Who Waits For Love

Chapter 17: Gratification

The ambiance of the city managed to penetrate through the thin walls of the almost quiet apartment. A thin trail of smoke rose up from the lit cigarette that lay in the ashtray. The sounds of the long forgotten television, stuck on the news channel, played in the background as a body lay on the worn out sofa. Thick, dark locs covered the arm rest, one hand spilling over the edge, loosely holding onto a pair of gold framed glasses. Soft snores filled the apartment, drowned out by the sudden shrill sound of a telephone. As the sounds got too loud to ignore, a groan left the mouth of the couch's occupant, a lazy hand reached to shut off the cursed device.

"It's—" They checked the time on the small watch. The ticking sound was ever so quiet that one would have to strain their ears to hear it. "Three in the morning, what do you want?"

"I think we might have found a lead."

His world froze, his eyes widened and it got harder to breathe for just a second. Sasuke sat up abruptly and searched for his sweater, he was sure that his airy breath was audible to Jiraiya.

"Where are you?" He asked, pulling on his sweater and combing a hand through his hair.

"I won't tell you until you're sure that you can make it here within the next few hours or thirty hours from now."

"The hell? Of course I can!" He stumbled slightly as he tried putting on his shoes in his haste. Grabbing his car keys, Sasuke placed Hinata's glasses in his pockets and closed his eyes as he said a silent prayer.

He wasn't one for religion, nor did he believe in anything, but he really did hope that Jiraiya found something about Hinata, or better yet, he found her.

"You'll need to take a ferry."

In an instant, Sasuke knew where exactly Jiraiya was referencing. There was only one ferry system that was near Konoha. The drive there, without traffic, could take a couple of hours or even a day depending on the route he took. He was determined though, and even if he got a speeding ticket, he would get there before noon or late at night the next day.

"I'll be there." He hung up the phone before Jiraiya could respond.

Pacing around anxiously in the hallway as he waited for the elevator, Sasuke rushed inside and repeatedly pressed the button for the parking lot. Every second felt as if it was taking too long, the more he lingered, the less time he had to save Hinata.

Getting out of the elevator and into his car at record speed, he revved the engine and turned on the GPS. Just with his luck, the interstate had little to no traffic, and there didn't seem to be any weather complications besides the thunderstorm warning.

His eyes narrowed as soon as he broke into the street, his grip on the steering wheel was tight and he had no plans of relaxing as he kept looking at the time. Six hours, he should be across the provincial border at that time, and another six hours to take the ferry and get to Jiraiya — if he doesn't stop for more than five minutes to eat and use the bathroom.

He didn't plan on telling Hiashi that he was going out of town, simply because he only wanted to give the man some good news after the constant beat down over the past few months. It was getting redundant, telling him that nothing has been found over and over again, at some point, they all lost hope.

This was different.

This was better.

Sasuke didn't trust Jiraiya at first, thinking him to be a little bit too immature to handle such a sensitive case, but he had done something the police couldn't. Despite the ill timed jokes he made, he really was serious about finding Hinata.

That pit in his stomach felt bottomless, and his heart ached at the thought of seeing her again. Perhaps it was because she was his best friend and nothing more, a friend missing a friend is completely normal, even if his hands felt clammy at the thought of holding her again.