Purple: Enlightenment, wisdom, and transformation

"You're late, Sakura."

Tsunade's eyes narrowed as her pupil shifted uneasily. Sakura's feelings were still as easy to decipher as ever despite her efforts to seal them since the collapse of team seven. Emerald eyes flashed with defiance but the blonde hokage perceived the crumbling will that hid in the shadows of strained bravado, and for a moment she was back to being the girl Tsunade had taken under her wing so many years ago; the girl who had just learned with both heart and soul the aching grief of choosing a shinobi's existence.

"Gomen." The pink-haired woman murmured, her head dipping in a seemingly apologetic gesture – but Tsunade knew better, knew Sakura, and recognized the signs of discrete avoidance. Eyes narrowing, the blonde woman leaned forward with her hands clasped together.

"You went there again." She stated flatly.

Sakura squared her jaw. "…Yes."

Tsunade's chest expanded for a brief moment before it deflated with a wary sigh. "You can't, Sakura." The blonde woman pursed her lips. "You can't do this to yourself anymore."

Emerald eyes flashed, and though the pink-haired female made no move her aura fluctuated spectacularly, flooding the room with trembling resentment. "Why?" she demanded. "Don't I have the right to remember?"

Tsunade frowned before countering her student's aura with her own, overpowering it before forcing it to retreat. "If you went there just to remember, it wouldn't be an issue." She gazed pointedly at the other woman, who grew sheepish under her mentor's reprimanding tone.

"I go there to remember the things I lost." Sakura murmured, turning her face aside.

"No." The blonde shook her head absolutely. "You go there every morning hoping to get them back." Her eyes softened at seeing Sakura's shoulders tense before slowly slumping. "Am I wrong?" she asked softly.

Her pupil shot her a look that quite clearly stated 'If you were right I'd be the last one to admit it' and Tsunade acquiesced with reluctance. From the very beginning, she hadn't expected Sakura to yield; the girl had been desperately struggling forward alone since Kakashi's death much like a babe gasping for much needed air. The woman no longer accepted the help of others, so convinced was she that they would soon disappear as well.

Sakura had split her heart into four and had handed out one to each of Team 7, keeping only the remaining piece for herself. Now that the other three were gone, Sakura jealously protected what remained with fervid determination – she kept it out of sight, and out of reach.

Tsunade wondered if she was any closer to bringing it back.

"Love yourself more, Sakura." The older woman's voice came close to pleading, though as hokage she still exuded a dignity that was unquestionable. "You have to learn how to forget."

Sakura's expression darkened. "Learn to run away?"

"Not running." Tsunade shook her head fervently, willing her pupil to understand before she, too, slipped away like the rest of the elusive Team 7. "Moving." She corrected. "You'll learn to move once again – move forward, move on."

"Like you did?" Sakura challenged, stalking forward and grabbing at the downturned photograph on the corner of Tsunade's desk. Sparkling cerulean blue eyes stared up at her, accompanied by the usual cheeky grin that had once never failed to incur Sakura's wrath. Beside the blonde stood Tsunade, who's face had been captured in a rare moment of tenderness as she stood with one fist barreling into the top of Naruto's skull, the two of them appearing to be brimming with mirth as they shared a joke that only the two of them could understand.

Tsunade stared at the photo for a moment before azure eyes became steely.

"I'm remembering." The corners of her lips turned downwards in displeasure as she scathingly reminded her pupil of her earlier words. "Not hoping."

As if suddenly realizing just who she was lashing out at, Sakura's anger receded as quickly as it came. Her fingers brushed over Naruto's whiskered cheeks before she gingerly placed the photograph down with utmost care, handling the frame like a precious treasure.

"Sorry." She whispered, glancing guiltily in Tsunade's direction.

The blonde hokage rose with a majestic sweep of her cloak which trailed after her elegantly as she approached the nearby window. The hokage tower supplied a complete view of the entire village below and Tsunade often found herself often drawn to the majestic image when she wanted to organize her thoughts. Seeing Konoha standing strong, despite its current rugged state after Pein's onslaught, provided both peace and security to Tsunade's state of mind; even if everything around her fell, she could always believe in her infallible village.

Konoha was an entity that transcended time. It saw the rise and fall of great and horrible men, and bore the consequences of each on its proud impregnable form.

Tsunade would defend this village, even to the death.

"Let's talk about your recent report." She sighed, gracing Sakura with the faintest traces of a smile.

"This place never changes."

Naruto inhaled deeply as he leaned over the railing, azure eyes focused on a familiar scene he had thought to never see again. The bridge was in as bad shape as ever, but the blonde preferred it this way. The flesh of his fingers traced the chipped paint and cracking wood, re-familiarizing them and flooding the blonde with memories of brighter days.

"Yo!" Kakashi popped out upside down from a nearby tree. "Sorry I'm late! A tree fell onto my roof this morning and caused my entire apartment to be flooded with kittens and baby birds. They held me hostage until I agreed to give them a month's supply of wine and cheese."

"LIAR!" Naruto and Sakura screamed simultaneously, while Sasuke simply glared and shook his head.

Kakashi chuckled sheepishly while rubbing the back of his head. "Well, no need to sweat over small details." He chirped. "As long as we're together now, right?"

Naruto let out a soft chuckle. It had been a long time since he had allowed himself to reminisce; his life at Konoha seemed so distant now that it was almost like a dream.

As sentimental as ever. Kyuubi soundlessly appeared at his side. Even becoming a Sage couldn't change that part of you.

"Yeah, yeah." Naruto rolled his eyes, reaching down to tug on the fox's ear in annoyance. Kyuubi endured the act with trained patience, though black lips drew back in an indignant snarl. "Don't you have any good memories of this place, Kyuu?" the blonde asked distantly, closing his eyes and allowing the playful breeze to wash over his face.

…Besides being captured and having my body sealed away in some inferior human one?

"Yup." The blonde nodded. "Besides that."

…Not really.

"That's a shame." The male laughed. "It's a good village, really."

The wind tickled his bangs and Naruto smiled as he swept one hand through his hair fondly, cerulean eyes still closed as he listened to its welcoming whispers.

Slowly, his eyes cracked open.

"I don't want this place to disappear." He spoke softly. "Everything's spiraling into madness, but only this place remains the same – it's like a painting that doesn't change, even when its frame shatters onto the ground."

Naruto inhaled.

Say what you want to say, brat. Kyuubi commented disinterestedly. Don't keep talking in circles.

The blonde hesitated. "If I'm allowed to say it…"

Cerulean eyes closed.

"I want to see them again."

His words hummed in the air excitedly, like a velvet sigh that couldn't be pulled back. Naruto let them hang suspended for a moment before shaking his head, willing them away.

They were words that he was no longer allowed to say – even to himself.

And then, like a cruel joke set by some unknown power, came a voice Naruto never thought to hear again.

"…N-Naruto?"

Kind emerald eyes, the playful curl of lips that spoke of dazzling hopes and dreams

Naivety so deep that it was endearing

-Sakura-

For a moment Naruto could move –couldn't breathe –and it wasn't until Kyuubi spoke that he was shaken out of his stupor. From the distance he could see familiar pink hair glistening underneath the sun as the female ran towards him with clumsy, uncontrolled speed, and for a moment Naruto was so startled that the passing years blurred around him, urging him to take a step forward and…

…

And…what?

Naruto's mind whirled.

What could he possibly do for Sakura, after leaving her for so long?

After leaving her to grief Kakashi's death all on her own, and pretend as if he hadn't already known how her shoulders would shake, how her mind would be broken?

Would he comfort her for his own self-fulfillment only to leave her behind once again?

She couldn't come with him, and he-

His time had stopped moving, several years ago.

Your wish came true, brat. Kyuubi snickered, irony thick in his voice.

The fox glanced upwards, surprised, as his human edged away from the railing and then was engulfed by a sudden surge of energy.

"This one wasn't supposed to." Naruto spoke, glancing sadly at Sakura's approaching form before a sudden gust of wind enveloped both him and the fox, whisking them away from sight.

Gomen, Sakura.

Once more.

One more time, and Sakura would let go.

The confrontation with the hokage earlier that morning had left a considerable impression on her, despite her harsh protests at the time. Tsunade's words had invaded the carefully built wall around her heart and embedded themselves within her consciousness, and by the time Sakura passed through the great doors of the hokage tower she already knew that her mentor was right.

Even if she wanted to deny it, there was nothing more pitiful than to lie to oneself.

She had been hoping.

Hoping for an illusion that would mask the sorrowful face of reality.

Team Seven was gone.

The bridge no longer connected them – no longer led her to the people she loved most.

It was time to say goodbye.

These were Sakura's thoughts as she slowly trudged down the familiar path, marking the soft dirt with her footprints for the very last time. Though the path was commonly shared by shinobi and villagers alike and was strewn with evidence of bustle and traffic, Sakura had always been able to identify her own prints amongst the collage of markings on the ground.

In the past, there had been many more. Team Seven's dynamic had always been betrayed by the patterns they left behind; Sasuke with his neat, evenly spaced prints that could barely be seen, Naruto's heavy and sporadic ones, and Kakashi's whimsical ones that always trailed after the others.

Now, only hers remained.

A glint momentarily blinded her eyes, and Sakura held one hand up to sun as she squinted into the distance. Somebody was already perched on the bridge, leaning over one side of it with a familiarity that uncanny for an old, broken down bridge. The pink-haired female could only make out traces of blonde hair and tan skin, but as she continued to stare her heart steadily beat faster and faster against her chest until it suddenly

Stopped.

"N-Naruto?"

The figured turned towards her and then disappeared.

Any normal person may have attributed what she saw to a momentary lapse of reason; a figment of their imagination. It could easily be brushed away as the hopeful meanderings of the imagination, paired with her promise to never return again.

But Sakura was no average person. She was a shinobi of Leaf, trained to see through both lies and deception; she believed her in her own senses with stanch conviction, as doubt would only lead to her early demise.

That was why, with absolute certainty, she could say that the flash of blonde she had witnessed could have only belonged to one person – her long absent teammate, Naruto Uzumaki.

"Naruto!?" she called, her legs heavy and uncooperative as she surged forth. She looked around wildly with her heart hammering mercilessly against her breast as she arrived on top of the bridge, only to find it abandoned. Her palms were sweaty as she licked at her lips, wetting them before they opened to call her beloved teammate's name once again. "I know you were there, Naruto!"

Only the wind's playful whispers responded, and tears rose to Sakura's eyes.

Why?

Why didn't he reply?

Why didn't he come back?

The silence hurt her more than words ever could.

Unable to take it anymore, Sakura turned back and ran.

Towards where, she did not know – but she ran all the same. As long as she was moving, she wasn't standing still, for if she remained unmoving…

She'd never catch up to Naruto again.

"Why'd you wanna come to some crummy old bridge?"

"…" Sasuke didn't reply, obsidian eyes sweeping over his battered surroundings. Clad in a uniform he had sworn never to wear again and a headband he had disgraced, the raven-haired male had never felt more suffocated than when he had re-entered Konoha's walls. The swirling pit of rage and hatred brewed violently within his chest as he strolled down busy streets, and somehow through the pulsing fog blanketing his thoughts his feet had led him to the one place he had thought to avoid.

Suigestu shot him a side-long glance, unperturbed by the raven-haired male's silence.

"Well, whatever." He shrugged. "Not that I care, anyways."

As his teammate strode away Sasuke's eyes fell upon a single hand print on the rail which obstructed the accumulation of dust that littered the remaining stretch, freshly applied no more than an hour before their arrival. His jaw clenched as he unwillingly recalled memories of years past, when Naruto would stand in that exact position and stare across the bland landscape. For somebody so messy, the blonde was a creature of habit – once he chose a spot, he never left it.

Angrily, the raven-haired male erased the mark with a single wipe of his arm, and he turned to follow his teammate without glancing back.

He would not be returning here.

Not ever again.