2. Heading Home.
Five days had gone past since Naruto's disappearance. Kakashi, Sakura and Sasuke have searched everywhere they could think of with no luck. Unfortunately the only thing they had found was the already decomposing body of a water ninja who had underestimated his enemy. After three days of searching and no sign that they would ever find him they had no choice but to assume the worst. They had to complete the mission and the hidden leaf village needed all the help they could get, especially since they had suffered and invasion from the sound ninja.
After delivering the package to the Bara no tsubomi village they had set out to return home. The journey back home was rough. There had been no ninja attacks along the way, but the small party walked in silence and that silence was almost a torture. It was times like these, when there was nothing to say, that Naruto would ask a silly question or give an irritating comment. Though it was annoying it always kept the conversation going. And now there was no one to fill that silence. Yet they could not bring themselves to speak. Whenever they started a conversation the topic would always somehow wonder back to Naruto in some way and then the conversation would quickly collapse and leave them yet again in silence. Instead, they passed the time thinking to themselves.
"What are we going to tell the hokage?" Sakura suddenly thought out loud. The fifth hokage, lady Tsunade, had grown a deep connection with the boy. After the tragic death of her younger brother and loved-one she came to believe that dreams were just a waste of time and effort. But, in time, Naruto (being much like her brother and loved-one) had taught her to believe in dreams again. In hope that his dream of becoming hokage would come true she had given him a crystal necklace which had once belonged to the first hokage.
If she were to find out about Naruto she would become an emotional wreck. The village could not afford that at the moment. It needed its hokage to rebuild and repair the damage caused in the invasion. If she were to be incapable of work due to emotional trauma the village was sure to suffer.
"I'm not sure." Sasuke answered, keeping mostly to himself. "Maybe we shouldn't tell her. I mean, Naruto may actually still be okay and then we would be worrying her for no reason." Sakura tried, but she could not even convince herself. "Sakura." Kakashi gained her attention. "Yes Kakashi sensei?" She asked, turning her head to look at him. He was staring at the ground as they slowly walked forward. He looked tired and uneasy, both Sakura and Sasuke could see there was something bothering him. It took him a while to continue.
He sighed heavily and smiled at her. "Don't worry about that, he'll probably come find us before we reach the village. And then you better prepare yourself for a whole week of him complaining about how we left him behind." He told her. Returning his smile she nodded. His words had given her new hope. Though, beep down, Kakashi wasn't so sure about his own words. He couldn't help feeling that wasn't going to happen.
Meanwhile:
Naruto awoke with a start, pain shooting up his right arm. His body was slightly numb and his mussels cramped with the cold. There was a throbbing pain in the back of his head as he slowly opened his eyes. Blinking away the sudden sunlight he waited as his eyes adjusted. He found himself staring up at a clear blue sky. He could hear the flowing of water and feel a cold stream against his legs.
He started to push himself up, but a stinging pain in his right arm caused him to fall back again. This was not going to stop him though as he pushed himself up again, this time using only his left arm. By sitting up his head started spinning and nausea filled him. He vomited. He had suffered a massive blow to the head and had probably obtained a concussion. After his nausea had faded he took a look around him. He had been washed up at the riverbank after the stream had carried him for miles. Now he found himself sitting at the centre of a beautiful flower field. Yellow, blue and pink flowers stretched across a wide aria, bordered by a forest. The river that had carried Naruto all this way seemed to be flowing from one side of the field to the other. As Naruto gazed at his surroundings his attention drifted towards his right arm.
By looking at it he noticed that his skin had been covered with tiny tares and scratches where his clothes had torn away. These were most likely caused by the water ninja's hooked wristband. Great. Naruto thought. Not only am I lost, but that guy tore my favorite jacket. Higher up his arm there was also the cut caused by the kunai knife, but this didn't hurt as much and had in fact already started to heal.
Naruto slowly stood up avoiding as much nausea as possible. He had decided to follow the river upstream, hopefully it would lead back to the cliff and then he could find his way from there. As he took one last look around and headed slowly towards the forest he started to wonder where his comrades were.
Back to the others:
Sasuke gazed at the road ahead of them. They have by now reached the end of their journey. It wouldn't be long until they set sight upon the village. Only another hill, maybe two, then they would see the gates leading to their home. As they reached the top of yet another hill his thoughts were confirmed.
There, not to far away, stood the village. It had improved since they had left. The outer wall had been completely repaired and, by the looks of it, so were most of the houses. Sasuke could see the gates clearly as they approached, he could see the guards noticing them and one of the younger guards heading off to report to the hokage of their return. It took only a while for them to reached the gates and prove their identities. Soon they were walking through the streets of their beloved home again.
The village was quite active that day. People were helping their friends and neighbors repair damaged homes, shopping at the wide range of stalls and shops or were just chatting with friends. Luckily most of the trainers and students were out practicing so they weren't stopped too much along the way and bothered with questions. As they climbed the steps towards the hokage's office their luck ran out the door though. They heard the sound of footsteps behind them. "Wait!" A young boy's voice called as Konohamaru came rushing up the stairs, his two best friends, Udon and Moegi, weren't with him for a change. "Hey Naruto! I heard you were back and I wanted to show you this awesome new…" He stopped in mid sentence as he realized Naruto wasn't there. "Hey, Kakashi sensei. Where's Naruto?" He asked, blinking in confusion. Kakashi smiled at him. "He's at the ramen shop. You know how much he loves ramen." Kakashi answered, thinking fast. It was strange for Sakura and Sasuke to see Kakashi telling a lie like that. Konohamaru looked at them for a while, and then he turned around and ran off again. "Thanks Kakashi sensei!" He called over his shoulder as he sped off. Having done that the small group proceeded up the stairs and through the building towards the hokage's office door.
They stood there for a while. Kakashi slowly knocked on the door. "Come in." Came lady Tsunade's voice from inside. There was no turning back now. They could see lady Tsunade sitting by her desk with Shizune by her side as always as the three of them entered the room. Looking up from her paperwork Tsunade frowned, noticing Naruto's absence, but the frown quickly faded as she first got down to the business at hand. "What's the mission status?" She asked, getting out a piece of paper. "Successful, the package has been delivered to the Bara no tsubomi village as ordered." Kakashi replied. "Any attacks?" Tsunade continued. "Only one. We were attacked by a group of water ninja, but they fled." Sakura answered hesitantly. "Good." Tsunade finished scribbling something on the paper. "Now that that's settled, where's Naruto. I've wanted to talk to him about a new technique I think he should learn from Jiraiya." Sakura fiddled nervously with her thumbs. It was getting hard for her to control her emotions. Thankfully Kakashi answered. "He's at the ramen shop, you know how…" The door burst open before he could finish his sentence. In the doorway stood a confused and slightly irritated Konohamaru. "I went to the ramen shop. Naruto wasn't there and when I asked the cook if he had already left, he said he hadn't seen him in weeks. What's going on?!" He almost yelled. Tsunade glared at Kakashi, a strange feeling of fear and rage filling her within. This new feeling was strong and hard not to react on. Realizing that Kakashi was about to lie to her only made it worse. "Kakashi. Where, is, Naruto?" She almost yelled as well. Kakashi sighed and then turned to face Konohamaru. "Konohamaru, I think you better leave the room."