The Lost Uzumaki (Kakashi x OC)

Chapter Twenty-Four: Dread

It was as though all of Earth's gravity pressed down on his shoulders. Kakashi's throat was dry, his hearing gone. He stared past Tsunade's waving hand and asked himself why he didn't notice her scent was faint, almost non-existent.
"Kakashi!" Tsunade snapped. "Who are you talking about?"
Kakashi's mind worked out 3 facts at once.
Tsunade, and likely all of Konoha, is under genjustu.
Meilani has been taken.
And he was going to murder whoever took her.
He folded his hands together. "Release!"
Tsunade shook her head, groaning. Shizune blinked and held onto Tonton to soothe her nausea. Tsunade stood and backtracked into the wall.
"What the hell? How did this happen?"
Kakashi bit back a smartass remark.

"Was there an attack?"
"There must have been. But I don't remember one. I remember.... Filling out paperwork a few nights ago, and when I blinked it was sunrise and I'd fallen asleep." Her cheeks burned. "I thought it was the sake."
"Lady Tsunade, we need to-"
"I know, Shizune!"
Kakashi followed Tsunade while she teleported to the roof.
"They might still be in the Land of Fire territory, if they went North." Shizune watched Kakashi's hardened expression.
"They could have gone west and be nearly through the Land of Wind."
Tsunade summoned Lady Katsuyu and together they worked to release the genjustu. "Shizune, summon all the jonin and Chunin in the village. Kakashi, I'm going to send word to Jiraiya, Naruto and Sakura. If we're lucky, they may have already encountered her."
Kakashi shook his head. "How many days since you passed out, Lady Tsunade?"
Her forehead creased. "3 days."

Kakashi fled to his apartment.
Upon arrival, everything looked normal. The kitchen was clean, with a few days worth of meals in his fridge. No signs of forced entry or enemy chakra, yet Mei's scent was still faint, almost muddled.
In his room, the sheets were unmade. Half of them were thrown aside and the t-shirt she used for her hair was tossed on the floor.
She never lets it touch the ground.
His nose detected an unfamiliar floral scent. Jasmine, with a bit of citrus.
Across the bed, on the doorframe, a fresh chip from a shuriken was present. His eye narrowed at the new accent, and he pulled the sheets around in search of something.
He felt relief when he found Mei's hair ribbon. She wouldn't leave it behind willingly, even on missions. Her scent had practically been imprinted on it.
"Summoning jutsu!" He shouted after biting his thumb harder than necessary. His pack looked around his place and immediately began sniffing.
"Is that Meilani's scent?" Pakkun tilted his head.
"Find her, Pakkun."
His tone earned a few whimpers, and they obeyed with haste. Kakashi scanned his room further. Mei's towel was hung up and her exercise clothes were folded on top of his dresser. Her toiletry bag with all her hair and skincare products beside them. He ran to her apartment, her scent was even more faint there. She must have spent most of her time at his place.

His thoughts filed through what little info he had about the Isle of Dreams. All he knew is that the island might be northwest, in uncharted waters. Jiraiya took Sakura and Naruto to the Land of Rice Fields, East of here. If Genma's team followed the lead, they'd be near the Land of Earth's borders. If he left now, there'd be a chance to catch up to them.
He sensed his hounds pick up a trail towards the North, and summoned Akino to update Tsunade. As he did so, Kakashi followed Pakkun's chakra. Ignoring that familiar darkness stirring inside, he sprinted ahead. Focused on his light.
"Hold on, Princess."

***

Tsunade sat between the village elders within the meeting room. Kurenai glanced around worriedly. Jonin and Chunin alike muttered in hushed tones, all trying to figure out what's going on.
"What is it?" Asuma puffed on a freshly-lit cigarette.
"What do you mean, 'what is it?' The whole village was under genjustu until an hour ago. And I.... I forgot about Meilani."
His eyebrow perked up. "You, too?"
Tsunade cleared her throat, silencing the entire room.
"I'm sure you've all realized by now that we've been recently put under a town-wide genjustu. We're not sure how, but based on most experiences we can assume it happened at least 3 days ago."
"Why? And who?" A chunin asked.