Meet the baby (Aki)

Curses... he was weak and she seemed to know it... As she spoke, the gently tugged the baby's grip free of his thumb despite Azura's protests. Aki asked if he could stand being a mere two feet from his child while she was in distress and, at first, this seemed like an extremely simple question. Of course he could! It would be a simple matter to sit on the other side of this bench and let Akihana's point fall apart in her lap. In theory, it would only take a matter of moments for Aki to simply come to the conclusion that he desperately wanted that child out of his life, that she would have to take Azura and raise her as her own. Nothing happened for one second. Then two. Vaneda was confident he had this in the bag....

And then... His baby started to cry.

It was as if a switch had been flipped internally, a switch that had been hidden from him. He had no idea where the emotions surfaced from, but their little uprising evolved into a coup, taking him over within a matter of moments. Instantly, he felt an incredible longing for the baby in Akihana's arms as well as a sort of fierce protectiveness only a parent could have for their child. In a second, his mind was under the intoxicating influence of fatherhood and in another, his body. He reached for the child in Akihana's arms almost pleadingly, desiring to feel the baby's weight in his arms again.

"Aki please..." He asked, his arms held open wide. Should the blonde haired, yellow eyed mother pass his child back, the priest would hold Azura with a gentleness he never held her with before, humming a lopsided tune in an attempt to sooth her wails. Eventually, they would quiet to a whimper and those to a mere content gurgle. He would stare down into those sun-set red eyes of hers and smile genuinely for the first time with a warmth that he had never really given her. And she smiled back, almost knowingly. She made the priest wonder why he ever wanted to get rid of her in the first place. He would kiss her gently on her forehead, the sensation causing the baby to giggle happily before he returned his gaze back to Akihana with an expression of several clashing emotions.

"I'm sorry." He said, stroking Azura's head gently with his thumb. "I... didn't know what to do... I still don't... I'm scared she'll live a horrible life with me, Aki... That I won't be the father she deserves... I'm sorry I tried to push her off on you..." What more could he say when he didn't even know how to feel anymore? Between Aki and this baby, he was fighting so up hill, it might as well have been a 90 degree angle.

Akihana watched his internal struggle knowingly, the struggle clear to anyone who had been a parent or guardian of a life before. When Arata was born, the kunoichi spent hours and hours just looking at him, making sure he was okay, convinced she would do something to mess up the beautiful boy she had been blessed with. When he asked for the baby back, Akihana handed over little Azura with a smile. Watching the priest hum to the baby and rock her until she settled down was all the proof she needed that he was ready for the responsibility of fatherhood.

"Every parent fears the same," she confessed when he admitted to being afraid. "Jashinism aside, everyone who ever loved a child has feared for their future, has had doubts in their own capability of raising the child. I remember I was so scared I would roll over in my sleep and crush my son, I didn't sleep at all. I couldn't bear to put him in a crib so far away and I was too afraid to sleep with him on the same bed. So i just stayed wake... until I collapsed one day." She had been about Vaneda's age at the time and all alone, at least he wouldn't have the second problem. While she fully intended to see Vaneda prove to himself that he could be a father by looking after Azura, she also intended to help out as much as she could.

"I think a lot of our fears stem from your faith, or the version of your faith you were introduced to," she offered, trying to be polite but hoping he would understand her point regardless. "Not all Jashinists live the way you described. They aren't considered evil everywhere. Where I'm from, they live their lives with their own choices, and so can you." The blonde hesitated for a moment, wondering if she should give away the one secret she had held on to until now. The secret even the Raikage had not been able to pry from her yet.

"Where I live, there is a sect of Jashin priests. I doubt their practices are any more humane but they are able to separate their faith from what they can do for society. Not all of them indulge in human sacrifice. After all, they don't lose their powers for not doing so, not that I know of." Briefly the medic recalled Aivas, the boy in the tattered clothes she had taken shopping. That innocent soul hadn't killed a single person and yet retained all the powers of immortality. Perhaps her blessed friend just needed to see that there was a third path. That he didn't have to choose between his God and Azura.

"If you like you should come with me and we can visit this place. We can take Azura too as I doubt she can be separated from you for long periods of time. The two of us can handle her while travelling, if you're up for it of course."

Vaneda cradled Azura in his arms as Aki spoke, occasionally kissing his baby's forehead or humming a little tune to keep her happy. This was against all codes of Jashin in every possible way... It was HORRIBLE, but it was also wonderful in it's own twisted way. Holding the child in his arms gave him some kind of pleasure Vaneda had never known. It was somehow.... more potent than a simple friendship... more... deep? It was the kind of feeling that came with several others attached: Protectiveness, concern for his baby, and a compulsion to make her smile every moment of every day. It was disgusting, vile, reprehensible, but the priest felt none of these things when he looked down at those innocent, sanguine eyes... He held her to him with a sort of closeness he never had before, feeling both of their heartbeats in sync as they simply sat together.

Akihana seemed pleased that he had fully embraced his role as a parent, attempting to comfort his fears by relaying several of her own personal experiences. She spoke of nights where she couldn't get any sleep for the fear she might roll over and crush her son. She said that she couldn't handle putting him in a crib so far away from herself... To his surprise. Vaneda understood perfectly. In those moments Azura wasn't in his arms, he felt.... empty? Alone? Scared for the life he had nurtured for those several days? At the risk of being completely honest, the priest himself was thinking about dismantling the crib back at his own house and having Azura sleep beside him as well... for... safety reasons. Can't have a crib falling in on itself and hurting the child. Aki and the Raikage would never forgive him. The excuse gave him a reason not to internally smack himself until he started bleeding externally, though he was sure Jashin would smite him soon enough and there'd be blood everywhere.

Aki then began speaking of OTHER Jashin priests, a sect separate from his own where they weren't considered evil abominations of flesh, rather, instead of following their faith as... uh... faithfully, they managed to separate their social lives from their religious lives. Vaneda had heard of other sects... they were spoken of amongst the Jashin temple briefly, stating the general locations and branches of the original religion, stating where they had gotten a foothold and where they have not. Akihana gave him this information so freely, that she knew of another Jashin temple... Perhaps where she once lived...? When she offered to take him there some time, The priest grinned on two separate levels. One, he was going to go on his first "family vacation" with his best friend and his adopted daughter to a place beyond the cloud and Two, this was the perfect opportunity to make real, concrete progress on the priority mission the Raikage had given him. Such a wonderful thing life could be on occasion. Almost made him not want to kill it.

"I'd like that very much..." He said, smiling up at his friend with a grin so warm, it might as well be able to replace the sun. "And Aki, you're a great friend; Your my best friend." Azura let out a little giggle as he said that, pointing at the blonde with her little baby fingers. Vaneda couldn't help but let out a chuckle himself. "I think you're her best friend too."

As he agreed to go with her, the kunoichi's eyes lit up. He loved Azura, whether he was ready to admit it to himself or not, the truth was plainer than her own bright gold hair on a dark day. The child would become his purpose in life, the thing he could hold on to when all else seemed to be fading. She would become for Vaneda what Akihana's own sons were to her, sons she hadn't seen in months now and felt  a longing she couldn't ever explain for. The blonde had known this mission would involve staying away from her children but the pain that actually accompanied the separation could never be put into words.

I'm coming back guys, she thought silently in a foolish bid for them to somehow hear her and remain reassured. Mommy's coming home.

"In that case, I'll speak to the Raikage about when it would be best to start on our journey," she said out loud. The orbs now surrounding the two and baby Azura were glowing a soft gold with all the hope she had injected in them. There were no longer dark threads marring the surface, there was only positivity there right now. "I will try to make it as soon as possible but I do have a few things I need to finish up in Kumo first. You should take the time to pack yourself, no winter clothes though."

When the priest admired that she was his best friend, Akihana's face glowed with genuine happiness, it was the kindest thing Vaneda had ever said to her. As he added that she was Azura's best friend too, the kunoichi smiled brilliantly. "It's an honor," she replied, her eyes sparkling. "Now please allow me to do my best friend duty and take you two shopping. You'll need to get used to buying things for a baby girl and I'll be happy to show you."

With that, the medic got to her feet, waiting for Vaneda and Azura to follow. She didn't offer to take the baby from him though, knowing he enjoyed holding her close to him. It was truly beautiful to see their bond forming right in front of her eyes.

If Vaneda agreed, the rest of the day would be spent shopping for baby clothes, feeders, a stroller, diapers and a dozen other things all babies needed.

(Exit Akihana)

TWC: 3048
3, 000 towards 3 more orbs for Herald
48 to charity

Vaneda couldn't deny a certain excitement building in the pit of his guts. He had never thought about such things before... he had not needed to, but now that this opportunity had fallen into his lap... even the immediate wait seemed torturous. The idea of going around and seeing the world for a while was something the Jashin priest was actually excited to do. Pushing aside his duty for Jashin, meeting new people, spending time talking to his closest friend Aki, taking his baby around and showing her life before she could even remember it... The excitement was somehow heart-stopping. He glowed right back at Aki as she exclaimed how it was an honor to be his friend. The true honor was his really. The way he worships his god is all about making friends so he could break the bond later, cause more strife and suffering on more than a physical level. He was required to know people, to spend time with and love the person before snapping their necks like that of a chicken. He carried out his duties with a sort of fanaticism only ever seen in the insane and unstable because he LOVED his job. Then... there was Akihana. Such a sweet and caring individual with wisdom for days and compassion for years. He reminded her of the mother he never knew, a figure he could look up to and confide in without any sense of fear or shame. She was the only one to make him truly pause in his path to ultimate destruction and, at this rate, might actually stop him dead. It was a scary thought, but also quite comforting. Perhaps that's why he liked her so much.

Then... there was Azura. Who would have thought an infant child who couldn't even speak her first words could wield such power over a highly trained and powerful immortal assassin? He would have never believed it until he felt it himself, but the truth was that he actually did love Azura, even if he couldn't bare to say the words. He was already making plans for her future, imagining her vast success as a ninja or as a Jashin priest, or maybe both. He imagined they would go off into battle together when she came of age and he would teach her the ethics of the ending of life, what one must do and one shouldn't... Looking into those innocent red eyes of hers made Vaneda wonder how she could ever become the killer he imagined and would he ever accept her as something else...

When Aki said that she needed to do her 'best friend duty' and take him out for baby-clothes shopping, the priest laughed, staring down at the child in his arms, then back up at Akihana, practically radiant in the grin he offered.

"It'd be an honor." He repeated with a snicker before heading out with what was growing quickly from friends to family.

(EXIT)

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