Chapter Text
Tabula rasa (/ˈtæbjələ ˈrɑːsə, -zə, ˈreɪ-/ 'blank slate') is the theory that individuals are born without built-in mental content and that therefore all knowledge comes from experience or perception.
"So the jutsu will seal everything a ninja has ever learned. It'll be like him getting a blank slate." Tsunade folded her hands and leaned forward to rest her chin against her knuckles, "Tabula rasa."
"Tabula-whadda?" Naruto frowned, the whole conversation made him uneasy. Was this really what Sasuke wanted?
"Tabula rasa," Kakashi commented, then smiled noncommittally. "Don't worry about that part. The idea is that he'll temporarily forget everything— taijutsu, ninjutsu, genjutsu, the people he trained with, fought against— all of it. He will essentially become a civilian for the duration of the council's decision-making process. It's the best compromise, there's no need to lock him up and there's no concern of him causing trouble."
"Uchiha also offered up his rinnegan for the duration of his… internment—" Tsunade rolled the word around her tongue, deeming it appropriate before continuing, "— Under the condition that you oversee the custody of the rinnegan."
"Which brings us to why you are here," Kakashi sighed. "Since you were the one who started this whole protest against traditional imprisonment."
Tsunade tsked and set her glare upon Naruto. "Well, it's been quite a headache for all of us, even for the Uchiha-brat. In fact, he came up with this solution himself to finally shut you up. It is not unusual for this jutsu to be used against certain prisoners in order to keep them more… manageable. Though publicly for… ethical reasons, the target of this jutsu under the custody of a government must give their consent. Not many people agree to have their powers stripped away; the jutsu is often used for more… politically charged reasons. It is not difficult to make a puppet out of someone who has their memories wiped. That being said, Uchiha Sasuke will still require a warden, in this case, more of a caretaker. Just in case, if the jutsu fails and his abilities return, or if he is targeted, and his powers are gone, you are the best candidate to babysit him. Plus, he did specifically request that his rinnegan be under your custody. I don't doubt that he knew you'd be his sitter either."
"Ah," Naruto swallowed, trying to absorb all of this information. "Sasuke suggested this?"
"You're the only one he trusts Naruto," Kakashi answered. "It's not the worst idea. You have to be prepared though, he will not remember anything, save the most basic motor skills and knowledge. He might retain some muscle memory, but he won't remember you, or Sakura, me— or anyone. He won't remember his life or anything he's done."
Naruto flinched and let his gaze rest on the floorboards in front of him as he digested the situation. After a moment he raised his eyes to look at Kakashi and Tsunade in turn.
"Is that so?" He clenched his fist, "Maybe it's not so bad that he takes a break from it all."
"Not quite." Tsunade held Naruto's gaze, "He won't remember this period of amnesia, he won't remember that he took a break. When the jutsu is eventually released, he will feel like he is waking up from a dream, and just like almost all dreams, it will be forgotten."
"What a convenient jutsu," Naruto chuckled darkly. "Anything else I need to know?"
"Well, because he is Uchiha Sasuke, the war criminal—" Naruto flashed Tsunade a sharp look. She sighed deeply before pushing forward, "—Who also ultimately aided in ending the war... We will have to relocate him, and by extension, you, to a more remote area. It's reasonable to assume that he has a target on his back. Only a limited number of people will be aware of this arrangement. Should you choose to accept this plan, everything is spelled out in the mission folder.” Tsunade’s eyes were a cool golden brown, calmly gazing into Naruto’s own. “Are you taking it on, Naruto?"
There was only one answer Naruto could give.
"Yeah, of course. Not like there is a choice really, no-one else can take this on," Naruto grinned, his jaw a little too tight.
"Naruto," Kakashi said, pushing himself off the wall and walking over to place a hand on his former student's shoulder. "It's just temporary. Besides, it'll be good for two amputees to help each other out getting reacquainted with daily life."
Naruto’s shoulders relaxed under Kakashi's reassuring touch and he nodded with resolve. "Yeah, it'll be fine. I want Sasuke to get a clean slate, and the damn council better vote to clear him. I'll do whatever it takes."
"I'm sure you will, brat," Tsunade muttered and pushed forward a folder with one hand whilst the other pulled out a sake bottle and a cup as the meeting was now coming to an end. She waved a hand in dismissal. "Report to me once you finish reading. We can start his amnesiac house arrest then."
The first things he sensed when he awoke were birds. And warmth.
It was a pleasant way to wake up, to birdsong and the sun's rays on his face. He felt light, at ease. He squinted as his eyes opened against the sun streaming through the windows, flickering between the leaves.
It was calming, looking out the window, into the cool, swaying forest beyond. He was in no hurry to move his gaze from the trees and the sun outside to inspect the plain room that he was in. The bed was comfortable enough, but when he shifted and raised himself to sit up, placing his weight on his left arm, he winced in pain.
He didn't have a left arm.
He blinked at the bandaged stump, confused. When did he lose his arm?
It had to have been recent, it was still tender.
Actually, now that he was awake and looking around, he wasn't even sure he knew where he was.
His head perked up at the soft footsteps that gently padded toward his door; so it seemed he had sensitive ears...
"Ah, Sasuke." A blond-haired man poked his head in, the man's eyes were so blue and bright he took a glance out the window just to check a piece wasn't missing from the sky. The man continued, "You're awake. How are you feeling?"
He blinked at the stranger — was he a stranger? He didn't feel all that strange...
"You have really blue eyes," he said without thinking, and looked out the window again. "They're like the sky."
"Huh?" The man scratched his cheek, squinted his eyes and pulled his lips to a tight line — he looked confused. "Man, that jutsu really did a number on you, huh Sasuke?"
"Sasuke?" He stared at the man and tried the name again, "Sasuke... Sasuke... Sa—, ah, that's me."
"Ah, that's right, sorry, sorry." The man raised an arm in front of him and waved it apologetically, the sleeve of his other arm flapping emptily in tandem.
Fancy that, he was missing an arm too.
"Uh, your name is Sasuke, Uchiha Sasuke. I'm Naruto, Uzumaki Naruto. I'm your friend, I'd say I'm your best friend." The man grinned as he walked towards the bed and sat down. "We're going to be living together for a little while. Your memory got wiped, see... It's only temporary, so don't worry too much, I'll explain more in detail later. How are you feeling? Any pains or anything weird going on with your head?"
Sasuke shook his head slowly, of course his memory got wiped. The gears in his head started spinning to piece things together. He supposed he should feel more panicked at this piece of information, yet he could not seem to muster up any reason to. He looked at the blond man —Naruto— and felt a wave of calm course through him. Strange. Soothing.
"Other than the fact that I have no memory, which apparently is supposed to be what's happening, my head is fine." He looked at their bandaged stumps and raised his towards Naruto in question. "What happened to our arms?"
"Good, good... about your head that is." Naruto scratched the back of his head sheepishly with another grin. "About our arms... we kind of... blew them up. Mutually"
Sasuke stared at him, was he joking? How the hell do you mutually blow up your arms?! In a fight? Wait, weren't they—
"You said we were best friends?"
"Yeah..."
"And we blew each other's arms off?"
"...yeah."
"How the hell does one blow up someone’s arm?"
"Uhhhhhh... That's kinda why your memory got wiped. We got in a fight, and you were on the wrong side of it. I had to blow up your arm, or you were going to kill me. You kinda needed a break from yourself. So, uh, you asked to get your memory wiped. Oh yeah, you're a ninja, were a ninja? It doesn't matter, think of this as an extended vacation."
Sasuke stared dumbly at the blond. What the fuck did he just listen to? That wave of calm he felt earlier? Yeah, that just turned into a fucking tsunami of confusion of disbelief, rapidly descending on him and threatening to swallow him whole. That lack of reason to panic, pretty sure it just got thrown in his face. The gears in his head started spinning on hyper-drive. The only conclusion he could come to was that this dude claiming to be his best friend, had to be a total nutcase.
He tried to assess the situation from a logical standpoint, and list the facts that could be relied on. Okay so, he had definitely lost his memory. They had both lost their arms. He was currently located in a quaint little building in the middle of a nice forest. Oh... oh! That made sense, they were probably at some sort of mental retreat. Since he lost his memory, this would be where he recovered. Obviously there’d be nutcases at a mental ward, so that would explain Naruto’s whole “ninja” thing.
And their arms... maybe a freak accident? That would also explain his memory loss. He probably knocked his head in the same accident. Maybe Naruto did too, and that's why he was coming up with these stories.
He eyed Naruto. He seemed harmless enough, but who knew what would set him off though. Better to play it safe with a nutcase.
"So... we're best friends and we blew each other's arms off with our ninja skills because I was trying to kill you."
"Yeah, it was pretty crazy." Naruto looked at him almost regretfully. "But that's all in the past you know! I mean, here we are, helping each other out with our recoveries and stuff."
"Uh-huh," Sasuke nodded slowly. "Did you— did I, uh, hit you in the head when I blew your arm up with my ninja skills? Like, did I get you good, in the head?"
"Huh?" Naruto propped his chin between his thumb and index finger thoughtfully, "I mean, yeah, you threw some solid punches. My eye was busted for a while too."
Sasuke nodded solemnly. So this guy did have his brains knocked loose too. Except instead of memory loss, he was making up some crazy shit.
"So, is there a doctor or a nurse here, you know, to help us out?" Sasuke asked, in what he hoped was a casual manner.
"Oh yeah, Tsunade-baba and Sakura-chan were supposed to come check in on you when you woke up." Naruto whistled, "Damn, you're still pretty sharp with no memories, huh. I'll send a shadow clone to get them."
A shadow clone?
As if to answer his unspoken question, there was a sudden pop and a puff of smoke. When the smoke cleared, another Naruto stood in front of him. Wait, HOLY—