Hellfire

Part 3

Hyuga Hiashi stood at the doorway to his eldest daughter's hospital room. He watched her quietly from behind a clear window pane as a nurse chatted with her.

He had been waiting down the hallway when multiple doctors began racing towards Hinata's room. He had heard screeching. Hinata was having a fit. A panic attack to loosely put it.

It was common in patients who had suffered a traumatic event - had the memory come rushing back to her - insisted Sakura. Hiashi made a rude noise with his teeth.

It was that damn Kumo village. They'd attacked Hinata while she was on a mission with her team. Tried to steal her eyes.

They hadn't been successful fortunately however what they succeeded in was beating her into a half dead state.

Hiashi supposed he should be proud. His former successor had fought so hard to protect her clan and her eyes that she had been on the brink of death. But then again, he expected nothing less of a Hyuga. She was victorious in her defense. She did not shame his name for once.

"Otousan," murmured Hanabi, gently tugging on his sleeve. He didn't acknowledge her. "Is...is oneesan all right?"

Hiashi was silent a moment. Then he lied, "Yes. She will be alright."

But that couldn't have been further from the truth because his Byakugan weren't nicknamed All-Seeing for nothing.

He knew Hinata was suffering from amnesia.

<~>

"Nothing?" repeated Naruto in disbelief when he arrived at the hospital with a bowl of red bean soup for the Hyuga. This was the first he was hearing about a case such as this and he was highly intrigued. "She remembers nothing?"

"Not nothing," Sakura corrected with hands on hips, "Just...not everything."

The Uzumaki's eyes went round and he practically pushed past his pink haired teammate. "Sakura-chan, but she remembers us though? Right? She can't have forgotten everyone?"

The Haruno didn't even flinch as he attempted to make a break for her room and just grabbed his earlobe with one hand, yanking him back. He helped out in pain and allowed himself to be dragged every which way Sakura pleased.

"Naruto, cut it out," she ordered.

"But Hinata-chan's memory might come back if she sees something familiar, won't it?" he argued enthusiastically as he fought off her inhuman grip. "She always has red bean soup! This might count f' somethin'! She might remember Ichiraku's Ramen, and then she might remember me! And if she remembers me, then she'll definitely remember you and Sasuke and Rookie Nine-"

"It doesn't work like that, Naruto."

"Well we won't know until we try?"

Sakura pressed her lips into a thin line but didn't protest any longer.

-

She remembered him. Well, the color orange anyway. The eccentric palette that stained his attire and yellow hair that made him resemble the sun was a blast of familiarity.

He was over the moon to see her but she couldn't fathom why, and he shoved red bean soup into her lap, eyes sparkling at her expectantly. She glanced at it then back at him, and then over to the pink-haired doctor she recalled from earlier.