The mission should have been easy. They were the strongest shinobi in the village aside from their brothers. They had never fought a battle they couldn’t win.
Together they had faced impossible odds, and they always came out on top.
He can’t understand how it went so wrong.
Their intel was bad, or they were purposefully misled.
He will kill anyone responsible if that was the case.
Those Kumo nin had come out of nowhere.
They were unreal.
As if their numbers weren’t enough, the two leaders were stronger than either of them expected. More than they should have been.
And their chakra. It was like something out of a horror story.
It felt almost corroded.
The 20 other shinobi were a challenge, but nothing they couldn't handle. The brothers leading them though, nothing could have prepared Tobirama and Izuna for them.
It was the hardest battle of his life.
The clearing is silent. All he can hear is his own breathing.
Izuna looks across the field.
He can’t tell if Tobirama was breathing. The other man is curled up on his side, arms wrapped around his waist, too tight to see if his chest is moving or not.
The light from the moon is eerie, almost as if it was highlighting Tobirama, it makes it look like he is glowing. Even the pool of blood under him seems to be reflecting the moon light, his eyes can’t help but be drawn to the grim sight.
He forces himself to look away. Getting caught up in the horror of the sight in front of him won't help anything.
A quick glance to the left and he was at least able to confirm all of Kumo nin were dead. The brothers were the ones closest to them, the silver haired brother only a couple feet away, and there was no way he could have survived those injuries.
Using his sharingan to see sharper helps him see clearer, so he was able to see the silver haired brothers dead unseeing eyes.
Good
He doesn’t need to confirm the gold haired brother's death. His head a few feet from his body is all he needs.
Tobirama’s final move was taking his head off.
The move distracted Izuna, made him feel over confident. Caused him to stupidly pay less attention to his own opponent.
“Senju.” Izuna listens for any sound, but there isn’t any. He watches Tobirama’s body for any clues. He was hoping to see Tobirama’s head move, maybe his arms tightening, to see some kind of movement.
He sees none of that.
“Senju!” Still nothing.
Izuna starts to drag himself to Tobirama’s side. He has to get to him.
It’s a long, slow process. Every movement sends agony through him. His femur was snapped by that silver haired bastard, so standing up wasn’t a possibility.
But he can’t give up, he won't give up.
He needs to……. He needs to get to Tobirama, and find out if he is alive. It sends a pang through his chest thinking of him being dead.
Tobirama has to be alive. He has to.
He’s almost there when he hears a heavy pained exhale. A sign of life, it’s what he was waiting for.
Oh thank the sage.
“Senju!” Izuna calls out again, still dragging himself closer. He’s almost there.
Only a few more feet.
“Mm-Zuna….yuuuu’re still, alive? Sssss good.” Tobirama still hasn’t moved, his head is tucked into his chest, so Izuna can’t see his face, he doesn’t look up even when responding to Izuna.
His words are slurred, and combined with his lack of movement, it does little to reassure Izuna of his survival. It’s not a great sign.
“How bad is it? I’m almost there, what can I do?” Izuna grunts out. Each movement causes him to clench his teeth.
“Nnnn gunnnnna mke ‘tt.” Izuna didn’t realize Tobirama’s head wasn’t all the way down on the ground until he watches his head drop further.
“Don’t talk. You’ll be fine, I’m coming, I’ll bandage you up and we’ll be fine. I felt your pulse into the tree’s, calling your brother right? So Hashirama is coming, just wait for him, he’s going to fix you. You can’t leave him without his brother. And what about Madara? It will kill him if you die. He needs you.” Izuna chokes as a cry nearly breaks free. “He loves you so much. Don’t leave him, okay?” Izuna is only a few feet away now. He wishes furiously that he was able to move faster.
The pool of blood under Tobirama is growing. It’s so much blood, too much blood.
“Er comin, uo’ll b kay. T’ll -nja m’ srrrry t’ levv ‘m lone. T-t’ll M’dra lovvv im, n’ll wai fr ‘m.” Izuna has finally reached him, just in time to watch as Tobirama’s arms start to loosen from around his waist. “-kp ‘m sfff fer me. M srrry ‘ou’r by -self. ‘Tts kay, Zun I-” The words get quieter and quieter until finally he hears nothing more than shallow breathing.
“Don’t give up yet Senju……” Tobirama’s arm drops to the ground, he lets out a rattling breath before there is silence.
“Senju!” No response.
Tobirama isn’t breathing. Izuna is terrified. “Tobirama?”
Please be okay, please. “Please be okay. Nii-san will never forgive me if you don’t come back.”
Izuna reaches an arm to shake Tobirama’s leg, urging him to move. This is going to break Madara.
“Tobirama?”
Nothing. Izuna gets closer and pushes Tobirama over onto his back. He reaches his shaking hand to Tobirama’s throat.
He already knows what he is going to feel.
Nothing.
Unfortunately he was right.”
He wishes he was wrong.
He wants to feel a pulse under his fingers.
Izuan’s eyes trace Tobirama’s body up and down. But even with his sharingan, with all its clarity, he doesn’t register any movement.
Now that he actually sees Tobirama’s whole form, he sees what the other man’s arms were hiding.
There is a huge gaping cut spanning across most of his torso. There was no coming back from that. Nothing he could have done would have saved Tobirama. So getting there faster would have changed nothing. This part at least is not his fault. Even though Tobirama’s injury was.
Izuna lays his head down on Tobirama’s unmoving chest, feeling his warm body beneath him.
Tobirama had lost his chest piece at some point earlier in the fight, all that remained was his shoulder armor, though one was broken beyond repair. Not that he would ever be wearing it again.
Izuna starts to whisper into Tobirama’s shirt, “I’m sorry Tobirama. I’m so, so sorry. I should have seen that swing. I should have blocked it.”
It only takes minutes for his body to start to cool.
He feels like he’s going to cry, but no tears come. Just a deep overwhelming sadness, burrowing deep into his chest.
He and Tobirama weren’t best friends or anything, but they were friends. Izuna had a deep respect for him, and appreciated his dry humor. And he knew Tobirama truly loved his brother, his love rivaled an Uchiha’s.
Izuna was never going to hear Tobirama snark about idiots on the council not being able to make a decision, or getting in his way when he knows he is right.
He was never going to see the creative dodges to get out of Hashirama’s dramatic hugs.
He was never going to wake up and smell of a huge breakfast. Madara wasn’t much of a cook, but Tobirama was. And he always made a full breakfast. His favorite nights were when Tobirama spent the night with Madara.
Though he could have done without seeing them kiss, or watching Madara’s dopey expression as he holds Tobirama. One of the only times Tobirama leaned into physical touch. He’s going to miss that now.
Madara is going to be crushed. He wont have Tobirama here to brush his hair in the morning. Since they started dating, Madara’s hair was much more tame. Izuna had teased him relentlessly for it.
He regrets it now. He’s going to miss Tobirama chastising Madara for moving too much while he was brushing it.
Who is going to spar with him no holds barred now? Madara never goes all out and no one else is his equal.
Izuna grips Tobirama’s shirt tight in his hands, “I’ll take care of them for you. You don’t need to worry. I’ll protect them now.” He doesn’t know why he’s still talking to Tobirama. He’s already gone.
Maybe he just doesn’t want it to be silent any more.
Maybe he is just waiting for Tobirama to respond.
Sage, he wants Tobirama to take a breath again.
He wants to feel movement under his head.
Please take another breath.
Please.
He never does.
Izuna keeps talking to Tobirama, even knowing he wont respond. He just drifts between random sentences, telling Tobirama all of Madara’s closest held secrets, talking about what he thought Madara and him would do next in their relationship, whining about times Izuna had walked in on them. Through it he drifts in and out of awareness.
He doesn’t know how long he lays there, his head resting on Tobirama’s unmoving chest, with Tobirama’s shoulder armor digging into his shoulder. A couple of hours at least, the sky is starting to get light again.
He hasn’t even moved to bandage his wounds.
Finally he hears crashing through the trees.
Probably the help Tobirama promised.
Or more Kumo nin.
He hopes not. He doesn’t want his brother to lose both of them today.
Izuna doesn’t register anything else until he feels hands pulling him off of Tobirama.
He holds tight, trying not to be forced to separate from him.
“Izuna. Izuna, it’s okay. Hashirama is going to help you both. He’s with Tobirama now.”
Izuna doesn’t have the heart to tell Madara that's not going to do anything.
He just lets Madara pull him back into his arms.
He sags in his brother's arms.
The tears come now. Not sobs, just quiet tears escaping his eyes. They are tears of relief, and finally allowing himself to feel the pain of his friend's death. Something he can do safely now that his brother is here. Madara will protect him.
Izuna’s hands come up to hold the arms Madara’s has wrapped around him.
And then he hears Hashirama.
“It’s not working. It’s not working. Tobi, Tobi please!” Hashirama was begging.
Both Uchiha brothers watch as Hashirama sobs, hands glowing green but doing nothing.
You can't heal the dead.
No matter how much he wishes they could.
They watch as Hashirama pulls Tobirama to his chest, cradling his head in the crook of his arm.
He feels the moment Madara understands what’s going on. Feels the way his brother goes stiff behind him. Hears the soft anguished, “no, no, no.”
Izuna squeezes his brother's arm and takes a breath before he admits his part in Tobirama’s death. “He took that hit for me. I’m so sorry, it was meant to be me. He pushed me out of the way. It would have cut me in half.” Izuna chokes out. He’s only just now realizing how guilty he was feeling. If he had paid more attention they might have both survived. Tobirama’s death was entirely preventable, and Izuna had caused it, even if indirectly.
Hashirama is hysterical now. His broken-hearted sobs rip through the otherwise silent night.
Behind him he hears Madara’s faint sobs, which are still deep enough that they shake his body with each one he lets free, Izuna being jostled with each jolt.
Minutes pass, or maybe hours, time still doesn’t register for him, when he sees Hashirama lower Tobirama’s body and start to move over to heal Izuna.
He doesn't like seeing Tobirama back on the ground again. Someone should be holding him. He shouldn’t be alone.
“Don’t leave him! Madara, Madara, just go. Go to him. He shouldn’t be laying like that. He shouldn’t be alone in the dirt. It's not right.” Izuna doesn't want to beg, but he can’t bear to stay here, being safely held by Madara and healed by Hashirama while Tobirama lays abandoned. He can’t handle seeing Tobirama left behind like that.
Izuna feels more than sees, Madara laying him down, he hasn’t looked away from Tobirama.
Once he’s on his back, and Madara begins to move away, his eyes leave Tobirama to follow his brother as he goes to him.
He watches as Madara’s hand caresses Tobirama’s cold cheek. Watches as tears fall onto Tobirama’s bloody chest.
Izuna wants to look away. But he can’t.
“It’s okay love, you did so good. Thank you for protecting Izuna. You’re the best shinobi I ever met. Always protecting others over yourself.” Madara’s voice breaks, and more tears fall, his hand petting Tobirama’s hair over and over.
Izuna's chest aches even more, his brother's tears and soft words another dagger to his heart.
Above him Hashirama continues to cry, his shoulders shake. It's quiet now. It’s worse than his loud sobs. The devastation is etched into his face.
Izuna isn’t sure how they are going to recover from this.
Nothing will ever be the same.
The night is silent except for crying and soft words meant to reassure a dead man. But all they do is weigh heavily on Izuna.
Each word strikes further guilt into his chest.
“Tobirama….. Tobirama told me to tell you sorry Hashirama. He wanted you to know that he was sorry for leaving you alone,” Izuna looks away from Hashirama to Madara who is watching him now. ”And that he loves you Madara. His last moments were thinking of you both, he was so sorry that he was leaving you both.”
The words are easier now, though not because he’s any less sad, but because Hashirama has healed the worst of his words.
He hates it just a little, he should be hurting more, his body should hurt as much as his heart does.
“I can show you, if you want, I can let you hear him. I had my sharingan on the whole time.” He knows he will watch that moment over and over again for the rest of his life. And he will never have a happy memory of Tobirama to overwrite it. That will always be what flashes before his eyes when he remembers him.
Neither of them say anything to that.
Probably processing the words. He doubts it’s an easy decision. While hearing the words would let them hear his last words, seeing Tobirama die, to see his last breath, would be horrifying. He almost didn’t offer. He can’t take it back now.
Izuna continues to lay there and lets Hashirama heal him.
He feels nauseous.
Here Izuna is, getting healed, probably going to make a full recovery even, while Tobirama lies dead in Madara’s arms.
He keeps watching his brother and Tobirama, can’t take his eyes off of the sight.
Madara grips Tobirama even tighter. “I love you, I love you Tobirama. Please come back to me. Please.” The quiet pleas ripping through Izuna’s heart.
Hashirama cries harder over him.
“We can, we can move Izuna now. The risk of bleeding out before we get home is over.” A sobbing hiccup interrupts Hashirama’s words, “we need to go home. Tobirama, Tobirama would want us to go home. He wouldn’t want us sitting out here all night. He would be worried about an ambush.” Another sob rips out of his throat, “he deserves to go home. He shouldn’t,” more tears, “he shouldn’t be out here any more. Surrounded by all this death.”
“You’re right. He should be home. Can I, can I carry him home? Please? I know he is your brother, but I just, I want to carry him one more time. Please.” Madara’s voice cracks.
Izuna watches as his brother stands up and lifts Tobirama up, holding him in a bridal carry.
He wonders if Tobirama would have let Madara do that after they got married. Would he have thrown a fit? He imagines Madara giving up and just throwing Tobirama over his shoulder to carry him into the house as their tradition demands. Madara was a stickler for traditions. He wouldn’t want to start his marriage off wrong by letting Tobirama walk into the house on his own.
He chokes out a laugh imagining Tobirama flailing and cursing Madara.
He wants to see that. Now he never will.
His brother likely will never love again. Uchiha are known for their undying love.
They are going to have to watch his brother closely, otherwise Madara might fall to the curse of their bloodline.
He wonders if it wouldn’t have been better if Izuna had died instead of Tobirama.
Madara would have lost someone he loved either way. But Hashirama wouldn’t have lost his last brother. His brother was obsessively in love with Tobirama. He wonders if he could have recovered from his death more than he will from Tobirama’s.
Hashirama helps Izuna up into a standing position and then helps him maneuver onto his back. He holds him carefully, being careful not to jostle Izuna unnecessarily.
They were all going home.
But while Tobirama’s body was coming with him, his soul had left them hours ago.
Izuna rested his head on Hashirama’s back and let out a sobbing breath.
He doesn’t understand how this mission went so wrong.