Disclaimer: DA usual...
ADDED NOTE! EVERYONE! THIS IS A ONE-SHOT! I WILL NOT UPDATE AFTER THIS CHAPTER!
A/N: WOAH! I'm back? I'm back! Yes, finally! And yes, I know, it has been a long time since I last seen you people... Heh heh, I missed you guys! Anyways... To the story. Yes, it is a ONE-SHOT (it probably won't be those typical one-shots...)... And, I think this is the closest I'll ever come to writing a Sasuke x Sakura fic... Sorry, he only has a part within my evil scheme... LOL.
Though my writing skills have gotten a bit rusty... Still, ENJOY!
Amnesia no Jutsu
The stucco white walls left her no sign of distraction. As a result, she was fully engrossed in her thoughts.
' It's not the matter of chakra,' she insisted mentally, irritation working its way in between her light brows. ' I had plenty of chakra… But if it wasn't for my body…'
Her inner thoughts trailed off, the solution obscured. Yet she, as the witness of it all, had already comprehended the understandings behind the chaos.
' If I had just a bit more stamina…'
Next time, it will not be just desperation that will overwhelm her senses.. She held the promise to herself in the palm of her hand, imprisoned within the clutches of her fingers.
Next time, there won't be a next time.
" Please, Tsunade-Shishou! Please teach me Souzou Saisei!" The female begged, her voice hoarse from the lack of exercise in her vocal chords for the past few days.
The blond, middle-aged woman demonstrated no sign to acknowledge her presence as she buried herself in the mountain of paper work.
The hint was obvious, the answer clear. Despite of it all, she who bore the title of Godaime's One and Only Beloved Apprentice could also use it to her advantage in this bitter struggle.
" Please!"
The brush in the Hokage's hand jerked to a sudden stop. She caught this as a light of hope that had just answered her desperate call.
" …Why?" Ghostly, softly, the word drifted from the dark caverns of the woman's throat and fell from her delicate, rosy lips.
" Eh?"
" Why do you wish to learn this jutsu?" This time, she lifted her amber gaze off the surface of the scroll to catch direct sight of her emerald depths. She challenged her. " It is dangerous, do you not know?"
To the Kunoichi, challenges were like daily objects that she faced everyday. This one was no exception.
" I don't care! I must know it!"
" And if I say no?"
" You can't, Tsunade-Shishou!"
" I am your master and the Hokage. What is there to stop me?"
" I am your one and only student!"
" And it is because for the fact that you are my student that I am rejecting you."
" It is also for my obligation as a Shinobi to my village. For the sake of the people, I must know."
" Nonsense, Sakura!" Her palm came crushing down on the top of the desk, mercilessly denting the expensive material in the process. " You talk as if you are in this on your own! It is not only your obligation to protect the village, it is every shinobi's life long mission!"
" But, I couldn't save them!" She cried, her eyes once shiny with the light of determination was now saturated by a thin sheet of sadness. " If I hadn't been caught up with my injuries… If I still had the strength to heal, everyone would-"
" Enough, Sakura!" Tsunade silenced her with her hand. " Let me ask you one more question… What are you willing to give up in exchange for the jutsu?"
The pink-haired Kunoichi was caught off guard by her inquiry. Surprised, yes she was, but never did her voice falter once as she spoke in reply.
" Everything! Even my life!"
The corners of the woman's mouth curved into a knowing yet mysterious smile.
" All right." She agreed carelessly. " I will teach you all that there is to the jutsu… And the sacrifice you must make, is the memory of the one you love."
A flower of beauty blooms not for long… Therefore…it should bloom in the blissful Heavens. The sun will always shine there, the rain never overbearing.
There, no one will harm it… No one shall pick it to end its bloom...
Uchiha Sasuke returned to Konoha village during its celebration of its triumph over the Village of the Sound.
It was as if world peace had just declared itself at the death of Orochimaru, the Sound leader, and the terminating reign of the criminal group----Akatsuki.
Strangely, though he was once a part of both villages, he did not feel content at Konoha's victory, nor did depression overcome him from the fall of Oto.
He was a cold-hearted bastard, yes, he was. He knew he could give less about anything else…except for the sake of revenge.
To have a goal in life meant that he was not cold-hearted, right? If he was not cold-hearted, then it proved him to be human too, was he not?
" Uchiha-San."
The sound of a familiar feminine voice tore him from his inner thoughts, as curiosity brought his attention to the red figure before him.
" How are you feeling, Uchiha-San?" She inquired, standing beside his bedside.
He folded his hands behind his head, making his bony elbows jab out on the sides. Allowing his onyx depths to skim over her anxious yet friendly façade, he sighed in exasperation and turned back to stare blankly up at the ceiling.
" Drop it, Sakura."
" …Eh? But-"
" You're still as annoying as before."
" Wait! You know me?"
Sighing again, he replied," I'm not in the mood to play games with you right now."
" No, honestly," she insisted firmly. " How is it that you know me and I've never seen you before in my life?"
That got his attention.
The next minute, he shot up to a sitting position facing her, white hospital blankets falling to a mess beside him.
" Name your Genin team members."
" Eh, why?"
" Just do it!"
" …Hatake Kakashi, Uzumaki Naruto, and Hachie Aro."
His suspicions were confirmed. The former female teammate of his had replaced memories of him with another.
" Hachie Aro…how is he?"
The other's pair of jade eyes immediately turned misty at the mention of the name.
"…He passed away after the War with Sound…His wounds were incurable."
Inside, he had the urge to laugh out loud as he hears the trembling of her melancholic voice. If the Hachie Aro she was referring to had been him, then perhaps he had really passed away.
But, if she was still playing him…
He peered into her eyes, the windows to her soul, finding no sign of pretence there. She told the truth, of what she knew, his instincts told him. And suddenly, he was wishing that he had really been fooled.
How was his memories replaced?
Everything about her, disregarding her physical maturity, had been same as the last time he's seen her----eight years ago.
The cotton-candy hair kept short, the pair of glowing emerald eyes, the cherry lips curved into a small polite smile… And the tiny but visible diamond shaped symbol upon her forehead.
He stopped at the symbol, studying it, examining. It appeared familiar, as if he had seen someone else carry the same mark on the same spot before.
Someone… He could not remember.
" Ah, Tsunade-Shishou!"
He looked up, broken from his thoughts.
That woman who appeared to be no different than the last time he saw her eight years ago stood towering over him, amber eyes burning into his.
This was the answer to the mystery.
She, too, carried the diamond mark upon her forehead like the young woman beside her. Then, she must be the one who altered her past memories.
" Sakura," the woman addressed, not taking her eyes off of him. " Shikamaru, Neji, and Shino's squad have just arrived heavily wounded from their mission. Go assist the other medical nins upstairs."
" Yes," the Kunoichi bowed, and disappeared.
" Uchiha Sasuke…" she began. " I presume you do not know the current situation?"
The Shinobi answered with silent confirmation.
" Eight years ago, you left this place to pursue your ambition. You left a critical scar on everyone with your departure, but you've also implanted poison into her body."
That poison, known as love, would serve as her demise.
" As long as the poison is there, there is no room for her to expand her capacity. She knew…and made her decision…"
"…" He listened carefully, the excitement of the story's climax mesmerizing his being.
" All I could do was to grant her that wish…" The woman paused, studying the mask of indifference before her. " What will you do now, Uchiha Sasuke?"
"…"
" She only has five more years, you know."(NOTE)
"…!" The sharpness of her words stabbed at his chest, causing him prickling pain. It was from the truth that he gained conscience---her importance would go unmeasured until now.
" The poison you left was too deep. In the end, after so many relationships she's been through, none had been successful. Now it is up to you… How she will remember this life is up to you."
Pivoting around, light taps of high-heeled shoes aimed for the exit.
" Hmph. You're leaving her to me?" He asked, voice sarcastic.
" Her Fate is up to Kami. I cannot do a thing." The woman abandoned her words in the quiet chamber with the Uchiha.
The next time she saw him, he was standing outside of the emergency room, leaning against the wall with his hands tucked into his pockets.
He stood up straight, welcoming her arrival as she propelled her fatigued body out from the dim-lit room.
His dark eyes burning with an unknown light captured her light ones and held them in place.
What he had to say required her fullest attention. She felt it. She complied.
" My name is Uchiha Sasuke…. I want to make a request…"
Author's Crap:
NOTE: Souzou Saisei, although useful in battles, can shorten the user's life.
Um... I guess you would call this one of those "choose your own ending" type of story... Heh heh...
Thanks for reading!