For what seems like the millionth time, Madara takes a seat at his desk in his home office with purpose. A clean sheet of paper lay in front of him. His ink bottle sits exactly one hand length away from it. The accompanying brush sits perpendicular to the innermost edge of the inkpot.
With everything in its place, he can finally focus on writing. He breathes deeply before picking his brush up and dipping it into the ink. After delicately wiping the excess off on the rim, he writes.
I lo—
No, no, no. That's far too abrupt of a start.
The ink blots as he draws a line through the incomplete phrase.
I'm sor—
A horrible beginning. Unacceptable, even. A clean strikethrough. Next attempt.
You're not a disappointment.
...better. It's not ideal, but this is a rough draft. Moving on.
I made Yuriko my successor, so come home.
Would Katsumi obey an order at this point? Probably not. Perhaps, she would respond more positively to a suggestion? The brush sweeps across the page as he writes.
You can waste your potential in a bakery here.
How can he be this bad at making a suggestion? He makes them all the time...sometimes. To...people…
He has to have done it at least once. Tajima wouldn't have tolerated any sass. Getting back on track, he strokes an inky trail that reads:
Your mother misses you.
...while that isn't necessarily wrong, it's not entirely right either; almost as if it's missing something.
You are missed.
Naruto's imagined snickering at the awkward, impersonal phrasing echoes through his head. He sets aside his brush with a sigh and decides to revisit this letter at a later date, once more.
The passage of time is mysterious. Incomprehensible, really.
Whenever he passed by Katsumi's favorite restaurant or a bakery, it felt like she had been gone for over a century. But, as soon as he sat down at his desk to write to her, it felt like she had just left the day before. Between these conflicting emotions and a serious case of writer's block, three years just flew by before he could settle on a final draft.
Mind-boggling.
Unfortunately, Naruto is much less amazed with his chronological discovery. She shrieks, "You never sent her a letter?!"
"Things came up," he defends while focusing his attention on his bowl of rice. "I couldn't find the time."
Madara always thought the commonly held belief that couples start to resemble each other and pick up each other's habits was nonsense—until he sees Naruto pinch the bridge of her nose and breathe out a calming exhale. Eventually, she declares, "Ya know what? It's fine."
His brow wrinkles. This argument is going a lot better than he thought it would. Suspicious, he asks, "It is?"
"Yep. Katsumi has a surprise for you, so I guess you'll be even," she nonchalantly informs before picking her chopsticks up and resuming her meal.
He doesn't like the sound of that. Her tone, especially. His birthday and Winter Solstice are coming up, but he doubts his estranged daughter would get him a present, even if she is returning home. He narrows his eyes. "What kind of a surprise?"
"You'll find out tomorrow," comes Naruto's clipped answer before she effectively ends the conversation by asking Yuriko to pass the soy sauce.
~xXx~
Surprise.
Such a foreboding word. So much so, that it haunts Madara as he paces the hallway leading to the front door. No amount of interrogation would force the answer out of Naruto the night before, so here he is, imagining all of the worst possible "surprises" Katsumi could bring back with her.
The life of a baker isn't usually rife with thrilling developments, so Madara kept abreast of his daughter's life by asking his wife questions designed to give him information while masking his own ignorance. He knows for certain that she's not pregnant, so at least it's not the worst case scenario. But, what if—
Snow crunching outside the front door cuts off his panicking. Nervous adrenaline pulsing through his veins, he throws open the door before Katsumi even has a chance to knock. So caught up in his daughter's return, Madara completely overlooked the second, fainter chakra signature of the "surprise" beside her.
~xXx~
The archway leading into Konohagakure had awed a humble fisherman's son like Yamada Tarou. The district gate of the prestigious Uchiha clan had intimidated him. The terrifying visage of Uchiha Madara standing in the doorway of his grand residence, however, has him regretting his decision to meet Katsumi's parents. He briefly considers running all the way back to Uzushio when a soulless black eye glares into his very being from between spiky, inky locks. His imagination must be running wild because the dark abyss seems to flash red for a split second.
To his relief, Katsumi draws the man's attention away. She curtly greets, "Dad. This is Tarou, my—"
"No," her father ruthlessly asserts.
Somehow, the temperature drops lower than the winter chill as Katsumi angrily parrots, "'No?'"
A suffocating tension descends upon them as Madara narrows his eyes at her tone. When Katsumi merely lifts her chin in challenge, Tarou is caught between wonder at her bravery and a strong desire to vacate the area as fast as he can. Luckily, a lovely blonde woman emerges from behind Madara and pushes him aside.
"Welcome back!" she happily exclaims before enveloping Katsumi in a fierce embrace.
Hugging the woman back, Katsumi replies, "I missed you, Mom!"
Once they release each other, the men fall to the wayside as mother and daughter begin an animated conversation. They begin to walk back into the house and Tarou worries that Katsumi is going to leave him alone with her father. Thankfully, she grabs his wrist and drags him along behind her and her mother. A profound chill crawls up his spine as her father sneers at him while he passes him by in the doorway, though.
Thankfully, the frightening man disappears up the stairs as soon as the rest of them settle in the living room. There, he meets Katsumi's younger sister, Yuriko, who welcomes her sister back before introducing herself to him. Following her daughter's example, Uchiha Naruto belatedly introduces herself, as well. While Naruto is just as sweet as Katsumi described, it's hard to believe that someone so genial is the leader of a ninja village and married to the infamous head of the Uchiha clan. Tarou nearly gapes when she apologizes on her husband's behalf and tells him to call her by her first name.
Compared to her mother, Yuriko's formality is more what he expected from a well-born girl, but she's just as cordial. Unfortunately, Katsumi only gives clipped responses to her sister's attempts to keep the conversation going. Since he doesn't have any siblings nor does he fully comprehend how Katsumi must have felt when she learned that her father replaced her with her sister as his successor in a letter from her mother, he keeps quiet. Naruto frowns, though.
Before she can say anything to her daughter, the sound of the front door sliding open announces someone's arrival. Within moments, a small boy slides open the living room door to investigate the unfamiliar chakra signatures in his home. As if a switch has been flipped inside her head, Katsumi spreads her arms for a hug and gushes, "Dai-chan, look how big you've gotten!"
The boy doesn't move from the doorway. His brow wrinkles before he asks, "Who are you?"
Katsumi tenses. Tarou feels her mood plummet as Naruto rushes to do damage control, "Daiki, you remember your oldest sister, don'tcha?"
Daiki's eyes narrow as he tries to recall having a third sister. To everyone's relief, recognition flashes across his eyes and he politely greets, "Welcome back, Katsumi-nee-san."
Voice brittle from hurt, Katsumi replies, "It's nice to be back, but can't you call me 'Onee-chan' like you used to?"
Clearly uncomfortable with referring to an effective stranger so affectionately, Daiki tacitly declines, "I call my...our sisters 'Nee-san.'"
Devastated by her baby brother's emotional distance, Katsumi relents, "O-okay."
Naruto suddenly blurts, "Did you get any homework over the holidays?"
"No, Mother," Daiki answers.
"Why don'tcha put your bag in your room and come get reacquainted with your sister, then?"
"Yes, Mother," he obediently replies before shutting the door. His quiet footsteps walking down the hall and up the stairs are deafening in the awkward silence. Tarou wonders what Naruto is up to when she abruptly stands from the table and walks over to a closet. He catches on to her plan when she produces a floor pillow and purposefully places it between her and Katsumi's seats with a smile to her daughter.
When Daiki returns, Naruto pats the pillow invitingly and he approaches without hesitation. Though he spends most of his time nearly plastered to his mother's side, he answers all of Katsumi's questions on how he's been and what he's been up to since she left. Eventually, Daiki grows comfortable enough to allow her to hug him.
Delighted, she conveys how much she missed him in the strength and length of her embrace. Long after Daiki's arms have dropped back to his sides, Katsumi squeezes him to her. Accepting that his sister won't let go until she's satisfied, Daiki merely settles into her embrace and rests his head against her shoulder. With a final squeeze and a content smile on her face, Katsumi finally releases him. Once free, he doesn't scoot as far away as he could and Katsumi somehow smiles brighter.
In a much better mood, she actually engages Yuriko in conversation. With the tense atmosphere gone, Tarou starts to familiarize himself with the family Katsumi left behind. From what he can tell, she missed them dearly.
He gleaned bits and pieces about them over the years from the rare anecdotes she would tell—Yuriko's tendency to give backhanded compliments, Naruto's obliviousness, Daiki's devotion to his mother—but nothing compares to meeting the people Katsumi grew up with in person; the people that will become his family soon enough.
If her father allows them to marry, that is.
~xXx~
Tarou doesn't remember that Katsumi has three siblings until dinner.
A crimson whirlwind blows into the room just as everyone has taken their seats at the table and crows triumphantly, "Father, I did it! I'm a jōnin!
"Well done," Madara praises from his spot at the table. It's the first thing he's said since Naruto dragged him downstairs for food. His tone is almost...fond. There may even be a ghost of a proud smile on his face.
The rest of the family congratulates her, as well; except for Katsumi. She remains noticeably quiet as her youngest sister beams with pride and joins the rest of them at the table.
Taking absolutely no notice of either Katsumi or him until she takes a seat at the table, Akane's face contorts in confusion when their eyes meet. Immediately, she turns to her father. They must have some sort of in-depth conversation through eye-contact alone because her gaze is just as cold as Madara's when she turns back to them.
Twin glares from father and daughter boring into Tarou from the same side of the table highlight the confrontational seating arrangements. There should be plenty of room for everyone at a table so large. Furthermore, the circular shape should allow them to spread out as much as they wish. However, Katsumi's family seems to be bunched up around the patriarch. Naruto and Yuriko flank his sides. Daiki sits to his mother's left and Akane to Yuriko's right. No one else seems to notice, but Tarou has to wonder when he found the time to gather all of the other floor pillows on his side.
Difficult as it is to comfortably eat and converse under such scrutiny, Tarou can see why the Uchiha are known for their beauty as well as their lethality. Naruto and Akane are the only splashes of color on an otherwise dark canvas. However, the slice of sunshine that is the hokage contrasts starkly with the dangerous mystique of her husband and children.
While Katsumi has dark hair like most of her family, she resembles her mother more than her father. Her face, her complexion, her eyes—if only a few shades darker—are all clearly inherited from her mother; not to mention their shared effervescent charm.
Besides an obvious lack of red hair, she fit right in with her mother's clansmen in Uzushio. So much so, that Tarou had just assumed she was one of the rare Uzumaki children born without red hair when they first met. He remained none the wiser until a few months into courting her. When she finally told him her real last name, he immediately understood why she had kept that fact private upon learning who her father was.
Tarou nearly fainted when she told him. It had been unfathomable that the tongue-tyingly beautiful, amiable pastry shop girl was raised by a warrior whose mere name strikes fear into the hearts of men across land and sea. She was not at all what he expected of the infamous ninja clan, and he had gaped when she told him that she had been training to succeed her father as their leader before she came to Uzushio.
Had her father been anyone else, the couple would have eloped. As it was, Tarou was not fond of the idea of pissing off a warlord that could and would snap him like a twig once he hunted them down. Katsumi tried to assure him that her mother wouldn't let Madara get that far, but he reasoned that a man like that surely has resources. Strong as Naruto may be, he doubts Madara would need to personally chase him down. After meeting the man in person, Tarou is fairly certain that the Uchiha patriarch would thoroughly enjoy the half-second it would take to end him, though.
So, here they are, trying to get her father's blessing for marriage under the guise of visiting for the holidays. Though their quest doesn't have the best prospects at the moment, Katsumi ignores the glares directed at them while she and the rest of her family dig into their meal. Following their example, he makes a request to Naruto, "Hokage-sama, could you pass the tea, please?"
"Didn't I tell ya to call me, 'Naruto?'" she gripes good-naturedly while passing the teapot. Truly, the woman's hospitality would make him feel right at home if not for the terror sitting next to her. She doesn't seem aware of the tension in the room, but she has helped him relax somewhat.
A pointed glare from Madara warns him against addressing his wife so casually, though. Trying to find some middle ground, Tarou accepts the teapot as he makes a counter-offer, "I wouldn't want to be rude, but perhaps 'Uchiha-san' would be better?"
"Fine," she sighs with a pout. Her husband quietly huffs and temporarily directs his attention to the food in front of him.
Not for the first time, Tarou wonders how someone so friendly could be married to the wraith beside her. According to Katsumi, they argue often, but they're quite happy together. Chancing a glance at them, he sees the couple in the midst of a playful argument. From what he has seen of the warlord's emotional range, the teasing glint in his eye and slight quirk of lips must translate to an average person's guffaw. Tarou quickly averts his gaze before he can ruin the other man's most assuredly rare good humor.
After dinner, Tarou offers to collect the dishes and wash them. His goal was just to escape the less amiable members of the family, so he feels a twinge of guilt when Naruto praises him, "That's so nice of you, Tarou! Kazuko will appreciate it, ya know!"
Katsumi pauses helping him gather bowls and plates. Confused, she asks, "Kazuko? What happened to Kazue?"
Naruto blanches and admits, "Oh...I must've forgot to tell you. Kazue finally retired and her granddaughter took over. She's just as good as Kazue, though!"
"Oh...I see," Katsumi answers forlornly.
"I'm sure she'd like to see you! Maybe you can visit her while you're here?"
"I dunno…"
Yuriko helpfully adds, "Didn't Kazue-san ask us to tell her when Nee-san came for a visit, Mother?"
Nodding vigorously, Naruto agrees, "She did! She did!"
She directs a grin at her eldest daughter as if to say, 'See?!' Katsumi laughs, "I'll go see her, then."
The matriarch huffs, "Good! But, if she asks whether I made any new 'catastrophic' messes, don't answer!"
"I won't," Katsumi promises while helping Tarou tote the dishes to the kitchen sink.
They stand side-by-side in front of it while he washes and she dries. She snorts when he breathes a sigh of relief. He asks, "Who's Kazue?"
"She used to be our housekeeper," she answers. "She never trained to be a ninja, but she was sneaky enough to get into the house and do her job without my mom noticing for years. I dunno if that was on purpose, but you should have seen how high my mom jumped in the air the first time she actually saw her."
They both share a laugh. He happily listens as Katsumi shares numerous anecdotes of her pseudo-grandmother. It's nice to see her relaxed again after how stiff she was during dinner.
When they return to the living room, Tarou is relieved that Akane has already left to take a bath. Madara resumes attempting to incinerate him with his eyes alone, but Tarou gets a reprieve when he, too, leaves the room to bathe.
Katsumi breathes an irritated sigh that Tarou hadn't been offered the bath first since he's a guest, but he assures her and her mother that it's fine. Being the last one to bathe is a small sacrifice if it will ingratiate him to Madara even slightly.
By the time Tarou emerges from the bathroom, everyone else has settled down for the night in their rooms. Despite how tight-lipped Madara and Akane had been, Naruto and her other children more than made up for their silence. Compared to how lively the house was just a short time ago, Tarou finds it hard to believe that the deathly quiet house is home to a family of six—even if they are ninjas.
He blows out the lanterns that were thoughtfully kept lit for him before hurrying to the stairs. The warm light upstairs illuminates a figure standing at the top. A frightening silhouette with spiky hair questions dangerously, "Where do you think you're going?"
Tarou means it as a statement, but it comes out as an uncertain question, "T-to Katsumi's room?"
"So, you can ruin her for marriage in my own house? I think not," Madara answers gruffly.
Tarou's tongue sticks in his throat as he tries to vocalize anything. He manages another question. "T-then, where…?"
"As much as I'd love to tell you to sleep outside—where you belong—I suppose I can offer a whelp like you the couch downstairs."
If there is a couch downstairs, he hasn't seen it. "U-um, where—"
"Find it," Madara orders before disappearing down the upstairs hall. Foolhardy as Tarou is to try marrying into the illustrious Uchiha clan, he isn't foolish enough to attempt defying his prospective father-in-law.
A quick search reveals that there is, in fact, no couch to be found in the lower half of the house. He doubts there's one upstairs either, honestly. Resigning himself to a cold night on the tatami, he lays down in the living room and falls asleep with the consolation that at least Madara didn't just feign some sort of accident and kill him when he had the chance.
When morning comes, he's startled awake by a clicking sound on the table behind him. Kazuko, he assumes, levels an unimpressed look at him before resuming her task. He greets her, but she only hums in response. Once the family's breakfast has been immaculately set, she silently vacates the room. He barely hears the front door shut in a whisper before voices and steps descending the stairs draw his attention.
The family enters the living room with varying degrees of alertness. He returns their groggy greetings as they sit down to eat. Since Tarou didn't dare to move the floor pillows, they sit down at the table in the same spots. As soon as she takes the seat next to him, Katsumi mumbles, "Why didn't you come to my room last night?"
A quick glance to the other side of the table confirms that Madara is also waiting for his answer, so he rushes to explain, "I was feeling a bit overheated after my bath. I thought I'd cool down downstairs for a bit, and I fell asleep right here. Sorry!"
Satisfied with his answer, Madara directs his attention elsewhere, but Katsumi's eyes narrow. He silently begs her not to say anything with his eyes and she thankfully understands his meaning. With a sigh, she focuses on the food in front of her.
Halfway through his breakfast, Tarou notices that Madara is taking an abnormally long time to work through his own as his wife and children begin trickling away from the table to get ready for the day. On her way to the bathroom, Katsumi levels a suspicious look at her father before she steps out, which Madara completely ignores. Cursing himself for offering to clear the table once more, Tarou sits opposite of quite possibly the most infamous man in the world as he waits for him to finish his breakfast.
An awkward silence stretches between them as Tarou stares at anything but the only other occupant of the room. The soft click of a dish on the table tacitly calls his attention. Once more, he thinks he sees a flash of red in the other man's eyes, but it must be the exhaustion after a fitful night's sleep making him see things. Madara sizes him up before demanding, "Name."
It takes him a moment to process the not-question, but he jumps to answer once he does. "Yamada Tarou, sir!"
He utters a short hum before continuing, "Profession."
"Fisherman, sir."
"Konoha imports its fish," Madara nonchalantly informs.
Tarou blinks. Katsumi didn't like to talk of her father all that often, but she once said that though he can be verbose, he is very skilled at communicating complex messages implicitly and concisely; especially scorn. In just that one sentence, he told Tarou three things: he expects Katsumi to stay here, he doesn't want him here, and that there wouldn't be any work for him, anyway.
"A-actually, I'm only a fisherman because my father is. I don't actually have a passion for it…" Tarou trails off as Madara's eyes narrow and the room temperature plummets. It would appear that trying to appeal to the man had the opposite effect.
"I see," he curtly replies before standing from the table and stalking out of the room.
Once that spiky mane disappears behind the door, Tarou breathes a sigh of relief. Yet another encounter survived.
~xXx~
Later on in the day, Tarou sits alone in the living room while Katsumi is out visiting Kazue. She had offered to let him tag along, but he declined. He has a feeling that his presence wouldn't be very welcome there, either.
Luckily, Yuriko thoughtfully gave him some scrolls on Uchiha clan history to pass the time before she left the house with her mother. In the middle of reading, a shiver goes up his spine. Thinking it nothing more than a funny feeling, he nearly has a heart attack when he happens to turn his head to the side and spots Akane.
Between the panic that he hadn't heard her approach at all and the silent stare she directs at him, Tarou has a tough time calming down. Akane stands still as a statue and her dark eyes are sharp, calculating. They don't blink for an uncomfortably long time, either.
A table stands between them, but he isn't foolish enough to think it'll be of any use if she decides to attack him. He considers attempting an escape, but she voices her thoughts before he even takes stock of his exits, "You're causing trouble for my family. Leave."
"Wha—"
"You're only a civilian. You don't belong here," Akane grills him with an overwhelming sense of authority, barely allowing him time to get even a word in edgewise. It's hard to believe she's only fifteen.
"Katsumi—"
Zeroing in on an insecurity that has been gaining momentum ever since they arrived in Konoha, she asks, "What even makes you think you're good enough for my sister? For the Uchiha clan?"
The girl pauses to let him answer this time, but Tarou flounders to find a reason that would satisfy someone as pragmatic as her. Luckily, Katsumi returns home just in time to rescue him. She slides the living room door open with a groan, "Ugh, sometimes I wonder if you're even human. You can't just bluntly ask someone a question like that."
Unbothered by her older sister's reproach, Akane simply scoffs, "Father says more people should be blunt."
Settling into a lean against the wall closest to him, Katsumi argues, "Dad says a lot of things. It doesn't mean he's right. Anyway, lay off of Tarou. We're together because we want to be and that's all the explanation you need."
Tarou knows better than to mess with that tone, but Akane persists, "Why him? He's not even a shinobi."
He would gladly throw knives and breathe fire if it meant his future father-in-law would be less hostile towards him. He's never tried, but who knows? He might have a talent for it.
Katsumi sighs in exasperation, "Mom didn't marry Dad because he's a powerful ninja and she wanted powerful children, ya know."
Akane looks genuinely confused by the prospect. "Of course, she did. They married to unite the Uchiha and Uzumaki clans and strengthen the Uchiha bloodline with Uzumaki traits."
"I dunno what Dad told you, but he was supposed to marry another Uchiha. He basically told the clan elders to piss off and proposed to Mom," replies Katsumi with a roll of her eyes. The bitter tone of her voice speaks volumes. However, she continues with a smirk, "She declined the first seven proposals, though. Or was it nine?"
Baffled, her youngest sister gasps in disbelief. "Mother refused?"
"Yep. Dad had to lay on the charm—not that he has any—and even then, Mom didn't agree until she was sure that she could stand waking up to that for the rest of her life."
Despite Katsumi's prickly tone, she successfully de-escalates the situation. Now that some of her seemingly core beliefs have been shaken, Akane is far less threatening than she was just moments ago. She implicitly accuses her sister of lying, "I've never heard this before."
Katsumi scoffs, "You really think Dad, or anyone else in the clan, would want that kind of story going around? Their precious reputation as ruthless killers would be ruined if everyone knew that their leader was just a clumsy casanova. Mom or Uncle Hashirama will gladly give you the details, though."
Tarou has trouble envisioning Uchiha Madara failing at anything. The thought of him doggedly pursuing the woman that he clearly adores humanizes him a bit, but he still has no desire to be left alone with the man. Ultimately, he's not sure what to do with this revelation.
In much the same boat, Akane's voice wobbles, "I-I have to confirm this."
His future sister-in-law spins on her heel and marches out of the room. Hurried steps disappear down the hall and he slouches against the wall in relief. Katsumi leans down to pat him on the shoulder and comforts, "I think she'll leave you alone for a while."
Well, he has survived two family members' attempts to drive him away. That's something.
~xXx~
Tarou wakes late in the afternoon the next day. The worry that Madara would kill him for sleeping in his daughter's room kept him up all night. Katsumi insisted that he would be fine after she snuck him up the stairs, but he laid in the guest futon on the floor in the hope that he might be able to plead for his life on account of his prudence if discovered. He didn't actually fall asleep until just before Katsumi left this morning, apparently.
Moderately rested, he stows away the futon and descends the stairs. He half-expects a trap waiting for him at the bottom, but the only thing that greets him is a delicious smell wafting from the kitchen. When he follows his nose, he happens upon Naruto and Daiki gathering ingredients for something. The woman is always a delight, so Tarou happily accepts her invitation to help after he eats and washes up.
Once he rejoins them, Naruto looks over from her spot near the stove and asks, "Have ya ever made a cake or inarizushi before?"
Though he and Katsumi have toyed with the idea of opening up their own bakery, he hasn't ever cooked anything more than rice. "Neither, I'm afraid."
"No problem! Both of 'em are pretty easy, it's just gettin' the ingredients right that's hard," she laughs while stirring a pot on the stove. "The rice is almost done, so let's put the cake in the oven and get started on the inari age."
Tarou walks over to help Daiki pour the cake mix. The boy nods in thanks as Tarou holds the pan at an angle to accommodate his height. After he slides the cake pan into the oven and closes it, he stands off to the side to await further instructions. He asks, "Is it a special occasion?"
While adding spices to the pot next to the rice on the stove, Naruto answers, "Yeah, it's Madara's birthday. He likes homemade food better than store-bought stuff, so we're making the party food. Well, some of it. Kazuko made most of the food for the next few days, even though I gave her the holidays off.
"Her grandma must have told her to. I can hear the, 'But, Naruto-sama, what will you eat if I don't cook?' I can cook! Or...at least...I'm gettin' better! Madara doesn't complain as much as he used to! Kitchen fires are rare now, too!"
Chuckling at the amusing ramble, Tarou notes that her skill improvement might have something to do with how her son surreptitiously switches out the incorrect ingredients she reaches for and turns off the stove before the pot can boil over. Though Naruto remains unaware of just how much Daiki is helping, she thanks him with a smile that has the boy smiling back in contentment. If his body didn't tether him to the ground, Tarou is certain he would float away on cloud nine.
Tarou can't really blame him. His mother died when he was young, so he doesn't remember much of her, but he likes to think that she was as warm as Naruto.
At her instruction, Tarou takes the pot of rice off the stove and sets it atop a rag on the counter. Reducing the heat beneath the remaining pot, Naruto pops the tofu pockets into the broth. While they simmer, Naruto regales her assistants with stories of battles and travels. Ever the genial host, she regularly interrupts herself to ask her helpers questions and engage them in the conversation.
They pause to place the inari age on a plate and mix the seasonings into the rice. The discussion picks right back up after they wash their hands and line up next to the counter. They split the inarizushi production process between the three of them: Tarou packs the rice, Naruto wraps it in shiso and nori, and Daiki carefully stuffs it into the inari age. A sizable, neat stack of inarizushi quickly grows at the end of the line as Tarou gains a bit of insight into ninja lifestyle.
Most of the information goes over his head, but Daiki's answers to his mother's questions about the academy and his training are rather enlightening. The technical explanations put him at a loss, but he gets a good idea of what Katsumi's childhood was like. He finds himself quite invested in Daiki's trouble with his peers and how his training priorities clash with his father's expectations. Perhaps, Katsumi had similar problems?
He feels so comfortable that he almost asks about the difference between ninjutsu and senjutsu, but Naruto bashfully interrupts herself mid-sentence, "You must be so bored, Tarou! Hmm…Oh! Katsumi told me that you're a fisherman. How's work?"
"A bit slow, actually. So much so, that my father didn't have a problem with me taking the week off to come here," he explains while handing her some packed rice.
She wraps it before handing it to Daiki. "You work with your dad every day? That sounds like Akane's dream."
Tarou doesn't doubt that in the slightest. "Honestly, I don't really want to be a fisherman."
"Oh? Have somethin' else in mind?"
"Well, um...I don't know if Katsumi told you…"
"Katsumi did?" Her face contorts as she scours her memory for a clue. Finally, she exclaims, "Oh! You two are gonna open up a bakery, right?"
"We're thinking about it, yes."
"Well, whatever ya decide to do, I'm sure it'll work out. If ya ever need any help, let me know," she offers with an encouraging smile.
He can see why Katsumi confides in her. Touched by her support of their relationship and in general, Tarou sincerely thanks her, "Thank you so much, Uchiha-san."
She pouts at the formality, but huffs an answer, "You're welcome."
Once all of the rice is packed away into an impressive tower of inarizushi, they check on the cake. Already a nice, golden brown, they remove it from the oven and begin making the frosting. Daiki measures out the ingredients for the two flavors of frosting as Tarou and Naruto mix. He notices that there's more vanilla frosting than strawberry, but Naruto assures him that it's no accident.
After Tarou coats the cake with a layer of vanilla icing, Naruto steps aside to give Daiki the floor. He watches in awe as the boy draws an Uchiha crest in strawberry icing with astonishing precision. Once he's finished filling the outline in, Tarou compares it to the symbol on the back of Daiki's shirt. It's a flawless replica.
Obviously proud, Naruto praises, "Great job, Daiki! I'm sure your dad will love it!"
Visibly pleased, he replies, "Thank you, Mother."
~xXx~
Amongst a sea of party-goers, Tarou breaks into a nervous sweat. He got so wrapped up in helping make the food that he forgot why they were making it. Now, he sits at the kids' table with Daiki and his cousin, Shiki, as he frets about the present he didn't get for his prospective father-in-law's birthday.
To be fair, he hadn't known until the day of. Honestly, more like just a couple hours. But, he doubts Madara will accept that as an excuse for his rudeness.
He desperately tries to signal Katsumi for advice, but she's occupied by a conversation with her sister. If it was Yuriko, he would just join in, but since it's Akane, he refrains. Furthermore, the conversation topic doesn't seem to be too pleasant based on their facial expressions.
~xXx~
Akane's dark eyes bore into her as she asks a question weighed down by expectations, "Did you get Father a present?"
"I'm here, aren't I?" Of all the people at this party to get trapped in a conversation with, it had to be her youngest sister. At Akane's withering look, Katsumi leans back onto her palms and sighs, "I did, but Dad made him sit at the kids' table."
"I said 'present,' not 'burden,'" she corrects with narrowed eyes.
"You're always such a delight to talk to," Katsumi drawls and tries to find Wakaba in the crowded room. She spots him, but he's too busy chatting up her dad to distract Akane. Unfortunately, Sakiko doesn't seem to have arrived yet, either.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Apparently, they're going to have this conversation now. Katsumi answers, "What do you think? You don't know how to be anything but harsh."
"I speak the truth."
"Your idea of 'truth' is pretty skewed."
Akane retorts sharply, "At least I didn't run away because I couldn't handle the truth."
A raw nerve struck, Katsumi posits, "Would you say that those kids that used to ridicule you were telling the truth?"
Her expression darkens. "What?"
Katsumi mercilessly continues, "The kids that used to make fun of your hair. Were they right?"
"They were fools that needed to be taught a lesson," Akane snarls.
"Well, you were a lot like them to me. I just never taught you a lesson because we're family...not that you ever liked to acknowledge that," Katsumi sighs. Tired of this conversation, she stands and heads in Tarou's direction. He looks like he could use her help with Yuriko.
Already walking away, she doesn't see how Akane continues to sit still as a statue, dumbfounded.
~xXx~
While Tarou sincerely appreciates the kindness Yuriko showed him in escorting him away from the kids' table, her candor leaves much to be desired.
Katsumi once described Yuriko's personality as a mixture of their mother's charisma and compassion, and their father's hubris and heavy-handed nature. Tarou is inclined to agree with that assessment after the fourth time she inadvertently calls him unfit for her elder sister. However, it's somehow hard to stay mad at her.
It helps that her critiques of him are relatively mild compared to the emotional roller-coaster she takes Hashirama on in the span of just a few minutes. Apparently, he's Naruto's predecessor, the first hokage, and Tarou starts to wonder what the criteria for becoming the leader of the village is as the man's mood fluctuates wildly, much to the vexation of everyone else present.
Tarou nearly jumps out of his skin when someone sidles up beside him, but he's relieved to see Katsumi. She pulls him away from the circle of people he had been absorbed into to ask, "Sorry about that. What's wrong?"
His mounting anxiety spills out of his mouth in a frantic whisper, "I didn't get your father a present!"
Katsumi looks at him blankly for a long time before answering in a normal speaking voice, "You don't need to."
"If I want him to like me, then yes, I do!"
"Listen, even if you did get him something, I don't think it'll make much of a difference. He's pretty stubborn, if ya haven't noticed."
"Still!"
"Even if he liked what you got him, he'd never admit it. Chasing after his approval is a waste of time," she bitterly admits.
"Katsumi…"
"Sorry. That was really depressing, wasn't it? Let's just enjoy the party—"
Noticing her lack of enthusiasm, Tarou cuts in with a suggestion, "Or, we could go get some air?"
"I'd like that," she answers with a grateful smile before dragging him outside into the cool night air.
~xXx~
Breathing a content sigh, Madara pulls his shirt over his head. He's still a bit off-balance from the sake he drank at the party, but he successfully undresses without falling over. His wife snickers after a few close calls, though.
Once he turns to face her, he finds a nude Naruto waiting for him on top of their futon. Madara eagerly approaches her for his final present of the day, and she welcomes him with open arms. He threads a hand into her hair and dips his tongue into her mouth. Her arms lock around his neck and pull him down on top of her.
One of her hands wanders south, raking nails down his chest as it goes. When he slips a hand in between her legs, he finds her already drenched. They part for air and she grins. "I prepared in the bath for ya."
Running low on inhibitions, Madara voices the first thought that comes to mind, "I love you so much."
Her grin widens. "You're all right."
With a scoff, he positions himself in between her legs and sheathes himself inside her. Immediately, she draws a ragged breath out of him with an intoxicating muscle contraction around him. Her smirk prompts him to fold her in half and roughly slam his hips forward. An unforgiving pace rips cries from her throat as she grips the sheets.
Her eyes fall shut as her entire body freezes and draws taut. She clenches down on him and he pulls her hips flush against his. Buried inside her to the hilt, he releases. As they catch their breath, her heaving bosom calls draws his eye. He sits back on his knees to let her back unfurl before sliding his hands underneath her and rolls them onto their sides. Madara nuzzles his face into her cleavage and contemplates a nap to recharge before round two.
Naturally, that is when Naruto decides to take advantage of the situation. Carding her fingers through his hair, she casually posits, "Today was nice wasn't it?"
Subtlety has never been her forte, but he plays along. "It was."
"Sure would be nice to spend every birthday with the whole family, wouldn't it?"
As usual, his cunning wife strikes at his most vulnerable. Madara had a feeling she would bring this up at some point, but he had been hoping she wouldn't further befoul his birthday with the insect buzzing around Katsumi.
Not only has the shrewd interloper been overly familiar with Naruto on more than one occasion, but he chatted up several guests at the party. In a bid to curry extra favor, he even offered to help his children with cleaning up after the guests left. However, Madara will not be placated so easily. He drowsily warns, "Naruto."
"Madara," she returns, far more alert than him.
Frustrated, he huffs into her chest, "If you expect me to accept that fool, you're terribly mistaken."
Naruto groans, "Come on! You already decided you were gonna let Katsumi do what she wants, so what's the problem!?"
"If she wants to waste her life in a bakery, I'll allow it. Tarnishing the main family's lineage with a lowly civilian, however, I will not," he states resolutely.
"Isn't she technically gonna be a branch member or somethin' since Yuriko's the heir now?'' she immediately fires back. When he merely grumbles in reply, she relentlessly continues, "Speakin' of, Katsumi was really cold to her when she first got here. I wonder why?"
He blanches at the accusation before defending himself, "I was going to convey the message I would have sent to her in person, but then she brought...it."
"Tarou," Naruto corrects. Madara merely huffs, but she goes on, "He makes her happy. You'd know that if you actually talked to her."
"She hasn't made an effort, either," he petulantly retorts.
"I dunno if you know this, but you're not exactly easy to approach, ya know," she returns.
"You don't seem to have a problem."
Her breasts press against his face as Naruto heaves a profound sigh, "All your daughter wants is your approval, but she's stubborn like you, so she won't ask for it. If you don't tell her how proud you are of her soon, who knows when she'll come back next?"
The threat of Katsumi never returning reduces his rebuttal to a measly remark. "You're pretty stubborn, too."
Fully aware that she has won, Naruto laughs triumphantly, "Well, thanks for loving me anyway."
"You're welcome."
She snorts and rolls him onto his back. Kneeling above him, she grins and forms her signature hand sign. Three kage bunshin appear in puffs of smoke around him. They chorus, "Shall we get back to the party, birthday boy?"
~xXx~
Madara breathes several calming breaths as he waits in his study. The sound of footsteps approaching alerts him to how little time he has left to mentally prepare himself. Saying the words should be easier than immortalizing them on paper, but the unknown of Katsumi's reaction in real time does little to help his anxiety.
The footsteps stop in front of the door and several knocks against it announce that his time is up. With Naruto's reassurance that Katsumi will understand if he opens up a little on repeat in the back of his mind, he bids his daughter enter, "Come in."
The door slides open to reveal a reticent expression on her face. Vivid memories of a similar expression on a face much like hers only feed his apprehension, but there's no going back now. She settles into a lean against the wall of his study with her arms crossed.
With a deep exhale, Madara gestures to a spot on the tatami in front of him, and suggests, "Why don't you take a seat?"
"I'd rather stand," she stubbornly asserts.
Choking down the urge to scold her for the minor act of rebellion, he struggles to force out the words he wants to convey. "I...you…"
In response to Katsumi's raised eyebrow, he finally strings a sentence together. "We missed you."
Her unimpressed visage doesn't change, so he inches closer to the truth. "I missed you."
"Sure didn't seem like it when you replaced me with Yuriko," she snaps.
Confused, he asks, "I thought you didn't want to be the head of the clan?"
She hisses, "I don't, but you never cared about what I wanted before!"
"That's not true! I…" Madara takes a deep breath before quietly admitting, "I just...wanted you to be safe."
Katsumi's brow wrinkles, but she says nothing.
He further explains, "I ignored your mother's warnings, and I kept pushing you because I wanted you to get stronger; strong enough to survive in the cruel place I know the world to be. I didn't want to lose you like I lost my brothers."
Her eyes widen at the mention of the taboo topic. "Dad…?"
After a deep sigh, he asks, "Did I ever tell you how my brother, Homura, died?"
When she shakes her head in the negative, Madara begins. "Your mother will argue otherwise, but his death was my fault. When he was eight, he hit a plateau in his training and we got into an argument about it. We stormed off in opposite directions, and that was the last time I saw him alive.
"I exhausted him in training to the point that he was easily picked off by a Senju raid. He died a slow, agonizing death after his eyes were stolen. Though I have never forgiven myself for that, you might have suffered a similar fate, if your mother had not intervened."
Her dad's strained expression and the remorse in his tone startle Katsumi as much as his solemn candor.
"I was furious with the both of you for months. Of course, your mother was just as angry with me. She threatened to stop me if I went after you, and hid your letters from me so I wouldn't know where to look. Her cold regard was impressive, too. You should have seen her," he recounts with a lovestruck sigh and a far off look.
They were made for each other if even her mom's ire charms her dad. If he told his wife half of the boasts he spews at everyone else ad nauseam, they would probably blush like embarrassed children. Katsumi grins in spite of herself. She teases with a snort, "How did this turn into praising Mom?"
With a cough into his fist, he gets back on topic. "Because, your mother is the one who convinced me that I was in the wrong."
Katsumi gapes. She has never heard her dad admit he was wrong aloud.
"I never got to apologize to Homura, but I can still apologize to you...I'm sorry for making you feel like you weren't good enough and forcing you to live a life you didn't want. Be it on a battlefield, or in a bakery, know that I am proud of you and I want you to be happy," Madara finishes with a sincere look at his first born.
Her slack face pinches and her bottom lip trembles. Scrubbing tears out of her eyes, she tries to keep her breathing even. Almost hesitantly, Madara spreads his arms open in silent invitation. Greedily snatching his olive branch, Katsumi tackles him to the ground. She sobs into his chest, "I missed you so much!"
Chuckling at how much she reminds him of Naruto, he pats her back as he replies, "I missed you, too."
"I'm sorry I left!"
"I forgive you. I'm sorry I didn't say something sooner."
She clings to him harder and Madara returns the gesture. Her tears soak his shirt, but he doesn't mind as he basks in the bliss of holding his daughter for the first time in years. Keeping her at arm's length during her training had not been easy for him either.
Eventually, Katsumi's sobs calm into sniffles. Her cheek flat against his chest, she asks, "Does this mean you'll let Tarou and I get married?"
He had thought she just brought a nobody back to spite him. "Get what?"
~xXx~
Regardless of Katsumi's assurances that her father will let them get married if Tarou just asks him properly, the thought of being alone with him still isn't a pleasant one. However, Katsumi used the bit of leverage she just got over her father to give him this opportunity and he won't waste it now that Madara is finally willing to listen. With a final exhale, Tarou forces himself to slide the door of Madara's study open. He hesitantly calls out to the man, "You wanted to see me, sir?"
From his seat on the other side of the room, Madara silently sips from a sake cup with his eyes closed. If not for his white-knuckled fist settled atop one knee, Tarou would think him serene. Unsettled by the silence, he babbles, "K-Katsumi said you wanted to talk to me, but I can leave if you're busy. I mean, I won't leave the house—well, I will leave eventually, but—"
Drawing the cup away from his mouth, Madara cuts into his frantic chatter with an order, "Silence."
Tarou's jaw immediately clicks shut.
Using the hand with the empty cup, Madara gestures to a vague spot in front of him. He bids, "Sit."
Once he settles into a seiza before him, the patriarch continues, "Suppose I allow this union to happen...how would you support my daughter and grandchildren?"
Hands folded in his lap like Katsumi showed him, Tarou answers with as even a tone as he can manage, "Well, sir, we were thinking of opening a bakery together."
"The food industry is fickle. How do you plan to compensate when business is slow?"
They haven't discussed that at all, so he feigns competence. "Well, we plan to have savings set aside for that."
"And, if that were to run out?"
The first solution that comes to mind is asking his father for money or picking up work on his boat, but he doubts Katsumi's dad would think well of him for that; especially when he intends for her—and quite possibly him—to remain in Konoha. Unfortunately, a suitable lie is much slower to come to mind this time. "Well…we…"
Tarou cringes at the displeased tut Madara mutters. Finally, the warlord opens his eyes. Taken aback by the crimson eyes with a very peculiarly shaped pupil staring back at him, his first thought is that he wasn't imagining all those times he thought he saw the man's eyes flash red.
"Do you know what this is?" Madara asks. After Tarou shakes his head in the negative, he explains, "This is my Sharingan. It's the Uchiha clan's greatest weapon; a genetic trait that I passed on to all of my children, and there is a slight chance that Katsumi will pass it on to hers. Naturally, the probability would increase if their father had the Sharingan as well, but it would appear that no one other than you will suffice."
The disdainful comment stings, but Tarou doesn't dare lose focus as Madara continues, "It is highly sought after and anyone who has it is guaranteed to be hunted for life."
His blood runs cold. Katsumi lives in constant danger? Their children will have to live like that, too? Just as he's about to spiral into a panic, Tarou remembers the steady crimson gaze on him and realizes that he's being tested. He solemnly swears, "I'll gladly lay down my life to protect them."
A shiver goes up his spine as Madara's voice lowers to a menacing growl. "You won't be of much help, but you had best make good on that pledge. If I catch wind that either Katsumi or one of my grandchildren has been kidnapped or worse on your watch, I'll trap you in an illusion of eternal torment. When I tire of that, I'll have your head on a pike in the garden. Understood?"
Equal parts awed and terrified, Tarou gulps. "Yes, sir."
"You will regularly bring my grandchildren back to Konoha so I can keep track of the development of their Sharingan," Madara orders.
Though Tarou is shocked that Madara will allow them to live elsewhere, he nods his assent. "Yes, sir."
Madara's eyes fade back to black as his clenched fist relaxes. He sighs, "Go on, then."
It takes Tarou a moment to understand, but he immediately lowers into a bow once he does. His head pressed into the tatami, he implores, "Please, let me to marry your daughter."
A long silence passes as Tarou maintains the prostration. Just as his legs are beginning to ache, Madara finally hisses his reluctant blessing, "Fine."
"Thank you very much, sir!" he exclaims into the floor before rising into a sitting position once more. His future father-in-law dismisses him from the room with a sneer on his face and a wave of the hand. Tarou swiftly, gratefully takes his leave.
As soon as he gently slides the door shut, he speeds down the stairs. He bursts into the living room and announces, "He said we can get married!"
With a triumphant fist pump, Katsumi beckons him over to discuss the details of their wedding. They've discussed them before, but it was always with an underlying understanding that it might not actually happen. Now, they consider venues and guests as they set a date. Once they have a tentative plan, they both sigh in contentment.
Katsumi breaks the silence with a hesitant mumble. "Um, I know we avoided talking about it, but…"
Tarou asks, "About what?"
"Where we're going to live…" she trails off while looking away from him.
He had always assumed they would live in Uzushio, but it should have occurred to him that she might want to stay now that she no longer has a strained relationship with her father. Where they live doesn't really matter to him, but Uzushio has a notable lack of...certain individuals...
Tarou takes a deep breath. Perhaps, Madara's menacing aura will abate with time and close proximity. Maybe, he'll appreciate his grandchildren living in the same village. Tarou can only hope. However, he can only keep his head on a swivel for so many hours of the day. "...are we going to live in this house?"
Katsumi scoffs, "As if!"
Falling back onto the tatami, Tarou breathes another sigh of relief. "Thank goodness."
~xXx~
In one of Uzushio's bays with tamer waters, an old fishing boat sits atop the water. It undulates with the waves, but none of the passengers have any trouble maintaining their balance. Years of experience upon this very boat taught two of them to simply stick to the edges for purchase. The other two, however, focus chakra in the soles of the feet to stick to the surface of the vessel, as much as they would rather be anywhere but there.
Madara and Daiki can't help but wonder as they stand upon it: Why is this happening?
Not only did he have to travel to Uzushio to watch his eldest daughter marry a scrawny civilian, but then, said civilian's father, Yamada Tadashi, insisted upon a 'father-son fishing trip' at the wedding reception. Though Madara immediately shot down the idea, his wife happened to overhear it and essentially tossed him and his son onto the boat, herself.
Already less than pleased with this turn of events, Madara immediately turned around and attempted to leave the moment Tadashi joked, "You're shorter than I thought you'd be!"
But, a hand grasping his sleeve stopped him in his tracks. When he looked down, Daiki's accusatory stare said it all. Mother asked us to do this. I'll tell her if you leave.
With a low growl, Madara turned back around. Stepping off the dock and onto the rickety boat, he retorted, "Your ship is in even worse condition than I thought it would be."
Much to Madara's chagrin, Tadashi guffawed. "Such a jokester! I can tell we're going to get along great!"
Once they're all settled in their seats with fishing poles, the torturous small talk begins. Though Tarou knows better than to bother him with nonsense, his father seems to be less aware of his mortality. Tadashi makes several attempts to start up a conversation with him before directing his attention to Daiki.
Aiming to please his mother with exemplary behavior even when she isn't present, the boy answers all of his questions. However, Madara catches his son watching the coastline more and more as the sun rises higher in the sky. Around mid-afternoon, he finally spots what his son was waiting for: a group of Uzumaki gathering on the beach. Amongst them, Naruto and their daughters lay out a towel and help set up for what appears to be a barbecue. She happens to spot them and waves.
Daiki nearly gives him the slip with a kage bunshin as a substitute, but Madara catches him by the shoulder just as he's about to hop over the side of the boat. He silently conveys his message with a stare of his own. If I don't get to frolic on the beach with your mother, then neither do you.
With a quiet sigh, Daiki returns to his seat beside his father. Together, they sit in disgruntled silence as the civilians converse about inane topics until sundown. Their tolerance for social interactions with strangers long spent, Madara and Daiki leap off of the boat the moment Tadashi says, "I'd say it's about time we call it a day."
Tadashi lets out a startled yelp as two black blurs land on the surface of the water before disappearing into the darkness of the night. "What was that?! Did you see that, Madara-san...Madara-san?"
He turns to the seats that were occupied by the Uchiha patriarch and his son just seconds before and finds two abandoned fishing poles. Beside him, Tarou explains, "Those splashes were Madara-sama and Daiki-kun, Dad."
"Wha—oh...that's right. Shinobi folk can walk on water. Strange fellows, they are," he grumbles.
Finally relaxing into his seat, Tarou can't help but agree.
Yamada Tarou: The. Most. Basic. Bitch. Name in the Japanese language. Thus, that is why Madara reacted with: "You brought home this basic bitch on my birthday?!"
And, because he's a civilian. Anyway, the Katsumi-centric arc has come to a close with this!
To tide you over until the next chapter, I have some art over on my tumblr, trashgoblinsharts. An accurate representation of Tarou can be found there.