Chapter Text
To be frank, Sasuke didn’t want to be left alone with the former Shodaime, because he’s heard many stories about him, most of them divulging that the man was overexcitable, easy to become depressed, and protective of his kin.
He hated it.
It reminded him too much of what he didn’t deserve anymore — that is, Sasuke didn’t believe he deserved overflowing love and care. (It’s still hard for him to accept that anyone cares for him, especially after his pardoning post-Fourth Shinobi War.)
He tries to distance himself from the man, but his dear best friend Uzumaki Naruto decides it’s a great idea to send them both on a mission together, and Sasuke? Sasuke has no outright way to refuse the proposal without forcing Hashirama to his depressed state. His brother Tobirama told him to ignore it, but it makes Sasuke uncomfortable seeing the founder of the village so… down. So he accepts anyways.
He gets a bad feeling from it — his intuition has very rarely been wrong — but he elects to ignore it.
Because the Shodaime is strong, and he himself is not someone he’d call weak, and the two of them together he reckons could be a powerhouse.
Yet, everything seems to go wrong.
He spots a rogue nin hiss and leap at the back of the exposed Shodaime, and he moves instinctively.
The sword impales him and he collapses.
He suddenly gets a sense of deja vu… It reminds him of his first serious mission with Naruto where he took multiple senbon to the back to protect the idiotic blond boy that’s now his closest friend and confidant.
Hashirama reminds him of Naruto.
Maybe that’s why he pushed him away in the first place.
Because he thoroughly believed he didn’t deserve to have someone so bright as Naruto care about him, and because Hashirama was so similar, he distanced himself because he only seems to hurt those he loves.
It’s a terrifying thought, really.
His eyes flutter and he vaguely hears the panicked and angry tone in the Shodaime’s voice as he holds the raven in his arms.
He smiles. “Sorry,” he whispers out, eyes closing shut.
Hashirama howls.
Destruction is left in his wake.