When your loved ones were hospitalized because of illness or injury, it was your job to be by their side 24/7, as often as you could be, and as long as you needed to be. It was your face they longed to see when they first woke up, be it after surgery, or first thing in the morning. It was your touch that they longed for in times of fear, in times of uncertainty, and in times of pain.
"Mr. Hoshigaki?"
Kisame jumped at the sound of his name and glanced up to meet the compassionate eyes of Itachi's nurse. "Yes?"
She gestured at the space next to him on the bench outside Itachi's room. "Mind if I sit?"
"No, not at all." Kisame said, moving aside to give her space to sit down. "Do you know what's wrong with him?"
The nurse pursed her lips together as she scanned the documents on her clipboard. "Itachi appears to be suffering from retrograde amnesia meaning his ability to learn and recall new information is intact, although his ability to remember information before the accident is not." She said. "Judging by his recollections, I'd say that he lacks the ability to remember a significant portion of the past four years of his life."
At this, Kisame's heart missed a beat. He'd only known Itachi for three years now. If Itachi couldn't remember the last four years of his life, that meant that he most likely didn't remember ever meeting Kisame, confirming his worst fear.
"It would see that his memory starts to fade during his last year of college…" the nurse continued scanning her notes, "According to his medical history, he was involved in an accident when he was twenty-one years old that appeared to yield no injuries, but now that's he suffering from an unusual onset of amnesia,"
"Unusual how?" Kisame asked.
The nurse licked her lips and crossed her legs to better face Kisame as she spoke. "Vehicle and motor accidents do not usually cause retrograde amnesia. Failing to recall events that happened shortly before the incident is normal; he will most likely never regain his memory of the accident itself."
Kisame gave a sigh of relief. That meant that there was still hope, right? "But he will regain his memories of the past four years right?" He asked. "Eventually, he'll remember who I am?"
The way she raised her eyebrows and sighed was not a good sign. "It's hard to say, Mr. Hoshigaki. As of right now, there is no cure for amnesia."
Kisame felt like throwing up.
"He may regain his memory tomorrow. Or within a few days. Or weeks. Or months. Or years. He may never regain the memories that were lost."
"Why is that?"
"The brain is a very delicate and very complex organ that's protected by spinal fluid. The spinal fluid acts as a cushion, so to speak, so that the brain doesn't crash into the skull. In some cases, such as vehicle and motor incidents, the brain does crash into the skull, causing loss of brain cells, the severing of neurons – which are involved in sending messages to and from the brain – and in some cases, damaging the hippocampus which codes memories into short and long term. He may regain his memories; he may not. It's all a matter of time." She explained.
Kisame nodded along, still processing what all she'd told him, and made a mental note to do some research on concussions and amnesia when he got the chance.
"In the meantime," she continued, "we'll monitor him for a few more days to ensure that no further damage has been done."
Kisame nodded and looked up to meet her eyes directly. "Is there anything that I can do for him?"
She stared into his eyes for a moment before briefly checking her clipboard. "From what I understand, the two of you live together, correct?"
"Yes. I moved in with him almost six months ago."
"I see. He can take generic pain medication to manage his headaches; his cuts and bruises will heal in a couple of weeks. If he complains of any soreness or tenderness, have him apply an ice pack for ten to twenty minutes at a time."
"But as far as his amnesia…?" He asked, uncertain if he wanted to hear the answer or not. He knew though, that finding the answers to as many questions as he could think of would greatly help him take care of Itachi once he was discharged.
"Unfortunately, there's not much you can do for him there. I recommend that you encourage him to rest as much as possible, get a good night's sleep each evening, and ease his workload. He shouldn't do anything physically demanding, or spend much time in front of the computer, and should probably talk to his employer about working shorter days until he recovers." She said.
Kisame cringed. Since Itachi's promotion at work, he rarely spend any time with Kisame. Asking him to take it easy on any given day would be difficult, if not impossible, but in his current state…. "But with his amnesia," Kisame started, "he just got a promotion at work that doesn't allow him much free time…and he definitely started within the past four years so how…?"
"Seeing as his memories start to fade during his final year of college, I'd encourage you to find the number of his employer or a co-worker and explain the situation as best as you can to them. I can't say when he'll be able to return to work though; he'll have to come in for periodic check-ups so we can monitor his progress. Until then, I recommend that he take time to rest at home."
"Okay." Kisame sigh with a heavy sigh. He had a long road ahead of him, that was for sure. "Should I take time off to take care of him?"
"If you can afford to take time away from work, then yes, that would be very helpful." She said, nodding vigorously. "He's going to need as much support from his family and friends during this stressful time in his life. Being around his loved ones will provide a place where he feels most comfortable.
At the mention of "family," Kisame realize that he'd only scraped the surface of his troubles. Not did he have to find a way to get Itachi to remember who he was, but he'd have to call his employer and explain Itachi's amnesia to him/her (heck, he didn't even know the gender of Itachi's boss), and on top of that, explain all of this to Itachi's family…
He was roused from his thoughts when the nurse laid a hand on his shoulder. "I'm going to go talk to him about this now, alright?" She asked.
Kisame nodded, too engrossed in his thoughts to properly answer her.
The nurse nodded and rose to her feet to break the news to Itachi and answer any questions he may have had for her.
In the meantime, Kisame tried to think of ways in which he wouldn't have to talk to Itachi's family about all this. Who did he call? Itachi's father was angry with him for leading Sasuke down the wrong path, so Kisame calling him up to say "hi, this is your son's boyfriend, though he can't remember who I am because he has a rare form of amnesia. Why does he have amnesia? Because we got into a fight and he drove off and got into a car accident on his way to sort out your issues with Sasuke." Yeah. That would go down well.
Would he be able to call Sasuke? He laughed at the thought, remembering how Itachi himself couldn't get a hold of Sasuke. Even if Kisame managed to talk with him, he felt that Sasuke would be too engross in his own affairs to give any consideration to his older brother's health to do anything about it.
And then there was Itachi's mother, but based on what Kisame knew of her, the minute Itachi called, she'd call her husband over and it would be the same as if Kisame had called Fugaku Uchiha himself.
With that, Kisame came do a decision and rose to his feet to meet the nurse by Itachi's bedside.
"During this time of healing, you're going to need support from your family and friends to help cope with some of the challenges you'll be facing in the coming days." The nurse was saying.
Shoot. I didn't think she'd get so far this quickly. Kisame thought to himself.
"Thank you." Itachi said with a small nod.
The nurse smiled in response, clearly pained by the fact that someone as young as Itachi couldn't remember some of the most important years of his life. "Listen, I'm going to leave you with Mr. Hoshigaki here so that the both of you can sort out what you need to do in the next few weeks, okay?"
Itachi nodded once more.
Kisame waited for her to vacate her seat so that he himself could sit down next to Itachi. "So," he said, "I was thinking about taking a week off from work once you get out of here." He smiled. "How's that sound?"
Itachi stared at him in the same way that a little kid stared at their parent's friends.
Kisame smiled and reached out to gently clasp Itachi's hand. "I promise, we'll get through this together…okay?"
"About that." He said quietly, pulling his hand away.
Although it hurt to have Itachi away from him, it didn't stop him from patiently waited to hear what his boyfriend had to say next.
"I trust that you're who you say you are," he started, "but I think that it would be best if I stayed with my parents once I'm discharged."
Of all the things he could've said…Kisame thought to himself bitterly. "I don't think that's such a great idea 'Ta."
"Why not?" He asked.
Kisame sighed and looked in the direction of the window. The blinds were open and it was a beautiful day outside, but the only view was that of the scaffolding used for the construction being done on the hospital roof.
The same applied to Itachi's current state. His eyes were open, but his amnesia prevented him from realizing the life he'd created for himself in the past four years. And if the circumstances, just like Itachi's hospital room, were different, maybe he could enjoy the view instead of being stuck inside his room all day.
"Let's just say that they're not on good terms with one another right now." Kisame finally said. "I think that it would be best if you just came back home. With me, 'Ta."
Itachi's brows drew together in confusion. "Why? What's going on?"
Kisame could see it now. He'd tell Itachi about his family's issues. Itachi would feel compelled the fix them, and since he wasn't allowed to drive, he'd try to convince Kisame to drive him to his parent's house, and Kisame would feel obligated to do so, which would lead to an awkward introduction with Itachi's already tense parents, and would screw up any chance of Itachi remembering who Kisame was and before he knew it, their relationship would be over.
Itachi already didn't trust Kisame. But if he lied, where would that get him?
"Well…" Kisame said, "Sasuke wants to drop out of college."
Itachi's eyes widened and he opened his mouth to speak but Kisame cut him off before he could continue.
"Apparently he decided that he wanted to become a cop or something." He explained, realizing that he wasn't as up to date on Itachi's family life as he probably should have been. Nevertheless, he continued on. "Your father's mad at him, and apparently the man's mad at you because he thinks that you're the one who gave him the idea. And your mother, well, she's kinda in the middle."
"When did this happen?" Itachi asked him.
"On Friday." Kisame supplied. When Itachi gave him a blank stare, he elaborated. "Today's Sunday, 'Ta. So two days ago, I guess. Your dad called you on your way home from work to yell at you about it, so I'm guessing that's when you found out."
"You're guessing?" Itachi asked quizzically. "You don't know? I thought you said you were my boyfriend, how can you not know what's going on in my family?"
It was only a matter of time, Kisame knew, before Itachi zeroed him out for his uselessness. "You never wanted to talk about them, and I never asked. Besides, I've never met the people before."
As if it wasn't bad enough that Itachi didn't trust who Kisame said he was before, he certainly didn't trust Kisame now judging by the glare he was receiving.
"Itachi," Kisame said, capturing the younger man's attention, "I know it sounds bad, but I was just giving you your space."
"I need to see them." Itachi whispered.
"'Ta, I don't think that's such a good idea. What with your amnesia and all, I think that it'd be best if you—"
"Kisame," Itachi said, cutting him off, "they're the closest people I know that I still remember. Whether they're fighting or not, they're still my family."
Kisame brought his hands down on his lap in a fit of frustration, creating a loud "clap" against his thighs. "Great. So what does that make me? Chopped liver?"
"I'm sorry." He said, averting his gaze, unwilling to make eye contact with Kisame.
When your loved ones were hospitalized because of illness or injury, it was your job to be by their side 24/7, as often as you could be, and as long as you needed to be when their family was too absorbed in their own matters to visit themselves.
But what did you do when it was not your face your love one longed to see when their first woke up in the morning and instead, the angry faces of people who weren't very pleased with one another at the moment?
And what could you do when your touch caused them to draw back in shock because to them, you're just a stranger? And that deep down, you know that a gentle touch is enough to make them feel safe and secure along with the words "everything's gonna be fine so long as I'm here to help you through it" ?
These were the questions Kisame found himself struggling to find the answer to as he and Itachi sat in silence, staring anywhere but at the other person.
Author's note: Yes, this is your typical, run of the mill amnesia story, and yes, I'm aware, it resembles a popular novel/movie but I'd like to point out why it's worth the read:
1) The main characters are homosexual
2) The main characters are not only homosexual, they're homosexual Naruto characters
3) Amnesia can happen to anyone at anytime. It happens.
And another note: I'm no doctor. I did a little bit of research on amnesia, but if you or a loved one feel that you/they have amnesia, please ask a doctor or do your own research on the topic. I might have bent the rules of logic/science/medicine for the purpose of this fic - for the purpose of entertainment, not for real-world diagnoses...
That being said, there's good news, bad news, more bad news, and more good news:
The bad news is - I haven't written anymore than this, so this is the last completed chapter to date.
The good news is - I plan to write more. Once I figure out what the best course of action is from here.
The bad news is - I'm kinda tied up right now and probably won't get around to it any time within the next month.
The good news is - I only started this story recently - like, less than a month ago? So I'll probably be more inclined to work on it first when I do have some free time on my hands.
Thank you for your patience!
Until next time!
~Sasori33-001
PS Sorry for the long author's notes at the end!