Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Warnings of the previous chapters still apply, no further warnings as of yet.

There a kind of resolute about this child, it was something you often didn't see without the pain of war clouding your mind. Which is what made him such an oddity. His chakra alone was ample cause for concern, yet Hashirama was treating it as if it were a normality amongst Shinobi. Sometimes his elder brother could be so flippant that he worried for the village. Not to mention Madara, that man had a madness in his eyes when Hashirama wasn't looking, Tobirama couldn't simply ignore it, and yet- he couldn't bare to hurt his elder brother in such a way.

The thought always managed to draw blood from his lip. For although Hashirama seemed to trust the man with his village and his life, not to mention sensitive information. Tobirama could not, and while he was a man scorned by the Uchiha clan, this was not for the elder man's lineage. Merely his demeanor -or perhaps it was his aura- stuck a chord within him that told his more war hardened instincts of an enemy with madness in his heart. It was disconcerting. Yet he could not as of yet be sure whether or not it held truth, or if it was simply his own delusions from his years of battling Uchiha.

Whatever the case may be. He would tread with caution, as would this child have to, for although he did not understand Madara as well as Hashirama may, he knew when the man held curiosity, and he certainly did in regards to this child.

Below his eyes the child moved. The burns he had seen on his form having mostly healed, his breath drew in sharply, his brother was a brilliant healer, but even he could not heal so much damage so quickly. There was a moment of apprehension, perhaps fear as he got to his feet, he did not trust this boy.

"What are you?" The words were but a whisper to the warm healing room of the tower, yet the weight added to them was unmistakable, even to himself. He found no joy in being cruel, but he was weary of the child's intentions, let alone the power he carried from something of an unknown force. The scowl on his face was one of condemnation.

"Human, a shinobi." At that he let his eyes rest upon the child now sitting up on the futon, his expression unusually unreadable for someone so young, a hazy movement to his eyes gave the man a clue to what stirred within the child's emotions. Unease, perhaps fear, or discomfort. Whatever it had been, it was the furthest thing from the anger he had thought the movement would have represent. He knew a spirited youth when he saw one, this was one such child, yet there was almost a vulnerability, or fragility really that shone in his eyes, now cast downward, and looking oh so strange on the expressive face he had seen before.

"Your chakra is vile. I have never seen anything like it. I won't pretend for even a moment that it doesn't concern me. My brother may be willing to turn a blind eye, but I am not." Tobirama could tell the boy was aware of the implication, yet he didn't so much as flinch, instead his eyes rose, and there was a mirthful gleam to his eyes, and a challenging expression in his smirk. It drew Tobirama back for a moment at the strange feeling of childhood challenges with his brothers in the forests of the old Senju settlement.

"Vile yeah. I've heard that before, got anything better for me then that?" It was rather clear the child was biting him, and while unusual it was not appreciated.

"Idiot child." The irritation that usually followed such a statement did not seem to hold purchase with this boy. In fact he actually, held a palm over his mouth and giggled eyes crinkled with something similar to good humor.

"I didn't notice it before, but you, you're a lot like him." He could only raise an eyebrow, submitting himself to such a foolish game, an unwise move he knew, but his interest had been peeked at this point. The boy said nothing, instead his gaze dropped to his abdomen, his fingers twitching, but his hands didn't move from their place on his lap. Small as the action was, Tobirama found it strange for a reason he couldn't explain, There was something to the movement, more than hesitation, something sad, though different then his brother's bouts of emotion, it spoke of something scarred.

Tobirama liked to consider himself a man able to discern emotion based thoughts, easily, able to understand a reaction, and the response. His brother was much the same, though he handled the information far differently than he, perhaps that was what Hashirama had seen in this child. Something scarred, something terrified, yet resilient. If that was what Hashirama had seen in this boy, then there was nothing for it.

Hashirama had been that way much into his childhood, and even now. Of course he would wish to save this child, help him find a way, or a solution to whatever he was searching for, aiming for, because they were similar.

He allowed himself a grunt in disappointment. For if that was the case, there was nothing much he could do about his suspicions, or even convince his elder brother to keep a tight eye on the child. This was territory Hashirama knew far better then him -and though he daren't admit it even to himself, even Madara had more knowledge on such things then he, for both him and Hashirama were determined to meet their ends, to a degree which he found ridiculous.- He found such blatant resilience idiotic in most cases, this was no different.

Something held in the child's eyes, it wasn't something he could file into a particular emotion. His body language was heavy, and it spoke of something dark, a pain perhaps that he could not escape. This child emitted something of a strange aura, he'd felt it when he had first confronted the boy, at the time, he couldn't pin it to anything particular, for it held so many tightly knotted emotions that he couldn't possibly untangle such a mass.

Right now however, there was something so simple in the posture, in the tightened fists that Tobirama knew to be great sadness, something so close to turning into anger that it held his own heart fast for a moment before he regained control of himself. Even still as such a simple emotion clenched at the child's heart, something shone in his eyes, and a smile brightened everything into that tangled mess of emotions that he had first felt.

His voice was soft, which came as a surprise, he seemed like a loud child. It didn't take long however to realize that he child was mumbling to himself.

"What about my happy ending? Where's that?" The words didn't make sense, and really he did want to know, to understand, but he'd rather not spend his time with such nonsensical thoughts. The child was clearly in pain, and well, he certainly wasn't cruel.

"Follow me." He barely got a glance of the child rising, but he saw it nonetheless, he would watch the boy while he had some fresh air, it was clear he needed it.

The fresh air just outside of the building brought a rejuvenation to the boy's skin, the tan skin radiating warmth, and his hair seemed to shine in the light as a Kerria in the sunlight. His eyes lit and became a brighter colour than the clearest waters. In contrast the strange markings on his face were dark on his skin, thin lines that were dark on the skin. Tobirama could admit, it was quite the sight. Yet the bright colour of his clothing took away from the beauty the child gave off. To his keen eyes it was unusual.

"Thank you." The grin was wide, and brilliant white, it was painfully honest and kind, that Tobirama could only nod, a guilt in his throat at his suspicions of this child, but he held firm onto those, he couldn't afford to be soft-hearted. "I don't suppose I could have a drink or some food? I haven't eaten for, well I don't know."

He did a quick mental count. Three days of sleeping, not to mention the unknown factor of just how long the boy had been wondering around the forest. Yes, he supposed hunger was a factor at this point.

He merely nodded, and made his way towards the few minor shops he knew existed.

For some reason or another, while they ate, the child would look upon him, or more specifically his hair, and nose... it was quite odd. To put it quite mildly, there was also the strange slump to his shoulders whenever his gaze moved away from his hair. Forlorn, as if he had been expecting something.

He almost wanted to compose a list at this point. 'The Disturbing Mannerisms Of Hashirama's Child-Patient.' He was still contemplating the name, it was a bit long.

The silence they shared while eating didn't last long, it seemed the boy -while prone to fits of depression apparently- was actually quite the talkative individual. Smiling the entire time, which was rather odd considering his previous state. Still he listened, it was possible the child would reveal something while speaking.

"So, you fought in a lot of wars?" It was on instinct that he posture stiffened. That question never bore good news, and from one he didn't know, who knew what it meant for him.

"Perhaps." He spoke plainly.

"I've never fought in a war, well not really, I mean I have fought a lot of people before, but well, they were trying to kill me so I really can't be blamed for that can I? Ever fought someone far above you in skill? Huh, let me tell you, I was just a kid, we were sent on a really simple mission, of course it didn't really end up being simple, the guy we ended up fighting was way above us in rank. Could have killed us within seconds if he hadn't been gloating. Well our teacher-"

They were there for an inordinate amount of time, and he could freely admit at this point, that he had been fascinated by the child's story. It wasn't the most action based he had ever heard, certainly not the most frightening, or gory, it simply held intrigue. Nothing like the story's -or indeed- events of war he had heard or experienced. He ended up engaged as the child told it, although he certainly was not the best storyteller -mostly because he was careful not to say any names- it was still interesting.

"-But really, they were good people in the end." The blond finished, and Tobirama found himself raising an eyebrow, but nevertheless agreeing. He had been carefully talked through both men's' sides, and found them admirable despite himself.

He wasn't a man who felt sympathy for his enemies, he had never felt it during his years fighting in the war, and it gave him pause of thought. Because how many lives had he cut down for nothing? Several he knew. Even the Uchiha.. This train of thought went no further. Something tugging at his memory, years and years ago, what could be an entirely different lifetime to him at this point, but it was important, or had been important to him at some point. A belief or something of the like. He ignored the nagging at his mind, and focused instead on the child who was telling him yet another story from his home village.

He listened, shoulders tense, but mind malleable.

"So the girl on my team well she was-"

It was a strangely relaxing afternoon, Tobirama blamed it on simple observation, but he could see that the child's shoulders were far less weighed down by something unknown, and the smile on his face was genuine. He also learned many things about the boy, and while not significant, they were, well he didn't quite know what they were, but they were something important, or they would be in any case.

Like the simple fact that the child was exuberant when excited -this often happened when he explained a battle that he had won.- He was someone who respected those he fought regardless of his own opinion on the matter.

Mostly, he learned through the nearly incoherent mumbles -that the boy most certainly did not want him to hear- he heard hints of something deeper involving the village itself, something -he hesitated to call it such but nevertheless; nefarious. It was as his brother had said quietly: Solidarity, and perhaps unintentional-neglect. Whatever the case, he knew that it had brought a startling change to the child at a young age, as to what he wasn't quite sure.

Now however, he quested for knowledge- before he cast judgement.

They travelled to the tower with the tanned boy speaking in light tones about someone with lots of white hair and small black eyes, who travelled around selling his books and looking for inspiration.

He spoke loudly, but kindly, of a man with one all seeing black eye, who happened to be a prolifent reader of the other man's books. A man whose' hair struck up strangely. Who taught morals that to this day the blond respected and held in high regard.

In a way, it tickled his sensitive side, something he was very much uncomfortable with. He still held onto his suspicions for the child, there was no disregarding that, but other than the malevolent chakra, it seemed that the boy was quite friendly. For some reason, it didn't sit well with him. He knew well enough he had the mind of a taction, so perhaps he was being paranoid, still, it was unsettling.

Such a turbulence of emotions, and conjoining thoughts irritated him.

It was for a mere moment, really nothing more then a second, or a minute, something like that at any rate. He refused to acknowledge that he had spent nearly the entire time spaced out, deluded himself into thinking he had been somewhere else entirely.

It had been so easy though, for the routine was ingrained into him years ago. Him and Sasuke had always gone off after training to eat, and talk of past battles and training techniques, then inevitably ended up slinging out stupid insults at each other, the banter often going on until the late night whence they went to their respected homes, only to do it once more in two days.

He had thought he was speaking to Sasuke for the longest time, it had been that-a similar feeling. The man had listened complacently, silent and observant just as Sasuke had. He only realized his self-imposed illusion until he had finished the third story, simply because there had not been one insult thrown yet. At that point he remembered his new - and terrible- reality, it brought down the smile from his face a little, but regardless he continued. Despite the glare the man had not let go of the entire time -but it was quite possible it wasn't actually a glare, the man had very narrowed eyes, which he found very unnerving thank you very much.- He felt the need to speak, and well if the guy was willing to listen who was he to complain for good-ish- company?

It also helped that the silver-haired man was also quite a bit stoic, like so many people he had known. That was actually a rather sad thought, now that he brought it to the forefront of his mind. He brushed it aside, it didn't matter.

He swallowed back the tensing grief welling inside him.

He didn't expect the building beside them to suddenly explode. It was only half built which was lucky, because the supports were heavy metal, and the base was made out of some sort of strengthened wood. All of it splayed towards them. Near him his companion flinched back, but drew his kunai, and poised them in order to strike. Unfortunately, the building or foundation falling obstructed their view of the perpetrator, even less lucky, the sun shone brightly directly behind the foundation, they couldn't possibly get a clear aim on the shinobi who'd done it, and he had a feeling the other man knew that.

Something sharp cut into his arm, and he was instantly on his guard. It was metal-sharpened, and that's all he really needed to know. There was a white flash directly in front of him, and he only had a moment, he ducked down quickly, seeing something sweep overhead him seconds afterward. Katana by the looks of it. Thinking fast he swept his foot around trying to unbalance his attacker. The perpetrator moved back too quickly for it to hit. He moved his leg back and used its momentum to launch himself upwards. Unfortunately his grace at that moment decided to fail him, and his right foot slipped, he chose abruptly to use it advantage and charge his opponent. He saw the Katana move towards his left flank, and used his kunai, to stop it. His right fist raised, and he punched the man right in the nose. He drew his kunai downwards and the Katana dropped from the man's hand.

There was a movement on his left, and he speared it but a glance. The movement was from Tobirama's opponent, a hand signal as he drew back. Naruto took it to mean retreat, as the man in front of his quickly disappeared, his katana still on the ground.

That couldn't have been a normal occurrence. He turned to his companion, the man was gazing at the building just beside the one that had been blown up, his eyes -and Naruto was sure this time- narrowed into a senbon glare.

He asked the only sensible thing on his mind.

"Who were those people?" Tobirama's ruby-red eyes flicked to them, a sliver of something resembling emotion filtering through before the man turned to stare at the building once more, Naruto gazed as well, but saw nothing conspicuous.

Tobirama spoke in hushed tones, but his voice was bland. "It's insignificant" Naruto huffed, fed up with bland responses from people.

"Well they tried to kill me, so no, it isn't." The other man finally turned to look at him, his shoulders tense, and a very small scowl in place.

"They tried to kill you because you were in the way, not because you were a target." He growled at this. He hardly cared if he was the target or not, this was strange. The other man, grunted. "We're only a settlement right now. Different clans attack all the time to try and steal land and preserves. Until we have a defensive division of shinobi in place, and boundaries set, the attacks should slow down, and we'll be gradually recognized as a Village with her leader." Something didn't quite fit there.

"But this was different wasn't it?" The other man seemed to pause, contemplating his options before he replied, an edge of warning in his tone.

"We've dealt with their clan numerous times, they're unusually determined. We might have to take serious action if it continues. Something my brother is adamant we do not do."

He had many connecting opinions on that statement, understanding it for what it was, but the only coherent thought he had was; 'Lucky me stumbling into a potential war zone.'

He wasn't quite sure what else to think about that, and to think just minutes earlier, he was lost in a world where everything was okay and he was eating ramen with his best friend again. Why was it always him?