A/N: As promised, this story will be much more cheerful and fluffy compared to Aishiteru No Jutsu! so no worries! I hope you guys will enjoy this as much as you liked Aishiteru No Jutsu! if not more!

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The moon shone brightly through the leaves, causing a mottled mixture of shadows and light to dance upon the floor way down below the canopy of the forest. A gentle wind giggled through the leaves, teasing them to bend and sway to her voice. Soft rustling gurgled as Mistress Wind passed by.

A kunai sliced through the seemingly calm forest and stabbed into an innocent tree. You could have almost seen the poor tree writhe in pain at the sudden assail.

The entire world exploded into a blur of motion. The moaning and creaking of a complaining tree erupted through the once silent night. It fell, causing a huge dust storm to sweep through the area. More blurs.

There was a small puff of smoke that exploded somewhere as a shuriken sliced by a blob of black and orange. There was a roar from another part of the forest as a flurry of needles pierced through a "lion" before it dissolved and turned back into ink.

Four blurs suddenly stopped and congregated together into one spot.

"Is everyone okay?" a voice panted as they stood back to back for protection.

Weapons of all types gleaned in the weak moonlight. There was no response except for three nodding heads.

"Good…" Sasuke shoulders slumped a bit as he deactivated his Sharingan for a second. "Hold on… I need to rest for a bit…" he closed his eyes and tightened his grip on the kunai he was holding onto.

Sai had scrolls out, waiting and ready. His wet brush was hovering above the scroll, waiting to draw in a second's notice. Sakura had her fists up and her green eyes darted about the quiet leaves that surrounded them. Naruto's breathing was quick but deep as he looked about warily.

"Go." Sasuke suddenly ordered and they all sprinted into different directions again. In a matter of seconds, random screams could be heard as many people fell and died. Blood stained the barks of nearby trees and clothing as well as face and hair.

"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!" was heard as the forest flared up with heat and light. Trees were burned and even after most of the flames died down, some still hung onto branches and leaves, clinging onto the fuel desperately. The thick smell of smoke filled lungs and made eyes sting.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" echoed through the place as black and orange suddenly multiplied through the green and burning leaves. Cheerful laughter ran through the air. It was such an inappropriate action right now. Laughing like a child…

"Choju Giga…" was whispered as several birds and lions sprung to life from a scroll. Sai watched them for a few seconds as they scouted out more enemy ninjas.

Several more trees fell as confusion began to thicken. Fire burned enemies that were too close. Those out of range of the four of them were mauled by ink animals. Many were haphazardly teased and killed by shadow clones.

Naruto and Sasuke suddenly crashed into each other. Sasuke glanced at him briefly before returning to the situation at hand, but Naruto flashed him a signature grin. He was obviously enjoying the killing spree… For some bizarre reason. Naruto never really liked the fact that a ninja had to kill, so what's up with the wacky grin?

Eh, oh well. Sasuke had bigger problems to deal with. Many of the ninjas that they were attacking had hidden themselves very well. In fact, there could very well be someone lurking right above their heads, just waiting for an opportunity to ambush them. Like right now…

The Uchiha scarcely had enough time to react when a black shadow suddenly dropped out from a branch above them and brought something down upon Naruto's head. Within that split second, Sasuke's Sharingan picked up many things. Naruto's expression which went from exhilarated to shocked. The maniacal gleam in the man's eyes as he leapt down. The slurring song of the snapping branches and leaves that were crushed. Everything.

"Chidori!" he yelled as chakra accumulated in his left hand but he still wasn't fast enough. There a sickening cracking sound as Naruto fell forward and the man who assaulted him was obliterated with his attack. The forest rang out with the shrill, shriek of Sasuke's attack. A huge, heavy hammer fell from the man's right hand and crashed through many layers of branches and leaves until it finally reached the floor and left a giant dent in the soft ground.

"Naruto!" Sasuke barely caught the boy and held him in his arms, trying not to move so much. That would only further damage him if he was hurt. He felt warm blood run between his fingers as he supported the blonde's back. Naruto's eyes were partly open but he was clearly unconscious. The Uchiha suddenly found himself trembling as he held the blonde.

Sakura had seen the attack and arrived to their spot within seconds. Sai, who was nearby, heard the ruckus and also returned to his team quickly. He had dozens of ink animals to keep enemies at bay.

Sasuke placed Naruto down on the wide branch and allowed Sakura to examine him. The lingering warmth of Naruto's blood still stained his hands. The red liquid didn't stop coming from the Naruto's wound. It spilled over the edge of the branch…

Sakura quickly took care of more critical wounds to keep the blood from flowing freely. After a few minutes of temporary healing to keep the Naruto from dying from blood loss, Sakura looked up at Sasuke and Sai.

"We have to retreat for now. I can't heal him with all the dangers around here…" Green eyes stared up with slight worry.

Sai nodded curtly. "The other teams around here will have to fend off on their own for now… This area is completely demolished anyway. There are only about five more ninjas here."

"There's a small clearing over by that way. It should be safe enough for us to stay at for the night," Sasuke pointed in the general direction of the clearing. "There's a river nearby as well."

"Then we must hurry…" Sakura said quietly. It looked bad. Naruto's skull was fractured in so many places, it was amazing that he was still alive. The two boys nodded and Sai picked up Naruto's body gingerly before they all bounded off, hoping that they would have enough time.

---

Sakura leaned over Naruto's still figure and lifted his eyelid so that she could see his eye. She peered into his own empty gaze before closing his eye again and taking up his wrist and placing two fingers along his pulse. All the while, Sai and Sasuke waited patiently while keeping watch on the area around them.

"This is bad…" Sakura's voice startled the two boys. Her hands were folded neatly in her lap as she gazed down at Naruto's bloodied face.

"What's wrong with Naruto?" Sai inquired. He was not looking at the two of them right now, but still watching their surroundings carefully. Many of his ink animals were waiting in the circumference of the area, but he still did not let his guard down.

"He's not waking up…" Sakura replied quietly. He had long ago cleaned off the blood off of his hands.

"… Is it because he lost so much blood?" Sasuke queried.

She didn't answer but only looked up at him. Her lips pressed together tightly. "We can only hope that that is the reason he isn't waking up… His pulse is fine and his eyes are still reacting to light, but he simply isn't waking up. There is no other reason… Except for that… and…" her eyes looked up away from Naruto's unconscious figure and reflected the light of the moon and her companions, the stars.

Neither of the boys ventured to ask her to continue her sentence. Sai looked back at the three of them out of the corner of his eyes before continuing his duty. Sasuke's gaze fell upon a small patch of grass next to him.

The pink haired kunoichi shook her head slowly. "Either way, we have to go back to Konoha. Naruto is in no condition to fight. And we're all worn out as well." And she was right. Sasuke's eyes were bloodshot, Sai's hand was cramped and bleeding, Sakura's hands were red and raw.

"We'll go back tomorrow morning then…" Sasuke said quietly. "We should set up camp. Sai, it's okay. I think you've worked enough for now. Rest for a bit. Sakura, you too."

Sai smiled gratefully and began to take out his sleeping bag. Sakura hesitated a bit before doing the same. Only Sasuke sat with a kunai in his hand, waiting and watching.

After a half an hour of listening and watching the stillness around them, Sasuke relocated himself so that he was next to Naruto. He let his guard down for a moment and looked at his face.

It's been such a long time since I've seen his face closeup…He thought to himself as he touched his blood painted face.

Sasuke's eyes closed halfway as a strange blossoming feeling fluttered from his chest and flooded throughout his body. He placed his free hand over his sternum and felt his heartbeat speed up.

He stood up and walked away from Naruto. He realized. He was scared.

---

Konoha Hospital. Room 17. Two boys. Outside. Outside of Room 17. Waiting. Quietly. Silently. Frightened. Waiting.

Both of them came back to life from their frozen stances when the door slid open and two women walked out. One was Tsunade. The other was Sakura. They didn't appear very joyous. Tsunade looked at the two of them before turning around again and sliding the door close.

"It's… not good news…" Sakura reported, looking at them nervously. She bit her lower lip and held her hands in front of her, rubbing her fingers together. Sai and Sasuke both stiffened when they heard that.

"But he's awake," Tsunade added on, as if that would make the bad news go away. Her clear eyes drilled into their own. Still hands fell to her sides, slightly clenched. "He… He's lucky to be alive, actually. He lost so much blood, but he's fine…" The Hokage hesitated and looked over at Sakura.

The pink haired girl sighed heavily and looked at the floor in front of the two boys. "We've healed all his physical injuries, so he's in no immediate harm… However," the word hung in the air like a deathly premonition, "he has amnesia…"

Was this a joke? The lamest, not funniest joke ever?

"He has the mental capacity of a seven year old. And apparently, that's all that he can remember up to now," Tsunade picked up Sakura's unfinished report.

Because the two of them weren't laughing. This wasn't funny.

"… We're not sure when or if he'll ever remember again though…" Green eyes clouded over.

Not funny at all.

"As far as we're concerned, he is acting like a seven year old now. Everything up to his first seven years of life, he can remember. Anything beyond that…" the Hokage trailed off.

All four of them turned around and looked at the door when they heard it slide open again. Naruto's blue, innocent eyes peered from behind it. He was slightly hunched over, sneaking a glance at all of them. He held the door open tentatively.

"Naruto, what are you doing?" Sakura asked gently, her voice immediately growing softer and her expression becoming gentler. "You should be resting inside." She took his hand when he went over and tried to hide behind her, failing miserably seeing that he was talker than her.

"Sakura-nee-chan… It's too quiet in there… Naruto wants to go outside and play! Naruto is all good now..." He pouted a bit with his lower lip sticking out. He was completely oblivious to the two boys who were staring at him incredulously.

The sixteen year old boy's speech pattern was peculiar. Only small children would talk in third person like that. It was done to show respect and politeness. But… He's not young….

Tsunade shook her head slightly. "You can't play yet Naruto. You'll have to rest a bit before you can do that! You got hurt, so you have to let your body recover, right?" She mustered up a small smile for him.

Naruto put his index finger into his mouth and started to nibble on it slightly, his head bowed in slight shame as he was lectured. After a moment, he lifted his head. Cerulean eyes blinked back at her innocently behind Sakura's shoulder.

Sasuke laughed dryly. It was the only sound that echoed through the silent hallways. "You guys have the strangest sense of humor, Sakura…" he tilted his head slightly and looked at Sakura in the eye, trying to see if she was hiding her smile. She wasn't.

Sai stood there, dumbfounded. His mouth was slightly parted, but no words came from them. His dark eyes darted from person to person, trying to pick up subtle expressions that could tip it off. There weren't any.

Finally, he discovered that Tsunade and Sakura weren't the only ones in the hallway. He glanced at Sasuke and Sai. His eyes held no strand of recognition for the two boys. He examined them for a long time before he stepped out from behind Sakura's back. His hair fell into his face as he looked at them with a lopsided grin.

"Nii-san! What are your names?"

This was the worst joke. Ever.

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A/N: Yes, young children (as far as I know, in Chinese and Japanese) do actually speak in third person to show respect and politeness for elders. I do. I'm still young. I'm younger than you think I am. Yeah, scary, isn't it? Scaaaarrryyyy! XD