"YOUR WOMAN IS DAMAGED!" Madara shouted, pointing a finger at Tobirama.

The youngest of the three men in the room furrowed his brow, glaring at the Uchiha who'd burst into the Hokage office, "Excuse me?"

"You couldn't make her fall in love... But you made mine fall in love!" Madara raised a fist. "Clearly yours is defective." [1]

Tobirama shook his head, "No, I don't believe so. In fact, I think it's quite the opposite. 'My woman' isn't the one who prefers to be mistreated. Or the one who cares for an Uchiha." He crossed his arms, "Yours does, she's clearly mentally ill."

"WHY YOU-" Madara changed at the younger Senju, but Hashirama quickly held him back, "Let go of me, damnit!"

"No! You two are still acting like children! Get over yourselves, and fall in love damnit!" Hashirama shouted, tossing Madara forward, Tobirama moving out of the way just in time to avoid being hit by the Uchiha. "I'm tired of hearing you two complain! It isn't that hard to have good relations with a woman," He continued talking as Madara tried to interrupt, "And I know that's not what you're after, but it should be! Finding love is important to finding happiness, and finding peace! But both of you should be more open to the notion!"

The two grumpy men said nothing as they avoided eye contact.

"Get out of here, and don't come back until you're either in love or have completely ruined your chances of it! You're both so closed-minded, I'm tired of hearing you complain while I have civil matters with clans to deal with." Hashirama rubbed his temples. "So don't come back until it's over if you can't act like an adult and keep calm about it."

They were silent until Madara muttered, "I still think she's damaged." He disappeared.

Tobirama's eye twitched, before shifting his attention to his brother, "I apologize, elder brother."

Hashirama sighed, his shoulders slumping as he sat back down at his desk, "It's fine, just go make (Y/n) fall in love with you, and you try to fall in love too." Hashirama looked up at Tobirama, "I know you already find her somewhat interesting, I've noticed how distant you've been lately, even when you're here. I can't imagine that's a coincidence. It's been three weeks now since Kota-sama and Norita-san talked her into this... You have one week to convince her this can work."

"Of course, that sounds like a simple task" Coming from Tobirama, it didn't sound sarcastic, but it was. Tobirama turned to walk out of the Hokage office.

"Tobirama," He turned back toward the Hokage, "I want to see you happy, regardless of what happens with you and (Y/n)."

"I understand. Thank you, Hashirama." He turned and left.

******

Tobirama smiled to himself as he spotted (Y/n) interacting with a cat. They were beside a small, shallow creek that ran through her family's property, and she hadn't noticed Tobirama was there.

"Those are some cute little bean toes..." She said, the cat purring all the while as she rubbed his back. He plopped down on her lap, nudging her hand with his face as she continued to pet him, "You're a pretty fancy kitty, aren't you?" The cat meowed in response.

"Good afternoon, (Y/n)."

Her eyes widened as she snapped her head up, losing balance on the rock she was sitting on and falling over into the creek, the cat scampering off before she even hit the water.

"(Y/n)!" Tobirama rushed to help her up, but as he extended a hand, and she took it, an evil grin crossed her face, and she pulled him down beside her, into the stream. She laughed, sitting up in the stream as he glared at her, "I was trying to help."

"I know. What can I say? It was the perfect opportunity to catch you off-guard. And it was amusing."

He sat up, weaving few hand signs, "Oh, was it? So is this."

A huge wave completely soaked her, and after it passed, she felt a crawdad pinching her ear, "Ow!" She removed it, "While that was a thoughtful gift, I'm not in the market for any new jewelry." She threw the crayfish at his chest, and he caught it, tossing it in the water before it had the chance to pinch him.

"Well, I don't see why not, it matches your muddy clothing." She turned her head back toward him to glare at him, only to find that they were less than a foot apart, and her cheeks had warmed slightly upon noticing their closeness.

She smirked as she quickly placed her hands against the ground between them, splashing a small amount of water outward, channeling her chakra through the ground, and pulling him into the wet earth in the middle of the creek, leaving him buried to his shoulders. Luckily, the creek wasn't more than two inches deep, or she would've had to have kept him higher.

"Hey!" His brow furrowed, and she noticed his happuri had fallen off and was now caught on a rock beside him. She picked it up, chuckling, "What?"

"I don't know, maybe I should keep it... A prize for defeating," She air quoted, puckering her lips as she mocked him, "the 'great Senju Tobirama'..."

"Stop it, get me out of here." He shook his head.

"How do I look?" She placed it on, turning her head from side to side as she ignored him.

"Heh. If I'd known you liked it so much, I would've had one made for you."

She laughed, "Well, I can make absolutely anything look good."

"Hnhnhnhn..." The two Shinobi turned their attention to Kokoro and Aika, who were both stifling laughter at the edge of the garden, causing Tobirama and (Y/n)'s blushes to deepen. The two had been faced toward the forest for the first part of this interaction, in the opposite direction of the cackling women, so they had no idea how long they were being watched.

"You two look cute together!" Kokoro laughed as (Y/n) glared at her.

"Shut up, Kokoro!" (Y/n) released Tobirama, walking away after handing him his happuri. "Sheesh, you two are so nosy..." She muttered as she strolled in the opposite direction, not even minding that she was drenched from head to toe, and covered in mud.

Tobirama smiled lightly, bowing his head toward the other two women, "Ladies."

They chuckled, bowing their heads in return, "Tobirama-sama."

Tobirama followed (Y/n) into the forestry until she suddenly disappeared. He looked around with a straight face, "Are you hiding from me?" His eyes landed on the tree she was in, before moving to another.

He smirked, now behind her, "You're not doing a very good job of it." She screeched, turning to punch him out of instinct, but he caught her fist. "...I think this is the first time I've blocked an attack from you." He rose a brow.

She pulled her fist away, crossing her arms. She gave him a questioning gaze, "How'd you find me so quickly...?"

"I am a sensory Ninja."

"Oh. I didn't know that." She jumped down from the branch they were on, and he followed.

"It almost feels as though you're avoiding me..."

"Ah... Define... 'avoiding'..."

He rolled his eyes, now she was just being silly, "Define 'define'."
'I can act just as childish.'

She side-glared him, "Clarify; Describe; Simplify; Interpret; To explain the definition of a word in an understandable way."

"Ah. Avoiding; Evading; Eluding; Escaping; You don't wish to be in my company."

"Hm. I don't know, maybe, maybe not." She shrugged, "Do you wish to be in my company?"

"I do." She blushed, not expecting the answer. "Are you surprised? After almost a month of bickering, I would have to assume we're at least friends. Why wouldn't I enjoy your company?"

After a moment of thought, she answered, "I suppose I thought you still hated me."

He scoffed, smirking, "I never hated you. I may have disliked you initially... But you're not so bad as I thought."

She scoffed in return, "Well, you're still just as insufferable as before." She sped up, and he glared at her back, before she turned her head halfway over her shoulder, "Sometimes." She continued walking again, eyes forward as he sped up beside her.

For about ten minutes, their walk was silent. Peaceful, as well. However, above head, rain clouds were rolling in quickly. He looked up, "It looks like rain is coming... I should take you back."

"Well, we're already soaked. What's wrong with a little adventure in the rain?" She took off, jumping into the tree branches as she sped away. She knew he would follow.

He caught up to her, a stern expression as he said, "We should go back. It might storm."

She responded with an eye roll, laughing as she evaded him, "Don't be such a spoilsport."

"What, for not wanting to get struck by lightning?" He almost hit a branch as he tried to catch up, causing her to laugh.

"No, you're a spoilsport for wanting to go home because it might happen."

"A tree could fall too, you know. A number of things could happen. Let's go bac-"

"Oh, hush. Lighten up."

She sped up, "(Y/n)! You're being unreasonable."

She groaned, "No, you are." She stopped, turning toward him and causing him to abruptly stop, as not to run into her, "Senju Tobirama, have you ever had an ounce of fun in your life?"

His brow furrowed, "Of course I have."

"When was the last time?"

"What?"

"The last time that you've had any fun?"

"...So doing something stupid is fun to you?" He asked expressionlessly.

"Sometimes..."

"Ah. How about dancing in a storm? Will that appease you?"

"What?" He took her hand, leading her into the clearing that they were standing near. "Tobirama!"

"What, I thought you wanted to do something fun?"

"Well, I-... I thought you didn't. That's all."

He smirked, turning toward her, "You don't know how to dance, do you?"

"What? Why would you think that?" She pulled her hand from his.

Tobirama smiled lightly, "Because you're too stubborn to learn."

"What?" Her face contorted.

"Allow me to teach you." She ended her protests as he took her hand once more, pulling her closer.

"Sorry," She said, stepping on his toe.

"(Y/n)."

"Oops, sorry, I told you this was a bad idea."

"(Y/n)-"

"I did it again!"

"(Y/n)-" He stopped moving, "-you're thinking too much. Calm down."

She puffed her cheeks out.

"(Y/n), look at me," She hesitantly obeyed, her eyes moving to meet his, "Don't feel so pressured. No one is here to judge you." Her eyes widened, "I want to teach you to dance because I want to teach you to dance."

She averted her eyes, and he sighed, pulling her against himself, which surprised her, and then placing his right hand on the small of her back, while his left held her right. "...For the record, you're just as stubborn as I am." She said, breaking the silence.

He chuckled, "If I weren't, I would never win any argument with you." Just as his sentence ended, lightning struck less than a hundred feet from the two, in the woods. "Is that dangerous enough, yet?" He rose a brow.

"Oh? I thought you wanted to have fun now?" She retorted.

"Oh, so now you want to dance with me?"

"I didn't say that, I just pointed out that you wanted to."

"Why are you trying to start an argument?" Tobirama wasn't even mildly irritated that (Y/n) was trying to fight with him, he actually found it amusing, and suspected there was a reason, though he couldn't figure out exactly what it was yet.

"I'm not." It was beginning to rain harder, the droplets were getting bigger as well, as Tobirama lead (Y/n) around, without her even paying anymore attention.

"You're lying."

"I am not!" She turned her eyes back to him to find a satisfied smirk across his face.

"You're dancing."

She blinked. He was right, she was slow dancing with him, and she wasn't even paying any attention. "How...?"

"Well, you started thinking about something else. You weren't so nervous anymore." He stopped moving, "Let's go home. We'll catch a cold out here."

She nodded as she avoided eye contact once more. He led the way, with her following a few steps behind as they quickly made their way toward her family home.

But, just less than ten feet from the edge of the forest, near the creek they were at earlier, (Y/n) grabbed his hand and stopped. He turned toward her, raising a brow. She noticed that the rain had finally wetted his hair enough that it fell. "(Y/n)?"

She stepped closer, and Tobirama noticed the slight shade of pink on her face, "Tobirama... Kiss me."

Tobirama, although a bit surprised by the request, wasted no time in fulfilling it. He stepped toward her, leaning in as he placed one hand against the side of her face. Her eyes fluttered shut as his lips tenderly met hers.

His lips were soft and gentle against her own, bringing a darker blush to her face as she gingerly kissed back. A loud clap of thunder startled them apart, and she chuckled awkwardly, "I guess you're right, we should, uh..." Her sentence broke as her eyes met his again.

"Yeah..." He cleared his throat, stepping out of the way to let her pass.

"Have a good evening, Tobirama." She said, looking back at him over her shoulder.

"You too... (Y/n)." He watched as she crossed the creek and headed into her family home, and as soon as she was gone, so was he, using a seal at his home to teleport back, but not before placing one on a tree by where he stood.

******

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, really? Pretty sure I saw you and Tobirama making eyes at each other in the creek."

"We were not making eyes!" (Y/n) blushed, her face contorting as she got defensive.

Kokoro smirked, "Well, maybe you're right, maybe it was just you."

"Exactl- Hey!"

Kokoro chuckled, "Calm down. It's okay to admit that you like him."

"I do not." She crossed her arms, "Shut up, Kokoro, no one cares about your opinion."

"Well, if you don't like him, I guess this is the end, then."

"What?"

"Well, the month you promised is almost over. There are only a few days remaining, right?"

"...Has it been that long...?"

"Yes, it has. I suppose time flies when you're having fun, huh?" Aika said, gaining the attention of the other two women as she stepped onto the Sarutobi family's porch.

"I was not having fun." (Y/n) pursed her lips, sinking in her chair, "Why are you two always picking on me..."

"Well, you're so easy to pick on." Kokoro smirked, earning a glare.

"Well, in that case, I'll just go." (Y/n) stood from the chair she was sitting in. "See you guys later."

"Oh, goodie, now we can really gossip about your love life." Aika said, taking the seat.

"At least you're honest, I guess."

"Goodbye!" The two shouted as she left.

'I hate dealing with them.' (Y/n) thought. 'They're wrong. I don't like him... I could kick myself for agreeing to this. And then I kissed him! Gross. Kissing Tobirama. Ew.' She blushed as she thought about it. 'It's not like it was that good or anything, why am I thinking about it... Kokoro can never find out about it. Aika, either.'

Her blush deepened, as a thought crossed her mind, 'Wait- Tobirama was my first kiss- Wait- Why am I still thinking about it? Wait- Will he be my last- Wait- Stop thinking about it.' She vigorously shook her head, stopping in her tracks.

It'd been a day since she'd seen Tobirama. She was really only visiting Kokoro to bring her some flowers that (Y/n)'s mother had dug up for her. She hoped to avoid her for a while now.

'Ugh! Life was so easy before Konoha, and the Hokage, and his advisor.' Her mind veered back to what Kokoro reminded her of- Was her time with Tobirama almost up? 'Why do I say that like it's a bad thing? That's not bad... is it?' Her eyes traveled across Konoha.

She now stood atop the Hokage monument, Hashirama's face which overlooked Konoha, the beautiful village in front of her. She watched the children playing in the street and the birds which were gliding through the sky above the village.

'Is it a bad thing that the month is almost over? ...Why does my mood drop if I think about it? How does he feel about it? ...Is he waiting for the month to be over?'

"After almost a month of bickering, I would have to assume we're at least friends. Why wouldn't I enjoy your company?"

'That doesn't mean anything... Does it? I mean, even if that's what the words mean, does he mean what he says?'

"(Y/n)?" Her eyes widened, and she turned around too quickly, losing her balance, as she twisted her ankle.

Tobirama quickly caught her wrist before she had the chance to fall off of the cliff. He pulled her against himself, and stumbled backward "Are you okay? I apologize, I did not mean to startle you."

"I... yeah, I'm okay."

"Why wouldn't I enjoy your company?" His words replayed in her head again.

She cleared her throat, taking a step back, "Thank you, Tobirama."

"Well, if you had been paying attention..." He smirked.

"Yes- Hey! Excuse you!?" She huffed as she saw his slight smile. He was trying to get under her skin.

"Twice in the same chapter."
"What?"
"What?" Tobirama rose a brow. "Let's go for a walk, so long as you don't have anything else to do?"

"Oh, no, nothing." She replied. He extended an arm, and she hooked hers around it. It was fortunate that he was standing so close, as, when she took a step, she would've fallen without him there. "Ow..."

"Did you hurt your ankle?"

"...Maybe..." She averted her eyes.

He sighed, "Let me carry-"

"No." She said, stubbornly, as she glared, still clutching his upper arm.

His eye twitched, "Fine." He placed his arm around her waist as he turned toward her, pulling her to himself.

When she blinked, they were someplace else, a roof. Her eyes widened, "How'd you do that?"

He smirked, "It isn't important."

She looked around, "Where are we?"

"On top of the Hokage Residence."

Her head turned back to him, forcing him to realize that he was still holding to her firmly. He loosened his hold but allowed her to keep her hold on him, as not to fall.

"Konoha really is beautiful..." She said as she looked over the buildings of the very new village. Across Konoha were multiple very new buildings, and a couple of buildings that were in the process of being built. Tobirama hummed in response to her words.

"I asked you if you wanted to see the Haruno clan merge with Konoha... But I never asked you if you wanted to live in Konoha."

She thought about it for a moment as she peered over the villagers, quickly coming to a conclusion. "Yes..." She answered meekly, "I do want to live here."

When he didn't respond, she turned her head to the left, to find that he was looking at her, but seemed to be lost in thought.

"I want to teach you to dance because I want to teach you to dance."

'What am I doing...?'

He seemed to have pulled himself from his own thoughts, and back into the real world, blinking a few times before turning his body toward hers a bit more, "(Y/n)... May I kiss you?"

She couldn't help the warmth from rising to her cheeks, but she lightly nodded, answering softly, "Yes..." His lips slowly and gently pressed against hers, but as their shared kiss became a bit more passionate, her hand clutched his collar, his arm snaking around her waist.

They broke apart upon hearing, "Oji-sama's kissing a lady! And I'm telling everyone!!"

"Enmei!" Tobirama shouted at his nephew, who laughed maniacally as he ran through Konoha with his hands thrown up into the air.

She didn't know why, but for some odd reason, after a moment of shock, (Y/n) started giggling, surprising Tobirama, "...Why are you laughing?"

"Because- Well- I don't know!" She stopped laughing, trying to be serious, attempting a glare before a smile crept onto both of their faces, and she began laughing once more, "Because it's funny..."

He chuckled, "Only until your sister and Kokoro find out..."

She nodded, still unable to calm her laughter. Tobirama smiled to himself before picking her up, "Hey!"

"Relax, (Y/n). It's okay to accept help." She averted her eyes, but made no further protest, as he jumped from the roof, and began the trek toward her family home. 

Eventually, she did relax, and she laid her head against his shoulder, "Only because I'm tired." He chuckled in response.

"I would have to assume we're at least friends."

"At least friends."

Her face reddened, 'Now I've kissed him twice...'

[1] "You couldn't make her fall in love... But you made mine fall in love!"
When I re-read that for the fifty-seventh time in editing, I read, "But you made me fall in love!"
Where my MadaTobi shippers?