Story: Memories don't fade

Author: zoikoiroi

Rate: M

Summary: Six childhood friends meet again after ten years in the little village where they grew up together. An old friend was killed and they have to solve the mystery before it is too late. Can they be friends again?

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

1. REUNION

Once upon a time in the island of Japan, away from the sea and surrounded by mountains, laid the little village of Konoha. Not many people chose to live there, because it was very far away from the big cities and the sea, so the population was around 300 people. They all knew and love each other and they co-worked to make their village survive. Most of them were farmers and some of them owned little shops and such things.

For most of the people outside the village it was a mystery why they wanted to live in Konoha, but some of them understood the beauty of the natural environment and loved the nice people, so they decided to leave the big cities and create a new home in that little paradise. But this was rare, not many people visited Konoha anyway.

It was normal that in so little village there were only a few children. A school existed, but it stayed empty most of the time. When a child was born, the teacher was trying to create a class from children around the same age and sometimes children three years older were in the same class. Despite the difficulties the system worked fine.

At 1998 such a class graduated from Konoha High School and made a promise, meet again there after college and never leave Konoha again. But at 15th June, the night of their prom, they left the village and never came back or meet with each other again.

It became a new story of the village, and grannies told it to the children at winter nights, in front of the fireplace.

Because that class was never forgotten. They were seven people and they could drive the whole village crazy. Stories of their adventures still made the villagers laugh after all these years. How they painted the town hall with graffiti the night before the president visited. The night that they let all the cows free and they got in the houses. How they managed to catch the bull. Their tree house at the forest. The swimming contest in the falls every spring. How they stole a track, drove drunk and broke the door of the bank with it. Their songs at midnight that woke the whole village up.

Everyone was pissed at them and everyone loved them. Their life became much more boring after they left.

No one knew the reason why they left. Even their parents were curious and asked, but they never took a good answer. Only one of them stayed at the village and the others never visited him or called. And as the years passed they stopped asking.

Friends are like stars.

You don't see them all the time,

but you know that they are always here for you…

Hyuuga Hinata was pissed. She hadn't been in this stupid street for years and it was still the same. Couldn't they build a normal road in this old village?

Her white pencil skirt and matching jacket were now brown from the dirt and she couldn't walk steadily with her heels in these little rocks. At least her house was close enough.

People didn't recognize her. Actually this was her purpose, when she wore the shades and her huge hat. If god loved her, she would have left before anyone saw her and started to ask questions.

She made it to her house and opened the front door to enter the garden. She stayed for a while and observed her mother's flowers. Hinata used to spend a lot of time in that garden when she was a kid and it brought up memories from the past, when she and her cousin played soccer and destroyed the plants. She sighed and moved her feet to the house. She hadn't been there in years and yet it was the exact same as she remembered it, big and white and beautiful. It was an oasis if you compared it to her apartment in the city.

The door was unlocked as always and she smiled as she entered the living room, leaving her luggage in the hall and then she followed the delicious smell of her mother's cooking to the kitchen.

The first thing she saw was the figure of her father, sitting in the kitchen table with his newspaper in front of him and drinking his after lunch coffee. Her mother was washing the dishes and Hinata was eleven again, coming from school, covered in dirt and sweat.

She almost waited for her father to yell at her for being late for lunch.

The only different thing was her chair that wasn't empty, but her little sister sat there talking about what happened at school.

"Hinata!"

Father left the newspaper, Hanabi stopped talking and mother left the dishes and rushed to hug her with wet hands. And they all smiled.

Hinata kissed all of them and sat down feeling awkward and unaware of what to say.

"You have said so many times that you would come and you didn't! I was almost sure that you would find an excuse again." Her father didn't want to show how much happy he was. "What's the reason for your sudden visit?"

"Hiashi, she will think that we don't want her here." Her mother was emotional and Hinata could see that her eyes were wet. "You will stay at for a while, right baby?"

"How is Tokyo? Did you bring me anything?" Hanabi had never seen her in the village, only at the city and she was very curious.

Yes, that felt like family. Being interrogated and asked questions that you don't want to answer. But she had to.

"I took a few days off from work and I wanted to rest somewhere peaceful. I will stay for week or so. Hanabi, your presents are in my suitcase. Any more questions?"

"Did anything happen at work?" her father was always seeing right through her since she was a little girl "Are you in trouble?"

"What? No!" Hinata prayed that he couldn't understand that she was lying.

"Don't tell me that you guys have a reunion!" her mother's words made her feel slightly worried despite her excitement.

"What do you mean, mum?" Please don't tell me that they are here, too.

"Hizashi told me that they expect Neji these days and Sakura is here, too. Isn't that amazing?"

"Yeah." I hate coincidences.

Try as much as you want.

You will never forget me

I am part of you…

Hinata was a lawyer in Tokio and she made a lot of money, so she lived in a comfortable apartment in the city and dressed very classy and expansive. So she carried three huge suitcases with her that didn't fit in her little old room. That room was small and dusty and showed her how her personality was back then, nice, romantic, innocent, stupid.

It was what was left from her former life. In her desk she saw old pictures from her friends and her favorite places, the lake, the falls, the gardens, the tree house. She opened the drawer and threw them all inside. Then she noticed a letter on her desk and took it with shaky hands. There was no address or name so she concluded that it was left in her desk directly. She opened it with shaky hands and sat on the bed to read it.

Hinata,

If you are back, please help me.

Shikamaru.

Shikamaru? What was that? What happened to Shikamaru and he needed help? She decided to go ask her mother if she knew where he was and when he entered her house last time.

She found her mother in the garden, watering the flowers.

"Mum?"

"Yes, baby?"

"You said that Sakura is here, right?"

"Yes, I saw her!"

"What about the others?"

"Oh, I don't know much. I told you that Neji is coming back this week, but the others are not here."

"Do you know anything about their lifes?"

"Oh, Sasuke got married!"

"Really? I can't believe it!"

"Yes and I think that he has a child, too."

"Don't tell me!"

"And I guess that Naruto is coming these days, too, because his sister is getting married!"

"…"

"I don't know anything else."

"…Have you heard anything about Shikamaru?"

"Oh, baby, you don't know it!"

"What happened?"

"Shikamaru is dead."

"What? How?"

"After his parents died, he left the village. Some said that he disappeared and he was hiding. And some months ago he was found dead in the lake. The police said that he committed suicide."

"No way."

"We went to the funeral. It was very sad."

"Why didn't you tell me anything? I should be there."

"You didn't want to come back and see them again, Hinata. This was for your own good."

"I will take a walk."

Hinata left the house without her cover and she didn't care if someone recognized her anymore. She started to walk in the streets and without planning it, she reached Shikamaru's old house.

It was noon and everyone was in their houses, so she sneaked in the house. The door was unlocked and she remembered that Shikamaru's room was upstairs so she climbed the stairs. His room was dusty, but it was obvious that someone had been there and searched over the place. Hinata started to look, too, but nothing suspicious was there.

She was ready to leave when an idea came to her mind. She remembered that there was a hole in the closet, where Shikamaru used to put his porn magazines and other stuff that he didn't want his hysterical mother to find. She opened the closet and took some woods out of their place to reveal the dark hole.

There was nothing suspicious in there, but Hinata spotted a little box with two wedding rings in there. Was Shikamaru married?

She left the house with the box in her pocket. This was too much for her and she needed some fresh air. She ended up out of the village, in the forest and she took the very familiar road to the lake. It was a mystery how that place hadn't change through the years. She saw the lake and was ready to get closer, when she saw a very familiar person lying in the shade of the trees.

She hadn't seen her for years, but this significant pink hair couldn't belong to another person, except from her beloved old friend.

Sakura heard her walking and stood up. Her mouth opened wide as she recognized her and they looked at each other for a while in an awkward silence.

Hinata looked different; Sakura thought. Her hair was longer and she was taller, but it was her face that confused her. She looked tough and determined, not shy and embarrassed as she used to be. She had grown up.

Hinata couldn't believe how beautiful Sakura looked. She was a lot taller than her and terribly skinny, her naked legs looked amazing. Her clothes were expensive and well matched and her make up was at least professional. She looked like a model.

Hinata approached her and gave her hand. They shaked hands in silence and sat beside the lake. The place sure brought back happy but painful memories and they didn't know what to say to each other for a while. At last Sakura found a little courage and started a typical conversation that matched perfectly two strangers and not two girls that were practically sisters.

"I didn't expect to see you here, Hinata. How have you been?"

"Oh, I'm doing well." What are you talking about? "And you?"

"Fine." And they stopped talking after that meaningful conversation. Sakura was about to excuse herself and leave running, but Hinata thought about Shikamaru and his letter and decided to speak clearly.

"Sakura, have you heard about Shikamaru?"

Sakura's eyes moved to look at the lake and her mouth turned into a strict line. "Yes, mum told me." It was too hard for her that she didn't get to meet him again one last time before his death.

"I learned it today and I found a letter of him in my desk that looked weird." Hinata opened her bag and took the letter out and passed it to Sakura.

Sakura opened it and red it some times before looking back to Hinata. Her face was worried and it was obvious that she was thinking about the facts and how they have changed.

"Hinata, do you know what this is? Sasuke's father told me that in the beginning he thought that it was a crime, because there were evidence that there was another man with him, but they decided that it was suicide due to the lack of clues!"

"Really?" Sasuke's father was the police officer and a really clever man. If he had doubts, something was not right. Hinata started to feel frightened as well.

"And now you find that letter" Sakura continued "that proves that Shikamaru was in trouble!"

Hinata suddenly remembered something. "Oh, and I went to his house before I came here! Someone had searched the place recently, but they didn't found the hole in his closet. There I found this!" She took the box with the rings out and gave it to Sakura.

Sakura opened it and took the rings out. "Shikamaru was married?" She looked at them and then to the box. "Hinata, these are too expensive! How the hell could Shikamaru afford them? He had no job!"

"Sakura, wait! Do they have names on them?" Sakura looked carefully.

"Yes! This one sais…Shikamaru, and that one sais…Te-ma-ri…"

Hinata stood up and started to walk up and down. "Temari? From what I know that name doesn't exist in our village. Who is she and why doesn't anyone know that he was married?"

"Hinata, what are we going to do?"

"Wait. Neji will come this week and we will tell him everything. He will figure it out."

"And…"

"What?"

"Naruto is coming tomorrow." Sakura looked carefully at Hinata's face as she said that, but her expression didn't change at all. Looked like Hinata had became a lot tougher after all. "Hinata…"

"Yes?"

"That doesn't mean that we are back together."

"No. I hadn't forget."

And with these cold words they turned their backs to each other and left.

You broke my heart.

How can I can I let you heal it?

You are going to hurt it again.

The road was as bad as he remembered it. How could people drive on these rocks everyday? Thankfully the baby was still asleep and he didn't have to hear to her screams. It was his kid, he loved it, but he couldn't bear her crying anymore. It wasn't like he didn't expected it. Babies are supposed to be raised by their mother and his wife –ex-wife he had to remind to himself- was not the mother type. He was tired of the immature and stupid women he always fell for.

At least he had his mother. She would help him raise his daughter and relieve some of his stress. But he had to exchange the help with his life. His mother wouldn't leave the village and he couldn't abandon the child alone to his parents, so he had to quit his well paid job and leave the city to return to this forgotten from God place.

And he couldn't feel any worst about this. This was the nightmare of his college years. At least none of the gang would be there; he knew from his mother that they never visited.

He looked to his daughter from the mirror and felt happy for the little creature. Even if he didn't want to admit it, it was a blessing to grow up in this place. The city could be scary and dangerous for little children, but Konoha was safe and happy and beautiful. And you have people who really love you here.

Even he, Uchiha Sasuke, the coldest and rudest person alive, had real friends here. He would never say it loud, but he missed them despite the awful way they split up. And the fact that he didn't want to see them again in his whole life. It was over.

It was shock to hear about Shikamaru. His father told him to come to the funeral, but Karin was pregnant and he couldn't. Deep inside him he felt guilty that he hadn't seen him since High school. He was the only one that didn't do anything wrong and yet they all left him alone here. Poor guy…

He saw the falls and he knew that he would be home within five minutes, but he didn't know if it was a good or a bad thing.

I won't say I love you

I won't say I missed you

You have to figure it out by yourself…

"I will be there tomorrow morning!"

"You mean you will drive at night? This is dangerous and I can't allow it. You may crash to a wall or a tree or another car…"

"Then let me come next week!"

"Naruto, you can't miss the rehearsal. You are supposed to deliver your sister to the church and help with the arrangements and…"

"Then I'll be there tomorrow."

"You won't believe who I saw here today!"

"The ghost of your grandfather that comes frequently to warn you."

"No, I hadn't see him recently. I saw Hinata!"

"Who?"

"Hinata! She was walking to her house. Isn't that amazing?"

"Mum, I have to go, bye!

"Na… beep."

Hinata?

That was unexpectable. Hinata hadn't been to Konoha since High school and now she was there? Naruto fought the urge to stop the car and return to the city. He couldn't miss his sister's wedding.

But he definitely didn't want to see Hinata again. She would still be mad and offended. What if she told the whole village that he…? That would be a disaster! Hinata used to be so in love with him and he did something so awful… The only thing that could be worst was to see Sasuke as well.

At least he would stay only for a week and then he would be in the city again, away from them and safe. It was a piece of cake, right?

Dear God, please, let me spend a quiet week with my family and without them. What can I do to leave my past behind and forget?

Every time I look at the stars I remember

your eyes

that I will never see again.

Neji got out of his new BMW that he bought last month and looked at his old house. His father was a famous architect and had done a really good job building this little palace for his beloved wife. Neji had seen houses of the richest people in Japan and none of them was half as beautiful as this.

The truth was that it matched perfectly the natural environment of the village and the beauty of the mountains. Not many things had changed in Konoha, this place was untouched by the time.

He moved to the house and knocked the door. His mother opened it and suddenly her glasses fell from her hands.

"Oh, my God, Neji!" his mother rushed and hugged him making it hard for him to breath "Baby, I waited so long for this moment! Come on in… Hizashi!"

"Come on, mother…" he left his luggage in the hall and sat in his favorite armchair that was still the most comfortable "You saw me at Christmas and I was fine."

His father appeared in the door and looked at his only son with pride. He was strong and smart and he worked hard to succeed.

"We saw you at Tokyo, not in home!" his mother screamed out of excitement "you hadn't been home since High school."

"That's right and I came here for a serious reason. Please sit down." His mother and father sat down at the sofa and looked at him with worried eyes. He had probably scared them. "I will get married."

"What?" His mother gasped and his father's eyes opened wide. They didn't even know if he had a boyfriend and now he was announcing that he was getting married? "To whom?"

"I'm dating someone for the past few months and I want to marry her." Now they looked even more worried. It was his calm and apathetic face that made them worry. It was as if he was announcing that signed a deal or something.

"Who is she?"

"Her name is Ino and her father is one of the richest and most powerful men in Japan. He wants to make me president. And she looks like a doll. You will love her." He was desperately trying to persuade them that this was a good future for him, but they had a different opinion. "She will come here next week, so she can meet you."

"But I thought…" his mother looked ready to cry "…Never mind."

"What never mind?"

"I thought that you were going to end up with …her." His mother's eyes lightened up and his father nodded in approval. Neji didn't need any explanation; he knew exactly who his mother was referring to.

"Come on, mum! I'm not going to end up with my high school girlfriend." He didn't want to remember that. "And you hated her. You used to say that she was crazy!"

"Actually, I loved her." And you loved her, too. You were not going to marry her because of her money. "I'm going to ready your room for the girl."

And she left without looking back. Neji watched carefully his father who looked skeptical. At last he looked at him and smiled.

"I hope that you know what you are doing, Neji."

"I know."

"Oh, I forgot. Hinata is here and she asked to see you. She said it was something serious. Did you two meet in Tokyo?"

"Sometimes."

Neji stood up and left the house. The truth was that he hadn't seen his beloved cousin in years. It wasn't her fault, she just brought back painful memories. Her house was right next to his and he didn't even have to enter. Hinata was at the garden, sitting at the shade and reading a book.

"Hey!"

She raised her eyes and looked at his, that were very similar and her mouth opened at first. It was a big surprise. He sat next to her and tried not to look much at her.

"You wanted to see me?"

Hinata found it hard to talk. It had been so much time and she wasn't comfortable with the situation. Neji had always been very strict to her and she was still upset from her meeting with Sakura the day before.

"I came here yesterday and I found this on my desk." She gave him Shikamaru's letter. "Do you know what happened to Shikamaru?"

Of course he knew. His father informed him quickly, but he hadn't really thought about it. He was trying not to think that if they hadn't leave Konoha, Shikamaru would have never committed suicide.

Neji took the letter and red it. Suddenly he stood up and started to walk with the letter still in his hand.

"Hinata, do you know what that means? He sneaked in your room to leave this, he was probably in danger!" And we couldn't help. We didn't even know.

"Neji, Sasuke's father suspected that this was a murder at first, but he couldn't prove it. And someone searched his house after his death."

"What? How do you know?'

"I went there and I found two wedding rings. He was married."

Neji sat down next to her again and took her hands in his to comfort her. "To whom?"

"Someone named Temari."

"Temari? I don't know anyone with that name. But Shikamaru was clever. If he left you this, there would be more clues hidden. We have to search. Let's call everyone back!"

Hinata looked at him hesitantly and tried to stay calm as she talked. "Sakura is here. And Naruto is on the way."

Neji licked his lips and continued. "We have to call everyone. I will find Sasuke and you find …her. We all have to look at our houses."

"Ok."

I don't know which is worst,

breaking up or

coming back together…

Sakura decided to take a walk around the village and think about what have happened. The letter that Hinata found was their first clue and there would probably be more of them hidden. Their houses were the first places that they had to search. Her place was clear, but the others hadn't looked yet.

Could she do it? If Hinata could sneak in a dead man's house, then she could definitely get in her old friends' rooms with their parents permission. But not Sasuke's. And not Naruto's. And not Neji's. And there was only one place left. She decided that it was now or never and she started running.

As she approached the place, loud music could be heard from a mile away and the whole neighborhood was shaking. Sakura gasped and a smile appeared in her face. She was there, too! Then… Everyone was there, everyone had returned except Sasuke! Neji would have said that fate brought them back together and Sakura was more than eager to believe him now. But…

They were no friends anymore. If Neji knew that she was there, he would leave and she couldn't think anything more awkward that Hinata meeting Naruto and herself all todether. She shook her head. This was about Shikamaru.

She knocked the house door and waited. A woman opened the door and looked out. As she saw Sakura, her face brightened up and she started screaming.

"Oh, my God! Sakura, dear child, this is you! I can't believe it! It has been years. Thank God you came to save me from my insane daughter!"

"It's nice to see you again." Diplomatic smile and sweet hug. "Is Tenten her?"

"Yes, dear! Follow the noise."

Tenten's mother was not from Konoha. Her father met her in one of his journeys and took her back with him. They were both crazy and adventurous, but their daughter was too much, even for them. From what Sakura knew, after college she just travelled around the world.

The music was horrible and it seemed to Sakura like screams from a hospital. She knocked Tenten's door, but there was no answer, so she just rushed in. Tenten opened her eyes and saw her with surprise and curiosity.

Sakura couldn't believe that a person could be so unchanged after twelve years. Tenten was still a child. Her hair were in two ridiculous buns on her head that weirdly matched her, her face was make-up free and her clothes were old. She wore a loose grey T-shirt and a jean shorts that used to be pants, but she had cut them. Her shoes were sneakers and she had a lot of earrings in her ears.

"Sakura?" Tenten found her voice again and started to feek awkward. "What are you doing here?"

Sakura was amazed. Tenten and she used to always fight because they were so different from each other, but they loved each other and were a good team. But now she realized that if she met a person like Tenten now, she would make fun of her clothes and attitude. Haruno Sakura used to be a famous model after all.

"Why are you here?"

Tenten laughed and played with her hair out of nervousness "My great-grandfather died yesterday and I am here for the funeral."

Sakura sat at the edge of Tenten's bed and smiled apologetically "I'm sorry."

"Don't be" Tenten was as cynical as ever "He was like a hundred and ten years old. Why are you here?"

Sakura didn't want this to be heard in the village, but she couldn't lie to Tenten. "I ran out of money and I live here for now." Sakura took a big breath and continued. "I used to be a model, but now I'm too old and made… several mistakes with my money."

"And it's not like you know to do anything else." Tenten was as hard as ever with her and the truth was that Sakura had missed it. And she had to answer.

"You are not one to judge!" Sakura threw an empty can of beer to her. "How do you earn your money?"

"I don't. I am making clothes of a rock band and I get to tour with them." She made it sound like it was completely normal. "I travel around the world with them."

"Sounds like you."

"And why did you come to find me?"

"I'm organizing a reunion."

That was my first chapter. It is not very good, but the others are going to be better. You will take a lot of action.

They will try to solve the mystery of Shikamaru's death and you will find out why they fought and left Konoha.

I'm sorry I killed Shikamaru, but I had to kill someone…

If you liked it, you can push the button right here! And please tell me some ideas for the plot.

zoikoiroi