The beginning of fall was welcomed by the village. Rich colored leaves fell from the trees, resting against the ground in a patchwork blanket. Sen was waiting on Madara to finish his work so that he could finally show her his favorite spot in Konohagakure. She passed time by cleaning her house and flipping through the pages of a novel, skimming the words nonchalantly. Madara swung by an hour before sunset and led her to the face of what Tobirama had called "Hokage Mountain."

"I expected a little more, not gonna lie, Madara," she announced unimpressed as she looked at the rock wall in front of them.

He rolled his eyes playfully and grumbled, "Follow me, dummy."

The shinobi began walking up the cliff face and Sen followed close behind. She chuckled lightly at how cute he was as she thought: He may be an infamous Uchiha, but Madara is really a big softie. I'm thankful to see this side of him so frequently.

They reached the top of the mountain and Madara stood at the edge, taking a long look over the expanse of the city. He spoke quietly, "Konohagakure has grown exponentially; however, sometimes I worry if it will survive..."

"What do you mean?"

He shuffled a rock with his foot, looking down at the ground. He answered, "Sometimes I feel that Konoha is a failed experiment. The way the other clans look at the Uchiha in disgust, the way they isolate us... It makes me wonder if there's a future for the Uchiha in the Village Hidden in the Leaves."

"Your clan will always have the Hyuga as allies. I'll see to it myself if I have to."

He smiled and threw an arm around her shoulders before pulling her close to his side. Her head leaned against his shoulder and she relaxed as they watched the sun dip low. The sky burned a fiery red color, wrapping the world in a warm hue.

Sen chuckled, "The sky is an Uchiha tonight."

"What a Sharingan she has," Madara replied good-naturedly.

"It's really beautiful, honestly..." Sen spoke as her eyes were glazed over.

He nodded and agreed that the sky was beautiful. However, she shook her head and said, "No, no... The Sharingan. It's thrilling, mysterious, and powerful."

"You're forgetting tragic," Madara added in a low voice.

A cool autumn air blew past them, blowing both of their long hair around wildly. Sen turned to look up at Madara, her eyes expressing a bit of regret. However, he wasn't angry one bit. He smiled sadly to her and spoke, "It's just the nature of our Kekkai Genkai. No need to be apologetic. But yes, it is unnaturally beautiful."

They were silent for a while after, watching the sky paint a lovely scene above them. As the stars began appearing, Sen lay back onto the grass and let out a content sigh. Madara joined her shortly after, his wild hair falling in her face as he plopped down. She moved the long strands out of her eyes but continued running her fingers through it gently. His eyes were closed as she did this, a pleased smile playing on his mouth. I wonder if he's happy, Sen thought nervously. I hope he is. More than anything.

With his eyes still closed, Madara told her that Hashirama had the idea to carve the faces of the Hokage into the side of this mountain as a reminder of the people that they were safe here. That sounds exactly like Hashirama, she thought. He's such an idealist, such a fountain of optimism. And I guess it makes sense now as to why Tobirama calls this Hokage Mountain.

"I think that's a wonderful idea. It would be a lovely reminder to our people. What do you think?"

He rolled onto his side and gave her a lopsided grin. He revealed, "Hashirama wanted me to be the First Hokage, but Tobirama disagreed. So we left it to a vote with the villagers... Hashirama hasn't mentioned the sculpture idea since winning the vote; maybe he decided he doesn't want his goofy face on the side of a mountain for the rest of time." He laughed gently after.

"Hashirama and you share a special rivalry. It's still so incredible that you two were able to come to peace, not only for the sake of the Senju and the Uchiha, but for all of us... the Sarutobi, the Hyuga, the Shimura, the Onikuma, the Uzumaki, the Kurama."

After planting a long kiss on top of her head, Madara replied to her, "Thank you, my dear."

Meeting you has made all of this worth it, Sen Hyuga, he thought, not taking his eyes off her pretty face as she watched the stars endlessly twinkle.

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best friends 4 ever