Of Armor and Pink Petals

Chapter 31

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Soon after Sakura left, Tobirama made his way outside and stood on the balcony, breathing the fresh air. She was right. She had always been honest with him. Omitting certain details, but the essential always had been there. Hell, he could have made the connection on his own if only he would have thought about the situation thorougly. Thinking back to the moment he exploded outside of the training grounds. He replayed their fight. He remembered what he told her but what did she-

Because did not plan to fall in love with you, stupid Senju.

Air left his lungs when her voice rang in his head on repeat, echoing in his heart. Bending forward like he had been punched in the guts, Tobirama exhaled loudly. He never thought it good to go back to that moment, but he should have. She fell in love... With me. He thought about the position she had been put in. Thrown in the past of her village with nothing else than knowledge. Trying to make things right for her and her friend not to go through hell and back again. And in the midst of all this, developing some affection for him. Him. Of all people. It must have been hard to battle with her conscience. All the what ifs of her situation... Madara's voice echoed behind him.

"She did not lie to you because she wanted to. She lied in order to be able to change things. Make the future better. For me, for you, her friends..." Trying to hold on to his fading anger and bitterness Tobirama huffed a laugh.

"She lied though. There is so many things she did not say, and we trusted her." Madara smirked. Even Tobirama did not sound convinced with his reply.

"Your brother and I, hell, the whole village trusts her, somehow you are the only one having problems with all this." The young Senju tensed. "Tobirama, be honest. You are mad. Not at her but at yourself." A small laugh left the Uchiha. "She found it in herself to trust me even though she knew I was the one who destroyed everything and caused the death of her family, and yet, you cannot forgive her for omitting the fact that, in some twists of faith, she ended up in the past and sacrificed almost everything for us. She even saved our brothers' lives."

Tobirama's shoulder hunched over the rail and Madara knew his words hit home. Rubbing his eyes, Tobirama grunted.

"Madara, I am done listening to you, I need to think." Getting closer to Tobirama, Madara grabbed him by the shoulders and slammed him against the wall of the compound.

"Now you listen to me. I have been patient with you, but your stubbornness is getting on my last nerve." Tobirama tensed and he glared at the black-haired man.

"You are hurt because you feel more than friendship towards her and you feel betrayed by what she told Mito because you wanted her to trust you enough to tell it to you. Mark my words Tobirama: She will not wait for you endlessly, she might not even be there tomorrow, who knows?" Tobirama leaned his head back on the wall, a defeated sigh leaving his lips. This was probably the most vulnerable Tobirama had looked in front of Madara.

"But how do I know that she won't get tired one day and leave to go back to her own life?" Seeing how vulnerable the man was at the moment an understanding his fear, Madara let go of his shoulders. That had been the root of all this anger. The fact that she could leave.

"You never know what will happen. The real question is: if she does leave, will you regret not telling her how you felt?"

The young Senju's eyes opened like he got hit and flying through hand seals, he transported away under the satisfied look of Madara. Finally, he had been able to get things through Tobirama's thick head. Go get her Tobirama.

Appearing on her front porch, Tobirama had a gut wrenching feeling when he could not sense her chakra. Did she return to her time? She had not even finished the seal yet! Had he given her a reason to do something reckless?