The Last Chinoike [A NARUTO LOVE STORY]

Reunion

"Lady Tsunade, don't you think it's odd we haven't heard from Hayami Chinoike in three months? She wasn't the kind of girl to make a promise like writing to us and then not follow through. And we know she was involved with that Akatsuki run in near the border of the Land of Fire... I'm just worried that..." Shizune couldn't bring herself to finish her thought out loud. She was awake how much her student meant to Lady Tsunade and, even though it wasn't a pleasant thought, a few of the jonin who had met her thought she was dead. Shizune sighed, holding her pet pig close to her chest.

The Fifth Hokage was also beginning to think the worst. Neither her, nor Naruto and Sakura heard anything back from Hayami. The two checked every morning to see if they had any mail delivered to them, even a measly messenger hawk with a note that she was okay would suffice.

Sakura had given up hope that Hayami would write to her, she just hoped that the girl would turn up soon. Deep down, she knew that Hayami was strong and that she wouldn't let herself get brought down that easily. So naturally, she never believed rumors that her sister student was dead. 

Naruto, on the other hand, still looked up to the sky for a messenger bird every day. He was always hoping to hear from the girl he'd fallen for. He wrote her a letter a week, trying to keep her posted on everything that was happening. The genin often walked through the park where they had their first date, naively thinking he'd find her sitting under the same tree they ended their first date. He wanted to just see her sitting there, smiling up at him and calling him over to come join him in the park. Unfortunately, that never happened. All he would see is children playing with their parents and no purple-eyed girl in sight.

"That's it, I don't care about abiding by whatever agreement that Raikage and I had. I'm sending a team over there to go look for her. Summon Team Kakashi and Team Guy here at once. I have a feeling those two jonins will come in handy when dealing with that hot tempered old man the Hidden Cloud choose to call the Raikage."

"No doubt that Kakashi, Guy, and Yamato will do their best to get to the bottom of what's going on here. And I think it goes without saying that she is rather close to some of those teenagers."

"I know one blond genin that'll be more than excited to have her back in the village. Seriously, the boy is like a love sick puppy." Shizune chuckled at the Hokage's comment before heading off to summon the two teams.

"But what if they get there only to discover... he'll be crushed." Shizune continued to worry, already trying to prepare herself and her master for the worst case scenario.

"She's alive, I just know it." Was all Tsunade answered with before quickly shutting down the topic of conversation for the time being.

Soon enough, the two teams appeared in her office. "What's this all about Granny?" Naruto asked in an exasperated tone, clearly bored. He had his arms carelessly strewn behind his head, looking off to the side like this was somehow beneath him. 

"Knock it off with the attitude, you moron!" Sakura quickly hit him over the head prior to apologizing to Lady Tsunade for her teammate's tone. 

"Enough. I have a mission for Teams Guy and Kakashi. Shizune and I are worried about one of your comrades in the Land of Lightning."

Naruto stopped rubbing his head, his eyes lighting up. He felt his heart skip a beat at the thought of seeing Hayami again. His whole demeanor changed in an instant. "You don't mean-" The young man had been getting more and more worried about her, and unfortunately making stupid mistakes on missions due to his distracted thinking. Even training became more of a chore than normal for those who were overseeing his training regimen. Jiraiya and Kakashi, whenever they met in passing, noted how hard it was to get the boy to focus.