Endless Rain Untold Stories
Short Story: Namesake
© BlondeTeraesa

"What do you think, Sasaeru?"

Moyasu glared at her husband from where she sat, one hand adjusting the pillow she was using to support her back as the other tapped a pencil against the paper in front of her. She was seven months pregnant now, with their first child, and the two of them had been fighting over what to name it ever since the day it was conceived.

"Think of what?"

Came his response, after a few moments pause. Sasaeru was busy making dinner when the question was asked, and since his wife had very picky tastes, he was understandably distracted with making it "the right way." He sometimes wondered if that was the only reason she came to watch him cook, and if she would even notice the difference in the recipe if she wasn't here to complain about the changes as they were made. He put those thoughts aside for the moment and turned his attention to the broth he was boiling. He added the vegetables and pieces of meat he had chopped a moment before and began stirring the pot. When he looked to his wife again, he recognized the look on her face. The look of impatience. She wore it so often, it was like her second skin.

"It'll be ready soon, I promise... so don't get grumpy, okay?" he teased.

"I don't care about the soup, Sassy, I'm trying to get you to pay attention so you can maybe have a little say in... I don't know... THE NAMING OF YOUR CHILD."

She hissed, slamming the pencil onto the tabletop with a lot more force than was needed. The utensil broke into three pieces and scattered, leaving crumbs of black graphite behind and a frown on Moyasu's face.

"Relax. We still have plenty of time to figure that out... but we only have so many pencils, so try not to break them all today, okay?" he intoned soothingly.

There were several minutes of silence as Sasaeru stirred the stew and added spices. Moyasu took to glaring at him with all her might, but he was too engrossed in the cooking to even notice it. Or maybe he was just used to it by now.

"Sorry."

It took her several minutes to get it out, but she finally said it. A deep breath and a sigh followed the words, and another adjustment of the pillow behind her back. Why did being pregnant have to be so damn uncomfortable! She uttered a curse under her breath that was directed at the unhelpful pillow and looked over to her husband again. This time much more gently as she pondered the happiness she felt at having someone so understanding and calming as Sasaeru. She was such a hothead, even now, it was a surprise to her every day that he never shouted at her. Never raised his voice when they quarreled. Basically took everything she threw at him and then some. He was really something, and it made her smile softly to think about it.

"Can you leave the soup for a little? I really want to talk about this." she asked.

"No problem."

Sasaeru moved the pot over the firepit so it wouldn't boil as hot and brushed his hands off on his robe, standing to stretch and take a seat at the table next to his wife.

"So what's the unsurpassable wall we must climb today, my dear?" he teased lightly.

"I've just been thinking since I saw the midwife yesterday. She says she's certain the baby is a boy, because he kicks so much, and... I don't know... I thought we should take naming him seriously."

Moyasu responded, leaning over to rest her head on his shoulder. Sasaeru in turn rested his head against hers and wrapped an arm over her shoulder. With his free hand, he picked up the paper with the several names she'd come up with scrawled on it. There were maybe seven, and none of them seemed like bad names to him, but one caught his eye more than the others.

"Koudo..." he mumbled, trying to recollect where he heard the name before.

"My brother... you remember?" Moyasu offered.

"Oh. Yes, I remember. You never talked about him much."

"I know... I guess I'm still a little tender in that area."

"Are you sure you're ready to name our son after him? If you're still tender about it?"

Moyasu sighed and sat upright in her chair, wrapping her arms around her rounding belly as she felt the little one give her a kick in the ribs that made her wince. Sasaeru placed a hand on her belly once he saw the look on her face and smiled as he felt the baby kick, too.

"He'll be very strong!" he said with a smirk, teasing her again.

"Only if I don't kill him before he's born..." she retorted, rubbing her sore side. "I hope the next one isn't this active!"

They exchanged a look then, and laughed. Sasaeru went to check on dinner, and Moyasu took the paper into her hands to scan through the names again. He was right. Was she really ready to name someone after her dead brother, if she still wasn't ready to even talk about him? Maybe not, but something inside her told her that if she continued to let him stay locked in her mind forever, hidden from everyone, that he would think she was ashamed of him as he looked down on her from the afterlife. And that just wasn't true at all. Koudo was braver in his nine short years of life than Moyasu could be even if she lived forever. He died protecting their little brother Youji, and that honor was something not even the greatest Chi tribesman could take away. He deserved to live again, if only in name. Moyasu was sure of it.

"Sasaeru..."

"Mm-hmm?"

"If it's ok with you, I want to name our son Koudo."