Ayaka returns! R&R
Ayaka could hear the sound of Akimichi Chouji's labored breathing from a mile away. Nothing else mattered now. She had to get to him..
"Chouji! Just a little longer!"
Chouji clutched at his chest and slumped to the ground. He looked to the sky and wondered if anyone knew that he was dying. A rustling sound was heard as he was about to shut his eyes. Ayaka had finally arrived. She shoved a pill similar to his third pill into his mouth.
"Who are you?" Chouji asked, not recognizing the serpentine features that her face still held.
"It's me, Chouji.."
Ayaka put Chouji over her right shoulder and headed toward Konoha for help from a doctor. It was then that Nara Shikamaru saw the blue butterfly. He sighed.
"Chou--" Shikamaru was interrupted mid-sentence by a purple butterfly following the blue one.
"What is it, Shikamaru?" Kiba asked, unaware of the butterflies' symbolism to the ponytailed boy.
"Somehow...Ayaka's back."
Naruto smiled. She could be a glimmer of hope for defeating the sound warriors and Orochimaru. Minutes later, Ayaka burst through the doors of the hospital.
"My best friend needs a doctor!" She shouted.
A nurse took Chouji back to triage.
"Oh my!"
Sitting in the chair, the young woman covered her face with her hands and cried. Tears fell to the cold, tiled floor. Every ounce of hope was for Chouji's recovery.
Meanwhile, a woman in her mid-twenties with short silver hair, and a mask stepped through the gates of Konoha. She looked around for the familiar face of her older brother, Hatake Kakashi. He was nowhere to be found.
"He must be with some new genin," she said aloud, and headed toward the bridge.
She leaned against the side rail and collected her thoughts on the mission to the Vegetable Country. It took five years to complete. By far, this had been her toughest S-Rank yet.
"I'm sorry I'm late, Kei. I seem to have gotten lost on the path of life," A familiar voice resounded in her ear.
The young woman looked up to spot Kakashi sitting on top of the bridge arch.
"Get down here, Onii-san," Kei ordered.
Kakashi jumped down, and put an arm around his sister.
"I wouldn't have missed your return for anything in the world," he said happily.
Still, Kei was restless. She needed to find a remedy. Not just any remedy..a cure for her lonliness and despair. She needed another that she could call her own.