Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any characters affiliated therewith. Neither do I own Riku, who I am using with the permission of AzNcHiBi.
Sasori clenched his fist on the wall and closed his eyes. His heart was breaking again, just like it did when he found out his parents were only puppets.
"Sasori! Open the door!" Hidan cried out.
"Those Konoha bastards are here! Rei-dono said it's time!" Kakuzu said, shoving Hidan aside.
"I know!" the redhead replied from the other side of the door. "I know…"
Fighting the newly reappeared Hidan and Kakuzu wasn't exactly the easiest thing to do for Kakashi and Genma. Though the Konoha nins were both Jounin, and had taken on countless A-ranked missions, dealing with two fully-fledged Akatsuki members seemed to be more than they could handle. Especially since one was practically immortal, the other merely an undead corpse sewn together.
"Is this the best that Konoha can do?" the masked man called Kakuzu mocked. "If that's the case, the Leaf village will fall miserably if we choose to attack…" Hidan found this tidbit of information too good to pass up.
"It would be interesting to see how they try to kill me…" Abruptly, the Akatsuki members halted the assault on the two Jounin, who were panting heavily, various slashes and wounds about their person. Hidan looked sidelong at Kakuzu, feeling the sharp pulsing of their Leader's call resonating within his ribcage. Kakuzu returned the glance, acknowledging, and both glared back at the Konoha nins.
"We'll finish you off later. For now," Hidan laughed mirthlessly, "Enjoy your little reunion." Kakashi and Genma both launched their kunai at the Akatsuki, who disappeared before the weapons met their marks.
"Damn," Kakashi swore under his breath as he applied pressure to a gash in his side. Genma quickly picked up their weapons strewn on the ground.
"…What did they mean by 'enjoy your little reunion'?" he asked as he pulled a roll of bandages out of his pack, handing it to the silver-haired man.
"No idea." Kakashi shifted his hitai-ate to wipe the sweat out of his eyes, before he saw a bright flash amid the foliage in front of them.
"Did you see that?" Genma nodded, bringing a kunai up in the standard defense position. They strained their eyes to see what or who was coming their way, until they heard heavy breathing that sounded like it would belong to a woman carrying a heavy load…
"Riku…" Genma blinked in disbelief as he saw his girlfriend emerge from the greenery, Katsuki's unconscious form on her back.
"Katsuki!" All thoughts for his own wellbeing left his minds as Kakashi rushed forward, helping Riku lift the woman from her back before she collapsed on the grass before Genma. The brunette quickly unscrewed the cap on his canteen and dribbled the cool water over Riku's face, gently wiping the liquid out of her eyes. She moaned softly, murmuring things like, "No cold tea," or, "Yuck, day-old sashimi." She remained lying in the grass, dazed, as Genma checked her vitalities. Kakashi did the same, rocking Katsuki back and forth, feeling her pulse, and trying to get her to wake up.
"Uhn…" The silver-haired Jounin let out the breath he'd been holding. At least she was still alive.
"Katsuki-chan, can you hear me?" He cradled her in his arms, hoping that she would still live despite whatever she'd gone through during the month she was missing. Finally, blue eyes met onyx as Katsuki woke up. She blinked a few times, before a confused and frightened expression crossed over her face.
"You're… not Deidara…" Kakashi's pupils narrowed at the mention of the Akatsuki's name. Katsuki began to squirm in his grasp, trying to get away from the Jounin.
"Leave me alone. You're not Deidara!" The silver-haired man let her go, gently setting her on the grass, looking at her in a desperate way.
"Katsuki-chan… Don't you remember me?" He stretched a hand out to the woman, who shook her head slowly, eyeing the canteen of water beside him.
"Maybe she's delirious due to dehydration. Give her some water, Kakashi," Genma suggested, lifting Riku to a sitting position. Katsuki gulped down the water the Jounin gave her, before looking at him again with a slightly more trusting look. She cocked her head to the side, considering.
"Kakashi…?" She tasted the name on her tongue. For some reason, it sounded and felt familiar…
"Those damn Akatsuki…" Genma gave a start at Riku's angry tone. "Kakashi, they put one of their memory-jutsus on her. She doesn't remember being anywhere but…" She trailed off.
"But where?" Genma asked, his face and voice serious. The raven-haired woman before him frowned.
"… I don't remember." Genma cursed.
"They put one on her too!"
"But if Riku could tell us that much, it must've broken for the most part. She just can't remember the location of the hideout," Kakashi said, trying to entice his former girlfriend closer with a piece of dried fruit. Riku looked at the brunette man beside her, hating the long blank gaps that stretched out in her memories where her boyfriend was concerned.
"Did Sasori really mean to make me forget Genma…?"
"Riku?" The woman looked up. "Are you okay?" Riku sighed, hauling herself to her feet, only to nearly fall over before Genma caught her. She made a low growl at the back of her throat.
"My best friend doesn't remember anything: where she was born, who I am, who her friends are, who her enemies are. She doesn't even remember her own lover!" she dropped her voice. "How do you expect me to be okay?" Kakashi and Katsuki looked at Riku, whose face was red with anger.
"Um, Riku-chan, I know who you are," Katsuki said, timidly shying away from Kakashi's advances.
"Katsuki," Riku said gently, "Kakashi isn't going to hurt you." The other woman looked at him distrustfully, but allowed the man to set her on her feet. She, too, wobbled and had to lean against Kakashi for support. Unexpectedly, a flash of memory erupted in Katsuki's mind.
Katsuki sat on a grassy hill overlooking Konoha. The houses were bathed in the light from the sunset, staining their roofs and walls a bright, rich gold. Abruptly, she leapt up, sensing a strong chakra source coming up rapidly from behind her. Then, it was gone, as soon as she felt it.
"I'm impressed, Katsuki-chan." Said young woman whirled around, only to find herself in a familiar embrace.
"Kashi-kun…" The silver-haired Jounin nodded, his eyes softening as he stroked the brunette's hair.
"You have a gift for sensing even suppressed chakra, Katsuki-chan." The brunette's face went pink. Kakashi was complimenting her!
Suddenly, something jerked the woman awake again, and she was once again in Kakashi's arms. She looked up at him, seeing sadness in his eyes. The woman frowned but opened her mouth to speak,
"Kashi… kun…?" The Jounin's eyes brightened.
"Yes, Katsu-chan. You always used to call me that back in Konoha."
"Konoha? Konohagakure?" She looked puzzled.
"Kakashi, she has no memory of ever being affiliated with any other organization other than Akatsuki," Riku spat, the words coming harshly and clipped from her lips. Katsuki shook her head.
"No, Riku-chan! I remember! I was sitting on a grassy hill, and there were these carvings of faces down the cliff. And then Kakashi came up from behind me, and-"
"You remember that?" Katsuki looked up at the Jounin before her and nodded.
"I know you won't hurt me now…" Kakashi's eyes wavered in irritation, "… But I don't remember anything else. Well, other than I think I like y-"
"OKAY! Can we just get going back to Konoha?" Riku interjected. Genma looked at her, frowning.
"We have to find the Akatsuki hideout, Riku." She shook her head.
"If neither I nor Katsuki can remember, it's pointless. Besides, we were walking for what seemed like two days before you found us," she said. Kakashi sighed, setting Katsuki down on the grass.
"Genma, let's just finish with the bandaging and then we can go home."
"Right." After a few minutes, Kakashi noticed Katsuki absentmindedly rubbing her neck.
"Katsuki-chan, are you okay?" As she turned her head to face him, he thought he saw a flicker of red in her icy-blue irises. The Jounin moved her hand to the side and his obsidian eyes narrowed at seeing a ring of reddened bite marks. Katsuki blushed as he gazed at her intently, saying nothing. Then, the silver-haired man merely brushed some antiseptic over the wound, gently patting a bandage onto her flawless porcelain skin. The woman murmured thanks to him, before the man stood up.
"Mission complete. We should get back home." Genma stared at him.
"What about the-"
"Hideout?" Kakashi's onyx eye glared back at the brunette, before softening upon seeing the way he held Riku gently against his chest. He sighed.
"If they don't remember where it is, then there's no point in looking for it. Let's just go home." Leaning down, he picked up his pack and handed it to Katsuki, who put it on automatically. She looked apprehensive as he knelt down before her, facing away so she could ride on his back. Nevertheless, both she and Riku were lifted and carried away through the forest.
A/N: Wow, I didn't realize how much I missed this story. Anyway, here's some love for Kakashi and Genma, who were out looking for their girls but weren't written about as much. :)