A/N: Ooh, are we getting towards the ending?
Disclaimer: Let's just keep this simple. I don't own Naruto.
Amnesia
Summary: Sakura has lost all of her memory when she came back on a mission brutally injured. Naruto sees this as a new opportunity to make her fall in love with him. Sasuke sees this as an opportunity to make her remember that she loved him. NaruSakuSasu
Chapter 14 - Memories
Tsunade's hand slammed down on her mahogany desk. "She has her memories back?" she repeated Naruto's statement, watching the boy heave up and down as he breathed rapidly. He nodded hastily in reply.
"Sakura-chan"—pant—"hospital"—pant—"says she never forgot"— pant—"go, now!" The blonde shinobi placed both hands on his knees, staring at the floor as he regained his breath.
"How do you know this?"
He finally gained his breath, now being able to talk without heavily panting. "I—she woke up, and some nurses came in and did the some stuff. I stayed, even though they told me to leave, but there was no way I was leaving my Sakura-chan—!"
He noticed Tsunade frowning slightly as he began to trail off, so he got back on subject. "She woke up, and it felt like there was something… different about her. Then she saw all my ramen cups on the floor."
He chuckled as Tsunade sighed, hands folded in front of her as she listened intently muttering, "Typical."
"Anyway, she saw that they were beef-flavored—my favorite—and then she remembered something that had to do with the ramen—"
"Naruto, it could have just been that her mind triggered a memory after seeing something familiar. After all, you eating ramen is not a once-in-a-lifetime sight."
The hokage-to-be waved his hands side to side. "I know, you didn't let me finish! I asked her if she remembered something, and then she looked at me, and said, 'When did I forget?'" At that, Tsunade's eyebrow rose. "See, I think she has her memories back, since she doesn't remember losing them!"
"You may a point…" muttered the legendary medic. She studied the blond-haired shinobi with slightly skeptical almond orbs. "Are you sure about this, Naruto?"
He scowled at her, "Do you think I'd run over here if I wasn't sure? Especially when it's about Sakura-chan?!"
She studied him for another mere moment before she stood up abruptly, palms facing down on the desk. "I will go see for myself," she announced. "Shizune!"
The black-haired woman came in. "Yes, Tsunade-sama?" she asked obediently, Tonton in her arms.
"Retrieve Uchiha Sasuke and tell him to come to Sakura's room in the hospital. Once he hears it has to do with Sakura, I'm sure he'll be there before we know it."
"Of course," Shizune replied, hastily leaving the room.
"Well, what are we waiting for?! Let's go!" exclaimed Naruto, sprinting out the Hokage's door.
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The white door immediately opened. Sakura was sitting in her bed, a nurse taking a sample of her blood as the pink-haired kunoichi remained perfectly still. The nurse gave a gentle smile to Sakura, which she returned.
"Tsunade-sama," said the nurse, bowing down respectfully when she saw who had come in the room. Sakura smiled at her mentor, smiling a little wider when she saw Naruto trailing after her.
"Naruto! I was wondering where you went when you just all of a sudden left," Sakura commented, running her fingers through some strands of her pink hair as the nurse finished, scurrying along as she left. "Tsunade-shishou! Sorry, I forgot to fill the medical scrolls you gave me, I'll do that once I'm able to leave—"
"Don't worry about that, Sakura," instructed the blonde-haired woman. She pulled up a chair, placing it next to Sakura's pallid colored sheets.
"How did I end up here, Tsunade-shishou?" she asked, blinking emerald orbs curiously. "I don't remember getting injured on the last mission I went on, the one where I had to deliver that sword to the Moon Village…" she trailed off.
Tsunade leaned forward, placing a hand on the young medic's forehead. Sakura blinked once again, confused by the Godaime's actions. "Do you have any recollection of the last 24 hours, Sakura? Or the days before that?"
The pink-haired girl's face twisted as she tried in vain remembering what her teacher had asked. "I—I can't… Everything just seems blank."
"What is the last thing you do remember?"
"Training with Naruto, Sasuke-kun and Kakashi-sensei," she replied easily. "We were sparring, and as usual Sasuke-kun and Naruto were going at it."
Just then Sasuke came in, followed by Shizune.
"What took so long?" Naruto blurted out as he saw his best friend entered the room with a serene expression.
Shizune smiled slightly, "He isn't the easiest person to find, you know."
"That's fine, thank you Shizune. You can go now," Tsunade entered the conversation. The black-haired woman gave a quick, respectful bow followed by her leaving.
"What's this about?" Sasuke inquired, his voice void of any emotion whatsoever.
"Hey, Sasuke-kun," Sakura greeted the man with a smile.
"Uchiha," The Godaime addressed, almond orbs flashing to him before looking back to her apprentice as Sasuke glanced back at her. "I have called you here for an inquiry claimed by Naruto, and possibly myself."
The raven-haired shinobi cocked an eyebrow. "An inquiry? Of what?"
Tsunade took a breath, "I think Sakura has her memories back." A pregnant pause followed.
To those who didn't know Sasuke, one would think that his expression didn't change whatsoever. However, Naruto could see the tense muscles of his back activate, his onyx orbs widening slightly wider as his posture became rigid. After all, coming from the Hokage herself, he doubted it could be a cruel joke. If it came from Naruto, however, he'd probably be having second thoughts.
"…How do you know?" he asked after a while. Tsunade looked at Naruto, cueing that he could explain.
"I was with her earlier, and she remembered something—the time we went to Ichiraku and I tried to look at Kakashi-sensei's pervert book, and I asked her if she remembered something, and she said she doesn't remember forgetting."
Sasuke glanced at Sakura, who whilst the three were talking was looking mildly confused.
"You guys are talking like I'm not here," Sakura said. "What are you talking about, 'remembering something'? And 'losing my memories'?" She pursed her lips as she went into thought. "You guys know I'm not stupid, so it can't be that I'm not thinking hard enough to know whether I lost my memories."
"It is strange," murmured Tsunade. "This sudden remembrance of her having all her memories back. However, her not being able to recall ever losing them is natural. After all, in amnesia it is like your mind is on a vacation, not bothering to store new memories. However, about her sudden recollection…" The blonde woman mumbled a few things to herself before looking up at Naruto and Sasuke. "Were you two with Sakura the passed couple of hours?"
Both boys glanced at her. "We weren't with her," Sasuke told her.
Naruto nodded, "We came across her when we saw her at Ichiraku with Ino."
"And during that time, did she ever get struck to the head?"
The question hung in the air as the two shinobi began to think. They remembered the encounter they had had with the numerous ninja a few days ago.
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Disappearing in a flash, Kentaro reappeared behind Sakura. He put one arm around her mid-upper torso, constricting both of her arms to her side. Using the same arm, his hand held a sharpened kunai as its metal glistened in the sun. He held the weapon tightly against Sakura's neck.
"Perhaps you're willing to make a deal," Kentaro started. His smirk grew wider, using his free hand to stroke the side of Sakura's face. "What a lovely girl…"
Sasuke scowled, clenching his teeth tightly together. Naruto growled loudly, "Keep your dirty hands off her!"
He gave her cheek one more stroke before allowing his hand to fall to his side. "Give me the girl"—his eyes flickered to where Naruto's clones were, eyes looking straight at Masami—"and I will give you this girl. And if you don't agree, this girl will die." Sasuke's Sharingan swirled as Naruto growled again.
Sakura, having had soon overcome her shock, began struggling to get free. She gasped for air when Kentaro's hold on her tightened.
"There's no way you're taking Masami-chan, I swear it!" exclaimed the kyuubi vessel. He hit off a shinobi that was charging at him, "And there's no way you're laying another dirty hand on Sakura-chan either!"
Kentaro chuckled, snapping his fingers with his other free hand. Immediately five ninja were attacking Naruto, all with katanas in their grasp. "Kuso!" he snarled, holding them back with a kunai of his own. He looked over at Sasuke who was also too preoccupied to save Sakura.
Sakura's emerald orbs glanced down at the hand that was against her neck. As she spoke, Kentaro could feel the vibrations of her voice against her neck. "Let—me—go!" she struggled, but he still kept his grip on her. Using her quick mind, she thought of a plan. She opened her mouth, and bit Kentaro's hand as tight as a Jack Russell Terrier.
"Agh!" yelled out the man holding her, the pain causing him to drop his kunai. "You wench! Let go of me!" However Sakura held on, and in an attempt to get his hand free (Kentaro could see the blood drawing from her bite) he used his other hand and began pounding Sakura's head harshly.
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"Come to think of it…" Naruto mumbled, wincing as he remembered the sound of each powerful blow connected with her skull. "She was hit pretty hard." Sakura blinked in confusion.
At this the legendary medic narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "By whom?" She said, so low it was almost inaudible. Sakura blinked her emerald orbs again, even more confused.
Sasuke recognized the look she was giving himself and Naruto. "You think we hurt her?" he spoke, his tone seeping with venom that she would think of such a thought.
Sakura's hand shot up to her mouth, a muffled sound coming from it. "Tsunade-shishou, you know they would never!"
"They were with you, Sakura, and I doubt Ino would do such a thing."
Both Naruto and Sasuke glared. "We were ambushed!" Naruto yelled, defending himself from ever hurting his precious Sakura-chan. "Masami-chan, her suitors sent shinobi after her. We had to protect her, but Sakura was there too and it was too late to get her out of the way, and she wouldn't listen!" The blonde's fist clenched, "The bastard grabbed her and told us to trade Sakura-chan for Masami-chan. Sakura bit into him to get free, and he started punching her"—at that he sent the girl a worried look—"after a while I guess her body couldn't it anymore and she flew off and hit the ground."
"Come to think of it…" pondered the pink-haired kunoichi. "I do remember having a migraine earlier. A really bad one, too. But I just saw blurs, I didn't recognize Naruto, Sasuke-kun, Ino, or whoever this Masami girl is."
"Speaking of Masami, just where is she?" Tsunade alleged. "As memory serves, you two protecting her was your mission, and—"
"Don't worry, Tsunade-baachan," said Naruto. "Ino is with her right now."
Tsunade nodded, then turned back to Sakura. "Well, given the information I'm assuming the blows to your head must have triggered something in the subconscious of your mind that awakened the memory portion of your brain, seeing as though it seems like you've gone back to your original self."
The Godaime stood up, brushing herself off. "Your injuries seem to have healed well, Sakura, and you seem back to normal. I see no reason for you to be hospitalized any longer." The Hokage's apprentice smiled genuinely at her mentor. The woman returned the smile, "Glad to have you back, Sakura."
The said girl laughed shortly. "Feels like I never left," she replied truthfully.
The legendary medic began to take her leave, nodding towards Naruto and Sasuke as an acknowledgment towards the two. She grabbed the door handle, opening the white entrance. Her heels could be hurt clanging against the floor as the woman carried herself towards the hallway.
"Oh, looks like you have some visitors," Tsunade added, seeing two figures heading towards Sakura's room. Once finished with her comment, the Hokage took her leave.
The two figures entered the room, revealing themselves to be Ino and Masami.
"I was walking by Shizune," Ino said, "and she said that you have your memories back, is that true?"
Sakura smiled at her friend, "You bet, Ino-pig."
Ino squealed, walking over to her friend (passing through Sasuke and Naruto) and lowering herself to give Sakura a hug since she was still sitting in her bed. "I never thought I'd say this, but I'm glad you called me that," said the blonde, smiling a breathtaking smile.
Once Ino released her, Sakura glanced at the brunette beauty. "And you must be Masami, right?" She greeted the girl with a friendly smile.
Wow, she sure is beautiful… she thought to herself absent-mindedly, admiring the girl's chocolate brown tresses and distinct hazel orbs.
The girl blinked her cobnut eyes. "Sakura, we've met before, don't you remember—?"
"She had amnesia," Sasuke answered her.
Sakura bent her arm, scratching her distinct pastel pink hair. "Sorry about that, I must have met you when I had the amnesia and that's probably why I don't recognize you."
Masami shook her head, giving the girl a friendly smile. "That's not important. What's important is that you got your memories back, and for that I'm glad."
"But anyway, that's partially the reason we came," said Ino who turned around to glance at the three members of Team Kakashi. "Masami, care to explain?" Three pairs of eyes moved and glanced at the said girl.
"Well, I'm leaving today, and I came to say goodbye."
"Aw, so soon?!" Naruto said in a whining tone. "Why can't you stay longer?"
"I have no need to, and besides," she closed her eyes and gave a gentle smile, "I don't want to be a burden."
"What time are you leaving?" asked Sakura, frowning that her new acquaintance was leaving in a little while.
"In ten minutes," Masami replied.
"We'll see you out!" Naruto exclaimed. "Sakura-chan can come too, since Tsunade-baachan said she could leave, too!" Sasuke gave a hint of a nod.
"Oh, that's not necessary—"
"I wouldn't argue," Sasuke told her. "He's as stubborn as a mule."
Naruto crossed his arms over his chest, nodding rapidly. "Yup, got a point!"
Masami laughed, pushing silky brown hair over her shoulder. "Alright, if you insist."
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"So why are you leaving, again?" Sakura asked her, having not been giving the full attention when she explained. Sasuke and Naruto listened in on the conversation as well as they walked behind the two girls ahead of them.
"Well, my 'suitors' felt threatened when the ninja they hired to receive me were sent back defeated. My village sent me a letter saying that they weren't going to bother for me anymore." The brunette breathed a sigh of relief. "Finally, no more having to worry every time I go outside, and no more bodyguards…" she trailed off silently to herself.
Up ahead were two men with dark sunglasses over their eyes.
"Are those two guys for you?" Naruto asked, eyeing them oddly as he noticed they were ninja.
"Yes, they're my escorts." She stopped walking, turning around with a lovely smile on her features. "Thank you for all you've done," she told them, bowing down in respect.
"Heh, don't mention it!" Naruto replied, feeling sheepish as he rubbed the back of his head. Sasuke's face remained impassive as Sakura smiled back at her.
"Before I go," Masami spoke, as the three looked at her curiously, "I need to talk to you, Sakura." The three shinobi stood where they were, waiting for the girl to speak. "Alone," Masami added.
Sakura blinked, "Oh, okay."
The girls took a couple steps until they were near a cherry blossom tree. A couple of the blossoms fell upon the verdant grass.
"You know," the brunette began. "You're lucky to have Naruto-san and Sasuke-san."
Sakura cocked her head to the side, confused. "Thank you…" she answered. "But what does that have to do with anything?"
"Well, a couple days ago—"
"A couple days ago?" Sakura interrupted, pondering to herself. "Oh, Masami, I had amnesia." Masami blinked, having not been told that piece of information. "I just recovered from it, so I've been told, so I don't remember anything recent."
"Oh, you had amnesia?" questioned the brown-haired girl. Her face tilted upwards, looking as though she was in thought as she used her index finger to tap her chin lightly. "So that's why they were like that…" she mumbled to herself.
Sakura's ears perked when she caught her words. "Were like what?"
Masami looked down, remembering the pink-haired girl's presence. "Well, they were sent to protect me. But instead of staying in the village to protect me, like I thought they would, Naruto insisted on going back to Konoha because they would 'protect the village.' I also heard him mention about the sooner back to a 'Sakura' girl the better. Now I know he meant you."
Sakura blushed at the fact. Just then, something popped into her mind.
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Naruto, who had been merely outside, had heard Sakura scream. Anger coursed through his veins, knowing she was with Sasuke. That teme! he thought, angrily breaking into the Uchiha's home. He must've hurt her! He ran to the area he heard the scream and scowled lowly at Sasuke.
"Teme!" He said, "What'd you do to her?!" He walked up to Sasuke, tearing his hand away from Sakura's shoulder, earning him a deadly glare from the raven-haired avenger in response. Sakura mentally sighed in relief, taking Naruto's outstretched hand as he pulled her up from her sitting position.
Naruto put a protective arm around Sakura's waist once she was on both of her feet, and Sakura shamefully looked at the ground. Sasuke growled, "What the hell are you doing, dobe?" Naruto clenched his teeth when he felt the medic nin hide her face in his chest.
"What'd you to do her?! Why'd she scream?!" Naruto yelled. Sakura whimpered from the loud outburst and Naruto immediately set his eyes on her. He asked in a gentler tone, "Sakura-chan? Did that bastard—er, I mean Sasuke, do anything to you?"
Sasuke glared, "I didn't do anything to her, dolt."
"Then why'd she scream?" Naruto shot back.
"Ask her yourself," Sasuke said through clenched teeth.
"Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked gently, tilting her head up, "Why'd you scream?" Sakura looked at the ground, her expression ashamed. "Sakura-chan? Why'd you—?"
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Just then the memory ended. Sakura blinked.
What the…? she spoke to herself in her mind. Since when did Naruto get so caring? I don't remember this at all!
"Sakura? Sakura?" Masami called her twice, waving a hand in front of the pink-haired girl's dazed face. Sakura shook her head rapidly. "You okay?" asked the brunette, hints of concern in her voice.
"Yeah, I was just… thinking," the kunoichi replied. "You said that Naruto and Sasuke-kun acted a certain way, how did they act?"
"Oh. Well, they treated you…" Masami pondered for a moment, thinking of the right words to say. "They always put you first, I think. And both were careful with you, like you were fragile, and were very caring."
This caused the girl to flush a darker shade of red. "Were they really?" she asked, twirling a piece of pink hair on her porcelain finger. She quickly stole a glance with her emerald eyes at Naruto and Sasuke, watching the two converse amongst each other.
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"I don't know why Sasuke-teme always is selfish, but I think—" Naruto continued, but Sakura cut him off.
"You… hurt me," Sakura said, her voice barely above a whisper. She looked at the raven-haired man. "You… hurt me when you left. You hurt me a lot." She held her hand on her heart, "… Right here. You hurt me right here."
"You… you remember?" Naruto asked, clear shock evident on his face. Sakura nodded uncertainly.
"I… think so." This time Sasuke had averted his intense gaze from the floor back to Sakura.
So… she remembers, Sasuke thought. His expression was blank, but serious at the same time. Then what happened next confused him.
She hugged him.
She had gotten up, her legs wobbly from not having been in use for a while, and stumbled over to him, wrapping her arms around his neck and resting her head on his chest.
Sakura-chan? Naruto thought, very confused and somewhat pained at the same time. …What are you doing?
"You came back," she mumbled, her words muffled from the cloth of Sasuke's shirt. "I don't care that you left. I'm just happy that you came back and are here." Sasuke looked down at Sakura's bright pastel pink hair, returning her embrace by hanging his arm loosely around her waist.
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"They love you, Sakura," Masami told her. "Or, they're in love with you."
"What?" Sakura's heart skipped a beat. She held up her hand, covering the part of her torso where her heart was located. She could feel her heartbeat speed up rapidly at the comment. She stole a glance at both Sasuke and Naruto. "How do you—?"
The brunette beauty smiled gently at her. "I know these things," Masami told her, "I can tell."
They were both just like she said, Sakura thought to herself as more little flashes hit her mind. Naruto was sweet and caring—
He's always been like that, Inner Sakura interrupted. You just happened to notice now.
Sakura blinked a couple of times. I guess that's true. And Sasuke-kun… A small smile graced her lips. He put his walls down a little more.
As a medical ninja, she had studied cases of amnesia before. For her to be remembering her amnesia, she thought to herself, was a very rare case indeed. But her mind was a strong one.
"Thanks for telling me, Masami-chan," Sakura said to the girl.
The said girl smiled in return. She turned around, looking back at her escorts. "I should be leaving now," stated Masami. She turned to take her leave, waving back at the pink-haired girl as she walked a few feet away. She did the same with Naruto and Sasuke, giving the trio one last smile before her shadow faded away in the distance with her attendants.
"…and that's why two plus two equals fish," Naruto spoke to Sasuke, arms folded across his chest. The Uchiha had an irritated expression upon his face until Sakura showed up. Both boys, noticing her presence, glanced at her curiously.
"What did she tell you?" asked Sasuke, who looked seemingly uninterested, but Sakura knew he was curious.
"Nothing important," Sakura answered him, waving her hand in the air to dismiss the subject as she lied through her teeth. "Hey, why don't we go find Kakashi-sensei? I feel like I haven't talked to him in forever."
Sasuke grunted, and Naruto nodded. The three began to walk, and slowly Sakura slowed her pace down. Sasuke and Naruto had begun another discussion, referring to the ninja arts, soon taking a lead in front of their walk. Sakura glanced at the two that were in front of her, Sasuke on her left side and Naruto on her right.
She felt her face flush as she remembered what Masami had told her. The girl brought a hand up to her face, cupping her heated cheek.
They love me? She thought, feeling herself blush even darker.
Her alter ego snickered. You know what that means.
Sakura frowned, emerald orbs glancing at both skilled shinobi. She sighed to herself. I'm going to have to make a choice.
A/N: Hm, great, now I wonder how I'm going to write the next chapter. A little writer's block here, care to help with your reviews?
Anyway, I don't know why it's this story all the time that always gets the longest chapters out of me. Hah, you lucky guys.
Well, I'm off to update Assassination. And I just realized how corny that title is, and this one too! Like, Amnesia? Come on, that's not a very creative title, hahaha.
Anyways, read and review.