Edit: Changed 'Shoujo' to 'Shonen'. Lol, took a couple of reviews to finally realise. Thanks guys.

'Promise'

Chapter 6: Remains of a Memory.

Sasuke explained everything to me.

I was right. This isn't my world.
This is all a dream.

A dream, or as he put it, an extremely complicated genjutsu. Somebody is controlling my mind from the outside.
And making this dream a reality.

And not just me either.

According to Sasuke, lying in the Infirmary in Konoha are three comatose ninja. Sakura, Hinata and me.
Chakra is flowing around and inside our bodies, but its confirmed to only partially be our own. Somebody is mixing their chakra into our chakra system, which is why we're dreaming right now.

Actually, that was partially a lie.
There are four comatose ninja, if you now count Sasuke.

********

It was sunrise. The sun was glowing a deep crimson as the sun broke the surface of the horizon. The birds had begun singing, flying in and out of the mist surrounding the Hinata Apartments.

Naruto was sitting on the roof once again. Sasuke was sitting next to him, watching the sunrise with him. He had just explained the situation to Naruto, who was having a hard time taking it in.

"So you're telling me we've been here for a month?" Naruto scratched his head. He could have sworn he had been here for barely three or four days.

"Yup." Sasuke nodded. "I've been in for about two weeks, but this feels like my second day."

"How can you figure out the time between the real world and the dream world?" Naruto asked curiously. He was really confused.

Sasuke smiled. He knew it would be hard for Naruto to take in. Even he had trouble figuring it out himself.

"Okay, basically, you and the others had been comatose for two weeks already before the Hokage and the others decided to send me in. If you take that information, and then combine it with what you're saying, it basically works out that time moves a lot slower in this world. To be exact, a day here more or less equals a week back in Konoha."

Naruto nodded. That was far more easier to understand.

"So now that you're here, doesn't that mean you're trapped in the dream world, like me?"

Sasuke nodded. "Yeah, it does. Although, I have the information that will eventually get us out of here."

"Oh yeah? And what's that?"

Sasuke took in a breath, and began. "Tsunade explained to me how their seemed to be an external influence on the chakra that's surrounding the bodies of you, me and the others. Somebody is interfering with the natural flow of chakra inside the bodies, rendering them comatose. Even I could have guessed that, all you had to do was look at the bodies.
The aura of chakra is normally icy blue. But occasionally, the chakra surrounding you three would change into a fiery red."

"This means that somebody is mixing their chakra into your chakra network. It not actually anything new, ninja have been using this technique to create extremely powerful genjutsu for decades. It's essentially using your chakra to hijack somebody else's chakra network.
However, this can be dangerous. If used badly, the victim's chakra network begins to shut down. If left long enough, this can kill the victim."

Naruto perked up. "So we could die?"

Sasuke nodded. "Yeah. Actually I have a good example. Remember Neji and Hinata's fight at the Chunin exams? They were using that special fighting style, gentle fist. This is basically exactly what I'm talking about, using your own chakra to shut down your opponents chakra points, leaving whole limbs or full bodies completely paralysed.
However, that was a mix between ninjutsu and taijutsu. What we're experiencing is purely genjutsu. An illusionary dream."

"A dream..." Naruto wondered if he would ever wake up from it. It seemed really complicated to him, it sounded only an extremely skilled ninja could pull this off, with a hell of a lot of chakra at his disposal.

"Tsunade told me that she isn't too worried about you and the others dying from this.
The thing she's worried about the most is your memories."

"Our memories!?" Naruto panicked. He was going to forget everything. Crap!

Sasuke nodded again. "Interference like this could lead to severe damage with the memories of the victim. Whoever is controlling us is essentially fiddling around with our brains. Anything could happen."

"So what do we do? How do we stop the dream?" Naruto said fearfully. He didn't want to lose his memories. Some of them were extremely precious to him.

Sasuke paused for a moment. He looked over at the rising sun, shadows appearing across his face.

"We need to find the source of the genjutsu, and destroy it."

"How the hell do we find the source of the genjutsu? What is it supposed to look like, a tree!?"

Sasuke smirked. "No dumbass. Tsunade told me that we're looking for a person. A ninja specifically. Or at least, somebody who can mould chakra."

"The only person here other than me and you who can mould chakra is Hinata. And she's supposed to be comatose too, so it can't be her."

"It's gotta be somebody else then. There's got to be another person here, hiding a secret. We'll need to keep our eyes and ears open if we want to find this guy." Sasuke sighed.

The two of them went quiet. Naruto was busy processing everything he had just learnt in his mind. But something didn't quite click and it was bothering him.
"How did you get into the dream then? The guy who originally set up this genjutsu didn't include you from the start, so how did you get in?"

"Tsunade did it. She called it a really complicated jutsu that mixes a ninja's chakra into a chakra network. She explained to me what I had to do, put me to sleep and I guess she mixed my chakra in with you guys. And now I'm here." He smirked. "In this crazy ass dream, stuck inside a shounen manga story, with a twist."

"Well, I guess its starting to make sense now." Naruto said cheerfully. "All we have to do is find the guy who's screwing around with our heads, and beat the crap out of him."

"Oh yeah sure, that sounds simple enough..."

********

Naruto and Sasuke walked back into the Hinata Apartments. Sasuke had already come up with a story and fitted in with Naruto's amnesia story, saying that it was 'obvious the dobe would pick a story that requires the least amount of effort to maintain', which basically ended up with Sasuke saying he was Naruto's distant cousin and was worried about Naruto because he had a memory disorder.
Keitaro, being slow, bought the story and offered to let Sasuke stay for a while, until they decided what they would do now. This didn't sit too well with Naru, who was fuming about how she thought the apartments would soon be overrun with 'smelly, horny males' and that none of the girls would be safe.

Surprisingly, it didn't sit too well with Sakura either. When Naruto asked Sasuke about this, and why she wasn't hanging off his arm like she used to do, he just shrugged and replied. "I think I made a bad impression on her when I transferred into her school here. Something about being 'cold, and heartless'. I had no idea what she was talking about, and I really didn't care. But it sure beats her constantly asking me out on dates and trying to grab my attention." He smiled and put a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Maybe you'll get your chance with her now." He almost died laughing after Naruto told him about what had happened over the past few days.

"I can't believe I missed that." He laughed. "Sakura dunking some poor girls face into a tub of hot sauce." He cackled, something that sounded creepy coming from Sasuke Uchiha's mouth.
"That reminds me, I still have to meet this 'Kyoko' that Sakura's all wound up over. She sounds very interesting."

"Why interesting?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Because she's in love with an idiot like you, that's why. But seriously, it sounds like she's completely obsessed with you, not to mention trying and failing to beat off Sakura who's also after you now. I kinda feel sorry for you." Sasuke grinned evilly.

"Thanks...teme."

"You're welcome, dobe. And you're more than welcome to keep Sakura when we get back home. I'd rather have quiet little Hinata with the stupid crush on a boy she's never going to work up the courage to ask out in a million years, then a loud-mouthed bubblegum head like Sakura who never shuts up about flowers and whether I'm free on such-and-such a day to go on a date. I mean, seriously..."

Naruto blinked. "Hinata's got a crush on somebody? Seriously!? Who is it?"

Sasuke raised a hand to his forehead and groaned. "You're a complete idiot Naruto, you know that?"

"What? Nobody told me Hinata had a crush on-"

While they were talking and walking down the hall, Naruto didn't notice a girl walking out of her room, until they were on the floor in a tangled heap, having bumped into each other. All he could see was crimson red hair.

"Naruto you idiot." Sasuke knelt down next to the two fallen bodies. "Is this that girl you were telling me about?"

The red hair moved, and he suddenly recognised Kyoko was lying on top of him, dazed. He nodded. "Yeah, this is her."

Kyoko shook her head and mumbled something about idiots not looking where there walking. She looked up and caught herself staring into Naruto's cerulean blue eyes.
"Oh Naruto, its you!"

She quickly threw her arms around his neck, snuggling into his chest. "Where have you been all day? I was looking for you."

"um, I was-"

"It doesn't even matter. You here now, and I can hug you forever!"

"But I..."

"Shut up Naruto, I'm enjoying my hug."

"um, okay..."

Sasuke was desperately trying not to laugh, but suddenly put on a serious face when he noticed who was coming up the stairs. "Um, Naruto. This could be a problem."

"What? He looked up, and saw Sakura coming up the stairs. "Oh crap..." He tried wiggling out from underneath Kyoko, but she just held onto him tighter.

"You're not going anywhere, Naruto."

"But Sakura's coming..."

"Sakura's fine with it. She and I had a chat and decided that maybe we could share you, until you decide who it is you want to choose."

"...You're kidding me."

"Nope."

Sakura walked towards them, and smiled. Naruto heaved a sigh of relief. He was expecting to get pounded into the ground, alongside Kyoko.

"Hey, don't hog him all to yourself Kyoko. Let me join in!" She promptly jumped on top of the two of them, wrapping her arms around his neck. He could barely breathe, and he could've sworn his face was as hot as the sun.
He turned to face Sasuke. "Help...me..." He said weakly.

Sasuke was doubling up with laughter, which only served to completely annoy him. He was going to make him pay for it later.

He turned his attention back to the two girls. "So, um... You two are okay with this, definitely?"

Sakura looked up and nodded. "Yeah, definitely. We've left the choice completely up to you. Now all you have to do choose." Her jade eyes sparkled in the morning sun, just like they did on that morning she kissed him. "However, there is one problem..."

It was Kyoko's turn to look up. She grinned mischievously, her crimson eyes also sparkling beautifully. "It's not just me and Sakura anymore. Now you've got Hinata and Shinobu out to steal your heart."

"What!?" He yelled out wildly. "You've got to be kidding me!?"

The two girls shook their head. "We were talking about this when we were both apologising to each other about what happened the other day." Sakura began.
"After we had finished, Hinata and Shinobu both came in and suddenly came out and confessed their love for you in front of us. They also said they wanted to share you peacefully, but they would fight for you if they had to."

"However..." Kyoko continued. "After what happened before, we thought it was a better idea to just share you instead. So, as a result, we've officially created the Naruto Love fan club, where we can talk about you, draw about you, imagine what we would get up to if we had you alone for twenty-four hours and stuff like that."

"So now we don't have to fight anymore." Sakura said cheerfully. "At least, not physically." Both of the girls giggled evilly, terrifying him.

Naruto leant his head back against the floor and looked up at the ceiling. "My life is over.

Sasuke was on the floor, laughing so hard you could see dribble flying from his mouth.

"Teme, if you don't shut up in the next five seconds, I'm going to find the biggest tub of the spiciest chilli's I can get my hands on, and sink your face so hard into it, you'll be blind for a month!"

"I don't care, this is so totally worth it!"

Complicated now, huh?
Hopefully this should answer a few questions, and create a hell of a lot more. But don't worry, all questions will be answered as the story goes on. ^^

Read, review, you know the drill.
Shigure out.

Edit: Thank you for the constructive criticism guys. I'll be editing this story as it goes along, so keep it up!!