Memories {NaruHina}

{Chapter 7}

{Chapter 7}

Normally, Naruto wouldn't doubt that he, Hinata and Sakura would have the upper hand any day, on practically any given battle. Even if it were three against a dozen. However, this time, fighting was trickier. They couldn't count on Hinata's help, since she didn't know any ninjutsu whatsoever. And so, not only were he and Sakura a person down, but they also had to make sure to protect Hinata from the attackers.

"Shadow Clone jutsu!" Naruto summoned dozen of his trademark shadow clones, hoping that in the very least, they'd have the number advantage.

But, as he soon realized, it wasn't of much help. Sakura and him tried fighting them off as best as they could, and he even noticed Hinata taking the initiative to fend off the attackers with some stick she found laying around. However, it was practically impossible to land a single hit on them. They were way too fast. The minute Naruto thought he had them, in the blink of an eye, his opponent had moved and reappeared somewhere else. 

Sakura finally managed to catch one of them from behind, right in time to kick him harshly in Naruto's direction. Once he was close enough to reach, Naruto summoned his Rasengan and attempted to hit his target with everything he got, but hit empty air instead. 

"What the Hell?!"

"They teleport!" Sakura quickly observed, as she was gut-punched by one of the men, making her wince back.

"Sakura!" Hinata cried out, before almost getting hit herself, if it hadn't been for one of Naruto's shadow clones stepping in instead. 

Naruto cursed under his breath. He could easily obliterate these guys if he wanted, but he couldn't exactly figure out the right strategy to do it, especially with them moving spots so much. Besides, if he just blindly attacked, he was risking hurting Hinata and Sakura in the process. He hadn't seen someone with such an ability ever since the Fourth War, and he had seriously been hoping to never have to deal with that again. He knew he had to come up with something fast, though, because they were quickly gaining in on them, probably taking advantage of their current confusion.

Before he could ponder much further, though, he heard Hinata scream from behind him. From the corner of his eye, he could see one of the attackers about to stab her with his kunai. He knew he was too far away from her. He knew that there was no way he would make it there in time. His stomach sunk as his feet automatically dragged him in her direction, knowing it would be futile. It must have only taken a few seconds, but those were the longest and most horrifying seconds of his life. 

In a flash, he heard the clinking of the enemy's kunai against another blade, and he couldn't believe his eyes when he saw the familiar shadowy figure protectively standing before Hinata. Naruto felt himself breath normally again once the same man then proceeded to fend off the rest of the attackers, somehow, being perfectly able predict where they would appear before they did.

"Naruto, Sakura, on your right!" 

Naruto didn't waste any time before turning over his heel and throwing a punch, where sure enough, one of the attackers appeared all of a sudden. The man was thrown a few yards away from him, as he watched Sakura be even less forgiving as she punched another attacker with all her might. 

"Impossible! How could you beat our technique?" The man Naruto had punched groaned, painfully standing up as he spat out some blood. 

"Your technique doesn't work on him," Naruto retorted with a sly smile. 

"Amaterasu!" 

Their attackers were suddenly engulfed in the familiar black flames, and they watched as they forcefully retreated, probably knowing well that there was no way to win this fight. Naruto wanted to follow behind them and figure out who they were and who they were working with, but his priority right now was still standing a few feet away from him, her pale eyes widened with fear.

He hurried toward her and cupped her face gently. "Are you alright, Hinata?"

She simply nodded. "Yes. If it weren't for..."

"You showed up just in time," Naruto told his friend with a grin. 

"Clearly, had I been a minute later, you would have been beaten by those losers."

"It wasn't my fault, alright? I was trying to figure out how their jutsu works."

"And while you were doing that, Hinata could've been killed."

"Thank you for saving me... Uh..." Hinata seemed to waver for a few seconds, probably the time it took for her to realize that she remembered him. "Wait... Are you..."

Sakura decided to take the initiative and reintroduce the two of them with a grin. "Hinata, this is our friend, Sasuke."

"S-Sasuke?"

~🍥~🍥~

Sasuke was someone Naruto couldn't ever really understand, not fully. But right now, he felt beyond relieved to be able to tell him all about what had happened with Hinata: how she got attacked, how she lost her memories, and, much to his displeasure, how she could only remember the young Uchiha, for some bizarre reason.

"So she has no recollection of who attacked her that day?"

"No, she doesn't. And she doesn't remember any ninjutsu, either."

"Well, that explains why she was almost defeated by those mediocre grunts. I was surprised she hadn't used her byakugan at all during the fighting," Sasuke replied with a thoughtful frown, although his face remained as expressionless as ever. "In any case, there's something you should know about the day she was attacked."

"She was supposed to get some intel from one of our shinobi, that's what Kakashi-sensei--er, Lord Sixth, said."

"What he didn't tell you was that I'm the one she was supposed to meet," Sasuke said, making Naruto's blue eyes widen in surprise. "I showed up at the precise time and location, but when I got there, I found her laying unconscious, not too far away from the village. I took her back as fast as I could and alerted everyone that she needed medical attention, then headed back to see if I could find any clues about who attacked her."

"Did you?"

"Unfortunately, no. These guys... They must be very highly skilled ninja, if they were able to both defeat Hinata in combat and outrun me."

"Hinata... I can't believe she had to face people like that all on her own."

Sasuke nodded. "It's a miracle she's even alive after the attack. And they probably will be back to try to finish the job."

"They have to go through me, first!" Naruto retorted, clenching his fists angrily. 

"Hey, focus. Our priority here is to protect Hinata. Without her memories, she's practically defenseless out here."

"Well... She does remember you, for whatever reason," Naruto retorted under his breath, awkwardly looking away. 

"Maybe she remembers me because I was the last person she saw before she woke up at the hospital," Sasuke shrugged it off, but Naruto would be lying if he said that it didn't bother him still. 

"Alright, boys, I've tended to Hinata's scratches and wounds. She should be fine," Sakura said, smiling as she walked up to them with her hands on her hips, with Hinata close behind. "Got any ideas of who we're dealing with?"

"Nothing useful."

"Well, Hinata's found something rather worrisome," Sakura replied, as the dark-haired girl shyly stepped towards them and extended her hands to reveal a familiar symbol carved onto a shinobi headband.

"They were from the Hidden Grass Village?" Naruto frowned with confusion. "But I thought they were our allies after the war?"

"Not everyone thinks all villages got a fair cut after the war," Sasuke replied with a sigh. "It is possible that we're dealing with rebels who have purchased some kind of illegal technology that replicates known jutsu."

"Wouldn't that be a direct violation of the alliance?" Sakura questioned.

"Yes, it would. We need to figure this out, and we need to do it quickly," Sasuke declared. "The last thing this world needs is another Shinobi War."