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SweetMusic-01 + blue-genjutsu + ryujisensei31 + Alchemist Neko-chan + XKunoichiofthePaintbrushX + sevenfeathers + FireieGurl + otaku22 + freakin'idiot + kingdomhearts222 + pUppetEEr-NiNja + wally's girlfriend + FallenXAngelXMystery + Stuckinthedarkforever10 + darkguestieja + Dark Iasha + Syciara-Lynx

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Disclaimer: The storyline obviously belong to me but not the character… I'll be rich if it does..

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Remember Me Chapter 3- Butterfly

-A Tale of the past-

After moving for a few hours, the train finally stopped at a station. He turned his head and looked at the solemn blond boy who sat beside him.

"We are here, Naruto…" Sai smiled at him but got no response. His smile loosened a little but he still managed to pull it back.

"Let's get down…"

He picked up a fairly small baggage and guided Naruto down the train.

The station was not packed with people since it was not during a busy hour. Though there was still another reason. The town belonged to the quieter category; supposedly the type that was hidden from the eyes of tourists, a place where one would seek for a peaceful life.

That was his purpose. He wanted a place where Naruto could recuperate back to normal without anything that could stir up his past memories-this place would do the job.

Sai stared at the blond boy in front of him.

Naruto was like a zombie with a pair of dull eyes that stared into nothingness. He followed whoever who guided him without his own will. Sai hated that because it was not Naruto.

"Naruto won't listen to anyone… not without fighting back…" Sai thought sadly but he decided to shrug it off. He smiled at the blond.

"Wait here for me. I'll ask for the direction to our new house."

Sadness tinted his smile as he still got no response from the boy.

"You still won't answer me, eh?"

Sai placed his baggage down beside Naruto's leg and went over to the information counter.

He wore on his fake smile, "Hello.."

The girl at the information counter paused from her work and looked up. Almost instantly, a slight blush formed on her face.

"Oh… Hot guy…"

"Y-yes..? How can I help you, sir?" She stuttered.

"Yes, I would like to have the direction to this area." Sai took out a piece of paper and showed it to her. The girl looked at it for a moment.

"It's very easy and it's near here too. You go out from this station through the west entrance. Then you turn left and head straight. The housing area is around there. It should take you approximately 15 minutes to walk from here but I would suggest that you take a taxi for your convenience." She smiled at him politely.

Sai nodded and smiled, "I see…. Thank you." He turned to leave but the girl stopped him.

"W-wait!"

Sai turned around, "Yeah? Is there something wrong?" He asked.

"I-I was wondering whether I could have your contact number or something… Then maybe we could have breakfast or l-lunch or din-dinner together…" She squeaked as she blushed brightly.

Sai loosened his smile for a moment that was instantly replaced by a mischievous smirk. He leaned with his elbow on the information counter table for support to get closer to the girl.

The girl gulped and her blush deepened. "Kyaa… He's so close to me!"

"Take a look there." Sai pointed in Naruto's direction. She stared at the boy with a puzzled frown.

"Do you see him?" He asked, earning a nod as a response.

Then he turned back to her and smiled happily, "He's my boy friend."

As instantly as she blushed, she fainted. Her colleagues quickly rushed to her to check on her as Sai walked away with a smug look on his face but it was soon wiped out and filled with horror. Naruto was nowhere to be found at the place where he last seen him. The only thing left there was his baggage.

"……. Damn…"

XXX

He was staring off into a distance as if there was no soul in him. They say that memories are the soul of our life. If we lose it, we lose our soul. Therefore, there is probably nothing left in the body of the boy called Uzumaki Naruto. It was just an empty shell.

"Wait here for me. I'll ask for the direction to our new house." Sai said with a smile but he just stared at him. He could see disappointment in his eyes but still, he made no response to him.

Then the raven head moved away leaving the blond there alone with his baggage.

After a while, something caught his dulled attention. Without thinking about anything, he followed it and at that very moment, Sai had his back at Naruto. He did not see as Naruto started to stray from the station.

Naruto just followed it as it flew out.

XXX

Sai ran with his eyes scanning wildly for the blond.

"How could I be so stupid? I should not have let him out of my sight!" He mentally scolded himself as he gritted his teeth in anger. He had taken his attention off the blond for just a minute and he had already gone missing.

"I wonder where did he-…" Sai was cut off from his thoughts by a loud banging noise.

"There was an accident!" A girl shouted to her friend in horror.

"I saw a glimpse of it.. It was a blond boy… and it was freaky too! Bloods are all around! I'm going to get a nightmare!" Her friend covered her mouth with a little discomforted look.

"No one asked you to see it…" Sai thought in his heart. "Wait a minute…"

He paled. "Blond…boy..? No… It can't be!" He quickly ran over to the accident scene by pushing through the hordes of busybodies that had gathered in just a moment.

"Move!" Sai said as he pushed through.

"Hey! Be careful where you are going!"

"Stop pushing!"

"What do you think you are doing?"

He paid no attention to the angry shouts directed at him as he pushed through. Just when he was about to get closer, a police officer blocked him.

"This place is off limits." He said sternly.

"I need to go in! He might be my friend."

The police officer looked at him with a frown, "Might?"

"I have a friend with the matching description that went missing just now. I need to go in!" Sai repeated as he glared at the police officer.

The police officer stared at him and then he sighed, "Go. If he's not, get out."

Without saying a word, Sai went in and walked closer to the body that lay on the floor with blood splattered all around. He swallowed back his saliva as fear crept into his heart the nearer he got. Cold sweat began to form on his palms with each closing step.

Suddenly, he sighed in relief. He quickly turned around to leave the scene.

"Your friend?" The same police officer asked him as he passed him by.

Sai decided not to answer him but he waved as he walked away, indicating a 'no'.

The police officer smiled and murmured, "Then good for you.."

"Luckily it wasn't him… but… where is he?" Sai looked around from his spot and spotted a park.

"I wonder if he went there… Worth a try…" He began to walk over to the park and entered it.

In the park, he could see children playing happily without a worry in their minds. After all, they were the purest human beings in this tainted world. But still, it is not lasting.

"Sometimes I wonder how they turn out to be when they grew up…"

He glanced around for any sign of the blond. Then, at the more secluded part of the park, he saw a bob of blond hair just behind the bushes.

"There he is…" Sai slowly walked over to Naruto.

Naruto was squatting down with his knees hugged to his chest as he stared at something with great interest. The first emotion he had ever given within these few days.

"Naruto?" He called out but Naruto did not look up or anything. He just continued to stare at the plant in front of him.

Sai frowned as he went nearer to see what had caught the boy's attention. He smiled at it. Then he kneeled down on one knee.

"What are you doing, Naruto?" He asked. Even when he knew the blond would not reply, he still had to ask, hoping that he could get Naruto to talk.

There was a moment of short silence between them.

"Butterfly…" Naruto whispered softly.

Sai looked at him in bewilderment. "Finally…" He smiled.

"It's beautiful. Isn't it?" He asked as he stared at the blue butterfly that was resting on the leaves of a plant. Suddenly a gust of wind came and shook the plant a little, causing the butterfly to fly off again. This time, Naruto did not follow but just stared after it as it flew off into the blue sky, blending in.

"It flew… so… freely…." He murmured hoarsely. Sai looked at him. "I want… to… be.. like it… too…"

"I'm sure you can do it one day." Sai said.

Suddenly, Naruto turned and looked him.

"Are you…. free.. like it too?" Naruto asked.

Sai froze at the question for a moment before he answered back with a smile, "Yes.."

"But… you don't.. look like… you… are free…" He stopped for a moment to swallow his saliva back down his dry throat. "Ar-Aren't… you… tired… of.. smiling.. that… way?" He finished and stared at Sai.

Sai was rendered speechless by Naruto's question. Slowly, he lowered his head, "Maybe you are right… I am not free… It is very tiring to smile when I don't want to…"

"Then.." He stopped for a moment again, "Then don't… smile when… you d-don't.. want to…"

Sai tilted his head up and stared into Naruto's eyes. Then he smiled.

"I won't smile when I don't want to but I want to smile now because you finally talked…"

He pulled Naruto into an embrace. "You finally talked to me…" He whispered hoarsely.

"I'll protect you… So don't go away…"

Naruto nodded a little and murmured softly, "I won't…go.. anywhere… You are… the only… person left to… me…."

Sai looked at the boy that he was hugging, "Naruto…"

"Who.. am I?" Naruto whispered sadly.

-End-

XXX

Sai was staring at the scattered white sheets of paper in front him. He was back in his room to evade the glaring daggers from a certain raven head and also to think of ideas for his advertising work but he ended up in his own world, thinking of the event that played out when he had first reached here.

"Ar-Aren't… you… tired… of… smiling... that… way?"

He still remembered the question clearly. It was like Naruto had looked past his mask even with his dull blue orbs.

"I swore to protect you… I can't let him just take you away…" Sai murmured softly.

Knock! Knock!

Sai quickly pulled himself up and called, "Come in."

The door creaked open slowly and a head pops in, "Boo!"

"I'm so scared, Naruto." He said with a smile.

Naruto opened the door and came into the room with a sarcastic laugh, "Ha ha! Very funny, Sai. It's not like you even fell for it."

"How can you be sure?" Sai asked with an amused grin.

"Because only idiots would fall for it." Naruto answered simply with a grin as he placed both of his hand behind his head.

"So… Does that mean that you are an idiot to be making such an idiotic attempt at scaring?" Sai asked him with a smug look.

Naruto froze for a moment before exploding with a blush on his face, "I didn't say that! Don't put words into my mouth!"

Sai started to laugh as Naruto's face turned into a deeper shade of red.

"Stop laughing!" Naruto shouted as he stomped out from the room. "If you don't, no dinner for you!" Then he went downstairs.

The laughter ceased. It was not like he really cared whether he ate the dinner or not but he decided to stop since Naruto went down already. No use laughing when the person you were teasing was not around, right?

"Just like a kid… No wonder Tsunade always calls him a kid…"

"Dinner is ready! Come down or I'll start without you!" Naruto shouted from downstairs.

Sai arranged his papers and pulled himself up from the chair. Slowly, he made his way downstairs and met a pair of glaring eyes.

"Isn't he tired at glaring at all?" He mentally sighed. "But I can't just leave them alone."

He took a sit next to Naruto and smiled at Sasuke.

"I can't let you hurt him with his past… because I promised to protect him…"

-End of Remember Me Chapter 3- Butterfly-

Here is the new chapter! Hehehe.. So I guess you know the answer to the question I asked right? Hehehehe… I hope that you all like this and sorry for any mistakes!

I'll run off now.. Please review!