-Chapter 1-
The next morning found the street close to empty. Bright yellow CAUTION ribbon boundaries had been set surrounding the store in a wide perimeter. The storekeepers, a Subaku Kankurou and his sister Temari, were there looking exhausted and upset.
The Subakus were staring in horror at the shattered glass window at the store's front and all of the matching smashed glass display cases inside the store, still unable to comprehend the disastrous thing that had come upon them. Subaku Temari finally found her voice, and cursed loudly. "If this isn't fucking ironic, I don't know what is—"
Subaku Kankurou responded by kicking at glass. His sister was still in shock and in no condition to reprimand her brother, who stopped after a severe glance from a fierce-looking police officer.
The chief policeman, 'Herman' as his nametag read, started to address the storekeeper. "Excuse me-"
Subaku Temari paused in her cursing and responded, "Subaku. Subaku Temari."
"Well, Subaku-san—"
"Call me Temari. Subaku-san was my father."
Herman nodded. "Well, it seems that your store here, Shattered Glass, has been robbed."
Temari snorted and rolled her eyes. "Seems like it, huh?"
Herman smiled self-deprecatingly. "That's what they suggest in the handbook," he winked. "First matter of business, though, do you have insurance?"
Subaku Kankurou stepped in with a nod and a grunted, "Kankurou," handing Herman the slips of paper he had been tightly clutching.
"Okay, glad to see that you were prepared, Kankurou-san. Now, where is your place of residence?" Herman inquired, getting out his notepad and a pen.
"The floor above the shop," Kankurou answered.
"No suspicious noises?"
Temari broke in with a wry chuckle. "It's Konoha. When aren't there suspicious noises?"
After they went through the standard questions, Herman handed them a 10-dollar bill to get some coffee. Once they were seated and sipping their cups of coffee in a nearby café, a latté for Kankurou and a normal cup of dark coffee for Temari, they realized that neither of them had seen their younger brother Gaara since the evening before when they bid him goodnight.
Temari walked to Herman, sipping at her coffee. "My youngest brother isn't here."
Herman, surprised, asked, "You have another brother? What is his name? How old is he? Can I have a description or a picture of him?"
Temari handed over a wallet-sized picture, taking another sip of coffee.
"When was the last time you saw him?" Herman asked succinctly.
"Last night, he was still working in the shop when Kankurou went to bed. He works as an assistant in our store, and usually stays down there late at least once a week."
Herman hummed, thinking. "What is your usual closing time?"
"We close around 8:30, but he stays down there until past midnight whenever he does."
"Do you have any idea what he does when he stays late?"
Temari shrugged. "Not my business. It's probably more productive than trying to sleep, anyway." At Herman's confused expression, she added, "Gaara's an insomniac."
Herman nodded, looking up as Kankurou approached, holding his latté. He slowed to a stop and stooped to look at a gray piece of cloth on the ground. Still squatting, he beckoned to Herman and said, "This jewelry pouch came from our store. Your blue boys might want to collect it as evidence."
Herman considered the small pouch, waving over one of the detectives and standing up.
"The investigative team will take care of that," he explained.
"Fingerprint analysis for sure, and the material soaks up oils very well, that's why we use it. Might want to suggest a DNA scan as well," Kankurou said.
Herman blinked. "You seem to have a pretty extensive knowledge of how this routine goes."
"Too many late-night crime shows." Then he smiled crookedly, really focusing in on Herman's face. "You seem kinda familiar, yeah?"
Herman shook his head amiably. "Don't think so. The last time I was in a jewelry store was for my mother's birthday a few years ago."
Kankurou shrugged. "It's probably a good thing that you don't recall my face." He grinned toothily. "There's a reason why your friend over there has been keeping an eye on me."
"I see," Herman said as he scribbled down some notes on the crime scene. "Now, more about your brother," he prompted, leveling a glare at someone behind Kankurou, leading him back inside the coffee shop with eyes still focused on the mystery individual.
