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Guilt

Chapter Thirty-Two

Guilt

April 25, 2010

Kakashi read over the short message.

It was from Shino.

No sighting of Shukaku, but the trail remains.

The Hokage placed the slip of paper down, then folded his hands together. The insect user kept in regular contact as he tracked Shukaku's trail all through the Nation of Fire and beyond but he was debating whether or not to call the chunin back to Konoha and send another tracker to relieve him and take over the trail. An Anbu operative beneath Sai's direct command, one with the tracking skills needed to keep pace with the wandering tanuki. Shino wasn't supposed to be away this long, and while extended missions were common place, this had exceeded the alloted time he'd expected him to be gone without some sighting of ichibi.

Nineteen days.

Nearly a month.

These signs of Shukaku's trail, though helpful in denoting that the bijuu was still alive and in what direction he was wandering, were naught more than that. Nothing tangible had arisen from it, no confirmed sightings, not even from Shino himself. At this point, the shades wearing ninja was circling the region on a wild goose chase, skirting too close to other Nations that were currently distant in terms of alliance. He was sure he'd receive words from the Tsuchikage or the Raikage about the encroaching.

If all they could do at this point was monitor, then this mission had become one for the Anbu.

Decision made, he grabbed a small roll of parchment, a writing utensil and penned a response ordering a rendezvous point be set, a trade off to be conducted and the subsequent return of Shino Aburame. He rolled it once it was dry, attached it to the bird at his window and watched as he flew off. He returned to his chair and started a new message, this one to be delivered to Sai.

He stood and walked back to that window. He gave a low pitched whistle and a beat later, a masked woman blinked onto the ledge. Without a single word between them, the woman took the parchment he handed her and was gone.

He'd just regained his seat when a knock at the door sounded.

"Enter."

It opened and Shikamaru stepped through, Naruto behind him, or rather, a clone. After the condition Hinata had been in yesterday, he knew his former student wouldn't leave her side for even a moment.

"Perfect timing, Naruto. Shikamaru was just on his way to collect you," the Hokage remarked.

Naruto closed the door behind him while his adviser moved to stand to his right.

"How is she?" Kakashi questioned.

Though they weren't particularly close, Kakashi liked the Hyuuga heir and enjoyed speaking to her on those rare cases they spoke outside of a professional setting. She was pleasant and polite, and he could tell by the look on her face when they spoke of the shinobi currently across from him that she loved him silly. But of course, the whole of Konoha had known that years ago.

"She's not doing so well," the blonde jonin admitted, running a worried hand through his short locks, "she feels really guilty and she's scared...and really depressed, 'ttebayo."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Naruto," the silver haired Kage replied honestly and somberly, "however, if anyone can help her, it's you...but, I'm sure you realize..."

"I know," the clone sighed, "and I'm trying my best but...it's hard to make her do something she's afraid of. I don't...wanna put her through that. I know its for her sake too, for us to figure out what happened, why it happened, but...I've never seen her like this before."