Daylight

Ignite

But his daughter was another matter... the thought of her resentment towards him growing gnawed away at him, causing him to second-guess his actions, however, there was an Otsutsuki waiting, residing on some ends of the earth, waiting for the right time to strike. It seemed that it was never the right moment for Sasuke to sweep back home with apologies gifted to his daughter, for the world awaited him and all its secrets that it harboured in the depths of its murky waters, where all the demons reside. 

As he continued on his journey, that at times seemed endless, the speckles of white dust that permeated off the snowy mountains settled on his black roots until he was cloaked in a cold touch of purity. A cold touch that reminded him of white buildings in the day where he had tied his life full of vows to the woman of his dreams... but at night, the fear that he had been harnessing would break out and encircle his windpipe with terrors that were decades old: 

A sparked charge of lightning intended for a pink-haired medic-nin who had her own sights on taking away his life. Her hesitation at following his demands of killing his female subordinate irked him - it was the sign that she was not willing to comply, not truly. His suspicions had been heightened; the pink blur was not an ally, but an enemy, just like the dark roots of Konoha - that was all she were - a bud that had bloomed in the blood of his clansmen, cut by his older brother, who had been shackled to the Konoha's warped systems and ideals. Enrage engulfed him and he sought a fiery revenge: blood for blood. Chidori striking through soft flesh, warm blood running atop skin until it turns cold; love brandishing into hate; emerald widened eyes forever burning into him, until her deaths replays in his mind for evermore. 

He would wake up, panting, gasping, some sign that the dream was all just that, and not harsh reality. Ragged breaths would fester, haggardly, and swollen eyes would take in the surroundings until it would land on the physical sign that he was not a cold-blooded killer, at least not in this moment in time: the remnants of his left arm would still be a reminder to him of his misdeed all these years. But as the daylight would seep in through the cracks of the trees surrounding his bed rest, he would also be reminded of how his friend had gone through hell to bring him to the heaven he knew so well - and then his mind would flicker back to the photograph planted on the shelf back home. A photograph of him with his family ignited happiness within him, swelling him with pride: him and his wife, with their daughter standing ahead of them. The thought of them warmed him, and he knew he could brave the cold - and the night terrors - for days and weeks at a time, knowing he had a family to come home to. 

With each new land he ventured into, he would be reminded of his adventures with Sakura during her pregnancy, checking on the ball of chakra that was growing inside her with his sharingan, keeping her fears at bay. As he stumbled upon a grove that was filtered with growing cherubs and other flowers framing his path, he was reminded of a particular moment when he had passed this path once before with his loving wife. He remembers vividly that she had been 9 weeks pregnant, as she had constantly been comparing the size of the fetus to different fruits. 

Sakura was reaching up high on a log as her fingers brushed the fruits of the trees she was trying so hard to get her hands upon. She was defiant in allowing Sasuke to help her, and insisted she does some tasks dependently whilst she still could. He was watching her whilst he leaned against another tree, his eyes resting on the flicker in her womb, ensuring that the chakra of their unborn baby would not deplete before it had breathed life. 

"A peanut," Sasuke had said, unaware his thoughts had been voiced aloud. 

He watched as Sakura stumbled and fell at his sudden outburst, and he flickered to her side, holding her before she could reach the floor. 

"Wh-what? Why did you say that?" Both Sakura and Sasuke instantly ducked their heads as a reflex as a group of fruits fell around them, some even splattering onto their heads.