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"If we make it out of this, you are grounded."
Kagami snorts, though it hardly disguises the tremble in his voice when he warbles, "As if I'd let you punish me for coming back for you."
Tobirama curls his lip, flashing a fang with less ire than he normally might. He's too tired and in too much pain for much else but a lackluster scolding. As he opens his mouth to present Kagami with a kind of compromise, his senses catch on the ominous chakra of Kinkaku. After Kagami found him torn and bloody and woke the Mangekyo Sharingan as a result, he then proceeded to turn it on Ginkaku and tell him in an oddly even tone of voice to fight Kinkaku to the death. The boy took Tobirama in the lull, unsure if the genjutsu would hold with such an obvious command and unwilling to stick around and find out.
Now, with one hand braced over Kagami's shoulders for balance and the other pressed to his gut in an effort to keep them from spilling out of him, Tobirama stumbles onward and applies his split focus to healing himself. How he dearly misses Hashirama's healing about now, but not as much—never as much—as he misses the man himself.
I'll likely see you soon, anija.
Tobirama imagines his brother would tell him not to hurry, to finish raising Kagami and teaching his beloved students, and that he would be waiting when the time finally comes.
"Eyes open, tou-chan. Stay with me."
Breath hitching, Tobirama obeys, sluggishly registering that he doesn't recall closing them. His chakra flickers from the lack of attention given. "I'm here, Kagami-kun." He feels Kinkaku's chakra turn their way, bastardized jinchuuriki strength still burning in his signature. "Kinkaku is coming."
Kagami makes a noise of unease, stumbling over his feet when Tobirama's steps falter. "Fuck. Come on. We have to get as far away as we can."
"Kagami-"
"Shut up," Kagami hisses, a pleading note in his voice. "Don't even start that sentence. I don't want to hear it. You just keep healing yourself, we'll keep walking, and then... then...."
That is the problem, isn't it? They will never make it to safe territory at this rate.
"Go."
Kagami hisses at him scoldingly, completely ignoring Tobirama's answering growl and adjusting his grip to slip a hand into Tobirama's kunai pouch. He holds out a kunai marked with the hiraishin, peering up at his sensei with worried, dark eyes. "We can just use this. Can't we?"
Tobirama offers up a breathless chuckle. "While I appreciate the optimism, it's taking all the control I have to knit my insides back together."
The boy presses his lips into a thin line. "Teach me then."
"We have less than five minutes, Kagami-kun."
"What other options do we have?!" Kagami snaps.
Grunting and staggering into Kagami, Tobirama braces for them both to hit the ground. His bad leg takes the brunt of it. Something tears, and blood pours anew. Tobirama's mind lights with stars, agony piercing him like a lightning strike. His ears ring, and before he can grasp his senses, he feels the familiar pull of the hiraishin but distinctly wrong.
The world narrows to a pinprick, consciousness and unconsciousness fighting for dominance as he wills his mind to obey. Solid ground rests beneath him. Faint from blood loss, he lays still, fingers flexing weakly over his stomach as he tries to summon enough control to continue healing himself. Heavy blinks reveal nothing out of the ordinary to him except that, wherever he landed, Kagami didn't end up with him. A modicum of panic sets in as he considers the idea that merely by misusing the hiraishin, his dearest student might've hurt himself or worse.
Concern for Kagami pushes him to rise and down both a chakra and blood replenishing pill. He already took a pair during his fight with the Kinkaku squad in trying to buy his team as much time as possible, and asking more of his body will surely mean a long-winded and monotonous recovery period. Tobirama doesn't care. The boost will be worth it if he can get both himself and Kagami out of this mess.
Slowly, his mind clears and with it comes his sensing. It's not fine-tuned as it usually would be, but it's far better than nothing. The radius gradually expands as his reserves fill, artificial though the refresher might be, and he busies himself with healing his wounded leg.
All thoughts to that effect come to a dead halt as his sensory range widens directly into a battle right along where the skirmishes between the Senju and Uchiha used to take place. Among them, Kagami's chakra scrambles from location to location, clearly dodging through the commotion and attempting to stop as much of the death toll as possible. And, heading the clash is-
No. Impossible. Tobirama startles to his feet, limping a step to a tree and pressing his chakra into the heartwood. Hashirama's mokuton all but sings back to him.
"Anija?" Tobirama breathes, panic of a different kind lighting in his chest, because Hashirama's presence on a battlefield almost always heralded Madara as well. Sure enough, the inferno of power all but blisters his senses when his sensing range grows a little more. With each second, he begins putting puzzle pieces together that he doesn't like the endgame of in the least. No wonder Kagami's chakra signature is all over the place, spiking with panic every few seconds. He must be trapped in the battle.
Swallowing down his pain, Tobirama breaks into an unsteady run. He won't be living up to his speed today, but he cares little for image with Kagami's life in the balance.
Kagami is so, so, so grounded if they both make it out of this.
Several minutes later, too many, Tobirama emerges from the forest into the clearing where the Uchiha and Senju battle. The horror of the clan feud he thought he left behind plays out in full swing in front of him, blood spilling and lives fading in an endless cycle of violence.
Throughout it all, Kagami's chakra signature darts around, seeking, saving, and causing chaos in the ranks as he spares lives regardless of blood. The single glimpse Tobirama catches of him says he isn't doing so hot with cuts, bruises, and scrapes littering his body. More than one Uchiha gives chase to the obvious stranger in their midst.
It comes as no surprise that eventually, Madara snatches him by the collar and snaps in his face, "What the hell are you playing at?! I-" His eyes narrow as he takes in the new face. "What kind of trickery is this? Who are you?!"
"Tou-chan!"
Madara startles at the sudden cry, his expression softening a fraction before the reality that an Uchiha he doesn't know is on the field causing trouble. "Answer me!"
Without any notion of subtlety, Tobirama shunshins into the fray and forms a one-handed sign. "Madara! Let him go!"
The porcupine-haired asshole straightens at the address, eyes alighting upon Tobirama even as Kagami squirms and fights his hold. Shock blossoms on his face soon after, his Sharingan flicking toward the other Tobirama currently in stalemate with Izuna as the battle creeps to a standstill. Given the state of Tobirama in comparison to his younger self, it's probably a miracle he made the connection. Right now, he likely displays more blood than skin.
"What was that?"
"I said let him go," Tobirama repeats.
"How I manage my own kin is my business, Senju," Madara spits.
Across from him, Hashirama stares at Tobirama, taking him in with no small amount of horror and disbelief. "Tobi?"
Ever soft for his brother, Tobirama makes the slightest gesture of acknowledgement while never once taking his eyes off Madara's grip on his student. "Anija." His calm dissolves when Madara halts Kagami's struggling with a fistful of his hair. Flashing his canines, Tobirama demands once more, "Release him at once, before I make you."
Madara has the gall to sneer. "Make me? I'd like to see you try."
Having focused his chakra already, Tobirama exerts no small amount of control in forcing the Uchiha clan head still. Then, excruciatingly slow, he commands the blood within Madara's body to unfold his arm and release his fingers from Kagami's curls. The entire battlefield watches in a combination of sick terror and a kind of awe. The moment Kagami can move freely, he all but teleports to Tobirama, latching onto his chest with a frightened keen and his Mangekyo whirling.
"I-I'm sorry, tou-chan. You told me not to, but you were dying and I didn't know what else to do and I swear I didn't mean to-!"
"Hush," Tobirama soothes, He allows his control over Madara to fade and wraps his arms around Kagami, carding his fingers through the teen's curls. "What's done is done, Kagami-kun."
Several among the Senju and the Uchiha try to break a genjutsu, but Hashirama only smiles at him, warm and soft in a way Tobirama yearned for at his most lonesome. "I always prayed I'd get to see your heart again someday after having broken it so unfairly." He approaches tentatively, hands raised in both surrender and offering at the same time. "You look awful, otouto."
"Kagami first."
Hashirama seems as though he might argue, but when he meets gazes with the scrawny, scared, Sharingan-eyed teen, he softens. "All right. Kagami-kun first. It's nice to meet you, sprout."
"It's been a long time, Hashi oji-chan."
The sap of a man melts for the teen despite never having met him before. He places hands wreathed in iryo-jutsu to the boy's face—so close to his eyes that every Uchiha in proximity tenses. They all go ignored by the strongest shinobi on the battlefield. "You are just adorable. I hope Tobirama spoils you rotten."
Kagami, never one not to take an opportunity when presented one, pouts brilliantly. "Tou-chan said he was going to ground me."
Hashirama laughs, warm and boisterous. "Did he now? Well, that's just not fair, is it?"
"Uh-uh."
Tobirama crosses his arms with a huff, ignoring how lightheaded he feels as he monitors everyone in their immediate vicinity. So far, it seems everyone is still in too much shock to interfere, especially Izuna. "You don't even know what he did, anija."
"He meant well, I'm sure," Hashirama insists. "Just look at him! How can you stay mad at his squishy little face?!"
Kagami giggles, bouncing a little on his toes.
"What. The. Fuck."
Tobirama glances toward Izuna, the teen—spirits, they were all so young, Kagami's age—nearly spitting fire with his eyes. Not the Amaterasu variety, Sage willing. "What?"
"What is happening here?!" Izuna barks.
"Ah." Tobirama clears his throat, vision swimming worryingly even as he pretends it's not happening. As long as the chakra pill holds up, he'll be fine. Concussion, blood loss, and tremors be damned; he won't waste this chance. "Izuna, this is my son and student, Kagami. Kagami, this is Izuna, my rival. It seems my well-meaning child has moved us backwards in time and changed things irreparably, but I would prefer none of you hold that against him."
"Through time, you say?" the younger Tobirama asks, stepping closer as well—much to Kagami's glee even as Hashirama prods his limbs with medical ninjutsu. "How did you manage that?"
Before Kagami can open his mouth, Tobirama shakes his head. "The exact happenstances are likely unable to be repeated. Best not to meddle with things we shouldn't."
"Tou-chan!" Kagami all but squeals, giddily hopping around the younger Tobirama when Hashirama clears him and poking and prodding at everything in reach. He blatantly ignores the subtle tension in this future parent's shoulders, which, oddly enough, seems to relax him. "Look at you! You're my age! Oh, I am never letting you live this down! Not ever!"
"Exuberant, isn't he?" the younger Tobirama notes.
Tobirama the elder hums, a warm smile, however faint, curving his lips. "A teacher shouldn't have favorites, but of all of them, he is the most eager to learn. A little brash, perhaps, but a very good listener."
"And I'm cute!" Kagami chirps.
When Tobirama unfolds his arms with a weary sigh to scrub the boy's hair, he takes perhaps a little too much pleasure in the strangled sound Madara and Izuna make when he relents. "Hai, hai. Very cute, but don't think being cute will get you out of your punishment."
Kagami whines pitifully.
Tobirama, both of them, arch a cool brow in eerie synchrony. Naturally, Kagami grumbles at the combined power of their scolding glares, but he's quickly distracted by Hashirama finally laying his healing hands on his sensei. Hashirama sobers quickly, eyes turning from jovial to scrutinizing in a heartbeat. Kagami's mood follows shortly behind as he asks after Tobirama.
"You're bleeding internally," Hashirama hisses.
"And externally," his counterpart remarks, pointing blithely down at his stomach and injured leg.
Kagami all but glues himself to his good side in support, taking his weight. Tobirama would lie to say he didn't need it, so he doesn't say anything at all. Between stopping a war, recovering from near-death, and keeping Kagami from causing some other kind of chaos, Tobirama has a lot on his to-do list. For now, he allows his sorely-missed anija to heal his wounds and keeps ahold of his beloved miscreant.