𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐒𝐓 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 | madara/izuna uchiha

[juu-hachi]

"... tou-chan?" Madara turned his head to the side as he heard Haruka awake from his deep slumber, having carried him the entire length of their journey like a baby over his shoulder. They had gotten a fair distance away from the village by now, and Madara sincerely hoped [Name] was too busy being distracted by her newly wed husband to set out in search of him and Haru. If there was anything he had discovered lately, it was that deep down, he really, truly wanted [Name] to be happy. Which was why he couldn't bear to take her away from everything she'd built up her entire life; instead, he would take away Haru, in turn, wiping away every trace that he had ever existed at all. [Name] now had the opportunity to start afresh, to bear legitimate children with Izuna whom she could raise in a stable, supportive environment. Not like how Haru had been brought up- fatherless, and by a single working mother. In fact, Madara believed by taking away Haruka, he was doing [Name] a favour, giving her the opportunity to start anew- what else could she ask for, after being tormented by the ghosts of her past with Madara all these years?

"Morning, Haru," said Madara in a small grunt, hoisting his son further up. Haruka pushed away from his father, blinking as he took in his surroundings. It was a rocky terrain, and the early morning sun was only just beginning to rise.

"... where's kaa-chan?" asked Haru in a confused voice, squinting in the sunlight. Madara shook his head.

"She couldn't come, son. She's busy with Izuna," said Madara in a forlorn voice. "But hey- it's just us two now! Isn't that great?"

"No! I want kaa-chan!" cried Haru, pounding his little fists against Madara's chest as he writhed to get away from him. "Take me back! I want to get kaa-chan!" Madara struggled to subdue his son as he leapt from clifftop to clifftop, using all his might to stay balanced so as not to topple into the steep canyon below them. Haru's weight had held him back more than he had anticipated, and now, the only hope he had was that [Name] had gotten drunk last night and was still sleeping with a hangover. Otherwise, his plan would be royally screwed if she came after him with backup.

"Haru, stop fidgeting-!" exclaimed Madara, almost slipping as Haruka obscured his eyes with his hands, wailing and clawing at Madara's face.

"TAKE ME BACK TO KAA-CHAN!"

"HARUKA-!" Madara gasped as he felt himself begin to slip, and in an instant, he wrenched Haruka aside with one hand to see what was going on. They were falling, and fast. Madara's eyes widened as he tried to think of a way to save both him and Haru from falling to their doom, frantically looking around for any footholds or cracks in the rock. Haruka screamed and tightened his grip around Madara's neck as the weathered shinobi flung out both hands towards the rocky stone face, grabbing a hold of a small crack and slowing down their descent. A few dusty seconds later, Madara hung with Haru clinging onto his neck as he huffed, shaking off the little setback. He hadn't counted on Haru being so feisty- if he had known, they would've taken a less dangerous route.

Well, too late now, grimaced the elder Uchiha, slowly beginning to scale the rock face as a shaking Haruka clung on to his father for his own dear life.

"I-I want kaa-chan!" cried Haru, wrenching his eyes shut so as not to catch a glimpse of the deep abyss below. It was a five hundred feet below to the bottom, and quite frankly, neither Madara nor Haruka fancied the idea of ending up on that ground.

"Just hold on tight, and I'll get us back to the top!" snapped Madara, being slow and steady as he looked out for safe and stable holds to grab. It was an arduous and slow process, but finally, the edge came into sight, and he let out a little huff of relief. Quickening his pace, Madara made it back to the edge, and grasped at the earth, which crumbled at his vicious touch. With that, Madara lost all grip he had had on the rock, and began mentally cursing himself as he felt himself and Haru beginning to fall yet again.

Ah, shit. Before Madara could accept the fact that he and Haru were now absolutely sure to tumble to their deaths, a slender hand wrapped itself around his wrist and caught him before he could slip further away, making him gasp in shock.

A scowling [Name], hauling Madara back up with a bloodthirsty look etched across her usually calm features.

"Kaa-chan!" squealed Haruka at the sight of his mother. [Name] managed a small, but forced, grin for her son, but as soon as her eyes met Madara's, they were filled with nothing but pure, coldhearted anger.

"[Name], have you found them?!" Madara recognised the voice as Hashirama's, and internally groaned. He had to think of a way to get away from them, and fast. Now that Haru had seen his mother, though, he was bound to cause trouble along the rest of the journey. It was with a heavy heart that Madara made his decision, and murmured a small apology to both [Name] and Haruka as the [Surname]- now Uchiha- woman pulled them over onto solid ground.

"Don't try anything, Madara!" said [Name] warningly, keeping a cautious eye on her ex-lover. Madara grimaced, and shrugged as Haru began to writhe around again.

"Kaa-chan!" he cried, outstretching his arms to his mother. [Name] softened, and step forward with her arms out expectantly.

"Haru-"

Madara bowed his head.

"I'm sorry, [Name]." In an instant, he knocked out Haru and vanished into a cloud of thick smoke, choking both [Name] and Hashirama. Once he was sure they were distracted, he took the daring leap to get to the other side of the canyon, which instantly paid off.

"HARUKA!"

"[Name], you shouldn't-!" [Name] ignored the Hokage's warning as she charged blindly through the smoke, finding her way to the edge of the cliff and following Madara. She was not about to lose her baby boy, and she sure as hell wasn't about to give him up to Madara.

"HARUKA!" [Name]'s distressed voice rang in Madara's ears as he and Haru landed safely on the other side, and he grimaced, turning away with the unconscious boy in his arms.

"I'm helping you, idiot woman," he scoffed lightly, walking away. But not even Madara could suppress the slightest twinge of guilt that had begun to eat away at his heart- after all, he had loved [Name], and truly believed that she deserved to be happy. But judging by the way she was screaming her lungs out for the return of her beloved son, Madara couldn't help but think that he was making her anything but happy.