The news of a new cousin's arrival reached the Uchiha's second-in-command household.
"Tajima finally has his heir," announced Uchiha Kichio, Hikaku's father, while his wife was preparing dinner.
Hikaku's mother, Uchiha Ishie, made a soft disgruntled sound as she stirred the hot pot. "Oh? That Uzumaki wife of his bore him a son then?"
Hikaku perked up from his book. He unintentionally interrupted his father, "Tajima-ojisan has a son?" That was a mistake; he immediately clamped up, squirming under his mother's glare.
"Hm? Are you happy with that, Hikaku?" Ishie's voice was frosty.
Self-preservation sense intact, Hikaku voiced out firmly, "I don't know, Kaa-san."
Hikaku knew he couldn't (or shouldn't) express how relieved he was with the news. His mother was the clan head's younger sister, Uchiha Ishie. With Tajima-ojisan finally having an heir, Hikaku's chance of inheriting the position of clan leader was practically gone. His mother seemed upset by this new reality. Hikaku needed to direct his mother's focus away from him.
"Hey, Tou-san, may I know his name?"
Kichio took his time before he let out, "It's 'Madara'."
A moment of pause and then Ishie scoffed with faint derision, "Oho-ho, again with the mountain names? Ahh, typical."
"Ishie, this time it's too much! Mountain Madara-o is where we lived since nine years ago, and Tajima just so brazenly...!"
"Only Nii-san would name his own son after the mountain the clan settled on for more than nine years ― the longest the clan has ever stayed in one place." Ishie scooped her husband's bowl and filled them. "How unseemly, but it is not surprising."
Hikaku's father scowled in agreement. "He's rude and biased, that brother of yours."
"Mhmm, that he is." Ishie let out a sigh. "He hasn't changed at all."
"Tajima has never named the clan children after the great mountains of the Land of Fire before," continued Kichio. "Not since his twin daughters and now, his son. A clan leader shouldn't show bias toward his immediate family. The late Uchiha Muraji taught us that."
A sigh escaped Ishie. "Nii-san doesn't seem to honour our father's way too much."
Hikaku chewed the inside of his mouth and looked down, frowning. He didn't know that.
"To not honour his predecessor's way..." Kichio trailed off.
Ishie let out a breathy chuckle. "You know how he is. Nii-san must have really high hopes that his son will survive way through the clan rite of passage age. It's not like the other parents hope for the same thing."
"Rite of passage." Kichio contemplated for a minute before setting his gaze on his son. "Ah, now that you mention it. Hikaku, my son. You have passed your 'san' of the shichi-go-san a few months ago."
Ishie significantly brightened, and Hikaku couldn't help but dread what was about to come.
"The time has come, I see." Her attention solely focused on her son. "Hikaku. We have decided. You have to perform Katon: Gōkakyū by your fifth birthday, and that will be the summer next year. Practice your hand signs every day. If you succeeds by then, you may receive the right to wear the clan symbol on your back and do missions for the clan by the time you reach your seventh birthday."
Hikaku's breath slowed. There was only one right response to that even though he didn't want to be recognised an adult by the clan at the age of five. Hikaku straightened his spine and bravely met his mother's intimidating eyes. "I'll do my best, Kaa-san, Tou-san."
Approval shone from Ishie's visage and she nodded to her husband. "As you know, Hikaku, your blood is not diluted. Very unlike my brother's impure Uchiha spawns. You will show him what a pure, true Uchiha is capable of. Make your foolish uncle see that he needs to stop collecting wives from outside the clan or just stop producing if he won't take one from our clan."
... sweet. He could taste the pressure. If Hikaku could grimace, he would, but something told him that would be unwise.
Kichio serenely smiled at him. "Listen well to your mother, Hikaku."
His father just had to add extra pressure on him, did he? Sighing internally, Hikaku absently replied, "Yes, Tou-san."
In a silent agreement, they stopped talking and focused on the hot pot on table.
Now that was over, Hikaku felt anticipation within himself. He couldn't wait for the the next week to come. New babies are formally introduced to the clan at the Naka Shrine after seven days of their arrivals, so he, as the first cousin, could meet Madara next week. He wanted to know if having a boy cousin was different or not (if not, Hikaku wouldn't not play with Tajima-ojisan's twin daughters, though!).
As the clan leader's only son, Uchiha Madara's life was surprisingly simple. He wasn't obliged to do anything yet he was more privileged than the other kids within the clan. Having desserts in the afternoon, dinner with a full-meal course, calligraphy lessons, a hot bath once a day, and possessing more than two set of clothes were his right, his father told him once. As such, kids looked at him with strange looks and mean hooks. Madara did not like strange looks (and he was forbidden to hurt them again), so he did his best to not bother himself with them.
One day, when Madara was bored (and lonely; Hikaku, his cousin and the only one who would play rough (but not giving him strange looks) with him, was away doing a mission) and his weekly supply of inarizushi dwindling to almost a dozen, he decided to try to discreetly borrow the Uchiha war fan, a precious weapon that had been passed down from generation to generation in the main family and could also be used as signal to attack by the clan leader, his father brought home a baby boy (Miyoko-neesan, Madara's eldest sister, said it must be because of something called 'wife number four' and Kurohi-neesan said 'must be the stork') and told Madara to protect the baby because they were brothers. That day, they celebrated the arrival of the baby, the baby received awe stares from his sisters.
And so Madara's attempt to get a hold of the weapon he had his eyes on was summarily dropped and Madara's glory days as the baby of the family were abruptly ended. Not that Madara minded it much. The new baby was not as cute as him (his sisters said otherwise but he didn't believe them), so Madara was all right with being the second youngest of the family.
The new baby was curly haired and was named Togaku (after the name of a nearby mountain) by his father. In Madara's blunt opinion, Togaku the baby was a weird creature. Togaku giggled all the time and yet despite that, he was ugly and red.
And so Madara ditched him in favour of rolling in the mud he'd found on the edge of his clan's settlement (it was a particularly hot day).
In hindsight, that was a mistake. Madara was promptly snatched away by an enemy (a Senju!). Greatly distressed with being held captive by a hostile shinobi, he'd awakened his one tomoe Sharingan right before his father rescued him. Unfortunately, Madara couldn't consciously activate them, to his father's barely hidden disappointment. His sisters expressed their happiness at that though, of which Madara didn't understand. Maybe they were afraid of being weaker than him, someone four years younger than them? Well, that was just silly.
Around that time, a pair of strange people with red hair showed up at the house. The woman said her name was 'Kisa' and that she was his 'grandmother' and told him to call her 'Obaa-sama' and her husband, the one with the faded red hair (who was only there for a minute) 'Ashina-sama'.
It said so much about them (of proud people they were, that is). Yet Madara didn't know what that was about. His grandparents should be old or dead (some of the older kids in the clan said so!), but the woman looked around his father's age, while the man (it was unclear if he was his grandfather or not) was maybe a bit older. Madara should have accused the woman of lying, but then again, his father didn't usher them out, so that was that.
Around two years later when Madara turned four and already had made a few killings (because enemies of the clan seemed to like him too much), Madara had another brother to take care of (how did his father managed this? He'd thought the stork wasn't delivering anymore!) and his name was Izuna (after another mountain name). Unlike Togaku who was oddly giggly and ugly, Izuna was loud and ugly, a combination Madara had thought impossible before Izuna.
Izuna cried (more like screeching like a bird) a lot and once fed and watered, would smell so gross and just unbearable to be near by. Simply put, Izuna was ten times more annoying than Togaku was. Madara quickly preferred to accompany Togaku instead, who would smile at everything and anything like the world was made of sweets.
Shaking his head, Madara scrunched up his nose. Another two years, and maybe Togaku would lose that sugary sweetness. Having the blood of your enemies staining your hands tend to erase the 'innocent light' from your eyes (Hikaku said that). Kurohi-neesan, who just had her first killing a few weeks ago even activated her two tomoe Sharingan because she was really upset about it (unlike Miyoko-neesan and him who were fine with the killings. After all, what was there to be upset for?).
It was a few months after Izuna's arrival that his redheaded grandmother, Kisa, made an appearance once again. This time, she brought along a girl (his cousin, Kisa said) named Mito with her, who was also a redhead.
To be honest, Madara was unsure about having another cousin. He'd thought Hikaku and Yatsuga were his only cousins. He usually dealt with Hikaku more than Yatsuga, who was Togaku's age. Mito was his age and a girl like his sisters, yet she wasn't introduced to them.
This was... suspicious (yes that was the right word). How come Mito was his cousin but not his siblings' too? On that note, Kisa, his grandmother, didn't interact with his siblings, at all. He'd never heard her asking about his siblings.
What was going on here?
Madara had to find out.