16. Search and Retrieve!

It has been nearly a week since Yuki came back home to Konoha. Kocha taught her a lot about her Soshigan and she was actually able to control more elements than she had before. Yuki now knew how to completely control the wind and now she had moderate control over water, fire, earth, and metal. The only elements that were beyond her power were light and darkness. Kocha decided to take a break from training and spend some quality time with Yuki. On this day, however, they would not be able to fore Naruto returned with an unexpected woman.

"Who are you?" asked Yuki when Naruto and the woman came into Kakashi's room.

"My name is Tsunade," said the woman. "You must be Yuki, the Elemental Bender."

Tsunade turned her gaze to Kocha and looked at her puzzled. "And you are?"

"I am Kocha." Kocha answered.

"Oh, Jiraiya has told me about you." Tsunade said.

"Can this wait?" asked Naruto. "Grandma Tsunade, can you help Kakashi-sensei or not?"

"Alright," Tsunade said annoyed. She walked over to Kakashi and put her hand on his head. Yoru looked up at her as he continued to be curled up on Kakashi's chest. Yuki observed, as did Naruto and Sakura who entered the room seconds before. After nearly ten minutes of waiting Tsunade removed her hand and Kakashi began to come out of his sleep. Yoru became excited and purred loudly as he licked Kakashi's hand. Kakashi rose from his bed and looked around his room to spot everyone there.

"Glad to have you back, Kakashi-kun." Kocha smiled.

"It's about time you got up!" said Naruto pushing back his true feelings.

"Welcome back, Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura smiled.

Kakashi moved his gaze to Yuki who stood there stiff. She stared back at him with tears filling her eyes. She finally burst and ran to Kakashi crying and hugging him tightly around his neck, sobbing "Don't ever do something stupid like that again!"

"Alright," Kakashi laughed.

"I still can't believe that the son of the White Fang got done in by shinobi such as them," said Tsunade with her hands on her hips. "You're supposed to be the best here!"

"Sorry." Kakashi apologized. He turned to Yuki and whispered, "I know you were worried about me Yuki, but you shouldn't show your feelings like this. It's not the way of the shinobi."

"I know." Yuki sobbed again. "Just let me have this one moment. I was really scared."

"Alright," said Kakashi. He turned to Kocha who was smiling at the whole scene. Kakashi felt his face turn red so he quickly looked away. For the rest of the day, the three of them enjoyed each other's company with Yuki leaving occasionally to check up on Sasuke.

Three weeks had passed since Kakashi and Sasuke's recovery and Tsunade was not the Fifth Hokage of Konoha. The village seemed to be at piece once more and most of the restoration was complete. Yuki had just returned from a mission with Ino and Shikamaru while Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were sent on another mission. Before Yuki entered the house, she checked her mail to see when Kakashi would be returning from his mission. Kocha had decided to leave the village for a while until the heat from her episode with the Akatsuki calmed down. Yuki felt badly for her for one of Tsunade's first orders of business was to help Kocha return to the village.

Yuki sifted through her mail and found a letter from Kocha. She became excited when she saw the envelope. It read:

Dear Yuki,

Sorry I haven't been home for quite a while. I hope you're still working on your Soshigan. Kakashi tells me that you are doing well on your missions. Keep up the good work. I'm afraid that I cannot disclose my location to you for obvious security reasons, but Kakashi knows where to find me. Hopefully if the Konoha Elder Council helps Tsunade-sama with my return, I shall see you very soon. Take care of Yoru for me!

With Love,

Kocha

Yoru had been the messenger cat for Kocha's letters and always rested at the house when he delivered the letters before he went back to Kocha. Yuki found another letter from Tsunade saying that Kakashi would be home within the evening. Yuki became excited once more and decided to make his favorite dinner. While she cooked Yoru came out into the kitchen and stretched. He looked outside and said, "I guess I should be getting back to her."

"Wait!" Yuki ran into her room and grabbed her reply letter and put it in Yoru's collar. "Thank you for doing this, Yoru. The next time you come over, I'll make you some shrimp dumplings!"

"That sounds great!" Yoru purred. "Tell Kakashi-sama that I'm sorry I couldn't be here." He jumped off of the table and back out into the street. Yuki watched him go then returned to cooking the meal. When the meal was almost complete, Yuki heard the door open and her heart jumped.

"I'm home!" shouted a familiar voice. Yuki immediately ran to the door to see Kakashi putting up his vest. "Something smells good." Kakashi smiled when he saw Yuki. Yuki smiled back then got a serious look on her face. "What is it?" he asked. Yuki ran behind him and pushed him to the dinner table. "W-what's wrong Yuki?" She pulled out his chair and ordered, "Sit!"

"Um, okay?" Kakashi did as he was told and she served him large amounts of food.

"You need to get your strength up!" Yuki said as she got him a cup of sake. "Since Tsunade-sama is forcing you to go out on missions."

"Yuki, it's been three weeks!" Kakashi laughed. "I'm doing fine!"

"Yeah, but," Yuki looked down at the floor worried.

"I am a shinobi." Kakashi told her. "I do what I have to in order to protect the people and things I care about. That includes you, Naruto, and Sasuke."

"Right," said Yuki scooping rice onto her plate. "Sorry for getting emotional." The two of them ate in silence and enjoyed the presence of each other's company.

That night Yuki had a terrifying dream. She was floating above a huge waterfall where a climactic battle was being held. She trembled in fear when she saw a glowing silhouette of the Nine-Tailed fox fighting a dark monster with red eyes. When Yuki looked closer the monster's eyes were actually Sharingan. Before the dream ended she was face to face with Sasuke but then his eyes became like a snake's and he turned into Orochimaru. Yuki screamed in fear and realized that she was sweating. Kakashi came running in and threw open the door to see what the problem was. "Are you alright?" he asked. Yuki said nothing. She began to tremble just thinking about sleeping again. Kakashi came closer to her and put his arm around her. "It was just a nightmare." He told her. "It's alright now." Suddenly feeling comforted, Yuki fell back asleep in no time. Kakashi smiled and decided to sleep with her for the rest of the night.

Yuki woke up late in the morning and noticed a note on her nightstand. She helped herself out of bed and picked up the note. It read:

Yuki,

I am going over to check up on Sasuke and Naruto. They returned from their mission with minor injuries. If you wish to come, meet me there.

As she read it she heard a loud boom come from the hospital. She quickly dressed herself and grabbed her weapon as she ran out the door. She hurried as fast as she could to the hospital. As she ran she noticed water spilling out of the large drum from atop of the hospital. There was a giant hole as if some blast had blown it inside out. Yuki ran through the hospital and threw open the door to the rooftop. Sakura, Naruto, and Kakashi all stood there looking solemn. "What happened?" Yuki asked. "Where's Sasuke?"

"He just took off," said Sakura. "Both he and Naruto just suddenly started fighting."

"What the hell, Naruto?!" Yuki yelled. "What has gotten into you two?"

"Sasuke asked for it!" Naruto yelled. "I can't help it if I'm stronger than he is."

"Would you shut up about that?" Sakura scolded. "Sasuke feels bad enough already!"

"What happened on the mission?" Kakashi asked.

"We were fighting this Thunder shinobi," began Sakura. "And he and Sasuke went at it. The shinobi insulted Sasuke's family and Sasuke tried to make him pay but…" Sakura looked down at the floor.

"Damn it!" Yuki turned around and began to open the door.

"Where are you going?" asked Kakashi.

"I have to talk to Sasuke." Yuki answered. "Maybe he'll listen to me."

"I'll go with you too." Said Kakashi. "I don't want Sasuke to turn on another comrade. If he won't listen to you then I'll have to force him to listen to reason."

"Okay." Together Yuki and Kakashi walked out of the hospital and began to track down Sasuke. They found him on a tree branch sitting alone. Kakashi snuck up on him and used ninja wires to tie him to the tree. Both Yuki and Kakashi landed on the tree limb and stared at Sasuke.

"What are you doing?" roared Sasuke.

"I can ask you the same thing!" Yuki yelled. "Sasuke, what has gotten into you? Just because someone insults your family doesn't mean you should take it out on Naruto."

"No!" Sasuke yelled again. "You don't understand! Neither of you do! I'm an avenger and I couldn't even make that creep eat his own words! Naruto was somehow able to beat him yet I could do nothing!"

"So Naruto beat you to the punch, big deal!" Yuki put her hands on her hips. "We know you want to avenge your clan but fighting with your comrades isn't going to help, Sasuke!"

"What do you know?!" Sasuke roared. Yuki was taken aback by the fire in his eyes. "You hardly knew your family before it was taken away! I grew up with everyone, I loved them, and I cherished them! Then, one day, they all die because of Itachi! I lost years of memories in a single day! How can you possibly know how I feel?!"

"We know." Kakashi said calmly. "But you need to calm down and think rationally. Attacking blindly is not going to help you right now. If you want to get stronger, you need to train harder. It's the only way, Sasuke." Kakashi loosened the wires around his pupil. "We know more than you think about how you feel. Just think about what we said." Sasuke just gave the both of them an empty stare. After a long silence, Kakashi said, "We'll talk more in the morning. Right now, I think it's time you rested it off."

As they began to turn away Yuki looked back at Sasuke who stared back at her with stone cold eyes. Yuki returned the glare as if to say, "Why are you being so stubborn?" Kakashi noticed this and put a hand on Yuki's shoulder as he whispered, "Just give him some time. He just needs to cool down a bit." Yuki prayed that he was right.

Yuki awoke the next morning in an empty house. It was late afternoon when Yuki woke up. She wobbled out of her room and into the kitchen where she noticed a note on the table. It was from Kakashi when she recognized the handwriting. It read:

Yuki,

There was an emergency mission that I had to go on. When I get back, we need to talk. Kocha will be joining us.

Love,

Kakashi

Yuki suddenly received a bad feeling from her paranoia as she noticed that it began to rain quite heavily. She threw on her cloths and ran outside to speak to Sakura, if she was not already on the same mission. Yuki ran to her house and knocked on the door. "Who is it?" asked Sakura's mother.

"It's me, Mrs. Haruno! Is Sakura home?"

"I'm afraid that she's in her room right now, Yuki." Said Mrs. Haruno.

"Is she still asleep?" Yuki asked puzzled. It was not like Sakura to sleep in so late.

"You mean you don't know?" asked Mrs. Haruno opening the door.

"Know what?" Yuki said with a smile.

"Sasuke has left the village." Yuki's heart immediately dropped to her feet. Mrs. Haruno had to hold her steady in order not to fall. "He left late last night." Mrs. Haruno continued. "Apparently, your Sensei has gone after him along with Naruto, Shikamaru, Neji, and Kiba with Akamaru. Rock Lee left as soon as he recovered."

"Why?" Yuki asked. "Why didn't anyone tell me?"

"Oh, sweetie." Mrs. Haruno wrapped her arms around her. "I know how much Sasuke meant to you. Don't worry now. I'm sure that with all of those fine ninja out there, Sasuke is sure to come home."

"Thank you, Mrs. Haruno." Yuki walked away dulled with anger and frustration. Why, Sasuke? Why did you leave? Are you really so bull-headed to leave the village just because Naruto beat some guy? You're such a damn fool! Yuki punched a nearby wall and began to cry. After a long cry, Yuki was struck with an idea. I'll follow after him too! I won't let this stupid rivalry get to him! Yuki stood up and charged toward the village gate. As she was going through it a black figure jumped down from the heavens and landed in front of her. Yuki looked up to see Kocha standing in her path.

"So you know." Said Kocha with great sadness in her eyes.

"Why didn't anyone tell me?" Yuki asked angered.

"We knew how you'd react." Kocha answered. "As soon as he learned this, Kakashi told me to make sure you stayed in the village."

"Why?!" Yuki screamed. "I have just as much of a right to save Sasuke as anyone else!"

"It's not because of Sasuke." Kocha said. "It's who is calling him."

"Calling him? Who?" Kocha looked down at the ground and gave a large sigh. She looked at Yuki with her yellow eyes and said, "Orochimaru."

Yuki's anger was increased tenfold. She was now fighting every nerve she had to stay calm and collected.

"According to Yoru," said Kocha. "Sasuke met up with four of Orochimaru men and took him. Naruto followed Sasuke directly while the others fought whoever they could in order to keep him going. Yoru even spotted Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro, helping Naruto's team." Yuki's heart was still unsettled. She felt robbed of the right to help the friend she cared about most. Yuki tried to run passed Kocha but she managed to hold her down. Yuki struggled trying to get free of Kocha's embrace as she yelled, "I have to save him!! I've got to reach Sasuke!"

"I'm sorry, Yuki." Kocha made a fist and slammed it into Yuki's gut knocking her unconscious. Sasuke-kun…

Yuki woke up in a hospital room dazed and confused as to where she was. When her memories started coming back to her she jolted upright shouting, "Sasuke!!" She looked around and found Naruto sleeping in the bed next to her. Sakura was on the other side of him with Kakashi and Kocha on her side. Yuki stared at Naruto for a long amount of time examining all of his injuries. Did Sasuke do this to you, Naruto? Yuki turned her head to Kakashi with a sad look on her face. Kakashi shook his head sadly as if he read the look on her face. Kakashi walked closer to her and laid down a Leaf Village headband on her bed.

"Naruto was alone and unconscious when I found him." He said in a sad voice. "Sasuke left this behind."

Yuki picked up the headband and noticed that there was a thick scar crossing the leaf symbol. Yuki activated her Soshigan and just by touching the scar, the metal showed her how the scar was placed. Naruto successfully landed a blow with a jutsu called the Rasengan. From then on, the battle raged until Sasuke nearly killed Naruto. As Naruto lay there, orange chakra began to seep out of Naruto's body and his physical features began to change. His eyes became red as his teeth grew incredibly sharp. The chakra formed around Naruto until it became the shape of a fox. This fox, however, only had one tail. As if to counter his transformation, Sasuke, too, transformed his body using the curse mark. Yuki was appalled that Sasuke would use such a thing to transform into a monster. Yuki threw the headband when she had had her fill of the headband's tale. She began to shake with anger and breathe heavily.

"Yuki?" asked Sakura. "Are you okay?"

"No." Yuki said in a very dark voice. "I'm not okay. Why the hell would I be 'okay?'"

"Yuki," said Kakashi. "Naruto gave everything he had to turn Sasuke around."

"I know." Growled Yuki. "Yet, Sasuke almost killed his closest friend. He almost killed Naruto all because he wanted the power to kill Itachi." Naruto slowly opened his eyes and looked around the room. Sakura was happy to see that he was awake but when he saw Yuki, he thought that she was mad at him.

"Yuki," said Naruto shooting upright. "I'm sorry! I'm really sorry! I won't stop until Sasuke's back home! I'll never stop and that's a promise!"

"It's okay, Naruto-kun." Said Yuki. "I saw how hard you fought to keep Sasuke with us." Naruto looked taken aback. "But, the fact remains that he hasn't returned."

"Yuki," said Kocha. "Naruto did his best."

"I'm not saying he didn't!" Yuki yelled. "I'm saying that Sasuke was nothing but a power-hungry ninja all thanks to Orochimaru and that damned Uchiha, Itachi! They turned him against us so they're the ones who will pay dearly!"

"Right." Said Sakura. "I'll help, too!"

"Naruto," Yuki looked at him seriously. "Thank you for doing your best to get Sasuke back. Let's continue to train so that we can all get him back safely."

"Yeah." Naruto smiled.

"That's my girl." Kakashi smiled. "But, just try not to rush into it. You all know who Orochimaru and Itachi are. Especially Itachi, we'll have to train hard every day if we are to get Sasuke back."

"You got it, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto smiled.

"We'll start training as soon as Naruto has recovered." Said Kocha. She turned her head to Kakashi and said, "I'll be heading back now. I'll send Yoru if you would like to send me anything."

"Got it." Said Kakashi. As Kocha walked out of the doorway Yuki stared after her with a mysterious look.