Three Hundred and Fifty Two
Madara will never admit it to anyone, but he is having a marvelous time being home alone with Ajisai. It is Saturday morning and both Tachibana and Sekitei are at Kimiko's birthday party, while Lucy is having a full day's training with the Inuzukas. Since he is alone, Madara is being a bit more - well, a LOT more - expressive than normal.
"Who's the cutest baby in the world?" he coos to Ajisai, tickling her tummy. "You are! Yes, you are!"
Ajisai giggles and kicks her legs.
Madara would die of embarrassment if anyone saw him acting like this, but Ajisai is incapable of telling anyone what he's like when no one is watching. So, pride still very much intact, Madara plays peek-a-boo with Ajisai, which sets her into a fit of helpless laughter. Then she grabs a fistful of his hair, so Madara tickles her with it, which makes her laugh more.
Ajisai starts crying out of tiredness, so Madara feeds her and rocks her to sleep. By the time the baby falls asleep, Madara is lying on the floor with her on his chest. How did he get in this situation? And what is this strange feeling in his chest?
Unimportant.
What's really important is whether or not to revive Kaguya. What was it they said? Once the chakra tree is complete, everyone in the Infinite Tsukinome will die? Ajisai lets out a sigh and clenches her fist around the piece of Madara's shirt she is holding. She will die. What would she see in the Infinite Tsukinome, anyway? Well, there is a way to find out.
Madara places his hand on the baby's head and very, very lightly casts a low-level version of the Tsukinome on her. Madara can see everything the baby sees, and can hear her jumbled, immature thoughts.
In the genjutsu, Ajisai is lying on top of Madara's chest, listening to his heartbeat. Mother is gone, the others are around - the other four: Tachibana, Seikitei, Yatsude and Sazanka. They are playing nearby, shouting and laughing. And Ajisai can hear and feel Madara's heartbeat because her head is resting right over his heart. And she feels safe.
Madara ends the jutsu abruptly, but Ajisai doesn't even notice. She trusts him, in her baby-ish way, and yet his plan will kill her.
Madara sighs. His brothers trusted him, but he could not protect them. His dream, the Hidden Leaf, where children would be safe, was built too late for his brothers. So why did he build it? Madara remembers the children of the Uchiha clan from those days. The battle-weary children who were scared of their clan head and were glad when the war ended and a village was built. A safe place for them to play and grow up and live the lives his brothers never could. That was why he built the Leaf. To protect children who were born in horrible circumstances. Children who, like his brothers and this little baby on his chest, would have died. Ajisai would have starved to death, Joe's protection or not. She would have lived a sad, tortured existence.
But she will be happy in the Infinite Tsukinome. And so will he. But what is happiness? Madara cannot remember.
Unimportant. This plan is about the happiness of others, not himself. Everyone will be happy and safe - until they die.
But isn't a false, short-lived happiness better than a long life filled with pain and suffering?
And yet...Ajisai's vision of a perfect world is her reality.
Maybe some people won't even see a difference between the genjutsu and their real lives. Maybe…
Ajisai wakes up and starts crying, her face turning bright red. Madara smells the reason and sighs. Then he feels her nappy leaking.
Oh crap.
Madara files his thoughts away for later inspection and sets about cleaning and changing himself and the baby. It's a good thing his clone bought extra clothing. Madara lets Ajisai lie in her crib in just her nappy. While she is happily sucking her bare toes, Madara changes into the haori hakama the clone bought. It is his first time wearing it, but it does feel good to be back in the type of clothing he is familiar with. Then he puts the poopy clothes into a tub of soapy water to soak and retrieves Ajisai from her crib.
Now, what to dress her in? Madara has a sudden urge to dress her up like a doll, the way Seikitei loves to. Ah well, they are alone, so no one can judge him. He finds a yellow dress with matching tights, booties and a little headband with a yellow flower on it. If he recalls, it came from one of the nurses looking after the twins. She said something about having a baby girl a year older than Ajisai. When she is all dolled up and sucking her thumb, Ajisai looks incredibly sweet.
"Look at me," he says to Ajisai, cuddling her to his chest. "Madara Uchiha: feared by entire nations, and here I am dressing up a baby. Let's go for a walk, shall we? You need some fresh air. Perhaps we shall visit the twins."
Sazanka runs around the hospital room, jumping on the empty beds their siblings used and laughing to himself. He enjoys being separated, the traitor. Yatsude sits on his bed and sulks. He hasn't even tried to stand, let alone walk. It's not worth it. If he can't be joined with his brother, what is he supposed to do? He always did what his brother wanted, went where his brother wanted, liked the things his brother told him to like and disliked what his brother disliked. Yatsude doesn't really know who he is without his brother. And so, he sits on his bed refusing to even try to walk on his own.
What's the point?
Yatsude sniffles and hugs his pillow.
Sazanka jumps up on the bed Sekitei used to sleep in and starts jumping up and down on it.
Yatsude looks up as he hears the door open. It's probably a nurse. It is not. It is Uncle Madara and Ajisai.
"UNCLE MADARA!" yells Sazanaka, bouncing higher. "Where's Tachi and Sekitei?"
"They are at a birthday party," says Uncle Madara. "Are you allowed to be doing that?"
"I don't care!" says Sazanka jumping as high as he can. "It's fun!"
Uncle Madara shrugs. "Have you tried doing a flip yet?"
"No!" says Sazanka, and promptly does a flip. "YAY!" he spreads his arms wide in triumph.
Uncle Madara smiles. "Good," he says with a nod.
Yatsude watches gloomily.
Then Uncle Madara turns to him. "What are you so gloomy about?" he demands.
"I hate being separated," says Yatsude, tears brimming in his eyes.
Uncle Madara's eyes turn steely. "Stop crying like a baby and stand up."
Yatsude throws his pillow at Uncle Madara. "Go away!"
Uncle Madara takes Ajisai out of her sling and hands her to Sazanka, who has stopped jumping. Then Uncle Madara walks up to Yasude and lifts him off the bed. Uncle Madara then dumps Yatsude on the floor and says, "Stand. Get up, on you feet, boy. I know you can."
Yatsude doesn't see the point. What is he without his brother, anyway? "Why should I?" he demands, glaring up at Uncle Madara. "What's the point?"
Uncle Madara slaps Yatsude, very gently, across the face. It does not hurt, but it surprises Yatsude into shutting up.
"You are a disgrace to your clan, and your noble lineage," says Uncle Madara firmly, crouching down and looking Yatsude in directly in the eye. "You sit here crying because you do not know who you are or what to do now that you must stand on your own. The answer is simple, boy. Stand up. Stand tall and become someone. Now get up. Stop disgracing the ancient, noble Uzumaki clan, you pathetic crybaby."
Pathetic. Uncle Madara thinks he is pathetic. Yatsude's eyes fill with tears. That is worse than being separated, he decides. It is much, much worse. Yatsude struggles to his feet. His legs are wobbly and he feels off balance, but he stands.
"Good boy," says Uncle Madara, and pats his head.
Yatsude throws his arms around Uncle Madara's neck and hugs him tight. "You didn't mean all that, did you?" says Yatsude. "You just said it to get me to stand up."
"Oh no, I meant it," says Uncle Madara, sternly. "So you had better not act disgracefully anymore, or I'll have to say more mean things."
Yatsude grins and excitedly kisses Uncle Madara on the cheek like he used to kiss his mother. "I don't mind!" he assures Uncle Madara. "You can say as many mean things as you like, so long as I need to hear them!" He really did need to hear someone tell him he was behaving disgracefully. All the coddling and petting and gentle encouragement from the nurses was annoying at best.
"You're a weird kid," says Uncle Madara, standing up. Yatsude hangs onto his neck, so Uncle Madara simply lifts him off the ground and holds the boy on his hip.
"Well I'll be damned," says a voice from the doorway. It is Tsunade, come to see how the twins are getting on. Shizune is standing nervously behind her, clutching a clipboard. "I was about ready to try the heavy-handed approach, but it seems you beat me to it. Unless of course you tried some form of bribery that we didn't think of?"
"Uncle Madara called Yatsude a Pathetic Cry Baby and a Disgrace to the Uzumaki Clan!" pipes up Sazanka, climbing off the bed with Ajiisai still tucked firmly in his arms. "And then Yatsude started crying and stood up!"
"Well let's see it then," says Tsunade briskly. "Show me you are not a disgrace to our ancestors, brat. Come here." She motions for Yatsude to go to her.
Uncle Madara sets Yatsude on the ground. Yatsude feels a little off balance, but he manages to stay upright. Carefully, Yatsude takes a step. Then another.
"Hurry up," says Uncle Madara. "A snail could move faster than you."
Yatsude takes another step, but faster. And then, he breaks into a run. Unfortunately, his lack of practice moving on his own leads to him running face-first into Tsunade's boobs. The boy bounces backwards and falls to the floor, landing on his bottom. Yatsude jumps up, grinning. "I did it!" he yells, jumping up and down in glee. "I can run on my own!" Joyfully, Yatsude runs around the room like a crazy thing, occasionally running into the beds. He runs into Uncle Madara twice and, on the second time, Uncle Madara picks him up and says, "I think that enough running around in here. You'll hurt yourself."
"Then take the boy to the park and let him run wild," says Lady Tsunade. "We were only keeping them in until he could walk as well. They are healed enough to leave the hospital, but I thought I had better not saddle you with a kid that refuses to walk on top of the other four brats. Since he can walk, you can take the twins home."
Uncle Madara glares at Lady Tsunade. "I can't take them home now, I didn't bring any clothes-"
"Doesn't matter," interrupts Tsunade, brushing his concerns aside. "Shizune, go get the bag of clothes that nurse brought in this morning." Shizune rushes off to do just that. "One of the nurses brought in some clothes her son outgrew recently. She thinks they will fit the twins nicely."