AN Yo! New AU story! Because the ideas, they constantly sprout. And MAYBE I just went on a week-long Veronica Mars and Sherlock binge.
Please R&R xoxo
Oberhofer - I Could Go
I.
Sakura opened the door, her heart soaring with excitement. She'd just passed her final physical exam and was ecstatic to share the news. Her parents had been watching her train with worried eyes since the day she entered the academy, and now she could finally put their unease to rest.
Setting her bags by the door, she bent down to begin untying her boots. "Mom! Dad! You will never believe it! I got the second best time on the obstacle course out of everyone!"
Her voice ended in a whisper as she realized that she might be home alone. This was very strange considering both her parents had recently become unemployed. Sakura couldn't help the frown that tugged her lips downwards.
"Mom? Dad? Forgot my cellphone charger so.." She made her way inside, a bad feeling settling in her stomach. "Hello?"
She searched every room until she found her way to the study. The door was ajar. A blood-curdling scream tore up her throat and darkness spotted her vision.
Later she would be told that the police had found her curled into the fetal position between her parents' lifeless bodies, screaming uncontrollably.
Sakura walked into the police department and was immediately greeted by a bright pair of smiling blue eyes. She had just left her shift, bleary-eyed and still wearing her scrubs dotted with blood, but her friend smiled happily nonetheless.
"Sakura-chan! You're literally the most amazing thing to happen in here today!"
"That's because you're still stuck on desk duty, Naruto. I need to speak to the chief inspector. Is he in?"
Naruto turned around in his seat to glance at the large office in the back of the room. "If by 'in' you mean getting dumped, then yeah, he's back there. A bit busy, though."
"Again? How many times has he been dumped this month?" Sakura squinted her eyes to try and see between the blinds that shielded his office, but to no avail.
"Probably three. I think he does it on purpose." Naruto shrugged.
"Maybe he prefers the company of women in written word rather than in the flesh."
Then, a beautiful woman exited the office. In a sea of olive drab and khaki, she was a vision with fiery red curls and an emerald dress. She waltzed past them without so much as a glance and blew through the double doors.
After a few moments, the two finally shook off the remaining awe left from her spell. Naruto, still a little speechless at having been in such close proximity to such a beautiful woman, pressed a shaky finger to the intercom. Sakura, who overcame the effects much more quickly, rolled her eyes in exasperation.
"Hey, Chief. You have a visitor."
"Tell her I'm busy."
Sakura didn't wait for a response as she walked around Naruto's desk and entered the office.
He sighed heavily, exhaustion clear in the lines of his face and the dark circles under his eyes. "Have a seat, Sakura."
Doing as she was told, Sakura sat across from him and eyed him curiously. His silver hair was more unkempt than usual, falling into his charcoal eyes. He didn't bother trying to give her the weak smile he usually plastered on for her. Instead, his mouth was set in a straight, impatient line.
"That girl you brought in died." She said abruptly, crossing her arms over her chest, there was a pain shining in her eyes, grief from not saving the girl.
"I'm aware. I've already been to the morgue."
"I inspected her body."
Kakashi groaned, massaging the bridge of his nose. "Of course you did."
"I don't think the gunshot wound was self-inflicted. I went through her medical records, nothing suggests any type of psychosis."
"Well, if you inspected her body, then you would have seen the scars on the back of her right hand."
"Yes, and I also saw that her molars were damaged by stomach acid, but bulimia isn't good enough a reason. Someone did this to her. She had bruises on her wrist, and not even her right wrist. I heard she shot herself left-handed. Why would a right-handed person do that?"
"I guess that explains why her wound didn't immediately kill her." He said, bored. "Aside from that, there were no signs of struggle. She had a note, written clearly in her own handwriting."
"She was three months pregnant, Kakashi. Surely you noticed the swell of her stomach, her flushed cheeks."
His eyes widened slightly. He hadn't noticed it, but before Sakura could process his surprise, his face slipped back into an impassive mask.
"So, let me get this straight. An eighteen year old pregnant girl from the projects, who is also struggling with long-term bulimia, and has a written suicide note, didn't kill herself? That someone staged it? Is that what you're telling me? And who, pray-tell, would be capable? Those hoodlums in her neighborhood?"
Although Sakura hated being condescended to, she sucked on her teeth for a moment and took a deep, calming breath. "I had the lab take a DNA sample from the fetus. Maybe you could go through her journals or texts and find something out."
"Sakura." He hung his head and sighed. "You are not Sherlock Holmes. You can't keep interfering in our cases. I don't know why you dropped out of the academy and went to medical school, but you've already made that decision. If you want to be on the force, then go back to school, otherwise you're going to get yourself arrested one of these days."
Her eyes hardened. "Don't act like you don't know why I dropped out. When you guys fail to serve and protect and a victim ends up in my E.R., it becomes my responsibility. I just want justice."
"That's all any of us want, but your job isn't to pursue it, you got that?"
"Just tell me that you'll look into it so I can sleep tonight?"
"Fine. Now get lost. I have some paperwork to finish."
Satisfied, Sakura got up and turned to leave, but stopped when her hand touched the knob. She turned back and gave him the most normal smile she could muster after such a long day.
"Kakashi?"
"Hmm?" His eyes were still trained on the paperwork.
"Do you think maybe we could get dinner sometime?"
He paused, set his pen down and gave her contemplative look. "Like a date?"
"Yes, like a date."
"I'll text you."
"You don't have my number.." She trailed off, realizing immediately how stupid she'd sounded.
"Give me some credit, Sakura." He chuckled, although the smile didn't quite reach his eyes.
"You're going on a date with Kakashi? Are you serious? I've been asking you out for years!" Naruto cried as she made her way past him.
"You're going to get into trouble if you keep listening in like that, Naruto-kun." She smiled, pushing open the double doors and disappearing into the night.
Kakashi watched her and waited until she was completely out of sight before allowing the frustration he'd been reigning in to leak onto his features. Picking up the phone, he dialed the only number that would give him immediate access to the Konohagakure Veteran's Hospital's Chief of Medicine.
"Tsunade speaking." Came a gruff voice, hoarse from years of yelling and excessive drinking.
"Explain to me how an emergency medical surgeon has lab clearance."
A beat. "Why shouldn't my physicians have clearance to the lab?"
"Were she for a living patient, I assume that lab access is a standard procedure, but once they've died, the responsibility falls back onto the Department. Not to mention that the patient was brought in by us. Am I to understand that she ordered a DNA testing? How does someone working in the lowest part of the hospital get privileges like that?"
"Get your facts straight, Hatake. Shizune's the one who ordered it. I'd be more than happy to have her send over the paperwork. And unless you've forgotten, the morgue is located in my hospital. And if Sakura wants to intern as a lab assistant, that's hardly any of your goddamn business. Now, unless you have something tangible to bring to me, I suggest you take your complaints and shove them straight up your-"
Kakashi hung up the phone before she had the opportunity to finish voicing that train of thought and fumed silently. He didn't enjoy being such a tightwad, but he also didn't enjoy Sakura poking her nose where it didn't belong. She was bound to get into trouble, or worse. He shuddered. The thought of his ex-student getting hurt always left a bad taste in his mouth. Maybe it was her delicate, girlish features or the touch of sadness that lingered in her eyes when she thought no one was watching.. Whatever it was, it awoke a protective side of Kakashi that he wasn't accustomed to.
He turned his attention to his computer and began searching for Sakura's phone number. She wanted to have dinner, obviously a cover for something else. He had a pretty good idea what she really wanted.
Kakashi took a long gulp from his wine and tried to remember exactly how old Sakura was. He'd just surfed through Naruto's facebook (why bother getting his own when Naruto's passwords were offensively simple?) and yet he somehow forgot to commit the number to memory. He had gotten momentarily distracted by all of the pictures Naruto had of his pink-haired best friend, and how within the past few years, the pictures seemed to dwindle into nothing but a photo here or there. It wasn't surprising. Death affected everyone in different ways, Sakura chose to cut herself off from her friends.
He checked his watch for the eighteenth time and sighed audibly. Kakashi always arrived late because it made people more vulnerable, their nerves were a little more on edge, easier to crack, but Sakura had decided to be even later than himself. Well played.
"Sorry I'm late!" His head jerked up at her operatic voice, so high and loud. She was wearing a sleeveless red blouse tucked into high-waisted, fitting trousers and a pair of very high platform shoes. Not necessarily date attire. "Did you order already?" She asked, taking a seat.
"I did. Now let's get straight to the point. Why did you want to me outside of the office?" He questioned in a bored tone.
Her jade eyes slanted into a glare. "Who said I have an ulterior motive?" After he continued to stare at her impassively, her shoulders fell and she pulled out a large file, handing it to him. "I want you to help me figure out who murdered my parents."
"The man who killed your parents is behind bars." He murmured, flipping through the newspaper clippings, crime scene photos, and collection of various statements she had know business having in her possession. "Besides, I'm not a private investigator anymore."
"You used to be. You're the Chief Inspector now. You must have access to so much more information."
"Information you seem to have no problem acquiring on your own." He shook his head. "This case is closed. I'm not risking my job to aid you in some unhealthy revenge fantasy."
Sakura watched him until he lifted his gaze to meet her own. She was pouring so many emotions into those beryl orbs and Kakashi was beginning to feel suffocated under the weight of her stare.
"Please, Kakashi. I'll pay you."
"You can't afford me."
"What makes you say that?" She pouted, crossing her arms over her chest.
He hummed in response, letting his eyes rove over her appearance once again. A look of recognition shone in her eyes and Kakashi watched as she squared her shoulders and clenched her jaw, preparing for an onslaught.
"Well, your clothes give me enough information as is. Your pants were once black, but have faded into charcoal, probably from frequent washing, suggesting you probably don't own very many pairs of nice slacks. Your fingernails are painted, and well, but the ends are smudged, meaning you can't afford to have them professionally maintained. Your blouse is new, but there is a loose thread on the shoulder. It was a cheap deal you probably picked up in a night market. Your perfume smells expensive, but out of fashion. You know you can't afford another bottle, so you use it sparingly, as I've only smelled it three times on you before. However, I don't need to look at your clothes to know that your parents' money was tied into Uchiha Incorporated, and the moment they were fired, they lost everything. This left you in a world of debt. Factor in the four years you spent in medical school.."
"Okay okay! I get it!" She huffed angrily. "I hate when you do that. It's absolutely unnerving! And rude! And..." The fight faded quickly from her eyes and she simply sighed in defeat. "Never mind." She muttered as their food was set before them.
They continued to eat in a tense silence, Kakashi barely able to choke down his food. He felt awfully guilty, much more than necessary.
"Sakura, why do you think your parents' murderer is still out there?" He asked suddenly, causing her to jump in surprise, nearly spilling her wine.
She set her glass down and folded her hands in her lap, chewing on her bottom lip. "It just doesn't add up. They were accused of leaking information to Hyuuga International and fired for it, but my parents would never do that. The night of the murder, I didn't notice at first, but their room and study had been torn apart. The police said it was a burglar, but whoever broke in was looking for something. Nothing was missing from the house but a few back-up external hard drives and their cellphones. I think my parents found out something they shouldn't have, and were killed for it."
"Are you suggesting someone within Uchiha is responsible?" He tried to sound skeptical, but it was forced an unnatural. Kakashi quit the force for years and only recently took a position as an academy teacher before quickly being promoted to Chief Inspector after the death of the previous Chief. He hadn't worked on the Haruno case, with good reason. Kakashi had the tendency to ask too many questions. One would think that being curious and inquisitive were good traits to have in a detective.
"I mean, I'm not suggesting anything. I just-"
"I'll do it." He interrupted.
Her eyes grew round. "You mean it? How much? You're right, i don't have a lot, but I can get another job, I need to anyway."
"Pro bono. But, under some conditions."
"Anything." She breathed.
"You will tell no one. Should anyone ask, you and I are dating, god help me, and that is why we are spending time together. Also, you will follow my lead completely. The moment you step out of line, I'm out and you're on your own. And if I say it's over, it's over. Are we understood?"
Sakura nodded enthusiastically, clearly trying her hardest not to jump out of her seat and throw her arms around his neck in gratitude.
He wiped his mouth with the napkin and dropped it onto his empty plate. "I'm going to get a head start on this now. I'll call you."
Kakashi gather the file and slipped it into his briefcase before walking towards the door. It took Sakura another ten seconds to realize that he didn't pay the bill.