Here's chappie 7, sorry for it being short again... I'll try harder to make it longer for chappie 8, I promise! TT^TT Quick thanks to all my reviewers, love you guys dearly. :'D Feels like I owe a lot of people unicorns though... o.O Anyway, enjoy this. I think this story's going to be longer than intended.. :O

I also apologize for all the sadness thus far!

Again, review for a unicorn.


Friends Forever

"Naruto..." Sakura choked out in a half-scream as the blonde slowly faded from her sight. Kakashi bit his trembling lip hard, trying not to let his own emotions get the better of him as well. Sasuke watched Naruto go, his eyes filled with hurt. He wasn't sure what he had done wrong, he had only said hello after all. It wasn't his fault that he had no memories... was it?

"I'm sorry," Sasuke whispered, not even sure why he was apologizing. Maybe it was his fault. Were his memories erased because of something terrible he had done? Nonetheless, he could see very clearly that him having no memories had hurt this team a lot. What was it about 'Sasuke Uchiha', the name Kakashi had addressed him as, that made these people, his supposed comrades, so upset? They must have shared a deep bond with the old me, he thought, analyzing Naruto and Sakura's reactions. Especially the blonde one.. For some reason, Sasuke's heart began to throb. There was something in that boy's eyes, utter hopelessness and loss, fear and pain, that cut Sasuke deep. We must have been close, for him to look like that. Sasuke knew right then in that moment, that he didn't want to hurt these people. He needed to regain his memories in order to make things right.

"Sakura, you should go after Naruto," Kakashi murmured softly. He offered his hand, which she took gratefully, and pulled herself up. She wiped her eyes, refusing to look at Sasuke, and ran to find her extremely distressed team-mate. The silver-haired jounin placed a hand gently on Sasuke's shoulder, more as a reassurance for himself then for the raven.

"Sorry about that, Sasuke," he said in a low voice. "They just need time, to let it all sink in." Sasuke looked up, a sad expression forming on his face. It was so un-Sasuke like that Kakashi nearly wept. But he was an elite ninja, and ninjas didn't cry.

"We were close, weren't we?" Sasuke asked softly, referring to their whole squad. Kakashi nodded weakly.

"Yes, we're like a family. I'm the father of this family, Sakura's the older sister, and then there's you and Naruto," Kakashi replied, breathing in sharply. "You two are even closer than brothers, and that's why it's so hard for Naruto to accept what's happened to you." Sasuke nodded, expecting it to be something as such.

"So, you can't tell me anything else? Other than the fact that my name is Sasuke Uchiha, I'm a ninja, a member of Team 7, and I'm the last of my clan?" Kakashi shook his head, looking worn.

"No, I'm sorry." Sasuke sighed, expecting that answer, too. He looked up at his supposed sensei, determination burning in his fathomless black eyes.

"One more question." Sasuke knew what he had to do, and nearly pleaded when he asked his final question. Kakashi stared at Sasuke in surprise when the dead-serious words escaped Sasuke's lips.

"Is there any way I can get my memories back?"


Dangit, DANGIT!

Naruto sprinted blindly through the village, pushing his way through random villagers to the Hokage's building. It just couldn't be true, how could Grandma Tsunade do that to them? Sasuke couldn't lose his memory, not after everything they had been through together. What would Naruto believe in then? He burst through to Lady Tsunade's office to find her sitting alone at her desk, rubbing her temples. She looked up, unsurprised, to see Naruto panting in her doorway. She expected what came next.

"Grandma Tsunade-" Naruto began shakily, rage burning his throat, barely concealing the fear beneath it. "Tell me that Kakashi-sensei is lying. Tell me you didn't let Sasuke's memories get erased. Tell me, DANGIT!" Tsunade simply stared at him with sad eyes. Naruto's fists shook angrily, and tears rolled continuously down his strained face.

"Why won't you say anything? Answer me! Tell me it isn't true! Tell me-" Naruto gasped. Tsunade had gotten up from her seat, and had wrapped her arms tenderly around Naruto. He dropped his fists, and let out a choked sob. He cried in her arms, as she gently stroked his unruly blonde locks. Naruto shivered.

"Please- just tell me why... why did this have to happen? Why, after we just got him back, and we were finally starting to pick up the pieces and put our lives back together? Now, we have to start all over again..." He hiccuped, unable to finish. Lady Tsunade hugged him tighter.

"I'm sorry, Naruto, it... it was the best I could do," she whispered, her face crumpling with surpressed pain. Tsunade hated what she had done, especially seeing Naruto like this, so... broken. He was like her little brother, and it tore her apart to have caused him to be in so much pain. Would it have been better if I had given Sasuke the death penalty? Naruto froze, still shaking uncontrollably.

"The best.. you could do?" Naruto repeated, laughing a bit psychotically. He shoved Lady Tsunade away, and glared at her furiously, tears still pouring from his wide eyes. Tsunade flinched as they flashed a dangerous shade of red. "He isn't even Sasuke anymore! We worked so hard to bring him back, but now he's gone forever, isn't he?" Naruto shouted bitterly. His voice lowered an octave as it all sank in. "I finally brought him home, but... I still lost him... again..." The Lady Hokage reached out to him, only to have him back away a step.

"Naruto-"

"I don't want to be Hokage anymore," he murmured in defeat, before running out the door again with tears flying behind him. Naruto left without a backward glance, not noticing Tsunade burst into tears and sink down to her knees in anguish for the pain she had caused her little brother.


"Have you seen Naruto?" Sakura asked Ino frantically. Ino looked over the pinkette in concern. Her hair was a tangled pink mess, tears stained her puffy, pale cheeks, and there was no light in her usually bright green eyes. She shook her head.

"No, I haven't," she replied apologetically. Sakura winced, putting her face in her hands. Ino placed a hand gently on her shoulder. "Sakura, what happened?" They may be rivals in love, but Ino knew when insults weren't appropriate and she could easily see that her pink-haired friend was going through a tough time. Excluding Sasuke for a moment, they were still friends, and friends were always there for each other. She rubbed Sakura's back when there was no answer. "Come on, let's talk about it." The two girls stepped inside the Yamanaka's flower shop. Ino led them to the back, where they sat down at a table. Sakura wiped her eyes as Ino waited patiently for her to speak.

"I-I've been looking for Naruto for nearly an hour," she began, her lower lip quivering as she spoke. "But I just can't find him. H-He ran off, when he found out..." She clenched her teeth, breathing in sharply. Ino watched worriedly. She hated seeing Sakura like this. The pinkette was so strong, and it took a lot to break her, so whatever happened must've been pretty awful. Sakura breathed in deeply, and continued.

"Sasuke, he.. his memories were erased," she whispered painfully. Ino gasped. No, how could the Hokage do that! She had seen all of the hardships Team 7 had gone through in order to bring Sasuke back, and she just couldn't believe that Lady Tsunade could do such a thing. They've been through so much...

"That's so cruel..." Ino murmured, for once at a loss for words.

"Naruto took it hard, even worse than me. He probably thinks it's his own fault too, especially since he just brought Sasuke back..." Sakura burst into tears. Ino moved to sit beside her, and let her cry it out. She rubbed her friend's back soothingly. Konoha's cherry blossom let out a strangled sob.

"You know what the worst part is?" she asked hoarsely. Ino watched her in concern, wishing she could do something to help. But there was nothing.

"Sakura..."

"I think that this might be best... for all of us. It's sick, isn't it?" Sakura laughed without humour. "I hate what's happened to Sasuke, and I hate seeing Naruto so torn up.. But we couldn't trust Sasuke if he stayed in the village like that, after everything that's happened. I-I just think that maybe Lady Tsunade and Kakashi-sensei were right, but still... it hurts so much, to see Sasuke- and Naruto- like that... I mean, how can we just let go of the past after everything we've been through? How can we just leave everything behind!" She wept into Ino's shoulder, as Ino gently stroked her short pink locks. Ino for once, had no idea what to do. What a terrible and tragic thing for someone to go through... she thought sadly to herself, as she watched her friend sob. All she could do was try to comfort Sakura, and hope for the best.

"It's okay, Sakura.." she whispered in a strained voice, even though she knew that everything was not.


Naruto leaned over the edge of the dock, and splashed the cool, fresh water over his face. He sat back on the old, worn wood with his legs moving rhythmically back and forth in the water. His Leaf headband lay beside him, his hair dripping water from the ends in his face. The black and orange jacket he wore was zipped down to his collarbone, revealing the treasured necklace he had won from Tsunade five years ago. His aqua blue eyes shimmered like the waves, as the sun began to set, casting a golden orange glow in the sky.

Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke... that was all he could think about. What was he going to do about this? What could he do about this? Naruto turned around slowly as the dock creaked, announcing that someone else was there. His eyes widened in surprise as Sasuke walked over and hesitantly sat beside him. They stared at each other for a moment, both feeling as if something was broken, missing... it was sad. Naruto turned to stare out into the water. He gave a sorrow-filled smile.

"This was the place that we first met," Naruto murmured softly, in an almost sacred way. The waves lapped gently against the dock creating a soothing atmosphere for the two boys. Sasuke closed his eyes in a grateful smile at the blonde, glad to have learned something new about their relationship. The smile caused Naruto's heart to ache, and he averted his eyes. "You don't remember, do you?"

"No, I don't, I'm sorry.." he whispered apologetically. "I-I wish I did..." Naruto glanced at the raven. They were sitting close together on the edge of the dock, almost touching. He should've felt comfortable, content, at ease... but this person, he wasn't Sasuke. No, that was Sasuke. You're going to have to accept it sooner or later, a small voice in the back of his mind whispered.

"Don't apologize, it's not your fault," Naruto said quietly, full of self-loathing. "It's mine, I should've been there to stop them, to protect you..." Sasuke watched his comrade sadly, feeling awful about the whole situation and utterly confused. He wished he could get his memories back somehow and stop causing this boy so much pain, but Kakashi had told him that it was irreversible. Naruto sighed in depression and loss. I guess I'll just have to let go of the old Sasuke and learn to love the new one..

"Naruto Uzumaki.." Sasuke began tentatively. That did it. Naruto's heart shattered into a million pieces, and he grabbed the surprised Uchiha and hugged him tight. The original Sasuke's voice echoed painfully inside his head.

"What, dobe?" Sasuke asked in annoyance.

"Shut up, baka!" The Uchiha yelled, whacking the blonde on the head.

"Stupid Usuratonkachi.." Sasuke muttered, in an almost affectionate way.

Sasuke smiled contentedly at Naruto. "Thanks, Usuratonkachi..."

Tears exploded from Naruto's eyes for the millionth time, retracing the path of stained tears from earlier. I can't let him go, I just can't..! Sasuke wrapped his arms around the distressed blonde, again wondering what he had done wrong.

"It's Usuratonkachi," Naruto sobbed into Sasuke's shoulder. "Just call me Usuratonkachi..."