This little story arc has almost come to an end.

CHAPTER RATING: T

Episode 12: Forgotten, Part II: Embers

"Yamato-taichou!...HELP!" Naruto shouted. Through the walls of Naruto's house, Yamato heard a cry for help, followed by a fear and pain-filled screech.

"Naruto?!" He shouted; panicked, he looked at the two other Chuunin that accompanied him; he brought his hands together, emitting a loud clap that sprouted a beam of wood, which broke through Naruto's door with a loud crack that created a giant cloud of dust in its wake.

"Naruto?! Where are you?!" Yamato shouted. Karin stepped out of Naruto's room with a devious smile on her face. Yamato clapped his hands again, another beam uprooted from the wooden floor and wrapped around her.

"You're too late." She said with a grin. Yamato rushed to Naruto's room; eyes expanding in shock as he saw Naruto's seemingly lifeless body lying before him, shirtless, with arms and legs restrained to the bed posts.

"Naruto! Are you okay?!" He asked out loud. Naruto was motionless, and didn't offer any sort of answer; more panic grasped him as he noticed blood trickling down Naruto's neck. Quickly, Yamato untied Naruto's arms and tried his best to stop the bleeding.

"Quick, we need to take Naruto to a hospital right away!" Yamato ordered "I'll restrain the girl, take Naruto there immediately!" The two Chuunin nodded, picked up Naruto and rushed outside.

"What did you do to him?" he asked her. She offered to him a grim gaze with a sinister smile.

"I had a taste of his chakra," she answered while licking her lips with a crimson-stained tongue. "He was so delicious, that I just had to take it all." Her grin widened as he saw him lower his head.

…

"So, what do you say? Should we call it a day?" Kakashi asked Sakura.

"Don't you think we can still continue? You're not worn out are you?" Sakura replied.

"Well," Kakashi said as he turned around. "We need more trees and Yamato's not here." Behind him, there were broken trees, wooden debris, bare tree trunks, and piles of leaves everywhere. Sakura turned around and nodded in acknowledgement of his observation. "It only proves that you're making great progress." Kakashi added with a smile.

A breeze picked up and took with it a giant cloud of dust as it passed by. They could both make out a silhouette approaching them as they waited. The figure was running towards them in what seemed like an extreme rush.

"Kakashi-sempai! Sakura!" it yelled out. Kakashi and Sakura were both surprised to see Yamato running towards them.

"Yamato, Good timing we need more trees!" Kakashi yelled out

"I can't right now, Something has happened to Naruto!"

"Naruto?!" both Kakashi and Sakura expressed out loud in shock.

"Yes, I'll explain on the way to the hospital, follow me!" Yamato insisted. Kakashi and Sakura quickly ran towards Yamato and began to follow. They ran side-by-side while Yamato explained the situation.

"You see, Naruto's assignment was to watch over Karin, that girl that we brought back to the village." He began to explain. "You see, she was with Sasuke. She had requested that Naruto personally accompany her; complying with her seemed to be the best way to obtain information, so we asked him to stay with her the entire day." Sakura and Kakashi nodded.

"However, he did something unexpected; he took her home last night." Sakura's eyes widened as her mouth shot open.

"HE WHAT?!" Sakura shouted

He took her home?! That punk! I'll smash his face in!

"He took her to his house." Yamato continued. "I don't know what they did last night, but today, when I went to check up on him, he was tied down onto his bed, and he didn't respond when I called his name. He also had a bite mark on his neck, which was bleeding when I found him."

Sakura's anger filled thoughts ceased.

Tied down…? He's never done anything like that with me…Bite marks?

"He's now in the hospital, he hasn't responded to anything we've tried. It seems he's in a coma."

"He's in a coma?" Kakashi asked. Yamato nodded. "What is it that she could have done to induce a coma onto him?" he said a loud.

"I don't know specifically, she said 'I had a taste of his chakra' when I confronted her about it."

Sakura flinched at the statement.

"She also went on to say that he was…" he took a deep sigh. "..She went on to say that 'He was so delicious, that I just had to take it all.' I don't know any specifics, but it sounds like she-"

"She took his chakra, somehow." Kakashi interrupted.

"It looks that way." Yamato agreed. They continued towards the hospital, unsure of what lay ahead of them.

Naruto…please be okay.

…

The trio arrived in Naruto's hospital room minutes after the conversation. Sakura slowly opened the door and walked towards him. Naruto lay on a bed, motionless; medical wires used to monitor his body sprouted out from his bed sheets. Kakashi and Yamato stayed back while Sakura walked towards Naruto and desperately grasped his hand.

"Naruto…" she whispered. She opened the palm of his hand and placed it on her cheek. "Please, Naruto…Please, wake up." Naruto didn't respond. Sakura's eyes began to water; tears started to stream down her cheeks as she desperately held onto his hand. She tightly squeezed his hand with hers, wiping away her tears, she turned her head to Yamato.

"Yamato-taichou! Where is the person who did this?" she aggressively asked.

"Uh…well, she's over at the Intelligence Division Headquarters." replied

"Take me there." Sakura demanded

…

Sakura entered the Intelligence Division building with resolve in her eyes. With Kakashi and another shinobi guard as an escort, she approached a long corridor with one cell at the end of the hall. She approached the cell's bars and looked inside the dark room.

"Be careful now, we don't know much about her, but she did take Naruto's chakra, who knows what she could do to you." Kakashi warned her.

Sakura nodded. Inside the cell, they saw Karin, with her magenta hair and a sinister smile on her face. Her hands restrained by steel handcuffs. The guard took a stepped forward and unlocked the door. Sakura and Kakashi took a step into the cell, and then Karin spoke up.

"What do we have here?" she asked in a dark tone. "Didn't you two escort me here?" she mocked them sarcastically. "Why are you here? Bothering me in my excellent housing unit?"

"What you did to Naruto…Why?!" Sakura angrily asked.

"Why should I even bother answering you? What are you his girlfrien-"

"Because if you don't I'll break your jaw right now!" Sakura yelled as she grabbed Karin's shirt collar and pulled her fist back.

"Sakura!" Kakashi yelled as he jumped forward and held her arm back.

Karin began to chuckle.

"You ARE his GIRLFRIEND! Tell me, if you are, then why did he take ME home last night?!" Karin shouted mockingly. Sakura reared her arm back more, Kakashi tightened his grip. Her eyes burned with anger as she listened to Karin's words.

"But all of this doesn't even matter anymore…" Sakura's eyes opened in surprise. Karin's grin grew even more sinister. "After being with me, he doesn't even remember you." Sakura's head lowered in despair as she lowered her fist. Karin's grin grew even larger as she continually mocked Sakura. Kakashi brought his arm back, resting it on his side.

"If I ever…" Sakura forcefully brought her knee up; Karin felt a deep pain strike her midsection, causing her to gasp for air. "If I EVER see you again…I"LL KILL YOU!" Sakura yelled as she brought her fist up and forced it down to Karin's face, stopping within centimeters of connecting. She instantly released Karin's collar, causing Karin to fall to the floor with a loud thud. Sakura waited for another sarcastic remark from her but didn't hear anything. Karin was desperately gasping for air as she lay on the cold ground.

Sakura and Kakashi turned around, and left the facility as they heard the cell door shut behind them. Another grin stretched across Karin's lips as they left.

He doesn't even remember you.

…

Five Days Later…

Kakashi stood with his back propped on the doorway to Naruto's hospital room. He quickly looked up from his precious copy of Make-out Tactics; Sakura had been sitting at Naruto's side for the last five days. Her hand tightly clasped to his.

Naruto…What did that girl do to you that would cause Sakura so much pain?

He loudly shut his book, causing Sakura to spare a glance his way. Kakashi nodded to her, turned around, and walked away.

The two of them were alone in the room. Sakura still grasped Naruto's hand tightly. Tears streamed down from her eyes, falling onto the white sheets of the hospital bed.

Please, Naruto…wake up…

In the corner of her eye, she saw him stir. Her face lit up with joy as he began to blink. Her grasp on his hand loosened as she saw him move his head. Naruto's eyes opened, blinking multiple times to clear his vision.

"Naruto! You're awake!" Sakura cried with joy. Naruto shifted his head and glanced at her.

"I'm awake…and in a hospital." Naruto started. "W-Who are you?" he asked Sakura.

Sakura's eyes grew in shock and surprise; more tears fell from her eyes as she recalled Karin's words.

He doesn't even remember you.

"I-Is something wrong?" he asked her. She shook her head and wiped her eyes.

"No, we're just glad that you're finally awake. You've been in a coma for the last five days."

Sakura lowered her head as she added: "I was assigned to keep you company, and keep you safe. My name is Haruno Sakura."

"I see, well, thank you for looking after me, Haruno-san!" he enthusiastically said.

Naruto…you've always called me "Sakura-chan"…have you really forgotten who I am?

Sakura blankly stared at Naruto as her confused thoughts streamed through her mind. Naruto gave her a confused look. "So…how long do I have to stay here until I am good to leave?" he asked.

"Do you feel well enough to be discharged today?" Sakura asked. Naruto stretched out and yawned.

"I feel great!" he shouted. "Five days of rest? I feel like I can take on the world!" Sakura smiled at his joyous expression.

"Okay, stay here, I'll be right back." Sakura left the room and headed down to the main desk.

Minutes later, Sakura returned to Naruto's hospital room. He was already dressed in his usual clothing.

"Naruto, where did you get those clothes?" She asked him

"Oh, Haruno-san. I found them in that closet over there." He said while pointing to the other side of the room. "It's funny, I usually have a white shirt that I wear underneath it, but it wasn't there." He said while unzipping his jacket to reveal his bare chest. "Well, thank you again for taking care of me, maybe I'll see you around sometime!" he said while walking out of the door.

"Naruto, wait!" Sakura shouted as he just stepped out of the door. He stopped in his tracks and turned around. "I'm supposed to accompany you out of here until we're sure that you can take care of yourself again."

Naruto's face shown a questioning expression, then shifted into an innocent smile.

"Okay, I don't mind it if it's you, Haruno-san." His words brought a smile to Sakura's face.

Somewhere, I'm still in his heart. I know it.

Yes, it IS an Amnesia story arc!

And yes, I realize that there are plot holes in the story.

"Why doesn't anyone else go to help Naruto? Why is it only Sakura?"

Because this story is about Naruto and Sakura, and no one else in particular. Right? Right.

Thanks for reading!