April 13th

Tonight's moon-phase: new moon

Daylight used to be the only warmth Naruko could relish in, but all she could feel now was dread's cold hand clenching her heart as it seeped through her bedroom window. The bedraggled blonde climbed out of bed and dragged her feet to her closet, where she tugged off her gown and pulled on a change of clothes - a pair of khaki trousers and a white, button-up blouse. After grabbing a holster for her pistol and combing her hair, she slipped on a pair of shoes and hastened out the front door. It wasn't until she left that she realized the house was more silent than usual. He's probably there already, she assured herself when her heart leaped with panic. Her home, a two-bedroom house that was as cluttered as it was small, housed both herself and Jiraiya. Jiraiya. The mere name brought a smile to her face. He was an old, perverted Investigator that spent more time with women than with investigations. He was also the closest thing to a father she ever had, and she didn't know what she'd do with herself if she lost him.

She shook her head to clear her thoughts. The streets were desolate, but that was to be expected. Today was the official start of the Leaf Trials, and those without Roles weren't allowed outside until noon. By then the discussions would be over, and life would continue. It wouldn't be normal, though. Not until the Mafia was decimated. Even then, would things be normal? How could her life return to normal when it was abnormal to begin with?

Reeled from her thoughts by a distant chattering, she quickened her pace down the street. The trials would take place at the center of town - where the dead bodies were always found. It was ominous how the Serial Killers and Mafia would dump their victims in the same spot, but she didn't dwell on it. She needed to focus.

It was just minutes before she reached the center of town, where a crowd of people were huddled around what she assumed was another victim. Or two, she added with remorse as she jostled through the crowd toward the center. People chatted amongst themselves, but she couldn't comprehend most of their conversations. At the center, she saw an elderly man dressed in white robes crouched beside what looked like a woman. The foul stench of death was so thick it was almost tangible, and it made Naruko sick to her stomach. Stepping aside, she saw the gash that traveled from the woman's right shoulder to her left hip. The crime must have happened just before dawn, because the blood pooling around the dead body was still fresh, and it reeked. She didn't dare look at the woman's face. She knew she wouldn't be able to stomach it, yet she found her eyes glued to her ghastly pale features. Blood dribbled from the corners of her blue-tinted lips, still parted from when she took her last breath. Her eyes were rolled back, and she didn't miss the bruise on her left cheek. She must have put up a fight.

Her stomach twisted the longer she stared, but she couldn't bring herself to look away. Even though she's seen several dead bodies before, she just couldn't adjust to the foul stench of death and the look of pure, unadulterated horror that all the victims had. The images haunted her, frustrated her and left her filled with dejection. In the end, she had to force her attention onto the man beside the deceased woman.

"Old man Sarutobi," she grabbed the elder's attention. Recognition flashed across the man's wrinkled features as he turned to face her.

"Hiruzen Sarutobi," he corrected with worn exasperation.

Naruko chose to ignore Hiruzen's words and instead focus on the cigar in his mouth, which she had noticed the instant he turned around. He's gonna die from lung cancer before the Mafia can even hope touch him, she snickered as she crouched in front of him. "You shouldn't smoke so much, y'know."

He seemed more annoyed after she said that.

"What do you want to know, Naruko?"

She sighed and climbed to her feet. So much for that. "Did she have a Role?" She asked, all the humor from her tone gone. "Did the Mafia kill her?"

"You'll find out soon, Naruko. I'm about to make the announcement." Hiruzen replied, turning his back to her as he stood. She stepped back, watching as he adjusted his robes, stained crimson from where he was kneeling, and faced the crowd.

As the Mayor, he was required to announce the victim's Role and cause of death - as well as to read any wills or deathnotes left behind. Discussions and voting would take place afterward for about four hours, and during this everyone would have to follow the golden rule:

Unless it is to save your life, do not reveal your Role or any personal information.

Well, that is if your Role hadn't been revealed before the trial's initiation.

Naruko didn't understand why until Jiraiya had explained it to her, five days after the declaration of the Leaf Trials. It was for protection, he'd told her. Before the Leaf Trials, anyone could tell anyone anything. This caused the Mafia and the Serial Killer to target those with important Roles since the information was leaked so easily, and as the amount of those with Roles declined, the deaths increased and less criminals were being found. At anytime, anybody was able to leave or enter the town, which caused several criminals to escape. Soon enough, the Mayor had no other choice but to enforce the Leaf Trials.

Leaf Trials or not, she planned to drive out the Mafia and the Serial Killer. Every last one of them. She wouldn't let them win, not in a million years.

"Your attention, please!" Hiruzen's voice pulled her from her thoughts. Everything fell silent within seconds. "There wasn't a will or deathnote left behind, and the victim doesn't seem to have a Role. She was killed by a Serial Killer."

There was an interminable pause after he spoke, before everyone around her spoke all at once.

"Do you think the Mafia's idle?"

"Why would they be idle, dumbass? Their target probably just got lucky and was healed by a Doctor."

"Doctors aren't that lucky. I bet an Escort distracted the Mafioso."

As Hiruzen walked toward her, she tuned out the voices around her. "Does anybody have any leads?" She asked with a perfervid eagerness, before he could even blink. "I know it's the first day, but... Somebody's gotta have something, right?"

He didn't have to speak. His brown eyes, cold and filled with guilt, screamed the answer.

"No one has a lead... Even after all this time?"

"Naruko, I know you're upset. You have to understand-"

Vexation flared in her chest. "Understand what? That the TI are all talk and no bite?" Just as all TI looked down on her, she looked down on them, too. These deaths have been commonplace since she was born, and she's eighteen now. They've had eighteen years to get their shit together and find at least the slightest lead. None of the Mafia have been found. Not even a Serial Killer. There was also the chance that whoever had a lead was too much of a coward to speak, and she supposed she could understand. After all, while the town lynched anyone who threatened them, the Mafia and Serial Killers would terminate anyone who was a threat to them.

Still. They signed up for it. "People have been dying every damn day, and the people who agreed to put their life on the line to protect the people of this town have been too afraid to do shit. That's what I understand, old man."

Hiruzen opened his mouth to speak, but a new voice broke the tense silence between them.

"You two sure know how to attract attention."

Naruko whipped around. She came face to face with a man about two heads taller than her, with silver hair that glistened in the sunlight. He had one visible onyx eye - the other was covered by the large top hat he wore, tilted at just the right angle, and he wore a surgical mask that obscured the view of his mouth. As her eyes roved his masculine form, she saw he was dressed in a simple pair of black trousers, a white shirt and a tailored vest.

"Kakashi Hatake, it's been a while."

"Ah, yes. It's been quite a while, Hiruzen." The man, Kakashi, spoke with an air of nonchalance. As he stared at the corpse beside Hiruzen, no emotion flickered across his face. He didn't seem to care. Either that, or he was used to it. She didn't think it was possible to adjust to death, but she supposed it wasn't like that for everyone.

"Naruko?"

Kakashi became the immediate target of two full cerulean eyes. Their eyes met, and she swore she saw recognition flash across his features, but it was gone so soon it was like she imagined it. She would have been suspicious, but she felt a strange sense of relief around Kakashi. It was like she knew he was innocent - as if she could feel his innocence, even though the man was a complete stranger to her. It must be because he was familiar with Hiruzen. After all, her bond with him was just as tight as it was with Jiraiya.

"Earth to Naruko," a gloved hand waved in front of her face. "Are you there?"

Snapped from her reverie, she pushed Kakashi's hand aside to raise an eyebrow at him. "Uh, what's up, grandpa?" She heard a sigh from Hiruzen beside them.

"Grandpa? Really? I'm not even that old." Kakashi snorted, and she could hear the slightest trace of irritation in his voice despite his look of indifference. He turned his back to her, and for a moment she thought she'd driven him to leave. If he left, would she never see him again? She was surprised to find that part of her didn't want that to happen, and just as surprised to see that Kakashi's hand motioned her toward him behind his back. He wanted her to follow him? She stared at the hand in contemplation.

"I'll let that insult slide this time. Now, before I change my mind, follow me."

She looked at Hiruzen, but he was gone. Kakashi had started to walk off.

Could she trust him?

Just as Kakashi disappeared into the crowd, she darted after him, leaving her thoughts.

"Why did you want to talk to me?"

Kakashi remained silent, and Naruko couldn't help the slightest bit of apprehension that swelled in her chest. He'd been silent the entire time, and the vociferous voices of the crowd were now a distance buzz that she strained to hear. It was obvious that he wanted to distance himself from them as much as possible, but she couldn't pinpoint why - why he wanted to talk to her, and what was so important about it.

Anybody would think this was suspicious, and anyone with a brain probably wouldn't have followed him. After all, she'd just met him. Not to mention, his connection with Hiruzen shouldn't be what determined his innocence. She trusted Hiruzen with her life, but even the Mayor could be betrayed. Not that his connection was what convinced her to follow him. She just had a hunch. Something deep within her told her that she should follow him, that she'd regret it if she didn't, and she relied more on her intuition than anything else.

Kakashi came to an abrupt halt. She cleared her thoughts, stopping only after she took a few steps ahead of him. Two middle-aged men came into view.

"Look, I know you're worried about the Serial Killer - everyone is. Town's trying their best to find him, but it's not easy." Said the one on the right, who stood tall in a green tweed vest and a matching pair of slacks, the sleeves of his pristine shirt rolled back to his elbows. With the mass of pure, unkempt white hair that fell to his waist, she couldn't help but think of Jiraiya. He turned just enough for her to see his face, and the red, vertical line on each cheek confirmed that it was him - but why was he all the way out here? Shouldn't he be at the center of town with everybody else, taking part in discussions?

Then again, was she one to ask?

"You don't understand!" The other snapped, and his irate voice reverberated down the desolate street behind them. "There isn't just one Serial Killer, there's two, you numbskull! And if this one isn't taken care of, then I'm as good as dead!"

Two Serial Killers? Naruko shot Kakashi a quizzical look, but he didn't respond. He simply stared, and she decided she couldn't take it any longer. Taking matters into her own hands, she stepped forward. If you're not gonna ask them, then I will.

And that's exactly what she planned to do.

"What's goin' on here?" She asked, loud enough for both of them to hear. "How can there be two Serial Killers?"

The shorter man of the two turned to face her. His jaw was set, his silver hair just as tousled and spiked as the other's, but he had a beard and a pair of glasses that rested on the bridge of his nose. Staring into his eyes, she saw the cold determination within them - and the fear. He was afraid. She clenched her fists in resolve.

"Heh, another dumbass." He scoffed and pulled a pouch of from his bag, lifting it to his lips and greedily drinking it. When he exhaled, she could smell the alcohol. It was nauseating. "Listen here, girly. Before your silly little trials started, anybody could come in here and leave whenever they wanted. Long story short, a Serial Killer hired by the Godfather of the Mafia in my town followed me here when I left my home for supplies, and now we're both stuck in this town until these damned trials are over." He laughed coldly afterward, taking another swig of whatever alcohol the pouch contained. Probably whiskey. "I guess it doesn't matter, 'cause I'm gonna die either way."

If not for her strong sense of justice, her resolve would have crumbled beneath her feet. Then, this old drunkard would have another problem on his hands.

"Listen here, you drunken bastard." She barked, her voice just as bitter as the look in her eyes. "It's not our fault that you came at a bad time. Besides, these trials are to make sure that people like you aren't the ones found dead at the center of town! You ought to show us a little more respect, y'know!"

"Besides," Kakashi stepped forward, and Naruko looked just as surprised as the others as he chimed in, too used to his silent demeanor. "The other towns were warned about the Leaf Trials before the Mayor even warned us about them. It's your fault that you're trapped here."

Dead silence fell over them, and she couldn't help but squirm in the tense atmosphere. Even though both herself and Kakashi had proved a point, she felt bad for the old man. Her guilt worsened when he shuffled back, his head hung low in defeat.

"So, you won't help me?" He asked, his words a knife to Naruko's heart.

"No," she said before she could even think, "I'll help you." She didn't like him, not one bit. He was ungrateful and he was, well, drunk, but he also needed help. Her help. Town's help. She felt the weight of a promise roll onto her shoulders as she stepped forward, her resolve solid.

"I'll stop the Serial Killer. I promise I will."