Promises (Madara)
Whenever Madara Uchiha stood on top of the stone wall above Konoha, he could let his mind wander. He knew that many people mistrusted him. He was too quiet. Too closed off. His cahin of thoughts always wrapped up in a similar way.
It always concluded with hatred. For the world, Tobirama Senju, even himself a little bit, if he were honest. He understood, that true peace couldn't be achieved by creating an alliance with the Senju clan, by building this village. It was simply too idealistic. There would always be war and conflict in the shinobi world. Fighting and the need for dominance was fundamental for their human nature. Their brains just worked this way. It didn't matter whether one was an alpha or a beta. Even omegas had this trait to a certain extent. This competitive spirit guaranteed ones survival in this cruel world.
Fortunately, the stone tablet had shown him what he had to do. He had to undo the essence of humanity itself. By creating an infinite dream he could rewrite the human nature. He could erase all hate and greed in the cold shinobi hearts and carve the way for everlasting peace. He could be with his dead brother again.
Madara still remembered how Izuna had died in his arms. How his little brother, his only family left, had taken his last breath before leaving him in this world. The wound caused by Tobirama Senju had been too severe. Madara had felt so alone. He had cried all night. It had felt like an eternity since he'd shed so many tears. He could feel the eternal mangekyo sharingan manifesting. For this ultimate power he had paid a high price. It would always remind him of his dead brother. That his brother's eyes had been his last gift. That he had failed as a big brother. It was also an oath to bring honor to the Uchihan name. A promise.
After a night of suffocating sadness came hatred. He wanted to burn the whole Senju Clan and every other clan in this land to the ground for taking his brother from him. They were responsible for creating a world where Izuna had to die too young.
There was nothing rational about this growing anger. He understood that they were in the middle of war. Many other Uchihas had lost loved ones before him and everytime he had told them as their young leader they needed to stay calm to plan their next move. But now his rationality and analytical mind were clouded by nothing but fuming rage. He went straight into another battle against the Senju. It should have been the last one. He wanted to make them pay. He wanted to take his revenge.
But in the end he didn't.
The battle was brutal. Both clans were still weakened, but ultimately the Uchiha lost. Many people could not believe that the Uchihan leader had a sudden change of heart. Madara signed a peace treaty between the Uchiha and the Senju. He became cofounder of Konoha. Madara wanted to laugh at this absurdity and scream at the same. What would Izuna think about this turn of events? Would he regret giving him his eyes? Would he be angry that Madara found something inside him that he dared to call hope for a better future?
But Madara wasn't naive. He saw how the Uchiha and the Senju were still suspicious of each other after the founding of Konoha. The tensions were not gone. They were just paused for an unknown amount of time. Madara was certain conflict would rise again. When that happened the other clans, that had become part of Konoha, would side with the Senju. Many Senju shinobi married into other clans while the Uchiha liked to stick together. It was a subtle way for the Senju to foster alliances under the mantle of peace, but Madara easily saw through it. He didn't understand how these people could leave their name and clan behind so easily. It was frustating to watch. The hate of the Senju for the Uchiha must be greater than their loyalty and love for their own family, he concluded bitterly. Under these circumstances, the end of the once mighty and feared Uchiha clan was guaranteed in his eyes. Eventually, they would be outnumbered and outmatched.
Madara knew what he had to do to save his clan, even if they didn't understand it yet. It should be easy for him to leave this flawed realm behind and become the creator of a new, better one. He knew hatred for the way things were in this world still lingered in his heart.
It should have been an easy choice for him... but it wasn't.
There was a problem for Madara Uchiha that made it practically impossible for him to leave Konoha und give in to the temptation. This problem was named Hashirama Senju.
Hashirama was Madara's childhood friend, but in truth he was so much more than that. He was the former Leader of the Senju clan, founder of Konoha, first Hokage, idolized Alpha and his cheerful smile made Madara feel things he didn't know his ruthless warmonger heart was capable of.
After all these years of spending time with each other Hashirama was still a walking paradox for the Uchiha. He was an alpha and a shinobi, but his heart was filled with love and compassion. He was a Senju, but he strived for peace with their archenemy called Uchiha. He had seen the horrors of this world first hand and yet tried to stay positive and follow his idealistic dreams.
Madara tried to hate him, but he couldn't.
Hashirama made Madara forget how cruel this world they lived in was. Instead, he made him dream how it could be. Made him wish for a real change of humanity without the pain and horrors Madara knew his plans would cause in the beginning. Madara had always believed the end justified the means, but what if there were better means that could lead to the same outcome?
Madara laughed at himself. He knew it wasn't realistic, but Hashirama had this weird ability. He could bring hope to the people around him. Was Madara being selfish, if he wanted to stay by his side forever and to see him succeed?
Maybe a little bit.
It was quite embarassing for Madara to think about his conflicting feelings like that. He had always been a proud Uchiha that tried to be in full control of his emotions. Before his brother's death and after that godforsaken night he always thought his actions and plans were built on a rational fondation. He wanted to be above his emotions.
His father trained him for this, showed him how to be a strong leader. He was the first born after all. It was his responsibility to protect his clan and family. His father Tajima Uchiha and his methods would have seemed cruel from an outsider's perspective, but it was necessary to survive. If you were an emotional crybaby, you would be dead in no time. They had many enemies that would not hesitate to kill a child to prevent it from growing strong in the future.
As the Uchihan heir he knew he had to be carefull. He remembered that his mother and three of his brothers had been murdered under mysterious circumstances. Years later he was told from other clan members that it was probably an attempt to weaken his father and therefore all of the Uchiha. So at the age of six Madara trained. He fought. He killed. He trusted no one that wasn't part of his clan so he could live and protect his last brother Izuna. The world seemed cruel but he understood it. He would adapt.
Then he met the young Hashirama. It had been quite an awkward first meeting between the two children, if he thought about it now. Madara still remembered how much self-loathing he felt when he sat by that river on that fateful day. He was nine at this point, ten in a few weeks, and he didn't awaken his sharingan yet. Even Izuna, who was a years younger than him, had awakened his a few days prior in the heat of battle. He was proud of his brother. He was really, really happy for him, but the horrible feeling of jealousy still remained and pierced his heart. He was a disgrace as the first son of Tajima Uchiha and his father let him feel his frustration.
He sat alone by the river and threw stones across it, completely lost in thoughts. He wondered how he could awaken his sharingan to show his worth to his father. He was very startled when suddenly a figure stood behind him. He absolutely despised it, whenever someone did that. It was a boy not much older than him. He started a conversation without any fear or hostility. He introduced himself as Hashirama. Madara wondered to this day what made him apprauch him in such a fashion, but he should be grateful that he did. He saved the young Uchiha burdened by high expectations from a never ending spiral of self-hatred and doubt. Without doing much Hashirama destroyed the walls built around Madara's heart with his stupid grin and terrible bowl cut.
They promised to meet again and became friends rather quickly. At that time they didn't know the others last name and their clan. They were just two kids looking for approval in hard times.
They met in secret and laughed a lot, forgetting their worries for a few hours. There was an understanding and yearning for peace that connected those two children. They also trained together. They challenged each other and made the other reach new heights. Fighting with Hashirama felt so liberating. He liked to train with his brother. Madara loved him, but everytime they fought he would see the sharingan in the eyes of his brother and it made him break a little on the inside. They would be watched and jugded by their father. Eventhough he defeated his brother most of the time, everytime Madara looked at Tajima there would be no sign of pride for his first son.
Training with Hashirama was different. There was no hatred at that time, just pure respect and passion. After they exhausted themselves, they would be amazed how the other had grown and what new techniques they had learned. They talked about Hashirama's crazy dream about a village, that would unite the shinobi world. Madara believed him at that time. He still wanted to believe him to this day, if he were completely honest. If he thought back now, those days were probably the most happy he would ever have.
Tajima Uchiha noticed how his son gained an incredible amount of strength and confidence in just a few weeks to months. Madara wanted to make his father proud even without the sharingan. With wits and fast tactical thinking he quickly learned how to beat even the most feared Uchiha shinobi who always underestimated him. He was even allowed to go on more dangerous missions. He slowly started to gain respect in his clan, which only helped in his fast growth. Many people called him gifted and praised his abilities. Life couldn't be better.
Then the unthinkable happened.
At first it seemed like a normal evening, when Madara's scent suddenly began to change. Madara Uchiha, first son of the great Tajima Uchiha, child prodigy with great talent even without his kekkei genkai presented his second gender. He was an omega. A male omega. Tajima locked him into his room saying he had a lot to think about. They would talk tomorrow.
Madara's world was completely shattered. He knew his father was furious even though his reaction seemed calm and collected at this new revelation. He had seen it in Tajima's cold stare. His son was supposed to be an alpha like himself but fate was truly cruel. Madara had worked so hard to earn his father's approval. Over the last few weeks he had noticed how his father slowly changed his behaviour towards him. Sometimes he had even smiled at the sight of his son's rapid improvement. His first born might not have been a total failure. It had given Madara hope. Now it was ripped from his shaking hands again.
All his progress was ruined. He was an omega. Useless in battle, unstable, weak. Nothing but a shameful blemish for the whole Uchiha clan.
Omegas were rare, male ones even more. If it had been a peaceful world, a male omega could have been interpreted as a sign from the gods for good luck and prosperity. In the past they were known for their delicate features, beauty and high fertility. But unfortunately, this wasn't a peaceful world. They were in the middle of war. Omegas weren't the ones who brought the victory, strong and courageous alphas were. Omegas were seen as a burden. They brought misfortune in the eyes of many.
Normally, omegas were forbidden to fight because many believed that their competitive abilities were inferior to those of alphas and betas. They weren't even allowed to try to be a shinobi, after they had presented. On the battlefiled they could get insured or kidnapped. They could also distract other clanmembers.
A balanced clan wanted a few omegas. Not too many, not too little. Therefore, the fate of many omegas was very dark. When a clan was annihilated, their omegas were often captured and raped. If the winning side had a shortage of new blood and omegas, it was not unheard of that they would have to give birth to the offspring of the people who had killed the rest of their family just a few months prior. If the winning side had enough omegas, they would be raped and then killed. Sometimes they would be sold. It was a disgusting part of their world Madara realized at that moment.
He didn't want that to be his future. He hadn't witnessed such kind of cruelty in person. He was still young. He had only heard about it from adults. Since he was little the Uchiha were fighting the Senju, never winning or loosing in the grand scheme of things. Therefore, he had never seen a foreign omega. There were only a few omegas in the Uchiha clan at that moment. They were all female and had Uchihan heritage if he thought about it. They weren't acknowleged much and mostly ignored by everyone except their mate.
Even Madara hadn't paid much attention to them. They seemed to live a normal life. Had they dreamed about being a strong shinobi before they presented, Madara wondered. Had they given up on their dream and accepted their place in the world?
His mind began to wander. Surprisingly, he thought about his mother. He knew she had been an omega. He didn't get to know her, since he had been very young when she and his siblings were killed. He couldn't remember much. He was too young and his father never talked about her again after he informed him and little Izuna about their death. He didn't even remember her face. He surpressed his feelings and memories about her and moved on.
After such a horrible reveal about himself he tried to remember more about her. She always smiled for him. Always kissed him goodnight. Hugged him when he cried. Promised him then that his tears would be a secret between him and her since his father didn't want to see him cry. Memories slowly came back he had pressed into the farthest corner of his mind for several years.
She was a kind woman, but rather distant. She never left the house, looked longingly at the sky, when she thought Madara was busy playing on his own in their little garden. He always thought it was weird.
He remembered how he woke up in the middle of the night because of a nightmare. Like a scaredy-cat he ran to his mothers room on his short legs. He knew his father was on a mission. He wasn't a lot at home anyway. He reached her room and opened the door. It was a haunting image. His mother wasn't asleep. She sat in the corner of her room, crying and hugging her bruised knees. She seemed so small as if she were a child herself. Then she looked up and froze at the sight of her oldest son.
He remembered now how she looked. Her grey eyes were cold, lifeless. Tears were streaming down her pale face. She was very skinny. She looked so tired. Her long blond hair seemed white in the moonlight. After a few seconds of shock and silence she stood up, wiped away her tears and smiled at him. Promised him everything was alright as if nothing had happened. A few days later she told him he would be getting another sibling.
Madara stopped his thoughts immediately. A foul taste spread out in his mouth. His mother was a female omega, but she didn't have dark eyes. She didn't have dark hair. He realized what those details meant. She wasn't an Uchiha at all.
Madara wanted to throw up. He remembered then what the adults said about the fate of omegas in this world. Had they talked about his mother? Had his father...
Madara didn't want to think about it. He didn't want to think about any of it! He wasn't an omega. That would be absurd. Nature had made a mistake. It must be some kind of twisted joke. He was a proud Uchiha, a prodigy like everyone around him said. If he was an omega, how was he supposed to protect his clan or Izuna? He wasn't weak. He could win against Hashirama during their training. He had protected his little brother multiple times during fights with the Senju. His omegan mother had died while protecting his brothers, he wouldn't. He would still make his father proud. He would work harder, more than ever before. He wouldn't be a pathetic omega. He wouldn't accept that he was supposed to be an omega at all. He would hide it. He knew that chakra could hide his scent. No one would ever know except his father.
He would get his sharingan. He wasn't a broken heir. He was worthy and he was going to proof it.
Anger filled his young heart. He screamed into his pillow. That night he had sworn to himself that this would be the last time he would ever cry, but young Madara eventually had to learn that this cruel wouldn't let him hold on to every promise he ever made. This should be the case for this promise and many others that would follow.