A/N: It took me six million years but...
Her teeth gnashed together, her fingertips broke into the sweating skin of her palms. The twisting sensation in her chest intensified until it snapped. Sumire gasped awake and clutched at her shirt. She was facing the faded wall. Panic caused goosebumps to raise on her skin, her vision blurry with tears. She curled up part way beneath the comforter and released a sob. Her thoughts rapidly leapt from awareness of being awake to traumatic memory. The waves of cold crashed over her. She was drowning.
The hallway light came on and created a gentle halo over the edge of the futon she was atop of.
She was apart from herself. Her body was sobbing, her eyes knitting tighter until creases formed in her skin, her nails still carving into the already broken flesh of her hands. I'm really upset. My hands really hurt. My face really hurts.
Fuck him.
I shouldn't be wasting my tears on him anymore.
Fuck him. Fuck that asshole.
It's over now, he won't come near me.
He was horrible to me.
He's not here anymore.
He…
"Sumire-chan,"
That voice sounds familiar. Where have I heard that voice?
"Sumire-chan,"
A hand rested atop her head.
It's him! He's back, he's going to kill me, he's going to-
"Sumire-chan, it's Tobi."
No, it's not…
The hand gently brushed her hair aside and she could turn her head to look up at him.
"Sumire-chan," his voice was soft. "It's okay."
She was hyperventilating as she held out her bloodied hands.
"I'll get you some bandages, just try to take deeps breaths, okay?"
She swallowed the lump in her throat. Her limbs still trembled while she waited for her roommate to return.
He returned only a few moments later with a small first aid kit. He knelt beside her.
"Sumire-chan, I'm going to take your hand."
His scarred fingers appeared near her shivering ones. He cupped it and held it close to himself, then proceeded to wrap gauze around it. The room became quiet for her loud sobs had settled into the occasional, weak hiccup.
"Sumire-chan,"
Her short pale eyelids blinked a few times.
"Sumire-chan, do you know where you are?"
"Mmm."
"Everything's okay."
When he finished wrapping her small hands he scooped her up until she was seated in his lap.
"You're going to be okay." His voice became a whisper.
His chin rested atop her head and he cradled her like child.
"I'm here, Sumire-chan. I'm here for you."
Her eyes were tired, her body exhausted from waking up to yet another flashback. The warmth of his body and the soothing lull of his surprisingly deep voice whittled away at the remnants of her panic attack.
"Never again, he'll never touch you again."
He readjusted his grip.
"I'll never let him hurt you again… I'll never let anyone hurt you again."
Had she remained awake longer she would have noticed the possessive nature of his words, but slumber had taken her again.
"I'll always protect you, just promise me…" He tilted his head a bit to gaze at her face while he spoke. "Just promise me you'll stay…"
His line of sight drifted down to watch her breasts rise and fall with her shallow breaths. He had never gotten to hold her so close for so long. Throughout her internship she was kept very much away from him, by all of the men at one point or another, especially the boisterous blonde and the meddling Uchiha. He was the "youngest" member, the most troublesome member, he had put her in harm's way because of his insolent and reckless behavior. She must be protected at all costs, thought each of the men at least once. She was fragile, small, damaged, weak.
His eyes glistened at her with affection. He knew since he had first saw her she would become his devotion, the young girl being preyed upon by an older male, he simply had to stop it. He couldn't protect Rin, he was not strong enough, but he would protect Sumire. No matter what it took, he would be her savior.
X
Sumire awoke again mid-morning, her skull aching from the painful crying she had endured. The sun streamed through the cracks in the curtains and pooled over her head causing her to cringe. She sat up and looked around, half-expecting Tobi to be beside her, but was relieved to find that he wasn't.
I'm glad he has some idea of boundaries…
She recalled the feeling of him holding her and she smiled faintly. That was sweet of him to comfort me like that though. She ran her hands through her tangled hair and stumbled to the restroom to wash her face.
It didn't take long for her to clean up and exit the bathroom, but by then she realized the apartment was extremely quiet. Did he leave? She curiously pressed her ear to his bedroom door. There were no sounds of shuffling, no movements whatsoever. I guess he did.
She returned to the living room where she was separating her clothing for laundering purposes. You know… if he had a laundry room in his apartment why did he go to… maybe his was being repaired that day. It would probably be better not to think too much about it. Tobi-san is strange, but he isn't a stalker…
She carried one small load to the tiny laundry room near the door and opened it. She shuddered and turned away from the sudden overwhelming body odor.
"Holy crap!" she backed away, then dropped her clothing back onto the tatami.
How can he leave his laundry just sitting there? Stewing? Ugh! She sat cross-legged. Should I go to a nearby laundromat? Or… maybe he has a reason he doesn't keep his house clean… it can't just be because he's lazy.
Each step towards the room intensified the concentrated scent of sweat. She pinched her nose shut and hopped over to the doorway. In the tiny room were piles and piles of black clothing in different shades. The only colors peeking out from beneath the layers of black were deep blues and the occasional grey.
I can't live here knowing this is here. I… I…
She breathed out carefully, then snatched up a piece of cloth to begin sorting.
X
There was a pleased smile on her face. She hummed happily as she folded the last of his boxers. The air in the apartment was thick with a warm, soap scent. She had opened the windows and the breeze brought in various scents of food. Her stomach rumbled and her mouth watered just a bit. I should make something… what does he have in the fridge? She felt a blast of cold when she opened the fridge door. Nothing. He has nothing.
Instead she searched through the pantry and found a lone packet of instant noodles. Another sigh left her lips. Grocery shopping time, I'm glad I know the area.
The front door opened just as she was putting on her last sock.
"Sumire-chan! I'm home!"
"Welcome home." she called back.
"Ara, where are you going?"
"The grocery store."
He noticed the air in the home had changed. It was then he saw the stacks of folded clothing in the main room.
"...did… did you do my laundry?"
"Yup." she was on her feet.
"...w-w…"
"Sorry, it smelled really bad and I needed to do my own laundry." she ended her sentence with a giggle.
"..."
"...was that bad? I'm sorry." her expression changed.
"No! No! It's fine! I'm just surprised…"
His face was still hidden by his mask. He scratched his head:
"Thank you."
"No problem… well I'm going to head out. Is there anything you want from the grocery store?" she asked as she slipped on her shoes near front of the door.
"Hm, not that I can think of…" he let out an awkward hum. "May I tag along?"
"Huh? Oh, sure."
He skipped to his room, leaving her somewhat stunned near the door. He seems jolly today. He returned to her and they left.
X
He must have been drawn to something because as soon as they entered he disappeared. Sumire looked around for him for a few seconds but assumed he would rejoin her once he finished whatever it was he was doing.
She felt calm as she went down aisle after aisle pulling few ingredients from the shelves. She finally rounded back to the produce and filled her basket with colorful vegetables and fruits. She straightened and hands were suddenly over her eyes.
There was a cool rush of fear in her but the voice soothed her immediately.
"Tobi-san, please don't scare me!"
He took his hands away and rested his chin on her shoulder.
"Sorry, I couldn't resist."
She humphed.
"Since you're here, what do you like to eat?"
"Junk food."
She waited a moment:
"Just junk food?"
"Yep."
"You have to like something else."
"Is ramen junk food?"
"It depends on how much you eat."
"Then definitely just junk food."
"No veggies? No fruits?"
He scanned the items in her basket then let out a groan that developed into a motor-like sound. She laughed as he maintained in it, rather loudly, in the middle of the supermarket with people all around then. She gently slapped his shoulder.
"Stop it."
He ceased but she knew beneath his mask he was smiling.
"Let's play a game." he said, taking the basket from her hand.
"Wait, what are you doing?"
"We're playing onigokko."
"No. No! We are in a grocery store."
"You're the oni. Come tag me."
"Tobi-san!"
He was already down the aisle and turning. She glanced around nervously and fast walked after him. He's not going to stop until I catch him. I'll try to make this quick. Hopefully he'll tire himself out and give up.
She refused to run. She knew if she did she would crash into someone and have to apologize profusely. But no matter how quickly she walked she could not catch up to the man casually prancing around on his much longer legs. Irritation became her aura. She glared at him every time he teased her from the end of an aisle with a wave of his hand.
They both stopped at opposite ends of a noodle section. He flapped his free hand by his skull and did a little dance, that normally she would have thought was funny and cute, but all traces of her amusement had been washed away.
In a second she was sprinting towards him. He, taken aback by this, did not move right away, but he managed to spring from her reach at the last moment. She skidded then continued running after him. Her sense of social conduct was gone. She was far too infuriated to care at this point. She wanted to catch him, purchases their groceries, and return home.
Just as he was about to turn the corner she got a hold of his black top. Her feet slipped beneath her and she fell pulling him down beside her. Their basket flew in a curve the contents went spilling across the floor. Both were shocked for a few seconds. They slowly turned to one another and burst into laughter.
Though they were deeply amused a worker approached.
"Excuse me."
They looked up at her.
"But you two are bothering our other customers. I'm going to have to ask you to leave."
Sumire was up and on her feet. She bowed and apologized over and over. She offered to clean up the mess but was refused much to her embarrassment. Tobi apologized as well. they were shooed from the store and her mood dropped again.
"Now I can't come back here!"
"Sorry."
She pouted and walked away from him. He trotted behind waiting for her to calm down.
"Sumire-chan."
"Leave me alone."
"I'm sorry."
"You are not forgiven."
He gently shoved her shoulder with his own.
"Stop it."
"Sumire-chan."
"Go away."
They were at a crosswalk waiting for the light to change. Since no one was around them he leaned down, lifted his mask, and showed her the largest puppy eyes she had ever seen. She tried to maintain a serious expression but her eyebrow twitched. She bit her lip and humphed.
"Sumire-chan~"
The light changed and she kept walking.
"I'll buy us pizza!"
She stopped.
"So forgive me. Okay?"
He caught up to her and they made it to the other end of the crosswalk.
"If you treat me to pizza… then I'll think about it."
"Deal!"
He hooked his arm through hers. She couldn't help but smile again.
Why do I forgive him so easily?
A/N: I am still very stumped. I don't know where I'm going with this route or the Pein/Nagato Route. Input welcome! Thanks for reading!
