Tobirama:

Izuna, Izuna, Izuna, Izuna, Izuna, Izuna, Izuna, Izuna, Izuna, Izuna, Izuna, Izuna, Izuna, Izuna, Izuna, Izuna, Izuna, Izuna, Izuna, Izuna, Izuna, Izuna, Izuna, Izuna, Izuna, Izuna, Izuna, Izuna, Izuna, Izuna, Izuna, Izuna, Izuna, Izuna, Izuna...

Izuna:

"I'm so sorry", I said.

Emil sat back down.

"You haven't done anything wrong", Emil said sincerely. He was so kind. Yet, there was something about his entire demeanor. It had been so strong when Tobirama was here, but now... He seemed deep in thought, sad, even.

"I'm still sorry. I should've seen it coming and made him back off so you didn't have to."

"It's just..." He sighed.

"What?"

He looked up at me. "When you've been a police for a while, you learn to see people. There's something about that man..."

I smiled a little. "You're not jealous, are you?"

Emil smiled weakly. "A little", he confessed, and it made my heart sing for some reason. "But beside that. Izuna." He became sincere again. "Please, be careful with him. I..." He swallowed, his voice suddenly thick with emotion. "I care about you. I really do."

He reached out his hand and took mine, brushed the skin with his thumb. We looked at each other for a long time. Then, he let go.

Emil seemed so sullen the rest of the time, yet I saw how hard he worked to hide it. Once we stood outside the cafe to part ways, I looked at him.

"Emil-"

"It's just..." he interrupted. He smiled a sad smile at me, lifted his hand, hesitated for a second, then grabbed my chin softly. It felt so different than Tobirama's harsh grip. "Thought we were on a date, that's all."

He turned and left, leaving me confused in my place.

I saw Tobirama had texted me right after he left the cafe when I got home.

Tobirama (1.30 PM): I am so sorry, Izuna.

Me (3.20 PM): Tobirama, what the actual fuck??

Me: (3.22 PM): What happened?

Tobirama (3.25 PM): I was honestly just messing with you both. I am sorry. I didn't know that boy would take it so seriously.

Tobirama (3.30 PM): I feel like I need to meet you. I feel awful.

We decided to meet in the park later that afternoon for a walk. I put on my black coat, took a backpack where I packed mittens and a wool hat, put on my high black boots and left.

Tobirama was standing by the pond when I arrived, his broad back to me. He wore a soft caramel-coloured coat that lifted his colour complexion to the heavens, along his usual black suit pants and polished shoes. His white hair was camouflaged against the snow that had begun to fall yesterday, covering everything in a sparkling glow. It made everything look magical, especially him. He didn't notice me coming closer in the soft snow, so I surprised him by putting my arms around his back.

"Hi", I whispered.

"Hello, gorgeous", he purred, taking my small hand in his large, ring-clad ones where I'd put them on his stomach.

He turned round, embraced me lovingly. It was so different from Tobirama at the cafe, the one who'd met Emil. It seemed like Tobirama had two sides, and I wondered which one was the true Tobirama. Maybe, it's both, but in different contexts...

To my great joy, he took my hand in his, and we started walking round the pond hand in hand, like a real couple. We didn't say anything at first, just felt the atmosphere between us, softened by the blanket of snow surrounding us. Tobirama's footsteps were heavy, slow, while mine were lighter, faster, creating a contrast between us that went beyond our colouring. And I indulged. I just let time pass and indulged.

We walked for one hour, talking about anything and everything; foods we liked, places we'd seen, people we'd met. Midway through, I took my wool beanie and mittens out and put them on. Tobirama smiled at this.

"What?" I asked.

"You're adorable", he said warmly.

I poked his nose playfully. "You are adorable."

He snorted at this display of affection. "You really are something else." He was smiling warmly.

"You..." I looked at him, suddenly serious. "You like that 'something else'?"

Tobirama stopped and put his hands on my shoulders. He looked at me for a long time. I took this opportunity to look closely at his unusual eyes. They were so bright, pink with a hint of blue to them. His white lashes were long and extraordinary, his eyebrows thick and soft.

"Izuna, I haven't... I haven't really been in anything long-lasting in my thirties."

"Wow, there must be something wrong with you", I said, only half-joking. I was suddenly worried. Had everyone broken off with him because there was something wrong with him for real? Like, was he abusive? Manipulative? A bad partner?"

He smiled a little, looked away as if considering something. "No. Or, I hope not. I've chosen it myself. My lifestyle doesn't really allow partners."

"Am I..." I felt nervous suddenly. "Tobirama, am I wasting my time?"

He looked at me again, took my chin in his fingers. The grip was soft, gentle, much more pleasant than in the cafe. And it started to feel familiar.

"No", he said, voice dark, looking at me. "I am working hard so that you won't be. I want to be with you."

I embraced him then, and he put his arms around me. We stood there for a while, me trying to comprehend what it all meant. That we were, in fact, dating, and that he wanted me, not just as something temporary but as something lasting, however long that may be.

We continued our date then.

"I'm starving", Tobirama said after another thirty minutes of walking. I realised I was, too, seeing the last thing I ate was my raspberry muffin.

We went to a stand that sold falafel rolls and Tobirama bought me one, and one for himself. We walked around eating them, and found ourselves in the middle of a make-shift amusement park that they put up each winter.

That's probably when I should've started suspecting something.

And that's probably when he started suspecting something, as well.

At the time I didn't, of course, just saw it as a weird talent of his. And he probably saw it as a surprising talent of mine. But of course we didn't suspect a thing; the situation was so silly.

We came to a stand where you would try to shoot at a target with hard foam bullets in order to win a ginormous stuffed animal of your choice.

"You want me to win something for you, gorgeous?"

"No", I said, smirking. "I want to compete with you." And I slammed some money on the counter and took one of the toy guns. Tobirama looked at me in surprise

"Five shots each", the man in the stand said.

And I shot, all five straight in the bullseye without hesitation, and I could hear Tobirama firing next to me as well. I could see he had a leisurely one-hand grip, while I still used both of my hands as that was what I was used to from work.

Having finished my shots, I smirked, then looked over at Tobirama to see how he was doing.

He was looking at me, one eyebrow crooked. But his facial expression didn't seem to be that of someone who was impressed, or even surprised.

It was the face of someone who were in deep, deep thought about something that really, really worried him.

And I saw that Tobirama had not only hit the bullseye with all five foam bullets as I had; his first bullet had formed a hole in the bullseye, and the four others had gone straight through that first hole.

I just gaped at him.

And he was looking at me with that strange expression on his face.

What in the Goddamn mother of FUCK?

I turned my head to the man in the stand.

"I'll have the giant shark, please."

And we left for our respective homes, me with my giant stuffed shark underneath my arm, Tobirama with a giant turtle, deep in thought.