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Chapter Text

Madara had been the first Uchiha to actually see the Senju with the Sharingan fight.

It was a beautiful sight, really. 

The Senju had been keeping Kakashi hidden away from himself and the other Uchiha, for fear that they might attack him. But if nothing else, Uchiha pride meant that the Uchiha were true to their word. Madara had given his word to Hashirama and Tobirama that he would not harm the boy, and the two of them were sent on their merry way, to try and bring the Hyuga into their fragile alliance.

The silver haired man had introduced himself as Kakashi Senju, but Madara had a sneaking suspicion that was not his true last name. On their journey there Madara had wheedled the perplexing man for more information on himself, but he was decidedly tight lipped. In their negotiations with the Hyuga, Kakashi had proved helpful. More than once Kakashi had pointed out the alliance between his family and the Uchiha meant that most of the fighting would now be between the smaller clans and themselves. Eventually the Hyuga agreed to visit the shared lands of the Senju and Uchiha, to hear more about the alliance.

It was on their way back that the two Sharingan wielders encountered problems.

 Madara and Kakashi stopped at almost the same instant, sensing something was wrong. Only when a shuriken whistled past Kakashi’s ear did they realize they were surrounded. Using the Uchiha’s standard Grand Fireball Jutsu to give them some cover, Madara jumped over to where Kakashi was already on the ground with a katana out and his Sharingan eye opened.

“You take the ones on the right, I take the ones on the left?” Kakashi inquired in a light tone. Nodding, Madara leapt to his right, hands already flying through handsigns. As the first wave of their enemies died with high pitched screams and the scent of burning flesh, the fight almost seemed too easy.

Hearing more shouts ending in garbled mumbling, Madara flicked his eyes over to Kakashi’s ongoing battle. What the Uchiha saw could have been something out of a scary story Senju mothers might tell their children to frighten them away from a Sharingan user.  Kakashi was splattered liberally with his enemy’s blood, the color matching the blood red of his spinning Sharingan, and he was cutting through his enemies like a hot knife through butter. Easily dodging kunai and shuriken by just centimeters, conserving as much energy as possible, the supposed Senju arced his blade upwards, slashing the throat of the enemy to his right, while catching and redirecting a kunai with a paper bomb to his left. 

Narrowly avoiding his own enemy’s blade, Madara refocused on his own fight, but kept a careful eye on Kakashi. The man’s style was more fluid than he expected from a man with a transplanted Sharingan. Filing the style away for later consideration, Madara let loose another Grand Fireball Jutsu and reveled in the screams of his dying enemies. 

When the fighting was over, neither of the Sharingan users were much worse for wear. Kakashi looked like he had bathed in blood, and belatedly Madara realized, he sort of had. Brushing his hands off on his pants, the dark-haired man turned to Kakashi, who was sheathing his now clean katana.

“That was unexpected. You fight well for someone with a power that is not his to wield.” Because the Uchiha may have reached peace with the Senju, but that didn’t mean Madara couldn’t be bitter about a Senju with a Sharingan.

“Maa, maa, Madara, you expected anything less? I doubt Hashirama and Tobirama would have sent me out here with you alone if they didn’t think I could handle myself.” Madara rolled his eyes. Of course he was more like Hashirama in attitude and Tobirama in looks.

Straightening his shoulders, Madara said, “We should be on our way, in case these fools have friends.”

Sharingan closed and covered once more, Kakashi gave Madara an eye crinkling smile, and took to the trees. Rolling his eyes once more, Madara raced after him. Madara had never met a man this perplexing, not even the Senju brothers Madara mostly encountered.

Chapter Text

Madara has seen death before. He’s a shinobi, of course he’s seen death.

That didn’t mean he wanted to watch his friends die.

They had been fending off the forces from Earth and Wind countries for a while now. Hashirama and Tobirama were the only ones standing in the way of Wind on the western front. This left Madara and Kakashi in charge of the northern front, where Earth was invading through Grass and Waterfall.

Their forces were tired, dwindling, and angry. The clan heads had said the fighting would stop after the alliance. The only fighting that stopped was between their clans.

No one ever said anything about other countries organizing their clans to attack Fire country.

Yet here they were, Uchiha, Senju, and Hyuga, all fighting off Earth country’s largest clans. It was early in the morning when the attack call had been sounded, everyone scrambling out of their bedrolls to strap on armor and weapon pouches. Madara all but slept in his armor, wanting to be ready for anything. Sliding on the familiar metal plates took less than a minute. Grabbing his weapon, he darted out of his tent and towards the command center, Sharingan already ablaze.

Kakashi had beaten him there, already shouting orders at squad captains and scouts. Making eye contact with the silver haired man, Madara placed a hand on his shoulder.

“It looks like this is their last-ditch effort to try to break us,” Kakashi drawled. When Madara’s hand tightened, the younger man said, “Maa, don’t worry ‘dara-chan, it’s nothing we haven’t faced before!” With a roll of his eyes at the infuriating nickname, the Uchiha lead the way out of the tent and to the front lines, confident Kakashi was at his side.

As it turned out, it was something they hadn’t faced before.

Earth country outnumbered them five to one, but their forces were holding their own. It helps to have Sharingan and Byakugan users working together. Madara and Kakashi were both facing off against large groups of the enemy. They had appropriately deemed the two of them as “most dangerous.”

Madara wondered if Grass and Waterfall were actually helping Earth, or if these reinforcements came in under Fire’s nose. The thought did little to help him, so he filed it away as a possibility to investigate later. Their own reinforcements were another day and a half’s travel away. Not enough time to come to their aide.

More enemies were flocking to himself and Kakashi now, and their own forces were either trying to divert the enemy or just hack at them while they went after the superior officers.

The Uchiha clan head’s Sharingan were spinning in his eyes, Mangekyo not quite unlocked yet. No matter, he still was the most proficient with a Sharingan on the battle field- Senju with the transplanted one included. At that thought, Madara flicked his eyes over to the man who had become like a brother to him in these past few months since their meeting.

What he saw reminded him of the mission where they met. Kakashi was deadly grace and gallows humor and Uchiha level genius wrapped up into a Senju. Blood and other bits of his enemy flecked Kakashi’s bone white armor (Madara will never understand why he chose white) and his katana arced elegantly through yet another of the impossibly numerous enemy. However, the younger man looked worse for wear, as blood was dripping into his gray eye from a cut on his forehead. His normally lazily spinning Sharingan was now spinning just as fast as Madara’s.

That’s when the Uchiha saw the attack coming from Kakashi’s blind spot. Madara knew he wouldn’t get there in time, there were too many enemies in the way. Unable to do anything but watch and eviscerate the enemies around him, Madara’s movements turned from calculated to frenzied, desperate to get to his friend’s aide.

As the enemy’s kunai slid neatly into Kakashi’s right side, between his plates of armor, Madara called out, “Kakashi!”

The enemy twisted his blade as he yanked it out of the pale body, earning a painful grunt from Kakashi that Madara could hear over the screams of his dying enemies. Left hand reaching to try and stop the blood flow, Kakashi retreated a few steps- towards Madara and his growing pile of dead enemies- and fell to one knee. Through the mask the Uchiha could see Kakashi’s vicious snarl at the enemy that was approaching him. The man rushed the Senju and punched him in the stomach, making the blood stain at his side grow. Kakashi slashed out with the kunai in his right hand and slit his enemy’s throat.

Then he collapsed onto his enemy’s body.

Fearing the worst, Madara felt chakra surge to his Sharingan and called out again “Kakashi!”

The blue tinted world of chakra and shinobi became sharper.

Turning back to the enemy that was charging his front, Madara easily ducked the fool’s shuriken and weaved into his personal space. The Uchiha placed a hand on either side of the man’s head, twisting until he heard several pops, and let go, the man’s body going limp in death’s grip. Flying through several hand signs, Madara called up his chakra and released it in a Grand Fireball Jutsu, melting flesh from bone.

The Senju around him made their way to Kakashi’s still body, trying to get him to a medic. Madara hacked his way through enemies until he was at Kakashi’s side, protecting him and the other Senju.

Sensing only a whisper of Kakashi’s chakra, Madara grits out “Get him out of here, now.” The Senju closest to him looks up, makes eye contact with the Uchiha, and nods, taking off with several other Senju in tow.

What follows from Madara will haunt the Earth country nin survivors- and the Fire country nin who witnessed it- for many years to come. Earth doesn’t try to invade through that border again.

Back at camp, his fellow shinobi were celebrating their stunning victory, while Madara made his way to the medical tent. No one had mentioned Kakashi, and Madara was getting increasingly anxious the longer he spent away from the silver haired man. Practically bursting into the tent (because Uchiha do not burst, they throw with enthusiasm), his eyes automatically went to the bed in the back of the tent. There was a Senju whose name Madara didn’t care to know and a medic nin at Kakashi’s side.

The relief Madara felt helped ease the tightness in his chest.

Making his way over to the bed, Madara snags an extra chair to place next to Kakashi. He takes up vigil with the Senju and medic for the night.

At about four in the morning, Kakashi stirs. The medic had sent the other Senju- whose name was Katsura- back to her tent for the night. The medic herself had fallen asleep in her own chair. Madara doesn’t sleep. Slowly, Kakashi opens his gray eye and takes in the tent. Eventually his eyes land on Madara, and the Uchiha can see his relief reflected in the gray orb.

Smiling, Madara says quietly, “Gave us quite a scare there, Senju.”

Clearing his throat gently Kakashi grounds out, “Gave you a big enough scare to activate your Mangekyo Sharingan, I see.” Startled, Madara’s eyes widen at the injured man. “You can’t fool me Uchiha, I of all people should know what it looks like after someone awakens it.”

“So you do have it,” Madara says, chuckling quietly. He knew he’d find out eventually. “Rest now, you reckless man. You almost died today.”

“Anything you say, ‘dara-chan~” Madara rolls his eyes for what feels like the millionth time that week, and pats Kakashi’s bandaged forehead as he closes his eyes and falls back to sleep.

Chapter Text

Kakashi’s mask served a multitude of purposes. It helped filter the air he breathed so he wouldn’t be overwhelmed with all the smells, it kept people guessing about his age, it added to his “mysterious but highly deadly” aura. It also covered up his soulmate’s first words to him. In elegant, precise lettering, the phrase “Where did you get that eye? It is not yours to have!” curled around the base of his throat. As a boy, the phrase confused the hell out of him. Did he lose an eye? Was it some sort of trick? If he lost an eye, what the hell was it replaced with? Kakashi wouldn’t find out until it happened, so he resolved to not think about it too much.

Then the Kanabi Bridge mission happened, and Kakashi got the answer to his questions.

Which meant his soulmate was more than likely an Uchiha.

Wonderful.

None of the Uchiha he met said those words though. At least, none of the Uchiha in his own timeline (considering that most of the Uchiha in his timeline were now dead, that wasn’t saying much).

His trip back in time had thrown him off quite a bit. The Senju brothers had graciously helped him fabricate a story, and he was kept the hell away from the Uchiha for the most part. He never mentioned his soulmate mark. In a time where the Uchiha were still very much alive, Kakashi couldn’t be too careful.

Then he met Madara, and his whole world turned upside down- again.

Kakashi, Hashirama, and Tobirama leapt to the aid of the Uchiha when they heard about their clash with the Hyuga. Relations between those two clans were still extremely volatile, so it was no surprise that a small skirmish occurred between them. The Hyuga were sent packing, and the Uchiha thanked the Senju for their help; well, until Madara stormed up to Kakashi, all sharp anger and bitter resentment, and demanded with all the venom he could muster, “Where did you get that eye? It is not yours to have!”

Kakashi almost curled in on himself then and there, because- what? No way. His soulmate could not, in any capacity, be Madara Uchiha. The man was a living legend, a terror to all, even some of his own clan, and he looked very, very pissed off right now Hatake say something he’s going to kill you--

“It was a gift from a friend who died to save my life, and you will not take it from me!” Kakashi could feel the old anger and resentment rise in him and quashed it as quickly and brutally as he could. He would not rise to Madara’s accusations. He’s dealt with enough hot-tempered Uchiha in his life to know that answering their anger with anger of his own would get him nowhere.

Hashirama, slightly taken aback at Kakashi’s anger (“He’s usually so easy going where did this anger come from?”) leapt in between the two shinobi as Madara advanced on Kakashi, Sharingan flaring to life in anger. Tobirama grabbed Kakashi’s shoulder and squeezed it in warning as his brother grabbed Madara by the shoulders. The Uchiha went rigid as he processed what was happening, and his Sharingan was gone in an instant, the anger replaced with stark disbelief, hand rising to be placed on the ribs at his left side. Kakashi’s brain sputtered for a few more moments, and locked eyes with Madara. The Uchiha who had followed their clan head looked uneasy and glanced between the Senju clan head, his brother, their adopted brother, and Madara.

The tense silence was almost overpowering, with everyone looking back and forth between the soulmates like they thought they might try to kill each other.

Which might still happen, Kakashi really wasn’t sure.

As he opened his mouth to sputter out more nonsense, Madara seemed to come back to his senses and began chuckling. Chuckling. Kakashi almost had a heart attack. His soulmate was Madara Uchiha, the Mad Uchiha, the scariest Uchiha to ever live, co-founder of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, one of the few Uchiha to fully unlock his Sharingan, and he was laughing at Kakashi. In a way that didn’t sound like I’m-laughing-at-your-patheticness-it’ll-be-so-easy-to-kill-you.

Kakashi felt like his brain was going to leak out of his ears. Really.

“Well, that explains a lot. Hashirama remove your hands from me this instant, I’m not going to hurt him, for kami’s sake, stop your fretting.” Not all the tension left Hashirama, but that was probably because the Uchiha clan head was still exuding more than a little irritation. He backed up to a safe distance, and eyed them both suspiciously. Tobirama let go of Kakashi’s shoulder and resumed his stoic, I-don’t-trust-you-at-all, arms crossed and eyes narrowed stance.

“Perhaps we should take this elsewhere. Rotting corpses often draw the attention of predators, and I’d rather not have to kill a bear because you idiots stood around the fresh meat.” Tobirama’s tone was longsuffering, but his stance still spoke of high tension.

Madara was still chucking, eyes full of mirth, when he offered Kakashi his hand. “Madara Uchiha, current Uchiha clan Head, and apparently, your soulmate.”

Tentatively, Kakashi grasped the other man’s hand and said, “Kakashi Senju, younger brother of those two idiots, and your soulmate.” Their eyes met again, and Kakashi felt more like himself since he had landed in this time.

A thought suddenly occurred to him, and Kakashi almost snickered at his own genius. He had a reputation to uphold, and after curving his eyes up in a smile Madara wouldn’t be able to see, he asked, “So, do you prefer Madara, or ‘Dara-chan?”

The look of sudden horror on his soulmate’s face, and the glee shining in Hashirama’s eyes proved that yes, Kakashi was indeed a genius.

Chapter Text

As Kakashi stumbled back into the small house he shares with Madara, he tried to be quiet. He really did. It wouldn’t have helped anything though, he and Hashirama were half a day late coming back from peace talks with the Aburame, and Kakashi just knew Madara wouldn’t rest until they were back.

Fumbling around the kitchen for the well-stocked medical kit he knew his soulmate kept in one of the drawers, Kakashi cursed Earth country nin quietly under his breath. A light was ignited behind him. Startled- how did he not sense someone’s approach? He must be lower on chakra than he thought- he twisted around quickly, only to grip the counter tightly as he pulled at the wounds across his shoulder blades and ribs, his knees threatened to give out on him. A hiss of pain escaped him and he scrunched his eyes tightly shut.

“Damn it, I knew something was going to go wrong.” Madara’s voice was soft in the quiet of night as he set down the lantern and hurried over to his soulmate. Cracking open his good eye, Kakashi eased his grip on the counter. Madara slid his arm around Kakashi’s waist and helped his stubborn soulmate sit down at the table.

Muttering about reckless Senju, Madara retrieved the medical kit and sat down next to Kakashi expectantly. Sighing, the silver-haired man began to slip out of his armor. The movement pulled at Kakashi’s injuries, and Madara had to help him pile the equipment next to the table to be cleaned later. No stranger to cleaning up after a battle, Madara cut the masked shirt off his soulmate with efficiency.

Madara’s hands stilled as the adopted Senju’s shirt revealed the extent of the damage. “Fuck, Kakashi who did this to you?” Eyes blazing in quiet fury, Sharingan not quite activated, Madara placed his hand gently on Kakashi’s bruised and bloodied ribs.

Wheezing out a quiet laugh, Kakashi smiled at his soulmate. “Earth country nin. We beat them off, but we lost three in the process. They had some nasty fighters after us this time around.”

“You need to see a medic.” Sighing, Madara moved his hand to cup his soulmate’s face, running his thumb across the old scar bisecting Kakashi’s handsome face. Dried blood flaked off the Senju’s skin with the movement.

“Maa, I’ll see one in the morning. Didn’t want you to worry when I didn’t come home.” Kakashi leaned his face into Madara’s touch, and the Uchiha sighed again.

“You and your recklessness will be my doom, I swear. If you die before the age of 30 I’ll be royally pissed.” Madara’s hands flew into quick action, snapping open the medical kit and grabbing the needed supplies. Starting with his ribs, the dark-haired man began cleaning away the blood from each of Kakashi’s wounds. With the blood wiped away, Kakashi didn’t think he looked that bad. He’d certainly had worse injuries- though his soulmate wasn’t aware of that. He didn’t want his soulmate knowing that.

Kakashi may be mentally stable now, but it was touch-and-go for a while there.

“You’re brooding again,” Kakashi says instead. “Don’t tell me you’re thinking about chasing after those Earth country scum.” Madara’s hands faltered in their bandaging of his wounds.

Resuming his work as though Kakashi hadn’t said anything, Madara responded lowly, “Of course I’m thinking about it. They very nearly killed you. If you were a normal nin, they would have! You cannot keep putting yourself in danger in order to save another, Kakashi. Your self-sacrificing tendencies are going to get you killed, and I don’t want to go through that! I don’t want to bury my soulmate because he tried to save the entire world!” Madara’s voice had risen with each word, and he put down the bandages, meeting Kakashi’s eyes.

Kakashi softened at the admission. Unknowingly, Madara sounded a lot like Minato-sensei (a pang went through Kakashi’s chest at the thought of his old team and their demise). Leaning his arms onto his knees, Kakashi met the Uchiha’s stern glare. “I don’t mean to hurt you Madara- really I don’t. I’ve watched most of my comrades die from an early age.” Kakashi looked away from the clan head now, feeling himself grow distant and get lost in his memories. “I can’t… I won’t go through that kind of pain again. It’s either never get attached to anyone again, or sacrifice myself to save those around me. I tried the former Madara, and that still almost killed me. The only way I can make peace with my ghosts is by making sure I don’t end up with more of them.”

Taking a deep breath to collect himself (he hadn’t meant to delve that deep) the adopted Senju looked back to his soulmate. Madara’s hands had unclenched and he was looking at Kakashi with a mix of tenderness and exasperation that he reserved only for his soulmate.

“I know that ‘Kashi. But we are at war. People die all the time, you know that. Soulmates are broken apart by death more often than anyone likes to think about. I just don’t want us to end up like that.” Picking up the bandages and resuming wrapping Kakashi like he was a piece of meat, Madara’s hands were gentler. Brushed his skin more. Leaning into the ministrations, the quiet almost lulled Kakashi to sleep.

“Hey, none of that yet. Do you have a head injury? You know you can’t sleep with those.” Kakashi cracked his eye open at Madara’s soft words, trying to think back to the fight now that his body was taking stock of his injuries.

“Don’t think so. Overused the eye. Headache. Low chakra.” Grounding out the words, Kakashi rested his forehead on Madara’s shoulder. “Should probably sleep soon. Been a while since I slept last. Had to keep moving.” He was relaxing now that he was safe in their home, with Madara tending to him, and his body finally let the pain he’d been pushing to the back of his mind catch up with him.

“I can tell you overused the eye, it was bleeding. Come on, stay awake a bit longer ‘Kashi. Let me finish up and then you can go to sleep.” In response to Madara’s words Kakashi heaved himself to sit upright again, hoping the action would keep him awake. He was only conscious right now because he was a stubborn bastard after all.

Madara made quick work of the rest of the bandages, leaving Kakashi feeling like he was more bandages than skin. His soulmate really was a protective mother bear when it came to his precious people.

Then just like that, Madara scooped Kakashi into his arms and carried him up the stairs to their bedroom.

“I can walk you know,” Kakashi mumbled into Madara’s shoulder.

“Says the man who almost collapsed looking for the medical kit.” Madara snorted as he placed Kakashi gently on the bed. Bloodstained clothes were removed, and Madara cupped his soulmate’s face once again. “Now you can sleep ‘Kashi. I’ll have a medic nin stop by tomorrow to check on you.”

“As long as I don’t have to go to the hospital, you know I hate those. Smells too much like death. Night, ‘Dara-chan.” Kakashi felt himself drift off as Madara joined him on the bed, the Uchiha’s warmth a welcome balm for Kakashi’s raw soul.

Chapter Text

Madara and Kakashi had been training together for a while now. Sparring had been Madara’s idea, after deciding to see how well the Sharingan thief faired against a full blooded Uchiha. The Senju had surprised Madara with his adept use of the eye, and his ability to preserve as much energy as possible. After narrowly beating Kakashi, the Uchiha Clan Head realized he didn’t want their sparring to end. The younger man knew a vast array of moves, his style fluid and that piqued Madara’s interest. He needed to know more about this strange adopted Senju and his stolen Sharingan.

So he dragged Kakashi out to the training fields as often as he could. To benefit them both, he told himself.

The more time he spent with the Senju, the more Madara found himself drawn to him. Kakashi felt like a kindred spirit. Their banter never faltered, despite Kakashi’s best efforts to deflect their conversations toward general topics. Eventually after one of their sparring sessions, Madara flat out asked the man where he got his Sharingan. To his surprise, Kakashi’s resolve seemed to crumble, and he sighed. They were lying next to each other, and Madara noticed how the fine sheen of sweat on Kakashi’s mostly bare torso seemed to make the other man shine.

“I was friends with a young Uchiha boy. We were much like you and Hashirama, pushing each other and fighting all the time. When I was thirteen, a friend of ours was captured on our mission, and I didn’t want to go back for her. I wanted to complete the mission. He convinced me that duty was important, but the precious people around you are more important. I went after the both of them, and lost my eye against an Earth country nin.” Kakashi swallowed at this, and Madara watched with rapt interest as the other man’s throat moved. “He awakened his Sharingan defending me after that. We made a deadly pair, even though I only had one eye. We freed our friend, and thought we had defeated all of our enemies. We were wrong.” His eyes had closed now, and Madara sat up to give Kakashi his full attention.

“One of the surviving nin triggered a cave-in. I was hit in my blind spot and knocked out. My Uchiha friend saved my life, but was crushed in the process. He gave me his eye as a gift, since I lost mine saving him, and the girl we rescued transplanted it right there. Then the Earth country nin’s back up came.” Humorless chuckling filtered through Kakashi’s mask now, the kind that made Madara’s hands itch for a weapon. “They didn’t know what they were up against. By the time we got out of there, I’d left nothing but corpses behind. Including my friend.”

Letting out a slow breath, Madara absorbed all of that information. Kakashi was… deadlier than he had first thought. To go through that, and to then kill a group of Earth country nin at thirteen….

“You went through much more grief that I thought you would have in getting the eye. You do the Uchiha justice in wielding our dojutsu as well as you do.” Kakashi’s visible eyebrow quirked up, and he hefted himself so that he sat across from Madara. The Uchiha let his eyes roam the mostly covered face, landing soundly on the silver haired man’s lips.

“Thank you, Madara-sama. You do me a great honor with the compliment. But I’m sure my friend would have done a much better job, had he lived.” The title sounded wrong coming from Kakashi’s lips, and the Uchiha found himself glad that their relationship had become so relaxed and open.

Reaching out to entwine his hand with Kakashi’s, Madara said softly, “You need to learn to take a compliment when it is given. Your self-depreciation is undeserved.” Madara watched the Senju’s eyes flicker down to his lips as he leaned in further. He felt his lips quirk into a smirk, and before Kakashi could protest, Madara placed his other hand on the back of the man’s neck and brought their lips together in a bruising kiss.

When Kakashi responded, Madara tangled his hand in the wild silver locks. Kakashi broke them apart, but only long enough to yank down his mask and kiss Madara again. The Uchiha pushed them so that he was hovering above the other man, and he felt both of Kakashi’s hands card through his hair. Softly at first, then harder as their kiss intensified. Madara gripped Kakashi’s hip and tightened his grip in silver hair in response.

Eventually they needed air, and they broke apart again, breathing harshly. Madara touched his forehead to Kakashi’s and chuckled. “Looks like our sparring session is going to run long. Good thing we don’t have any other responsibilities today.”

Kakashi’s smile revealed sharp, canine-like teeth. Seeing the handsome face for the first time, Madara couldn’t help but smile back. This was going to be fun, he thought to himself as he leaned down to devour Kakashi’s lips once more.

Chapter Text

Kakashi and Madara’s relationship seemed odd to an outsider. The Uchiha Clan Head with the Senju with a stolen Sharingan? Blasphemous. Yet, here they were, tangled together in Madara’s bed in the wee hours of the morning.

Madara liked to stay awake after his lover had fallen asleep, and study the lean body next to him. Kakashi was covered in scars, many more than Madara himself. Small silver ones that told of stray kunai during training, and deeper, puckered ones that told of brushes with death. Sometimes Madara would reach out and trace the more severe ones, like the burns along Kakashi’s left hip and back, or the jagged one tearing down across his chest from left shoulder to right ribs.

Tonight was no different. Madara lay on his side, staring at Kakashi’s strong back in the moonlight. His hand ghosted across what looked like acid burns splattered across the Senju’s shoulder blades.

Suddenly Kakashi began to stir, and Madara’s hand stilled, hoping he hadn’t woken the man. When he heard the faint grumbling, he retracted his hand and just observed. Kakashi rarely slept soundly enough to dream, and Madara wanted to see if he was as expressive in his sleep as he was when awake.

Then he heard a pained whimper and realized Kakashi was having a nightmare. Not just any nightmare. One where he got hurt.

Knowing that he himself would prefer to be woken from his nightmares, Madara decided to wake his boyfriend up. Propping himself up on his elbow, Kakashi cried out again, louder this time, and Madara’s hand darted out to grasp the Senju. A pained grunt escaped the younger man, and the Uchiha shook his shoulder.

Kakashi’s head snapped up, both eyes open with a wild look. “Wha-?” Body tense, Madara watched Kakashi blink away the nightmare. The other man sighed, and put his head back down on the pillow, mumbling “Sorry, didn’t mean to wake you.”

“I wasn’t sleeping yet,” Madara informed him with concern in his eyes. He wanted to ask about the nightmare, but he also wanted to respect Kakashi’s privacy. His curiosity won out. “What was that about?”

“Oh, good.” The silver-haired man took a shuddering breath. “Go to sleep, I’ll be fine. It’s nothing I haven’t faced before.”

Refusing to be brushed off, Madara raised a critical eyebrow and continued staring at Kakashi.

Seeing the look he was getting, Kakashi sighed and sunk further into the mattress. “It was a mission. My team and I were ambushed, Water country nin. We hadn’t slept in two days, so it was pathetically easy for them to get the drop on us. One of them could just about match me with a katana. It’s how I got the scar across my chest.” Kakashi turned to face Madara now, and dark eyes flickered to the deep wound on said chest. “Lost half my comrades before I told them to go. I was Captain, so they had to follow my orders, and I told them to leave me behind and get back home. Stubborn bastards doubled back after a while and found me passed out surrounded by corpses. I didn’t wake up until several days after we got back.”

Kakashi watched him for a response, and Madara couldn’t help but sigh. Laying back down, the Uchiha put his arms around Kakashi, one hand tangling in soft silver hair and dragging the man closer to his own chest. “You’re safe now. Go back to sleep.”

The other man grunted, and buried his face in Madara’s chest, their legs intertwining. Resting his chin on Kakashi’s head, Madara waited for his breathing to even out. If he kept finding out that Kakashi had tried to kill himself-- and he was, the only reason he had survived so long is because he’s stubborn and powerful-- they were going to have to have a serious talk about self-preservation. Letting out a quiet sigh, Madara nuzzled into the top of the silver head and drifted off to sleep, wrapped up in his lover’s arms.

Chapter Text

 Now that Madara was being allowed to stay in Konoha, he made it a priority to learn about the history of the Village that he missed while he was dead. Kami that sounds worse than it is. But Kakashi wasn’t really talking to him, trying to come to terms with the true depth of Madara’s involvement in his life. So, until Kakashi approached him, he would learn about the Village he abandoned so long ago.

Walking back to the Village, a young Nara boy- Shikamaru?- and his team were nearest to him. The children were wary, but they seemed to trust Kakashi and his choices. The Uchiha decided this team would be his first source of information.

However, before he could even think of where to start asking questions, the Nara spoke up. “The Village…. It won’t look the same when you see it. About a year ago, when the Akatsuki was pursuing Naruto, the Village was attacked by Nagato.”

“Shikamaru—“cried the blonde girl.

“No Ino, he needs to know! If he’s really going to help the Village, he needs to know what we’ve been through!” Shikamaru’s sharp voice cut off any more protest.

Madara stayed silent, waiting for one of the trio to continue.

Shikamaru looked at his teammate who could only be an Akamichi, and the boy looked uncertain. But seeing the nod of encouragement from Shikamaru, he spoke up. “In the middle of the battle, Kakashi-sensei was engaged with two of the enemy alone. My father’s team and I provided back up, and we thought we incapacitated one of the enemy. Kakashi-sensei is a genius, and he figured out the body’s ability, and formed a plan to defeat him.” The boy swallowed hard, and refused to look at Madara with his next words.

“We failed. The other Pein could still move, and it protected the body that we went after. I thought both my father and Kakashi-sensei were dead. I was the only one who was able to move. The other Pein was somehow still functional, and aimed to take me out so that I couldn’t give the rest of the Village the information we fought for. Kakashi-sensei was trapped, but he wasn’t dead yet. As I took off to inform Lady Hokage of that Pein’s abilities, Kakashi-sensei used the last of his chakra to power his Mangekyo Sharingan, and save me.” Voice low, the boy shivered and the blonde girl put her hand on his shoulder.

Madara felt his stomach drop.

“I… felt Kakashi-sensei use the last of his chakra. I felt the life slip out of him. That day, General Kakashi became someone I’d follow to the ends of the Earth.” He met Madara’s eyes with that declaration, and the look of determination in them struck the Uchiha.

“Kakashi-sensei trusts you. I don’t know why, I don’t know your history, and it’s too troublesome to learn it right now. But, if you’re true to your word, and Kakashi means as much to you as I think he does, then you needed to know that. Kakashi-sensei helped us avenge our sensei, and saved our hides more than a few times. All three of us would protect him with our lives.” Shikamaru looked at Madara with an unreadable gaze, and Madara dropped his eyes to the forest floor.

Kakashi had died. And Madara would have never known, because Kakashi would have never told him.

Feeling his chest tighten and the pit in his stomach grow, the Uchiha forced out a tight “thank you” and took off ahead of the trio. He needed to think.

When they made camp that night, Madara sought out Kakashi. The pit in his stomach had only gotten heavier and darker the longer he kept away from Kakashi.

Under the cover of night, the Uchiha ghosted his way through the tents to where he could feel Kakashi’s lightening-warm chakra signature simmering. Coming into view of the tent, the other Sharingan user stepped out into the view of the fire. The light cast shadows dancing across the man’s beautiful masked face, making him look more haunted than a thirty-year-old should.

Madara locked his gaze with Kakashi’s single eye, and felt his feet move forward without him telling them to. Kakashi had always had that effect on him.

Kakashi stepped towards Madara, and they met in a desperate hug, clinging to each other after days of being apart. The Uchiha buried his face in the crook of Kakashi’s neck, and if his eyes leaked a few traitorous tears, well. No one would be able to tell in the fire light.

Chapter Text

Kakashi was tired. Oh, so very tired. He could feel the deep pull of chakra exhaustion snapping at his bones. This was supposed to be an easy mission. Take some documents to the outer parts of Fire country, and meander on back to the Village. Simple. It wouldn’t take more than two days. One day there, one day back.

By now he was at least half a day late with a broken nose, lacerated scalp, and slashes all down his left side. 

He had faced a group of enemy nin earlier, claiming to be after him. How they had known he would be out of the Village was anyone’s guess. Defeating them had taken some precious time to return to the Village, but Kakashi was confident he would still be on time. This group was presumably the back up to the group he had already defeated. Knowing he was injured had pushed them to find him more quickly than he had hoped.

He had sensed his pursuers half way through his return journey. This early in the Warring States Era (he still called it that in his mind, he was having a hard time calling it the ‘present’ when he was from the future) the true location of the Leaf Village was unknown to outsiders. There was no way he could lead this group to his Village.

So, he had veered off and was pelting through random forests about 10 miles from the Village. This far out, he was just brushing the edge of Hashirama and Madara’s full sensing range if they were standing in the middle of the Village, or in the Hokage tower. He flared his chakra every so often, hoping the two Clan Heads would pick up on the meaning. Kakashi had no doubt Madara would be coming after him soon anyway, ready to berate him for being late- again.

He just had to play keep away until Madara showed up.

Kakashi was off to the left of the Village, trying to look like he was moving with purpose instead of in random patterns to throw off his gaining pursuers. He had to close his Sharingan a few miles back to conserve as much chakra as possible. Now he was channeling as much as he dared into his legs to propel him farther, faster, than his enemies.

Suddenly an idea struck him. There was a clearing not far from where he was that had been the scene of a battle several years before, that Madara had told him about. He could use it to confuse his pursuers by creating a shadow clone and creating a false trail for them to follow. The enemy nin were close enough that they could reach him with jutsu now. As they neared, the lead nin did something Kakashi was not truly expecting.

He tackled Kakashi bodily to the floor of the clearing.

Landing on his left side, Kakashi gasped and tried to roll away, but took the enemy nin with him. The larger man had landed mostly on top of him, and Kakashi was trying to use the slight weight difference against him. Kakashi had rolled in the other man’s grip, and now faced him. He was pinned mostly under the other man’s weight, with his arms trapped at his sides, held by one of the other man’s arms. He struck out with the other elbow, and caught Kakashi in the temple, adding to the throbbing in his face.

Kakashi had wiggled one arm free, and swung his fist into the enemy’s face, trying to break his nose. The man turned just before Kakashi’s hand connected, and he hit the man’s cheek instead. Kakashi at least heard the satisfying crunch of broken bones. He sent out another, desperate chakra flare in the direction of the Village.

By now, the rest of his pursuers had entered the clearing, and were advancing on the struggle cautiously. With only enough chakra left for two or three jutsu, Kakashi evaluated his options. There were five nin in the clearing, including the one on top of him. If he could get free of this man’s grip, he could probably take the five of them. Maybe. Hopefully.

Deciding it was time to get away from this man, Kakashi jammed his thumb into the enemy’s eye socket. Feeling soft skin give way underneath his adrenaline-fueled strength, the nin shouted in pain, and slackened his grip on Kakashi. He pushed deeper with his thumb, and the enemy swung blindly with both arms, releasing Kakashi. Using his free arm to return the earlier elbow to the temple, Kakashi wriggled out from underneath the large man.

When he staggered upright, Kakashi realized the other four nin had him surrounded, and were ignoring their injured comrade.

Retrieving a kunai from the pouch at his hip, Kakashi looked around warily. The short but brutal struggle on the ground had left his body throbbing, his breath ragged. The enemy nin around him were hardly short of breath and all had weapons drawn. Even to Kakashi, supposedly one of the most optimistic people, this didn’t look good.

One of the enemy nin, presumably the leader, spoke up. “The famously rumored Senju with a Sharingan. I’m impressed. We weren’t sure we would actually find you.” Leader smiled a feral grin, and poised his weapon to strike. From behind him, Kakashi could sense a gathering chakra. Leaping to one side, Kakashi laced his kunai with lightening natured chakra and threw it at the Leader. The other man dodged, and the kunai grazed his side instead of being buried hilt deep in his belly. Still, the kunai did damage, and Leader hissed in pain. Before Kakashi hit the ground, he pulled out three more kunai, and felt the screaming of the wind jutsu he had just barely dodged.

Landing on his shoulders, Kakashi launched one of his kunai at the enemy nin still on the ground, stabbing into the exposed skin of his neck. One down, four to go. The other two went to the enemy on his left, the one that looked the youngest. The boy blocked the first, but did not see the second sailing for his stomach. Three still standing. The wind jutsu user was building up chakra again, Leader and the other nin were advancing on him, trying to corner him between themselves and the wind jutsu. Probably hoping to leap aside at the last minute. Well, that just wouldn’t do.

Buying time for Windy to release the jutsu, Kakashi flung another kunai at the two advancing nin, purposely aiming sloppily so that the two had to take a step back. As Windy released his jutsu at Kakashi’s direction, his hands flashed quickly through the hand signs for a substitution jutsu. The brutal, screaming wind hit a tree trunk and splintered it into the enemy nin’s teammates. The other nin went down shouting, but Leader had shielded his face with his arms quickly enough. He came away with a few splinters and very angry.

Windy cursed his other comrade, and whirled around to face where Kakashi sat in the branches of a tree. From here he hurled more of his dwindling supply of kunai and leapt to the right of the two enemy. Leader was furious now, and suddenly Kakashi got a face full of snarling enemy. The other man swept Kakashi’s legs out from underneath him, and tried to stab down with the kunai in his hand. Kakashi rolled out of the way, returning the leg sweep that the Leader used.

Allowing his momentum to continue, Kakashi rolled into a crouch and grabbed his last two kunai. The younger looking enemy was still on the ground, but had gathered himself enough to fling several shuriken at Kakashi. He easily deflected the weapons, but had to roll to his right to avoid yet another wind jutsu.

Kakashi wished he had enough chakra to sustain the Sharingan for more than 30 seconds, he would have liked more wind jutsu in his arsenal.

Rolling onto his feet, Kakashi forced more of his dwindling chakra into one of his kunai, and launched it at the young man. This time his aim was true, and the kunai slid into the boy’s eye socket, blood spurting and the boy screaming as he went down for good.

Leader was back on his feet as well, and the vicious look in his eye said he wouldn’t go down as easily as his comrades.

More blood dripped down Kakashi’s face from the wound on his scalp. With such little energy left, the adrenalin was working its way out of his system. Leader’s hands flew into a flurry of hand signs that Kakashi vaguely recognized as for an earth jutsu, and attempted to leap away. The earth underneath him turned to mud, and sucked him down to his chest. Kakashi was caught. Leader walked up to him cautiously, holding a kunai out in front of him. Windy trailed behind him, hands poised for another jutsu.

Kneeling in front of Kakashi, Leader roughly grabbed him by the hair, pulling brutally at the wound on his scalp. The silver haired man grunted in pain, but that just caused Leader to grin.

“You pretentious fuck. You think that because you’re a Senju you can just walk all over us? No! No more! I’m sure your brothers would bend to my clan’s will in order to get you back. Now, let’s see what’s behind that mask of yours, shall we?” Kakashi tried to squirm away, but the mud had hardened under Leader’s chakra.

Kakashi snarled as Leader yanked down his mask.

Some of the blood from his broken nose had ended up in his mouth, and Kakashi chose that moment to spit in Leader’s face. Windy looked appalled and took a step back.

“My brothers wouldn’t bow to your will for me. They wouldn’t need to.” Kakashi’s voice was as ragged as his breathing.

A twig snapped from behind Windy and the man twirled around, ready to fire off a jutsu.

“You’re quite right Kakashi, Hashirama and Tobirama have no need to bow to the will of a lesser clan. That clan will bow to my will after I slaughter it.” The deep voice was music to Kakashi’s ears as Madara stepped out from the tree line, Sharingan blazing. “Besides, I’m the only one allowed to see your face.” Madara’s lips quirked into an amused but deadly smirk.

Kakashi started laughing, and Leader released his hair.

“Maa, ‘dara-chan, what took so long? I was starting to worry.” Kakashi’s smile was bloody and painful, but the sight of a furious Madara coming to his rescue made his heart leap.

Then Leader swung around and kicked Kakashi in the face, knocking him out.

Chapter Text

The instant that Madara felt the tickle of Kakashi’s chakra, he rolled his eyes. He assumed the younger man was teasing him, letting him know that he was almost home, almost back in Madara’s waiting arms.

Then the second and third chakra spikes hit him and Madara knew in his heart that something was wrong.

Making his way to Hashirama’s office, Madara tried to keep himself calm. Kakashi’s mission was a simple currier one. Nothing too strenuous.

As he entered the Hokage’s office, he met Hashirama’s eyes and Madara saw worry in the eldest Senju. Kakashi was his little brother after all.

That’s when the last, desperate stab of chakra hit them, the panic making the lightening taste coat the back of Madara’s throat. Both shinobi tensed and Hashirama broke the pen he was writing with.

“Go. Tobirama will follow you, I will meet you at the hospital.” Hashirama’s eyes reflected the panic they had felt in that last stab of chakra.

Madara nodded and took off in the direction Kakashi’s chakra had come from. The Uchiha Clan Head took comfort in the fact that Kakashi wouldn’t go down without a fight. If the younger man didn’t decimate his enemies, Madara surely would.

Sprinting through the forests that surrounded the Village, Madara felt his stomach clench. If Kakashi was sending out those panicked spikes of chakra, how outmatched was he? Because there was no way Kakashi- the self-sacrificing bastard- would purposely drag Madara or Hashirama out to a battle if he didn’t deem it necessary. He couldn’t think about that now, not when Kakashi needed his help. So, brushing those thoughts to the side, Madara pushed himself harder. Worrying about the Senju wouldn’t do either of them any good until Madara got there.

Closing in on where he could feel several chakra signatures, Madara realized that Kakashi had lead them to a clearing where a battle between the Senju and Uchiha had taken place many years before. The silver haired man did pay attention when Madara was telling him about some of the history their clans shared.

What Madara wanted to do was burst into the clearing and annihilate all the enemy shinobi there, but his mother always taught him it was better to gather information before engaging the enemy, so he paused on a branch to take in the scene in front of him.

Maybe waiting to gather information was a bad idea, because what Madara saw made the bottom of his stomach fall out and left him breathless.

That’s when the one leaning over Kakashi spoke.

“You pretentious fuck. You think that because you’re a Senju you can just walk all over us? No! No more! I’m sure your brothers would bend to my clan’s will in order to get you back. Now,” the man reached for Kakashi’s mask, and Madara’s chest tightened, “let’s see what behind that mask of yours, shall we?” As his mask was lowered, Kakashi spat in the face of the man that had addressed him. Madara felt pride and the Senju’s stubbornness, and concern that it was more blood than spit.

“My brothers wouldn’t bow to your will for me. They wouldn’t need to.” The pain in Kakashi’s voice almost made Madara flinch. Almost.

Hearing this, Madara decided now was a good time to make his entrance. Leaping down from the tree he was in, Madara let the twig under his foot snap, alerting the men to their doom.

“You’re quite right Kakashi, Hashirama and Tobirama have no need to bow to the will of a lesser clan. That clan will bow to my will after I slaughter it. Besides, I’m the only one allowed to see your face.” Madara let his lips slide into a devastating smirk. The smile on the Senju’s face was enough to lighten Madara’s heart. The joy, relief, and fondness he saw there softened the shell around his heart. The laughter was dark and promised the pain that Madara would bring.

“Maa, ‘dara-chan, what took so long? I was starting to worry.” That Kakashi kept up the banter meant that he really, really wanted to piss these two enemy shinobi off. Madara let his rage and Killing Intent bleed into his chakra, and saw the wind jutsu user tense up.

That was when the other shinobi turned and kicked his lover in the face.

Big mistake.

Madara already had his sharingan activated. Allowing his rage to fuel him, the Uchiha Clan Head ghosted behind the wind jutsu user. “You’re going to regret that,” he uttered menacingly.

Deeming the shinobi as unworthy of dirtying a weapon, Madara placed his hands on either side of the man’s neck, and twisted violently until the rest of the body went slack. His eyes locked onto the other man, who had barely a chance to move.

The Uchiha Clan Head remembered the nickname that nin from other countries had for him, The Mad Uchiha, and allowed the slightly crazed smile to grace his features. It had the desired effect, as the other shinobi tried to turn tail and run.

Too late.

The Sharingan allowed everything to slow down for him, allowed him time to find the right angle, the distance, and the speed needed to cut off the man’s escape route. In the seconds it took the man to turn and leap for the trees, Madara had already landed on the branch the man was aiming for. The enemy leapt eagerly, showing his throat for Madara’s waiting grip. The man choked and clawed at Madara’s arm. He didn’t feel the scratches, and as Madara brought the enemy’s face to his own, he allowed the full force of his Killing Intent to bleed into the air around him.

The man stopped struggling, and turned wide eyes to Madara’s face. “Now, from your gruff voice and utter lack of self-preservation, I’d say you’re from Earth country. Talk of clans means you’re from one of the well-recognized ones. Possibly from the Kamizuru Clan. I hear you’re a clan that uses bees, yet I see none. You probably didn’t have the chakra for them, they’re very chakra intensive after all. Poor pathetic little boy can’t get daddy’s approval because he can’t use the clan jutsu. You probably thought you could gain glory from going after Konoha, going after a Senju.

“Well, you thought wrong, you measly little worm. The Senju, and Konoha are protected by the Uchiha. That will never change. And that Senju right there, well he’s under my special protection, and you have made the mistake of your life. You’ll carry that information to your grave, boy. I won’t even let you beg for your life, I’ll choke it out of you nice and slow, so I can watch the terror cross your face as you die.” As he spoke the last sentence, Madara tightened his hand around the struggling shinobi’s neck.

Madara watched as the panicked face turned redder, then purple. Watched as the struggling stopped and finally the man hung limply from his grip.

Disgusted, Madara flung the corpse off to the side, and brushed his hands off on his armor. Taking a deep breath, the Uchiha steeled himself and made his way to his oh-so-still lover.

The Senju’s head was tilted back, as though he were gazing at the clouds. The cloth mask was still pooled around his neck, and his breathing was labored, intermixed with some gurgling every few breaths. The man’s sharingan eye was swollen shut, and leaking blood from underneath the closed lid. Blood smeared down the handsome face and marred what could have been a peaceful expression. Madara felt his breath come in sharper and forced himself to still his shaking hands.

Kneeling in front of Kakashi, Madara placed his hands on the strong shoulders, ignoring the growing pool of blood to the side. The enemy’s earth jutsu had been strong, but Madara had seen it before, and knew how to counter it. Placing his hands on the ground in front of Kakashi, Madara pushed his chakra into the already much abused earth. Having already been manipulated, the element eagerly followed his whim, and softened enough for Madara to ease Kakashi onto his back and out of the hole.

The damage seemed far worse once Madara had a change to look at Kakashi. Blood was caked onto the man’s side, and covered his face in a mockery of his usual cloth mask. Gingerly, Madara replaced the Senju’s mask around the lower half of his face, and cradled the too still body to him. There was little he could do for Kakashi without a medic, and the only medic that both Madara and Kakashi trusted was Hashirama, who was definitely at the hospital.

Nodding to himself, Madara took off in the direction of the Village. Hashirama had said Tobirama would follow him. Which meant that they would end up travelling by that damnable jutsu the middle Senju had created, the Flying Thunder God- bah! Such pompousness in naming his jutsu, that one.

But it meant getting Kakashi to the hospital faster, which was what he needed. Without Tobirama and his jutsu, Madara knew he would be too late.  Kakashi’s chakra signature was so weak he could barely feel it. The blood was pouring down his armor now, the deep slashes down the Senju’s side weeping away his lifeblood. Faster and faster Madara pushed himself, thoughts of Kakashi’s skin cooling, his pure heart stopping, his vibrant chakra being extinguished pushing him harder.

As though thought of him called him up into appearance, Madara felt Tobirama’s chakra approaching. Leaping down to the ground, the Uchiha skidded to a stop, and came face-to-face with Tobirama.

As he took in the sight of his little brother, the blood drained from Tobirama’s face and his hands clenched so hard his knuckles were bleached white. With gritted teeth, the Senju ground out, “Merciful Sage, the perpetrators will pay with their lives.”

“They already have, but their clan has yet to learn their lesson.” Madara and Tobirama’s eyes met, and they shared a brief sense of bloodlust. The Uchiha Clan Head growled, “Now, get us to the hospital.”

Tobirama did just that. Placing his hands on both shinobi, he activated his Flying Thunder God jutsu. The use of it gave Madara nausea, but it was worth it to get his lover to the hospital in time to save his life.

Feeling the pull and rush associated with the travel-by-seal, Madara locked his knees as best he could when the landed. His body felt like it had just been pulled through a very small opening and had been scraped raw in places.

Looking up, Madara’s eyes instantly met Hashirama’s as he rushed forward with several other medics to take Kakashi. The Hokage’s face displayed the pain he felt at seeing his little brother so torn up.

The eldest Senju started shouting orders, and Kakashi was taken from his arms. The whirlwind of activity followed the gurney that held Madara’s love, and the last glimpse he got of the man was a bloodied hand hanging off the side of the hospital bed.

All that Madara could do was wait and hope Hashirama was as good a healer as everyone thought.

Chapter Text

Kakashi couldn't believe his eyes. There in front of him was a man he’d learned to respect, joke with, and, eventually, love. They had a happy few years together as friends and then as lovers. His adoptive brothers during his excursion to the past had encouraged their relationship. Hashirama and Tobirama could see the improvement in both men.

They had been happy up until the day that the universe finally realized that Kakashi was a man displaced in time.

He hadn’t even gotten to say goodbye.

But still... how could his disappearance cause his Madara to turn into... this?

Kakashi barely recognized the crazed Uchiha in front of him. Madara’s once gentle and teasing eyes had become distant, fuzzy. 

Unhinged.

The previous Hokage had been reanimated by Orochimaru and had joined the battle. The battle that was threatening to overwhelm Kakashi on all sides.

First was Obito masquerading as Madara, and all attempts Kakashi made to engage the fake Madara fell on deaf ears, Obito too gone in his own insanity. Then Obito revealed himself, as alive and deranged. Now, Madara has been reanimated, fought with the five Kage, had actually come back to life, and shown up to the fighting between Kakashi and Obito.

The minute that Madara laid eyes on him, the insanity had really been irreversible. 

Madara had attacked him with vigor. Shouting that he was not the Kakashi that Madara wanted, how the universe was spitting in his face. That the opposing army had desecrated the memory of him. No matter how hard Kakashi tried to convince Madara that it was him, that he was real, that they could fix this, Madara didn’t listen. 

There was no trace of Kakashi’s Dara-chan left in this enraged, vengeful Madara Uchiha. 

Once the previous Hokage showed up to the battle, it was really no contest.

Hashirama was shocked at Madara’s deranged state. After a brief exchange with Kakashi- whom he had truly come to see as a brother, and they communicated as siblings do- Hashirama nodded to the Fourth Company Commander. They would not interrupt his battle with Madara.

The fight was brutal to say the least.

Kakashi and Madara had sparred so often during his time in the Founders’ Era, it was like slipping back into their routine. Jab-swipe-duck-elbow-kunai-DODGE- their dance was one of grace. Some of the shinobi in the army stopped to watch them, even. 

All the while, Madara spouted nonsense, about the moon, eternal sleep, they would be together soon, he said. They would get their happy ending. 

Madara had always promised Kakashi a happy ending.

It was painfully reminiscent of the promises they made each other before Kakashi was pulled back to his right time period.

However, the more they fought, the more Kakashi realized that this was it. 

He would have to kill another one of his precious people.

He just hoped he had the courage to do it.

Still, they fought. Madara- bloodthirsty for the one who had supposedly come to mock him with his loved one- was more vicious than Kakashi had anticipated. It took all Kakashi had left to just keep dodging the brutal blows that Madara was delivering.

All Kakashi had to do was find the small opening that Madara always left in his guard. It was difficult to see, and Kakashi only found it after months and months of sparring with the man.

Punch-sweep-roll-leap-dodge-kunai!

There!

Kakashi steeled himself, shut down his heart, cut off all the racing thoughts of Madara-needs-help-I-have-to-help-him and struck with all the strength and accuracy he could muster, right into the spot where Madara’s chest plate ended, leaving a line directly to his heart exposed.

The kunai slid deep, scraping against ribs and becoming slick with blood, sliding until the it hit home, in Madara’s heart.

Madara halted suddenly and choked, still reaching for Kakashi’s throat.

“Kakashi?” The shock in Madara’s eyes cleared away the distant look, the fuzziness fleeing.

“I told you it was me, Dara-chan,” Kakashi whispered, eyes softening.

“You dunderhead,” Madara choked again, “I’ve been... looking for you... everywhere.” Madara’s body weight fell limply forward into Kakashi’s arms.

“Sorry dear, I got lost on the road of life.” Kakashi could feel tears starting to form in both his eyes.

“S’okay, you’re here now-” Madara broke into a wet cough, spattering blood in Kakashi’s shoulder.

“Hush now, its time to rest, love.” They were kneeling now, huddled together like they would never see each other again.

Kakashi knew they wouldn’t. Not in this life.

“I really am very tired,” Madara wheezed out.

“I know, I’m here now though. You can stop, Madara.” Kakashi tightened his grip on the older man, burying his face in Madara’s wild hair. Tears forcing their way down his face.

“Yeah, I think I’ll do that...” Kakashi could feel Madara smirk into his shoulder.

Then the man breathed his last breath.

Kakashi felt a part of him die with the stubborn man. 

He refused to allow himself to sob like he so, so badly wanted to. Taking shuddering breaths, Kakashi clutched Madara impossibly closer. 

Hashirama knelt down next to Kakashi, and placed a hand on the younger man’s shoulder, sharing in his adoptive brother’s grief. Madara had been his best friend, after all.

They stayed like that for a long while, past the point where Kakashi felt himself get soaked by the rain.