The wings roared from above the towering high-rise, drowning out the sounds of nightlife. From the helipad, you could see the full expanse of the city lit up in a beautiful array of neon lights. As the helicopter made its descent, a man with silver hair pulled back into a ponytail stood below. His grey suit fluttered in the wind as he approached the landing bird. The door slid open and out stepped a man with white hair, rather casually dressed. As soon as the passenger stepped out, the helicopter took off again, leaving the two in silence. The well dressed man held his hand out.
"Mizuki, pleased to see you once again."
"Mr. Yakushi." He responded kurtly, returning the gesture.
"Forgive me for the sudden arrangement, but I require your service."
"Sudden arrangement? Your guys were rather rough when they shoved me into that bird. A little rude if y'ask me."
Mizuki eyed the man in front of him warily. "Whaddya want?"
"Unfortunately, I need you to take care of an acquaintance of mine."
"Did he do ya dirty?"
"You could say that." His glasses flashed in the lights of the helipad. "He and I have had issues in the past, if I were to take care of it myself it would be too easy to trace back to me."
Mizuki crossed his arms.
"How much?"
"Four grand."
"Not steep enough."
"That's all you're worth."
The white haired man scowled and took a step closer.
"You've seen my work. I'm quick. I'm clean. But I'm not cheap. Six grand."
"If only your work was as impressive as your toungue."
The hitman's glare intensified, his hands clenched into fists at his side.
"I'm not afraid of you Kabuto. More importantly, I'm not afraid of your employer either. In fact, you can tell Oroch-"
He was cut off by the sound of a suppressed gunshot. Blood splattered onto Kabuto's glasses as Mizuki's lifeless body hit the concrete.
"Shit!"
Kabuto darted to his right and slid into cover behind a large vent, narrowly escaping the bullet that bounced off of the metal. He frantically whipped out his phone.
"Get the hell up here! Mizuki's down! There's a fucking sniper! Well move faster! I can't tell where it's coming fro-"
Another round slammed into his exposed calf, forcing him to muffle a scream with the sleeve of his suit jacket. He lifted the phone to his ear again, hyperventilating.
"North! The shots are coming from the north side of the building!"
. . .
760 yards north of the high-rise, a black clad figure lay prone on a scaffold of a newly constructed tower. He slides back the bolt of his rifle to load another round into the chamber.
"-the north side of the building! Close in on his position!"
The words buzzed through his ear piece, as he slid the bolt forward into place.
"Tch. Out of practice."
Swiftly and with precise movement, he rolled sideways onto his back, hoisting the rifle onto his chest. He removed the silencer and continued to roll, sliding off the platform and landing on his feet several feet below. He quietly placed his rifle and silencer into a black duffle bag, zipped it up, and snatched it off the floor. The figure turned on his heel and stealthily made his descent through the scaffolding, disappearing into the cityscape.
. . .
In a small, dark room illuminated only by the red light of an alarm clock resting on his bedside table, Shikamaru's eyes fluttered open. A quiet groan escaped his mouth as he flipped over on his side to catch a glimpse of the time.
"5:58"
His left hand reached over and shut off his alarm before it had the chance to assault him with a morning lullaby when it struck 6:00 AM. Slowly, he rolled out of bed, slipped on a pair of grey sweat pants, and pulled his long brown hair back and out of his face.
Shikamaru shuffled out of the bedroom and into his dark living room, turning right to make his way to the brightly lit kitchen. Wordlessly he greeted his dark haired roommate, who was currently sitting at the small table set in the middle of the kitchen sipping on black coffee and scrolling through his email inbox. Shikamaru stared at the coffee pot.
"Where's my favorite mug?"
A moment of silence.
"Right in front of you buddy."
He glanced slightly to his left to spot his favorite mug (white, completely blank and boring).
"A little hungover are we?"
Shikamaru put a hand to his forehead as he poured his coffee.
"Don't ever let me drink again, Sasuke."
"Let you? Don't make it sound like I'm responsible for your recklessness."
"Well you're an adult aren't you?"
"As are you."
"Oh. Yeah."
Sasuke sighed and took another sip as Shikamaru took a seat across from him.
"Speaking of being an adult, why are you up so early?"
"What do you mean?"
Sasuke stared at him with an amused expression as he wiped the sleep from his eyes. Shikamaru looked up and saw his friend staring at him.
"It's Saturday, isn't it." He asked with regret in his voice.
Sasuke nodded.
"Off duty?"
"Off duty."
Shikamaru lowered his head onto the table at Sasuke's response. He had woken up bright and early for no reason.
New Konoha is a bustling city. Commerce has sky-rocketed over the past decade. The city had become somewhat of a center of trade in the northeast, and is quickly gaining on New York City in terms of population. As a relatively new city, the place doesn't really have a black and white poverty line. The slums in NKC would be considered middle class elsewhere. Upper class however, is very wealthy. As the city grew and business increased, it became an appealing fresh start for large businesses. A new center of operations you could say. So what started out as an up and coming town, exploded into a concrete jungle filled with skyscrapers and supported by subway stations.
The New Konoha Police Department (NKPD) is always kept busy. Naturally, the city has seen an increase in crime rate since it's foundation. Not only is it the home of petty theft, vandalism, and your standard muggings, but it is also the home of some higher level crime. The new city was a prospect for all kinds of businessmen. So along with banking and manufacturing industries, came the drug cartels and arms dealers. Most of it is kept largely underground, meaning these illegal businesses can hide in plain sight, but they are always wary of one of the top police forces in the nation- the NKPD.
Shikamaru and Sasuke have been working in the city for six years now. After they both transferred here looking for better work- Shikamaru from Chicago and Sasuke from New York- they met in the police force and got along rather well. After a few months, they came to the conclusion that renting an apartment in NKC is expensive. Very expensive. Especially one close enough to the station. So they, quite literally, split the difference. Becoming roommates was a smart choice financially, as well as from a working standpoint. After they became partners, living together helped them work like a well oiled machine, and they quickly rose to the top. Young as they are, both being 27 years old, getting recognition was a process. However, detectives Nara and Uchiha are a vital duo for the NKPD.
"Are you gonna eat?" Sasuke called from the kitchen.
"I can't eat this early, makes me nauseous." Shikamaru had migrated to the couch after finishing his first cup of coffee, and now sat working on his second while watching a National Geographic documentary.
"Suit yourself."
"Have you ever seen giraffes fight?"
Sasuke cracked an egg into his pan and tossed the shell into the garbage disposal.
"Can't say that I have, Shika."
"It's pretty harrowing. Look."
Sasuke turned around and watched the TV playing loud battle music over the counter. Two giraffes stood side by side flinging their heads and whipping each other with their long necks.
"Weird as shit right?"
"Sure is." The Uchiha turned back to his eggs to keep them from burning.
"I mean I don't really know how I imagined they would fight. It's not like they can punch."
Sasuke ignored him and set his toast on his plate next to the eggs.
Grabbing a fork and his glass of water he joined his sleepy roommate on the couch.
"That smells good."
"Too late. Can we watch something else?"
"Like what?"
"Dunno, anything."
Shikamaru flipped through the channels until landing upon a rerun of The Office. He glanced at Sasuke with a questioning look, which Sasuke returned with a nod, eyes on the TV and toast in hand.
Buzz. Buzz.
Sasuke set his plate on the side table to his right and fished his phone from his pocket.
"Oh, shit."
"What's up?" Shikamaru asked blankly.
"Guess who's in town?"
"Steve Carrel."
"No. It's Hinata Hyuuga."
"What?" Shikamaru took his eyes off the TV and looked at his friend. "She's here?"
"Yeah she's here. With her fiancé."
The Nara's eyebrows furrowed.
"I'm not liking the sound of that."
Sasuke was busy texting Hinata back. After a few moments his phone vibrated again.
"Apparently they met back in New York. She says he's a good guy."
"Bullshit. No guy is good enough for Hinata. She's too pure."
"That's what I told her just now. But she's assuring me he's nice."
"Of course he's nice." Shikamaru said sarcastically.
"Whatever. We'll find out soon enough, they got here a week and a half ago. Apparently they've been busy settling down, but she wants to hang out tonight."
"Just us four? Can we bring some more people or..?"
"I'll ask…She says it's cool. I'll get Kiba and Ino or something."
"What about Sakura?"
Sasuke tried to keep his face as straight as possible, much to Shikamaru's delight.
"Sure, I don't care."
His phone rang.
"Hello? Hey Chief. Yes sir. We'll come in right now."
"On duty?"
Sasuke was already making his way back to the kitchen.
"On duty."
. . .
Living only a few blocks away from the police station was convenient. It meant no subway, no bus, no public transportation whatsoever. It made no sense to drive such a short distance, so the two detectives kept their police car on site.
Sasuke and Shikamaru made their way down the sidewalk, both dressed sharply. Shikamaru wore a stark white dress shirt, black tie, black slacks, and a loose black tie. Standard, but lazily put together. Sasuke wore a similar outfit, the only differences being he wore no tie, his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, and he looked much more tidy. Both of them had a pistol holstered at their right hip, the standard issue NKPD handgun- the Chakra 45.
The noise of the morning was blaring as usual. Cars honking their horns, sirens in the distance, and the occasional shout of pedestrians. The city was wide awake at 7:30. After a ten minute walk, the pair found themselves walking up the wide steps into the central station of the NKPD.
It was a large building, hexagonal in shape. The entrance was rather grand, made up of a tall arch way and heavy automatic doors. The overall look of the place made it look like a modern town hall. The inside opened up into the main office. The front doors were set on a small platform, so the main area was sunk into the ground by several feet. The station was bustling. The main floor was simply an open space with dozens of desks and officers going about their work. To an outsider it would look like chaos, but it worked more like a beehive. Everyone knew their job, and were always going about their own work.
Sasuke was the first to walk through the doors, greeting the front guards with a nod, Shikamaru followed close behind with his eyes glued to his cellphone. The Uchiha led, weaving across the ground floor to the spiral stair case at the back. After ascending, the stair case opened up into the second floor. The second floor was a balcony that wrapped around the the interior wall of the whole building, and was home to the higher ranked private offices. A high domed ceiling hung above, housing a giant glass skylight that illuminated the entire station with the morning sun. Up here, there was less traffic, and it was slightly quieter despite being open to the sounds of the floor below. The detectives walked along the balcony and made their way to the opposite side of the floor to the Chief's office. Sasuke knocked on the door.
"Come in."
The private office of Chief Hatake was gloomy. Everything from the floor to the desk was made of dark wood. It was lit up by vintage desk lamps and a few ceiling lights. The walls were decorated with bookshelves filled to the brim, and framed historical documents. The aroma of the room was similar to that of a cigar lounge, and despite being rather dark, the overall atmosphere was warm. The room was definitely blurring the line between office and man-cave.
The wood floor creaked slightly as the hollow thump of the pair's footsteps invaded the office.
"Lovely day today, isn't it?" The silver haired man said without looking up from the folder he was scrutinizing.
"Well, It was…" Shikamaru muttered under his breath.
"What's the situation sir?" The Uchiha piped in.
Kakashi set down the folder and removed his reading glasses. He wore a white shirt under a black vest. His face was covered with a black cloth surgical mask. It hid half of his features, but there was plenty enough expression in his flat grey eyes to get by. Kakashi Hatake was somewhat of an enigma. From the outside, he seemed like a lazy man who only ever did enough to get by. The respectful tone in Sasuke's voice, however, betrayed that idea. Chief Hatake was a man of authority. He was the backbone of law enforcement in this city, and the only man capable of keeping the NKPD running.
"New case for you two." He slid the folder forward on his desk. "I thought about putting a couple of the guys on duty today on it, but it seems as though it's going to require some men of more experience- inconvenient as it may be."
The two stepped forward and Sasuke handed Shikamaru the white folder. After a moment the grumpy detective looked up.
"Murder on Takeshi Highrise? When did this happen?"
"Supposedly just last night, a local filmmaker stumbled upon the body when he picked it up with some drone footage. He reported it early this morning."
"You think it's more than just a personal scuffle?"
"I do. That's why you two are on it. Get over to the scene and see what you can find."
Sasuke nodded.
"Got it."
As they exited the office, Kakashi called from behind them,
"Try to keep it professional today boys."
. . .
The helipad was littered with a few forensic scientists gathering blood and dirt samples. Mizuki's body had been left untouched, baking in the sun of midday. Sasuke and Shikamaru stood over the body, examining the scene.
"Looks like the bullet passed through his right temple. Hard to tell though, his head practically exploded…Gonna need some confirmation from the autopsy."
"Which is odd," Sasuke returned, "Because this wound is definitely not from up close. I can tell already this was a fifty caliber round."
"You think it was a sniper?"
"I do, but he was an amateur."
"What makes you say that?"
Sasuke looked around at the surrounding buildings.
"If he were trained properly, he would've aimed for center mass. If he was good, he would've hit it."
"Ah. Headshot isn't reliable enough then? Too much of a gamble?"
"Exactly." He looked perplexed. "But it still confuses me. If he is an amateur, then how did he make such a challenging shot? Look around."
Shikamaru stood up and examined the horizon.
"To the North. The nearest building at this height is at least 700 yards out. Maybe further."
"So it was a long shot."
"Not only that, but at this altitude the wind conditions must've been a bitch."
Shikamaru looked back down at the body.
"So what do you think? Was it a veteran trying to make it look like an amateur's work?" The Nara asked.
"That's the sense I'm getting. We can't know for sure, but it's a smart move to throw us off his trail a little."
"Right."
The two stepped away from the body.
"What was the guy doing up here anyway?" Sasuke started, "Smoke break?"
Shikamaru chuckled at the subtle jab.
"Unlikely. Maybe he was meeting someone."
"If he were meeting someone, the sniper would've taken them out too."
"Not if the sniper was working for him."
Sasuke huffed.
"Good point."
Shikamaru sighed.
"It's a shame, I could be watching giraffes duke it out right now. Instead I get to appreciate the beauty of a man's brains scattered on the ground. We should grab lunch after this. I could use a good hotdog. What do you think? Sasuke?"
Shikamaru turned to see Sasuke walking over toward the edge of the platform. He sighed and followed. His partner stood staring closely at a large metal vent. Upon closer inspection Shikamaru could see he was looking at a bullet hole in the thin metal.
"There's that keen Uchiha eye of yours. Is it fresh?"
"I think so. Look at this."
He led him around to the other side of the vent and crouched low, gesturing at a spot of dried blood.
"Better tell forensics about this, we'll need a sample."
"I'm on it."
After leaving the crime scene, Shikamaru and Sasuke reported their theories to Chief Hatake. He told them to take the rest of the day off as planned, giving forensics a chance to run tests and perform an autopsy on the body.
. . .
"You're wearing that?"
Sasuke stopped dead in his tracks on the way to the refrigerator. He shot his gaze to his friend.
"What's wrong with this?"
Shikamaru grinned. He was leaning against the railing smoking a cigarette on the small balcony connected to the apartment. The sliding door was open and parallel to the kitchen.
"A little over dressed."
The Uchiha looked himself over.
"It's smart casual."
"It screams 'I'm thirsty'."
He was dressed in a black silk button up with the top button undone, dark pants and wing tipped dress shoes.
"What are you gonna wear?"
Shikamaru shrugged.
"This."
"Jeans and a tee?"
"Yeah. It's not like we're meeting the mayor, we're going out to dinner with some friends. What're you all flustered for?"
"I'm not flustered."
He stormed back into his room to change, leaving his amused roommate who took another drag from his cigarette.
"He's never like this, I better savor it while it lasts." He thought to himself.
. . .
The Green Leaf Pub was pretty busy on a Saturday night. The table they sat at was just as lively.
"No you didn't!"
"It's true! He was so angry! Pretty sure he won't be bringing that sorry excuse for a dog back to my vet again!"
The brown haired man burst into boisterous laughter. Across from him a beautiful blonde woman put her hand over her mouth as she tried to contain her own laughter.
"I'd believe that story if I thought you could actually manage to tie a bow…" A petite woman sitting next to the blonde pointed out, her green eyes flashing humorously.
"I didn't even know he could tie his own shoes!" Piped in another girl, her brown hair tied up in two buns.
"Very funny guys. Do you believe me Chouji?" Kiba asked.
"Of course I do." Chouji responded with a breadstick halfway down his throat. The group of seven sat in the corner of the pub. They hadn't been served their food yet, but were working on their respective drinks.
Shikamaru set his phone on the table face down.
"Hey Ino, hows your mom's catering business coming along?"
Ino brightened significantly.
"Really well! She finally found a little building to rent out as she gets started. It's off the corner of 15th and Red Avenue. I'm just so happy she's found something to put her time into." She said cheerfully.
"That's great."
The woman with the double buns spoke up,
"How's work for you two? Busy right?"
"Tenten, you have no idea. We actually got called in this morning when we were supposed to be off duty. Sasuke here almost shot the chief, I could see it in his eyes."
Sasuke grunted from his corner of the table. He seemed a little out of it, but he was in fact now wearing jeans and a hoodie.
"Anything really interesting pop up lately?" Kiba asked.
"Yeah," Shikamaru jerked his head toward Sasuke, "Actually Sasuke's former experience really came in handy today. He figured a lot of key stuff out because of his history."
The pink haired woman glanced timidly toward the Uchiha.
"From back when you were in SWAT?" She asked.
Sasuke looked up and made eye contact with her for a moment. They broke it quickly. He replied curtly,
"Yeah."
Sensing the building tension Ino changed the subject.
"Well! Where are those two? They should be here by now…"
"I'm sure they're on their way." Chouji reassured.
"Have any of you guys met this guy yet?" Shikamaru asked.
Ino shook her head.
"He's a complete mystery."
"There she is!" Tenten exclaimed.
Walking through the restaurant waving her hand with a smile came Hinata Hyuuga. She was a taller woman with dark hair and striking pale blue eyes. As she reached the table everyone stood, the girls hugging her with excitement and the guys greeting her warmly.
"We thought you'd never show!"
"I'm so sorry!" She replied, "We underestimated rush hour in this city! How do you guys even get around?"
Shikamaru chuckled as he retook his seat.
"It's a daily struggle."
Sakura had a confused look on her face.
"Where's your fiancé?"
"Oh, he'll be here in a minute. He just stopped by the restroom."
They all began discussing her trip into town and asking how she was settling down, sharing tips for where the best places were to go buy certain things needed when moving in to a new place. After a few minutes everything settled down a little.
From behind Hinata's seat approached a man that was rather hard to miss. He was tall, well above six feet tall. His blonde hair was striking, and his eyes were a bright blue. He walked up to the table with a warm but commanding presence, placing his hand on Hinata's shoulder to announce his arrival. All eyes turned to him as he smiled,
"It is nice to finally meet all of you."
Sasuke almost choked on his drink.
"Uzumaki…?"
The man's blue eyes glinted in recognition.
"Uchiha?"