MISSING PERSONS

Missing person's in the window
Staring at me
Saying things I can't hear
A missing person's in the window
Staring at me
Haven't seen them in years

First things first
Second in command
Right as i'm trying to change my plan
Second gonna die
Oh he can't breathe
Everybody's staring straight at me
You spend it all chasing those lies
I don't really wanna take that chance
I don't really wanna do that dance
I don't know what to do till you say
Oh I don't wanna let you go
But I can't keep holding on
Skies of silver, Stars of gold
And now you know just what you like

So far this love is all I have
So far this hurt is all I have

Missing persons at the window

Missing persons at the window*

"-Has just been caught after years on the run from authorities. There are five dead as of now. The ring was brought down after months of surveillance, the last piece needed was the downfall of Orochimaru Sannin after..."

The reporters served merely as background noise to the waiting area. The busy bodies of EMT's among other people running back and forth and in combination with the sirens was disorienting.

"I'm going to be home late" a man in blue uniform stood on his phone, he looked worn with bags under his eyes. His hand was in his pocket and he stood slouched.

"Yes, check in on him and go to sleep." He chuckled, smooth and stern,

"You're the one that wakes up early tomorrow...no...yes...you too. Okay yea, bye."

"Are you ready? Shikaku is waiting for you, lots of work to be done" A blond fellow cop came up to him and handed him a cup of black coffee.

"Might as well be. Is Tsunade done?" the man murmured catching his reflection in the surface of the coffee and let the burn of it wake him up, his watch said 1:34 a.m., he sighed.

"With some"

"Alright let's go"

*OoOoO*

Bleary eyes peeled open to the harsh blinding white of direct light. Someone groaned in the distance,...oh wait that was her.

It took a second to realize there was resistance and the heat of skin was gripping her temples.

"Stop squirming" a stern voice said, Sakura still adjusting to sight of clutter in such a small space. There was all sorts of medical tools around and they were all smushed in a small space. The idea seemed dumb to her, what if someone got violent?

"How do you feel?"

When Sakura finally got a grip she looked down and around and at herself, she wasn't in a gown, good but she was on a stretcher. The breeze of the outside was gently hitting her face and she recognized they were in the parking lot of the police station.

The lady was still watching her for a reaction, she was older with honey eyes and blonde pigtails, seemed crass and stern. The woman looking over her shoulder had short black hair and a worried expression on her face.

There was police officers littered outside the police station, talking casually and more ambulances parked in the same location as them. Their gazes were prodding, what did they want again?

"-istening? You're lucky it was only smoke inhalation and you didn't get a concussion when you knocked out."

"What happened? Where's everyone?" The women looked slightly surprised at her interruption but then not at all pleased at the topic of conversation.

"Inside the station", Sakura pondered this.

"Will I have to go into the station?"

"Yes"

Her head moved towards the sounds of the officers and reporters chit chatting and couldn't help but notice their excitement seemed out of place. A plastic cup of water was thrust into her face.

"Drink it, you're dehydrated" a thoughtful look crossed Sakura's face and she took it. She could feel the heat of their stares still on her, and a face popped in around the open door.

"Can we take her in, doctor?" the woman must have shook her head because Sakura grabbed the outstretched hand and hopped out of the ambulance, unprepared for the flashes that would quietly trail behind her.

*OoOoO*

The inside of the station was even more hectic than outside and all the words seemed to push and pull against each other morphing into indistinguishable babble. The reporters were going crazy, almost like frothing dogs. Sakura couldn't really say she was surprised when a pair of handcuffs found themselves around her wrists. She passed a series of doors with officers coming in and out as well as people in handcuffs she had never seen. There was a murmuring between two officers,

"Those all in the hideout were ordered to be placed separate" The officer nodded and lead her down a set of closed off hallway with two rows of individually isolated cells. She was met with curious eyes. Her eyes met each persons rattling them off like a list. The eyes feigning disinterest, Deidara. The truly uninterested eyes Sasori. The pissed off glare of a pair of eyes, Hidan...of course. And passively irritated eyes, Kisame... Her head looked to find Konan's eyes widen in surprise through the open slit and follow her movements. Konan.

Yahiko's voice floated to her through her right and she frowned,

"You came back? You should've run... damn kids these days. I didn't think you'd follow us to the cells." She could feel all their eyes on her as the officer opened the cell and took off the handcuffs. A fist banged on the door and Yahiko's face was smushed against the small slot.

"What are you doing? She's just a kid. Hey! Mr. Almighty Officer 'm talking to you"

The man reached over and slid shut the slot and nudging Sakura gently into the cell.

"Sorry kid, just protocol" he said before he nudged her in and she nodded in understanding. The door slid shut and an exasperated sigh escaped Sakura.

The cell was cold and bare, putting her head in her hand she plopped onto the slab that functioned as a bed seeing the world sway. Whoa, still too fast.

Silence reigned and she curled up a little in on herself. Okay, what now? There was no anger at the situation she knew one day the law would catch up with them, she had just hoped she would've been far away by then. Steady apprehension gripped her, she wouldn't withhold any information from the police, Yahiko and Konan were done for, she knew, but still she couldn't place the shadow of hesitation in the telling. I don't owe them anything she thought.

*OoOoO*

There was a profound sense of pride and justice at putting someone away. The Akatsuki had been such a problem for such a long time. They didn't surprise the force much anymore, Yahiko and his partner Konan had done everything far and wide and in between as far as criminals went. So after long hours of interrogation and playing mind games they froze up and ordered for their lawyer. For now, they would be in the cells, but he was certain there was no way they were getting out of there without jail time.

He had worked all through the night and exhaustion was setting deep into his bones and his work still wasn't done.

His coworkers were still in the process of interrogating Yahiko's eyes and ears, he himself had only managed to interrogate two of them before his chief had called for him.

*OoOoO*

The man's office always had a slight haze covering it, and in combination with him sitting in his leather chair it looked like he was up in clouds. The office was dark besides one lamp emitting a soft yellow light. He was mildly surprised to find Tsunade there, she only showed up when she was really interested. But of course, it did involve Orochimaru.

She raised her glass in greeting. Shikaku and Inochi were also in the room, standing (or in Shikaku's case slouching) and holding styrofoam coffee cups. Well, they were still technically on the jobs so he was assuming it was coffee. Everyone looked frazzled,..except for their boss but why would he? Thats what he's got us for.

Plopping down in a chair, stretching and slouching Hiruzen Sarutobi offered him a drink.

"It's 4:45 a.m"

"It's got to be 5 somewhere, Kakashi"

Tsunade grunted at the man in agreement and sipped her glass.

"Ahh, of course"

Puffing out smoke rings he reclined in his chair and his aged face molded into an expression of amusement.

"So, tell me, how have you been?"

A sigh escaped Kakashi and he took off his insufferable tie and lit a cigarette. His mentor wouldn't mind.

"The Akatsuki doesn't really surprise me anymore." He inhaled a bit, feeling the nicotine soothe him.

"I know what you mean."

The force had managed to bring down the heart of the organization, with officers still searching for the other locations. They had engaged in a shootout, people injured left and right. They we're lucky to even find the smaller groups they operated with, the Akatsuki was slick. Alongside with his chief it had taken hours to finally get over their mind games.

During the raid the force had managed to locate piles of drugs (those alone were impressive) guns, ammunition and even some small explosives. We still haven't found that warehouse, though

"They're going to be put away for a long time. It's good that we managed to get Orochimaru to cooperate" Hiruzen said and they silently agreed, pondering the significance of what had happened in melancholy.

"Whats going to happen to the kids?" Tsunade asked swirling her drink.

Still can't believed they moved to kids..., Kakashi thought breathing in a last drag before snuffing out the cigarette. Sarutobi didn't look up from his pipe.

"How were the kids?" He asked his officers, hands steepled in thought.

"Bunch of punks, as expected" Inochi drawled, thumbing through some files splayed out on the desk. Kakashi remembered the two boys he had dealt with before he was summoned, a blond boy and an intense redhead that stuck together like glue. They had appeared to be more favored than the others.

"Why were you in Deidara and Sasori's apartment?"

The boy had quite a mouth on him, and was all tricky lopsided smiles. He sat in the chair as if it was the most comfortable thing, curled up on top of it with his arms dangling over his knees. He was being a brat for the sake of being a brat.

"Cus they put me there" he said, a silent "duh" at the end. He hummed,

"Alright Naruto, did they ask anything from you, make you do anything you didn't want to?"

The boy read between the lines and burned red like a tomato, looking like he had bit into a lemon. He would've smiled at his fluster, the boy was very expressive.

"I-uh...what do you...wait. What?! No way! They never made me do that kind of stuff, and I would never even if they did"

"And your friend out there?"

"He's my partner...don't look at me like that- we're not together-together."

'He has a knack for digging himself into holes.'

Kakashi appraised the boy for a second,

"Naruto, do not like Yahiko? What was your relationship like?"

Naruto's head tilted and Kakashi found himself on the receiving end of his searching eyes. The cuffs jingled over his knees and the faint whiskers on his face stretched,

"I don't owe him a damn thing."

Kakashi chuckled, "rather cheeky they were too."

"That's sick though, take unwanted kids, brainwash them and make them dependent on you so they have nowhere to go?" Inochi mused. He looked absolutely worn out, clutching a cup of coffee. He had a daughter their age.

"It's twisted but smart" Shikaku said from his chair with closed eyes, everyone knew he wasn't really asleep.

After all who else was more exploitable than a child?

"To answer your question we are unsure at the moment, Tsunade. It comes down to their age, if they can go into the foster care system they will. If they're repeated offenders and of age they will face their crimes...but as of now the station is a mess trying to identify these kids, checking missing persons reports and trying to locate parents. They're not exactly bundles of daisies, either" he laughed fondly and Kakashi was reminded of a wise grandfather.

But it was true, as of right now they were still in the cells and the officers were working nonstop, high strung.

The blond boy had stuck out in his mind that he was living in one of the Akatsuki's personal apartments...and there was also another one.

"What happened to that girl?" Kakashi asked he had seen her walking around, only Sarutobi had interrogated her. He was shocked because she was the girl from the park, he never would've suspected her trapped in something like that. The thought made his stomach twist and turn, he could still see her face when she recognized him.

Sarutobi looked up at him and a lightbulb seemed to go off.

"Ah, yes quite the surprise she was. Apparently she had been living with Yahiko and Konan for years. She was very direct with her answers and didn't give any more information then what was asked...the relationship between all of them was rather strange as she was not involved in their activities and did not serve anyone in a sexual way. The holding officers told me they seemed rather fond of her."

"But why keep her if she has no purpose for them? All the other girls her age were in the prostitution ring" Inochi said.

"As of now I am not sure" Hiruzen asked. The silence from Tsunade was rather unnerving for everyone, she had a soft spot for kids like them.

" I was curious because even though most were not physically injured some suffered from malnourishment and they could have other illnesses that go hand in hand with that that we do not know of...it seems like a logical step for them to spend time in a hospital before being dumped into the system." Being the head of the cities hospital and a close friend of the chief of police gave her that kind of influential power.

Hiruzen observed his pipe,

"Very well then Tsunade, but we will have to do all the checks first before we send them your way."

She still wore her worried expression but nodded.

Tsunade looked at her watch and rubbed at her temples.

"Alright I'll have Shizune send you a list of all the ones I was worried about. I have to go, have to be back in a couple of hours." She got up and stretched, murmuring goodbyes.

"Tsunade" Sarutobi said and she turned, "don't stretch yourself too thin."

She smirked, lines of worry gone before closing the door.

"Could say the same for you, old man."

*OoOoO*

The cold of the bench had long since penetrated his skin and made his butt numb. Naruto was crammed alongside a bunch of other people in a dank, uncomfortable cell. So much for personal space. Some guy was almost on him.

His interrogation with that seemingly unfazed officer, he had kept asking about some warehouse? The whole process took longer than any of the others. Gaara had gotten bailed out. The tendrils of sadness and loneliness grabbed at him, just as he had been leaving his interrogation Gaara was being bailed out. That in itself was surprising, who would bail him out?

Well, Naruto wouldn't have expected his sister and brother to see flashes of him on the news and book it to the station. So Gaara had been let out, the only one able to make bail. He had been Naruto's closest friend, past his slightly unnerving character traits, they had saved each other's ass from death several times. Gaara himself didn't want to go with them but what kind of friend would Naruto be if he didn't encourage him? Gaara hadn't said much but gave Naruto a slightly pained expression and that was all Naruto needed, really. Maybe they would find each other once this was done with? So here was, alone once again, just him in a cell with bars and strangers.

The detention center held no appeal to Naruto, really but at this point he had no idea what the fuck was going on with all the officers running around with their heads cut off. Some kids had even been let out.

"Hey! The service here sucks! I asked for water ten minutes ago!" Some of the people chuckled at him and he knocked on the bars and pouted quickly slumping to the floor. He sighed, not wanting to think of anything when a shadow blocked his light. An officer was standing and looking down at him.

"Uzumaki?" Naruto nodded,

"Come on" surprised overtook his features and he stood up.

"Am I free?"

"You're going to the hospital"

The disappointment slowly settled again, for a wild crazy fraction of a second he had thought of his mother.

"Why?"

The officer ignored him and slapped another pair of cuffs on him, leading him out.

The drive to the hospital had been quiet as he was not the only one in the car. He was stuck between two people. 'It's come to the attention of doctors that you may need extra medical attention so you are being released into hospital custody for the time being.' The officers made it clear they were not up for conversation.

What does that even mean? Naruto felt fine. He distracted himself enough with the sight of the purple swollen skies out the window. The sun's coming up soon. The streetlights passed regularly and cast shadows over everyone in the car along with the headlights from other cars. The handcuffs were uncomfortable.

The main hospital was gargantuan in itself let alone the other sections that surrounded it. It looked fancy with benches and rows of flowers lining the entrance. As if that would help he scoffed. The car pulled up to hospital and after the officers spoke to a series of people and after being lead up and down halls and elevators Naruto wasn't sure where they were anymore let alone the point of why he was there.

"Alright, we will have someone set all you guys up" the nurse smiled but it faltered after lack of smiles returned.

*OoOoO*

Naruto had never been inside a hospital, well...he had never had to stay inside a hospital. So Naruto didn't really know how hospitals worked, but he knew enough he was in the pediatrics section. After much arguments with the nurses he found himself in a hospital gown. The white potato sack was just not doing it for him, any movement too extreme and he would be flashing the entire floor his underwear. The thought made him self conscious, and there was a lot of space inside the gown itself so he felt like he was exposed, regardless-flashing or not flashing. The only thing they had let him keep was his underwear and his socks.

The hospital and police station both shared the white, sparsely decorated, unfriendly look. Naruto wasn't sure what he was waiting for, the officers had left without so much as a goodbye but there were guards watching. His legs impatiently swung over the side of the bed and his eyes took notice of all the monitors and stuff he didn't care about. The dividing curtain was pulled back, he was completely alone in the room. The one thing that drew his attention and held it was the view of the city lights at such a dark time. He went over and the window itself was huge, I wonder if it opens.

There was slight rattling at the door and a woman came in. Naruto face her and recognized her as the assistant to the hag.

"Welcome back, Naruto. This place must be better than a holding cell, right? I'm Shizune" She carried a clipboard in hand and looked down at whatever was written there. She came over to him and his blue eyes eyed her wearily.

"Why am I really here?"

The woman looked slightly frazzled,

"Dr. Senju talked with the Chief of police and managed to get those extra medical attention who needed it."

"Dr. Senju? Who the...do you mean the old crow you were with? That old bitch?"

Shizune gawked at him and blatantly frowning at him.

"That is no way to talk about her, she is the head of the hospital and is giving you help" she reprimanded. Naruto tilted his head and slowly leaned back into the bed, sighing at his tense muscles relaxing and crossing his arms behind his head. "What? Just calling it like I see it and who asked her to anyway?"

He must have offended her because she no longer seemed all that friendly and Naruto more felt her than saw her besides him.

"Or would you prefer to be at the station right now?"

"I'm fine, really, I don't know why you think I need-"

"Look" Shizune had grabbed one of his hands, making his tense up and his eyes fly open. She was gripping his hand palm up and showing him his wrists.

"Easy bruising- and this much bruising-is a sign of vitamin C deficiency." No wonder the handcuffs hurt so much. There was a crack at the door and the old hag lady walked in. Naruto pulled his hand away.

"Well look who's back?" The lady seemed much more tired than what Naruto had remembered, or it may have just been the light. For a second Tsunade faltered because he was giving them such suspicious looks.

The bat looked at her clipboard. "Naruto Uzumaki. It's good we finally got your name since you were whisked away so quickly. All I had written for a name was 'that really annoying blond kid who wouldn't shut up.'"

"You wouldn't have shut up either if people were manhandling you left and right."

She smirked and it was kind of twisted.

"You must have been quite popular at the station, since you were located so quickly"

"I like to think of myself as a people person" he said, the corners of his mouth pulling up subtly. She rolled her eyes at him and flashed a light into his eyes and noted his clamminess.

"Dehydration", she observed his lungs and his back, posture.

"Malnutrition" she murmured. Besides that she couldn't find other things physically wrong with him.

"We're going to do blood work and see what we get" she told him and she pulled out a needle from seemingly nowhere. Needles didn't scare Naruto they just made him uncomfortable. He watched how the blood got sucked up and knew he was going to bruise there.

"Whats going to happen? he asked watching the intense red of his blood. A perfect dot of red beaded on his skin before the quilted white of gauze covered it.

"The chief of police said that if they couldn't locate your parents then you are going to have to go into the foster care system"

Naruto nodded and stayed silent as they hooked an IV into his arm and told him to lay down. It was strange to think everything he needed was in a liquid sac. He ignored the stares of both doctors.

"We'll be back to check in on you, if you need more blankets or water ask the nurses" the hag said before closing the door, still subtly watching him. The only thought in Naruto's head was his mother and the possibility that she could appear.

He didn't know what to think about that.

AN: * the song is Missing Persons 1&2 by OneRepublic. Love that song.

Also! good news! Sasuke is coming up in the next chapter! Whoot Whoot! And yes Gaara will probably be back in the near future.