SLAM!

Sakura jumped at the sound of her front door being slammed shut.

"S-Sasuke?" she muttered, looking up with teared eyes, "No, he-he couldn't have!"

Sakura jumped to her feet and ran to the front room. Sasuke was no where to be seen. Panicing, she ran to the door and threw it open. Peering out, she searched for him, but no one was in sight.

"SASUKE?!!" she shouted, running into the street, "SASUKE! PLEASE COME BACK!!! SASUKE!"

With a great cry, she sank to her knees and buried her head in her hands.

'Oh, what have I done?...what have I done…'

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sasuke entered the town, looking around in hopes of any familiar faces. Just before he got past the ramen stand, he heard someone call out his name. Turning, he saw a familiar blonde boy walking towards him. Waving as best as he could, he slowly approached the boy.

"Naruto?" he muttered once he was within hearing range.

"So, the rumors are true…you're back…" Naruto said, rather seriously.

"Hey, Naruto, How have you been?"

Naruto glared and before Sasuke had time to react, Naruto punched him, causing Sasuke to stumble backwards. Regaining his composure, he looked back at Naruto, slightly confused.

"What the hell was that for? You never used to act that way before, Naruto…" Sasuke exclaimed, leaning against a post and clutching his stomach, "What the hell is going on around here? First I find out from Sakura that my personality has changed and that I never used to care about her, then, I find out that I've been missing for two years! Then, to top it all off, my best friend, punches me in the stomach!"

Naruto stopped and blinked a few times, 'Did he just call me his best friend? Something's not right; this isn't the same Sasuke that I knew…'

Sighing, Naruto replied, "Best friend, eh?"

Sasuke, completely taken off guard, nodded, "Yeah, we've been friends since before the academy…don't you remember any of that?"

Naruto shook his head, "No, sorry, but those aren't the same memories that I have. You tried to kill me! Now you expect me to believe that you're my friend?! Excuse me, but what the hell happened to you?!"

"I-I tried to kill you? But when? I don't remember anything like that…" Sasuke mumbled, then, as he tried to think harder, he sank to his knees in pain, his head once again beginning to throb, 'Why does this happen every time I try to remember?!'

"Sasuke?" Naruto asked, slightly worried, "Are you feeling all right?"

"I-I don't know. Naruto, do you know where Kakashi-sensei is?" Sasuke asked, looking up at the boy.

'He said Sensei; something really is not right…' he thought to himself, "Yeah, do you need me to take you to him?"

"Can you?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto nodded and helped Sasuke to his feet, then placing one of arms around Sasuke's waist and one of Sasuke's arms over his shoulder; they moved slowly towards the outer edge of the town.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Knock! Knock! Knock!

"Hold on!" came a muffled voice from somewhere in the house, then shortly after, clicks could be heard as the door was being unlocked.

"How can I—Naruto? Sasuke?" Kakashi asked, looking at his two former students, "Naruto, what is going on? I thought Sasuke was at Sakura's house…"

"He was but something happened, and I ran into him in the town…"

"Well, come in. Let's get him on that couch over there," Kakashi said, pointing towards the left side of the room.

After Sasuke was comfortably laid upon the couch, Naruto turned and took a seat beside him on a separate chair. Kakashi was about to walk into his kitchen when Sasuke spoke.

"Kakashi-sensei, do you know what's going on?" he asked quietly.

Kakashi stopped dead in his tracks, 'Did he just call me sensei? No that can't be…he would never say anything like that…but…'

"Sensei?"

'Nope…he actually did call me sensei…' Kakashi thought, "Hold on a minute, I'm going to grab us some drinks…Naruto, why don't you come with me for a moment…"

"Huh? Oh, okay…" Naruto nodded and followed Kakashi into the kitchen then out the back door.

"Okay, Naruto, I'm going to ask you once; what was he doing when you found him?"

"Uh, he was walking past the Ramen stand when I saw him. I punched him, not realizing what condition he was in, but what threw me off guard was when he called me his friend…Kakashi-sensei, he tried to kill me! How else was I supposed to react when I ran into him…"

"Quiet down, Naruto. He appeared outside Sakura's house the other night. She called me and told me to come quickly. When I arrived, Sasuke was passed out on the floor and bleeding severely. I stayed and helped close the wounds. He woke up a second time, but shortly after he...uh…never mind, but he passed out again. Did he tell you anything that happened earlier?"

Naruto went on to explain what Sasuke had told him in town, "But that was all he said. I don't know the rest. All I know is that isn't the same Sasuke that I grew up with! A friend? I was more like a loser in his eyes…"

Kakashi sighed and entered the kitchen. Grabbing three drinks from the fridge, they returned to the front room, where Sasuke appeared to be asleep. When he heard them enter, he snapped his eyes open and slowly sat up, taking the drink from Kakashi's hand. Kakashi and Naruto sat down and proceed to open their cans.

"All right, Sasuke, start from the very beginning. What happened after you awoke this morning?" Kakashi asked calmly.

"This morning, well, I woke up and tried walking towards the front room when I slipped and landed on my back on the floor. Sakura appeared and she went into this whole thing about how I said please…when she tried to lift me up, she ended up falling on me. I started tickling her, but when I brought her to the couch she kicked me hard in the side, sending me to floor again…"

Sasuke continued on until the part where Sakura asked him about what he remembered, "That was the strangest part. When she asked me, I didn't know what to say. I told her that after I was sent on that mission, I got separated from the group and that from there on, everything was a blur. She then told me that my personality had changed, that I never used to look her way…that's when I got confused, because my memories are of the two of us, together…it was the same way when I saw Naruto, only he punched me instead off running off…"

"I see…" Kakashi replied.

"I see? That's all you have to say?! I'm confused as hell as to why everyone thinks I'm different!" Sasuke cried, slamming his drink onto the table, "Maybe I should just go home, maybe my parents will know what's going on…"

Naruto's faced dropped and his can slipped from his hand, falling with a clatter onto the floor. Sasuke jumped and turned to stare. Kakashi, not knowing exactly what to say, gently placed his can upon the table and cleared his throat.

"Sasuke...your parents are dead…"

"What?! No, that can't be, I saw them just before I left for that mission! They can't be dead!" Sasuke cried, jumping to his feet, "You're lying!"

Without warning, Sasuke darted forward and was out the door within seconds. Naruto sat still for a moment before realizing that he would never make it with those wounds. Naruto was out of his seat in a flash and followed Kakashi out the door. After minutes of chasing after Sasuke, they finally found him, but did not have time to catch him before he disappeared into his house.

Finally, after chasing him all the way into the backyard, they found him in the back part of the house. He was standing, stock still, and seemed to be trembling. Naruto walked up to him and caught him as he sank to his knees.

"WHY?! WHY DID THIS HAVE TO HAPPEN?!" he cried, sobbing into Naruto's shirt, "WHY?!"

Kakashi approached from behind and leaned against the wall. He was at a loss for words. This was such a different point of view from Sasuke, that he was not prepared for it. Sasuke continued to cry—though he was exhausted—even as Naruto slowly moved to help Kakashi pick him up and carry him home. They soon arrived at Kakashi's and immediately after Sasuke was on the couch, the phone rang.

"Hello…" Kakashi said, rather exhausted.

"K-Kakashi?" a female's voice whimpered back.

"Sakura?"

"Y-Yes…Have you seen S-Sasuke?" she asked, sniffling.

"Don't worry, Sakura, he's here with me and Naruto. Naruto found him wandering the town…"

"Oh thank god! I was so worried, I feel like it's all my fault! I should have waited to tell him anything…"

"Relax, Sakura…Listen, he's going to stay with me tonight, okay?"

"O-okay…"

"But you're more then welcome to come over here to talk to him," Kakashi added, "I have to admit, he does seem to be acting a bit strange, especially since he called me sensei and thought that his parents were still alive…"

"What? He thought that his parents were still alive? That's horrible! Did you tell him?"

"Well, we did, but he didn't take it, so he ran all the way to his house before it finally hit him that they were really dead…anyways, just come over, all right? It'll probably be better if we're all here…" Kakashi stated.

"Okay, I'll be over in a little bit. I have to finish a couple of things first…Bye!" Sakura replied, and the phone went quiet.

Placing the phone back on its hook, Kakashi turned to find that Sasuke was finally resting. Naruto smiled weakly and slowly got up from the couch, making sure not to wake Sasuke. Then, walking over to Kakashi, he sighed.

"What do think has happened to him?" Naruto asked.

"At this moment, I'm not quite sure. When Sakura arrives, I believe that we should go to see the Hokage…"

"Why her?"

"Cause we need to find out what mission he was assigned to…"