The sun was slowly rising above the dark hideout.
With his black hair waving in the wind, the 16-year-old boy sat silently on the very top of a redwood tree, straining to see every shade of the sunrise through his blurred eyes.
It was the most beautiful whirl of color, with splashes of pink and orange and red under a rising canopy of blue, all hovering over a glowing bauble of bright, bright, golden yellow, with a silvery gray mist descending from the heavens onto the pale illuminated green trees below.
It reminded him of a time not so long ago, although it seemed to be an eternity before now. A time where there was silky pink hair always flaunting in his face, loud orange yelling at him, and a bright red dress that always was kept neat and pretty in hopes of getting his attention. He remembered the big blue eyes, sometimes angry, sometimes contemplating, but always bright and determined. He remembered the messy shock of silver hair, hanging over the paper-back, inappropriate novel.
Most of all, he remembered the pale, illuminated, green eyes, framed with lovely thick lashes, shining just for him that dark, dark night, pleading, hoping, begging, crying, dripping with tears…
And the sunrise reminded him of the first time he met those colors, the time where he had a fresh, new beginning, the start of another day, another epoch in his life. It told of a dream that had the opportunity to live and thrive, but was thrown away in order to accomplish other things. It told of learning how to be a friend, how to be part of a team, how to have a relationship with another human being.
The tiniest droplet slithered down his cheek.
Sasuke remembered all these things and realized just how beautiful the sunrise was.