I do not own Naruto.

Sasuke sat by the grave stone and couldn't comprehend everything he had learned. It just... made no sense. All the scrolls he had been given by the old Neji were extremely detailed. He furrowed his brow as he read further through them. The elderly Hinata had been the same one he knew, but it made no sense how any of this had happened. He read over all of Hinata and Neji's exploits with the Uchiha and the Senju, hoping the next time he read them something would make sense. To break it all down, the scrolls say the Kami had sent them back in time to attempt to fix the past.

He understood that much, but why them? That was what he couldn't understand. One line he read was confusing him more than anything. 'Time is an unending loop and she assumed that if she had been sent back in time to help Madara and the Senju boys, perhaps there had been times where she had been sent back in time, but not to them.' He furrowed his brow deeper and couldn't quite understand that. Perhaps she meant she believed the reason his older brother had cared for her the way he had was because she had once been sent back to try and help him? But that wouldn't make sense either since his older brother knew her as a child.

He swallowed slightly pursed his lips. He couldn't make sense of any of this, but he wasn't sure if he should show anyone else. He glanced up to see the elder Neji making his way over to him. "Can I ask you something?" Sasuke asked and the elderly man nodded as he sat down beside him. "Feel free to ask me anything about those scrolls. I would prefer you do it sooner as I feel I don't have long for this world." He sighed and Sasuke frowned but nodded.

"Will we see anything that you two succeed with in the past?" he asked and Neji's eyes slipped shut. This was something he seemed to have wanted to avoid. Sasuke took that response as an answer in itself. "We will never see it, as our younger versions seem to have been placed in another timeline." Neji replied softly after a moment. Sasuke nodded once more. "We can only hope they fare better than we did."

"That makes more sense than I thought it would. So... I have another question..." Sasuke began and Elder Neji looked over at him. "How are you alive if Madara said he buried Hinata?" A frown crossed the older mans lips at this. "Sasuke... I believe that may have been where we went wrong... Hinata did not die that day, as you very well know. She faked her death to see if that would be what would stop the brothers from fighting once and for all. As you can tell it did not work in the slightest." Neji sighed and Sasuke nodded as he looked back down to the scrolls. "Why did she never reveal herself once more then?" Sasuke asked and Neji sighed softly.

"It would be harder to explain to someone who loved you that you faked your death than to live in hiding for the rest of your life, now wouldn't it? imagine the hurt and anger he would have felt if she had resurfaced..." Neji said and Sasuke nodded. He could understand how that could only cause more problems than it solved. He looked over to the older man who seemed deep in thought. He opened his mouth to ask another question, but the older male beat him to it.

"I can only hope she doesn't think it will work this time around." Neji said softly.

:-:-:-:-:

Neji and Madara slunk through the woods near the river, they were hunting today. Out of nowhere Neji slung his arm out and halted Madara's progress, only for Izuna to slam right into his older brother's back. Neji's chakra pulsed and he began scanning the area, he had felt something but he wasn't sure what it was. He couldn't see anything, but that was also what unsettled him. Tajima landed behind them silently. "Boys, the birds are silent." Was all he said and Neji nodded.

"I can't even see any birds or deer." He said and the older man nodded. "I think it's time to head back." He said and just as they turned to leave, a massive presence made itself known. Neji locked right onto it and motioned for the Uchiha to back up. They hadn't seen hide nor hair of the Senju in two years now, so it was long overdue for them to fight once more. "Are they coming for us?" Tajima asked and Neji shook his head. He watched as the large chakra presence exchanged blows with a smaller one. "They're fighting someone, but I do think it is best if we go." Neji said, only for another presence to make itself known.

"Hinata..."

That was all he had to say before Madara took off. Neji cursed under his breath as he and the other Uchiha took off after him. They followed him to the edge of the woods where he had halted. They remained hidden, only to watch what was happening. Hashirama and Hinata were out in the middle of this field, an unknown figure cloaked between the two of them. Hinata lunged for the person and they rolled to avoid her hits, however they couldn't avoid Hashirama's roots. They could all hear Hashirama yelling at the person to tell him where someone was. Hinata's eyes locked on the group and once more Neji motioned for them to get back.

It was too late though, because with the flick of a wrist Hashirama sent roots their way as well. Oh... seemed Hinata was mad after all. "Move!" Neji yelled as he broke through some of the roots, but more flooded in. The Uchiha turned to run as well, but a gust of wind sent them tumbling out of the trees. Neji spun on his heel and intercepted Hinata's hit. The force of said hit made the ground crack beneath his feet. The ferocity in her eyes honestly shook him to his core. She was extremely mad it seemed.

He turned to look at Madara, who seemed to be awestruck by the sight of Hinata alone. "Where is he?" she snarled and Neji was confused. "Hinata-nee..." was all he could manage. She stepped back away from him and turned to face the Uchiha. Her presence alone sent chills down their spines. Madara seemed unfazed by her and stepped forward. "Hinata-chan! It's good to see youre doing well!" he exclaimed and was going to go on talking but her swift palm connected with his gut and he doubled over gasping for air.

"Don't talk to me like I'm your friend. You killed that long ago." She grumbled and looked towards Tajima, who took a step back. "Miss Hyuuga..." he began, trying to reason with the angry woman. "Please... tell us who you are looking for and perhaps we can help." Tajima reasoned and Hinata sighed and placed a hand on her hip. "Well obviously if you are all confused, you have no idea what I'm talking about." She muttered with a frown and turned to Neji once more.

"Keep a close eye on them. There's someone out here snatching people." Was all she said as she turned to leave once more. Madara jumped to his feet and rushed after her. She swiftly dodged him and offered a small smirk as she did so. Neji felt unnerved by this change in her, she had never been this way before but he knew better than anything changes happen. She didn't release the grip she had on Madara's wrist, but she did turn to face him. Madara only grinned at her. Neji sighed, this was exactly what Madara wanted, he just wanted to get close enough to flirt.

"Perhaps I was wrong about you." He said as he leaned closer to her. The smirk never left her lips as she leaned closer and was just a mere centimeters from his lips. A soft shade of pink dusted Madara's cheeks as he tried to close the small gap. "Eat your heart out, jerk." She said as she shoved him away from her. Neji knew Hinata knew that Madara was almost instantly head over heels for her, he supposed she was going to use that to her advantage. Manipulation based on information was always a good weapon.

Hashirama landed before them and he scanned over the group before he spoke. "I suppose they don't know anything?" he asked and Hinata shook her head. "Then let's go. We can't linger here too long. That scum wouldn't say anything." Hashirama grumbled as he turned to walk away. Neji turned to face the Uchiha, who had been fully expecting a fight. He breathed a sigh of relief when the Uchiha lowered their weapons.

Madara ruffled his own hair with both hands, only to sigh loudly. Neji rolled his eyes at his friend's antics. "So close and yet so far." Madara grumbled and Tajima thwacked him on the head. "You're a fool if you ever think she will be with you!" Tajima growled and Neji laughed, he had hit that right on the mark. "Poor Madara, always wanting the ones he can't have." Izuna chuckled and Madara whirled on him. "What was that you little shit? You wanna go?" he snapped and Neji just sighed as he turned to leave, the brothers bickering behind him and Tajima the entire way home.

There were similarities between Madara and Hinata, they always chased the ones they couldn't have it seemed. He sighed once more, the look that had coated Hinata's features when she had seen Hashirama was incredibly familiar. He had seen that admiration every time she looked at Naruto too...

:-:-:-:

Hinata couldn't wipe the blush from her features. Madara had actually tried to kiss her. She honestly hadn't been expecting that one. She thought he had just been flirting, but to be honest... the way he had caressed her face when he had seen her in her old life should have told her everything she needed to know. She wasn't sure what she was even supposed to do about that. She glanced between Hashirama and Itama, and sighed.

"You ok, Hinata?" Hashirama asked and a deeper blush coated her features. "Y-yes..." she stammered slightly and cursed herself inwardly. She was good at keeping up the brave act when it came to Madara, but Hashirama was a different story. She admired him just as she had Naruto. Perhaps it was how strong the two of them were, she didn't know. She watched as the older male's tired features relaxed some.

"Hinata... Please..." Hashirama began and she glanced down at her hands once more. He knew she liked him; he could sense it in her aura. "You know I care about you, but you're like a sister to me. Please don't make this any harder than it already is..." he murmured softly and she nodded. "It's ok Hashirama-kun, I know you don't feel the same, but I still admire you. I promise I don't have my hopes up." She said with a smile and he nodded to her.

"You are a good friend, thank you for understanding." He said and offered a small smile to which she returned. "Well of course! I would rather have you as my friend than never be able to talk to you again." She said and he chuckled at this. "You do talk much more than you used too, which I suppose is a good thing." He sighed once more, his features falling back into the stressful ones. "We will find Tobirama, I promise." She said and he looked down at her, the sadness in his eyes tugging at her heart.

"She saved me, Hashi-nii. She can save him too." Itama reassured his older brother and Hashirama nodded. "I know, and I will forever be indebted to you for that." He said and she smiled at him. "You don't have to be." She said as she made her way to her room, leaving the brothers to plan their next move. She made her way over to touch the sword resting on her dresser. It was Tobirama's and she planned to return it to him. Her fear of the white-haired male had ebbed away over the last two years, and they had become something of friends.

She would never forget how easily he could kill her, because the way he had done so, so easily, still haunted her. She didn't want him to die though, so she had to find him and help Hashirama. She glanced out the window to stare at the garden Akane Senju had been tending to. She hadn't gone near it since Tobirama had gone missing, nor had the white-haired woman come near her. She knew Akane blamed her, and she didn't blame her. She was doing her best to try and find Tobirama though.

She remembered how she had saved Itama, and sighed. If she hadn't gotten there when she had, he would be dead. Those Uchiha were not going to spare the child of his fate, but she spared them. After that night they hadn't seen the Uchiha in almost a year. She figured those Uchiha had gone rouge and Tajima had handled their punishment. A dreadful feeling overcame her and the doubt began to creep back in.

What if they couldn't find Tobirama?

She really didn't want to ponder the reality of that...

She looked out the window once more and glanced up at the darkening sky. "I promise you... we will find you Tobirama." She whispered before she got ready for bed.

:-:-:_:-:-:

Tobirama glared up at the men holding him captive, their ebony eyes staring deep into him. He cared not for these fools, just more so about the fact that he saw some of his own clan sitting behind them. His glare landed on them and they looked away from him. Good... they should feel shame. Another hit connected with his jaw and he spit the blood that came up at them. He wasn't telling them a thing. Traitorous bastards.

He cared not for anything they asked about, the words didn't even register in his mind. That's how little he cared. He just kept tuning them out. He glanced over to the other side of the room, where the soon to be Ex-Senju were sitting against the wall. They had been in league with the fools who had tried to kill his brother. He would ensure their demise once he broke free of the restraints they had him in. it had been about a week since he had been taken, and yet still his brother hadn't found him.

This alone told him that they must be in another clan's territory, or else he would have seen Madara or his family. He couldn't put it past Madara to organize something like this though. He twitched his wrist to see if he could maneuver out of his ties, but that only earned him another hit. He could hear the men yelling at him, but he didn't care for anything they had to say. A pulse of chakra made a smirk cross his lips, but that was short lived when he realized it wasn't his brother.

The men all jumped to their feet and scrambled to gather their weapons. Seemed his theory was correct, it was not of Madara's doing. He sat still as Madara kicked down the door and the men rushed at him. "You are all fools." Was the only thing Madara said as he proceeded to take out every one of them that came at him. "What do you want?" Tobirama bit out as Madara finished the last of the men off and made his way over to him.

"Thought you were stronger than this, Tobirama." The Uchiha mused and Tobirama scowled at him. "Untie me." He demanded but Madara clicked his tongue and looked to the doorway where Tajima and Izuna were standing. "I don't think I will... not yet anyways." He said and shoved Tobirama forward to look at the binding he was held in. "They have an Uzumaki with them." Madara said and Tobirama's eyes widened slightly, that explained why he wasn't able to get out of the restraints.

"Find the Uzumaki, I can handle this one." Madara said, turning back to face him once more. Madara pulled a blade from his kunai pouch and Tobirama sighed and prepared for what he figured was to come. His eyes remained closed, prepared for the impact of the blade, only for him to hear a crack and his wrists were no longer bound. He looked down to his wrists then up to Madara. He couldn't understand why the other teen hadn't killed him.

"Madara why..."

"Because now you owe me. I spared your life, now I just need your help."