His Gift to Her (Mary Sue Series)

Chapter 35

Sakura was confused but remained respectfully silent. Why was Tsunade Sensei so frantic over a missing student? Sure, the heartbreak for Qui's parents is understandable, but she didn't see why everyone else was extremely agitated. She did, however, dedicated herself to her studies so she would be ready when the time came for her to head into battle. 

Lady Tsunade even sent a message to Jiraiya so he too would be on the lookout for Qui and suspicious people. Soon after receiving the red alert, Jiraiya Sensei told Naruto Qui was missing. Instantly, Naruto became more determined to return to Konoha even stronger than before in order to bring back Sasuke and find Qui. Both were precious teammates and he refused to sit back and do nothing. 

Still perplexed as to why the Akatsuki wanted Qui, Kabuto casually interrogated Sasuke every now and then, hoping to glean some valuable information. 

"Did you hear? Your teammate Kurisani-kun is missing. Heard she was kidnapped and now she's on high search radar. You wouldn't happen to know why Konoha authorities are so frantic, now would you?" Kabuto sneered, hoping to get a reaction.

But Sasuke only ignored or avoided him, taking extreme care to say nothing. Judging Sasuke's silent reaction, Kabuto understood that Sasuke knew why Qui was valuable but refused to say a word, thus protecting her despite being away.

Now, what was the truth? Why was Qui so important to the Akatsuki? 

"She looks normal," one said to another, eyeing the file of Kurisani Qui. "Nothing special about her. That's unusual."

"Don't be fooled. She's only wearing a disguise." 

"It looks nothing behind's that disguise, un."

"Until she can remove that disguise, we need to continue collecting the tailed beasts. Enough, we've wasted too much time talking. Move out." 

Kurisani Noriaki anxiously waited, unable to head out into the field without any information. The elders refused to tell her or her husband anything, and her only hope was that Uncle Igo and anyone actively searching for her only daughter would find Qui. 

"Bring her back, please," she whispered, her heart pounding and aching in terror. She didn't want to imagine the worst, seeing her daughter used cruelly and their family secret exposed. Death would be imminent and there would be no one to catch them if they fell.

"It's going to be okay," her husband said calmly, embracing her. "I believe she'll be returned to us safe and sound." 

Yet he had no idea how long that would take. Days? Weeks? Months? Years? 

No one knew where Qui was, save for one person. 

This stranger intended to keep Qui's secret and whereabouts unknown to the public. All he had to do was wait patiently and soon all the events would collide and come in to play.