A/N: Hey mina-san! Sorry for the delay but I managed to get myself quite sick and inspiration went bye-bye. Seriously, you can't expect anything good to come out when you're sneezing your brains out at the screen every couple of minutes. Not. Fun. BUT I've finally finished it and I hope that you'll enjoy reading it. Thank you guys for reading and- always, always- extra thanks for the reviews that give me the warm fuzzies. ^.^

My anon. readers: Kakashi's dog – Oh my goodness, thank you SO much! I hope you got some rest. ^.^ Toi&Moi - Aww~! You're too kind, I'm glad you're enjoying it. :-D Random Reader - … it's a good thing that I realized that I had typed Rambo Reader before I published this… O.o lol Thank you, thank you thank you. For reading my stories, sticking with them and taking the time to say those great things that I'm not sure I deserve, but they sure put a huge smile on my face. ^.^

Disclaimer: Don't own… If I did, this disclaimer would mean that I've lost my mind.

The Sun and the Rainfall

Face In the Mirror

The sun hung low in the horizon, spilling warm purples and angry oranges over the last traces of yellow. It was the curtain call for one star and show time for infinite others.

The dark boy looked up, where the night was crawling on the other side of the sky. It was a sky he couldn't recall having ever set his eyes on before, but that didn't really scare him- not nearly as much as the cold white walls of the hospital and definitely not so much as his own reflection on that small, dull mirror. It was the face of a stranger, whose only common trait with him was that look of confusion and frustration, but little more.

"Are you okay, Sasuke?"

Sasuke- that was the name of the face in the mirror- took a deep breath before facing the blonde walking beside him. Not exactly beside him- half a step ahead, almost like a bodyguard, making sure that his next step was safe. Was he doing that because he cared or because he had been ordered by his superior? The question gnawed at him a little. Why did he care either way? Considering his predicament, what should matter the most to him was figuring things out, remembering something about himself and yet his attention kept drifting to that person beside him. Naruto… Odd how he couldn't bring himself to say that name out loud. He wanted to, had tried to, but always stopped before he would actually utter it.

"I'm fine." He said, rather curtly, a silly part of him blaming him for the additional frustration that his mere presence rained on him.

"Of course you are." The blonde said without extending any effort at hiding his sarcasm.

His brows clouded into a frown. "What is that supposed to mean?"

The other boy sighed, hands coming up and fingers interlacing into his golden hair. "You may not remember me, but try not to forget that I know you."

That was the opening he had been waiting for. "About that." He said, watching him pointedly. "Exactly how well do you know me?"

The blonde missed a step, just about tripping over his own feet. Without thinking, Sasuke reached over and caught him in his arms in a fluid motion. Those cobalt eyes were wide as they shot at him for a short moment, betraying surprise and trepidation. Was it his question that was stirring this reaction or their proximity? He realized that he was holding the other boy a little too close- at least he thought so, because his chest was flat against his, their breaths mingling in a warm humid mist, past lips that were hovering a few short inches apart. Dark eyes narrowed in confusion. It should have felt uncomfortable and wrong, but it didn't. If anything, he realized that being close to this person eased his mind- even as it had been the matrix for all sorts of alarming physical effects. His heart beat faster, his skin tingled, the fine hair in the back of his neck stood as though each touch, each breath sent a small thunder through him.

Sasuke backed away first, looking down to hide the blush that was surely dusting his face. "You must be some kind of usuratonkachi [1] to almost fall on your face like that."

Instead of getting an angry reaction for the insult, as he was expecting- and hoping for, because he needed something to defuse the strange tension between them- he noticed that the other boy's expression tasted a mixture of emotions that were just about poles apart. There was definite hurt in his eyes, which were shimmering like bright, blue pools of emotion, and yet for some reason his lips had curved a little into weak, yet genuine smile. What had he said that had been so right and so wrong at the same time?

There was too much confusion, so terribly much that he needed to understand, that he couldn't decide how to form his questions. Even more confusing was the notion- drifting inside his head like a lazy feather- that, exploring those sensations, might yield more answers than any words would provide. "Who-?" he started, shaking away the bizarre thought.

"You're in there, Sasuke." The blonde said quietly, stopping his uncertain line of questioning with his strange observation. Those blue eyes darted to him for the shortest moment as he added, "You just have to find your way back."

Back to what? To me? To you? The questions hang idly behind his lips. The place where he was finding himself was absolute darkness and there was no pinprick of light that he might follow, nothing tangible that he could hold on to- not around him or inside of him. Life started in the middle of a nameless book and any page before he had opened his eyes was blank and nothing made sense. It couldn't be surprising that his mind was desperately venturing to clutch on to anything at all- and the only thing that had felt anywhere near real had been the other boy's warm touch. Why? It was driving him crazy.

"You haven't answered my question." He deadpanned, sounding cool and collected, even though he was unsure if he was ready for the answer.

The blonde paused and turned to face him, golden hair fanning around his face in the soft breeze, eyes setting on him serious and guarded. Somehow he knew that this wasn't how that boy was supposed to be. The tan face was connected to an image of a smile he had yet to see and a feeling of buoyancy that was nowhere to be found. Maybe that woman- Tsunade- was right and he could trust his instincts to get him through this. The realization was a double-edged sword though, because that would also mean that certain other instincts he had about the blonde were just as true and not a product of his confusion, like he was hoping at the moment.

"Sasuke-kun, Naruto!"

A blonde girl with a long ponytail waved spiritedly as she walked towards them, dragging a dark-haired boy behind her. A pleasant smile bloomed on her lips with each step that brought her closer, so Sasuke figured that she knew both of them well enough. He noticed that the boy's demeanor betrayed laziness and some exasperation, but something told him that that was okay and somehow fitting. A fleeting image of that boy with another blonde at his side- this one a blurry image that oozed of attitude and the confidence of a woman- came to his mind as he waited for them to approach. Was it a memory?

"I suppose it was too much to hope we could avoid bumping into people for now…" the blonde muttered. "Hey, Ino. Shikamaru."

Ino. Shikamaru. The names didn't mean anything to him. Perhaps it would be best to keep quiet and let his chaperone deal with them. He didn't know who those people were to him- if they were friends or casual acquaintances- nor could he fathom whether his situation would have any kind of effect on them. It was unfair that he was getting those hurt looks, when he himself was not in all that good shape and he didn't need the extra dash of guilt. If it was somehow his fault that he had ended up in predicament, his punishment had to be disproportionate to whatever mistake he had made.

And was that girl looking at him somewhat… weird? "Back from your mission already?" she questioned conversationally and, even though she was addressing both of them, her blue eyes stayed on him. "We're going out on border patrol tomorrow…" she rolled her eyes. "Shikamaru volunteers us and poor Hinata, Kiba and Shino for just about any reckon mission that can bore you to tears. You guys get all the action."

Shikamaru shot her a sidelong look, pulling his hand from her grasp and rubbing his wrist. "Someone has to make sure that the children around the Fire Country behave."

"Action is not always fun." Naruto said, forcing a smile.

That drew a sly smile from Ino. "Reeeally? It seems like it's always fun when it's the two of you."

Shikamaru elbowed her a little, Naruto's eyes widened and Sasuke's gaze just moved to everyone in turn. There had been definite subtext to what the girl had so casually said, but he couldn't tell if she was simply teasing- and even if she were, how much of it was based on some kind of hard facts. It was quite difficult to stop replaying that comment over and over in his mind. Maybe it was time to figure out why.

He arched a brow at her. "Really."

Ino looked between him and Naruto a little taken aback, then smiled somewhat sympathetically. "Suppose he's in one of his moods again?" she said, with amusement chiming in her voice.

Well, that almost sent him on the defensive side of the fence. One of his moods? What part of the memories that he was missing revealed that he was, in fact, a girl? Moods? Seriously? The offense must have read clearly on his face, because even the blasé guy frowned at him in confusion. Apparently this had not been his usual reaction in the past. What was it? A smirk, perhaps. A snappy comeback. A wise-crack. What kind of expression would that face in the mirror make?

Naruto touched his arm tentatively and sighed. "It's a bit more complicated…" he hesitated. "There was a situation and… Sasuke can't remember anything… or anyone."

Silence reined for what felt like a very long moment. What was said had sounded inconceivable, judging by the look of unadorned disbelief pasted on their face. Then both pairs of eyes shifted to Naruto in more than obvious concern. Apparently, those two thought that his memory loss was more of a concern to the other boy than himself. Did any of that answer his question about his closeness to the blonde?

"How terrible…" the girl muttered, her features tasting obvious discomfiture about her earlier comments. "Naruto…"

The smile on Naruto's lips was the most unconvincing reaction possible, but Sasuke was glad to know that the blonde was such a terrible liar. "No worries, Ino. He'll be fine."

"And how are you coping?" Shikamaru inquired, his eyes sparking with wit that suggested that he was choosing his words carefully. "Are you hurt?"

Sasuke wondered if the question pertained to his emotional or physical state. His guess would be both, but the phrasing was intelligent enough that allowed for choice and discretion.

"No broken bones- I'll be fine." He said with a softer smile, appreciating the concern. It made the dark-haired boy's lips thin in what looked like apprehension, that he was quick to dismiss with a tap on the other boy's shoulder. "Anyway, we need to get going. Good to see you guys."

With a wave and a parting smile, they resumed their way again, this time somewhat awkwardly. There was no point in him asking anything, because he wouldn't get a straight answer. Just as he was supposed to rely on instinct, the blonde had been instructed to keep quiet about his past. Supposedly, powering through the haze was a safer way to get his memories back. He was certain that the thought must have occurred to him before, but all the same he wished there was a way for something in life to be simple and not carry a mandatory principle, that it had to be done the hard way.

"Where are we going anyway?" he asked.

"To your house." The other boy said simply, but the answer was somehow loaded.

His house. The notion came with a certain amount of anxiety that- much like with everything else- he couldn't explain. "Is someone waiting for me there?"

This time Naruto didn't look at him. "No."

"I live alone?"

"… Most of the time." He said quickly. "Hopefully it will jog your memory."

The response shouldn't have been that cryptic, but Sasuke was beginning to resign to the idea that he and the blonde had a pretty complicated relationship that he'd have to figure out for himself. Thus far he hadn't been getting any helpful tips, but there had been enough clues- in the way that people reacted with regards to the two of them, but mostly in the Naruto's behavior and his own unthinking reactions. In any case, whatever it was it would have to take a backseat to the ugly reality that it was one of the many things that he didn't remember. That included his family. Why did he live alone? What had happened to his parents? Did he have any siblings?

That last self-inquiry made his stomach twist. The wave of nausea that had been kept at bay since he had left the hospital made him feels slightly giddy.

They passed under a stone arch, on which he could make out a painted fan- even in the dark, even though the red had faded and the white had a moldy hue to it. It was the same fan that he had noticed on his shirt. A family crest? His family's crest. Though he didn't remember what had happened to those people that were not there, whose memory consisted of dark, blurry sillouettes in the back of his mind, the fact was that all the houses that they were passing by were empty and silent. How long had it been since anyone had been there other than him?

"We're here." Naruto announced tensely/

Sasuke lifted his gaze.

The house that towered in front of him was the biggest building, located at the edge of the compound. It stood with an air of quiet prominence with the crest hanging heavily over the front entrance. He felt his knees buckle, as some unnamed feeling crawled under his skin. His body stiffened- because of that terrible anxiety, because maybe taut muscles might be the only things that could compensate for his buttery joints- as he passed through the threshold.

A lump nestled in his throat.

It wasn't a ghost town like he had first thought. The place was not just a memorial to an unspeakable tragedy.

This place is a graveyard.

And that's Chapter 4… Next will be Naruto's pov. … Yes, I have a thing for povs and can't stick to just one. ;-) I hope you guys enjoy!

Ja!

M.

Notes:

[1] The italics and lower case go because Sasuke does not recall that 'Usuratonkachi' is his pet name for Naruto. He's calling him an idiot, but uses that instead of, say, 'baka'.