1

xxxxx

It was night, it was pouring, and he was tired. This was not his first solo mission but it was most certainly one of the more difficult ones. Physically, mentally…he really just wanted to go to his apartment, shower, and then forget it ever happened. As ANBU, 'forgetting' things was almost essential. Taking the memories that haunt you the most and locking it in the back of your mind, only to be called upon if necessary or asked. It was one of the first suggestions given to him by his old captain years ago and he had taken it to heart. He had seen what happens when people do not.

They eventually lose their minds.

Swiftly he moved through the forests of his home country despite the fatigue, despite the pain in his limbs and wounds that were screaming at him to stop and rest. He didn't want to rest; he didn't want to be out here any longer than he had to be. Despite his feelings, however, he did find the rain to be refreshing. It had washed away the overwhelming stench of blood on his uniform and it had an almost purifying presence.

Many times he had looked up at the sky simply to feel the drops wash over his face as if it could cleanse him. He knew he shouldn't, because ANBU are never supposed to remove their masks while out of the village, but he didn't care. His bloodline limit was activated and there was no one around him within the eight hundred meter radius that he could see.

"Hm?" he stopped abruptly on a thick tree branch, looking to the west where he thought he had seen something just now. Eyes narrowing, he shifted more chakra into his eyes in an attempt to focus in that area and…

There. It was weak, but there was definitely someone about three hundred meters away. Whoever it was, their chakra was very low, as if barely hanging on by a thread. Frowning, he placed his bird mask back on his face and hurried to the figure that obviously needed help and/or medical attention. If friend he would take them back to the village; if foe he would finish them off. ANBU did not have the luxury of showing mercy and compassion to their enemies.

When he was close enough to catch a good visual he deactivated his blood line limit and was so completely startled that he actually almost lost his footing as he landed above ground to investigate. He blinked, shook his head and blinked again. Surely he was seeing things. Perhaps he needed to schedule his six month psych eval a little early because who he was looking at should no longer exist.

The figure was sitting and was obviously heavily injured. Blood was all over him. His head was down and his garments had seen better days. Although he could not see the face, he knew that hair. He knew who this person was.

Somehow, Uchiha Sasuke had returned from the dead almost ten years after the fourth shinobi war.

He stayed in his position a little longer, debating on what to do. As far as he knew of it, this man had been considered an international criminal upon his death and coming back to life almost a decade later wouldn't change that. Standard procedure would be to eliminate him but he was also close friends with the Hokage. If he killed this man it would not go down well. How was he even alive? He remembered them burying him while Naruto had still been in the hospital recovering. The man was supposed to be dead. What the hell happened?

Jumping, he landed a few feet away, approaching warily. Despite the fact that he knew the man's chakra was pretty much all but spent he still wanted to be cautious. Last time he had checked, Uchiha's powers had been at a kage level. Low chakra didn't mean 'weakling'. It wasn't until he took a step that the slumped man stirred, his head quickly snapping up. The ANBU's eyes widened at the sight.

The criminal's left eye was completely dead and the wound that seemed to have caused it was still new; blood slowly leaking from split flesh. A kunai wound perhaps? The gash went down from the eyebrow to almost the middle of his cheek and it was not shallow. The eye itself looked as if a milky white was coated over what was once onyx but otherwise was not split or damaged externally. The rest of him didn't look any better. His clothes were practically shredded and his body was covered with gashes and other wounds. His left arm was bent at an unnatural angle.

Despite the wounds, despite the obvious pain the other man was in he staggered to his feet, back pressed against the tree, terrified. The reaction startled the ANBU; sheer terror was the last thing he had expected to see on this man's face.

"Please…" it came out harshly, as if he had not spoken in a very long time. "I don't…"

Something was wrong. Sharp eyes took in the other man, his posture, his expression, and began to calculate possible reasons for what was currently happening. Experimentally, he took a step forward and the criminal's expression worsened, he was truly and utterly terrified of him. Why?

His stance is off, as if he had never had any formal training as a shinobi. He is visibly shaking and if he does not control his breathing he will begin to hyperventilate.

There was a small pause before the ANBU tries one more thing "Uchiha Sasuke?" He purposefully stated it as a question and was absolutely stunned when a dark eye clouds over in confusion.

"Who…is that?" it was asked softly and genuinely. After a second he shook his head, pressing himself further against the tree "Please, I…I don't know where I am or how I got here…I…" he trailed off, unable to say any more.

Amnesia. The man had amnesia. It was a surprising revelation but not impossible. Ten years had passed after all. The ANBU found himself reaching for his mask, going against protocol in favor of his intuition. He does so slowly, not wanting to alarm the injured male. When he removed his mask a complete change came over the other. There was surprise as the Uchiha's gaze met his own pale silver and once more the reaction was something he never would have expected.

The man completely relaxed and smiled warmly at him. It was so stunning that he didn't immediately react when Uchiha began to move towards him with his gaze full of warmth and…love?

"It's you." He says softly, lovingly and the ANBU male was in complete and total shock. He was so shocked that when Uchiha put his uninjured arm around his neck and pulled him close he did not resist. "I'm so glad." Fingers trailed up the back of his head, tips brushing along his hair tie. He only wore his hair in this high ponytail during missions, yet for some strange reason he really wished he…

All thought processes ceased as rough but warm lips moved over his in a passionate kiss. It takes him a second before he actually pushed the man back, face flushed, pale eyes wide with shock and confusion. Having forgotten that the other male was quite weak he holds back a small cry when the Uchiha's good eye rolled to the back of his head and he collapsed.

The ANBU managed to catch him just in time and for a moment he merely stares at him, trying to sort out in his head what just happened. The criminal was definitely unconscious, dark brows furrowed as if in pain, bangs sticking to the side of his pale face.

What happened to you?

Sliding his mask back on Hyuuga Neji shifted Uchiha's dead weight, lifting the man up on his shoulder. Thankfully the village was only a mile or so away. Regardless of the strange incident that happened only a moment ago the man needed medical attention or he would quite possibly die out here. His burden secure, he took off once more, slower but no less determined.

He had absolutely no idea how he was going to explain this to Naruto.

xxxxx

There was pain everywhere, all over his body. Groaning, he managed to open his eye although the bright light above him made him wince a bit in pain. Confusion and fear begin to fill him. Where was he? Why was he here? What was going on?

"Sasuke-kun?"

The voice was feminine but unfamiliar, and, although it hurt, he turned his head towards the sound, still wincing. As his vision adjusted he took in long pink hair and green eyes. She was wearing some sort of red jacket with a black tube top and black skirt…no wait…skort? Was that what it was called? The woman was pretty and there was some sort of weird red diamond on her forehead. Sasuke…that name was familiar. Right, he had called him that hadn't he?

"You know me?" his voice still sounded rough and his throat hurt terribly. Quickly, she turned and walked over with a glass of water. He gave her a wary smile until he tried to reach up and grab the glass. His gaze snapped to his wrists, one was bound directly and his injured one was resting along his chest but also had a strap leading to the bed. Once more fear filled him, why was he bound? What were these people going to do to him?

Setting the glass down she approached him, but he jerked away from her, terrified. "Why am I in restraints?" he tried to shout although it pained his throat. When she tried to reach for him he jerked away from her again, confused and afraid. "I haven't done anything to you! Please! Let me go – I…"

"Sasuke-kun…" she began but when he continued to panic she was forced to grab his shoulders. "Sasuke-kun! Please calm down." He stopped thrashing but there was still fear there and he was beginning to shake. "We put them on because you were in a lot of pain and we didn't want you to hurt yourself."

She could tell he didn't quite believe her but he wasn't going to fight her either. To prove her point, although she was actually lying, she undid the leather straps that had kept him pinned. He raised his hand, using his injured one to rub at his wrist, his look still wary. "See?" she smiled and took a step back. "Nothing to be afraid of. We're not here to hurt you." Slowly, she picked up the glass of water to hand to him. "Still thirsty?"

Still distrustful, he looked at the glass as if it were poisoned and then back up at her. After a moment he slowly reached out and took it, relaxing slightly when she smiled warmly at him.

"My name is Sakura," she told him and there seemed to be a sad note to her voice. "The person who brought you here said you had amnesia. Can you tell me the last thing you can remember?"

By the time she finished her question he had finished his glass and she took it from him, setting it down. There was a moment of silence and then, once he determined that he hadn't been drugged or poisoned after all, he responded.

"I remember a man." Dark brows furrow as he tried to focus on the memory. None of it was cohesive, all a bunch of jumbled up pieces here and there. "He had…pale hair and strange eyes…like a snake."

Apparently she knew who he was talking about because she sucked in a small breath and pain emerged. It helped him relax a bit more, knowing that she didn't care for the man either. "I remember his dead body and walking away." A shake of the head "That's all." He paused "Where am I?"

It was very obvious that she was trying to remain medically detached but there was too much emotion in her emerald eyes. This woman did know him and his name was Sasuke. It sounded right although he couldn't remember.

"You're in a hidden village called Konoha," she tells him, placing a warm hand over his. He finds that he likes her warmth and smiles up at her, allowing himself to relax completely. Whoever this woman was, she didn't seem like she wanted to hurt him. "You were born here and you were a shinobi here. I was…" there was something in her sad smile, pity, perhaps? "You and I were on the same team and we were friends."

Why did it feel like she wasn't telling him everything? "I see." He really didn't because hardly anything she had said had sounded at all familiar or made sense to him. So this was the place of his birth? He was a shinobi and she had been his team mate. They had been friends. She didn't seem like a bad person and he could tell that she wasn't lying. He wasn't sure how, just a gut feeling.

Sakura opened her mouth to speak once more when a busty blonde entered the room and took in the two occupants. Immediately she scowled and turned to the pink haired woman.

"Why is he out of his restraints?" It was a demand and one that put him on alert. Had the woman been lying about why he had been pinned down? "What is going on here Sakura?"

The other woman raised her hands in a peaceful gesture "Tsunade-sama, Sasuke-kun is…he has amnesia. He doesn't remember anything, not even his own name."

Those dark brown eyes flickered to him and once more he was afraid, his gaze frantic. Where was he? Where was the man who had brought him here? Why wasn't he here?

After taking him in the dark look completely vanished, making her look completely different and a lot less frightening. She looked at him as if he was some sort of new species, something strange and otherworldly. It made him highly uncomfortable.

"Where is he?" he finally blurted out "Why isn't he here?" he was apprehensive and borderline frantic. He didn't know or understand anything and the only person he had found familiar wasn't around.

Both women looked confused "Where is who, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura reached out to touch him once more but he was wary of her again, the other woman's presence and reaction confusing and alarming him. He was now almost positive that the pink haired woman had lied to him about the restraints earlier.

"A man," his gaze shifted between the two women "he has long brown hair that was pulled up into a pony tail and…white eyes." Yes, he remembered those eyes especially. He had realized who that man was once he had looked at his eyes.

Blinking, Sakura gave Tsunade a quick glance of slight confusion before turning back to him "You mean Neji? The one who brought you back?"

The name didn't sound familiar but it seemed fitting on the other man "Neji…" he repeated, liking the sound. He was certain that was the white-eyed man. "Yes, him. Please tell me where he is."

"Why do you want to know about Hyuuga?" The woman named Tsunade was clearly confused.

Hyuuga? Was that maybe Neji's last name? Frowning, he looked at the busty woman and said with complete and total conviction, "Because he's my lover." He was absolutely sure of it. He couldn't remember anything—not really—but the moment he had seen the other man he had just known.

The reaction from the two women made him feel highly uneasy. They looked totally stunned, as if he had said the sky was falling or something similar. The two women once again exchanged looks of surprise and confusion.

Tsunade frowned thoughtfully and then turned to Sakura "Try and see how bad the damage is to his memory," the woman told Sakura and then looked at him. "Do you mind if we do a few tests on you?" Her entire demeanor had changed. Instead of looking intimidating she seemed serious, professional. "We just want to see if we'll be able to help you gain your memory back."

They hadn't answered his question. Why? He decided he'd play along in hopes that they would tell him eventually. He really wanted to see the white-eyed man again. Nodding, he leaned back and kept his gaze straight ahead while two delicate hands hovered over both sides of his head. There was a green light and strange warmth moving through his mind although it wasn't uncomfortable, just weird.

After about a minute or so Sakura let out a small gasp and took a step back, turning immediately to the busty woman. "Tsunade-sama…please take a look." She sounded very upset which was making him extremely uneasy. What was wrong with him?

Remaining silent, he once again did not move or say anything when the other woman began to do the same thing as Sakura. Once again, after a minute she pulled away, surprise and a myriad of other emotions that he couldn't pin down emerged.

"What is going on?" he demanded, tired of the secrecy. "What's wrong with me? What did I do that required you to put restraints on me? Where is Neji? Stop hiding things from me if it's about me."

Guilt and pity moved across Sakura's face but Tsunade's expression was thoughtful and slightly stern. "Alright, Uchiha. I'll answer some of your questions." The ex-Hokage waited until she had his full attention. "Your condition is permanent, someone completely wiped away all of your memories and whatever they couldn't erase they placed behind an extremely complicated seal that even I can't fathom how to break. You might get flashes or sensations, parts of your old personality will probably kick in but you'll never regain all of your memories, they're gone for good."

"…Never?" the revelation was stunning and he looked at his hands, hands that had been unfamiliar to him when he had first awakened. He was stuck like this. He would never remember who he truly was or the life he had lived. He had to completely start over from scratch. It was an extremely depressing thought and he suddenly felt very, very alone.

"As for the restraints," she continued as if he had never spoken. "Since your situation is the way it is, it'd be best if you slowly were given information about your past. If we told all of it to you at once it'd overwhelm you and I'm sure all of this is confusing enough as it is."

A thoughtful frown. "So then, what you're basically saying is that my past is too horrible for me to handle right now." It wasn't a question. "And I had restraints on because you were afraid of me doing something terrible."

There was a tense silence before Tsunade gave him a sardonic smile. "Well, it's good to know that your amnesia hasn't affected your intelligence. You're still a genius it seems." She sighed. "Listen, Uchiha, regardless of your past you are never going to remember it. Your slate has been completely wiped clean. You'll never be that person again because of it and your condition is very delicate. Whoever Uchiha Sasuke was in the past, you're not him any longer; you will probably become a completely different person now."

He wanted to ask if that would be a good thing or a bad thing but he had a pretty good guess. So apparently he had been a horrible person in the past. Did he really want to know, then? Did he really want to know the types of things he had done? Maybe Tsunade was right and remaining ignorant of it for now was best.

"What about Neji?" The Hyuuga was the only thing familiar in his little world and he needed that, needed him. Nothing made sense and the only memories he had were the ones he was making right at this moment. It was an extremely terrifying situation for him because he felt so absolutely lost and he needed something, anything, to help him feel as if he weren't so alone.

"Uchiha," Tsunade paused, as if trying to figure out how to properly word herself. "Hyuuga Neji is…not only is he not your lover, he's not even an acquaintance of yours. You…" she sighed. "You never knew him on a personal level. The two of you are virtually strangers."

"You're lying." His voice was hard. "I know what I feel, even if I don't have any memories of anything." It wasn't true, couldn't be true. He felt absolutely certain that the two of them were together. This woman had to be lying because if she wasn't…if she wasn't he had absolutely nothing solid in his life, nothing to give him any sense of familiarity or peace of mind.

"Sasuke-kun…" his gaze shifted back to the pink haired woman. There it was again: that sad, pitying look on her face. It was beginning to grate on his nerves. "Tsunade-sama is correct. You met Neji once, very briefly, and it was practically thirteen years ago."

"What you're experiencing is something that amnesia victims experience when they see something that 'clicks'." Tsunade continued. "It probably could have been anyone and you would have reacted the same way. You saw him. Your mind wanted and needed an anchor and he became that."

Shaking his head, he glared at them. "I don't believe you," he insisted. "You all keep trying to confuse me. Please go away." He felt so tired, frustrated, and helpless. "Leave me alone."

Sakura looked as if she wanted to say something, but Tsunade raised a hand and shook her head. "You'll be free to leave the hospital in another week, but you'll have a psych evaluation beforehand with the council members of this village. We'll get you set up with a place to stay and figure out where to go from there."

He didn't answer and it didn't seem as if the woman had expected one. The two women left shortly thereafter, and after a long moment, he put his face in his hands and wept in hopeless frustration.

xxxxx

"Sasuke is…alive?" The Hokage was glad that he had been sitting in his chair; otherwise, he probably would have collapsed. "How is that even possible? I thought you guys buried him…I mean, you did, right?" He wasn't at all sure how he was supposed to react or feel to this. His friend was truly back from the grave? A cold shudder went through him and he gave the two women a fearful look. "He's not like…a ghost or a zombie is he?"

Sakura's eyebrow twitched and he could tell his wife was about two seconds to becoming violent. "No, dummy," she growled at him. "He's alive. I don't know how it happened but I'm absolutely positive it had something to do with Kabuto."

The Copy-nin crossed his arms in thought. "Do you think that maybe he wasn't dead like we thought and Kabuto took advantage?"

"That's the only conclusion I can think of," Tsunade said, shaking her head. "Although that meant that he was keeping very close tabs on Uchiha's movements and probably dug him up right after you guys left. If that's the case, who the hell knows what he went through for the past ten years.

"Whatever it was, it left him completely blind in one eye and his vision isn't so great in the other eye either." She waved a hand. "That can be fixed but the blind eye seems to have been that way for a while, even though the scar on his face was fresh when Hyuuga found him."

"Kabuto was very similar to Orochimaru concerning science and research," Kakashi reminded them. "We should probably find the lab Sasuke came from and see what we can dig up. With the injuries he was sporting, I doubt it could have been too far."

Letting out a hard sigh Naruto put his hands through his hair, keeping them there. "And he's…he's never going to get his memories back?" That was the most distressing news of all. Even if it hadn't ended well there had also been the good times in their friendship. All of that was gone now?

"I have no idea what Kabuto did, but he was very thorough." The former Hokage shook her head, scowling. "I'm almost positive that it wasn't a quick wipe either. He probably spent years screwing with Uchiha. There's a seal blocking memories that it looks like he was unable to erase, probably key ones. I won't even lie to you. I have no idea where the hell that guy learned to make that seal and even with a team it'd probably take me years to unravel it, it's that complicated."

Her grin was humorless. "Let me rephrase that. I can easily remove the seal, but it'd turn the kid into a vegetable. There's a certain way it has to be done and I can't possibly think of what. I'd just consider it a permanent seal and be done with it. Trying to remove it is too risky."

"Shit." Naruto shook his head. This was just… "What do we do? I mean, if you look at it like that he's not even Sasuke anymore."

"Hm." Eyes turned to the silver haired jounin. "Well, if that's the case, that means he's no longer an international criminal correct? You can't really punish a man in his situation and he'd be able to start over again." A lazy eye slid to Naruto. "You could start your friendship over. If what Tsunade-sama is saying is true, there'll still be parts of him, bits and pieces that are ingrained."

He hadn't thought about it like that. It was sad that he was no longer himself but at the same time maybe it was a good thing. Sasuke's old life had been full of sadness, hatred, and vengeance. The guy had gotten the short end of the stick until it had eventually driven him mad. Maybe this time his friend could actually be happy. Maybe Sasuke could finally be at peace.

"Alright," the Hokage sat up. "I'll deal with the council and we can set him up in the apartments once he's cleared." His eyes squinted as he frowned in concentration "What about his skills as a shinobi?"

"He doesn't remember any of that," Tsunade informed him, "but at the same time he's been a shinobi for so long he would probably be able to pick it all back up easily. More than likely he'll innately remember jutsus or skills he had learned in the past."

Well, that wasn't too bad. He could just train the bastard and then maybe they'd be able to spar again. It wouldn't be the same but it was better than not having him at all. "What about Kabuto?"

This time Sakura spoke up. "Sasuke-kun says that he remembered seeing Kabuto's corpse, so he could very well be dead. It'd explain why he was so beat up when Neji found him."

"Speaking of Hyuuga," Tsunade gave Naruto a look. "Apparently, your ANBU captain removed his mask to placate the frightened Uchiha and the guy latched onto him as an emotional anchor. Now he thinks the two of them are lovers."

Kakashi looked highly amused by this and Naruto stared at her for a very long time. Then his jaw dropped and he shook his head. "What? What do you mean he thinks Neji's his…what the hell?" Okay, the memory loss thing he could get, being kidnapped by Kabuto when he should have been dead, that was understandable.

"You mean that bastard is gay?" That he could not wrap his mind around. He supposed maybe that incident at the academy that he refused to admit truly happened could have had something to do with it but still… "I mean, I know the guy didn't like the fan girls but still…"

Both females rolled their eyes. "Don't be stupid," his wife snapped. "It could have been anyone. Neji was just the first person he saw and he latched onto that. The fact that he could have been a familiar face could have added to that. Gender has nothing to do with it."

Well hell. Well, it could have been worse; it could have been Shikamaru or Ino or…Kiba. He got uncomfortable chills just thinking about it. "Uh, so what does Neji think about all this?"

Apparently, no one in the room knew and Naruto sighed. "Alright, get Neji up here and I guess we'll talk to him or something. Maybe he can straighten things out with Sasuke. Does the guy have a girlfriend?"

No one seemed to know that either. Damnit, he was going to have to resort to the gossips because he sure as hell wasn't going to directly ask a guy something like that. That was just weird. He was going to have to pay Sasuke a visit eventually and see if maybe seeing him would trigger something. If nothing else, he could try to be friends with him again. The guy probably felt completely alone even though all these people knew him. Maybe that even made it worse.

This was going to take some time for him on a professional and personal level. Professionally, he was going to have to fight the council and the other nations once they caught wind of Sasuke's rise from the dead. Gaara would probably help him out because Gaara was his buddy and always helped out when he could. Maybe the Mizukage. She was into young men. Or was it young boys? He couldn't remember. He just knew the woman was a freak.

The Raikage would be a pain in the ass but maybe Killerbee would help him out. They were cool like that. Tsuchikage, whatever, as long as the other nations were okay with it that old fart could sit on it and spin if he wanted to bitch. Personally, he was going to have to deal with the fact that when he looked at his best friend that he wasn't dealing with 'that bastard' anymore but rather someone completely different. It'd be really weird and disconcerting but in the end he was still Sasuke so he would still be there for him.

But Neji? He thought, confused. What the hell? I gotta figure out what that's about because…wow.