Forget Me Not
Summary: After a mysterious attack on Konoha, the one man who knew the attackers loses all recollection of the event. Left to heal in the Hyuuga compound, under the care of a young girl, can the daughter of the clan leader revive his lost memory? Hinata/Kakashi.
Disclaimer: Misashi Kishimoto and me are tight. He would have let me have the characters if I asked. I just thought I'd be nice and let him keep them. I regret it every day…
A/N: Hey guys, sorry its been so long since an update - Jaggarte and I have had to take a long break from fanfiction writing to concentrate on uni. I know, where are our priorities? Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this new chap - we'll be sure to come back with more soon, if you guys still want it.
Chapter 3: Tedium
The sound of polished nails as they tapped irately against a metal clipboard filled the room, a steady rhythm, as though counting down the seconds until the inevitable announcement that would follow.
A man sat, unmoving, in his bed as he awaited the important decision - his eyelids drooping tiredly, and a yawn escaping him as the woman at his bedside finally gave a decisive sigh.
"This is unexplainable." The clipboard, covered in medical notes, was dropped to the woman's lap as she seemed to give up on the puzzle at hand.
Her tone was serious, her words even more so, and yet if it wasn't for the fierce frown that she was directing at him, Kakashi felt sure that he would have fallen asleep. Gazing across from where he was sat up in the bed, the Jounin's eyes locked on the troubled expression of Hiashi, as the head of the Hyuuga clan stood tensely to one side of the room.
How long had it been since the attack? Kakashi wondered with sudden clarity, his eyes fixed on the scene outside the window as the sun began to drop behind the hills in the distance. He had only been there a day, had only woken that morning – and already he felt sick of his surroundings.
Surely keeping a man secluded to a bed in a small white room this long had to violate some kind of human right?
The man sighed, as he shifted uncomfortably, his eyes avoiding Tsunade's calculating stare as he frowned to himself.
He wanted to get out of there.
Almost every muscle in the silver-haired Jounin's body twitched with atrophy, his skin itching under the smooth sheets that covered his waist and legs, as the afternoon sun shone brightly from the window directly across from his bed, and a wind drifted lazily into the room.
Of course, there was a reason he was not allowed to stand, or sit up too straight... or breathe too much. But it had been two days already, and he was a ninja. Surely they could give him the benefit of the doubt, and let him walk outside every hour or so?
Alright, so maybe he could admit that this was a pretty serious situation.
"I mean, where does three years of a man's memory disappear to?" Tsunade gave him an incredulous look. "You didn't even suffer that much brain trauma..."
Make that a very serious situation, Kakashi sighed to himself.
But really, how bad could it be? In truth, Kakashi himself didn't feel any different. He certainly didn't feel ill enough that he should be bedridden still, but his companions - namely the irate Hyuuga standing to his right - did not care to take the risk. Sure, his legs and his arms were sore, and his chest felt like it had been ripped apart and hastily reconstructed, but apart from that and a craving for chai, he felt no different than he had a few days ago.
But Kakashi had to stop short at that thought.
Was it really a few days ago? He supposed that what he actually thought of as merely a day or a week ago, was more likely about two and half years... Wait a minute, how old was he now?
But this was no time to worry over such menial things, Kakashi reminded the small part of his brain which had begun to hyperventilate. Turning once again to face the frowning Hokage, he supposed he should ask some questions.
"So, uh..." The Jounin struggled for a moment, though he didn't fail to notice how the attention of the other occupants of the room snapped to him the moment his weak voice made itself known. "... What do I do now?"
Tsunade shared a look with Hiashi for a moment, before the woman turned back to him and voiced a question the Jounin did not expect to hear.
"What do you want to do, Kakashi?"
He wanted to go back to his apartment, sleep off this haze, and - preferably - wake up two and half years ago.
The Jounin cleared his throat. "Well, I supposed I should be filled in on what I... missed."
Tsunade waved away those words quickly though. "There will be plenty of time for that. For now we should focus on your physical state-"
"Why did you ask me, then?" Kakashi mumbled, a slightly irritated expression crossing his face.
"-I meant," The Hokage glared lightly at being talked over, her voice rising, "That there is nothing I can do at this time to retrieve your memory. We are facing the fact that you have been severely injured, and that you may never regain the years you have lost."
A heavy silence followed these words, and despite his uncaring nature, Kakashi felt his heart sink.
Tsunade seemed to gather herself together then, and when she spoke again, her tone was much softer. "The most important thing to do now is associate you with familiar things."
The silver-haired Jounin's head whipped towards her. "So, you mean I'll be out of here soon?" His expression immediately became sheepish, as he seemed to catch himself, and turned to face the Hyuuga. "Sorry, Hiashi," He smiled, "But I'm gonna go insane soon."
Hiashi merely shook his head in understanding, a slight smile upturning the corner of his lips.
Tsunade shook her head though, bringing his attention back to her.
"Not quite, Kakashi." She immediately shot down his hopes, giving the now-sulking man a stern look. "You must understand, you are the only person that knows who it was that attacked us that night – even if you don't remember it." Her fingers clenched around the clipboard in her hands, as she stressed her point; "There is no way that we can allow you to go home while you carry such important information."
The Jounin looked up at the Hokage desperately. "But I don't remember anything!" He argued, his tone adopting an angry edge for the first time. "For all intents and purposes, you could say that I have no information!"
Tsunade threw her hands up in the air, flailing them in exasperation. "Oh, well, we'll just tell that to our enemies, then, will we? Hmm?" She asked, her tone deeply sarcastic. "Raise a huge sign that says 'Kakashi has forgotten everything, so please don't kill him!'"
"Well, we could-" Kakashi began sheepishly, before the woman's fierce voice overrode him.
"Oh, yes!"" She ranted, incensed. "I'm sure that will appease them! And they would never even think to come and kill you before you decided to remember anything that could send them to an early grave! What a fabulous idea, why didn't I think of it before?"
The woman finished her scolding, breathing harshly, before she closed her eyes calmly - pushing back locks of her flaxen hair that had fallen into her face.
Kakashi sighed forlornly, his head dropping in defeat at the thought of his continual house arrest.
Hiashi's brow furrowed in deep worry, and he turned his head to gaze out of the only window of the room, his expression troubled – though he remained unobtrusive, as Tsunade fell into a contemplative silence, still regaining her composure, as she rubbed a thumb and forefinger over her nose soothingly. Kakashi just wished that he had one of his Icha Icha books.
Both men looked to Tsunade, as she sighed deeply, as though reaching some kind of decision – and ran a hand through her hair.
"I'm going to arrange a few special visits," The Hokage calmly stated, "from people who should help to jog your memory, or at least give you some semblance of normalcy in your confused state." The woman frowned at the Jounin, almost sympathetically.
She moved to the door then, holding her medical records at her side, fingernails drumming over the plastic once again. "The first person, or I should say, people, that are to see you will be coming tomorrow morning," Tsunade announced then, to the Jounin's surprise. "They've been waiting impatiently for the last few days to see you and I can't hold them back any longer. I'll let them know that you can see them tomorrow." The Hokage pushed back her hair, "The person who you really need to see is away currently but she should be back in about a week."
Nodding to Kakashi, Tsunade turned to leave without another word, Hiashi following her – before the woman paused suddenly at the door.
Turning to look over her shoulder, a small smile found its way onto the woman's lips. "She's been dying to see that you're safe and sound."
And with that, she swiftly left the room, Hiashi nodding to the Jounin respectfully before closing the door behind them – leaving Kakashi in deep confusion.
Hinata kept her head bowed respectively as her uncle and the Hokage made their way past her, presumably towards the main house, and she focused on juggling the tray of vegetable broth and a pitcher of water in her hands as she walked along the veranda outside the guest quarters of the Hyuuga compound.
Coming to a stop at the door of the only occupied guest room as she reached the very back of the compound, Hinata knocked quietly on the wooden frame, hoping the shinobi inside was not already asleep. The dying sun left her little light to see by, and when she didn't receive an answer, after much internal debate, she slowly edged the door open; allowing the candlelight from inside to spill onto the veranda – and instantly averted her eyes as she met the mismatched gaze of the residing Jounin.
There was an awkward moment full of expectation before she hastily stumbled into the room, and offered him a small smile.
With her head down, Hinata placed the tray and pitcher on the bedside table, carefully filling a glass with water – and attempted to ignore the way the man instantly smiled at her.
After a moment, and setting down the pitcher once again, the girl then chanced a look beside her - only to see the patient staring back at her curiously.
She quickly turned her head to the side, her fingers stumbling as she placed the glass with his meal, and after a moments hesitation, slowly leaned forward to place the tray on the man's lap.
"You came back."
She jumped when the man spoke suddenly – almost losing her purchase on the tray and spilling hot soup over the Jounin's front, apologizing instantly for her clumsiness.
The man didn't seem fazed, though – giving a small chuckle and smiling pleasantly as he caught the tray and she backed away to a respectful distance.
After a long moment, she cleared her throat.
"H-how are you today, Hatake-san?" The girl asked him, carefully meeting his gaze as one dark and one red eye stared unwaveringly back at her.
The man instantly seemed glad to be asked, and smiled easily.
"Horrible, actually!" He replied cheerfully, a smile evident underneath his ever-present mask. "Apparently I'm a medical anomaly. But what's new?" He announced conversationally, before his eyes turned suddenly to the meal in front of him, paying it attention for the first time.
Hinata watched as the man seemed to frown, one hand rising to push a spoon around his bowl of what appeared to be mixed weeds and dirt served in luke-warm water, and a somewhat tense pause descended on the room.
"…What's this?" He asked finally, his tone full of disdain.
"Ano, your dinner, Hatake-san." She replied uneasily, as the man seemed to frown more fiercely. "It's a vegetable broth with lentils…"
Kakashi sat for a moment in bewilderment, as though not comprehending her. "Can't I have… food for dinner?"
Hinata fought back her urge to stutter in embarrassment as she hung her head, and said in a rush; "I'm sorry, Hatake-san! Tsunade-sama advised me that you are only to eat liquid foods and I thought that the lentils would be easy for you to eat but if you need me too I will go and make something else-"
"You made this?" Kakashi interrupted her then, his eyes widening slightly. "Gomen, gomen!" He apologised immediately, picking up the bowl and shoveling a few mouthfuls down his throat before she could go on.
"No, Hatake-san, it's alright, really, I can make something else-" She exclaimed softly, her cheeks flushing as the man continued to practically inhale the broth, his eyes squinted in displeasure as the rest of his face was covered by the bowl. "-really, it's no hassle for me at all!"
The Jounin gasped for breath as he set the bowl down, now empty, and presented her with a smile. "Nonsense," He replied, wiping a hand across his mouth even though he had already replaced his mask there. "It was delicious."
Hinata felt her face flush a little more, even though she was sure he was lying, but took the tray back from him in silence and nodded her thanks.
Refilling his glass of water and leaving the pitcher behind, the girl then turned around, her features still slightly pink as she headed for the door.
"You're leaving already?" The man's voice drifted to her once again, and the girl's hand paused where it rested against the door.
Half-turning back to the man, she offered a hesitant smile. "I'm needed in the main house, Hatake-san." She murmured softly in explanation, "Father would not approve of my lingering…"
"Oh, of course." The man nodded then, as though it were obvious, and simply smiled back – though a little disappointment shone through his expression now.
She smiled once again, with sympathy this time, as she carefully slid open the door, looking out into the darkness of the Hyuuga grounds as the sun had now fallen behind the hills and a bright moon could he seen in the sky.
"Oh, Hinata," He called suddenly then, and the girl jumped at hearing her name.
Without turning back, she nodded.
Leaning back onto his bed, the silver-haired man recalled his previous conversation with Hiashi, and fixed his gaze on the Hyuuga girl.
"Thank you for the flowers," He told her, and smiled up at her when she turned around in surprise. "They really cheered me up."
Hinata seemed stricken for a moment, before her face flushed with embarrassment, though a small genuine smile alighted her face – and Kakashi felt instantly glad for it.
Nodding quickly then, and not quite able to keep the smile off of her face, she then bowed to the Jounin.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Hatake-san." She told him. He nodded in agreement, before she slid the door closed behind her.
Watching after the door long after she had gone and the faint sound of her footsteps had died away, Kakashi sank back into his bed with a tired sigh.
How much longer would he have to stay there?
"Tea, Tsunade-sama?" Hiashi asked, gesturing somewhat vaguely towards the servant that kneeled patiently by the door.
"No, thank you, Hiashi." The woman replied, though her smile was directed towards the servant. Turning back to the clan leader as he nursed a steaming cup in his hands, the woman frowned slightly. "I have other pressing matters begging for my attention, Hiashi." She reminded him.
Nodding, Hiashi waved the attendant away. When the door had slid closed and they were left alone, the man then leaned closer to Tsunade, his eyes holding hers with a level of sincerity that he would never voice. "What can I do?" He asked then, and there was no question as to what he was referring.
Tsunade shook her head slowly, raising a hand to rub her neck wearily. "There is nothing you cando, Hiashi." She replied with a sigh, as though insinuating she regretted the words more than he could. "We can only wait for him to regain his memory by himself."
"But Konoha is in danger," Hiashi replied pressingly. "Those who attacked us before could return, sooner than we expect. Surely there is some technique that can draw forth memories, some medicine that can recall events?" The man implored, his tone frustrated, as heavy lines marred his forehead. "There has to be something that can be done."
Tsunade stiffened in understanding, images of Ibiki and his 'practices' flashing in her mind. "Those measures are reserved for our enemies." She replied with no level of uncertainty. "The side effects of that kind of… treatment could be life-threatening."
Hiashi's gaze locked with hers then, and a long moment passed in tense silence between them, before the man gave a frustrated sigh and averted his gaze.
"You know I would not wish to subject Kakashi to anything that could damage him." He replied quietly after a moment, and Tsunade's expression softened.
"Of course." She replied. "And that is why we must leave him to regain his memory naturally." She explained gently, but sternly.
Hiashi made no reply, drinking sagely from his cup, before his eyes came to rest at length on Tsunade's sudden light smile.
"Don't worry too much," She told him then, with a level of confidence he couldn't relate to. "If anyone is able to bring back his memories, it'll be her." The woman replied with certainty, as she came steadily to stand from her seat.
Watching the Hokage make her way towards the door which led to the Hyuuga grounds, her feet padding lightly on the tatami mats, the man's brow furrowed in confusion.
"Who?" He asked with genuine confusion, his tone somewhat petulant.
Tsunade smiled widely this time as she turned back to him from the open door, "She's away on a mission for the moment, but she'll be back in a few weeks. Just wait until then, Hyuuga Hiashi, and Kakashi will regain his memory, I'm sure of it."
"Who are you speaking of?" The clan leader demanded.
Smiling as though her next words were the solution to all of their current Jounin-related problems, Tsunade turned her gaze out towards the cool night air.
"Kurenai." She replied, her eyes glittering with purpose. "Kakashi's girlfriend."
And before Hiashi could reply, or do much more than scoff with incredulity, the Hokage was already gone.
A/N: Oooooooh, Kakashi's girlfriend is Kurenai - but will he remember her? Will she be back in time to save his memory? Will Hinata ever see Kakashi again? I don't even know!
And so, until next time.
-Emerald-