Disclaimer: Naruto and all its characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

Author's note: Apologies for the late update! The updates should be coming quicker from now on.

Chapter 6

"Sasuke-kun? It's me, Sakura! Don't you remember me?"

"Sakura?" The feeling of familiarity from when he first heard the name started to bloom, but before he could think too deeply into it, he shook his head. To clear his head or to answer her question or maybe both—even he didn't know which.

"No. Never heard of it."

He watched as her eyes widened and clouded over and her mouth gaped open in what was probably disbelief.

"B-but how? We've known each other since we were children. Stop lying, Sasuke!"

"I'm not lying. Now shut up and walk back to your cell."

Sakura hesitated, before her face lit up with a new idea. "What about Naruto? Surely you remember your best friend!"

"Best friend? I don't have one." He was almost offended at her suggestion that he was close to anyone. The only thing that mattered in his life was revenge for his family. Friends don't even exist in his vocabulary.

"Of course you do! The three of us went through elementary, middle and high school together! Then one day, after your parents died, you just suddenly disappeared! Everyone was saying that you were dead. But here you are." She looked like she was starting to ramble now, and Sasuke stopped her before she could continue.

"Shut up! I don't want to hear about you and your pathetic nonsense," he all but snarled, his head now pounding with a massive headache.

Out of shock and slight fear, she complied. Her eyes were now filled to the brim with tears, but it looked as though she was holding it back, unwilling to show weakness.

Feeling a slight pang of a feeling unknown to him, he turned away and trudged towards Sakura's cell, listening to the footsteps that was the only indication that she was following him.

Movies always depicted the life of a criminal gang was exciting and thrilling, without a moment of break before trouble finds them, or the other way around. Sasuke's experience however, had been vastly different and each day was filled with wandering and nothing to do, especially due to him being one of the newer and thus least trusted members. In fact, he mused, Sakura's recapturing had been the one of the biggest assignments he had been given for a while. And it was therefore in the boring aftermath that followed that Sasuke had more than enough time to sort his thoughts.

Sakura had mentioned that she knew him, and that he was close to someone named Naruto as well. And if his memory served him correct, Naruto was also the name of the man they were meant to kidnap, instead of Sakura. The millionaire Kakashi's nephew or something of the sort.

At this point, his head was close to bursting from the pain, but he still forced himself to think. It wasn't as though he believed Sakura's words that easily, but he was starting to doubt his own memories. He only just realised that as he tried to think of something other than his family and getting revenge, his brain turned up little to nothing. It was as though everything was hazy and foggy. He couldn't recall anything about school, which he had surely attended before his parents died. They were a pretty well-off and highly educated family after all.

He tried to think about his career before joining Akatsuki, but once again turned up with nothing useful. After a few more moments of concentration though, he could vaguely picture a face. The face looked much like his, and his parents'… Sasuke sat bolt upright as a jolt of realisation shot through him. That was his brother! And his name… Sasuke desperately delved into the depths of his memories again, before coming up with an 'Itachi'. He breathed a sigh of relief. He managed to remember something after all. But now he was faced with a lot of headache-inducing questions. How could he ever have forgotten his own brother when his parents' faces and circumstances leading to their death were bright and clear in his mind? How is it that he couldn't remember any of his past that didn't involve his family? He fought the urge to scream, both from frustration and the pain that wasn't dulling in the slightest.

Sasuke only had one theory at the moment, which was a selective amnesia of some sort. But he had no ideas on what could have induced it or when it had happened. He also didn't know how or if he could ever recover all of his memories.

Seeing that Sakura seemed to know a bit about his past, he decided that he could perhaps get some of his questions answered. He also vaguely recall Konan saying that she was a doctor. That might help too.

Unfortunately for him, ever since his outburst, Sakura had refused to talk to him, even when he went to deliver her food and tried to start a conversation with him some hours later. Granted, his appalling attempt at conversation only consisted of a single "hn" and confidence that she would continue rambling where he left off and all he needed to do was listen. His confidence was wrongly placed. She stayed quiet the entire time he was in the room and refused to look at him. He, on the other hand, was too prideful to even slightly admit that she may have been right and that he now wanted to hear her side of the story.

And so Sasuke left without gaining any of the answers he went in seeking.

Itachi stopped his car in front of the looming building and slowly got out. He did not have a good feeling about what he was going to do. Not at all. But it must be done.

He craned his neck to look at the top of the building, where the sign 'UCHIHA CORPORATION' was once proud and glimmering but was now only a rusted shell of its former glory.

Itachi's eyes saddened, before he squared his resolve and he put on his indifferent façade. Now was not the time to mourn or wonder about 'what ifs'. There will be time for it later, he told himself. If all things go well.

With that, he stepped into the abandoned building. The ground floor was dark and as desolate as it seemed. But Itachi knew better than to stop his search here. He continued winding his way through offices and stairs, hoping to find some sign of life that would confirm his suspicions.

It wasn't until the eight floor that Itachi finally found what he was looking for. The rooms here were brightly lit, and dark curtains were drawn at every window, so as to not alert the outside to suspicious activity in a supposedly abandoned building. Through the open doors, Itachi could see a lot of medical equipment, ranging from operating tables to vials upon vials of unknown liquids, substances and medicines. Some of the doors were closed and Itachi want to think about what could be in them.

Itachi walked and observed silently, until he reached the room at the end of the corridor. The door was slightly ajar, and from the gap, Itachi could make out dim lights and one end of a wooden table. He knew from prior knowledge of the building's layout that this was the biggest office in the entire floor, and the person he was searching for was likely in here.

When he stepped as silent as a shadow, it was clear that the man sitting the leather chair with his back to Itachi was expecting him.

"Nice of you to come by to visit, Itachi," he said in a taunting tone while turning around.

Itachi narrowed his eyes at the sinister grin against the deathly pale skin, before clashing with the man's snake-like eyes.

"Orochimaru."

Thank you for reading!