While some of you may not like the TobiKumo pairing, I just want to add a little bit of depth to his cold persona. He really isn't a bad guy. I mean. Imagine him stripping.

Enjoy!


"You're home now."

The old lady's words rang in Kumiko's mind as she repeated them to herself. In the back of her mind though, someone was snapping back at her angrily.

'Are you?' 'Are you really?'

She couldn't shake the feeling that something was going horribly wrong in the equation of her being with her mother's clan. She scoffed

'It's not like your father's clan was your home. There are people here that care for you.'

Another voice spoke back in her mind, 'People care for you elsewhere too, like that hothead with too many responsibilities.'

'But what about the first man you felt something for? He is more inclined to care for you thoroughly.'

'Aren't all men like that? The ones that want to slither under your sheets and share your warmth?'

Kumiko shook her head, blocking out her thoughts. Madara wanted to share her warmth and she, his. Tobirama… She exhaled sharply, he was a different story altogether for her.

She glanced anxiously around the vicinity. The door to their house looked freshly painted and Kumiko reminded herself that Hashirama and Mito had been married not too long ago. She took another deep breath, rubbing her arm nervously with one hand. She had just moved to knock when the door slid open. Her arm froze and she stared wide eyed at Hashirama.

"Eh…Hashirama." She inclined her head as he blinked curiously at her.

"Oh? You're out of the hospital! Come on in!"

He moved out of the way to let her in, sliding the door shut and leading her to a room with floor cushions and a stack of dusty boxes. Hashirama gestured to the cushions and Kumiko sat down as he moved silently to another door, peeking around.

"Hashirama, what are you doing?"

He held up his hands apologetically, "Hehe nothing nothing!" He turned away from a door just as it slid open with a loud whack.

Hashirama jumped, abruptly turning around as a stoic faced Tobirama walked out, dressed in his regular black clothing, drying his hair with a towel. He paused when his brother blocked his view of the person sitting on the floor cushion. Tobirama raised an eyebrow, inquisitively.

"Nii-san, do you mind?"

"Ah! Mito and I were having a moment so could you please go back inside?"

"You want me to wait for you two in the bathroom?"

'What the fuck, first you keep me up all night with your thumping around and moaning and then-'

Tobirama shut off the inner voice, giving his brother an incredulous look as he shook his head. His silvery hair bounced, droplets sprinkling Hashirama's face. "No. Take it upstairs."

He pushed passed his brother, pausing only when he realized the person on the floor-cushion was not his red-headed sister-in-law and the last person he wanted to see.

Their eyes met across the room and Hashirama froze, feeling the suspense. He was no stranger to their little face-off the day before. He had witnessed it, standing silently on the other side of the door when it happened.

"Ku-"

"We need to talk."

They both spoke at once, blinking at each other with alarmed expressions although Tobirama's was more guarded. Hashirama glanced from one to the other, wishing he were elsewhere.

"Onii-san could you please excuse us?"

Hashirama gave Tobirama a measuring look, his hands on his hips as he moved towards the stairs, "Alright, behave you two. Mito is sleeping." He went up silently, not sticking around to eavesdrop.

Tobirama nodded, his eyes not moving from Kumiko as he walked to a table in the corner. She stood up, rubbing her bandaged arms nervously. Her hair had been tied into a plain ponytail and judging by the lack of neatness, she had done it herself.

"Why are you here?"

She glanced at him and then to her feet, chewing her lip as she sat back down, feeling indecisive. "I want to talk to you about what I said."

'She must be drunk.''

Tobirama crossed his arms internally growling at the silent voice in his head. The towel was now hanging around his neck as he fixed her with an expressionless stare. Kumiko was seeing him without his head-gear for the first time in a long while and she ducked her head to hide the warmth spreading across her voice. A voice in her head leered at her

'Oh you filthy little girl-'

She blocked it out, looking up at the Senju and clearing her throat. "I never meant to say what I said- I mean, a lot of it was because of my anger and my fear… I mean the thing is just-"

"Kumiko."

She tilted her head slightly, inhaling sharply to catch her breath.

"Kumiko, you have to put your words together. Figure it out first, then we can talk."

He moved out of the room to the kitchen which was across a small archway. She heard the clinking of ceramic and the sound of the stove being lit. Frowning to herself, she pressed her right eye, massaging it with the flat of her palm.

Standing slowly, she moved towards the kitchen. She could see Tobirama's back and he was doing something with the faucet- rinsing a cup.

'That's right, admire that beautiful ass-'

Kumiko froze up, screwing her eyes shut in frustration.

"Are you alright?"

Tobirama had turned around and stood frozen, staring at her with that same stoic expression, a cup in his hand as he dried it with a green cloth.

"I'm just a little-"

'Horny.'

"Tired."

She could have sworn she saw the corner of his mouth twitch as he nodded 'humming'. He muttered something under his breath but she didn't quiet catch it, furthering her anxiety.

"TobiramaImsorryInevermeanttosay-"

"Kumiko!"

Alarmed by his stern tone, she took a step-back, her eyes wide for a moment before she grinned at him apologetically. He sighed, walking to the archway and leaning against one side, his arms crossed in front of him.

'Can you calm the fuck do-'

"Can you slow down a little bit?"

Kumiko nodded, swallowing as she prepared to speak again. He scrunched his eyes shut for a moment.

"I'm sorry I said that to you, I never meant a word of it. I only asked to come back because I don't want to throw my life away in a place I don't belong and I wanted to come home."

He was still staring at her, his mouth was still set in a firm line and he closed his eyes again for a minute. Kumiko stood in front of him awkwardly, knowing he hadn't believed her reason for returning.

'He knows it's just because you were afraid you couldn't keep your filthy hands off Madara.'

The leering voice in her head sounded strangely convincing. But how would Tobirama know that something had actually transpired? The thought of it made her want to drown herself in a tub of steaming water.

Kumiko seemed to have zoned out for a moment and Tobirama opened an eye to sneak a look. Her nose was slightly scrunched as if she were thinking of something she found repulsive. He cleared his throat and her eyes darted back to his.

'That's right, eyes on me.'

"You never had to apologize, it's alright."

He had turned back into the kitchen, leaving Kumiko to stare at the spot he had been standing.

"Ah… I'll… I will be leaving then."

He had pulled on an apron and was stirring something in a pot over the stove, "Sure."

Smiling weakly, she turned around to move to the door. She glanced back at the house one last time before she slid it shut as quietly as possible, not feeling as satisfied as she had hoped she would. The voice in her head sprung back.

'That little bitch.'

She smacked her head in anger, telling her brain to shut itself up.

When Tobirama heard the door shut, he dropped the spoon and sprinted to the window, pulling the curtain away an inch and peeking at the girl. She smacked herself in the face and slowly moved off in the direction opposite to the hospital. He moved away, letting the curtain drop for a second. He sneezed from the dust and thoughtfully glanced behind the curtain again, catching a glimpse of her walking by the house with her eyes fixed on the ground and her hands shoved into her pockets.

'You are still so interested in her you little fucker you-'

Tobirama froze, frowning at the voice in his head. He muttered under his breath, moving back to the kitchen to continue cooking.