he had a family. They both had people to return home to, and Hashirama knew that it would be a mistake to try sparing someone who might come back to kill him or his family members later.

Filled with newfound determination, Hashirama readied his sword as he felt his uncle pull him upwards with more force than before.

Now above ground, he caught sight of his foe, launching a few shuriken at him before he saw him reappear. Hashirama cheered inwardly seeing one hit it's mark and the other just graze his arm—a feeling of victory that was quickly beat down with guilt. But it was necessary...

Hashirama tensed as another Uchiha rushed to the boy's side, seeing his injuries.

Don't look them in the eye, don't look them in the—

He couldn't move. Cursing inwardly, what happened?! He didn't even look them in the eye!

His sword fell to the ground, the strength to hold it quickly leaving him. He was completely paralyzed, but how?

"We don't need eye contact to use genjutsu." the man answered his question, reading his mind.

Is—is he reading my mind? Can he do that?

"You might just be under the impression that you're not talking out loud. Can you even tell?"

Hashirama understood. They didn't need eye contact to trap him in a genjutsu, but he could still break out of it. Forcing himself to calm down, he spiked his chakra to break the illusion.

He blinked and they were gone. But he could move—that was good. Scrambling for his sword, he grabbed it and looked around in alarm. There was nothing.

"... Where did you go?" he called, with no response. "Uncle?"

Nothing. What was he supposed to do now? His hand trembled slightly.

His father always told him that silence was a bad sign. At least in this sort of situation. Hashirama moved carefully and quietly through the area they'd covered during their fight. There had been three Uchiha, so he assumed his uncle was preoccupied with the third. But he would never leave without him, would he?

All of the ways the mission could've gone bad raced through his head. Did they make a break for the compound? Is that why they're all gone?

Hashirama felt a surge of panic at the thought, realizing that's what he needed to do. He needed to protect the compound! Turning over his shoulder, he moved to rush back in the direction they came. But something still felt wrong, what was it? He looked up at the placement of the moon to see what direction he needed to go, and his blood ran cold.

The moon was red. He was still in a genjutsu.

"Hashirama," he stiffened, hearing his uncle's voice. "Hashirama!"

He turned to look towards the voice with a jolt, the genjutsu breaking around him. His uncle was right there when he turned around, causing Hashirama to gasp and fall backwards.

Something had happened. Something had happened while he was in that genjutsu.

"Unc—uncle?" he choked. Atsura was facing away from him, the third Uchiha embedded with his sword. He fell to the ground—letting go of his own sword that Atsura had taken through his chest in his haste to stop the enemy from reaching a mystified Hashirama.

Hashirama gawked at his injury. Panic and fear came like a flood and suddenly the fight itself seemed much less frightening. Atsura simply turned and smiled at him.

"It's okay," he said, "The other two ran away. We should be safe for now."

Hashirama didn't know how to respond. His uncle had what looked like a fatal wound and he didn't even seem to notice.

"You know how to get home from here, don't you?" he asked after removing the sword, coughing harshly a few times. Hashirama saw the blood.

"Y—you need to come home with me." Hashirama finally replied, reaching a shaking hand to take his uncle's. Atsura didn't seem to have the strength to hold onto him, but he managed to walk a short distance. Hashirama was fear stricken the entire way, not knowing what to say yet overcome with the thought of losing his uncle.

"It doesn't have to be this way, you know." Atsura told him quietly, "No one has to fight."

His uncle's voice was weak. Hashirama knew he had to keep him talking. If he fainted before they got home, he could die. What would he do then?

"Uncle, can you—can you heal yourself?" he asked.

"I've been trying for a long time," Atsura replied, "... We should stop here."

Hashirama shook his head rapidly, wanting to beg his uncle to keep going. Remembering what he told him before, Hashirama spiked his chakra to get someone's attention, pleading inwardly for help to come. Atsura fell to his knees and onto his side.

"You can't leave me," Hashirama pleaded, rushing to his side. "You can't. What—what about Tōka and Nuka? They need you. You can't not come back." he cried over him.

"It's okay...," he replied. Hashirama saw tears trail down his face at the thought of his daughters.

"Maybe one day... Nuka will find a way to beat this, so she won't be like me...," his voice became more and more quiet.

"Hashirama." he looked him in the eye, "The only way to protect them is to make the fighting stop. Nothing else matters. Do it for me. Please." he raised a hand behind Hashirama's head, bringing their foreheads together.

Hashirama felt unworthy of the headband Tōka had given him. He was the heir to the Senju and a measly genjutsu made him a liability. His uncle was going to die because of him, and no one else.

He choked back a sob as he realized the consequences of his mistake. His cousins, his cousins that he loved like they were his sisters would no longer have their father. Their loving, caring, one in a million father.

They would be orphans. And it would be all his fault. He didn't even know how to explain what happened.

"No. No." he sobbed, grabbing onto his uncle tightly in futile hopes that it could keep him alive. A few moments passed and he was sure his uncle was gone when he heard his voice once more.

"Look," he whispered with his hand in the air. Hashirama moved and looked at his outstretched hand, and was suddenly awestruck. His uncle's arm was covered in sprouts. Was he... still under a genjutsu?

His last few tears left his eyes as his uncle's breathing quieted into nothing. Hashirama was still in shock, and he found himself sitting in the same position for several minutes before another Senju dropped down from the trees. Nonetheless, he didn't move an inch.

"Hashirama-sama." They called, "It's time to go."

"Can't you heal him?" he replied, not looking away from uncle's body. The Senju looked at his body questionably, offering no move to do what he asked.

"Well?" he asked again, his voice raised slightly.

"There's nothing left we can do." they responded. "I will tell your family. But you will follow me there."

Hashirama clenched his fists in the frustration of it all. How?! How could he ever face his family, after this...

...