Stories untold, secrets revealed, and mysteries left unsolved

The brunette girl sat with her knees up to her chest, face resting on her arms. She looked up for a moment, her eyes bloodshot and puffy from crying. Her long brown hair was matted, and she looked as if she hadn't slept for days. She hastily wiped at her eyes and sniffled, deciding it wasn't worth the effort. She lowered her head back to her knees, continuing to cry.

Sasuke paced around his house. He had not known Hikaru for too long, but already he had come to like her. She was not annoyingly loud, nor did she try to cling to him. He had studied her silently, wondering if her eyes said anything, as his own did if you looked hard enough. They had shown something… something he could not read. He flopped onto his bed with a loud 'thump' and opened a book to its marker.

Hikaru stared out of one of the many windows in her hospital room. Another one opened, and even her trained senses did not notice. A man stood in front of her, blocking her view. She drew back, startled. "Who… Who are you?" a frown replaced his grin, and he slapped her right across the face. She crashed through the equipment around her bed which had not yet been removed, even though she was stable.

"What do you mean, who am I?!" he hissed at her, holding her against the wall by her neck. She tried to pull his hand away and he loosened it just enough so she could breathe.

"I don't know you, honestly." Tears streamed freely down her face. In disgust he pushed her away, then pulled her back. He roughly turned her so her back faced him. He ripped her top in the back, and pulled it apart so he had a clear view of her back. He bit his own finger, letting the blood flow. He quickly picked a section of her back and began to write in his own blood. He drew a fan, then his own personal symbol within that. He pressed his thumb in the center, and the kanji for 'remember' appeared. She screamed in pain. He shoved her back to the wall and kissed her gently. She tried to push him away, but he caught her wrists. They broke apart. He could hear nurses coming down the hall, so he whispered in her ear quickly.

"You know how to find me. And you will remember. Your memories should be coming back." A feral grin graced his lips, and he disappeared, leaving only the destroyed hospital room and Hikaru behind. She slid down the wall, her gaze vacant. A nurse ran in, and saw the girl. She called for the doctor, and told him it was an emergency. He came running, and found the nurse and patient in the mess of equipment. They put her back on the bed, covering her up. She rolled onto her side, away from them. Her eyes shone as memories played themselves out before her. Her body began to heal itself, and she sat up, turning to the doctor.

"It's all right, I'm fine now. Would you release me?" The doctor looked at her, astounded. It was true, an examination proved. They released her and she began the long walk to her house, eyes dark and angry. She reached her house by nightfall, only to sense him there as well. "So he looked for me here first…. How thoughtful of him." She snarled. Even her memories of him made her wretch.

As she sat on her bed she pulled out a kunai and held her ponytail out behind her, cutting it off in one quick movement. She climbed up to her attic, and just as the memory had shown her, all her old things were there. She began to cart the boxes downstairs, and when that was done she began to unpack. The preppy clothes that had been bought for her after they wiped her memory were discarded, soon to be burned, and her own clothing folded in the drawers and closets. As she came to the last box a smile formed upon her lips. She ripped open the top in one smooth movement, revealing her make-up, jewelry, and hair dyes of many colors. Her hair, which was down to just below her chin in front, and extremely short in back, needed some color, she decided. She pulled out a dye that appeared to be purple and walked to the bathroom. When she stepped out later there were bright purple streaks in her hair. She opened a drawer and pulled out a huge tank-top and a pair of worn old boxers. She slipped into them and climbed into the double bed that was pressed into a corner of the room. She lay on her back and soon the nightmares claimed her.

She woke the next morning and sat up, looking around. She yawned and stretched, then walked to the bathroom. She washed up, then pulled her make-up case from where she'd stowed it. She quickly slipped her purple contacts into her eyes, and then proceeded into her bedroom where she pulled out a pair of black Cargo pants, a black camisole, and a pink fishnet long-sleeve. Then she pulled on a jounin vest over that. She walked back to the bathroom and dumped the contents of her make-up case on the counter. She picked up her black eyeliner, and lined her eyes with it, then applied silver lipstick on her upper lip and black on her lower. A silver chain slipped over neck, and a few rubbery black bracelets graced her left wrist, while a thick yellow one with a word on it was pulled over her right wrist. She pulled on a pair of pink high-tops and left the house, her fore-headband sticking out of a pocket.

Sakura sat on a rock, earlier than usual. Sasuke and Naruto showed up at about the same time, and Sakura walked over to Sasuke. "Hey, Sasuke-kun… w-wanna go out this friday?" she asked shyly, blushing. Naruto pretended not to pay attention as she waited for Sasuke's answer.

"No, for the last time." He practically spat. She sighed and turned away. Hikaru landed silently in the shadows, and then stepped out.

"Hello." She said. Three pairs of eyes stared at her, and she glared back, pulling her hitae-ate headband from a pocket. She wrapped it around her forehead, letting no hair stay under. It flopped over her headband, practically covering her face. She flipped her hair back, and they gasped. The sign on her fore-headband… it was the konoha symbol with the sound symbol emblazoned over the center.

"W-what's that?" Sakura asked hesitantly, pointing at her hitae-ate. Sasuke just stared, wondering. Naruto simply stood in shock, looking at her vest. Hikaru made a kind of 'hmph' noise.

"What does it look like? It's my forehead protector, genius. And the vest? Well, that's what it looks like to. You didn't think I was actually a chuunin, did you?" she snickered as Kakashi walked into the clearing, expecting to be greeted with a chorus of 'You're late!' but it never came. He looked at the scene before him and gasped. Hikaru… purple hair…. jounin vest… now, her hitae-ate… she turned to him and he saw the symbol.

"Where did you…. That headband and vest…. Where?" he asked, barely able to speak.

"Where do you think? I got it from exactly where you put after you held me down so the Hokage could wipe my memories. And as to HOW I remembered?... well, I'm sure you can figure it out. I'll give you a clue. He came for me, and he searched my house, and then found me in the hospital. He truly is a genius." She smirked. Kakashi broke out in a cold sweat. Between the two of them, he couldn't determine the winner before-hand, because she knew the sharingan well, seeing as her former master had been a wielder of TWO sharingan eyes, and he had told them that she was one of the few people who could pose him a serious challenge. The only reason he had been able to defeat her without being hurt the last time was because she had been fighting for a very long time against many ANBU warriors. He didn't know if he'd come out of it alive, and he didn't want to die at the moment, not when he had students he thought could pass. He did, however, know that she would rather die than lose, and she would take him with her. "I'm not going to fight you. I hate him, as you well know." She stated, and he nodded.

Sasuke spoke, quietly. "He who? Hokage wiped your memories…. And who came looking for you. I think we deserve to know, seeing as you're our chuunin helper." His bangs covered his eyes, and she frowned again.

"I already SAID I wasn't a chuunin. And, as for who, I can't very well tell you, can I? basically, there's a law against it." She stated, still frowning. Kakashi looked relieved; knowing he wouldn't have wanted to deal with Sasuke if he had found out it had been Itachi, who had trained the girl personally. He shuddered.

The team trained as usual, this time only watched by their second jounin. Kakashi felt weary after the day of training, having had to keep an eye on all four, in case Hikaru had decided to run off. If she became a missing Nin, finding her would probably be ranked an A, or even S class mission, because not only was she a good fighter, she was a great con artist.

Afterwards, she began to head towards Hokage-Sama's, and Kakashi began to follow her. She turned to him, frowning.

"I don't need a guard, you know. I'm a jounin, not one of your pathetic genins. And I bet even one of them would be allowed to walk by themselves." Kakashi was so absorbed in her facial expression-what was that in her eyes?!- That he didn't see the chakra being built up in her hand. She sent a raw wave of chakra at him, knocking him and his students over. By the time he stood up, she was gone.

"Damnit all…" he muttered, dusting dirt off his pants. He dismissed his students. Sasuke walked home after turning Sakura down again, although without the usual venom. He was thinking, and that made him lose concentration on silly matters, like Sakura. He walked in his door, flicked on the TV, and settled on the couch for the afternoon news.

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That's the end of this chapter. I'm sorry it was so bad, but I'm still waiting out the after-affects of writers block. D:

Plus, I have a bunch of other ideas. That would be the after-affect. I have too many ideas for other stories. Mostly, original stuff….

Thanks for reading this! Please review!