Chapter Text
"Nii-san!" Izuna grabs his brother, extracting him from the metal claw as fast as possible. "Nii-san!"
None of them expected this, that nii-san would immediately shut down the Matrix, forcibly unplugging every member of humanity, but they should have. It was the whole reason Izuna wanted to get his brother out in the first place - his conviction that nii-san would rather live in reality than a lie.
The matrix is a dream, a beautiful one, but an illusion all the same, and nii-san prizes truth.
But, as a result, every single ship in Zion has been called out and they're fishing people out of the water as fast as they can, before all the humans they've been fighting so hard to save drown. Still, with Hikaku piloting and Tōka supervising the Hiraishin’s part in the rescue, they can spare the time for this, for Izuna to hug his brother and hold his family close.
"So, Anija." Tobirama wraps a blanket around Hashirama's shivering form, tall and thin, so unlike the broad tree of a man they saw in the Matrix. "Have I told you about the glory incarnate that is our lord and saviour, Uchiha Izuna?"
"What." Nii-san coughs out the word, disbelief all over his face, and Izuna groans.
Trust the stupid nickname Tobirama gave him to stick.
It spread all over the Resistance when they figured out he was the only one able to bring nii-san back and, after this stunt, Izuna is sure it'll never go away.
But that doesn't mean he has to accept it without protest.
"Shut up!" He punches his lover on the shoulder, ignoring the way Tobirama laughs at him. "You are such an asshole!"
"It's nice to see some things haven't changed," nii-san smiles at them, and it's good to see, even if it's pale and wan. "Even here, in reality."
And yeah, nii-san is right.
It's really, really, good.