Team 7 was getting out of balance, and Kakashi knew it.

Some might argue it was doomed from the start.

But there had been a moment before the Exams when everything seemed to be going well. The spark he'd seen in them had grown. They finally felt on track.

Then Orochimaru disrupted everything. He planted a seed of discontent that just might tear the team apart if something wasn't done very soon.

So the day after Tsunade's inauguration, Kakashi finished his solo mission in record time and called a team meeting for the very next morning. He had no solid plan yet for re-establishing the team's camaraderie, but some group training would be a start.

Kakashi arrived at the designated training ground. He looked up from his book and frowned. Any hope that they'd bonded while he was gone flew away the moment he observed the scene in front of him.

Sasuke was sitting underneath a tree, arms crossed and face like a steel door, glaring in the other direction. Sakura sat near him, but not so near it would force him to move. When she saw Kakashi, she stood up, dusting grass off her shorts. The third and loudest member of his team was nowhere to be seen, which was somehow the most conspicuous part of all of it.

"Kakashi-sensei, you're late," Sakura said, though without the indignation she usually put into it. She looked pleadingly at him and then looked back at Sasuke.

Kakashi sighed. Rather than reconnecting with one another, their rapport seemed even worse than before. He had only been gone for a day and a night. Had they managed to have a huge falling out while he was gone?

He looked at Sasuke, who stoically ignored him. Even though Tsunade had deemed Sasuke physically fit enough to be released from the hospital, she had suspended Team 7 from doing missions until Kakashi could evaluate their readiness to return to action.

Which is what he planned to do today. The problem was, it would be difficult to asses his team with only one and a half of his team members present. (Sasuke honestly didn't look entirely there.)

"Yo," he said with practiced laziness. "Where's Naruto? You three didn't have a fight, did you?"

"No, sensei," Sakura said, sounding confused. "I haven't seen Naruto since we said goodbye after Tsunade-sama's inaguration. Have you, Sasuke-kun?"

"No," Sasuke said shortly. "Knowing him, he probably mistook the place. Or the day."

Kakashi closed his book and slowly tucked it into his back pouch. "Neither of you saw him yesterday, at all? Even though all three of you had the day off?"

Sakura crossed her arms. "It is kind of strange. He's an idiot sometimes, but I don't think he's ever been later than you for one of our meetings, right, Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi considered. "I'll go check at his house. If it takes me longer than half an hour for me to drag him back here, you're both dismissed, but expect to hear from me again sometime today."

"Okay," Sakura said, while Sasuke gave an eloquent snort.

Kakashi hesitated, wondered for half a second if it would be better just to wait, but then turned away from the training ground set off toward Naruto's apartment.

He took to the rooftops, brows knotted together in consternation. It really wasn't like the knucklehead to skip a team meeting, especially since it had been so long. Kakashi knew better than anyone how eager Naruto was to get back to doing missions.

In a matter of minutes he was at Naruto's front door, tapping languidly. He jabbed at the doorbell a couple of times, hearing it buzz within the apartment. He waited a few minutes, but there was no response.

Okay then. Kakashi was seriously starting to doubt his student was at home, but he decided to go check at the bedroom window anyway. If something had happened he didn't know about, it was possible Naruto could be refusing to answer the door out of sheer stubbornness.

Kakashi crawled around the side of the building to the balcony off Naruto's room and peered into the bedroom window.

Only to find, to his slight confusion, that Naruto was simply laying in bed. He was sprawled out with half of his bedcovers in the floor in his usual chaotic way, but his face was relaxed and blank. He wasn't snoring or twitching or generally being the bundle of energy that he was at all times, even while sleeping. Was he sick?

"Oi, Naruto." Kakashi slid the window open and hopped down to the floor. "Rise and shine. We have work to do."

Nothing.

Even when Kakashi closed the window with a snap and kicked the bedcovers the rest of the way off him, Naruto didn't wake. Not a twitch, not a grumble. His eyes didn't even move under his eyelids.

"Naruto?" Kakashi called, a tinge of worry slipping into his voice. Was this some kind of prank? But even he knew that this wasn't the kind of pranking Naruto liked to do. He didn't make others worry for his safety intentionally. He cherished the care of others too much to abuse it like that.

"Naruto," Kakashi said a bit more forcefully, shaking his shoulder. Naruto's head rolled from one side to the other, but his expression didn't shift in the slightest. He couldn't fake this level of insensibility if he tried, Kakashi realized. Something was very wrong. He felt Naruto's forehead and the sides of his face. His cheeks weren't overheated or flushed with fever. They were icy cold.

"No–" the word slipped from Kakashi before he even realized it. It felt like all the air in the room had suddenly vanished, constricting his chest tightly, making it difficult to breathe.

He leaned to poise his ear over Naruto's face. He couldn't hear him breathing. He pressed his ear over Naruto's heart. He couldn't hear it beating.

Kakashi's thoughts were running all over one another, but he forced himself to try to calm down and block out everything and listen with all of his might.

Nothing. No—there was something. It was very faint, but he thought he could hear a heartbeat. It lobbed frighteningly slowly. But Naruto was alive. Barely.

Without wasting any more time, Kakashi scooped up his student's small body and left via the nearest exit, the window. He wasn't going to the hospital. Protocol be damned, he would see the newly instated Godaime Hokage right now, and no one was going to get in his way.

Tsunade looked up sharply when someone barged into her office without knocking, half-prepared to give them a tongue-lashing, but the words died in her throat when she saw the usually unruffled Kakashi out of breath, desperation clear even on his masked face.

"Kakashi, what–" She stood and walked around her desk toward him. Her eyes jumped to the preteen gathered in his arms and she felt her stomach drop down to her shoes. Naruto looked so pale. Still. Dead.

Tsunade could feel the room around her getting farther away. Everything felt strange and distant. She dimly saw a pair of trembling hands that looked like her own touch the icy skin of his face, tracing the whisker marks.

She was cursing herself, but numbly, somewhere far in the back of her mind. She should never have given him the necklace. Never should have formed an attachment to another all-too-mortal being. How stupid, to be lured into a false sense of security again.

"He's alive, Tsunade-sama," Kakashi said urgently, pulling her back to reality. "Please, you have to do something, or..."

Suddenly Tsunade could feel the ground underneath her feet again. If there was a chance, she would not fail. Not this time.

She put her glowing palms over Naruto's chest and discovered the weak, sluggish heartbeat. She moved her hands over him, checking the other organs and his chakra system.

"There is no physical damage," she said in a clipped, trembling voice. "but his chakra system is almost entirely empty. His levels are so dangerously low that he can't wake. He barely has enough energy to keep his vital organs functioning. And... I can't feel the Kyuubi at all."

Kakashi didn't look surprised. No doubt he'd already come to his own conclusions.

Tsunade forced herself to continue. "How long has he been like this?"

"I don't know. The last time Sakura and Sasuke saw him was the night before last. It could be over twenty-four hours."

"We're taking him to the hospital." Tsunade turned around to her assistant, who was watching with widened eyes. "Shizune! Find out where Jiraiya is. Send him a message to report back here immediately. I want to know what he's found about Akatsuki's movements. Kakashi, follow me."

Kakashi followed after her silently. The unspoken hung heavily in the air between them.

When they made it to the hospital, Kakashi laid Naruto gently down on the hospital bed and backed up as Tsunade barked orders at the several nurses that were milling around. No one told him to leave, so he faded quietly into the background. It was highly improbable that a guard was necessary at this point. If someone had managed to extract the bijuu from Naruto—never mind how, that was a question that would come later—they most likely didn't care whether he lived or died. Without the Kyuubi, he had no political or military value. Yet Kakashi stayed anyway, suspended in a state of morbid fascination as the medic-nin fought to save his student's life.

He knew, and Tsunade knew, that no one in history had ever survived having their Tailed Beast removed from them. Ever. Yet they had to try, even if it was delaying the inevitable.

This was the first time that someone in his life had died slowly enough for him to contemplate the process. Kakashi couldn't say if that was an improvement.

He lost track of exactly how much time passed, but it was enough for several ANBU to come looking for Tsunade (who had, after all, skipped out on her work without warning). After berating the first two mercilessly for interrupting her, she posted them outside of the hospital door to tell others that there was a medical emergency and she was not to be disturbed.

Kakashi didn't move from his position leaning on the wall until all the other medical personnel were allowed to leave and Tsunade flopped down into a bedside chair. He came forward and stood there silently, waiting for the verdict. Naruto had on a breathing mask and was hooked up to so many other machines that he couldn't figure out what all of them were for. But the steady sound of his pulse on the heart monitor was reassuring.

"He is stable," Tsunade said tiredly, reading Kakashi's silence. "There is no telling when or even if he'll regain consciousness, but his life isn't in danger as long as his body keeps doing its job. Him surviving this long without any support at all is, frankly, miraculous."

"What exactly is wrong with him?"

Tsunade got out of her chair heavily. "Being perfectly honest... the Kyuubi is gone, and all but the bare minimum of Naruto's life energy is gone with it. Having the Tailed Beast taken... he should be dead already, but it seems he has his mother's resilience."

Kakashi narrowed his eye. "It had to be Akatsuki."

"Most likely. I hope Jiraiya will help us piece together what happened. He's supposed to be monitoring their movements right now. To think that they could get into the village and take the bijuu undetected..."

"What are the chances that Naruto will survive?" Kakashi asked, ignoring the vice-like squeezing in his chest.

Tsunade closed her eyes briefly before answering. "The life support will not work indefinitely, and he will not be able to simply recover. His body is essentially an empty shell. The only thing that might work is to recover the Kyuubi and re-seal it inside of him."

"Then we have to take the offensive against Akatsuki as soon as possible."

"Yes," Tsunade said, low-burning fury creeping into her tone. She turned and marched toward the door. "Now that I've done all I can do here, it is time to get back to work." She paused with her hand on the door handle and said softly, "You should inform the rest of your team."

Kakashi stood in the hospital room a while after Tsunade left.

What was he supposed to tell them?

For one thing, it was still illegal to reveal Naruto's status as a jinchuuriki to the younger generation. He didn't know if Tsunade intended on lifting that ban now—it was probably too early to even speculate. First they had to find out what happened, and how. For now, he supposed, Team 7 would just have to deal with partial information.

The whole time, Kakashi kept looking at Naruto's unnaturally still form on the hospital bed, covered with support and monitoring devices. The only sign he was still alive was the slow but rhythmic beeps from the heart monitor. Kakashi rested a hand on top of Naruto's head briefly, ruffling his student's blond hair, before turning to leave.

Kakashi blinked upon stepping out of the hospital's front doors. It was later in the evening than he'd thought, and the sky was already dark. It had taken a while to get Naruto to a point where his life wasn't in danger. For now.

Everything was business as usual in town as Kakashi loped down the street, though he could still feel the bright atmosphere of optimism left over from the instating of a new Hogake. There were more people out than usual, meeting with each other and chatting over food. No one was yet aware that the village might have been infiltrated and their bijuu stolen. The peace that they had gained after Orochimaru's attack could be shattered at any moment if the perpetrators decided to unleash the Kyuubi on the village once again.

If that happened now, while their forces were still spread thin trying to keep up with missions... it could very well be a disaster worse than the one that had ended the Yondaime's life.

When Kakashi reached the place where he'd told his team to meet, no one was there. Not surprising, considering he'd told them to go home.

He hadn't really expected them to be there—maybe he was just stalling, trying to formulate what to say.

He considered going to the memorial tablet to mull things over a bit longer, then decided against it. It wouldn't do to conflate the past and present any more than he already had. It was hard not to, with the persistent image of his young student laying there as if dead.

Kakashi started toward the nearest house, the Haruno residence. He only had to tap on the door a couple of times before Haruno Mebuki opened the door, warm light from inside falling out onto the doorstep.

"Oh, Kakashi-san! Sakura had just about given up on you. Sakura!" she called back into the house.

"I said I'll do it in a minute, Mom!" Sakura yelled back from somewhere upstairs.

Mebuki gave an aggravated sigh and turned around fully to call up the stairs. "Not that, you silly girl! Kakashi-san is here!"

"Eh?!"

"Aa... sorry I'm so late," Kakashi said, scratching the back of his head. "This shouldn't take long."

Sakura came thumping down the stairs, and Mebuki left the front step to let her pass by. Sakura stepped out onto the porch and closed the front door most of the way behind her.

Kakashi still didn't know exactly how he was going to explain everything, so it was just as well that Sakura spoke up first.

"Kakashi-sensei! Where have you been? We waited for you a while... then Sasuke-kun said he was going to go train since we weren't getting a mission... I went by Naruto's apartment, too, but neither of you were there."

"Right," Kakashi said, shifting his weight and putting his hands in his pockets. "Sakura... something's happened to Naruto. He's in the hospital now. It may be a while before our team is returned to active duty."

"Huh?" Sakura looked extremely confused for a moment, but then her pink brows scrunched together. "Was it Uchiha Itachi again? After Sasuke-kun just got out of the hospital?"

"No—well, we don't know," Kakashi amended. For all they knew, it was Itachi. Jiraiya had already thwarted one kidnapping attempt by him. "I found Naruto unconscious in his own bed. But so far, there have been no eyewitnesses to help us determine who attacked him, or when. None of the neighbors saw or heard anything unusual, and the barrier corps didn't detect any intruders entering or leaving the village."

"But... he'll be okay in a few days, won't he? Just like with Sasuke-kun?" Sakura frowned up at him. He could see the gears in her mind working, trying to figure out why an attack like this would fall on Naruto, of all people.

Kakashi sighed. He wanted to assure her that Naruto would be back to normal in no time, but that was a weak lie that would fall apart the moment they saw how many machines he was hooked up to. He at least had to be up front about that.

"No, Sakura. It's something much more serious than that. I hate to say it, but... there's a very real chance he might never wake up."

Even saying it like that was putting it mildly. Naruto wouldn't wake up, not until the bijuu was returned to him. That was an irreversible fact.

"Huh?" Sakura was clearly thrown. "But—wait, Kakashi-sensei! What are you talking about? He was just... he was perfectly fine just a couple of days ago! How could he possibly be that bad off now? What could do that to him?"

Kakashi looked off to the side. "We have some ideas, but I can't say anything about that just yet. Nothing's been confirmed. You and Sasuke can visit him tomorrow. Tsunade-sama wants to monitor him overnight to make sure he's stable enough before she allows visitors."

"O-Okay," Sakura said uncertainly. "What did Sasuke-kun say about all this?"

"I still have to tell him." Kakashi turned to leave. "I'll keep the two of you posted on our team's status, as well. Later." He held up a hand in a light wave and stepped onto the street. He didn't look back as he started off toward Sasuke's apartment, but he didn't hear the door close. Sakura must have stayed standing there for a while.

It was getting even later now, and Kakashi considered waiting until morning to visit Sasuke. He probably wouldn't appreciate an intrusion this late, but even more than that, Kakashi had no idea how the young Uchiha would react. He had been especially closed-off lately, and Kakashi knew, perhaps better than anyone, what had been going through his mind ever since Itachi appeared again. He'd seen it so many times: shinobi who gave themselves over to revenge to the point where nothing else mattered.

He did a good job of hiding it, but Sasuke's attitude toward Naruto in particular had undergone a change. Jiraiya told them how Itachi had brushed Sasuke off for the sake of hunting Naruto. It was a twisted kind of jealousy, to be sure, but understandable. Having planned his moment of revenge for years, only to be ignored in favor of Naruto for a reason he didn't know... how would Sasuke feel about losing his teammate to those same mysterious circumstances?

But before he knew it, Kakashi's feet had led him to the front door of Sasuke's apartment.

He sighed. Might as well get this over with.

"Oi, Sasuke, it's me. Sorry I'm late," Kakashi called, knocking on the door.

There was no response at first. Maybe Sasuke had gone to sleep already? Kakashi was about to try again, without much enthusiasm, when the door cracked open.

At first, all Kakashi could see was a bright red Sharingan eye glaring out of the darkness. But then the door opened wider, and Sasuke's glare smoothed into a neutral expression, eyes shifting back to normal. Kakashi quickly noted the kunai he held behind his back, as well as a few small bruises and scratches on his arms.

"What happened? Did you get into a fight?" Kakashi asked sharply.

"It's nothing." Sasuke sounded tired. "Are we returning to missions soon, or not?"

"You might not like this." Kakashi paused. "Our team has been suspended indefinitely. But given the state of things right now, it probably won't take long before we're given new assignments to fit our reduced firepower."

"What are you talking about?" Sasuke started angrily. "I'm—"

"It's not you," Kakashi interrupted. "Naruto's been attacked. He's in the hospital now. I can't give you the details yet, but you and Sakura will be able to visit him starting tomorrow, if you want. It might be a while before he can recover."

Sasuke's fists clenched. Just like with Sakura, Kakashi could see the young Uchiha's mind working, trying to comprehend the reason someone would go after Naruto. His students were all so easy to read, still—how could he know their thoughts, yet remain unable to do a single thing to help them?

"Why..." Sasuke started in a low voice. "Why him? What's he got to do with anything? Tell me what happened."

"I'm sorry. I can't."

"Why?"

"We don't know all the details yet. But we're doing everything we can to find out what happened and who was responsible. For now, you'll just have to accept that."

Kakashi knew telling Sasuke to accept something was about as futile as trying to stop the sun from rising, but he knew enough to piece the truth together himself, more or less. The bigger concern is what he would do after realizing this was probably the work of Akatsuki.

Sasuke glared up. "You said it might be a while before he can recover. What do you mean by that? What's wrong with him?"

Kakashi sighed. "To put it very simply, Naruto's life energy and chakra have been almost completely removed from him, leaving his body an empty shell. He has just enough to stay alive, but he wouldn't last long without support. And before you ask how it happened, that's exactly what we're trying to figure out. You can see him tomorrow. Tsunade-sama wants to give you a final checkup, anyway. Our team has been unlucky lately, hasn't it?"

"...Aa."

"Okay." Kakashi took a step to the side, turning to leave. "I'll see you, then. And I'll let you guys know about missions when I hear anything."

Sasuke remained silent as he left. Kakashi didn't believe for a second that the boy was satisfied with his mediocre explanation.

But he certainly understood the most important part—Naruto could easily die, and there was very little any of them could do about it now.

Their most hyperactive team member was sometimes idiotic and often annoying, but he had always been a constant. For all of them.

There were no guards posted at the hospital.

But then, who would come after a half-dead kid now, when there had already been plenty of opportunity to finish him off? It was easy for Sasuke to sneak onto the grounds and find the long-term care room where Naruto was being held.

There was a medic in the room when he arrived, checking all the data on the machines and jotting it down. Sasuke waited until they replaced the bed's clipboard and left before quietly opening the window and stepping down into the room.

Kakashi hadn't been exaggerating. Even if the severity of Naruto's condition wasn't made completely obvious by all the machines and monitors he was connected to, the Sharingan could see just how faint and weak his teammate's energy was. Normally he was brimming with it—now he could barely be considered alive at all. He stepped closer and looked down at Naruto's unusually pale, still form.

It wasn't fair.

Sasuke still didn't know which of them was stronger. He didn't understand Naruto's strange power, and he didn't know why Itachi came to the village specifically to seek it out. He had just begun to realize that he'd misjudged some things, and now he'd lost the chance to find out for sure. It was the only thing left to do before leaving.

Someone had taken that chance away, and Sasuke didn't know why, and it angered him. Everything about it angered him.

But worst of all was wasting time here right now, instead of going to meet the guides that would take him to Otogakure. They wouldn't wait for him forever.

But Sasuke told himself the true reason for coming here was far more practical. Even if it meant he would never know the truth, there was still one thing left to be gained from their friendship.

He gripped the wrapped handle of the kunai in his hand tightly. No more stalling. He needed those eyes... and if Naruto was done for anyway, why not put what remained of his life to good use?

Sasuke poised the knife over his friend's body, the carefully maintained metal shining as it hovered near several vital organs. It would be so easy. There was no one around, and Naruto was completely defenseless. He wouldn't even feel it. There was no better time than now.

He could almost hear Itachi's voice in his ear, egging him on.

There's no reason to hesitate. Without eyes like mine, you'll never be strong enough.

You won't even stand a chance.

You're weak.

Hatred surged in Sasuke's veins so powerfully that the knife shook. He wanted to rip apart the very image of Itachi inside his mind.

But…

How satisfying would it be to kill him using the power that he told Sasuke to gain himself? Even if he won, it would still be losing, in a way. Was that why he had suggested it? Had he known it would ruin Sasuke's desire to gain that power at all?

It didn't matter. When the time came, he would be strong enough.

It wasn't necessary to follow everything Itachi said.

He would gain power in his own way, to prove without a doubt that he was the stronger one.

Sasuke put the kunai back into the holster strapped to his leg. He took a few steps backward before leaving soundlessly, sparing no glance behind as he went out into the night.

It was early morning, and Kakashi stood in front of yet another door. This time, it was the office of the Hokage.

Kakashi knocked.

"Come in."

Kakashi entered the office and saw Tsunade standing near the windows. Jiraiya was beside her.

"Kakashi!" Jiraiya greeted in his usual jovial tone, but it was with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. Kakashi recognized that look. It was the same one he wore when Minato and Kushina died. Tsunade had obviously already informed him about what happened.

"Jiraiya-sama." Kakashi inclined his head. "It didn't take you long to get back here."

"I was already on the way back," Jiraiya said, crossing his arms. "I finished tying up some loose ends, and started back here to train Naruto. Or at least, that was the plan."

"Wait, so..."

Tsunade gave a brisk nod. "He hasn't heard anything about Akatsuki capturing the Kyuubi. Not a single clue to connect it to them, even though they have the motivation."

"From what I can tell, they're still taking bounties and doing mercenary work for whoever will hire them," Jiraiya added. "There hasn't been a peep out of them since Itachi showed up. I came to the conclusion they wouldn't be making any big moves for a few more years at least. That's why I came back."

"But who else could it be?" Kakashi looked between them. "We know they're hunting the bijuu. They're the only ones who would even be capable of taking it from inside the village."

"I don't know. Their lack of activity right now could very well be a front for something else," Jiraiya said. "All we can do is keep investigating. We can't afford to waste any time. How long do we have?" he asked Tsunade.

"I can't really say," Tsunade said softly, eyes downcast. "The way things are right now, his death won't happen suddenly. He might be able to last for years like that, as long as we can keep his body functioning. It's more likely he'll become too weak to fend off disease or infection, and succumb to one of them."

Jiraiya put a hand on her shoulder. "We'll save him. You'll see—before you know it, he'll be awake and complaining about all the time he has to spend in the hospital before we can start training."

Sakura sat next to the hospital bed with her hands folded neatly in her lap, watching the ever-so-faint rise and fall of Naruto's chest as he breathed. She looked at the clock sitting on the bedside table.

Where was Sasuke? He had yet to come visit, unless he had stopped by earlier on.

Sakura chewed on her lower lip, an ominous feeling twisting her stomach. That's what it always felt like when she thought of Sasuke these days. Ever since he'd gotten that strange bruise on his neck. Was he out training again? Did he not care if Naruto was in the hospital?

Sakura heard the door open and she looked that way quickly, half expecting to see their other teammate standing there.

But no. Tsunade walked in and picked up the clipboard hanging at the foot of the bed, reading over its contents.

"Tsunade-sama..." Sakura started.

"Hm?" Tsunade spared a moment to look up at her.

"Have you... seen Sasuke-kun at all today? I thought Kakashi-sensei said he was coming back one more time for a checkup."

"No." Tsunade carried the clipboard over to one of the machines and started jotting down a few notes. "If he doesn't want to show, that's fine. It was only as an extra precaution, anyway."

"Oh."

Tsunade looked up from her work. Sakura bit her lip and squeezed her hands in her lap.

"Why don't you take a break for a little while?" Tsunade suggested. "Maybe go to Sasuke's house and see if he'll visit Naruto, at least. Tell him he doesn't have to talk to me or anyone else if he doesn't want to."

"Mn. Okay." Sakura nodded and stood up to go. But she didn't leave right away. She looked down at Naruto one more time before turning to Tsunade again. "Tsunade-sama, why can't Naruto wake up? Kakashi-sensei didn't really explain it to me, but... but, everyone says you're the best medic-nin in the entire world. So, if you can't make him better, then..."

Tsunade closed her eyes briefly before looking at Sakura again. "Most of his life energy is gone. Even if he's healthy otherwise, he can't wake up unless it comes back."

"But how could it just go missing like that?"

"An enemy's jutsu, most likely. That's why we have to find out who is responsible and get them to reverse it."

"So... isn't there anything we can do? The rest of our team, I mean." Sakura rubbed the elbow of her other arm with her hand.

"Hm. I don't know." Tsunade gave a small smile. "For now, why don't you just work on getting the whole team on board with supporting him, alright? We'll see what follows from there."

"Alright. I'll be back soon!" Sakura took a deep breath and left the room in a determined stride.

It was evening, and Kakashi was wandering the streets.

They weren't any closer to figuring out who had attacked Naruto, why, or even how. There were still no clues to indicate that an outside party was responsible. It was as if the Kyuubi really had just... disappeared, and Naruto's essence along with it. Jiraiya decided to leave once again to further his investigation. As they had no other suspects, all he could really do was try to check up on Akatsuki again.

Kakashi's mind was numb from the constant speculation, as well as a lack of sleep. He decided to stroll downtown to the dango shop to take a break.

"Kakashi-sensei!"

He turned around to see Sakura jogging toward him, looking upset. No, not upset—frightened.

"Sakura? What's wrong?" Kakashi asked urgently as she paused, leaning on her knees to catch her breath.

"I went to Sasuke-kun's house to see if he would come to the hospital. But he never answered! I waited and waited... even if he didn't want to go, I don't think he would just—I looked around at all the training fields, too, but I could never find him. Kakashi-sensei—about that wound on his neck, and what Orochimaru said—"

Kakashi cursed colorfully. It was one thing after another. He had a bad feeling Sakura's suspicions were true. He'd wondered how Sasuke would react—but he hadn't expected him to pursue Orochimaru's offer so soon.

"Go tell Tsunade-sama about this," Kakashi instructed. "I'll check at his apartment again, just to make sure."

"We can't let him go to Orochimaru!" Sakura cried. "Someone has to stop him!"

"I understand. I know." Kakashi was hardly aware of what he was saying. "Just go find her. We might not be too late."

Sakura had tears budding in her eyes, but she nodded and ran off toward the Hokage tower. Kakashi rushed even faster toward Sasuke's place, feeling like he was chasing after a cobweb-thin thread flapping in the wind.

Of course it was too late. It always was.