"Name?"
"Junichi. My brother is named Ren."
"Last name?"
Madara shrugs. "We don't know. Our mother never told us."
The police officer sighs wearily, a hint of annoyance in his voice. Madara is unsure whether it's directed towards him and Izuna or the useless social worker sitting in the corner, who is scrolling on his phone absentmindedly.
"Who are your parents?"
"Arano Yua is our mother. I don't know my father's name; he is dead anyway, so it doesn't matter. Ren's father is Morioka Atsuo."
Madara had made sure to find out that name, for obvious reasons. The man may have abandoned Izuna, but who is to say it stays that way? And who is to say he will not bring trouble should he ever return to their lives? Regrettably, with the few resources available to him, Madara had not been able to learn anything of importance about Morioka. The police, on the other hand, have the means to investigate the man thoroughly, and they will after Madara mentioned his name.
"So you are only half-brothers," the officer comments offhandedly.
Izuna instantly bristles in his chair next to him, clenching his tiny fists in his lap at the dismissive statement. Without averting his eyes from the officer, Madara grabs his brother's hands under the tabletop and gently pries his fingers apart, before giving them a comforting squeeze.
"Age?" The officer continues none the wiser, typing away at his computer.
"Nine and five."
"Your quirks?"
"We don't have one," Madara answers blandly.
The man's fingers still on the keyboard. "You don't have a quirk?"
"No."
Now that Madara and Izuna have officially become orphans, being 'quirkless' comes in handy once more. Children with powerful or interesting quirks get adopted fairly quickly, whereas children with worthless, ugly, or villainous quirks have as good as no chance at finding a new family. Not to mention the unfortunate ones with no quirk at all.
Madara is not looking to get adopted, though. If he wanted to, he could pretend to have some kind of heroic ability and they would be set. It would be laughably easy to convince the people around them that they have an intelligence or agility quirk; they wouldn't even need the Sharingan for it. The prospect of playing happy family for years to come with some naïve civilians, however, is dreadful. Madara would rather stay an orphan and get emancipated at the first opportunity.
The police officer sighs again. "Quirkless then. In any case, we will have a qualified doctor perform a quirk assessment test. It's routine."
Meaning Madara and Izuna have to put the doctor under a Genjutsu to get the desired diagnosis; they both don't have an extra toe joint after all.
"Alright. Can you tell me a bit about your lives in the brothel? For example, how did a normal day for you two look like?"
What follows is the most monotonous and boring interrogation Madara has ever had the misfortune of partaking in.
.
.
"Arano Junichi and Ren?"
Madara and Izuna look over to a young blonde social worker with funny little antennas poking out of his forehead, who is entering their assigned hospital room. An exhausted doctor left them here a minute ago after finishing a general examination and some other tests, with the strict instruction to stay put until someone comes to get them.
"Yes?"
"The doctor told me he is done with the examinations. We will get the end results in a few days, but so far you seem to be perfectly healthy."
Of course, they are. Madara has made sure that their bruises from sparring and the cuts on their fingers from handling throwing knives are hidden under an illusion, lest they have to sit through another round of questioning and explain why they are covered in injuries. Adults in this world are terribly squeamish when it comes to physical training, especially when children are involved. Which in itself is a good thing he supposes. It means children are being sheltered from pain and the burdens of a battlefield; it means they are not expected to grow up fighting for their lives.
Madara deeply understands that desire to protect children; he himself had once dreamed of creating a world of peace for his little brother. But that world never came to exist, and he is confronted with reality once more. And his and Izuna's reality is that they had never known peace, that they had never been anything but Shinobi; bleeding is what they did since they knew how to hold a knife. They never got to be carefree children. It was a matter of either becoming strong fast or dying like the countless other clan children who were born too weak to survive the war. Being a Shinobi is all they ever learned to be; violence is ingrained into their very being, and reincarnating into a new world had not changed that truth about them. The moment they left their mother's abdomen, their fight for survival began, and it will not stop until they die once more, no matter that they live in a land of peace. Being Shinobi is their reality.
They cannot live the life of a civilian, so it is pointless to hold them to such standards. If only they could share this fact about them without being declared clinically insane.
"We also found a place for you two to stay at. Since Morioka Atsuo is not fit to be a parent, it has been decided that it is best for you two to move to your brother, into an orphanage in Musutafu."
"What?" Izuna asks dumbfounded.
"You'll be living in an orphanage in Musutafu until we can find you a proper family." The man repeats, not realizing what the actual issue at hand is.
"I understood that!" Izuna snaps. "What brother are you talking about? We don't have family in Musutafu."
"Ah… no one told you yet?" The man winces, shifting awkwardly on his feet. "Uh, we found out that Morioka Atsuo had another child beside you, Ren. So, you do have family in Musutafu. A half-brother, to be exact. His name is Morioka Nobuyuki, and he is five years old."
"Huh? Wait, he is five?!" Izuna turns sharply to Madara, a frown on his face. "There was no blood moon last year, Nii-san."
Indeed, there had been no red moon that would indicate the rebirth of an Uchiha. This supposed half-brother of Izuna is either not a reincarnated soul, or the phenomenon of the blood moon was unrelated and its appearance on their birthdays solely a coincidence, which is so unlikely Madara rules the possibility out immediately. Perhaps the boy is a late bloomer? Or his fourth birthday fell on a cloudy night. Or-
Madara's thoughts screech to a halt as another possibility comes to his mind.
His head whips to the social worker so fast, the man flinches back startled. "When is his birthday?"
"Wh- what?"
"Did I stutter? When is Nobuyuki's birthday?" Madara repeats dangerously calm. "Answer me, boy. You would do better not to test my patience."
The man flinches again but finally starts to sift hastily through the bundle of documents in his arms. "The- the 10th of February." He stutters out.
The words ring like thunder in Madara's ears. Cold dread crawls into his veins. It could be a coincidence, he tries to reason, but knows in the same breath that by believing in such coincidences he would accomplish nothing but lying to himself. Madara knows better than most that destiny works in cruel ways, and once again it has outdone itself.
"Nii-san?" Izuna asks concerned, grabbing one of Madara's trembling wrists and feeling for his heartbeat out of habit.
"Uh… is your brother alright?"
Izuna downright sneers at the poor man. "Goddamn it, would you give us a minute here?"
"Ah, yes, of course, uh- yes… This must have been quite the… day for you." He fumbles with his words. "I'll be right, uh... I'll be waiting in the hallway for you..."
Then the door clicks shut behind him, and silence settles over the room once more. The only sound being the rhythmic ticking of the clock hung above the door.
Tick, tock. Tick, tock.
"The 10th of February, huh." Izuna mumbles. "That's my birthday."
"Yes," Madara agrees, lowering his head into his hand.
"Meaning this brother of mine could be an Uchiha, and we missed his awakening because it overlapped with mine."
"Yes."
"And you know who it is, don't you?"
"Considering that both our birthdays fell on the same date as in our previous lives, I have a suspicion." Madara lets the silence linger for a few heartbeats, only delaying the inevitable. Reality isn't about to change simply because he refuses to verbalize it, and yet he is reluctant to do so.
Izuna's thumb rubs comfortingly over his pulse. Madara takes a heavy breath. "Obito was born on the 10th of February."
Tick, tock. Tick, tock.
"Well, fuck."
Madara huffs a humorless laugh. "Fuck indeed."
.
.
Madara and Izuna don't have anything to bring to Musutafu besides the clothes on their backs and the knives strapped to their bodies underneath them. So that is how they are being dropped off at their new 'temporary' home, after a ride spent in uncomfortable silence.
The adults around them shake hands and exchange words and stacks of paper, but Izuna can't be bothered to pay attention. There is one thought and one thought only occupying his mind: his new brother. He would be lying if he said he wasn't a little excited at the prospect of being a big brother - yes, Izuna will be the big brother; he doesn't care that they are only born a few hours apart. Whether this boy turns out to be an Uchiha or not, he shares Izuna's blood, which makes him part of their family by default. Madara had agreed with him on that front. Now that they know about Nobuyuki, they will take care of him either way, seeing as the boy has no one else, and more importantly because they take care of their own.
Izuna is slowly getting giddy with excitement. Despite him and Madara being regarded as equals by the clan, he had always been the baby of the family, Madara's little treasure; and while he definitely enjoyed being doted on by his Nii-san, he had wanted a little sibling to smother in affection for as long as he can remember. In their last lives, his wish had never gotten fulfilled, as their mother died when he had been a mere few weeks old, and his father never took a second wife. But in this world, he finally gets a chance at being an older brother.
If Nobuyuki really is Obito, then their little family might get a rocky start, seeing as Obito and Madara's relationship is all kinds of fucked up, but Izuna is confident that with enough time and effort, he can mend the fences.
Madara grabbing his hand jolts him out of his thoughts, back into the present.
An elderly woman dressed in a long dress with a flower print and an apron is standing in front of them. She must have been speaking to them for a while already. Izuna has no clue about what. Whatever, Madara will give him a summary of the important bits later.
"Alright, follow me. I will show you your room," the woman says not unkindly and leads them deeper into the orphanage. "For now, you will share yours with Nobuyuki, and we'll see how that goes. We will make rearrangements if necessary."
Izuna frowns. "What's that supposed to mean?"
The woman chuckles amused and halts in front of a wooden door with three bright name shields hung up on it.
Junichi. Nobuyuki. Ren.
She crouches down in front of them, so she is somewhat on eye level with them. Her eyes are very catlike, Izuna notices; he wonders if that's her quirk. "The colleague who drove you here told me how mature you are for your age and how well you can speak already, but maybe those words were a little too difficult to understand."
Izuna scowls at her. He understood her words just fine, goddamn!
"I was saying that we hope you'll get along well with your new brother because you and Junichi will share a room with him," she continues, a sorrowful expression ghosting briefly over her face. "You see, Nobuyuki is sad a lot of the time and doesn't like to talk. He has trouble making friends with the older children as well, so we were hoping you, as his brother, could be extra nice to him and try to befriend him. Because everyone needs a friend, don't you agree? And of course, you could be his friend too, Junichi."
Ignoring the childish manner the woman is addressing them with, Izuna shares a meaningful glance with Madara, and a quiet conversation passes between them. Then Izuna turns towards the woman with purpose and determination. "I want to meet my little brother."
"He is in your room; go ahead and introduce yourselves." She beams, pointing at the door in front of them.
"Perhaps it would be best if Nobuyuki met one of us at a time," Madara suggests. "We wouldn't want to overwhelm him."
"How thoughtful of you, that's a wonderful idea! You are such well-mannered children." The woman praises, cooing at Madara. "Then how about I show you the rest of the house while we give Ren some time to meet Nobuyuki?"
Madara's eyes twitch in annoyance at her tone of voice, but he keeps quiet, only nodding in agreement.
"Alright! Ren, if you need anything, whatever it is, we will be just down the hallway."
Izuna has no doubt that the woman will keep her ears open anyway, but this is less about privacy and more about keeping Madara out of Nobuyuki's sight. If he really is the reincarnation of an Uchiha, chances are high that he will not react positively to Madara's presence. It's better if Izuna scopes the situation out first; his name should not evoke any negative reactions. As far as he has heard from Madara, 'Uchiha Izuna' had been mostly forgotten by history. Which, by the way, rude.
Izuna pushes the door in front of him open; it gives off an ear-grating screech. Good, he thinks as he slips into his new room. The noise will be enough to alert him and Madara every time someone tries to enter.
The bedroom itself is minimalistic. There are two bunk beds and a wardrobe on either side, and an empty desk in between them, underneath the only window that provides natural light; lastly, a colorful rug had been thrown on the floor. There are no toys strewn around or childish pictures hung up on the walls, like one would expect. All in all, there is not a speck of personality to find, nothing that would indicate anyone is living here, let alone a child.
Izuna nearly overlooks the child huddled into the high corner of one of the bunk beds. He can barely spot the head of messy dark hair up there.
Making sure his steps are purposefully loud, he walks over to the bunk bed and climbs the ladder until he can peak over the edge of the mattress. He grins widely when he catches Nobuyuki's gaze. The boy doesn't acknowledge him in any way beyond the truly impressive scowl he throws Izuna's way.
Not one to be deterred easily, Izuna's bright smile doesn't waver. "Hi! My name is Ren, and I'm your brother."
The boy's scowl hardens. "I know."
"Really? They must have told you about me already then. Makes sense, I have been told a bit about you too." Still no answer. "Hey, can I come up here to you?"
The shrug he receives is all the invitation Izuna needs to haul himself up all the way and flop himself down besides Nobuyuki, careful to leave some distance between them.
Now that he is able to get a closer look at the boy, he is absolutely sure that he is an Uchiha. His distinct coloring, added with all the other big and small coincidences, don't allow any other conclusion. He even has the same disheveled hair as Madara, if a lot shorter.
"Your name is Nobuyuki, right?" Izuna asks cheerfully. "I like it, it's a good name. How do you write it?"
Nobuyuki only grunts unhappily in response, but Izuna is not discouraged by his attitude; he is more than used to carrying a conversation from dealing with a grumpy Madara.
"You don't like it?" He continues. "That's a shame. I like mine well enough. I think it's pretty, since 'Ren' is written with the Kanji for water lily. I prefer my old name, though." The boy next to him twitches ever so slightly. "I was named after a mountain, you know. It was a pleasant surprise to learn that it existed in this world too." Nobuyuki flinches hard, his eyes widening in disbelief. "What a coincidence, right? Some might even call it destiny. Anyway! There exists this volcanic mountain range with five distinct summits, and like my siblings, I was named after one of them, in my case 'Iizuna'." Shock is written all over Nobuyuki's face. "In a way, it connects me to my siblings; that's why I prefer it. When we are among ourselves, you can call me Izuna."
To make sure the boy knows exactly what they are talking about and to rule out any possible misunderstandings, he flashes his Sharingan for a fraction of a second. Apparently, that's still long enough to make Nobuyuki tense up and activate his own Sharingan.
"You have a second name too, no?" Izuna asks gently, not afraid to meet those red eyes head-on.
"What's it to you?" Nobuyuki snarks.
"You are my little brother. Why wouldn't I want to know your name?"
"I'm not your anything!"
"Come on, don't be a stick in the mud." Izuna pouts. "I always wanted to be an older brother!"
Nobuyuki stares at Izuna like he just told him the sky is green and the sea filled with milk. "You are not making sense. Am I even younger than you? We were born on the same day."
Izuna waves his hand dismissively. "Unimportant details. I'm your big brother, and that's final."
A snort. "You wouldn't be saying that if you knew who I was, who I am."
Izuna smirks slyly, taking a leap of faith he asks, "You think you can scare me away, Obito?"
Nobuyuki freezes on the spot. His face becomes void of any emotion, his breathing carefully controlled. His voice is cold. "How do you know that name?"
He did not deny that he is Obito. Izuna grins smugly. "My Nii-san told me about you."
"Your bro-" Obito stops mid-sentence and looks at Izuna, really looks at him, and then the dots visibly connect in his head. "You are Madara's Izuna, his youngest sibling."
"Got it in one!" Izuna beams.
"But how?" Obito mutters a little helplessly, his mask of apathy cracking at the edges. "Why- What?"
"Don't beat yourself up over whats and hows; we have no idea either why we have been reincarnated. We are just making the best of it."
"We? How many are there?"
"Only me and Madara; and you, obviously."
"Madara?!"
The door shrieks loudly. Both Uchihas turn their heads sharply. The elderly woman is back, smiling warmly at them.
"I see you are getting along great. I'm glad!" She claps her hands together. "Unfortunately, we have to cut your meeting short; dinner is ready. Come with me, I'll show you the way to the dining room."
With that, she steps out again, revealing Madara who has been standing behind her. The moment Obito and Madara's eyes meet, the room temperature drops several degrees. They both get a constipated look on their faces, and their shoulders tense near simultaneously. Neither says anything, though. They simply continue to stare each other down.
Izuna has his work cut out for him, it seems.
"You heard her!" He shouts into the stifling silence. "Let's go eat!"
He grabs Obito's hand and mercilessly drags him down from the bunk bed in a flailing and protesting heap of limbs. When they miraculously make it down without crashing to the floor, Izuna snatches Madara's arm with his other hand and hauls the three of them into the hallway, towards what he presumes is the dining room.
"Three Uchiha back together under one roof!" He hums cheerfully. "This is going to be great!"
Izuna will make sure of it.