Iruka liked his job. Honestly, he did! He had been given a rowdy bunch of kids, orphans and clanless and clan kids alike, and he loved them all.
There were the quiet kids, like Aburame Shino and Uchiha Sasuke, who worked diligently and didn't talk quite as much, but managed to provide an example to his rowdier students. On the other hand, there were students like Yamanaka Ino and Inuzuka Kiba, who were loud, confident, and balanced out the quieter children.
Iruka didn't think he had favorites, but he did have students he watched more than others. The prime example being Uzumaki Naruto.
He didn't know how to feel about the boy. His parents had been in the ground for 7 years, and Iruka could still feel the prickle of the nine tails chakra against his skin. It didn't matter how much time had passed; the caustic air and ash that rained from the sky had burned a place in his memories. The general shinobi crowd avoided him. The civilians believed the boy to have the yokai abilities of a kitsune, taking on the face of the beloved Fourth Hokage. Iruka didn't know what he thought. So he watched, out of his own precautions, and sent any observations necessary to the Third Hokage.
And on this day, innocuous as any other, Iruka was reminded of all the parts he hated about his job. He'd already had to drag Naruto back to class, and had called Naruto and Sasuke's name for their spar, when Naruto tripped over his own pant leg and disappeared in a puff of smoke.
For a moment, the class paused, and Shikamaru glanced around the room with one half lidded eye. The next minute, he went back to sleep.
But the disappearance of any child, jinchuriki or not, was a serious matter. And the nature of which Naruto disappeared… That looked just like a shadow clone.
Something dark coiled in his stomach.
"Naruto, wherever you are, this isn't funny. You need to do your spar." Naruto didn't magically reappear like Iruka hoped. The spot remained blank.
Shikamaru, now awake, frowned at the empty desk next to him. Sasuke stared at the spot where his sparring partner was supposed to be with wide eyes.
Annoyance gave way to worry. Iruka scanned the class of curious students. No one seemed worried yet, seeming to believe it's another prank. Iruka didn't want anyone to panic.
(Or so he told himself. Iruka was already halfway to panic.)
He turned to Sasuke with a small smile. "It looks like it's an automatic win for you, Sasuke-kun. You can sit down." Sasuke nodded, and with a small frown at the space Naruto inhabited just a moment ago, headed back to his seat.
"We're going to have a study session!" Iruka called. "Take out your notebooks." He waited for his class to follow his instruction, before quickly ducking into the hall.
He knocked on the next faded wooden door insistently. Kiyomi-sensei appeared after a minute, dark brow raised, with the same subtle disdain the Hyuuga clan seemed to exude. Iruka always worried for the students in her class—he never would have been able to pass with such a strict instructor.
Kiyomi crossed her arms, leaning against the doorframe. "Is there a reason you're interrupting my class, Iruka?"
"I'm having a code blue," Iruka bursts out, and Kiyomi's features morph from annoyance to concern. She barks an order at her students, and slips out of the door to fully face him.
"Who's missing?"
"Uzumaki Naruto."
Her mouth firms in a thin line. "You think he was taken?"
Iruka shrugs helplessly, fingers tapping symphonies into the doorframe. "The way he disappeared….it doesn't—" he cut himself off before he could get into his concerns. Kiyomi wouldn't care, either way. "Can you watch my kids?" Iruka asked instead. "He might be around here somewhere, but I need to check—"
She waved a manicured hand. "Don't worry about it. I'll ask Fuji to step in, I think he's on break."
With a rushed thanks, he was gone.
Iruka wasn't panicking, he told himself as he ran through the Academy, peeking through windows and doors. He wasn't panicking when he checked the schoolyard and neighboring forests. He certainly wasn't panicking when he speedwalked to the Hokage's office, badgering the secretary until the Hokage himself poked his head out to allow Iruka a moment.
"Iruka? What seems to be the problem?" The Sandaime asked from behind his desk. Iruka glanced around the Hokage's office, hoping beyond hope that Naruto would pop up behind a bookshelf so Iruka could scream at him and drag him back to class by his ear.
Iruka's caught his breath enough now, but he still felt on the verge of hyperventilating.
"Iruka?"
He looked back to the Hokage, and bowed. "I'm sorry, Hokage-sama. But Naruto appears to be missing."
The Hokage frowned, leaning back in his chair. "How so?"
"We were about to start our sparring rounds for the term when Naruto tripped down the steps and fell. Only, he dispelled into smoke, like a shadow clone."
If this was a prank, it was the worst one Naruto had ever done.
The Sandaime's wrinkles deepened. "A shadow clone?"
Naruto was seven, even if he knew the jutsu, he shouldn't have been able to do it at his age. Then again… Naruto had already more than shown his Uzumaki aptitude in the past few weeks. The seals he'd drawn were basic, but there was promise. But to learn a forbidden jutsu? Hiruzen didn't like the sound of that.
He signals discreetly for his ANBU, and Bear, Rat, and Cheetah appear. "I need you to find Uzumaki Naruto before the school day ends, and bring him to my office."
"Yes, Hokage-sama," they respond, and head towards the windows immediately.
The Hokage turned back to Iruka. "I'm sure the ANBU will find him and return him to class, Iruka," he says to the harried teacher. "Please, go back to your class. I'll send him to you once he's found."
Iruka thanks the Hokage, bows again, and walks out. When they found Naruto, Iruka wasn't taking him out for ramen for weeks.
(The Hokage checks on the forbidden scroll of sealing and it's still exactly where it's always been. Naruto couldn't have taken it and learned the jutsu. The boy already struggled with a normal clone as it was.)
Sarutobi Hiruzen was sure the Anbu would find Naruto. Whether he was hiding in the forest, or in some part of the red light district, or even hiding in the old Uzumaki temple, he wouldn't be able to evade ANBU for long.
Except, they didn't.
The school day ended, and Uzumaki Naruto was nowhere in sight. Alarmed, the Hokage called on 2 tracking squads to scan the entire village, top to bottom. The best Yamanaka sensors and Hyuuga clan members were called to scan the buildings or search for Naruto's chakra.
But they couldn't find him.
By sunset, the entire shinobi ranks had learned of Uzumaki Naruto's disappearance. Some believed it to be the fault of Kyuubi, somehow causing Naruto to disappear. Others had thought it was the boy running himself. After all, Naruto's apartment still looked lived in and messy, but his wallet was gone. Some of his tracksuits were gone. It didn't look like a kidnapping.
They found the pranks, with Rat nearly getting covered with paint in the boy's apartment, and Cheetah not dodging the glitter that rained down in the Academy field. They were both drawn with the same horrendously messy seal.
By nighttime, the Nara had been called to scan the shadows for any disturbance. Nara Suzaku got a face full of glitter in the forest of death, but saw no sign of the jinchuriki.
The Yamanaka couldn't sense Naruto.
The Inuzuka couldn't track Naruto.
The Hyuuga couldn't see Naruto.
The Nara couldn't feel Naruto.
With a heavy heart, the Hokage called an impromptu council meeting to relay the news.
Danzo glared from his seat with his sole eye. There wasn't time to mourn the past, but Hiruzen could remember when it felt like Danzo and he were on the same side of their mission to protect Konoha, free of power plays and politics. A time when they were truly allies, friends, in their goal.
Did Hiruzen trust Danzo to protect Konoha? Absolutely, though his methods were crass. But a small (naive) part of him wished that it felt like they weren't on opposing sides of the same cause.
"Have the Uchiha kidnapped him?" Danzo asks, blunt and composed as always. Hiruzen raises an eyebrow, signaling for his ANBU to guard the doors.
"What do you take me for, Danzo? The Hyuuga scanned the entire village. Naruto is nowhere to be found."
"What do I take you for?" Danzo repeated slowly, folding his trembling hands in his lap. If it were anyone else, they wouldn't be able to see that Danzo was enraged. "If you had allowed the jinchuriki to be properly monitored and trained, Hiruzen, this never would have happened," he said sharply. "For all we know, Iwa or Kumo has our jinchuriki. We have lost our greatest weapon."
Homura and Koharu look similarly displeased.
(Why did it always feel like 3 against 1? They had fought through war together, why did they struggle to coexist in peacetime?)
"We'll send out infiltration squads to the other nations," Hiruzen says firmly. "We will find Naruto and have him returned safely."
"Will you?" Danzo asks. His cane taps twice on the floor. "And what happens when he returns? What if the Uchiha take advantage of this time to strike? Then what will you do, Hokage-sama?"
The words were brittle. Danzo wasn't entirely wrong, he knew. He had wanted Naruto to have a chance at a normal childhood, a chance at a normal life. Maybe they would have to change Naruto's training when they came back, but Hiruzen wanted to avoid ROOT as much as possible. Minato would never forgive him if the boy fell into Danzo's hands.
Hiruzen opened his mouth to answer when a series of knocks landed on the door. Anbu. High priority.
"Enter."
Two ANBU walked in. An otter mask and a weasel mask were removed to show Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Itachi.
"Itachi, Shisui." the Hokage said, straightening. "Has there been any news?"
Shisui bowed, and though his face was straight, there was a hint of relief in his tone. "Fugaku-sama has called off the coup indefinitely, following Uzumaki Naruto's kidnapping."
Itachi looked similarly relieved. Hiruzen shot a pointed look at Danzo.
"Have there been any developments with the search?" Hiruzen asked, but he already knew the answer.
Itachi shook his head. "None of the squads have located Uzumaki Naruto. Taichou returned from a mission, and is gathering a team to search greater Fire country."
Meaning Kakashi had immediately prepared a search after coming off a suicide mission. Wonderful.
"Send Hound to me immediately, Weasel." Shisui nods, dons his mask, and flickers away with dizzying speed. Itachi stands at attention.
Perhaps Shisui was the stronger Uchiha of the two, and his body flicker was renowned throughout the country. He was extroverted where Itachi wasn't, a trusted figure in the village. In 10 years time, he'd be a prime candidate for Hokage. Just as Hiruzen believes Itachi will be.
Somehow, though, if called to choose between the two, Hiruzen knows he would choose Itachi.
"Please keep monitoring the Uchiha situation, and warn us of any developments, Itachi." With another nod, Itachi puts on his mask and disappears.
"Hound."
Kakashi kneels at Hiruzen's feet.
"You've been gathering a tracking squad?"
"Yes, Hokage-sama." His voice is clipped, flat, but if Kakashi were even a tad less skilled than he was, Hiruzen could tell he would be vibrating in place. "We haven't been able to spot a trail leading out of Konoha, but we've been tracing likely routes in Fire Country, given the weather patterns of the past few days—"
Hiruzen sighs out. "Kakashi, I'm not sending you on an immediate mission."
At that, the boy's head snaps up. "Hokage-sama—"
"You've just come back from a three week mission in Frost Country. I can tell you have chakra exhaustion from here. You need to rest."
Maybe the acknowledgement of how tired he must be allows his frame to slacken slightly. Hiruzen isn't sure. "Hokage-sama, I am still able to assist with the search. My tracking skills would be essential—"
"You have both Inuzuka and Hatake blood, of course your tracking skills are some of the best in the village," Hiruzen said with a small smile. "And when you're rested, you will lead a team to search parts of Fire Country."
The Anbu captain didn't like the answer. "But any trace of him could be lost in—!"
"There have been no trails, and no traces that any of the Aburame, Inuzuka, or Hyuuga could find," Hiruzen reminded him gently. "The Yamanaka haven't sensed any chakra. You taking a day to rest will most likely not change that. When you've rested, come back and I will give you the mission."
Kakashi's voice flattened once more. "Yes, Hokage-sama."
He bowed, turned on his heel, and began walking out. It was as his hand was touching the door that Hiruzen said, heart full of pity, "Minato wouldn't blame you, Kakashi."
Kakashi paused for just a moment, before heading out.
Fire Country is scoured for any sight of Uzumaki Naruto, and none is found. Infiltration squads are sent out to every country, but no one spots the last jinchuriki. Wary of making any news of the missing jinchuriki public, the Sandaime never puts out public notice of Naruto's disappearance.
A month after searching Fire Country top to bottom, Kakashi stands in front of the Memorial Stone, head bowed.
"He's gone. I should have been there. I—"
He wipes his eyes with a rough hand. There's absolutely no trace of Naruto anywhere. The Hyuuga on his team finally snapped at him for trying to check villages one more time, we might have missed something.
One thing remained clear: Naruto seemed to have left willingly. Whoever took him had covered their tracks extensively, and had convinced Naruto to leave without alerting anyone.
And maybe if Kakashi had tried harder, had a more active role in Naruto's life, maybe his Sensei's son wouldn't have wanted to leave in the first place.
He'd never get a complete answer. That didn't mean he didn't have a response.
"Kushina-nee. Minato-sensei. I'm sorry."
"I'm so sorry."