Disclaimer: Aki's story is © to me, all events referring to Naruto and his friends that Dragon Man included in his fic, "Naruto the Kitsune Hanyou" are hereby © to him. All other things are hereby © to their respectful and rightful owners.

Second Shadow: Sweet Reward

"Nii-chan! Guess what, guess what!" I exclaim excitedly to my brother.

"What Aki-chan?" He asks.

"I made a friend today! And I got to do a basic chakra mold!"

"That's great! I'm so proud of you! You're going to be a great shinobi one day. I can see it already. You'll probably be just as good as me!"

"You really think so, Nii-chan?"

"I have no doubt you'll be one of Konoha's best kunoichi ever! I bet Mom and Dad are real anxious to hear about your first day. Let's not keep them waiting!"

I simply smiled and nodded in response.

"Bye Tamahashi-chan! See you tomorrow!" Shikamaru called after me as I began to leave.

"Bye Nara-san!" I yelled back.

I turned back to my brother, only to see his smiling face.

"If we hurry, we can sneak an ice cream before dinner." He said to me with a small smirk.

I grinned. Any excuse for ice cream was a good one. He took my hand and lifted me onto his back and ran for the ice cream shop just a few blocks away.

I got off his back and touched down onto the floor.

"What flavor do you want, Aki-chan?"

"Strawberry, Nii-chan! You know it's my favorite!"

He grins at me, ordering a scoop of strawberry for me and peanut butter pecan for himself. He takes out his wallet and pays, ice creams in his hands. We walk around, looking for a table, when someone calls my brother.

"Hey, Toji! Over here!" A voice that I recognize calls.

"Oh, hey Itachi!" My brother calls back.

"I see you had the same idea as I did…"

I look where Itachi is sitting and I spot Sasuke sitting with him, both Uchiha brothers enjoying an ice cream cone.

"Well, it was their first day after all."

"But it's probably in our nature too. Spoiling our younger siblings because we can't help it. Isn't that right, Sasuke?"

Sasuke looks up and nods fervently before going back to his ice cream.

"Come and sit with us, Toji. There's plenty of room."

My brother nods and we join Itachi and Sasuke in the booth. I sit with my brother in the vacant seat across from the two Uchihas.

"So, Aki how was your first day?" Itachi asks me.

"Oh…it was good." I reply, taking a few licks of ice cream.

"Sasuke tells me you got to gather chakra today…"

I nod in reply.

"How'd you do with that, Aki?"

I stay silent, my face slowly flushing. I really don't like a lot of attention on me. Desperately, I look to my brother to save me; he glances back at me and grins, understanding completely.

"She passed with flying colors thanks to my lessons." My brother answered for me. "How'd Sasuke do?"

"He did really great. All because of me!"

My brother and Itachi both started laughing very loudly, before finally stopping when the manager of the store sent a glare in our direction. Both of them quickly apologized, sighing.

"Once Sasuke learns how to use Sharingan, I bet he'll be better than Aki."

"I don't think so. Once Aki-chan here masters all our family jutsu, she could probably wipe the floor with Sasuke!"

"Nothing beats the Sharingan!"

"What about Byakugan?" I ask softly.

Itachi stops in his diatribe, nervously laughing.

"Oh yeah…sorry, I got a little too excited there…"

"I swear Itachi, you're getting stupider by the minute!"

"Hey!"

"But it's true isn't it?"

"Haha, yeah, if you say so."

"I don't think you're stupid, Nii-chan." Sasuke says defensively.

"That's good to hear, Sasuke. But Toji's just messing around. He's not being serious. So don't worry about it!"

My brother glances at clock, muttering angrily as he does so.

"Damn. Come on Aki-chan, we've got to go. We're going to be late for dinner. Hurry and finish that ok?"

I nodded, taking bites of the sugary substance which I love so much, ignoring the frozen sensation in my mouth as my taste buds freeze over. Toji does the same, and we say quick goodbyes before rushing out the door.

We ran down the streets of Konoha, our family shop finally coming into view. We quickened our pace and stopped to take a breath in front of the door before finally going inside and climbing the stairs in the shop.

"There you are!" My mother's voice said, relieved.

"Sorry we took so long…it's my fault really. I stopped and chatted with Itachi on the way…" My brother replied apologetically.

"That's alright, my son. Your father and I have been waiting for your return. We're very eager to hear about Aki's first day."

My brother grinned at me, while I laughed nervously. Naturally, he was right. Of course they'd wanted to hear everything.

"Come, dinner's ready."

My brother and I followed after our mother into the kitchen, taking seats at the table. Our father walked in a few seconds later, patting my brother on the back and ruffling up my hair in greeting. My mother went into the cabinets and grabbed plates and set groaning plates before each of us. She'd made my favorite: rice and teriyaki chicken with a light gravy sauce. My eyes grew wide, I'm sure. I can't help myself. Even after that ice cream, my appetite suddenly returns. I immediately dig into the dish before me, my brother laughing at my antics. I shoot him a dark glare, which shuts him up in an instant. Now my mother and father laugh at me and my brother. I slow down the amount of food I'm shoveling into my mouth and wash it all down with some juice.

"Alright, I think you should be able to last long enough to tell us about your day with all that in your stomach at one time." My father joked.

I nod and begin retelling my day's events from Iruka-sensei's boring lectures to my chakra mold and me making friends with Shikamaru. When I finish my story, my parents are smiling at me with pride. My brother smiles too. Slowly, I smile along with them.

"Aki, how would you like it if your brother and I let you in on the Tamahashi family jutsus a little early?" My father asked me.

A/N: Sorry it took so long again! I just finished finals, and now that I'm finally free of all the stress, I can finally have some down time to post. I hope everyone's enjoying everything so far, anyways, until next time, ja ne!