WARNING : Lots of OCs ahead. This might have deviated from the original inspiration but then again, since when did I stick to the plans?


People said that you'd only appreciate someone when they were gone.

The people were right.


Uchiha Hikaku was the first to realise it.

He returned from a patrol bearing a large bleeding wound from the clash against rogue ninjas from Wind Country that attempted to intrude their borders. Once they arrived behind the half-constructed gates, Hikaku waved off his teammates, assuring the concerned Sarutobi that he would be fine on his own and the team should go back to their own clan compound to get proper treatments and rest. The reports could wait until tomorrow, considering that they have eliminated the threat and there was no need to wake the Hokage for such nonsense.

Plus, Senju Hashirama still terrify Hikaku senseless. To rouse the man at this hour of the night was the last thing the Uchiha wished to do, moreover the whole village already knew how much of cranky grump the God's little brother was.

Hikaku has no wish to test whether Madara's cranky morning manner was a family trait or not.

Hikaku clutched a hand over the makeshift bandage of his wound, mind sluggish with exhaustion and blood loss as he let his body moved on auto-pilot. His body traced the familiar path while his sluggish mind attempted to elevate his pain with memories of soothing relief washing over his body.

"—door?"

Hikaku blinked at the far-fetched voice, finally realising that his body has brought him to Izuna's front door.

"Uh?" Hikaku blurted out, still confused upon seeing Izuna.

Why did he come here again?

Izuna sighed and pinched his brows. "I ask, what the fuck are you doing bleeding all over my front door?"

Something in Hikaku's subconscious rebelled, knowing that this reaction was not the usual reception he would get whenever he headed this way. His mind remembered a tiny concerned frown, pale hands that were surprisingly gentle would then held him, aiding him to sit before the hands glowed green and relief relief relief relief

His subconscious urged him to walk inside the house, headed straight down the hallway to the room at the farthest end.

Comfort. Comfort, there. Heal.

His delirious subconscious urged him.

But Hikaku didn't move, his sluggish mind fought to remain awake despite all the blood loss. Relying on the pain to stay awake, Hikaku swallowed and looked past Izuna's shoulder to the dark hallway. He didn't walk inside. Despite the door that Izuna has left open, despite the way his injured body yearned for the comfort that his saner mind knew would never receive, despite the dangerous blood loss he was suffering—Hikaku didn't walk in.

The source of his comfort was gone.

"I—," Hikaku started, grimacing at Izuna's confused stare.

I'm hurt, and I want to see Tobirama?

He is the only healer-nin in the clan. I need him.

My body seeks comfort from our dead demon's hands?

Hikaku couldn't say that to Izuna. There was no one else among their clan that hated their former Clan Head more than the man's own little brother.

"I wasn't thinking where I was going."

He settled for that, grimacing wider when Izuna rolled the achingly familiar ruby eyes.

When the grumbling and obviously annoyed Izuna braced Hikaku's collapsing weight with his body and zero gentleness, Hikaku mustered all his strength to not groan in pain.

The new Clan Heir was already missing the soothing relief of the dead demon's glowing hands.


Being parents was a bad idea.

Holding the wailing babe in their hands, Uchiha Masami looked up to her equally exhausted husband, channeling her best accusing glare to the man.

"This is your fault," the woman hissed, pulling the child closer to her chest and away from her husband's hands. "Takuma, I fully blame you."

"But we agreed!" Takuma choked, almost wailing in distress himself if not because of his years as a shinobi during the warring states era that sharpened his senses to know that the action will only increase the wrath of his wife. "You agreed to have kids!"

"I didn't expect it to be this hard!" she growled, making the wailing babe in her arms to hiccup before crying even louder.

"It shouldn't…," Takuma murmured softly, voice drowned by the wailing of his own child.

It used to be easy to have kids.

Never before Takuma ever heard the parents of their clan whined and complained at the horror of raising a child. Everything was so easy. They trained and conducted their duties, perfectly fine leaving their children under the free offered care of—oh.

Oh, indeed.

It used to be easy to have kids because they were not the ones raising their children.

The Uchiha's infamous 'cousins-bond' existed for a reason after all.

They were once shinobi of one of the largest and strongest clans in the warring nation. They bred to create new soldiers instead of raising the symbol of their love. Fathers were barely around, being called to join the battle every time it happened—and most often, they hardly returned the same man they once were, if they returned at all. Mothers were only around until the child weaned before they too, been called to join the battle—the Uchiha did not discriminate their military power—and just like their men, most often these hardened kunoichi returned as different women, if they returned at all.

So, what of the children?

The children incapable of fighting was left together in one house, protected with the strongest barrier seals and wards, cared under the supervision of the older children and some of the elders, growing up as one large unit of siblings without their biological parents around.

During the era Masami and Takuma first joined the battle, the children were left at the Clan Head's house, protected by deadly barriers so impossible to penetrate and guarded by a massive white leopard with gleaming ruby eyes.

No child has ever been hurt in an unsuspected ambush during the reign of the Uchiha Demon.

Whenever a party was foolish enough to take the advantage of the absent warriors in the compound to attack the children, the leopard stood its ground and protected their children for them. Later of the day, the Uchiha would return from the battlefield—worn and weary from their harsh day—only to be greeted with a pile of dismembered limbs around the Clan Head's house. The sickening crunch of massive jaw chomping on human's bones echoed throughout the perimeter as the smug white leopard bounded over to greet their Clan Head with an affectionate nuzzle to his thigh.

The children were safely inside the house, shielded from the horror outside.

It used to terrify the whole clan.

But now the new parents wished that they still have that easy way out of this horror they have brought upon themselves.

Who would expect that child-rearing would be such a tedious job? Moreover, in this time of peace?

Masami belatedly realised that throughout the whole decade of the demon's reign, the clan have left their children under his fierce care. They spent more time to train, they assigned more people for patrols and sent out more agents to spy the enemies during the Demon's era because they have no worries of raising their children.

Most of their young children grew up recognising the nooks and crannies of the Clan Head's house.

Uchiha Tobirama basically, and single-handedly raised the clan's children.

Takuma only now realised the reasons behind the children's reluctance when their parents ordered them to never speak to their demon of a Clan Head unless if it was really necessary. The children have looked so hurt upon being inflicted with that restriction, like their own parents have taken something so important from them for no reason at all.

And they did. They took Tobirama away from the children.

Masami internally winced, the dawning realisation had her to make sense of her nephew's rebellious behaviour.

"Oh, poor little thing."

She turned around, struggling to hold her squirming child still to meet the gaze of her rebellious nephew.

"Kagami," she greeted with a grunt. "You're home early."

"The team is not in the mood to train," Kagami explained, the sorrow still prominent in his eyes even after two months of the demon's death. "The weather is warm and nice today."

Masami exchanged a look with her husband, wondering how the hell that information was even relevant.

"Shishou loved to take a nap when the weather is warm and nice. He liked the feeling of the sun against his skin," the boy explained, probably detecting his guardians' confusion, his voice was soft as a tiny melancholic smile grew on his face. "We used to get a free pass out of training on days like this."

Masami swallowed. Takuma hid a wince.

They didn't know that.

Who would have expected that the demon would have such human and inane habit?

The new parents could only watch in bewilderment as Kagami reached out to gather their squirming infant into his arms and just like the feat of sorcery, the babe's high-pitched wailing mellowed down to tiny sniffles as Kagami rocked her in his arms, carrying the little bundle of horror in an aimless circuit around the kotatsu before he laid down on the floor, the yawning babe cradled against his chest.

Sorcery. This is sorcery.

Masami and Takuma have taken the whole morning attempting to do what Kagami just did in under five minutes.

"Kagami," Masami called, kneeling beside her nephew's head, eyes were staring in awe at the way the little horror yawned adorably against the boy's chest, chubby cheek nestled against Kagami's heart. "How do you know what to do with her?"

Kagami's eyes carried that intense sorrow and pain no child his age should feel.

"Because I see shishou do it like this," Kagami murmured softly, burying his face in his cousin's soft hair as he exhaled a choked laugh. "But it used to be a bunch of children piling on top of him. Not that shishou mind, though," he snorted, voice dripping into the melancholic far-fetched tone again as his glazed eyes stared at the ceiling, looking at something neither of his guardians could see. "Shishou always smiled—like he enjoyed being crushed underneath a pile of children—said that it helped him recover," Kagami smiled again, adding with a more humorous note in his voice; "I named it the Cuddlepile technique. Perfect to soothe weary bones after a long battle. "

Masami gaped.

Takuma closed his mouth, swallowing his own question with much difficulty.

The image of the silver-haired demon, lying on the floor and smiled while having a pile of children on top of him haunted their mind.

It was too human.

The imagination that their mind wrought upon them showed the demon under a more human light, so harmlessly human that they have to hide their collective wince, remembering their own words that discouraged those children from ever speaking to the Clan Head again the moment they were old enough to leave his protection and fight as soldiers.

And now, they no longer have the chance to see the more human side of the demon.

Masami and Takuma felt the regret and guilt settled down in their chest.


Uchiha Sachiko outlived both of his son and grandson.

Yes, grandson.

Late as it was, the ancient woman finally swallowed her ego and accepted the bastard child of her son to be of her own bloodline.

What would ego do her any good now as she faded from the eyes of the youth—yet another relic of their bloody past that put a burden on their young shoulders? They have moved on into this era of peace, only carrying old baggage like her out of respect to her as the 'mother' of the clan, the matriarch of their Clan Head. She felt their insincerity from their quick efficient touches. The way they bowed too politely at her once they were done managing her needs—their onyx eyes lacking the warmth she used to take for granted, the warmth that used to pool in smouldering ruby eyes—as they left in hurry, returning to their business.

They managed her with the highest quality of care, but they lacked the warmth and love her old soul yearned for.

When her caretaker's efficient quick hands deftly cleaned her of her soiled bedding and clothes, she imagined the hesitant yet gentle pale hands that used to carefully clean her up. From the depths of her deteriorating memories, she remembered the tender care of his hands as he applied the soothing lotion over her dry skin, the way he carefully lifted her up so that he could slip her kimono onto her bony fragile body and she regretted, she regretted the cold ungrateful words she had thrown his way.

She regretted the tantrums she threw, the food that she so carelessly hurled his way—and he didn't evade, allowing the bowl to leave a bruise on his pale face—Sachiko regretted everything, now that she knew that her demon of a grandson was the only one in the whole clan who was patient enough to love and care for a senile old woman like her.

She was old, almost reaching a century of life—she would be, in two more years—and most people would have been proud to live that long in the era where shinobi's life usually didn't go past thirty, but all that she wanted now was to die.

She wanted to meet her grandson again.

She wanted to kneel by his feet and begged him for forgiveness—begged him to love and care for her again.

She missed his tender care and gentle touches.

She missed the loving softness of his ruby eyes despite the ungrateful abuse she spat to his face.

She missed him. She missed Tobirama dearly.

"Obaa-sama," Izuna sighed, brows pinching near the centre of his forehead. "Please be reasonable. I'm busy. The duties of a Clan Head demand my attention. I can't constantly accompany you."

"You can do the work here," Sachiko pleaded, grasping Izuna's hand with all of the strength her old frail bones could muster.

Izuna frowned. "I can't do that, Obaa-sama. I'm the Clan Head."

Lies. Lies. Lies. Tobirama accompanied me. Tobirama did his paperwork here. He was a Clan Head too.

"I'll have someone to accompany you for lunch," Izuna sighed again, looking exasperated. "Would that be acceptable? I have works to do."

I want my grandson to eat with me.

But she reluctantly nodded.

Izuna has always taken after Tajima—and she knew her son. Tajima would not yield from his decision once he has made it.

Tobirama's existence within the clan's compound was the proof. Tajima did not bend to any suggestions that she and his elder councils have attempted to force him to agree—the suggestion to take the boy's eyes and left him with a civilian family somewhere.

Tajima has shot down that suggestion before they could even insist.

Knowing that, there was no chance for her to plead Izuna to accompany her for the rest of the afternoon.

Sachiko held back her tears until Izuna left.

She missed her other grandson—the one who sat to eat with her as often as he could, even when all that she did was threw a tantrum and spat hurtful words to his face.

She missed the one who displayed warmth while managing her needs, caring for her without hesitance or complains.

She missed the grandson who looked at her with all the love a devoted grandson would have to a worthy grandmother, despite the fact that Sachiko was far from having an ounce of worth to deserve his love.

She missed Tobirama dearly.

Sachiko wept for her dead grandson.


Hatake Sakuno knew that she wasn't supposed to intrude another clan's compound.

The village was still new and green, and despite the warm welcome from the Uchiha and the Senju, the smaller clans were still wary, scared that they will cross any unknown lines that will anger the two powerful clans. The Hatake was especially wary of the Uchiha—knowing that the late Uchiha Demon was partly theirs, born from the middle princess of their clan.

Sakuno never understood why her clan was wary to introduce her Tobi.

Tobi was her cousin. He was much bigger and older, but he was her cousin from their mother's side and she liked to play with him. He played stupid games with her whenever he could—and she appreciated his time. She knew that he was so busy with his clan and the village, but he still tried to find some time to get to know her.

Sakuno may be young, but she was mature enough to understand his sacrifice that their short playtime was something that she deeply cherished.

Sakuno really liked her cousin.

He could weave pretty dreams for her—sending her to play in the clouds or wander in the lands of sweets and candies. It wasn't real, but she could still feel the fluff of the cloud in her hands and taste the sweetness of the chocolate river on her lips, even after he brought her back to the real world.

So, it still counts.

She adored his spinning red eyes. She thought that his normal eyes were pretty, but his sharingan was her favourite.

Then, he went on that mission.

He didn't come back.

Sakuno cried for weeks. She cried and cried, clutching the white plush toy to her chest and growled to anyone that tried to pry the fluffy leopard away from her grip. He promised her. He promised that he will come back and play with her.

He lied to her.

Sakuno was mad.

So, she intruded the Uchiha's compound, knowing that if his spirit was watching her, he would be pulling his hair in frustration because she did that one thing both him and her own clan has forbidden. The issue of Tajima's secret marriage with her aunt was a taboo among the Uchiha—and the Hatake did not wish to fuel the simmering fire by igniting that taboo all over again.

Not that Sakuno understood that. She was four. She didn't understand the politics that revolved between the clans. All that she knew now was that she wanted to anger the spirit of her deceased cousin. Out of spite, she has vowed to not name her firstborn son after him. She will name her firstborn child as Sakumo instead—it sounded like her name, and totally not like her cousin. She hoped that her impromptu vow would anger him too.

Perhaps if she angered him enough, he will come back to haunt her?

She would be fine with that.

As long as Tobi was with her, she would be fine, even if he existed as an angry spirit—she would be fine…

Sakuno blinked her tears away.

She wanted her cousin back.

"Tobirama?"

Sakuno halted mid-sneaking, recognising the name that almost made her cried again—but she didn't, she didn't cry because she is Hatake Sakuno, the alpha princess of the Hatake pack and the cousin of the legendary Uchiha Tobirama, so she should not cry at the mention of his name—

Sakuno vehemently wiped her tears and faced the person who had caught her.

She blinked at the frail old lady.

"Obaa-sama?" Sakuno toddled closer, standing on her tip-toes to lean up against the windowsill.

The old lady burst into tears, frail bony arms reached out to wrap around her.

"Tobirama, my dearest boy," the old woman sobbed, burying her face into Sakuno's silver hair. "Forgive me, forgive me, forgive me, my boy."

Sakuno has no heart to tell the senile grieving lady that she was begging forgiveness from the wrong person.

What harm would it do if the person the old woman was really looking for was no longer in this world?

Months later, when Senju Madara finally returned to Konoha from his S-ranked long-termed mission, Hatake Sakuno would understand how wrong she was.


Akimichi Chonami might have retired from the kunoichi life after the last fight that took both of her legs, but she was still the woman born and bred in the middle of the war—a woman not made to be underestimated.

Right now, she was so close to smashing the annoying Uchiha Clan Head into a splat.

By the love of Shodai-sama, was the sharingan the only family resemblance this brat has with his much more mature and pleasant elder brother?

"Kagami-chan is not of any clan, Izuna-sama," she has all but growled to the persistent Uchiha, now fully understood Kagami's decision to leave the clan. "He is simply crashing with my son for the time being while the issue of his inheritance was dealt with."

"He has inheritance?" the young Uchiha Clan Head shrieked, ruby eyes widened in disbelief.

Chonami mourned the good old times those ruby eyes belonged to a much pleasant man—a man that made the unyielding Akimichi matriarch regretted her own misguided judgement during the wartime as Uchiha Tobirama proved to her again and again that he was nothing like the rumours made him be.

Chonami could never look at the silver-haired Clan Head and see a demon, when she already witnessed him being piled on by chubby Akimichi children.

(The kids have all lost their fear of him the moment he sent them to fantasy land made of sugary sweets and teeth-rotting junk food with his sharingan. The end. Tobirama was officially the Akimichi children's favourite adult. What even would their own parents mean to them?)

If Tobirama was indeed a demon, then Chonami has sold and sealed her soul to that demon the moment she heard the gentle puffs of genuine laughter that escaped the man, despite all the adults in the room knew that he would have been in considerable amount of pain after being crushed by the understandably heavy children when he was already sporting a few bruised ribs.

Bless that man. How could anyone even think of him as a demon?

Ah, right. Because of his prowess on the battlefield.

Well, he might be a demon on the battlefield, but there was peace now. Ever since he took Hashirama's hand, the now dearly missed silver-haired Uchiha has grown relaxed, his terrifying presence softened around the edges as more people saw the real man behind the ridiculous rumours. He was a good man.

Too bad that good people always die young.

And left the living to deal with their annoying replacements.

God, she missed Tobirama-sama. He was much more pleasant to deal with than his younger brother.

"From who?" Izuna hissed, apparently not picking up the cues that Chonami would rather slam the door on his face.

Akimichi Chonami really wanted to climb up the stairs to Torifu's room and help Kagami bandaging his eyes, thank you very much. Her dear son would turn the now clanless boy to a mummy the longer she left them unsupervised.

"Who the hell leaves that insolent brat anything?!"

God, Chonami now knew why Kagami left his own clan.

Either that, or the boy would have assassinated his own Clan Head just to have some peace from all the drama and yelling.

"Tobirama-sama did," she snapped, shifting on her prosthetic legs.

Izuna was silent for a moment.

"What?" then, he hissed, as if in disbelief.

Chonami rolled her eyes.

"You inherited everything of his in the clan's compound, yes?" Chonami hurried, hands twitching to slam the door in front of the Clan Head's regrettably handsome face. "He left all of his research, his library, his laboratories as well as all of his belongings at his residence in the town square to Kagami-chan."

The look on Izuna's face was so hilariously memorable that Chonami wished she possessed a painter's hands to immortalise the expression in a paper later. She would burn it as an offering for Tobirama-sama. Gods knew that the dead might need a few laughs here and there.

"Even I was not allowed free reign over his research!" Izuna shrieked, invoking a smirk upon Chonami's lips as she noted on his bruised ego. "He left everything to that brat?"

"You may refer to Madara-sama or Hashirama-sama, who were entrusted with copies of his will," Chonami held back a grin, enjoying Izuna's anguish way too much for her own good. "Or if your authority allows it, you may request the Head of Legacy Unit at the tower to show you the original copy of his last will."

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Izuna looked like he was about to blow his top, face flushed red in anger. "He named that brat as his legacy?"

"Yes," Chonami nodded. "Have a good day, Izuna-sama."

Then, she slammed the door right in his face.

Stalking back towards her kitchen to retrieve some tea and snacks for the kids, Chonami was greeted with two amused gazes.

"That was…interesting," the blonde man hummed, sipping on his tea.

"Maa…troublesome," the dark-haired woman countered, stretching her lean muscled arms above her head. "I miss the air of serenity that Tobirama-sama carried around."

"His younger brother is more enthusiastic," the blonde man chuckled, leaning over his cup. "Interesting character."

"I beg to differ," his dark-haired companion countered, yawning lazily. "The brat is loudly troublesome."

Chonami huffed in agreement.


A/N: I just want to explore some of the Uchiha's reaction and added Tobi's family from his mother's side. Also, the Ino-Shika-Cho clans were my absolute favourites, and who else would I trust to support Kagami in his time of need?

We'll get back to torturing Izuna after this intermission.