Madara was ecstatic. The news of Senju Butsuma's death could not have come at a better time! Without further ado, he sent word (via one of his hawk, Touryou, since only the main house lack servants) for Hikari to make an appearance in front of him.
Whilst he relaxedly stood in the middle of the small balcony connected to his private office, basking in the warmth of the afternoon sun, he caresses Toboe's breast feathers. His onyx eyes were gentle when he gazed at the docile red-tail albino hawk perched majestically on his gloved dorsum.
A hastily written note was currently on top of his desk, next to the many piled scrolls and untouched paperwork. Madara smirked; it had been a good decision on his part to train homing pigeons in secret. That was not all he had done in the shadows, however. Another scheme of his that has not seen the light of day was his personal brainwashed moles.
The benefits of having loyal undercover agents working as servants for other shinobi clans had been something Madara had implemented as soon as his chakra reserves were big enough for him to impart his will onto gullible civilians via genjutsu and seals.
Whenever he was out on missions, he would constantly seek out street rats (the younger the better) to use as sleeper agents, causing 'coincidental' and 'tragic' encounters to pull at one's heartstrings.
Shinobi may have been trained to be hired killers and soldiers of war, but ultimately, unlike Madara who perceive others to be pawns on his chessboard, they were still human and would take pity on the starving civilian orphans struggling to survive out on the streets.
"It's funny how my plans all come together so easily in this life," He whispered in satisfaction, his lips brushing softly against Toboe's white wings.
When he heard a meek and feminine voice outside his shoji doors, Madara called for his expected guest to enter whilst also turning to face her. Hikari did so with her head bowed low and her body language radiating unease. He had predicted such a reaction, hence he only gazed at her with frosty eyes.
The reason for her fearful behavior and his blunt disdain was not unfounded. She had, after all, done him a great disservice by breaking their contract. One that they had mutually agreed on: to cohabitate as housemates rather than spouses.
In fact, she should be groveling at his magnanimity when he decided to spare her life. If he had not experienced so many hardships and lived through so many wars brought by vengeance, her continuous survival in Madara's household could not be assured after that vile wrongdoing.
That incident had happened two months ago - and the result was apparent.
After that, she has wisely limited all interactions with him and his brothers as much as possible. However, as a sensor second only to Senju Tobirama, the subtle formation of tiny chakra networks around her abdominal region was too obvious.
"Madara-sa-"
"Who gave you the permission to call me by my name? Or rather, who gave you permission to speak at all?"
Madara's pair of onyx eyes flashed crimson, the veins of his forehead throbbing in pure fury when the memory of that night appeared suddenly in his mind, the vivid evocation of his name being whispered over and over again by her was disgusting.
It made him gnash his teeth in anger.
When Hikari saw his darkening expression, she flinched and hunched her shoulders to appear as pitiful and small as possible.
It took a painfully long time for Madara to compartmentalize and calm down, but after he did, he allowed for his lips to curve into a slight yet cruel smile.
Today was a good day, and it shan't be spoilt by the likes of her.
Thanks to one of his pigeon's swift delivery, by the end of this week, Tajima would be buried six feet under and Madara would officially be crowned the clan head. He could not help but allow a faint giggle to slip past his lips, the madness and excitement in his eyes hard to contain.
Finally, finally, he could shrug off all the restrictive chains and act accordingly.
With his chin tipped upwards, he looked down his nose at Hikari as if she was something less than human. Toboe too gave her a piercing stare, looking away not a minute later as if he had deemed her unworthy of any attention.
Although Madara wanted so badly to be rid of her, the life in her womb stopped him from doing anything rash. She still has her uses despite the disgusting feeling he gets whenever he sees her. He only needed to wait another seven months before he could throw her to his beloved raptors to feast upon.
Besides, he had already placed a seal at the back of her tongue; disallowing her from talking to anyone about her daily activities here in Madara's household.
Before Madara could kindly inform her about the acts she would be compiled into maneuvering, the shoji door leading into his office slid open. Izuna came strutting inside as if he owned the place, which only made Madara sigh indulgently, the insanity in his eyes hidden behind the shadow of his fringe.
"Tadaima, aniki!" Izuna grinned from ear to ear, "Didja miss me?!"
Izuna completely ignored the blood splatters on his person and lunged at Madara for a hug. The Uchiha heir didn't bother to dodge, only resigning himself to be covered in the blood of his brother's victims. Toboe squawked indignantly when he was knocked into the air, flying out the window after giving Izuna a few angry pecks.
"Okaerinasai, Izuna. You know very well that I constantly ache to acquaint you with our newly dug koi pond."
"Aniki is always so mean to me. What do Ryouta, Taku, and Yaku have that I don't?"
"Cuteness," Madara deadpanned, voice slightly muffled against Izuna's shoulder.
Izuna puffed out his cheeks in mock anger, "Excuse you! I am, and forever will be, cute!"
"Just keep saying that, Izu. Who knows maybe one day, it'll come true," Madara chuckled whilst fondly patting his little brother's back, "Anyway, are you hurt anywhere?"
"Do my feelings count?"
"No."
"Demon."
"Your compliment makes me blush."
"..."
At Izuna's speechless face, Madara smirked. Teasing Izuna has always brought him much entertainment. However, they should not get side-tracked.
"So, did something happen for you to come back early?" Madara worriedly cupped his younger brother's blood-stained cheeks, staring straight into a pair of similar onyx eyes.
Tajima had given Izuna a full week to complete a bandit extermination mission just outside the Uchiha territory. But it has only been three days since his departure.
This could only mean that Izuna has completed his assignment and intentionally returned early - which was something Izuna would never do in a million years. The younger Uchiha prefers to play around the red light districts until the very last minute, only returning when due.
"O ye of little faith," Izuna pouted for a couple of seconds, before abruptly turning serious, "The information supplied to us was inaccurate. We'll need to launch an investigation on the client. If I had not been bored and pushed for the mission, Tatsumaki, who otou-san has selected beforehand, would not have survived this."
Madara gave his brother's cheeks one last caress before he walked behind his desk and sat down.
"Elaborate," he demanded whilst he rested his elbows atop his mahogany desk and his chin on his intertwined fingers. Izuna instinctually straightened his posture, completely ignoring Hikari who was now standing awkwardly near the doors (not daring to leave, yet at the same time not daring to ask for permission to leave).
"Judging by the way the bandits moved, I suspect that they had been trained formally in the shinobi arts. Or rather, I do not believe that they are actually bandits. Perhaps a minor clan hired to act like bandits. I've captured the presumed leader and handed him to Hikaku for further interrogation."
"Since you have fought him in battle, you should roughly know his personality. How soon do you reckon he will he break?"
"He's stubborn, that's for sure. However, he is not fully trained to guard against genjutsu. I believe that Hikaku would be able to crack his head open after a few days."
"Hn. I suspect that that is not all?"
"Aniki is right," Izuna gave a wry smile, "The estimated strength of the enemies was also wrong - there were at least three times the numbers stated. The reason why I am able to come out partially unscathed was due to my training under you, aniki. For those of Tatsumaki's level, it would've been suicide."
"... Other than myself, who else have you told about this?"
"Nobody. I had a feeling you would not like it if I reported this matter to otou-san or his aide."
"Good instincts. I've indeed raised you well," Madara leaned back against his seat with narrowed eyes, "I smell an infestation of pests in our backyard."
"The upper echelons?"
"Perhaps. My gut, however, tells me that their servants' quarters would have more of a stench."
"Why though? I don't understand the connection... All that effort used to insert themselves into our midst, screw up our intel - just to get our eyes? It'll be easier to just sneak in, gouge out a few pairs of eyes, and sneak out in the middle of the night."
"No," At Izuna's confused expression, Madara elaborated, "Not entirely. You might not know this since you have never encountered veteran hunters before, but in my experience, seasoned dōjutsu thieves would often than not work in a four-man cell when their aim is a singular Uchiha party. They would also have a medic-nin specialized in enucleation with them. The Sharingan is useless if not activated, hence their aim is to give us a killing blow at the right moment-"
Since nobody but Tobirama and (then)Hashirama noticed that the Uchiha clan were far more emotional than they portray themselves to be. It would be a major clusterfuck if their enemies discover that the Sharingan could be triggered by intense emotional distress.
"-since it is also useless to implant a deactivated Sharingan into the sockets of a non-Uchiha, as they do not have the right cranial nerves to control our eyes. Hence my point: the more manpower they have, the more likely it is that they are prepared to abduct someone alive and in generally good health despite their own casualties. Quantity over quality for hunters could only mean one thing."
Izuna immediately went pale at the insinuation.
"Bloodline thieves," The younger Uchiha whispered hoarsely.
Nothing was worse than being forced to become another clan's breeding horse.
It would be a far kinder fate for an Uchiha to have their eyes gouged after death than to remain alive and have their children be raised as disposable fodder against their own kin (unless that particular Uchiha was defective like Tajima).
"Indeed. If this hypothesis of mine is all true, I fear that... who was it again?"
"Tatsumaki."
"Yes, I fear that Fubuki-"
"It's Tasumaki."
"-is not the only one who has been targetted... This is not a good thing, Izuna. I'll need Ryouta to replace Hikaku - and be sure to inform him that I expect fruitful results in an hour's time."
Izuna furrowed his brow, "Does that mean you'll authorize the use of those approaches?"
"I trust Ryouta to know the limits, even if he has to get a little rough," Madara says sternly.
"But... If others know about Ryouta's involvement or the methods he uses..."
Madara understood Izuna's hesitancy.
Although Madara phrased it in such a nice way, in their violent world, 'a little rough' would be interpreted as 'do whatever it takes as long as the prisoner remains alive'. For those who have a weak heart, it would be career-suicide to assign them such a task.
As for why Madara gave this interrogation to Ryouta... Unlike how motherly and duteous his second younger brother was, inwardly, he was an extreme sadist.
After having learned of Ryouta's interest in all matters regarding T&I, Madara had taught him all that he knew about extracting intel from a person. Be they by physical or mental means.
And because Ryouta, as soon as he was assigned to the Intel Unit, would have his head full of confidential info, Madara was obliged to train him in counter-interrogation and escape techniques as well. Some of their clansmen in that unit had paled and barfed all over themselves when they coincidentally stumbled upon Madara dishing out those techniques to Ryouta.
Madara's training, as usual, was not for the weak of heart (whilst being mentally strong was a quality that all shinobi required to function properly, torture was something many would blanch at no matter how 'safe' the training environment was).
Although Madara was protective of his family, he would not overstep the line and cross into the territory of smothering them. After all, too much love could weaken them. The only way to survive in this harsh era was to guide his little brothers when they are young and push them down the cliff as soon as he deemed them ready to survive the fall.
With an exhausted sigh, Madara rubbed his aching temples, "I am not fond of repeating myself, Izuna."
"The aftermath won't be pretty if you approve this. With all due respect, I ask that you reconsider, aniki. Think about your reputation as the clan heir. You're already being called a 'faulty' Uchiha."
That was true. But did Madara have time to concern himself about his reputation when lives were currently at risk? There had already been three KIA reports this month, their bodies not found due to one reason or another.
Therein lies the problem.
One report may be excused. Two reports in a short timeframe may be due to bad luck. Three reports, however, was a conspiracy. Fubuki may very well have been a fourth victim if Izuna had not stepped in.
What if all those three reported clansmen had been captured and detained without Tajima and his lackey's know so? Madara was frustrated and wishes he could send out a few squads to investigate those deaths ASAP. But first and foremost, he needed to flush out the infestation of rats in his home prior to doing anything that could cause a leak.
Who, other than Izuna, could he trust to send out to investigate this matter? That was the main question as one mistake could throw everything into disarray.
"Reputation?" He chuckled without humor, his Sharingan flashing for a microsecond, "Why should I give two shites about a reputation that has already been dragged through the mud?"
"Tsk," Izuna clicked his tongue, clearly displeased, "It's because you refuse to correct their assumptions and misunderstandings! Are you going to keep quiet again? Just like how you turn a blind eye when the Intel Unit began spreading stupid shit like how you constantly mistreat Ryouta? That's fucking ridiculous! Do they not have eyes?! You were only training hi-"
"Focus, Izuna. Don't get side-tracked. Is there anything else to report?" Madara purposefully looked away, busying his hands with folding the note his pigeon had delivered.
His younger brother pursed his lips into a thin line, but ultimately shook his head in negative.
"No. Should I investigate the client?"
"Leave that to Hikaku. Before you go, I'll trouble you with burning this for me," Madara passes the note to Izuna, who stored it inside his sleeves without looking.
"Understood. I'll be taking my leave now, sir."
"Good work, soldier," Before Izuna could take another step, Madara licked the bottom of his lips and spoke in a tentative manner, not at all eager for them to part on such tensed terms, "Izu? I've been craving for inarizushi lately."
The younger Uchiha froze.
It took a few tensed seconds before he responded, a wide grin on his face and his professional shinobi mask nowhere to be found, "Then we should pick a date for the five of us to have a picnic! It's been a while since we've gone on a family outing. I'll be sure to bring the ingredients required for Ryouta to cook your favorite food, aniki."
"Un. I appreciate all your effort, otouto."
The second Izuna closed the shoji door behind of him, Madara's eyes were instantly upon Hikari, the gentleness that had been there when speaking with Izuna now replaced by frost.
When she notices his attention, she immediately bowed her head, a layer of cold sweat appearing on her forehead.
"Now then... This is what you are going to do for me, my dear and loyal wife."
Hikari shuddered, her entire body shaking like a leaf as she stared straight into those abyss-like eyes.
A/N: Oh, man. So much info dump. So much character background dump. So stifling~ I hope this chapter didn't chase away all my readers (╥_╥)...
On another note: thank you so much for all your amazing comments. They seriously bring me joy (*´∀`*)!
P.S. We're finally going to end this Childhood arc soon. Are you guys excited for the Konoha arc? (｡•̀ᴗ-)✧