Six years ago
"So you're saying that he lost his memory temporarily?" Sasuke had asked the nurse. The nurse glanced at Naruto resting on his hospital bed. They stood beside him as they discussed his condition. His eyes were completely locked and the nurse was thankful that he wouldn't be able to perceive sound.
"Uh..Not exactly" the nurse explained—a little frightened by Sasuke. "He will gradually regain his memory. All it takes is some time"
Sasuke unsettled the nurse. She knew all about him and his ties with Orochimaru."Time eh?" Sasuke spelled out. "So, does that mean I can just leave him?"
The nurse drew herself backward and giggled nervously. "Uh…yeah. You may leave" she assured him. "But the doctors would truly appreciate it if you stay and help him reclaim his memory"
The nurse had expected to die that moment. She could've been slayed by the Uchiha with one slit of his sword. Yet surprisingly, the Uchiha stayed tranquil. He wrestled with the options in his mind, whether or not he should assist Naruto in recollecting his memories.
Dobe. He thought. He's also my brother. Would my real brother do this to me? No. Just to prove that I'm not like him…
"Whatever" he answered. To the nurse, it meant a 'yes'. 'Whatever' was a boastful response, defending Sasuke's emotions.
"Okay" the nurse agreed "With your help, Uzumaki-kun will reclaim his mind"
"Hn." Sasuke stared blankly at her. "How long will this take exactly?" he asked her.
"Approximately seven to eight years...with his condition" the nurse answered "The doctors consider it fortunate that he's still living"
"Hn" Sasuke muttered
"Whoever treated him must have been extremely skilled" the nurse mentioned.
"Sure" Sasuke muttered.
A few days later:
"Her name was Sakura" Sasuke gave details to Naruto as he laid frozen in his hospital bed. "She kind of looked like a flower with her pink hair and green eyes. She was our old teammate. While you admired her, I treated her like crap. They say that she's become a skilled healer since she's been training under the Tsunade—Konoha's Hokage. That was the girl who saved you. "
Naruto glanced at him. "Sakura…I can't remember her" he said. "But..you said that she had pink hair and green eyes right?"
Sasuke nodded. "I think..that I've dreamed about someone like her" Naruto told him.
Sasuke arched his eyebrow. "It's possible" he told him.
After a short pause, Naruto suddenly asked "Sasuke…how long will be here? To help me, I mean"
Sasuke hesitated and sighed. Then he suddenly spoke, "I'm not like my brother. I don't know what I'm going to do with the rest of my life, but I'm not letting following his footsteps. So, just to prove that I'm not like him, I'll stay...until you fully remember your memories."
Naruto's eyes seem to hollow. "Sasuke…what was my goal?" he asked dimly. Sasuke answered him fearlessly. "You wanted to be Hokage. Not that many people believed in you in the beginning, but you proved them wrong" he replied "Even me"
Naruto chuckled. He then questions him weakly, "Do you think that…that if I worked a little bit harder, that I could've been Hokage?"
After ages of silence, Sasuke answers "Yeah. I do"
It was an honest response. Naruto had the ability befall into the position of Hokage. However, many tales that Sasuke exposed to him were painful. Explaining that your best friend is the container for the nine-tailed fox was an upsetting task. Sasuke caught a glimpse of Naruto hiding his look when he revealed that.
Hokage Office (a day later)
Knock-knock
Knock-knock
Knock-knock
"Come in" she granted permission. Paper works on her kept her occupied.
She had predicted it to be Ino, but as the door the door slowly swung, it leisurely exposed-
"Sasuke?" she was puzzled at his appearance. Sasuke took a seat crosswise from Sakura without of approval.
"So, how are you" he asked out of the blue. Sakura didn't know how to reply or understand his purpose of being there.
"I'm..fine" she informed, still quite confused.
Sasuke groaned. They only gazed at each other throughout an awkward silence.
Sasuke…
Sakura…
Sasuke…
Sakura...
Words weren't necessary to communicate. The language of the eyes spoke for them. Her eyes told him that she wanted to know why he was there. His eyes scornfully told her that he just wanted to talk. Sasuke narrowed his eyes away from hers, ending their "conversation". His eyes instead fell on their Team 7 photograph long-ago when they were gennins. The picture just set on her desk diagonally.
What do you think when you look at this photo? Sasuke asked
I think about how you betrayed the village. About how many failed missions it took to get to you. About how you might as well have killed Naruto. I think about Kakashi-sensei and how he was a lot like you. You owe him a lot, you know. I think about Naruto's dream about being Hokage. I think about what I had done to deserve his dream. I think about the countless times you insulted me as gennins. I think about how much of an idiot I was because I shouted "I love you!" to make you stay. I think about the times I've cried for you, never learning my lesson that crying gets you no where. Yeah. One photo can make you wonder about a lot of things. Right now, I'm thinking that you should stop looking at me.
He did as he was ordered. "We were a strong team, weren't we?" Sasuke inquired for her opinion. They closed their "eyes" discussion.
"Yeah" she agreed "But we were the weakest too"
He knew exactly what she intended. Their team was wrecked because of him. They were weak and fragile, and all that was needed was the abandonment of one to make the other two fall apart. And then Naruto departed from her too. But it wasn't the same for him. He was just absent from her life temporarily. Even though, gossip would stretch throughout Konohakagure and she had to stand her ground. She took the humiliation of their team.
Flashback:
Isn't she lonely?
Oh, but I thought that Kakashi's team was the strongest.
Me too. She was the only one from their team that didn't make it past the preliminaries during the Chunnin exams.
End Flashback
So, proclaiming that they were the strongest team was false information. Kakashi-sensei was right from the beginning about team work.
"Sakura" Sasuke said "I'm sorry"
A/N
Yay for updation! Most of you might be wondering if I had planned for Naruto to live. Yes, I did. I decided to let him live while I was writing the second chapter. More will be revealed about Kakashi next chapter. ( Thanks for the reviews you guys! Anyways, keep reviewing!
I will update..(I have no idea)