Amnesia

Chapter 4: The Voice

In the morning, when Sakura woke up, she found Naruto sleeping on the chair next to her. She watched him briefly and smiled. It looked like he was going to keep his promise.

Slowly pushing herself up, so not to wake the guy, she sat with her back against the headboard - but when she looked back at him this time, he was watching her.

"I'm sorry, Naruto! I didn't want to wake you," she apologised sheepishly, giving him a small smile, feeling guilty for disturbing his slumber.

He smiled back at her, not at all bothered. "I'm glad you did, Sakura-chan, we can head out right away."

"In the day?" Her eyes widened, she didn't want to get in trouble with the scary Hokage for a second time - that was a glare she never wanted to receive again. "Won't people see us?"

Naruto just stood up and held out his hand. "I've got permission, so it doesn't matter."

Even though they had permission, they still headed out of the window, which made her smile. Although, once they got down to street level, he put her down and they walked side by side. When they travelled around Konoha, Sakura took in the buildings and the people, trying to remember what was what. She found it very difficult.

"You know..." She tilted her head as she studied her surroundings. "It's a lot different than what I remember."

He didn't look at her as he spoke, "We had a lot of new buildings and some rebuilt."

That would be why she couldn't recognise any of it. They walked around all of the streets, stopping off for a leisurely breakfast (in another place she had never seen before). It was a peaceful and welcome start to the day. In her hospital room, it had been so closed off and serious. Although she could honestly say that the food wasn't that bad, going out for breakfast was a much nicer treat.

As it got nearer lunchtime, it began to get busier and she walked closer to Naruto, finding that she had to navigate through growing crowds of people.

Sakura stopped dead in her path, as she looked beyond the crowd, she saw a small blond boy - her eyes widened when she realised it was Naruto. She remembered this; she looked behind her to see herself, being pulled away from him, the people angry at Naruto, calling him horrible things.

"Sakura-chan? Are you okay?" Naruto broke through her memory.

She shook her head to clear her thoughts and looked up at him, smiling, she answered, "Yes, I'm fine."

She didn't tell him - it wasn't like that was a recent memory. That was before she was eight anyway. It wasn't as if she had remembered something her amnesia had made her forget. It was strange though, she felt a little weird, and in the back of her mind she was fighting off another headache.

Naruto smile back at her. "Okay, Sakura-chan, but tell me if you don't feel well, I have to take you back to the hospital if so."

She really didn't want to go back to the hospital. She wanted to explore her hometown, try and make sense of herself and of what was around her. Naruto being her tour guide was an added bonus.

If she looked at the real crowd around her, nobody was glaring at Naruto or calling him names, they all looked friendly and cheerful. She smiled at them all, many smiled back. A few seemed surprised to see her and out of the corner of her eye she thought she caught a couple whispering to each other, one of them glancing at her before quickly averting his gaze.

She wasn't too bothered about the people though. She was excited to see where Naruto would take her next.

They headed to an area labelled 'Training Grounds'.

Naruto ran ahead of her. As they came up to a grassy area secured with fencing and a gate, he opened the way for her and jogged in. She followed him more slowly, studying the new large area. This was a place she hadn't visited before, though it was unlikely her parents would take her to a spot like this. There were going to be many places in Konoha that she had never been to before, it was a big village.

"This is our team training grounds!" Naruto announced excitedly, holding his arms out to either side of him, presenting the area to her with great enthusiasm.

Sakura looked across the field towards the trees in the distance. There were several large holes in the ground and she pointed at them. Naruto grinned and pointed back at her. Her eyes widened. She made those craters? No way...

She walked forward with the intention of studying them, but as she got closer, she saw Kakashi in one. She laughed. She hadn't expected him to be here.

He raised his head as he realised she was there and she had to fight off a strange feeling... It seemed so familiar as he looked up at her. Maybe this was a memory? Something that had happened before?

Jumping out of the pit, Kakashi waved at her in a friendly manner. "Yo, how are you feeling, Sakura?"

"Good, thank you, Kakashi." She smiled back at her teammate.

Then she remembered what Ino had said. Walking up to him, she lifted her hands up to his mask, but before she could hook her fingers under the fabric, he jumped backwards.

He chuckled when she frowned. "What are you doing, Sakura?"

"Ino told me I should look under your mask, since I forgot what you looked like," she told him, confused.

Naruto walked by her side and smiled. "I think Ino was playing a prank on you, Sakura-chan, we've never seen his face."

"Really?" Her eyes widened.

"Yeah," Naruto confirmed, nodding.

"How many years have we known him?" she questioned.

Kakashi stroked his chin in a thoughtful manner. "Six, give or take a few months."

She frowned again. "Then why haven't we seen your face?"

"That mask is stuck to him like glue," Naruto said, pouting in a similar fashion as she had been.

Sakura stepped towards the masked man again, putting her hands on his face...and he vanished into a cloud of smoke, only to end up behind her, still chuckling.

Spinning around, she frowned at him, poking him in the chest. "That's not fair!" she whined.

Pesky ninja, why were they so fast? He just vanished from right in front of her!

Still laughing, he turned around and began to walk away from them.

His amusement annoyed her and so leaning into Naruto, she whispered to him, "Will you beat him up for me?"

Smiling mischievously back, Naruto winked at her, before charging at the masked man. Sakura was surprised at the sudden battle that took place. She could barely keep up with the movements. She found she was following the fight with her head as if watching a tennis game, only it was a lot more deadly. Deciding she had better get out of the way quickly, she ran to the edge of the clearing, resulting in the fight getting even more intense.

Twenty minutes later and they were still going at it. She had ended up sitting down, cross-legged on the ground. There was a certain point where instead of being impressive, it got a little boring. She would have thought the fast-paced fight would have been able to hold her attention for longer, but it was as if she had seen it all before.

To amuse herself, she'd even started picking at the grass. She wanted to see the rest of Konoha! She leant her elbow on her knee and rested her chin in her hand, wondering if they'd pick up on her bored manner.

"Sakura."

Sakura shot up to her feet and span around.

Whose voice was that?

"Sakura," it came again. Short, simple, emotionless.

Looking around, she searched for the source of the voice, but could see no one. It had come from behind her, further into the surrounding forest. Something about it made her feel like she knew who it was, so she walked towards it.

Naruto and Kakashi were busy fighting and she didn't want to disturb them. She didn't particularly feel like trying to stop that array of kicks and punches and anyway, Konoha was a really safe place...right?

It didn't take her long to decide that perhaps this wasn't a good idea. If this person wanted to talk to her, then surely they could have spoken to her in front of her team. So she sat on the floor and waited, her patience failing her. "Listen, whoever you are, if you want to talk, come to me, I'm not chasing you."

Silence.

She waited.

No answer.

Maybe she was just hearing things. Getting up, she decided to head back to the main training grounds. Hopefully her friends had finished sparring now, although she doubted it.

"Sakura."

Swivelling around, she looked at the man standing there. He was the one calling her. Something about him...did she know him? She must do, he knew her. Although the look he gave her...was quite unnerving. She suddenly felt very unsafe.

"I'm sorry...who are you?" she asked politely, giving the man a small smile.

He smirked at her. Well he was certainly handsome. As for his clothes, he wore a grey high-collared short-sleeved shirt and dark blue trousers, tied with a purple-rope belt in the shape of a bow. Her eyes hovered on a long handle that stuck out from his belt... Was he carrying a sword?!

Even if this man was a ninja (and she assumed he was, his arms were fairly muscular), he was in Konoha, he didn't need to openly wander around with weapons. Ignoring it and still forcing her smile, she looked back up at his face - more than anything, she was drawn to that...fair-skin, dark onyx eyes, curtained by chin-length, spiky black hair.

As he spoke to her, his voice was smooth, but his face, completely emotionless - until he smirked, and that made her want to run away. Good looking or not, he sent her alarm bells ringing, deep, deep down.

"How can you forget me?" he mused, taking a step closer.

She instinctively took a step back from him, trying not to sound startled, as she explained, "Traumatic brain injury, I've lost my memories. I'm sorry but I do not remember you."

"Hn."

Hn? That was a strange thing to reply with. She didn't know anybody who spoke like that, or what that was supposed to mean.

"So what's your name?" she asked casually.

He was making her nervous, if he just told her who he was she could accept that while he may be a little creepy, he wasn't going to cause her any harm.

"Sasuke Uchiha."

Her eyes widened and she replied slowly, "Ah, yes, I've heard about you."

Oh...dear. She instantly remembered Ino's words. He's sort of...a bad guy. The word 'bad' bounced around in her head repetitively, an unwelcome and scary thought. She was alone with The Bad Guy. She highly doubted anybody would hear her if she screamed.

He took a step closer again. "What have you heard?"

Taking several steps away, Sakura tried to get herself to relax. "That you were on my team, but left Konoha."

"Oh?"

"And that you're a bad person," she added carefully, closely watching his reaction.

He was even harder to read than Ino. Apart from the quirk of his lips, his expression did not change and she didn't know what that meant. She didn't know what he wanted. He was her teammate! Even if he was now a little villainous, he wouldn't want to ill-treat her, right?

What if he wanted revenge for something that she did when she was younger that she didn't even know about? She knew her child-self was harmless, but her younger teenage-self? Who knew what she got up to in the past.

Or he might be here to return to Konoha. He was her friend at some point, surely. It sounded like she had done nothing but give love to him. She stopped her inner-speculation, fearing that unlike her ability to guess what he was thinking, he could read every thought shooting through her panicking brain as she was retreating from him.

His smile widened. He walked forward again but didn't stop until he was directly in front of her.

Stepping backwards one more time, she found herself right up against a tree trunk. "Please don't hurt me," she whispered, her lip quivering in fear.

One more step forward on his end and he was too close for comfort. He reached towards her with one hand and tilted her chin upwards. He looked her in the eyes, but it was as if he were looking straight through her. "Now why would I hurt you?"

She didn't answer. She didn't know.

"Tell me, Sakura, do you remember how to fight?" he questioned lazily, lowering his hand from her face, but he didn't move away.

"No," she answered quietly, truthfully.

She really wished she could remember how to fight right now. If she could move as quick as Kakashi or Naruto, she would be running for the hills.

"Heal?" Sasuke pushed.

"No," she said even quieter.

She couldn't do anything. She felt so useless.

"Anything from when you were a ninja?"

"No."

"Our childhood together?" he added, almost sounding interested in her reply.

She shook her head hopelessly, lowering her head.

Sasuke sighed. "That's annoying."

Sakura swallowed and raised her head to watch him again. "Sorry, what did you want me for?"

"I was going to kidnap you or something...but you'd probably die from just a little torture and that would not be any fun at all." He smirked again, wider than before. He looked dangerous. She couldn't place such an evil-looking man in her early memories. Torture her?!

"No it wouldn't," she replied nervously. "Why would you kidnap me?"

"To get to Naruto of course. How is he?"

Sakura frowned, her fist tightened instinctively at the mention of harming her friend. "He is fine."

"That's not good, is it?" Sasuke said monotonously, his face still blank.

His hand shot forward to hold her wrist in his grip and she her panicked heightened.

With her other hand, she pushed him away and to her surprise, her push was strong. She watched as he flew backwards several feet into the nearest tree. Her eyes widened at her power, but she didn't wait to see his reaction. Slipping around the tree that she had been forced against, she turned and fled as fast as her legs could take her.

In seconds he was in front of her, anger scorching in his dark eyes.

"Liar," he growled dangerously.

Shaking her head frantically, she gabbled, "No, honestly, I haven't lied."

"Then where did the power come from?" he snarled.

"I don't know," she replied honestly.

Sakura felt a fist connect with her stomach. She fell to the floor and winced in pain, winded from the blow. Forcefully, he pulled her back up to her feet and held her very close, eye to eye, he sneered, "Let me help you remember."

She stared into his eyes as they started spinning, no longer black, but red.

"Tell Naruto, I'm going to kill him. You had better not get in my way, Sakura," was the last statement she heard and he was no longer calm, he was mad.

All of a sudden, she saw herself, she saw Sasuke, Naruto, Kakashi, at all different ages, she saw her memories playing out in front of her. No. They were Sasuke's memories - he was in all of them. Wow... She really was harsh to Naruto, she followed Sasuke like a puppy... She cried a hell of a lot and she was completely useless. Although for a lot of them, she looked happy... And then she saw Sasuke on the night he left Konoha. When he knocked her out, she felt the knock to her head and everything turned to black.

Sakura woke up on a bench. On the same bench he left her on all those years ago... She felt physically and emotionally drained. Pushing herself up slowly, she stood up with a slight wobble, her mind foggy. Was that real? Yes, she knew it was. She ached from the Uchiha's brute actions.

She dawdled back in the direction of the hospital. Truth be told, she was slightly lost, in thought and in Konoha.

Naruto had not taken her this way and she didn't know how to get back - so she just headed to the big Hokage tower, taking whatever turns or path that came her way. She ignored everything around her, too busy in thought. Sasuke had shown her all her memories with him but...she still couldn't remember anything else, which left most of her recent life out.

She was inwardly hoping she was a better person than what she used to be, but right now, she had been just as weak as in her childhood.

She managed to find her way to the tower, but as she entered the building, she realised it didn't help her much, it was so huge... Naruto had always taken her out of the window. Where was the hospital? Was she even in the right building?

An older woman walked towards her slowly.

"Sakura, what are you doing?" the old woman asked, smiling slightly, but she had a clear expression of worry on her face.

"Can you show me which way the hospital is please?" Sakura requested politely, still feeling sluggish and a little depressed.

"Of course, though maybe we should see the Hokage first?" she suggested with a soft expression, but the tone of voice told her that she would insist if Sakura refused.

Nodding, she followed the lady along some more corridors, once again cutting herself off from her surroundings. They stopped outside a large door. The older woman knocked the door and opened it.

Kakashi, Naruto, Ino, a medic she had come to know as Shizune, and Tsunade were all in the room - they looked like they were arguing. The lady who had guided her coughed loudly, pointing to the girl standing in the doorway, she then bowed and said 'Tsunade-sama', before turning to leave.

Sakura turned around to watch her go, shouting a small 'thank you' after her. As she turned back to the people in the room, she was greeted with a mixture of anger, worry and relief.

Shuffling on her feet, she looked around. "Can you tell me where my hospital room is please?"

Naruto ran up to her, his eyes wide. "Where the hell did you go, Sakura?"

Sakura shrugged. "I was following the voice."

The Hokage closed her eyes for a brief moment, but when she looked back at her, her expression gave nothing away. "What voice?"

"Sasuke's," she grumbled, not really wanting to retell the event.

Silence.

"I heard his voice when I was at the training grounds and I didn't feel like jumping in to stop your fight so I followed it," she explained, looking from Naruto to Kakashi and then back at Tsunade.

"Did you physically see Sasuke?" Shizune asked, sounding nervous.

Sakura nodded in reply. "Yes, I spoke to him."

"Did he look young?" Tsunade questioned.

"Why would he look young? He was taller than me." Sakura frowned.

The way he had stood in front her made her feel incredibly small.

"You saw him and knew who he was?" the Hokage continued.

Shaking her head, Sakura replied, "No, he was talking to me as if he knew me and I told him I'd lost my memories and couldn't remember who he was, he had to tell me."

She looked around the room... Their faces showed pure concern.

"You don't believe me," she breathed out in disbelief.

Tsunade answered her calmly, "It is common for brain damaged patients to hear voices and have hallucinations."

"I was not hallucinating! It was real," Sakura insisted, desperately trying to make them see she was telling the truth.

Tsunade nodded but still didn't seem to believe her. "Tell me, Sakura, did the situation feel familiar, like it had happened before?"

"No." Sakura thought about it. "Well he did, but the situation...no."

"Okay," the Hokage frowned slightly. "What happened?"

"Well, after he told me who he was he said it was annoying that I couldn't remember how to fight or anything and I asked what he wanted me for. He said to kidnap me or something, but that now he couldn't because I would probably die from just a little torture and that was no fun." Sakura felt the tension rise in the room, but she continued, "He got a little close, so I pushed him and he flew into a tree!"

She was proud of that, it raised her spirits partly, until she remembered what happened next.

Tsunade frowned. "You knocked him out?"

Sakura's smile faded. "No...I ran like two metres and he got up again, he was all angry, called me a liar because I magically got this strength."

"You channelled chakra?" Tsunade's eyes widened.

Sakura pulled a confused face. "I what? No, all I did was push him, which didn't really work at all... It didn't seem to have an effect on him, unlike the other way around."

Sakura pulled up her shirt slightly to reveal a large bruise from where had had punched her.

Shizune rushed over to inspect it. She raised an eyebrow. "Sakura, have you treated this?"

"No."

"It's been partly healed," the medic explained.

"Maybe Sasuke did it," she suggested.

"Maybe you did it in your sleep," Shizune mumbled.

Sakura giggled. "Yeah, along with my magic strength."

Naruto looked at her, concerned, he asked, "Sakura...did Sasuke mention me?"

She looked at the male, all worried and sad looking. She smiled, trying to be comforting. "He asked me how you were. I told him you were fine."

He looked her in the eyes. "Anything else?"

She looked back at him and paused. She wouldn't tell him what Sasuke said, she looked down. "No."

"I can tell when you are lying, Sakura," Naruto said with a frown.

Her eyes widened but as she looked up, she frowned back. "Same goes for you."

He didn't answer, he appeared confused.

"Was I an annoying twelve year old who was mean to you all the time and followed Sasuke around like a puppy? Being pretty much useless?" she asked, slightly annoyed, he couldn't deny it because she had seen it.

"No," he replied quickly.

"Yes," Ino said at the same time.

Sakura looked down, her anger fading. "His eyes started spinning red. I got all these flashes of 'memories'. I was kind of hoping they were fake... I woke up on the bench he left me on originally and headed back here, though I got a bit lost." She turned to her mentor. "Believe me? I am not insane..."

Tsunade nodded. "I believe you, Sakura, will you show us the tree you punched him into?"

Sakura smiled and nodded. She was still proud of that.

In a hurry, Naruto carried her back to the training grounds. Tsunade, Ino and Kakashi followed. When they got there, Naruto dropped her to her feet and she walked in the direction of the voice she had heard. Reaching the small clearing, she paused, something didn't feel right. Naruto spotted a dented tree and ran towards it.

"Naruto! Wait!" she shouted after him.

Sakura ran after the eager blond and something happened, she heard a loud 'Ssssss' and saw a bright light. All of a sudden, a large, deafening explosion erupted from the broken tree. Closing her eyes tightly, she suddenly felt the ground beneath her.

When the ground stopped shaking and she felt no pain, she looked up to see Naruto over the top of her. He had protected her from the blast like a shield.

"Naruto! Are you okay?" Her eyes widened in shock as he squinted, as if dazed from the blast.

"Fine, Sakura-chan." He smiled, but then closed his eyes and collapsed on top of her.

Slowing pulling away from him, she gasped at the earth and bark stuck in his back. Ino rushed to her side and inspected him.

"Is he..." Sakura trailed off.

Ino smiled reassuringly at her. "He'll be fine, Sakura, he's always doing this."

Kakashi walked over and helped her to her feet.

Tsunade looked at the scene, studying the now blackened and holey earth around them. "Sakura, did you see Sasuke place an explosive tag?"

"No, I fell unconscious after his red eyes started spinning," she answered.

Tsunade nodded and with a silent order, Kakashi picked up her unconscious friend and they headed to the hospital. This time, it would be Naruto in a hospital bed.

Sakura watched as Shizune's hands glowed green and Naruto's wounds miraculously began to heal. It was amazing.

Tsunade questioned her, pulling her gaze away from the mystical palms. "Sakura did the voice, or Sasuke, tell you to plant an explosive tag and lead us there?"

Sakura narrowed her eyes at the accusation. "No! Why would I do that? I wouldn't risk hurting anyone and besides it was you who asked to go there! Where would I even find an explosive?"

"Then Sasuke planted that tag?" Tsunade murmured, frowning at the thought.

Sakura shrugged, that was the only explanation. "I guess, he told me not to get in the way and that he wanted to kill Naruto."

"Knew it."

Sakura's eyes widened as she looked at a now awake Naruto. "I thought you were asleep," she told him quietly.

He just grinned at her.

Tsunade rubbed her temples. "Why didn't you tell us, Sakura?"

With a quick glance at Naruto, she shrugged again.

"Is there anything else you missed out?" the Hokage asked plainly.

"No."

The sannin nodded before sighing. "OK... You can go back to your room now, Sakura, it's the next room on the right."

Sakura looked at Naruto and pouted. "Can't I stay here?"

Tsunade hesitated, but was firm as she added, "It's best if you go to your own room."

Sakura's pout increased, but she obliged and headed back to her hospital room, giving Naruto one more glance before she exited. For someone who just half blew up, he still smiled idiotically widely - you'd think he'd feel a bit injured. Although, Shizune's magical hands might have healed all of his pain, making him instantly better again.

Not long after she had sat back down in her own bed, did Naruto climb in through the window.

She giggled. "I don't see why you just don't take the door."

He smiled in reply and sat on the chair. "I'm too cool for doors."

"Oh that's what it is, is it." Sakura laughed.

She spotted a small cut on his head and leant towards him. Placing her hand on his head, she closed her eyes.

He chuckled. "What are you doing, Sakura?"

"Trying to heal the cut on your head," she murmured.

He watched her open her eyes and frown.

Tracing a finger along her arm, he laughed. "You need to channel you chakra along your arm and into your hands...or something."

She looked him in the eyes. "Or something?"

He smiled back at her. "I've never understood medical chakra."

She pushed him away playfully. "What was the whole tracing your finger down my arm thing then?"

He grinned and she laughed, but she saw something in his eyes, a seriousness that made her wary, her smile faded. "Naruto...what's wrong?"

His eyes widened slightly at her question. "I've got a mission, Sakura, I won't be back for a while."

"Oh...can I come?" she asked hopefully.

Naruto shook his head. "Sorry, Sakura, it's just for me and Kakashi-sensei, but I'll be back soon, I promise."

Sakura nodded, confused at what he meant. He needed to promise her that he would be back? How dangerous was this mission? Why did he suddenly have to leave?

Author Notes:

'I said this would be a little different. Sasuke is what I wanted to talk about at the end of my last chapter, but I couldn't, or else it would be quite obvious he was coming up. In this story, Sasuke is a little...evil? Psycho? XD He does make the story darker.

Usually when I write his character, he's either similar to how he was as a child, or dark and a slightly cuckoo. I also wrote this a couple of years ago, where I knew nothing of Sasuke's character development, so him appearing like that doesn't really fit into the current canon setting. I just imagined him older, and if he hadn't returned, more evil. Turns out I got his change of heart spot on.

When I posted the last chapter, I had just finished a short SasuSaku, not really a romance story, True Strength, it's also a slightly dark fic.

For a while, this story takes a bit of a break from focusing on Naruto and Sakura's relationship (there are still elements of it, of course) and turns to more about Sakura trying to deal with her amnesia, there's also Sasuke to deal with... At the moment Sasuke being in it allows me to push things along a little. Thanks for all the feedback so far, I will definitely take it into consideration when writing the rest of the story.'

Thanks for reading!