Tsunade sat at her desk, sipping her coffee, with a sad edge to her eyes. Naruto would be there any second. Probably others as well. By now, surely, the whole village knew.

Sakura had been gone a month, and her friends and teammates were getting curious. That morning, a messenger arrived from Suna to inform the Hokage that the medic sent to help with their hospitals had never arrived. Ino, having taken over for Sakura in her absence, had overheard the messenger, and, as was expected of her, told anyone who would listen. Garra knew of Sakura's mission, of course, but Tsunade had to admit, it was better than having to personally tell Naruto.

So there she sat, waiting for her office to fill with outraged Konoha shinobi and hospital staff. She told herself that she could handle it, but wondered if Naruto would break her.

It was time to find out. There was a pounding at the door, loud and obnoxious and coming from a certain blond.

"Come in," she barely finished before her office doors burst open. Tsunade hadn't expected it to be only Naruto. "Yes?" she pried, feigning offense.

"What happened?" he asked, strangely calm.

"Ino didn't tell you?" Tsunade asked, genuinely surprised.

"Yes," he admitted, "But I need the official statement."

Tsunade sighed and looked at the paper in front of her, reading it aloud. "Haruno Sakura, Konoha shinobi, jounin class, and head of the Konoha hospital, has gone missing."

Naruto sat down. "I was hoping Ino was lying."

Tsunade frowned. "Me too." The two blonds stared at each other for a moment. Naruto opened his mouth, but Tsunade cut him off. "No."

"What?"

"You're not going after her," she clarified.

Naruto glared at the woman. "Yes, I am," he shot back.

Tsunade stood, "Naruto, I understand, believe me, I do," she sighed, "But I cannot let you leave this village. It's a very strong possibility that she was kidnapped by an Akatsuki in order to lure you to them."

"So? They can't beat me!" He yelled.

The Hokage glared at him. "Yes, they can," she told him.

They stared each other down. Finally, Naruto sighed.

"Her birthday is in two weeks," he said, more to himself than to anyone, "Do you know how long Ino has been planning that surprise party? She'll be twenty..."

Tsunade sighed. "I know," she said.

Naruto shook his head. "You are going to do something... right?"

The Hokage nodded, "Of course. I'm sending a a team led by Shikamaru tomorrow to investigate. If they come up with any leads, a team of our finest shinobi will be sent after her." But there wouldn't be any leads.

Naruto nodded, turned and left, slamming the door after him.

Tsunade sat. Her coffee was now cold, but it sat still forgotten on her desk. She hadn't cried since Jiriya had died. It was about time to have a private little meltdown.