A/N: This idea popped into my head, AGES ago so I though I'd write it. If its a waste and no one reads it I won't upload the next chapter. Either way. I hope you like it!
The nice white clad nurse sponged his head and smiled.
"Are you feeling better?" she asked.
He tries to speak through the bandages loosely wrapped around his mouth but all that came out was…
"Mrmmfmm." So he gave up and just nodded.
"Good, then I'll get you some food." She says, again smiling, her pink hair swinging behind her as she walks. This was the first time he was alone for what seemed like an eternity, so he seized the chance and sat up. Pain shot through his body. He looked down at the beige gauze wrapped around both of his arms and under the skimpy hospital dress. He placed his bare feet on the cold floor, goose bumps shot up his legs, and got up, his legs were a little unstable but he managed to stay standing. He tried to take a step forward but his arm was jerked back. He spun around to see an IV tube sticking out of his right arm. He yanked on it.
Damn.
He yanked on it again, but he wished he hadn't for it was pulled from his arm, with a great deal of pain, and now was leaking IV juice all over the floor.
Damn.
He thought, trying to grab the blanket off of his bed to wipe it up. This just resulted in him slipping and landing on his injured arm.
"ARGH!" he screamed through the bandages. The smiling nurse with the pink hair came running into the room.
"Satoru!" she cried, rushing over to him, "How did you get out of your bed?" she asked, frantically wiping up the IV liquid. He just rolled his eyes. When she had stopped the IV flow she helped him back into his bed and looked at the arm he had re-injured.
"Damn, and you were almost ready to have this one taken off." She sighed, re-bandaging the rapidly swelling arm. "Well, now it's time to eat. I brought your favorite, miso soup." She said grinning and producing a steaming Styrofoam cup from behind her back. "Now let's get those bandages off your mouth." She said carefully removing them. When they were successfully removed she stood back a moment and looked him up and down, a look of deep concentration on her face.
Satoru waited.
The pink haired nurse continued to stare at him, but her eyes took on a great sense of sadness. Her voice shook as she excused herself,
"E-excuse me for a-a-a moment, S-s-s-satoru." The nurse said containing her composure as she slid the door shut. But as soon as she heard the click tears poured from her eyes and sharp sobs erupted from her chest. She ran down the hall when she collided with a black haired woman, she clung to her.
"Sh-sh-shizune! I c-c-can't pretend anymore!" said the pink haired nurse shaking and sobbing. Shizune patted her head.
"Sakura, I know it's hard but it's for the best. Remember this is all for him, it's all for Sasuke." Whispered Shizune stroking the nurse's pink locks.
"I kn-kn-know but why does it have to be this way? Why can't we tell him?" Sakura sobbed burying her face into Shizune's stomach.
"This is what Lady Tsunade thinks is best for him. This way he's not going to run away again." Said Shizune in her soothing motherly type voice.
"But he doesn't know who I am! He doesn't know who he is! He's a whole new person!" wailed Sakura.
"And this is the way it has to be. When Sasuke first entered the hospital eight months ago, we knew he wouldn't be able to remember anything with that kind of blow to the head. Sakura," she said forcing the pink haired nurse's eyes to look into hers, "this is a lot better for him and it's a lot better for us. He will never be the old Sasuke. Even if we told him who is really was."
"Shizune…" Sakura whispered, tears pouring forth from her eyes as water pours from a faucet.
"Sakura, he lost his memories and most of his motor skills. It's a lot easier if we keep it this way. You remember how much pain he was in after the Uchiha Massacre? And after Itachi?"
"Yes but—
"Do you want him to go through it again?"
"No but—
"Then keep it this way."
"I know, I know, but its so hard." Whispered Sakura.
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Now that he was alone again and the IV tube was out of his arm, Satoru slipped off of the stiff hospital bed and walked around the little room. It was sterile and neat with a huge window. And since he was on one of the upper floors he had a bird's eye view of the town. Like a small child he pressed his face against the cool glass and let his breath fog up the window. He smiled as he watched the little people below go about their daily lives.
His stomach gurgled.
Satoru looked over at the Styrofoam cup.
I am hungry. I also have no idea when she's coming back.
By she, he meant the pink haired nurse. She was in his room every morning when he woke up and hers was the last face he saw when he fell asleep. She fed him, dressed his wounds, ran errands for him, and was all around cheerful. Satoru knew it was her job but somehow she seemed to enjoy doing things for him. But even on her happiest days sadness clung to her eyes, especially when she looked him in the eyes. Satoru always thought it was just that looking at him in his critical state made her depressed and as he got better she would get better, but when she removed the bandages from his face today, the sadness in her eyes seemed to double.
But what did it matter? She was just a nurse and he was just a patient to be out of here soon after eight long months. He stretched his arms over his head and smiled.
-------------------------------------------------------
The big busted lady sighed.
"Come in." she waved lazily at the door. Shizune entered and bowed her head slightly then approached the Hokage's desk.
"Lady Tsunade?"
"What is it Shizune?" asked Tsunade scribbling something down on a scroll.
"Um, the meeting? They're outside you know." Said Shizune glancing at the door.
"Oh!" said Tsunade, snapping out of her work mode, "Send them in." Shizune walked over to the door and stuck her head out and mumbled something Tsunade couldn't hear, soon after a brown haired couple walked in and bowed their heads.
"Are you ready to meet him?" asked the big-busted Hokage.
"Yes we are. We've gotten everything prepared, from photographs to his room, it's all ready." Said the woman.
"Good. Do you remember the plan?" asked Tsunade leaning forward.
"Yes, we've been practicing all morning." Said the Man.
"Good," she looked over at Shizune, "Take them to meet him." Shizune nodded and ushered the couple out of the Hokage's office.
"You know you could just tell him." Said a voice, startling Tsunade.
"Jiraiya! How many times have I told you, DO NOT HANG AROUND MY OFFICE!" she yelled picking up the nearest scroll and chucking it out the window. A large THUMP sounded followed by a groan. Jiraiya stepped in the window clutching his head.
"Jeez, sometimes I forget the arm you have." He whined sitting down in a chair in front of her desk.
"It'd be better if you'd remember to QUIT LOITERING OUTSIDE MY OFFICE!"
"Now now Tsunade, I wasn't loitering outside your office, I was hanging around on the roof. A big difference." Said the white haired man smirking.
"Jiraiya," she said exasperatedly, slapping a hand to her face, "What do you want?"
"I wanted to tell you I don't approve of this "plan"." Jiraiya said, using the famous air quotes.
"It's a little late for that, go back eight months and then tell me, ok?" said Tsunade her voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Ha ha," said Jiraiya equally as sarcastic, "Be serious. This is a boy we're messing with, not a doll. You can't just re-do his life."
"I am serious! Just think of how much pain we're saving him from. He's so lucky that he forgot…." Her voice saddened as she looked down at the infamous necklace. A callused hand was placed upon her shoulder.
"Tsunade, forgetting isn't always a good thing. What if tomorrow you woke up and forgot who you were, all of your friends, Nawaki, Dan…"
"That's different! I didn't have my whole family murdered, I didn't just go toe to toe with one of the most dangerous person on the planet, I didn't sustain injuries that I was lucky enough to live through. Don't you see Jiraiya? This was a chance I couldn't pass up. I'm giving him what he never had, a family, a home, and a life free of hate."
"But you've also taken things away from him. Like his friends. Naruto and Sakura can't interact with him anymore. He won't remember them. And they also might be depressed that he's not the same anymore. He can't use jutsus and he can barely walk. Now if you hadn't—
"Shut up, I did what I had to do." Said Tsunade with surprising fierceness.
"You didn't have to do that. You could have let him go on with what he had left."
"I couldn't, I just couldn't. And don't say I could because I couldn't. That's all there is to it." She said shrugging off his hand. Jiraiya sighed but knowing it was pointless he exited out the window.
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Satoru heard footsteps outside his door. He hurriedly jumped back into his bed and pretended he was sleeping. The door slid open,
"Now I know you couldn't wait any longer, so here he is……… asleep."
Satoru opened his eyes ever so slightly so he could see who was talking. A familiar black haired lady was standing in the doorway whispering to two other people he couldn't quite see. But he caught a couple of words.
"Now, just remember the plan, I'll go wake him up and I want you guys to act like parents who haven't seen their son in almost a year. So cry, hug, yell, whatever you need to do. Got it?"
He heard small 'yes's'.
The black haired woman turned around and approached his bed. He quickly shut his eyes and pretended to sleep again.
He felt a poke on his shoulder and in a motherly voice said,
"Satoru, honey, wake up. Your parents are here to see you."
His eyes snapped open and looked at the couple standing in his doorway. Those people were his parents?
A squeal erupted from a small dowdy woman. She rushed over to him, tears of joy streaming down her face.
"Satoru! My Satoru! I missed you so much!" she embraced him tightly then took a step back. She gave a small teary laugh, "Your hair is like I remembered it, always messed up." She smushed it down with her hand.
"Satoru m'boy! I missed your help around the house. We need you back." Said the man, taller than the woman. He punched Satoru's arm lightly.
Satoru winced.
"Aw, too hard? Well get used to it! You've had a nice eight month long vacation and its back to hard work!" said the man, laughing.
For the first time in what seemed like ages Satoru spoke.
"Mom, Dad?" he asked looking into their shining happy faces.
"Yes." They both replied.
But something didn't seem right. Satoru felt that something was going on and he was the only one not in on it.
A/N: If you haven't figured it out already, Satoru is Sasuke. Der.
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