CHAPTER - The warmth

(Third point of view)

Few years ago

SLAP!

The pang echoes inside the Uchiha Clan's compound. The slap was received by the head of the clan father of Taijama Uchiha.

"You fool! Have I ever raised my son, my heir, to disobey my order?"

A booming, demanding voice reverberated throughout the property, so much that several clan members felt their spines tingle.

Young Tajima spat his blood after his father hit him on his face. Agony he endures, a mark of a palm made a symbol of his disobedience.

Tajima took the words down to heart while he was at the floor. For him to be engaged already, Tajima has a secret lover that is all found out by his father.

"None of my sons will do anything that would bring shame to my clan, especially the family."

He spoke in a cold tone that makes the young master feel irritated. Gritting his teeth and suppressing his rage, he knows he is engaged and he has no feelings for that woman.

The marriage was only arranged in order to make a powerful heir for when he becomes the leader of the Uchiha Clan.

Though he was engaged to a lady he had never loved, he is no fool to ruin the name of the Uchiha Clan by walking away from it. He would have to accept this fate, even if it meant ending his ties with the lady he truly loves.

A sake given for sake.

...

As time passed by, it was already warring states period.

He now holds the position of the head of the Uchiha Clan.

During that day, his bride gave birth, the seeds he gave for her with that lack of passion, it was a thing to prove that he would not tarnish his clan. A sprout he gave would greatly benefit the Uchiha Clan.

All made with no passion. However the moment his newborn child cries inside the medic compound, he immediately commanded his kin to bring his own child to him.

"The young master is here, my lord." An older woman in a traditional kimono breathed out, finally giving his son in his arms carefully.

His breathing hitch after he saw his son for the first time, the feeling is so strange. Is he feeling anxious? Feeling desperate? Maybe both. He could not explain this feeling.

In about six seconds, the small hands wrapped around his enormous fingers, and he felt something for the first time that he had forgotten he was longing for.

The warmth and happiness.

In a tough world, it would be for the best that he will be more strict towards his child, for this will make sure his son would grow stronger in this terrible, cruel world, and for him to survive the war.

He embraced his heir, the last hope he will cling onto.

...

(First person: ???)

"Tajima," I said in a regretful murmur, as I looked down at his child in his arms from a distance.

I've seen enough. I've seen your soul find a new serenity through the nothingness of your eyes, where a spark is flashing in your reflection.

I recall how your eyes used to look like that when we were still young...

"Will you swear that I'll become your wife one day?"

"Yes, I swear that you'll be my wife!" A young boy says. Holding hands and exchanging vows while gazing at each other with tender feelings, and purity of eyes locked at each other.

Our times when we were young, all were as pure as snow, clear like diamonds, and bright as the dimming moonlight.

Those were the days when we enjoyed each other's company...

Until a war broke out, with strict yet effective rules. We are forced to not meet up within those days, or one of us will be in peril in an attempt.

...

There would never be a chance for us to be together again. This is fate. It is what it is.

I am lost for words. I am not myself anymore, I could not think of anything to say.

Tell me...

Why is it so difficult for me to give you back?

Does fate and destiny come into play to separate us?

Why is our world connected even if it wasn't supposed to be like this in the first place?

In the end, love has always been divine. The world is full of struggles, changes will always occur, and prevails every step.

Consequences say otherwise, isn't?

My heart pounded from the pain I was keeping within. I tightly squeeze my left hand. I was disappointed that I had to give up for the two of us.

Upon accepting this, I made a decision; every memory I held dearly, will remain only in the past.

...

"Tajima!" I beg him to stop talking rubbish as I am clutching on his kimono, unable to move.

"This is the end." His sharingan flared to life, looking down at her miserable state. "Never return, nor tamper in my life ever again..."

...

"Farewell, my first love..." raindrops fall, all began to fall apart.

All the things she had hoped for, all crumbled to dust, swayed by the winds of time, the cruel reality destroyed her last hope...

A hint of a tear drop in her eye, going down to her colorless lips, to the chin.

Through the mist of the rain, the sharingan activates with a full tomeo.

She knew she could no longer get him back.

Fate is a cruel ploy of life.