Okay here's the next chapter of Lost. When I talk about Naruto he'll always be Naruto, but when Akatsuki are speaking to him, they'll call him Kaito. As would anyone who didn't know him before. I hope it's not too confusing. Anywho, hope you all enjoy the chapter.
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Lost.
Chapter Two – Failure To Launch.
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The whole rookie group were sat in Tsunade's office with their Sensei's, Iruka and Team Gai. Sakura was still shell-shocked, and Sasuke was quiet as usual, but his face showed far more emotion then anyone had ever seen on it before. "I called you all here for a reason." Tsunade said softly. The group waited for Tsunade to speak. "Naruto has been abducted by a criminal organisation known as Akatsuki." Tsunade said sadly. The room burst into uproar.
"So what are you doing about it?" Kiba yelled, Akamaru yipped on top of his head.
"Yeah Hokage-Sama, aren't you sending someone after them?" Ino added.
"This is troublesome. I'll go." Shikamaru stated idly.
"Yosh, as will I!" Lee yelled. Hinata was silent and Neji had wrapped an arm around her shoulder loosely.
"We're already organising a search team." Tsunade said.
"Who's on it? You need a good tracker. Akamaru and I can do that." Kiba insisted.
"Or if you think Kiba is too young, his sister Hana is an excellent tracker." Shino stated. Kiba nodded in agreement.
"How did it happen?" Iruka asked softly. He looked at Kakashi angrily, and Kakashi looked down at the ground, shamefaced. The other Senseis were trying to calm their students. Tsunade looked at the group, and got ready to speak, but there was a knock on the door. Shizune came in with Homura and Koharu who looked serious.
"We need to speak to you about Naruto Uzumaki." Koharu said.
"Say what you're going to say." Tsunade replied.
"In private." Homura hissed.
"If you have something to say about the boy, you can say it in front of his friends and comrades." Tsunade replied.
"There will be no search." Koharu stated. The whole room stared at the older members of the council.
"What do you mean? No search? Naruto is a Konoha Shinobi. He's been abducted. There's always a search for a missing Shinobi, abducted in the line of duty." Tsunade hissed.
"We're not risking the lives of other Shinobi to bring back one Genin. It's not a risk the council wishes to take. We haven't the man power since the Oto invasion, and one Genin isn't worth a rescue team." Homura stated. Everyone was silent for a moment, before the least expected person started yelling.
"How can you say it's not worth it!?" Hinata yelled.
"If it was anyone else but Naruto you'd be looking." Sakura said softly.
"What are you talking about girl?" Koharu hissed.
"What she means is that if it was me who got abducted by Akatsuki, you'd send the whole village out for me. But because it's just Naruto, to you, you don't care, because he's the container for Kyubi." Sasuke stated. The whole room was filled with gasps. The students, at hearing this information, were shocked because they'd never been privy to it. The Senseis and Iruka were shocked that Sasuke knew about such a thing. The council members were shocked that Sasuke would dare to speak about it in front of them. Tsunade, Sakura and Kakashi were the only silent ones. Tsunade sighed, and without waiting for the council members to get over their shock, she explained the truth surrounding the attack of the Kyubi to these rookie students. This seemed to make their outrage even worse.
"How can you not save a hero of this village?" Shino asked.
"He's done this village a favour for years and you treat him like he's worthless?" Kiba asked. Hinata just sobbed into Neji's shirt. Various questions, alike to Shino and Kiba's shot all over the office.
"It has already been put to popular vote. The council has decided that by now Naruto Uzumaki is probably dead. Akatsuki wished to extract the demon from the boy's body, the chances he'd survive are less than zero. There is no point sending a team, simply to retrieve a body." Koharu said. The group of students glared fiercely. Tsunade sighed deeply.
"It seems the younger generation have a lot more brains then the older generation." Tsunade thought to herself.
"If it was me, would you send a team out?" Sasuke hissed.
"You're an Uchiha, Sasuke. Your bloodline getting into the hands of another village is not something we can risk." Homura said. That made the students glare more. Sakura stood up next to Sasuke and added her own glare to everyone else's.
"So Naruto is worthless because he doesn't have a bloodline? Or because he's a Jinchuriki?" Sakura questioned icily. At that moment, Tsunade's office door swung open, and crashed into the wall loudly. Konohamaru burst in without hesitation.
"Is it true that Naruto Nii-Chan's gone?" Konohamaru yelled. Tsunade sighed.
"Who told you that, Konohamaru?" Tsunade asked.
"I heard other people talking about it. Everyone's talking about Naruto Nii-Chan being taken away on his last mission. Is Naruto Nii-Chan okay?" Konohamaru asked.
"I'm sorry Konohamaru, but the rumours are true. Naruto has been taken away." Tsunade said softly. Konohamaru started crying then. Iruka walked over to the crying eight-year-old and hugged him, trying to offer some form of comfort. Another entry to the office startled everyone, when Jiraiya entered through the open window.
"In that case, I will go to look for Naruto." Jiraiya stated. Tsunade gave him a soft smile.
"You can't go looking for the boy." Koharu answered.
"We need all our Shinobi here in Konoha now." Homura added.
"I'm not contracted to this village. I'm a Konoha Shinobi, but I don't have to obey your rules. Naruto is still a student of mine and he's a child. I'm not going to abandon him to Akatsuki so quickly." Jiraiya stated. He left the room, through the door this time.
"If one Genin isn't important, then what difference is two going to make?" Sasuke said.
"Or three." Sakura added.
"Make it four." Kiba stated.
"I'm going too!" Hinata exclaimed.
"We're a three man cell, so I will accompany you." Shino said calmly. The young ninja were all exclaiming their willingness to go and search for Naruto. Of course Homura and Koharu disagreed.
"We said we can do without one Genin not ten, and definitely not a Chunin." Koharu snapped.
"You will not be cleared for a mission. Any one of you that leaves this village without a valid mission would be considered a traitor." Homura stated. Tsunade sighed. Unfortunately, she knew that they were right about the last part. Without a mission, or permission from the Hokage and the council, ninjas that left their villages were traitors.
"I think it's time the two of you left my office. As you can see, these ninja aren't going to see eye to eye with you, and you've made your point." Tsunade hissed out to Homura and Koharu. The two elder council members left the room and all eyes rested on Tsunade. "I'm truly sorry. If I could then I would send the best we've got to find Naruto." Tsunade said softly.
"I'll go find Naruto with or without their permission." Sasuke hissed.
"Do you think Naruto would want you to become a missing nin for him?" Tsunade asked. Sasuke bit his lip and glared angrily. "I'm going to set you an S class mission." Tsunade said softly. The occupants of the room stared, waiting for Tsunade to carry on speaking. "Whatever mission you go on, if you catch any sign, or clue, that might lead to Naruto, I give you full permission to split your forces, send for back up or whatever needs to be done to bring Naruto back to the village. This mission is S class because it must be kept secret. You're all his friends, and as such I know you want to help him. Jiraiya is an excellent spy. It's been a speciality of his from childhood and he does it well. Gathering information, and finding out things he shouldn't know, is something Jiraiya does on a daily basis. Once he finds out what's happened to Naruto, he'll let us know, and I'll set up an appropriate mission. There is no argument the council can give once I know Naruto's location and status." Tsunade said softly. The group begrudgingly agreed and hoped that there would be news of Naruto soon.
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Naruto was sat in a Ramen shop, eating a bowl of Miso Pork Ramen. He wasn't sure why the smell and taste attracted him so much, but he knew he loved Ramen for some reason. "Itachi-Aniki, when are we going to get to this place?" Naruto asked.
"Soon Ototou. We'll be there soon. Have patience Kaito." Itachi told him.
"You think I can decide what I want to wear when we get to the next town?" Naruto asked.
"Why? Is there something wrong with what you're wearing?" Itachi asked.
"It doesn't feel right." Naruto said softly. His loudness seemed to have disappeared.
"When we get to Amekagure, you can find some new clothes." Itachi said kindly. Naruto grinned and carried on with his bowl of Ramen. His necklace still glinted around his neck.
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It was night time, and Sasuke had just walked Sakura home. The two had sat in Ichiraku's hoping to work out a plan of escape so they could go and find Naruto themselves. They also realised that finding Naruto was pointless if they became missing nins, as they'd be arrested and tried for defection once they bought Naruto back. Sasuke walked down the street thinking about the predicament at hand, when he was attacked. He felt the blow land on his cheek, and he flew into a wall. He looked up to see four familiar faces. He'd seen them when Oto and Suna attacked Konoha and Orochimaru had killed the Third Hokage. "What do you four want here?" Sasuke hissed.
"Actually, we came to test your power. Pretty fucking weak if you ask me." The only female of the group said.
"We came from Orochimaru. If you come with us, he can release the power of the curse seal you carry." A black-haired male stated seriously.
"It'll make you twice as powerful to learn how to control the mark." A fat male said.
"That is, if you come with us. You can always stay and rot in this village." A silver-haired male quipped. Sasuke glared angrily at the four.
"Why would I go anywhere? I've got more important things to worry about then your perverted master." Sasuke exclaimed. At that moment, Kakashi appeared from out of nowhere.
"I think this is your cue to leave." Kakashi stated blankly, whilst getting into a defensive stance. The group glared and disappeared quickly. Sasuke looked at Kakashi.
"How did you know they were here?" Sasuke asked.
"I've been a Shinobi for a long time. You were deep in thought. You're still a Genin, so don't wonder too much about why you didn't sense them, and I did. They're likely to come back and make the offer again. Orochimaru wants you for some reason and he'll stop at nothing to get his hands on you. If you leave this village, not only would you be betraying everything your family stood for, but you'd be betraying every person you know now. Including Naruto." Kakashi stated calmly. Sasuke nodded.
"I understand Kakashi. I won't be leaving this village. I have more important things on my mind." Sasuke stated. Losing Naruto had made a large turn in Sasuke's perception of things. He was slowly beginning to realise exactly what was most important to him. He was also beginning to think about what his parents might have wanted. He also thought about how Naruto had managed to survive, all alone, for all these years, with everyone looking down on him. Sasuke had barely handled being alone. That was with everyone practically worshipping the ground he walked on. Everyone except Naruto of course. Naruto kept Sasuke in his place. He kept Sasuke from getting too big of an ego and he kept Sasuke thinking carefully about how he trained. Naruto had always pushed Sasuke to be his best and Sasuke had definitely risen to the occasion. Now it was Sasuke's turn to help Naruto, he'd decided he wouldn't fail.
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Sakura was sat in her bedroom, looking at the framed picture she had of Team Seven. She felt tears fall down her cheeks. She heard a knock on her door. "Come in." Sakura called, as she wiped the tears from her face. Her mother and father entered.
"We heard that your team mate was abducted on your mission today." Her mother said softly. Sakura nodded.
"Which one?" Her father asked.
"Naruto." Sakura answered.
"Thank god it wasn't Sasuke Uchiha. We can all do without that brat, but the last Uchiha? Well, you'll get a new teammate assigned to you soon." Her father stated. Sakura felt disgusted.
"How can you say that? I don't want a replacement teammate! I want Naruto back!" Sakura exclaimed loudly. Her father glared at her angrily.
"If you knew what he was you wouldn't say that." Her father hissed.
"If you're talking about him being a Jinchuriki, I do know about that and I'm not too narrow-minded to care! He's my friend, my teammate! He's not a demon, he's just a container! I'm going to do whatever I can to get him back to the village safely!" Sakura yelled. Her father looked at her with fury, while her mother looked worried.
"Get out Sakura. Until you're ready to apologise, you're not welcome back here." Her father said angrily. Sakura glared and stood up from her bed.
"Fine, if that's the way you want it, father." Sakura said. She grabbed a duffel bag and started packing her things. Her father just glared at her angrily and her mother just looked on silently, a pleading look in her eyes, as Sakura threw clothing, ninja gear, books and scrolls into her bag. She picked up a teddy that was on her bed, given to her by Ino and the last thing she picked up was the framed picture of Team Seven. She wrapped it up in a jumper before placing it into her bag, and then zipped it up. She walked past her parents and down the stairs, and they followed her. She opened the door and looked at them, standing on the top of the stairs. "If you hate Naruto so much that you're willing to kick me out over it, then I'm better off leaving. Until you're willing to admit you were wrong, I won't come back here." Sakura stated.
"You'll be the one apologising young lady." Her father stated loudly. Sakura sighed and closed the door behind her. She started walking, not sure where she would go now, but knowing she couldn't go back on her word. She wouldn't go back and pretend she hated Naruto, and she wouldn't go back and apologise to her parents for defending him. She was alone for now.
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Itachi and Kisame arrived back at the Akatsuki base with Naruto that evening. It was a lot sooner than planned, and Naruto had been quite helpful. "Remember to be polite to Leader-Sama Kaito." Itachi said sternly. Naruto nodded vigorously. They walked into the hidden base, and they bumped into Konan immediately.
"Hello Itachi, Kisame, Kaito-Kun." Konan said. Kindness seeped into her tone when talking to Naruto. "Leader-Sama wants to see the two of you. Kaito, come with me, I'll show you to your room." Konan said. Naruto looked at Itachi wondering if he should listen or not. Itachi nodded, so Naruto walked along with Konan. "Kaito, do you remember anything at all?" Konan asked.
"No. Itachi-Aniki says it's because Konoha ninja whacked me over the head pretty hard. I remember a girl calling me. I think she was calling me. I couldn't hear what she was saying. I remember some colours too. Silver, blue and pink. Aniki says the necklace I've got came from my father. Did you know my father Nee-Chan?" Naruto asked. Konan smiled at the boy.
"No, I didn't know your father Kaito-Kun. My name is Konan. You don't have to call me Nee-Chan." Konan said kindly.
"Okay Konan Nee-chan. Hey Aniki said I could get some new clothes when we got here." Naruto stated happily.
"What's wrong with what you're wearing?" Konan asked.
"It just doesn't feel right." Naruto said softly. That was when Konan opened a door. Naruto peered inside the room revealed to him to see that the room was rather bare, and sparsely furnished. There was a desk and chair, a dresser, a wardrobe and a bed. The bed had fresh covers on it, and the desk had a small plain lamp sitting on it. Naruto blinked and looked at the room in wonder. "How comes it's so empty?" Naruto asked.
"We move from place to place. We've never accumulated many possessions." Konan replied. Naruto blinked and shrugged. Naruto walked around the medium-sized room and looked back at Konan. "You have your own bathroom through the door next to the dresser. Get some rest. You must've had a long journey. Don't wander off until Itachi, Kisame or I come to take you anywhere." Konan said. Naruto smiled as he took notice of the door.
"Thanks Konan Nee-Chan." Naruto stated happily. Konan made to leave, but just as she reached the door, she turned back to look at Naruto.
"Welcome home Kaito-Kun." Konan said softly. The grin she saw on the boy's face was so wide, she thought it might split his cheeks.
"Thanks Konan Nee-Chan. You're real nice to me. Even if I am being a pain." Naruto said happily. Konan smiled.
"Just get some rest Kaito." Konan said softly and left the room. She closed the door behind her and started off down the corridor. "Maybe it's good the kid is here. He's certainly brightening up the place." Konan thought to herself. She wouldn't admit that she was already getting attached to this bright ray of sunshine. That was too much for her thought processes. She found herself frowning, when she remembered that this boy might well have to be killed one day. She shook her head silently, and carried on walking through the base, trying not to allow her thoughts to wonder down such a dark path.
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That evening, Kakashi had walked Sasuke back to his own small apartment before he would let Sasuke go home. He wanted to check the boy over and make sure he hadn't been damaged. A knock on the door interrupted the two males. Kakashi opened it to see Sakura standing there. There were tears streaming down her cheeks as she threw herself into her Sensei's arms. "Kakashi-Sensei… my parents… Naruto… so awful… couldn't stay... threw me out… hate him… couldn't… won't apologise… defending Naruto… I-I-I…" Sakura managed to sob out brokenly. Kakashi hugged the crying girl. He didn't need to guess as to what had happened. Her sobbing, her choked out words, and her bag of possessions showed that obviously, Sakura's parents thought as much of Naruto, as most villagers did. Kakashi gently led the girl into the apartment and sat her down on the bed. Sasuke stared at the crying girl. He sat next to her and managed to coax the story from her slowly. Of course, Kakashi found out his suspicions were right, and cursed the ignorance of the village. Sasuke looked as furious as Kakashi felt.
"Sakura, you won't be alone, you can stay here. We'll go and see Tsunade in the morning and discuss everything. It will work out fine Sakura." Kakashi said kindly.
"She can stay at mine if she wants." Sasuke said softly. Kakashi stared at Sasuke.
"Are you sure about that?" Kakashi asked. Sasuke nodded.
"I already lost one Teammate today. I'm not losing another one." Sasuke replied. Sakura nodded.
"I don't want to take all of your space Kakashi-Sensei, so I'll stay with Sasuke." Sakura said softly. Kakashi shook his head and smiled at the pair. It seemed they had learned a lot about what it meant to be a team since their blonde team mate had been taken from them. Now all they needed was to get Naruto back. Then everything would be fine.
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Itachi and Kisame were sat in the meeting room with their leader, Pein. "Let me get this straight." Pein said sarcastically. "Kisame whacked the brat over the head so hard he could've killed him, but it has resulted in luck for us, as the boy now has no memories, and believes he is Itachi's little brother?" Pein quipped.
"Yes Leader-Sama." Itachi replied. Pein shrugged.
"It went well this time. He can be trained individually by all of us. I'm not saying the brat is going to become some sort of prodigy, but he'll definitely be strong. What does he think his name is again?" Pein asked.
"Kaito, Leader-Sama." Itachi verified. Pein nodded.
"Next time Kisame, think about what you're doing. It was pure luck you didn't kill the brat in the first place." Pein hissed. Kisame nodded in understanding. "Let the boy sleep for now. Tomorrow he will train with Akatsuki." Pein ended the conversation. The other two just nodded their understanding.
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The next morning, Kakashi and Sasuke walked with Sakura to see Tsunade. Sakura bit her lip worriedly. She felt a squeeze on her shoulder from Kakashi and she gave him a half-hearted smile. "It'll be alright Sakura. Tsunade-Sama will make sure of it." Kakashi said kindly. Sakura nodded.
"Sasuke?" Sakura asked her stoic teammate.
"Yeah?" Sasuke replied.
"Do you think... when Naruto comes back..." Sakura trailed off.
"When he comes back, I'm going to ask him to come and stay with us." Sasuke stated boldly. Kakashi smiled at his two students. They were planning for Naruto's return. They were keeping positive. That was a great achievement in his opinion. He just hoped that all their positive thinking wouldn't be in vain. Despite trying to think positively himself, Kakashi knew that the reality was very bleak. That Naruto may never return, or that if he does, he wouldn't be the same.
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"Hey Konan Nee-Chan look at that?" Naruto yelled happily, as he walked from stall to stall in the market. Konan smiled at the boy fondly. It had only been a week since he'd been bought to the base, and Konan found that Naruto's presence had brightened up Akatsuki life considerably. She looked at the hair pins that Naruto was showing her. "They're roses like your one with origami birds attached to them." Naruto stated happily. Konan smiled at Naruto's observation.
"Yes, they're quite pretty." Konan said, as she decided to buy the hair pins.
"Konan Nee-Chan, do you think I could get some plain clothes for now, and then get some clothes later on when I get to go out on missions again?" Naruto asked earnestly.
"Of course Kaito. It's better that way. What kind of training clothes would you like?" Konan asked him. Naruto started looking around and grabbed a few pairs of grey pants and a few green vests. Konan nodded approval and purchased the clothing. Naruto walked past a shop that sold weights and stared at some leg weights strangely. "What's wrong Kaito-Kun?" Konan asked.
"I don't know Konan Nee-Chan. I just got a funny feeling when I looked at the leg weights." Naruto said softly. Konan smiled gently at him and started leading him along towards another stall.
"We'll all be training you on different days Kaito. Is there something that interests you?" Konan asked.
"I want to learn how to use a sword! I heard fish face saying that Itachi-Aniki is really good with swords!" Naruto exclaimed loudly. Konan smiled broadly at Naruto's enthusiasm.
"I'm sure you'll learn all that from one of us." Konan replied as they carried on through the market place.
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Kakashi walked to the Uchiha compound, feeling that he should keep an eye on Sasuke and Sakura, and found that Sakura was weeding in the front garden. "Sasuke's inside Kakashi-Sensei." Sakura stated cheerfully. Kakashi smiled at the sight of Sakura weeding and planting new flowers. Kakashi went inside, and heard sounds from the back of the compound. He soon found Sasuke in a room painting the walls. He seemed like he was concentrating intently on his work. Kakashi smiled as he realised Sasuke was painting the room a sky blue with orange swirls all over the walls.
"Let me guess, this room is going to be Naruto's one day?" Kakashi stated softly. Sasuke looked at Kakashi and nodded.
"Naruto will come back one day Kakashi-Sensei. I know he will. I know all logic points against it. I know it's likely he's probably dead. But I know that's all wrong. He is going to come back and complete his dream." Sasuke said sternly. Kakashi smiled.
"I'm glad you're optimistic Sasuke. It makes a change from your normal behaviour." Kakashi said kindly.
"Naruto is my best friend, my closest friend, and I didn't appreciate him. Now he's gone. I'm not going to let him down again. I've been letting my parents down all this time also. They wouldn't want me to be the way I have been. They would've wanted me to get on with my life." Sasuke said softly. He bit his lip.
"So what colour is Sakura's room?" Kakashi asked.
"Cherry blossom pink. I've done a lot of cleaning and redecorating this week. Sakura's been working on the garden. It used to be really nice, and I let it go wild after…" Sasuke trailed off before he could talk about the massacre. He hated talking about it. Kakashi understood.
"So at least you and Sakura are getting along." Kakashi quipped.
"Yeah. She's not being a fangirl and it's nice having someone around here again. I think that Naruto being gone isn't just affecting me. I think it's affected her too." Sasuke replied. Kakashi nodded. He hoped that the changes were for the better. He also hoped that Naruto was alright. That somehow, Sasuke's feelings weren't unnoticed and that Naruto was still alive, and that he was coming home one day.
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Just for reference. The Uchiha compound/ mansion/ whatever was always one floor as far as I know. Even in Naruto episodes, where you see the Uchiha district all the houses are one storey, and even when Sasuke is in his room and he leaves it, it's still on the ground floor. Also I know Sasuke seems to have changed rather rapidly, but the idea is that he's had a realisation because of Naruto being gone, that he's not living the right way, and he needs to change it. He's closest to Sakura, Kakashi and Naruto, so they'd see it before anyone else. Anywho, that's all my notes for today and if you have any questions don't hesitate to ask me in a review or PM! And that's the second chapter of Lost. Please R&R and tell me what you think. Love all of you readers.