A/N: I'm sorry that I haven't updated in a really long time. I kind of lost my mood to write but I kept thinking about this damn story and all the things that I want to write so I finally just snapped myself out of my daze and decided to get my ass on my laptop and write this for you guys. (slaps wrist) bad author, bad! On top of that I've been working on this new short story, it'll be a three shot and it's almost done so look out for it! I'm having the wonderful whitexgodess beta it for me and thanks to her I'm pushing myself to go with all my original ideas for the story. She's awesome guys, check out her fics!

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, no.

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...and you are never really attached to a thing but to a thought that has 'I', 'me', or 'mine' in it. Whenever you completely accept a loss, you go beyond ego, and who you are, I Am which is consciousness itself emerges – sometimes letting things go is an act of far greater power than defending or hanging on.

Eckhart Tolle

…...

The sun was setting down on Konoha blanketing its sky in a kaleidoscope of different warm colors; it was a beautiful site which unfortunately wasn't really being appreciated by one particular person. A girl with a melancholy expression was hunched over a familiar bridge with her hands clasped together, fingers intertwined as her head was bowed down looking into her reflection below from the river – the wind was blowing gently causing ripples to form over the body of water mesmerizing the girl above.

She was thankful that no civilians ever walked by here for she needed the time alone. She wanted to be away from everyone and everything. The feelings that were clawing away at her heart and mind were slowly destroying her on the inside and she just didn't know how much more she could take. The girl shut and squeezed her eyes tight, almost painfully so in order to reign in control of her emotions.

Push and pull. Push and pull. Push and pull.

"Hey," a familiar voice to the girl called to her and her shoulders immediately tensed up in anticipation and adrenaline.

The new presence walked over and mimicked her current body language, "something on your mind?" the person asked.

The girl felt her chest tighten and in order to stop herself from having some kind of anxiety attack she gulped a generous amount of air to aid her stomach in loosening up those tight prickly vines of nerves she had, "isn't it obvious?"she responded.

Her company huffed at her sarcasm and looked out to the scene before them, now a faint glow of red orange kissed their skin as the stars were slowly beginning to appear in the sky, "…I missed you at dinner," the person confessed.

"I'm sorry…" she apologized.

"Why does it sound like there's more to that apology than a simple 'sorry' for missing dinner with me?"

The girl turned her head in the direction of her company and sighed. What she was about to say wasn't going to be easy but this couldn't go on for much longer. It was high time that she expressed the feelings that have been plaguing her every thought and tearing away at her very soul. She wouldn't be able to live in peace if she kept harboring these thoughts to herself.

"I give up, Naruto," she blurted.

Said person slightly turned their head in her direction and gave her a once over then turned his attention back to the scene in front of him, "don't do this, Sakura," he sighed.

The medic nin furrowed her eyebrows in anger and stood up straight as her right arm rested on the bridge railing as her left hand was at her side balled up into a tight fist, "how can you possibly stand there and act all nonchalant about this? I can't keep doing this, Naruto I refuse to," Sakura growled.

"Because I know you're just angry and frustrated. You think that I'm not? I am. But I'm still here thinking of all the possible ways that-"

"I stopped thinking of possible ways for a while now," she interrupted.

At this Naruto fully straightened and turned towards her, his eyes a storm of emotions and questions. Didn't she realize what exactly she was saying and how much he was already hurting from the implications of those words? This couldn't be happening he thought to himself.

"Then you lied as a Genin," he said through clenched teeth. He was beginning to get mad and that was something that he never did with Sakura but just this one time he couldn't help himself. Sure he was being a little selfish and unfairly one sided but … dammit this was not happening!

At that statement, all the fury and ache that had been pent up within the pinkette burst and the hand that had been resting on the bridge railing swiftly flew through the air and with a loud 'smack' collided on Naruto's cheek as his head slightly turned from the force of it, "how dare you …" she spat as her eyes narrowed and her pride smug from the red spot on his face as his hand came to cover it.

"Sakura... I didn't mean-" Kami, he felt utterly horrible as to what he was implying about her feelings. Stupid.

"No! You know damn well how I felt! I worked just as hard as you did. I cried, pushed, bled and bruised just as much as you so don't fucking stand there and tell me that I lied as a child because you know better."

"You're right I do and I'm sorry for saying what I did but I just don't understand! How can you throw in the towel after everything that we've been through? Have you," at this the blonde looked straight into his childhood friends' eyes, "have you…lost faith?" he asked.

No. Maybe. I don't know.

"Yes," she replied.

His muscles coiled at her answer and he felt as though his world was crumbling all over again right before his eyes. After a pregnant pause he lost his courage to look at her as he averted his gaze to the ground, "…why?" he whispered.

Sakura bit her bottom lip in anguish and guilt at seeing the nasty bruise that was beginning to form on her teammates cheek, she stepped forward towards him and gently pressed a glowing green hand to his face to heal him, "because we can't keep doing this to ourselves Naruto … we need to face reality that Sasuke is just never going to come back, no matter what we do," her hand slowly slid away from his face back to her side, "we need to move on," she sternly said looking from his newly healed cheek to his downcast eyes.

He quickly reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze not desiring to let go any time soon, "he will come back, Sakura … we can't abandon him – not after all these years," he looked at her then, "please …" he pleaded.

She shook her head as her pastel pink hair gently swayed back and forth from the action, "how fair do you think it is that he abandoned us after being apart of our team and befriending us – you honestly think that we shouldn't return that favor?" she said bitterly.

"Yeah but he left for good reasons and-"

"Stop making excuses for him, Naruto," Sakura yanked her hand away from his grip and stomped a small concentrated chakra filled foot onto the ground. She didn't want to raise a hand to him again in frustration so this small act of anger would have to suffice – the slight tremor caused by her act vibrated throughout her body reminding her of the turbulent emotions that were infesting her being and in doing so solidifying her resolve, "enough is enough … he didn't make excuses for us when he up and left and it's time we let him go."

At this point the moon was perched in its rightful place and shined down a luminous glow on them. It was quiet and lonely outside aside from them and it only tugged at the speechless blonde Shinobi's heart all the more. He distinctly heard the flap of wings followed by a screech of a bird and soon after that the quick splash of the fish bellow them evading the predator.

He didn't know what to say to the girl in front of him so he did what he could only think of, he tugged her by the wrist and pulled her into a tight hug. One of his hands wrapped into her now past shoulder length hair –she recently started letting it grow out again- as his other arm wrapped around her figure bringing her closer. He was bending forward trying to adjust his head on her shoulder briefly reminding him how much shorter she was than him.

They had grown so much in more ways than one but their feelings had changed over time. Naruto refused to give up on his male best friend because deep down he just knew that one day Sasuke would come back. He didn't know how to explain the feeling but he just knew and when the day came he knew that a part of him wouldn't be as re-joiceful because Sakura hadn't been apart of that faith.

"You love him…" he said

His voice was slightly muffled from being buried in her hair but she heard it, "loved, Naruto. I loved him. Kami knew that I did but I can't handle this anymore. For so long I dreamt that he would accept me and love me back … that he'd be mine but that isn't going to happen, "she scrunched her hands into his shirt and took a deep breath, "it's time I let go of that dream – I am tired of trying," she proclaimed as she pulled away from him.

That was when Naruto felt it.

When she pulled away from his embrace he felt as though something had been ripped away from her at that moment. Like some invisible and cruel force dipped into her heart and tore away who she was. It was a similar feeling to what he experienced with Sasuke a long time ago, as he thinks back he believes it was during the time of the whole fiasco with Gaara and he was so angry afterwards that they had to duke it out on a hospital rooftop later on.

He felt and saw the darkness in Sasuke long before the raven haired boy probably did but he never in his life expected this from the sweet and loving Sakura. All he could do was watch as her back fully straightened and her shoulders squared in determination. Her eyes were dark and her fists clenched. She was ready to fight with him if he tried to say otherwise.

She made her choice and there was nothing that he could say to change her mind.

"I'm not giving up on him, Sak, I'll keep fighting till the day he comes back."

She nodded and turned around giving her back towards him beginning to walk away. His heart clenched at the site and he wondered if this was the same feeling that she had felt when Sasuke had walked away from her that night so many years ago.

Stopping a little ways from him she looked over her shoulder, "one day you'll get tired too," she turned her head straight ahead and walked away – finally leaving her past behind her and in doing so, someone else was born from the ashes – a dark phoenix.

Naruto just stood there as he watched her walk away from everything that they had both worked so hard on for years. He was on his own now and it was up to him to fix everything. Trying his best to squish the feeling of anguish he lodged in a determination – he'd bring his team back together again one day he thought to himself as he turned and walked home.

Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke had finally been in one of the other person's shoes without either of them ever realizing it.

…

A/N: So … yeah …. I doubt anyone was expecting something like this, huh? A bit of angst for everyone because:

I'm a little upset and moody myself

In my opinion I think it's time that a little drama happened between Naruto and Sakura. Lord knows that I love them –their friendship- its something really beautiful if you know how to look at it the right way. Even the best of friends fight and this was one of the times; it needed to shown that their friendship isn't perfect.

I hope you all enjoyed it anyways, please tell me what you guys thought.

Also, SasuSakuKawaii … I do like long reviews – they make me happy =)