Starlight shone brightly against the obsidian sky - shining down on the quaint village of Konohagakure. Crickets chirped happily among the flora surrounding and inside the peaceful town, their legs rubbing together making beautiful lullabies throughout the area. Almost every citizen of the village was nestled up in their beds warm and snug.
Almost.
In the back alley of one of Konoha's residences lie the villages infamous knucklehead ninja. He was curled up on himself in the fetal position, snoring on the rocky ground below him. Blonde bangs fell in front of his face hiding his closed eyes from sight. He had been sleeping there for a couple of weeks now - his apartment trashed while he was training with the pervy sage. He was lucky nobody had noticed yet… Or at least if they did they didn't bother to disturb him.
Kakashi trained his eye once more on the sleeping genin. He had a feeling Naruto wasn't his normal cheery self for some reason or another, although he didn't quite expect to the rambunctious idiot homeless. He wasn't sure if he should wake the teen up or not (after all, citizens are not allowed to just sleep on the street) but was did know he was going to watch the kid Incase something happened.
A branch snapped behind him signaling someone was close by. He looked over his shoulder and was greeted by Izumo. The chunin halted next to him, his eyes staring straight ahead to the sun-kissed troublemaker.
"He's been there for three weeks now" whispered the brunette. The sharing and user raised a brow. Since he's gotten back…. That long, huh?
"You haven't asked him to move yet?" inquired the jonin. The twenty-eight year old shook his head.
"Not yet. I would have but Id feels bad. He doesn't have a place to go, and he'd end up asleep somewhere else. Kotetsu went to lady Hokage and she said to wait until she can figure out what is going on" the water user replied, scratching the back of his head. Kakashi nodded curtly. Decision-wise it was a good call, as Tsunade cares about the blonde enough to help him if he was in trouble. If it were anyone else Naruto may have to suffer some consequences.
Feeling content the snowy maned man leaned back against the trunk of the oak he perched on. "So where is Kotetsu?" he queried. Izumo shrugged his shoulders. "It's not like we are attached at the hip. Sometimes we switch shifts." Well, that's new… those two are as thick as thieves.
"Well, I'm heading off. My team has a mission in the morning and I need all the help I can get" yawned the older shinobi. Izumo mumbled a loose goodbye as Kakashi took off towards his own apartment. With one last glance, the chunin observed Naruto's sleeping form before returning to his patrol of the east gates.
Sandal covered soles tapped against the silt pathway in irritation. Standing near the entry gates of Konoha stood Yamato, Sai, and Sakura -the girl impatiently tapping her foot against the ground. They had been waiting an hour -a whole hour- for the arrival of their teammates for that day's mission. They needed to get this done in three days (as it is a timed mission) and as far as the coral haired woman knew they had already wasted the entire morning standing around like some dumbfucks! Honestly, she was going to kill those two.
In a silent poof of smoke appeared the laid back jonin; the man holding his smutty novel in his hand. His right eye gleamed with mischief as he held up a hand to signal his arrival.
"I'm sorry, I was heading over here but I got-" The walker of shadows was interrupted by his former student's glare.
"Don't give me some lame excuse Kakashi-sensei! We don't have time… and where the hell is Naruto?!" the kunoichi fumed. Each of the men took a step back aside from Sai, who was ballsy enough to stand his ground with one of his fake smiles.
"Hm, Naruto should be here already…" And when I checked this morning he wasn't sleeping in the outlet.
"When I get my hands on him I'll strangle him!" Sakura seethed through clenched teeth, her bicep already tightening up. Kakashi threw his hands up in surrender at her vexation while Yamato let out a deep, audible sigh. Sai just smiled at her condescendingly.
As the girl continued to rant Kakashi narrowed his orbs in thought. If Naruto isn't here, and he's not on the other side of town then where could that knucklehead be? We would have been notified if he had gone to see Tsunade. The jonin was suddenly startled out of his pondering as one of Tsunade's aid caught them.
"Have any of you seen Naruto Uzumaki?" Shizune, who had appeared before them quizzed with a strained expression. Shocked they all remained quiet for a minute.
"No, we were actually just wondering the same thing. Is there a problem?" Kakashi managed to squeeze out knowing the answer already.
"What did that idiot do this time? I swear he just doesn't learn" muttered the pinkette. Shizune shook her head dejectedly. "We found Naruto's belongings scattered around the east side of the gate. It seems he abandoned his backpack during the night. When Lady Tsunade found out she decided for some of us to find him, but none of us can find him anywhere"
"Well, I'm sure he's around here somewhere?" Sai offered. Shizune shook her head yet again. "We looked everywhere, and…."
"...and what?" the lighting type asked warily. His gut clenched as he felt something noxious was about to come up. Dear kami… what did the hell happen between last night and this morning?
The obsidian haired woman furrowed her brow as she released her breath. "There is a sign of a struggle" she capped. Emerald widened at the revelation - Kakashi watching his student slip to her knees. "That...that can't be. Naruto is too… he's too strong to fall victim to an attack" mumbled the kunoichi as she processed the information. Both jonin noted the other before rushing off in the direction of the Hokage's office.
