As it turned out, Naruto already knew the wonders of ramen…he'd just forgotten the word mere mortals used for the heavenly delight.

He'd been quite happy to recognize Ichiraku Ramen stand.

"I love ramen!" Naruto exclaimed, quickly slurping up his ramen. On either side of him, Akiko and Himawari sat eating their own ramen with just as much enthusiasm. Both Saisei ladies were happy to hear he enjoyed the ramen. Akiko was particularly pleased. It meant they could have ramen twice as much!

"Told ya so." Akiko pushed away her now empty bowl, full and content. Her mother was nearly finished her third, much to Akiko's amazement. Someday, the little girl would be able to each just as much ramen in one sitting.

"So…I'm gonna go live with you?" Naruto asked Akiko quietly. He still didn't really believe what was happening. Did they really want to adopt someone like him?

Akiko answered him without a moment of hesitation, "Yup."

There was disbelief everywhere. People who had been watching Akiko and her family and listening in to what they were saying due to Naruto's presence were the most obvious. One lady dropped her chopsticks, and the man behind the counter cleaning a bowl looked up at the pair of children in surprise.

Naruto's disbelief was a little quieter. There was just a look in his eyes that said he didn't trust Akiko. It would take time for that to change, but Akiko would do it!

Himawari finished her last bowl and placed the money for the meal on the counter. She popped to her feet and stretched her arms above her head, "Well, kiddies? Time to go visit the Hokage and get this business out of the way!"

The kids rushed to their feet and Akiko gripped Naruto's arm. Then, in a moment of uncharacteristic boldness, she yelled "TO THE HOKAGE TOWER!" as she yanked her soon-to-be-brother out of the ramen joint.


Akiko was a big ball of agitated toddler wrath as the three sat in the waiting room of the Hokage tower. They'd been sitting here for hours. The stu- Language!- the DUMB secretary wouldn't allow them in to see the old coo- Manners!- The Hokage…

Apparently she and her family weren't important enough to see him- or rather, Naruto wasn't important enough. It wasn't as though the woman was particularly subtle about it or anything. Even a three year old found her dislike for Naruto obvious.

And it made Akiko's temper bubble.

Fortunately, the little girl kept a good grip on her temper. Wouldn't want to cause a scene. It would be embarrassing…

"Um...Aki-chan..." Her Mama poked Akiko in the forehead, just as she often did with her 'nephews'.

Akiko's hands flew up to cover her forehead and the girl pouted at her mother, "Yeah?"

"Why don't you take Naruto to the toy store? Naruto-kun is going to need some toys of his own to play with, right?" Himawari suggested, smiling as she handed Akiko some money. Her tone changed as she spoke again, "And remember what I told you about people trying to rip you off."

The three-year-old shot her mother what an outsider might describe as a predatory grin. It was something terribly out of place on Akiko's sweet face, and it made Himawari cackle internally.

Himawari didn't trust people very easily. It was a natural instinct in all shinobi. However, Himawari especially found it difficult to trust civilians. She'd found that they tended to rip people off more often than stores run by former shinobi.

Although it seemed like a foolish idea…letting her three year old- both of them?- wander off on their own, especially after she'd already lost Akiko once that morning, and found Naruto being poorly monitored…Himawari didn't want her kid- both of them?- to be present for what she was about to do. Himawari was done waiting.

"C'mon Naru-kun," Akiko said as she pulled Naruto along behind her and out of the Tower. The little boy let the girl drag him around, trying desperately not to bawl his eyes out.

They were being so- He really, really hoped this wasn't a trick. They were offering to buy him toys? To adopt him?

"A-Aki-chan?" He said quietly, making Akiko stop in her tracks to look at him.

"Yeah, what's the matter, Naru?"

"A-Are you sure it's okay to buy me toys?"

Her brows furrowed, "Why wouldn't it be?"

"W-well…most stores don't let me buy anything?" The boy looked guiltily to the ground, like it was his fault they were horrible people.

Filled with the desire to cheer up her new brother, Akiko pulled on a smile. It wasn't a completely true expression, but she tried to make it work, "Don't worry about it! You see this crest?"

The little girl spun on her heel and pointed a thumb at the large Uchiha crest sewn into the clothing on her back. She looked over her shoulder to see him nodding, looking confused.

"Yeah? That's the Police people symbol."

She giggled, "It's the Uchiha crest…there's just a lot of Uchiha in the Police. Anyways, lots of villagers respect the Uchiha, so they see this symbol, they don't pick fights. Other Uchiha are another story though…They can be mean sometimes."

"Huh? Why're they mean to you?" Naruto couldn't believe it!

Akiko gave a little shrug, "I think it's 'cause Mama and I aren't Uchiha by blood? They're kinda…all in the clan types? We can't even pretend we're related to them, because everyone in the clan's got dark hair and dark eyes…and they kinda stomp around with this pouty look on their faces after a certain age."

To demonstrate her point, Akiko put on her near-perfect 'Uchiha Face' and proceeded to stomp around grumpily. It wasn't that hard, given her expression usually was rather sullen compared to most children- but it fit in rather well in the Uchiha clan. When she heard Naruto laughing at the sight, she continued on, eager to make him even happier.

"Even my cousin, Ita-oniisan walks like that now. And he has these REEEEAAALLLYYY weird lines on his face like this," she used her fingers to show the stress lines her older cousin was already developing at his young age.

Behind her, two people made their presences known as one of them failed to contain his amused snickers. Shisui elbowed his cousin, and Itachi looked between Shisui and Akiko with an expression that could almost- ALMOST be considered a miniscule pout. Anyone who hadn't been raised an Uchiha likely wouldn't have seen it.

Embarrassed, Akiko darted behind Naruto, peeking out behind him to give the older boys a cheeky grin, "Oh...Hey Ita-oniisan...Shisui-niisan...nice to see you here...in public...where I'm safe..."

Naruto looked up at the two boys. One looked like he was ten, and he had lines on his face like Aki-chan had been telling him, and the other was a couple years older. Clearly Akiko knew who they were…and she didn't seem that scared of them…so they had to be okay right? They both looked like Uchiha, from what Akiko had just said- Except one of 'em looked a lot happier than Uchiha were supposed to. The other one…he must have been 'Ita-oniisan' had the lines she was showing him…so he was Aki-chan's cousin? Did that make him Naruto's cousin too?...If he was going to be adopted?

"Hello Akiko-chan." Itachi greeted in a pleasant tone, lips quirked in a faint smile. He was happy to see she had a new friend. She seemed so…sad most of the time. It was nice to see her act her age. (He wondered, for a moment, if this was how his mother felt sometimes.)

"Who's your friend, Aki-chan?" Shisui asked, leaning down to get a closer look at the little blond boy. There was something familiar about him. Shisui was sure he'd seen the kid somewhere before.

Akiko's eyes suddenly widened as she stared at him, before she looked away and refused to meet his eyes again- Eye. He only has one eye- He's pulled the other one out- The man in the roots whispered horrid things- Plummeting from way way up high-

Enough!

She'd seen Shisui in her nightmares recently...she didn't like it when Itachi and Shisui were in her dreams. It made her cold and scared and angry.

Akiko didn't see the way Itachi and Shisui share a look.

Instead, she was smiling and gesturing to her new brother, "This is Uzumaki Naruto! -Naruto, this is Itachi-oniisan and Shisui-niisan."

"Hi…" The little blond boy made a vague wave-like motion, unsure what to say. He was so used to people ignoring him that introductions aren't something he's used to.

"Hello, Naruto-kun." Itachi greeted politely

"How come she respects you more?" Shisui asked Itachi. He looked between the two little kids, taking in how close together they were, and how the boy was still standing somewhat defensively in front of Akiko.

Instead of answering Shisui, Itachi turned his attention on the fact that his Aunt wasn't with Akiko. Himawari rarely let Akiko out of her sight- She was always worried something would happen to Akiko. The little girl was fragile enough from the nightmares…if something happened to her in the waking hours?

After a moment, he still couldn't spot his Aunt, and asked the little girl, "Where are you two going?"

"To the toy store. Mama told us to go buy some toys while she yelled at the Hokage," Akiko spoke in an almost bored tone as she hugged the stuffed fox she'd gotten earlier that day to her chest.

"Ah...I take it Himawari-obasan was getting frustrated with the wait?" At Itachi's question, Shisui began to snicker, imagining the scene Himawari would be causing in the Hokage Tower.

Akiko nodded, a serious look on her face, "The secretary was ignoring us. Mama's making sure they pay attention now. There're important things to be discussed with Hokage-sama."

"What sort of important things?" Shisui asked her. If it was important enough for Himawari to start yelling, it had to be good.

Naruto found himself locking eyes with his 'sister'. There was something mischievous in her eyes- It was a big improvement from how sad she'd been when they first met. Looking into her eyes now, it was almost like she was asking him if he wanted to play a prank or something. So he nodded.

"It's a secret!" Akiko smirked.

'Aw, c'mon Aki-chan! You can tell us!"

"Nope. It's a secret, right Naruto-kun?"

"Right!" The boy gave the biggest, brightest smile he had in his arsenal. It literally screamed 'up to no good'.

Itachi looked between the grinning boy and his smirking little cousin and felt a wave of wariness wash over him. Whatever Akiko had planned…it was going to be trouble.

Then the smirk was off Akiko's face and she clapped her hands together once, changing the subject, "Anyways! We should be going now. I wanna get there before the store closes for lunch."

"We'll take you," Itachi said. It wasn't like he could just leave Akiko alone on the streets. Plus he'd been away for a while and he knew once he returned home all his time would be split between Sasuke and trying to keep his father pleased. It wouldn't hurt to spend a little more time with his favourite cousin.

And maybe he and Shisui could find out what their 'secret' was.

The little girl grumbled in mock annoyance, like she was displeased with the idea…in reality she was overjoyed. Itachi was one of the rare people out there who didn't treat Akiko like a little kid. She was aware she was small…and that people worried about her because of her nightmares. Itachi wouldn't talk down to her or question things Akiko said.

When the quartet of (mostly) Uchiha children reached the toy store Akiko tended to favour, the eldest pair entered the store first. Akiko would have followed them in immediately, if it weren't for the way Naruto hesitated at the door.

She placed a hand on his shoulder to comfort him and whispered quietly, "It's okay…remember? They can't keep you out if you're with us. I won't let them be mean to you anymore!"

Blue eyes searched her face for a second, before he nodded slowly, and let Akiko drag him into the store.

Tanaka's Toys was a large toystore with a very friendly feel to it. It felt like a nice, family owned store -which it was- with a polished wooden floor and warm, red walls. From where they stood in the doorway, Naruto could see massive shelves lined with all kinds of cool toys. He'd never been allowed into this store before, and he was eager to look at EVERYTHING.

Almost instantly, the man behind the counter was making his way towards the four kids with a fake smile. Akiko knew right away that he was going to try and kick them out. He didn't want her brother in the store. She just…didn't understand why.

"Good morning Tanaka-san!" Akiko greeted, as though he wasn't about to completely ruin any form of respect she had for the man. She'd been coming to his shop her entire life (although that wasn't very long, admittedly), and she'd come to like the shop owner…Only now she wasn't so sure he was as likable as she once thought.

"Ah...Good morning Akiko-chan...I'm sorry, but we're about to close for the day...You and your...friend will have to leave."

Instantly, the smile on Akiko's face died, and Tanaka was faced with a pair of dead brown eyes. The girl's face seemed to age a decade as she stared at him with such potent disappointment. It made his skin crawl. After a moment, the disappointed eyes seemed to become colder and colder, and the blank stare became a chilling glare as she stepped in front of Naruto.

"Tanaka-san," there was something mocking in the cold tone she used to address him, "Naru-kun and I are here, with Ita-oniisan and Shisui-niisan, to buy some toys. That sign in the window says this store will be opened for another hour. Now...I really hope you aren't telling us to get out of here for some stupid, biased reason...right Tanaka-san?"

The elderly man shifted slightly. Suddenly it wasn't just her judgement he could feel weighing down on him, but the judgement of the two young shinobi she was with, and he was sure her mother would be judging him just as much. Saisei-Uchiha Himawari was not a woman to be trifled with.

Behind from where they now stood, Akiko and Naruto could hear Shisui whisper to Itachi, "Where the heck did she learn that?"

"Himawari-obasan. I've seen the lessons."

"Aki-chan's not supposed to be scary! She's supposed to be cute…"

Deciding that her point had been made (without her having to resort to some of the threats she'd memorized from a lifetime of nightmares), Akiko narrowed her eyes at the store owner as she walked past him, pulling her brother along with her.

"So, Naruto-kun…is there anything in particular you'd like to get?" the red haired girl asked as she led Naruto further into the store. Distantly, she was aware that Itachi and Shisui had been distracted by some toy kunai. They'd buy them for Sasuke. He was always getting shinobi-children toys.

"I dunno..." He said, looking around at all the toys.

"Wellllll….If we get a ball, we can play all sorts of games...like Soccer, and baskteball and-"

"What's soccer and basketball?"

Akiko blinked for a second, not really all that sure herself on what they were. She knew they were fun…but…She internally shrugged while smiling happily at her brother, "Don't worry Naru-nii. Aki-neechan will show you! Its lots of fun."

"Did she just call herself his sister?" Shisui whispered quietly to Itachi. Both boys turned to stare at Akiko with looks of understanding terror.

Fugaku was not going to be happy.

No wonder Himawari was yelling at the Hokage. She was trying to adopt the Host of the Nine Tailed Fox.

"So...do you wanna be a ninja someday? 'Cause if you do, we could get some toy kunai and stuff...that way, you'll be really awesome when it's time for the academy..." Akiko's nose scrunched up ever so slightly at the thought of playing with toy weapons. She understood she should start trying it herself…since there was little question about her becoming a ninja. She'd have to. Her dreams told her the world was dangerous and she needed to be ready to fight for her life.

The beaming grin he gave Akiko nearly knocked the wind out of the little girl. It looked so…different…from the grin she saw in her sleep. So much more real. Like the grins from her nightmares were lies-

Naruto motioned for Akiko to come closer as he looked at the others in the room. The store owner was standing where they'd left him a weird look on his wrinkled face. Itachi and Shisui were now focused on a shelf of stuffed animals. When Akiko was close enough, he whispered his biggest dream to her, "I'm going to become Hokage, just like Jiji."

"You'll make a great Hokage," Akiko told him, her tone dead serious and full of more conviction than any three-year-old should be capable of. She had complete faith that he'd reach his dream.

"Really?!" Naruto nearly yelled, his surprise at hearing someone actually agree with him making him forget he was trying to be secretive about it.

Akiko found herself giggling as she took his hand and pulled him to the toy weapons…some of which were, in reality, training weapons designed for very small children.

"C'mon! If you wanna be Hokage, we gotta start training now, so you'll be super strong!"

Naruto nodded, and the duo took their time before selecting a pack of rubber kunai and a pack of shuriken made of thin, lightweight wood with rounded edges. And a ball.

When they were finished choosing their toys, they made their way to the front of the store to have their purchase rung up. Before they could make it, Akiko spotted something on a shelf that seemed to practically sing to her.

It was a small, stuffed toad made from fabric that was the brightest shade of orange Akiko had ever laid eyes on.

She had to get it for Naruto.

Akiko wasn't even all that sure he liked toads…or frogs…or whatever the stuffy was supposed to be! She just knew it would be perfect for him.

Plus, she'd gotten Kyuu-kun…so it was only fair he got a stuffed animal too, right?

She reached up on her tip-toes, but still wasn't tall enough to reach the toy. She was about to call for one of her taller minio- relatives, when a hand reached over and grabbed it for her. She looked up and over her shoulder to see Itachi holding the toad for her.

She beamed up at him, "Thank you Ita-oniisan!"

He gave her a gentle smile before letting her grab his hand and drag him to the register with her and Naruto. Shisui followed them at a much slower pace. His arms were overflowing with toys, and despite his training, his arms were practically trembling under the weight of it all.

How had he ended up carrying all the stuff, when half of it was for Itachi's little brother?

Akiko handed Tanaka her money, mentally adding up all their toys to make sure the old man wasn't ripping them off to spite them.

She understood that not every child her age was as capable as she was, but she credited her intelligence to her mother. Himawari had drilled all sorts of things into Akiko's head the instant she realized her daughter was smart enough to keep up.

Reading, speaking, mental math, colours. All sorts of things bounced around in Akiko's head, like they'd always been there. Sometimes, Akiko couldn't even remember her mother teaching her these things. Like she'd just…always known.

With their toys bought, Itachi and Shisui decided that enough time had likely passed for Aunt Himawari to have sufficiently scared the daylights out of everyone in the Hokage Tower. The older boys walked the younger children to the Tower, preferring to take the kids there themselves rather than expect them to find their own ways. It wasn't that they thought the three-year-olds incapable of walking to the tallest building in the area, literally just down the street from the toy store…

It was the fact that the children were three…and the older boys felt kind guilty at the thought of letting the two little kids run off on their own.

Who knows what could happen? What if someone tried to kidnap Akiko? What if a foreign shinobi came alone and snatched her up, thinking she would activate the Sharingan?! They wouldn't know that just because she wore the symbol she wasn't actually an Uchiha by blood…

"It's okay."

Shisui looked down at Akiko who was looking between him and Itachi with a serious look on her adorable little face.

"What?"

"You're worried. Gonna get lines all over your face like Ita-oniisan if you keep it up."

Shisui blinked and tried not to snicker at the indignant look Itachi shot the little girl, who didn't seem to notice. Naruto had no restraint in his laughter.

"Besides. You're ninjas. It's your jobs to worry 'bout people. You have ta protect the 'king'."

"The…king?"

Brown eyes blinked at him, "Like in shogi? Gotta protect the king…except that ninjas protect the future, right?"

Itachi's brow furrowed, it sounded like she was trying to parrot something she'd heard and not quite understanding it, "Where did you hear that?"

She stared blankly ahead as the group kept walking. After a moment she tilted her head, "In a dream. I think."

"Aki-chan?" Naruto spoke up as a silence began to build.

"Yeah?"

"You have weird dreams."

Akiko burst into a fit of giggles. The blond in the group had a proud little smile, glad he had gotten rid of the silence.

After a couple more minutes of walking and talking about less important things, the quartet arrived at the Hokage Tower. It was silent from outside, which told them that Himawari had finished yelling for the time being…something they were all thankful for.

Himawari had this sort of…heavy presence when she wanted people to pay attention. It wasn't Killing Intent- it wasn't as harsh and hateful as that…it was just something…commanding. Not scary like KI…but intimidating at the very least.

The two younger children waved goodbye to the retreating figures of Itachi and Shisui as they walked down the street in the direction of the Uchiha clan compound. When they were completely swallowed by the crowd of people going about their business on the street, Akiko turned to Naruto.

It was true that Akiko was a sullen child who could go days without smiling, depending on the quality of her dreams. It was also true that she was often more mature than her age would lead one to believe. And she only talked to a small hand full of people who she trusted deeply...but that didn't mean that the little girl was incapable of acting her age.

At this moment, Akiko really wanted to be immature. Sneak-around-the-Hokage's-office immature.

"Now Naru-kun, today we will be working on our stealth. This is an important part of being a shinobi, and we must master it if we wish to be awesome."

Her new brother gave her a determined nod, taking the initiative to slowly open the door and motioned for her to follow him in. As they passed the threshold, Akiko stopped to take off her sandals. She held them in one hand, and silently padded further into the building. Without her sandals scuffing and slapping the ground with each step, she made barely any noise.

Realizing what she'd done, Naruto was quick to follow her example.

The duo slipped past the secretary, careful not to make a sound, and to stay crouched down below her eyelevel. Akiko wasn't sure it was even necessary, given the way the woman stared blankly at the wall across from her, her eyes wide and unseeing, sweat on her forehead and her breathing quick and panicked. It looked as though her Mama had scared the daylights out of the poor woman.

Once past the secretary, Naruto took the lead once more. He'd been here to visit Jiji often enough that he knew the public parts of the building like the back of his hand. They snuck down a hallway that ended in a staircase leading to the Hokage's office.

The duo did rather well sneaking up the steps, even though they were in plain sight of the pair of ANBU stationed at the door. The two masked men watched in amusement as the three-year-olds reached the top of the steps without causing a single one to creak.

Akiko looked at the pair of men and raised a finger to her lips, looking up at them pleadingly. One of the men shifter awkwardly at stare. Naruto joined her in silently begging the men not to tell on them.

It didn't help matters that both ANBU knew the little girl. She recognized their masks as ones worn by other members of her clan- she wasn't sure who they were exactly…but she'd likely ran into them off duty once or twice.

The ANBU who had squirmed pointedly looked away from the pair of children. On the other side of the door the ANBU on that side slowly turned his head so he was no longer looking at the kids either.

Akiko took it as them silently saying something along the lines of 'If I don't see you, you aren't there'.

Which meant it was okay for her and her brother to press their ears against the door and hope they could hear what Himawari was saying to the Hokage.

"-I want to adopt Naruto, I don't see what's so wrong about that." Himawari's voice was muffled by the thick wood of the door, but they could still understand what Akiko's (and soon to be Naruto's) Mama was saying.

"Uchiha-san, it's not that simple...the council would assume it was a plot by your clan to-"

"Hokage-sama, I couldn't give less of a damn what those old coots have to say or think. I have my reasons for wanted to take in the boy, but they aren't anything that would harm him. Honestly, I just want Akiko to have someone."

"Uch- Himawari. I can understand that but..."

"There is no 'but' about it! I'm not leaving her alone in this world! She's my BABY! She needs someone to keep her company...At least Naruto can cheer her up, and I don't see how it would HARM him to have some sort of parental care in his childhood. I owe that much to his parents!"

"Have you even spoken to the boy?"

"I have. He's the cutest little boy I've ever met since Sasuke. That's another reason...he and Sasuke would be good together...Mikoto would love to take him in next year too..."

"Himawari...does your daughter even know yet?"

"Akiko- No...I haven't had the heart to tell her."

Brown eyes narrowed as she stared at the door. Why were they talking about her now? Weren't they supposed to be talking about Naruto? That was why they were there- To convince the Hokage to let her Mama take in Naruto, even though, for some reason no one would explain, it'd make the council angry? Why did it matter who adopted Naruto? Shouldn't they just be happy another kid has been taken in, so there's less mouths to feed at the orphanage?

He's important.

But why was he so important? Why did he keep showing up in her nightmares? Why did he have masked men watching him?

"You'll have to...soon. There isn't much time left."

"I know but- She's been having trouble...she's still having nightmares...I don't want to cause her any more unhappiness...not now..."

"Himawari, think of the unhappiness she'll have when you die next year and she'll have no idea why."

There was a pair of sharp intakes of breath as Akiko and Naruto locked eyes. Naruto's eyes were wide with panic as he took in the look on Akiko's face. She was devastated. Heavy tears began to form a water film over her eyes and her breath can in tiny sob-like gasps.

One of the ANBU reached down to put a hand on her shoulder, but stopped at the 'sharp look' he received from the other ANBU guarding the door.

Thoughts flew through Akiko's head, for the second time that day filling her skull with TOO MUCH. Flashes of nightmares- people she didn't know, people she thought she recognized- the dead walking- life being drained from the living-

Focus!

Akiko shook her head and glared at the door until the tears fled in fear. She reached out and grabbed Naruto's hand, squeezing it to comfort herself

"I'll tell her. For now, can we just get back to Naruto-kun. Mikoto and I were friends with Kushina. She wanted her boy to be happy...Friends with Sasuke and Akiko...I want them to be together…all of them. Mikoto will take care of them...and Fugaku has already promised to take care of Akiko, no matter what the circumstances. He'll raise Naruto as well...You can be sure of that."

"To send Naruto into the main house of any clan would cause an uproar in their ranks..."

"My family will get over it. Just tell me, would it be any better if we just left that poor boy alone on the streets? The orphanage isn't taking care of him properly. If they were, we wouldn't have found a three-year-old wandering the streets by himself."

The Hokage sighed, "Fine...but I expect you to explain this to the Uchiha clan..."

"I will."

Realizing the discussion between her mother and 'Jiji' was drawing to an end, Akiko grabbed Naruto's hand and pulled him down the stairs. At the foot of the steps, the children pulled their footwear back on.

"Stomp up the steps." Akiko whispered to him quietly, before she did just as she'd told him to do. The pair clambered up the steps, making a big show of it, like they hadn't just been on the top landing.

As they reached the top, the door swung open to reveal their mother, looking quite proud of herself. Behind her, the two ANBU guards shared what would have been amused looks, had they not been wearing masks.

"What did Jiji say?"

Himawari found herself snickering when she realized her daughter had taken to mimicking Naruto's way of addressing the most powerful man in the village. When her amusement had passed, the woman grinned, "We're taking Naruto home."

Naruto hared a grin with his sister and the pair high-fived each other. He couldn't believe it…it was really happening? Jiji had actually agreed to let Himawari adopt him?

Akiko ruffled his hair and then wrapped her arms around him in a hug, "Welcome to the family!"

"Hey!" Naruto yelled playfully, before he messed up Akiko's hair in vengeance. The little girl pouted, trying desperately to fix the mess, but it was to no avail, as Himawari placed both her hands atop their heads and joined in the hair ruffling.

Despite the happiness of the moment, the discussion they had overheard weighed heavily on Akiko's mind, and a sickening knot seemed to form in her stomach.

She did her best not to let it show. Akiko didn't want to worry her mother.


Heyo~! Been a while since I worked on this story...I blame Demon Eyes for stealing all my writing time...and life for being lifey?

Big thanks to Alyce DeamEater, rickrossed, paulavara140, Hipergirl, AngelAmongTheStars and fireball900 for reviewing!

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