Disclaimer: Nope, Naruto is not mine.
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Sasuke blinked at the old man before him, unable to really identify him, but still sure that he knew him. That funny looking hat, after all, was quite memorable. But despite trying to reclaim some recollection of the old man, Sasuke's attempts were mostly futile. All he could recall was kind eyes, and something involving monkeys…
Sasuke's inability to remember people had been pretty common, the last few days- the doctors had said something about 'horrific trauma' and 'unhealthy coping mechanisms', along with some technical jargon about the logistics of his memory repression, but that had flown right over Sasuke's head.
What really mattered was that Sasuke was apparently eight years old, blood type AB positive, and found at the scene of a terrible massacre. That last bit was the most important to all the people he had talked with so far.
Not that Sasuke remembered much about that, either. His earliest clear memory was waking up in the hospital. A nurse had nearly screamed when he shot straight up in his bed, but had then fallen apart into tears as she apologized to Sasuke for his loss, and her sadness at the deaths of the Uchiha.
It was when Sasuke asked who the Uchiha were that shit really hit the fan.
After running around like chickens without heads, someone at the hospital had finally alerted the higher ups of the 'situation'. A nice blond guy had then come into Sasuke's room, and had gently asked a bunch of questions. Do you know your name? Do you know where you are? What's the last thing you remember before waking up?
Sasuke had learned his first name when the nurse had called him it, and was able to deduce that he was in a hospital, but the answer to the last question eluded him. The blonde man had maintained some freaky eye contact when Sasuke was unable to answer him, and the next thing Sasuke knew he was waking up, alone, in a different room.
Since then, not many people had visited him, but the nurses did do a bunch of tests- they made sure none of his skills had been hindered, like his ability to read and his muscle memory, while also trying to trigger recollections of his past. Through this, they learned that Sasuke had mainly just forgotten people- he still knew he lived in Konoha, what a shinobi was, and the things he had learned, like maths and how to throw a kunai. But ask him who his mother was, or who taught him at the academy, and he would draw a blank.
Maybe it was because he didn't have the memory to know differently, but Sasuke didn't really mind not knowing his past. No one had really told him anything, but based on the fact that he was in the hospital, and that he had been found with a bunch of dead people, he was probably better off not knowing. The Uchiha probably weren't that important, anyways.
Sasuke was brought out of his musings as the old man in front of him coughed to grab his attention. He jolted his eyes back up to the man that sat at the right side of the hospital bed he was currently laying on.
"Ah, Sasuke, I know this must be a difficult time for you, and everything must be very confusing, but I want you to understand that we will be trying our best to restore your memories, and give you back the life you lost. This may take time, however, as your mind has sealed away much of your past- but even if takes years, we will find a way to return it to you."
The old man lifted his hand towards the blond man that was seated on the other side of Sasuke's hospital bed. "Inoichi here will aid you in your recovery- from what we can tell, you should be able to remember common names and faces, as it is only your family that your mind is actively attempting to seal away. The rest of your amnesia is simply a by-product of this mass repression."
Sasuke blinked lethargically. "Uh, that sounds good, I guess? Just, don't worry too much about me remembering my family- I'm sure they were very nice, loving people," (the old man's face did an odd twitch at that), "but it's not like it matters that much anymore, right? They're all dead. Remembering the people I'll never be able to see again will just make me sad. It's not like forgetting about them will kill me, after all."
Things were awkwardly quiet for a moment. Sasuke tightly closed his eyes, suddenly realizing that on top of all the dead people, there were even more problems at hand.
"Sasuke," the blond guy- Inoichi- spoke up with moderate urgency, "that's not necessarily the case- Uchiha Itachi's still on the loose, and-"
"Who the heck is Uchiha Itachi?" Sasuke interrupted.
A terrible, looming silence descended, much worse than the first. It was the kind that Sasuke instinctively knew translated to oh shit.
The old man cringed, and after letting out a sigh, shared a commiserating, and somewhat panicked, look with the blond guy (Inoichi, Sasuke reminded himself again), who had stiffened in his chair at Sasuke's final words. In response to the old man's gaze, Inoichi just gave a 'fuck if I know shrug', and leaned back in his chair. The old man didn't seem very happy with that, but he turned back to Sasuke nonetheless with a rather pinched expression.
"Ah, you see, Sasuke, one family member of yours actually still lives…"
And that's when Sasuke learned about Uchiha Itachi, the ultimate psycho that had accidently botched his evil mission to kill all the other Uchiha, and was probably going to return someday to finish the job. The guy was probably too OCD to be able to live life, knowing he had been not quite badass-enough to succeed in killing some random eight year old with AB positive blood, and had instead only horrifically traumatized Sasuke instead by accidently leaving him behind like some dirty shirt at the scene of Konoha's most horrific massacre to date. Yeah, things couldn't get much worse…
Wait, what do you mean his brother?!
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A/N: This is a bit of a tester chapter- I may or may not continue it, depending on feedback, but if I don't I'll publish whatever else I have and put it up for adoption. In addition to this story, more tester chapters for other possible stories will be coming, so keep an eye out for 'Not The Team Seven You're Looking For' and 'Trials, Tribulations, and Failings of a Dictator'. Hope you enjoyed it! :)