Chapter 22 : The Aftermath

A YERRR YERRRRRR! So I dropped some major hints of who Rei is last chapter. They were pretty obvious. Probably so obvious that they weren't obvious at all, I guess. I hope at least somebody caught it. Anyway, Esketit.

-------------

Kakashi, Aya, Rei, and Sasuke managed to whisk Kenji away, back to the Hidden Leaf. There were some close calls involving the Mist, but Aya showed off the prevalence of her cloak jutsu, much to the suprise of team 7. The sun began to rise as they crossed the village gate. Aya was instantly comfortable when she passed through, there was just something smitten with her about this village. She should have made this decision a long time ago.

They ushered themselves into the hospital, which was rather bright and not dreary, being this early. Kenji was admitted into the place and Kakashi lowered him from his back onto the cloud of sheets and comforters. Kenji's eyes were wide open with shock, flashing back and forth between white and red. The veins which aligned his cheek pulsated, wondering if they should remain or not. Kakashi was slighlty sickened.

"Ok." Kakashi turned. "Aya, I assume you'd like to stay here?"

She only nodded.

"Alright.....Hey Rei."

"Yes, Sensei?"

"I want you to stay here with Miss Aya and keep her company. Maybe you two can get to know each other." Kakashi eye smiled. "Me and Sasuke will report to the Hokage in the meantime."

Rei looked annoyed. She hated all this ninja stuff. She wondered if it was time to actually quit. She didn't want to disappoint her father, but this stuff was plain tiresome. Sleep was all she wanted. Kakashi had known Rei since birth, so he instantly remarked, "And don't run off. We still have many things to discuss as a team."

Kakashi and Sasuke flickered off towards the Hokage's office, leaving the two ladies in silence. Rei slouched next to Aya and sat.

"So..." Aya hesitantly asked "Do you have any family?"

Kenji was the only person on her mind, and she would never forgive herself for her ignorance against his birth mother.

"My mother is gone, but my dad is the Hokage. That's about it." Rei twiddled her thumbs.

"Really?? Your father's a nice man."

"Yeah, but sometimes he's too nice to me. I guess he still feels guilty about my mother's death. It was during the Nine-tales attack eleven years ago, so I guess he lets me do whatever I want to without punishment to make me happy. I know it sounds weird, but I want him to scold me. Sometimes I never know right from wrong until it's too late."

Aya just listened. It seemed every parent wasn't perfect. This made her feel a tad better. Even the esteemed Hokage wasn't perfect.

"Do you have any friends?" Aya asked.

Rei lowered her face. "Not really. I don't really know how to act. Socially or even in general."

Aya narrowed her face at Kenji. ".....the boy's name is Kenji, If you didn't know. I'm his adoptive mother, but I've always tried to love him as a real mother. I've messed up many times, so I'm not sure if he'll ever be the same. So don't blame your dad for that, not every parent is perfect. Just let him be, eventually, I believe he'll forgive himself." She smiled at Rei.

The girl felt a warmth fill a void in her heart. Is this what a mother does? She thought.

"Thank you." She said with sincerity.

"As for friends, Kenji only had three I believe..... and he....was forced to kill them." She choked up as Rei showed concern.

"But even so, our village knew Kenji didn't fit in. If it weren't for those kids, He would have been shunned by the entire Mist."

Aya widened her eyes. He was so similar to her. The villagers of the Leaf looked at her with contempt, still.

Aya looked at her. "I think you and Kenji could get along. To be honest.." Aya saddened. "I think he'll need it."

Both women stared at the catatonic boy on the bed.

After a few seconds, the door opened to reveal Kakashi, Sasuke, and Minato.

Rei's eyes lit up. "Dad? Why are you here?"

Minato smiled. " I'm just checking on our patient. You did great by the way. I know mom would be proud of you."

Rei looked down, trying to hid her embarrassment. "Thank you." She ran and embraced him while Kakashi and Sasuke took a seat.

The two huggers pulled away and joined the crowd.

Kakashi spoke up. " Alright, Minato sensei has decided that when Kenji awakens, he will join our team."

Sasuke kept his cool, for he was there when the decision was made. But Rei and Aya were shocked. Aya turned to the Hokage.

"Lord Hokage, Are you sure this is wise?" She blurted out. Right after she lowered herself. Probably from habit.

Minato curled his mouth. "Miss Aya please call me Minato. And I think he should. Sasuke and Rei graduated from the academy early, so their talents are surely the closest to Kenji. And I have just confirmed that Kenji is actually Sasuke's cousin.

Faces in the room were stoned while Sasuke smiled with glee. He was excited that he still had a relative. A close relative at that.

"Really?!" Aya exclaimed.

Minato kept a straight face. "Yes, his father's name is Eiji Uchiha. Eiji was the younger brother of Sasuke's father, Fugaku. As for his mother, Haruka Hyuga was the oldest daugher of the current clan leader, Hiashi Hyuga."

The group session was not suprised. Kenji was basically royalty on both sides. But something was irking Rei. "Hey Dad, How did that happen? I thought the Uchiha and Hyuga hated each other."

MInato said " They do. Their relationship had never been good. A few hours ago, I remembered when Haruka announced her marriage to her clan. Hiashi came to me and begged for me to do something, but I didn't. On the other side, the Uchiha clan was furious as well. The two lovers had a private wedding and I gave them permission to live away from the village but still retain citizenship and remain Leaf Ninja. But I had no idea they were about to already have a child at that time. I'm sure Hiashi doesn't know either. But I believe that this boy can bring the two clans together. United as one with the leaf."

Kakashi implied "Sensei, About their deaths, I still haven't discovered the culprits. I thought Danzo used his Anbu for the task, but I think something different is at play."

Minato nodded. "Rei, as for you and Sasuke, we decided you should know this since he will be your teammate. So be nice, I'm sure the will of fire is already in his blood. You two just have to find it for him." He smiled, then turned to Aya.

"Miss Aya, I assume Kenji will live with you?"

"Yes sir. Always."

"Ok, I will arrange a place for you to stay. And get someone to bring clothes for both of you."

Minato made his way to Aya and pulled out two objects from his jacket.

"Here. This one is yours. The other is for Kenji when he wakes up."

In Minato's hand was two headbands with the Leaf insignia engraved across the metal. The band was black with two long ends to blow in the wind.

Aya wanted to tear up. Minato smiled and said "Welcome to the Hidden Leaf."

"Thank you....so much." Emotion filled Aya's heart. She was interested in what this will of fire was they spoke of.

Minato sounded off again. "I took the liberty of calling a specialist back to the village, since our medical professionals currently have never seen anything like Kenji's case. She's the best we have and should arrive in a few days, so try and relax as best you can. We'll help as much as we can."

Aya was more curious than happy. Something she picked up from Kenji.

"May I ask? Is it one of the Sannin?"

Minato smiled. "Yes, Tsunade Senju to be exact."

--------------

Note : Alright fellers. I hope I got everything I wanted to say in this chapter. Sorry for no chapter yesterday. I was pissed at myself, but stuff happens. Tsunade is making her appearance and I'm sure she'll give Kenji a hard time. lol. This is one part where I don't really have anything, so I'm just going to play it by ear. Let me know what you want to see for the next few chapters cuz I won't have a clue until I write it. Thanks fellers. I'm out. YEE YEE YERRR!