Title: Silver linings

Rating: PG 13

Pairing / Characters: Tsunade, the Konoha ten, Naruto

Word Count: 988 words

Warnings: As always

Summary: A clue to Naruto's location is discovered

A/N: Yeah, I know. At last…

Tsunade leaned her head against the glass wearily, watching as her genin gathered near the pond just before her mansion. Shikamaru and Chouji were there already, waiting, and she felt something in her heart ache at their defeated postures. Shikamaru was leaning against Chouji, his eyes closed, and Tsunade wondered just how much sleep he had gotten in the last month and a half. How much any of them had gotten…

Between training and missions, every spare moment of their time was taken up in looking for their comrade. It wasn't just them either – although she refused to bring it up, she was well aware that both Kakashi and Iruka had been periodically leaving the village to locate Naruto's whereabouts.

The Hokage scowled suddenly. Since her conversation with Ibiki, the ANBU had been on full alert for their missing members, whom she now believed were directly related to Naruto's disappearance.

Clenching a fist, she wondered how she could have been blind enough not to notice that Konoha had been betrayed by two of the people who had sworn to protect her… although, in a twisted way, it made sense – every ANBU member was aware that the nine tails was sealed into Naruto – that someone other than Akatsuki would try to gain that power was inevitable.

'Hold on, Naruto,' she whispered. 'Don't give up just yet…'

Hinata leaned her head against Neji's shoulder, feeling his arm tighten around her briefly. In another situation, she would have been flustered by the idea of even talking to her cousin, but it seemed that in the wake of Naruto's disappearance, Neji had somehow, somehow, lost his aloofness towards her. Hinata didn't understand it, but they had all become closer. Even Shino-kun had stopped keeping his distance and started communicating with his friends.

'…Excuse me…'

Hinata lifted her head, startled at the unfamiliar voice.

Shikamaru got to his feet immediately, turning to face the two people standing awkwardly by the pond.

'Can we help you, O'san, Baa-chan?' he asked politely.

The old woman bowed respectfully. 'My son and I are travelers from Bear Country. We have been on the road for some time now, but as we neared Konoha, we were forced to take a different route as the rain had washed out the path.' The woman hesitated. 'Forgive me if my tale is long-winded, child, but I feel I must explain to you why we are here.'

Shikamaru inclined his head. 'Go on, please.'

'Very well. We took the Shepard's Path, you are familiar with it? It was there that we found this.'

She gestured to her son, who reached into his pocket and pulled out a necklace – a slender green stone on a black thong.

'This is a very valuable stone, one I recognize from my childhood. As it is in Fire territory, I thought it might belong to one of your elders.'

She held out the necklace, and as Shikamaru was about to take it, Sakura jumped to her feet.

'Baa-chan, forgive me my impudence – if I gave you a map, could you show me exactly where you found that necklace?'

Shikamaru frowned. 'Sakura, what – '

Sakura glanced up at him through eyes swimming with tears. 'That necklace… it doesn't just belong to anyone, Shikamaru. It – it's Naruto's… I saw it once, and I asked him where he got it – he wouldn't tell me, but he said – he said it was more valuable to him than his own life…'

Shikamaru blinked. 'Naruto…'

The old woman pulled out a worn map. 'We found the necklace here, child,' she said, pointing to a location on the map with a gnarled finger.

'At least six hours away,' Neji murmured. 'If we hurry…'

Sakura bowed to the old woman. 'We'll see to it that the necklace is given to the right person.'

As the two wandered off, Shikamaru said 'we don't have any time to waste. If we leave now, we should get there by – '

'Sunset,' Lee answered, suddenly energized. 'Perhaps even earlier if we really move – '

Tenten slapped his arm. 'Always rushing…'

'He's right,' Shino remarked. 'The faster the better. This is how it is in an emergency.'

Uncharacteristically assertive, Hinata said 'let's go already! Naruto-kun needs us –'

At Kiba's incredulous expression, Hinata flushed. 'It's true,' she mumbled.

'Cut it out,' Shikamaru ordered. 'Let's move.'

He was alone. He wondered if they were around, just waiting for him to fall asleep so they could wake him up again, or if they had just tired of hurting him.

He prayed it was the latter. So cold… so hungry… so tired… but he didn't close his eyes. He didn't dare. It was already deeply ingrained – fall asleep and that's when they'll hurt you worse than before…

'I could just give up,' he whispered to the empty room. 'I could just close my eyes and never wake up again and they'll never hurt me again..'

He shifted his position, trying to find a way to lie so that the chains didn't cut into his sore skin. His eyes were swollen half shut, partly from sheer exhaustion and partly from the fist that had been ground into his cheek only hours earlier. Something was wrong with him, he knew it.

That silver liquid they kept making him drink… it was making him sick. He kept throwing up, even though there was nothing in his stomach. It hurt him – every time he moved, the chain around his neck would tighten, choking him.

And it was so, so, cold…

But even so, he couldn't give up. Whenever the thought crossed his mind, words, half remembered, came to mind.

'…until I become Hokage, I will never die…'

His friends were coming for him. He knew they were. Despite the bleakness of his situation, he felt a glimmer of hope.

Maybe, just maybe, one of them would remember his name and be able to tell him…