Tobirama was losing his mind.

When Izuna hadn't showed up to the cave, Tobirama had panicked. He had waited and waited, from the moon rising to its disappearance behind the horizon to enlighten a new part of the world. Then, in the morning, when Izuna still hadn't showed up, he did something he had never done before; he went to the Uchiha village.

He searched and searched. Lucky for him, or rather, lucky for the Uchiha, nobody was out on the streets this early; everyone were still asleep.

Or almost everyone.

"What are you doing here?" someone asked angrily.

Tobirama jerked and looked up. In front of him stood Hashirama. Normally, Tobirama would ask Hashirama the same, but he was too distraught. He opened his mouth to speak, but couldn't. Hashirama noticed.

"Tobirama, Izuna is fine", Hashirama said, much milder now, looking at his brother worriedly.

"How did you know this is about Izuna?" Tobirama asked weakly.

"Why else would you be here? And I know. I had a meeting with Madara. I always ask how Izuna is and he said he is fine."

"Did he say something else?" Tobirama asked desperately.

"No", Hashirama said softly. "Madara looked upset, as if something bothered him. But no. We only talked about..."

Hashirama suddenly became grim again.

"Brother", Tobirama said.

"There will be a battle. Madara said to have my troops ready by noon." Hashirama put a hand on his brother's shoulder; it felt strong, warm, heavy with the burden of the world. "Can I count on you?"

Tobirama met his eyes. The albino beast realised how much his brother needed him, and that he had to suppress his emotions regarding Izuna to help him. But there was something else in Hashirama's question. What they had talked about before, when Tobirama had found him drunk in his kitchen. When Hashirama asked his beloved little brother if he could count on him, he meant he expected Tobirama to stay alive.

Tobirama took Hashirama's hand.

"Always, brother", he said.

The scythe basically sang in Tobirama's hand.

After much hesitation, he had decided to bring it to battle, not only because how well they worked as a pair but also because he wanted to feel close to Izuna.

Tobirama killed people with an ease he wasn't used to, the sword being so able in his hand.  All the while, he was looking for Izuna, but not finding him anywhere. He had just decapitated his seventh Uchiha in the battle when suddenly, someone came up to him from behind.

It was so sudden that he hardly had time to turn around to clash his scythe with the sword...

That belonged to Izuna Uchiha.

Izuna!

The jolt of happiness he felt upon seeing the man threatened to knock him off his feet. Oh, to see him in battle! Maybe, they could play! And then, he could protect Izuna, and they could meet in the cave.

That dream burst, however, when Tobirama saw Izuna's face, and all hope he had ever held in this entire world died.

"You bastard..." Izuna said through gritted teeth. Tobirama felt his heart burst in fear. "You fucking bastard."

That was the only thing Izuna would say during this battle.

He fought fiercely. Tobirama had to do his absolute most to block the attacks, all the while trying to figure out what was going on. What had happened between them during the time they had been apart? Tobirama did not understand.

But he couldn't think, because this Izuna, this Izuna with an intent to kill was dangerous, and apparently, he understood Tobirama was dangerous, too, because his eyes were red, activated to read any attack Tobirama could possibly plan.

But Izuna didn't need to be careful, because Tobirama was no threat to him. Even if the albino beast did not understand what was happening, why they were fighting when only two nights ago, they'd made love, Tobirama loved Izuna. Everything he did during the battle was only to block Izuna's attacks to stay alive.

But he soon understood that Izuna well and truly didn't fight the same as he did. Izuna was fighting to kill Tobirama. Tobirama's heart shattered into a thousand pieces when he realised that the only way out of this was to either die, or to kill Izuna.

He almost dropped his sword immediately, fully prepared to give himself over to the man he loved completely. But then, a picture overcame his mind, a picture of his beautiful big brother, drunk and dishevelled with a shadow of a stubble on his cheeks, crying for Tobirama to stay alive, the relief in his face when Tobirama had promised to do his best.

And there he was, the albino beast, knowing he couldn't do without Izuna, but knowing Hashirama couldn't do without him. And in the end, when he understood that it wasn't a choice between him or Izuna Uchiha, but Izuna Uchiha or Hashirama, Tobirama made the decision to kill Izuna Uchiha, not because he loved Izuna less, but because the Senju clan would go under if he didn't, because if he broke his promise to Hashirama, Hashirama would go under with him. Tobirama Senju was forcefully and irreversibly in love with the Uchiha beauty, but Tobirama Senju was not strong enough to have the entire extermination of his own clan on his conscience.

When Izuna created fire, Tobirama made a decoy out of water, creating mist as the two elements collided. He then threw a fistful of knives against his lover, that the black-haired beauty avoided excellently.

But that was but another decoy. After those knives came the great white beast of the Senju clan, the translucent monster, throwing himself at Izuna with his scythe, the one that had been a gift from the same man that had once loved him but did not anymore, out of reasons unbeknown to Tobirama.

He felt the crunching feeling of his scythe going through skin, fat, muscle and viscera, and then the same all over again; muscle, fat, skin. He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth against the blood spatter that painted his face as Izuna coughed up blood.

"I love you, Izuna", he murmured.

But Izuna was already dead, his entire weigh being held up by the force of Tobirama Senju holding up the scythe that he had gifted that was now piercing his heart.