A second chance in a new world

3

As Madara left the building an image flashed before his eyes, one of the teachers, she had dark hair, and was wearing a costume that would have been embarrassing had Madara been attracted to women. The woman's face had been soft with concern and the words she spoke echoed around in his head, "Are you okay?" Madara couldn't remember the last time someone had asked him that question.

A memory flashed before his eyes, he couldn't have been older than five. he was running, playing a game with his brothers, when he tripped, fell, and scraped his knee. His mother came rushing towards him, even though he had received worse injuries in battle, her voice was soft with concern. She had long dark hair, and was as much a warrior as a mother, her hands were calloused from handling weapons, but they were warm. Comforting, as they helped him up. "Are you okay?"

Such a simple sentence. Only three words. But as Madara arrived at his "home" he felt his stomach twist. The woman ever so slightly resembled his mother. 

She doesn't know me.

The moment she sees what I am, she'll get scared. Angry. Disgusted.

Her concern is a lie. There can be no other explanation. No one would ever care about him if they knew him.

Madara sighed, it didn't matter, there was still a week until school, and he wasn't quite sure what to do. Until he heard a meow. It was small. Quiet. Pathetic. But Madara turned to face the tiny cat. It had a matted pelt, straight black, the color of his hair. The cat's ribs could be seen easily through the animals messy fur and thin skin. Madara sighed and put out a bit of the deer that he had killed earlier. (yes with his bare hands, such creatures were not worth using a sword). The cat ate ravenously, clearly on the brink of starvation, and Madara sighed. 

What a sad creature. Even so, Madara picked the cat up, walked into town, and bought some milk and a soft bed for it. When Madara set the bed and cat down, he heated a rock with a small katon jutsu, poured some milk into a wooden saucer that he quickly made and placed it on the hot rock to warm. Madara then looked around the single room of his house and decided that if this would be his home, he would need some furniture. He started with a simple table, it was low to the ground, very traditional. Madara decided that he would buy some tatami mats to kneel on. Madara then raised a small bit of floor where he could put a futon, he placed the cat bed at the foot of the rise. then he walked over to the other corner and made a small cabinet where he put the small amount of plates that he had made over the amount of time that he had spent in the new world. beneath the cupboard he cleared the wood from the floor and made a hole, surrounding it with rocks, to create a controlled indoor fire pit, he added a chimney to go with it, and set up a way to hang a teapot above it, making a silent decision to buy one soon.

After a quick shopping trip his home was complete. 

Five nights until the first day.

Five mornings he woke up screaming.

On the first day of school Madara slipped into the uniform that he had been given, it was a little wrinkled, his tie was messy, and his shirt only partially tucked with the blazer thrown loosely on top. He had washed it with water from the river and soap he had bought. Madara looked down at the cat, he had painstakingly washed it and its fur shone in the morning sun. After he fed the cat, he absentmindedly noticed that he would need a name for it. 

"Izuna" the name hurt to say, after so much time reliving their worst moments, mostly on his younger brothers death bed, but he wanted to remember all their best times too. Playing when they were younger, how Izuna was always so perky, so excitable, so happy, so kind. The way that Madara would "introduce" his younger brother to their koi pond when Izuna got on his nerves. Madara gave a small smile and left.