Chapter Text
When evening came, Madara stood in the foyer as he slipped on his shoes once again to go and pick up Naruto from Hashirama’s residence; however, to his surprise, when he opened the door he nearly ran into said blond who was already standing on the other side!
“Naruto?” he uttered in astonishment, “What are you doing here? I said that I would come pick you up. Did you walk here on your own?”
“.....”
There was a brief moment of silence that followed his question as though the youth did not want to talk to him, until he finally received a soft shake of blond locks and a faint response of, “I wasn't feeling good… So, I asked Hashirama to drop me off…”
Something wasn’t right, Madara noted immediately.
Why was he so quiet all of a sudden? And why did it seem as if he didn't want to meet his eyes? Was there possibly more bad news?
He then reached up to gently cup the blond's cheek with his right hand, “Naruto, what happ-” however, before his fingers could brush the soft whiskered cheek, he did not expect the young man to turn his face away and step back in order to avoid his touch. Madara's eyes widened in shock as his expression appeared almost horrified at the outright rejection, and it was as though he’d been drenched in ice cold water as his heart thumped heavy in his chest.
What?
He then attempted to touch him once more, this time on the arm, only to be rejected once again as the young man moved his arm and backed away.
“Um… C-Can I come in? It's still a little cold at night…” Naruto asked quietly. Madara was briefly snapped out of his shock as he merely responded with a dazed, “Un, sorry…” and absently stepped aside to let the young man in.
Then, as Naruto walked into the foyer with his head slightly bowed, he slipped off his shoes; however, before he could disappear down the hallway, Madara turned around and grabbed him by the arm before he could leave.
“Are you alright? Did something happen while at their residence?” the man inquired worriedly, but Naruto simply shook his head once more, “No, nothing happened… It's just that… making the seal is probably going to be harder than I thought…” he lied in a soft voice.
Madara narrowed his eyes suspiciously and asked, “Is that the only thing?”
Again, Naruto denied the Uchiha his gaze as it remained glued to the ground, and answered, “....Yes…” He then pulled his arm out of the man's grasp and turned around, stating, “I'm gonna go to bed early….”
“Wait, at least have some dinner before going to bed,” Madara suggested delicately, but Naruto remained with his back turned and shook his head.
“I’m not hungry…” And with that, he was gone.
Madara remained rooted in place as he stood stock still in the fraught silence that filled the distance between them, staring after the youth down the now empty hallway.
What just happened?
He wondered in rattled confusion. He knew Naruto well enough by this point that something like the difficulty of the sealing jutsu wasn’t enough to bring down his mood to such an extent; therefore, he had to have been lying about something…
Madara let out a long exhausted sigh with a droop of his head and rubbed the back of his neck before slipping off his shoes once again and making his way to his study to bury himself in work, deciding to also skip out on dinner himself. After all, what was the point if Naruto wasn’t going to eat with him as well.
Upon the stroke of midnight, Madara finally put away his brush and set aside his scrolls, and finished up for the night. The moment his mind was pulled from his work, the space was immediately flooded with thoughts of the troubled young blond, and as he quietly walked towards their bedroom as a sense of anxiety slowly crept up his chest with each step closer. However, when he opened the door to their bedroom, the signature mop of blond hair typically seen poking out on top of a soft mound of blankets was not present. Very soon, he noticed that the sheets and pillows were nearly arranged, signaling that the youth was indeed in his room to lay out the futon for him – and yet, he was not here. Instantly, the building anxiety he had felt filled his chest as if cold water had been thrown on him and he immediately went down back towards the living room. He nearly slammed the doors open as his eyes frantically searched for the youth, but he found nothing, and so he hurried over to the doors leading out to the engawa and opened it as well – only to find nothing yet again. He then rushed down the hall searching every room in the house, until he finally ended up circling back around to their bedroom, but this time he stood outside the doors to Naruto's old room instead, which sat directly across from their bedroom.
Thinking about it now, he wondered why the thought hadn't occurred to him before to search Naruto's old bedroom when, logically speaking, it should have then been the first room he turned towards. So, when he opened the fusuma doors, he felt his heart drop when he saw the head of blond hair peeking out from beneath the futon. Suddenly, the soft lump shifted and Naruto rose from the bed and gently rubbed his slightly red eyes to look up at the man standing at his doorway.
“Madara? What's up? Why are you standing there?” the youth asked dozily. As Naruto peered up at the Uchiha’s shadowed silhouette, it was hard to see his face within the dark room, but something about his silence was off.
“....Are you going to sleep here now?” the man asked calmly.
“Huh? Oh… Yeah… It's getting a bit warmer now, so there's not really a need for me to be in your room, and you also won't have to put up with me taking up space in your bed anymore…”
“....I see….” and this was all that was said before the man closed the doors and walked back down the hallway like a lonesome ghost.
As Naruto listened to the footsteps getting further and further away, he briefly thought to himself,
Where is he going? It's already late… Earlier it sounded like he was just about to go to bed….
While sitting alone in his futon, he felt the urge to go after the man and talk to him, but… the heaviness in the heart was like an anchor that kept his body in place, and all he could do was flop back onto the bed as that same heaviness sunk even deeper into his chest as he prayed for the floor beneath him to swallow him up.
Perhaps… the reason why it was impossible between them was because Madara really did already have someone in his heart…
Madara was in love with someone else…
“What nonsense. I don't love him. We do not have that kind of relationship, and we never will. I have never even considered such a thing.”
As those piercing words replayed themselves within his thoughts, he felt warm tears prickle the corner of his eyes once again as he gazed at the cold ceiling, feeling as if the room was now filled with frigid water that sunk into the deep pit in his chest.
‘Never’ he said… He would never love me like that, he said…
He sniffed softly and wiped his eyes.
Memories of their every day, of everything the man did for and to him – his kindness that seemed so boundless, his smiles that stirred his heart endlessly, and his gentle touches that were forever seared into his skin – in the end, they were nothing more than that of a friend…
He became attached to the man in a way that he shouldn't have, and there was really no one else to blame but himself…
Now that he knows how Madara truly felt, hopefully… he will finally be able to let go of him… just like he wanted…
****
When morning came, Naruto felt like a fish washed up on shore and struggled to force himself out of bed. He hardly got a wink of sleep throughout the whole night, crying over and over again, and wallowing in his self pity. Nevertheless, he couldn't avoid the man forever, and it wasn't like the man was at fault for anything other than being honest about how he felt; therefore, it was childish, dumb, and wrong of him to push the man away whether it was to spare his own feelings or as a way to punish Madara for not reciprocating them. He should instead be grateful for all the amazing things the man did for him and the happy and fun times they spent together, and if anything, he should be satisfied with having loved than to have never loved at all…
From today onwards, they were only friends – nothing more, nothing less…
When tears began to prickle his eyes once again, he dried them with his sleeves for what was likely the hundredth time already. He then stood from his bed, put away his futon, and left to go freshen up in the bathroom. However, the moment he stepped into the bathroom and got a full view of his face in the mirror, he nearly screamed and jumped out of fright.
The skin around his eyes were red and his eyelids had become all puffy from crying the whole night! No wonder his eyes felt so stuffy! He looked horrible! If Madara saw him, he would know right away that he had been crying!
K-Kurama! Can you heal my eyes, please! Oh my god, how did they get like this?!
He screeched inwardly as he averted his eyes from the mirror by covering his face with his hands.
“Fine. Honestly, how many times do you plan to keep on crying because of that bastard? You didn’t even cry over Sasuke this much,” the fox demon scoffed.
Sasuke was a friend and like a brother to me. Loving someone…. Loving someone romantically is different… You wouldn’t understand…
He had no idea where he would even begin to explain romantic love to the fox demon because not even he himself completely understood the logic behind it, nor could he find the words to properly describe it.
One would think that for a boy that had a crush on a girl for so long would understand love by now, but instead he only came to realize just how different real love was.
He only knew that whenever he thought about love, he would think of Madara's dark and gentle eyes, his charming and handsome smile, his deep and melodious laughter, his intoxicatingly sweet touch, and everything about the man from head to toe. To him, that was love. It was the only way he knew how to describe it.
In a way, it was also very funny how much he loved the man because he never knew he had it in him to be such a sap. Back then, he always imagined himself with a girl and having a family to take care of, but because of Madara, he knew what it was like to be the one taken care of… and there was nothing sweeter in this world. It was like having his inner child soothed at long last, and he couldn't imagine himself being this way for anyone else…nor could he imagine being as heartbroken either….
Thinking about this had big fat tears forming in his eyes once again, and Kurama shouted at him,
“Will you stop crying! I'm trying to heal your eyes, I don't need you wasting my chakra!”
Ughhh… I can't help it…
Naruto cried, sniffing as he wiped the tears from his eyes, which only made the redness worse. Then, after a nice hot morning shower – and more crying – Naruto took a deep calming breath, and opened the bathroom door; however, to his surprise, he nearly ran into Madara who was also just about to reach for the door himself.
When Madara came face to face with the youth, he felt like a deer in headlights as those hauntingly beautiful blues seemingly peered into him, and he began to feel a little self conscious about his most likely haggard appearance. He must have looked like a tired and miserable mess in his eyes…
Upon finding that they would no longer be sharing the same bed last night, Madara had returned to his study instead of sleeping, and chose to work relentlessly throughout the entirety of the night, stewing in bitter dissatisfaction at the sudden change in their routine. He hated this change, but Naruto was right. Now that it was getting warmer, what reason did he have to keep him in his bed?
He would have been happy if neither of them said anything and simply continued to sleep together night after night. If Naruto had said nothing, then he wouldn't have said anything, and they would never need to sleep in two separate rooms. If only he lived in a smaller house.
Madara hummed solemnly as Naruto quickly excused himself from the bathroom, and slipped past him; meanwhile, every bone in the man's body screamed for him to grab the young man by the arms and question him as to why things had to change. Was there something he was unhappy about?
…Why couldn't they have just stayed as they were?
Once Madara finished his morning shower and went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast for them, he found the young man already there with his back to him, and in the process of cooking. As Madara stood in the doorway watching the small back of the oblivious blond, he felt a slight pinch upon his heart, and placed a hand over his chest in sudden shock before furrowing his eyebrows in discomfort at the feeling.
It hurts…
He thought to himself. This pain was somewhat familiar, although much less severe in degree to the horrible pain he felt in the same place long ago.
As the Uchiha patriarch was lost in thought, Naruto’s mind was also occupied as he pondered over his emotions, and that was when he turned around and nearly jumped out of his skin at finding the man soundlessly standing in the doorway. The blond gulped anxiously as he wasn’t expecting the man to be finished with his shower so soon, but he supposed he couldn’t run from the Uchiha forever. And so, he composed himself and smiled happily – just as he always did – and greeted the older man.
“Hey! I'm still in the middle of making breakfast right now, so just go sit down and I'll be done in a couple of minutes, okay?” Naruto said in a cheery voice.
Strangely enough, Madara looked at Naruto as if he was surprised, which confused the young man.
Eventually, however, Madara quietly made his way to the dining table and sat down, staring blankly at the wall across from him.
Is something wrong?
Naruto wondered. Why was he acting so strange and being so quiet all of a sudden?
In the end, Naruto said nothing as he continued to make breakfast. He'll have to ask the man what was on his mind later, but for now he didn't feel like speaking to the Uchiha very much – not with the man's voice still echoing within his thoughts as the word ‘never’ replayed endlessly like a broken record player. However, because his mind was so preoccupied, his hand had slipped as he was chopping vegetables and accidently cut himself.
“Ouch!” he uttered in pain, and immediately dropped the knife onto the table.
This instantly snapped Madara out of his daze and hurried over to the young man's side, taking the small hand into his as he carefully examined the cut.
“It's deep,” he concluded with narrowed and unhappy eyes. He then quickly guided the youth and sat him down at the dining table as he left to swiftly retrieve the first aid kit. Then, once Madara returned and began cleaning the wound, Naruto whined softly at the painful sting of the antiseptic that was applied to his cut; however, even if the process was painful, he didn't want to heal himself quickly because he wanted the man's attention and care even if it was a bit devious of him.
The adoring whine drew the eyes of the Uchiha to him, and as Madara stared at the endearing pout of the attractive blond, his gaze naturally softened. This was when Naruto noticed Madara's hands still holding onto his hand even after bandaging his wound and looked up to the Uchiha – only to have their gazes meet, which surprised them both. When bright blue eyes peered into dark irises, Naruto felt a blush creeping up his cheeks and he hurriedly averted his gaze, pulled his hand out of the man's grasp, and attempted to stand up to go finish making breakfast. However, Madara was quick to stop him as he pressed his hands down on the thin shoulders of the blond youth, forcing him to sit back down.
“Stay. You should not be touching anything until the wound heals. I will finish up breakfast; meanwhile, you stay here.” And with that, he took the blond’s place at the kitchen island, and before long completed their breakfast. Naruto had to admit that whenever it was Madara doing the housework – be it cooking, cleaning, or laundry – he was always more organized, did a better job, and finished a lot faster than he would have.
After they were done eating and did some chores around the house, it was time for Madara to leave for work, and when the blond saw the Uchiha off at the door, he appeared as merry as ever.
This bothered Madara. First he rejected his touch, abandoned his bed, and now he was acting as if none of that happened. What was going on? What was he not telling him?
He wanted to say something, but what could he even say without sounding like an unreasonable child?
In the end, he they both continued as always, and said their farewells to each other.
“C-Come home soon.”
“Un, I'll be back…”
****
The moment Madara arrived at the office, the very first thing he did was march into Hashirama's office, casting everyone out except for the Senju patriarch with only a single deathly glare. Then, once they were alone, Madara stormed over to the Senju sitting at his desk, and grabbed him by the collar of his kimono from across the table as if ready to drag him over.
“What happened yesterday?!” Madara growled furiously.
Hashirama blinked in bewilderment and held his hands up in surrender.
“What? Yesterday? What are you talking about?” the Senju asked frantically.
“At your residence!” Madara shouted for clarification, but this only made the other man even more confused.
“I do not know what you are talking about, Madara! Nothing happened!”
“Then explain to me why Naruto returned home upset, and you had best not lie to me!”
Hashirama was taken aback upon hearing this and furrowed his brows in both great concern and puzzlement. “Upset? Naruto was upset? That can't be! Naruto was completely fine at my residence as far as I could remember; he was even laughing and making jokes! Even while I walked him home he seemed completely fine as we made conversation! Nothing happened, I swear!” he insisted.
“Then you had better ask that brother of yours. And if I ever find out that he is the cause, then he best be prepared for the consequences.” And with that he shoved Hashirama into his seat and strode angrily out the door; however, just before the Uchiha patriarch closed the door, he heard Hashirama make a slightly snarky comment,
“You're rather upset for someone that is just a friend.”
Madara slammed the door to the office shut with a thunderous bang.
****
Since that day, three days had come and gone, and still Madara had no answer as to why Naruto was so upset that day. According to Hashirama, who had asked Tobirama, nothing had happened between him and Naruto either, and it wasn't long before Hashirama returned home after them and spent the rest of the day in their company.
So, what was the cause then?
Frustrated, Madara pinched the skin between his brows, which was now developing into a habit within the three days that had passed as not a single one of those days did he get a wink of sleep. He did attempt a few times to sleep alone, but every time he tried he always failed to get a restful night's sleep as he just couldn't muster the ability to sleep in an empty bed no matter how tired he was.
As Madara sat at his desk in his study, hovering over his paperwork in the dark of night with his forehead pressed into the palm of his left hand with his elbow resting on the table, he sighed heavily from exhaustion.
At this point, the only sleep he would get would be from the moment he passed out due to a lack of it. Not only that, but the stress from his work was also not helping as he wrote proposals after proposals and fought back and forth in meetings about the future of the academy, as this matter was something that he was very passionate about and it was not something he was willing to negotiate with.
Another long sigh escaped the man, and he reached for a book from the pile on the side of his desk, but stopped when he heard and saw the fusuma door of his study slowly creep open from his peripheral. Peeking in between the small gap was the unmistakable blue hue and bright blond hair that plagued his thoughts day and night.
Of course, he was never one to deny him or treat him badly, even if the young man was the cause of his sleepiness nights. So, with a small gesture of his hand, he welcomed the blond into his study and watched as said blond slowly and shyly crept into the room like a cautious mouse, and made his way to sit by his left side while looking as if he was afraid of being scolded.
Honestly, maybe he was being a bit over dramatic and sulky about this whole ordeal, but how could he not?
How could he possibly be expected to return to a time before he knew the softness and warmth of the blond youth whose existence now dictated every choice and every moment of his life, and whose image was now eternally ingrained into his memory.
“It is late. You should be asleep by now,” Madara stated.
“You should be asleep by now…” Naruto replied back.
Madara let out a soft endearing huff through his nose, and smiled faintly. “I will be perfectly fine, so you should go to bed.”
“Not unless you go to sleep!” Naruto countered. “You… You haven't been sleeping very well, right?”
The tips of Madara's hidden ears reddened from the embarrassment of being found out and said faintly, “I suppose it must have shown…” referring to the constantly fatigued look on his face.
“Is there a reason you can't sleep lately?” the young man asked, stricken with worry. Upon being asked such a question, Madara’s gaze returned to his paperwork as he fell silent.
When Naruto watched as Madara turned away and said nothing, he felt his heart wring painfully at the man's quiet suffering. And so, he scooted just a little bit closer to the man's side and placed a comforting hand on the Uchiha's firm bicep.
“Did you wanna talk about it?” the blond inquired delicately; however, Madara remained silent and still, refusing to look the young man's way.
“Does it have something to do with the academy?” Naruto tried once more. This caught Madara's attention, and he stared at the little blond with wide eyes.
“I remember you were pretty stressed out about it, and if you want to, you can talk to me. I know Hashirama is on the other side of this whole ordeal, and I know I'm not very smart… but I can tell that this is really important to you, so it'd make me really happy if I could be someone you could confide in.”
As Madara peered into those attentive and hopeful eyes, he couldn't help shy away a little under those sincere blues and averted his gaze once again as he gave into the soft touch and gentle words.
“As far as I could remember, the moment I could hold a kunai in my hand, I was trained to kill. My past, my memories, are all dyed in red… Even when I remember my family, my brothers, they all become dyed in a sickening color of red… We were taught and told for generations to fight in the name of our clan, for the peace and survival of our clan, and yet the war always continued time and time again – and I was forced to bury my brothers one after another.”
Madara stared vacantly into the palm of his hand, still remembering the feeling of the wooden shaft and steel handle of a shovel in the palm of his hands as he personally buried his brothers, and watched their caskets disappear beneath the dirt as he piled it onto their coffins. At the time, as grisly and unnecessary as it was, he felt responsible as the eldest to be the one to bury his siblings so that he could never forget the harrowing pain of it, and he was going use that very pain to do everything within his power to prevent it from ever happening again to anyone.
“When Hashirama and I met as children, I thought he understood, I thought our ideals were aligned. He told me that he didn't want to see his brother or any other child die in a stupid war, and I felt the same. Admittedly, I carried on the war in the name of my brother, and I recognize now that it was wrong and idiotic of me as I had allowed myself to be driven by vengeance. However, if the academy develops as he wants it to, then what was the point of all this? If children are still going to be trained as shinobi and put their lives on the line for the village, then why does this village even exist? What about this makes us any different than the system we were forced under as children by our fathers? It's the exact same system, just in a different package! I thought we had agreed that we would never force young versions of ourselves – young versions of our brothers – to ever be born into this world ever again!” Madara shouted with rage, and a booming thud erupted into the still air as he slammed his fist onto the table in burning fury and rattling its contents. “So what is the difference! What makes us any different than our fathers!”
Admittedly, Naruto felt a twinge of fear from the Uchiha's anger as he had never seen this version of Madara so enraged before, but even more so, he felt great sympathy for him.
So this was the real Madara…
The sage of six paths was wrong about him. Madara's compassion didn't extend to only his brother and ended after his death; he was a compassionate man even now and he always was even in the original timeline. In a way, Madara cared more than anyone; however, he saw how prone humans were to violence and wanted a permanent solution to peace that was impractical, ignoring the immorality of it, and seeing it as a means justifies the ends. Madara cared, he always did, and because he cared so much it drove him into insanity.
This was the true heart of the man he loved, and he will do anything to protect his future and maintain his wonderful heart.
Out of impulse, Naruto placed a loving hand over the clan leader's tightened fist, which drew the man's attention to him immediately, and he offered a tender smile to the Uchiha.
“You're a very kind person, and I'm so thankful the village has you here, Madara.”
Madara blushed faintly and glued his eyes onto the small hand and slender fingers curled tenderly around his fist, sending a comforting wave of tranquility over his heightened emotions. “I-It's nothing… However, it is starting to feel like I may be the one too blinded to see the bigger picture it seems…” he said solemnly.
In response, Naruto shook his head. “Your heart is exactly where it needs to be, and if I'm being honest, I completely agree with you.”
“You do?” Madara asked in utter surprise, looking at the young man with wide eyes, and Naruto nodded his head.
“Totally! You see, the future academy functioned on the system Hashirama and Tobirama wanted, and knowing what happens in the future, you were right. My teacher and his teammates had to participate in war at a very young age, and in the end one died and the other became evil; meanwhile, my teacher became traumatized and haunted by the loss of his teammates. My best friend's big brother became a mass murderer at a really young age; killing adults, elderly, and children – even his own parents. Myself included, I had to watch my young teammates fight and become severely injured countless times, and my friend Neji died before my eyes as only a young adult. Heck, I even died on the day of my birthday as well. Thinking about it now, we were all too young to have to endure any of that. I love being a ninja, and I would certainly become one again if I could, but you're right. Children shouldn’t have to take on the responsibilities of adults. Kids should get to be kids, and I wouldn't want any of my little friends in the Uchiha clan to have to experience or see any of that.”
When Naruto agreed with him, Madara felt his chest suddenly become lighter than before, and it felt as if someone was finally on his side for the first time since the time he met Hashirama's younger self. Hashirama, who he once believed to share the same ideals as him, couldn't understand his viewpoint on this matter, and not even his own brother understood him after all the years they spent together.
It was only Naruto.
Only Naruto could see into the depths of his heart and take his side on something that truly mattered to him...
Ah… You do understand… My other half…
Madara thought faintly, as his eyes began to feel heavy with much desired sleep. For the first time in days, he felt himself able to fall asleep at long last...all because Naruto was finally by his side once again.
Naruto didn't notice the man's increasingly tired state as his gaze turned towards the paper on the man's desk and read through it, noting that it was a position paper detailing his stance on the issue.
“But, Hashirama and Tobirama are right about still needing shinobi to protect the village… I'm not smart or understand a lot of this complicated political stuff, but… maybe there's a way to compromise? Like maybe if–”
Suddenly, he felt a heavy thud on his shoulder and the brush of dark spikey hair upon his right cheek.
“E-Eh? M-Madara?” he called the man in surprise; however, the only answer he received was the sound of light breathing and warm breath permeating the fabric over his right breast.
“Madara?” he called once more, and still no answer. “Are you… Are you asleep?” He gingerly brushed his hand over the long dark hair, as if grooming a big lovable cat, while waiting to receive an answer; however, when he was only met with more silence he couldn't help but smile adoringly and hug the slumbering Uchiha close.
He must've been really tired…
Then, using all the strength his weak body could muster, he did his best to carefully lower the sleeping man onto the tatami floor, which admittedly took a lot out of him. Naruto panted quietly and wiped the light sweat off of his face.
Man, he's a lot heavier than I thought! Then again, he is practically built like a fortress… I should probably go get him a blanket.
In his attempt to stand, his movements were immediately thwarted when a strong grip on his right sleeve prevented him from going any further.
Eh?
When he looked down at what was hindering his movements, he found Madara's hand holding onto his sleeve in a powerful grip that was no doubt going to leave a big wrinkle on his yukata. He tried to remove the man's hand as carefully as he could, but the hold on him was relentless, and in the end Naruto could only give up and lay down next to the Uchiha since it was obvious he wasn't going to be going anywhere. The moment he cuddled up next to the Uchiha, however, the hand on his sleeve released him, but this time he felt the man's arm wrap securely around his waist as if to trap him and never let him leave again.
As Naruto rested his head atop the firm chest of the Uchiha patriarch, he listened to the rhythmic beating of his heart and sighed softly.
Sleeping together again was the thing he wanted to avoid the most, and yet, here they were in each other's arms once again…
Why do you keep doing this to me? Why do you make it so hard for me to stay away from you?
In the end, after days of restless sleep himself, Naruto eventually fell into a deep slumber in the warm comfort of Madara's embrace.
****
In an alleyway somewhere within Konoha, a man dressed in ragged clothing, covered in filth from head to toe, with only a dirty cloth as a cape hooded over his face, sat slumped over next to a garbage can mumbling incoherently to himself in low and disgruntled growls.
While in the middle of his long tangents to no one, a figure cloaked in a dark cape appeared out of the shadows as though manifesting from the shadows of the night itself and approached the withered man.
“My, how pitiful you are~ Cast out by your own clan for something they all participated in, and betrayed by your only child whom you took the effort to clothe and feed.”
The dirty man peered up from beneath his filth covered hood and sneered, “Who the hell are you, bastard? And how the hell do you know who I am?”
A dark smile encasing razor sharp teeth glimmered in the moonlight as beady yellow eyes squinted in amusem*nt.
“Now, now, no need for hostility~ I have no name, but you are free to call me however you like. As for how I know you – well, let’s just say I like to listen to a bit of gossip myself, and a lot of things are certainly being said about you among the Namikaze right now. Nevertheless, I know about everything that happens in the village, and I must say, you don't deserve to suffer such destitution; especially not on your own.”
The hood of the dirty man raised higher to look at the dark stranger, until it slipped off to reveal sharp dull blue eyes and wild dirty blond hair.
“Toru – or Menma as he goes by now – is your son, is he not? He is living quite the lavished life I must say, and yet, he is not willing to spare even a little bit to help his father – whom he should be grateful for. He is living such a plush life now through your efforts of raising him and providing for him all this time after all. How ungrateful.”
The filthy man remained silent; however, even through the silence, Black Zetsu could see the enraged look in the dull eyes and pulsing angry veins climbing up the clenched jaw. All he needed now was one more push.
“And the sad thing is, I'm sure that it will only be a matter of time before he completely turns on you – his own father. If I recall, very recently, he gave the Namikaze a visit with the brother of the Senju patriarch at his side. Perhaps they were looking for you. He currently has the Uchiha clan leader in the palm of his hands, and all he would need to do is bat his big eyes at him and you will never see the light of day again~”
Out of nowhere, the previously slumped over man sprung up and attempted to attack the mysterious stranger, swinging a fist at him; however, Black Zetsu was far quicker and dodged the fist thrown at him, causing the man to fall flat on his face. Black Zetsu laughed almost manically at his pathetic state as he slinked back into the shadows of the alleyway, leaving only the snide echo of his raspy laughter to ring into the night.
****
