The Moon is White

Chapter 5

Madara allowed his fingers to be used as chew toys by his teething baby twin brothers as he seated himself at the engawa on a floor cushion, under the shade with a pot of green tea next to him and a lap full of two squirming infants whilst he verbally instructed his two other younger brothers on their kata.

"Bend your knees more, Izuna. Use the momentum of your core to flow through your movements, Ryouta. That was sloppy at best. Again from the very beginning."

Izuna and Ryouta both whined out complaints but complied, anyway. The two boys were covered in a light sheen of sweat as the afternoon sun tanned their skins a healthy color. Madara himself was far too pale with dark circles and stress lines under his eyes, most of his time spent taking care of his siblings whilst he trained his body indoors - never too far away from the twins.

It has been seven years since his arrival in the past. All of his little brothers were well and alive, Madara having foiled the latest two assassination attempts at Takumi and Yakumi's life - the exact same ones that had claimed them the first time around. His mother, on the other hand, had not been so lucky. It made Madara too paranoid to leave them alone, and even on missions, he would leave a shadow clone behind despite the massive drain on his reserves.

Currently, Madara was twelve, Izuna ten, Ryouta seven, and the twins, Takumi and Yakumi, still newborns at only four months of age. His father, Tajima, only visited them to assign missions or to check on their progress. The nannies were all but frightened away by Madara's impressive glares.

If he were to be sent by the clan head's orders on missions, patrols, or the field with his brothers-in-arms, either Izuna or Ryouta would take care of the twins on his behalf (his clone did a magnificent job of hiding in the shadows). He didn't trust strangers to care for his two vulnerable baby brothers - disregarding the fact that almost all Uchiha were connected one way or another.

When Madara finally called for a break, Izuna and Ryouta all but fell gracelessly to the grassy ground, groaning and moaning about Madara being an 'oni-sensei'. The wordplay always made him smirk discreetly into his high collar whilst pretending to not hear a thing.

Fixing a cloth sling on his front, he adjusted the two newborns and stood up soundlessly. Madara made his way to the kitchen, grabbed a few healthy snacks and drinks, and made his way back to the engawa.

"Wash your hands first," Madara drawled as he slapped Ryouta's itchy fingers away from the tray. The latter stuck his tongue out cheekily whilst running into the house, eager for treats as always. Izuna followed at a more sedated pace, before taking off in a sprint not a second later. The ten-year-old had always tried to be more mature when in front of Madara, but failed spectacularly as always, much to Madara's open amusement.

He could only fondly shake his head at the two brats.

As he settled down, he arranged the cubed fruits and vegetables to be divided into equal portions so that the two would not bicker about him playing favorites 'again'. It greatly amuses and confuses him how competitive they were for his... favor(?).

Izuna, as he slowly came to learn, was different compared to his first life. More outgoing. More childish. More lively -happier. And has a friendly rivalry going with Ryouta, always trying to one-up the other in training or day-to-day activities.

Frankly, it made his heart swell in (parental? Brotherly?) pride. Not that he loved his brothers any less back then, it was... Hm, even in his own head, he was not quite sure how to put it into appropriate words without mucking up the emotion he felt whenever he sees them so vibrant. Perhaps it could be elation? Contentment? Jubilation?