The Touch kneeled down before Rei and Kankurou. Shock cracking her mask of little emotion. She put the middle and index fingers of her left hand onto Ayanami's forehead and her right to where the heart should be. They were mentally on the Stations of Serenity featuring a stained-glass picture of Rei and smaller head-shot pictures of Kankurou, Temari, Gaara, Sennyo, and Hoshi.

Rei… let yourself be at one mind, one body, one soul. I am you, you are myself, I am what is a part of you Sennyo thought to her. She wasn't actually on the platform, more like just her psychological self on it. The glass floor began to crack between Rei and her's pictures. Shinij… Nothing happened. "Sorry, Kankurou." She muttered, backing away from it.

"I know you're there. Rei-chan, you've got to be. I can't go on without you…" Kankurou whispered only loud enough for himself and the dummy plug to hear. A small salty droplet of water fell onto the pilot's pale face. Light particles began to form around their bodies, a sphere of golden light appearing halfway into Ayanami's chest. The Light dust started to be absorbed by the orb. It became brighter with each passing second and then… it was like it sucked out all the light in the room, then reversing its power and flooding the room with the light for half a second.

The doll's red eyes slowly opened to look at the boy whose lap she was laying on. "Kankurou-san?" she said with her usual monotone, half-voice. The fourteen year old gasped with disbelief and delight.

"Ayanami-san! You're…you came back!" he gasped in a sort of yell. She sat up properly and gazed around the room with her questioning, yet emotionless eyes. Suddenly, in a very uncharacteristic motion, he wrapped her in his arms in a warm embrace, Rei's expression now surprised, a very faint blush appearing on her very pale cheeks. He let go of her as quickly as it had started.

"Welcome back, Rei-san." Hoshi said, bowing his head. Temari bear-hugged her like just as any other happy teenage girl would.

"Hmmm." said Gaara, his arms crossed over his black shirt. The pilot turned to Sennyo who was looking happily and also guiltily at her.

"I'm so sorry Rei!" she said, her head bowed down in a sudden motion, "You were gone for so long all because of my foolishness! Please forgive me!"

"It was a choice Hoshi and I made. You took me away from that cruel world of simple humans and freed Hoshi-san from his mortal shell. We only owed it to you." Rei mechanically told her. Hoshi turned his face to the two immortals.

"Yeah, so now we're even." the Nobody said. Silence… one or two empty stomachs grumbled. Kankurou brought up the idea of going to Ichiraku Ramen Shop as a celebration of Rei's return…and to feed their empty stomachs.

Temari, Hoshi, Sennyo, Kankurou, Gaara, and Rei was the order that they sat in. Temari and Sennyo ordered the diet ramen with extra dried squid, Kankurou had yakitori and wakame seaweed in his soba. Hoshi ordered a bowl of rice and a small plate of eel sushi and Gaara and Rei just ordered tofu miso soup. Seddenly a white-haired man, his tall hair slanted a bit to his left practically glided around the corner like he was being swung by the heels and zipped next to Rei's side and said,

"So... you're the infamous Rei. I remember you now." Everyone but Rei ceased consuming their food and slowly swallowed as if afraid it would trigger an earthquake if done too quickly. The pilot set down her bowl and dabbed at her mouth with the napkin.

"What is it you want?" she dead-panned.

"Oh, nothing, nothing. Just wanted to see what the big fuss was about." Kakashi replied, he stepped back from Rei and leaned against the wall of the ramen house.

"And what arose your suspicions?" Sennyo asked him. The man smirked beneath his mask and said in return,

"All four Sunagakure ninja were gone. Along with Hoshi and Sennyo after the dance," he turned his face towards Rei, "And you, you've been missing ever since that feud between Sennyo and that guy in black. Why?"

"I am not authorized to tell you that information, nor do I have the wish to." Ayanami said. She surprised Kakashi, on the inside, at how robotic her tone and attitude were. Teuchi, the owner of the shop, set down a bowl of ramen in front of Hatake.

"Here's your usual." the old man said to him. The Jounin nodded, gave his money to the man, and lifted his fingers to his mask. Temari, Sennyo, and Rei leaned their faces closer to the counter and watched him intently as did Ayame, Teuchi's assistant. Kankurou and Hoshi raised their eyebrows and gazed at the girls oddly. They sighed in unison, putting their right hands to their foreheads. Kakashi pulled down his mask, said itadakimasu and began eating quickly. The four pairs of eyes became very bubbly and glazed as large pink hearts formed in Ayame's dark brown eyes. Sparkles formed around the girls and Kakashi like Armstrong's sparkles from Fullmetal Alchemist when he rips off his shirt. Getting pissed off that every time he ate around a woman or maturing girl, these types of things happened he glared at them with his right eye. Rather than the effect of them schying away from fright, the four fainted.

Pangs of jealousy ripped through the four males' hearts. Minutes later the girls revived with Kakashi gone from sight and the teenage boys standing.sulking around them. Sennyo quickly stood up and fixed her hair like a typical girl. Shouldn't you three be training or something for the Third Exam tomorrow?" she said, irratated. Kankurou waved his hand in the air enthusiastically.

"Nah, it'll be a pushover.Will you guys be there to see it?" replied Kankurou, a touch of concern hovering within the last sentence.

"No, sorry. We have to head back to our village, there's been an ...emergency." Sennyo sadly lied to him, she quickly glanced at Gaara who had his eyes fixed on the setting sun. Kankurou shrugged and sarcastically said,

"Fine." The six walked back to the Sunagakure children's apartment, the Kumori ninja stayed outside its doors, bidding their farewells. Temari had briskly hugged Hoshi as he in return patted her back warmly, her face buried in the arc of his neck. With the imaginary rule of your best friend dating your sister or brother, Kankurou coughed into his hand before his farewell to Rei. Temari blushed and let go of Hoshi's who gazed endearingly at her. She bowed to him and ran inside, practically squealing from happiness/ the thing girls do when they're really happy. As soon as Kankurou was sure that Temari was gone he said to Rei, his black eyes casst downward,

"Will we ever see one another again, Ayanami-san?" he muttered.

"Possibly not." Ayanami replied.

"I see...well," he said, biting in his lips, "bye, Rei-chan..." He took her hand and set something in it. He gave the 'peace sign' with his fingers to Hoshi and Sennyo and ran inside. Gaara was about to follow since Kankurou had been blocking the door. Hoshi and Rei began walking away down the dirt road and into the sunset, their hearts heavy.

"Gaara-kun." Sennyo said to him, stepping forward a bit. He turned around only to be hugged by her. The boy's pale face froze as his body went stiff as a board, like a stubborn child resisting to go. "Please be careful tomorrow. You've seen what Uchiha Sasuke can do...don't let anybody mess with your heart. And...," she let him go quickly with her green eyes cast to side. She reached into her pocket and took out a small gold-chained, poupu fruit-shaped pendant with the Heartless emblem under the bottom of the Nobody insignia, surrounded by the Kingdom Hearts sign with her's on the back of it. I fyou looked really, really closely, you could see a tiny hole with one or two specks of stardust dripping out of it. She reached for his limp right hand and set the fake golden fruit on his palm, then closing his cool fingers over it.

"Er...thank you. Sennyo-san" Gaara replied, his blue eyes avoided hers with a hint of embarressment. With that he left and went inside the apartment and closed the wooden door. Sennyo stood there for a second or two then turned around and found a small, smooth sand-coloured stone engraved with the kanji 'ai'.

Love...self-love, love of a friend, love a an enemy, love of a stranger...she thought. Sennyo picked it up and ran to catch up with Rei and Hoshi.