Konbanwa...

Sorry but I had band and lots of it. Hahaha, yes I am a geek. It matches the anime and fanfic obsession nicely. :D

Dedicated to my very good friend, Alison, for her 16th birthday... Last year. xD hahahahha

I don't own things that cost as much as characters.

--K

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“Mendokusei, na…” Shikamaru shuffled down the hallway to the Hokage’s office. This meeting was troublesome – in every sense of the word.

Nara Shikamaru had just been released after a long mission in Amegakure with his new genin team. It had supposedly been a mere surveillance mission, but a gang of rogue ninja had gotten involved and…

Shikamaru sighed just thinking about it. It had been a tense struggle, but his genin had proven themselves to be stronger than he could ever have predicted.

He allowed himself a small smile. Even though he was tired and this new meeting with the Hokage was troublesome, things were looking up.

“WHAAAT?!” Something crashed. The ground shook. Hasty steps pelted across the floor.

Instantly alert, Shikamaru clung to the shadow of the wall. The noise was coming from Tsunade’s office, and if his estimation was right, two people were running down the hallway at full speed – towards him.

Shikamaru readied his hands in the familiar Kage Mane no Jutsu handseals. He quickly calculated in his mind. He could use the shadow of the wall to lengthen his reach, snag the first one, and use the person to bring down the second. But what if the second one was pursuing the first instead of –

An orange streak swept by him. A quick, black blur darted after. Shikamaru blinked.

Tension gone, he sighed and dropped his hands back into his pockets. He continued on to the Hokage’s office. “Naruto and Sasuke. Those idiots,” he grumbled before rapping lightly on Tsunade’s door to announce himself.

“Yes?”

Shikamaru pushed open the door. He was glad to find the office in perfect order – besides a very pale Shizune and a very irritated Tsunade. The Godaime was rubbing her temples and muttering something that suspiciously sounded like “…need sake…”

“Yes, Hokage-sama. You requested to see me?” Shikamaru approached the desk. Tsunade looked up.

“Ah, Shikamaru. Perfect timing,” she said. For once in the many years that Shikamaru had known her, Tsunade looked old and worn out. “You’re the only one that I can trust with something like this.”

“What is it?” Shikamaru frowned.

Tsunade heaved a great sigh. She looked down for a few moments, deep in thought.

Whatever this is about must be troubling her a lot, thought Shikamaru. I’ve never seen her like this before.

Finally Tsuande looked up. Her eyes sparked with a fierce determination.

“Sakura is back.”

Shikamaru froze. For a moment, he couldn’t believe it… Then– “Haruno Sakura?! She disappeared years ago! Where did she–”

“She doesn’t remember anything.”

“Oh…” Shikamaru’s excitement quickly faded.

Tsunade looked away. “She was still sleeping when I visited her, and I was able to perform a quick medical jutsu that allowed me to view that state of her mind. But currently, there is no sign that she remembers anything of her previous life here in Konoha.”

“Shikamaru-kun,” Shizune stepped forward. “Tsunade-sama and I both believe that Sakura’s mind still retains these memories, but for reasons unexplainable to us, they are locked away from her consciousness.”

Tsunade nodded. “Shikamaru, this is where you come in.” She held up a slim folder. Shikamaru stepped forward to take it and immediately opened it.

His eyes widened. “This is…!”

“Yes. That is all the information that we have regarding Sakura’s disappearance, and all of Sasuke’s most current mission reports regarding his retrieval of her.” Tsunade leaned forward in her chair. “Shikamaru.”

The jonin looked up from the folder. He caught the seriousness in Tsunade’s eyes.

Tsunade continued in the utmost solemnity. “I am going to put you in charge of a research team to study Sakura’s jutsu. And find out if there is any way for her to revive her lost memories.”

Shikamaru snapped to attention, stowing the folder under one arm. “Hai, Tsunade-sama.”

Tsunade offered another piece of paper to Shikamaru. He took it and read the heading.

“B-rank Extermination Mission, Team: Hattake Kakashi leading Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, and Haruno Sakura–

“You’re sending her on a mission?” Shikamaru glanced up from the paper. “A B-rank? Isn’t that a little dangerous?”

For the first time since Shikamaru entered the office, he saw a glimmer of the usual Tsunade.

The Godaime smirked. “Dangerous?” She weaved her fingers together and rested them under her chin. “Oh, I’m counting on it.”

--

Sakura cracked open the closet door ever so slightly.

“Oh crap!” she hissed and ducked back into the dark space.

Two nurses walked past Sakura’s hiding place, chatting happily and completely unaware of their escaping patient. As the noise faded, Sakura let out a sigh of relief.

She was running away from this weird place. Not only had that scary lady with the huge boobs come in and prodded her head with her glowing green hands and made everything dizzy and fuzzy – but several of the nurses were certainly brain-damaged. At least three different ones and one repeat had confused her with someone named, “Sempai” before the scary big-boobs had chased them all away. How dumb could they be? Sakura had pink hair! How could they confuse her with someone else?!

And that jerk Sasuke! Where was he? He had totally deserted her–

“Excuse me… Do you need help?”

Sakura bit back a scream as surprise prickled up her spine. But the voice sounded friendly enough. Very quiet and meek. Maybe a potential ally?

Sakura glanced up into the semi-open doorway. And nearly screamed again.

“W-what…the hell…” she managed to stutter out. This girl had no pupils! Her entire eye was freaking WHITE!

The monster-girl sucked in a sharp breath – as if shocked. “S-sakura-san?!”

Trying to inch away deeper into her hide-away closet, Sakura stole a moment to quickly study the girl. Long, dark hair, lavender jacket, pupil-less eyes. Sakura tried to smile and be polite, but it backfired and emerged a grimace. “Sorry. Do I know you?”

The girl blinked. Utterly shocked. “S…Sakura-san… It’s me, Hinata.”

Byakugan. Hyuuga. Shy.

Blinking back her confusion, Sakura groaned and put a hand to her head. “Hina–?”

“SAKURA-CHAN!”

A loud voice boomed down the hallway. Footsteps thundered closer with every second, accompanied by high-pitched shrieks from nurses and varied shouts from several patients. The footsteps suddenly halted, and the voice – Male, Sakura noted – hollered again. “Ne, ne, nurse onee-san! Sakura-chan! Where’s her room?”

The girl – Hinata – froze, and she turned quickly in the doorway, eyes wide. “Narut–?”

Mercifully, Sakura chose to save the new girl from the approaching menace. Besides, she couldn’t have a witness pointing this unknown and oddly annoying threat to her hiding spot. In one fluid motion, Sakura leapt forward, clapped a hand over the girl’s mouth, and pulled her into the darkness of the closet.

Down the hall, the nurse managed to stutter out an answer and half a warning that Hokage-sama forbid the entry of any non-authorized personnel – but the footsteps drowned out the rest of her sentence.

The nurse recovered remarkably. “W-wait a moment! Hokage-sama strictly–!” A different, quiet voice cut her off. Sakura couldn’t hear who it was or what they were saying because the annoying mystery guy was yelling her name again.

“Sakura-chan!”

How the hell did all these people know her name? Even this weird girl named Hyuuga Hinata… Wait… How did I know that was her last name?

The girl was struggling slightly, a bit more confused than alarmed. Sakura didn’t want to make any noise trying to subdue her, so she made sure that the girl saw her put a shushing finger to her lips before removing her hand from the girl’s mouth.

The gir– Hinata immediately understood and nodded. Still blinking in confusion, she crept next to Sakura who had turned to peek through the open crack in the closet’s door.

The Annoyance was getting louder, almost deafeningly, and the footsteps seemed very close.

An orange blur swept past the door. Sakura followed it with her eyes and saw it barge into her former hospital room with a very loud, “SAKURA-CHA–ara? Where’d she go?”

A spattering of footsteps quickly followed after the orange blur. “Naruto-san! Please! This is a hospital! We require silence! And patient Haruno Sakura is resting!”

Several nurses passed by the closet, in hot pursuit.

“Anou… Sakura-san…?” Hinata whispered and plucked at Sakura’s sleeve. Sakura quickly shushed her with a wave of her hand.

The nurses all crowded through the door to Sakura’s recently vacated room. Sakura held her breath. If they figured out she was missing now, she wouldn’t be able to escape at all! Dumb orange person! Who did that guy think he was?

After the nurses entered the room, a moment of stunned silence passed. Then a crescendo of cries echoed out and into the hallway. “Eeeeh! Where’s she go!”

“I don’t know!”

“You were the last one to check–”

“Go notify Hokage-sama immediately!”

Hinata tapped Sakura on the shoulder this time. “Anou… Sakura-san!”

“Be quiet!” Sakura hissed. The orange guy had dashed out of the room again and was hastily checking all the rooms in the hallway in the noisiest way possible. Sakura watched as the orange blur stopped, yanked open a door – obscuring his face, bellowed “Sakura-chan! Where are you!”, and got chased out by a female’s piercing scream.

Apparently someone had been getting a sponge bath.

Sakura could make out his approximate features. Blonde hair, orange jumpsuit with pants that ended too short before his ankles, and a very, very loud, annoying voice.

The guy chose his next door, and Sakura realized, he was making his way down the hall – directly towards her hiding spot! Three doors away now. She had no where to run.

“Sakura-san!” Hinata whispered urgently and risked shaking Sakura’s shoulder.

“Not now, Hinata! That guy’s going to find us!”

Another scream denoted that another room had been hastily searched.

“But Sakura-san!”

“Hinata!” Sakura hissed furiously and turned. “What!”

Hinata’s eyes were wide. She pointed up.

Another person screamed. Only one door left before they were found!

Sakura quickly glanced up, saw black, and turned back to the door. Then she allowed her mind to reanalyze the shadows. In her mind’s eye, Sakura easily spotted a pair of black pants, midnight blue covering a mesh undershirt, and the grey sheen of a metal hittai-ate nestled between shocks of black hair.

She slowly turned back, wishing insanity instead of what she suspected was another person standing silently in the back of the closet.

Now that she was looking for him, Sakura saw him instantly. Horrified, Sakura found herself frozen in terror. Had he been there the entire time?!

He spoke. “That’s not very nice. Disappearing and scaring them all over again.”

Terror unfroze her veins and a small shriek escaped Sakura’s lips.

“Ara? What was that?” Someone spoke from outside the door. Orange blocked the door’s small opening.

It all seemed to happen at once.

Sakura freaked out and tried to yank Hinata away from the dark menace brooding in the corner. Hinata yelped as she crashed into Sakura and sent both girls tumbling into the door. Which wouldn’t have been much of a problem, except there was nothing to stop their fall seeing as a loud, orange-clad shinobi had just swept open the closet door.

Sakura suddenly found herself sprawled face-down on the hospital floor, trapped under a very distressed Hinata. Pink hair splayed under Hinata’s jacket, Sakura lay still, stunned momentarily.

Then she heard the loud voice from earlier proclaim, “Hinata? Hinata-chan, what are you doing in the closet?”

Hinata froze and stopped trying to get up – much to Sakura’s annoyance. “N-naruto-kun! It was you!”

“Of course it’s me! But what– Oi! Sasuke-teme! What’re you trying to pull? Why were in the closet with Hinata-chan!”

“Mmph!” managed Sakura. She tried waving at Hinata to get her attention. Hinata quickly realized that she still had Sakura pinned to the ground, kissing the floor.

“Ah! Gomen! I didn’t know – I mean I forgot – but Naruto-kun was–”

Sakura sat up and immediately turned to the closet. She spotted Sasuke smirking in the doorway. “Y-you!” Sakura yelled. “It was you! I knew it! What the hell, Sasuke!”

Sasuke didn’t answer, he just continued smirking. He nudged his head forward – Look over there.

Sakura glanced up. Hinata was standing behind a tall figure that Sakura couldn’t quite make out. A lightbulb glared behind his head, darkening his face in shadow.

“Sakura…chan…” It came out a whisper, but Sakura could immediately tell that it was the same guy as before.

She put a hand up to filter out the light, and his face came into focus. Her hand started shaking, and her mouth spoke before her brain could catch up.

“Naruto?”

&

Sorry, I promised Ino and Lee in this one, but I only got in Hinata. Haha, and not as much NaruHina as I would have liked...

But you can catch the subtle stuff. ;D

Next one Tsunade meets the conscious Sakura, and you learn about her mission... Besides looks like Sakura's jutsu has complications...

--K