Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Author's Note: Yay, I'm back! This chapter was supposed to be longer, but I decided to cut it and get it up and put the rest into the next chapter instead. I'm sorry about the long wait, I got caught up in my other SasuNaru story for awhile, but I'm back!
I want to let you all know that this will probably be my last update for the summer because I'm going to New York for two weeks and then when I get back I have to pack to leave for college. Therefore, I'm letting you all know that I'm not sure when my next update will be, because I'm going to have to get used to my new school and dorm and everything. Hopefully, I'll be keeping up with writing and updating. Please be patient with me! I'll try my hardest!
Anyway, thank you all for your wonderful reviews! I love ya all so much! And now, I'll shut up and let you read. Please enjoy!
Chapter Five
Retrograde amnesia. That's what the doctors said Naruto had. I immediately took the time to read up on it, to learn it, to know and understand it. I made it so that I knew everything possible about amnesia, so that I wouldn't be left out in the dark if something ever happened to him again. Retrograde amnesia is the inability to remember events that occurred before the incidence of trauma. This explained why Naruto remembered nothing about the night of the crash, and remembered nothing of us being together. The websites and books had said it was a rare case for amnesiac patients to forget anything more than a few months, and knowing this only increased my desolation.
However, after more and more research, I learned that amnesia usually only lasted a few hours. Obviously, that wasn't the case with Naruto, but that the longest amnesiac patients went unable to remember things was only a few months. This brought the hope back within me at full force. While I wasn't sure if I could handle a few months, it was still better than having to go years, as that was what I'd thought before my research. I even found out that as amnesiacs recover, they usually remember the memories that they had lost. Older memories come first, and then the most recent, until everything is fully restored. I had to reread that part about twenty times until I completely understood it. Naruto would remember everything. His memories would come back. I didn't have to be worried about it so much anymore.
There was a bit of a dilemma that had caused me a great deal of worry because Naruto constantly asked when his house would be done being fumigated. I knew I couldn't keep lying to him just to make him stay at the apartment, but I wanted him around so badly that I begged Iruka to come up with another excuse. Grudgingly, and probably only because Kakashi and I wouldn't leave him alone, Iruka had told Naruto that during the fumigation, they had found a lot of ants and cockroaches. I don't think Naruto was entirely convinced about that, but he went along with it and I found myself with another week to keep the blonde at the apartment and my worry went away.
But, as nothing was changing with Naruto's condition, I couldn't help but feel anxiety swell in me. Naruto wasn't giving anything away that would seem as though he was remembering something. It was horribly frustrating and painful. I wanted him to remember so badly that a few times I had to stop myself from telling him the truth.
Everyday was getting harder and harder, and every morning I asked the same questions: "Will he remember something today? Will he remember me? Will he remember when we were together?"
My disappointment only increased when for the next few weeks, nothing had changed, and no lost memories were recovered. I was still living with the love of my life, who had no feelings for me whatsoever.
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On the Saturday of the second week after Naruto had awoken from his coma, Sasuke awoke with the smell of pancakes, bacon, and eggs. Blinking, Sasuke sat up in his bed and stared at the partially open door from where the delicious smell was coming from.
Is…Naruto making breakfast?
Deciding to find out what was going on, the Uchiha stretched and got up before heading out into the kitchen, only to have his jaw drop at the table that was set up with all kinds of wonderful breakfast foods.
"Morning sleepyhead!" Naruto exclaimed suddenly and causing Sasuke to jump and spin around to stare at him.
The blonde was grinning as he put some more pancakes onto the plate on the table before dumping the pan into the sink. He turned back to Sasuke and frowned at the Uchiha's frozen expression.
"What's wrong?" he asked. "D-Don't you like pancakes?"
Sasuke snapped out of his reverie and turned to Naruto, shaking his head. "No, no, I do, but…I-I'm just surprised…Wh-What is all of this?"
"Breakfast, duh," the blonde replied.
Sasuke gave him a look. "I know that. But…why?"
Naruto looked a bit uncomfortable as he scratched the back of his neck and replied, "Well, I thought it was the least I could do…You're letting me stay here and I dunno if I've been exactly the best roommate. So I thought I'd make you breakfast. Especially since you were up so late studying; thought you'd enjoy sleeping in a bit and having a good meal."
Sasuke stared at him, amazed because the 'senior-year-Naruto' would have never done this. Maybe Sakura is right…He really does have some feelings for me in there somewhere…
"Thanks, then, I guess," Sasuke said as he sat down at the table and Naruto sat opposite him. He looked up at the blonde and said, "I didn't know you could cook, dobe." In truth, he did; Naruto made them breakfast, lunch, and dinner whenever he could, and Sasuke loved the blonde's cooking, especially since his kitchen skills were rather limited. But this Naruto didn't know that.
"I'm surprised you didn't burn down the entire place," Sasuke added, as he began to cut his pancake with his fork.
Naruto childishly stuck his tongue out at him. "I can cook very well, thank you very much. Living with Iruka paid off somewhere."
"Well, you're definitely right about that. You are a good cook," Sasuke said after taking a few bites.
The blonde looked pleased. "Really? You like it? It's my first time cooking for someone other than Iruka."
Sasuke captured the blonde's azure gaze and saw a flicker of surprise cross the other boy's face at the look. "Yeah. I really do like it."
"W-Well, d-don't get used to it, bastard!" Naruto exclaimed. "I'm not going to be your personal cook or anything! I just did this today to repay you!"
"One breakfast is hardly enough to repay me for a few weeks, don't you think?" Sasuke said. "But I may call it even if you make a lunch and dinner too."
"Bastard," Naruto mumbled and Sasuke smirked.
Just then there was knock on the door and both boys turned to stared at it before Sasuke got up to answer it, wondering who it was.
The instant he opened the door, there was a shriek and then Sasuke found himself falling to the ground with something heavy on top of him.
"Oh, Sasuke! How are you? I haven't seen you forever! Why don't you ever call home?" the elder Uchiha exclaimed, hugging his younger brother.
Slowly losing oxygen, Sasuke managed to say, "G-Get the fuck off me, an-aniki." He then pushed hard with his arms and legs and shoved his brother off of him. Sasuke quickly got to his feet and breathed deeply, getting air into his lungs.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Sasuke demanded.
"I came to see you and to see Naruto-kun," Itachi said obviously. "Where is he? Where's Naruto-kun?" The elder brother looked around the room and when he spotted the blonde who was watching the scene cautiously, a grin broke on his face and he practically launched himself onto the blonde.
"Ah! Naruto-kun! Naruto-kun! How are you? Are you well? Is Sasuke taking care of you? Are you feeling better? It's sooo good to see you again, Naruto-kun!" Itachi exclaimed as he continued hugging a startled and frightened blonde.
"P-Please get off of me! I-I don't know who you are!" Naruto exclaimed loudly, trying desperately to pry Itachi's hold on him.
Sasuke walked over and pulled his brother off of Naruto before he caused damage. He pushed Itachi into a chair and stared at him with menacing eyes. "Don't you ever do that again, understand? You know about his…condition, so don't do anything rash!"
"B-Bu-But S-Sasuke…" Itachi whined. "I was just happy to see him."
"Well don't be," Sasuke snapped before turning back to the blonde who was hugging himself looking lost and frightened. Sasuke resisted the urge to hug him. "Are you okay?"
"I-I'm fine…" he replied. "Uh, w-who is that?"
"He's nobody," Sasuke replied nonchalantly.
Itachi whined again. "Sasuke! You're so meeeann! Tell him who I am! Tell him, tell him!"
Sasuke pressed his fingers against his temples to rub away the headache that always came when his brother was around. "This is my older brother, Itachi," Sasuke grumbled.
"Oh, I see," Naruto said. "No wonder you both look alike."
Itachi let out another shriek and exclaimed, "See? See, Sasuke? We look alike!"
"Shut. Up. Now," Sasuke snarled angrily.
"Um, I don't remember meeting him…but I do know him, right?" Naruto asked Sasuke.
The younger Uchiha nodded. "Yeah, you and Itachi met when--" But he cut himself off as he realized belatedly that he couldn't tell Naruto when they'd met without giving away about the two of them being together. When Naruto had met Itachi, it had been a few months after they'd first started dating, during the summer, and Sasuke had needed to go home to get some things he'd left there. Naruto had wanted to come along, and they planned it as a trip since Sasuke knew his brother was supposed to be out of town and the house would have been empty. But when they'd arrived, Itachi had been there, in all of his annoyingly psychotic glory and didn't give the two any amount of peace.
Of course, Sasuke couldn't tell Naruto this, but what could he say to make it sound convincing?
"You met me during a school function during your freshman year at the university. You thought I was Sasuke, I mean, we do look alike, but then you realized I wasn't him," Itachi said to the blonde, and Sasuke stared at his brother, silently thanking him for probably the first time in his life.
Naruto nodded. "Oh, okay. Uh, I-I'm sorry I don't remember you."
Itachi waved a hand at him. "Not to worry, I understand. I'm just glad you're okay."
"Uh, thanks, I guess…" Naruto said. He didn't like meeting people he couldn't remember because it just confused him and made him feel bad.
"Was there anything else you wanted, aniki?" Sasuke asked his brother. "If not, then get the hell out of my apartment."
"Actually," Itachi said as he reached into his pocket for something, "I got some free tickets to a movie that I don't want to see. If you two want them, you can."
"Ooh, what movie?" Naruto asked, reaching out for the tickets.
"Uh, Click? Something like that," Itachi replied.
"Cool! I'll take 'em!" Naruto exclaimed. "I'll ask Sakura-chan if she wants to come with me!"
Sasuke flinched at that, but he tried not to be too upset about it. Of course this Naruto would be hung up over Sakura. This Naruto didn't have feelings for Sasuke like that. But even though he knew it, even though it was understandable, he still hated it, and it still hurt. He watched the blonde warily, feeling his heart clench tighter and tighter every time Naruto's grin grew wider with excitement.
Itachi noticed his brother's stiff posture and the look of wanting to scream in anguish and sighed, feeling pity overwhelm him. He walked over to his brother and whispered, "Why don't you just tell him the truth?"
Sasuke almost jumped from the sudden voice, but then sighed. "I can't."
"Why not? Who's stopping you?"
"You know Iruka told me not to. I'm not going to go against him; he's Naruto's guardian."
"But you're his boyfriend. You care about him so much more."
"Don't say that. Iruka cares about Naruto a lot; that's why he won't let me tell him. He doesn't think this Naruto can handle it," Sasuke replied.
"Do you think he can?" Itachi asked.
"I don't know," he said before sighing. He gave his brother a cool glare. "Don't you think I want to tell him? I'm dying to tell him. I want him to know so badly it hurts. But I don't want to force our relationship back on him. I want him to--"
"--Fall for you all over again?" Itachi finished. "Sasuke, you don't know if he will."
"Well, I have to try, don't I?" the younger Uchiha shot back.
"You're just hurting yourself even more."
"I can take care of myself just fine, aniki. Please, just stay out of this, okay?" Sasuke asked.
Itachi sighed and moved away. "Your call, little brother. Do whatever you want."
Sasuke just glared at him.
"And I'm sorry about the tickets," Itachi said. "I was meaning for the two of you to go together."
Sasuke shrugged, pretending he didn't care, when he really did. "Don't bother. It's to be expected. He doesn't have any feelings for me right now."
"No, Sasuke. He doesn't remember his feelings for you. There's a difference. And, if he never does, you can still make him see. He doesn't have feelings for you yet," Itachi said.
"Yo, Sasuke-bastard!" Naruto exclaimed and Sasuke flinched again.
"What do you want, dobe?" Sasuke asked.
"You don't have any ramen. Can we go get some?"
Sasuke sighed and replied, "Why don't you just go yourself? I've got stuff to do."
"Well, fine then, I will!" Naruto exclaimed, angrily. "Geez. Do you ever stop having a stick up your ass?"
"Not with you around I don't," Sasuke retorted.
Naruto stuck a tongue out at him before storming out the door, leaving the two Uchiha brothers alone.
"I think this means you have to leave too, aniki," Sasuke said, turning away from his brother to finish the remains of his breakfast.
"Why do you act like that with him?" Itachi asked instead.
"Like what?"
"Like a bastard? It'll just make him hate you even more."
"He gets weirded out when I'm nice."
"You're making things harder on yourself."
"And you've overstayed your welcome," Sasuke replied before pushing his brother out the door. "Don't come back here again. Goodbye, aniki." And he slammed the door shut in his brother's face and locked the door.
Sasuke returned to the table and sighed, deciding he'd lost his appetite. He didn't bother putting the dishes away, he just wasn't in the mood to do anything. Retreating to his room, he collapsed on the bed and resumed his usual pastime; staring at the ceiling. His mind went over everything that had been happening since Naruto had awoken from the hospital. He'd been so happy to have the blonde back in his life, alive, that he hadn't let any other emotion take its toll. But after the conversation with his brother about how he was waiting to see if Naruto would remember and how Itachi had said that he might not, and after how Naruto had decided to invite Sakura to the movies and not him, Sasuke couldn't take it anymore.
But he wouldn't let himself cry. Uchihas were above crying and he wouldn't resort to such weakness. But it hurt so much. It hurt to be in the same apartment with him. It hurt to be in the same room with him. It hurt to see him. It hurt to hear him talk. It hurt so much knowing that he remembered nothing of his own feelings for Sasuke, nor Sasuke's feelings for him.
Sasuke hated this! He hated everything that was happening. He hadn't done anything to deserve such punishment. Naruto hadn't done anything to deserve it either. Why had their perfect lives been ruined? Why had it had to have been them? He just couldn't stand it anymore. He didn't know how much longer he could live with it. Knowing his feelings weren't going to return. Having to hold onto the small ray of hope that could disappear at any moment. But who was he kidding, really? Even if Naruto did remember his feelings, it didn't mean he'd believe them. It didn't mean he'd accept them. He could very well chuck them out the window and never be bothered by them again.
Itachi was right. He was just making everything worse for himself, but what could he do? He wanted Naruto to remember on his own terms. As much as he hated having the blonde not remember him, he didn't want to force their relationship back on him.
Sasuke rolled over onto his side and stared up at the framed picture on his desk. It was a picture of him and Naruto recently taken after they had gotten together. Iruka had told him to hide anything that would remind Naruto of them dating, but Sasuke couldn't bring himself to put that picture away. He'd managed to take down the other pictures, putting them into a shoebox and hiding it in the closet; it had been difficult, but he'd done it. But he couldn't hide this one. It would be too much to hide away every memory from the blonde.
Sasuke felt his heart clench in his chest as he continued to stare at the picture. Naruto was smiling that idiotic grin and he himself had his arm around the blonde's waist possessively. God, he loved Naruto so much, and it just wasn't fair. None of this was fair. Of all the people, why did Naruto have to forget him?
And for the first time since he was little, Sasuke let his pride take a vacation because no longer could he really keep his feelings hidden. He curled up onto his side and let the tears finally break free and stream down his cheeks.
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He turned and tried to block the sound with his pillow but didn't succeed as the knocking only grew louder. Groaning, Sasuke peeked one eye open to glare at the door.
"Sasuke-bastard, you okay in there? You haven't been out all day!" Naruto called from the other side.
Of course I haven't. I've been wallowing in well-deserved grief and pity, Sasuke thought, remembering the reason for having curled up in bed and falling asleep. It also explained why his head hurt like hell. No more crying, ever, again, he decided.
"Sasuke-bastard!" Naruto exclaimed loudly.
He groaned loudly again and got to his feet, stretching. Glancing at his watch, he was surprised to find it was almost six. Had he really slept that long?
Working the kinks out of his neck, he walked over to the door and pulled it open, only to duck from the blonde's fist almost hitting his face as he tried to knock again.
"Oh, sorry," Naruto apologized.
Sasuke just shuffled past him.
"Are you okay? You don't look so good," Naruto asked.
But the Uchiha just walked into the bathroom and shut the door in his face.
"Fine then, bastard! And after I was worried! I thought you'd killed yourself or something in there!" Naruto exclaimed heatedly. "See if I care anymore!"
Once he heard the blonde stomp away, Sasuke sighed and leaned against the door, heaving a few deep breaths. He didn't want to have to face the blonde just yet. After wasting almost eight hours sleeping and crying over Naruto and his life, Sasuke just didn't think he could look at the blonde without breaking down again. And that was something he did not want to do. Even the blonde before the accident hadn't seen him cry, and he was sure that this Naruto would have a much harder time dealing with it than the other Naruto would have.
Sasuke stripped out of his clothes, deciding to take a shower to clear his head. And then afterwards he'd try and be civilized with the blonde during dinner.
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Naruto stared at the bathroom door for a moment before looking back at the T.V. However, a moment later his eyes wandered back to the bathroom door before he realized what he was doing and looked away again.
"What is he doing in there?" Naruto wondered aloud. "I mean, it's been almost an hour. He'd better not be drowning himself or something."
He didn't know why but for some reason he felt worried about Sasuke's behavior. After he'd returned from the store with his ramen and he hadn't seen Sasuke right away he'd freaked. He wasn't sure why he'd freaked; it was the bastard's house and he could leave whenever he wanted to. But for some reason he had. However, after realizing Sasuke was just in his room, he relaxed and had spent his time watching T.V. and eating ramen. That is until it grew late and he wondered what the Uchiha was doing in his room. He knocked and hadn't gotten a reply, which was odd because he'd figured Sasuke had been studying and whenever he bugged Sasuke while he studied he always yelled back profanities about being disturbed. And after living with Sasuke for a week, he'd learned that the Uchiha never took naps, so he didn't think this time would have been any different.
And then, that worry feeling had swelled in him and he'd just started pounding on the door. He didn't know why but he just felt worried. He was relieved when Sasuke had walked out, but had felt even more worried after seeing his face. His eyes were puffy and red and he looked horrendously tired and worn out. It had seemed to Naruto that he had fallen asleep crying, but that couldn't be true. Uchiha Sasuke didn't cry.
And now, Sasuke had been in the shower for more than an hour and he was again worrying despite himself. He didn't know why he cared. He and Sasuke weren't exactly buddies, so why did he give a damn? But Sasuke had told him that they had gotten a bit closer since the last time he remembered. But even if they had, it still didn't seem enough to warrant this amount of worrying over him.
Just when he was contemplating to call Sasuke out, he heard the water stop and Sasuke getting out of the shower. He sighed with relief. At least he's okay, he thought before suddenly shaking his head for caring so much. He turned to the door and said, "Did you drown in there or something, Sasuke-bastard? You've been in there for over an--"
However, his sentence evaporated the second Sasuke walked out the bathroom in nothing but a fluffy white towel around his waist. His wet hair was dripping onto his sleek porcelain skin and he looked up at Naruto through half-lidded eyes.
The blonde suddenly found himself blushing and having no idea why. This was Sasuke, the bastard, the jerk, his rival! Why would he suddenly feel so flustered by looking at him like that?
Like that? I'm not looking at him in any way. I-I-I'm just looking! Yeah! No, no, no, no! It's Sasuke!
He couldn't explain any of it, but just staring at the Uchiha, at his toned body and at his smooth pale skin that contrasted distinctly with his raven hair, Naruto couldn't help the blush that continued to grow forcefully on this cheeks and neck.
Stop blushing! he commanded himself.
An inner voice replied to his demand flippantly, Well, it's not our fault he's so hot and you're reacting like that.
HOT? Sasuke-bastard is NOT HOT!
Then why do you keep staring?
Naruto had no reply to that because he was staring and for some reason he couldn't break his gaze away.
Sasuke, on the other hand, was watching the blonde curiously with a small smirk rising on his face. He's staring, he told himself almost gleefully because that meant that the blonde did have some of his old feelings for him.
Feeling the best he had that entire day, the Uchiha smirked fully at the blonde and called, "You okay over there, dobe?"
A strangled "yes!" answered his question and Sasuke almost laughed.
"Like what you see?" he called again and this time Naruto let out an undignified yelp before turning away quickly.
"I-In your d-dreams, Sasuke-bastard!" he yelled back and then put the T.V. volume really loud so he wouldn't hear the Uchiha anymore.
Sasuke walked into his room and shut the door before laughing slightly. Now, that had been very amusing. He loved seeing an embarrassed and flustered Naruto; he was so cute like that. He smiled suddenly as he remembered what the blonde had said last.
Yes, Naruto. In my dreams. Always in my dreams.
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"What do you want to eat for dinner, dobe?" Sasuke asked as he walked out into the other room, having changed into jeans and a black shirt.
Remembering earlier events, Naruto didn't look up at him, instead kept his eyes glued on the T.V. screen as he answered, "What do you have?"
"Not much," Sasuke admitted as he looked through the fridge. "We can order something. Pizza? Chinese? What do you want?"
"R--"
"And don't you dare say ramen!"
"Bastard," Naruto growled. "Fine. Pizza."
"What kind?"
"Don't care. I'll eat whatever you get."
That's damn true. "Okay," Sasuke said but just before he called the number, there was a knock at the door and he turned to stare at it.
"Who is it?" Naruto asked.
"Beats the hell out of me," the Uchiha replied as he went to answer it. If it was Itachi again, he'd shoot him. He'd had enough of his brother for one day. But instead of Itachi, Sasuke found himself facing Sakura.
"What're you doing here?" he asked as he let her inside.
"Quit looking so annoyed," she replied. "I came to see my two favorite boys."
"Hey, Sakura-chan!" the blonde exclaimed excitedly, hopping over the back of the couch to greet her with a hug.
Sakura smiled and said, "How are you, Naruto? Remember anything yet?"
"No," he replied dejectedly. "And I hate it!"
"I know, I know," she said. "Just don't think of it right now. I brought some dinner! Chinese!"
"Sweet!" Naruto exclaimed before digging through the bag of food. "I'll go get plates."
"Sakura," Sasuke said turning to her.
"Sasuke-kun, I told you to stop looking so annoyed," she said sternly. "And don't sigh like that either! I just thought you two could use some company and that you'd be hungry. Was I wrong?"
"No, you weren't," Sasuke replied. "Sorry, Sakura."
"Don't worry, Sasuke-kun. I know you're a jackass, that's what we all love about you," Sakura teased before she gave him a hug.
Sasuke shot her a glare and she pulled away.
"Now that's something new!" Naruto exclaimed staring at them.
"What?" Sasuke snapped.
"You actually let someone hug you? Isn't that like against the Uchiha code or something?"
"Very funny, dobe," Sasuke said and didn't bother replying to the question.
"Sasuke-kun's changed a lot since you remember, Naruto," Sakura said. "Haven't you, Sasuke-kun?"
"Hn," was the Uchiha's reply.
"Again with the half-assed answers," Naruto said. "I dunno what you mean, Sakura-chan. He hasn't changed at all."
"You'll see, Naruto," Sakura replied. "Anyway, enough talky, let's eat."
"Amen!" Naruto exclaimed.
The three sat down at the table and helped themselves to the Chinese that Sakura had brought. Naruto and Sakura held most of the conversation, which was fine with Sasuke because he knew the blonde liked it better that way. He'd have to thank Sakura later for coming over; it was always hard keeping a conversation going when it was just him and an amnesiac Naruto.
"Hey, Sakura-chan, are you doing anything tomorrow?" Naruto asked.
"I haven't decided yet, why?" she replied.
"Well, I have tickets to see Click. Want to come with me?" the blonde asked looking extremely hopeful.
Sasuke tensed beside the pink-haired girl and only she seemed to notice. He tried not to feel too upset, but he couldn't help it. He clenched his hands tightly around the chopsticks he was holding and stared fixedly at his plate, wondering why the food upon it hadn't yet burst into flames from the force of his glare.
But, to his surprise, instead of Sakura accepting the offer, she said, "Sorry, Naruto. I've already seen the movie and I don't really like watching movies twice in theatres."
Sasuke turned to look at her because he knew that was a lie. For one, she had told him herself she'd been dying to see Click and had begged him to go with her, and two, she always saw movies more than once in theatres. The last one being The Lake House, which she'd seen about five times, and had dragged him to three of those showings, despite his protests and deaths threats.
The pink-haired girl didn't look back at him, though he knew she knew he was watching her closely. She just gave Naruto a very apologetic look and said, "I'm really sorry, Naruto. Why don't you ask Sasuke, instead? I know he wants to see that movie."
Sasuke's eyes widened slightly as she turned to him and he saw that familiar look to mischief. She was planning for him and Naruto to go together and Sasuke was wondering if he should be grateful or just yell at her for making the blonde upset. And, anyway, he was sure Naruto wouldn't want to go with him in the first place; which was why he'd asked Sakura first.
"Oh, that's okay Sakura-chan, I just thought I'd ask," Naruto said, though he felt a bit upset nevertheless. "I'll ask Kiba if he wants to go instead."
And Sasuke felt even worse than before. He looked away and busied himself with eating, ignoring the look of pity Sakura kept throwing at him.
His thoughts were derailed when Naruto dropped his chopsticks onto his plate and stared across the table at Sakura with a shell-shocked look on his face.
The pink-haired girl stared back, and said, "What's up? Why're you looking at me like that?"
However, Naruto didn't reply, he stared at Sakura, or more precisely at her hair, and stammered, "P-Pi-Pink…"
Sasuke and Sakura shared a confused look before the girl replied, "Yeah, Naruto, my hair is pink…You've always known that. What's going on?"
But again, the blonde didn't reply. Instead, he said, "Uh, a-a pink locker…"
Sasuke looked up at him quickly and demanded, "What did you say?"
"U-Um, a pink locker. I-I remember something about a pink locker," the blonde said, still looking confused but a bit excited. "Is it a memory? W-What is it?"
Since Sasuke looked to shocked to speak, Sakura replied, "During the beginning of senior year, you played a trick on Sasuke-kun by painting his entire locker pink. That's probably what you're remembering."
"Did that really happen?" Naruto asked Sasuke.
"Yeah, it did," he replied, trying to keep his excitement from his voice. Naruto had finally remembered something!
"But why'd I do it?"
"I think you mentioned to me that you were just bored," Sakura replied with a smile. "Too bad you didn't realize Sasuke-kun would retaliate."
"He did?" Naruto said, looking surprised. "What'd you do, Sasuke-bastard?"
Sasuke smirked. "Well, since you loved the color pink, I dyed your gym clothes the same color."
"You dyed my gym clothes pink?" Naruto exclaimed, looking torn between shocked as all hell, and outraged. "How'd you manage to pick the lock?"
"I know a lot of things," Sasuke said. "Picking locks happens to be one of them."
"Your little fights only lasted a few weeks. Even now, we're not really sure what started them, since by then the two of you were already friends, we just guessed you both found it fun to find ways to humiliate each other," Sakura said. "And it was very entertaining."
"God! It feels good to remember something!" Naruto said. "I know it's not a lot, but--"
"You're wrong," Sasuke said, staring directly at the blonde. "It is a lot. Naruto, if you remember anything, anywhere, or any how, whether it's in a dream or like it happened right now, you have to tell me, or Sakura. Your doctors said not to disregard anything you remember, and between Sakura and I, I'm sure we can tell you if something really happened or not. Okay?"
Naruto nodded. "Yeah, sure. But that's all I have for right now. When I remember something else, I'll let you know."
"Good," Sasuke said. "Oh, and tomorrow we're going to the university, just to walk around and see if anything else triggers your memory, so don't forget."
"That's cool! It'll be neat to see the university," Naruto said.
"We'll stop and talk to some of the teachers you had too," Sasuke said. "And we'll visit with the dean. Wait, you should know her already."
"Really? Who?"
"Sannin Tsunade," Sakura answered. "Since Iruka works at the university, you should have met her. She was a friend of your parents."
"Tsunade-baa-chan?" Naruto exclaimed. "That old hag's the dean at the university?"
"Yeah," Sasuke said. "She said she's waiting to talk to you."
"Great," Naruto said. "But wait, that means I've gotta spend the entire day with you?"
Sasuke flinched, but Naruto didn't seem to notice. But, he regained his composure, not letting his hurt show on his face, and with a smirk said, "Don't you already?"
Naruto stared at him and then blushed, realizing his own fault. "N-Not when you have classes!" he exclaimed in an attempt to cover up his stupidity.
Sasuke only smirked. "I'm sure one entire day with me won't kill you," he said. "And, besides, from how you were looking at me earlier today, I'd say you really don't mind."
Naruto's blush intensified. "T-Th-That was…"
"Yeah?" Sasuke prompted, enjoying the blonde's discomfort. It'd been too long since he'd been able to tease him like this.
"Shut up, bastard!" Naruto exclaimed heatedly before grabbing his plate and stomping into the kitchen to put it in the sink. He then stormed out of the room and into the bathroom, locking the door.
Sasuke let out a laugh as he helped himself to more food.
Sakura stared at him for a few seconds before she said, "Care to clue me in? What just happened?"
Smiling, Sasuke told her the story of what'd happened that day after he'd gotten out of the shower. When he finished, she smiled too.
"That's good news, Sasuke-kun!"
"That's what I thought too," he replied, feeling a lot better than he had in a long time and looking forward to the next day. An entire day with his Naruto.
A/N: Sorry for the lame ending, but I decided to put everything else into the next chapter. Sorry, for a pretty lame chapter too. I just wanted to get it up and out of the way. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter anyway! Thanks for reading and leave a review please!