"Tsunade-sama! Tsunade-sama!" Shizune exclaimed as she burst into the office.
"What?" Tsunade asked, looking up sharply.
"Two Chunin were found dead just now. The doctors placed time of death sometime last night. Whatever are we going to do?"
"We're not going to panic, Shizune."
"Right. Okay. Can do. No problem. Just-"
"That means you, Shizune."
"Yes, Tsunade-sama," Shizune took a deep breath.
"Two Chunin, you say? Last night... hmm... Shizune!"
"Yes, Tsunade-sama!" Shizune made an abrupt salute.
"Bring Neji here immediately. I want to see if he's found anything."
"Yes, Tsunade-sama."
Shizune left, shutting the door behind her. Tsunade folded her hands, staring after her. Two Chunin...last night...I wonder if it has anything to do with the circus murder? She wondered. Chances are it's very possible...after all, murders are rare in Leaf Village, but now three in two nights...
A figure in black with a skull mask made its way through the shadows. The figure covered it's nose and mouth, hidden by the mask, and let out a sneeze. It shook it off, found a wall, tapped it gently, and made a hand Sign. The figure disappeared straight through the wall. Inside, there was pedestal in the middle of the room, on top of which sat a medallion of sorts. Two Jonin guarded it, though it really was not necessary. No one could pick all the locks, and the doors were impossible to get through. Plus, no one can just walk through walls!
The figure slid silently in behind them, then suddenly halted. The figure raised a hand – and there was a muffled sneeze. The Jonin both heard it at the same time and turned sharply.
"Hey! You! How did you get in?" The Jonin on the right exclaimed, pulling out a kunai knife. The figure crouched and made a hand Sign. Both Jonin were stopped immediately.
"Ninja art; Shadow Paralysis Jutsu!" The figure said. The figure looked down and both Jonins heads were pulled down as well. Sure enough, the shadow stretched across the hall and met with theirs. The figure took the medallion from the pedestal and gave a little wave (the Jonin mirrored it) then ran through the wall.
The Jonin were both slightly hindered by the wall, which stopped their movements to follow with a resounding crack as they both slipped to the ground, unconscious.
"Shikamaru, do you know why I called you here?" Tsunade asked seriously.
"This is such a drag," Shikamaru muttered, staring at the floor with a frown on his face. "I told you, I never left my room. I had trouble falling asleep, but I kind-of drifted in and out throughout the night."
"But you understand how this is suspicious, right?"
"Yeah, I suppose. After all, it's my Jutsu. But put the emphasis on 'my'. It must have been some sort of Genjutsu. That's the Nara Clan Secret Jutsu, me and my dad are the only ones in the village who know how to use it. Wait a minute, you said the thief said, 'Shadow Paralysis Jutsu'? You're sure it was Paralysis?"
"I think so. What does that have to do with it?"
"I call it the Shadow Possession Jutsu. Only my dad still calls it Paralysis."
"Could it have been you father?" Tsunade asked. Shikamaru's cheeks colored slightly.
"No, he was also in bed all night. And so was my mother."
"How do you know?" Tsunade asked. "He may have snuck out-"
"Because I heard them. He was in bed, all right," Shikamaru said in an annoyed manner. Tsunade blushed as well.
"Oh. Well, then."
"Anything else?" Shikamaru asked.
"No, I think that will be all. Thank you, Shikamaru."
Shikamaru nodded and headed for the door. He stopped and turned back.
"Oh, by the way, have you had that circus girl checked out?" Shikamaru asked.
"Kozue? I'm going to talk to Neji about that in a minute. Why do you ask?"
"Because she knew the first victim, and the next victims were found near the circus area. Plus, she doesn't have an alibi because she sleeps alone in her tent, she is a circus girl so she can probably sneak around pretty well at night, and the weapon used was not one used by Leaf Shinobi, but the first murder was."
"How do you know all that?" Tsunade asked.
"I hear things," Shikamaru said with a sigh. He shrugged. "It's a drag, but I thought I should tell you. She seems like the most likely suspect."
"You have a point. Thank you, Shikamaru, you can go now."
Shikamaru nodded and left, closing the door behind him. Tsunade folded her hands as there was another knock at the door.
"Yes?" She asked. The door opened and Neji walked in.
"You wanted me?" He said.
"Ah. Neji. Yes, I wanted to ask you about that job I gave you..."
"Nothing yet. Although I'm thinking maybe I was wrong, she seemed genuinely upset about Chiaki's murder."
"I see." Tsunade drummed her fingers on the desk.
"What is it?" Neji asked.
"I just talked to Shikamaru, and he made a good point. All the evidence points to Kozue. There was a gold medallion that was stolen just recently, and both Jonin claimed that the thief used the Shadow Possession Jutsu that Shikamaru uses, so I questioned him and he said it wasn't him. I believe him, of course, and he has an alibi for his father as well. Therefore, who could it have been?"
"And you think... if the Shadow Jutsu that Shikamaru uses originally came from the Village Hidden in Shadow, then maybe before the Nara Clan got ahold of it..." Neji trailed off, his eyebrows furrowing in concentration.
"You see? I would arrest her now, but we need material evidence, not just a motive and opportunity."
"But where's the motive? Chiaki was Kozue's best friend. Where's the motive to kill your best friend?" Neji asked.
"Maybe they had a fight or something. There has to be something Kozue is not telling us, something important. Maybe even the last piece of the puzzle."
"But what if there isn't? What if there's someone else-" Neji began, but he was interrupted when a faint scream echoed in the distance. Tsunade immediately got to her feet.
"If you'll excuse me, we can finish this conversation some other time," She said firmly. She raced out the door in a swirl of fabric. Neji followed.
"It was a g-g-ghost!" The woman yelped, shaking with fear. Neji stood a little ways away and Tsunade stepped up to her. The woman looked frightened. She had long black hair trailed down her back messily, that covered most of her face.
"What do you mean, a ghost?" Tsunade asked. "Ghosts aren't real."
"This one was, I swear! It came right through the wall, with its hideous skeletal face and spindly little legs, and it almost attacked me! I screamed and it floated away, but it was so terrible!" The woman sobbed, head in hands. Tsunade sighed.
"Genma," Tsunade called, waving him over. Genma hurried to her side.
"Search the area," Tsunade ordered. Genma nodded and hurried off.
"Are you certain that's what you saw?" Tsunade asked concernedly. The woman nodded.
"How could I forget that face?" The woman shuddered, her eyes closing. "It went that way," She added, pointing down the street at the circus tents. Tsunade set her jaw and turned sharply, heading down the street with a focused look on her face.
"Wait!" Neji called after her. Neji caught her arm. "Two days, okay? Give me two days."
"Neji..." Tsunade sighed, looking past him at the ring of circus tents. She sighed again, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Two days. Starting now. No more, no less."
"Arigato, Tsunade-sama," Neji said gratefully. Two days. Only two. Neji headed down the street, praying that Kozue would be in her tent.
She was. Neji called and she appeared at the door.
"Oh. You again," she said softly. She seemed fully recovered.
"You look like you're feeling better," Neji said cheerfully. Kozue stared.
"Um... yes, I suppose I am. Actually, I'm busy with something, but if you were to come back later..." Kozue began.
"Actually, I was wondering if you'd like to come to lunch with me. My treat," Neji offered amiably. Kozue looked startled.
"Oh... well, that's a bit sudden... um... when?"
"Well, since you're busy now, I can come back later-" Neji turned to leave.
"Actually," Kozue said, stopping him. "I think that'd be just the thing to take my mind off things. Besides, it's not that important. It can wait." Smiling, Kozue came out of the tent. Neji smiled back.
"Do you like ramen?" He asked. "There's a shop near here that sells ramen, and a friend of mine says it's very good."
"That would be lovely," Kozue said. They both headed down the street and a slow pace towards Ichiraku's Ramen Shop.
"I was wondering..." Kozue began. Neji looked at her expectantly.
"Well, I was wondering if you had any siblings. Sorry if that's personal, I don't mean to pry..."
"That's not prying, don't worry about it. Sadly, no siblings. My parents died when I was young. I do have a cousin though, her name is Hinata. My father was her father's twin brother. She's actually in this village, if you'd like to meet her."
"I would love to meet her sometime. Hinata... that's such a pretty name. Is she nice?" Kozue asked eagerly.
"Oh yes, very. But she's quite shy." Neji stared off into space for a moment before looking back at Kozue.
"Oh. It must be wonderful to have a cousin. I wasn't nearly as lucky, I never knew my parents. I grew up as more of a... village brat, I suppose. The whole village would leave out some food or a worn blanket every now and then, but it was really hard. Especially during the winter," Kozue shivered, as if just thinking about it made her cold. "But when I met Chiaki," she continued, "the circus troupe were all very nice to me. I had a great time, too," Kozue smiled up at Neji, her posture betraying her forced cheerful espression. Neji stared her down.
"Okay, well, maybe not all of them," Kozue admitted, eyes downcast.
"What do you mean?" Neji asked curiously. Kozue pulled up her sleeve to show him her arm, which bore a long, thin scar from her shoulder down to her elbow.
"The ringmaster's girlfriend – she's the one with the long black hair who rides the elephant – doesn't like me very much. She was very upset when Chiaki introduced me to the rest of the group. See, she's in charge of seeing that everyone's cared for, you know, fed and clothed and whatnot. Well, my first day, I was practicing, and she threw something at me." Kozue paused. "She said... 'Try juggling this, brat!' and threw... one of those little round sharp spinny thingies at me. Those things you and your friends use during training? It wasn't a deep wound, but... it hurt more inside, you know?"
"A Shuriken?" Neji asked, reaching into his Ninja tool purse. He pulled out one of his Shuriken and showed it to her. Kozue cringed away slightly.
"Yeah, it looked something like that. I didn't see it very well, it was all so fast."
"Wait, you mean to say that this woman uses Shuriken?" Neji stopped suddenly.
"Rarely. When she's angry or something. I've caught her using them to cut her hair, though, so I thought it was probably the closest thing she had to a knife."
"And you saw me using these?" Neji asked, a smile growing on his face. Kozue blushed.
"Just once, I was walking and I spotted you. I just watched for a few minutes. Your Byakugan is really amazing, though. I saw what you did when your friend threw the weapons and you deflected them all by yourself, all at the same time. It was really amazing."
"You're pretty good at juggling," Neji said graciously. "Besides, I barely did anything. It's just a Gentle Fist technique."
"Gentle Fist? What's that?" Kozue asked.
"It's a form of fighting where you attack your enemy's chakra points and conflict the flow of chakra without involving much strength on your part. With the Byakugan, I can see my enemy's chakra points, then I use the Gentle Fist technique to immobilize them. It's really useful."
"Oh. Cool." Kozue was silent.
"We're here," Neji said suddenly, pulling aside the curtain and allowing Kozue to enter first. Kozue nodded her thanks and stepped into the small area, then took a seat.
"Well, hello, there," Teuchi said from behind the counter. Neji smiled a greeting.
"Ooh, I haven't seen you around before." Teuchi's daughter, Ayame, smiled down at Kozue. "It's always nice to see a girl or two around here. No offense, but it's always just boys, boys, boys."
"I won't be in the village for long, sadly. I'm with the circus," Kozue explained, smiling back.
"Oh, really? Hey, you're that juggling girl, aren't you? I saw the show, but never really saw your face, because it was dark the whole time. But you were on the poster, weren't you?"
"Yes, I guess I was. I'm Kozue," Kozue extended an arm.
"Ayame. Nice to meet you," Ayame replied, shaking her hand. "What'll you have?"
"Hmm..." Kozue looked over the menu and her eyes strayed to the cheapest item, the Miso and Pork Rib ramen.
"You can order whatever you like," Neji said, following her gaze.
"It's okay really. I don't want you spending too much money on me. Honestly, I'm not worth it," Kozue said, smiling. "I'll have the Miso and Pork Rib ramen."
Neji ordered for himself and collected both menus, placing them on the side.
"So," Neji began conversationally. "Tell me about yourself."
"Oh! Um... I don't like tofu...?" Kozue said hesitantly.
"No? Huh. Neither do I."
"Really?"
"It's so... mushy." Neji mimed a squishing motion with his hands and Kozue giggled.
"Hmm... oh, my favorite color! How about that?" Kozue asked. Neji nodded.
"Shoot."
"Okay. I like that sort-of blueish green teal color, with a little silver around the edges."
Neji raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, I know. It's a complicated color," Kozue said with a little laugh. Neji smiled slightly.
"On the contrary. It sounds like a beautiful color."
"Oh, it is!" Kozue nodded vigorously. "I have a shirt in that color. Sadly, it's not something you can wear with bright red unruly hair like mine." Kozue tugged on the end of one of her curls thoughtfully.
"I think you could pull it off," Neji said quickly. He found himself watching the movements her hair made around her finger.
"You think so?" Kozue asked brightly.
"Well, no one will be looking at the shirt." Neji almost clapped a hand over his mouth, but it was too late. His words had already done damage. Kozue lifted her glass of water to her mouth and began drinking, her cheeks bright pink.
She kept drinking.
"See, you're so terrible at this, she's trying to drown herself," Ayame whispered. Kozue choked, dropping the glass and going into a coughing fit.
"I am NOT trying to drown myself!" Kozue wheezed before starting another coughing fit. Neji pat her on the back helplessly. Kozue brushed away his hand impatiently.
"I'm fine," Kozue snarled. Teuchi placed the bowls in front of them.
"Be careful not to strangle yourself with a noodle," Ayame whispered seriously. Kozue scowled and Neji winced. It had been going so well.
They ate in silence over the next few minutes.
"Any pets?" Kozue asked softly. Neji felt elated. She was trying to start up conversation again!
"Nope," Neji replied. Kozue nodded.
"Neither do I, unless you count all the animals at the circus."
"What are their names?" Neji asked politely.
"The lion's name is King, the elephant is Haku. There are others, we have some rabbits for the magician and snaked for the snake charmer, but I don't remember all their names."
"Do they ever feed the rabbits to the snakes?" Neji asked. Kozue made a face.
"Sometimes, actually. When we're low on food, since we have enough rabbits and a few snakes." Kozue sighed, looking off into space.
"What happens to the people when the circus is low on food?"
"It's rare, but when it does happen usually we'll set up some extra performances to earn the extra money needed. Or we'll accept food as currency for some of them."
"Makes sense," Neji said, nodding in agreement. Kozue shrugged.
"I wish it would just stay the same, though. I mean, the ringmaster is always coming up with these new ideas, but honestly I think it was just more difficult for us. For instance, you know that costume his girlfriend wears on the elephant?"
"Don't remind me," Neji said ruefully, shuddering. Kozue smiled slightly.
"Well, she used to wear a lot more feathers. He cut it down to nearly half the coverage onstage, because he said it would 'appeal to the older audiences'. I was sitting there, and I was like, 'screw you!'" Kozue slammed her palm on the table. "You should've seen what he was trying to get me to wear."
"What, more feathers?" Neji asked.
"Think more like... tape."
"Ah." Neji's face was unreadable.
"Yeah. It was pretty nasty. He said it would reduce my chances of catching fire onstage, but my hand never slips. Speaking of which..." Kozue trailed off.
"Hmm?" Neji asked. Kozue smiled shyly.
"I was wondering... you know that place I was practicing in last time you saw me? Well, if you meet me there again tomorrow, there's something I'd like to show you."
"I would love to. Same time?" Neji asked.
"It's a date," Kozue said, grinning. She got up. "Thank you for lunch," she added, and headed down the road. Neji sighed.
"Next time, Ayame, please stay out of it," he said woefully. He dropped the money on the counter and left.
Kozue lay awake all night, staring up at the colorful ceiling of her tent. For some reason, sleep was evading her. She rolled over, her blanket falling off the bed. She didn't bother to pick it up. Whenever she couldn't sleep, Chiaki used to hum her a lullaby and she would fall asleep in the blink of an eye.
"I wish Chiaki were here," Kozue whispered softly to herself. "If Chiaki were here, I'd rest easy. Especially if I had known how close... she came to dying..."
Kozue closed her eyes. Chiaki's face popped up behind her eyelids, and Kozue sat bolt upright. Suddenly, the pieces to the puzzle all fell into place.
"Of course. Why didn't I realize it before?" She muttered to herself. She got out of bed and got dressed quickly.
The target was never Chiaki. Chiaki wouldn't hurt a fly! It was all a mistake, and...I think I know who made it! Kozue thought to herself, her eyes lighting up. She raced outside. The sun was just rising early in the morning, she had been awake all night.
Please, let me make it in time! She thought furiously. The only sound was the far away chirping of birds and the sound of her bare feet against the rocky ground. She winced as the stones dug into the soles of her feet.
She turned up the street towards the building that housed the Hokage's office.
"Tsunade-sama!" She exclaimed, racing up to the door. The two guards at the door stepped into her path, blocking the way to the entrance.
"Let me in, please, I need to talk to the Hokage!" Kozue explained, trying to push past them. "This is a matter of life or death! You have to let me through!"
"I'm afraid the Hokage is not available at the moment," One of the guards said skeptically. "But if it's that important, I'm sure we can-"
"No, no, no!" Kozue wailed in despair. She thought frantically, then raced off in the other direction. She headed down the street towards the place she had set up to met with Neji, that way if anything happened to her he'd know where to find her-
Something slammed against her legs and she was stopped midstride. She fell to the ground painfully, her arms tied to her sides with wire attached to Shuriken.
"Well, well, well. What have we here? You're up rather early, aren't you?" A voice asked from above her. Kozue looked up.
"You," she said spitefully. "I knew it was you. I knew it."
"Did you?" He moved just slightly, so that the sun wasn't in her eyes any more and she could see clearly. She gave a little gasp.
The face staring down at her belonged to none other than the Jonin, Kakashi.