The Disappearance of Haruno Sakura

By Chemicalisation

The Second Chapter

"Fuck this shit!" Anko stamped her foot in frustration. The sun was glimmered between the trees and light wind rustled through the leaves. But Anko wasn't into nature. It could all burn up tomorrow and she would be hard-pressed to care.

Kurenai looked at her sideways, her black hair blowing in the wind. "Hokage sama told us it might be difficult."

"No fucking shit!" Anko snarled. "Its been thirty-nine days since she left Konoha. The last twenty-five days which are left unaccounted for. Here we are in Ishigakure and nothing to show for it!"

Kurenai flickered her gaze around the surrounding area of the forest. Behind them, within a camouflage of trees was the village of Ishigakure. A village so small that one could not step in the village without its entire population of some 450-600 people knowing about it. Their ninja population was non-existant and they didn't need it. Better for them to request the aid of the Five Great Shinobi Nations if they wanted something done. For a good price, of course. That's why Haruno Sakura had been sent, after all. A strain of virus had appeared a year ago. With peculiar purple spots and red splotches inside the mouth, it infected mostly the children and left them in a near comatose state. Haruno had come to the village, examined the virus, created its antibiotic, administered it, monitored the patients, instructed the villager's doctor on the cure and left. And, for all intents and purposes, she had left for Konoha.

Kurenai understood Anko's impatience. They were both considered be among the best in the field of sensor and tracker types respectively. But despite trying to track the movements of Haruno, they had nothing to report to Kakashi.

Kurenai tapped her foot against the branch of the tree upon which they were standing. "But we do know something for sure. Haruno Sakura. Jonin. Nineteen years of age. B-Rank mission. Haruno san traveled to Ishigakure and stayed here for two weeks. We have substantial evidence which says so. On her journey to Ishigakure, we have a good number of eyewitnesses. Two innkeepers reported that a pink haired girl stayed in their establishments and then left early in the morning, presumably to resume her travels. She arrived at Ishigakure three days after she left Konoha. Perfectly reasonable. She stayed in the village for eight days. Every villager I have talked to confirms this. Nothing in their chakra fluctuations and body language suggested that they were lying or concealing anything."

Anko scowled as a particularly strong wind threatened to loosen her hair from its spiky ponytail. "But then she left this hellhole of a village. Supposedly for Konoha. But we can't trace her back or to anywhere else."

Kurenai nodded. "Peculiar business," she agreed. She then paused. "Villagers didn't report anything out of the ordinary. They all referred to her as a nice smiling young woman."

Anko snorted. "That's Haruno for you. Nice. That's pretty much her defining characteristic."

"Yes, well there is something that's a little unusual." Kurenai looked at Anko. "There was a young civilian man. Apparently Haruno engaged in sexual relations with him during her duration of her stay here."

"She fucked a civvie?" Anko's eyebrows shot up. "Someone of her caliber, I would think that she would have higher standards."

Kurenai frowned at Anko. "Well, if you remember Haruno is a civilian shinobi. As in a shinobi from a civilian background. It probably doesn't bother her so."

"Ah hell. But he wasn't lying, the boy? Or stretching the truth?" asked Anko as she stretched her arms. "Want me to get the truth out of him?"

Kurenai gave Anko a sideways look. Anko's willingness for violence was a little too much sometimes or maybe it was just her who had little patience for the blood and gore which Anko seemed to thrive in.

"No, it won't be necessary," said Kurenai. "He wasn't lying."

"Pfff." Anko looked at Kurenai, tilting her head as she did so. "Do you think there was anyone else?"

"Any other lover? I don't think so." Kurenai put her hand on her hip. "At the very least, the young man did not appear to think so."

"Lovers. Fuck-buddies. Same thing." Anko rolled her eyes.

Kurenai resisted the urge to sigh. "But that's the thing. Haruno san was engaged to Uchiha Sasuke last time I checked. Why would she sleep with other people?"

Anko stared. "Eh. That's right. I remember they got engaged because afterwards she got a lot of heat for it. Did they break up?"

"I don't know," Kurenai admitted. "But if they had then Hinata chan would have told me."

"Well, I for one can't blame her," Anko declared. "Uchiha looks like a total cold fish."

Kurenai ignored Anko. "Should we tell this to Hokage sama? It is not entirely relevant."

"Hell yeah its not relevant," Anko snorted. "Its the kind of details they use to make you look like a slut." She hesitated. "Just tell Hokage sama in private but don't put it down in the report for future generations to read."

Kurenai nodded. "Agreed. After all, we have bigger problems." She motioned towards the forest. "Last night, I tried to feel her chakra signature. I couldn't feel it at all. She is not anywhere close by."

Anko looked up into the sky, shielding her eyes from the glare of the sun. "There are faint hints of her chakra signature around the clinic where she worked and the room of the inn in which she slept. Probably the places where she spent most of her time. Twenty-eight days since she was last here. Its to be expected that we would find it difficult to track her after such a long gap."

"We checked all the surrounding villages from here in Land of Earth and Land of Wind. No one has reported seeing a nin of Haruno's description. The time gap should have made her chakra signature faint but not entirely absent," said Kurenai, her frustration mounting within her. "The route we took for Ishigakure, she should have taken the same route back. But she was never sighted returning to Konoha. Even if she took another route back then why didn't she stop at any inn?"

"Besides," said Anko, tapping her chin. "The mission period allocated to her was two weeks. Three days she took to travel to Ishigakure. Another eight days she stayed in the village to find the cure. Three days after that she was supposed to return to Konoha. Why would she take another route? Any other route would have taken longer, right? The mission clearly dictates that if Haruno required more time then she had to send a message to Konoha immediately. It wasn't exactly an open-ended mission. If she did take another route then how would she explain to Hokage sama? Taking another route just because you feel like it doesn't sound like Haruno and its nonprofessional at the very least, wasting your village's time like that!"

"Also," Kurenai pointed out. "We have noting to indicate which direction she went. The villagers of Ishigakure knew she was going to leave in early morning. According to the Innkeeper, Haruno left before the crack of dawn. The old man who manages the establishment came down at sunrise to start the day. He found the payment for Haruno's stay and her room key on the front desk."

A strong wind rippled through the trees. Anko pushed back the locks of her hair which had escaped from her ponytail. "Its almost as if Haruno took a step out of the village and disappeared."

Shizune stood before Ibiki in his office at Interrogation and Torture Cell. She kept her expression passive although she knew there was no one better than Ibiki in reading the tiniest of facial cues. Still, she kept her expression straight. She had to make an effort, dammit.

"Hokage sama believes it is necessary," said Shizune, preparing for inevitable complaints.

"Damn inconvenient if you ask me," grumbled Ibiki, scratching his cheek.

Shizune frowned. "Then it is good and well that no one is asking you."

Ibiki raised an eyebrow. Shizune flushed and murmured an apology for her disrespectful tone.

"Well, as I was saying it takes a lot of time for the my shinobi at interrogation cell to interview every shinobi who passed by Ishigakure or its surrounding area especially since it isn't even an interrogation but a simple questioning." Ibiki sighed and leaned back into chair. "Hokage sama has already issued a notification on the disappearance of Haruno Sakura. Any shinobi who caught sight of her in the last forty days would have to report it to the Investigation Unit. Interviewing every leaf shinobi who happened to be in the area at the time is not necessary. If they know something then they will come forward."

"That may be true," said Shizune, trying to keep her tone neutral. "But as I noted, if Sakura has disappeared in a relatively peaceful region then our intel about the area is woefully out of date."

Ibiki crossed his arms. "So you mean to say even if the shinobi hasn't seen Haruno, they still have to come in to provide any other information that might be relevant?"

Shizune placed her hands on her waist. "Hokage sama is with me on this."

Ibiki stared at Shizune. "Of course he is."

Shizune scowled. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing," Ibiki sighed. "Fine, I'll have your interviews conducted." He was too old for office politics.

"Can you tell me more about it, Hyuga san?" asked Ibiki.

Hoheto sat alert in his chair in the interrogation room. He had never thought he would be here even if it was just a simple interview about a silly girl who got herself killed. She hadn't even had the sense to get killed in a manner so her body would be easily recoverable. Idiot.

"What would you like to know?" Hoheto asked. His speech was robotic, a tic not entirely uncommon to his clan. The Hyuga were not demonstrative, his mother had lectured him since birth. When he had grown up, lectures weren't even necessary. He could see her distaste at Hyuga Hinata, something he would later on come to share. The entire clan had figuratively taken a sigh of relief when Hinata had been passed over as heir in favor for her younger sister. An inclination he shared.

"Well, the events that led up it, I suppose," said Ibiki. Hoheto could hear the boredom in Ibiki's voice. He couldn't blame him.

"It was a team of three jonin. It consisted of Yamanaka Santa and Nara Ensui with the latter being the captain. On that stage of the mission we were near Ishigakure and decided to set up camp."

"You did not check into an inn?" asked Ibiki, crossing his arms.

"No, I suspected that we were being followed and it was decided that we would set up camp instead of finding an inn. If there was to be an altercation then we wouldn't want any civilians to be involved."

"Were you attacked?" Ibiki's gaze was heavy and Hoheto felt sweat tickle down his back.

"No, the enemy nin never made an appearance."

"And it was while you were camping near Ishigakure, under threat of an immanent attack that you saw Haruno san?"

"Yes, I had the watch from 2 am to 4 am. During my watch, I periodically activated my Bakugan. You understand that we were all on high alert at that time."

"No need to explain yourself, Hyuga san."

"Yes, well I activated my Bakugan at around 2:30 am. I thought I had heard rustling among trees."

"Yes?"

"It was then I saw her. She was ten kilometers ahead of me. She was standing high up on the branch of a tree."

"How did you recognize that it was Haruno? It could have been anybody else."

"I fought alongside her in the war. So I was able to recognize her chakra signature."

"Was anyone with her?"

Hoheto shrugged. "No. She remained still as if she was thinking about something."

"How long did you watch her?"

Hoheto startled. He had not expected this question. "I suspect for ten minutes or so."

"That's a long time especially since your teammates were asleep and all of you could have been possibly attacked by enemy nin."

Hoheto looked away. "I suppose a strange inclination came over me."

Ibiki's gaze sharpened. "What kind of inclination?"

Hoheto flushed. "I thought about the time when we fought in the battlefield. I found her beautiful at the time, her hair blowing in the wind. I just lost myself, I suppose." He glanced back at Ibiki.

Ibiki's expression was indecipherable. "I see. After ten minutes you deactivated your Bakugan?"

"Yes."

"When you activated it again afterwards, did you look in the same direction as where you had found Haruno san previously?"

".…"

"Hyuga san?"

"Yes, I did."

"Was she there?"

"No."

"What was the time difference between the activation at 2:30 am and the activation after that?"

"I deactivated my Bakugan at around 2:40 am and then activated it again at around 2:55 am."

"Your watch was till 4:00 am. Did you look for her during that time?"

"Yes but I didn't find her. I suspect she had gone back to the village."

"Did you see her go back into the village?"

Hoheto felt the tension in his muscles. He was being asked the same questions again and again. What did Ibiki suspect? "No, I didn't see her go back into the village."

"Then why did you presume so?"

"Well if she was in the forest then I would have seen her."

"Yes, right. Presumably after she went into the village, did you use your Bakugan to locate her within the village?"

"No, I didn't."

"Why not? You found her beautiful, didn't you? Why didn't you look?"

"I.. I don't know. I was under a lot of stress and wasn't thinking clearly."

Ibiki gave Hoheto a hard stare. "I see." He scribbled on the report before him. "You may leave."

Hoheto bowed his head and left the room. His dignity had been absolutely thrashed in the so called interview. He hoped Hyuga sama didn't hear of it or otherwise he would be at the receiving end of the sneers of his clansmen for the rest of the year.

He may have thought about Haruno in sentimental terms, looking at her from a distance, at the dead of the night under the moonlight and the stars but right now he absolutely loathed her. As Hoheto stormed out of the headquarters of Interrogation and Torture Cell, he sent a quick prayer to the departed soul of Haruno Sakura.

"Burn in hell, bitch."

A/N Actually had a lot of fun writing about Hoheto. But what I really want to do is hammer down the little details as to what makes one character different from another. Remember to review! I want to hear from you guys as how this fic is going.