Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and all related characters.

Wow. A disclaimer! Sugoi…

Doubts of Yesterday

Chapter 4: Gone…?

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"What do you mean, she went back home?" Naruto questioned Kakashi, his blue orbs looking at his teacher with hidden fury. It had been four days since he last saw Temari. Why hadn't she told him that she'd be leaving so soon? Had she forgotten? Unlikely, Temari didn't seem like the type.

"I mean exactly what it sounds like." Kakashi responded calmly, not really wondering why Naruto was asking him where the Suna girl was. The two of them had been acting a little strange for the past few days, and this confirmed it.

"…Why did she go back?"

"Because she was only supposed to be here for a little while. She has missions to do back in her own village too." Kakashi responded smoothly. The fox boy was getting a bit worked up now, and Kakashi knew this.

"…Why didn't she tell me…?" He asked himself under his breath. He turned away from his teacher, not bothering to say thank you, and he took off at a mild run.

Not too far away, Tsunade was in her office, reading a letter from the young Kazekage, Gaara. His sister, Temari, who had left the Konoha village four days ago, was currently missing. The Kazekage wasn't sure how it had happened, Temari was supposed to be back. He had sent ANBU out, but he hadn't found any traces of Temari whatsoever. The Hokage sighed deeply. While the girl was still within the Fire Country, she was Konoha's responsibility. And it was possible that she had been attacked, and possibly kidnapped, within the Fire country borders. This would mean problems and more paperwork for the Hokage…

Suna was an ally; she couldn't just do nothing about the situation. The Kazekage's sister was missing, and this would probably cause a bit of chaos within the Kazekage's village. As an ally, she had to participate in the search efforts… but Konoha was busy enough with its own problems.

Tsunade closed her eyes, a bit stressed. The only people they could spare were chuunins and genins; even so, she could hardly spare them. She supposed sending Naruto and a few others would keep Naruto out of trouble, and it could be in the interest of the village to spare a few ninjas for the sake of the Kazekage's sister.

Tsunade had just got done pondering the contents of the letter when Naruto burst in, a furious expression on his face. "Just in time—" She began, but Naruto cut her off.

"I want a mission in—"

A vein popped out of the side of Tsunade's head. She grabbed Naruto by collar, and pulled him so he was closer to her face, half-way over the desk, "Look here brat, I got a mission for you. And I don't want any complaints." She snarled at him.

Naruto stared at Tsunade; "I'm not interested." He said looking to the side stubbornly.

"Too bad, you don't have a choice." Tsunade released him, "You and Sakura are going to assist Suna in the search for a missing person."

Naruto perked up at the mention of assisting Suna, "Who's missing?" He questioned, hardly unable to contain his excitement. He didn't even have to request a mission to Suna; he was getting one anyway.

"It's the Kazekage's sister, Temari." Tsunade said something else, but Naruto didn't hear. Temari was missing? When? How? Why? He growled in his throat.

"…I accept this mission."

& & & &

Naruto and Sakura ran out of Konoha, backpacks on their backs, Naruto far in the lead. Sakura struggled behind, she couldn't keep up with the speed he was producing with the help of the Kyuubi.

"Naruto please SLOW DOWN." Sakura shouted at him.

Naruto looked back at Sakura, then hesitantly slowed down. Sakura didn't understand the urgency, she couldn't understand. He wasn't about ready to make her understand either. He kept an even pace, they had agreed that they'd stop at Suna first, to pick up any clues Gaara might have, as well as to pick up the ninja Suna's going to offer to help them find Temari.

"Thank you." Sakura said, almost panting already from the workout of trying to keep up with Naruto's Kyuubi speed. She now kept an even pace slightly behind him, a pace that was almost effortless but wasn't slow.

Naruto nodded in response to Sakura. He didn't want to be socializing with the girl he had believed he had loved for so long. That had changed when he suddenly noticed Temari. Temari and her flawless figure, her smooth skin, her perfect legs… He shook his head violently to remove these thoughts from his head. He didn't want to think of her that way… he didn't just like her because of her physical appearance. There was something about her personality that drew him to her like a magnet to metal.

Sakura stared at her companion. The boy had been quiet since they left Konoha, it was almost like a quiet storm of fury, which was unusual, usually the boy was open with his anger. She didn't know what to think of this sudden shift in how he expressed his feelings… but then again; perhaps he was too angry to express it in a physical way. Why he was angry was another matter entirely. She had noticed he had strayed away from her, spent more time away from his team than he did with them. How he acted suspiciously, quietly finishing drills and minor missions without complaint.

The boy had been so immersed in his own thoughts; he didn't know how he was acting to the outside world. The new Naruto scared Sakura; the new Naruto was quiet and kept to himself. What had happened? Was this new Naruto permanent, or would he snap out of it soon? Sakura could only hope the boy wouldn't act like this forever.

"Sakura, how long before we get to Suna?" The voice wasn't like Naruto's, it was far more mature than Naruto's own. Unintentionally, Sakura shivered.

"Not long." Sakura assured the fox boy. She didn't know exactly how much longer, but it wasn't very long at the rate they were travelling. She could tell Naruto was having a bit of an inner struggle of two instincts conflicting, one to stay with Sakura; moving at a slower pace; or to move faster, and leave Sakura behind. She wasn't worried about which he'd choose, she knew he'd stay with her. She wasn't sure how she knew, but she knew he would.

"…Good." Was Naruto's response. His pace quickened a little, and Sakura had to fall a little more behind than usual for Naruto to realize he was going faster again. He slowed again, and seemed a little frustrated at their pace and what slow progress they were making. Temari was out there, missing, maybe dead. She might even be kidnapped, and Sakura was taking her own, sweet time. It was enough to make Naruto even more furious than he already was, which was hard to do.

"This pace is perfectly fine, Naruto. We'll reach Suna by mid-day no matter what." Sakura told her companion calmly. The boy was worried about Temari, she could tell. But why he was so worried, was beyond her. The only logical explanation she could come up with was that Temari was Gaara's older sister.

"I know that." Naruto snapped. He hadn't meant to sound mean to the pink haired girl, but he couldn't help it. Temari was gone, and nobody knew where she was. Finding Temari was his number one thing to do at the moment. He had to find her, even if it meant facing the devil himself. He had to do it.

Sakura frowned. The Naruto she had known was never this quiet and she could sense something different about his aura. He seemed… a bit dangerous… and it scared her. She had never really thought of Naruto as dangerous, but this new side to him was scary. Very scary.

Naruto wasn't paying attention to Sakura and her fears. He had one thing on his mind and one thing only. And that was Temari.

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A/N: DONE. FINALLY. X.x Took forever! Review!