Chapter Text
Peace was a strange thing. It brought the Senju and Uchiha clans together. The two groups living together in a village, after hundreds of years of fighting. Coexistence. Even developing friendships among the clans in some cases.
Hashirama, Tobirama’s idealistic big brother had managed to bring the two clans together. It was remarkable. Tobirama didn’t think anyone else could have accomplished such a feat.
What was even more surprising was that Tobirama and Madara had actually become friends. The Uchiha clan head had always been someone Tobirama feared and hated. But peace brought a change to their relationship as well. Tobirama had always assumed he didn’t have anything in common with Madara. But the two of them each loved their families, cared about the children in the village, and wanted the endless fighting to stop. These shared things created the foundation of a strong friendship between Tobirama and the Uchiha clan head. Something that was unexpected, but Tobirama found that their friendship meant the world to him.
Madara was surly, a perfectionist and very fun to rile up. Hashirama knew exactly how to push his best friend’s buttons, and Tobirama had figured it out quickly. Madara was so much fun to tease, his over the top reactions hilarious. But he was also kind to kids and the elderly. He had quickly become Tobirama’s friend now that their friends and family weren’t trying to kill one another.
It had been nearly a year of the peace between the clans, and things had been going well. Which was the exact time that thing turned upside down.
“Madara is getting married.” Touka murmured one morning as she brought Tobirama some files.
“Married? He didn’t say anything about that to me!” Tobirama couldn’t hide the hurt in his voice.
Touka just giggled. “It’s new! It hasn’t been officially announced, but the Uchiha are going to hold a tournament. The winner will get to marry him!”
Tobirama furrowed his brows. “They’re just going to give him away to the strongest competitor?! What the hell is wrong with them?” Even after living together for a year, there was so much Tobirama didn’t understand about the Uchiha. Like why they would be okay with people battling over their clan head’s hand in marriage.
“Beats me.” Touka shrugged. “Hashirama was over the moon. He’s already planning Madara’s wedding. You know how he is.” Touka was right, Hashirama was a horrible romantic.
Touka continued to chatter about Madara, and his future wedding. Meanwhile Tobirama was having an internal breakdown. He couldn’t imagine Madara willingly marrying whoever happened to win this tournament. There was so much more to picking a spouse than physical feats. Surely this rumor couldn’t be true…
But it was.
Madara himself confirmed it, once the two of them were alone in Tobirama’s office later.
“The Uchiha elders have been on my case about marrying someone. Izuna has been too, ever since he moved out, he thinks I’m going to be like an old lonely man living on my own. At least if I get married he won’t have to worry about that.”
“That’s understandable, but why would you hold a tournament? Surely you could find someone you want to marry without having to hold a contest about it! You’ve opened the floodgates and could get stuck with a horrible spouse!”
Madara laughed. “I’ve received countless offers of marriage these last few months. Apparently, I am a hot commodity in Fire Country. Since so many people want to marry me, I thought why not try and bring some other clans into the village with it. The tournament is open to anyone from a clan in the village. And we’ll give the clans of Fire Country time to apply to join us, and then anyone from their clans can participate.” Madara was rubbing his gloved hands together in glee.
Tobirama shook his head. What a terrible idea. Madara was truly not worried about some dickhead winning the tournament and becoming his spouse. He was going to just accept whoever happened to be the strongest?
Now, neither Tobirama nor Madara were very romantic people. And except for their family, both stuck mainly to themselves. But surely they both deserved to be with someone who loved them, not whoever happened to win some fights. The Senju elders had been on Tobirama’s case about marriage as well, but the situation wasn’t so desperate so as to warrant holding a giant contest for Tobirama to find a spouse.
Madara didn’t look concerned in the slightest. He appeared carefree and even a little excited at the prospect of so many shinobi fighting for his hand in marriage.
Tobirama got pulled into discussing all of the many qualities Madara had that would make him a good spouse. But his thoughts were elsewhere.
Tobirama remained distracted through the rest of the day. Madara’s marriage tournament was sure to be a huge public spectacle. But he still couldn’t imagine Madara marrying just anybody.
Madara deserved someone who could appreciate him, even with all his difficulties. And Madara was sure to be a difficult spouse. The man was barely domesticated.
Tobirama continued to mull over Madara’s ridiculous decision over the next days. As expected, the village prepared for the Uchiha tournament. Huge banners went up everywhere, and Hashirama had to build temporary lodging for the new clans who had joined in the wake of Madara’s announcement. There were so many contestants for Madara’s hand.
Madara was absolutely smug and over the moon that so many desired him. He kept rubbing it in Hashirama’s face that he had more suitors than his friend, even though Hashirama was married. But Tobirama learned the unfortunate truth.
He was grocery shopping in the market when he first heard the whispers. It was shinobi from some of the new clans. And they were discussing Madara.
Or more accurately, they were discussing how rich they would become if they managed to marry the clan head. Along with the riches of the Uchiha clan, they could also expect to be elevated to village leadership and have considerable influence over the village. Both benefits were well worth marrying someone they didn’t love.
Those striplings didn’t even want Madara as a person. They saw him as merely a stepping stone to riches and power.
Tobirama thought of Madara having to live with someone who didn’t love him. Someone who saw him only as an opportunity. Cohabitating with someone who only wanted to use him. Sleeping in the same bed with one who didn’t care about him at all.
Madara’s under eye circles would get much worse.
Tobirama clenched his jaw and went home without yelling at the striplings. But when he arrived home he couldn’t stop thinking about their words. As he put his groceries away he looked around his empty home. He lived alone, and while he did enjoy his privacy and space, he would like to have someone else there to make him feel safe as he slept. He hadn’t been sleeping very well at night now that Hashirama wasn’t in the next room. His shinobi senses weren’t used to sleeping alone in his home.
He looked at his bed and imagined Madara in it. It wasn’t a displeasing thought.
What was happening to him? Was he really thinking of Madara, wild feisty and stubborn Madara in a romantic sense? Love had never made much sense to him. But the thought of sharing his space with Madara… Waking up with Madara and sharing meals with him… It seemed pleasant. The two would see each other more often than now… And Tobirama would have an easier time taking care of Madara. Making sure the man ate regularly and bathed and slept…
The next day when he saw Madara, he made up his mind. Madara’s had his wild hair swept into a top knot, his usual dark robes, his ratty gloves and he was laughing with his head thrown back at something Hashirama had said.
Tobirama’s heart gave a little flip as he watched the silly little interaction.
That afternoon Tobirama entered as a competitor for Madara’s hand in marriage.
~~
A week later, the time to enter the tournament had closed and it was time for Madara to meet with each of the competitors. The shinobi were gathered in one of the training fields and directed to space themselves out. Madara would come around and meet with each of them before the trials began.
Tobirama nervously waited among the other shinobi. He had dressed in his nicer robes, hoping that Madara wouldn’t be upset with him for entering the tournament and not telling him.
The man in question was making his way through the crowd of shinobi, exchanging a few words with each competitor. Izuna trailing behind at a respectful distance. From what Tobirama could tell, Izuna had taken over a lot of the logistics of the tournament. The man didn’t seem too concerned with his brother marrying some gold digger.
Tobirama’s heart began to pound as Madara neared him. He wondered how Madara would react to see him here… Tobirama hadn’t had the courage to approach Madara before now. But he couldn’t leave Madara to these vultures without at least trying to win the man himself. Tobirama would be a much better spouse than all of these vapid shinobi.
“Tobirama!” Madara nearly screeched when he saw him. “What brings you here, hm?”
Tobirama tugged on his collar nervously. “I’m here as a competitor.” He answered after a few moments.
Surprise swept across Madara’s face as he gasped loudly. “You?! I didn’t know you were competing!” With that exclamation Izuna leaned over and stared at Tobirama.
Tobirama coughed uncomfortably. “Yes. I hope my presence doesn’t upset you in any way. But I wanted a chance. To… Be with you.” He ended lamely.
Madara’s dark eyes were wide as saucers. He blinked a few times. “I’m happy you’re here.” He answered after a time. Then he gathered himself emotionally and smiled as he stepped closer to Tobirama, getting in his personal space. “I’ve been asking all my contestants what is it about me that they want. Whether its my skills, my position as clan head, or any other reason. So now I’ll ask you Tobirama, why are you competing for the right to be my wife?”
Tobirama wouldn’t phrase it quite like that… But he figured Madara did deserve to know the truth. “It would be advantageous if we lived together. I know we have both struggled with solitude after our brother’s moved out, and think we could offer each other companionship. I welcome your presence, unlike the majority of the other people in this village and would like to spend every day with you. I would also enjoy sharing my bed with you.”
Tobirama blinked as Madara sputtered and looked positively scandalized at Tobirama’s words. What had Tobirama said? He thought that he had made a great argument in favor of marriage. They could be each other’s lifelong companions and share the burden of the shinobi life with each other. And Madara had clearly not been sleeping very well now that Izuna didn’t live with him, surely he would benefit from knowing Tobirama was only a few inches away and could protect him at night.
Then Tobirama realized his blunder. Married couples did quite a few activities in bed together that didn’t revolve around sleeping. Oh gods, Tobirama had just said that he looked forward to having sex with Madara in front of Madara’s little brother, and all of the gathered contestants who also wanted Madara.
Madara’s eyes roved over Tobirama’s body, as if considering what Tobirama had said. Then he laughed. “What a treat… I didn’t expect such a steamy confession from you Senju. You’re usually so prim and proper. Well I wish you luck in the competition.” He leaned in really close and whispered into Tobirama’s ear. “Hopefully we can share your bed after this is done.”
The other contestants were green with envy as they watched Madara get so close to Tobirama. He hadn’t done that with anyone else. But then again, no one else had said that they wanted to marry Madara just so they could live with him and fuck him. So that was really on them.
Madara moved onto the next contestant and then Izuna was in front of Tobirama. Oh god… Izuna.
Izuna’s face was riddled with disgust. Like he couldn’t believe that Tobirama was even real. Which was… Understandable. If Mito had said something like that in public during her and Hashirama’s courting Tobirama would have reacted similarly.
“Listen Izuna it was—”
Izuna held up a hand. “I don’t need to hear anymore. But please, in the future refrain from talking about how much you want to bang my brother. I can’t fucking take it.” He rubbed at his temples. “This whole marriage tournament has already been a nightmare, I cant take anymore nonsense.”
Tobirama closed his mouth and nodded.
“Good.” Izuna sighed. “Now, I’m going to explain how this tournament is going to work. We’ve divided it into two trials. The first will be tomorrow. It’s the endurance trial. All the contestants will have to fight one another. The first to win 35 battles, or whoever is standing at the end of the day, whichever happens makes you the winner.”
35 battles? That was a bit excessive. Tobirama frowned.
“If you make it through the endurance trial, then its onto the precision trial. That one is all about visual prowess and critical thinking. So you won’t win with just brute strength. Which is probably good for you.” Izuna sneered.
Tobirama clenched his jaw to keep it from falling to the ground. The endurance trial would be no problem. That’s what his reserve chakra reserves were for, he could easily beat 35 people. But visual prowess?
It was one of the closest held secrets in the Senju clan. But Tobirama’s vision was not… good. He wasn’t blind, but he couldn’t really make out much in the distance and his ability to see certain colors was nonexistent.
If the trials required perfect vision then Tobirama was in trouble. What was he going to do?
Izuna nodded and moved onto the next competitor, meanwhile Madara was shrieking at someone that he couldn’t possibly marry someone with the same birthday as his brother. That brought a smile to Tobirama’s face as he left the field.
He walked beneath trees with green leaves on his way home. He knew the leaves were green, because Hashirama told him. Tobirama had figured out a few years ago that he couldn’t actually see green. What he saw as shades of gray, was actually an entirely different color. He only found out after Hashirama developed the mokuton and plants had become an integral part of his life.
Hashirama had been heartbroken to find out that his little brother saw the trees and their leaves as the same gray as kunai and swords. Plants, which were full of life and beautiful, appeared to Tobirama the same way as their weapons.
He sighed and removed his nice robes once he was home. He had entered the tournament thinking it would be a breeze for him, and that at the end Madara might be happy to marry someone who was a friend. But now it seemed that he was doomed to fail. And all because of his defective eyes. But really, he should have assumed that the Uchiha would require all potential spouses to have fully functioning eyes. Ocular abilities were extremely important to every member of the clan after all.
Touka came by to share a meal with him in the evening. Her eyes sparkled with mischief as she set Tobirama’s table. “Izuna told me the most interesting thing today.” She murmured as she smirked at him.
He sighed and grabbed his chopsticks. “I’m sure Izuna embellished what actually happened. But if you must know, I entered the competition to marry Madara. And today when he was mingling with the candidates, I misspoke during our interaction.”
“Oh. You misspoke eh?” Touka giggled. “Because to Izuna, it sure sounded like you very forward with Madara-san.”
Heat gathered in Tobirama’s cheeks. “I merely told him that it would be pleasurable for us to share a bed. I don’t see whats so scandalous about that…”
Touka cackled evilly. “I can’t believe you actually said that! It’s so unlike you! But also so perfect, because Izuna said that it made Madara very happy. Very pleased, from what I’ve heard.”
Tobirama looked up sharply. “He said that?!”
“Oh yes.” Touka’s evil smirk was back. “Very few men are unaffected when someone tells them they’re desirable. I imagine it’s even more so when they hear it from my pretty little cousin.”
Tobirama blushed again. He was a lot of things, but he was certainly not pretty. “I doubt Madara saw it that way. He just seemed happy that I embarrassed myself in public.”
Touka ruffled his hair. “I think Madara was very pleased that you are competing. You’re all but guaranteed to win after all. Those other clowns don’t stand a chance against you.”
Tobirama sighed and looked down at the table. “I’m not going to win.”
“You’re going to throw the tournament?”
He shook his head. “There’s a visual component. In order to win, you have to win the battle portion, but also win some ocular tests. You know that I—”
“Can’t fucking see.” Touka murmured with wide eyes. “Oh gods.”
Touka was one of the few members of the clan who knew how poor Tobirama’s eyesight was.
She set her hand on top of his. “Tobi.” She said sharply. “Your eyesight hasn’t stopped you before now, it doesn’t have to stop you now. Your sensor abilities have been able to make up for your lack of vision up until now, who’s to say that they won’t help you in this competition?”
“I just don’t know Touka.” He whispered. “The Uchiha all have perfect vision, surely they’ll notice that I don’t.”
“Why do you sound so defeated?” She chuckled. “I’m certain that we’ll find some way for you to win your lady. We’re the clan of a thousand skills after all, we’ll figure out some way for you to win even if you don’t have good eyesight.”
Tobirama was not so sure about that.
~~
The next morning, Tobirama prepared for battle. Today was the endurance portion of the trials. He tied his blue armor in place, and pulled his fur ruff around his neck. Blue was one of the colors that he could see, and coincidently, his favorite color.
He looked into his mirror once his ruff was in place. His red eyes and red chakra seals looked back at him. Red was another color that he could see, which had been a miracle. As he could tell when his opponents activated his sharingan in battle without relying totally on his sensing ability. But he could also see the dark red blood that spilled from his enemies.
He reached for his happuri with the leaf symbol but stopped before making contact. And he considered. He would do battle today, but not as a shinobi of the hidden leaf. He would be fighting as Tobirama of the Senju clan. The White Demon. He would also be battling for purely personal reasons, to win the Ghost of the Uchiha.
His hands instead went to his other happuri. The one with his Senju varja on it. It had been a gift from Kawarama, and had protected him in many battles. Compared to his newer one, this one had suffered a lot of damage over the years. But it looked right as he tied it to his face.
He made sure he had enough weapons, and then hurried to the tournament. Let the endurance trial begin.
When Tobirama arrived, he noticed that the other contestants left a wide berth around him. He frowned as he watched the scatter around him, careful not to get too close. He wondered why… But then Touka arrived and explained.
“Everyone is absolutely terrified that they’ll have to fight you.” She laughed. You’re the only Senju here, and they all know we have huge chakra reserves.”
He nodded as he watched the other contestants. What cowards. He would enjoy pummeling them.
Touka went and took her place in the stands after wishing him luck. She sat next to Hashirama and Mito, who both waved encouragingly at Tobirama. He felt himself smile. He hadn’t had an opportunity to talk with Hashirama recently, but he figured they would meet after the endurance trial. He waved back and smiled at the thought of his family here to support him.
After a few more minutes, Izuna and Madara finally arrived with the Uchiha elders. Madara was taken to a special spot from which he would watch all the fighting. It was next to Hashirama and the others, so Tobirama’s family would all have a great vantage point to watch him wipe the floor with these spineless shinobi.
Izuna explained the rules to all the competitors, which were the same as what he had explained yesterday. They were to fight, and whoever won 35 successive rounds would progress to the next round, or conversely whoever was still standing by the end of the day would also progress. The rules weren’t quite fair, as whoever was supposed to start earlier in the day would have to win 35 rounds total, and whoever started later in the day would have to last only enough rounds until the end.
Tobirama wasn’t worried, but he did grin as the whispers of those around him racheted up. They didn’t think it was fair at all, but then again, the shinobi life wasn’t fair. So they needed to get used to it.
“I’m ready to start.” Tobirama called to Izuna as he unsheathed his sword. He grinned as he watched the crowd ripple around him.
“At least one of you isn’t a crying little sissy.” Izuna laughed. “Tobirama gets it. You see, the Uchiha’s greatest weakness is our endurance and chakra stores. We can’t fight for days on end like some other clans, so we have to be careful with our expenditure. Our spouses from outside the clan have to prove that they can protect us. Now Madara has been gifted with abnormally large chakra reserves, and can fight longer than the rest of us. But that doesn’t mean that you lot can slack off. If you want to prove your worth to Madara, we need to see your ability to endure today. Today is about stamina, and how long you can last in battle. Only the ones who endure will progress to the next round.”
Everyone nodded. But still kept sending surreptitious looks Tobirama’s way. Touka was right, these shinobi were all terrified of facing him in battle.
As he had expected, the Uchiha elders picked him to start in the first few rounds. He would have to defeat 35 people in a row, instead of lasting to the end of the day. So be it.
His first opponent was a woman from the Yamanaka clan. She was praying on the other end of the battlefield from him. He chuckled under his breath as he watched her. There were two other battles that would start at the same time as him, and he doubted any of them would win 35 battles.
Izuna banged the gong, and the battles began.
Tobirama dispatched the Yamanaka woman within minutes. Without a member of the Nara or Akimichi clan to protect her, she couldn’t use her kekkai genkai. And she was no match for Tobirama’s taijutsu. He didn’t even have to use any chakra to fight her.
The next opponent was a man from the Shimura clan. Like the Yamanaka woman, Tobirama dispatched him in a matter of minutes. The rounds kept going like that for several opponents.
The first hiccup was when a woman who used wind style got in a lucky shot and sent him flying. According to the rules, if his feet touched the ground outside of the ring he would lose. So while he was airborn he was still in the fight.
With a flash of chakra he appeared behind the woman, at a hiraishin marker he had secretly placed earlier. She didn’t notice his appearance and was instead waving to the cheering crowd, who stopped cheering the moment they saw Tobirama. He walked up behind her easily and pressed a kunai to her neck.
“Surrender.” He ordered. “I win.”
She turned around with comically wide eyes, and this time the crowd cheered for him. Tobirama snuck a look up at Madara, and the man was leaning forward with fists clenched. But his face was one big wild grin. It appeared that he had been watching Tobirama’s rounds with rapt attention. Tobirama’s heart warmed with fondness. If there was one way into Madara’s heart, it was certainly beating the shit out of people.
The rounds got a little more difficult after that, but still his opponents were no match for him. Any wounds he suffered, he healed instantly with some of his reserve chakra. The hardest part was not killing his opponent, as he didn’t want to go that far. But he did want to leave bruises, and in some cases, broken bones.
He faced one of the striplings from the market, and made sure to leave some large wounds before winning that round.
His 35th opponent was from the Inuzuka clan. A woman with a large dog. Just for fun, he summoned his own summon, Akira. She appeared at his side in an instant and purred. “You called?” She asked.
“Do you want to humiliate this little pup with me?” He grinned.
“Of course.” She licked her lips.
The Inuzuka did their spinning bullet attack, but one hit from a water missile sent them both flying. In an instant both Tobirama and Akira were holding the Inuzuka and the puppy down. “Forfeit.” He ordered.
The woman struggled for a bit, before Akira bit her puppy. Then she forfeited.
Tobirama let her up and thanked Akira. “I’ll explain later.” He said sheepishly when she asked about the tournament set up. But she just nodded and dispersed.
He turned to see Izuna and Madara hurrying down to join him on the battlefield.
“You son of a bitch, you actually did it!” Izuna laughed. “I can’t believe it.”
Madara for his part was looking at Tobirama from head to toe, like he had been yesterday. His eyes kept flashing red. “You really beat 35 people. That’s incredible.” He murmured giddily. Madara looked like he was having trouble staying still.
“When does the precision portion start?” Tobirama asked.
Madara’s jaw dropped. “You beat 35 people and you can still keep going?!” He asked in shock.
“Of course.” Tobirama answered with a lifted eyebrow. “I could keep going for several hours. Or days even, this was nothing.”
Madara gasped and clapped a hand over his nose, and if Tobirama didn’t know better, he would think Madara had a bloody nose. But why? There wasn’t anything sexual happening…
Before Tobirama could check in, Madara slapped Izuna on the shoulder. “Izuna, you can handle things here for a bit right? I really need to go.”
“What? No! Nii-san, theyre fighting for you! You have to watch!” Izuna yelled back.
“I have to go. I need to blow something up. Right now!” And with that Madara body flickered away.
Tobirama stared at the spot where Madara had been. “What happened to him?”
Izuna rubbed at his forehead. “I’d rather not think about it. Anyway, you’ve clearly passed this portion of the competition. I know you said you can keep going, but you should really head home and rest. We’ve already had to cart a few people out of here with bad chakra exhaustion. The precision tests will be in two days, so you have some time to rest and build up your chakra.”
Tobirama nodded.
Izuna grinned slyly, “I’m sure you’ll do just fine on the precision tests. If our battles are anything to go by, it’ll be a walk in the park for you. So don’t stress. I’ll see you in two days. Try not to scandalize anyone in that time alright?”
“Of course.” Tobirama agreed.
Tobirama gulped as he walked out of the ring. The precision and visual tests were next. He hoped they were something he could win. For his sake, and for Madara, who seemed so happy to have Tobirama in the competition.