[OP: "Cold"--The Oh Hellos]

Wally was stunned.

"How...how did you know that? I thought you didn't remember."

"I know an alias of the Flash is Wally West...also Barry Allen," Shine shrugged. "But, he's not a ginger."

Wally rubbed his hair. "It looks good on me, though."

She almost laughed but not quite. "Sure... Well, this is nice. I'm a big fan."

"Oh, really? That's cool," Wally said. "Makes me really wish I remembered you more, and you seem like you'd be hard to forget."

Shine tilted her head. "Is that a pick up line?"

"Uh...no," Wally said.

"Okay, I just had to check, knowing your reputation," she said.

"Oh...so you wouldn't like that, huh?" Wally said, feeling like an idiot for asking.

"Uh...well, I don't know, but this is a weird time for it, right?" Shine looked around. "And...I mean, I assume we're friends or something, if we're here, together...but this isn't even your world, is it? I distinctly remember it being populated by Japanese-like people, only they're all ninjas...and it's not Japanese, somehow."

"I remember that also," Wally said. "Just not what's going on now. Like where is this place?"

"I don't know. It doesn't look like Japan to me." Shine gestured helplessly. "And I can't find anyone I was with...and I know why--I have no idea who I'm looking for. My Sight only works if I remember the person clearly enough to picture their face. So...no gift."

"You have a gift that lets you find people that easily?" Wally was jealous. "Geez, I don't even have a map. Or a GPS."

"Like I said, it's not working...but you must be one of them--no way it's not related." Shine gestured at him. "I've...tried to break the spell, but I can't seem to figure out how." She looked a little embarrassed at that.

"Can I ask why you were singing though? Weren't you worried about being found by the bad guys?" Wally asked her.

"Oh, sort of, but at this point I kind of thought anyone at all would be an improvement on nothing, and, if it was a bad guy, I might learn how this works and how I can undo it." She shrugged carelessly. "So, it was a toss up, but instead you found me."

"I hope that's not disappointing."

"Oh, no, I'd much rather have backup first." Shine waved off his question. "And The Flash is the best backup I could ask for right now... Though I am puzzled that a superhero is here in the world."

"World..." Wally said. "So you remember that too."

"Yes..." Shine narrowed her eyes. "Did you not expect me to?"

"Well, no offense, but I'm the only person who would hop around different dimensions," Wally said. "But you know about it, so you must have before."

"Lots of times," she said. "I normally don't tell people that...but I think I can trust you with the information. It's nothing new for you, after all."

"Yeah...huh, so we really must know each other pretty well then," Wally said. "That's so crazy that we can't remember. I mean, that's one powerful spell."

"That's what I'm worried about. Usually black magic doesn't work on me." Shine shook her head. "And even if it did, I could break it easily. But though my head cleared slightly after I tried, my full memory did not return... I assumed some drug to be the cause, only because that would affect me more than just an incantation would. Also I felt sick, so that could be why."

"Hmm, I feel weird, but drugs don't really work on me--they go through my system," Wally said. "But magic might... I feel like I've been more immune to it lately, though..."

Shine was puzzled. "Then how is it affecting us both?"

"It's a mystery," Wally said. "But, you seem pretty on top of this situation already, so I bet we can figure out what happened if we team up. I mean, I've been through stuff like this a lot."

"I know," Shine said dryly. "I have too."

"Cool, so I don't need to explain it to you?" Wally said.

"Nope."

"Good, that saves a lot of time. I bet we were out here with other people, right?"

"I'm sure we were," Shine agreed. "And maybe I was leading them... I mean, I usually am. Or at least, I'm helping to."

"That would be cool...but if you were, and you're missing, they could be in trouble."

"This whole thing must be some tactic to separate us--and divide us, too, probably. If you can't remember who your enemy is, or your friend, then you may attack anyone."

"That's smart, yeah." Wally rubbed his head. "And scary. These guys are jerks...I should probably tell you, I saved a bunch of people already..."

He explained about the people in the river.

"You sure are efficient." Shine was impressed. 

"That was before I forgot," he said.

"Then...it's localized," Shine realized. "If it only affected you once you came back and got closer, does that mean it will break if we leave the area?"

"It's a thought. Want to try it?" Wally said.

She nodded.

"Uh, well, I kind of have to do this then--" Wally plucked her up.

Shine nodded.

"Hang on," Wally said. He took off.

He rushed them outside the area a good ways.

But, unfortunately, this did not work, as Kankuro and Tenten could have told them it wouldn't, had they been there.

"Perhaps once it takes effect, it doesn't matter if you leave," Shine sighed. "Maybe it will wear off after awhile, if it's a drug."

"I hope so," Wally said.

He thought that holding her like that felt kind of familiar, though... No doubt about it--he was sure they'd worked together for a while.

Shine thought the same thing also.

But then, she'd thought that almost at once because when he'd come out of the trees and she'd seen his face, she'd felt a sort of surge of relief, though she didn't know why.

Which was why she hadn't been afraid of him or on the defensive.

And now she felt much better already about the situation.

"Should we go back and look for the others then?" Wally said. "It's so weird that we didn't find them."

"Maybe the spell makes it harder to," Shine reasoned. "If it's affecting my Sight, it might affect more too... Probably they would avoid us out of fear... We should look, though. We can't abandon them."

"I'm glad we're on the same page." Wally dashed back in.

Perhaps leaving at least jogged the misdirection jutsu a bit out of their minds, because they felt a little more oriented once they got inside.

"I did check my notebook." Shine took off her bag once Wally put her down. "And I have some of my usual reading lists with me for students, which is a good sign I had some here. My notes mentioned a lot of names. I don't remember any of them, but I feel as if I should. That nagging deja vu feeling."

"I have it too," Wally said. He peered at her more closely. "Especially now."

Shine blushed a little. "Yeah, it's weird, right?"

"Yeah...I'm just wondering what our relationship is, if we're working together. Is it a weird time to ask that?"

"Actually, I think, under the circumstances, it's normal to wonder that." Shine tugged her hair a bit awkwardly. "I mean, with no memory, it would be awkward to remember later and have acted like a stranger for all this time."

"Ah, well, I wouldn't hold it against you if you did that," Wally said amiably. "It makes sense to be a little weird about this. But, I don't know, you just seem like someone I'd get along with, so I can't feel that awkward about it, you know?"

"Yeah, I have that impression too. Well, I admit I can't see The Flash being anyone I'd have a problem getting along with. You're so laid back."

"I am, it's true. Are you?"

"Uh...not in the way you are." Shine laughed dryly. "I'm quite the pistol, as they used to call it. Or live wire, firecracker, the usual."

"Hmm, you seem pretty calm for that. I mean, considering the situation..."

"That's just practice," Shine sighed. "I'm glad I seem calm. I always thought of myself as more high strung."

"Nah, I'd never get that idea. I mean, you were singing."

"I was... It calms me down and helps my power get stronger, and I was bored. I've been looking for hours. I'm just glad I had water and food."

"Me too," Wally agreed heartily.

"Still, I like to think I can deal with it a lot," Shine mused. "I'd have to to do this. I get told a lot I don't react to things the way people expect."

"Yeah, you haven't reacted to this the way I'd expect more girls too--and I mean that in the best possible way," Wally said.

"Well, you jumping into it right away certainly seems like above average behavior too," Shine said, with a smirk. "Both of us are used to this, obviously. Memory or not, I guess you can't erase experience."

"Good thing, too--that would suck." Wally rubbed his head. "And my experience says the bad guys are not just going to let us get away that easily. I mean, clearly I could get away at any time but not most people."

"I could too, but I don't want to max that out if I need it later." Shine pursed her lips. 

"Can you fight, by the way?" Wally said. He was guessing yes.

"I can, but I'm not very fast. Or very strong. I rely on strategy and a wide range of smaller abilities," Shine replied. "Against a large group of enemies, I'm definitely at a disadvantage, but you'd be okay for that. I suppose, in that way, our talents should be compatible."

"So we're compatible now?" Wally couldn't resist saying.

She gave him a look.

"Sorry," he said. "Not funny... I mean, didn't you think, maybe, given that we're here together... and you seem to know a lot about me, that..."

Shine paused. "I did think of it, sure."

She did think he was pretty handsome after all. And she usually was only attracted to people she knew well first.

[It's a real thing. A lot of us people with trust issues are like that.]

She swallowed. "But if it turns out not to be true, it would be awkward later to have assumed that."

"I don't know--it wouldn't be that awkward. I'd be flattered." Wally shrugged amiably. "I take it you don't remember having a boyfriend then?"

"No..." Shine held up her right hand. "But I did notice I had this."

She was wearing a ring.

"Wow...is that a wedding ring or an engagement ring?" Wally thought either that was great news for him or it sucked.

'Cause if they were together, dang, he was doing well for himself.

"I'd say engagement, from the design of it," Shine said. "Also right hand is for engagement." [Not everyone does that, but traditionally, it was right hand for engagement, left for marriage.]

"Oh, is it?" Wally felt like he'd heard that somewhere. "Well, good for you then."

"Less good if I can't remember who I'm engaged to," Shine said. "And I admit, if it was The Flash, that would be...quite a hard story to believe. I need a lot more context. Memory better return completely. I'd be furious if I couldn't remember something that important."

"Oh, tell me about it," Wally agreed. "Hey, let me know if you do remember."

"Hmm, well, if we are engaged, I apologize in advance for forgetting you," Shine said. "I doubt I had any say in it."

"You don't need to apologize for it," Wally said. "This will be funny later...I hope."

Shine looked somber. "It won't be funny, no matter what. Messing with people's heads like that over something so important? Who does that?"

"Right...yeah, okay, it's not funny." Wally sobered. "I was trying not to think about it too hard... I mean, because, that could apply to anyone else I was around, too. I could have friends lost right now. I'd never know...and, I mean, if the person...gets hurt or killed or something, do you ever get it back, or is it gone forever?"

Shine shuddered. "That had better not be it."

"That's why I didn't want to think about it. It messes with your head, and we need to be in the game," Wally said.

"I think you're right." Shine smiled. "I won't make it better by asking that..." She tapped her chin. "Let's just try walking...and praying. I've been doing that all along though."

"Me too." Wally looked around. "Well, I found you, so it must be working. Any idea how many other people were with us?"

"I counted over 10 names in my notes. No guarantee that's the extent of it though. I didn't have time to go through it all carefully."

"That's a big team..." Surprised.

"I know," Shine sighed. "And a lot of people to find without remembering their faces."

"We'll figure it out," Wally assured her. "Let's start walking again."

They began to move.

Shine resumed her singing. She told him that it would probably strike anyone on their side as less malicious to hear it, and they might come towards the sound.

And their enemies were going to know where they were anyway, and it wouldn't make much difference.

Wally thought that made sense. She sure thought of a lot of things. He'd have just been roaming around aimlessly if he were on his own.

* * *

Hours before now, Sakura and Sasuke had been looking for Hinata, though they did not know she was the one they were after.

Though they'd started off arguing, after a while of looking, they'd calmed down a bit and both reasoned that cooperation would be more useful right now.

Sasuke even felt slightly as if his initial action of trying to sneak attack her might have been unwise, though it came more naturally to him to do this than to cooperate.

"I suppose I might have acted too hastily before," he said, not very graciously, since he was not good at apologies. "I assumed anyone I found would be hostile, but, aside from sharp words, that was not the case."

Sakura frowned at him sideways, but then she softened slightly. "Yeah, well, I was on edge already, and I get snippy when I'm worried."

She didn't admit this in her normal life because it was too embarrassing to tell her friends the reason she was this way...but she figured Sasuke was a stranger who it likely wouldn't matter with later.

A strained pause.

"I tend to attack first anyway," Sasuke admitted. "But usually the person is after me anyway, so it's not inaccurate."

"Hmpfr," Sakura snorted. "You're popular then?"

"Powerful." Sasuke didn't know if he should tell her that, but she'd be bound to realize it sooner or later anyway.

"Oh." Sakura looked down. "Right...Uchiha. That pretty awful tragedy...I heard later it happened because of one guy who hated them especially."

"Yes, Danzo," Sasuke said distastefully. "He's dead now."

"I guess...that's good?" Sakura didn't know if it was.

"We're all safer for it." Sasuke scowled. "But it doesn't make it better."

"I guess it wouldn't." Sakura rubbed her hair. "Well, how did you end up out here then?"

"I'm on the run a lot, so, for all I know, I came here to get away." Sasuke really wished he rememberd something, anything, about it.

Sakura didn't really understand and didn't know how to ask about it, so she changed the subject.

"We should have found her by now...right?"

"Not if she saw us coming." Sasuke was only too glad to talk about the situation he could actually do something about.

In fact, he was not much of a tracker without his Sharingan, which refused to work for him still. And that was another thing he was concerned about...though, at the same time, it was almost a relief every time it didn't activate, and he was puzzled by that.

Still, he thought he sensed someone else's chakra not that far away.

But they would not have found Hinata, probably, if she had not been accosted by more of the enemy.

Whether it was more of the ones who Dabi and Mabui had run into or different ones, who knew? But they still seemed to want the Hyugas. They surrounded her when she passed through one of the areas they'd hidden in.

It looked deceptively empty when she stepped into it, but then the genjutsu shattered, and she saw three of them staring at her.

And they had nets and weapons.

Hinata tried to run, and they just attacked, tossing a net at her.

She dodged it--after all, the Hyugas had excellent peripheral visions--but against three other people, she couldn't dodge forever unless she took them down.

She tried to run past one, but the others threw weighted ropes at her. One caught on her jacket.

Hinata slipped out of it, wisely, and leapt onto one of the trees to get some distance.

But the kidnappers just seemed to think this was funny. They were laughing.

"Ah, come on, girl. Don't be like that." One threw a shuriken at her.

Hinata caught it. She thought she saw poison glistening on the edge of the blade, or possibly another drug. Even touching it was a bad idea, but being cut by it would be worse.

She threw it away, not wanting to risk them picking it up if she chucked it at them.

"They really are proficient," said one of them. "Well,  she's giving us more trouble than her little relative did."

"Relative?" Hinata didn't remember being out here with anyone in her family...but...who would be with her? The only person in her family who even talked to her usually was Neji or her sister.

Somehow she didn't think that they'd call Neji her 'little relative', but Hanabi made no sense. She didn't go on ninja missions yet.

Unwisely, she cried, "What did you do to my family?"

"Oh, nothing yet," said one of them meanly. "Maybe it'll stay that way if you come quietly. We're going to get you eventually, Byakugan user. You're just tiring yourself out by running. We'll go easy on you both if you just come down now and surrender."

Hinata pursed her lips. "I can't do that."

She didn't buy it anyway, but she'd have no chance of rescuing anyone if they captured her. Getting away was the only option.

One of the bad guys threw a weighted line up toward her and nearly caught her by her ankle. The metal tip scraped her skin, but she moved before it could coil around her.

She couldn't vanish into the trees; they were too thin.

She jumped to another one before they could toss again.

They were getting sick of chasing her though.

Now all three of them surrounded the tree, too far apart for her to easily dodge them at the same time.

They threw things at her all in sync now, and she ducked and deflected, but she was bound to move wrong any second--and she did. The thin branch under her, much weaker then the huge Leaf Village trees, snapped, and she fell to the ground.

It was not much of a drop, and she fell more lightly as a ninja, but it was enough to slow her down.

One of them threw their weighted line around her feet, pulling them together.

They begin to drag her towards them.

"No, let me go!" Hinata panicked, though she hated herself for screaming. She felt like a horrible coward.

But other than scrambling for a handhold in the grass, she had no attack to match this situation.

(Really, the Hyugas limiting their attacks to Soft Hand could be a problem at times, like all the other clans not allowing for more diversity in their members' studies.)

The Twin Lions wouldn't even help right now, she thought, unless she could break the line.

She tried to summon them anyway, but one of the other men grabbed her shoulders and pulled her arms behind her back as they shoved her onto her stomach now.

"Watch her hands," said the third. "That's how they use their attacks."

It was how most ninjas used their attacks, but they knew what he meant.

"Still, it was pretty easy to get them, for how infamous their family is," said the first one, who had the line.

"They are two fragile girls, probably more for stealth than combat," said the second, pressing Hinata down harder. "And don't even think about trying to escape now."

Hinata was thinking about it, but she was blank.

At this stage, three things happened so quickly that she only saw them because of her Byakugan's special vision. No one else would have even noticed till it was too late.

One was that someone dressed in orange sprang out of some bushes and slammed into one of the guys with a spinning air attack, yelling, "Rasengan!"

Hinata's pulse raced as if she knew that voice, but she didn't remember it in her head.

Also, at the same time, someone in red jumped out of different part of the glade and smacked the guy pinning Hinata down into the nearest tree.

And while that was going on, someone else in more blue and grey colors grabbed the one holding the weighted rope and threw them off and onto the ground, then used a sword to pin them down.

Hinata, very much stunned, was at least mindful enough to twist herself so that she was more ready and yank her feet out of the line now that it wasn't taut anymore.

All three people seemed to have knocked out or incapacitated their opponents easily.

"That was...way less hard than I thought I would be," the one in red (who was a girl, Hinata now saw) said.

"Pathetic," the one in blue said.

"Who...are you guys?" The one in orange looked up from when he'd laid the guy out with his attack.

"Maybe you should tell us who you are first," the one in blue said warily.

"Sasuke, I'm pretty sure if he was against us, he wouldn't a have just attacked our enemies," the one in red said, pushing her pink hair back in a weary fashion. "You must be Leaf too, right?"

"I am, but how did you know that?" the orange one said.

Hinata pushed herself to her feet, feeling shaky. That had been way too close.

"Oh, are you okay?" The orange one noticed her and walked over. "I heard yelling, so I came running. Lucky I was close."

"Yes, another few minutes and they'd have probably had her in another genjutsu," the blue said in a pessimistic tone. "Now, what to do with this one?"

His was still conscious and looked terrified.

Hinata frowned down at him. "They said they had another one of my clan...the Hyuga clan. You've probably heard of us... You're all Leaf? But I don't know you."

"We'll go over that later," the red one said. "I'm Sakura, by the way."

"Oh, I'm Naruto Uzumaki," Naruto said.

Hinata looked up. "I've heard of you... Hmm, I would think I'd recognize you then. Aren't you famous in Leaf?"

"Is he?" Sakura said.

"I don't know him," Sasuke said. "But...ugh, no, that doesn't say much. Maybe he is famous."

"Sure I am," Naruto said cheerily. "But who are you? I mean, I know the Hyuga clan but not you."

"You probably do know her, dummy. You lost your memory, right?" Sakura said.

"Oh...yes, that is true, so we're all Leaf. That means we're on the same team, then?" Naruto said hopefully.

"Unfortunately, that seems likely." Sasuke rolled his eyes, which, he then thought, was not like him, but the gesture felt very natural for some reason.

"I don't understand," the remaining kidnapper said, in a confused tone. "You still don't remember, but you're all together and working with each other? This jutsu is usually far more divisive. I've seen teams who forgot their members kill each other."

"Your first mistake was admitting you were behind this." Sasuke grabbed him by his collar and held him up angrily. "Undo it, now."

"I can't!" the man cried, looking scared, and well he might be--Sasuke's eyes had finally turned red. "You...you're an Uchiha? I heard there was one still alive, but I never believed he'd come to the Land of Lightning. Don't they hate you?"

"That's not much of a deterrent for me." Sasuke didn't know if that way quite true...but if he was here, it must be, right?

"Wait, they hate you?" Sakura said. "What did you do?"

"Let's not discuss this in front of our enemy." Sasuke shot her a warning look.

She gasped. "Your eyes..."

Sasuke realized they'd changed.

"Strange," he said in a low voice. "Until now... Is it because I got angry?"

He did feel hatred for this scoundrel right about now...and the Sharingan did often come with hatred or pain. Perhaps that was it.

But why did that make him feel ashamed instead of glad he was finally powered up? It made no sense.

But he couldn't be distracted right now.

"Why are his eyes red?" Naruto asked.

"Uchiha's eyes turn red when they use their special jutsus," Hinata supplied quietly, "unlike ours... Ours stay the same color always."

"Cool." Naruto didn't understand how dangerous it was. Clearly his memory loss affected his memory of Village legend also--which was hardly a surprise. Naruto generally only remembered stuff like that if he personally knew someone with the power.

"I really can't undo it," the man whined. "The toxin has to wear off first before the genjutsu can be broken, and you have an antidote to it, and I don't have it on me, I swear... We're all immune to it, so we don't need to carry it."

"Then you are no further use to us," Sasuke said darkly.

The man looked pale and squirmed, but he couldn't break free.

"Wait!" Sakura grabbed Sasuke's other arm forcefully enough. "He's still useful. He can lead us to the others. There's more than three of them, I'm sure."

Sasuke scowled. "Maybe. But he'd lead us right into a trap. Unless you can read minds, how could we trust him?"

"I don't know... Can't you use genjutsu or something also?" Sakura put a hand to her forehead. "Maybe you could make him do it."

Sasuke paused, as if thinking about it, then he shook his head. "I can't."

"Why not?" Naruto asked, curiously. "It's not your power after all?"

"No...well, forcing anyone to do something with it is not really the Sharingan's power anyway," Sasuke said. "Unless you use the...infinite cycle one, but I can't do that...yet...but even if I could, I wouldn't."

"Why not?" Sakura asked.

Sasuke wasn't sure how to say he had the distinct impression he'd sworn off doing it, but that thought was glaring in his head like a siren noise.

But it seemed ridiculous, so how could he explain it to them?

"I just don't think it's wise," he said instead.

Sakura looked at him like he was crazy.

"He must have his reasons," Hinata said quietly. "We should respect it. We can find another way. I can track people well. There are many of them in this glade... I remember you now, Sakura, you followed me before. I thought you were the enemy. I apologize for running."

"I get it, I guess," Sakura sighed. "Though it would have been a lot faster if you hadn't run, but then, this guy tried to attack me right away, so maybe that was the better option."

"I said I was sorry." Sasuke sounded like a child right then.

"Yeah, but it was still rude," Sakura said.

Naruto laughed oddly. "Rude? Wow, that's not how I'd think of it, more like...I mean, we're all alone out here, so we're all not sure who's on our side, right? But I haven't even seen anyone else."

"No one was after the Demon Fox," the man said, though he wasn't really helping his case. But when you're afraid, often you do not say the smartest things. "You're too risky."

"Demon fox?" Naruto said.

"The...but..." Sakura peered at him oddly. "Huh...is that you?"

"That does sound familiar," Hinata admitted.

"The jinchuriki?" Sasuke said. "You? Really?" He didn't think Naruto looked Iike much of a threat. Though he had had an impressive wind attack.

"I...I don't think I am, though." Naruto put a hand to his stomach oddly. "I can't sense him here at all... I don't remember, though... Did I lose him?"

"No, you couldn't have survived that," Sakura said. "It must be there. Maybe it's just quiet."

"I really don't think he is, though." Naruto was confused. "I do kinda think I've been missing him for a while...weird."

"If you don't give us something we can use--" Sasuke turned back to the rogue. "--I see no reason not to kill you."

The man looked nervous. "We never went after your group, just didn't want you interfering in on our business... They were all nobodies, no one from Leaf. No one you'd miss."

"Nobodies? Who do you mean?" Sakura demanded. "Start talking. I'll beat you up myself if you don't."

"I think I have this," Sasuke said to her.

"I'm sure I can do more without killing him with my attacks, if we're talking torture," she replied, rubbing her fist.

"That's...scary," Naruto said uneasily. He looked at Hinata. "These two are intense."

"How did you find them?" Hinata asked.

"I didn't. They just rushed in the same time as me. I didn't even notice them before." Naruto shrugged. "I only found you because you yelled. I haven't found anyone all day... It's weird."

"Maybe it had to do with the jutsu. They said something like that." Hinata glanced at the man warily. "And they took another Hyuga, as I said before. My family, I think, a girl... The only girl in my family who'd work with me is my sister, but she'd never be out there, especially in the Land of Lightning. It's not thinkable...but who else could it be?"

"Maybe she got kidnapped," Naruto said.

"That is the most likely reason," Hinata said. "But if we were kidnapped, why were we even in the woods? I hope he starts explaining."

Her gentle way of saying this would not impress the kidnapper in the least, and Sakura and Sasuke weren't about to waste time trying to sound nice.

Sasuke was just smirking at him oddly, in fact. "You know, her or me, either way, it'll be painful if you keep holding out. I'm not even sure which would be worse. Do you want to pick?"

"All right already!" The kidnapper held up his hands, but Sasuke spotted what looked like a small dart in one.

"Get down," he said, dropping the man and ducking, pushing Sakura down also.

The dart whizzed past them and just missed Naruto before hitting another tree.

Hinata sprang over Sakura's head as the man tried to make a break for it now that he was on his feet.

She hit his chakra points in his leg and back, and he fell over.

Another dart flew at her, but she knocked it aside. It hit the grass.