I don't own Naruto

To Fight Back

TobiramaXHinata

Tobirama touched his bruised eye once more, his father's fist had been unrelenting. His thoughts drifted to Hinata, he wanted so much more with her... but it truly seemed she was in love with Izuna. He looked up to watch his father pace about the room, he wondered what the man could be thinking over now. His father had beaten him when he had found out he had been meeting with Hinata on his land. He was worried about what his father was going to do to her. He didn't want her to get hurt. He watched as his father grabbed his things and made his way out of the room. Tobirama slumped against the wall and buried his face in his hands.

His father was going after her.

She was going to fall into a trap, and it was all his fault. He bit his lip as tears streaked over his cheeks. He jolted in surprise when a hand found its way to his shoulder. He looked up to see his mother looking down at him with sad red eyes. "Do you care for her?" she asked and he looked back down to his hands trying to gather his thoughts. He looked back up at her and nodded. "If you care for her, go after him and stop him. I love your father... but he is not the man I married anymore..." Akane whispered as she pulled her son to his feet. "Stop him, before the Uchiha do permanently." She said and he nodded. He took off after his father, only for his chest to clench when he heard her voice.

"P-Please... don't hurt me..."

Tobirama grit his teeth and rushed forward, he was not going to let his father hurt her. He saw his father come into view and he pulled his sword over his head and struck swiftly. It was as if everything was moving in slow motion now. His eyes squeezed shut tightly as blood spattered his face, he felt the warmth coat his skin on contact. His father released a pained yell as he continued forward and rammed him away from Hinata. He would not touch her. His eyes opened and he stared at his father, who was clutching his fingerless hand. "You wont ever lay another hand on her!" Tobirama yelled and Butsuma jerked his head up to look at him, a burning rage in his eyes.

"Or me."

Tobirama had decided he was done. He was done being a pawn for his father, he was through recovering from the beatings he had received since childhood. His pain would never again be caused by his father. "Stand up and fight me!" Tobirama roared and the sneer that crossed his father's lips only strengthened his resolve. He watched as his father ripped cloth from his attire and bound the stumps of the two fingers he had tried to remove Hinata's eyes with.

"You miserable, pathetic whelp." He father snarled as he pulled his own blade. "I should have killed you when you were just a sniveling brat!" He snarled and Tobirama rushed for him. "Is that what you thought of Itama and Kawarama?!" he snarled as their blades met. The resounding echo of the scraping of their blades filling his ears. "They deserved their pathetic fates!" Butsuma snarled and Tobirama roared in anger as he headbutted his father, his Senju Hitai-ate shattering on impact. Blood trickled over his forehead as he rushed at his father once more. "I'll kill you!" he snarled, but his father regrained his ground and began summoning roots to stop Tobirama.

However, the roots were swiftly dealt with, much to his father's surprise. Tobirama barely lifted his finger and his chakra flared dangerously. His father sneered at him once more, only to throw a kunai with an explosive tag towards Hinata, but it was swiftly intercepted as well. Butsuma stumbled backwards, it seemed he hadn't realized how strong his son truly was. "What a shame..." Butsuma managed as he rushed towards his son once more. "That you would waste this strength on a useless whelp like her!" he snarled as he rushed towards Tobirama. Tobirama fell into a familiar stance and took a deep breath. He readied his blade to end his father's reign once and for all.

"Flying Rajin-" he began, but a shock of dark hair appeared in his vision. He finished the jutsu and his body lurched forwards, only for his blade to shatter against someone else's blade and his body was shoved backwards. Arms wrapped around his waist and he blinked up to meet tear filled white eyes before they hit the ground. All movement around them stopped and he looked up to see a sharp tree root in the air where he had stood. He looked back to Hinata, who was biting her lip. He carefully rolled her off of him and he stood once more, facing his father once more.

His father was smirking at him, what a disgusting human.

He glanced back to Hinata who was now standing beside him. "I love you, Hinata. Even if you don't feel the same." Tobirama said as he once more rushed at his father. His fist reared back as he came down on his father, a vortex of water swirling around it as it connected with his father's cheek. His father hadn't even made a move to defend himself against the hit that sent him flying backwards into a tree. He watched as his father slumped to the ground at the base of the tree.

He was still alive, Tobirama knew this because he was just watching his son stalk towards him. He was admitting defeat it seemed. Tobirama swiped a kunai from the pouch on his hip and lunged for his father once more, only for Hinata to stop him once more. He furrowed his brows at her in confusion and she just shook her head at him. "You know... Tobirama... there was once a time where I fought for your mother with everything I had." Butsuma muttered softly and Tobirama glared down at him once more. His eyes widened in a slight surprise as his father looked up at him with tears in his eyes.

"I don't remember when I stopped." He whispered and Tobirama repressed a sneer. He was not going to feel sorry for the man that treated his own sons' deaths like they were pawns in a game. Rapid footsteps echoed around them, but Hinata didn't release his hand that held the kunai. Both of her hands were wrapped around his hand, her strength unwavering. His eyes trailed up her arm over her shoulder and landed on her trembling lips. A frown crossed his own lips at seeing her lips tremble that way. His eyes softened when they met her tear filled ones. He released a sigh as the fingers of his other hand reached up to trail over her cheek gently, the kunai falling from the grasp of his other hand.

Hashirama ran over and crouched next to his father, who pushed him away gently. "What happened, father?" Hashirama asked and his father sighed and looked up at him. Trying to read him for any regret whatsoever. Tobirama held none. There was no regret to be held for his actions. He held no remorse or pity for his father. Butsuma nodded and looked over to Hashirama once more. "It seems your brother finally learned how to fight back." Butsuma knew that the day one brother learned to fight back, the both of them would.

Tobirama cared not for how his father felt about that, he meant every word of what he said. "If you ever try to hurt her again... even she wont be able to stop me from killing you." He bit out and Hashirama looked up at him in shock. Hashirama knew how he had felt for Hinata, this shouldn't come as a surprise to him whatsoever. Tobirama's eyes flicked to see that the Uchiha were here as well now. He could see the look shared between the eyes of both of the brothers. Their shared defeat, he wondered briefly why they were staring at him like that. However, he glanced towards Hinata and she was still holding onto his hand. Was this why they were watching him like that? Because they felt like they had lost?

He looked down at Hinata once more, only for her to finally release her grasp on his hand. He watched as she made her way over to talk to the brothers, Hashirama by her side. They all seemed to be speaking amicably. He glanced down at his father and his pitiful state once more, the urge to kick him while he sat there was undeniable. He didn't though, but that was only because his mother had made her appearance and was cradling the despicable man in her arms.

He turned and crammed his hands in his pockets and made his way home. He was done for the day, he was tired and he didn't want to be around that group any longer. He hadn't gotten very far from the group before two small hands encircled his wrist. He glanced down to see Hinata holding his wrist once more. His eyes slipped shut and he repressed a sigh. He wasn't sure what she wanted, but it was most likely to tell him she didn't feel the same way, which that didn't matter to him. He had told her how he felt so if it was unrequited, he was fine with that.

A warmth flushed over his face as soon as one of her hands had let him go. He looked to see the green glow coating her fingers as she touched them to his bruised eye. When she removed her hand, the pain was completely gone from his face. She released her grip on him and it seemed she was fully intending to let him leave now. "Thank you, Tobirama..." she whispered and looked down to her fingers, which were twiddling with those of the other hand. He watched her for a moment, only to decide on what he was going to do.

He reached over and placed his hand on her head, only to ruffle her hair. She pouted up at him and he swooped in and placed a gentle kiss on her lips before turning and taking off into the surrounding woods. He was followed by an echo of angry Uchiha men yelling after him, which only made him chuckle. She had just been standing there, her fingertips pressed to her lips as he had taken off. He didn't regret that in the slightest.

The brothers were still glowering at him a week later when they all met up at the civilian village. Tobirama didn't care, he had made his motives clear, and if they didn't like it that was their issue. He tuned out their complaining, but his elder brother was stressing out trying to get them to stop bitching about him long enough to listen to him. Turns out Madara had also kissed her and Izuna was screaming about the only one who hadn't gotten to see how magical it was. He rolled his eyes at that one. Izuna was a fool and how his elder brother endured the ranting idiocies of the brothers was beyond him.

This was why he was currently standing off to the side of the room, his arms crossed over his chest. He didn't want to be here, but his brother forced him to come with him. The Uchiha matriarch and patriarch were standing behind their sons silently, possibly due to second hand embarrassment of having to endure the brothers rants all the time. He glanced over to see Hinata sitting in one of the chairs, one leg crossed elegantly over the other leg. Her uncle and his Uzumaki wife, Mabui standing behind her. She glanced over at him and a deep blush coated her cheeks and she looked away once more.

The Uchiha matriarch was glowering at him then and all he could do was offer a smirk. "Seems like my sons aren't the only beasts around here." He grumbled and he released a chuckle at this. Seemed like she didn't like that her son had competition now. Madara gave him a dirty look and stuck his tongue out at him. Tobirama rolled his eyes at this and Hashirama slammed a fist atop Madara's head and began yelling at him about how he was a fool and needed to listen. Madara was hunched over gripping his skull while yelling back at Hashirama.

As much as they annoyed him, he preferred this to their constant warring. The simplistic idiocy was much more desirable to that of trying to kill each other on the daily. He couldn't help the small smile that crossed his lips as he watched the two best friends continue their antics, smiles mirroring on the two of their faces. Yes... he would definitely prefer this sense of... peace. The ability to act like who they really are. He was already at peace with himself and his past, sure the anger still lingered, but he felt like one day he could overcome that.

He glanced over and noticed that Hashirama and Madara were done bickering and were now shaking hands. He had missed everything that had just happened, but he supposed that was ok. Things still seemed to be going smoothly as of right now. He looked back to his brother, only to see he had been talking to him now. "I missed that." He said and Hashirama sighed and rubbed his forehead with his palm. Hinata was smiling and shaking her head softly as she made her way over to him, much to the displeasure of the Uchiha. "You are coming with me, we are going to go try and see if any nearby clans want to join us in the creation of our village." She said and he blinked at her in confusion.

"Mito and Hashirama are going to go looking as well as Madara and Izuna." She explained and he quirked a brow at her. "Well that much would be obvious, why are you coming with me though?" he asked and she laughed lightly. "You're intimidating, brother. Did you forget you had scared Hinata away at one point?" Hashirama asked and he scowled at his brother. This felt like a setup honestly, he wondered if the brothers figured he would screw up and embarrass himself. They all made their way out and took off in different directions. He glanced over at Hinata every so often and he could tell she was glancing over at him as well.

"Hinata..." "I have a question." They spoke at the same time and he clamped his mouth shut. She stopped and turned to him moments later. "Did you mean it?" she asked and he frowned as he looked over her. Her blazing lavender eyes burned into his skin. "What would it matter if I did?" he asked and she frowned at him as well. "That depends... because I thought you liked me as a friend and that's all you wanted me to be with you. Then you kissed me, and then Madara did too." She sighed and he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Look at me!" she snapped after he had looked away from her. He glanced at her from the corner of his eyes and saw she had her hands fisted by her sides. "Tobirama! Face me!" she snarled and he was caught off guard by the ferocity of her tone. He turned to face her fully and she relaxed somewhat. "I want to know... did you mean it? And... when did you realize it?" she asked and he pursed his lips. He glanced down to stare at the grass beneath his feet. He wanted to look anywhere but at her right now. This was a setup; he wasn't wrong about that. He was wrong about it being the brother's idea though. It was hers.

"Why do you want to know so badly?" he grumbled and she threw a rock at him, but unlike every time before where it had hit him, he caught it in the palm of his hand this time. She seemed surprised that he had actually caught it this time. He ran his thumb over the smooth stone in his grasp and sighed. She was going to keep asking him until he explained himself to her, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to actually explain it. because if she didn't feel the same, he was putting himself out there to knowingly get hurt by her. She narrowed her eyes at him once more and she said something that actually pissed him off.

"A coward? You think I'm a coward?!" he snarled at her, but she was unfazed by his anger. "You really want to know if I meant it?" he asked and she nodded, standing her ground even though his angry aura was flaring at her. "Yeah. I meant it." he bit out and surprise showed in her eyes. "It killed me every time I saw you leave with the Uchiha! I wanted nothing more than to beg you to come with me and let ME love you. Let ME keep you safe!" he bit out and her gaze softened on him. He took a deep breath and tried to get his anger in check, she knew exactly what buttons to press to get him riled up and he could tell he was going to have to try harder to keep his anger in check when she pulled a stunt like that.

"I didn't want to let him love you." He grumbled and she burst out laughing at this. A slight tinge of pink crossed his cheeks at this and he watched her as she laughed. Those beautiful eyes of her filled to the brim with pure mirth. Those soft hands of hers attempting to hide her laughter from him and failing. "S-stop laughing at me!" he snapped and she only laughed more at this. He had never had an issue finding his words before in his life, but dammit if this woman didn't make him trip over them. She shook her head and turned on her heel and continued running. He groaned and ran his hands through his hair in irritation.

She managed to get all of that out of him, but she didn't offer a single thing in return. He rushed to catch up to her, only for her to smile over her shoulder at him. "Aren't you the least bit curious as to why I found that so funny?" she asked and he glowered at her. Of course, he wanted to know, what a goofy question for her to ask. He rolled his eyes and didn't say a word to her, he was miffed at her still for causing his outburst. She just watched him for a while before she spoke again.

"You know Madara just thinks he loves me, right?" she asked and he didn't respond. "He believes that because I helped keep his family safe, he has to owe his life to me. He thinks he has to love me." She explained softly and he made no move to say anything, he had nothing to say about it either way. He continued forward as she jogged to catch up to him once more. "It would be wrong to take advantage of someone's feelings just because they feel like they should love you for what you do for them..." she said softly and he looked back at her.

"You've been there before." He said and she nodded. "Yeah... I thought I was in love with a friend of mine because of how he was always nice to me, and in the end, he thought the same thing because I was always nice to him... but we both came to realize that we loved the other like siblings because we had cared for one another since we were children. We were always looking out for one another." She sighed and he nodded softly. He could understand her reasoning behind that.

"What of Izuna?" he asked and she gave him an odd look. "Izuna?" she asked and he raised a lone brow at her. "You seem to care for him as well." He pointed out and a soft giggle escaped her, that giggle turned to all out laughter after a bit and he couldn't help but stare at her oddly. "You're so funny!" she laughed and he rolled his eyes. Her laughter ceased then and her eyes went wide. "You were serious..." she whispered and a smile broke out over her lips. "Izuna is a dirty pervert, Tobirama. He could get anyone he wanted to, but he just flirts with me. I love him, but he's like my goofy little brother." She said and he breathed a small sigh of relief, but then he blinked and looked over to her as she started walking once more.

But... what about him?

"Hinata...?" he called out and she only smiled at him over her shoulder. He felt the smirk cross his lips and he took off chasing after her. Perhaps he had a chance after all, the only thing she had ever done for him, was hit him with random objects. Hope swelled in his chest as he rushed to catch up to her, her laughter echoing back at him. Her laughter stopped suddenly and he felt the pulse of her chakra and panic flooded his being. He reached and wrapped his arms around her tightly, burying his face in the nape of her neck when he caught her.

Her breath hitched and he felt her move softly in his embrace. He hadn't known what had come over him, but something had. This terrifying feeling that he was going to lose her overcame him and she forced him to let her go, albeit gently. "Forgive me..." she whispered her hands gently removing his arms from around her as she stepped backwards slowly. He struggled to grasp her hand as wind came out of nowhere and began nipping at him. Her fingertips brushed over his, only for the wind to shove him backwards.

"Hinata!" he yelled out and tried once more to grab the hand that was still visible from the vortex of swirling winds. "Turns out there's more than one path to take to fix things..." her voice whispered to him and he called out for her once more. "I'll do my best to come back... I promise!" her voice echoed through the air to him as the vortex of wind vanished completely. There was not a single trace of her left and his heart ached. He touched the ground where the winds had torn to pieces. He felt her chakra lingering there and he sighed and sat down completely. He buried his hands in his hair once more and tugged gently.

"Sir? Are you alright?" a voice came from nowhere and he looked up to the trees to see a man and his wife standing there in the branches. He stood and looked up at them fully, a couple more chakra signatures pricked at his senses from behind and he glanced from one person to the other before him. "Yeah... I'm ok... I'm here to find you and your companion clan back there, in all honesty." He said and the ones hidden behind him dropped from their hiding spot in the trees.

"Cant hide from you Senju boys, that's for sure." A gruff woman sighed and he offered a small nod. He supposed he should finish what was asked of them before he went back and told them that Hinata was gone. He knew the Uchiha wouldn't take too kindly to that tidbit but there was nothing he could do about it now...

:-:_:-:

Hinata dropped to her knees when she landed looking around to see who all surrounded her. Madara stood over her with a devious smirk on his lips. "Hello, Hinata." He said and she could feel the twinge of hurt hidden in his harsh tone. Yeah... seemed like he wasn't too keen on her choices in the past then. She couldn't blame him though, for a while she had thought she had fallen in love with him as well... She looked around her, expecting to see a familiar face but she couldn't find him. A frown crossed her lips as she gripped the blade that had been implanted deeply into the ground. When she tried to pull it out though, it burned her hand.

She didn't drop it, and it didn't kill her, it just burned her. It seemed he still loved her enough to not want to truly hurt her but the anger was there. She frowned up at him and he reached to trail fingers over her cheek. She leaned into his touch slightly and a sad smile crossed his lips. The blade in his own grasp swiftly came at her and she almost didn't move fast to dodge it. "If I kill you... You can go back and love ME." He said as he lunged forward and her eyes softened at this. "You were supposed to love ME!" he snarled and lunged for her once more, but someone else got in his way. Blades locked once more and she looked up to see Tobirama's reanimation blocking Madara's blade.

"Get out of my way!" Madara snarled angrily, shoving the white haired man out of his way and lunging for Hinata once more. Hinata flashed Tobirama a small look and he landed beside her. Her fingertips brushed his ever so slightly and they nodded to one another and lunged at Madara. Tobirama was much faster here than he was in the past, she noticed with a small smile as they exchanged blows with the enrage Uchiha. She was caught off guard when Madara's hand found its way to her throat and he had pinned Tobirama to the ground with Tsubaki. Tobirama stared up at her, knowing he couldn't pull the blade from his back or it would destroy him.

"You were supposed to love me..." Madara snarled softly and her eyes softened as she struggled in his grasp. "Not him." He growled as he reached for the blade once more. He was going to kill Tobirama, her eyes met Tobirama's red ones and he offered her a small smile as Madara gripped the blade. "Madara..." she whispered and he looked back to her once more. "Look what you're doing..." she whispered and he glanced from her to Tobirama, then back to her.

"You would be so angry with me because I didn't choose you that you would hurt him to get back at me?" she asked and he raised a lone brow. "Don't you think that's cruel?" she asked and a devilish smirk crossed his lips as he twisted the blade in Tobirama's back. "Not at all." He said and she frowned. "I'm going to kill you both and ensure you go back and love me." He said and ripped the blade from Tobirama's back, only to swipe it towards her.

"Please! Don't hurt me!" she cried out and the blade stopped before it could touch her. "I will go back... I will love you... I promise!" she cried out and he searched her eyes for any sign she was lying. But it didn't seem like he could find any lies. His lip curled up in a sneer and he readied the blade once more. Before he could swing it down on her, he moved and met blades with someone else once more. She looked over and saw not only Tobirama, but Hashirama as well. Both brothers using all their force to keep their blade held up against Madara's.

"What's this...?" he muttered, only for a hand to touch his back and a seal began spreading over his skin. His eyes went wide as he looked behind him to see the group of nin behind him. He cursed softly as the binds wrapped around him and forced Hinata from his grasp. He watched her sadly as the binds continued up over his other arm, causing the blade to hit the ground and shatter like glass. "I loved you..." was all he said before the seal wrapped up and around his face and had completely cocooned him. She smiled softly as they laid him down instead of letting him fall over. She crouched beside him and patted the cocoon gently.

"I know, Madara... I know..." she whispered, only to stand and look towards the senju brothers, who had been watching her silently. "We only won because he was angry..." she whispered and the two of them nodded in agreement. They knew this just as well as she did. Madara was a fool when angry. She figured that when the veil would allow her to return, she needed to talk to him and sort things out before he blew things out of the water over something that may never actually end up being anything. She looked up to Tobirama and then around her at all of her friends and family. Her father approached her and grabbed her up into a tight hug.

She felt the tears prick her eyes as she returned her father's embrace. When her father released her he seemed to catch someone's gaze and her father raised a brow as he looked over to the man behind her. She could feel his chakra engulfing the area and she turned to give him a dirty look, but the look in his eyes killed the idea of that immediately. His hand was held out to her and she reached her own out to meet his hand. Her fingers brushing gently over his. It wasn't that his chakra was flaring angrily, per se, even though she could feel the anger radiating off him in waves. It was jealousy.

He released a grunt when a fist found its way atop his skull, a more menacing aura flaring wildly now. Hinata couldn't help the laugh that escaped her at the brother's antics. Tobirama was rubbing his skull, but that didn't stop him from yelling at his older brother. She had seen this before, and she knew Tobirama had as well, seeing as this was how Madara and Hashirama interacted with one another. Her eyes softened as she thought about them. She really did need to settle things with the Uchiha male so things didn't go haywire.

"Tobirama!' she called and the brothers stopped bickering and looked to her. "This is my father." She said and Tobirama offered Hiashi a hand, who took it and shook it gently. "You always did like the odd ones...' Hiashi sighed and both Hinata and Tobirama adorned small blushes on their cheeks. Tobirama made his way closer to her little by little, weaving through the crowd that surrounded her as she told them all about her adventures in his time. She spoke a lot about Madara, but she also told them all about him... the one she would have looked over had it not for him admitting he had fallen in love with her.

She turned towards him and she smiled brilliantly as she grabbed his hand and tried to lead him over to her friends. She caught the small frown that crossed his lips, then she noticed the hand sign his other hand held. Her eyes saddened and he offered a small twitch of the lips as an apology. "You were going to leave without saying anything?" she asked and he shrugged gently. "Me being here doesn't matter. I'm not truly alive, Hinata." He said and the frown deepened on her lips. How could she have forgotten that? She released the hand that she held and he watched her carefully as he made the sign for release, but before he could finish the seal she doubled over and gripped her stomach.

He dropped the seal and crouched beside her as she tossed her head back, a shockwave of chakra radiating out from her form. She collapsed in his arms, but they watched together as those who had fallen began standing and feeling themselves all over. The cracks in Minato's skin began to meld and his eyes faded to white as he looked over his form, Kushina began to form right next to him. They watched as families became reunited and friends rushed to hug their comrades that had been lost. She glanced over at Tobirama and saw the awe that coated his features.

Oh, how desperately she wished the cracks in his skin would smooth as well. Her fingers reached up and trailed over his red markings, although fear gripped her being as his body began crumbling away under her touch. He looked down at her and only offered a small smile as he blew away with the wind, she glanced over to see Hashirama doing the same. She pulled herself to her feet and closed her eyes and thought about where she wanted to be.

The familiar pulse of chakra signaled she could go whenever she was ready. The wind began to swirl around her and she felt a grip on her shoulder. She opened her eyes to see Ino staring at her intently, expecting to be able to come with her. "Not this time Ino-chan... I'm sorry." She whispered and pushed the blonde's hand off of her shoulder as she was pulled into the veil. The last thing she saw was Ino's saddened eyes before the veil closed behind her.

When she opened her eyes once more, she was staring out at the village from where the stone faces would be at one point in time. It wasn't long before she felt the all too familiar sensory chakra embracing her form. She smiled softly as she closed her eyes to enjoy the feeling of his chakra mingling with hers. She jumped down and made her way to the Hokage's office, where she knew Madara and Hashirama would be. She knocked on the door and it opened, revealing Madara and Hashirama on the other side.

They both smiled at her brightly and she rushed in and hugged the two of them tightly. They each hugged her back and smiled at her even wider. She looked around the office and saw that things were different. Hashirama had the hokage robes on, but something felt different. She couldn't feel Tobirama's presence anymore. A blush coated her cheeks as she caught their knowing glances. "Ne, Ne, Hinata-chan... someone is happy to see you are ok." Hashirama chirped mischievously and Madara shared the mischievous demeanor.

"Madara..." she began but he offered her a small smile with a shake of the head. "No need to explain my dear. If you fell in love with someone else, that's ok. I can get over that." He said and she frowned. "Are you sure?" she asked and a glint flashed through his eyes at this. She narrowed her eyes at him and he smirked. "I mean, unless you're offering to share. He could have you one week and I could have you the next and we could just swap out." He said offhandedly, but a powerful presence washed over them and Hinata turned to look at Hashirama, who was smiling. She knew that despite that smile it was coming from him. Madara chuckled nervously and made a move to jump out the window but Hashirama grabbed him by his shirt and slammed his fist down on his head.

"Dammit ow!" Madara yelled and Hinata could only laugh at the two of them once more. She allowed them to continue their bickering and turned to face the doorway, but she caught a glimpse of someone blocking her path. A small smile crossed her lips as she took in his relaxed stance. He was propped up on the doorway just watching them all in silence. She reached over and nudged his hand with hers gently. "How have things been since I've been gone?" she asked and he looked down at her, the small smile tugging at the edge of his lips.

"Just like this. They've been acting like children and enjoying themselves." He said softly and she smiled as she looked back over to the two who were bickering animatedly, grins never once leaving their lips. She smiled once more up at Tobirama, who she had caught staring at her from the side. "Would you like to take a walk?" she asked and he nodded. Anything to get away from the two bickering buffoons she supposed. She glanced once more over to Madara, who caught her gaze and gave her a nod. She had been worried it was going to be more difficult to talk things over with him but it seemed as if he were going to be ok.

She brushed past Tobirama and took off out of the building, him right on her tail. They made their way out to the pond they liked to train on previously and she hopped atop the water delicately. He joined her and she fell into the all too familiar stance of the gentle fist. He smirked at her and fell into his own stance. "How about we make a bet?" he offered and she nodded. "If I win, I get to kiss you again." He said and she laughed softly. "That sounds oddly like a demand, not a request." She said and he offered a half smile, his shoulder shrugging. "What do you want if you win?" he asked and she shrugged at him. She wasn't sure what she wanted yet.

He raised a brow and shrugged as well. "Fine, so be it then." He said and lunged for her. She spun and avoided his hits deftly. He lunged for her once more and she allowed his arms to encircle her and take her to the ground right off the edge of the water. He stared at her in confusion as she made no attempt to fight back. She only smiled up at him. "Oh no... looks like you won." She said offhandedly, the smile never once leaving her lips. As if realization took a second to set in, he chuckled and brushed the tip of his nose over hers, the warmth of his breath lingering over her lips.

She just stared into his eyes for what felt like forever before she softly closed the gap between their lips. His tongue traced over her bottom lip and she parted them to give him access to her mouth. His tongue gently explored hers, while her fingers gently explored his exposed skin, tracing up over his waist. She smiled against his lips as he twitched slightly, it seemed he was a bit ticklish. They parted to give one another air and she could only smile at him as he sat down and crossed his legs. He offered her a hand and she took it, but rather than sitting on the ground next to him, she crawled into his lap and sat there facing him.

Her heart fluttered as he scanned over her, just drinking in every detail of her face. She wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled as he placed his hands on her hips. The warmth of his rough palms made her heart soar. She nuzzled her nose against his, and the smile that crossed his lips was genuine and it made her heart flutter as well. He captured her lips in yet another kiss and she continued to kiss him back, even as his fingers trailed up her waist and caused her to twitch away from him. A devilish glint flickered through those red eyes of his as he began tickling her.

"S-stop it!" she managed from between giggles and his kisses. He rolled them back onto her back and began kissing her once more, pretending like he was going to stop tickling her only to go after her again making her laugh loudly. Someone cleared their throat and they both looked up to see Izuna standing there with a soft blush adorning his cheeks. "Hi... uh yeah... so Madara and Hashirama have been looking for you two, but uhhh... maybe I need to tell him yall are busy out here..." he managed and Tobirama released a laugh that made both of them look at him oddly.

"Only you Izuna. I have more respect for the ladies than that!" he chuckled as he helped her up. Izuna blushed a little darker and muttered something under his breath about a damn senju dog. Hinata smiled up at Tobirama and accepted the hand that he offered her. "Just because they say getting down and dirty, it doesn't mean we are going to do it on the ground." Tobirama chuckled and Izuna was grumbling under his breath as they walked back to the village.

She looked up at him once more and couldn't help the smile that crossed her lips... "Tobirama?" she called and he glanced down at her.

"I love you too."