Naruto (c) Masashi Kishimoto

Dedication: Ace of Crows (please don't kill me on Madara's characterization! I think it sucks!)

I woke suddenly in the night. Disorientated, my muscles taut and ready to spring into action at a moment's notice. I was instinctively gathering chakra into my throat and my hands moving towards each other in order to allow me to weave seals, and my Sharingan ablaze in my eyes. Then my sleep addled brain was able to compute what my enhanced vision saw: plain walls with a few calligraphy scrolls, a vanity with a mirror, a laundry hamper in a corner, a door open to the veranda, letting in the cool early autumn breeze and moonlight in.

I began to relax slowly, only to stiffen in surprise when something moved next to me. I turned my head slightly and realized that it was only my wife. I relaxed, letting out a the breath I was holding. I closed my eyes, the horrific images slowly fading behind me eyelids. It was just another nightmare. I always forget my nightmares upon waking, but the emotional aftertaste still lingers in my mind. I shifted around, pulling Yuzuki closer, fitting her against my body like a puzzle-piece. She naturally rested her head against my chest, which allowed me to run my fingers through her silky soft hair. It was soothing, and I was drifting off to sleep when she woke.

"Something wrong?" she asked sleepily, squinting her eyes open. I shook my head.

"Nah," I whispered back. I pressed a tender kiss to her forehead, "go back to sleep."

"Mmmm," she nodded, snuggling closer to me. "Okay," she murmured, I could feel her soft lips against my scar riddled skin, it sent pleasant shivers along my nerves and I smiled despite myself. Who would have thought that I, Uchiha Madara, would end up a father of three and married to a woman not even of the clan and of noble birth. I surely didn't. Yet, sometimes life surprises you.

Morning followed typically all mornings did in my house. I woke up an hour before dawn with Izuna. We train together and afterward I rouse my two sons, sometimes Izuna instructed them with me, but on most days it was just me. Today was no different, though Ran seemed more competitive this morning, and he kept egging his older brother on, to little or no effect.

The frustrating thing about Katsuro is that he's too much like his mother. A kind hearted boy that is a bit shy and rather timid at times. I see so much talent and potential in him, and yet he just squanders it. He's decent in taijutsu, his ninjutsu leaves something to be desired, and is genjutsu deficient! Katsuro's only apparent talent, thus far, is his incredible sensitivity to chakra, he's the best sensory type I've ever seen. I have yet to figure out a training method that will allow him to use this ability of his in a combat situation in a way he could, theoretically, predict his enemies' next move via the different fluxes of chakra; if he was able to do that, combined with his Sharingan (I do hope Yuzuki's blood hasn't disqualified him for the clan's dojutsu!), he could easily ensnare his opponent into thinking he knows their next move before even launching the jutsu.

This morning as always, Ran bested his elder brother. I frown, my eyes narrowing in Katsuro's direction and the boy flinches' away from my gaze. It pains me that he fears me, as if I'd beat him like a whipped dog. I'm a strict father, but I'm not a child abuser. "Again!" I bark, standing there with my feet shoulder-width apart and my arms folded over my chest, my Sharingan spinning lazily so I could watch how they manipulate chakra. The day before I had taught them the Gokakyu jutsu. I left them to practice until dinner, and now I'm seeing how they have progressed.

As I expected Ran has made significant progress. He is at least able to spit a fireball a few feet. The distance and size of the fireball need work, but at least he'll be able to inflict some form of damage on an enemy. His fault is his arrogance and he has no sense of chakra control, creating too much and using too little.

Katsuro on the other hand, lacks chakra control completely. He is unable to create a fireball. He has been able to cough up sparks along with the thick black smoke, though he looks completely drained afterward, gasping for breath. I sometimes wonder if his chakra nature isn't fire, though I find it stupid to think otherwise, since all Uchiha are have fire nature. Then again,Yuzuki isn't shinobi-born... or even of the Uchiha.

Curse that fact to the deepest hells.

Ran was able to get his fireball a few more feet farther and Katsuro was unable to produce anything. "Alright, enough." I call out to my boys. They stop and trot up to me, well, Ran does. Katsuro plods along like a beaten dog, head hung low. I sigh deeply, exhaling through my nose. "Katsuro, walk with your head up. The ground is not going to disappear."

Katsuro snaps his head up, "Uh... yes Father." He continues with his head up. One both of them where standing before me, I look at them, measuring them up. Katsuro, ten, is a bit shorter than Ran. Still a bit chubby with baby-fat, though his hair is thick and unruly like mine. He has jaw and nose, though his hands are delicate in appearance like his mother's.

Ran is half a head taller than his brother, and at nine-years-old, thinks he's ready for anything. I smile fondly at his foolishness, knowing at least he could be protected and out of the fields of battle at his young age. A privilege I wasn't given. His hair is pin-straight, and a mirror image of his mother, though he has my eyes, and hopefully my Sharingan as well.

"Both of you need work in ninjutsu. I thought you two had mastered the basics of chakra control and chakra manipulation in the body. Clearly," I paused, "I was wrong."

Ran pouted at this and Katsuro hung his head in shame.

"At least I was able to make a fireball!" Ran spoke up.

"A fireball that went seven feet and is the size of my head, isn't going to do much in combat," I pointed out bluntly. "There is a reason why people fear our katon jutsu."

"I still made a fireball," Ran shot his brother a glare, "unlike Katsuro." My eldest son flinched at the jib.

"I'm sorry Father," Katsuro whispered. "I didn't mean to be a disappointment."

I ground my teeth in frustration. I need to beat this self-pitying streak out of Katsuro. It isn't doing him any favors and is hamstringing him in unforeseeable ways, I just know it! I shake my head.

"Katsuro," I muttered, "I'll talk to you later. Tomorrow we'll go over tree-climbing and water-walking. We'll re-drill the basics until both are you are able to manipulate your chakra to my satisfaction, which neither of you have clearly been able to do. Understand?"

"Yes, Father," they chimed. I gave a nod before allowing a pleased smile to grace my lips. "Now, both of you have improved in taijutsu and shurikenjutsu. Especially you, Katsuro," I looked at my eldest and he starers back at me with wide-eyed bewilderment.

"H-Hey! What about me?" Ran butts in. Just like he did when they were small children. As soon as I stopped paying attention to him, he'd get fussy. Katsuro had a jealous streak as well at that age, but I quickly put an end to it. That's the one thing I disagree with about my wife's parenting abilities. She tends to mollycoddle our children.

"You did good too, Ran," I added. "Katsuro has shown great improvement. You've always been good in taijutsu."

"Ha!" Ran gloats. Another thing I must squash before it becomes a larger issue: Ran's arrogance.

Unlike me, Ran has no honest right for his arrogance, since he's still learning the basics and has no experience whatsoever. It's just the fact that he's the son of the clan leader, better than Katsuro, and that the sensei and students at the dojo tend to cater to his temper. Needless to say, Ran is a bully and a brat. "Ran, don't gloat. Shinobi with big heads are the first to die," I said.

"I'm not gonna die. When I get to come with you next year for war, I'll defeat Senju Hashirama!" Ran declares. I chuckle at this, amused about with childish fantasies and how they built Hashirama into this larger than life foe, I dance with every year. If only Hashirama knew what my children think of him; a titan of a man with a thousand warms that could split the world asunder, oh and the fact he eats Uchiha babies.

"You aren't at that level of skill yet, Ran," I said and began to head towards the house. "Besides, I'm the only one strong enough to face Senju Hashirama."

"Well, I'll just get stronger than you!" Ran declares, trotting to keep up with me. He looks over his shoulder and shouts, "C'mon Katsuro! Mother's got breakfast waiting for us!"

Katsuro trots up to me, a bit of color back in his cheeks. I think I need to instruct him privately on his chakra control if he fails to master it. "I wonder what it is?" Katsuro asks to no one in particular.

"Well," Ran looks over at him, "how 'bout we race towards the house?"

"Okay," Katsuro agrees and sprints off before Ran could think of what the winner will get.

"That's not fair! Cheater!" Ran runs after his brother. I laugh, remembering growing up with my own brothers and how we'd race against each other. My smile fades with my laughter, since those deaths are bitter loses that I don't care to remember too often.

"'Sup," Izuna asks, coming to join us from wherever he goes to after we get done training together.

"They lack chakra control," I told him. "Ran is slightly better at it than Katsuro. Enough that he can at least produce a fireball. Katsuro... is still producing sparks and smoke."

"Not every kid can be a child genius like you, Oniisan."

I give Izuna a look, "I'm not expecting them to be child prodigies, Izuna!"

"Uh-huh," Izuna gifted me with his own glance. "Still, it could be worse." He says after a pause.

"How so?"

"They could be cripples."

I merely nod in agreement. Izuna is right, I should be at least thankful that all three of my children so ability to preform the basic arts of a shinobi. Yet, still... it galls me sometimes that they can't be like me in terms of ability.

Evening was settling in that day. Hikari was helping Yuzuki in the kitchen, Ran was playing with his tin soldiers, while Katsuro was reading a book. I walked up to my eldest, looking down at him. Meekly, he raises his head to meet my gaze. "Um..." he looks away.

"Katsuro, come with me. I want to play a game of go with you," I said. Katsuro sighed, dog-earing the page he was on in his book before getting to his feet. All my children know that when I request to play a game with them it normally means I'm going to give them a lecture. He follows me to my room and heads to the veranda. I get the go board and the two little bags full of black or white stones. I set the board before me. "White or black?" I ask.

"Black," he mumbled. I hand him the black bag and he takes out a stone. The game begins and I make it a teaching game, dragging it out though not giving him any blatant hints on where to make his next move. He has to figure that out for himself, how will he ever learn to problem-solve if he can't think logically through a problem.

The game lapses into silence, Katsuro was distracted by my impending lecture. I break the silence, "Do you think I hate you?"

"You treat me like I'm some sort of mistake... or disappointment."

"You aren't either," I said. It pains me to hear my own son say that. It pains me to even know he thinks I consider him a mistake or I'm disappointed in him. "I'm frustrated."

"Isn't that the same thing?"

"A dictionary may say they are similar," I reply.

"So, I am a disappointment."

I look up over at him, catching his gaze. "I want you to cull that manner of thinking right now, Katsuro. A father is never disappointed with his son. His son can do horrible things, fail at everything, but at the end of the day, a father is always proud of his son." It was something my own father said to me, when I asked him if he was disappointed with me when I failed to prevent my brothers from being killed. "A father is only disappointed in himself for not raising his son better," I finish.

"But..." Katsuro begins.

"No, buts! You are my son." I make my move. "Never forget that."

"You don't treat me like it."

I narrowed my brow, Katsuro's negativity was starting to grate on my nerves. "And why do you feel that?"

"Cause..." he sighed, "cause you think Ran's better than me."

"Ran has demonstrated he's better than you in certain areas," I said, "just like you have proven to be better at other things than him."

"But he's better at being a ninja! He's the son you rather have been born first, right? Not me."

"Ran is Ran," I say, "you are you."

Katsuro's shoulders slump, "It would've been if I never had been born."

I slapped him.

He gave a startled yelp and fell backwards, one hand going to his abused cheek, eyes swimming with unshed tears as he stares up at me. My Sharingan lingers in my eyes before I rein it in. "Never say that again, do you understand me?"

Katsuro gives a whimpering nod.

"I'm sure your mother never told you this, but you nearly died being born," I relax a bit, but my voice loses none of it's iron. "Your birth was rather difficult for her. It was breech, meaning you were trying to be born backward, Yuki had to turn you around so your head was in the proper direction," I look away my voice dropping to the barest of whispers, "it nearly killed her."

"I... almost killed Mother?"

"By no fault of your own. Medical shinobi aren't entirely sure as to what signals a woman's body to begin her labour pains or why an infant isn't in the proper position when it does occur." I explained.

"I..."

"Don't go beating yourself over it Katsuro. Your mother is hale and hearty after all," I squared my shoulders. Truth was, I was beating myself up because I should've been there with Yuzuki. Even though I knew I would've been powerless to help her, still the fact that I could've lost her still cuts at my heart.

"Alright."

I glance down at our abandoned game, "Do you know why you can't do Gokakyu?"

"I... my chakra hasn't developed enough for it?"

"Well... yes and no," I tell him. "You utterly fail at chakra control."

"So does Ran."

"He's still a tad better at it than you."

"Hmph," Katsuro moves his piece with a pout on his lips.

"So, after lunch. You and I are going to do some one-on-one training."

"Really?" Katsuro looked up at me, a bewildered look on his face. "We're going to train? Just you and me?"

"Yes. We'll work on your chakra control and some other areas you need work in."

"No Ran, no Hikari, no Uncle? Just you and me?"

"Yes, just you and me."

"Promise?" Katsuro glared at me. I closed my eyes, knowing full well why he asked that. I had a track record of broken promises. Thinking about those broken promises, makes me realize that I've missed so much of my children's lives. Their first steps, their first words, all those firsts civilian parents get to enjoy with their children, I never got to experience. I'm bitter about it, yes, but practical as well. I had to go and defend my clan, my family... against my enemies. Against people that will kill my wife and children if I didn't stand in their way.

The nobility like to paint us, shinobi, as heartless unfeeling monsters. But that's farthest from the truth. We, especially among the Uchiha, feel too much. Our Sharingan is the proof of the power of love, or more like the consequences of love. Our suffering gives birth to our hate, which manifests in our Sharingan, and drives our desire to protect the ones we love the most even more.

"I promise Katsuro," I finally tell him. His face lights up with a smile, just like his mother's.

"Awesome!" he looks at the board, a grin on his face and makes his move. I smile, content.

Weeeeeell...

I wanted it to be about both Ran and Katsuro, but I went with this idea instead. I kinda like it. I like Madara in this. ^_^

I'm not sure about the tensing of the entire thing. It was difficult... with Yuzuki, it was easy because I had the idea of a diary she was keeping. I can't see Madara keeping a diary. Anyway, next one will be Ran. Have to think about that one.

Anyway, R'n'R

Sanuingary Toxicity