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ENTER!

Accompanied by my own shinobi and the Kirigakure ANBU who had told us to follow him to the location wherein Akira could be found, I weaved through the streets and buildings within the village, gazing around at the stark contrast this place had in relation to my own home, but it was only expected from a place like this. Kirigakure had always been the most dislocated from the rest of the shinobi world, and the most susupicious, too, due to that fact and the sheer size of the place. Whilst not as large as some of its fellow great nations, it was nonetheless a sumptious size, and being so broken away from the rest of civilization, it sometimes made you wonder just what was happening within there. However, as I moved now, my blonde hair standing out amongst the dreary weather that the village was undoubtedly accustom to, I kept moving, keeping up with the pace of the ANBU before me. It wasn't long until we crossed a large slope - or a bridge, whatever it was, and we were faced with a large building. Whilst my own version of the standard kage tower was small and humble, reaching a small number of floors in height, this was completely different, and the place screamed imposition at those who passed by. Of course, I wasn't effected in any way by its size, and instead basked in the architecture that now surrounded us. Despite how different it was to Kusagakure, it was, in its own way, beautiful.

Guided through the doors of the building, we soon entered what I could only describe to be the ground floor of the place, and it made me wonder just what was happening in the atrium at the moment. I disliked being away from my home for too long, but, not planning (Nor surely being able) to travel to the Eastern part of the world, or any other parts, too, for a while after Yuuchiro's birth, I wanted to get this out of the way whilst I still had the chance. Perhaps what leads I'd pondered were useless and incorrect - but at least I'd manage to satiate my need for information, which had always proved to be equal, if not only slightly weaker than the craving for chakra that had surged within me. Gazing around at the people and the numerous stares I was delivered, it was easy to tell that I was foreign by not only the slight tan that I wore, but generally - I wasn't someone who they'd seen before in the village. Whilst only few may have known about my title as Kusakage, I was, to most, just another foreign visitor on some kind of duty from another land. With my cloak covering my shinobi headband, there was no telling where I came from, although the bands of my accompanying villagers explained it all to those curious enough to keep their gaze upon the three of us.

And then..

With the ANBU still guiding us, we seemed to travel upwards. Just as my own office was on the top floor of my beloved Atrium, there was no doubting that Akira's own abode was in the top - no -- the penthouse of this gigantic building. Floors upon floors passed us by as such travel upwards continued for a further few minutes, only emphasizing just how big the place was. Although - despite this, I wasn't jealous. Despite the overinflated ego which I commonly displayed and the arrogance that came with it, I was content enough with my small atrium. Despite not housing all of the things that perhaps Akira or any other village leader had, it was comfortable. We soon came to a stop in some kind of hallway, and I allowed our guide to move further in to the building; had he not been there, I'd have surely gotten lost in the confines of the place.

And we passed through a few rooms after receiving appropriate clearance - the final of which seemed covered in weights of various kinds and different kinds of gym equipment. Of course, merely through looking at such items I could only think back to the fight that had occurred between myself and the leader of whom I was now going to visit. He was a towering giant - I thought of myself as tall, but he was something else. Considering my change in footwear, I was now slightly shorter, but still tall in comparison with most women of my age. However, unlike the last time wherein we'd been given clearance to pass through given the shinobi before us, we were now required to wait, surey for Akira's own call to beckon us in to the room. And so, utilizing what patience I had, I came to a halt, both of my arms to either side as I watched on at the door before us, waiting.

"......"

With closed eyes, I basked in the quiet silence that covered the entirety of the moment, the sound of the breeze rustling through the trees outside (If that) being the only thing that could be heard apart from the soft sound of my breathing against the crisp afternoon air and the barely audible noise of his hands pressing routinely against my back. His words, his admittance that he was glad that the inevitable had happened was matched with my own opinion, although, as he already knew what I thought, a small smile was brought to my mouth. Just alike himself, I hadn't even though that this would be possible, and neither did I think that I could ever bring myself to truly love anyone, or anything. Precious Yuu had brought out the best in my maddened person, and he didn't even know it, but mostly, it seemed that he had helped in bringing out the best in Kouketsu, too. I had been told tales of him - the man who had been ready to kill an entire village full of people on a whim was now faced before me, softly treating the flesh wherein our son was entangled within with gentle hands. As far as I could tell, perhaps the blood of others that he'd hoarded upon his palms hadn't disappeared, but he seemed changed, and more at ease with not only life, but with himself. My fingers soon found solace between his, as I held them atop of my stomach. Whilst I was more than aware of the pacified Yuuchiro, it made me feel more connected to him - and I was sure that the same applied to Kouketsu, too. However - what he said now concerned me as he began to speak, about how he had something to explain to me. The tone he'd used was surprisingly serious - but at the same time, almost apologetic, in a way, and my expression instantly turned from that of blissful comfort to that of worry - not for myself, but for him, and I hadn't even heard his explanation yet. Tuning in on him, my blue eyes stayed firm on his dark-eyed gaze, attempting to pick up on any signs that might hint towards what he could possibly to say to me. From what I could tell; it was something that had been plaguing him. And as the common cure to his own concerns, I listened with open ears.

I hadn't expected him to speak about this, to say the least. His background had always been something that had been loosely discussed, although not in detail. Whilst he knew the majority of mine, I hadn't particularly been interested in digging deeper in to his own case, for both the sake of his own privacy. "..They ..infused you with his DNA?.." I murmured, not in awe of any kind of the feat that they'd managed to do, but instead, sheer disgust. I knew of the technique better than any, and as far as I could assume, he surely had the rare DNA transplanted in to him by one of the many medics that Konohagakure had at that point in time. But the fact that they would operate on a child made me feel ill. Despite the fact that I had operated on people in my time for my own selfish gains, that I'd felt so much of a thrill through slicing flesh with the tip of a razor-like scalpel, I hadn't dared place a child in danger - I couldn't. Although I'd lost my humanity and my morals, it had been one stable thing that I believed in. They didn't deserve it, being so young and so vulnerable - Even if he was rumored to hold advanced skills at that tender age, Kouketsu would have still been a mere child, and my opinion on that matter was clear through the expression that I bore. It was merely heightened by the fact that I was to soon become a mother; and it made me think about Yuuchiro and if he would be placed in danger should he become a prodigy just as Kouketsu had been. The color and pattern of his eyes changed before my very eyes as he continued, and all I could do was watch, hypnotized by the sheer power behind his eyes without he needing to even call upon them to do so. They were beautiful - but the reasoning behind he bearing them was something that, despite all of the respect that I held for him, I pitied, in a way.

"..Is there a chance that he could gain your eyes, Kouketsu?"

I inquired this. I was a medic; but there were certain rare dojutsu that even our kind hadn't fully studied, and in this case, I was clueless on its limitations.

But the thought that Yuuchiro could inherit such a potent ability worried me. Whilst I was sure that we could raise him to control his ability if the time came, I wanted nothing more than for him to fit in with everybody else and have as normal a childhood as any other. Of course, being our child I didn't expect it to be easy, but even now I dedicated myself to making it as comfortable as I could for him. My grasp tightened in his slightly for no evident reason as I rose his hand close to my face, gently pressing my lips against the back of his hand, before withdrawing them again and placing it back atop of my stomach as I released one single, heavy breath. I was silent through the entirety of his words bar from my first outburst, which had purely been channeled through the sickening feeling that had overcome me. But now - he mentioned another woman, and whilst the green-eyed monster of jealousy wasn't apparent, I'd expected the topic to become conversation some time or other. I'd been told that he had a family so long ago by he himself, although that was the majority that I'd known. It had always been on my mind, however - if he claimed that he had a family, then why had he been proposing such ideas to me? Why did he need another child from a woman other than the one who he'd started his first with? However, with my own selfish reasons having been unquestioned, too, I decided not to delve further in to it. And he continued - how there was another child - Ashura. I had heard his name recently, although it was completely different to how I'd expected. And also - how a Ryuusuke had adopted him as his own child, in a way, in lieu of the absent Kouketsu. It was strange, really, how small the world truly was. I'd met Ryuusuke in the past -and I'd robbed him of a world map, of which I carried to this day. He was an idiot, but surely a very kind one. Of course, had I been anyone else, I'd have resented his choice regarding his other family, and I'd have chosen to cut him out of my life the very moment that I'd heard that he'd abandoned his son. However - the reasons had been too understandable. At the time of his birth, the world was surely in toil after the second shinobi war, and by being known as the child of Kouketsu, the family of freshly slaughtered shinobi would be more than ready to reap the life of the child. And also - given the mindframe he'd been in, I didn't doubt that he, sadly, wouldn't have been capable of looking after a child to the best of his ability given the other happenings in the world at the time. Fatherhood and Motherhood alike were things that could happen at the most unconventional of times - and I was a prime example of this for my own loss during the first shinobi war. Sadly, unlike Kouketsu of whom had been blessed his eldest son, Ashura, my own blessings had been cut short, and at this time with so many talk about sons, I couldn't help but silently mourn, my eyes dulled, my mind beginning to wonder what the chocolate-haired boy would look like today.

..And whether the child I carried now was to join him in death.

..Or myself.


It was a notion that often came to mind, especially as such a date neared, and I feared the worst, although I didn't want to worry Kouketsu with my silent distress. As I felt his tone weakening, My hands which had once been wrapped in his instead broke away, and took ahold of his upper body, pulling him in to my embrace and his head in to what portion of lap was left uninhabited by my stomach. As I had done so many times before, my fingers began to weave in to his hair, attempting to bring comfort to the Uchiha and his emotional, wayward words. "..Ashura.." a pause, as if trying to remember something. "..He's leading the chuunin exams this year." I spoke after recalling where I'd recently read his name, my tone soft and comforting, as I subtlety praised the achievement which he'd gained. It was no small feat. "..Perhaps I'll get to see him." of course, I had no intention of speaking to him if Kouketsu thought it the best not to link myself with him, but I merely wanted to see just how much he resembled his father. Perhaps as a hint as to what Yuu would look like, but also - I wanted to see the boy for myself, and come to view the child of whom he had missed out on raising. I smiled softly as I spoke, my hope to attend the exams made clear, despite my condition. "..I'm sure that he doesn't resent you, Kouketsu - and neither do I. As long as he knows what you've just told me - that you're proud of him, I'm sure that's all he could ever ask for." I paused, my hands ceasing to move through his hair, before then continuing. "..But, Yuuchiro.." I murmured, gazing down at the hidden child who was resting merely inches away from Kouketsu.

"..He is ours.
And he will be loved, each and every day."

Just as he had missed out on his own opportunity to raise his first born son, I had, too.
The both of us had more in common than we once thought.

"..But, please, Kouketsu -"

My tone became sombre as I softly tilted his head back so that I could gaze at him, my eyes aflame with emotion.

"..If anything happens to me.."

"..Raise him to know that I loved him."

"..And that I'm sorry."