Talk no jutsu: Person-to-person transmission

Thud.

The sound of kunai hitting the target came in fits and starts. Hanging upside down from a branch, Naruto looked as limp as a wilted cucumber leaf, utterly distracted.

A wilted Naruto-kun (not really).

"Naruto-kun..." Hinata, who was training alongside him, watched with concern as he swayed like a leaf in the wind. She forced herself to sound encouraging. "When we went to see Sasuke-kun at the hospital yesterday, the doctor said he should be all right now. I'm sure he'll be back soon."

Thud.

Another kunai flew out. With his mind nowhere near his training, Naruto finally jumped down from the tree and sighed at Hinata. "It's not just Sasuke. You said I brought Izumi to your house before, and then she disappeared. I don't get that either. I don't remember any of it, but I really did show up at your house. It's not like I was sleepwalking, right?"

And for some reason, I haven't been dreaming these past few nights. Every morning I wake up feeling no sense of fulfillment, just this strange emptiness inside.

But bringing that up would have sounded too melodramatic, so Naruto didn't mention it to Hinata.

"...You still can't find her with that technique of yours?" Hinata stopped practicing and asked sadly.

Although Hinata didn't know Izumi, and might even have felt a little envious that Naruto was so distraught over another girl, her kind nature meant she was also deeply worried about the missing Uchiha Izumi.

"Yeah. It's really weird. That mark can't be wiped off, but now I really can't sense the one I left on the back of Izumi's hand." Naruto frowned as though he had overworked his brain, then looked at Hinata. "I can sense the mark on you just fine."

Naruto's peculiar choice of words made