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.
Fire, Water, Wind
Part 2
Madara hated the position in the convoy he had been given. He really, really did. It was not fair that Minato-sensei got to take the front and Tobirama got to take the back while he and Mito guarded the middle from both sides. It would be so bad if it just didn't oh so happen that the Daimyo's daughter, Kyoko-himesama apparently, had taken an interest in him and insisted on following him around like a lost puppy, her attendant having the misfortune to have to trail after her even when she realized his annoyance was spiking dangerously by midday of their second day of travel.
It was a test of patience that would, no doubt, in the end prove why Uchiha were not really suited to be ANBU and Madara especially.
Between doing his best not to offend the girl, not punch Mito in the face for communicating blatant amusement and teasing through their secret code, avoiding talking with his uncle lest Setsuna-jiisan accidentally reveal to the Daimyo that his ANBU bodyguards are just children by civilian standards - fifteen and fourteen was hardly adulthood in their eyes, which was hypocritical since they expected women to birth babies at that age already - and being confused over why Tobirama kept glaring into his back from the end of their little convoy, the trip was tiring in a way it had no right to be and he nearly sang his relief to the heavens when they were less than a kilometer from the meeting place. All that was left was for them all to change into their formal, ceremonial garb and march proudly into the city that will house the meeting of all the Daimyo's of the Great Five Elemental Nations and then watch over the proceedings from te shadows.
Of course that was when Kyoko-himesama decided to be difficult, to make his life difficult, by insisting that she wanted Madara to be her personal bodyguard while her father is doing business with the other Daimyos. Which, unfortunately, meant Madara would have to march right into the lion's den that was a political meeting in full ANBU gear on the first day, when full attendance is to be held with everyone and anyone of station that had come with each Daimyo. Only Minato-sensei was supposed to go in out of their team, the teenagers were supposed to watch over it all from a distance!
He thought Setsuna-jiisan might come to his aid but of course his uncle had to be a traitor and agree that it was probably for the best that they bring two guards. The old man probably just wanted to have more of an opportunity to speak with Madara and that annoyed the Uchiha because he could respect that but hated that it was happening during such an important and complicated mission. Honestly, he'd come to visit one of these days if he had to if it would just get his uncle on his side in this matter and allow him to hide away from the annoying hime-sama.
Ultimately, it fell to the Daimyo and the man loved his daughter too much not to give in. She was his youngest, gotten at a rather old age he had not expected to have a child in, therefore he doted on her too much. Madara was tempted to be the assassin they feared might crash the party and strangle him himself.
So now he found himself being prepared to be paraded like one of Kyoko-himsesama's pretty attendants, glaring through the eye holes of his mask at Mito and promising to murder her through their chakra code while Tobirama seemed to be radiating a level of pissed off he really couldn't understand.
He missed his gunbai, his high collared mantle with his long sleeves, the freedom to have his hair free from the high, tight ponytail he had had to sit through his mother making and Mito remaking just five minutes ago and, most of all, his gloves. The standard ANBU up to shoulder black, thin gloves annoyed the hell out of him. They covered his storage seal for his gunbai on his forearm, were too thin to keep out the cold - not that cold bothered him much anyway, not with his chakra nature, but that was not the point - and were not water-resistant like his leather gloves were since they were made of silk or some such material. Madara was going to murder someone for this. Possibly the Daimyo. Probably Tsunade-sama for assigning them this mission. Most likely the first person to stir shit that might prolong this torture.
The infuriating noble girl was currently on the top of his potential-murder-victim list.
"What is your name, shinobi-san?" She asked as soon as he took up his position next to her carriage that had just been unsealed for the grand entrance.
"Hime-sama!" The scandalized handmaiden gasped, reproachful and terrified that he might take offense and kill them on the spot. She actually had good survival instincts and a healthy amount of paranoia to keep her head in this world. Madara almost approved, if he didn't sense the amount of fear all but rolling off of her any second she so much cast a glance at him or his teammates and sensei. Weak. "They are ANBU! You can't ask them to reveal their identity! They have families that could be endangered if their names ever reach-"
"But we have to call him something if there will be two of them in attendance," the girl rationalized and Madara resisted, barely, the urge to snap at her that they wouldn't be having this problem if she herself hadn't insisted Madara accompany them as well. "So surely he can at least give us his code name, ne, shinobi-san?" The last was turned to him and Madara was suddenly glad for the mask that was hiding his deadly scowl even as his mind raced. Code name? He didn't have a code name! He was Uchiha fucking Madara of Konoha's Team Disaster, a genin not allowed to attend Chuunin Exams because no one else would send their own genin to the 'slaughter', a kid whose name has been in the ANBU bingo black book since he was a preteen, the strongest Uchiha born in his generation! He had a flee on sight order! Why the fuck would someone as recognizable as him need a code name!? It's not exactly like he and his teammates were subtle! You can't overlook someone with their features!
Luckily, as always, he had his teammates to rely on.
"Hi-kun, I need your assistance here," Tobirama called from the back, where he had been arranging the samurai's formation for the final leg of the journey with their shinobi protectors halved and hidden. Madara sighed in relief at both the code name and the out he'd been given, all but rushing to his younger teammate.
He leaned in and whispered in Tobirama's ear a sincere and quiet "Thank you," before going back to 'business', not really understanding why he felt flares of satisfaction and embarrassment in equal measure in the younger boy's chakra. Or why Mito felt so smug about it.
This was getting really annoying.
00000
Minato-sensei looked like a fish washed up on shore in the not so little political meet and greet meeting that took place as soon as all participants have arrived and settled enough to get into their fanciest robes and kimonos for the proceedings. He didn't fidget or anything, but he was definitely uncomfortable in all the finery surrounding them, even if they were far from the only shinobi present in uniform.
It was interesting, though, that Madara was the only shinobi even remotely comfortable in a setting like this. It sort of came from attending a few of these in his his young life so far, even if he had never been at a meeting of this magnitude or importance before. He at least knew of the proper conduct and did his best to subtly instruct his sensei in how to act, what to say and what not to say, which questions to answer and in how much detail or wording. He had to reassure the man that no Daimyo, even their own, had the power to make him take off his mask since ANBU answer only to the Hokage. If a Shogun or an Emperor was present, it would be different, but none of the people present had the right to demand to see their faces.
The other hired shinobi that were here to play bodyguards were an interesting bunch, to say the least. Mizu no Kuni's Daimyo had, indeed, hired a Swordsman of the Mist, but Madara was impressed that he had gotten the Demon of the Mist for his bodyguard. He'd thought Momochi Zabuza had practically defected from Kiri and mostly worked for that tycoon, Gato, but given that he had a kid of Madara's age dressed as an oinin, which might as well be Kiri's version of ANBU for all intents and purposes except they hunted nukenin and disposed of their corpses so that no enemy can learn the secrets of a Kiri nin's body. Madara wasn't sure he if the kid was a boy or a girl, just that they were strong and that their chakra felt freezing.
'Hyoton, huh. A member of the Yuki Clan. Impressive, Momochi Zabuza, impressive.' He'll have to keep an eye on those two. Zabuza had earned his reputation as the Demon of the Mist and Yuki had a seriously strong Kekkei Genkai he would rather not mess with if he wants to keep his identity a secret.
Lightning's Daimyo did indeed also have the rumored guards in the form of Kinkaku and Ginkaku, which was just annoying. Madara had been hoping they'd seen the last of them during the Chuunin Exams and that that was it. No more running into the Kumo annoyances. So much for that. Kaze no Kuni's Daimyo, though, surprised him in having assorted a lot of different shinobi from various villages and none of them were from Suna. He wondered what that was about and wondered if there might be a rebellion or a coup. Should they notify Lady Tsunade?
Earth's Daimyo had Mu and, surprisingly, Gengetsu as a combined effort, a team if he was seeing right, and Madara wanted to laugh himself silly because those two fairly hated each other. It promised to be entertaining that they were meant to work together.
There were, of course, other shinobi scattered about as backup, no doubt, but this was the lineup for the official meetings. Madara still kept a wary eye on everyone in attendance, feeling shinobi-level chakra signatures in the dozens and he couldn't help but wonder if Lady Tsunade had overestimated their ability to keep their client safe with so many potential assassins roaming around.
-You're getting anxious. Problems? Need backup?- Came from Tobirama and Madara automatically relaxed even if his vigilance didn't drop one iota. It was reassuring to know his friends were still close enough that he'd have assistance if shit hit the fan suddenly.
-Everything's fine.- He rattled off the shinobi present and the numbers they're facing to his teammates so they'd be kept up to date and informed of who they are to be wary of. -Opinions?-
-Suspicious about Kaze's Daimyo.- Mito shared and Madara was glad that he wasn't the only one who found that a bit fishy. -Suna should have a discount for their Daimyo. He should be their best client.-
-Suna's services are expensive. Or were.- Tobirama revealed and Madara took the time to pinpoint his and Mito's locations for his own piece of mind. They were safe, kept hidden from other ninja milling around protecting their clients expertly by Mito's scrambling seals, which was a relief and not at all a surprise. They were sensors. They knew how best to hide from other sensors and ordinary ninja. -It's why it was easy to take out the Kazekage and attack Konoha for Orochimaru. Kaze's Daimyo used to hire our shinobi because we were cheaper.-
Because Konoha could afford to be cheaper. Konoha had all the natural resources to keep running without needing trade agreements and deals to keep its economy stable. They had almost limitless amounts of good wood, rock was no hardship to find, Sora-Ku was a good source of rarer materials and they had a good deal with Iron and Snow Countries for their metal ores as long as Uchiha blacksmiths are willing to trade in weapons. Not to mention that Konoha was the only hidden village that had Uzumaki seal masters and the only village that Uzushio openly did business with. Just that was enough to make things a lot easier since Uzushio's seals were worth a fortune and their seal masters knew that. No one haggles over Uzushio seals. The price is the price. Long years of friendship and partnership made sure Konoha got the same seals as everyone else at half price.
-Keep an eye on their group. I don't like the feel of them.-
-Acknowledged.-
00000
"Hi-kun, do you think I am pretty?" Madara nearly stumbled over his own feet as he escorted Kyoko-himesama around the gardens the next morning while they waited for the gong signaling breakfast. Kyoko-himesama couldn't dismiss her personal attendant no matter how much she ordered it, so the other girl was walking a dozen or so feet behind them while Kyoko-himesama seemed determined to make it look like she and Madara were walking in tandem, together, as though they were, what, exactly? Lovers stealing a moment in the gardens, out of sight of prying eyes? Madara sure as hell hoped that wasn't it. By Amaterasu, he might be his uncle's 'heir' to take up his position in court one day, but he hoped Setsuna-jiisan will simply find some other lad to train and not expect of Madara to give up his shinobi life for that crap.
Madara would honestly rather join Hi no Tera than the court and Izuna was much the same.
They were Uchiha. They solved things with fire and weapons and spilled blood.
Politics was not a game they often played.
"You can be honest with me, Hi-kun," the Daimyo's daughter insisted and he realized he still hadn't replied.
"I think everyone has their own definition of pretty. One's definition of pretty may not coincide with another's and that could, therefore, create discord. To shinobi, our general definition of pretty or even beautiful is when a person is strong enough to watch our back." General enough answer that will make her think about things instead of getting offended and making his life even more of a hassle. Honestly, the only thing he needs now is for the Daimyo's daughter to demand the head of the ANBU 'Hi-kun' because he implied he didn't find her pretty.
Uchiha standards for pretty were fierce eyes, pale skin, strength and passion. If one does not have passion, does not have love, especially love for their family, they are not the ideal partner for any Uchiha. Some of his clansmen could get a bit extreme, like his father had been and like Izuna was, almost masochistic in their tastes to find dangerous women attractive, but a bit of that tendency existed in each and every one of his clansmen.
They stayed silent almost until they were supposed to go to the dinning hall for their morning meal before she spoke up again. "Do you think Gengetsu-san would like me? If I knew some self defense?"
Madara nearly sagged in relief and, from the corner of his eye, he could see Kyoko-himesama's attendant doing exactly that without reserve, thinking she had went unseen. Sweet, merciful Tsukuyomi be blessed, Madara had feared the Daimyo's daughter was interested in him. He wasn't sure how much he liked the possibility of Hozuki getting a connection to Hi no Kuni's Daimyo's family, but at least it wasn't him. Life at court was definitely not for a temperamental person like himself.
Still, the girl had asked him a question and was looking hopefully up at him. "Do you wish to learn? And may I ask, but why have you come to the impression that I would be the best one to have this conversation with?"
Kyoko-himesama snorted in a very unladylike fashion. "I may not be a shinobi, but I am observant, Hi-kun or whatever your true name might be. Seiji-sama is one of the most trustworthy people I know but he is paranoid and he does not take to strangers easily. He obviously knows you from somewhere and he trusts you. And even if I were not to take a cue from him, it is obvious that your teammates respect you and your opinion. And while I may not see his face, Mizu-kun's regard for you is obvious. I can still see how he looks at you. Obviously, you were the right person to go to regarding this."
'Mizu-kun? Fitting for Tobirama, though what did she mean his regard and how he looks at me? He looks at me like he's always looked at me. We've been friends for years.' He couldn't find anything that could have changed their status quo in the past year or longer. Maybe it was just a civilian thing to read too much into such things? Who knows. He just shrugs it off and instead returns to the topic of conversation that he'd rather not be having, actually. "Taichou-" Because ANBU called their leaders explicitly Taichou. "Is actually happily married with a kid. Kaze-chan-" Fitting for Mito, as fitting as Fire was for him and Water for Tobirama. "Is blissfully dating her boyfriend for a year now." Yes, Hashirama had been swept off his feet once Mito got sick of waiting for him to do it instead. "They could have given you advice just as well."
"I wanted your opinion." Damn it. 'Why does she have to be so stubborn!?' "You are a shinobi, closest to Gengetsu-san in age, and you are in his position on this mission, so you must be of similar skill and standing." Unless Gengetsu was the Heir and official Clan Head of his clan, even if it is with a regent, so to say, then he doubted it. "Do you think he would find me acceptable as a partner?"
"I don't really know Hozuki-san all that well. We only truly had one conversation." Which had been full of taunts and dares and challenges and had lasted a really short time before Mito bulldozed them to get to her promised ramen. "So I admit that it would be hard to say, especially since he comes from another country, another culture. You should take that into account if you approach him or invite him to approach you. But if you are truly interested in some self defense, I guess we have a week or so to teach you the basics."
Perhaps she wasn't so annoying, a part of Madara's brain mused as he watched Kyoko-himesan's whole face light up with gratitude. She was still, of course, annoying, just not as much as he'd first feared she would be.
This, at least, promised to be interesting.