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.

3. GET SOME MORE CLUES

Naruto was bored as hell in his sister's wedding rehearsal. His family was talking and laughing wearing ridiculous clothes that made them look like a circus performance. As for him, he was alone in an uncomfortable chair counting the seconds to the moment that his mother would let it come to an end.

What happened in the tree house was still in his mind and he was trying to find an explanation for what Shikamaru had left them.

A letter crying for help

Two wedding rings

An article for a car accident

An orphanage's card

He couldn't understand at all what Shikamaru wanted to say. Tomorrow the six of them would travel to Suna and visit the orphanage. It was the sanest thing they could do after they found that card. His mind calmed down and traveled to their laughter this afternoon, when Sakura fell of the stair. And then to the way the laughter stopped after Sakura and Sasuke fought. It was obvious that that thing between them wasn't over and it was stupid because they had never been in a relationship. He didn't even know if they had kissed.

And then he remembered Hinata and he could say that she still hadn't forgiven him. All these days she had never spoke directly to him and not even looked directly at him with her weirdly beautiful eyes. Every time he looked at her, her eyes would turn to the floor. It pained him that she hated him, when they used to be so good friends.

At the other hand, Hinata never saw him as a friend; she always liked him and he thought that he was in love with him. And he was…

"Naruto!"

He stood up as if electricity went through him and realized that his mother was standing in front of him and she looked very angry. "Don't tell me you fell asleep in the rehearsal!"

I cannot think straight when I think of you

You make my mind turn into jelly

And I will never ever get over it…

Next day at the street.

They had decided to take Neji and Sasuke's cars because they were the bigger ones and they would all fit in there. Neji started to get angry as the time passed and the usual late people –Sakura and Tenten- were still nowhere to be found. Sasuke was in a bad mood but not worse than Naruto, that thought that he had to travel for an hour in a car with someone that didn't want to talk to him or even look at him

"Ok, that's it!" Neji was at his limit and he found the perfect excuse not to travel at the same car as Tenten which was what he feared all morning. "We are leaving now! I'm taking Naruto and Hinata and you, Sasuke, wait for them. Meet you there!"

That was a good situation for him, but not that good for poor Hinata that was hoping that Naruto would be in the other car and now she was doomed in an hour of silence.

And Sasuke was not very pleased as well, because he didn't want Sakura with him. It was certain that they would fight and she would distract him. But Neji didn't give him much time to think and object; he got in his car waiting for the other two to follow.

Hinata immediately opened the front door and sat in the seat next to the driver, trying to avoid looking at Naruto for the next one hour. Naruto sighed defeated and sat in the back seat of Neji's brand new and extremely expensive car wishing that he wouldn't stink anything.

And they left in full speed, leaving an astonished Sasuke behind, breathing the dirt of the road and wishing that he could leave as well.

"Nooo!" He heard Sakura's voice and turned his head to see her as she ran to him trying to get Neji to see her and stop to take her with him.

"It's your fault for being late." Somehow it bothered him that she didn't want to travel in his car with him. He didn't get to think a lot about it though, because Sakura, clumsy as she was tripped on her high heels and fell on him, taking him down as well.

The dirt started to sit on the road, but Sasuke couldn't see anything as he felt a sharp pain in his back and he couldn't stand due to her weight sitting on him.

He soon figured out that it was her hair in his eyes and his mouth touched her neck before she raised her head and sat on him, trying to fight the dizziness in her head. Sasuke was ready to push her off him, but he forgot everything as he realized that she sat on a certain area of his body that started to appreciate her weight, her warmth and especially the friction that she caused as she was trying to move.

It was true that he hadn't had sex in a while, from the day that his wife left him, and she used to be the fantasy of his adolescence. Furthermore, she was too hot for her own good and as she sat on him, her eyes closed and her luscious lips open, she looked good enough to eat.

"What are you doing?"

Sakura opened her eyes and turned her head. Sasuke gasped and pushed her off him. Tenten was standing before them, looking at him with amused eyes and a knowing smirk.

"That clumsy idiot fell on me." Sasuke tried to look angry and avoided Tenten's eyes, proceeding to wipe the dirt out of his clothes. He was in a need of cold shower and he hoped that it wasn't obvious to them.

After they cleaned themselves they got in the car in silence and they stayed like this till they reached their destination. Tenten lied in the back seat and fell asleep, while Sasuke and Sakura sat next to each other and didn't mutter a word for an hour.

The situation wasn't any better in the other car. Neji was a silent driver and he only paid attention to the road, ignoring the two other people that were in his car. Hinata had taken a book with her and now she was reading it without really paying attention to the others. So Naruto was left alone with nothing to do and he did the most expected thing in a car; he watched the scenery from the back windows. Soon he got bored and started to watch something more alive, something like Hinata in the front seat.

She chose to come with a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, looking very casual and comfortable with herself. She was never very thin and she still had a lot of cleavage to cover; Naruto could say that she was a C-cup at least. At that particular moment her long hair was up in a ponytail and her face looked calm and happy as she red her book.

Before he could stop himself and think about it, he brushed lightly his finger on her cheek and he found it as soft as he expected it. Neji didn't see him, but Hinata felt it and turned her head to face him. Her cheeks blushed and her breath hitched as he brought his face closer to hers and she felt his breath on her nose. His hand left her face and moved down to brush her arm and find her palm. Hinata felt awkward but held his hand any way and looked frightened at Neji, who had understood the tension and was a little nervous.

"I think that's Sasuke behind us."

And indeed Sasuke had caught them and now he was driving right next to him and was ready to leave him behind. Neji, a car lover as he was, couldn't let this happen and increased speed so that he was first again. Sasuke smirked and did the same and both of them were driving full speed as they went down the mountain to reach the bigger road to Suna.

It was the most fun thing to do in a car for both of them, but not for their company that was not very fond to car races. Hinata pressed at Naruto's hand enough hard to cut his blood circulation and he screamed at Neji's ear to stop and drive like a normal man. In the other car, Sakura hid her face in her hands and was trying to stop her tears; she was afraid of cars and Sasuke knew it. Tenten was almost as determined as Sasuke; she wanted to win (and Neji to lose).

"Sasuke if you pass him, I promise I will let you fuck me!" It was a joke and Sasuke knew it, but it frightened Sakura even more and silent tears started to appear in her cheeks.

They could see the road and they were ready to end it there, but suddenly a bid track appeared in front of them and cut their way. It was passing the road and they both tried to stop their cars in time before they hit him. Three loud screams were heard and Sasuke that was first turned right and drove the car in some bushes beside the road.

Both cars stopped in front of the road and the drivers got out and started to look for any damage in their cars. Luckily they were fine, but they would have to change elastics soon.

Naruto helped Hinata out, because she was shocked and frightened and unable to walk steadily. With her still in his embrace he turned to the two idiots.

"Are you guys insane? You could have killed us to race each other." They looked at each other and smiled apologetically. They knew that they loved danger, but they shouldn't race in such a little road full of dirt and rocks. Sasuke avoided look at Sakura's seat.

Tenten got out of the car and stretched her arms. "That was one hell of a race!" Hinata and Naruto looked at her as if she was crazy. "Sasuke, your car is effing amazing, Sakura almost peed herself."

That made them all turn to Sakura who sat against a tree and cried silently.

"Oh, come on!" Sasuke approached her and gave her his hand to stand up. "It was no bid deal." She took his hand, stood up and started to punch him in every possible place. "No-punch-big-punch-deal?-punch-You-punch-almost-punch-kill-punch-us-punch-bastard." It didn't pain him; she was weak and he knew that she was scared to death.

He grabbed her hands and stopped her to make her look at him. "Ok, ok! I will never race with you in the car again." That calmed her a little and she stopped struggling for a while. They smiled to each other and then Tenten interrupted them.

"Did I tell everyone that I caught Sasuke and Sakura fucking in the street this morning?

Friends are similar to good wine

They get better as time pass.

As the gang approached the orphanage they decided not to enter all together the building but send a couple inside to pretend that they want to adopt a child. After much thinking Naruto and Hinata decided to do it, because it was certain that no one else could succeed.

Anyone could understand that Neji and Hinata were relatives, Tenten was bored, Sakura didn't like being with Sasuke nor Naruto and Neji was too cold to pretend a father to be. Naruto and Hinata after this morning could get along well.

"Ok." Neji had thought the plan and was very anxious about his cousin who obviously was still weirdly attracted to Naruto. "Do you know what you are going to say?"

Hinata answered him. "We will tell that we are married and we want to adopt a child." She looked at Naruto who continued. "Then we will tell that we had a friend named Nara Shikamaru that recommended this orphanage."

Sakura suddenly remembered the rings. "Oh, mention his wife Temari, too. They may know her name instead of his."

"Yeah, Sakura is right." Neji was ready to take action as well. "I and Sasuke will do to the police department to ask for the car accident. They may have recognized the woman and the child at the end."

"And I with Sakura" Tenten mentioned "will go to that café over there to wait for you. Come there after you have finished."

Neji couldn't stop his ironic answer. "You will do most of the work as always. I am afraid that you will get too tired."

Tenten stuck her tongue out at him and took Sakura to go to the small café that could be seen from the orphanage. Neji shook his shoulders at the rest and left with Sasuke to find the police department.

Naruto and Hinata looked at each other and Hinata seemed a little frightened, so he held her hand for the second time that day and guided her inside. Poor Hinata was very confused about Naruto's behavior. He showed her affection when he was… Or maybe he wasn't? She needed to find a lot of strength to ask him and mostly to bear with his answer.

The place was full of children, playing and laughing as they enjoyed the morning sun. Hinata couldn't help feeling sorry of them that grew up without parents.

"May I help you?" A middle aged woman was standing in front of them and smiled as she talked to them. Naruto and Hinata approached her and started their play.

"Good morning. My wife and I consider adopting a child." Naruto was playing cute and kind and Hinata suppressed a laugh at his change. "You have so many children here."

"Yes, sir, this is the only orphanage in this prefecture. All children from the villages around come here."

"Really? What do you think, my dear?" Naruto turned to her and she kicked lightly his foot before turning to the lady with a new idea.

"Do you have any child from Konoha? We intend to stay there and it would be nice to have a child from there." Naruto smiled approvingly to her, but the lady didn't have good news for them.

"Konoha? Isn't this a very little village? No, we don't; they don't have many children anyway."

"Oh." She was expecting them to adopt with so much happiness that Hinata wanted to clear things up before it was too late. "We have not decided yet if we will adopt for sure, but we came here because an old friend recommended this place."

If they disappointed her, the lady didn't show it but continued to smile sweetly at them. "Someone that has adopted? It was a now or never situation.

"Nara Shikamaru. Do you know him?"

"…No, never heard of him."

Naruto played their last card. "His wife's name is Temari. You may know her."

"No, I don't."

"How long do you work here?" Hinata didn't want to accept that they came to a dead end again.

"Twenty years. I am responsible for adoptions and I would know them if they had ever been here."

"…Ok." Naruto grabbed Hinata's hand and pulled her back. "We will call you as soon as we decide. Have a good day!"

The lady waved back at them as they left disappointed.

"And we have nothing at all." They stood in front from the gate for awhile and talked for what they have done.

"Leave it, Hinata. It was a stupid plan from the start. We don't even know what we are looking for! His kid, the kid from the accident or…?"

"The kid from the accident died."

"Then why was the card in the article?"

"And did he even have a kid?

"Hinata, you are a genius! The town hall is the place we should go and search for his family situation!"

Hinata's face lightened up and she laughed with triumph along with Naruto. She opened her hands and she meant only to hug him, but as he moved to her he unconsciously pressed his lips to her making her eyes open widely as his own closed and his hands took their place around her waist. It was not aggressive; he didn't use his tongue as usual, but it was warm and sweet and… one-sided.

Hinata's hands fell down and she froze in her place, astonished with her eyes open. Her heart skipped several bits and there were thousand of thoughts and questions in her mind. Naruto felt her apathy and stopped, blushing madly as he turned his head away and left her to go to the place where Sakura and Tenten were waiting for them.

Why are you doing this to me?

I thought that I was over you.

but this doesn't seem to be the case…

Meanwhile, Sasuke and Neji found the police department and went in to with the article they had in hand to ask the officers. As they entered the building, the officers watched them carefully as they hadn't seen him before. They asked if they could speak to someone privately and an officer sent them to his superior, officer Zetsu.

As they entered the small office, Sasuke remembered his father telling him that he didn't like that Zetsu because he was too violent and mysterious. His appearance was very weird, as if he was ill, but he pointed to the seats in front of him and they both sat.

"What can I do for you?" He hadn't given his hand to them and Neji thought that it would be hard for them to take information from him.

"Hello, my name is Uchiha Sasuke." Sasuke was the first to speak and he tried to be friendly. "You may know my father, Uchiha Fugaku."

"Oh, I do. He is an officer as well."

"We would like to see a file from your office." As they expected it, he immediately tensed up and shook his head.

"That I believe is illegal." Neji couldn't help but worry about the officer. He signaled Sasuke not to tell anything specific to him, but Sasuke had already thought what he should say.

"You know we can't find an old friend of ours and we heard that last year there was a car accident and a young woman died. We only want to learn her name."

The face of the officer remained calm and he looked at them carefully. Then to their surprise, he opened a drawer and took a file out of it. Neji was even more worried that the officer remembered the case so well, but again he shouldn't have many cases in this town, right?

"The woman was never recognized. None looked for her or her dead child. What is your friend's name?" Sasuke knew that he had to say a real name, because the officer would search for her after.

"…Haruno Sakura." Neji looked at him with a grin in his face; Sakura woulg kill him after he said that to her.

"Do you want to report her missing?" That was something that they hadn't thought about.

"What do you think, Neji? Neji looked at him with his don't-you-dare glare and then turned to the officer.

"Her parents should do it if they don't find her. Thank God we didn't tell them for that accident." They both stood up at once and got ready to leave. "Thank you for your time, officer."

As soon as the door closed behind them, Zetsu searched in the catalogs for Haruno Sakura and found her, born in Konoha and currently leaving in Tokyo. Then he took his cell phone and called a numbed he remembered very well.

"It's me… Something happened …Two men came and asked for her… They don't even know her name, but they are from Konoha… What? … Do you think that he had talked to them? … The one was the younger son of Uchiha… They said that she could be a friend of them, Haruno Sakura… I will find her… Warn everyone… Ok… I'll call as soon as I find that Haruno."

Neji and Sasuke unluckily hadn't heard any of this and they were already in their way for the café where the girls were waiting. As they reached it they noticed Naruto and Hinata there and they didn't look very excited, so they didn't expect good news.

"Nothing, absolutely nothing! She didn't know Shikamaru or his wife and we just stood there like idiots." Naruto was still very embarrassed for kissing Hinata and he spoke quickly. "But we thought that we should go to the town hall and ask for his family situation."

"And you can go alone, since your father is the mayor." Tenten, still bored, sat in a chair with her long legs laying in another and finished her second coffee. "What did Sasuke do with the idiot?"

Neji was too busy starring her naked legs to answer her, so Sasuke did it. "Nothing also. The name of the woman remains unknown, but the officer was very suspicious. We needed to tell him that Sakura was missing to confuse him."

"You told him what?"

"It was necessary, Sak! He was very weird."

Hinata tried to forget for a moment the kiss and remembered that she was lawyer. "I thought about this, too, and I think we should not tell anyone that we searched for clues. If someone murdered him, this must be dangerous."

"Now, shall we return home? I'm pretty tired!" All five of them turned to look Tenten as she spoke and then they burst out laughing like crazy, making all the people in the café look at them and smile as well. Tenten was a natural talent on making everyone laugh.

As I grow up that I realize

that I already had

all I craved for when I was young…

They arrived at Konoha at noon and they all went to their houses, except from Naruto that went straight to the town hall to search the computers. He found Shikamaru's name and red the information with his mouth open. Then he printed it and ran to find the others.

He first hurried to find Neji, so he could bring them all together and announce the new information. He knew that it was noon and he shouldn't interrupt people's lunch, but it wasn't the first time anyway. He knocked the door and the usual 'who is there?' question was heard.

"It's Naruto. Can I see Neji, please?"

"Naruto, dear boy, come in!" Neji's mother was always very kind to him even though he came at such a time. He entered the house and went straight to the kitchen where Neji was waiting with anticipation.

The first thing he noticed was that Neji's fiancé was painting her nails on the table when the other three were eating. She turned her face and looked at him with such an arrogant and irritating face that he felt that he had done something very wrong and he had to apologize.

"I'm sorry I interrupted your meal…"

"It's ok. I have accepted that all the villagers are uncivilized."

"Sorry?"

"Naruto is a good friend of Neji's." Neji and his father covered themselves as it was obvious that his mother was ready to throw the table in Ino's head.

"Neji's friends are people from the city that go to the club and play golf, not villagers with bad taste in clothes!" Naruto immediately checked her clothes and he found them fine.

"What is wrong with his clothes?" Naruto didn't think that the fight would be over soon and passed the print to Neji. As he red it, his eyes opened wild and he looked back at him as if he didn't believe what he was reading.

"I'm just saying that Neji doesn't fit there and that is a person that would embarrass us in society!" Naruto felt slightly offended but mostly surprised that Neji could deal with such kind of person.

"I believe, miss, that it is you who doesn't fit here!"

"Like I would like to fit it this dumb that…"

"Enough!" Neji's father was finally interfering. "Neji, I believe, needs to go."

Both women turned and looked at him. "Yes, Naruto and I have some urgent business to do. See ya."

Ino stood up and kissed him deeply in his mouth and then left to return to the sauna without saying anything to his parents.

As the dot out, Naruto gave Neji the I-don't-believe-you look and said. "At least you don't like one type of woman!"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that there is no way that someone who was in love with Tenten would fall for that Ino." Neji looked at him astonished for a while and Naruto grabbed the chance. "I will take Sasuke and Sakura and you inform Hinata and Tenten."

Tenten?

We choose our fate alone

and that means that we can change it

as well…

"We have a meeting at school this night." Naruto was alone with Sasuke and in his room and they whispered not to wake the baby up.

"Why?"

"I found some really important information in the town hall that clear things up a little."

Sasuke looked at him and shook his head impatiently. "So will you tell me or do you want to get beaten?"

Naruto, that indeed didn't want to get beaten, opened his mouth, but his phone rang and he picked it up before the baby woke up.

"Yes? ... Mum, don't yell in the phone… What happened to the dress? … Now? …I'll be right there… I'm close, in Sasuke's house… Yes, now… Close the phone already!"

"Problems with the wedding?"

"The dress in smaller and she can't fit. I have to take it back to Suna."

"I do feel for you!" They laughed for a moment and then Naruto remembered something.

"I will tell you what happened in short, but then you have to go and inform Sakura."

Sakura?

That is fate for you.

It will make you endure everything

you wanted to avoid…

Neji was walking in front of her house for a while now and he decided that it was about time he went in. he knocked the door and no one answered, so he got in himself and tried to be as silent as he could.

He knew very well this house after all. It seemed like yesterday that he went in this same room to get her for a date or just to say hello. He reached her door and in was half open. Without wanting it he picked inside and saw her in her bed, sleeping sound less like a baby.

If he was a teenager again, he would bent over her and wake her up with a thousand kisses, before lay beside her. But he wasn't, so he would just pock her shoulder and tell her to wake up.

He moved towards her, but as he touched her she turned her back to him and brought her knees to her stomach, giving him a great view of her bottom as her skirt lifted up.

He could see now her black panties and he felt his throat dry as she moved her ass a little. He had to touch her. It wasn't like he was a pervert, but the sight in front of him was too tempting. He warned himself that she could wake and catch him, but that wasn't enough to stop him. His fingers touched lightly her thighs first and then her ass cheeks before he rubbed them a little harder.

A moan of her made him realize what he was doing and he took his hands away from her as she rolled over and came to face him as he kneeled in front of her bed. Her eyes opened a little, she saw him and smiled sweetly.

What she did next was definitely an action in her sleep, because if she was awake she would never place her hand in his neck, pull him to herself and kiss the hell out of him. Neji knew that she was sleepy, but was more that happy to continue and deepen the kiss by sliding his tongue in her mouth. That woke her fully and she tried to push him away, but he was over the edge.

She could do nothing but surrender and leave herself in the sensation of his well known mouth. He placed one hand in her stomach and the other behind her head as he explored her mouth.

"Tenten!"

Her mother's voice made him get away from her, blushing like crazy and covering his mouth and her sit up on her bed and wipe her mouth. The looked at each other for a while and then Neji spoke.

"We will meet at the school tonight…Sorry." And then he opened the door and left like crazy in font of her astonished mother that was very well aware of their past, leaving a frozen Tenten sitting on her bed and thinking of a certain Barbie doll.

Let me know if your feelings are

any different.

Mine haven't changed…

"Sasuke, what a nice surprise! Is your mother well?"

"She is fine, Mrs. Haruno. Is your daughter in the house?"

"Oh, yes! I believe you know where her room is."

"Yes, thank you." She looked his back as he climbed the stairs, her dream son-in-law. Her daughter should do herself a favor and keep him in her grasp this time.

Sasuke knocked her door and opened it after he heard a muffled 'come in'. He entered and looked for her, but she was nowhere. He was ready to call for her but his voice didn't come out as she showed up out of her bathroom completely naked and brushing her teeth.

The moment she saw him she froze in her place and the tooth brush fell from her hands. Sakura noticed his eyes traveling to certain parts of her anatomy and after a few seconds, she screamed like there was no tomorrow.

Sasuke did the sanest thing he thought; he rushed out of her room and closed the door behind him. She continued screaming for a moment and then stopped to take a breath.

"Why did you tell me to come in?"

"I expected my mother to bring me a towel!" Her voice was weirdly high and Sasuke collapsed in front of her door, panting as if he just ran a mile full speed. "What do you want in my room?"

"I came to tell you that we are going to meet in the school this evening. Naruto found his wife's name." She opened the door dressed this time and invited him in.

"What's her name?"

"Temari No Sabaku. Her father was the former mayor of Suna. And they had a son together."

"Sasuke, do you think that they are the one that were killed in that accident?"

What do you think? Are they? Review to find out!