Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ quixotism ❯ chapter 2 ( Chapter 2 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: littleolmee 
Naruto isn't the only one who has changed. Sasuke awaits him in Konoha. Chapter now betaed.
Anime/Manga: Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Shounen / Romance / Hentai | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 06.28.2006 | Updated On: 08.31.2006 | Pages: 2 | Words: 5.3K | Visits: 985 | Status: Completed
Naruto isn't the only one who has changed. Sasuke awaits him in Konoha. Chapter now betaed.
Anime/Manga: Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Shounen / Romance / Hentai | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 06.28.2006 | Updated On: 08.31.2006 | Pages: 2 | Words: 5.3K | Visits: 985 | Status: Completed
Blanket disclaimer: I do not claim any rights to Naruto or any characters associated with the anime/manga. They are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. I do claim rights to any and all original characters that appear in this story.
A/N WARNING: This story will contain cursing, adult situations including slash pairing (that's boy X boy) and hentai (boy X girl). If you are offended by such things, not of age to be reading such material or do not want to read spoilers then please push the back button now.
My deepest thanks to Jaded Lady for her work as beta on this story. I appreciate all your hard work.
'thinking'
"talking"
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Sasuke took aim at the target throwing his shuriken and once again hitting it dead on. He had been coming out to the training grounds by himself since being released from Konoha's hospital some months ago. Practicing his shinobi skills was the one thing that had helped him come to terms with all that had happened, while giving him a way to work out his frustrations. What frustrated him most was that he had no idea what had happened to him in the last four years of his life. Being able to rememeber and deal with the things that had happened to him was the issue he was faced with, because there in lay the problem; he couldn't remember.
. . . . Flashback . . . .
Slowly Sasuke could feel himself regaining consciousness, blinking to clear his vision he pushed his tired body to look around in hopes to figure out where he was. The plain white room seemed familiar giving him the added strength to push himself up in the bed. "Where am I?" He whispered to the empty room. The door slowly open revealing a Konoha ANBU wearing a bird mask.
"Uchiha-san. . .you have awakened." The man behind the mask said, while his voice was slightly familiar the man did nothing to reveal his identity to Sasuke leaving him with an uneasy feeling. Just as quickly as the ANBU had appeared to affirm that Sasuke was indeed awake the masked man turned to leave again “Wait." Sasuke called out, his voice rough from disuse. "Are my teammates all right?" Sasuke croaked out, making the masked man stop and look at him from over his shoulder. "Teammates?" Feeling slightly afraid of the answer he was going to receive Sasuke nodded as he attempted to compose himself. "Yes . . . Uzumaki Naruto and Haruno Sakura. Were they hurt in the Chunnin exam too?"
He received no answer to his question from the ANBU, which left him sick to his stomach and fearing the worst. Sasuke could still feel the teeth on his neck from that ninja that called its' self Orochimaru. If he had been hurt enough to end up in the hospital he could just imagine the condition his teammates were in. He understood that death was always a possibility for a shinobi, but part of him didn't know how he would handle loosing anyone else he was close to.
Neiji steeled himself behind his mask against the shock he felt at Sasuke's inquiry about Naruto and Sakura. At the moment Sasuke acted more like the boy who entered the Chunnin exams with his team instead of the seventeen almost 18-year-old who had been a missing-nin for over four years. Having no way to answer the young man's questions Neiji decided avoidance was the best course of action. 'Tsunade-sama will be able to tell if he is faking or if he really has no memories.' Neiji assured himself. "You are currently in Konoha Hospital; I will alert Hokage-sama you have awoken Uchiha-san. I will be outside the door if you require assistance." Walking back out into the hall as he shut the door behind him, Neiji went about alerting the Hokage of Sasuke's condition.
When the door opened again Sasuke was happily surprised when Kakashi-sensei entered with the bird ANBU and large busted blonde woman he had no recollection of having met before. The worry and tension of not knowing what had happened to his teammates were wearing on him, as soon as he saw his sensei's half-covered face he blurted out. "Kakashi-sensei, are the others all right?" Kakashi's visible eye widened slightly at the question. "Others?" He asked regarding the young man that had once been his student. Having his sensei treat him so cautiously made Sasuke loose his patients, reaching his breaking point the young man replied clenching his teeth. "The others, Naruto and Sakura. Your other students, my teammates." He growled to his sensei that was looking over his shoulder at the woman behind him.
Tsunade approached the upset young man, she had a feeling she knew what had happened to him, taking a seat on the side of his bed she smiled trying to reassure him of her wish to help. "Sasuke, explain to me everything you can remember happening in the last several days." Sasuke gave her a quick once over, sizing her up. "Where is the Sandaime?" He asked watching the woman with distrust. Growling in displeasure over his attitude she quickly put him in his place. "Listen brat, if you want my help you'll answer my questions. Now tell me what you remember."
He still wasn't sure if he trusted this woman but if she could help then he'd put up with her for now. Pushing the worried look from his face replied. "Kakashi-sensei nominated our team to take the Chunnin exam. We passed the first stage and had entered the Forest of Death for the second stage. While we were in the woods we were attacked, it turned out to be some guy disguised as a female grass ninja, and he had control over snakes. He . . . he bit me . . . ." Sasuke explained trailing off into silence, reaching up to hold his neck where he had been bit. Lowering his face to hide under his long bangs, he frantically searched his empty mind for answers but found nothing.
Tsundade sighed, reaching forward with her hands slightly glowing with a healing chakra ghosting them over his head. "It seems your memory has been wiped." She replied lowering her hands giving the young man an apologetic look. "I'm sorry but, that was over four years ago." Jerking his head up Sasuke looked like he was going to go into shock. "I've been in the hospital for four years." Laying her hands on his shoulders, Tsunade worked on trying to calm the boy, looking over at Kakashi for help. The Jounin teacher approached laying one of his hands on Sasuke's head like when he was a small boy. "Calm down Sasuke, you have not been in the hospital for four years; you've been missing from the village. We found you unconscious near the Hidden Sound Village a little over a month ago; you've been in a coma since that time." Kakashi explained in an offhanded manner as if he was giving one of his excuses as to why he was late and not explaining a four year gap in a person’s life. The Jounin sensei squinted his visible eye to show he was smiling, over his ex-student's head at the rather dirty look he received from the Godaime at his flippant explanation.
Slipping on his blank mask to hide how lost he felt, Sasuke quietly asked the woman who seemed to understand what had happened to him. "I understand. Will my memories return?" Tsunade gave him a sad smile that spoke volumes to him. "From my experience with things Orochimaru has had a hand in . . . ." Taking a breath the Godaime explained closing her eyes to the lost soul in front of her. "No."
. . . . End flashback . . . .
Sasuke shook his head bringing himself out of his memories of that day. Kakashi-sensei had been kind enough to fill him in on everything that had happened after he had been bitten: Sarutobi-sama's death, Tsunade-sama's rise to Hokage, his fight with Naruto, his years as a missing-nin under Orochimaru. Naruto leaving the village to travel and train with Jiraiya-sama, Orochimaru's death, the defeat of many of the missing-nin's in the Akatsuki. Both at the hands of the ninja's in the Hidden Sound Village and the group containing the Rookie Nine from his academy days along with Naruto and his sensei, Itachi's defeat and death thanks to Naruto, and the lives of those from the Rookie Nine.
It was difficult to wake up one day and have no memories of over four years of one's life. Especially when the last memories had been of a boy that had been getting ready to turned 13, and when he regained awareness the boy had changed into a young man of 17. "Being 17-year’s-old didn't even last for long." Sasuke complained to himself while he walked to remove his weapons from the target, his 18th birthday had come not long after he was released from the hospital.
He had lost a portion of his life thanks to the snake-like man. He had lived four almost five years as a missing-nin and had no recollection of what had driven him to do such a horrible act, or anything about the years he had served the man that stole his life away from him. It seemed the curse had disappeared when Orochimaru died, taking with it everything that had occurred to its victims after they were cursed. Well that wasn't completely true, his fate was not shared by all that had been cursed. Mitarashi Anko had been placed under the curse at one time as well but because she was not in the later stages of it she didn't lose the years she had lived under the curse like he had. As far as anyone else in the later stages of the curse, well they were all dead, killed in the fighting between Sound, Akatsuki, and Leaf.
When it was made public that Sasuke had no memories after he was bit during the Chunnin exam the village seemed to find it easier to accept him back within their good graces. At first a part of him mourned the loss of his memories but he soon came to realize that his amnesia was a blessing. He thankfully wasn't cursed with the knowledge of what he had done or what had happened to him while with the evil snake master.
Sasuke sat next to the target he had been using to rest, it was still difficult at times to remember he wasn't thirteen anymore; he'd had his 13th birthday right before the Chunnin exam when he'd been bit. The whole thing was like some bad dream; as if he had simply gone to sleep during the Chunnin exam only to find when he awoke that he had slept for over four years changing from a 13-year-old boy to a 17-year old young man. Then to add insult to injury, before he could get used to the fact he was 17, his birthday rolled around making him 18. Besides his loss of experience he was still only a Genin in rank, it was extremely embarrassing.
If those things weren't bad enough, the fact that he had no recollection from those years sat like a lead weight in his stomach. When others would point out things he had said or done after he was bitten it left him feeling like a fish out of water trying to struggle with the emotions he felt. He didn't think they were lying about any of it, and saying he was sorry seemed trivial compared to the things he had done. But damn it all he just didn't remember and apologizing had never been one of his strong points. That was the worst part of having lost his memories; exactly that . . . he had no memories.
After his release from the hospital the Godaime had insisted he attend weekly sessions with her to help him deal with his four year loss. Just thinking about those meetings put Sasuke in a huff. 'As if talking about crap I don't even remember is going to 'heal my soul' as she says.' Kami he hated going to talk to that large busted woman, he always came out feeling worthless. 'How's that going to make me feel better?' He asked himself as he pulled one knee up to use it for an arm rest.
Even all the training he had received had been lost as well as anything he might have learned from life itself. Thankfully under Kakashi-sensei's guidance he was able to regain what his lazy sensei had taught him before he left Konoha, but he knew he was still behind the others from his graduating class. Hokage Tsunade-sama had assured him that after he had fully recovered she would allow him to continue his ninja training on a team if he still wanted to. Sighing, Sasuke shook his head. It wasn't like he knew how to be anything else; learning to follow the way of the shinobi was all he was ever taught to do.
Without seeking vengeance against his brother or getting revenge on the being Orochimaru, Sasuke found himself without a set road to follow. Not that he would verbally admit it but what he now faced was a bit daunting. His future had always been set firmly in front of him by others. To be solely responsible for that future left him feeling rather unsettled. From the time he was a small child he knew his family expected him to become shinobi of the village. With the massacre of their clan all Sasuke felt he had been left with was the path of vengeance to follow and that would only come if he continued in his training to become a ninja.
Now without any path set before him he felt lost in how to live his life. After a lot of soul searching he decided that continuing to follow the way of the ninja would be what his family would wish for him as the last living member of their clan. It would take time for him to figure out his own path though, especially when that wasn't something he had ever done before. What he learned from other's concerning the deads he had done during those four years showed he had allowed his desire for vengeance to lead him down the wrong path. Being from a clan of shinobi’s it was a natural reaction that he would seek vengeance. As a ninja, if someone were to strike out at you the first reaction would always be to strike back. When he was under the curse though he had lost sight of what he wanted, he would have to make sure not to let anything mislead him again.
In the end it was not his life path to avenge his family. Naruto was given the honor of fighting Itachi instead. 'The fool didn't fight him for vengeance, he fought to protect those he cared about. Did that make Naruto the more righteous between them? Was Naruto being the one to kill Itachi my punishment for allowing the curse to control me?' Time to think was something Sasuke had an abundance of since waking from his coma. He had come to accept that he had chosen a road that took him away from the right to avenge his family, turning from his birth village to seek tutoring from one that was an enemy had not been the best decision he had made. Even if the curse had lead him to turn against his village, Sasuke knew it had been his own hatred that had unleashed the curse.
At first he was angry at Naruto and the others for taking away his chance for revenge. "Itachi's life was mine, no one else had the right to take it from me. It was my duty to avenge my clans deaths." Those were the words he had said, spoken in anger and resentment. Shikamaru had explained to him about the events leading to Orochimaru and Itachi's death. The members of the Rookie Nine teams had all been called to chase after the group his brother belonged to. Hokage Tsunade-sama had received information that the group was chasing Naruto and his sensei toward the Hidden Village of the Sound.
When their teams arrived, they learned that it was nearing the time that Orochimaru was planning on taking Sasuke as his new vessel. The other times Orochimaru had been unable to get to Sasuke, the first time Naruto had detained him and the second time the Akatsuki group had been responsible for causing Orochimaru to take another host. It seemed Naruto had been trying to save him for years and that was why the blonde shinobi had traveled to the village that Orochimaru controlled.
This time though Itachi's group had followed Naruto, engaging Sasuke and the others loyal to the evil Sennin at the other end of the village. While his forces were divided Itachi took it upon himself to end Orochimaru's life. That by itself would have made for a happy ending if Itachi could have been saved from his own madness. But the murderer of the Uchiha clan turned and went after Naruto.
The Akatsuki had been chasing after the Kyuubi's spirit holder for years. Their intentions toward Naruto were anything but kind having captured Kazekage Gaara of the Sand years earlier, which almost resulted in his death.
Itachi lost his life when the combination of several jutsus mixed with the Mangekyou Sharingan caused a backlash effect. Luckily it seemed that during his travels Naruto had learned how to put up some kind of protective dome that protected their teams from the blast. Naruto and Itachi on the other hand were not so lucky. Naruto was able to protect himself somewhat from the blast but most of his protection had been placed around his friends. As soon as the battle ended Jiraiya had summoned the great frog Gamabunta and left with his student to take him to a healer. The older Uchiha felt the full force of the blast; it seemed the wave of power had erased him from existence completely. The teams had scoured the city and found Sasuke injured and unconscious but alive, and had returned to Konoha with him.
"Che . . . grow up Uchiha. You’re angry you can't get your precious revenge, but what did you expect us to do when confronted by your brother?" Shikamaru had asked Sasuke after explaining what had happened during Naruto and Itachi’s fight. "Naruto put his life on the line protecting all of us and he had every right to defend himself. Dealing with Naruto is tiresome and a bother, but I'm proud to call him friend." Shikamaru told him that as he leaned his head on his hand, looking like it had taken more energy to tell him off than he had wanted to waste.
Sasuke had stayed silent after that but when he returned to the solitude of his home and thought about all that Shikamaru had said he admitted at least to himself that he agreed. Not only did it turn his stomach to think of his brother killing anyone else that had ever meant anything to him. But it had also occurred to him that if he had been in his right mind when it was all happening and not under the control of Orochimaru he would have been there as well. The cold hard reality was it was his own fault he had been unable to get revenge for his clan. He had not been strong enough to resist the snake's control and so had been lost. 'Naruto did what he had to, I can't hold that against him.' Sasuke had come to realize this after spending sometime thinking things over.
With his brother's death he was truly the last of the Uchihas. Being alone again was more difficult to deal with this time. Sasuke huffed dishearteningly; he had forgotten what it was to be completely alone after he was assigned to Team Seven. Naruto and he had begrudgingly become friends, some how the dobe had proven himself to Sasuke along the way how to be a real friend. Not someone who liked him because of his last name, wasn't interested in him for his looks, his skills as a ninja or liked the preconceived idea of whom others believed Uchiha Sasuke to be. No, the friendship Naruto gave him was real. At one time he thought he hated someone like Uzumaki Naruto, but then the dobe turned around and showed what a real friend he was. Naruto was loud and irritating but it was with this idiot that Sasuke found true acceptance for who he really was, for all his good and bad points. The moron did what others never did, like pointing out his shortcomings, and calling him on mistakes. He didn’t stand for any of his crap, he stood up to him and pushed him in ways no one else had ever done. Never did Naruto turn his back on him when he needed help, Naruto watched his back and smiled at him with these indescribable expressions at times letting him know he wasn't alone in the world.
After his release from the hospital Sasuke had come to realize just how much he missed the moron's company. The dobe had been the only real friend he had ever had but at the time no one knew where the blonde shinobi was or if he was even still living. Jiraiya, Naruto's Sennin-sensei, had rushed off with him after the fight with Itachi and had sent no word on Naruto's condition. So Sasuke had been left to try and go on with life without his friend, the idea that he might have lost his only friend forever weighing heavily on his mind. For a while he had followed Kakashi-sensei's example and spent time daily at the stone shrine for fallen heroes, checking every day to see if Naruto's name had been carved onto the list.
Finally they received word through Kazekage Gaara that Naruto had survived the fight. There was no word as to where he was or when he would return to his home village, nor would the Kazekage answer any question about the missing ninja. Though just that much information was a complete relief to Sasuke, he never voiced his desires but did continue to silently hope his friend would soon return.
Around the same time they had received word that Naruto had survived the fight with Itachi, Sasuke somewhat came to terms with the fact he no longer had vengeance to seek. He began looking for his place within Konohagakure once again. Having accepted that part of his life was over Sasuke tried to go on to his other objective in life, the restoration of the Uchiha clan. Since the rest of his goals had been taken from him, the only thing he could think of at first was finding someone to settle down with and revive his clan. He tried going out with some of the girls that had not completely written him off during his years as a missing-Nin. In the end though none of them seemed to measure up to his standards. He withdrew from the dating scene fairly quickly after it became clear to him that he did indeed still find girls a complete annoyance.
Figuring he was still young and had plenty of time to restore his clan, Sasuke gave up trying to find a worthy woman within the village. 'I'm still young, I've probably just not grown into being interested in women yet. Most of my ninja peers are still single anyway.' Sasuke had assured himself after deciding he wasn't old enough for that step yet.
Sasuke went on to try to find at least some companionship with the other young men that accepted him back within their good graces, only to find himself responding in a similar manner as he had toward the women. It was through his weekly meetings with Tsunade-sama that he came to realize that the only person he had ever deemed satisfactory to share true companionship with had been Naruto. That realization shook him to his core when the Hokage had pointed out to him that he was comparing both the men and women to Naruto. Unfortunately their Hokage seemed to find that information very entertaining if the shit-eating grin she had wore was any indication.
After their meeting Sasuke had returned to his home to come to terms with what they had discussed that day. The fact he had been comparing every woman he had dated to Naruto, well it certainly left him feeling off kilter. Losing all his memories from the time of puberty to the beginning of adulthood left him concerned about what he might have forgotten that he had figured out before. He finally assured himself that it meant nothing. He compared all the other men to Naruto as well, so in the end he simply chalked it up to the idea that he simply found no one but Naruto a worthy companion.
Tsunade-sama had not been happy with him when he insisted that he found no one a suitable replacement for the blonde dobe. "You need to reconnect with your fellow ninjas and villagers beyond having a working relationship with them Sasuke. I don't even know for sure where they’re at, let alone when that super pervert is going to be bringing the brat back. I'm ordering you to go make some friends." Sasuke rolled his eyes up to the sky, thinking of his leader's new orders she had given him at their most recent meeting. "Phff . . . go make friends Sasuke." He said to himself in a very bad attempt to mimic the Godaime. He didn't remember ever disregarding an order from a superior, let alone the Hokage, but he knew his only hope was that the idiot would return soon and he could once again have his friend back.
'If he will still be my friend. After the fight he and I had he may not be interested in being my friend.' Not that he had first hand knowledge of the fight they had supposedly had. Sakura had filled him in on a small part she witnessed, Kakashi-sensei told him how close to death he found Naruto, and Shikamaru backed up Kakashi's assesment of the boy's wounds. The night they had recounted the tale to him Sasuke had one of the worst nightmares from the information, only the dreams of Itachi's betrayal had ever been as graphic before. He saw himself standing over his only friend's mutilated body with his brother leaning over his shoulder congratulating him on gaining the Mangekyou Sharingan by taking the life of his best friend. When he awoke from that particular nightmare he had promptly gotten sick, not even able to get out of bed before he emptied his stomach.
Laying back to watch the clouds Sasuke shuddered at the thought of having tried to kill his only friend. Days after his nightmare he began to wonder if Itachi had lived to awaken from his madness if his brother would have done as he had after the vivid dream of killing Naruto. Huddling in the corner of his bedroom after he had vomited in his own bed, Sasuke broke down and cried his eyes out in remorse of what he had done. Even without true memories the facts he had learned from witnesses had been enough to scare him into wondering if his brother's madness could run in the family. Sure he could remember being angry with Naruto in the past and even enjoyed sparring with the idiot but he had never wanted him to die. Thankfully Tsunade-sama had helped him come to the conclusion that his problems had come from the curse given to him by Orochimaru and his brothers madness would not happen to him.
Sasuke looked up into the vast blue sky; it was on days like these that the pain of missing his best friend was at its worst. He felt the pain lying on his heart like a heavy coat, since everything seemed to remind him of Naruto. While it was true Naruto's hair was the same color as the Sun, it remind Sasuke more of the blonde's bright and warm personality. The sky was filled with the same shade of blue as Naruto's eyes. Sighing, Sasuke admitted days like these only managed to remind him of his longing to have his loudmouth knuckleheaded friend near him again.
He had noticed recently that he was no longer much like the old self he remembered, yesterday during practice he had mentioned it to Kakashi. His masked sensei had explained to him that he couldn't be his old self anymore. "You’re not 13, any more Sasuke. Your not going to act like you did then. Plus you have been through a lot, even if you don't remember any of it. You'll find yourself again, it's just going to take time." The silver-haired Jounin had promised him as he laid a supportive hand on his shoulder.
Sasuke sighed figuring he probably wouldn't find himself anytime soon, at least not without his friend around. "Will you ever come home Naruto?" He asked quietly to the clouds, glad he didn't have anyone around him to see him in one of his weak moments.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
shuriken: throwing star
baka: idiot
dobe: dead last (one of Sasuke's pet names for Naruto)
Genin: Rookie/lower ninja. Acquire forehead protector and are grouped in teams of 3 with a Jounin sensei.
Chuunin: Level after Genin, after at least 8 missions Genins can be nominated by their Jounin sensei to participate in the Chuunin selection exam. Chuunin perform C to B rank missions. acquire military jacket /vest.
Jounin: Level after chuunin; elite ninjas, can take on Genin teams, do A and S rank missions. Perform other positions in village.
Anbu: An elite military squad of ninja who specialize in assasination, information gathering and protection. Silver vest and face mask(looks like an animal)tatoo on arm
Sennin: A wandering hermit or wise man. Those who obtain this unofficial title are very skilled in various Jutsu and have a strength comparable to that of the Hokage of a village. I have seen the spelling many different ways for this term, this is the spelling from the web site I used for Japanese terms from Naruto and is also the spelling I got from an online English to Japanese translator.
sensei: teacher
Akatsuki: organization of missing-nin's; name means dawn
Mangekyou Sharingan: kaleidoscope copy wheel eye
A/N WARNING: This story will contain cursing, adult situations including slash pairing (that's boy X boy) and hentai (boy X girl). If you are offended by such things, not of age to be reading such material or do not want to read spoilers then please push the back button now.
My deepest thanks to Jaded Lady for her work as beta on this story. I appreciate all your hard work.
'thinking'
"talking"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Sasuke took aim at the target throwing his shuriken and once again hitting it dead on. He had been coming out to the training grounds by himself since being released from Konoha's hospital some months ago. Practicing his shinobi skills was the one thing that had helped him come to terms with all that had happened, while giving him a way to work out his frustrations. What frustrated him most was that he had no idea what had happened to him in the last four years of his life. Being able to rememeber and deal with the things that had happened to him was the issue he was faced with, because there in lay the problem; he couldn't remember.
. . . . Flashback . . . .
Slowly Sasuke could feel himself regaining consciousness, blinking to clear his vision he pushed his tired body to look around in hopes to figure out where he was. The plain white room seemed familiar giving him the added strength to push himself up in the bed. "Where am I?" He whispered to the empty room. The door slowly open revealing a Konoha ANBU wearing a bird mask.
"Uchiha-san. . .you have awakened." The man behind the mask said, while his voice was slightly familiar the man did nothing to reveal his identity to Sasuke leaving him with an uneasy feeling. Just as quickly as the ANBU had appeared to affirm that Sasuke was indeed awake the masked man turned to leave again “Wait." Sasuke called out, his voice rough from disuse. "Are my teammates all right?" Sasuke croaked out, making the masked man stop and look at him from over his shoulder. "Teammates?" Feeling slightly afraid of the answer he was going to receive Sasuke nodded as he attempted to compose himself. "Yes . . . Uzumaki Naruto and Haruno Sakura. Were they hurt in the Chunnin exam too?"
He received no answer to his question from the ANBU, which left him sick to his stomach and fearing the worst. Sasuke could still feel the teeth on his neck from that ninja that called its' self Orochimaru. If he had been hurt enough to end up in the hospital he could just imagine the condition his teammates were in. He understood that death was always a possibility for a shinobi, but part of him didn't know how he would handle loosing anyone else he was close to.
Neiji steeled himself behind his mask against the shock he felt at Sasuke's inquiry about Naruto and Sakura. At the moment Sasuke acted more like the boy who entered the Chunnin exams with his team instead of the seventeen almost 18-year-old who had been a missing-nin for over four years. Having no way to answer the young man's questions Neiji decided avoidance was the best course of action. 'Tsunade-sama will be able to tell if he is faking or if he really has no memories.' Neiji assured himself. "You are currently in Konoha Hospital; I will alert Hokage-sama you have awoken Uchiha-san. I will be outside the door if you require assistance." Walking back out into the hall as he shut the door behind him, Neiji went about alerting the Hokage of Sasuke's condition.
When the door opened again Sasuke was happily surprised when Kakashi-sensei entered with the bird ANBU and large busted blonde woman he had no recollection of having met before. The worry and tension of not knowing what had happened to his teammates were wearing on him, as soon as he saw his sensei's half-covered face he blurted out. "Kakashi-sensei, are the others all right?" Kakashi's visible eye widened slightly at the question. "Others?" He asked regarding the young man that had once been his student. Having his sensei treat him so cautiously made Sasuke loose his patients, reaching his breaking point the young man replied clenching his teeth. "The others, Naruto and Sakura. Your other students, my teammates." He growled to his sensei that was looking over his shoulder at the woman behind him.
Tsunade approached the upset young man, she had a feeling she knew what had happened to him, taking a seat on the side of his bed she smiled trying to reassure him of her wish to help. "Sasuke, explain to me everything you can remember happening in the last several days." Sasuke gave her a quick once over, sizing her up. "Where is the Sandaime?" He asked watching the woman with distrust. Growling in displeasure over his attitude she quickly put him in his place. "Listen brat, if you want my help you'll answer my questions. Now tell me what you remember."
He still wasn't sure if he trusted this woman but if she could help then he'd put up with her for now. Pushing the worried look from his face replied. "Kakashi-sensei nominated our team to take the Chunnin exam. We passed the first stage and had entered the Forest of Death for the second stage. While we were in the woods we were attacked, it turned out to be some guy disguised as a female grass ninja, and he had control over snakes. He . . . he bit me . . . ." Sasuke explained trailing off into silence, reaching up to hold his neck where he had been bit. Lowering his face to hide under his long bangs, he frantically searched his empty mind for answers but found nothing.
Tsundade sighed, reaching forward with her hands slightly glowing with a healing chakra ghosting them over his head. "It seems your memory has been wiped." She replied lowering her hands giving the young man an apologetic look. "I'm sorry but, that was over four years ago." Jerking his head up Sasuke looked like he was going to go into shock. "I've been in the hospital for four years." Laying her hands on his shoulders, Tsunade worked on trying to calm the boy, looking over at Kakashi for help. The Jounin teacher approached laying one of his hands on Sasuke's head like when he was a small boy. "Calm down Sasuke, you have not been in the hospital for four years; you've been missing from the village. We found you unconscious near the Hidden Sound Village a little over a month ago; you've been in a coma since that time." Kakashi explained in an offhanded manner as if he was giving one of his excuses as to why he was late and not explaining a four year gap in a person’s life. The Jounin sensei squinted his visible eye to show he was smiling, over his ex-student's head at the rather dirty look he received from the Godaime at his flippant explanation.
Slipping on his blank mask to hide how lost he felt, Sasuke quietly asked the woman who seemed to understand what had happened to him. "I understand. Will my memories return?" Tsunade gave him a sad smile that spoke volumes to him. "From my experience with things Orochimaru has had a hand in . . . ." Taking a breath the Godaime explained closing her eyes to the lost soul in front of her. "No."
. . . . End flashback . . . .
Sasuke shook his head bringing himself out of his memories of that day. Kakashi-sensei had been kind enough to fill him in on everything that had happened after he had been bitten: Sarutobi-sama's death, Tsunade-sama's rise to Hokage, his fight with Naruto, his years as a missing-nin under Orochimaru. Naruto leaving the village to travel and train with Jiraiya-sama, Orochimaru's death, the defeat of many of the missing-nin's in the Akatsuki. Both at the hands of the ninja's in the Hidden Sound Village and the group containing the Rookie Nine from his academy days along with Naruto and his sensei, Itachi's defeat and death thanks to Naruto, and the lives of those from the Rookie Nine.
It was difficult to wake up one day and have no memories of over four years of one's life. Especially when the last memories had been of a boy that had been getting ready to turned 13, and when he regained awareness the boy had changed into a young man of 17. "Being 17-year’s-old didn't even last for long." Sasuke complained to himself while he walked to remove his weapons from the target, his 18th birthday had come not long after he was released from the hospital.
He had lost a portion of his life thanks to the snake-like man. He had lived four almost five years as a missing-nin and had no recollection of what had driven him to do such a horrible act, or anything about the years he had served the man that stole his life away from him. It seemed the curse had disappeared when Orochimaru died, taking with it everything that had occurred to its victims after they were cursed. Well that wasn't completely true, his fate was not shared by all that had been cursed. Mitarashi Anko had been placed under the curse at one time as well but because she was not in the later stages of it she didn't lose the years she had lived under the curse like he had. As far as anyone else in the later stages of the curse, well they were all dead, killed in the fighting between Sound, Akatsuki, and Leaf.
When it was made public that Sasuke had no memories after he was bit during the Chunnin exam the village seemed to find it easier to accept him back within their good graces. At first a part of him mourned the loss of his memories but he soon came to realize that his amnesia was a blessing. He thankfully wasn't cursed with the knowledge of what he had done or what had happened to him while with the evil snake master.
Sasuke sat next to the target he had been using to rest, it was still difficult at times to remember he wasn't thirteen anymore; he'd had his 13th birthday right before the Chunnin exam when he'd been bit. The whole thing was like some bad dream; as if he had simply gone to sleep during the Chunnin exam only to find when he awoke that he had slept for over four years changing from a 13-year-old boy to a 17-year old young man. Then to add insult to injury, before he could get used to the fact he was 17, his birthday rolled around making him 18. Besides his loss of experience he was still only a Genin in rank, it was extremely embarrassing.
If those things weren't bad enough, the fact that he had no recollection from those years sat like a lead weight in his stomach. When others would point out things he had said or done after he was bitten it left him feeling like a fish out of water trying to struggle with the emotions he felt. He didn't think they were lying about any of it, and saying he was sorry seemed trivial compared to the things he had done. But damn it all he just didn't remember and apologizing had never been one of his strong points. That was the worst part of having lost his memories; exactly that . . . he had no memories.
After his release from the hospital the Godaime had insisted he attend weekly sessions with her to help him deal with his four year loss. Just thinking about those meetings put Sasuke in a huff. 'As if talking about crap I don't even remember is going to 'heal my soul' as she says.' Kami he hated going to talk to that large busted woman, he always came out feeling worthless. 'How's that going to make me feel better?' He asked himself as he pulled one knee up to use it for an arm rest.
Even all the training he had received had been lost as well as anything he might have learned from life itself. Thankfully under Kakashi-sensei's guidance he was able to regain what his lazy sensei had taught him before he left Konoha, but he knew he was still behind the others from his graduating class. Hokage Tsunade-sama had assured him that after he had fully recovered she would allow him to continue his ninja training on a team if he still wanted to. Sighing, Sasuke shook his head. It wasn't like he knew how to be anything else; learning to follow the way of the shinobi was all he was ever taught to do.
Without seeking vengeance against his brother or getting revenge on the being Orochimaru, Sasuke found himself without a set road to follow. Not that he would verbally admit it but what he now faced was a bit daunting. His future had always been set firmly in front of him by others. To be solely responsible for that future left him feeling rather unsettled. From the time he was a small child he knew his family expected him to become shinobi of the village. With the massacre of their clan all Sasuke felt he had been left with was the path of vengeance to follow and that would only come if he continued in his training to become a ninja.
Now without any path set before him he felt lost in how to live his life. After a lot of soul searching he decided that continuing to follow the way of the ninja would be what his family would wish for him as the last living member of their clan. It would take time for him to figure out his own path though, especially when that wasn't something he had ever done before. What he learned from other's concerning the deads he had done during those four years showed he had allowed his desire for vengeance to lead him down the wrong path. Being from a clan of shinobi’s it was a natural reaction that he would seek vengeance. As a ninja, if someone were to strike out at you the first reaction would always be to strike back. When he was under the curse though he had lost sight of what he wanted, he would have to make sure not to let anything mislead him again.
In the end it was not his life path to avenge his family. Naruto was given the honor of fighting Itachi instead. 'The fool didn't fight him for vengeance, he fought to protect those he cared about. Did that make Naruto the more righteous between them? Was Naruto being the one to kill Itachi my punishment for allowing the curse to control me?' Time to think was something Sasuke had an abundance of since waking from his coma. He had come to accept that he had chosen a road that took him away from the right to avenge his family, turning from his birth village to seek tutoring from one that was an enemy had not been the best decision he had made. Even if the curse had lead him to turn against his village, Sasuke knew it had been his own hatred that had unleashed the curse.
At first he was angry at Naruto and the others for taking away his chance for revenge. "Itachi's life was mine, no one else had the right to take it from me. It was my duty to avenge my clans deaths." Those were the words he had said, spoken in anger and resentment. Shikamaru had explained to him about the events leading to Orochimaru and Itachi's death. The members of the Rookie Nine teams had all been called to chase after the group his brother belonged to. Hokage Tsunade-sama had received information that the group was chasing Naruto and his sensei toward the Hidden Village of the Sound.
When their teams arrived, they learned that it was nearing the time that Orochimaru was planning on taking Sasuke as his new vessel. The other times Orochimaru had been unable to get to Sasuke, the first time Naruto had detained him and the second time the Akatsuki group had been responsible for causing Orochimaru to take another host. It seemed Naruto had been trying to save him for years and that was why the blonde shinobi had traveled to the village that Orochimaru controlled.
This time though Itachi's group had followed Naruto, engaging Sasuke and the others loyal to the evil Sennin at the other end of the village. While his forces were divided Itachi took it upon himself to end Orochimaru's life. That by itself would have made for a happy ending if Itachi could have been saved from his own madness. But the murderer of the Uchiha clan turned and went after Naruto.
The Akatsuki had been chasing after the Kyuubi's spirit holder for years. Their intentions toward Naruto were anything but kind having captured Kazekage Gaara of the Sand years earlier, which almost resulted in his death.
Itachi lost his life when the combination of several jutsus mixed with the Mangekyou Sharingan caused a backlash effect. Luckily it seemed that during his travels Naruto had learned how to put up some kind of protective dome that protected their teams from the blast. Naruto and Itachi on the other hand were not so lucky. Naruto was able to protect himself somewhat from the blast but most of his protection had been placed around his friends. As soon as the battle ended Jiraiya had summoned the great frog Gamabunta and left with his student to take him to a healer. The older Uchiha felt the full force of the blast; it seemed the wave of power had erased him from existence completely. The teams had scoured the city and found Sasuke injured and unconscious but alive, and had returned to Konoha with him.
"Che . . . grow up Uchiha. You’re angry you can't get your precious revenge, but what did you expect us to do when confronted by your brother?" Shikamaru had asked Sasuke after explaining what had happened during Naruto and Itachi’s fight. "Naruto put his life on the line protecting all of us and he had every right to defend himself. Dealing with Naruto is tiresome and a bother, but I'm proud to call him friend." Shikamaru told him that as he leaned his head on his hand, looking like it had taken more energy to tell him off than he had wanted to waste.
Sasuke had stayed silent after that but when he returned to the solitude of his home and thought about all that Shikamaru had said he admitted at least to himself that he agreed. Not only did it turn his stomach to think of his brother killing anyone else that had ever meant anything to him. But it had also occurred to him that if he had been in his right mind when it was all happening and not under the control of Orochimaru he would have been there as well. The cold hard reality was it was his own fault he had been unable to get revenge for his clan. He had not been strong enough to resist the snake's control and so had been lost. 'Naruto did what he had to, I can't hold that against him.' Sasuke had come to realize this after spending sometime thinking things over.
With his brother's death he was truly the last of the Uchihas. Being alone again was more difficult to deal with this time. Sasuke huffed dishearteningly; he had forgotten what it was to be completely alone after he was assigned to Team Seven. Naruto and he had begrudgingly become friends, some how the dobe had proven himself to Sasuke along the way how to be a real friend. Not someone who liked him because of his last name, wasn't interested in him for his looks, his skills as a ninja or liked the preconceived idea of whom others believed Uchiha Sasuke to be. No, the friendship Naruto gave him was real. At one time he thought he hated someone like Uzumaki Naruto, but then the dobe turned around and showed what a real friend he was. Naruto was loud and irritating but it was with this idiot that Sasuke found true acceptance for who he really was, for all his good and bad points. The moron did what others never did, like pointing out his shortcomings, and calling him on mistakes. He didn’t stand for any of his crap, he stood up to him and pushed him in ways no one else had ever done. Never did Naruto turn his back on him when he needed help, Naruto watched his back and smiled at him with these indescribable expressions at times letting him know he wasn't alone in the world.
After his release from the hospital Sasuke had come to realize just how much he missed the moron's company. The dobe had been the only real friend he had ever had but at the time no one knew where the blonde shinobi was or if he was even still living. Jiraiya, Naruto's Sennin-sensei, had rushed off with him after the fight with Itachi and had sent no word on Naruto's condition. So Sasuke had been left to try and go on with life without his friend, the idea that he might have lost his only friend forever weighing heavily on his mind. For a while he had followed Kakashi-sensei's example and spent time daily at the stone shrine for fallen heroes, checking every day to see if Naruto's name had been carved onto the list.
Finally they received word through Kazekage Gaara that Naruto had survived the fight. There was no word as to where he was or when he would return to his home village, nor would the Kazekage answer any question about the missing ninja. Though just that much information was a complete relief to Sasuke, he never voiced his desires but did continue to silently hope his friend would soon return.
Around the same time they had received word that Naruto had survived the fight with Itachi, Sasuke somewhat came to terms with the fact he no longer had vengeance to seek. He began looking for his place within Konohagakure once again. Having accepted that part of his life was over Sasuke tried to go on to his other objective in life, the restoration of the Uchiha clan. Since the rest of his goals had been taken from him, the only thing he could think of at first was finding someone to settle down with and revive his clan. He tried going out with some of the girls that had not completely written him off during his years as a missing-Nin. In the end though none of them seemed to measure up to his standards. He withdrew from the dating scene fairly quickly after it became clear to him that he did indeed still find girls a complete annoyance.
Figuring he was still young and had plenty of time to restore his clan, Sasuke gave up trying to find a worthy woman within the village. 'I'm still young, I've probably just not grown into being interested in women yet. Most of my ninja peers are still single anyway.' Sasuke had assured himself after deciding he wasn't old enough for that step yet.
Sasuke went on to try to find at least some companionship with the other young men that accepted him back within their good graces, only to find himself responding in a similar manner as he had toward the women. It was through his weekly meetings with Tsunade-sama that he came to realize that the only person he had ever deemed satisfactory to share true companionship with had been Naruto. That realization shook him to his core when the Hokage had pointed out to him that he was comparing both the men and women to Naruto. Unfortunately their Hokage seemed to find that information very entertaining if the shit-eating grin she had wore was any indication.
After their meeting Sasuke had returned to his home to come to terms with what they had discussed that day. The fact he had been comparing every woman he had dated to Naruto, well it certainly left him feeling off kilter. Losing all his memories from the time of puberty to the beginning of adulthood left him concerned about what he might have forgotten that he had figured out before. He finally assured himself that it meant nothing. He compared all the other men to Naruto as well, so in the end he simply chalked it up to the idea that he simply found no one but Naruto a worthy companion.
Tsunade-sama had not been happy with him when he insisted that he found no one a suitable replacement for the blonde dobe. "You need to reconnect with your fellow ninjas and villagers beyond having a working relationship with them Sasuke. I don't even know for sure where they’re at, let alone when that super pervert is going to be bringing the brat back. I'm ordering you to go make some friends." Sasuke rolled his eyes up to the sky, thinking of his leader's new orders she had given him at their most recent meeting. "Phff . . . go make friends Sasuke." He said to himself in a very bad attempt to mimic the Godaime. He didn't remember ever disregarding an order from a superior, let alone the Hokage, but he knew his only hope was that the idiot would return soon and he could once again have his friend back.
'If he will still be my friend. After the fight he and I had he may not be interested in being my friend.' Not that he had first hand knowledge of the fight they had supposedly had. Sakura had filled him in on a small part she witnessed, Kakashi-sensei told him how close to death he found Naruto, and Shikamaru backed up Kakashi's assesment of the boy's wounds. The night they had recounted the tale to him Sasuke had one of the worst nightmares from the information, only the dreams of Itachi's betrayal had ever been as graphic before. He saw himself standing over his only friend's mutilated body with his brother leaning over his shoulder congratulating him on gaining the Mangekyou Sharingan by taking the life of his best friend. When he awoke from that particular nightmare he had promptly gotten sick, not even able to get out of bed before he emptied his stomach.
Laying back to watch the clouds Sasuke shuddered at the thought of having tried to kill his only friend. Days after his nightmare he began to wonder if Itachi had lived to awaken from his madness if his brother would have done as he had after the vivid dream of killing Naruto. Huddling in the corner of his bedroom after he had vomited in his own bed, Sasuke broke down and cried his eyes out in remorse of what he had done. Even without true memories the facts he had learned from witnesses had been enough to scare him into wondering if his brother's madness could run in the family. Sure he could remember being angry with Naruto in the past and even enjoyed sparring with the idiot but he had never wanted him to die. Thankfully Tsunade-sama had helped him come to the conclusion that his problems had come from the curse given to him by Orochimaru and his brothers madness would not happen to him.
Sasuke looked up into the vast blue sky; it was on days like these that the pain of missing his best friend was at its worst. He felt the pain lying on his heart like a heavy coat, since everything seemed to remind him of Naruto. While it was true Naruto's hair was the same color as the Sun, it remind Sasuke more of the blonde's bright and warm personality. The sky was filled with the same shade of blue as Naruto's eyes. Sighing, Sasuke admitted days like these only managed to remind him of his longing to have his loudmouth knuckleheaded friend near him again.
He had noticed recently that he was no longer much like the old self he remembered, yesterday during practice he had mentioned it to Kakashi. His masked sensei had explained to him that he couldn't be his old self anymore. "You’re not 13, any more Sasuke. Your not going to act like you did then. Plus you have been through a lot, even if you don't remember any of it. You'll find yourself again, it's just going to take time." The silver-haired Jounin had promised him as he laid a supportive hand on his shoulder.
Sasuke sighed figuring he probably wouldn't find himself anytime soon, at least not without his friend around. "Will you ever come home Naruto?" He asked quietly to the clouds, glad he didn't have anyone around him to see him in one of his weak moments.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
shuriken: throwing star
baka: idiot
dobe: dead last (one of Sasuke's pet names for Naruto)
Genin: Rookie/lower ninja. Acquire forehead protector and are grouped in teams of 3 with a Jounin sensei.
Chuunin: Level after Genin, after at least 8 missions Genins can be nominated by their Jounin sensei to participate in the Chuunin selection exam. Chuunin perform C to B rank missions. acquire military jacket /vest.
Jounin: Level after chuunin; elite ninjas, can take on Genin teams, do A and S rank missions. Perform other positions in village.
Anbu: An elite military squad of ninja who specialize in assasination, information gathering and protection. Silver vest and face mask(looks like an animal)tatoo on arm
Sennin: A wandering hermit or wise man. Those who obtain this unofficial title are very skilled in various Jutsu and have a strength comparable to that of the Hokage of a village. I have seen the spelling many different ways for this term, this is the spelling from the web site I used for Japanese terms from Naruto and is also the spelling I got from an online English to Japanese translator.
sensei: teacher
Akatsuki: organization of missing-nin's; name means dawn
Mangekyou Sharingan: kaleidoscope copy wheel eye