#somewhere hashirama is eating his way through the senju pantries and crying

[ithecrystaldragonheart]

A Pining Ball of Feathers and Sadness

Izuna felt conflicting emotions as he eyed the divider that hid his brother’s side of the room from him.

He told himself that the Senju boy had been tricking his brother and today had been proof of it,at least that’s what he had processed.But he remembered the expression of horror when he realized that he had followed him and told their father and just as clearly his declaration mere hours before.

Naturally people had noticed when the Uchiha heir started slipping out weeks ago and then started improving skills and coming back dirtied with the occasional various bits of plant life in his hair the common consensus was that he was training by himself.

Their father had been a bit suspicious but since Madara always stayed when ordered and still performed his duties he had decided to allow him some alone time,maybe being generous after the deaths of their brothers.

But Izuna had been jealous.His brother spent less time with him and with as little as they had it made a big difference to him,the fact that he actively seemed to enjoy his escapades didn’t help.

Originally he had just planned to follow his brother and demand that he join the sessions and hadn’t expected a second boy to show up.

If he had been jealous before it was nothing compared to when he watched his only living brother playing and even laughing with this stranger.Maybe he was even envious that he could talk with the boy about his dreams for a peaceful future when he couldn’t even do it with his own brother.

At first he just watched and seethed in jealousy but then he thought that maybe this boy was tricking his brother into getting information or stealing clan techniques and decided to tell their father.

When Tajima told him the boy was the son of the patriarch of their rival clan it all but confirmed that he had been right to tell his father.

A not-so-small part of him had waited for his brother to thank him or at least acknowledge that he had done the right thing,instead there had been hovering and an obvious challenge to keep his emotions under control - the black feathers and orange eyes had shifted with his breathing,pulling in when inhaling and sliding back out when exhaling.

With a forced politeness he excused himself to his room and their father had let it go with only a scowl that promised that this was the last bit of leniency he would have for a while.

Madara hadn’t appeared for supper and with the head of the Uchiha sealing himself in his study he was forced to sit there alone.

It was common for their father not to join for meal and usually the two boys would entertain each other and enjoy the rare chance to spend time with one another when one or both of them weren’t on a mission.

Afterwards he’d crept into his room with more silence than he should have,it was his own bedroom after all.

He remembered sharing his room with their most recently deceased brother and how he’d snore despite their father’s repeated attempts to get him out of that possibly fatal habit.

Now it was quiet and empty despite the presence on the other side of the shoji.

Feeling decidedly not guilty Izuna finally gathered the nerve to sneak over and the slide the opening just a crack.

The only light was from the lamps he had lit in his own room that shone through the paper walls which gave the room an oddly cozy and intimate feeling.

It was a stark contrast to the black monstrosity currently lying on his brother’s futon.

It wasn’t like he hadn’t known that certain people in his clan could turn into bird monsters,it was just that he had never seen them give in completely,so he could be excused for choking when he saw an enormous bird head instead of his brother’s.

He still wore his yukata but other than that there was no real way to tell that this giant bird was Madara Uchiha.

The feathered adolescent had arranged his bedstuff into a sort of makeshift nest and seemed to be...sighing?It sounded more like half-hearted cawing than anything human.

Nevertheless they quickly became aware of another presence in their space and stood up and spread their wings to appear more intimidating.

It was extremely unsettling to watch his brother turn his head from side to side to better study the intruder and the wicked-looking beak wasn’t exactly reassuring.

Seemingly recognizing his little brother he folded his wings back in and decided to move closer.

Too stunned and fearful of the sudden unpredictability of what was now his brother he allowed himself to be tugged to the rather sad nest and after some prompting sat down.

Izuna felt indignant when the bird-brain started grooming his hair with his beak and wrapping his wings around him like some kind of chick but after some annoyed cawing he accepted that there would be no quiet escape from this situation - he at least would never let his brother live this down.

If he fell asleep to his brother’s cooing and woke up with feathers in his hair being crushed by a decidedly human Madara it was his business and no-one else’s.