#anti senju brothers

[the-real-sasuke-uchiha]

He used Madara as a means to an end. After he got what he wanted, he didn't care about the Uchiha anymore. He didn't even bother to keep his friendly façade.

Hashirama is the dumbest Hokage because he listened to his racist ass Brother and not the person that he help create the village.

[angelsyrip]

konohagakure didn't deserve these precious boys

work by masashi kishimoto

song is die with a smile by lady gaga, bruno mars

[evilkitten3]

ranking the hokage by how much i care about them

tsunade. obviously she's number one no explanation needed i love her she's wonderful. no questions no criticisms i love her. should have killed those two elders instead of just dropping them on the floor but i guess making them live with the shame of not being worth her time to kill is good enough. straight up deserted and was so cool they made her president anyway

hashirama!!!!! he's insane. i think he could have been worse frankly but nobody's perfect. worst divorce of all time. married to a woman he may not have even known existed bc he was too busy staring at his bestie's ass. enslaved and traumatized nine sentient chakra creatures for political purposes and never felt bad about it. causes problems just by having dna. would forgive him for everything instantly bc he's a cutie pie

hiruzen. absolute nightmare disaster shitshow of a man. old fuck who tried his best but his best was absolute horseshit, which just so happens to be one of my favorite kinds of characters. never made a decision he didn't regret. first person to get appointed president of the military police state by volunteering for a suicide mission in the middle of the woods. obsessed with him

kakashi! world's most saddest wet dog man. genius but also an absolute doofus. has the aura of a man who could wake up drunk in a dumpster without having imbibed a drop of alcohol. first konoha shinobi to (legally) get on an airplane. second konoha shinobi to get on an airplane at all. somehow married to the single greatest ninja of all time despite literally everything about gai being so far out of kakashi's league it's not even funny

tobirama. thought the whole "it's my jutsu!!!" thing was pretty funny. otherwise i couldn't care less. literally just some guy to me. no interest whatsover

the other one. kushina's boytoy. whatshisface. bad luck with rocks

[internal-ethics]

Ok im bored and ran out of good content so fuck it lets do this. Decided not to publicize it for so long bc its difficult.

This is my boldest and most prized contribution to this cursed fandom, as well as my dearest tribute to Tobirama, the best political character ive ever read in fiction, and his anija.

warning - this might not be for people with too heavy leaning on anti-konoha, anti-Hashirama sentiments or ships that's not hashimito or tobirama/konoha, or take the timings and numbers of the databook too seriously.

Hashirama is vaguely hinted to canonically have retired as Shodai years earlier, then married Mito, then lived till 10-20 years after VOTE and died in or before the 2nd War.

Tobirama died first in the 1st War. The scene where he sacrificed himself for his squad happened before the VoTE fight, not after. It's his death that signaled the End.

Hashirama losing his power/ability to lead due to possible depression and keeping a low profile (no one could know how and when the Shinobi God died because village situations, and there were sensors and trackers who could find him) is the reason why he didnt know the motive of the Police Force that Tobirama created, and also struggled with Kurama to the point he needed Mito to LEND him power, when earlier he could beat both Kurama and Madara.

Zetsu made up bullshit about Tobirama burying and letting Madara escape with a clone, based that assumption on Tobirama's reputation of creating weird jutsus involving sacrifices, most likely framing him for his surbodinates' doings, because Tobirama totally never knew Tsunade, possibly never even met Mito and dealt with a jinchuuriki, while Hashirama did both, comparing teenage Sakuras power to Tsunade's.

Zetsu also would not have been near there to know what the senju brothers did because they were both sensors that could detect him. Hashirama was the one who buried Madara.

As Onoki said this summit was to end minor conflicts, it happened right after Konoha was founded, not right before the WW. the 2nd kages looked much younger than in the VOTE/WW era. Hashirama likely had other means, more temporary and less effective, to restrain Kurama at this point (his mokuton and necklace) The databook also never said Hashirama died in which war.

Tsunade and Tobirama had no recollection of each other outside Tsunade only calling him distantly 'nidaime' since part 1 and only 'heard' about the ones who killed him.

meanwhile Hashirama was too familiar with tsunade as she with him, and familiar with the village and people, so that he could recall his memories with it despite just having seen it before he died like weve been told.

He talked like he's been through 2 wars with them.

Our second known grandkid of Hashirama was Nawaki, who was 11 years younger than Tsunade. Unless his first son has multiple children in short years which is pure fanfiction, how would he know Tsunade was his 'first' grandkid and how she would turn out 'in the end' if he died when she was this small.

Also the fact that Hashirama didnt wear Konoha headband in the VOTE fight.

But did wear it when he married Mito. Tsunade was not Mito's grand daughter.

As for how he died, its in battle, probably to a nobody mob while protecting his clan or Mitos clan (both conveniently destroyed or disappeared after hes dead). And by the time they killed him and he let them do that, i doubt they even realized or remembered they killed the First Hokage and God of Shinobi. I mean youd think whoever killed him should have been insanely famous, regardless of his power level at the time.

Tobirama said "my role as Second Hokage was to stand between and meditate between brother and Madara while protecting the village" this raised eyebrows because there would have been no one to stand between if he only became Second after Hashirama died and Madara left (forever). Meaning Hashirama was alive when Tobirama became Second, and it had been like that for a long time.

This is what a japanese fan thought of Tobirama's death

Between the two brothers, it makes more sense for the 'normal' one who invented jutsu that defied the law of nature, including

ninja nuclear bombs,

Summoning the dead and giving them infinite chakra

clones only reserved for monster chakra reserves like Naruto with Kurama in him

and a teleportation jutsu that required 5 people in place of an absolute genius like Minato to do- moderately,

rather than a powerful monster with the same annount of chakra as a bijuu AND sage mode that heals himself, to die earlier out of illness.

This is also why Hashirama would ban Tobiramas jutsu and compiled them into HIS scroll seen in the very first chapter - they likely literally shorten ones life. Hashirama wouldnt want random people to drop dead using them...like his brother.

Some more readings on which Japanese samurai characters that have been Kishimoto's references for the founders.

Oda Nobunaga - Hashirama's first concept when he was a scary rugged scarred and big nosed guy, the one who stopped the genenations long wars, unified japan and died right after realizing the dream, but he died partly because of his brutality and crimes in life - he ACTUALLY killed his brother by blood among others of his family who betrayed him. His successor has nickname 'Saru'.

Ashikaga Takauji - Hashirama's later concept, first shogun of his era but softer big brother guy.

Ashikaga Tadayoshi - Takauji's younger brother who stepped up where he couldnt, disagreed with Takauji on politics and died 5 years before his brother did, in defeat but also there are sources that say he suffered some kind of illness before that.

Ko no Moronao - Takauji's close friend who Tadayoshi hated and was later exiled.

More references in Japanese creation mythos involving Izanagi and Izanami, where Izanagi killed his Fire god son Kagutsuchi after Izanamis death, hence his words "my very own child".

[the-real-sasuke-uchiha]

Thoughts on Hashirama's past with trauma? Frankly I think it's an excuse that he didn't stand up against Tobirama because their father abused him. He was the Hokage.. Also I'm not sure who to ask this but you seem knowledgeable Sas so can you refresh my memory about what happened with Madara, Hashi, and Tobirama? It's been a while since I read the manga/watched the anime. If you have time/effort. Just a quick explanation is all I'm looking for. :)

Anyone who disagrees please don't get angry and attack, and take it up with me if you do.

Hi there! How are you?

Don't worry at all, people can keep scrolling or block a tag if they are unable to deal with a character being criticised. This will be anti Hashirama and anti Tobirama, of course. Those who know me even a tiny bit know that they are constantly receiving hate in this blog, so, no surprise.

If you don't mind, I will start by the end. Hashirama had proposed the hokage position to Madara, but Tobirama was against that and requested a democratic election. Immediately after, Tobirama also fed his racist bullshit to Hashirama, and Hashirama barely answered with one of his typical small scoldings. This was overheard by Madara, who obviously was not happy. Hashirama gets elected, and Madara realises that the Senju are hoarding the power in the village. This, together with the fact that Tobirama could not let go of his prejudice and hatred towards the Uchiha, makes him correctly foresee that the Uchiha face a fate of exclusion and doom in the village they co-founded. He tries to warn his clan, but nobody trusts him, so he leaves mortified because he was unable to protect his family once again. And later attacked the village and Hashirama killed him. More or less that, in summary.

Now, about Hashirama, I can totally understand that he was traumatized by his abusive father, by his siblings being killed, by a childhood of war and suffering, and by all you want. But I can't by any means justify his terrible job as a hokage with any of that. He had the responsibility to lead the village fairly and, if he was unable to do that, he should have passed the position to someone else. You can't take such a job willingly and then justify your very concious and obvious negligence on trauma or faked incompetence.

Tobirama likely had many reasons to hate the Uchiha, as the Uchiha had many reasons to hate the Senju. Nobody is asking Hashirama to get rid of his brother, but he should have found someone impartial as an advisor. He knew perfectly that his brother was racist, and still, he not only listened to him and let him influence state matters, he also appointed him as a successor. He let Tobirama desecrate Madara's body for his experiments, and he knowingly let him kill and experiment with people to develop the Edo Tensei. One can understand that he loved his brother unconditionally, as he was the only family he had left. But he had a duty as a leader to put limits to his brother's crimes and rampant bigotry. Or, if he was unable to stop him, at least keep him far from any position of power.

You know, if the Uchiha were to do something remotely similar to what Hashirama did, everyone would be questioning their loyalty, saying that they put their clan before the village, curse of hatred and whatever bullshit.

Another thing I can't stand of Hashirama is that he plays innocent and dumb. And I just can't believe this comedy. Because in his political actions he was never dumb. He was entertaining Madara with empty promises and nice words but, first chance he has, he leaves him out of the leadership of the village they both founded. Why didn't he, don't know, appoint Madara or any other Uchiha as his advisor instead of his biased brother? Collecting tailed beasts is also not the behaviour of a fool, he very much intended to hoard power to stablish Konoha's supremacy (and his own). He distributed the tailed beasts but was clever enough to keep the most powerful one to himself. And for a man who reached to power with the excuse of democracy, see how quick he forgot about it nominating someone from his family without taking anyone's opinion into consideration. Should I believe he established an oligarchy by accident because he was naïve, and that he didn't know what would happen once his racist brother got to power?

Anyway, sorry, this was probably too long. But I start hating on Hashirama and I get carried away...

Take care!

[justsomeoneunordinary]

hi May! i really love all the hashitobi fanart you've been reblogging recently! it made me fall in love with that pairing too :)

can i ask what your favourite headcanons for the two of them together are?

you know, this is REALLY not the kind of reaction i thought i'd get once the hashitobi posts come out of the queue 🤣 i mean, i have always been very clear about not tolerating any anti nonsense, but that hasn't stopped any antis from my inbox before. (although, if i STILL have any antis following me after everything, they're probably glad i accidentally shuffled my queue, otherwise all those hashitobi pieces would've come out one after another for a full day at least lol) therefore, your reaction is an absolute delight!!! you're a gem, thank you ♥️

that being said, i'm sorry to disappoint you, but i don't really have any headcanons for them 😅 i only got into them because i was running out of hashirama & tobirama fics to read and went, OKAY well *throws hands up* i GUESS, now i'll have to read incest if i want more of them!!! my interest for hashitobi is more out of necessity because there's not enough gen sibling stuff for them, and while romance changes the very dynamic i'm interested in for them, it's the only alternative i have

(although, i will admit that they're aesthetically a VERY pleasing pair, and i am absolutely an aesthetic shipper (folks who know me from my marvel days may remember me mentioning how i never ship two blond people together because they look the same to me - i still stand by that), and hashitobi not only look so widely different, but also have such very opposing personalities (AND abilities - one creates life, the other plays with death), which makes for a very crunchy dynamic. it's tasty.)

so no, no headcanons but i enjoy their dynamic similarly to how i enjoy my senju bros fics as well - extremely co-dependent (they're each other's last brother and they'd do everything for the other one and to ensure the other one survives) but now 10x more intense if you add romance and sex to it

tender as FUCK - they may be battle-hardened shinobi but they can treat each other no other way but with care and love. (which is funny coming from a dark enjoyer like me but idk, when it comes to these two, i just need them to be SOFT. probably because canon doesn't show them soft with each other so i need it in fanon damnit.) including lots of touching, especially from hashirama's side, while tobirama is more subtle - a litte squeeze of hashi's shoulder here, a little brush of hashi's hair there...

possessive and jealous and over-protective both of them!! hashi plants his mokuton seeds in tobirama to always be able to track him without telling him (not that he needs to; tobirama is a sensor) (it makes for a nice sliiightly dark but not all too dark hashi too), whereas tobirama tries to set everyone on fire with his look alone when someone even dares to look at hashirama for too long, especially one uchiha fucking madara. (let's be real: tobirama seemed already jealous of madara in canon - if you add romantic hashitobi to the mix, that's gonna be even stronger and worse)

i have no problem with adding mito to the mix!!! my gal marries one guy and by marrying him she gets another one as a bonus? my god, good for her, very good for her. she would take care of her boys so good 💖 (i definitely meant that in a dirty way). (on that note, i absolutely do NOT enjoy fics in which hashirama cheats on mito with tobirama (or literally anyone else for that matter), i love hashimito and just mito herself way too much. cheating hashirama does not spark joy. either she's never been part of the equation, to begin with, or she's an active part - there's no in-between for me)

honestly, i just want them soft and loving and caring with just a tad bit of unhinged behavior, and adding incest to the mix makes it simply more intense and spicier too 🤷‍♀️

[lifeaintnice100]

Reincarnation

I genuinely can never understand how people can ship Sasunaru and Hashimada like they are literally reincarnations of Indra and Ashura who are brothers meaning that Sasuke and Naruto are brothers who don't share the same blood but are still BROTHERS and the same goes for Hashirama and Madara. People see certain moments between these characters such as checking on how the other person is doing and caring for each other and start shipping them like no offense but people can care for each other even when they have a platonic relation and due to this reason they shit on other characters especially Hinata and Sakura.

#Naruto #Naruto Uzumaki #Sasuke Uchiha #Madara Uchiha #Hashirama Senju #Anti Sasunaru #Anti Hashimada #Sakura Uchiha #Hinata Uzumaki #Its my opinion #English ain't my first language

[katerina-q]

Can we just talk about this Tobirama obsessed fangirl/Uchiha hater who keep harassing the Uchiha fans on Reddit, Twitter and on Tumblr? If you got harassed by her, you know who i'm talking about.

-She keeps harassing and insulting the Uchiha fans because they don't agree with her bullshit. You know, the Uchihas are pure evil (all of them), they deserved permanent imprisonment in a loony bin, they deserved to be exterminated etc etc. Don't you dare disagree, or you are a "brainless Uchiha wanker".

-Uchiha apologists are dumb fucks with the IQ of a jellyfish. Her words. At the same time she complain about "Tobirama haters", and she praising him as a saint.

-Tobirama bashing is bad. Madara, Hashirama and Uchiha bashing is good. Harassing their fans also is good.

-Madara was a racist with the Senju, according to her. The most prolific Uchiha hater calling Madara racist for disliking the Senju...you know, there’s a joke here somewhere... But if someone say that Tobirama was a racist with the Uchihas....here we go with the insults, again. The double standards.

-She's insulting HashiMada shippers and she said that in their stories the shippers are pretending Madara "wasn't piece of garbage" (pretty sure she didn't read any HashiMada fic). BUT at the same she's shipping MadaTobi and she's reading the...."IC" MadaTobi fics. So HashiMada is bad and toxic, the shippers are stupid. But shipping MadaTobi is ok. They loved each other so much in canon, after all. They are IC, unlike HashiMada. Oook.

I just hate the hypocrisy of certain people. I blocked her on Tumblr and Twitter. Too bad i can't do the same on Reddit.

[noxxha]

Was Izuna anti-peace?

I have seen quite a few takes where Izuna is described as being “anti-peace”, a “warmonger” and a “brat” for talking Madara out of an alliance with the Senju.

In my eyes it is a very simplified view on a concept that is much broader. Izuna is not a deep character if you only look at the source material (and I lament such wholeheartedly). Fill in the gaps and you have a character rich on complexity and contrast to Madara, Hashirama and Tobirama.

The last words we get from Izuna (remember that we see the Uchiha through Hashirama’s perspective) are;

This scene is prolonged slightly in the anime, with Izuna questioning his brother if he has forgotten that these bastards have killed everyone (their kin)?

It is hypocritical of Izuna to ask his brother this on one hand (they are no different in the eyes of the Senju) and yet it is the truth as well; the Senju have slaughtered countless Uchiha.

It can be see as manipulative words from Izuna’s side, as a way for to sway Madara to continue this feud, but Izuna is doing his duty as co-leader as well; reminding Madara of their losses so he does not make a choice out of sentimentality (or from a place of emotional distress from their predicament at hand).

The above could indicate someone who is selfish, prideful and stubborn enough to accept death rather than an alliance with their mortal enemies (peace).

But not necessarily.

There is neither anything that indicates that Izuna would be for peace, nor anything indicating that he is against it either (other than his words, that depend heavily on a context we never got - the side of the Uchiha and a more concrete characterization of Izuna as a character).

Honestly, the only selfish thing was making Madara promise to keep the clan safe. And - in my eyes - the only reason Izuna had him make that oath in the first place was because he knew that Madara would follow him in death if he didn’t.

The databook for Izuna mentions that he is harmonious and devoted - two traits that stand in direct opposition to his actions (perpetuating a cycle of violence). But as is the case with us humans; we can be loved by one person, loathed by another, kind to someone and cruel to someone else.

Izuna talked Madara out of an alliance at the time, that much is true, but that does not mean that Izuna is against peace as a whole.

He was simply wary of the Senju in particular - perhaps he might even have been concerned that his brother’s kind heart was clouding his judgement, and that the history with Hashirama would have him make a choice to the detriment of the clan. He had a more…objective (but still subjective) opinion of Hashirama (and Tobirama) in particular.

The Senju are their nemesis; both sides lost family and kin to the sword of the other.

And all that for generations and further generations…that is a lot of hatred, resentment and pain one must be willing to accept and let go of (as in letting go so it does not compromise your life and destroy you). The desire for peace has to be more import than the desire vengeance…and that is not an easy choice to make.

They have also dehumanized each other to keep this feud alive - and those thoughts must also be cleansed for trust to be cultivated.

Another information we are missing is how exactly Hashirama attempted to negotiate peace (we only see one attempt the moment Izuna is bleeding to death against his brother, and he mentions that he sent a peace treaty sometime after - that is what I assume - Izuna’s passing). How often did he try before that, and how did the Uchiha (namely Madara and Izuna) respond? That, we do not know.

We do not know how discussions for/against an alliance looked like between the brothers; Heated arguments? Calm discussions? Izuna getting his will? Madara getting his? Compromises? Extortion? Their ideologies being opposites or more alike than they might seem at a glance?

Going through the scene in question it honestly appears that Hashirama’s attempt to negotiate peace was offered on the spot, then and there, when it could have been offered at any other time - instead of coinciding with the second-in-command being mortally wounded.

It was a war - kill or be killed - but Hashirama nearly makes it all look like one elaborate scheme, the way Izuna is used against Madara in something close to emotional extortion from the Senju’s side, to get Madara to finally accept his offer of peace. Hashirama also loses no words over the fact that Izuna - the person most dear to Madara’s heart (and sanity) - is bleeding to death as they speak.

No, Hashirama was focused on the peace treaty - anything (or anyone I should perhaps say) else be damned.

Fictional characters, fictional circumstances - but war is war. Just think for a moment how you, yourself, would have responded in such a situation. Think for a moment how much hatred - how many hurtful and contradictory, to downright hypocritical messages - had to be spoken and ingrained for the Uchiha clan and the Senju clan to justify their right to murder one another.

It is easy to say “just put aside your pride and accept peace”, but there are so many factors at play during a conflict as grand and destructive as war.

From petty to justified (if it ever truly is).

Another thing is the fact that slaughtering each other was done out of economical gain. They were hired - paid - to kill one another. It was not only a personal, ideological war between these two, it was a war of economical necessity.

And to blame is the system they lived in. That system is what shaped them and caused bloodshed (as well as a millennial old grudge between two brothers, but that was honestly not necessary…Kishimoto could have just gone a purely psychological route and everything would have still fallen into place…more or less)

We, as the audience, know what happens to the Uchiha clan around three generations later since Konoha’s founding; but Madara did not at the time. When he made his choice he could not anticipate just yet that it would doom his clan.

Izuna - because of his biased views and hatred - saw an alliance between Uchiha and Senju as nothing but a disadvantage for their clan. The victors, the conquerers, write the stories that shape history - not the conquered and oppressed (or slaughtered). He probably had a few well thought out arguments for his view as well I can imagine. They certainly could not be congested into something so broad as “because I hate them”. His arguments probably included their differences (not out of malice or even hatred for them) but the simple differences such as “believing in different deities, a different diet or work ethic” to differences that cause strain if not handled well, such as “different values when it comes to raising children, caring for the community, for the elderly and sick, marriage, integration” etc that make up society’s role in how it should offer support and protection.

The Uchiha and Senju were alike as much as they were different - but Izuna did not want to go down that road and understand them (in a more peaceful, domestic setting he might have, but during war - when humanity is at its absolute worst? It is easier to just focus on survival than anything grander)

In the end he put the wellbeing of their clan above his own survival even.

Breaking Madara’s heart (and his sanity) in so doing.

We also have to remember that Naruto is not influenced by our western values and culture(s). It is fiction influenced by Japanese culture and history (the Warring States Era being not so different from medieval Japan).

Danzō’s thought process here is probably a thought that Izuna had as well during every battle. The gap between their generations is not so vast either, and the one who is Hokage at this point is Tobirama (a man born in the Warring States Era), who probably kept the thinking of that time alive (mixed with the Will of Fire) in the shinobi of the new generation.

Influenced by these values, it makes it easier to understand the possible reasoning that Izuna could have had in the moment he willingly went to his grave (they are also shinobi who value pride and honour, no matter how misguided).

If nothing else he showed loyalty to his beliefs and principles, even if it cost him his life.

The picture is from Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm: Generations. I honestly love how they had Madara hesitate for a moment before shaking Hashirama’s hand (Hashirama reached out his hand without hesitation)

We are not shown Hashirama doing anything to soothe the resentment lingering between Uchiha and Senju (we can only speculate what discussions were had and what actions were taken…if any). But judging from how he handled Tobirama (or not), he probably had the same mentality (more or less) when it came to the clans - that cooperation and living together would solve everything in due time. They had laid down their weapons, that much is true, but that does not erase the emotions of having been at each other’s throats for generations. Trust issues and suspicion reared its ugly head - Tobirama being a prime example of having “forgotten” but not forgiven.

Madara himself was not in the right state of mind at the time the village was founded, weighed down by grief over the loss of Izuna (and reminded of his loss whenever Tobirama showed himself) and his position as leader questioned. Not only that, his political power was probably not on par with the might of the Senju - which creates an imbalance in power (while fueling paranoia and resentment) - and laid the groundwork already for a Senju dominated government while reminding Madara about how the Uchiha were still inferior to the Senju. Be it in war or in this attempt for peace.

Had Izuna survived I imagine the political climate would be drastically different from what is depicted here (if the Uchiha even decided to join Konoha, they could very well have created their own nation to live in peace…if the Senju had allowed such, of course…)

Democracy you say? About that…

And being inferior translates to less influence in this instance. Tobirama mentions that the Hokage will be chosen through democratic means (the people shall decide) and that Konoha is different from the time of “their father” (Which indicates that the leader of the clan was chosen differently during Butsuma and Tajima’s era - the most powerful perhaps?) but have we ever seen a Hokage being chosen by these aforementioned people? The only character mentioned to have been chosen by the people was Hashirama.

What happened to democracy, Tobirama?

Tobirama appointed Hiruzen himself as Hokage (and the lad was what? 15 - 20 years old? That could mean nothing but disaster) and that would continue through the generations. Even worse; every Hokage (while not a direct descendant) has had ties to the Senju clan in one way or another (affirming Madara’s apprehension that, the moment Tobirama became Hokage, the Uchiha clan would be removed from any sort of influential position once and for all).

Then again, democracy as we know it was NOT how it was established in ancient Greece.

“Athenian Democracy was a system of government where all male citizens could attend and participate in the assembly which governed the city-state. This was a democratic form of government where the people or ‘dēmos’ had real political power. Athens therefore had a direct democracy.” (Source)

Keyword being direct here (which is what Tobirama is…he makes Hiruzen Hokage “directly”). So, to be fair, democracy was most likely in its infancy during Konoha’s founding. The system of democracy probably changed and evolved as time passed, until it was a bit more like the democracy we are familiar with today.

Not that any of this was an advantage for the Uchiha clan. They were still not given a powerful position in Konoha (The elders of Konoha consists of Tobirama’s old team…well, everyone but Uchiha Kagami, who could have been the first Uchiha who gained a political post…but no, he is conveniently dead) and no Uchiha has been Hokage (Fugaku was probably the closest one…had the attack of the Nine-Tailed fox/Kurama not happened he might have made it)

It was probably the above conflict between Iwagakure and Konoha, that disillusioned Madara and returned him to the cold hearted, brutal reality he wanted to change into something better and kinder (for his clan and Izuna).

Madara looks as if he has realized something and it pains him in the moment to admit that he has gone down the wrong path.

Instead he was reminded that his kin before him, that his beloved Izuna, had died for nothing.

Their world had not changed at its core.

Whether they were savages or living more civilized…people still were in conflict with one another, stole from their neighbors and fought for more territory.

In that instance he probably realized that Izuna had been right in his distrust of an alliance, that Konoha would be the death of them - that he had let himself be ‘deceived’ by Hashirama (listening to his words instead of observing his action to follow through on these words).

And he did what he always should have done; honouring Izuna’s last will.

And that he did, if a little too late.

Izuna was not against peace in my eyes - he was against the way Hashirama wanted to go about it. Because, no matter how you look at it, one side in the alliance would end up with the short end of the stick/at a disadvantage.

And we all know how disastrous the consequences would end up becoming for the Uchiha clan (the co-founders that had made Konoha possible in the first place!).

Izuna was the Uchiha that had the greatest influence of swaying Madara to a different path - that could have included that the Uchiha created their own nation, with the clans identifying more with the beliefs and values of the Uchiha. And (if making a darker claim here) what if Hashirama wanted Izuna gone because the former knew that the latter was the person standing in the way of Hashirama having any influence on Madara in their adulthood?

Hashirama’s definition of peace was not the same as Madara’s definition - and the one person that knew that, was Izuna.

[chalabrun]

Hashirama’s political marriage to Mito was to strengthen Leaf as a new military village. I get it that the serious lovers of hashisaku pairing, who’re under the impression that this could actually work (’cause Sakura was robbed in Canon; she’s always duking robbed!), aren’t all that bright, but Hashirama tossing aside the wife he took in for political reasons for Sakura ... is one of the most idiotic things I’ve ever heard. What would Sakura offer to him compared to Mito? Nothing. And Tobirama? He was probably ... gay or completely asexual. Why would Sakura interest him? She’s completely ordinary, and she possesses no talent to invent nor any natural ability for him to study. She isn’t even remotely prodigious to even mildly interest him.

So, let me get this straight... You see fit to pick a fight with the shipper of a harmless rarepair, why, again? A ship that barely makes a blip on the Founders' side of the fandom's radar, just to bandwagon the same shit Sakura-anti's have been peddling for years? Aside from the fact that your argument is the most tired bullshit in existence, I'm going to state it over in case it's not getting through your thick skull:

The ship on places like tumblr or twitter are tagged. On Ao3, it's tagged. Instead of bitching and moaning about a ship you could easily avoid, you could block the tags and move on. It's not fucking rocket science. If you go out of your way to seek it, that's a you-issue, not that of us shippers.

Secondly, why is it the Founders' fandom only gets possessive of Hashirama when shipping him with Sakura is involved? From what I've seen, you all are happy to shit on Hashi's character for miles around, belittling him as a dumb idiot who can't function without his brother as if he wasn't the most powerful shinobi in the fucking series, who was a charismatic military leader capable of bringing even his clan's sworn and ancient enemies under the fold to unite in a revolutionary village that was his idea in the first place? But no, unless it's convenient, he's either dumb as a rock or people hamfist one-dimensional yandere tropes to make his brother or Madara look like poor little meow-meows.

And don't even get me started on how ya'll treat Hashimito, let alone Mito. 'Political marriage', where? Show me irrevocable proof that Hashimito was only a political marriage, that Hashirama didn't grow to love and cherish his wife with time. I mean, fuck's sake, this pairing was the blueprint for ships like Dantsu, Minakushi, and Naruhina, but instead your reductive take was that it was just for political gain? Or how she's the awful, bad lady who gets in the way of pairings like Hashimada (even if smart people polyship them, but I guess I'm not one of them, according to you).

Again with the headcanons. Show me complete and utter proof that a manga with heteronormative endgame ships that Tobirama was gay or asexual. (And don't bring SNS into the mix when Kishi literally based them off his relationship with his twin brother, you naughty incest shippers! /s)

Oh, but the horror of shipping him with Sakura! In a horrible, terrible ship that barely has 50 fics to its name! Won't someone think of the poor Hashimada shippers who have almost ~2k fics on Ao3? Or Tobimada that blitzes well past it when Tobisaku has barely 120? Goodness gracious, someone save them!

I mean, who can ever think of shipping the poor Senju bros with a woman who didn't even exist in their era, who is usually transplanted via Genswap or time travel AU's? In fanworks that absolutely affect canon! Wow, she's such a threat! I mean, gosh, she's just soooo useless with how she became the strongest kunoichi in the Leaf, the greatest med-nin in the world after her master's retirement, who was so gosh-darn useless as the heroine! I mean, it's not like she could mesh well with Hashirama who's stated to have healing abilities greater than Tsunade! Oh, they'd never get along. And I bet she'd never get her foot through the door with Tobirama, especially since Sakura's expertise with biomedical sciences would grate so much against his own expertise in similar fields! And the fact that they share similar values just wouldn't do! Y'know, since their shared morals and desire to protect humanity and the village just wouldn't work! Awful, just awful.

Also... why on earth do you assume Tobirama would want to boink a test subject? I don't know about you, but that sounds awfully belittling despite how high of an esteem you hold for you him, supposedly. So what if she isn't test subject-worthy? I don't know about you, but I sure as hell wouldn't want to fuck someone I'm about to cut into, but that's just me. (And for the love of gods, don't bring Tobimada into this. Saying that every Tobimada shipper sees this as the sole reason they ship it is, again, pretty damn insulting to them lmao--)

Besides that, Sakura has invented jutsu before, my dear, pea-brained friend. She created Cherry Blossom Impact, drastically expanded on chakra-enhanced strength in the novels, devised the Delicate Illness Extraction Technique, a chakra radar, among others. But, again, if you dilute your reasons for shipping a pairing based on how much jutsu they've invented, who's being shallow here, exactly? The way I see it, Tobirama would want to be with someone intelligent who is strong enough to protect the village and who shares similar values as him. Why would he care about arbitrary things like how much he could experiment on? He's not Dr. Frankenfurter, please.

And even if people ship them because they self-insert in Sakura and want to ship her because she's the heroine and some rando, Founder or otherwise, is hot, who cares? This is fucking fandom. Shipping isn't activism or a career, and sure as hell doesn't add anything to canon except enjoyment in the fanbase. It's 2022 and it's too late in Naruto's existence to care about intellectual quandaries surrounding shipping, of all things. If you do, then good lord--see a therapist. Get a different hobby outside of fandom, it sounds like you need it.

But, thanks for being an amusing waste of time. I'll be sure to reflect on this when I continue writing my Foundersaku stories, buh-bye!

[leportraitducadavre]

The anti-Uchiha fandom seems to have reached the very end of its journey. Like no, seriously: not only do they go out of their way to use hashtags that are meant to be used by pro-fans in order to get a rise out of us, but they also obliterate actions performed by their so-called “faves” in order to demote the Uchiha even further.

So now, apparently, Madara planned for Izuna to die and steal his eyes (no, really! He did!) to get the infinite mangekyou sharingan -and Tobirama was nothing but a puppet that he used to fulfill his goal (when I tell you the man was a genius!).

Alright, he did renounce his friendship with Hashirama and screamed that he’ll never forgive anyone who dared to try to kill Izuna, but you don’t get it, it was all part of his plan! He knew he’ll need to train the younger sibling enough to be a match for him and his eyesight (the years he wasted!), then he either:

1) Made a clone of himself and henged it to look like Tobirama (who knows where the real Tobirama was at this point, maybe creating a Jutsu or discriminating against another minority).

2) He put the Senju under a genjutsu in the middle of the battlefield to control his movements to dispose of his baby brother.

3) Madara allowed Tobirama to hit him otherwise Madara would have reached them in time to save Izuna -not like Tobirama is skillful or he was busy with Hashirama, pft! Like, it’s so easy! Don’t you get it?

I mean, c’mon! Madara clearly hated his baby brother! He never says it tho, also he canonically saves him and threatens anyone who tries to kill him… he also abandons the battlefield when Izuna is wounded… and Hashirama explicitly said Madara loved Izuna -but he clearly hated him I swear!

They really do rather take away Tobirama’s accomplishment (killing one of the two best Uchiha warriors of that era), in order to hate on the Uchiha -not even Tobirama’s biggest stan (yes, you know who I’m talking about) and her alters found an issue with this, they read “Madara DID stole Izuna’s eyes” and immediately liked it -reading is for another time. Can’t believe I’m more respectful of Tobirama’s achievements than them.

[nekisui]

“SNS IS INCEST” DEBUNKED

hi guys, i wanted to write all of this on this post, but then i found out that on tumblr you can’t put more than 10 pics. so i’ll post here the posts that i posted on instagram (on naruto.fanon)

further notes:

[•] The manga pannels are with VIZ’s official translation.

[•] ib from ultrastormy-ocean on tumblr for the first analysis!

[•] Meaning of incest:

Incest is the human sexual activity between family members or close relative. This typically includes sexual activity between people in CONSANGUINITY (blood relations), and sometimes those related by affinity (marriage or stepfamily), adoption, clan, or lineage.

This means that even if Naruto and Sasuke had somewhat Indra and Ashura’s souls living inside them, it still wouldn’t be incest. The “soul incest” that antis invented, doesn’t exist no where. Some ppl also say that Sasuke and Naruto are distant cousins so it’s incest. The relation between clan Uzumaki and clan Senju is really old (and we don’t know how Kushina and Mito were related) and we actually don’t know how much distant Sasuke and Naruto are related (probably really a lot). However, incest is not incest anymore once has passed a lot of generations (Mito and Hashirama were distant relatives but it was still considered right to marry each other), and if we want to go by antis logic, even Naruhina is incest, bc Hyuga clan is related to Otsutsuki, and so are Senju and Uzumaki (Uzumaki in a undirected way).

[•] Long story short: Naruto and Sasuke doesn’t have Indra and Ashura’s souls, but their chakra and powers (waiting for the “chakra incest” as if chakra served something other than to keep alive and empower lol). They probably inherited also their roles, even tho i think they would have fight even wo all this destiny thing. With “roles” i don’t mean brother’s roles, but the role of one believing the power is everything, and the other believing that cooperation is the true solution.

•

[•] Translation of the interview is taken from “Me, Myself and I” on Tumblr.

[•] As I said before, due the meaning of “incest”, even if they would have been completely based on Kishi and Seishi, it still wouldn’t be incest.

[maddmuses]

I think there’s definitely a side-arc in the post-time skip where Itachi and the Konohagakure council come to a head against each other. Or possibly during the time skip.

For one, I do think that Itachi’s use of anbu to retrieve Sasuke is looked upon unfavorably, and it’s a bad look for the recently-declared Hokage’s younger brother to abruptly go rogue and join with an enemy of the village. It was certainly a big point of argument for why he wasn’t a suitable leader once he left, and his continued use of the village’s resources would seem suspicious.

Combined with the continued anti-Uchiha sentiment among them (something that he sees in their hearts, even if their mouths and faces say otherwise, they were students of Tobirama Senju and clearly act more in his ideals than Hashirama’s, pragmatic and realistic) and their willingness to attempt to overrule him and undermine him as a “child and a novice” in the ways of being a politician and a shinobi, it was only natural that they eventually came to blows.

Regardless of when it happens, it becomes a time of great tension. Even if the pair are both Jonin, and on a level that was once similar to Hiruzen Sarutobi, the likes of Itachi has no issue taking out two who were never quite up to being Hokage themselves, even if he takes an injury or two in the process. It creates a period of political strife in the village as it’s uncertain if there’s an attempt to overthrow the village by the Uchiha with their Hokage helming it.

But the fact is that Itachi declares Kakashi Hatake, Tsunade Senju, and Jiraiya as his new council, all figures who are practical, and at least two tend to be in the village at a time, though Tsunade definitely acts as the main balancing force against him in many issues. This likely puts a lot of the village at ease.

[justsomeoneunordinary]

Just a note, Tobirama DID step in between Butsuma and Hashirama in the manga. As i see him, he was a gentle brother, he will feel for Hashiramas pains and joys, he tells his brother everything he thinks, he wants to be close to his brother. Its not until Madara that Hashirama, and their relationship...changed.

As for Hashirama, he loves his brother and its clear his whole dream was because of him, but we dont have canon material on how young Hashirama shows that love to the real person.

Im not saying Tobirama and Sasuke were alike in personality, and similar neither are Hashirama and Itachi, but young Tobiramas gentle ways of always looking to his brother and KiNda was just brushed aside, plus his baby looks thats closer to an Uchiha than his family, strongly reminds me of young Sasuke while his brother was busying with his "big picture" goals. Maybe as Edo he really feels he was lacking in being a brother and thats why he praised both Itachi and Madara on being brothers.

Thanks for the correction! I had to look it up again, and yeah, first Butsuma punches Hashirama and Tobirama catches him but then Hashirama goes on provoking Butsuma (lmao what a king) and that’s when Tobirama steps in. Honestly forgot about that part, I only remembered the first part.

As for the rest… I don’t really see where you’re coming from. As I said, the founders era relies heavily on interpretation and if that’s how you interpret child Tobirama and child Hashirama, then good for you. I myself don’t see any canon evidence that Tobirama looked up to Hashirama in the same way Sasuke did to Itachi. If anything, we see wee Izuna looking up to his big bro. There’s no Sasuke-Itachi and Tobirama-Hashirama parallel I can see, sorry.

And when it comes to Tobirama, there’s even more mystery. We see him as a child calling grown ups dumb and how they just should just make a truce, and then there’s a time skip and he’s more than ready to kill the Uchiha, to kill Madara and doesn’t believe in the peace Hashirama wants to make. What happened? Who the fuck knows, we never get to see his thoughts, only when he props Naruto. What is going on in that head at any time is a mystery to all of us and thus free to interpretation. There’s no right or wrong. (Though, I personally think that antis and stans are equally wrong.)

“Maybe as Edo he really feels he was lacking in being a brother” <- this is where you have lost me. I don’t think that Hashirama was lacking in being a brother and that he thought so either. Canon shows us a rather cold relationship, but as I already stated, I reject that. They had their disagreements but we don’t really see them outside of that so I can imagine them in a loving brotherhood all I want. And yes, I do think Hashirama overreacted when he threatened Tobirama in that final Senju-Uchiha fight, but if him reacting a bit too emotional or rightfully calling Tobirama out when he’s being unfair toward the Uchiha is considered him being a bad brother, then I will point with the finger at Tobirama and say him yelling at Hashirama and insulting him and only listening to him when it’s an order is also being a bad brother. A relationship is a two-way street.

I’m not sure if this is what you were trying to do but if you came to me to point out how great and dutiful Tobirama is while Hashirama is the bad brother, then sorry, but you’re at the wrong address here.

[mira--mira]

When and why do you think Madara gave up the dream of the village, or did he have it in the first place? Since its implied that Hashirama tired to make peace the second he became clan head only for Madara to refuse him until Izuna's death. Why do you think it took Madara so long to agree when he dreamt of it with Hashirama when they were young. Or do you think that he was just humoring Hashirama when they were young and never had that dream?

Ooh I have a lot of thoughts on this! Okay, so first of all I whole-heartedly believe Madara and Hashirama shared the same dream when they were young. I’d even argue that Madara started to have it first. In Hashirama’s flashbacks (which my god, I wish we had Madara’s perspective on that so much) to me it seems like he’s frustrated with the fighting and the war but can’t quite vocalize the idea of peace. It’s when he meets back up with Madara and Madara tells him to trust someone you need to know their guts and presents that as the unlikely but ultimate way to make peace that Hashirama latches onto the idea and then they develop the idea for the village specifically together until it becomes their dream, and once Madara abandons it, becomes “only” Hashirama’s.

As for why Madara didn’t agree immediately when he became clan head, I have different two different theories, and a whole lot of realisitc overlooked complications. The first and most bitter theory is at this point in the overall narrative the ‘Uchiha are genetically pre-dispositioned to evil’ theme has picked up steam and the reincarnation reveal is right around the corner. To make Naruto’s ultimate triumph of ‘winning Sasuke back to the side of good’ the most meaningful, Hashirama and Madara (and Asura and Indra before them) had to fail by the narrative design. Naruto is the child of prophecy and the reincarnation of ninja jesus, he’s the Most Special right now. None of this is helped by the fact that we don’t get Madara’s side. We don’t know why Madara refused peace. If that was explained, if Madara even referenced it in his fight with Hashirama I would be less bitter and more inclined to believe there was actual narrative weight in that decision. But it’s not and while I love part 1 baby Naruto with all my heart, ever since the child of prophecy plot point was brought up and all throughout the war arc I am most happy when we are not following him because the world bends to accommodate him as the mc more than usual at the detriment to other characters.

Now for a not bitter theory, with the scraps were given and a lot of guessing lol. Madara’s decision not to accept peace immediately once he becomes clan head, should narratively tie into why he broke off his friendship with Hashirama in the first place. We know the river confrontation happened, but we don’t know how the Uchiha discovered was meeting Hashirama, or their reaction to it. Personally, I love good dad Tajima, but realistically I think his reaction would be similar to Butsuma’s. Madara would be threatened with being labeled a traitor to the clan. However, the real crux for me would be Izuna. Izuna is Madara’s main priority from what we can tell. If Tajima suggested, or threatened, that Madara’s meetings with Hashirama would directly lead to Izuna’s death...I can see that being a greater fear for him. Neither Madara or Hashirama would want to be banished from their clans but the knowledge that his friendship with Hashirama was the cause of his brother’s death would be the single worst outcome for Madara. Cue the actual river confrontation, with Tobirama and Izuna clashing and then both dads trying to kill the other’s kid that was Madara’s worst-case come true. I don’t think he went into the confrontation with the intention of breaking his friendship with Hashirama. They both tried to leave early to prevent the confrontation after all. But when it happened and Madara was faced with that...he did the only thing he could think to do to protect his brother even at the cost of his own happiness. The agony of that choice was the Sharingan moment for me. From there it gets blurry but the way I see Madara is he felt he couldn’t go back on that decision and he internalized it. He made it and getting close to Hashirama again, listening to him and accepting peace, would still ultimately lead to his brother’s death. This could explain why after Izuna died, he gave it one last go and when he was defeated ultimately accepted peace. His worst case had come true. Izuna’s dead and, in a twist of fate, he died because Madara chose to not to accept Hashirama’s friendship when he could. 

The above is kind of my “main” theory, directly from canon explanation. It gets complicated by other ideas that weren’t addressed at all, but would reasonably come up if the narrative was focused on this time rather than Hashirama’s entire backstory being just that, a backstory. We know the Uchiha and Senju had been at war for generations and the overall terrible conditions of the Warring State Period as well as how ninja clans were hired as mercenaries...beyond that...there’s not a lot. A major consideration to Madara not accepting peace should be the political climate. Were there multiple daimyos (I ask this because the Warring States period was analogous to Japan’s Sengoku period and there were multiple daimyos fighting for power. Who would have the money/need to hire multiple clans to fight against each other if there was just one?) was there just one? Madara is the leader of a clan but he can’t just decide to do things if it would possibly jeopardize the Uchiha’s ability to work, get paid, and eat. Then you have the politics of the clans themselves. There were Uchiha defectors and they were at least willing to accept peace, but we get no indication about the clan’s changing attitude towards the Senju or peace. After being grievously injured, Izuna was still against it. There could have been a group that was completely anti-peace and a group that was pro-peace and how would Madara reconcile with that especially if he wasn’t a beloved leader? I do think Madara as clan head could make the decision ‘we’re making peace with the Senju’ but then forcing two enemy clans to cohabitate that hate each other...even if they were tired of war Madara would be risking his clan’s wellbeing on Hashirama’s word. I think Madara could believe Hashirama but the rest of the Senju? That’s a different question altogether and raises it’s own concerns. 

The concept of making peace and creating the village is a complicated matter, much more so than two boys declaring they’ll be the strongest so everyone has to listen to them. I really think this point in the narrative just kind of...had to exist with the way Kishi wrote the story esp with the upcoming Indra/Ashura parallels. Realistically there would have been a lot of reasons Madara couldn’t immediately accept peace even if he wanted to. These could have been hinted at, but because I think the ultimate goals of the backstory was 1. to lay out Madara’s villain origin and 2. to hint at Hashirama failed where Naruto will succeed and all of this has to be delivered as quickly and effectively as possible, those other possible reasons weren’t explored. I would have liked a line or two of dialogue between Hashirama and Madara about this, especially whenever Madara mentions Konoha isn’t his dream and ground it in realistic obstacles rather than ‘space alien goddess’ will manipulating him for x amount of time’ but...you know.

Hashirama and Madara’s relationship was well developed and great, but Naruto suffers the mot imo when realistic longstanding problems come up, especially if they’re problems caused by historical events or the current socio-political climate. The biggest evidence of this is...what were the great shinobi wars about? Why did they start? What were they fought over? When did they end? What were their consequences? It’s...surprisingly hard to answer these vital questions and “why didn’t Madara immediately accept peace?” ultimately falls into the same category for me. 

This is all from Madara’s perspective and tbh I could write a whole thing about why Hashirama was so gung-ho about immediate peace and the pro/cons of that but this is already way too long lol.

[villainess-noble-girl]

«────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ──────»

Title: Second-Year Valentine's Day

Author: meiberry

Link: https://m.fanfiction.net/s/12852677/1/Second-Year-Valentine-s-Day

Fandom: Kenkyo Kenjitsu

Pairing: EnjouXReika

Photo: https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/67148847

«────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ──────»

"No. I'm not going to take it. It's going to make me sleepy. Plus it tastes like soap."

The muffled voice of Yukino came from beneath the covers. The IV drip tube poked out from the ball of sheets in the hospital bed.

Shuusuke sighed at his little brother's stubborn actions. Good thing he came prepared for this. "Yukino. Kisshouin-san wrote you a letter."

The ball of sheets shifted, and Yukino's head popped out from beneath the covers, his doe peering up at Enjou in surprise. "...Reika-oneesama?"

Shuusuke held up a small pink envelope with "Yukino-kun" written in neat handwriting in the center. Yukino reached for it when Shuusuke swept it back out of reach with a gentle smile.

"..." Sullenly, Yukino obediently drank the medicine. Watching as he finished it, Shuusuke patted his head and handed him a glass of water with a piece of candy to take care of the medicine's bitter aftertaste. Yukino popped the candy in his mouth with one hand and eagerly held out the other, looking up at Shuusuke expectantly. Shuusuke handed him the letter and watched as his little brother opened it earnestly.

In the beginning, Shuusuke was pretty surprised to see him get along so well with an older girl. Usually, Yukino was not so nice. He was a really smart kid for his young age, and many older girls had been trapped by his soft, harmless facade only to be humiliated and insulted beyond repair. But recently, Shuusuke found that with Kisshouin, Yukino seemed to genuinely act like his appearance.

Shuusuke could see why. Kisshouin clearly didn't have any ulterior motives when speaking to Yukino. Older girls usually saw Yukino as a means to an end. If they weren't patronizing then they were obsequious, obviously trying to use the younger brother to get to the older one. But when it came to Kisshouin… if anything, it was as if her treatment of the two brothers was reversed. In the ten years of knowing her, the very first time that Kisshouin started a one-on-one conversation with Shuusuke that lasted longer than one minute happened to be because Yukino. It was a dreadfully humbling experience. Yukino has sure put up with a lot these past few years.

In any case, no matter how devilish he was to other people, in the end, Yukino really was still a little boy, and Shuusuke was simply grateful that he was able to be just a normal, cute kid with someone, even if it was a girl who clearly didn't put Shuusuke in her eyes.

He watched peacefully as his little brother's eyes happily flew across the letter.

"Kisshouin-san really cares about Yukino."

Yukino shot a glance over at him, "What? Is oniisama jealous?" And then he continued reading his letter.

"And don't think that I don't realize you told her to write this to make me obediently stay in the hospital."

Shuusuke smiled wryly. When he could tell Yukino was finished reading, he continued, "Well, Yukino seems to really like Kisshouin-san. I thought maybe you would listen if she asked you personally."

Yukino smiled, happy from finishing Kisshouin's letter. "Yeah, I do like her. Reika-oneesama is really nice and she's not just pretending. Do you want to read it, oniisama? I'll let you read it, since you asked her to write this for me. I'm going to the bathroom."

Yukino handed the letter to Shuusuke as he climbed out of bed and grabbed at his drip stand to roll it into the bathroom in the room.

Shuusuke blinked at the letter in his hands. Although he didn't ask to read it, he was honestly pretty curious. What did she say to Yukino to cheer him up, anyways?

The letter was not very long, and it fit neatly on the cute stationary decorated with little birds and vines.

Yukino-kun,

Enjou-sama told me that you are admitted to the hospital. I am worried for your health. Your family must be even more worried than me. I hope you take care of your body because many people care about you very much, and we want for you to quickly become well again. With that said, I hope you listen to the doctor so that you can leave the hospital soon. I know that sometimes it is really hard to do something you don't like. But experts have their reasons for their advice.

Recently I have been learning to make desserts from a friend. To be honest, my dessert-making skill is much farther behind my cooking. I think I know what to do when I try to be creative and individual with my own ideas, but actually, my friend tells me that the greatest mistake in baking is not following from the recipe. This is completely different from cooking, where not following the recipe is not that big of a deal. When I listened to my friend, I made a dessert more delicious than anything I'd ever made in my life! I realized at that moment, ah, so that is the difference between a normal person and an expert. With that said, I hope you understand the importance of listening to experts such as your doctor.

When you come back, you'll be able to see your other friends and me in the Petite Pivoine salon again.

Wishing you a quick recovery,

Kisshouin Reika

By the time Yukino returned from the bathroom, Shuusuke had already finished reading the letter and had set it on the tray over the foot of Yukino's bed.

"So, what did you think of Kisshouin-san's letter? Are you going to listen to her when she asks to you listen to to doctor's advice?"

"I guess." Yukino sat at the foot of the bed and picked up the letter again, folding it and carefully putting it back in its envelope before he flopped back into bed, pulling the covers over himself. "The way she asks me to listen to the doctor is just less irritating than when you ask me to listen to the doctor."

Shuusuke helped put the covers over Yukino.

"I wonder why Reika-oneesama is learning to make desserts." Yukino looked at Shuusuke, his eyes widening. "Valentine's Day is coming up, isn't it? I wonder what Reika-oneesama is making…"

"Hmm. Who knows."

"I wonder if she's learning to bake something for the person she likes..."

"Hmm. Who knows."

Yukino's eyes widened like big dark marbles as he looked at Shuusuke.

"You're curious, too, aren't you oniisama? Ne, ne, what kinds of sweets has oniisama received from Reika-oneesama on Valentine's day?"

"Actually, I've never received anything from Kisshouin-san on Valentine's Day."

"Ehhhhh!"

Shuusuke thought about how in the ten years since he's known Kisshouin Reika, she has never given anyone Valentine's chocolates. Year after year, the whole school secretly held its breath in wonder at who the Goddess Kali of Suiran would afflict with her attentions. And year after year the answer was an anti-climatic… nobody.

Kisshouin Reika never gave anybody at Suiran chocolates for Valentine's day. Him and Masaya were not excluded.

Ah, wait, that's not right. Last year she gave courtesy chocolates to the student council president. In fact, Shuusuke was the one who pointed this out to Masaya... Even though she had done it in secret, for Kisshouin Reika to give chocolates to a guy at Suiran was no small matter and in the end the word leaked anyways. Because she had done it pretty secretively, there were no massive rumours, but the thing about secrets was that they always spread. Shuusuke heard about it from the more low-key sources.

Back then, he had remembered how she seemed to have had a crush on the same student council president back in middle school, but nothing had happened even after all these years. For nothing to have happened all this time, what other conclusion was it other than unrequited love? He hinted at this story of camaraderie to Masaya in hopes of inspiring him to move on with his life. Unrequited love was not the end of the world. Just look at Kisshouin-san.

Who knew that the whole thing would have worked out so beautifully at graduation. Tomoe Senju actually had a girlfriend! And he called Kisshouin Reika a sister in front of everybody. Masaya was so moved by Kisshouin's composure and courage. Shuusuke felt like he was watching Masaya watch a romance movie. Out of all the times that he's taken advantage of Kisshouin, Shuusuke felt most proud about the way that one turned out. Witnessing the way Kisshouin "handled" the student council president's "public rejection" totally inspired Masaya and brought him back from depression. He completely recovered from Yurie's rejection after that.

Yukino's marble eyes seemed to glitter in wonder as he looked up at the handsome young man sitting beside the bed.

"Wow, even though every year it seems like you get chocolates from every single girl we know, there is actually one girl who has never given you any chocolates… not even once! Hehhh..."

Yukino did not look or sound sympathetic at all with the the corner of his lips twitching upwards.

"That reminds me... when we first met and I introduced myself, Reika-oneesama made a 'geh!' face when she heard my name, like she was really saddened to hear that Oniisama was my oniisama... I thought that maybe she hated you!"

"Hmm. I sure hope Kisshouin-san doesn't hate me. But if she does hate me, then that's unfortunate."

"No, no. I don't think Reika-oneesama hates you, Oniisama! She probably doesn't even think about you at all."

"..." Shuusuke's expression remained serene as he stayed silent.

Yukino looked at his face and suddenly giggled. Shuusuke joined in with a few chuckles. For a short moment, they laughed together.

"Ahahaha…"

"Hahaha…"

"..."

"..."

Yukino turned over in bed. "Don't worry, oniisama. Maybe one day Reika-oneesama will also remember to give you chocolates, too."

"..."

"Oh yeah, oniisama, could you find me something to write with? I want to write Reika-oneesama a reply."

"...Alright. I'll go find you some paper."

The next morning, Shuusuke thanked Kisshouin for her letter to Yukino. She looked really happy that it helped. Yeah, it was really useful. She was pretty humble.

"Yukino said that it was fun to read about making sweets."

"I could only think of unimportant things to say… well..."

Hm, there it was. Shuusuke could always hear the instant whenever it sounded like Kisshouin was trying to wrap up a conversation and escape. Usually, he'd just let her go. But for some reason, he didn't feel like it this time. The words Yukino said yesterday skipped around his mind, reviving an old and annoying itch.

"So Kisshouin-san is making sweets. Could it be that on Valentine's day..."

"Umm…" He watched as Kisshouin's eyes lowered, her cheeks blushing very lightly. He could imagine her cheeks must have been warm to the touch now. "Yes..."

"Hn."

It'd be a lie to say that he never expected any chocolates from Kisshouin Reika. It wasn't to say that he wanted her chocolates or anything like that. In fact, the idea of actually eating Kisshouin Reika's handmade sweets seemed like something that belonged to the realms of extreme adventures and chemically dangerous thrill-seeking. Although, whether or not Reika's chocolates are edible, Shuusuke wouldn't want to eat them anyways, as he didn't have a sweet tooth, but...

...He still expected to get them.

It was about logic. If a girl knew Enjou Shuusuke, then she would give him chocolates on Valentine's day. (The same applied to Kaburagi Masaya.) Three of five of chocolates would be honmei. That was the rule. He knew it was a very unique and extraordinary rule. Certainly not every boy in the world had the ridiculous privilege of receiving a mountain of chocolates and sweets from all the girls he knew. But, that was his experience.

In accordance with his life experience, it was natural to expect chocolates from a girl he knew when he's always received chocolates from every girl he knew. With no exceptions.

Except this one.