Are you Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?

Umino Iruka was apprehensive. His eyes wandered toward the coffee cup that was gripped tightly in between his sweating hands. He scrutinized his reflection in the depths of his coffee; he had never looked so old. His chocolate-brown hair was messier than usual, there were dark circles around his eyes, and to make matters worse worry lines were becoming visible. His chocolate eyes turned toward the emerald eyes that seemed to follow his every move. Iruka gulped as the emotionless emerald eyes gave him a once over before turning away. His attention then turned towards the phone that lay between them. They had been waiting for a phone call for at least seven hours. The two were thriving off coffee and the hope that he would be found.

Iruka knew that was Gaara was worried about Naruto; he just excelled at hiding his emotions. Iruka got up in haste and began to pace. He had no idea how to contain his worry, it was driving him crazy! He needed to know where his beloved child was. Naruto had always held a special place in his heart and not knowing if he was alive was slowly killing him. No one understood Iruka like Naruto did, they could relate to each other so well. Both grew up as orphans, they knew the meaning of being lonely. Iruka blinked back his tears as unwanted memories came flooding back. Naruto had faced so many hardships; he deserved to live a long and happy life. Naruto needed to experience happiness, he needed to be able to grow old with someone, and most of all he needed the type of love that Iruka couldn't provide him with. Iruka silently hoped that Naruto wouldn't be too psychologically damaged by whatever happened to him. Iruka could do nothing but think positively, that was the only way he would survive the grief and worry that might just be the death of him. If Naruto's life was cut short, Iruka didn't know how he would handle the news. Iruka inhaled deeply and tried to regain his composure. His eyes wandered toward Gaara, the male was once again observing him.

"Iruka, would you like to talk about what happened?"

SASUNARU

"Uzumaki Naruto, open this door now!" Iruka's voice echoed throughout the empty hallway. Iruka twitched when he realized that he was being ignored. The man then began to bang on Naruto's door. "Naruto, open this door! I've been worried sick about you!" Once again Iruka's request was ignored. He was becoming very irritated, but his irritation was vastly outweighed by his anxiety. Iruka bit his lips as he contemplated his next move. He hadn't heard from Naruto in two days and that was enough of a reason for Iruka to worry. It had become routine for Naruto to stop by every day after work; Naruto never strayed from that. Even if he was sick Naruto would attend work and then visit Iruka when his shift was over. Iruka could feel the apprehension bubbling inside of him. Without a second thought Iruka turned on his heel and ran down three flights of stairs. He skidded to a halt when he reached the landlords office. Iruka knocked and waited for permission to enter.

"Enter." As soon as the word was uttered, Iruka threw the door open and entered the bright office. "Asuma, I need a huge favor! Could you please open Naruto's apartment door for me. He won't open his door, I fear the worst." Iruka looked up at the older man; a look of urgency was clearly visible in his eyes. "Are you sure he's not on vacation?" Iruka glared at Asuma, how could he ask such a stupid question! Of course he was sure that Naruto wasn't on vacation. If he did happen to go on vacation, Naruto would have informed Iruka. "Of course I'm sure! If I wasn't sure, I would have never asked you!" Asuma nodded before grabbing a key from the wall behind him. The man shivered, Iruka was quite scary when he was angry. The two made their way back upstairs within a few minutes.

Iruka gulped when Asuma opened the door. The worry was making him dizzy; the feeling in his stomach had worsened in the span of a few seconds. Iruka took a deep breath and prepared himself for the worst. He stepped into the apartment and looked around for anything unusual. Iruka noticed that the lights in the kitchen were on; he tilted his head to the side and walked toward Naruto's kitchen. Iruka let out a shrill scream at the sight that greeted him. "Asuma, call the police!" Iruka dropped to his knees and sobbed loudly. A knife was lying in front of him; dry blood was visible on the blade. Iruka's head began to spin; he just couldn't comprehend what was going on. Iruka couldn't face what was in front of him any longer and gratefully welcomed the unconsciousness.

SASUNARU

"They wouldn't allow me back into the apartment no matter how much I begged. Curse this damn weakness. My mind was incapable of handling what I had damn police officers promised to call me back right away! It's been seven hours already. Just one more hour and Naruto will have been missing for three days. My poor baby, he's been kidnapped!"

Iruka fell to the floor, sobs raking over his body. The thought of losing Naruto was too much for him to handle. He needed to know Naruto was okay; he needed to know he was alive! Iruka turned his head to the side when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Gaara gave him a sympathetic look and helped him to his feet.

"Gaara, I should have been there to protect him. When they find him, he will move in with me. I won't take my eyes off him. I will do everything in my power to protect him! Whoever kidnapped my baby will face my wrath! I will somehow get Naruto back. I won't rest until he's back with me."

Iruka and Gaara's head snapped to the side when the phone began to ring. Iruka quickly grabbed the phone and put it on speaker. Iruka and Gaara exchanged hopeful looks. "Hello?" Iruka's voice was filled with hope. The seconds seemed to feel like hours as they waited for a response from the person.

"Iruka, this is Detective Morino Ibiki. I'm sorry to inform you, that we did not find any clues about Naruto's whereabouts. There is a limited amount of information that was left at the crime scene. We cannot make any inferences. However, there is a chance that he is still alive. He might have been kidnapped but there was no ransom note. I do have some good news. The blood on the knife was not Naruto's. The blood was tested, but it was not recognized. No one with that blood type is registered in our system. Your friend put up quite a fight with his attacker. We believe that Naruto was the one to stab the man with the knife. He will not be charged because it was an act of self defense. From what we could tell, the person who kidnapped Naruto broke into his house through the window because it was left wide open. Other than the blood on the knife and the window we have found nothing else. I'm very sorry. If anymore information becomes available you will be notified. Have a good night."

Iruka dropped the phone as sorrow filled him to the brim. He felt his legs give out and he collapsed to the floor. Spasms attacked his body as sobs were ripped from his throat. Gaara stood silently in the corner, his vision was becoming blurred with the tears flowing from his eyes. There was no way he could console Iruka in the emotional state he was in. Gaara slumped to the floor and allowed the tears to flow.

"Naruto where are you? Naruto come home! Please come home."

Gaara placed his hands over his ears; he didn't want to hear Iruka begging Naruto to come home. Naruto wouldn't come back home, he was probably dead. Gaara let out one loud sob when that thought finally registered in his mind. The two males sat in their respective corners trying to deal with the grief that came with the phone call that they had waited seven hours for.