"Bastard!"

He tensed right as the body slammed into him, knocking him against the door as arms wrapped around him in a tight hug. Blue eyes sparkled as a wide smile greeted him, stretching the whiskers on the blond's tanned face.

"Idiot." He greeted, as his best friend took a step back and placed his arms leisurely behind his neck. He scoffed quietly as he fished the old key out of his pocket, turning his back on the young man to open the desolate lock.

"Hey, don't I deserve more than that?" the blond griped, pushing his way between the dark-haired boy and now-open door. He placed his hand on the intruding head and forcefully pushed it away, stepping past the annoying obstacle into his dusty room. "Hey, at least tell me where you've been for the past five years!"

The door slammed behind him.

"Sasukeeeee!"

Said man ignored the pounding at his door as he dropped his small pack in the entrance and followed a foul odor into the kitchen. Burnt ramen marinated in a pot on the stove. With an annoyed cluck, he made his way back to the door and swung it open, inadvertently causing his friend to faceplant onto the cold floor.

"Naruto, have you been using my kitchen?" he asked, his cold voice sliding easily out of his throat. Naruto sat up and crossed his legs, rubbing his hand against his neck sheepishly.

"Well, I miss you sometimes, bastard."

Sasuke's eye ticked.

"Clean it up." He turned smoothly, leaving the blond scrambling on the floor. The apartment was just as he left it, with sparse furniture and dull white walls. Nothing unnecessary occupied the small area, only a table here and a couch that Naruto dragged in from the dump there… He pushed open the door to his bedroom, revealing the dim cavern, his lip twitching in distaste at the tangled blue comforter. So Naruto had not been confined to the kitchen. As he stepped closer, his eye caught a glimmer of bright pink hair. And his visitors had not been confined to just Naruto…

A loud clatter of metal from the kitchen drew an exasperated sigh from his lips. He turned slowly, only to find blue eyes already shoved close to his face as a rough hand waved a phone in front of his face, oblivious to the fact that Sasuke couldn't read the moving text.

"Sakura needs me right now. Meet us for dinner later!" the boy spouted, almost running into the wall as he remembered, "Oh, I almost forgot! I was supposed to get my stuff from Hinata today. You can do that for me, right?"

Naruto left without waiting for Sasuke's confirmation. He let out a heavy sigh before falling into his bed. He deserved a rest in his own bed after so many years… His eyes drifted slowly closed, his body stilling and his mind falling into tranquility. His breathing steadied as he slipped further into darkness.

Only to be startled into consciousness by his blaring fire alarm. Grumbling, he dragged himself to the kitchen, where the hyperactive boy had strewn various pots and pans, and had left the stove on. Thick smoke spiraled from one of the pots, assaulting Sasuke's lungs before he clamped a hand over his nose and mouth, hurrying toward the sink to retrieve the fire extinguisher.

"Damn it, what did the idiot do?" he wondered out loud as he lowered himself to the floor to begin cleaning his friend's mess.

The Hyuga mansion towered above him, the family name etched deep into the smooth wood of the gate. He sighed exasperatedly as he heaved one of the obstructions out of his way, stepping foot onto the expansive property. The Hyuga family was one of the well-known corporations in Konoha, famous for their revolutionary gps systems. Despite their wealth and expansive family, they preferred to stay clustered together in one neighborhood. It wasn't an attitude confined only to the Hyuga family. Many of the large corporations kept their families clustered in neighborhoods away from others – the Aburame, Inuzuka, Nara, Yamanaka, Akimichi – even his own family before the tragedy.

The main house was easy to find, located at the center of the compound, considerably bigger than the quarters around it. Despite the extravagant size of the abode, its architecture was minimalist, even the door was a meager slab of wood, he noted as his fists rapped against the polished surface.

The door glided open to reveal the glowering face of Neji Hyuga. Sasuke scoffed as his cold black eyes met the older boy's cold white eyes. The Hyuga was remarkably similar to the boy Sasuke remembered. Long hair, white clothes, the only difference being that this man lacked the hatred that used to dwell deep in the recesses of his eyes and the creases of his brow.

"Where's Hinata?" he demanded unceremoniously, glancing expectantly behind Neji, narrowly missing the souring of the young man's expression.

"She's not here." The stoic boy answered simply, closing the door quickly, but not quicker than Sasuke could jam his foot between the door and the doorframe. He let out a hefty (for him) sigh, already annoyed by the situation.

"I'm picking up the idiot's things." He stated, glaring at the long-haired man.

"She doesn't live here anymore." Neji countered. The two locked glares for a few moments before Neji sighed. "Check if Kiba or Shino know where she is."

The Aburame lived on the edges of the city, having a tendency for reclusiveness and a need for natural space to house their special inhabitants. The insects swarmed Sasuke seemingly as soon as he stepped onto their territory.

"I do not know where Hinata is." The boy's muffled voice spoke from behind a high collar. "Why? That is because Hinata moved shortly after her breakup with Naruto. I have not heard from her for weeks. I believe she has changed her phone number as well."

The strong floral aroma hit him as overwhelmingly as the girl's squeal at the sight of him.

"Sasuke! You're back!" Ino chirped from behind the counter, a smile spreading over her face as she clapped her hands exuberantly. "Sakura's gonna be so happy! Have you seen her yet? Have you seen Naruto?"

"I'm trying to find Hinata." Sasuke cut to the point. A sly smirk twisted onto Ino's mouth as she leaned forward, her eyes gleaming at the chance for gossip.

"Oh really?" she drawled.

"Naruto wants his stuff back." The Uchiha grit out, annoyance seeping into his voice.

"Hmmm well I can check if she has a number registered with us, but I've heard that she disappeared after Naruto broke up with her." Ino hummed, thumbing through her phone. "It really shocked all of us when they broke up. They were so cute together. Oh, I bet you didn't even know they were together."

Ino chatted amiably, glancing up at him to gauge his reaction. He kept his face blank, trying to keep his annoyance from showing. The blond continued to blab despite his lack of response.

"They got together about two years after you left. It was actually kind of romantic. Hinata got kidnapped by some crazy guy who wanted to marry her and Naruto saved her! They were together for about three years after that. I was sure they were gonna get married." Ino pouted into her phone.

"Ino." Sasuke interrupted, drawing her gaze to his dark eyes. "Get on with it."

"Right." She blurted, quieting for a few minutes before finally flashing her screen at him. He copied the number into his phone quickly, pressing the call button and holding the device to his ear as it rang.

"Hello, you've reached Hina-" he ended the call quickly, grumbling as he stuffed the phone back into his pocket.

"She probably won't answer an unknown number." Ino shrugged, smiling apologetically.

"What region is her area code registered for?" Sasuke demanded as Ino hummed.

"The number is still registered under her old address." She provided. Sasuke huffed, running a hand over his eyes in a futile effort to soothe his incoming headache. He turned without a word, ignoring the girl as she called out after him.

"Let me know if you find her!"

The sun had already slipped past the horizon when he slunk into a small café at the fringes of Konoha. The lights buzzed slightly overhead, and the tables were only sparsely filled. It didn't seem like the most sanitary place, but it was at least a place to sit. He closed his eyes in annoyance as he waited for service. He had been out searching for any clues of the girl's whereabouts, as if he had nothing better to do than look for his best friend's ex-girlfriend.

After he thought about it for a while, he supposed he didn't.

"Welcome to—oh!" a soft voice broke him out of his reverie. He opened his eyes slowly to regard the woman before him, dark hair pulled behind her, odd white eyes widened at his appearance, nametag gleaming on her ample bosom.

"I've been looking for you all day."