-Next Day-

As Iruka entered the classroom, he instantly noticed that Naruto wasn't there. He looked towards Sasuke to see if he had any information as to why their favorite blond wasn't there. What he saw was a very confused Sasuke, which made Iruka more confused. It wasn't like Naruto to miss school anymore. He worked his tail, or tails, off to earn his top spot and hasn't skipped a day of school at all anymore. So him deciding to skip a school day was a shock.

Now matter how much Iruka wanted to stop class to go check up on Naruto, he couldn't stop class for one student. So with a sigh, he started today's class.

Sasuke couldn't focus at all today. Naruto wouldn't miss a day of school if he could. So why wasn't he there today? He spent the whole day glancing at Naruto's empty seat. Any fan girls that tried to sit next to him, he growled at them and told them to back off. After class was dismissed, Sasuke ran outside. Deciding to go check up on his best friend, Sasuke was making his way towards Naruto's apartment.

Once he made his way to the top of the apartment's stairs, Sasuke bolted towards Naruto's door. When he got there he knocked on the door lightly three times. He was unsure if Naruto stayed home due to sickness or another reason, so he would play it safe and be gentle at first. After waiting two minutes and got no response, he tried to knock harder. Another two minutes later and he tried opening the door.

Sasuke was surprised to see that the door was unlocked. Immediately red flags were going off in his head. Sasuke ran inside and searched for Naruto. When he didn't spot him in the living room, he raced towards Naruto's bedroom. Seeing the door open and no Naruto inside, he started to panic.

"He's fine, he's fine. He's just being an idiot and is fine. He's probably just training in my family's training ground or at Ichiraku's." Sasuke spoke out loud trying to calm his nerves down.

He took a few deep breaths to calm his fast beating heart. Once it calmed down, Sasuke stood up and made his way out of Naruto's bedroom. As he left, he spotted Iruka entering the apartment cautiously.

"Iruka-sensei? What are you doing here?" Sasuke asked, although he knew the answer. Iruka was a big brother figure to Naruto.

"Ah Sasuke! I'm guessing you came here to check on Naruto too huh?" Iruka questioned. Sasuke nodded. "Yeah I passed by Ichiraku's to see if he was there or had been there earlier. They said that they haven't seen him at all today." Sasuke's panic multiplied by ten.

"M-Maybe he's just at my clan's training grounds?" Sasuke asked, sounding very unsure and scared.

"That's a great idea Sasuke. I'm sure that he's there." His plan worked because Sasuke let a small smile across his face. As they were leaving, Sasuke stepped out while Iruka closed and locked Naruto's apartment door. After that was done, Iruka put a hand on Sasuke's shoulder and gave him a warm smile.

Once they arrived at Sasuke's clan compound, they both tensed for a moment. They were desperately hoping that Naruto would be there. The only other place he would be was with the Hokage. Iruka made a mental note to check to see if he was there if he wasn't in the training grounds.

When they reached the training grounds, they couldn't spot Naruto. Sasuke immediately went pale. He feared that something happened to his only friend. He had just made a bond again, and it was once again taken away from him. 'Am I just cursed to be alone?'

"Maybe he's with the Hokage?"

Sasuke could only nod. He was currently hoping that the worst hasn't come. 'Please be safe Naruto!'

As Iruka and Sasuke walked towards the Hokage's office, they were both tense and quiet. Fearing the worst, but hoping that he was fine. As they knocked on their leader's door, Iruka and Sasuke both mentally begged for Naruto to be inside there.

As the door opened, they both scanned the room quickly trying to find the blonde bundle of joy that they knew as Naruto. Hope was quickly dwindling each millisecond that they couldn't spot the Uzumaki. When they scanned the entire room over three times, they concluded that he was missing. Fear, worry, dread, and anxiety immediately flared in the student's and teacher's hearts.

"Hokage-sama! Have you seen Naruto!?" Iruka yelled out, panic overwriting his fear of yelling at the Kage.

"No Iruka, why is something wrong?" The Hokage stood as he questioned him. "What's wrong with Naruto-kun?"

"We don't know where he is sir. He wasn't at school today and he wasn't at his house, Ichirakus, or the Uchiha's training grounds." Iruka rambled out.

"Hmm, that is concerning. Let me see." The elder Hokage said as he pulled his crystal ball out of his desk drawer. Setting it down on the table, he activated it and tried to look at what Naruto was doing. But it never turned on, meaning that Naruto wasn't anywhere near the leaf village.

"ANBU!" The Hokage yelled out. After his personal ANBU guards dropped down, he proceeded to give orders. "Get me Falcon's, Fox's, and Dragon's squad immediately!"

As the ANBU left to fulfill their orders, the Hokage let out a heavy sigh. "Iruka-kun, Sasuke-kun… I'm sorry to tell you this… but Naruto is currently missing. If he's out of reach from my orb… he could be a day or more away."

Sasuke dropped to his knees. He was now far from his reach. "We got to find him! Let me go searching for him!"

The Hokage let out a shaky breath. He was currently trying to put up a tough front, but inside he was panicking and in sorrow. 'I've failed you yet again Naruto-kun. When we get you back, please forgive this old fool.' Hiruzen thought as a tear rolled down his cheek. "I cannot let you do that Sasuke-kun. You're not even a genin yet, I can't send you out. What if we lose you too?"

"I don't care! I just want to get Naruto back! He could be in danger!" Sasuke yelled at the aged leader.

"Sasuke! Don't talk back or yell at the Hokage!" Iruka took in a deep breath to calm him down. He was in a maelstrom of emotions. As he was about to ask Hiruzen a question, the ANBU came back in. The Hokage immediately stood up and started to give orders.

"Naruto Uzumaki is currently outside of my orb's viewing range. That means he's at least a day or more away if he was running without rest. We can assume he was either taken or left by his own will. The latter however is very unlikely. Your mission is to find and retrieve him. Any means necessary."

"Hai Hokage-sama!" They all yelled before heading out to start their mission.

After the ANBU left, the three people remained in silence. Sasuke couldn't believe that his best friend had been taken, or possibly left on his own free will. He wouldn't and couldn't believe the last one to be an option though. Iruka was left speechless and depressed. His student, no little brother, had been kidnapped from the village without anyone noticing. How could they have done it so quickly? Just yesterday everything was fine. It was like any other day, and yet it was the day that Naruto Uzumaki went missing.

Sarutobi looked at the two with a heavy heart. He was supposed to be looking over Naruto, and he was taken by Hiruzen's lack of attention to the blonde. After taking a deep breath from his pipe, he blew out the smoke then spoke to the heart broken duo. "You two go home please. The only thing we can do now is hope that Naruto is alright and wait for his arrival. He is stubborn and strong, so he'll be back. I'm sure of that." He told them with a small sad smile.

The two looked at each other and nodded. They would stay strong for Naruto and wait for his arrival. Exiting the room, they both had the same thought cross their mind.

'Please be alright Naruto.'

Who took Naruto? When and how will he return?

Hope you liked this chapter! Criticism is appreciated! It helps me improve!