Authors note: Usual disclaimers :). Some of you may notice this story has similarities to "The Benefits of Amnesia" from BLW. That is an AMAZING story if you haven't read it yet. And yes this was inspired by that, I have a few stories on the go but this is the closest to being done so I thought I would start publishing and testing the waters (will be rated T to start but will eventually be M)
I realize my writing won't be everyone's cup of tea (I just do this for fun). I have gotten scathing reviews in the past (and lots of good reviews but the bad ones tend to stick in my mind), so I just wanted to say I only post these knowing how much joy I personally get from reading various writers stories, so even if 1 person ends up liking each of my stories that is enough for me.
Chapter 1
Blood Prison - Hidden Grass Village
Oto watched the ground as a white grayish form morphed from the floor and appeared in his cell. The Blood Prison was a highly secure facility, however this ….this…. THING was able to move in and out of here without triggering any alarm or leaving behind any traces. It creeped him out…
Once fully formed the strange figure stood up looking at him blankly.
"Well?" Oto probed when the thing made no comments.
"It's done," Zensu replied in a blank voice.
The flatness of the entity's voice took Oto by surprise, however after the briefest moment of hesitation he laced his fingers in satisfaction. His plan was finally coming together. Sunagakure should be up in flames before the day is over and the Kazekage should be dead. Good riddance he scoffed internally.
Snapping out of his inner monologue, Oto nodded curtly doing his best to suppress his glee. The rotund man aimed at a nonchalant tone as he instructed Zensu to keep him updated on progress before the figure vanished once again.
The only sound that remained in the cell was that of the wind howling outside the maximum security facility.
.
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Konohagakure - Hidden Leaf Village
Hinata opened the large mahogany doors in front of her before walking into the Hokage office. The message summoning her had been labeled urgent so she had rushed here, but her confident steps faltered upon seeing the room's occupants. Next to the Hokage was Shikamaru talking in a hushed voice, and in front of his desk stood Naruto and Saukura; two of the members of team seven. To top that off, Sasuke was off to the side of the room leaning against a window sill.
When had he returned to town?
"Hinata" the Hokage nodded, getting up from behind his desk. "Glad you could make it, come'' he gestured his head at the occupants in the room as he strode over to the couches. Recovering quickly from her surprise Hinata smiled and greeted everyone following the group to the sofas. However It didn't fail her notice that Sasuke didn't join them. He seemed content to keep leaning against the window. She sat down next to Sakura and Naruto and engaged the newly married couple in some light hearted small talk until Kakashi and Shikamaru wrapped up their discussion. When the Hokage turned, the three shinobi were looking at him expectantly.
"Right…" he nodded, "I'm sure some of you have already heard of the situation brewing in Suna..." As the Hokage continued on, his voice drifted away to a distant sound in Hinata's head. She didn't hear what the others replied as her stomach immediately grew queasy at the mention of the sand village and her ears started to ring.
It was Shikamaru's unusually worried expression that eventually snapped her out of her daze. Naruto's raspy voice cut through to her consciousness, "How is Gaara doing?" he asked with a grave expression. Hinata picked up on the concern that was evident in Naruto's voice. Of course he was worried. She had come to learn that Naruto and Gaara were great friends.
"He is managing," Kakashi replied vaguely, avoiding Hinata's gaze. "To bring you up to speed" the Hokage gestured at her, "Sunagakure was recently attacked-" Hinata resisted the urge to gasp and instead nervously folded her hands together sitting up straighter. She tuned back into what the Hokage was saying just as he finished, "...About 10% of civilians were injured along with a large portion of their shinobi force."
She resisted the useless urge to repeat the question asking how the Kazekage was really doing.
"All of the allied nations are providing what support they can to the country at this moment, and we will be putting together a joint task force to aid the investigations at Suna and to provide military support during this time. That is why I have assembled you all here today."
Sakura and Naruto were speaking rapidly asking questions about the attack... but she squirmed further back into her seat wanting to disappear. Hinata had zoned out again and only snapped back to attention at the sound of the Uchiha's voice. It was rusty from lack of use.
"I get why you are asking us to go… but why the Hyuga?" he threw a blank look at her. She gulped, hating the attention centering on her.
Kakashi cleared his throat, "Well... Hinata has been recovering nicely" the older man looked at her with a smile. What he meant was that she was recovering nicely since getting amnesia a year and a half ago and having a nervous breakdown shortly thereafter. Sasuke's eyebrow went up with skepticism.
Kakashi cleared his throat again and continued, "She used to be an official in Sunagakure for a period of time… so it's appropriate that we assign her to this mission. Plus Suna needs all the support and allies they can get right now."
"Is… that a good idea?" Sakura's soft voice also interjected.
Hinata wiped her clammy palms on her pants. Sakura was one of her doctors, and her uncertainty made the Hyuga's stomach churn. Hinata also didn't think this was a good idea.
"Hinata was recently reinstated as an S class shinobi. Are you revoking your assessment to put her into active duty Haruno?" Kakashi asked sternly. Sakura didn't reply. Something unsaid seemed to pass between her and the Hokage non-verbally. "Besides," Kakashi continued with a smile making her head hurt with his mood shifts, "Hinata won't be tasked to any of the mission groups. She is being assigned to help the Kazekage and his family during these trying times."
"That's what I'm worried about…" Sakura muttered under her breath as the room descended into an odd silence.
FB a year or so ago -
"Let me go… let me go… let me go!'' The kunoichi was screaming and squirming in the hands of the man bringing her in.
Sakura paused in shock at the reception desk of the Konoha hospital upon seeing Hinata as she'd never seen her before. The girl's face was red and swollen from tears, her voice was raw from crying and screaming, her hair was tangled from thrashing about and she seemed to have injured herself from trying to… escape… perhaps?
"What is going on?" she asked in a firm but horrified voice rushing to meet the Hyuga soldier.
"Argh…" Hinata used the soldier's distraction as an opportunity to slam her head back against the man's face before taking off running.
Sakura turned in surprise looking at the girl heading up the stairs. She assessed the situation and quickly signaled a nurse to follow the girl with a sedative.
"She isn't improving?" she asked in a quiet voice while turning to repair the man's now broken nose.
"The elders ordered that I bring her to be admitted," the guard said without answering her question.
An hour later Sakura stood outside the private room the Hyuga had been settled into and observed the girl. She was sedated now. The latest scans of Hinata's brain showed the edema that had been there after her accident had started to reduce … but her amnesia hadn't gone away yet.
"No improvement?" Ino asked joining her.
"Well the scans are looking better…" she replied, "But… no changes to memory or her state of mind."
"Shit…" Ino muttered.
Hinata's memory had been lost for about four months now.
"Sunagakure and the Hyuga clan are washing their hands of her?" Ino asked after a while.
"It seems that way," Sakura replied sadly.
What happened to Hyuga Hinata in the last four months was frankly unbelievable. Her story was a tragedy that none of the konoha 11 had seen coming.
Present day
"Will you be okay to go?" Sakura asked the Hyuga Kunoichi after they exited the Kage tower. Naruto and Sasuke were still in the building discussing details of the mission with Kakashi and Shikamaru. But the girls had been excused. Sakura had to go prepare to assist the medical forces in Sunagakure and Hinata just had to prepare…
"Yes," Hinata said in a neutral voice trying to hide her angst, "Why wouldn't I be?" she asked with a false smile.
Sakura swallowed nervously... the kunoichi still didn't know much about her past… her memory hadn't returned. A year and a half ago Hinata had been found close to Konoha injured while on a mission on behalf of Sunagakure. Since Konoha was the closest medical center she'd been rushed here and treated. All had seemed fine until the girl woke up without any memories past the age of 12…
The kunoichi had been 21 at the time.
They had sent Hinata patched up and back to Suna as per protocol hoping that the amnesia situation was short term and it would resolve itself once she was in her new home. But she'd been sent back to Konohagakure not even three months afterwards from the Kazekage himself. No one in Konoha knew exactly what had happened between them, but from what Sakura could tell, a 12 year old in the body of an adult is not what the Kazekage had signed up for. She hadn't been able to get much of Gaara's side of the story from Naruto because he was fiercely loyal to his friends, and unlike what most people thought was extremely good at keeping people's confidence. However Sakura couldn't help but think that dumping Hinata back in Konoha and washing his hands of the woman he once loved seemed like very unusual behavior from the Kazekage. But perhaps it was because of how much Hinata had hated Gaara upon waking up with her memory loss that had worsened that situation…
Hinata's eyes grew hazy as she was lost in thought as well and Sakura flattened her lips in concern. Yes she'd cleared Hinata for duty, but this mission had the possibility of fracturing her hard earned peace and identity. Not wanting to overstress the girl with her worries, Sakura quickly made an excuse and waved goodbye heading to the hospital. She didn't know what Hinata's time in Suna had been like for those 3 months… but she did know that Hinata came home and proceeded to have a mental breakdown.
Over the last year she had undergone intensive therapy and rehabilitation and was doing much better now. It seems that Kakashi felt it was time she was given a second chance at reclaiming her life back in Suna. Sakura sighed heavily, resolving to keep a close eye on the kunoichi during this mission.
.
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Hyuga compound
Breath, Hinata breath… she reminded herself as she threw her clothes into a bag.
There was no time to say goodbye to anyone, they had been ordered to leave as soon as possible. Oh well… she can come back after the mission. Shinobi had to leave at a moment's notice like this all the time. Her family and friends were used to that. So why was she feeling so unsettled? Right… it was probably the prospect of seeing Gaara of the Sand again. A flash of dark red hair and wisps of sand moved through her mind…
Hinata had been sent to Sunagakure a year and half ago upon losing her memory. She had been informed that prior to her memory loss she had relocated to Sunagakure and as such had no jurisdiction to stay in Konoha because she had abandoned the country and was labeled as a missing nin. Therefore she'd been treated by the hospital and quickly dispatched from the only home she remembered. No one in her family had visited her prior to her departure. Upon her arrival to Sunagakure it had been a really fun fact to find out that the current Kazekage was apparently Gaara and she had been his secretary prior to her memory loss. It seemed to be inconsequential to everyone that her only memories of this man was as a maniacal, psychopathic, cold blooded killer from the chunin exams.
The three months following that had been confusing to say the least.
Despite herself she had followed Gaara around like a lost puppy without anyone else to lean on. But she'd been terrified of him at all times. There had been many things that hadn't made sense to her back then, but in her state she hadn't had the presence of mind to catalog them all.
First of all she had been his secretary? How did that make any sense? From what she'd learned… There had been a major war and then due to some lapse in judgment she had abandoned Konoha and moved to Sunagakure to become the Kazekage's secretary? What the hell?
She didn't want to think about that right now. Right before she'd had her mental breakdown, Gaara had admitted to her that they had slept together once or twice during their time in Sunagakure. This had been literally a day or two before he sent her home. She sighed heavily looking down at her hands. Even now thinking of sleeping with the Kazekage made her stomach queasy but it had been an especially hard pill to swallow back then with the mentality of a 12 year old. The situation when she'd left Sunagakure had been unstable. Gaara had been under constant pressure from Suna to return her back to Konoha as she was a dangerous missing nin. But she didn't understand why the fact she was a missing nin had only started to worry the Suna council after she lost her memory. Hinata started to feel her head hurting again at all this confusion so she took a seat at the edge of her bed taking deep breaths.
Upon her return to Konoha she had been taken in by the Hyuga to recover but her mental breakdowns had meant that she'd been hospitalized very quickly afterwards. There was a few weeks after that she had no recollection of, and then her memory resumed from the day she met her therapist.… it was very frustrating.
Over the last year she'd been able to put some parts of her life together. Everyone moved around her in eggshells and avoided mentioning the circumstances of why she left Konoha. But her relationships with her friends were still intact. Finding out that her father and Neji were both dead… well... that had been another heavy blow.
Somehow Hanabi had been able to get the Hyuuga elders to accept Hinata back into the clan without labeling her with a caged bird seal. And so for the last while she had tried her best to adjust into a life as a shadow of her former self.
Hinata got up in frustration and walked over to her dresser where a simple necklace hung with a gold band in it.
Flash Back —
"Hinata I…I" Gaara was at a loss for words, he ran his hand through his hair almost as if he was a lost puppy.
"I don't know why I am here," Hinata said as she cried. "Why can't I go back home?"
"Hinata…" Gaara said carefully, "This is your home now. Or it had been for about a year… you were happy… truly I-"
"How can I just trust your words? This is bizarre to me. I wake up and I find out that I have no contact with my family, my friends, I live away from home in this barren place surrounded by strangers and I'm your secretary?... Why?... why would I choose to be here? It makes no sense, how do I know you aren't just keeping me here because you want to? And now you are telling me we used to be in a r-relationship together?" she clutched her midriff feeling disgust with herself and what she had turned into.
"Hinata I-I wouldn't hold you hostage… that's what you are making it sound like. You can leave if you'd like anytime, its just I thought that you deserved to try and find pieces of your old life if you could-"
"Old life? The old life I remember was in Konoha with my team, and with my father and Hanabi and Kurenai sensei. I don't remember YOU" she backed away crying and clutching her head, "Or atleast all I remember of you is that you are a monster who killed people for FUN" she cried.
Gaara looked stricken. Her heart hurt to see that look on his face but she couldn't stop. She was miserable and hurting.
"I don't want to be here…" she whispered.
"What… What would you like me to do?" he asked softly.
"Send me home! This is cruel, you are forcing me to follow you around when I have no fondness for you. How can I be your secretary? I don't want to be here. I don't want to be around you or your family or see your face EVERYDAY" she screamed sobbing.
She knew she was being unreasonable, Gaara and his family hadn't done anything for her to hate him so much but she was in pain and she needed to lash out and he was the only source close by.
He moved close to her almost as if to hug her, but she took a pillow from nearby and threw it at him, startling him.
"Don't come closer… don't, DON'T touch me" she screamed.
End of FB—
Snapping out of her memory with a deep breath Hinata took the necklace thoughtfully and then shoved it into her backpack.
"Hey" Hanabi breezed into her room, distracting Hinata. She had to take another deep breath to settle herself after reliving those memories, but seeing her sister in her formal robes always brought happiness into her heart.
"Why… are you crying?" Hanabi asked her, frowning. "Is it the mission… damn it, I just heard about it."
"No…" she moved forward to hug her sister. "I'm just so proud of you" she whispered.
Hanabi shoved her away playfully with a lopsided smile. "Seriously… about the mission. I can talk to the Hokage?"
"No," Hinata said firmly, shaking her head. "I need to figure some stuff out Hanabi… I need to figure out what exactly happened while I was over there in Suna back then before losing my memory. When I last left… I know I didn't leave things in the best of places with everyone. Perhaps this can help amend some of the rude things I said to the Kazekage back then? I wasn't my best self" she sighed.
Hanabi pursed her mouth in displeasure but nodded in the end rubbing Hinata's back soothingly. Hanabi didn't have a good feeling about this, but she knew she had sheltered Hinata for too long since the accident. It was time her older sister ventured out and tried to become something beyond this shell of a person she'd turned into.
