On the whim of a stranger

All Gone

"Tsunade-sama!" A voice called from the door.

Tsunade couldn't help but feel irritated. Dawn was just breaking and the stack of papers in front of her all held her signature, something that took her at least the whole night to do; and now that she was finally done and managed to drift off to sleep, her assistant just couldn't help but slam the door open without any warning.

"What Shizune?" She grumbled from behind her criss-crossed arms.

"The entire Team Seven is gone!"

She wasn't exactly awake but her ears were clear and her eyes were wide. She lifted up her head, trying to show her concern despite her grogginess. "What?! What do you mean gone?"

"There is absolutely no trace of them! Kakashi, their Jounin sensei was meant to meet them all today at the gate for the escort mission you requested for them but they never arrived. He even admitted that he was quite a few hours late for the meeting. According to him, he had asked around and no one has seen any of the three since yesterday night."

"So we don't have a lead?"

Shizune hung her head, downcast. "Nothing. We checked all their apartments and homes for any clues but nothing was out of the ordinary."

"It could have been a kidnapping..." Tsunade pondered out loud.

"There was no sign of a struggle either."

"So, you're saying they went on their own accord?"

"I'm sorry.. But.. It is a possibility."

Tsunade rubbed her temples. A migraine is coming. She could sense it.

Damnit.. Naruto? Sakura? They would never betray their village would they?

"Call the Tracker team, Team 8."

"Yes, Tsunade-sama."

~~~~

Tsunade was enjoying some poker, trying to get her mind off all the stress she had been receiving recently. Hopefully, Shizune will do her job an make sure that the current problem will be resolved quickly.

She was just about to cast the winning card when..

"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune appeared at the door, causing Tsunade to slam her hand slightly too hard onto the table, shattering it in two and causing a bunch of complaints to fly at her.

"What now? I was going to win Shizune, to WIN!"

"We can't find Team 8."

Tsunade chucked. "Lemme guess. I bet 100¥ that they disappeared just like Team 7"

"Well.. Yes."

"What?!" Now something really isn't right. Six of her ninja.. Missing? Not only that, she finally won a bet. I shoulda bet a bit more..

"TSUNADE-SAMA!" Called a more distant voice.

'Crash'

"Gai! Can't you see I'm busy?!" She shouted at the lunatic who barged through the wall. Ironically, the hole was right next to the open doorway...

"TSUNADE-SAMA! MY YOUTHFUL LEE IS GONE! NEJI AND TENTEN TOO! WHAT UNYOUTHFUL CRIMINAL HAD DECIDED TO TAKE THEM AWAY! TELL ME!" He said, while shaking her dramatically back and forth, shouting in her ear the entire time. Anime tears flooded the room, causing whatever opponents who had stayed during this 'tragic' discovery to run out of it, leaving Shizune, the shaken Hokage and the green, spandex-wearing lunatic to themselves.

"Uh.. Gai?" Shizune asked timidly, backing away from the steaming Godaime. No sooner than when she took a step back, a flying idiot flew past her and into a nearby wall. Poor wall..

"Shizune?" Tsunade asked through gritted teeth.

"Y-yes?"

"Get a team.. Any team! We need to figure this out! Now!"

"One more thing Tsunade-sama."

Tsunade threw an irritated glare in Shizune's direction, causing her to flinch. "I had tried to get Shikamaru to figure this out but as it turns out... He, and the rest of his team is gone too."

And with that, Tsunade collapsed.