Disclaimer: You should know by now…do I really need to tell you?

Chapter 26: Amnesia

Sakura stood in front of her students, with Itachi beside her, and finished her explanation of what she was about to have them do. "…that's why this is important. Now, I would like you all to watch as Itachi walks up the tree." As she said that, Itachi emotionlessly did as she had asked him to do (since she couldn't, due to her Chakra being suppressed). Soon Itachi was by her side again and Sakura said "Ok, now I want you all to pick a tree, and try to do that."

The moment Sakura finished speaking, Inuka emitted a loud yell as she charged the tree. She got one foot on the tree, then the next, then…she fell flat on her back. Hanako started giggling and Inuka glared at her and yelled, "If it's so easy then why don't you do it!"

Hanako smirked at her sister and ran at the tree. She was taking her fourth step up the tree when her foot started to break through the bark. Hanako soon found herself on the ground again too, only unlike Inuka, she landed on her feet. There was a moment of silence, then both twins started to laugh at their failure while they prepared to try again.

Sakura smiled before turning to see how Noya was doing. To her surprise, he hadn't even moved to try to walk up the tree yet. He was just standing there, looking at the tree as if he were trying to calculate something.

Sakura looked around for Tobi, but couldn't see him anywhere. Then she heard Tobi's voice call from above her in an almost arrogant tone, "Tobi already knows how to do this." Sakura looked up and saw that Tobi was at the top of a tree, his head almost touching the glass ceiling. "Can Tobi do something else? Tobi's bored."

Sakura was about to say something to Tobi when another voice said, "Well, I agree, it's not that hard…but it's not boring, either." Sakura looked to the tree next to Tobi's and saw that the voice belonged to none other than Noya…who had made it to the top of his tree too. Tobi turned to Noya, and before Sakura could get a word in, he challenged Noya to a race. Noya accepted without hesitation, and soon they were both racing down the tree.

Sakura was about to return her attention to the twins when she noticed that Itachi was emitting an angry aura (though anyone other than her probably wouldn't have noticed) from behind her. "What is it, Itachi?" He didn't answer. Sakura looked over her shoulder at him and repeated her question. He looked at her, and without saying anything, shot a look at Tobi, then looked back at her.

Sakura got the message, he was angry at Tobi for being rude to her. Sakura shook her head and returned to looking forward as she said, "Don't mind Tobi, he's practically like a little kid." Sakura felt Itachi's arms wrap around her shoulders from behind. As Itachi hugged her to him, she leaned her head back against his chest to look up at him. He, in turn was looking down at her. "What is it?" All she got in answer was a 'hn'.

Some hours later Sakura was healing Inuka and Hanako, who had gathered a number of scrapes and bruises from their practice. As Sakura finished healing the last minor wound, Inuka pointed upwards and said with a giggle, "They look like monkeys!" Sakura looked up to the treetops, where Noya and Tobi were chasing each other, and nodded, a grin on her face.

Hanako, who was also looking up at the 'monkeys' said worriedly, "I hope Noya's careful…"

Inuka snorted, "He's always careful! Quit worrying so much." Hanako shook her head, but didn't say anything. After a moment, Inuka chirped, "Hey! Let's see which of us can go higher this time!"

Hanako shrugged, and as she and Inuka prepared to run at the trees again, Hanako said offhandedly, "Sure, but I doubt anything's going to change." Having said that, Hanako got tackled by Inuka, who started tickling her.

Sakura shook her head at the siblings' antics and walked back towards Itachi, who was watching her (and had been ever since she left his side to give the twins more advice). She had just reached Itachi when the door to the training room opened and Ayaka stepped in. She walked up to Sakura and Itachi, and then bowed to the both of them before she said anything.

Once Ayaka had straightened, she said to Itachi, keeping her eyes focused on his shoulder rather than meeting his eyes, "Uchiha, Zetsu wishes to speak with you. He asks that you meet him in the debriefing room at once. I am to take your post with Lady Haruno while you go to him." Itachi 'hn'ed, nodded, and left without a word.

Sakura smiled at Ayaka and motioned to a clump of boulders that they could use to sit on as she said, "We may as well sit and talk, since my students are preoccupying themselves right now." Ayaka nodded and sat by Sakura on a boulder. Silence prevailed for a while, until finally Sakura tried to break the ice by asking, "So what do you do here?" She quickly added, "If you don't mind telling me, that is."

Ayaka looked at Sakura for a few moments before a small smile spread across her face. It was a few more moments before she said in a voice that wouldn't carry beyond the two of them, "You are just as master Konan said you were…friendly and curious, but cautious." Sakura's eyebrows lifted. How had this young woman discerned that from the two sentences she'd said?

As if Ayaka had read her thoughts, she shrugged and said, "I'm very perceptive…I have to be. You see, I…" Ayaka paused a moment before she continued, "…gather information."

Sakura's mouth twitched in a held back smile as she said blatantly, "You're a spy."

There was a pause, and a small, knowing, smile crept onto Ayaka's face as she looked Sakura in the eye. "No…I never said that. I merely said that I…gather information." Sakura was able to read between the lines. Ayaka was a spy, but of course she would never say so…no good spy would. Sakura also could tell that Ayaka was also saying that she knew that Sakura wasn't fooled, but that she also trusted Sakura not to tell (or maybe it was that she knew that there was no one for Sakura to tell it to).

Sakura smirked and said, "Of course, my mistake. Then, would you mind telling me how you…gather information."

There was a pause, as an almost invisible smirk appeared on Ayaka's face. It was quickly ironed out, and soon Ayaka was saying smooth-facedly (though her voice sounded thoughtful), "Since master Konan both likes and trusts you, which is a rare combination for her, I shall also trust you. I have never known my master to be wrong."

Ayaka paused again (something Sakura guessed she had probably picked up from Yuri), looked around them as if to make sure no one was too close by, then turned her attention back to Sakura and said quietly, "I use my Kekkei Genkai, which allows me to change my appearance at will, so long as I have enough Chakra to do so."

Shocked, Sakura whispered-exclaimed, "You have a Kekkei Genkai too?" Ayaka nodded her head, then Sakura asked quietly, "You said Tobi's your brother, right, so does that mean Tobi can do that too?"

Ayaka shook her head no, then explained after Sakura raised a questioning brow, "No, he does not…I believe we are only half siblings."

"Believe? You mean you don't know?" Asked Sakura, though she had a feeling that she already knew the answer.

Ayaka nodded, paused, then said, "I'm not sure…something happened when we were younger." She paused again, then said with a sad smile, "This might sound crazy, but…there are some things I know, though I don't remember how I came to know them…sometimes I'm not even sure that I really know what I think I know…but other things are just…gone"

Ayaka turned her head to the side, and Sakura could tell she was watching Tobi as she said, "Tobi's even worse…I don't really remember what exactly happened, and I'm not sure if what I remember is real, or just a dream, but…my earliest, clear, memory, is of me…trying to teach Tobi how to speak again." Sakura could hear sadness in her voice, though it was well hidden.

Sakura nodded gravely, she had expected something like that to be the case, though some of the details she hadn't expected. "It sounds to me," Sakura began carefully, "like the two of you have amnesia."

Ayaka rolled her eyes and said, "I figured that Tobi had amnesia…but I don't think I do. If I did, then why would I be able to remember even some things from before the point in time where my memory goes hazy? It's probably just bad memory, not amnesia. Besides," she added as if this last fact cemented her case, "I've never had a head wound, like what Tobi had."

Sakura stayed quiet for a few moments as she gathered her thoughts and analyzed all that Ayaka had told her. Finally Sakura said slowly, making sure to hold Ayaka's gaze, "From what you've told me, you don't need me to tell you that Tobi has amnesia, but…you do need me to tell you that it's very likely that you, too, have amnesia, just of a different level of severity."

Ayaka shook her head and was about to deny it; Sakura didn't let her. "I can't be a hundred percent sure until I know more about what you can and can't remember, and other things like that, but…I'd say the chance of you having amnesia is about ninety-nine percent." This time Ayaka just stared at her, obviously both believing her and not believing her at the same time. Sakura knew an explanation was in order.

"I'm a medical expert, Ayaka, you know that, so," she said, trying to lighten the atmosphere, "listen to me spew the facts I've had ground into my head." Ayaka gave a weak smile, and Sakura continued, "There are different levels of severity for amnesia, and different ways for the amnesia to come about."

"Possibly the best known, and one of the rarest, is the kind that Tobi apparently has, where you forget everything, and your memory doesn't return soon after. Even in that level alone, there are other levels. Some people just forget day-to-day memories, but retain taught abilities and knowledge. Others lose all memory whatsoever, and become much like an overgrown, newborn baby, having to relearn everything. Then there are countless variations in between."

"The most common form of amnesia, not that any form of amnesia is truly common…but anyways, the most common is for someone, normally someone who has recently received a head injury of some sort, to lose their memory for only a short while, weeks at most. Then their memory comes back, and it's as if they had never forgotten. This level of amnesia also has different levels of severity of memory loss, though they don't tend to be too severe; most people only forget the day-to-day memories."

"Sometimes people get a weaker form of amnesia, where they have patchy memory rather than a blank slate. Some people can remember their past perfectly, but it's their present, from the time they 'lost' their memory on, that they are unable to recall. This happens when only certain parts of the brain are affected by whatever caused the amnesia. It can happen to people who receive a brain injury, who've been starved of oxygen for too long, or, sometimes, to people who have been in a coma for a long time…because parts of their brain die."

"Not all cases of amnesia, however, are caused by physical trauma. Some cases are caused by emotional trauma." Sakura watched as Ayaka's eyes widened. Sakura nodded, then continued, "Since you said that you hadn't had a head injury, unlike Tobi, and seemed sure that there was no physical reason for you to have amnesia, it leaves only emotional factors to be the cause. I can't be sure though what exactly caused it until I know more."

Sakura looked at Ayaka expectantly, knowing Ayaka would get what she was getting at. Finally Ayaka sighed and settled in to tell her story…at least, the parts of her story that she could recall.

AN: I could have ended it here (and I was seriously thinking about it), with a nice cliff for you to hang off of, but I won't be that mean…this time.
"Everything's a blur, I'm not sure that I really remember what I think I remember, but here's my story as I remember it…and some detail's I've been able to discern, not through memory, but through information gathering." Sakura mentally smirked, she should have guessed that Ayaka wasn't the kind of person to let unremembered lie.

"I remember that Tobi and I were with our mother…but it may only be because I have a photo of all three of us." Ayaka paused, then reached towards her kunai pack, but instead of opening it, her hand slipped behind it, and when her hand reappeared, there was a small folded piece of paper. She carefully unfolded it, then showed the picture to Sakura.

The picture held a woman with long black hair and deep brown eyes, much like Ayaka's. She looked worn, but was evidently happy as she looked into the camera, an arm around each of two small children. One was a purple haired girl about five-years-old, with her mothers brown eyes and a toothy smile. The other was a boy with black hair and brown eyes, both like his mothers, who smiled mischievous at the camera. He could only have been a year younger than his sister. They were standing on a grassy hill, with a river and trees in the background.

Ayaka turned the picture over and showed that on the back, in precise handwriting, were written each of their names in order of their position in the picture: Tobi, Mei, Ayaka, but there was no last name or date or anything else to give when or where this had been taken. Ayaka silently folded the picture back up as carefully as she had unfolded it, then returned it to its hiding place.

"If not for this picture, I wouldn't have even known for sure what our names were. I don't remember if I'd forgotten our names or not, but I know I was at least confused…and Tobi didn't remember anything, so he was no help. I don't remember how old we were exactly, the days became a blur afterwards, but we were probably somewhere between the ages of seven and ten when it happened, not that we're a hundred percent sure of how old we are now, either."

"I don't remember what really happened…only running away from people, fear laced with confusion…and knowing that I had to save Tobi…that Tobi was the one that they were after…and who, I think, they wanted to kill. The next thing I think I remember was that we were washed up on the edge of a riverbank, and Tobi was bleeding…a lot…the river ran red that day." there was a sad pause before Ayaka continued, "…and that our mother wasn't with us. I don't know what happened to her."

Ayaka turned her face to look at Tobi again as she continued, "I'm not really sure what happened after that for a while…the next thing I remember, we were about eleven and twelve. Tobi was already wearing that same mask that you see him wearing now. Even though I don't remember what happened between the accident and that time, I knew that he wore that mask because he'd lost an eye, and his face was…" Ayaka shook her head, "You get the point…but anyways, I knew that he had had the mask ever since he'd been able to understand that he now looked…different…from others."

There was a pause, as the both of them just watched Tobi and Noya race each other across the treetops. Finally Ayaka said, "It wasn't too much later that two men, wearing black robes with red clouds, found us. Both had red hair, though one's hair was more strawberry blond while the others was more of an amber red." Ayaka paused, and then said, "That's the first, and only time I've ever seen our blue eyed Master in person…though I've seen our Leader a number of times since then. But that's only because I later became master Konan's subordinate."

Ayaka returned to looking at Sakura as she continued explaining, "Leader and Master took us to Zetsu, to be his subordinates…he has many. I don't know why they took us with them, but at the time I didn't care. It may have been that they knew that I had a Kekkei Genkai, and that I already knew how to use it…I don't know. That's the only thing that I can really think of that they might want us for…we were only children after all."

"We were Zetsu's subordinates for a couple of years, and he taught us what he felt we needed to know. But as I got older, two things happened that made it be decided that I should be master Konan's subordinate instead. One was just the fact that I was…growing out of childhood, and would do better with a fellow female. The other…was that when I came back from this one mission…" Ayaka gave a slight shudder, "…Zetsu said I looked good enough to eat…and there's no good way for that to be interpreted, especially coming from him." Ayaka made a face before she continued, "So after that, I became master Konan's subordinate, and I have served her ever since."

Then with a smile in her voice Sakura said what she knew Ayaka hadn't said, "And you never want to go back to being his subordinate, either." Ayaka shuddered in answer, and then, both of them began to laugh. Somehow they'd become friends over the hour that they'd spent talking to each other.

There, no cliffy for you to hang off of this time, be grateful (I even made this over three thousand words, since some people were complaining that my chapters were too short). You may have noticed that Tobi said 'can I (well, it was Tobi instead of I, but you get the point)' rather than 'may I', that was on purpose, to show he's not good at speaking with correct grammar…it goes along with Tobi referring to himself in the third person.

Oh, and just to let you know, the things I said about the amnesia are all at least 95 percent correct. I had to do some guessing, but most of the information I've found out through research.

Also, I was barely able to put up this chapter (once again given ten minutes to post this chapter), and I will not have time to write another chapter today. I also will be busy next weak (we're having new carpet put in, so we have to move everything, and were also painting the house, so I'm going to be very busy both this week and next week.), so it will be unlikely that I will be puting up a chapter next week. At least this chapter was longer than normal, hopefuly it will hold you over 'til I am capable of puting up the next chapter. I appologize for any inconvienience.

Reviews and constructive criticisms are welcome (as are people going to my forum, Circles, that there is a link to on my profile), but flames should know the fire drill by now. Now, onto the pretty list!

Thanks to: Quiet Moon, InvisibleCrimsonTenshi, Angel Blossoms, Selene98, .assassinator, LadySakuraForest, Fallen to Earth, SpeedDemon315, XXRedWolfXX, sakura-angel113, dark Alley, Jay95, aznkitty180, samurai-heart-forever, akatsuki's hikari, Crazedchocolatefan, LovelyLittleAngel144, SasukeSakuraxXXxItachiSakura, xokatherine229, NightWing101, Alone in a Blizzard, rinnyzito, Cster, cherryredblossom, CosenAngel, Sakimi1014, Hao'sAnjul, Marika-Uchiha (many people would hunt me down and kill me if I didn't continue this), Gothic Saku-chan, acl03395, Midori Heiwa, Emo Vampire Princess Bella, Gaybride4U, Akane neji, itsuelee, & SnowWolfSpirit for reviewing!