one_long_mission | [open] a way to beat the cold

"Niisan! Niisan!" soon enough, a little blur of sunshine ran into the room. "Are you up yet? Are you ready? We're going to the onsen!" he cheered. "Madara said he'd be waiting for us halfway over there!" he knew his teacher was patient, even if he feigned being angry when he was left to wait. He would forgive a few minutes of being late.

Itachi groaned a little as he rolled over, his sharingan squinting into the light. He wasn't awake, nor was he ready to go.

"Guess I... overslept..." He mumbled as he slowly climbed out of bed. He yawned, stretched and wiped the sand from his eyes. "Sorry about that, Sasuke... Didn't sleep too well for a while. But I still thought I'd wake up... earlier than this..."

Getting ready wouldn't take too long, though, what with Sasuke already running around that room bringing his niisan everything from clothes to a small cup of tea for taking the day's pills.

"Didn't sleep well..? But you slept okay tonight right? Not waking up in time is okay if you rested better!" no, Sasuke would never ever guilt him for sleeping overtime.

He helped his brother get ready and they took the wheelchair for today, since the distance was long. It was best too, since it was cold and his brother needed to be well-dressed.
Once they started on their way, they actually made very good time, and Madara was indeed waiting, having some of that hot chocolate the shop nearby sold like hotcakes in cold weather.

"Hey you two~" the boy got up from his seat to join them so they could head to their destination.
"Madara! Good morning! Hope we haven't made you wait long."
"Don't sweat it." he gave a light shrug. "Besides, we're together now, so let's get goin!" he grinned. "How have you been, Itachi?"

Itachi smiled back at Madara from the wheelchair. A small oxygen tank was tucked on the back, but he wasn't using it. He didn't want to waste it if they decided to walk somewhere after their soak.

"Tired. And sore." he admitted. "I guess I got a little too encouraged... by your pep talk at the festival. Tried practicing... a little more taijutsu with Rock Lee. Even with the extra oxygen... that's not an easy task anymore..."

Of course, it would also make the onsen even more inviting.

"Encouragement is good, but don't forget... go a little bit at a time. Overdoing it is no good." Madara shook his head and grinned up to him. "But it's still great that you tried. Next time, keep your limits in mind, and I'm sure you'll be able to do more just by pacing yourself."

Sasuke gave a cheer too. "Don't worry, niisan! I know you can do it!" really, how could these two not equal to a new source of energy..?

"I challenge you..." he laughed, pointing at Madara, "to work out with Rock Lee for an hour or two... see how well you pace."

(Rock Lee, of course, had only two settings - ridiculously over-exuberant and whatever comes AFTER that!)

The kids were right, though. Overdoing it wasn't going to help him regain the fitness that he lost to illness. It had taken him a good six months or more to be able to walk any kind of distance by himself. And even then, he needed extra oxygen in those damaged lungs of his. Even basic taijutsu was going to wear him out quickly.

"Now... who's up... for a long, relaxing soak?"

"Yeaaa! long relaxing soak, here we come!" Sasuke cheered, before they passed the entrance.

Madara looked around, giving faint nods of thanks at the welcome, the people here always making sure new visitors felt right at home and had the best experience possible.
The three made their way to the changing room, Sasuke helping his brother as needed. Before long, they were headed to the showers to scrub each other's backs.

Madara appeared to be highly interested in everything. It was his first trip to an onsen, and really, everything from the how-to until the actual thing was a joy to behold.
He did appear somewhat nervous when he found out they all to get completely naked. He frequently reoriented himself so that no one was at his back.

The nakedness would fade in the warm embrace of the water. It always did. At least for Itachi. Bony and frail, he usually attracted quite a few stares. This time was no exception. Despite the stares, Itachi tried to remind Madara (as inconspicuously as possible)that they were safe here.

Itachi groaned as he stepped into the water. It was hot, inviting and felt so, so good. He could hear the boys settle in beside him as he rested his head on the towel he left on the ledge. In true Itachi style, that was about all he heard before he fell asleep...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

... and found himself on a riverbank in the middle of a forest he couldn't place.

"Hey! It took you long enough!" another child's voice called out from the other side. "Thought I'd have to wait all..."

The voice paused as Itachi turned his head to its source. He didn't remember seeing this child or his chakra in the village before...

"...Madara!! Look out!! It's an Uchiha!!!"

A flurry of shuriken followed.

With Sasuke urging him on and telling him how amazing the onsen would be, the other boy really just couldn't keep his mind on any one thing for so long, and eventually the three made they way in.

Once he immersed himself, Madara gave a long, delighted sigh. That... felt good. So good...

-----

Hearing his friend's distressed voice, the boy simply had no choice, but he reacted instinctively. "Hashirama, don't!" he cried out, tossing the rock he held towards the shuriken. It rammed into one, which ricocheted into the path of a second and eliminated a third, leaving only two shuriken to dodge.

Thing is, his friend was right, and by acting as he did, he had just announced he was at the very least affiliated with them.
He had to think quickly. "You know, it's gonna be pretty hard to build peace if we keep offing anyone that comes upon us.. maybe we can spread our idea to the masses and see how it's received!" well, wasn't that a novel idea. "I mean, we can probably off him if he really doesn't want anything to do with it..."

Itachi dodged the shuriken reflexively, but it was a close call. He nearly stumbled right over the edge of the bank, but he caught himself in a crouch.

Madara. Hashirama... Had he... somehow been sent back in time? Back into the world of his ancestors?

"He's not like us. He's... He's a grown Uchiha! He's got the eyes!!" Hashirama dashed between his friend and the strange man. "You always say I'M the one who's too trusting! Are you crazy?!"

"I'm... I'm not an enemy. It's all right..." Itachi insisted between labored breaths. "I'm a... pacifist too..."

"But the eyes!!"

Itachi glanced at Madara, an unspoken plea that the child still remembered him and still had his back. Then, he turned off his sharingan. His eyes faded to a dull black, and without the chakra illuminating them, both of the boys blurred into a dark, muted haze. He had to feel the ground in front of him before he could stand up.

"So what if he's got the eyes? Just hide behind me and pee your pants in fear! Just don't get any on me or I'm throwin you in the stream!" he snorted. "Hear that? He says he's not an enemy. HA! I called it! Who's the mind reader? I'm awesome." he stood with his back straight, pride radiating almost tangibly.

He reached around to give Hashirama a poke. "See, he turned those super-duper scary eyes off. How about we let him in on our plan?"
The boy seemed completely unaware that he knew Itachi, somehow, in this world. Who knew why.

"I'm not gonna pee my pants!" Hashirama shouted melodramatically before ducking behind Madara again. "Are you absolutely sure about this?"

Itachi, meanwhile, was carefully making his way closer to where he thought the two boys were. It was pretty obvious he couldn't see well, given that his feet caught on at least two rocks before he made it there. He could kind of make out a few faint outlines, but nowhere near as well as he could make out the pain in his chest.

The last thing he honestly remembered was getting to the onsen. He wished, somehow, he had his oxygen tank with him, or at least some medicine. (He was grateful, though, that at least he wasn't naked...)

"If you have a plan... to bring the warring clans together... to stop needless fighting... please, share it. I would like to hear it."

"You SO would have! Ha!" Madara seemed to be amazingly sure of himself for a boy without a sharingan. "If I wasn't absolutely sure, I wouldn't have told you to stop being a moron. Now you can stop using me as a shield. You just admitted I,M stronger than you~" he grinned.

As he saw the other advance though, well... okay sure, maybe it wouldn't have even been a challenge to take him down. He had never seen him at the settlement. Was it-- no. It had to be an Uchiha, he had the sharingan, the emblem... He would just ask later...
"But yea! We got a plan, Hashirama and I. We're going to get stronger. We'll get the strongest, and then when we're leadin our clans, once we're at the top, we can sign a treaty! We'll build our village right over there!"

Hashirama was flustered, but at the mention of their future home, he leapt toward the trees and grinned, "It'll be the most fantastic thing! And not just a couple clans, lots of them! An entire shinobi village banding together. Can you see it?"

Itachi tried to follow the boy's gestures, but obviously wasn't looking at anything in particular. That finally caught Hashirama's attention. For an Uchiha, the formidable clan his father fought on a regular basis, this man didn't really fit. He seemed... kind of weak, actually. And the way his eyes moved.

"You can't see us, can you?" he asked, not really expecting the man to answer. After all, what shinobi reveals that kind of weakness.

But Itachi knew who Hashirama was. He knew this was the future first Hokage. And he also knew, if he was going to get anywhere, he had to trust them both and vice versa.

"...No. Without my sharingan... I'm almost blind."

"Thought so." Madara gave a light nod at the revelation he was blind more than anything. "Not sure how you survived that long. I mean, my dad--" oh wow, he almost slipped. "...probably could kill you in his sleep." yeah, that would do.

Of course, this posed a small problem. "Right. Hashirama, don't freak out on me or I'll kick your ass so hard you won't be able to sit till the snow melts." and the snow wasn't even on the ground yet. "So, uh.. Uchiha-guy? You can use that sharingan of yours to see us and all... but try anythin funny with it and I'll have you regret it."

Now that this was settled... "If you're still within the clan bein so weak, that means you're either really powerful or really influential." so he would bet on this being their chance. "You probably can convince a lotta those guys that peace is better."

Hashirama still wasn't sure about the eyes. But this Uchiha didn't look dangerous. "Okay... But ONLY to see. Nothing else, okay?"

Itachi nodded, and the sharingan came back on.

He knew enough about the clan and village histories to know Madara had to pretend not to know him. But he hadn't realized yet that Madara actually didn't know him.

"You have my word..." he replied, for whatever that might be worth in this time. A pacifist Uchiha was probably hard enough to believe. "It won't be easy to convince... people to put aside their differences... Perhaps, instead, if they believed there had been enough death on both sides. Perhaps then..."

"...enough death on both sides? I'm hoping to get stronger and have control of my clan, cause more than enough died already... on any sides. Entire clans were probably wiped out." he gave a light grunt. "We can't count on the numbers of deaths. After all, every clan wants to be the last one standing."

He sat cross-legged, frowning in thought. "The only way to stop the fight is to be at the head... and sign a treaty. That's what Hashirama and I were going to do. The adults are all pretty stubborn, and we can't have em know we're planning something like this."

Itachi sighed. Were they to be discovered outright, it might be considered treason. He wasn't entirely sure what a warring clan might do to one of their own who broke code. But he did know what a village would do to a defector. It wasn't pretty.

"At least... if they are tired of the senseless death... on their own side, they may be more willing to sign a treaty." he suggested. "Even if you become leaders... if your clans are unwilling to follow you, what good is a treaty?"

He gave a deep frown and a grunt. "I guess... At least that's a point that can be brought up." and it might have some weight if it gets hammered enough. "Peace isn't something just for one clan's sake though.." he muttered.

"No... but it may have to start somewhere..." Itachi added. It was like explaining to a blind person what a color was, something so very difficult to those who had never experienced it.

"It'll start with us." Hashirama insisted. "And maybe even one day, the Uchiha will even sign the treaty. Then there really would be no more war!"

Madara still nearly jumped in his skin to hear 'Uchiha'...
"Yeah. Like that! Gettin any clan head to sign it would be somethin really great."

Unbeknownst to them, however, there was someone else, hidden deep within the foliage of a tree in the opposite bank, carefully watching...

Itachi was too preoccupied with the matter of the children's plan to notice at first, but then he caught the chakra signature out of the corner of his eye. His head jerked up.

"Huh...? What's up?" Madara blinked over and followed the other's gaze. "I don't see anything.."

Perhaps this was one of the oversights. As those red eyes fell on his, visible from his vantage point, the boy gave a light hiss. He knew he had his chakra hidden... and still those damn eyes...
He could only stay still. Being found out had never been an option... particularly not by an Uchiha.

Madara had kept his sharingan wisely hidden away, but Itachi had his active. Unfortunately, Itachi was a master at using his to see. It was a fact born out of necessity.

"I suggest you show yourself... Make your... intentions known..." He called out to the boy in the bush.

Never before had he cursed himself so intensely. He should have ran off when he first saw the figure with the red eyes appear. He already saw all he wanted to see. A light scowl, and he dropped into view, blade at the ready, swung over his shoulder as he crouched.

"It's time to choose sides, brother."
This was not how Tobirama had wished for it to go, but seeing as he had been unexpectedly found out, they had to fight. The boy had nothing to indicate clan affiliation, quite thankfully. "And choose quickly." he instructed, keeping that sharingan out of his sight.

Madara instinctivelt slid closer to his clanmate and pulled out a kunai, although he was hesitant as he stared at Hashirama. The white-haired boy had called him brother... Had this been a trap all along?

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