Chapter 11

Two years had passed since Shiori's encounter with the Senjus.

Seriously. Two years.

Two years of training with Tajima.

Two years of getting teased by Kayo.

Two years of living with the Uchiha.

And two entire years of sneaking out with Madara to meet up with Hashirama.

By this time, Shiori had excelled in her training once Tajima understood how to train her. He made her focus on chakra enhanced attacks and expanding her chakra reserves. It was difficult and made Shiori be bedridden on multiple occasions due to exhaustion, but in the end it was worth the effort. She had become a kunoichi that was on par with anyone in the Uchiha clan, excluding Madara.

During this time, she blossomed into a beautiful young lady. She now stood a couple inches under Madara, her long hair grew longer and fell to her matured hips. Her face was beginning to lose the baby fat she had before so her jawline stood out amongst other womanly features. It was a surprise to see how much a year could change a person physically.

On her birthday, Kayo had custom clothes made for the girl. The clothes she wore were far too boyish for a becoming woman. She dressed the girl in a tightfitting crimson shirt with long black sleeves that clung to her arms. It was a low cut neckline, which Shiori declined at first, but Kayo insisted. 'If you have assets, you better show them off.' She had told the girl. Which only made her more embarrassed to wear it.

Along with the shirt, Kayo had the girl wear tight fitting black leggings and black boots. She styled the girl's hair in a high ponytail, only allowing her bangs to fall around the curve of her face. Shiori added to Kayo's design by wearing black, fingerless gloves, a black belt around her waist and bandages around her chest to not show her growing cleavage, much to Kayo's dismay.

"But how will Madara be able to fawn over your breasts if he can't see the-" "K-Kayo!"

That was a conversation Shiori wished she didn't have with the woman.

However, it seemed Kayo's pushing had brought no new feelings to emerge in the two. Like Shiori, Madara had become a fine young man. He was still as intimidating as before, but instead of being as childish as Shiori was, he seemed to have matured a lot more. Shiori guessed that it came from his father's pressure to have him become the next clan leader.

But whenever it came to Shiori, he was still the idiot she knew him to be.

"Happy birthday, Shiori-chan!"

Ginjiro grinned, handing the startled girl his present.

"Aw Gin… you didn't have to." She smiled, taking the messy wrapped package.

"I wanted to! It's so cool that you've turned eighteen. I hope you like your present." The boy blushed, making Shiori chuckle.

She unwrapped the gift and marveled at the sight.

Inside was a small blue box that contained a pair of silver earrings with a simple hoop design. They were small, which Shiori appreciated as to not get in the way of her training. She thanked the boy for her gift, giving him a hug. "I love them! Thank you, Gin-kun."

Ginjiro's face burned brighter as he stumbled on a 'your welcome. He then excused himself and fled to the house from embarrassment.

A couple feet away, Shiori heard a familiar chuckle.

"I can't believe you got Ginjiro to have a crush on you." Madara mused, coming over the greet the girl. She rolled her eyes and playfully hit his shoulder. "Shut up, it's not my fault he's going through puberty."

"I mean," Madara shrugged.

"Where have you been all day, anyway? I haven't seen you since last night." She commented.

Madara sighed. "Tou-san had me attend the war meetings again. This one took longer than any of us anticipated." He grumbled, a bored look on his face.

Shiori giggled. "I'd hate to be in your shoes. Those meetings just sound boring by the way you describe them. Sucks to be you, Madabaka."

"It's been a while since you called me by that name… Is today special or something….?" He asked, teasingly.

Shiori hit his shoulder again.

"Ow! Ow! I was kidding! Geez…" He rubbed his hurt shoulder.

"You better. What kind of friend would you be if you forgot what today was? Kayo would kill you." She pouted, crossing her arms.

Madara cringed. "She would murder me in my sleep if I forgot…" He shuddered at the thought of the woman whacking him with a pot like she had when he accidently walked in on Shiori in the bathroom.

Shiori giggled at his discomfort.

Madara turned to her, holding out his arms towards the girl. "Happy birthday, Shiori."

Shiori grinned, embracing the man. The smell of wood and musk entered her nose as she rested her chin on his shoulder.

"This really must be a special day if you're letting me hug you."

"Well I can't let Kaa-san have too much to fantasize about."

"So mean to your mother. You're lucky I like you alive enough to not tell her you said that."

"I'm pretty sure you just like me in genera- OW!" Madara's teasing was interrupted by the girl hitting him over the head. She was blushing brighter than her hair.

"You wish I liked you, Madabaka. Pervert." She humphed, letting him go.

Madara scowled. "You're the one who was gawking at Hashirama and I when we went swimming that one time-" "I was not gawking!" Shiori hissed, attempting to punch him again, only to miss.

"You were totally gawking. Especially at Hashirama. Oooo do you have a crush on him or something?"

"I'm going to murder you." She hissed, her first emitting the pale blue glow of her chakra.

"So you DO like him?"

"MADARA!"

"ACK!"

oOo

"Happy birthday, Shi-chan!" Hashirama grinned, hugging the blushing girl tightly. Shiori let out a squeak of surprise, but hugged the man back.

"T-Thanks Hashirama-kun." She said, trying to hide her flustered reaction. Her heartbeat began to quicken when she inhaled the sweet smell of lemon and honey that he had. 'Damnit, stupid heart!'

It's true that she had begun to crush on the brunette a while back. He had always been so kind hearted and gentle towards her. He stayed by her side and listened to all of her rants when Madara and her had a fight. He let her cry on his shoulder when she needed to be away from the Uchiha. She confided in him all her feelings and even her past. She trusted Hashirama and adored being around him. It was so obvious to everyone, except for Hashirama himself.

His appearance didn't change that much. Other than the fact that his hair was much longer, his muscles much bigger, and his smile much wider. Shiori blushed at the thought of the man.

"Oh! I almost forgot," He said, letting her go and reaching in his bag. He held out a small size box, wrapped neatly with a red bow on top. Shiori's heart melted as she took it from his hands.

"I hope you like it! Madara helped me pick it out for you." He admitted.

Madara coughed behind them. Shiori turned and sent Madara a breathtaking smile. "Really? Thanks, you two." She said, unwrapping the gift carefully.

Inside the box was a gold chain necklace with a white lily flower charm on the end. Shiori was at a loss for words as she traced her fingertips over the charm.

"It's beautiful…" She whispered, picking it up out of the box.

"I'm so happy you like it! Madara mentioned your favorite flower was a lily, so we had to look around the market for hours in order to find it." Hashirama grinned, holding his hand out to Madara for a high five, in which he complied.

"I love it. Thank you both so much." She sniffled, putting the necklace on and touching the charm on her neck.

"Of course! You're an essential part of the trio of idiots." Hashirama grinned, ruffling her hair.

Madara chuckled, putting a hand on her shoulder as well. Shiori grinned, wiping away her tears as a happy feeling emitted in her stomach. These boys really were her best friends.

"I really like your new outfit, Shi-chan." Hashirama noticed.

"Thanks, Kayo designed it for me." She chirped, pulling at her new shirt.

"It looks good on you, don't you think so Madara?"

Madara smirked, "It really does suit you. I'm surprised you're wearing something so revealing though. Your breasts are basically hanging out of-"

THWACK

"OW!"

"PERVERT!"

oOo

"Shiori," Madara called to her as she opened her bedroom door. She turned towards him, noticing the man's cheeks were tinted red. He cleared his throat before handing her a medium sized black box. Once she took it, he shuffled into his room without another word, leaving the girl alone in the hallway.

She weighed the gift. It was heavier than the ones she had received, but just as neatly wrapped as Hashirama's gift. She walked to her bed, closing the door behind her.

Shiori opened the gift and what she saw made her breath hitch in her throat.

Inside was a handcrafted tanto blade with a leather sheath. The blade was reflective silver and sharp to the touch and the handle was comfortable to hold. On the handle was a small tag that read;

"Happy birthday, Shiori.

-Madara"

Shiori hugged the blade to her chest, unable to wipe the grin off her face. She was so happy she saved that injured boy in the woods that day. She was so grateful to meet Madara and the Uchiha family.

For the first time in her life, she was home.

Sidestory: One Year Ago

Madara was exhausted beyond belief. His father made him go to three meetings and then made him train for five hours straight. His body was sore and he reeked of sweat. He really needed a shower.

The lights were off when he got home, so he assumed everyone was out or asleep. Which wasn't that surprising. It wasn't that late.

He made himself some dinner, rice and eggs, before going towards the bathroom. It was unlocked, which he expected. But he did not expect anyone to be in the room.

Inside, Shiori stood under the water stream, washing her hair and completely naked. A moment of silence went by as both teenagers tried to grasp what exactly was happening.

Madara was… God he couldn't even describe it. Her body was a lot more mature than he thought it was. Her breasts were easily D-cup and her waist was nice and curvy. His face burned as his nose began to drip a stream of blood.

Shiori snapped out of her state of shock. Her face burst to red as she screamed, covering her breasts with her hands and throwing a bucket at Madara's head. Madara was in such a daze that he didn't dodge the oncoming attack.

"PERVERT!" She screamed, throwing whatever she could find in the bathroom at the boy. He staggered his way out of the door and rushed down the hallway. "I'M SORRY!" He yelled, slamming his door shut.

Shiori rushed and closed the open bathroom door before sinking to the ground. She covered her hands over her face, trying to stop her pounding heart.

Madara, on the other hand, was trying to figure out what the actual fuck just happened. He sat on his bed, wiping his bleeding nose with a cloth. All this time, Madara had viewed Shiori as a child. A little sister. But…

Oh boy was he wrong. She was nowhere near the little girl she used to be. And even then, he remembered her to be quite more physically mature than most girls at her age. He groaned and covered his face with his hands, trying to calm himself down.

What was happening to him?

oOo

An hour later, Kayo had marched into his room and whacked him with a pot.