He was like that of a dandelion, floating through the warm summer skies as he bid all 'good morning' and danced gaily in the winds. Travelling to unknown places with a selfless heart and a smile of wisdom. His long blinding white hair that glowed in the sun and eyes as black at the shadows of the night.
Who could have thought such irises of darkened grace shine with a thousand wishes of joy and mirth? He was a free kindred spirit, wise yet so mischievous all the same as he wandered over the valley toying with destiny, dancing between its fingertips daringly.
She never thought she would love him. She had always pictured a hero, a gallant prince with a solemn warm demeanour riding her away into the endless blue skies – yet even those lovely blue hues turn a darkened tone at nightfall. She never realized the true hero of her story.
She remembered her first lover, strong and virtuous with such warm eyes and long lavender locks. His kind eyes and gentle smile as his lips whispered sweet nothings under the summer skies. She thought she finally found her happiness, she was drunk in the giddy feeling of love – not realizing the true epiphany in it all. Lucid dreams they wove of a future together, their aspirations; he wanted to become the village's leader – the hokage, she wanted to be the best medical nin and kunoichi she could be. The perfect pair. The pair that was never to be.
Then came that day when she instead of the warmth of her lover, she felt his cold corpse with his blood staining her skin in bright scarlet that seeped into the earth from his gaping wounds, soaked in the heavy rains of the unforgiving grey skies. His blood was on her, it stained her palms and face. He was gone, over the hills and far away leaving her his cold touch to remember.
She screamed. She screamed till her lungs burst and throat burn. She was desperate to get rid of that red. So much red, she couldn't escape. She wanted to collapse, she wished her heart burst so she could die too. Yet heaven denied her wish, she was alone again. With red colouring her vision.
Worthless
Weak
Foolish
Harsh unforgiving words jeered in the confines of her mind. For the first time she feared blood. The sight would make her revolt and tremble feeling the numb ache destroy her senses reliving the nightmare in an endless time loop of misery and fear.
Red
A colour had stained her world – her family, her brother, now her lover. All painted in red.
Yet she never noticed the purest white light that shone in all that red. Should she have looked closer she would have known the infinite warmth and love it held, just for her. She wallowed in her own sorrow and self-pity, never once looking back at the gift the gods had given her.
Years past, they never changed like the flowers of a meadow. They lived apart in their own worlds, she indulged in another world away from her sorrows; she couldn't face reality anymore. Even in those lonely years with no one but her faithful apprentice Shizune, he never stopped looking for her, he believed in her and never stopped trying to persuade her.
Then he came along with a young boy who she had never seen before. His eyes were an indescribable blue hue with hair has bright as the sun, a child so full of joy and determination and life that shone like a halo. A silly little angel for her to protect, reminding her of someone familiar to her. There he stood with a stoic look, those black pools of the darkness silently pleading her, for the first time it tugged her heartstrings.
If only I had noticed, you were always there. Trying to make me do my best...
He called her to be the new village hokage, he called her to take an important role – a role she believed was cursed for her lost brother and lover wanted the very same thing. She hated the title; her entire life was centred upon it. She didn't want the young boy to wander that path. But he proved her wrong. They both did. Their inner strength astounded her, she thought she was in the dark all along. Who knew the darkness held so much serenity and joy?
