AN: Yay! Chapter Four! Sorry it took me a while, but I've been very busy with my high school's Theatre Arts musical. But now I'm back and I can hopefully be writing more. So, enjoy!
Naruto slowly pushed himself out of bed, falling to the floor from the bed. He yawned and slowly got to his feet, rubbing his eyes tiredly. It had been a week since Ino had found Sasuke outside the city, bleeding and confused. Though his injuries had healed, he was still completely confused about who he was. It was so odd to see him like that, smling and politely attentive rather then stoic and cynical. Naruto almost missed being called a loser.
As he stumbled to the kitchen to make his breakfast cup of Ramen, there was a knock at the door. Naruto walked over and pulled the door open. Hinata stood outside, smiling at Naruto.
"Good Morning, Naruto-Kun," she said, smiling.
"Hi Hinata-chan," he said, smiling back. "Why are you here so early?"
"Um..." She said, smiling shyly and looking at the floor. Despite the fact that they had been dating for a year, she still seemed to be incredibly shy around him when they first began talking. But he loved her for it and her shy behavior didn't bother him. "In-Ino-chan wanted you to come to the hospital as soon as you can, N-Naruto, if that's okay."
"Sure!" Naruto said, feeling a little more awake now. "I've just gotta eat breakfast. You want some?"
She smiled shyly, turning a little red. "Oh-Okay."
Ino looked up as Naruto and Hinata walked towards her. The dark haired girl was holding his hand, looking rather contented with the world. Ino smiled, remembering for what felt like the millionth time about happier days when they were all younger. Maybe not innocent, but younger. It had taken nearly a brick to the head to make Naruto go out with Hinata, with Sakura and Kiba egging them on from the side. It had been kind of funny actually-
"Hey Ino!" Naruto said, breaking her out of her memories. "What's up?"
"Hi Naruto," she said. "Thanks for coming. And thanks for getting him so quickly, Hinata."
"N-No problem," she said blushing as Naruto squeezed her hand.
"Shizune said we should try and get Sasuke up and around a bit. Y'Know, to show him around Konoha. It might help him remember something. Any ideas where we should go?"
"Kakashi-sensei's training grounds?" Naruto suggested. "Maybe the Academy?" His eyes suddenly lit up. "Or-"
"Not Ichikaru's, Naruto," Ino said sharply. The two girls laughed as Naruto looked dejectedly at the floor. As the girls again became serious, Hinata said:
"What about the Uchiha Complex?"
Ino froze, thinking about that. If anything would bring back his memories, that would. They could have the old Sasuke back today, without the weeks of slow recovery that would follow in his current state… If his mind ever healed at all. But the selfish part of Ino didn't want Sasuke to get better faster. He was being friendly and open with her and Shizune even said he asked for her when she came in to check on him. She didn't want that to end.
Another problem was his growing confusion. People kept calling him Sasuke and trying to force him to remember things. It was hurting him, by the way he tried to hard to understand. The emotional pain, not to mention the nearly constant pain of the curse mark, made the teen more then a little unstable. The shock of seeing the Uchiha Complex could unleash his memories and hurt his mind even more.
"Ino?"
She smiled, looking back at them. "Actually, why don't we just stick to the training spot and the Academy. And maybe we could go to Ichikaru's for lunch or something."
Naruto's face lit up. "YAHOO!" He ran into Sasuke's room. "Come on Sasuke, let's go!"
"So, do you like your ramen, Sasuke?" Naruto asked between mouthfuls of noodles. The dark haired boy smiled slightly, eating his lunch much slower then the hyper active blonde.
"It's good," he said, watching Naruto. "Thanks for taking me around your village. It was very interesting. You're lucky to live here."
Ino and Hinata shared a glance. They had been talking about things he should have remembered, but he had only politely listened to everything they had said. Now it seemed as if he hadn't remembered anything at all. Hinata smiled and shrugged apologetically. Ino sighed and looked down at her bowl of noodles.
They had taken him to the Training Grounds, the Academy, even to the Hyuuga Complex, hoping that one of them would jog his memorys back, even if just a little bit. But nothing had. He had just listened as they told him about Kakashi and how he was always late for training and how in the Academy Ino and Sakura used to compete for everything. They had even run into Shino and Kiba and introduced them to Sasuke. Though Kiba greeted him amiably, Sasuke was just very polite as usual. Ino wondered how long this was going to go on for. If nothing was going to make him remember, what would they do?
"Are you okay, Ino-chan?" Sasuke asked suddenly, looking worried. Ino blinked and gave him a reassuring smile.
"Yeah, fine," she said, smiling.
"Aw, crap!" Naruto suddenly yelled. "I've got training with Jiraiya in, like, ten minutes! Sorry, I gotta go!"
Inhaling the rest of his noodles at a speed no one knew was even humanly possible, he ran off. Hinata set aside her bowl and said quietly "I should leave too. My father wanted me to come back before dinner. Thanks for inviting me. It was fun."
As she departed, Ino set aside her bowl as well. She could tell Sasuke was watching her, but as she turned around, he immediately looked back at his bowl. Ino smiled slightly.
"So do you want to head back to the hospital?" she asked.
He shrugged. "If you don't want to show me anywhere else."
Ino had an idea. "There is one more place…"
"Isn't it great?" Ino asked as they climbed up onto the rooftop of her parent's flower shop. "When I was younger, I'd come up here and watch the city. It's not the highest building, but you can see a lot."
"It's wonderful," Sasuke said, staring out at the city.
They were quiet, watching the people go by on the streets. Finally, Sasuke spoke.
"Ino, thank you for today. It was fun to get out of the hospital."
"No problem," Ino said brightly, still watching the streets.
They were quiet again. Behind Ino's smile, emotions rolled over her in a horrifying torrent. She couldn't think straight. There were too many things to consider about trying to heal Sasuke's mind. And again, the selfish part of Ino screamed to keep Sasuke this way so she could keep spending time with him. The old Sasuke would have never-
Sasuke gave a startled cry of pain and grabbed his neck, shaking violently. Ino jumped, worried for the boy.
"Sasuke-"
"It's that mark again," he hissed through clenched teeth. "It hurts…"
Ino pulled his hand away and looked at the mark. It hadn't begun to spread, which made her feel very relieved. If it had taken over, in his state-
He was shaking. Ino felt his thin form trembling under her hand. The girl wanted to comfort him, but she didn't know exactly how to do it. Finally, she gently put her arms around him and pulled him into a gentle hug. It wasn't like her usual way to hug the boy, as she usually just tackled him and squeezed him as hard as she could, hoping he would never leave her arms. It was more caring and gentle and she even felt him lean into the hug, as if he didn't want her to get off. She slowly let go.
"You okay?" she whispered. He nodded.
"Thanks." They were quiet again. "It's been hurting on and off since I can remember. Do you know what it is?"
"Yes."
He looked at her and suddenly their faces were so close that their foreheads nearly touched. She could feel her own body trembling, realizing she was so close to him now. Sasuke's coal black eyes were connected with her deep blue orbs and they slowly seemed to close the gap between them. Their mouths were so close to-
"Ino!"
They sprang apart and Ino quickly looked over the edge of the roof. Shikamaru and Chouji stood under the building, looking up at them.
"Oh, hi Shikamaru!" Ino said hastily, trying to sound casual. "What's up?"
"Shizune's looking for you," he said.
"Oh, okay!"
They quickly climbed off the roof and headed back to the hospital.
AN: Sorry the ending was a little abrupt. I hope you liked the update!
Next Chapter: Sasuke is released from the hospital into the care of the Yamanakas...
