Lotuses Bloom Twice

Right. It's been a while but I've been gearing myself up for this- NANOWRIMO. Yup, never done it, always wanted to, gonna do my best!
Fun fact- I tend to work better on multiple stories at once. Red Strings is next on my line up (I have 2/3s of a chapter done) but it will be a nice LONG one for the wait y'all have had. Thanks to my readers, old and new, for sticking with me here.

So, different change of pace with this one. I love my OCs but this time around, we'll have Jiang Yanli reincarnated into Naruto so no OC as a main character in this fic. As always, I own nothing save for plot changes and the story itself.

Now- let's begin!

It is dark but warm.

I didn't know death was warm. Yanli thinks to herself as she drifts.

Death had always been a violent thing in the life of a cultivator, rarely peaceful or restful. Though she hadn't gone on as many night hunts as her brothers, Yanli remembers facing fierce corpses and wrathful ghosts.

Who knew death can be like this?

The warmth lulls at her mind, soothing her back to sleep.

Yanli wonders how long it has been since she died. The darkness offers no clues and she doesn't hear her A-Niang or A-Die nor Jin Zixuan. Her heart pangs at the losses and then throbs anew when she remembers her precious little brothers and her son. In a fit of pique, Yanli kicks and startles when she feels her foot hit something. Curious, she reaches out and feels another hand. She grabs hold and refuses to let go, happy there is someone else in this void with her.

Time is passed by touching her companion in this void and silently relishing the sensation of touch after so long of dull nothingness. Her companion isn't shy about kicking and touching her back but Yanli doesn't mind- because she isn't alone. The warmth is steady and gradually Yanli realizes the 'void' has boundaries she can touch. So she does, kicking and smacking her arms against the barrier in fits of anger. Occasionally she thinks she hears something but Yanli isn't certain of anything in this place beyond her companion.

Her thoughts drift to A-Cheng and A-Ying, her younger brothers, wondering if they're grieving her and taking care of her son together. She can't help worrying, especially since she died right in the middle of a battle between A-Ying and the rest of the Great Sects. Yanli wasn't blind, she knew A-Ying was considered a threat and yet… And yet the Great Sects crave power and prestige, both of which Wei Wuxian had attained during the Sun Shot Campaign with his newfound abilities. She can only hope that A-Ying doesn't do anything foolish in his grief.

And A-Cheng… She would cry if she were able, for her prickly younger brother who tries so very hard to attain the impossible. Who acts harsh but in truth cares far too much, yet cannot keep from nettling others from getting too familiar. Given the burden of rebuilding the Jiang Sect and coping with the lose of both his home and their parents… Yanli prays A-Cheng finds someone to support him, especially against the other sect leaders.

The void is growing too small for both her and her companion. Yanli scrunches her nose in a rare show of annoyance and drums her feet against the barrier.

Let us out! She screams mentally, kicking and kicking with growing ire.

The void convulses and Yanli gets her wish.

But nothing is for free.

Uchiha Aika grits her teeth and screams as she pushes through another contraction- her husband, Kazuki, holds her hand and winces as she breaks another finger. A medic-nin checks Aika's progress and beams at her.

"I can see the head! Push, Aika-san, push!"

Aika snarls and forces her muscles to clench- the medic-nin pulls the baby free after several more pushes. Quickly handing the squalling baby off to nurse to clean, the medic scans Aika with medical chakra.

"Alright, here comes the other one, you ready?"

"Do I- augh! Look! Graah! Ready?!" Aika screams.

Kazuki flinches as she breaks another of his fingers. Her black eyes flicker crimson as she stares at her husband.

"I'll maim you for this, Kazuki! Auugh! I'll kick your ass- ugh- across the village and stab rusty- graaaah! Spoons in your- uuugn- eyes!" Aika rages.

"Here it comes!" The medic proclaims cheerfully.

Aika, eager to be done, forces her body to push out her second child and sighs in relief when the babe slips into the medic's hands.

"Let's get you cleaned up, hmm? Then you can meet your kaa-san," The medic coos, taking a drape to wipe off the worst of birthing fluids.

Aika relaxes and Kazuki takes back his battered hand back, beaming despite his injuries and reaching out for the newborn twins.

"So what do we have? There's a pool on whether they are both girls or boys or one of each-"

"Anata, can't the betting pool wait until we've held our children?" Aika says oh so sweetly.

Kazuki rolls his eyes fondly while accepting the first of the two twins from the nurse.

"Congratulations, Aika-san, Kazuki-san, you have a boy and a girl!" The medic smiles brightly.

Aika smiles in satisfaction at the news while Kazuki grins brightly, cuddling the twin he is holding.

"Who is who, who came out first- oh no, what're we going to call them?!" He gasps, whirling to stare at Aika.

Aika rolls her eyes at her excited husband and looks at the medic-nin as she accepts her second child. Understanding the silent look, they start to talk.

"Your son was born first and your daughter second. I'll give you a moment to decide."

The nurse and medic-nin exit, leaving the new parents alone.

"… They're so small." Kazuki whispers, awed.

"Good thing they were, otherwise they wouldn't have fit." Aika huffs.

Kazuki looks at Aika and beams, eyes flashing Sharingan red.

"You did a wonderful job." He murmurs.

Aika's expression gentles as she hums, a smile curving her lips as her own eyes flash red.

"So did you…"

The moment holds, full of the love between them while their son starts to wail. Kazuki starts rocking his son, a stunned look on his face as he tries to calm the baby down. Aika smothers a chuckle as she watches on.

"Names! We need to decide- shh, shh, Tou-san's here, shh, it's okay-!"

"Shisui, for our son." Aika elects.

Kazuki shoots her a surprised stare.

"Really, that one?"

Aika arches her eyebrows at him.

"Yes, that one. You can choose our daughter's name."

Kazuki walks closer, Shisui still bawling, to look at his daughter. Unlike her brother, she is peaceful and merely blinks, yawning cutely. Aika watches her husband, a jonin with a merciless mentality and deadly skill set, melt like goo over his daughter. Shisui loudly protests and Aika calmly swaps with Kazuki to sooth the fussy twin while he stares at the sleepy twin.

"Yomena. Our little hana." He murmurs.

Aika rocks Shisui, eyes bright as she takes in the view and commits it to memory with the Sharingan.

"Yes, yes she is. And Shisui our still water child."

Yomena, once Yanli, grumpily blinks at her father and goes to sleep as memories fade away to distant blurs.

And cut! That sets the scene and gives a small taste for the story! Please review and tell me what you think~!

Word count is at- 1116