~~~~Light and Shadow~~~

~~~Prologue~~~

"There is something I have to apologize to you about." she spoke, her voice wavering ever so slightly.

Looking up, no doubt surprised by the sudden change in her demeanor. He voiced his thoughts out loud, "Hmm, what is it?!"

Taking a deep breath she continued, "Ever since you were little, I had immediately realized you had a tremendous amount of potential talent…" scratching his scalp with her finely trimmed nails, she continued with a smile when he leaned back in her embrace with completely sagged shoulders, "…I also you knew you loved me more than anyone else."

The corner of his lips twitched upwards upon hearing that, she couldn't be anymore accurate. He indeed loved her more than anything else in the entire world, "…and that if your latent talent was ever to come to fruition one day, you would end up exactly as you are now." she whispered shamefully.

His eyelids flickered open, still remaining closed halfway due to the lovely strokes her nails were circling in his hair. But still, "I don't understand." his simple reply was of no surprise to her. Instead she had expected it to be the same as this, he always was a master at hiding his pain from her, even if she always saw right through him, each and every time.

Shrugging off his indifferent answer as if he hadn't ever spoken a word - she continued on undeterred, "Despite realizing this, I didn't say anything…" her whisper was soft towards the end, the smile adorning her lips almost a fond one as if she were melting in nostalgia, "…more like I couldn't say anything." leaning down a bit, her lips lightly pressed themselves on his forehead.

He closed his eyes to relish the moment, smiling serenely upon feeling the affection he could perceive in her tender gesture.

The sensation was just as it had always been, almost to the point of being surreal.

"I still don't understand." his voice sounded honestly confused.

And it made her smile all the more adoringly, "How I wished to see the future with your fully talented self having won over the world, and finally show everyone how you truly feel - in here…" her finger gently poked the left side of his chest, right above his heart to accentuate her point.

"And that is why I apologize my child…" her voice cracked, shoulders shook in agony. He sat up and took her hands in his own to give them a comforting squeeze on sheer instincts alone,"…and I beg you - Don't waste away that talent my sweet munchkin."

His eyes widened, her words striking a chord in his chest. How long had it been since she had called him with that endearing term, he couldn't remember. But it still made his heart skip a beat, "…Your distress isn't something that can be solved immediately." pulling his hands up to her lips, she kissed them over and over to steel her heart.

He sat there in numbing silence, almost mesmerized by her beautiful voice.

Even after all this time, all those years that had passed, one thing had remained absolute - The wisdom in her voice was still unparalleled. The care in it was still incomparable. The shimmer in her eyes still made his heart twist painfully, almost to the point of driving him insane.

"However…" his glazed eyes snapped to attention. Drinking down each and every word from her lips as if it were pouring nectar from the gods, "…There is a chance that it will be solved one day. Don't abandon it." she whispered with a sniffle.

"I won't." he whispered breathlessly.

"I won't say that if you don't give up then you'll definitely find the answer. That would be a lie…" her lips grazed his fingertips tenderly, drowning them in sweet kisses all over, "…But, if you do give up, then there's nothing left. Don't give up… please-"

He pulled her into his arms when her heart finally reached it's peak, squeezing her tightly for reassurance that it was alright.

That she was safe.

That he would always love her no matter what.

His fingers caressed her long crimson tresses lovingly, "…for me-"

"Shh." he hushed up the crying woman, rubbed soothing circles on her back to calm her down. Pulling back his head from her embrace, he cupped her puffed up cheeks in his palms tenderly, "…Alright. I can't say if I can go back to the way I was after this…" she looked saddened by his remark, her eyes drifting down before they were pulled up forcefully by his palms.

He couldn't see her like this. Getting so disheartened merely by his words, "But one thing is still the same…" he put her palm on his chest, forcing her to feel his steady heartbeat pulse through the point of contact, "…the feeling that I want to win is still with me, and the fact that I care for you will never change. No matter what-"

He couldn't say anymore, the woman had flung herself in his arms before he could go any further. His large arms wrapped her up protectively, tucking her head under his chin to hide her small form from the whole world.

It was times like this he liked being so tall - taller than her.

The one who had held him like this countless times in the past.

The most precious person in his life.

Her nails dug in his back, scratching the black fabric of his shirt like a kitten. He settled her atop his lap, her back scrunching up the burnt orange fabric of his pants. Falling on his backside, he let the woman pour her heart out in his embrace. His neck and shoulder were wet, but he couldn't care less. Petting her hair pleasantly, he twisted his head sideways to place a soft kiss on the side of her head before closing his eyes with a sigh.

In the end, looking at the dazzling necklace on his neck which reflected the setting sun… he realized one thing - there's never one sunrise the same, or the same sunset.

Somethings were just never meant to be.

As one tale ends, another begins. No one knows what fate awaits them except for one - the one fate all humans share irrespective of their differences-

A fate we all call death.

Thank you all for reading this! Please do leave reviews!

Thanks goes to Narutoxsharingaxenthusiast for his help!