Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto and the characters
Claim: I own the story
Title: Blood Laced
Summary: Naruto was found dead. The forensics found zero fingerprints on the cloth used to kill him. The police failed to trace any evidence, but they were sure that the blonde was murdered. There were bruises around his neck and marks on his cheek. The question now is: Who killed him, and why? AU
A/N: My first Naruto crime and mystery fic! I am starting to love this genre day by day and I hope I don't disappoint! Have fun reading and do leave a comment on where to fix and how you think of this! ;D The chapters will get longer don't worry. I'm challenging myself in writing long chapters now.
PROLOGUE: Clueless and vulnerable
'I want you. I want you so badly that the demon in me starts to get jealous. And I can't control it anymore.'
...
...
"Thanks, Sai! I'll come again tomorrow!" the blond grins and waves at the raven as he turns to walk away.
Sai, the mentioned raven, smiles at Naruto and nods slightly. He stands up and says, "Don't forget to come at twelve noon tomorrow, okay? The painting will be ready!"
"Jeez, this is the third time! Okay. See you!"
The blond continues walking and Sai watches as he disappears into darkness. Then he closes his door and prepares to clean up. It was night time now. Sai is a travelling painter that has currently decided to stay in Konoha to get inspirations to paint and add them into his collection. Naruto had just asked him to paint one and he had told him to come back tomorrow.
...
...
Naruto walks in the darkness, humming random tunes to prevent himself from feeling lonely. Without him knowing, a figure is following him. The figure grits its teeth and fingers balling into a fist.
It takes a step forward, making sure that it makes no sound.
Naruto continues walking.
He did not realize anything at all. He was too busy whistling and thinking about his job tomorrow. Naruto is a teacher at the kindergarten near his house. He has been working there since he graduated because well, his results weren't that appealing. He sighs and shoves his hands into his pocket. The clod night wind blows gently, messing his hair a little and Naruto thought he hears a rustling sound. Assuming that it might be the wind blowing up some dry leaves, he ignores it.
He wants to get home fast.
It's really cold.
The figure takes a deep breath before walking again. It had accidentally stepped on a dry leaf just now. It curses itself, reminding it to be careful. It looks up and sees the blond turning into a corner. Its eyes were very good at spotting. It quickly follow up.
Following the blond, it rethinks about its decision. Must it do that? Will everything be solved that way? It shakes its head, pushing away all the feelings and guilt present. All it wanted was for the blond to perish. Its grip on the cloth tightens.
Saa...
Its shoes accidentally rubs too hard on the ground. Naruto stops walking.
Slowly, he turns around.
"Who's there?"
Silence.
"Oi! I'm asking, who's there? You better come out or I'll..." he pauses. "I'll beat you into a pulp!"
Still silence.
The figure holds its breath, collecting courage to strike.
"You coward!" it hears Naruto yells. It swallows.
Then, after making sure that nobody is there, Naruto huffs and continues walking. Once in a while, he will turn and scan his surrounding. He reminds himself to walk faster. His house is only three more minutes ahead. He quickens his pace.
The figure decides that it was time.
It leaps forward.
"AARGH!"
...
...
The figure pants. It feels Naruto's grip on its shirt loosens. The figure slowly removes the cloth that covers the blond's mouth, and checks his breath. It was slow and it knows that with one more strike, he'll stop breathing. Sweat trickles down the figure's temples. Its eyes are wide open staring at Naruto's pale blue eyes.
"I didn't want to do this..." it starts. Tears well up its eyes. Its fingers stroke Naruto's cheek, lingering on the skin that is slowly turning cold. "You forced me...I didn't want to see you like this...why? Why must you make me do this?"
Naruto stares back without a word.
His eyes are wide open too. Slowly, the figure feels his chest stop moving. It checks his breath. Still breathing. Without another word, it stands up and dashes away, leaving the body at the crime scene. Naruto's eyes bulge, and the spirit in his eyes slowly fades away and his lips move, mouthing his murderer's name.
"...Aaa..."
...
...
The two couple laugh as they stroll along the neighborhood, feeding each other ice creams. The boy grabs the girl's hand and glomps down her ice cream playfully. The girl lets out a playful yelp and slaps the boy on his shoulder.
The boy laughs and runs.
The girl chases him, yelling, "You thief!". The boy giggles and turns. Then his face turns pale. The girl bumps into him. "Ow! What are you-" her voice trails away. She lets out a sharp scream when she sees the body.
...
...
"Uwaah! I'm so tired!" The pink haired woman yawns. She whirls her chair around and sees her shop empty. She glances at the time. Six fifteen in the evening. Then she turns her attention back to the door. "I guess I'll close down early today," she mutters and gets up. Just as she is about to lock the glass door, a man stops her. Her green eyes stare at the man in suspicion.
The man sighs and pulls out a card.
It reads 'Officer Iruka'. Sakura narrows her eyes and slowly pulls the door open for the man.
"Good afternoon, are you Miss Sakura Haruno?" the man named Iruka asks.
"Yes I am. I believe I have not done anything that breaks the rule, have I?" she questions back skeptically. She feels uneasy at the presence of the police officer in her shop. She tries to think back when was the last time she broke a rule.
Iruka smiles.
"You did not break any rule. I am here to confirm something. " he clears his throat. Are you Naruto Uzumaki's friend?"
Sakura raises a well trimmed brow.
"That guy's in trouble again? Jeez I told him-"
"No, Miss Sakura. Listen, he's dead. We found-"
"Wait. Come again. He's what?"
"Dead."
Sakura glares at Iruka. "This is not funny, officer. You cannot joke about someone's death. It's a sin." she hisses.
Iruka sighs.
"I'm afraid this is not a joke, Miss Sakura. A couple found his body near his house."
"So you mean, you're suspecting me?"
"Of course, because you are his closest friend. I'd like to get your cooperation in this case, Miss Sakura. Will you assist me in this?"
Sakura bites her lips. She cannot accept that Naruto was dead. The blond was so carefree, and willing to help anyone. Who exactly would be pissed off at him till the point of killing him? She thinks hard and a name pops up.
She turns to Iruka.
"Okay. As a friend of him, the only thing I can help him is to solve this murder." she says.
Iruka smiles. "Thank you. Can I ask you something?"
"What?"
"Where were you when the murder happened? We believe he was killed last night. Where were you?"
"I'm at home, with my mother. You can ask her. I didn't go out that night because it was really cold, and furthermore, I have no plans that night." Sakura answers.
Iruka nods.
"Another thing...are there any suspects on your mind now?"
Sakura was waiting for that question. Almost too quickly, she answers. "I think he must have pissed off the Yakuza leader, Sasuke Uchiha. As far as I know, Naruto was not in good terms with him. They often bicker on the streets."
Iruka rubs his chin.
"That is common. Why would you suspect him?" he asks.
"I have heard him threatening to kill Naruto twice, officer. I think he really did it," Sakura says. She heard it with her own two ears of what Sasuke said.
"One day, I'm going to kill you, usuratonkachi! Don't think I don't dare!"
"Haha, you will be behind the bars! Even a Yakuza has to follow the rules!"
"You-"
"Come get me if you can~"
Iruka furrows his eyebrows.
"But the said Yakuza has no records of murder or anything. The worst they did was to turn someone's house upside down by pushing everything off to the ground." he says, looking thoughtful.
"I am sure it's him, officer. No one but him. Okay, we might hate Naruto at times for his annoying teasings, but we do care about him a lot. He's a good friend to us. I am not sure about Sasuke though." Sakura says as she crosses her arms.
Iruka sighs.
"We'll go see him tomorrow then."
"What? I have to go too?"
"Yeah, you promised you'd assist me in this case. I'll come to your shop at seven thirty tomorrow."
"I don't want to go to the Yakuza's house!" Sakura protests. The last place she wants to go was Sasuke's house. She hates the arrogant Yakuza and had a brief episode of love with him which ends up bitter, making her hate him even more.
"Thank you and sorry for disturbing you, Miss Sakura." Iruka starts to walk away.
"Oi! I said no damn it!" she yells. The passer bys look at her as if she was crazy. The pink haired woman huffs. "At least not seven thirty! It's Sunday tomorrow! Those officers really don't rest, do they?"
Then she continues closing her shop, strings of curses still coming out from her lips.