Team Disaster: Origins Of Infamy
Summary: From the day they met to the day they made history, snippets in the lives of Konoha's infamous Team Disaster, their nearest and dearest and the devastation and chaos they cause.
The One Where It's Madara's Turn
Uchiha Ryukyu liked to think of herself as a good mother. Not just decent, but good, as she strives to provide for her children all the love and the care in the world that she could manage, so that they are never lacking in some way. She provided them with the needed support as they grew up, she cheered them in on their dreams and goals, she encouraged them to make friends and grow and become better with each day and she showered them with love and a stern hand as they needed and deserved. She didn't spoil or baby them, but she wasn't cold or distant, either, a difficult balance most parents tend to mess up despite their best intentions.
So, while at times difficult and complicated, Ryukyu was of the opinion that she was doing a fine job. Asama and Hiroto, her youngest, were happily starting their Academy days and first steps in becoming respectable ninja and they had little to complain about. Keichiro, too, for that matter, though he was only halfway through the Academy himself and Izuna seemed happy enough despite some of his more moody grumblings about his would-be rival in Tobirama-kun for leaving him behind.
Honestly, though, at times Ryukyu thinks that the best thing she had done for those four was give birth to their big brother before them. Who needs to be jealous of their father for loving their mother the most as most boys do at one point in their toddler-hood or the approval of their father later on when they have Uchiha Madara as their beloved Aniki? The four boys all but worshiped the ground their eldest brother walked on. Only Madara could get them to stop being naughty if the mood ever took them. They hated to bother or disappoint him. Even Izuna, who should have outgrown a stage like that, could still be found going way out of his way to earn himself some praise or approval from his older brother and he was the eldest of the younger four. You can just imagine to what mischief the twins and Keichiro got up to to get Madara's attention and make it stay on them.
(Especially when Tobirama-kun was around. They sure were jealous of him, even when Hashirama-kun never garnered such a reaction when he visited or got too close to Madara. Maybe it's because the elder Senju brother was so obviously infatuated with Mito? She found the implications towards Tobirma-kun in that situation rather amusing and she resolved to inform Kira of this thought at some point so her best friend could share the amusement.)
And speaking of her eldest son, the little sun and moon of her long, weary shinobi life that had given her hope the second she had held his small body in her arms for the very first time thirteen years and some months ago, Ryukyu found him sitting in his room when she was passing by after a training session with her younger brother - Hikaku's father - and was on her way to clean her weapons. It would be nothing noteworthy had there not been two dozen scrolls - summoning contracts, a single glance at the closest one revealed - opened all around him with scribbled notes on each one. Madara was scowling darkly at the chaos of paper and ink, seemingly annoyed and growing increasingly frustrated by the second.
'How cute,' Ryukyu mused to herself, quickly deposited her weapons outside of his room and knocked on his open door before walking in. "What are you up to, my little flame?" Of course, it's not like Madara is actually a little flame - more like a raging inferno trapped in a body too small to contain all of his passion and fire and emotion, but he will probably partially grow into that one day - but it is something she had been calling him since he was born and he had never complained.
"Looking for a summoning contract that I would want to sign."
She'd figured as much but Madara had never said anything about wanting a contract before. "And what brought on this new development? And where did you even get all of these contracts from?" She recognized some of them - Tajima's eagles, Kagami's ravens, Izuna's magpies, Hikaku's hawks, her brother's cats, an elder's old wolf, someone's fox contract and many more - but there were even some from outside of the Uchiha, too. It may not be the big contract scroll Jiraiya of the Legendary Sannin totted about but the smaller toad contract Namikaze Minato had on hand was still recognizable, as was the Hatake wolf contract Kira must have given Madara to consider or even the bear one she knew must be Butsuma's. She wondered who else gave her son their summoning contracts to consider and tried not to feel honestly offended. "Why didn't you ask me for mine?"
Madara finally looked up from his glaring match with the scrolls to blink at her in confusion. "I didn't even know you had one. Anyway, I started looking into signing a proper contract when I realized I was the only one in our team that didn't have any. I thought my partnership with Nekomata and any cats from Sora-Ku would be enough, but we are not tethered well enough for them to come to my aid even without me needing to summon them, like apparently Kaida can now do for Tobirama and Peri-kun can do for Mito. I talked it through with Kurama and he doesn't have a problem with me having a summoning contract besides with him so I thought it might be a good idea to look into one. See if I'll find any that suits me enough to sign. But I can't seem to decide."
"Which ones have caught your eye?" The Uchiha matriarch asked as she sat down next to her son and reviewed quickly each of the contracts for references. She resolved to hunt down Matarashi later for daring to slip in one of her snake contracts given how Orochimaru had insinuated that he wished to take over her son's body but brushed it off to deal with it later. She also vowed to kill the Nara Clan Head for daring to give the Uchiha Heir his traditional Nara deer contract. Whatever his intentions behind it, it felt like a claim and that man had never quite liked her. She'll deal with him, too, later.
"The fox one, the hawk one and the cat one." Yes, well, Madara would be the most familiar with those, wouldn't he? "I just don't know how to decide."
"Well, what do you expect from your kyuchiyose partner?That's an important deciding factor."
"Speed, agility, strength, but I would also love it if Team 4 could have some aria support." Which was why the hawk one was in the mix aside from her son's love of birds of prey. Madar frowned deep in thought for a moment before shaking himself clear of it and looking up at her with curious eyes. Ryukyu wanted to coo at her cute son, but he was a growing boy and she knew that after a certain age, boy's tend not to like being described as cute aside from by their crush. "What kind of summons do you have, Kaa-chan?"
This, though, made her want to cackle in such a way that even that creep Orochimaru would shudder. "Hm, how would I describe him?"
"Him? Only one?" Madara asked, surprised, and Ryukyu chuckled. Ever since Madara and that cute team of his had made a name for themselves - Team Disaster, how delightful - she rarely got to see all that much of her eldest as they were often out on missions. But Minato-san was out of the village still, leaving them with about a month more, maybe, of rest and relaxation before they were once again released upon the world after their sensei returns and spends some time with his little son. (Young Menma was adorable.)
"Oh, yes. There might have once been more of his kind but there is now only one left. Such a pity, that, but that is how people react to things they do not understand or simply fear. Or can't control. Depends from person to person, really. I am the only person on this entire planet that he has ever created a contract with."
The way Madara's eyes were becoming so wide and interested and hopeful and excited had the Uchiha kunoichi barely hiding a smirk. She knew Izuna will want to eat his own magpie contract when he finds out about Madara's, but it was far too late. One of her sons may have made a foolish mistake but no way was another signing a bird contract if she had a say in it.
"Kaa-chan, what is your summon? Can I meet him? Can I sign a contract with him? Do you think he'd want me?"
Ryukyu loved that, unlike how Izuna and Keichiro at times reacted, Madara never resisted when she tried to cuddle him. He always seemed happy to indulge her. Then again, he always indulged his brothers, his teammate, his sensei, even the younger Senju and even Hashirama-kun, no matter how overbearing it could be. Was it a sensor thing? Or just a Madara thing? Either way, Ryukyu hoped it never quite changed. "Of course he'd want you, honey." And he would. Oh, he would. Of course he would. Madara's chakra was a star burning in a child's body. Her loyal summon would be delighted to be so close to a star after millennia trapped on this Earth. He'd said more than once that he missed passing stars in the cosmos and bating in their stardust after one of them flickered out so it could form a new star. "But if you want to meet him, we need to go out of the village. He is rather large."
"Surely he can't be bigger than Gamabunta or Kurama?!"
"Oh, my beautiful little flame," Ryukyu felt her smile stretch into a feral-looking grin of delight that she knew Madara was inheriting from her, much to her delight. "You have no idea."
00000
Tajima blinked bleary eyes - he'd been staring at his clan's mission reports for the month that every clan head gets from the Hokage afterwards for hours now and hadn't even noticed when the lighting got bad for his eyes - down at his visitors standing in the doorway of his house as if they don't have a standing invitation for years now. Well, as much as a girl that's been living for years now in his house could be counted as a visitor, but Hashirama was there with Tobirama, too, so he guessed plural was okay, even if these kids were around often enough they might as well be his own, even if second hand.
Well, not Menma. He was a rather recent addition, all things considered, but he'd be going back to his parents soon enough so he definitely didn't count. Or he did count. You know, as a visitor. Tajima resisted the urge to bang his head. He was tired and wanted a nap, as cat-like as that might make him sound. People do always compare the Uchiha to cats once they get to know them.
He raised an eyebrow at his eldest son's teammates and, bless them, they knew him well enough at this point to take that as their cue to talk. "Tajima-sama, do you happen to know where Madara might be?"
The eyebrow only arched higher. "Aren't two of you unparalleled sensors save for him and your sunny sensei?"
The littler Senju scowled. "Mito and I were testing out chakra suppression seals." At that, Tajima took the time to look down Madara's teammates bodies and sighed when he saw irritated looking skin around a flaring seal. They probably even needed Madara's help, somehow, to take them off.
"Honestly, you two," he sighed, massaging the bridge of his nose. "No, I don't know where my son is. Have you asked any of his brothers? Izuna in particular has a bit of an obsessive stalkerish attitude towards him ever since you guys came back from Sora-Ku. He should know."
"We asked," Mito said patiently and Tajima cursed before signaling the children to wait for a moment before he went back into the house. He came back barely a minute later when he could not find his wife.
"It would seem he might be off somewhere with Ryukyu. Have you asked your mother?"
"She doesn't know," Hashirama said this time and Tajima felt worry stir in his chest. He knew it was irrational to jump to conclusions but the fear never quite went away after hearing that the deserter Sannin had wanted to take his son's body for his own nefarious reasons. Orochimaru was not an enemy to be taken lightly and Madara can't always be around his friends and teammates. Had Madara been alone somewhere and the snake had taken the opportunity to strike? Had Ryukyu seen and was now chasing after them to save their Madara? Or was she overwhelmed and lying in some ditch somewhere, her beautiful eyes gauged out-?
There was a sudden burst of lightning and thunder out of literal nowhere before thick, dark clouds suddenly gathered over the village, thunder rolling over and over again as a slight wind picked up. Looking up, Tajima wanted to curse when he thought he saw a dark shadow sailing overhead just above the clouds.
'Damn it, Ryukyu!'
"What the heck!?" Hashirama could be heard yelping even as another roll of thunder pierced their ears. The triumphant roar that followed was both a relief and made his knees want to knock together as it was still terrifying to hear, no matter how used to it he may grow. Still, if it didn't sound enraged and had traveled such an insignificant distance as to be heard so clearly here, then maybe his family wasn't in danger. But why then-
He cursed again, massaging his temples with both hands as he felt a migraine building underneath his skin. Of course. Of course Ryukyu had found out that Madara was looking for a summoning contract. Of fucking course. There was a reason Tajima had directed Izuna away from asking his mother. Ryukyu's summon was terrifying and utterly loyal to her but he was uncommon and not something even the bravest of shinobi would dare face. How his beloved wife had ever managed to make a contract with a creature like that ... And what was worse, he knew Madara will probably be just to the beast's tastes, too. As if his eldest son wasn't already the second coming of Uchiha Ryukyu, the Uchiha Dragoness.
"You know something." He opened his eyes to meet accusing red - not of the Sharingan, but close in color and intensity of the glare both, which was impressive - ones boring into him from the twelve year old boy. "What's going on?"
But before the Uchiha Clan Head could say anything, a familiar huge form came into view from the horizon, speeding towards them rather impressively. The children all followed his gaze and gawked. To be expected, really. The black, gold and red dragon nearly dwarfed the Kyuubi in size and he was at least twice as ancient. Dark purple eyes gazed down at them even as Ryujin-sama made sure to carefully lower his head for his passengers - his summoners, Tajima corrected himself when he saw Madara bearing the same tattooed seal on his left hip (Why did it have to be there!? He didn't want his son to be going around and flaunting his muscled but still developing torso! He didn't want his wife to be strutting about in nothing but her trousers and some modesty wrappings! Men were staring. And drooling! It's not like they could have made their return subtle with the dragon's size.) as his wife, just peaking from underneath their waistbands, as shimmering as liquid gold on their pale skin - to safely get off while at the same time not knocking down any buildings or anything.
Ryukyu seemed rather pleased with herself when she saw how adoringly Madara was staring at Ryujin-sama and how taken with the boy the dragon was in turn.
"This is a nightmare," Tajima whispered to himself even as he and the rest of the village watched Ryujin-sama convulse and maneuver in the sky before he disappeared off into the clouds and the day became as clear and as sunny as it had been despite it already being practically dusk.
"Now, now, don't be melodramatic, husband," Ryukyu admonished even as she stepped out of the way for Tobirama and Hashirama to practically lunch themselves on the half dressed Madara with instant questions and exclamations, Mito only stopping herself because she was still holding her baby cousin. "Madara needs a strong kyuchiyose contract and we all know who has the best one."
"An utter, total nightmare," Tajima insisted in a deadpan.
Ryukyu huffed but accepted his robe when he took it off and draped it over her shoulders. The two adults looked at their son as his friends all but interrogated him about his new summon. Tajima was of the opinion that maybe it was okay for Madara to have a contract with Ryujin-sama after all. Just maybe. Ryujin-sama would, in the end, always be there for his son and he was by far one of the most powerful creatures to have landed on this planet. Of course, only Ryukyu had been told the full story of the dragon's origins but Uchiha hid very little from their loved ones. And besides that, with the life and reputation Madara now had, backup the likes of Ryujin-sama was just perfect.
"But a preferred nightmare," he conceded to his wife and that earned him a peck to the lips. He sighed, wondering if he should finally admit out loud to Butsuma that his old friend was right and that the woman had him completely wrapped around all of her fingers.
"Come, husband mine, I do believe we should prepare ourselves. I doubt our esteemed Hokage will take long before she arrives to curse me to hell and back for contributing to even more chaos in her village."
Tajima snorted and followed Ryukyu back inside with only a snap at Madara to put on a shirt before he catches a cold.
He wondered idly if the drug store would sell him enough pain killers for the headache that will be the result of dealing with their enraged Hokage.
00000
In her office, a half tipsy Tsunade was still staring almost blankly at the slowly clearing sky just as the sun finally set after the dragon's departure. Behind her in her Tower office, somewhere near the desk, poor Shizune lay in a dead faint after having caught glimpse of the terrifying beast that was larger even than the Kyuubi that was now housed within Tsunade's distant niece. Tonton was nosing at her assistant's face in an attempt to wake her up but Shizune gave no sign of getting up.
Tsunade took a large gulp of sake, breathed in deeply ...
"CURSE YOU, UCHIHA RYUKYU!"
00000
On the other side of the village, while serving her family and their friends dinner, deep within the Uchiha district, Uchiha Ryukyu cackled.
Of course Madara would have her contract.
He was her second coming.
(Pity the world.)