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potahun · 5 years

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Big reasons to read Big Windup!

...or big reasons I loved reading Big Windup!/Ookiku Furikabutte, especially as someone who has no experience with sports anime/manga:

1. Plot delivery

I personally never rly got into sports animes/mangas before, but Oofuri just ...starts with a very intriguing premise, even for someone who doesn’t know squat about the sport? The story drops you into the MC’s memory of his middle school teammates calling him a terrible pitcher. Within 2 minutes of reading, it’s clear that he agrees, and there are some objective, valid reasons why his former teammates could have been correct, but when he does try out for the Nishiura highschool team in the first chapter, his pitches don’t seem that easy to hit. Why is that?

For the rest of the story too (so far), though there aren’t intrigues, the author is great at keeping a riveting pace...I lost my shit during the Tosei game and I have never watched a baseball game in my life. You don’t have to love baseball to get into the games, and even when the story’s not showing the games, it’s still riveting because of personality-related plot points (and tbh that deserves its own point).

2. ‘Dream team’ vibes

The Nishiura team, which we follow, is composed of very likeable characters. They each have memorable, yet believable personalities, with no quirks that could set up a character as X- or Y-type. MC Mihashi stutters a lot and is jumpy, but this is a side-effect of heavy anxiety, a nervous disposition, and, often, his fear of his catcher, Abe - things that are delved into as plot points. Genius batter Tajima is seemingly happy-go-lucky, chaotic and brash, but is not limited to that and instead displays shadow leadership and an EQ that’s off the charts. Oofuri is also great in that the author focuses a LOT on developing these characters and their interactions, and she is good at using ‘show-don’t-tell’. These two facts together means that the team dynamics gets delivered in an organic and compelling manner: The lack of defining quirks allows characters to act beyond a role (the ‘snarky one’, the ‘impassive one with great skills’, the ‘fiery one with a heart of gold and raw talent’, the ‘responsible dad friend’, the ‘responsible mom friend’, the ‘tsundere’ - you get my drift). Instead, the author can use the flexibility in their personalities to create believable people, and with them, a wide range of cute and evolving dynamics and conversations.

They really do have fucking adorable conversations.

3. A personality-led story

I think this one is special and I wasn’t sure what to expect when I got in, but, in Oofuri, the plot about baseball and aiming for Koushien feels like a thread that’s woven into a broader, overarching plot about personal growth. Character growth permeates the story, and not just for Mihashi as the MC. And by growth, I mean growth as a person. I.e. the kind of growth that you, or I, or any random person in the street can want to go through, without ever aiming for a baseball tournament. Having this kind of personal development as the heart of the story makes oofuri that much more believable. These are just kids growing. They just happen to love baseball.

In addition, character growth is not done by character arcs, and that’s rare. In fact, there are no character arcs and character development happens very gradually, consistently, with small events creating small improvements or set-backs, small conversations, that were not given any emphasis in-story, being mulled over after time etc. In this sense, Oofuri is delivered in a way that feels more like a coming-of-age story (which, again, just happens to be about kids who like baseball)

4. Despite it being a baseball manga, no baseball drama

This is one of my personal pet peeves, but I’m not very good with stories where the characters have major breakdowns that end in lashing out, anger, angst-filled isolation, or any related jazz. In Oofuri, so far, none of the main characters have had a mental breakdown about baseball. Even when they get stunned or are affected, it’s non-dramatic and never lumped with teamwork drama just to up the tension (actually, the team is shown to support each other, since a team that stays solid during a game has better winning chances), and that feels more natural than having characters doubting their dreams because of a slump, having angsty outbursts, or isolating themselves, before a big breakthrough where they come back ‘stronger’. Usually this is coupled with the surrounding characters noticing the change and openly stating, with words, that ‘hmm they’re different now’. Until now, Oofuri has been spared from the drama. It’s been subtle about growth and drama-free and that’s something I’m infinitely grateful for.

It also helps big time that each of the kids is conscious that this is high school baseball. Not, like, a life or death match or their whole future or something. They are aware of how slim their chances are, but are very down-to-earth about it. This gives the whole story a very grounded feel, which is so, so refreshing.

(Mihashi has a so-called ‘slump’ at one point, but more than a slump, it is a concrete ‘crisis’ situation that the author deals with in a very non-angsty way. In fact, he’s given appropriate support that he readily accepts while taking action. Amazingly drama-free.)

5. Though it’s not perfect, the way it deals with many issues is commendable

Overall, Oofuri deals with many issues in a way that’s relieving to watch. E.g. Momoe being a female coach, but never having authority issues with the boys, Mihashi’s anxiety gradually being accepted and no one giving him additional pressure for it (except Abe, unintentionally)... One of the biggest yikes moment I had (and probably for anyone who starts reading) was the way Abe treated Mihashi in the very beginning. But although their relationship rly is a cornerstone of the story, the author never treats the controlling aspects and dependency in their relationship as morally good. Rather, it’s a plot point that is directly linked to how Abe and Mihashi grow individually, and it’s a challenge they both explicitly identify and want to overcome -- and they both try so, so hard to do so.

There are many other things that I love about Oofuri, like the way the author has developed the main opponent teams etc. but this is getting hella long so yeah. All this to say: Please give Oofuri a look.

It’s fucking good.

#oofuri #sports anime #big windup #mihashi ren #i have so many emotions about my baseball children #i love them so so much

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raendown · 5 years

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Pairing: MadaraTobirama Word count: 4753 Chapter: 9/? Summary: Not all wars are fought on the battlefield. Some are fought at the conference table, with whispers in the shadows, or even in the bedroom.

In a world where the Senju and Uchiha traditional lands were too far apart to have ever made them enemies, Butsuma and Tajima are the ones who come together and sign a treaty of peace. Madara isn’t happy to have his life signed away for him in a political marriage to strengthen the bond between their clans. He is even less happy to have Tobirama make assumptions of him from their very first night together. What follows from there is a journey of healing, of learning, and finding the places to belong in the places least expected.

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Chapter 9

The effects of sleeping so little almost every single day must have been getting to him even more than Tobirama realized if he wasn’t able to sense one little child approaching him on a nearly empty avenue. Actually, after looking down a second time Tobirama stopped walking as he realized that this was not a child who had appeared as if from thin air but a grown woman whose body had apparently decided to stop growing just after reaching three feet tall. Her limbs were all too short, legs bowed as if she had spent her formative years on horseback, and her head was just a little too big for her body. Despite that she walked with the ease and confidence of a well-trained shinobi and her chakra, now that he was paying attention, felt sharp and ready. This was not a woman to underestimate.

“Can I help you?” he asked. Blunt questions were always best, in his opinion. No point in standing on ceremony when it was clear the other person had come armed with a specific agenda.

“You could help yourself,” the woman grumbled and Tobirama nodded with some exasperation.

“A friend of Madara's, I take it?”

She didn’t bother to answer but her lack of denial was enough for him. “I wanted to come meet you for myself and I must say, the rumors are all true. You certainly are a tasty young thing, aren’t you?”

Tobirama nearly choked on his own tongue while spluttering.

“I can’t even be half your age!” he managed to get out in a strangled voice.

“Pah! You might be only half baked but I’m still allowed to use my eyes!”

“What exactly do you mean by rumors? What rumors?” Tobirama looked around at the empty street, almost worried there might be others watching them, though he couldn’t say why he found that idea so worrisome. It would hardly have been be the first time his movements had been monitored.

“Surely you’ve heard them?” the woman at his feet declared. “Every woman with working eyeballs in this clan has been whispering about how good looking you are since the day of the wedding – and not a few of the men as well. I mean, sure, looks aren’t everything. But they certainly don’t hurt either, if you know what I mean!”

Rubbing at the bridge of his nose, Tobirama mumbled under his breath, “I have trouble believing that.”

“Then you should get yourself in front of a mirror. I hear my dear old Madara has a rather nice one over the vanity in his bedroom, perhaps that one?”

He let his hand fall to give the woman a reproving look. For a shinobi with chakra as refined as hers that had been the exact opposite of subtle. She didn’t even have the decency to look sorry for her suggestion either, giving Tobirama the impression that he probably didn’t want to ask exactly what she had meant to imply by it. He let the subject fall to one side as they turned down a shady avenue and gave his attention to the small group of children passing them by with raucous laughter.

“I’ve known the lad since he was about their size, raised him more than his own father did.” Tobirama looked over to the woman now trundling along by his side and paused when he saw the reserved expression on her face. “He’s a blustering fool but there’s a heart of gold underneath all that hair and if I thought you were hurting him deliberately I would have already fed you your own spine. But you’re not. You’re both caught up in a situation you don’t like and neither one of you knows how to get the other one settled down but if at least one of you would just send up a white flag – something small! – you’d both have a much easier time of it, you know?”

“Yes, I do know.”

“So get to waving, then, you soggy muffin! What in hell’s name are you waiting for?”

Tobirama huffed. “You’ve got a lot of nerve for a woman who hasn’t even bothered to introduce herself to me yet. For all I know you could be an escaped mental patient berating the first idiot stupid enough to let her approach them. Although I suppose that doesn’t say much flattering about me either.” He wasn’t sure if he felt insulted or a little triumphant when she tilted her head back to roar with laughter.

“My name is Susumu and oddly enough I think I like you, young’n. I hope I’ve never killed anyone who meant something to you.”

“Ah. I hope the same.”

“Not likely. I’m a grumpy old crust and I’ve never liked many people.” Her words put a reluctant smile on Tobirama’s face and he settled on feeling proud.

“Then I shall take your approval as a compliment,” he told her. She nodded magnanimously in approval.

At the end of the avenue they turned another corner and Tobirama opened his mouth to bid this Susumu a good day since this was where he was supposed to meet Kagami for their first official day of training. He was stopped by the sight of Madara with a hand on one hip and the other waggling a stern finger, face pulled down in to a disappointed expression that had poor Kagami toeing the ground with shame. Tobirama’s first instinct was a wave of protective anger.

He was grateful, later, that he followed his secondary instincts instead and paused to listen before jumping in to the situation.

“It was just a stupid prank,” Kagami muttered in the direction of his shuffling feet. Madara snorted over him.

“Perhaps you meant it that way but what you did cost that woman a lot of money in wares. She’s a civilian, she relies only on the wares she sells for income and you’ve just taken that away from her. Can a civilian simply pick up an extra mission to make up for a loss in pay?”

“No, Madara-sama.”

“So what do you suppose she should do now?”

Kagami sniffled and looked away, properly shamed. “I-I don’t know.”

“If you were an active shinobi I would ask you to pay for those wares but you don’t make any of your own money yet. Should I ask your mother to pay on your behalf?” Madara lifted one eyebrow at the boy’s panicked expression. “No, I didn’t think you would like that either. Which means I’ll have to pay for them myself. So now you’ve caused trouble for two different people.”

“Well I…I didn’t mean to! I’m sorry, Madara-sama!”

His expression softening, Madara knelt down to Kagami’s level. “Intentions are all well and good but actions have consequences. I know you only meant to set off that flash powder as a prank but next time I want you to think about how your action will affect others.”

“Okay.” Kagami clasped his hands together and leveled his clan head will the single most potent set of puppy eyes that Tobirama had ever seen. “I am really sorry.”

“Don’t look at me like that, brat, I practically raised Izuna. You think a good puppy face will crack me?” Almost as if to contradict himself Madara pushed himself back to his feet and ruffled the boy’s hair.

“He’s a good egg,” Susumu murmured from the corner of her mouth.

Tobirama wasn’t sure if she meant the boy or the man but either way, in that moment, he had to agree. When they came upon the scene to find an angry Madara he had expected the sort of explosive temper that anyone working around the administration tower got to witness all too often. He was pleasantly surprised to discover Madara did understand tact and that he was surprisingly good at speaking in a way Kagami’s young mind could understand. Not many people with a temper that quick would stop and take the time to explain why the actions had been wrong.

Whatever reply he might have made was set aside when Madara spotted the two of them there and lost all color in his face. Something about seeing Susumu and Tobirama standing next to each other appeared to horrify him. That was definitely something that deserved a little exploration.

“Sensei,” Madara called with a cautious tone. “What terrible things are you up to today?”

“Just the usual. Poisoning my cupcakes, subverting government officials, and having a lovely chat with your young husband here.” Her smile was benign but the mischief in her eyes was all too easy to read when she looked up at the man beside her.

“If I get accused of treason,” Tobirama informed her in a flat tone, “I’m bringing you down with me.”

“Oh I do like you.”

He warily looked away and found Madara watching their exchange thoughtfully. It was hard to tell whether he was more worried or pleased by the idea of them getting along and he never bothered to say anything to make it clear, shaking his head as he delivering one last absent swat up the side of Kagami’s head.

“Came to take the brat for training?” he asked instead. Tobirama nodded. “He came up with a few interesting ways to keep himself entertained until you got here.”

“So I overheard. We’ll have a talk about that.”

Kagami drooped. “Aw man, but I already got in trouble!”

“I never said I was getting you in trouble, Kagami, but we will definitely still be talking about this. Even if it’s just tips on how not to get caught next time.” Contrary to what some might think, he did understand how an expression as blank as his delivering such words might be startling. Nothing about him really screamed ‘I have a sense of humor’. He understood perfectly well why Kagami gaped in surprise before laughing outright and jumping over to hug him around the waist.

The look of utter shock on Madara's face was still extra satisfying, though. Tobirama tried not to appear too smug as he very carefully did not meet his husband’s eyes. Maybe that would show the other man he wasn’t quite the stodgy, formal block of ice that apparently most Uchiha thought him to be. With a soft pat to his new student’s head Tobirama gently pushed him away and murmured that they should head over to the training field so they didn’t waste too much of the time slot he had it booked for.

He only made it three steps away, however, before Susumu caught up to him dragging a frantic looking Madara by the wrist.

“Mind if we tag along?” she asked.

“Do you need a refresher course in the basics?” Tobirama shot back. “This is our first time officially training so I hadn’t planned much more than running him through the basic forms to see where his strengths and weaknesses are. We won’t be doing any actual learning until later.”

“You’re interesting and you don’t strike me as the sort to take shit from anyone. I think it would do both of us a world of good to see you in action.” Susumu tugged on Madara's wrist once before letting go.

Rubbing at his abused limb, Madara glared down at her. “I’d like to say for myself what’s good for me,” he grumbled.

The rest of them ignored him and Tobirama pretended not to see the pout that followed. If ever he had wondered how this man became such good friends with his brother it was obvious now.

While having two spectators hadn’t exactly been part of his agenda it also wasn’t anything he hadn’t had to deal with before. It took a bit to convince Kagami that showing off for their audience would only result in having to run the same drills over and over when the distraction caused him to mess up but after a while Tobirama managed to put anything outside the two of them away from his mind to concentrate on the task at hand.

His analysis was much as he’d expected in some areas and quite the opposite in others. Kagami was physically quite fit and ready to be molded in to a good little soldier but he lacked the discipline usually found in the children of front line warriors. His chakra reserves weren’t very large yet, unsurprising considering his age, but while he didn’t know very many jutsu yet he did show a natural aptitude for molding his natural gifts when Tobirama took him through beginner drills like holding a leaf on his forehead with only chakra while performing physical tasks. All in all the boy had the makings of a skilled shinobi, all he lacked was a deeper knowledge and further training.

Focused as he was, Tobirama very nearly managed to forget about the two watching from afar. Almost. With just a small bit of his chakra infused to focus on his pupil it was hard to entirely ignore two such bright signatures so close to his own. Still, he relegated their presence to the back of his mind until he was finished going over with Kagami the first few weaknesses they would address in their training, ending with a tiny smile as reward for the boy’s patience and good behavior.

Considering their interactions so far it was no surprise that Susumu once again spoke up first when Tobirama approached them.

“Not bad, sugar, not bad at all. I’m curious to see what you’re like in a real fight, though.” She grinned at him but before he could reply Madara groaned beside her and threw a punch that she easily dodged.

“Please no,” he begged. “Please do not embarrass me. I do that just fine on my own, you always say so.”

“Aw, come on little one! You can’t tell me you’re not just a little bit curious!”

Tobirama canted his head to one side, curious. “Is this your way of challenging me to a spar?” he asked. Susumu propped her hands on both hips, striking a pose that would have been much more impressive if she were at least taller than young Kagami. What did give her an imposing edge was the light in her eyes and the warning crackle in her chakra.

“Scared?” she taunted.

“Of you? I don’t have enough data to be frightened. By the look on Madara's face I believe I should be wary but there’s really only one way to tell, isn’t there?” Her energy was surprisingly infectious; Tobirama found himself lifting one eyebrow in a challenge on his own.

He wasn’t very sure what to make of the worried look on Madara's face, uncertain if it was worry for him or for his teacher or even for his own sanity, so he looked away and smiled when Susumu clapped her hands together with childlike glee. She beckoned Kagami over and told him to stay off the field then came forward to offer Tobirama a hand. When he shook it she winked up at him and squeezed his fingers tight enough that his bones creaked in warning.

“You should have said you were scared,” she warning him. “I might have gone easy.”

“And where would the fun be in that?”

“Oh ho ho, feisty.” Her chakra was practically bursting at the seams, running through her veins like wildfire in such a way that Tobirama found himself grinning in return.

Kagami immediately began to chatter in his clan heir’s ear while the two combatants set the parameters of their spar. Then Tobirama tuned the rest of the world out with an easy efficiency that he hadn’t been able to achieve before without something like this to focus on. Susumu would be a formidable opponent, he could already tell that before either of them had made the first move. He was probably not going to win this spar. But that wouldn’t stop him from giving his all; it had been much too long since he had a proper sparring partner whose patterns he did not already know by heart. The summer season was fading in to autumn yet the air around them was still warm enough to excuse the slight hint of an excited flush on his cheeks that would have belied how much he was suddenly looking forward to this.

With a mocking bow that only bent his spine a single inch he gestured for Susumu to come at him. She did so with teeth bared and fists raised. As they danced around each other his mind automatically began to catalogue advantages and disadvantages, predictions that formed and fell away as he analyzed her movements. What advantage he gained from his height and easy access to her head she made up for in her own easy access to his knees and the ability to get up inside his guard for easier blows against his trunk. Any awkwardness born through her condition was made up for with heavy training and an impressive knowledge of how to use her own body. Not a single step was wasted, every movement deliberate.

And the kicks. Her kicks were absolutely deadly. For a tiny woman she packed quite a lot of power behind her feet each time she launched herself in the air, fending off his blows with both hands as she spun like a top to deliver devastating attacks that came close to breaking straight through his guard several times.

It rapidly became clear that, although Tobirama was holding his own for now in taijutsu, this was not an area that would grant him an easy win. There was always the chance that his high stamina might outlast hers but that wasn’t something he wanted to rely on without knowing her limits better. The next time Susumu came spinning towards his head he used the rebound of their clash to launch himself backward, taking advantage of those few precious seconds of separation to run through a quick set of hand seals.

Susumu did manage to dodge his water bullets, which wasn’t a surprise, but that wasn’t his main attack anyway. A smirk flitted across Tobirama’s face at hearing the crack of her head against the earth wall he threw up in the path of her dodge. Even if all she did was laugh and throw a massive stream of fire in his direction it was still more than worth it. Tobirama covered his escape with the only thing he could, a spinning wall of air that served no offensive purpose but had saved his life more times than he could count. His preference for water jutsu didn’t do him any good when there wasn’t enough water at hand quick enough and he’d already thrown most of the nearby pond at his opponent with the water bullets; poor foresight on his part, a mistake to throw himself in to the fight with such enthusiasm without planning ahead. He was allowed to get excited as much as the next person.

“Three different elements!” Susumu’s voice called over the scattering of fireballs she was using to keep him distracted, unable to retaliate while he was busy dodging. “I have to admit, I’m impressed!”

“I’m flattered you consider only half of my arsenal impressive,” Tobirama called back with a hint of smugness.

As he’d thought they would, his words gave her just enough pause that he was able to body flicker away. She spotted him when he appeared on the other side of the field but wasn’t able to react fast enough to stop him from pulling at the bandages he habitually wore around his wrists to expose a seal. It was only a simple storage seal, nothing like the still unfinished hiraishin he’d been working on, but what made it truly impressive were the changes he and Mito had spent hours poring over until they were able to seal physical objects in to human skin rather than paper.

The sword he pulled out of what must have looked like thin air was something he knew the Uchiha had been salivating over from afar for generations, a blade very few Senju had ever had the affinity to wield properly, and Tobirama found just a little smear of pride in the way Susumu’s gaze followed the weapon as he spun it in one hand.

“Now it’s a party,” she cackled. Tobirama rolled his eyes. “The Raijin no Ken, I was unaware it had a new bearer.”

“I’m just full of surprises,” he called back dryly.

“Let’s see how many more you’ve got up your sleeve!”

For all that the sword was rumored to make its bearer invincible, however, it soon became clear that Susumu needed no such gimmicks to augment her own power. With nothing more than the standard kunai in her holster she was able to meet and parry every attack her threw at her, dodging strikes of lightning with the ease of a young maiden following the steps of a barn dance. It was twice as frustrating when Tobirama realized she was only playing with him. No matter how hard he tried or what trick he pulled Susumu met every move without even having the decency to look harried by his efforts.

Finally there came a moment when something shifted between them and Tobirama wasn’t sure how he knew but the way his opponent fought had changed and something about that told him the end was coming, she had gotten tired of playing. Their spar was about to end. As a last ditch effort he brought his fingers together in a rapid set of seals and brought one hand to his mouth.

Susumu knocked his hands apart with one foot, the momentum of her kick carrying her body around for the other foot to crack against the side of his head and send him careening sideways. The world flew by in melded colors, both ears ringing from the blow, and by the time Tobirama was able to right himself he found Susumu standing over him with a feral grin and a blade to his throat. He blinked once and fell still as soon as he felt cold steel against the tenuous skin over his thundering pulse.

“Gotcha,” Susumu cackled. A triumphant laugh bubbled up between her lips only to fade away when she saw the mischievous sparkle in his eye. Tobirama winked and then opened his mouth to release the fire jutsu she thought she had interrupted, a short puff of flame that hit her square in the face.

It did little more than singe her eyebrows, of course, he wasn’t stupid enough to fry the face off such a powerful ally, but that wasn’t the point. The point was that he could have fried her face off if this were a real battle and from the mixture of delight and consternation in her expression it was obvious that his opponent understood that. Susumu jerked upright with her free hand already patting around her face to assess the damage. Upon finding only a few hair follicles missing she tossed her head back and laughed so hard Tobirama worried she might drop her kunai in his leg.

“Brilliant!” she crowed. “Who won the fight? Who knows! Both! Nobody! You cheeky little slice of cheese!”

“If I might get up now?” Tobirama murmured, trying to keep his satisfaction in check. He accepted the hand that was offered to him and Susumu stepped away from where she had been standing over his legs to make room for him to right himself again.

Then he almost went tumbling back to the ground as Susumu caught him in the hip with a ‘friendly’ punch that was perhaps a little too enthusiastic.

“Knew you’d do good but damn that was a neat little trick at the end. You, you’re a good egg too, aren’t you? Five elemental releases! I haven’t seen that outside of our clan in quite some time!”

“Nonsense, the Nara have at least two who’ve mastered all the elements.” His protests had less to do with modesty and more to do with his obsessive habit of keeping all shared information correct. The Nara did in fact have two women who were capable of doing as he did, although both of them were well older and had taken longer to master the abilities. Tobirama mostly attributed that to their habitual laziness more than anything else.

“Still impressive,” Susumu allowed and he nodded in acceptance.

Before he could say anything else Kagami came stumbling across the field with Madara trailing behind at a much more sedate pace, both of them wearing differing degrees of awe on their faces. “Sensei! Sensei that was amazing! You’re so cool! Will you teach me how to do that? I want to spit fire in baachan’s face too!”

“Who are you calling baachan!?”

“You’re old!”

With an offended shriek Susumu turned to chase Kagami, who sprinted away across the field in terror. Obviously she could have caught him in less than a few seconds but, probably just to entertain herself, she chose not to augment her speed and instead pattered after him around the torn up training grounds, leaving Madara and Tobirama standing awkwardly together. Which, Tobirama realized after taking another peek at Madara's face, might actually have been the entire reason she chose to play chase with a child.

His husband was looking at him with the closest thing he had seen to actual hesitation on the man’s face in all the time they had known each other. While they might not have any history of getting along Madara did have at least a couple qualities that Tobirama was able to begrudgingly admire, one of which was the confidence he exuded in his every move, the way he chose a path and walked it without allowing doubts to slow him down. It wasn’t clear what he was doubting at the moment, his own misinterpretations or one of the rumors Tobirama usually pretended not to know about, but really all that mattered was the lack of hostility in the way he shuffled just a little closer.

“You really can use all five releases,” he murmured. “You mentioned it in passing and I meant to ask but then you sort of steamrolled over me with some other stuff that…well I got distracted. I can only react to so many things at once.”

Tobirama wanted to say that if he’d known Madara found that interesting he would have brought it up before. Except he knew it wasn’t true. If he’d known anything that Madara found interesting he would have spent the last couple of months burying whatever that thing was under as much dirt and rubble as he could find and maybe asking Hashirama to grow a tree over the grave. Only their recent interactions could be seen in any sort of positive light and even then he would call most of their exchanges cautionary at best.

He wasn’t sure what made him say it. Maybe the childish need to stick his proverbial tongue out at the man for treating him so poorly when he didn’t think he’d deserved it.

“I’ll let you know if I think of anything else about me that you might find impressive.” As soon as the word were out Tobirama wanted to cringe and take them back. For all the bad blood between them Madara had been oddly less than confrontational lately and the last thing he wanted to do was ramp up the antagonism between them again. He was relieved when Madara let out a single bark of laughter.

“Do that. Whatever other surprises you’ve gotten hidden up your sleeves they have to be more interesting than listening to Hashirama babble on about his stupid plants.”

Tobirama quirked up one side of his mouth in a smile that he hoped revealed nothing of what he was actually thinking about. It had been a long time since he met someone who preferred him over Hashirama in any sort of way, his brother being much warmer and easier to befriend. Even without his other triumphs that single innocuous sentence was enough to make this a good day in his books. It was always nice to be appreciated.

With his first session training Kagami going off without a hitch and the pride of having impressed Susumu, clearly an influential part of Madara's life and a strong member of the Uchiha clan, impressing his husband and making him laugh was unexpected icing on the cake of an already good day.

#rae writes #madatobi #madara #tobirama #kagami #susumu #fanfiction

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