"When I said I needed five more minutes I meant it more like hours," Izuna tells his brother as he bundles up in his formal clothes.
Madara, kind, loving brother that he is, just rolls his eyes as he smooths the creases of his own formal clothing. "You shouldn't have stayed up so late," he says. "You knew we had to be up early today for the festival." He shoots Izuna a look. "Besides, aren't you a ninja? You should be able to manage on little sleep, though why you made that decision confuses me."
Sticking out his tongue at his brother, Izuna hastily has to dodge a swat. "It was time well spent! I've come up with an awesome new genjutsu that's gonna have you crying in seconds. Just wait until I bust it out in our next spar!"
"Oh?" Madara says, sliding open the door. "And I suppose you've tested this genjutsu?"
Madara knows very well who Izuna's most frequent sparring partner is and, as such, knows very well that as Uchiha, they're more resistant to genjutsu and a fair bit more resistant to genjutsu too. Not to mention, trying to avoid actually traumatising your fellow ninja.
"Yes," Izuna says, only just stopping himself from crossing his arms. He doesn't mention the fact the genjutsu had failed to make Hikaku cry, but also then considering that Hikaku—Izuna is fairly certain—regularly has nightmares of paperwork and nothing else, perhaps that's to be expected.
"Hm." Before Madara can say anything more, they're out on the street and caught amongst the other Uchiha. The crowd carries them forward, all heading towards the best vantage points for the main attraction for the evening.
However, that will only happen in a few hours before then, most families gather with one another and close friends for an evening meal. Once, Izuna had spent the evening with his brothers, all of them, and he has hazy memories of his parents too. There's a framed picture in the hallway of their house, one that Izuna doesn't remember, when he's still a babe in his mother's arms. His father is smiling, and so are his brothers, and it's almost like the war doesn't exist.
Only, the war does exist because his parents are ash on the wind, as are all his brothers but Madara. Now it's only them—except it isn't just them, because they're part of the Uchiha Clan and that means you're never really alone.
"About time you got here," Kanon says when Izuna reaches her. Her wrinkles seemed to have gotten their own wrinkles since Izuna last seen her, and she's frowning at him. Her grey hair is neatly pulled back into a traditional shimada style, which Izuna rarely sees Kanon wear. For the most part, Kanon prefers practical hairstyles that are easy to adjust.
"Kanon-obaa-sama, we came as quickly as we could," Izuna whines, dropping down onto the blanket that's been laid out on the grassy ground. Kanon has managed to secure them a great spot to watch the fireworks later—which is afforded to them thanks to the status of all those who eat with them. There's Kanon, who isn't a Clan Elder but might as well be, with her grandson and-
"Where's Kagami?" Izuna says. "Kanon-obaa-sama, have you lost your grandson?"
Quick as a diving hawk, Kanon swats his shoulder. "I have never lost a person in your lifetime, and I certainly wouldn't have lost my grandson." She sniffs. "He's with Hikaku."
Izuna pouts as he rubs his shoulder. That had hurt.
"You left Kagami with Hikaku? Hikaku's a bad influence! You definitely shouldn't trust him with Kagami."
"He's a better influence than you," Madara says drily, and begins pulling out the food before Izuna can reply.
Since he can't respond, Izuna just pouts at his brother. He could probably go find Hikaku and Kagami. Really, it's likely that Hikaku has taken Kagami to play with the other kids for a bit, and if Izuna goes over there, he just knows that Hikaku will call him out on running from Kanon and Madara.
Honestly, out of all the people in the Uchiha Clan, Iuzna should get the least amount of teasing—it should really be Hikkau. He's the weird one who has nightmares about paperwork rather than normal things like battles gone wrong and old worries.
"Kanon-obaa-sama, are you really going to let Nii-san bully me like this without telling him off? It's bad manners!"
"It is," Kanon agrees, "but only when it isn't between siblings. Everyone knows that things are different when there are siblings involved."
He can't believe it. Kanon has turned against him! The only ally Izuna has in this family is Kagami—who has just appeared and throws himself at Izuna's back. Izuna dodges, twisting and catching Kagami last minute before the kid hits the ground. He ruffles Kagami's hair, tugging at one of the curly locks. "What do we have here? Some rascal coming to steal all my unagi?"
"Noo," Kagami whines, kicking as he giggles. "The unagi is mine!"
"Good evening Madara, Izuna," Hikaku says as he takes a seat, folding his legs gracefully and sitting down. Kanon smiles at him and Izuna scowls at Hikaku, because why does he always get grief from Kanon when she loves Hikaku. There's definitely some kind of double-standard here. Izuna deserves some kind of payment for everything he deals with here.
"Evening Hikaku," Madara says. "And evening to you too, Kagami. Are you enjoying yourself?"
Izuna lets go of Kagami as the kid twists, not quite managing to escape the hold but close enough that Izuna's willing to give it to him. Kagami squeals in laughter, landing on his feet, and then turning to slam into Izuna in a hug.
Hiding a smile in Kagami's hair, Izuna wraps his arms around Kagami and squeezes. "I'm havin' an awesome time!" Kagami says, chattering away even as they shift so that Kagami is actually sitting down. "I did lotsa cooking an' got to play with my friends an' now I get to have dinner with you an' I'm gonna see fireworks later an' I get to stay up really late an-"
"I think you need to breathe before continuing to speak," Izuna says, struggling to hold back his laughter. "But it sounds like you've been having a great time."
"The best!" Kagami agrees, taking the chopsticks Kanon hands to him.
The food is quickly sorted out and Kagami falls quietly as he falls on his food with a ravenous appetite that only children seem to have. In the meantime, Izuna speaks quietly with his family. They don't talk about the war or their dead or any such topic, but things that bring them happiness, that make them smile, that make them laugh until they choke on their food.
Smiling, Izuna's gaze wanders from Kanon, grey hair and wrinkles and somehow alive against the odds, to Kagami pressed up against her side, dozing as he waits for the fireworks to start; then to Hikaku, eyes crinkling as he laughs, and Madara who looks like the weight has been taken from his shoulders and he can smile with ease.
Overhead, the fireworks start with a loud burst of noise and yet, Izuna doesn't turn to look at them. Instead, he actives his Sharingan just to watch the awe on Kagami's face, the contentment Kanon wears, the joy on Hikaku's face, and the happiness that seems at home on Madara's face.
The festival is nice and the fireworks are bound to be spectacular as usual, but this, Izuna finds, is the best part of the festival by far. He's just thankful he gets to see it.