CHAPTER SEVEN

A/N: The Home front in a time of distress.

_FURY_

Ino & Sai.

Ino sighed shakily, running a hand through her hair roughly. Her usually perfect ponytail was knotted at the scalp and loosened at the base from the constant attention she was giving it. Pieces of hair had been pulled from the hairband, flowing erratically from her scalp where she had been pulling at the ends.

"We haven't gotten anything!" She growled in frustration, tears forming at the edge of her eyes in sheer frustration. "Where is she?!"

A hand gently landed on the top of her head, gently running along her hair, patting down some of the knots and alleviating some of the tension in her mind.

"I do not believe putting so much pressure on yourself is helping the situation. Your jutsu relies on a strong mind. You need to rest your thoughts, Ino-chan."

Ino looked up at the man beside her, "Sai." She whispered, "I know… I just…" She took a deep breath, "I need to help."

Sai nodded, "I feel similar." He looked at the woman, "I do not know Hinata as well as many of you, but she has always been pleasant to me." He nodded to himself, "I feel.." He squinted as he looked for the word he was looking for, "discomfort, in knowing that she is missing. Especially considering her condition."

"I can't imagine how Naruto is feeling right now." Ino walked up to the door to her home. "I wish there was something we could-"

A hand on her arm stopped her from finishing her sentence.

Sai had grabbed her gently but with an urgency that made her pause.

"Someone is here." He pulled her behind him, opening the door in her stead and walking into the room. "Stay behind me."

Ino nodded blankly and followed behind him.

Two men lay tied up on her living room couch, bloody and bruised from some sort of scuffle. The larger one was covered in chakra burns, the other seemed mostly okay, frozen in fear. Sai took a quick step forward, assessing the situation. The thin, purple haired man was breathing heavily, seemingly terrified from whatever it was he endured. The darker skinned man was passed out. Sai wasn't sure how long they had been tied there, but he did have a familiar chakra hanging malevolently around them like they were being haunted by a ghost.

Naruto's chakra.

"I think this is a gift for you, Ino-chan," Sai surmised, putting all the information together.

Ino rolled her eyes at the unemotional man, "Clearly," She huffed, walking toward the man. "The question is," She gently stepped past Sai, placing a gentle hand over his arm in comfort, "Why did Naruto send them to me?"

Sai looked over at the men, opening his mouth to speak before he was interrupted.

"I-I told him everything!" He stuttered, his voice choked with fear, "I- d-d-on't know anything else, honest!"

Sai's eyes narrowed. "Who are you?"

"I… I… We were just meant to take her. We were paid to do it! I gave the money back!" His words came out so fast it took a second for Sai and Ino to process this information.

"Who are you?" Sai asked again.

"T-Takumi. This is Ran," he gestured to the passed out man beside him. "We were paid to take the wife of the Hokage. That's all I know!"

"Paid by who?"

"Please, please let me go!" He cried desperately, "I don't want him to come back. I'm sorry for what I did! I'll do anything."

"That isn't an answer."

Ino put a hand on Sai's shoulder. "It's okay. I've got this." She told him, "Questioning him will take too long." She took a step forward. "Naruto sent him to me for a reason."

She was exhausted, but realising that Naruto had placed an integral person in front of her gave her the motivation to pull herself back together. Finally, she thought to herself, A lead. After so long spent feeling like she was running around in circles, gathering pointless information and reaching dead end after dead end. There was finally something substantial. And they were standing right in front of her.

She could finally do something to help.

Taking a breath, a flurry of hand signs flowed from her fingers.

She turned to Sai, "I'll get all the information from them."

She turned back to the man.

"Looking through memories is a particular skill of mine."

_FURY_

Shino & Kiba

He had been sitting there for a long time.

Kiba took a deep breath, watching the Aburame meditate on the floor of the Uzumaki household, trying to sense where Hinata had disappeared to. He had contemplated interrupting his best friend for a while now. Kiba knew it, and Shino knew it… This wasn't working.

But he didn't want to face the truth, and watching Shino, Kiba knew he didn't either.

Taking a breath, Kiba finally opened his mouth to speak.

"I know." Shino interrupted him before he could even voice his thoughts.

His eyes opened and he glanced at Kiba.

Shino looked tired. His eyes were tinged red with stress and over-use. His clothes were wrinkled and unwashed and his usually perfect posture was curling with exhaustion.

"I feel so… useless." Shino spoke as if to himself.

Kiba waited for him to finish. Shino was never the type who liked to admit defeat – admit any kind of weakness, really. He was a hard worker, and worked hard for anything he did. But this always proved worthwhile. He worked hard because he knew that that was what would create success.

There was no success here.

"I can't sense anything." He stood up from his seated position, bones in his knees and his hip cracking loudly as he moved for the first time in a while.

Kiba nodded, "It was worth a try." He tried to say it supportively, but it came out tired and resigned. "That's okay, we just need to pull our socks up and try something else."

Shino sighed loudly.

"If only we had other ideas."

Kiba took a breath, trying to find something reassuring. "Well," He tried to collate her thoughts, "You can't sense her. Which means she is not in the village. That's something."

Shino sighed loudly. "It's not-"

"I know." Kiba sighed. He was just as frustrated as Shino. He had tried picking up the scent of the guys that took her but it lead to a dead end. Her scent must have been masked once she left the house. He had followed the scent of the two men to Ino's house, and saw that she had them under control… but Hinata… her scent disappeared.

He had found the drop-off point just outside of Konoha. This must have been where the kidnappers transferred Hinata to… well, her other kidnappers.

But there her scent disappeared. And he couldn't smell the other kidnappers at all. Not even Akamaru could smell any other scent in the area, so whoever it was knew how to mask their scent.

So He and Shino travelled back to the Uzumaki home to try and come up with another way.

Shino tried to find her with his insects but couldn't sense her anywhere.

Kiba sighed angrily, trying to stay positive but feeling overwhelmed with his frustration. "We're her teammates. We should be able to find her. It's our job to keep her safe."

Shino nodded, "I know. Therefore we cannot give up until she is found." Shino turned to face his friend, "We know Hinata will not give up and we must not give up on her."

Kiba nodded, standing to his feet and flexing his knuckles, "You're right. So what's our next plan."

"Well," Shino began heading out the door, "We know she is not in Konoha, so we must start looking outside of Konoha."

Kiba nodded, "You're right. He might be able to hide her scent and her chakra trail, but someone must have seen something."

Shino nodded, "Let's go."

_FURY_

Sakura

Sakura leaned over to throw up into the bathroom toilet of the hospital. She didn't feel right, spending all her time in the hospital when now both Hinata and Naruto were missing.

She was also feeling pretty terrible with morning sickness, and her mental state wasn't enjoying the extra stress of her missing friends.

And Sasuke was still on his mission wherever the hell that was. He couldn't even check in and see that she was okay… or pregnant.

Sakura stopped. She took a long, meditative breath.

She wasn't angry at Sasuke. She wasn't angry at anyone except the people who kidnapped Hinata. She was just a hormonal pregnant woman missing her husband and worried about her friend.

And she was stuck working at the hospital instead of helping her friend.

She begged Shikamaru to take her off duty so she could help, but he reasoned with her that she was still needed working at the hospital. The way he looked at her made Sakura wonder if he was suspicious of her pregnancy, but with Shikamaru she could never tell. He always kept his cards close to his chest.

Either way, she felt like there were better things for her to be doing than helping patients.

A knock on the door interrupted her from her thoughts.

Speaking of, Sakura grumbled to herself, placing a smile on her face as she prepared for her next patient. "Come in!"

It took a few seconds from the lady to shuffle her way into the room. A large protruded stomach making her movements slow and careful.

Sakura smiled gently at the woman, reminded of Hinata. Eight months pregnant was a beautiful thing on a woman. But they certainly weren't quite as fast or as efficient as they used to be.

"Good morning Doctor Haruno."

Sakura greeted her with a smile as her husband walked in after her, shutting the door quietly behind them.

"It's lovely to see you again Mei, you look as wonderful as ever," Sakura smiled, gesturing for the woman to sit down on the chair provided, "How are you feeling?"

Mei smiled back at her, "As well as I can be in this position. I feel like I can't do much for myself anymore but Kaito has been wonderful picking up my slack."

Her husband rolled his eyes behind her, placing a hand on his wife's shoulder. "Mei is far too concerned with what she is not doing around the house." He chastised his wife, "She is growing Konoha's future in her stomach. I think that is far too much work for one woman. She should be doing less!"

Sakura smiled at the two. "You're absolutely right, Kaito-san. She needs to relax and focus on your child. A wonderful addition to our village," she proceeded with the check up.

They were doing wonderfully. Mei was in great health, and looking after her baby by eating well and keeping up with her exercises. Kaito was looking after everything else so she could do this, and Sakura was happy to see their relationship working so well.

This baby would grow up in a good home.

Sakura smiled to herself.

Growing up in a good home would mean that this child would be an asset to Konoha – no matter what profession they ended up in.

Love tended to breed more love.

It was a beautiful thing to see.

Sakura watched the couple leave the room once she carefully completed the check up. Watching them really made her miss Sasuke, but at least she was helping somebody.

Maybe, she thought to herself, I am needed here.

Sakura stretched her knotted muscles, trying to clear out some of the aches and pains she was feeling.

It wasn't what she particularly wanted to be doing, and it wasn't directly helping Hinata and Naruto, but the village needed her to keep working.

The couple closed the door on their way out.

For them.

_FURY_

Neji & Tenten

"We know recent events have been a shock to our system, but we must continue on as normal. We will pick up the slack for the shinobi Shikamaru-Sama has sent out in search for Lady Hinata, and we will remain calm and diligent during this time," he looked over the people in front of him, "We are Hyuuga, and we will not be broken by our missing leader."

Neji looked into the eye of every Hyuuga member in front of him. "We have a duty to this nation, and a duty to Hinata-Sama. Don't let either of them down." He raised his head and spoke with confidence, "Dismissed!"

Tenten stood next to him firmly as Neji Hyuuga's kin slowly disappeared out the various doors. It wasn't until every Hyuuga had left to their assigned tasks that he took a deep, struggled breath.

"You did wonderfully." Tenten placed a firm hand on his shoulder, squeezing slightly.

"I don't know how she does it." Neji sighed slowly, "there is no way I can take her place – even temporarily. She leads this clan with a gentle and confident hand… I just can't do…"

"You're not Hinata." Tenten pulled at his shoulder until he looked her in the eye. "And she will be back. Hinata is a very special kind of gentle that not a lot of people can reciprocate. She leads this clan with a kindness and a compassion that only Hinata can. Hiashi could not lead the Hyuuga this way and neither could you."

Neji's eyes narrowed at the rude words, "I know that, Tenten! That's what I was just saying. I can't do what-"

"What I'm trying to tell you." Tenten interrupted him, "Is that you lead in a different way. And that's okay." Her hand moved from his shoulder to his jaw. "They need you to stand up. They don't need you to be kind and gentle. What the Hyuuga need right now, is order and structure. You are giving them that. You can be a great Hyuuga Head – and when Hinata comes back she will be impressed with how you have handled things."

Neji watched her silently for a few moments, letting her words and her expression sink into his system.

"You're right."

Tenten smiled, "I know I am. Now let's use this leadership to help find Hinata."

_FURY_

Lee & Choji

Choji paused as he passed the bench on the secluded side of Konoha.

Part of him wanted to keep walking, but he knew to never leave a friend in need.

"Lee, are you okay?"

The green-suited man was crying loudly on the park bench, his hands over his head in devastation. He wasn't quiet about it, not that Lee had ever been quiet in anything.

"I am distressed!" The green shinobi yelled to the sky loud enough to startle Choji as well as the passerbys within a 50 metre radius. "There is nothing so unyouthful as kidnapping a pregnant woman from her family! This is beyond dishonourable!"

Choji sighed, taking a seat next to the sobbing man. "I know, Lee. But it has happened. The only thing we can do now is get her back."

"How could anyone do something so horrible!" Lee threw his face into Choji's shirt, drenching the bigger man with his tears. "I can't believe it. Poor Naruto-kun must be heartbroken!"

Choji smiled sadly, "It is a horrible situation, I agree. So we've gotta do all we can to make sure she comes back safe."

Lee sniffed loudly, making Choji cringe at the state of his shirt. "Are you sure we can do that?"

Choji nodded, "Absolutely."

"Promise?"

"Konoha has the strongest ninja in the world." Choji gently patted the head of his friend, "There is nothing we can't do."

Lee nodded quietly, "The people who have done this to our precious lady will face the wrath of a thousand fires of hell." The man's voice darkened as he stood, "I will be diligent and focused until justice is brought forth. I am a servant of our mighty Konoha and I will ensure that nothing of this-"

Choji pulled Lee back to his bench. "Calm down, Lee." He didn't want to see the ninja explode or do anything stupid. Naruto was probably already on the path of vengeance, he couldn't let poor Lee naively throw himself into some journey of destruction. "I know this is difficult for all of us. But our job now is to make sure Konoha stays running and functional, and that we are all here when Naruto and Hinata get back."

"I just want them to come home!" Lee burst back into his distressed tears.

Choji choked on his breath. At least crying Lee was easier to handle.

_FURY_

Shikamaru

Shikamaru was dead on his feet.

He had been in this chair for far too long but he couldn't leave.

He needed answers.

His close-knit group of friends were standing in front of him.

He felt a little bit better about himself looking at the group. They all looked as exhausted as he felt. But this also made him feel horrible, because by the looks on their faces there hadn't been a whole lot of progress.

"So, you've got nothing then?"

Ino cleared her throat, "Naruto left me a gift. We have access to the men who kidnapped Hinata. They're alive – barely. I think Naruto kept them alive to make sure we got all the information. The two of them were terrified."

Shikamaru's eyebrows rose in shock, "You found Naruto?"

Ino's smile fell, "Not really. He left the guys tied up in my house for Sai and I to find."

Sai nodded, "Therefore we did not speak to Naruto, and are unsure of his intentions."

Ino agreed, "We don't know if he wanted us to have the same information he had gathered, or he wanted to ensure he had gotten all the information from the man who kidnapped Hinata. But, we have some information. Hopefully it's enough to get us somewhere."

Shikamaru filed the information away, "What information could you uncover?"

Ino shrugged sadly, "Not a whole lot. The men didn't know anything useful. They were paid to kidnap Hinata, and I've got a description of the man who paid the men to do their dirty work. He asked them to do the job and picked her up from him outside of Konoha."

Kiba nodded, stepping forward, "I traced her scent to the drop off point outside of Konoha, but this other guy must have been masking his scent. He must have masked Hianta's scent too when he picked her up, because neither I or Akamaru could trace her past that point."

"We searched the forests outside Konoha," Shino added, "But found very little. I spoke to the insects living in the forest, and am trying to find someone who saw the two of them and where they might be going. This may take some time but we're hopeful."

"I've got an idea," Neji stepped forward, bringing everyone's attention to himself. "It's a long shot, but I'm not sure we have anything else right now."

Shikamaru nodded for him to continue.

"Well," Neji went on, "Hinata's not the only person who has gone missing over the last few months." He looked over his friends, "all over the nation people have been going missing, and no one has been able to track the kidnappings yet."

Shikamaru ran a hand roughly through his untucked, spiky mess of hair. His ponytail had all but fallen out at this point, scruffy and pulling away from the loose hair tie. "Do we just assume these missing persons are related?"

Tenten stood forward, beside Neji, "I think what we are doing wrong is assuming that because Hinata is the wife of the Hokage that these missing persons cases are not related. We have a list as long as our arms of the amount of people that Naruto has pissed off over the years and we're too busy trying to narrow it down to do anything!"

The stand-in Hokage nodded, "This is the best lead we have so far," He turned to the group as a whole, "Look into it."

As a group, his peers declared "Hai!" together before disappearing from the room.

Shikamaru sighed as they left his office. He had thought about ordering them all to get some rest, but knew they wouldn't listen.

He definitely wouldn't have listened in their position, no matter how tired he was. Hopefully they could find something from this precarious lead. It was all they had right now.

Shikamaru brought a nail up to his mouth, but had nothing left to chew on. He didn't know what to do – he wasn't born for this. He was too stressed to truly think straight, and the whole situation was escalating to something he wasn't sure he could control.

Naruto – for sure – he knew he couldn't control.

But it was up to him to ensure that Naruto didn't truly lose his mind. Hinata needed to be found – and soon. The whole of Konoha was relying on this. If only he had some kind of lead. He hoped that this would bring back some connection; some solid evidence to where she may have gone.

He knew he sounded confident in the meeting. But the truth was he hadn't a choice. The other part of his job was to ensure his friends kept their heads on straight. He had to carry this burden for as long as possible, because once they began to freak out… it would go downhill fast. He had to fake positivity, optimism and some kind of confidence he didn't feel because he needed Hinata's safe return. He needed them to be sure that they can find something out of nothing.

Because Shikamaru had no answers.

He was truly grasping at straws.

Not that he had a choice –

It had been six days now since the Hokage's wife had gone missing.

_FURY_

End of Chapter 7.

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