I don't own Naruto.

Tobirama sighed as he pushed open his brother's door, expecting to see him laid out in the floor like he had been many times before. Mito was gone, she had followed Hashirama's instructions and had gone home to whirlpool country. That had been two months ago, and somehow his brother seemed to be managing just fine taking care of his infant son. Tobirama had worried about his brother, seeing as he spent most of his days hidden away even though he had graciously accepted the title of Hokage.

The villagers seemed to be respectful of his situation and did not wish to bother him as he got through this troubling time. He had been helping his brother run things from the shadows, but he knew that eventually they would need to see him come out and address the people. He looked in to see Hashirama and Itsuki asleep, Hashirama had bis back against the wall and Itsuki was cradled gently in his arms.

Tobirama smiled softly and gently pulled Itsuki from Hashirama's arms, only for Hashirama's fingertips to extend and carefully wrap wood around him to stop him from taking the child. Half awake brown eyes stared at him before the wood released him. "Sorry, Tobirama..." Hashirama muttered with a yawn, but Tobirama shook his head. He understood why Hashirama was so protective of his son, Mito had threatened to take him with her before she left. So of course he wouldn't let his guard down, not even in his sleep.

"You know you can ask for help, right?" he asked, but his brother no longer returned his gaze. "Hashirama... I know you're having a hard time, but don't forget you still have all of us to help you." He said and offered a small comforting smile to his older brother. He couldn't imagine how it would feel to have someone do to him what Mito did to his brother. Tobirama knew their relationship would eventually end, but he had no idea that his brother would be the one to end it.

"I'm taking Itsuki-kun, don't worry, he will be safe with us. You need to get some rest Hashirama." He told him and his brother only nodded at him. He knew the moment he left his brother was going to cry himself to sleep yet again. Despite everything that had happened, he knew Hashirama still loved Mito. He also knew it would take a long time to get over everything that had happened, so he figured he would give Hashirama that.

He packed everything he would need for Itsuki and made his way out of his brother's home. When he stepped out the front door, he wasn't alone. Madara and Izuna looked over his shoulders at the small bundled child in his grasp. "That thing is kinda cute." Izuna said softly and gently prodded Itsuki's cheeks causing the child to stare up at him with tiny chocolate brown eyes. "Oh shit... it's actually kinda cute..." Madara said and smiled at the baby, only for him to smile back.

"Real cute... I want one." Madara said and Tobirama rolled his eyes. "Gotta find a girlfriend first you two, not a crazy one either. We don't need another psycho wreaking havoc on everyone's sanity around here." Kaira said as she made her way up to them, only to carefully take the baby from Tobirama's grasp with a smile. "Hello there, little love..." she said sweetly as she rubbed noses with him, causing him to giggle softly. Tobirama swallowed softly as he watched Kaira coddle the baby. He could feel the brothers watching him and he sent them a glare as they draped their arms over his shoulders.

Kaira was off in her own world, just thrilled to be finally holding the baby and he was enduring the knowing glances of the brothers and the devious looks on their faces. "Ne, Tobirama... shouldn't you get busy on making one of those? Uncle Madara and I would love to babysit." Izuna said and Tobirama glared at him. "Drop dead." "Oh, Tobirama don't be that way... you know you would love to have one, especially since you have us around. You do kinda like us now after all." Madara pitched in and he just blinked at the two brothers with a sigh.

He looked back ahead of them to see Kaira staring down at his nephew with the brightest of smiles on her lips. He couldn't help the small smile that had crossed his own lips then, he couldn't wait to make that woman his wife. "Yeah, Tobi-kun, when do we get to make our own?" and there it went, all joy flew out the window and now he was just irritated solely from the sultry tone that floated back to him. He looked back to her and saw that she was holding Itsuki out to him, an unreadable glimmer in her eyes.

"Most people say the fun part is making them, to which I could only agree if I have experienced it." She whispered to him, those eyes holding the same sultry tone her voice held. "Absolutely not." He bit out and pulled baby Itsuki from her grasp once more, causing her to pout. The Uchiha brothers finally released him only to go and attempt to comfort Kaira by patting her on the head, all the while she was sending pouty looks back at him. "No." was all he said every time she looked back at him.

He sighed as he approached the doorway of the house they had been headed to. He reached up and gently knocked on the door, only for sad white eyes to greet him when the door opened. "Hey ghost eyes, been a while." Kaira said grinning at her friend and pushing her way into the house. Hinata moved the rest of the way out of the doorway and let him in, only for him to shut the door in the Uchiha brother's faces. He heard their whining protests through the door and opened it back up. They came in as well, greeting Hinata in their typical way of 'Bunny' and 'Princess'.

She walked over and sat on her couch, crossing her legs in front of her. "Hinata-chan... you have it so dark in here..." Kaira complained as she made her way around, flicking on lights as she went. "That's how I like it right now, the light hurts my eyes." Hinata whispered and he frowned at her as he made his way over to her. He could tell she spent a lot of time crying, due to the redness and swelling of her eyes. He ruffled her hair, only to offer the small bundle to her. He watched her go through the whole spectrum of emotion before she finally took the child into her arms and whispered a small hello.

He sat beside her and just watched as his nephew reached up and grabbed a lock of her hair and pulled it to his face. He could see her lips begin to tremble, but when he reached to take Itsuki from her she stopped him with her gaze alone. "What's his name?" she asked as she gently stroked her fingers over his tiny cheeks. He knew she had never met the child, being as Mito kept her away, and Hashirama had been hiding out in his home.

"Itsuki." He said and he smiled softly as her soft laughter began to escape her. "He seriously did it... he named this poor baby tree." She said softly as she ran her fingers through the little one's dark brown hair. "He looks just like him..." she whispered softly and he nodded, catching all the looks from those in the room. They knew this was painful for her, but they also knew she needed this. She pulled little Itsuki out of his blanket and held him up in front of her. As if just realizing everyone was staring at her, she looked around at all of them.

"W-what?" she stammered softly and they all shook their heads. If they were going to do this, they needed to do this slowly. They couldn't rush Hinata and Hashirama back together or else they would only drift further apart. He knew Hinata felt like she needed to stay away from Hashirama because she felt like everything Mito said to her was the truth, but it wasn't. The same went for Hashirama, he was keeping his distance as an apology to Hinata for everything Mito had put her through. They were both avoiding one another now and it needed to stop, but they knew they couldn't rush it.

So their plan was going to shove the two of them together slowly, so as to make the two of them think they had come back together on their own.

:-:-:-:

Hashirama sighed as he made his way to the Hokage office, Tobirama had told him that he needed to go back and be seen by his people, but he wasn't feeling like much of a leader honestly. He felt like a failure and he just wanted to wallow in his sorrows, but Madara wouldn't even let him do that. Madara had been the one to drag him out of his bed today, under threat of forcefully taking the hokage position from him. Hashirama rolled his eyes at this, he knew the man was joking as he had seen what Hashirama had to deal with on the daily and had told him he could keep his shitty job.

Despite Madara's opinion on his job, he still loved it. His every interaction with the people of his village made him happy, they were wonderful people who had been praying for the same thing he had been. Yet again Tobirama had taken his young son off to who knows where to be taken care of through the day while he worked. He wasn't sure where Tobirama was taking his son, but he trusted his brother not to take him to someone who would hurt him.

He sat at his desk and waited for Madara and Tobirama to take their seats as well, a usual start to their everyday routine. He looked over at the two of them as they sat down, he could tell the two of them had become friends, which was good. He wondered if Izuna and Tobirama had become close as well. His office door opened and one of the elders made their way in. He greeted the older man with a smile, only for the elder to return his smile with a soft one of his own.

"How can I help you today?" he asked and the man reached to pull something and set it on his desk. It had been two months since he returned to his position and he had been assisting with the villagers with minor things, setting up missions for the younger shinobi to take on. He read over the paperwork in front of him and frowned. This wasn't something that the youngers could handle. "Tobirama, how well acquainted to the border is Kaira?" he asked and the man's eyes widened, it appeared the man thought this would be a simple request.

"We need someone to go stop some bandits from stealing from the trade wagons. I don't want to send out young shinobi in case they have someone of decent strength with them." He said and Tobirama nodded in understanding. "She knows all borders of our land like the back of her hand. She can handle anything that is out there as well." Tobirama said and Hashirama nodded. "Good, I hate to send her out on something that would seem trivial to her, but she can track them down and put a stop to them." He said and the older man just watched him in awe.

"Call for her." he said and Tobirama nodded, holding two fingers up in preparation to call her, but she strolled in his office as if she had been awaiting his command. "Habiki-san." her voice held a coldness that the three of them had never heard from her before. The sinister smirk on her lips though, said she knew exactly who this man was. "What a shame to have to receive help from the one you ostracized, huh?" she asked and he cowered under the touch of her fingers on his shoulders.

"Lead me to where I need to go." She demanded and the old man frowned. Hashirama could tell the man was uncomfortable around her, but he supposed he should also send someone else with them. "Where is Izuna, it's clear we can't only send Kaira." He sighed and Tobirama only withheld his chuckle at this, while the old man stared at him with grateful eyes. As the two of them left his office, Izuna waiting for them outside the door, Hashirama sighed and looked back to his brother.

Tobirama only smirked at him. "Get a grip on your wife, will you?" he grumbled and a slight blush tinted his brother's cheeks, which made Madara bust out laughing. This is how their day went, assigning smaller missions to the younger shinobi such as missing cats and babysitting. It wasn't hard right now, as the only things they really had to worry about were the bandits stealing from the trade caravans, but even that could be swiftly handled by his dear friends.

He perked up the moment he heard his six month old's distinct babbles from the open window. He jumped up and rushed over to look out and see who had been taking such good care of his young son. His eyes widened as they landed on her. Her long inky blue-black hair framed her face but it was in the same kind of braid he had put her hair in that day. He couldn't find the words to say as he watched her nuzzle noses with his son, who only continued to giggle.

Deep down he wanted nothing more than to go talk to her, but he knew if he did he would only be hurting the both of them, especially since he was still having issues getting over Mito despite everything she had said and done. He felt Madara moving him so he too could look out the window. As soon as Madara caught sight of who he was looking at he gave him an odd look. "Why don't you just go talk to her. I'm sure she will speak to you, especially after everything that has happened." He offered and Hashirama tore his eyes away from Hinata and her alluring lavender eyes.

"I can't and I don't want to hear anything else about it." he grumbled and the Uchiha sighed, only to return to his seat and cross both arms behind his head. He turned to see Tobirama giving him a similar look to the one Madara had been giving him. He too wanted him to go speak to Hinata, but he just couldn't. He didn't want to see her the way he had seen her when Mito was yelling at her, ever again. She had been so sad that day, so broken and lost...

She didn't deserve that in any way.

However, when he looked back out the window at Hinata, she took his breath away with just a simple action. That and that smile she held, he was absolutely blown away by this woman.

:-:-:-:

Hinata made her way through town, Tobirama had told her to meet him outside the hokage tower but hadn't told her why. He had offered to buy her lunch at some point, so she assumed it may have been for that reason. She knew Hashirama hadn't been taking everything very well, Tobirama had told her that much. She looked down to the small child in her arms and smiled. Hashirama had it made honestly, he got to spend every night with this amazing little human and she was envious of that. She wanted her own children some day but now she had no idea when that day would be.

Especially since she was trapped in this time and no matter what time-space jutsu she tried, none of them would send her home. She often thought about the person who had brought her here, and she wondered why they had brought her here. But then again, she had also managed to imitate Naruto's talk-no-jutsu just well enough to ensure the senju and the Uchiha stopped fighting. She released a small laugh at that one, she hadn't come up with it but Sasuke had and she had to admit he wasn't wrong.

Naruto sure did know how to talk people out of doing the dumbest of things, as well as fixing their most traumatizing of attacks. Somehow Naruto always managed to make things go the way he wanted. It had amazed her to no end, however it seemed that Hashirama possessed this skill as well although he didn't use it to the extent Naruto did. She nuzzled her nose with Itsuki's once more, making him giggle loudly.

That sound made her heart flutter, she absolutely loved making the beautiful child giggle. She couldn't help but wonder what her own children would look like, she knew what she would name her daughter if she ever had one, but the name for her son escaped her. She blinked as she felt someone's gaze on her, it wasn't menacing it just felt curious. She looked up to the Hokage tower, expecting to see Tobirama there. It wasn't Tobirama though... her heart fluttered as she realized who was watching her.

She looked back to meet those chocolate brown eyes and she swallowed softly. Was he not upset with her anymore? She figured he was upset with her by the way he had looked at her that day, so when she had heard he and Mito had split and Mito had returned home she had decided to avoid him at all costs. She hated feeling like she was the reason their relationship fell apart. It wasn't fair to him.

His gaze was suffocating to her but she couldn't understand why. She couldn't help but admire him still, his alluring eyes made her never want to break their gaze. She found him just as attractive as she had found Naruto, if not more which embarrassed her to even think. She knew she could never be with him, not without messing everything up even more than she already had, so she had no right to think of him this way.

She repressed a giggle as he gave Madara a dirty look, no doubt for whatever he had said. Madara always flirted with her, but she was in no way interested. It wasn't because he wasn't attractive, because he was... it seemed that was a common thing among the Uchiha. She had yet to meet an unattractive one honestly, which was honestly concerning in her opinion. No one was that attractive without a boatload of flaws to hide. And Madara's was the fact she was still terrified of him, not just from when they had fought in the woods that day, but also because she saw everything he had become.

The man was a menace, but he did have a kind heart when it came down to it. She was friends with him, but she didn't ever think she could get past all of that to be in a relationship with him. Izuna either, because the younger Uchiha was an absolute menace to society as a whole. And not for the pure strength he radiated that mimicked his older brothers, but for the sole fact he was a filthy pervert and didn't even bother to hide it.

She supposed Kaira's flirting did nothing to help that either. She repressed an eye roll at that thought. She looked up to see Hashirama still watching them and she held up baby Itsuki so his father could see him better. When he looked back at her, his eyes widened and he looked surprised. The look on his face made a slight blush come to her cheeks. He looked absolutely enthralled.

The next thing she knew Tobirama was in the window looking from one of them to the other, a clear interest on his features. He looked down at her and smirked, she didn't like that smirk in the slightest. It meant the white haired man was plotting something once more. Before she knew it, he had made his way down to her. "T-Tobirama!" she stammered and he only smirked at her.

He leaned to whisper something in her ear, but she stepped back away from him. "No whispering. Just say whatever you have to say." She muttered and he rolled his eyes. "I will buy you dinner, just meet me at that restaurant later. I will have Kaira get Itsuki and take him home for you." He sighed and she nodded. Why on earth would he have to whisper that to her in the first place. Tobirama was acting weird and she knew it had something to do with the man who had not removed his gaze from her yet.

She sighed audibly and turned to make her way back to her home, Itsuki in tow. She turned to look one last time at Hashirama, who still hadn't removed his gaze from her. When she arrived home, she smiled as she realized who was there waiting on her. They both stood and made their way over to her, looking over their sweet grandchild with loving eyes. She offered him up to them and Akane graciously took the six month old. Butsuma offered a small smile as he opened his arms to her, she took advantage of the hug he offered and hugged him tightly.

When he released her from his embrace, she couldn't help but bite back the tears that formed in her eyes. Akane handed Butsuma their grandbaby and embraced her once more. "Thank you so much for taking such good care of him." She whispered to Hinata as she hugged her. Hinata buried her face in the older woman's shoulder trying her best to hide her tears. "Oh, dear... please don't cry... there's no need for that. It'll be ok..." she said softly as she hugged her tighter. Hinata felt so lost in this time, she missed her friends and family dearly.

Never once had she expected Butsuma Senju to be so kind to her though, she had heard stories from Tobirama about their childhood and how strict of a man he had once been. She was grateful that he was no longer that way. Akane leaned back and began wiping her tears away with the hem of her sleeve. "What were you crying about dear?" she asked softly and Hinata shook her head. Akane gingerly brushed her hair out of her face and smiled softly. "Let's go inside, shall we?" Akane offered and Hinata nodded as she unlocked her front door.

They made their way inside and sat down on her couches, Akane and Butsuma watched her carefully as she crossed her legs in front of her. "Hinata, we know you aren't from here. We also know you can't really tell us much from where you are from, but that's ok." Akane began and Hinata's eyes widened as they landed on the white haired woman. "We are just grateful for whatever brought you here." Butsuma added and she flicked her gaze to him. She had only told Hashirama that and he had promised to keep it a secret.

"The Hyuuga have no idea who you are, dear. It wasn't hard to guess when you seemed to know exactly who all of us were." Akane mused lightly, Butsuma sharing the grateful look she held. "We only recently put it together, seeing as we were speaking to the Hyuuga about you and they had no idea who we were talking about. We thought you might have been with them, but when they said there was a young blind woman out here we knew it was you." He chuckled softly and she blushed in embarrassment.

"I had to think of something, considering they may try and brand me..." she said sadly and they narrowed their eyes at this. "If they lay a hand on you, we will end them." Akane bit out and she stared at the woman in awe, for such a dignified woman she could be just as feral as Kaira. This only brought a smile to her lips though, only she also began laughing lightly. "What... I'm serious..." Akane whined softly and Hinata only smiled brightly at her.

"I know... I just... I just realized something." She said and Akane watched her curiously. "It seems that Tobirama looked up to you so much he found a partner with a similar personality." She mused and it was Butsuma's turn to laugh now. "Similar, you say? Pretty much the same personality if you ask me. How do you think she won me over, lord only knows I got sick of the flirting all the time." He chuckled and Hinata giggled behind her hand at this. Butsuma leaned forward and just looked her over, she felt odd under his curious gaze.

"I'm still curious about what drew Hashirama to you." He said and a sad look crossed her features. "We knew about Mito and her controlling ways. We were not happy to learn about how she was treating you. So, we are sorry for that." He sighed upon seeing the look on her face. "Dear, you have to understand... the only reason Hashirama and Mito met was because we tried to form an alliance with the Uzumaki by arranged marriage. They both seemed to be doing well, that was until she noticed that Hashirama paid attention to you and your well being. Which is nothing you should have to be ashamed of." Akane said and Hinata couldn't help but feel bad anyway.

"Hashirama only wanted to be your friend, he was notorious for making friends extremely. We just assumed it was his personality, but after a while we noticed that Mito had noticed something else and had immediately assumed it was something it was not. Now we are not implying that Hashirama was trying to cheat on her with you, because he wasn't. It just seemed that he liked being in your presence." Butsuma explained and she nodded softly.

"He braided my hair before we went to face the Uchiha..." She whispered softly and Akane had a glimmer in her eyes that Hinata couldn't describe. "Oh honey... the man likes you. Not saying that we are happy that Mito is out of the picture-"she began but Butsuma cleared his throat. "Speak for yourself woman." He grumbled and Hinata only eyed him warily. "Our son has feelings for you and we could only hope one day you could forgive him for everything Mito put you through." Akane said as she shoved Butsuma with her shoulder lightly.

"I... I never blamed him..." she whispered softly and they snapped their heads up to look at her once more. "Then why stay away from him now?" they asked and she just smiled sadly. She knew they just wanted both her and Hashirama to be happy, but she also knew he needed time to get everything together and understand everything that happened. As if they could tell what she was going to say next, they both frowned.

"He needs time, and I don't want to rush him through everything he is going through."

:-:-:-:-:

Tobirama frowned as he thought about the fact Hinata had stood him up that day. Perhaps she had known it had been a ploy to get her and Hashirama in the same room? He didn't know, but it irritated him to no end. He glanced over at his older brother, who was talking gibberish to Itsuki. He still had other plans, Hinata and her determination to leave Hashirama alone wasn't going to get in the way of that. He had given her another week of space, so it was time to try once more.

"Hashirama wait here, I will be back." He said as he left the park where Hashirama was playing with Itsuki joyfully. He crouched and touched the ground, he didn't want to have to seek her out on foot, it got annoying trying to find her day after day like that. The moment he felt her chakra, he took off towards her in a run. He skidded to a halt when he saw her walking from one merchant booth to another. He couldn't help the amusement that filled him when he saw her looking at things for Itsuki.

She was incredibly thoughtful when it came to Hashirama's son. "He doesn't need anymore clothes, Hinata-chan." He chuckled softly and she blushed softly. "I was just looking..." she whined so softly that he almost hadn't heard her. He ruffled her hair gently and she scowled at him lightly. He only shook his head at her scowl he didn't think she could be scary even if she tried her hardest.

"No wonder Izuna calls you bunny, you're about as scary as a little fluffy bunny." He mused and she grumbled under her breath at him. "Come on, you're coming with me today, since you stood me up for dinner the other day." He jabbed and she blushed lightly. "S-sorry, I got a little preoccupied with your parents." She said softly and he only shook his head. "Oh, I am aware." He said and she just stared up at him as he pulled her along by her wrist. "I... I um... can walk on my own..." she said and he only rolled his eyes as he released her wrist.

She looked down at the little basket in her grasp as she followed behind him silently. "Are you ok?" he asked and she jolted to look up at him once more. "Yes... I promise..." she said and he nodded. "Just making sure..." he sighed and led her right into the park. "What are we..." she didn't even get to finish that before he had noticed she had caught sight of Hashirama. She let go of her basket and he snatched it out of midair before it could hit the ground and alert the man before them.

He watched as her hands slowly made their way up to clutch her chest, he knew she adored his older brother he was just trying to ensure they both knew the other felt the same. A small blush flushed her cheeks, and he couldn't help but smile as he stepped out of her way. He looked over to see Hashirama playing peek-a-boo with Itsuki and couldn't help the chuckle that escaped him at how goofy his brother could be when it came to his nephew.

He looked back to Hinata and could tell she wanted nothing more than to go over to him. "Go on, Hinata..." he whispered softly, pushing her forward. She shook her head and tried to walk away, but Hashirama looked up from where he had been acting like a fish to Itsuki. The air deflated from his cheeks slowly and a small blush covered his cheeks. The two of them just watched one another for a moment before Hashirama stood, taking his son into his arms once more.

Tobirama decided now was the time to make a break for it before one or both turned on him for his little schemes.

:-:-:-:

Hashirama was happily playing with his son when he heard Tobirama chuckle at him nearby. When he looked up at his brother, the air deflated from his face and he felt utterly embarrassed at having been caught like that. His gaze landed on Hinata, who had been standing there watching him as well. The look in her eyes was unreadable, but the small blush tinting her cheeks and her slightly parted lips said something completely different from her eyes.

He stood and picked his son up once more. He wasn't sure if he should leave and let Hinata be, or if he should try to make conversation. He swallowed nervously as she just continued to watch him. He glanced over to see that Tobirama had made a break for it and he sighed softly. "I... I'm sorry... I had no idea he was bringing me here..." she whispered suddenly, only to turn and try to leave.

"Hinata... please... don't go." He managed and she looked over her shoulder at him. Her gaze looked over the hand that was outstretched toward her then up to meet his eyes. "I'm so sorry..." they both said together and he furrowed his brows at her. What did she have to be sorry for? She had never done anything wrong... "I shouldn't have come back that day... I'm so sorry!" she whispered, only to bow to him politely. "Please forgive me!" she managed and he could hear her voice breaking. He made his way over to her and the intense smell of flowers overtook his senses.

"Hinata..." he called out to her softly, seeing her tears falling to the dry ground below her despite the curtain of hair blocking her face from him, he knew she was crying because of that alone. "You have nothing to apologize for..." he said softly, but she still didn't raise to look him in the eyes. He reached out and took a section of her hair in the fingers of his free hand. He had always admired how beautiful her hair was, always shining and soft. That was why he felt the need to braid it that day... he had been dying to just touch it...

"What Mito did... it wasn't your fault. You couldn't have helped that..." he said softly as he tucked that section of hair behind her ear. She stood back to her full height, but she still hid her face from him. He brushed his fingers over her cheek gently and her lavender eyes peered up at him through her hair. "She made you stay away from me and I'm sorry for everything she did..." he sighed and she looked up at him fully.

"I want to be friends again... can we do that?" he asked and her eyes widened a fraction, only for her to nod at him rapidly. He wasn't expecting her to so readily agree to it, but it made him happy nonetheless. "Why were you staying away from me?" she asked softly and he frowned down at her. "Well, honestly it was because I thought you wanted nothing to do with me because of her." he sighed and she frowned as well.

He was caught off guard when she wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face into his chest. "I'm so sorry Hashirama..." she whispered softly and he smiled softly down at her and wrapped his free arm around her. He felt more at peace now, he had his friend back. Although he was still going to give his brother and the Uchiha a piece of his mind when he got the chance, he was happy to have the chance to be friends with Hinata once more.

:-:-:-:-:

Izuna was running, Madara had warned him before he had even returned home of the angry Hokage that was looking for all of them. He didn't understand why Hashirama was mad in the first place, he got what he wanted in the end... Izuna jumped out of the reach of the wooden hand that had reached for him once more, only looking over to Tobirama who was using his flying rajin seals to get ahead of him and Madara.

"You idiots!" Hashirama yelled as he rounded the corner once more. "Hashirama! Why are you mad? We were just trying to help you, you asshole!" Madara yelled as he ducked under a root that had tried to grab him. "You fools think you have to interfere in everything! Why wouldn't I be mad?" he snapped and Izuna shrugged lightly. The man had a point, they had been trying for months to get the two of them to at least be friends again, so he shouldn't be surprised when they actually managed to pull it off.

What Izuna didn't understand about it was the fact that he hadn't chased after Kaira, who had been in on the ploy to begin with. She had actually come up with the idea of leading Hinata to the park to show her Hashirama playing with Itsuki. Kaira knew that Hinata would have full blown baby fever the moment she had witnessed it herself, just as Tobirama knew Hashirama would have similar feelings when he saw her playing with his son as well.

The whole lot of them knew that the two were in complete denial of their feelings, but when you throw in a happy little baby that has shared love between the two of them... perfect recipe for happiness. He assumed that Hashirama knew they were all playing match maker and that was why he was so mad. Oh well... Hashirama was getting his friend back and even if that's all they ended up being, they all saw how happy he had become after being able to talk to her once more.

"Ok! Ok! We will stop running if you stop trying to kill us!" Madara yelled and the roots and wooden fingers all stopped and fell away to nothingness. Izuna stopped and attempted to catch his breath, thinking it was safe. However, that couldn't have been more from the truth as his feet were swept out from under him and his back hit the ground roughly. He struggled to breathe as he reached out to Madara, who had received a fist to the head and crumpled to the ground with a yelp. Hashirama only pointed a finger at Tobirama menacingly and mouthed the words 'You'll get yours later' to him.

"Now... what did you all learn?" Hashirama asked as he made his way over to him and Madara. "Stop meddling, we get it damn." He grumbled as he tried to force himself back up to his feet, only for Madara to return the whack to the skull that Hashirama had given him. "You jerk! We were just trying to help you dammit!" Madara snarled and a gloomy aura surrounded Hashirama as he slumped over.

"You're right... I could have handled it myself though..." he whined and Madara reared back to hit him again but Tobirama snapped at him to shut up and be grateful, his sutting words causing Hashirama to slump in the opposite direction from before. They all sighed and attempted to gather themselves when they looked up to the afternoon sky only for a chill to catch all of them off guard.

Kumo had made his way over to him, which was odd as the large dog rarely left Kaira's side. "I need you all to come with me, something is wrong with Kaira." He said and they all nodded as they rushed to follow the large hound. When they arrived, Kaira was clutching her head from where she was crouched. Tobirama rushed over to her and crouched beside her, pulling her close to him in an attempt to comfort her. Her chakra was flaring uncontrollably and none of them could understand why.

She tossed back her head and released a pained yell as her chakra flared wildly. Her eyes glowed like the all too familiar blue flame once more and her claws dug into Tobirama's arm, which made him wince. Izuna couldn't understand what was happening to the woman, and it seemed none of the others could either. He looked around to try and see what had set the woman off, but he couldn't find anything that would do this.

He looked up to Hashirama only to notice his eyes were trembling at the sight of the red chakra leaking from her pores. Izuna had no idea what this chakra was, as he had never seen it before. Kaira released another bone chilling scream and began clawing at her shirt as if she were trying to show them something. Hashirama jolted forward and yanked up the bottom of her shirt despite all of her thrashing. An inky black swirling seal on her stomach was pulsating, revealing exactly what the issue was.

Hashirama turned and began running towards the outskirts of the village where Hinata lived. "Izuna, Madara, Tobirama... go with him!" Akane senju yelled as she crouched beside Kaira and began cradling her. Butsuma began placing the sacred gates around Kaira and Akane, only stopping when he was sure that they would be safe within the gates. Butsuma then turned to see Kaira's father with the same chakra ebbing out of him.

Izuna could only watch as the older senju carefully took down Kaira's father and locked him in place with the sacred gates as well. "Go!" Butsuma yelled as he grabbed a hold of the man within the barrage of gates and tried to keep him restrained. Izuna stumbled into a run and rushed to catch up to the others. The moment he realized how serious this was, was the moment he saw the tears in Hashirama's eyes.

"Hinata has Itsuki!" was all Hashirama could say as an ear shattering roar echoed through the air. "The Nine tails is attacking! Izuna, Tobirama, get as many villagers out of the way as possible!" Hashirama commanded and they nodded as they took off in the other direction, only to take one more look towards their older brothers. A familiar flash of red hair appeared in front of them and they skid to a stop.

"Where is he?" she asked and they couldn't help but glare at her. Tobirama wasn't as kind as he was though, as Tobirama had rushed forward and grabbed the woman by the collar of her shirt. "Did you release this on us?" he snarled and Izuna looked the woman in her eyes. "Tobirama... she didn't do this." He said, seeing the sadness in her eyes. Tobirama didn't release her though, he just continued to glare at her.

"My family released it, I'm just here to help seal it away..." Izuna didn't know if he fully trusted the woman but he pointed off in the direction Hashirama had gone. They weren't too far from Hinata's house right now, so when they heard her scream it froze them where they were.