A/N: Okay, I know that I am not exactly updating that fast. My beginnings are always slow, so please put up with me. Anyways, I know that right now the fic sounds pretty angsty (especially this chapter) but it will get more to the action soon! I promise! Now on with the show!
Chapter 3: Old Friends
The shock of the day was given to Team Seven, it was like the air had been punched out of them. An illusion of possible normality had been shattered with the force of a hurricane.
A hurricane of truth.
"We don't..exist in Konoha?" was Naruto's bright reply.
"Technically, you don't exist anywhere, except maybe in whatever place you all have been staying at."
"The names Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, and Uzumaki Naruto have no merit in this world, they are practically the names of newborn infants if you told anybody who you are."
Confusion and hurt was unguarded on Sakura's face, "Why? We haven't been drawing attention to ourselves but people would still remember."
Shizune walked up to a shelf and pulled out a scroll. Biting her thumb, she coated each of her fingers with blood. Then she concentrated her chakra as she put her hand on a seal. Unrolling the manuscript, she tossed it to Sakura.
"It all started two years after you two left." the brunette nodded towards Naruto and Sakura.
"We had recovered a lot from the fourth great war, and our economy was recovering. The civilians weren't as haunted as they were before and the fire of Konoha was burning once again. Sadly, the ninja of your generation weren't as...well. They were foul-tempered, nervous, and depressed. Especially Ino and Sai. Though with Sai, we weren't ever sure if he was just faking or not, but still..." Shizune shrugged.
"Team Seven was a major link between the Konoha 12 and without you, things crumbled. Tsunade-sama couldn't just sit and watch some of her best villagers and ninja mentally retract from life. We took action. We called upon the help of the Yamanaka head, Yamanaka Inouichi, also Ino's father, and set up a plan. We wiped your memory from all of the villagers minds."
"We declared that villagers would get looked at to find info relative to an important mission. It was to supposedly to spot any hidden clues in a person's subconsciousness. Inouichi worked alone, all he did was quickly take a peek at a person's mind and repressed any memories to do with you. It was quick but complicated. The whole process took two weeks and we supplied him with chakra and rest."
Sasuke interrupted, "But even if you did that, the shinobi are trained to be wary, the rest of our generation have learned to be very much so. They would have been suspicious as to what the Yamanaka head was doing poking in their minds so much. Especially the daughter and the rest of the clan, since they know the techniques."
"Inouichi was using a kinjutsu. It is only known by the head of the clan and he/she can teach it to whomever they want but only Yamanaka-san knew. The jutsu requires a sufficient amount of chakra and nearly perfect chakra control as even a slip can cause severe damage to the mind and the user. We also didn't look at everybody, only the people that had more contact with you. For the others, we just let time sink in. Of course we had trouble, but in the end, the job was done."
"What about the village council members, Danzo, and the Elders?" Sakura asked.
"The council members consisted of shinobi and village members so they were already taken care of, however, Danzo and the Elders were too wise and we couldn't get a hold of them."
"The only people that know you now are me, Inouichi, Danzo, and the Elders."
"You couldn't make everyone in the whole world forget, so how come you said that no one knew our names?"
"Simple. We took you off all of the BINGO books. Old copies are thrown away, and during the war, most got destroyed. So by taking you off of new and current ones, people would forget. Maybe people that you strongly impacted outside of Konoha still remember, but they are a few against all of those in the world."
"I am sorry, maybe it will be better this way, you can start over. Recreate your life, your reputation. Let people see you now for who you are, not for what you did 13 years ago. Try to find some good in this. I know seeing the ghosts of your friends will be hard, but you can rebuild that friendship over time."
Finally Naruto glanced at the window, "Yeah..I guess we can just try again. I'm gonna take a walk around the village okay, the details for my reinstatement will be discussed later." With that, he let a rueful smile grace his features as he walked out of the door.
After a brief moment of silence, both Sakura and Sasuke mumbled some excuses and headed out as well. Only to bump into Yamanaka Ino.
Naruto was staring at the girl in shock, while Ino was rubbing her sore forehead.
"Watch where you're going, idiot!" Ino snapped.
"Aa, Ino you're here. These are the three that I wanted you to escort around the village." Shizune had followed everyone outside and was able to witness Ino's unknown gesture of welcome to her forgotten friends.
The Yamanaka blushed with embarrassment. It wasn't everyday that she disrespectfully greeted the Hokage's own personal guests. Especially in front of her.
"Oh, umm sorry about that. I'm just used to being around my fellow idiot jounins." Ino apologized, hoping the bit about her rank would help her get off the hook. Usually she wouldn't have used such an underhand tactic, but as long as it did the job...
Sakura shook herself out of her trance, politely smiling at the blonde, "Oh, of course it's okay. I do that all of the time. Especially with someone over here." The rosette made a point to flick her eyes at Naruto, to which the kyuubi-holder gave a mock look of hurt. 'I used to do that with you too...Ino-pig'
"Oh...well ok then. Umm, lets see. I think we should start off with the important landmarks of Konoha." Ino said as she climbed down the stairs of the Hokage Tower.
"Right behind you is the Hokage Monument, we carve the faces of our leaders up there to honor and remember their actions and who they were. And over here we have..." Ino went on to explain about famous restaurants, the hot springs, the ninja academy, the training grounds, other recreational places, and finally the KIA monument. It was there that Sakura almost cried.
She had been gone so long, and everyone else's lives had moved on without her. They did things that she hadn't been able to see and they died without her being there to help. It was sad. Names that had been spoken daily when she left were now carved on that stone. Bending down, Sakura traced the names, especially those of Tsunade, Kakashi, and her own mother and father.
"The KIA monument is to respect those who have given their lives to protect our village. Some of the names here are ones I know. Usually citizens don't really see this, but I thought that you might have wanted to see." the Yamanaka's voice had lost it's bouncy cheerfulness, taking on a more sober tone.
"Well, you already saw your apartment complexes so feel free to explore. Duty calls!"
Sakura would never be sure what had pushed her to suddenly yell after Ino, but it was one moment that would finally move her forward in her life.
"Wait! What's your name?"
Ino turned, a look of surprise on her face, "I didn't tell you? Oh wow, now I really know that I've been out of it lately! Yamanaka Ino, nice to meet you!"
Sakura stuck out her hand, "Haruno Sakura."
The blonde smiled, taking the other girl's hand and shook. "And these two are?"
"Uzumaki Naruto! Dattebayo!" Naruto had on his foxy grin, along with a peace sign.
"Uchiha Sasuke."
"Oh well, maybe I'll see you sometime, ne?" with that, Ino gave a flirtation wink before walking away.
The trio watched her until she disapearred around a corner. Then Sasuke spoke quietly, his words trailing behind him as he left the area, "Don't bother me unless it is absolutely necessary. It is as the Hokage said, we are not who we once were. There is no need for me to deal with you now."
Naruto stared at the Uchiha prodigy, his hands balled into fists and his eyes narrowed. "Sakura-chan, even though I hate to admit it, the teme might have a point. Working together again might just cause us too much pain. We can still be friends, but I think we should distance ourselves a little. It will probably be easier that way."
"You think so?", Sakura would never have thought that Naruto would agree to such a thing, he was the one that always treasure friendship and bonds after all. "Well, I guess we should get our lives started first huh? I'll see you some day then?"
"Ah, yeah..." the jinchuuriki gave a small smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.
The rosette nodded, turning around and walking slowly into the forest. Away from him, from the KIA monument, and away from his facade.
When she was deep in the trees, Sakura ran. She ran, hoping to flee from the tears that she knew were coming. The mini-Tsunade had vowed that she wouldn't cry again, helpless, like she did all of those years ago. Yet, now just a few sentences that showed how strained her bonds really were (if they even existed at all), was going to make her break her vow.
Finally stopping when she came across a waterfall, Sakura stared at the beautiful water. Flowing freely, a force of nature that couldn't be stopped. 'We were like that once. Unstoppable, admired, legendary with our choices all layed out in front of us. So many paths to choose, a bright future looming overhead. Instead we chose the river with the rocks, the obstacles, and instead of flowing away, we fell. Down another waterfall.'
Sakura looked at the top of the fall, water pouring from the river above. 'But in the end, the water just cycles back to the river, no matter how many falls...We can be like that too, even though we went through so much. This is another chance, for us to choose again. This time we will fall into the smooth river below. I'll make that happen. Sasuke was the link between team seven. Naruto was what kept us going until the end. This time, it's my turn, I'll push us forward, I'll be the bond that brings us together.'
Pulling herself together, Sakura calmly walked back home.
--
Sasuke awoke to the unfamiliar smell of paint. Surveying the room around him, he remembered that he was in Konoha. The room was plain, newly built and held a few of his old belongings that had been kept over the years. After leaving the KIA memorial, he had gone shopping, quickly buying a supply of food and necessities. It was annoying with the women staring at him, but it wasn't as bad as when he was Uchiha Sasuke. That alone had caused him a lot of his fangirlish problems.
'It's different with everyone not knowing who I am. Thirteen years ago, anywhere I went, people knew who I was. I was an avenger, a genius, a poor lost survivor, a shinobi, a missing-nin, a traitor...But in the end they showed me that I was a student, a rival, a best friend. They helped me, and I don't like to be indebted. I'll pay them back, I'll keep my troubles away from them, that's my sacrifice.'
Sasuke could still remembered the feeling of freedom, when the curse seal was finally destroyed. It had been painful, but in the end he was able to live again. Regaining consciousness after the explosion in a crater next to Naruto had been odd, but the feeling of being saved had been entirely something else. He had known that he couldn't stay. Not when he didn't even know what he was going to do anymore. No, he had to leave, to find himself again.
During those 13 years, he still hadn't resolve his internal conflict, so coming back home had been his last choice. But maybe, just maybe, it would be the right choice.
Howls of outrage filled the village as civilians and shinobi alike woke up to the sight of their precious Hokage's with graffiti and sparkles decorated all over their faces. The Great Uzumaki Naruto had come back home.
Yes, maybe it was the right choice after all.
--
Meanwhile, in a location that the author will not name, someone turned their head toward the yells.
A smirk grew on their face.
"So...he has come back after all, Uzumaki Naruto.
Thanks to all of you that reviewed! I hope you found this chappie enjoyable. I did not exactly find it up to par but it was the best I could come up with.
Once again, please take a look at poll for A Legend Long Lost on my profile. I appreciate it!
