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For some reason, the thought of anything happening to Blanche pained Kouketsu. His eyes grew wide and his face drew a blank in disbelief as he considered the possibility, and in that aftermath he felt his stomach turn uncomfortably. How could she even think like that? Both she and their son were perfectly healthy, and though he knew of more than enough complications during birth, he saw no reason to resign her to such a terrible fate. Her grim words led him to believe that there was, perhaps, something she hadn't told him -- something that she was keeping to herself, and it was not out of abandon that he didn't not inquire further. No, it was simply because he believed in her, and if there truly was something that might wrench her from their family's grasp, he had no other alternative but to trust her and believe that she would bring it to his attention, much like he'd just revealed his own secret.

"Nothing is going to happen to you," he blurted suddenly, his voice stern with conviction. "I will die before I let anything take you away -- either of you, and will gladly trade my life in exchange for either of yours. I don't want to hear you ever talk like that, Blanche." His grip upon her hands became lovingly strong, "Never!" If it had ever been a haze to her, the important of her life -- of her love, for that matter -- to Kouketsu could have never been more clear. There was a dire need on every syllable pouring from his lips, signing the fabled songs of eternal love; the kind you read about, and waged thousand year wars over. She was every much a part of Kouketsu as the air he breathed, or the blood coursing through his veins; losing her was simply not an option.

"You will be right here to raise Yuuchiro the way he should be, by his mother and father." He smiled. "He will know you loved him, because you will be here to show him, yourself. This I promise you."

He fell silent for some moments after, bringing Blanche's hands to his face so that he could gently caress them along his cheeks and chin. He held them firmly, as if he were afraid she'd vanish if he let go. He kissed her hands softly, for quite some time, before finally breathing along their slender digits and retreating from their intoxicating allure. When he spoke next, it was his normal, dull grey eyes that she would be looking into. The Rinnegan had vanished, and with it the intensity that they always seemed to carry; now, he was relaxed. "And honestly, I'm not sure if he will received the Rinnegan." he finally admitted. "From my understanding, the Rinnegan gene is within all of us -- as the proginator of all Jutsu, the Sage of the Six Paths is within all of us. However, some of us have a gene so dormant that it might as well not exist. Those doctors-- they simply skipped the off-chance of me unlocking mine, and by infusing me with his DNA, turned me into a ticking time bomb of sorts."

He gently scoffed. "Being as how I am Yuuchiro's father, I believe there is a very strong chance he might possess these eyes." There was a brief pause, allowing his words to sink in. "But, I would rather him heir my Rinnegan than these cursed Sharingan of mine. At least, then, he will truly be free of any corruption my blood my possess. These eyes -- Blanche, they are the purest thing this world has ever created. I know. . . I just know that, if he possesses the Rinnegan, he will use them properly. We're going to raise him right, Blanche, with strong moral fiber and a clear conscious." Releasing one hand, he took her face into his grasp and gingerly thumbed her cheek. "And there isn't anything in the world that can possibly change that."

The woman watched with an interested eye as the gourd sailed off, waiting for the inevitable 'crash!' to resound against the emptiness of this sacred place. Though it was nothing short of a simple gesture, she could appreciate it entirely -- an alcoholic giving up his greatest vice. But, his previous words still stuck with her.

"So, you're from the Mizukage's boon, huh?" Of course she knew who Akira was. Living in Konohagakure, she'd heard the whispers of her leader, the Hokage, and the infamous Mizukage's relationship. While it was usually just speculation, and she never thought anything of it, it was interesting that a Kiri-nin should find himself in a temple for Leaf ninja. "No wonder you're so handsome," she teased.

Gazing back into the sunset, she brushed several strands of hair from her face. "I commend you for having the strength to at least begin changing. There aren't many who even make it to this point." For a moment, she fell silent; the man's plight brought back her own memories, but she quickly shrugged them away. "The good thing about family, though, is that it's never too late. No matter what you've done, they'll always be there."

"I'm sure that if you show Akira you're trying to change, and that you mean well, all will be forgiven." She smiled sweetly. "If he's stuck by you for all this time, I highly doubt he'd abandoned you now -- especially not after his words of wisdom have finally appeared to sunk in."

Pushing herself from the pillar, he strolled closer to Chae. "Anko Aburame," she said while extending a soft, slender hand in his direction. "And you are?"

Kouketsu had no other choice but to admire Blanche's unwavering dedication to Kusagakure, but even so, it was somewhat sad. There was so much more that she had, so much more to involve herself with outside of the duties and parameters set forth by the needs and demands of her people. Even as he smiled, massaging her shoulder, and listening to her tender words of affection, he couldn't help but feel as though she was straining herself far more than necessary. Yes, he wanted to help - but what could he truly do besides offer advice? The village was still a uproar over their union, which severely limited what he could assist with.

"I won't lie and say that I expected all of this to happen," he admitted without shame, continuing to sensually caress her shoulders and back. "But, I would be lying if I said that I wasn't happy that it did." The topic of his hair and her tan seemed to fall by the wayside as revisited the conversation of their relationship, a topic that he could always fall into for hours. But, there was something that he'd been avoiding; a topic that, with Yuuchiro's birth so close, needed to be addressed.

"Blanche, there's something I need to tell you." His hands eased away from her shoulders, and he once again positioned himself in front of her. Dropping into a deep crouching, he lightly padded the curves of her swollen belly with his hands, letting his hands find her own so that their fingers could entwine and their palms unite. "When I was a boy, I was integrated into a specialized testing program within Konohagakure before the First Shinobi War. They were impressed with my skills -- I was demonstrating Kage-level tactics and power at the age of six -- and wanted to see how much my body could take. They infused my body with the DNA from shinobi of the past; they said it was the Sage of the Six Paths."

Slowly, his eyes began to change. It was his normal Sharingan that came first, though its off-black and red colors were undoubtedly noticeable. "That is why my Sharingan are the way they are. Their testing permanently altered some aspects of me, and -- well, you see what has become of that." Blinking, an even more unique pair of eyes defined his face -- grey to a fault, stained with ripples that continued until vanishing into his skull. "These eyes, they are the Sage's eyes. The Rinnegan, they are called. It is said that they were used to create all of ninjutsu, and even the tailed-beasts. They are the most powerful of all the known dojutsu in the world. I'm not sure how I unlocked them, and I don't even remember when; it just happened."

His gaze noticeably fell to Yuuchiro. "When I was the Mizukage, the Nidaime and I eloped. We had a son." His voice was heavy, as though it pained him to have kept something so crucial from he for so long. "But, we wanted a better life for him; we did not want him to live in the shadow of our misdeeds, so I placed him in charge of the former Hokage, Ryuusuke Uchiha. I never told Masumi the real reason," he continued, his voice barely above a whisper. His eyes rose back to her, smoldering with unspoken emotion. "But I feel that you should know. The real reason I gave Ryuusuke custody of Ashura is because of my blood, Blanche. These eyes of mine -- my Sharingan, they breed destroyers. I did not have the capacity to raise him on the path of righteousness, and he would have become nothing more than the second coming of the Conqueror. I couldn't let that happen to him; I wouldn't let him become me."

"Ryuusuke is an honorable man, and if I hadn't done what I did, Ashura wouldn't have become as just as he is." He smiled proudly. "He's a beautiful, righteous young man, Blanche. I am so proud of him." His thumb stroked her stomach lovingly. "And that is also why I have hope -- why I know Yuuchiro will come out to be better than me; why I know he'll be like you, my dear. No matter if he comes bearing my eyes, or your hunger, our love will guide him down the right path. I have become a changed man, and your love is more profound than I have ever seen. No matter how tainted his blood, he has a chance -- I have hope."

His smile turned into a slight frown. "I'm sorry for having kept this from you for so long, Blanche." In all honesty, these few months had felt longer than the years he'd kept this bottled up. No one but her knew the ill-effects of his blood, and even as exposed as he was, it felt good to finally have that burden lifted from his shoulders. "But, well-- we're already under so much scrutiny, and the last thing I wanted was to put more worry on you. This is my last, and deepest, secret."

He smiled weakly. "But, I love you more than I have ever loved anyone. And if there is anyone I should be able to share everything with, it's you, Blanche."

"It sounds like you've given up on yourself," a soft, honey-silk voice rolled from around the other end of the temple. The owner of such a lovely voice had been obscured, even then, by the massive bell hanging from the center of the establishment's being. She remained so for a handful of moments, until walking around to reveal herself.

She was a slender woman of short stature, with chocolate hair and smoldering hazel eyes. She had soft features, with plush cheeks, a rounded chin and full, heady peach lips. "I apologize if I'm sounding intrusive, but there's no amount of praying that will help you with that."

Leaning against the bell, she smiled. "Before you can ask for guidance, you must first put yourself on a path capable of being walked. They can't do everything for you, sweety."

Just as much as he'd been closely monitoring the amount of chakra his lover and son drained from him each time they needed to feed, he had also been noting the subtle changes in her body -- her voice, her skin, her hair --with hopes of realizing when she had reached her limits. He knew it was a rather high amount, but even so, that may or may not have changed with the baby added into the equation. He remembered all too well the effects of overdosing on his chakra, and he had no intention on being the cause of that when he was feeding them.

The flare of chakra around his hand dimmed as he neared the edge, knowing it would only be a few more moments until Blanche was satisfied. He carefully assisted her to a stand, and at her request extended a palm in the direction of the nearest chair.

A small gust of wind, and visible wave of force, emitted from his naked palm and wrapped about a chair. It pulled it across the floor -- hovering slightly, as to not scratch the wood -- until connecting with the heart of his palm, and he sat it down. "Here," he said, easing her down into it. "And, I will be careful. He's an Uchiha, so I imagine that I can teach him how to use his eyes properly. I hope to have him look out for both you and Yuuchiro, should something ever happen to me."

"It's wonderful." Kouketsu took his time exploring seemingly every inch of the manor, but by the time he was finished he still had nothing negative to say about it. The group Blanche had given the task of restoring and renovating the establishment had exceeded his expectations, especially considering how old the structure was, and had left him nothing short of impressed.

There were more than enough rooms to accommodate their friends and family (as they were sure to acquire some, even despite their odd situation), and even more to facilitate whatever uses he, or Blanche, might have in the future. Considering how far along she was, Kouketsu had already determined he and his lover would claim one of the first-floor bedrooms as their primary chambers, at least until their son was born.

Giving another cursory glance to a furnished room he stood in, though his eyes eventually make their way back to Blanche, he smiles warmly. "I couldn't have dreamed of a more perfect place to settle down and raise our family, Blanche. It's truly marvelous."

Strolling over to her, he proudly glided the palm over his hand over the swell of Blanche's belly. He allowed his hand to linger there, almost as if expecting a motion from his child -- their son was quite a feisty one, and was not shy nor did he hesitate to make himself known. There were many times Kouketsu could feel the sudden jolt against the center of his palm, followed by the look of surprise on Blanche's face. But, in the days and weeks that followed the initial sign, the gesture had become moreso second nature for the both of them; his feeling and the baby's response.

With his free hand, he cupped the curve of her chin, tilting her crown back, so that he could ease her into a deep and passionate kiss. It lasted several long moments, in which he allowed his fingers to slide along the curve of her face and back into the golden ocean of her silky hair, until her parted merely an inch from her. Their lips still grazed, and the slopes of their noses pressed gently against the other's. "Have you thought of any names for him?"