"So really, it's my fault we're late," says Nagato, embarrassed. "Jiraiya sensei just stopped by to relay some information he uncovered, but I insisted on coming."
"That wouldn't have made me late," says Jiraiya, glaring at Nagato. "But you had to waste hours trying to find Konan and Yahiko to tell them where you were going."
Kimiko giggles. Her birthday wish came true, even though she missed two candles.
"So you're Kimiko's dad," says Sekitei, wrinkling her nose at Jiraiya. "You look like an old pervert!"
"Hey, I am not an old pervert!" says Jiraiya, putting Kimiko down and wagging his finger in Sekitei's face. "I'm a professional pervert."
"Like that's any better, Pervy Sage," says Naruto, rolling his eyes
"Alright, that's enough," says Kazama, sternly. "Kimiko, come cut your cake. You can make your wish again - or make another wish - while you cut."
"How does that work?" demands Sekitei. "I get the candles thing, but how does cutting get you a wish?"
"Oh, that's easy," says Naruto. "If Kimiko can say the wish in her head three times before the knife touches the cutting board, her wish will come true."
Kimiko cuts her cake, carefully making her new wish. Her first wish came true already. So she wishes her new wish, I wish for a sword. I wish for a sword. I -
And the knife touches the cutting board.
Kimiko sighs, disappointed. Oh well, at least she got her first wish. Besides, if all else fails, she can beg her Daddy.
"Bummer," says Aki, sympathetically. "I guess you won't get your wish after all."
"It's okay," says Kimiko, grinning. "Wishes aren't reliable anyway."
"Who cares, let's eat cake," says Aki, shrugging.
Kazama cuts up the rest of the cake, and they all sit and eat it. Kimiko sits on her Daddy's lap and munches happily, glad that he made it after all. Once the cake is demolished, Kazama announces it's time for Kimiko to open her presents.
Kimiko sits down at the table to open her presents. She starts with the smaller presents from her school friends and Aki. Aki got her bobble hair-ties. The Konohamaru Trio obviously combined their money, because the three of them got her a necklace and bracelet set between them. Sekitei and Tachibana also combined their gift, which is a purple hair ornament. Then she moves on to the presents from her Sound friends. Kabuto got her a chainmail shirt, Kimimaro got her a set of shuriken, and Jyuugo got her a set of kunai. Then Kimiko opens her presents from Iruka and Namiko. Namiko got her a story book about a snake princess who falls in love with a blind commoner, and Iruka got her a beginners fuuinjutsu set.
"Lessons begin tomorrow," says Iruka, grinning.
Kimiko beams at him. Then she turns her attention to Nagato's present. He brought her a small bedside lamp. Kimiko loves it right away because the base is shaped like a snake. But she carries on unwrapping her presents. She has so many to get through. Burifu's is next: she got Kimiko a bag of raw sugar sticks. Then it's on to Naruto's present. He got Kimiko a pair of binoculars, although what she'd need them for puzzles Kimiko. Still, they might come in handy. Kimiko unwraps a rather heavy present from Arashi and Kazama next. It is books. Five wonderful books with bright pictures, three with stories, one about science and one about history. Now there's just her Daddy's present left.
"Did Minato and Kushina get you anything?" asks Aki, sounding genuinely curious. She apparently noticed that there was no gift from them in the huge pile.
"Yes," giggles Kimiko, jumping up off her chair and giving a twirl. "I'm wearing it."
"Of course it was you two," says Jiraiaya, rolling his eyes at Minato and Kushina.
"She's cute, tebane," says Kushina, grinning.
Kimiko ignores them and turns her attention to the box her Dad brought. It's pretty big, which is why she saved it for last. Whatever could be inside? Kimiko opens it up. It is full of random stuff, all jumbled up, as if her Daddy didn't know what to get, so he got some of everything. There's a white teddy bear wearing a ballet dress, a scarf with matching gloves, a colouring book, a packet of coloured pencils, a shogi set and a box of chocolates. Folded up at the bottom, wrapped in plastic, is a purple kimono with an orange obi - just a little larger than Kimiko's size. She takes it out carefully and sees something else underneath. Carefully, Kimiko lays the kimono to one side and reaches into the bottom of the box to pull out a shiny black case.
Kimiko opens the case slowly, making sure not to bend the hinges the wrong way. Inside is a tanto. The hilt and sheath are decorated in black and purple designs. There is a harness lying beside the tanto, so that she can wear it on her back. The harness is decorated in the same black and purple designs as the sheath and hilt. Kimiko picks up the tanto and draws it carefully. The blade is made of the same pale metal as other chakra blades Kimiko has seen. Kimiko is not stupid. She can tell that this tanto must've cost her Dad a small fortune. She slides the blade back into the sheath, her heart thudding. She botched both her birthday wishes, but they both came true anyway. Kimiko places the sword back in its case and throws her arms around her Dad, not saying a word.
"Do you think she likes it?" says Arashi, sarcastically.
"Kimiko has always wanted a sword," says Kabuto softly.
Madara hears Tachibana and Sekitei return and sighs. He's been doing that a lot lately. The twins are napping on the couch, tired from exploring the village, the house and the backyard. Ajisai is sleeping on Madara's lap after just having stuffed herself full of formula. The sleeping won't last much longer now that the older two are back. From the sounds of things, Tachi remembered to collect Lucy from the Inuzukas.
Lucy actually does her job and leads Tachi into the living room. Sekitei trails after them, dragging her weak foot tiredly. She sees the twins sleeping on the couch and squeals. Tachibana obviously already knew they were there, because he heads right over to the twins and squishes up on the couch with them. Lucy jumps up onto Tachi's lap, and Tachi hugs both Lucy and the strange plushie he brought home.
Seikitei drops the bag she is carrying - the bag with their swimsuits in it - and snuggles up to the twins as well. Now thoroughly squished, the twins wake up. Much squealing and hugging and giggling happens.
Madara winces and decides to order pizza for dinner. He orders three pizzas, one cheesy pizza, one meat lovers and one called a pepperoni. They didn't have most of the flavours on the pizza menu when he was alive last time. The one called Hiwaiian looks strange, so Madara ignores it. The kids only eat two or three slices each. Madara polishes off the rest - unlike them, he is not too tired to eat.
When the pizza is eaten and all five kids are nodding off to sleep, Madara bundles them all into their beds. Then he makes a shadow clone to keep an eye on them while he spends the rest of the evening training in one of the more wild training grounds. When he is finished training for the night, Madara heads to bed, glad to find that there are no small children in it this time.
When he wakes up the next morning, Madara finds not one, not two, but three small children cuddling up to him. They must've climbed into his bed recently, because he did wake up to feed and change Ajisai a couple of times in the night and they weren't in his bed then. Sazanka is lying on Madara's chest, Yatsude is tucked up under Madara's left arm and Sekitei is hugging Madara's right arm.
Why me? Wonders Madara. Why are they using me as a pillow? I'm a murderer and a warrior with more blood on my hands than in my veins. I'm planning the apocalypse, for Kaguya's sake! And it really is for Kaguya's sake, he realizes. If he goes ahead with Project Tsukinome, the only one who will benefit long term is Kaguya.
There is one problem with his plan, though. Madara still doesn't have one aside from 'find a side kick to help him when the time comes'. He's been spending most of his time looking after five needy brats, three of whom are using him as a pillow. Project Tsukinome is starting to feel a bit pointless. What will it accomplish, really? He can't create a new world order if there won't even be a new world to create order in.
As he once told Obito, nothing good ever happens without something bad to balance it out. In this case the good is a world of perfect happiness, but the price is the destruction of the world. Madara sighs and stares at the ceiling. He does not realize right away, but he is deep in the middle of an existential crisis. Why? He thinks. Why me? Why does the Tsukinome seem like a waste of my time? Why do I REALLY want to kill everything? Why do these kids mistake me for a pillow? Madara sighs again. It's only until the end of the year. And then, quite unexpectedly, Madara feels sad.
Why do you feel sad? Madara berates himself. And then he realizes he is sad at the thought of not having these kids underfoot anymore. You're a freaking battle hardened war veteren! He scolds himself. Get a grip!
And then, like a true Uchiha, Madara squashes his feelings deep inside himself and gets on with waking the kids up for breakfast and kicking them out of his bed.