Brighter than Sunshine
By BananaSunshine
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Got it? Good.
Chapter 2 Flirting with Disaster
Flashback:
A boy with blonde hair ran through the forest while carrying an unconscious girl on his back. She was badly injured and hurt, with many fatal blows to the head.
"Sakura, hang in there, ok? I'll save you, I swear." Whispered the boy frantically. He ran faster. When he reached the village, he barged into the nearest hospital, hollering for the 5th Hokage.
"TSUNADE! TSUNADE! SAKURA-CHAN NEEDS HELP!" cried Naruto.
An irritated looking Tsunade came grumbling out of her office.
"What kind of nonsense are you-" Tsunade gasped when her eye caught Sakura.
"Naruto, what happened?" She demanded angrily. Her pupil was wounded badly.
"We don't have time for that right now! Sakura-chan needs help right now!" yelled Naruto while glaring at Tsunade. He was right. There was a thin line between life and death, and by the looks of it, Sakura was flirting with it.
"Ok, give her to me right now. I will handle this. You go back home and rest. Shizune!" with that, Tsunade briskly walked off to another room carrying the unconscious pink haired kuonoichi. Naruto wanted to stay and wait for her, but he knew that Tsunade meant business.
'Sakura-chan, you'll be alright. Tsunade will heal you right up.' He hoped.
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Naruto solemnly stared at his steaming ramen. He just got back from an intense mission. He left the day after he took Sakura to the hospital. During the whole mission all he could think about was Sakura, and if she was ok. He tried to finish the mission as soon as possible, and headed home at top speed. When he reached the hospital, the nurses wouldn't let him see Sakura. They said she was still in critical condition, and still undergoing the operation. Naruto left in disappointment.
"Uzumaki Naruto-san, the Hokage would like to see you."
Naruto turned around to see who it was. Shizune. She looked dead tired and exhausted.
"Is it about Sakura-chan?" he asked.
"Yes. She is currently recovering right now, and we still have to determine whether it was successful or not, but you can still go and see her." Replied Shizune, but Naruto was already on his way to the hospital. He didn't even finish his ramen.
-
When Naruto arrived at Sakura's room, Tsunade was still there. She also looked tired and exhausted. Then Naruto spotted Sakura on the hospital bed sleeping peacefully. Her soft, pink hair framed her face, and she seemed to be ok except for the fresh, white bandages around her head.
"We will run some more tests on her when she wakes up, just to make sure that it was successful," Started Tsunade, "just make sure that you don't scare her too much or cause any trauma. She is still recovering and you can break the news to her when she is ready." Tsunade looked worn and saddened.
"I have some important business to attend to. Please watch over her, Naruto. I will be leaving now." Tsunade walked out of the room in silence.
Naruto slowly walked up to the sleeping kuonichi and brought up a chair to the bed. He sat down and watched as her chest heaved up and down. After his rough day, he slowly fell asleep.
xxxx
Sakura slowly opened her eyes. She felt lightheaded and groggy. She was in a white room that smelled strongly of antiseptics. 'Where am I?' she wondered. No, no, no. Something was wrong. She looked down at herself, at her hands. They she brought up her hands to her face. Her hair. 'Who am I?' She panicked. Who was she? How could this be? What was going on? She was in a strange place. Then she noticed someone beside her. Who was he? Her head started to hurt as her eyes darted around the room nervously. She clutched her head and screamed.
"AHHHHHHHH!!" Her head was pounding now. What the hell is going on? Why can't I remember anything?
Naruto woke up with a start. Sakura's screams were shrill and desperate. Naruto leaped up and checked the room for any danger. Nothing.
"Sakura-chan, whats wrong, are you alright?" he asked, his voice laced with concern.
He reached out to her, to try to soothe her, but it seemed to make it worse.
"Who are you? Get away from me!" She slapped his hand away while still clutching her head. The pain was almost unbearable now, and it felt like her head was splitting in two. Suddenly, Tsunade and a bunch of nurses barged in the door and tried to calm her down and restrain her. They injected a liquid into her arm and she went limp.
"Naruto, what is going on? What happened?" asked Tsunade.
"I don't know! I was sleeping, and when I woke up she was screaming and clutching her head. I tried to help her, but she wouldn't let me." He said, still bewildered by the incident.
Tsunade sighed and rubbed her forehead.
"She is still recovering. She is probably confused about her surroundings, and is probably freaking out about who she is. Remember, Naruto, her memories are gone. Exchanged for her life. It'll take time for her to recuperate. In the mean time, Naruto, go home and get some rest. I'll send for you when she is well."
xxxx
Several days past; to Sakura, it seemed like weeks, months. It always felt like she was drifting in and out of consciousness. She never really could tell the difference of when she was awake or when she was dreaming. It all seemed like such a fuzzy blur. The scariest things of all were the dreams. Or sometimes, nightmares. They were always about the same things, the same people, in the same places. They were familiar, yet she felt like she was looking through someone else's eyes. And maybe she was, for she didn't even know who she was. The scenes were random, but as soon as she thought she recognized them, they disappeared without a trace.
The other thing was the boy. The blonde one, who visited often and had much to say, yet she could not understand him. Oh, of course she understood the language, but he talked about things that she could not make sense of. Everything was strange to her. The people who visited her now and then, coming in and out of her hospital, were complete strangers. They cried and gushed about how sorry they felt, how they asked, can't you remember me? Sakura would only stare at them blankly, unable to respond. How could she? She didn't even know them. And when they realized this, they would fall silent, and after a few empty sentences, would leave. During this frightening ordeal, the little comfort she found was from the energetic blonde boy, who despite her amnesia, still stayed and talked to her like an old friend.
"Boy, what's your name?"
"I'm Uzumaki Naruto, the future Hokage!" He said proudly.
"Please, Uzumaki-san, tell me about myself." She said.
He looked at her and nodded.
And so, everyday he would come by for an hour or so, and he told her about her past life. From when they first entered the Academy, and then became Genin, to going on missions, and their perverted teacher, Kakashi-sensei. It was all new to her, yet it seemed familiar, a perfect fit. Naruto knew things could never go back to the way they were. But it didn't matter, because Sakura was still Sakura, and even if she has forgotten him, they would always find their way back to each other. Naruto became her wings, and she flew.
-
When Sakura fully recovered, she was discharged from the hospital and allowed to go home. Wherever home was, that is. They decided to let her stay at Naruto's place for the time being because she could not be left alone. Her life was entirely new to her, and Naruto could help her get around. Then she asked, what should she do? Previously, she was an elite ninja. What can she do now? They asked if she still wanted to be a ninja, and she wholeheartedly said yes.
Teaching her and training her from the beginning was not as hard as they thought it would be. Actually, it took little time for her to be how she was before. She may have lost her memories, but she still retained her skill. She learned quickly and efficiently, soon becoming a Jounin and a talented medic nin. Sakura learned the ropes around town and soon had a regular new life. She made friends again and went on missions, just like before. But she knew it would never be like before. There were many times, she knew, that they saw her as the old Sakura, and joked and laughed about the stranger she called herself, and during those times deep down inside she felt lonely. When they realized their mistake, they would fall silent, and the conversation became awkward. They would say, oh I'm so sorry I didn't realize, it's just that, you seemed back to normal—
And she would just brush it off, and say it's alright, it's not your fault. And then they would look at her with those sad eyes, and she would say silently, okay, I'm so so sorry, sorry I'm not who I was before, sorry for making it awkward, sorry I erased the old Sakura, so inconvenient for you, sorry sorry sorry.
xxx
"Sakura-chan, I'm home!" said Naruto as he burst through the door. They were still living together mainly because they thought it was best that way.
"Welcome home Uzumaki-kun." Replied Sakura. She was in the kitchen busy preparing dinner.
"Oh, guess what Sakura-chan? Tsunade gave me an A-ranked mission today! I'll be leaving tomorrow at dawn. Finally, a challenge worthy of the next Hokage!" said Naruto enthusiastically.
Sakura chuckled. She long since learned about Naruto's ambition, and supported him in his goal. Even though he was an idiot sometimes, she still believed he could do it.
The two sat down at the table and started eating. Today was Sakura's day off, so she cleaned the house. It was in dire need of it. In Naruto's room, she often saw a picture with what seemed to be her, Naruto, and Kakashi-sensei when they were younger. But there was also a boy in the picture that she didn't recognize. She has never seen him around the village, nor mentioned by Naruto. Was he on their old Genin team too? Her curiosity got the best of her, so she casually asked Naruto.
"Naruto, you know that picture of us with Kakashi-sensei in your room? The one when we were young?"
"Oh yeah, what about it?"
"Whose that onyx-eyed boy in the picture with us? Was he on our team too?"
Naruto froze. He stopped eating, paused, and looked at Sakura. He should've hid the picture, so that she wouldn't find out. He couldn't tell her the truth. She was better off not knowing about him.
Sakura saw Naruto's apprehension. For a moment he looked serious, grave, and calculating. So he was preparing to lie to her. And then his face broke into a sad smile.
"Oh, that guy. Yeah, he was one of our team members, but then we lost him in battle. We weren't with him long, so I don't know him very well. Interesting kid, really."
He then immediately went back to eating his meal.
"Oh, that's terrible! What was his name?" Asked Sakura.
"Oh, let me think. Sorry, I don't quite remember…its been a long time, really. But don't worry about it Sakura-chan! Everything is fine now, so just forget about it."
He looked sincere enough, so Sakura let it go. The consequences of being a ninja. What a dangerous world this was. It was believable that he died. So young, what a shame.
Later they went to sleep. Sakura bid Naruto farewell, and climbed into bed. As she closed her eyes, the onyx-eyed boy's face was still etched in her mind.
xxxxx
Oh, this is one of the longest I've written haha. I hope you enjoyed it! I know, not much of a stir yet, but hopefully it'll come soon. Please give feedback! Very appreciated.