Chapter 21

Takara's Gone

Neji leaves Sakura's house with a smile.

"I can't wait to see Takara and tell her about the good news. Everyone that was at the ramen meet up and at the pool are coming back to the ramen shop. We're even going to try to get the Kazekage and his siblings to come meet Takara!"

Neji gets to Takara's apartment and sees her door wide open. Neji cocks an eyebrow. "That's very odd. She never keeps her door open. Maybe she's at Naruto's? I have to make sure she's okay!"

Neji walks inside Takara's apartment and uses his byakugan. He doesn't see anyone home. Not even Takara. Neji runs to her bedroom and sees Takara is not in bed. Then, he turns around and sees blood on the wall.

"Oh God, no... No!" Neji yells out.

Neji then runs to Naruto's apartment and bangs on his door nonstop until Naruto answers.

"Neji? What are you doing here?" Naruto asks.

Neji doesn't say anything. He grabs Naruto's arm and drags him inside to Takara's apartment.

"Why are we in Takara's apartment? What's going on?" Naruto asks.

Neji takes Naruto to Takara's room. He shows Naruto the blood on the wall.

"Takara is in trouble. I came over and her door was open, and there's blood on the wall," Neji explains.

"Did she get kidnapped again?" Naruto asks.

"I'm afraid she did," Neji says and his voice breaks. He's trying not to cry in front of Naruto.

"What do we do? What if she goes missing for another 13 years?" Naruto asks.

"Don't say that!" Neji snaps. He then goes out and grabs the map. He opens the map and shows Naruto the circle. "That right there is where she said she was kidnapped and held at. We must let Lord 5th know right away and check there."

"Right!" Naruto says.

"Report to Lord 5th, I'm going to tell Sakura that we need her for the rescue mission." Neji says.

"Okay!" Naruto says. Naruto immediately heads over to Tsunade.

Neji looks at the blood and starts to tear up. "Takara, what happened...? Are you alive? I leave you for 20 minutes, and you're gone."

Neji wipes his tears away then grabs the map, He runs out of Takara's apartment and runs straight to Sakura. He gets to Sakura's house and knocks quickly. Sakura then opens the door.

"Neji? I thought we weren't meeting until later?" Sakura says.

"Sakura, I need you to step out and close the door," Neji says quietly.

"Oh?" Sakura asks. Sakura steps out and shuts the door. "What's up Neji? You're scaring me, what's wrong?"

Neji takes a deep breath. "T- T- Takara... She..." Neji then hides his face and starts crying.

"Oh God Neji!" Sakura says in total shock. "What happened? What happened to Takara? Is she okay? Did you two break up? Talk to me!"

Neji tries to slow down his tears. "I went to her house, and her door was wide open and we know she always locks her door. I went inside and she was gone. I went to her room and... and..." Neji starts to cry more. "There's blood on her wall. She's in trouble, Sakura! I told her I would protect her and I told her she'll never get kidnapped again. I promised her! I promised her and I let her down!"

"Oh my God!" Sakura says. "Do you know where she could be?"

Neji takes out the map with shaky hands. He opens the map and explains to Sakura about the circle. Sakura looks at Neji and nods.

"Let's report to Lady 5th now," Sakura says.

"Naruto is there now," Neji says. "We need many shinobi to come with us for her rescue mission. This could be very dangerous."

"I agree," Sakura says.

Sakura and Neji go towards the hokage's office. They run inside and see Naruto talking to Tsunade.

"Takara got kidnapped from her own home?!" Tsunade yells out. She stands up from her chair and walks around her office. "How the hell did this happen? I have to report this to Ay and Bee right away and I need to send shinobi off to search for her."

"Lord 5th?" Neji says.

"Yes Neji, what is it?" Tsunade asks. Neji walks to Tsunade's office and spreads the map. "What is this?" Neji then explains to Tsunade about the circle. Tsunade nods while listening to Neji. "Okay, this is very helpful. Let me get this information out." Tsunade takes a deep breath. "Okay, let's do this quickly! Neji, get Lee and Tenten to assist you. Sakura, you go to Hinata and her team and tell them to help you and the rest on this mission. After that, get Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji to join! Grab Sai! Everyone knows her, and they're gonna help you all out! When recruited, meet back here! Now go!"

"Yes ma'am!" Naruto, Sakura, and Neji say and run out.

Tsunade takes a deep breath and calls up Ay.

"What's going on?" Ay asks.

"I have an emergency," Tsunade says. "Where is Bee?"

Bee pops his head into the conversation. "Yo! How's my bumblebee Takara doing?"

"This call is actually about her," Tsunade says. "She has been kidnapped again."

"What?!" Bee yells out in total disbelief.

"When was this?" Ay asks.

"Moments ago," Tsunade says. "Naruto said that Neji Hyuga came by and that her door was wide open and that there was blood on her wall." Tsunade grabs a map and circles where Takara's location is. "Right here is where Takara said she was located before escaping. We believe she is there right now. I want you two to go out and help find Takara! I'm going to inform the other villages."

"Thanks for bringing this to our attention Princess Tsunade," Ay says. "Okay Bee, let's set up this rescue mission."

"I'm surprised you care about Takara," Bee says.

"She was close to you, you care about her, so I should care about her too," Ay says. Ay looks over at Tsunade. "Are you going on this mission?"

"Talk to you soon." Tsunade hangs up on Ay. Tsunade puts her head down on her desk. "Damn it!"