Lock Heart
By Narutard45
She's…
His heart thumped wildly in his chest, adrenaline pumping in his veins. He couldn't stop…. couldn't breathe.
It can't be…His quick heavy footsteps echoed softly in his ears. He couldn't stop now, his body was moving automatically, shoving past the massive crowd of people.
She'll remember…He saw nor heard anything but his heavy breathing and the blurry figures of those surrounding him.
She… she has to…
Crying wasn't going to bring her memories back, so he shoved the heavy feeling back in his chest, trying to clear his thoughts. Everything around him meant nothing at the moment to the shaken blonde,
" Hey Naruto! What are you…hey what's wrong?" the teenage boy whom he recognized was Kiba.
He couldn't do anything. He couldn't do a damn thing to protect her! After all those years, all the hours of rigorous training he went through… they were for his loved ones. Sakura she…
" Naruto you idiot!"
" Do I look any more womanly now Naruto?"
" Wait up Naruto! I heard about your mission to Oto. How's Saku-" Kiba stopped mid sentence, as his eye's widened in shock. His voice died instantly in his throat as he felt the tremendous chakra seeping out of the boy in front of him. Kiba backed away slightly, while Akamaru let a deep throaty growl escape his mouth.
The blonde boy briskly continued to walk toward the forest, leaving the puzzled Inuzuka staring dumbly at his back.
" What's wrong with him?" Kiba whispered quietly.
' Naruto's charka's different…'
" C'mon Akamaru! Let's get you those doggy treats," Kiba resumed his walk with the large dog by his side, giving Naruto one last fleeting look.
Must have been a tough mission…-
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He quietly sharpened the tip of his kunai with a razor edge, intently paying attention to every swipe he made on the weapon. He looked up briefly from his work, pushing his head back at the tree bark he leaned on for support.
A single leaf fell from the large tree Sasuke took shelter on, gliding slowly through the air and landing on his outstretched palm.
" Where am I?"The leaf blew out of his palm by a sudden gust of wind, and in a flash, a kunai pierced the leaf's center with deadly accuracy pinning it to a tree.
Sasuke glared at the kunai embedded onto the tree, willing his frustration to disappear. He felt no need to stray any longer in the hospital room, watching the effects of the jutsu on Sakura reflect in her actions. He saw it. The moment they had locked eyes, he saw no flicker of emotion, of recollection even, for the people in that room.
" and… who are all of you?"
She doesn't remember…Sasuke growled, not noticing that he had stood up and punched the tree trunk right next to where the kunai was wedged. Small fragments of the rough wood fell on the grass, as he pulled back his fist from the tree. What in the world was the matter with him? This irrational anger had absolutely no use, and it's not like punching a forest full of trees was going to bring back their comrades lost memory.
He was overreacting. The fifth (surely her astounding medical expertise could be put to good use here) would probably come up with an antidote of some sort anyways. After all, she has experience Orochimaru's style of fighting before and would probably know many ways to counter it.
Sasuke, feeling more assured and calm about the situation, brushed off the imaginary dust from his clothes and proceeded to begin training. (It had always cleared his thoughts when they were in a mess.)
Getting ready to throw a Senbon, Sasuke flung his arm back lucidly and was about to throw the weapon, when his hand froze in the air.
'That chakra…'Wasting no time, Sasuke pocketed the weapon and jumped up on a tree branch, leaping off into another part of the forest with blinding speed. His dark eyes strained ahead, getting closer to the overwhelming surge of nine-tail chakra only a few yards away.
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He walked calmly to the center of the field, examining every detail around him. The memories of long ago flashed in his mind's eye, only serving to fuel his anger even more. Blue eyes tinted with red, fixed on a nearby log embedded with seemingly hundreds of kunai and shuriken marks.
He remembered, (how could he forget?) that time, he was tied to that log… and how Sasuke and Sakura had offered him their lunches.
Red chakra devoured the soles of Naruto's feet.
His gaze landed on to the familiar red bridge, where they would always wait countless hours for their tardy sensei to show up. All those memories clashed painfully in Naruto's mind, knowing full well that Sakura…she…
She doesn't even know me…" Naruto,"
All those missions they preformed together as team 7, the comical moments they shared together, as well as the life threatening ones that challenged their survival instincts as shinobi…despite all that, Sasuke…Kakashi… Sakura, they…they were nothing short of a family.
Sakura-chan…Even after his best friend, his brother….Sasuke left them. Left her. He and Sakura stood strong through it all. He promised her, swore it on his life that he would bring him back….
"Naruto," a voice behind him called a second time.Sasuke watched the blonde from behind, noting the red swirls of chakra gathering at his feet. He stood calmly, watching Naruto's head bowed down, tufts of yellow spikes sticking out on his head.
He knew that Naruto, the closest one to their pink-haired teammate, would take the news harder than any of them ever could. He saw with his own eyes back at the hospital, how Naruto's face fell and crumpled into shock. Although, he was impressed at how the Dobe was able to pull himself together into a fake (it was obvious to everyone who knew the real Naruto) cheery persona just for Sakura's sake.
" Naruto," he called a second time, but with more emphasis. The blonde still remained unresponsive, as a cold breeze blew over them.
He knew though, that Naruto wasn't the type to bottle his emotions up to the point where they explode, he preferred to let them out in the open and explode altogether. It was just a matter of time before it did.
Sasuke moved closer to the unmoving figure in front of him, until he was at arms length from Naruto.
" Calm down dobe," Sasuke said firmly. Naruto turned around slowly glaring kunai's at Sasuke.
" Calm down Sasuke? You expect me to calm down?" Naruto whispered in an almost eerie tone. Sasuke didn't budge at the slightest bit. His coal eyes met those of intense red, the deeper-than-usual whisker marks on his face accentuating the blonde's eyes.
" Sakura-chan's forgotten everyone, her friends, comrades, her life and you want me to just shut up and pretend everything's fine and dandy?"
" Having a tantrum isn't going to help anyone, let alone Sakura," Sasuke retorted.
Naruto's eye's blazed. " And what the hell have you done to help her huh? Ever since you came back you've been nothing but a stuck up bastard towards everyone including her! I bet you don't even give a crap about her losing her mem-"
Sasuke glared back at Naruto with as much force. " Don't put words in my mouth Naruto, you don't know shit!"
" I know all the hell you put her through teme! All your insults and belittling her abilities…" Naruto paused, a knowing look flashing through his face as he relived the memory, " And then you just go and take off leaving us…leaving her just like that!"
Tints of red flashed through Sasuke's eyes as he took a step forward. " It wasn't my job to stay here and baby you and Sakura! You should be thanking me for leaving, because if I didn't, Sakura would still be the weak, needy little genin she was years ago,"
" Well news flash Sasuke! You don't have to worry about Sakura needing you anymore, because as far as it goes, she doesn't even know you!" Naruto yelled.
Before the last words could even be heard, Sasuke threw a well-aimed punch right at Naruto's jaw sending the blonde skidding a few feet away. Naruto stood on one knee rubbing the red fluid away from his cheeks.
The blonde was an orange blur as he came running toward Sasuke, fist pulled back in a fiery punch while Sasuke pulled back his leg for a kick.
" That's enough," a deep voice spoke, grabbing Sasuke's foot and Naruto's on coming fist and twisted the two boys around, propelling them in the opposite direction.
Kakashi stood in between the two shinobi, sighing like a mother would if she just happened to see her little boys fighting. Honestly, is this how they always confront problems?
" What do you both think your doing?" Kakashi asked in a serious tone. He then added offhandedly, " Besides the obvious fact that you both wanted to kill each other,"
" Teme started it," Naruto grumbled, the kyuubi's chakra slowly dissipating.
" Shut up dobe," Sasuke glared, deactivating his sharingan.
The copy-nin walked over to Naruto, obviously noting the transformation he'd undergo with. The deep slash marks on his cheeks were still prominent, while the blonde shook slightly, casting his gaze at the grass beneath.
Sasuke watched them quietly, a nonchalant expression on his face. He knew that Kakashi's words were not meant for him but for his other teammate, who as of right now is suffering the loss of Sakura's memory.
Sasuke cast his gaze elsewhere, the cold wind tossing his bangs in every direction. Naruto had a right to be upset over all of this. Everyone who knew Sakura would be, (he wasn't upset about their teammates amnesia, he was pretty sure it was temporary anyways).
But Naruto, he glanced back at the blonde's distressed expression, acted as if she had died or something. ' Stupid dobe, it's not like she's dead'
"Sasuke,"
Snapping out of his thoughts, the silver-haired jounin walked back to him, with Naruto quietly trailing behind. Kakashi, looked thoughtful for a moment before glancing at the two boys in front of him.
" I talked to Tsunade-sama after our visit with Sakura, and it's still unknown if the jutsu is long-term or short-term damage."
Naruto's brows furrowed in concentration as he spoke, "So…do we tell her?"
A contemplative silence filled the air as all three of them withdrew to their own thoughts. Naruto's question was simple and precise, yet the most difficult to answer. Should they tell her about whom she really is? Tell her about her life as a leaf shinobi, her friends, comrades…her team?
" I don't know," Kakashi added truthfully.
"She has a right to know," Naruto added.
"Yes she does, but all of this… it might be too much to take in for her right now," the jounin responded.
" What did the Hokage say?" Sasuke asked.
" That's what I came here to tell you both," Kakashi paused. " The Hokage thinks it's best if her past …life is mentioned to her as little as possible, considering the physical and mental stress she's in right now."
Naruto was about to protest when Kakashi interrupted. " I know what you're going to say, but as soon as she recovers somewhat, Sakura can be informed of who she was... who she is."
" Sasuke, Naruto," Kakashi paused, his one eye softening, " Sakura is fragile right now… she's forgotten her whole life, her friends and family. She may not know it, but she needs you both now more than ever."
Sasuke eyed his sensei skeptically, the tone and form of his words seemed out of place. Sasuke stuffed his hands in his pockets and looked at Kakashi pointedly, " Are you going somewhere?"
Even with the mask, Kakashi's grin was noticeable, "Yes, tomorrow in fact. Most of Konoha's ninja are out on missions right now, and I'm the only available one that can carry out a message from the Hokage to the water country."
" You're the only one?" Sasuke asked, already having a clue where this is going.
" Yes," Kakashi's one eye crinkled. " The Hokage also told me to tell you two that you must report to her tomorrow morning for a task,"
Naruto's brows scrunched in confusion, " Baa-chan wants us for a mission? But we have to take care of Sakura-chan and make her remember!"
Kakashi's smile through his mask was rather obvious, " Exactly,"
A/N: Oh Lord this chapter was a b$#! to write! I just had to force myself to come up with something since I know I've held you guys off from this chapter waaayy too long. (I was planning to get atleast 7 chapters or so during summer, but I'm way behind!) I also didn't have any time to revise and spell check this chapter so try to ignore the horrendous grammar, and spelling errors! (teehee) Anyways you're all probably hating me for not having any Sasuke/Sakura progress so far in the story, but don't worry, I'll try to add some for the next chapter! (You guys deserve it :D)
Oh my gosh I'm wiped out….
Ja!
Narutard45