Kagami sulkily kicks the dirt beneath his sandaled feet, his bottom lip jutted out in a petulant manner.
He didn't want to be here. In the compound's market area. But his mama was being mean today; had carried him - kicking and screaming - out of bed and dragged him here against his will. She also has a tight grip on his hand, not budging no matter how much he tries to pull away.
Usually, Kagami loves helping his mama with her chores, especially if it takes him out of the house. But he hates it now. For whenever he leaves the house to go to the market with her, he would hear many of his aunts and uncles say mean things about Madara-sama, which makes Kagami angry enough to throw handfuls of dirt at them.
Mama always scolds him for that. But Kagami refuses to apologize (even when she pinches his ear until his eyes water. And no, they weren't tears. He was a big boy - and big boys don't cry).
Those baddies had no right to say such things about Kagami's favorite person. It was all their fault that Madara-sama looks so sad and doesn't take walks around the compound nowadays. It was also their fault that mama won't let him approach Madara-sama no matter how much he throws himself on the floor and screams.
Glaring at the group of housewives his mama was chatting with - his curly hair all but floofed at the bad gossip they have concerning Madara-sama - Kagami makes sure to memorize their faces. He plans to smear Kaitou's poop on their shoes the next time he sneaks out of the house.
It was at this moment that Kagami notices that mama's head was turned away from him, paying more attention to the fruit vendor, enough that her hand slackened for him to slip out of her hold.
He didn't hesitate to take this opportunity to rush into the crowd of shoppers, hiding him from her sight easily when he only reaches an adult's hip at best. In addition to that, he makes sure to pull his chakra inwards into a ball at his tummy to prevent leakage, just like how Madara-sama taught him to.
With a stubborn and illogical determination that only naive children could muster, Kagami, in all his three-year-old glory, enters sneakily into the Uchiha main family house, expertly climbing over the wooden fence surrounding the two-story building.
At the doorway, he furrows his brows, thinking deeply if he should remove his shoes or not. It took him all but a second to decide that he should. The last time Kagami enters Madara-sama's house with his shoes on, Izuna-sama (the evilest adult ever) had force-fed him a big bowl of nattō as punishment for tracking mud all over the house.
Kagami still has nightmares about the nasty smell and taste till this day.
Shuddering at the memory, Kagami quickly swapped his sandals for a pair of black bunny slippers. They were Kagami's, Madara-sama had said, for whenever he decides to drop by.
When Kagami did not find anyone in the living room, kitchen, garden, or the aviary, he ambles to Madara-sama's bedroom. Peering inside, he brightens immediately upon seeing Madara-sama, slumbering the morning away. He doubts he could follow Madara-sama's example without his mama scolding him for being lazy.
Kagami knows that he should probably do the polite thing and leave, but Kagami hasn't seen Madara-sama for so long. So the man wouldn't mind if Kagami stays for a while longer, right?
With that decided, Kagami walks into the bedroom with tippy toes and makes himself comfortable beside Madara-sama's futon. His tiny hands soon grab a fistful of Madara-sama's hair, pudgy fingers clumsily weaving the soft strands into loose braids while he hums a lullaby mama always sings to him.
Within the blink of an eye, before Kagami was even aware that Madara-sama was awake, he feels the tip of Madara-sama's fingers brush lightly against the side of his neck. He stares in wonderment, enthralled by the older Uchiha's crimson red eyes. Kagami has seen many Sharingan with one to three dots in them before, but he has never seen a Sharingan with patterns inside.
(The Sharingan's thrall distracted Kagami from feeling the cut Madara had made across the boy's jugular. And then healing the injury before the three-year-old could even feel the pain.)
"Kagami," Madara-sama's raspy voice was enough to startle Kagami back into focus, only now realizing that the older Uchiha's eyes have returned to their original state of black.
Kagami pouts, wanting to study the strange pattern longer, but was easily enough distracted when Madara-sama's fingers slid upwards until he manages to cup Kagami's cheek tenderly, a thumb brushing gently across his left eyelid. Kagami giggles and all but snuggles into the heavily calloused, adult-sized palm.
"Good morning, Da-sama!" Kagami chirps his greeting like any other good boy, showing a grin with four missing front teeth. The younger Uchiha then made sure to latch onto Madara-sama's wrist, pudgy fingers holding them in place as he continuously rubs his cheek lovingly over the man's palm, "Mi-kun misses Da-sama."
The corners of Madara-sama's lips curve up slightly in a way that Kagami recognizes as fondness, which makes Kagami return it with a grin of his own, wide enough to stretch from ear to ear. If Kagami was talented enough to draw something better than a stick figure, he would've drawn all of Madara-sama's smiles and collect them as a hobby.
Once again, Kagami laments how blind the adults were to not see what Kagami sees when he looks at Madara-sama.
(Albeit, secretly, Kagami has always thought that Madara-sama was the prettiest when he smiles and laughs and that was the second reason why Kagami tries his best to make the man happy. Mama calls Kagami an esthete when he tries to explain his actions to her. Kagami doesn't know what it means - and Madara-sama only chuckles when he asked the Uchiha head that one time, much to his petulant frustration.)
"And I you," Kagami did his best to not preen like a peacock. But looking at Madara-sama's mirthful eyes, he failed. Not that Kagami minds. Anything that makes Madara-sama was good in his books. "Not that I find your presence disagreeable, Kagami, but what are you doing here? Does your mother know of your whereabouts?"
His grin turns into a sheepish smile. And then he ignores the second question like a champ. Mama knows that Madara-sama's house was the only place Kagami would be at, other than the playground. So that question was irara- irelva- irre...something... oh, right, irrelevant.
"Mi-kun is on a mission to protect Da-sama!" From all the meanies who keep saying bad things about Madara-sama. Despite his young age, Kagami knows to be tactful (unlike Izuna-sama). So he doesn't complete the sentence.
"My, what a gentleman. A man after my own heart. How can I ever repay you for your bravery, shinobi-kun?"
Madara-sama's black eyes were bright with mirth while Kagami giggles. He also keenly notes that Madara-sama made no move to get up or leave his futon.
'Maybe Madara-sama is feeling under the weather today?' Kagami ponders.
But, well, Madara-sama is an old man. So Kagami reasons that he shouldn't ask Madara-sama to get out of bed to play with him. Izuna-sama often mentions that old people need lots of rest, after all, whenever he refuses to release Kagami from his job as a pillow. Once again, Kagami enforces that Izuna-sama was the evilest person ever.
"Mi-kun doesn't need Da-sama to repay him! Mi-kun does this because Mi-kun loves Da-sama! Buuuut, Mi-kun won't mind accepting something from Da-sama if Da-sama wants to repay Mi-kun that badly."
"Hn. Do you reckon I'd like to reward you that badly?"
"Yes!"
"If you insist on it, I suppose I could?"
"Mi-kun insists!"
"Is that so? Very well, bunny. We have a deal. I'll be sure to supply something after you've completed your mission," Madara-sama chuckles, his hand moving to pet Kagami on his head before pulling away.
Kagami pouts, wanting to monopolize more of Madara-sama's warmth, but allows it when he sees how exhausted Madara-sama really looks under all that playfulness. The older Uchiha has bruises on his eyebags, dark enough to mistaken them for ink, and was pallor than Kagami has ever seen him before.
Not liking the sickly image Madara-sama portrays, Kagami pulls out mama's flowery hair comb and begins combing through Madara-sama's long hair with determination. Sleep would make the tiredness in Madara-sama's eyes disappear. And the best method to induce asleep was this - as Kagami always feels sleepy whenever mama combs his hair for him.
It was with the mindset of a child did he do what he felt would help Madara-sama best at this point in time. Madara-sama didn't seem to mind, eyes becoming half-lidded at the ministration.
When Kagami notices that Madara-sama wasn't really falling asleep after some time, he tries to reassure the older Uchiha. Kagami knows that when he himself has nightmares, he would be too scared to fall back asleep. Hence, he assumes that that was the case for Madara-sama.
"Don't worry, Da-sama. Da-sama can sleep without worries! Mi-kun will be here to defend Da-sama from any nightmares like how Kaitou protects Mi-kun from his nightmares. Though Mi-kun isn't naughty enough to steal Da-sama's pillow like how Kaitou steals Mi-kun's pillows. He also pinches Mi-kun's food sometimes... and milk, too...! Naughty cat is naughty!"
Madara-sama chuckles.
Before Kagami could protest about being laughed at, Madara-sama complies and closes his eyes. Kagami snaps his mouth shut and continues combing through Madara-sama's hair.
Kagami would let Madara-sama off this time. Since elderly people like him clearly need to sleep more to ease their fatigue away. Next time, however, Kagami would scold Madara-sama for his rudeness. But now, Kagami happily hums a lullaby and focuses his sole attention on easing Madara-sama to sleep.
Madara patiently waits until his little visitor has slumped over in slumber, breathing evened out, before he opens his eyes and gets up slowly. His body trembles in exertion, but he easily pushes past that with practiced eased and gently arranges the child into his futon, rolling Kagami into a burrito without thought.
With a soft exhale, he walks out of his bedroom, pausing only to throw a fond look behind his shoulder at the sleeping child-
("Mi-kun does this because Mi-kun loves Da-sama!")
-and heads towards the guest room, where he could sense Ryouta's and his daughter's chakra signatures at.
Ryouta looks up from his position next to a wooden cradle, expectant, when Madara enters his brother's bedroom, his face covered in a shadow of tiredness but he was also pleased to note that Madara was already rested enough to walk on his own.
"How long have I been out for?" Madara asks as he seats himself next to the younger Uchiha. His Sharingan soon enough whirls to life and he looks at his baby girl, desperately soaking in her healthy complexion and easy breathing. It makes the tensed lines of his shoulders soften.
"Three days. How are you feeling now, anija?"
"Well rested. Kagami had been a pleasant surprise upon waking, a sight for sore eyes indeed," Madara sighs, "Although I would have preferred a head's up, otouto. It was fortunate enough that I had sensed the bunny's chakra signature and reign in my instincts."
Decapitating someone he cherishes upon awakening was not something he ever wanted.
"Ah. Apologies, anija," Ryouta grimaces. "It sometimes slips my mind that not everyone starts their awareness training at the age of three."
"That is the norm, Ryouta. Our family is simply the exception."
"Hn. Should I be expecting Kagami to be trained by you soon, then? I know that anija thinks of him as an honorary little brother."
"Perhaps," Madara murmurs. Inwardly, however, he doubts that Kagami's mother would give him the permission required to tutor Kagami no matter how 'honored' it would be for a clan head to take a personal disciple, a half-Uchiha at that. "Did you invite him over?"
"No. He came uninvited but wholly welcomed. Honestly, I had feared that he wouldn't dare to come anywhere near us after that event," Ryouta sighs. "As much as I hate being wrong, I'm glad to be proven otherwise in this case."
"The little bunny is stubborn," Madara agrees.
Granted, Madara too had speculated that Kagami would avoid him after the Purge had taken place. Children tend to imitate the behavior of the adults around them due to how impressionable their minds were. And with Madara becoming the clan's pariah, Madara couldn't blame Kagami if the bunny turned away from him too.
In spite of the fact that Madara was pleased to interact with Kagami again, he was still anxious about too many things to be truly contented in spirit.
The first on his ever long list of worries right now was his daughter. It didn't matter how healthy she looked right now. He wanted to know if there were any concerns about her immune system or her vitals.
"How is...?" He trails off, onyx eyes landing on the sleeping newborn lying inside the cradle.
Her head of white hair has grown thicker, which makes Madara's heart swell in pride - perhaps his baby girl would take after him more than Hikari (one could only hope), but she was still too young for him to determine whose bone structure dominates her facial features.
"She's a fighter like her father," Ryouta smiles, proud and full of affection, "From the constant monitoring, there have been no signs of deterioration. Nor does she have any trouble with her breathing. I am in complete awe, anija. I've always known that you are a skilled healer, but this is unexpected - in a completely good way."
"Thank you for looking after her on my behalf."
"I know you'd do the same for me. However, anija, please don't ever scare me like that again. My heart almost leaped out of my chest when you fainted."
"I apologize for scaring you, otouto."
Ryouta glares at him, onyx eyes flicker to red for a split second. Madara places a hand on his brother's head, an apologetic expression replacing his usual frown.
"Yet you're not saying you won't do it again."
Madara ruffles his brother's hair before pulling away and changing the topic.
He dislikes lying to his family. Hence, he would rather say nothing. If he needed to sacrifice his life for any of his brothers or his daughter, he wouldn't mind doing so. Their life was more important than Madara's, after all (and he has already made contingency plans for his contingency plans for his self-assigned Zetsu extermination mission if he ever dies earlier than expected).
"What of the clan?"
Ryouta's eyebrows pinch in annoyance but allowed for the topic to shift. Madara knows that Ryouta would be extra clingy for a month or two, but it was worth it. He would never regret how he went about saving his daughter from premature death.
"Nothing has been leaked. Hisako-san-" At Madara's abrupt and utterly blank look, Ryouta huffed in exasperation. "Uchiha Hisako, the midwife. Honestly, anija, you should memorize the name of your fellow clansmen. No, anija, don't give me that look. Simply committing their faces to memory is not enough. You need to learn their names as well. But, anyway, Hisako-san has proven that she can be trusted with patient confidentiality. There have been no rumors about Hikari going into labor."
"Good to know that there won't be any domino effect this time."
"Don't jinx it, anija. Who knows... There could be a messenger running to deliver yet another unwelcomed news - maybe about the alliance this time," The two brothers exchanged grimaces at that.
"Speaking of alliance... It's been two weeks. Yet I don't sense Izuna anywhere in the compound."
"That's because the idiot has yet to return. Izu-nii has, however, sent me a few letters to keep us up to date with the meetings. I'm frankly shocked that he has enough brain cells to do so."
Madara's lips twitched in amusement at Ryouta's dry tone. Never has a day gone by without Ryouta commenting about Izuna's intelligence, or lack thereof.
"You underestimate him far too much, Ryouta."
"Sometimes, I have a feeling I overestimate him, anija."
"Don't let him hear you say that, otouto. He'll mistaken it for a compliment."
"Abysmal."
"And you ask why Izuna always curses at you."
"Hm? I've always assumed that Izu-nii only knows a small portion of our language and those obnoxious insults are simply spoken to make up for his lack of vocabulary."
Ryouta sniffs haughtily. It didn't take long for the two Uchiha to burst into childish giggling. Madara didn't realize how much he misses this until now. Talking smack about Izuna with Ryouta was truly a therapeutic and bonding experience.
(Just hours away from the Uchiha compound, Izuna has a sudden sneezing fit, his expression turned ugly when the last sneeze causes him to trip over a wayward tree root and faceplant onto the ground. The other Uchiha grimaces at their heir's embarrassing display, dismayed when they hear one of the Senju representatives' let out a rather loud snort.
Izuna lets out a string of curses, blaming his clumsiness on Ryouta. It was always Ryouta's fault whenever Izuna fucks up. He cares not about being unreasonable - it was Ryouta's fucking fault!)
"Alright. Let us get back on track. How goes the meetings?" Madara finally says after their laughter subsides. He also made sure to check if they had accidentally wakened his daughter with their noisiness. When he sees his little girl still asleep, he feels simultaneously relief and disappointment. He so badly wants to make eye contact with his baby girl.
"There had been a lot of... creative word choices used to describe how unpleasant the Senju elders are. But other than Izu-nii's whining complaints, the Senju have come into an agreement of a temporary truce while we smoothen out the treaty. From Izu-nii's last letter - which was a day ago - they'll be returning today, with Senju Tobirama as a representative from the Senju's side, followed by a group of bodyguards.
"I've already set up the tents and have also alerted the clan of our ceasefire with the Senju, along with their expected presence in our compound soon. There have been many who vocalizes their concerns, but I've spread the word that there will be three times as many patrols while the Senju are here, which manages to dispel some of their fears.
"However, there are also some who have been asking - quite loudly - about your condition, anija. You are our strongest warrior, and they worry that with you out of commission, the White Demon might show his hand."
Ryouta reports everything without a stutter, ensuring that his voice was soft enough to not wake the baby. Madara scratches his chin in thought, his mind absorbing his brother's words and processing them at a breakneck speed.
"I see. Why do they believe that I am out of commission?"
"There's no concrete evidence as nobody would dare to spy on our house. However, they've not seen you for over two weeks despite knowing you're home, anija. Even Takumi and Yakumi have not left the house, too worried about you and your daughter. Despite my reassurances, rumor has it that you've fallen gravely ill."
"I'll be sure to parade myself down the streets later on," Madara's tone was as dry as the weather in Suna. Without much effort, he extends his senses and 'sees' that his baby brothers were inside their room. "Are the twins sleeping?"
"Yes. We took turns looking after her," Ryouta gestures to the sleeping baby. "I apologize for dragging them into this, anija. I've had a hard time juggling my, yours, and Izu-nii's workload by myself."
"No. You did good, otouto. You've helped lessened many of my burdens. Thank you."
"Hn. Since I've done well... Can I get permission to play with Hikari as a reward?" Ryouta suddenly asks, his lips curving into a gentle and unassuming smile. Madara huffs a laugh, amused at how bloodthirsty his little brother was.
"Just make sure to leave her intact after two month's time. I want her death to go as planned."
"Will do."
The two brothers shared a smile, one that was demented and sharp and filled with too much sadistic pleasure to actually call it anything else other than a show of teeth, really.
Whilst Madara contentedly listens to how Ryouta went on and on about the cruelest methods to inflict the most pain on a human, concurrently, back at Madara's bedroom, Kagami squirms all over the floor, tears in his eyes as he tries his damndest to wiggle out of the blanket burrito he has been rolled into.
A/N:
Nyehehehe~! Uchiha Kagami has finally made his debut! He's such a terribly rude narrator, but what a cute bunny he is, calling someone in their early 20s an elderly man (='ｘ'=)! I blame it on Izuna - our dear Uchiha heir likes to nap and use Kagami as a body pillow whenever he visits... that lazy ass.
I'm seriously filled with joy that everyone is happy about Madara having an albino daughter (*´∀｀)ｂ. Thank you so much for your kind comments! You guys are so sweet.
I hope this chapter answers the many, many questions regarding Hikari's status. So, yeah. She's not dead. Yet. It tickles me how much you guys wanted her dead after childbirth. But, no way! That's a too merciful end for a rapist. I have a more painful way to kill her ^(#｀∀´)_Ψ
P.S. I'm all up for baby name suggestions.