Thirteen Years Ago...
“Merry Christmas~”
That soft-spoken greeting came from the nurse who had delivered a child only a short while ago. Wrapped in a dark blue woolen blanket was a woman’s newly born son, seemingly sound asleep. The child’s jet black hair strongly resembled his father’s. Even as the nurse spoke, none of the words actually got to her. The woman’s gaze lay solely on the baby boy that was transferred into her hands.
Nothing could compare to the first time a mother touched their baby, but this was a close second. Sitting up on the medical bed, the brunette brought the boy close to her chest. As soon as body contact was made, the boy’s eyes slowly opened, making contact with his mother’s watery blue-violet.
‘Black eyes hm? The Uchiha blood must run deep in you.’
Once the door shut after the nurse’s exit, only the sound of soft chewing was heard from across the room. She hesitated to look in the direction of the annoying sound, not wanting to break eye contact with the baby. For all she knew as a first time mother, this was an important moment for them to bond.
“I can bet you didn’t listen to a single thing that girl said ‘Rina.”
The woman’s face flushed in embarrassment as the mellow tone of his voice reached her ears. It wasn’t fair that he could say even a part of her name so naturally. Rorina’s gaze remained intently on the baby and could only watch as the child tried shifting to face the direction of the voice. With that she too was forced to look at her child’s father.
The man’s upper half was covered in a black winter coat, with only the sleeves being a fair shade of red. His short black hair stuck out in multiple directions, less tamed than the baby boy’s. Other than that, the Leaf spy did his best to look like a common citizen of the Mist.
“All I needed to know was if my baby is safe. You on the other hand...” The woman watched as he casually took another bite of his snack while sauntering towards them. She continued glaring at the bitten cheese stick in the man’s right hand. Half envious. Half irritated.
Noticing the uneasiness in her eyes, the man paused by the bedside. There was a playful grin hidden among his closed, chewing mouth. “Oh, you want it now? My bad, I know how much you love sticks...”
Almost on instinct, Rorina pulled the baby away and shifted to the other side of the bed. His dirty thoughts would infect the mind of her child if this continued. She couldn’t allow it! “Zai, you won’t lay a hand on this child until you swear to me that he won’t learn of your foul behavior.”
The outburst from Rorina was to be expected. A strong, powerful woman such as her could never begin to understand how the mind such as his processed. He had to convince the woman before it was too late.
“Listen here ‘Rina. If a boy grows up without certain knowledge, they won’t understand how to handle women. One can’t hope too achieve true enlightenment without growing with this knowledge! They’ll end up a loner, stuck in a corner brooding about how much life sucks. It’s the same with most of the Uchiha. None of them take advantage of the Sage’s gift to us. You don’t want that for Kiro, do you?”
Unnoticed by both of them, the baby had a little reaction to the name ‘Kiro’. However, Rorina couldn’t believe her ears or the bullshit Zaiki was spewing. In fact, she made it a point to cover the child’s ears. “You animal! I won’t let you corrupt my baby. And did you just call him Kiro?! I thought you were joking! That’s literally combining our two names!”
Around the second mentioning of ‘Kiro’, the baby began to wail, causing Rorina to flinch. Instantly she sat up and fixed her posture while trying to comfort the child. Meanwhile, Zaiki was running his free hand through his hair, believing that it was his fault the baby had started crying. No matter what answer he gave, Rorina would still be pissed. In that case, telling the truth was probably the safest bet.
“Well I couldn’t think of anything else. I just made sure not to have Uchiha anywhere near his name. Besides, aren’t we supposed to register the name before the baby is born?”
That response seemed too agitate the woman even more. Rorina didn’t even bother looking his way and continued to focus on comforting their child during her response. “You’re such a dunce. ‘Kirei’. ‘Shiro’. Those types of names won’t stick out. ‘Kiro’ is too uncommon. Even though the Blood Mist era is nearing it’s end, we should still be taking any precautions possible.”
It was easy to miss, but on the mention of the name ‘Kiro’, the baby paused it’s cries for a brief moment. When Rorina continued on though, the cries began again. However, this did not go unnoticed by Zaiki as he took another bite of the cheese stick. “Honestly, I’m fine with him having an uncommon name. It makes him even more special than he already is. Besides, I think he likes being called Kiro. See, listen. Kiro... Kiro... Kiro...”
He continued to say the name in a softer, soothing tone. It was almost hypnotizing. Even Rorina’s nerves began to calm themselves. Each time Zaiki said the name, the baby’s cries grew softer. Eventually the cries stopped all together.
The Uchiha held a triumphant grin on his face, knowing he had won the battle. Rorina herself let out a soft giggle as the boy in her hands seemed confused by the silence.
“Kiro... that name will bind both of us together, now and forever. As for our child, even when he’s alone, just hearing that name will connect him to us. Hopefully we don’t give him any memories...”
As Rorina spoke, Zaiki just nodded as if that was his idea the entire time. After the Uchiha finished chewing on the last of the cheese stick, he yawned and stretched his arms.
“Do you think he’ll be mad when he finds out his birthday gifts are his Christmas presents? I mean, I know I’d be pissed if that were the case.” It was a random question and he doubted the child would entertain hatred due to the lack of presents. Anything was possible though. The last thing Zaiki wanted was for Kiro to fall into that darkness. He had to prove there was another way for the Uchiha.
“Not my child. If he starts complaining, then I won’t get him anything. It’s that simple. As for you, since it’s Christmas, I’ll let you hold him as my present.” Rorina was stubborn on the surface, but deep down she held a warm heart. It was something Zaiki admired about her. Hopefully Kiro would grow to see that side of her as well. After giving Kiro a gentle kiss on the forehead, Rorina lifted him up into Zaiki’s waiting hands.
Holding the child in his arms for the first time, Zaiki’s expression grew more serious. The child served as a soft reminder of the upward climb that lay before them. Even now, his time was dwindling. It was each time he set foot in the Mist. However, he did it for his village. The Will of Fire continued to burn brightly deep inside of him and that was his only reason for persisting as far as he did. Looking down into a reflection of his own black eyes, Zaiki made a promise to the boy.
‘Kiro, I swear as long as I draw breath, you will never fall into that curse. We will prove that the cycle can be broken.’
