The Willow Maiden [Naruto]

{23} Altered Memories, The Hope Of Ruka's Revival

It has been a few weeks since Ruka joined the Akatsuki. She feels nothing for what she has to do while she's in the Akatsuki. All she knows is that she is not safe no matter where she goes. But for some reason, she cannot remember her friends, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura, and her sensei, Kakashi.

Being reborn has altered her memories a bit. All she can remember are the memories she shared when the Former Willow Maiden, her mother, was still alive, and the Grass village.

Right now, Ruka stands on one of the statue's fingers as she stares off into space with her red, cold, and emotionless eyes. "Is something wrong, Ruka? You've been this way ever since you got the cloak." Zetsu asks, walking up to her from behind.

"I am just having a hard time remembering a few things right now. . . You saved me, thus having me be reborn and yet my memories are unclear to me. . . I can remember so little of what I use to be. . . All I remember is my mother, the village hidden in grass, and the unsafe places I have been to. . . This. . .has some time getting use to, I believe." Ruka replies.

"Don't worry. I'm sure your memory will come back to you. If you like, we can help you out. Why not start by remembering what you do know? Like what your powers are, or any jutsu's you can do."

"The basics. . . My singing causes things to occur based off my emotions, I think. My mother was the Former Willow Maiden of the Willow Forest. I knew I was wanted for my abilites, so a lot of people tried to kidnap me. I do not think. . . I can remember anything else other than that. . ."

"It's okay. It will come to you eventually. For now, stick to what you do know and just follow our lead while you're here, got it?"

"Okay." Ruka nods her head. "Thank you, Zetsu."

"Anytime. Anyway, what are your powers other than singing?"

"Thorns bend at my will. I feel the earth beneath my feet so I may feel every moment of each person that is nearby. I also do wood style jutsu, but I am not sure how that can be. And sometimes, I control the plants too.

"Interesting. Perhaps you can show off your skills when you have to go out with one of the Akatsuki members."

'Which reminds me. . . What does the Akatsuki do? . . On second thought, I rather not find out. As long as I am safe, nothing else matters. . .' Ruka thought within her head before turning to Zetsu. "Zetsu. I am going to the garden."

"Just don't go wondering off. Take your time." He replies. Ruka goes to the garden and stands on the bridge and watches the cherry blossoms fall to the ground. She doesn't know why, but she feels uneasy.

'Why do I feel like I am forgetting something important. . . These cherry blossoms. . .remind me of a certain color. . .' Ruka thinks to herself as she stares at pink pedals. 'The color pink. . .'

The image of Sakura flashes in her head, but at the same time, something dark appears behind her, causing Ruka to gasp as with her eyes wide. It was as if something slashed Sakura out of her thoughts, like it was a bad memory.

It hurt Ruka to remember, considering she was reborn and her memories have been altered. She is a fragile and delicate flower. She won't be remembering anything anytime soon.

Meanwhile,

Every day, Naruto and Sasuke visited the KIA stone to see and talk to Ruka, but they were a few days behind because of the missions that they were assigned to. They brought fresh flowers to the KIA stone so that Ruka's beauty would shine.

Today, after a long day of completing missions, they decide to finally visit the KIA stone where they placed flower Ruka after her mission to the Land Of Snow. Once they got there, they noticed that the flower was gone. Nowhere to be found.

"What the-? Where's Ruka!?" Naruto shouts dropping the flowers on the ground.

"She was just here. . .!" Sasuke is shocked at what he sees. Ruka's flower was gone. They both reported to Kakashi right away and showed him what they meant.

"And you found it like this? You didn't look around to see if the flower was still around?" Kakashi questions his students as he stares at the spot that Ruka's flower was suppose to be at.

"Yeah! We look all around! It's like she just vanished!" Naruto shouted in a panic.

"Why would someone take a flower? And why take Ruka?" Sakura asks.

"Her crown. . ." Sasuke picked up the thorn crown that Ruka always wore. "Naruto's right. She was taken. When Ruka withered away, she left her crown behind.

"Is it possible. . .that she could be somewhere. . .alive?" Sakura looks at Kakashi while she asks.

"Not sure. But it's a thought. Whoever took Ruka must've known about her. Whether she's alive or not, we won't be able to know where to start."

"Then leave it to me." Naruto glares. Having hope that Ruka may be alive, he is determined to find her."I'm gonna find Ruka and bring her home. Believe it!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~