Ok everyone, I know this second chapter came pretty quick. I wish I could do it that fast all the time. Between work and college I will try to get at least 1 - 2 chapters out a week. With that I would like to shout out to some of my reviewers for their kind words.
ZyiarHellsing: I loved working with the Tsunade character. She is such a volitile and unpredictable person who has all the cunning of a woman.
cardinalandgold: Thank you very much. I have been happy writing and happy everyone is enjoying it.
twilight dragon god: Those are the exact reasons why I chose to write one myself. There are many great stories out there that are just unfinished or the writer looses interest. As far as Hiashi goes, he is a clan head and he often lets that get in the way of his fatherly duties. He is not a bad guy, just a cautious one.
With that I would like to state that I do not own any part of Naruto, but if I did, Hinata and Naruto would have been the focus and lead characters from the battle with Pain on.
Tsunade sat behind her desk that was now located in a small building, the first to be erected, paperwork piled high on both sides and still more stacks littered the floor. A heavy burden weighed on her brow as she oversaw the reconstruction of the village. Work permits dominated the stacks, while other requests were still coming in from neighboring villages for assistance and job orders. The requests for assistance from others were always promptly denied as Konoha was under a restoration act. The Village Hidden in the Leaf would have to come first before they could even lend a hand to anyone else. What was on the Hokage's mind the most at the moment was the sudden disappearance of the village hero. It had been four days since he was last seen, and she has done her best to control the local rumor mills. She often attributed his lack of presence to a priority mission when others inquired about him. What is that fool thinking? she thought to herself. A knock came from the door across the desk. "Enter", was all she said with a tone that anyone seeking to speak to her would know they were more bothersome than what she wanted to deal with right now.
"Lady Tsunade, there is a toad here that wishes to speak to you", the messenger said in a quizzical voice. The presence of a talking toad obviously disturbed him.
Tsunade jumped from her chair knocking it over, "Bring him here immediately!" she bellowed with a slight smile. She only knew of one person now who can summon toads, and this would give her an idea of what her favorite knucklehead was doing. Impatiently she waited for the toad to enter, she straightened her chair and dreadfully sat down on it again as she knew the flatness of it was having a negative effect on her rear end. At last the door opened once more and in came a large toad, a red-orange color with purple spots, doing its best impression to walk like a human. "Gamakichi, what news do you have of Naruto? Is he o.k.? Where is he?" the question came in a tirade faster than most would be able to understand them.
As Gamakichi approached the desk he opened his large mouth, his tongue rolled out. Wrapped in his tongue and now laying on top of the desk were two forehead protectors each marked with the Hidden Leaf symbol. As she looked at them she felt tears forming in her eyes, her hand now covering her mouth as if to prevent flies from entering it. "Lady Hokage," Gamakichi spoke in a somber tone, "I have a message and it is the only thing I can speak of. I can answer no other question. The message is 'I'm sorry'". Sworn to secrecy by Naruto, who had summoned him, Gamakichi was only to say that one thing. Quickly for the safety of his own life Gamakichi disappeared in a puff of smoke, who knew what the Lady Tsunade would have done to him with her incredible strength.
With the disappearance of the toad Tsunade popped back into reality. The words I'm sorry rolled through her mind. Then she noticed it, Gamakichi was sent by Naruto, but why were there two headbands? The Hokage's eyes widened with a realization of what had happened. Quickly she grabbed two sheets of paper and began to write hastily. The entire time muttering aloud, "That selfish inconsiderate prick, who the hell does he think he is? If he thinks he is going to stick me with all this paperwork until the end of my days he has another thing coming. 'If' he survives the beating I give him for pulling such a stunt when he gets back, I'm going to make him Hokage as an added punishment". Finishing her lists she looks down at them to make sure she didn't leave anyone out only to notice the tears that were now staining the paper. She had been oblivious to the fact that she was crying the entire time. Making sure her face was dry and her emotions couldn't be seen openly she yelled "Get in here!" An ANBU officer flashed into the room and respectfully made a small bow to the Hokage. "Take these two lists. The people from the first one are to come to the meeting room in one hour. Those on the second list are to arrive one hour after that. This is top priority. There will be no one on those lists absent from those meetings. Whatever they are doing will be halted immediately. This is an 'S' class secret. No one on those lists is to know who is being called upon until they are in the meeting. And no one outside of this room is to know the existence of those lists or that these people are to be gathered. Once everyone has been notified of their orders you are to destroy any evidence of what I have told you. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, Lady Hokage". That is all that was heard before the ANBU officer vanished from sight.
Tsunade turned around and went back to her desk. Sitting in her chair she reached for her bottom drawer to pull out a small bottle of sake and took a drink. Thinking she would need a lot more before this day was through her mind wandered over events that had happened earlier in the week.
Five Days Earlier
"Why do you look so down Naruto? You should be happy and proud. You saved everyone in the village, and now they see the 'hero' in you that you always wanted" Tsunade said with a smile on her face trying to cheer up the depressed looking young man in front of her.
Naruto looked out the window of the make shift office and looked at the destruction that was now Konoha. "That was after Pain had destroyed our home, killed everyone in it, and then only as a mercy to me brought everyone back" the somber tone in his voice was more than apparent. Thinking to himself that if he had never been there then Pain would have never attacked and killed everyone. He then said, "It seems that no matter how strong I do become, people will stop at nothing to get at the power of the Kyubi that resides within me. How many more people must suffer until they do get ahold of me? When it happens again there will be no one there to bring everyone back, which was a one-time deal. They call me a hero now, when the next attack comes, whether I win or not, will they call me such as we bury their friends and family?"
Hearing the depression in his voice Tsunade made even more attempts to cheer him up, "Come on Naruto. Celebrate with me, have a drink" she said waving around a small bottle of sake she always had in her desk drawer. She knew full well he wouldn't take the offer but it was an attempt at trying to lighten his mood.
Slowly Naruto turned around and started walking toward the door, "No thank you Baa-chan. I just need some time alone". With that he left Tsunade leaning against her desk, being propped up by more of the paperwork than the desk itself.
Sighing she hoped that the young man would come out of his slump and accept the peoples praises of him as they all looked to him for hope and a brighter future. Noticing the bottle still in her hands she brought it to her lips thinking to herself, well I will have to celebrate for the both of us then.
It was about fifteen minutes and an empty bottle of sake later that she heard a large bang on the door and it swing open violently. Looking up from the stack of papers she was now sorting through she saw the Hyuga Patriarch burst into her office as if someone just stole is oh so precious, though skewed, honor.
"Sorry for the entrance Lady Hokage, but there is a matter that I need your utmost attention for" he bellowed in his most polite voice possible given the amount of anger that he was in.
An ANBU operative came in behind the man as the commotion that Hiashi created. With a wave of her hand Tsunade dismissed the operative and proceeded, "Go ahead and explain what is so important that would warrant you bursting in here like that".
With a slight bow as a show of respect, and hopefully some favor in getting assistance Hiashi continued. After his telling of events that transpired the previous day with his daughter Hinata he followed with, "That was yesterday Lady Tsunade. She has yet to return home and I fear for her safety. I have sent members of the clan to look for her over the last twenty-four hours and we have turned up nothing. I have also contacted all the friends I know she has associations with and much to my regret they have not seen her either. I ask for your assistance in helping to locate my daughter".
Tsunade was sure that she just received a very lopsided story from the man in front of her. This has obviously been a heated family dispute and his daughter had taken off to cool down and maybe put a little fear in her father at the thought of losing her. Even though she was sure things would work out in the end, Konoha and the surrounding area was still dangerous while the village is being reconstructed. "Ok, Hiashi, I will put together some people to look for her. If you should hear from her or she returns you are to notify me immediately so I may recall that team. We are trying to rebuild our home after all. Do we have an agreement?"
With a little less hostility in his demeanor he responded, "Thank you. I will let you know immediately if we have any information. Thank you Hokage-sama". And with that he bowed and took his leave making sure this time he closed the door quietly.
Present Day
Little did she know then what she was about to reveal now. Waiting in the meeting room nearly everyone had already shown for the first presentation. Just as Tsunade was about to lose her patience waiting for the last person to show, Kakashi strolled through the door with his favorite book in hand. Tsunade cast him an evil stare that forced him to put the book away. With that she closed the door. Raising her right hand her fingertips lit like they were on fire with a violet glow. She slammed her hand on the wall and a bright burst of violet color began to envelop the room. Kakashi sitting at the meeting table raised his one visible eyebrow and knew that something serious must have happened for Tsunade to have sealed the whole room from any prying eyes or ears. The rest of the people present were notably too young to be given such secret information before this time. Tsunade turned around with a scowl on her face and proceeded to the meeting table. Some of the people chose to stand or lean against the wall and a few others had chosen to take a seat. Reaching into her robe she produced the two forehead protectors that were delivered that morning. Throwing them on the table she spoke "These belong to two of your comrades". Everyone looked around guessing where this was going. Sakura gasped first as she realized who was missing that would have normally been present within a group like this. She raised her hands to her mouth and tears welled in her eyes as she suspected the worse. Everyone else grasped what she had learned just moments before. A small murmur started to erupt.
Slamming her palm back to the table to get everyone's attention she continued, "This is an 'S' class secret. No one outside of this room shall speak of what you few will know. For those of you who have not been privy to such secret information, the penalty for releasing said information will be death" Tsunade looked on with a cold stare just to make sure everyone was on the same page.
All of those that attended gulped at what they were about to hear. More than half of them were trying to decide if they wanted to claw their way out of the room so they couldn't hear. All in all they stayed their ground; this was their friends after all.
After a few worried looks that Tsunade saw across the room she decided to continue, it didn't look like anyone would opt to leave. "By now you know that those two forehead protectors belonged to Naruto and Hinata". She stood up straight so she could steady her own nerve, "No, they are not dead. I have a strong belief that they are alive and well at the moment. They were not captured or tortured but left of their own free will". Murmurs started around the room again. "This is why I have called you all here. This is a search mission, 'S' class, you will spend the next two weeks searching for your missing friends. You will be separated into groups with at least one tracker with you at all times. Neji, Kiba, and Shino will all be the trackers. Teams will be three members each while Kakashi will be in charge of all relayed information. No one in this room is capable of taking Naruto head on as we all know, so aggression is out of the question. Remember, these were your friends, they know your styles and your capabilities better than anyone else. You will have to think outside of the box at any hope of tracking Naruto".
There was a few minutes pause while Tsunade gathered herself for her next proclamation, one she dreaded to say or dare to imagine. "If the two weeks are up and we have not made contact with the targets, a declaration will be made that both Hinata and Naruto perished during a mission". Gasps came from the small group and some anger at the idea that they would give up on trying to find them. To bring order back Tsunade slammed her hand back on the table with enough force to cause splinters to start shooting from one of the legs. "Silence", she yelled. "From this day forward each of you will have an additional objective in that case. On any mission that you are assigned to you will continue to gain information on their whereabouts, and that information will be passed to me directly by word of mouth. Neji, I have a great understanding of why Naruto has left, Hinata on the other hand is another matter. Although, I can only imagine what has happened within the Hyuga clan there is definitely a correlation. Since you are a part of this mission and a member of the clan it is of utmost importance that this does not get leaked to anyone from your clan. You are also charged with handling rumor control for the clan. Any rumors being spread that involve Naruto and Hinata leaving together, or are involved in this together in any way, are to be dealt with. This goes the same for all of you if you happen to hear any gossip in the street. Squash it, this is a misinformation campaign."
Looking around with a deadly serious scowl on her face she stated lastly, "There will be no question and answer session for this mission at this point. Kakashi will assign the remainder of the teams. Now if you will all excuse me, my next pain will be in here shortly, dismissed". With that she turned to the door and removed the seal allowing everyone to leave. Knowing she had another appointment in a few minutes she stayed and sat in one of the chairs, rubbing her temples as if that would make the world a better place for her right now.
Noticing the forehead protectors were still on the table she proceeded to pick them up and hide them just as she had before. She didn't want the next group to come in with more questions than she was willing to answer. This matter would have to be handled with extreme delicacy. Just as she readied herself there was a knock on the door "Enter", she mumbled. In strode Hiashi and a few elderly gentlemen that were evidently from the Hyuga clan, most notably from their pale eyes.
As the members of the Hyuga clan sat in the chairs around the table Tsunade went through her plans in her head to keep this meeting as brief and uninformative as possible. When everyone was seated she started "Hiashi, you came to my office in a 'colorful' way a few days ago asking for my assistance in finding your missing daughter". Not a sound out of anyone, good this should be quick, Tsunade thought to herself. "I do have information on your daughter, but in exchange I have a request that must be met without exception". Now it started, murmurs between the Hyuga council. Oh how she hated those old prehistoric fools. Looking to Hiashi who had not whispered a single word nodded for her to continue. His answer would determine which version of the story she would give them. "When you asked for help you said it was over a family and clan dispute you had a disagreement on. This resulting in her running away from your compound, am I right?" Still in his stoic manner Hiashi nodded again. "Then the request is this, I want to know exactly the reason for her disappearance. What this so-called dispute was about? She is one of my best kunoichi and I want the truth in its entirety. No vague answers this time".
Hiashi hid his surprise well from the Hyuga council; he knew what game Tsunade was playing. To get the whole story about his daughter he would have to suffer a little humility in front of the clan for not handling his own family matters. Despite how stern he appears to be, he cares for his daughter with more affection than he is allowed to show in front of others, this is largely due to his position as the head of the clan. To see his daughter home safe and sound, he would do this. With all the regality he could muster he retold the tale of the last time he had seen Hinata.
Tsuenade's anger was evident on her face while she listened to the recalled memories of Hiashi. To her surprise she was not sure which made her more ill-tempered. The way that Hiashi had tried to exploit his daughter without considering her feelings or the fact that the rest of the council had leaned in closer to Hiashi to grab every morsel of gossip they could deem useful of discrediting him. After the head Hyuga had stopped talking Tsunade sat for a moment pondering over all of the information. It was then that a smirk rose at the corner of her lips, something that Hiashi must have noticed. He started to look a little more uncomfortable as he saw something in the woman that could be described as maniacal pleasure coming from her eyes. This group of ancient pompous windbags who looked down on a lot of society was going to get it and she was happy to do it.
Tsunade then stood to make sure she got the point across, "What you have heard in this room from the time you entered to the time you walk out this building is considered an 'S' class secret and will not leave this room. You will not discuss it with anyone else. This includes members in your homes, wives, sons, daughters, and member of your family branches including the clan head. It will not pass your lips even upon your death, and in the event that I discover someone has revealed it, death will be the punishment". With that she looked to Hiashi who gave her a nod with all the meaning of a thank you for not allowing this matter to escalate the tension within the clan. "With that being said, no one will act on the information that I am about to share. The penalty for this will be the same". With that statement there was almost a unified groan in the room, as if an eight year old just realized they had lost their favorite toy. Tsunade turned around and started walking for the door.
"Lady Hoka.." Hiashi was cut off by the sound of metal clanking on the table. Everyone looked up toward her with bewilderment as to why she would throw two forehead protectors onto the table.
Before she reached the door she looked back at those staring at her, "Hinata is with Naruto. They have been gone for the past three to five days. I don't think they intend to come back". With that she walked out the door to be accompanied by Shizune who had a wicked grin on her face that was only matched by the one on Tsunade's. What kind of backwards ancient land do they think this is? Attempting to force a young woman to marry against her will, she thought to herself. She had the last laugh in the end. The one thing the members of the Hyuga council hated the most, it was to have information that could possibly get them more power and influence but never have the capability to use it.