Chapter 6- Questions and Answers
Fugaku calmly steadied his gaze.
The sight before him was grizzly. Two bodies suspended in midair, a thick branch of wood keeping them steady. The branch protruded from one's chest, then twisted around and extended, piecing the second corpse through the back. It took considerable concentration not to outwardly shutter. That was proving harder for some.
One of his cadets, Rai, had to step away from taking the landlord's statement. Fugaku met his partner, Shikaku's, eye and nodded. Pinching the bridge of his nose, Fugaku walked over to talk to the landlord himself.
As Fugaku took over for the cadet, Shikaku looked toward the young man. Rai, was leaning against the wall clutching his stomach. Shikaku smirked, 'Rookie.' He thought to himself.
"But still, can't say I blame him," Shikaku murmured as he turned to join his partner.
Fugaku scribbled down his notes in his signature chicken scratch. The landlord was an older, slightly curmudgeon, man. His hands were trembling as he tried to sip his coffee one of the cadets had provided. From what he gathered, the landlord had called it in that morning, after he had gotten home from a late night of drinking with a few friends. The man lived down stairs and had noticed a growing red patch on his ceiling. Thinking it was water damage, the old landlord stumbled his way to yell at his tenant. It wasn't until he got further down the hallway when he came upon the vile scene. The man had yelled and rushed to the nearest phone.
Shikaku hummed, putting his finger to his chin in his traditional thinking pose. Fugaku ignored him.
"What about the occupant? Who was your tenant?" Fugaku calmly asked.
"I – I don't know…" the landlord whimpered, "he's just some kid, makes some noise every now and then but he's usually never up there…"
Fugaku was about to respond when Shikaku beat him to the punch, "Who don't know your own tenants?"
"Not tenants, just – just one. The kid's an orphan that the city dumped on me about five years ago. I never go up here, I swear." The landlord spilt his coffee, but ignored it.
The man's lip quivered as he looked Fugaku in the eye, "All I know is that I've gotten a check for 2 grand every month for the last five years. I get paid and he lives in the smallest room I got. I swear that's all I know – "
Fugaku held up his hand, stopping the landlord. "It's alright sir, we're just gathering facts. How big is the apartment?"
"It's a two- two room unit."
"Ok… when was the last time you saw your tenant?"
"I saw him a – a couple of days ago, but not since then."
Shikaku addressed the man, "Could you describe the tenant for us please?"
The land lord nodded, "Short and with blonde hair."
Shikaku waved him on, "Anything else: scars, tattoos, or piercings maybe? Anything we could use that would identify him without a doubt?"
The land lord shook his head, "Nothing I can remember."
Fugaku stopped jotting down his notes. "Thank you sir, that's enough for now; however, we will have few more questions, later."
"That's fine, whatever you need," the land lord nodded his head furiously, ready to be done squirming under the detectives' gazes, and with another node directed at them, the man hurried out of the hall.
Fugaku's eyes squinted after the man. "What kind of man doesn't know who's living up stairs from him for five years?"
Shikaku shrugged, "A lazy one… He said that he was paid constantly right?" Fugaku nodded," We need to see copies of those checks, see who was paying for the kid's rent. I'll have some of the uniforms check into that," Shikaku waved some of the other cops off to get met the land lord down stairs.
Fugaku walked back to the shattered doorframe. Taking a breath, he stepped inside. The once hard wood floor was now nothing but wood chips. He fought to maintain his balance as he ducked down and maneuvered around the victims. Turning around, Fugaku saw the back side of the crime scene, with the branch coming in reversed directions. He looked around, 'The guy was right, this place is small.'
The two detectives crouched around the apartment. Branches and twigs sprouted from the walls, seemingly out of nowhere. "It's like a forest in here," Shikaku called out through the brush. Fugaku nodded his head in silent agreement.
Fugaku shuffled his way to the bedroom. The door was lopsided in the frame, making it so Fugaku had to pry it open. The interior, to the detective's surprise, was still fairly intact. There was a small bed that had been pushed aside and next to it, a moldy nightstand.
Fugaku opened the nightstand drawer. Nothing… He closed the nightstand, and perused the floor. It was a bleak looking carpet that was ripped in a couple places. Fugaku traced the rip in the carpet with his finger. The carpet was stiff and had crusted over. "Blood," Fugaku said aloud.
"Shika," Fugaku called out to his partner, "I've got blood."
Shikaku was standing in what he thought was the kitchen, "I'll have Rai call the CSU and have them do another sweep. Also," Shikaku continued as Fugaku made his way out of the apartment, "the cadets were able to get a look at the land lord's tax receipts. The $2,000 he received each month was from the city. The previous owner of the building subsidized the place as an orphanage, but it went under, and he sold it to the guy down stairs."
Fugaku processed the new information, "Then the tenant must have stayed while the building came under new management. But why would the city pay for one orphan?"
Shikaku shrugged, "It's a special case," The two detectives looked back at the crime scene. Fugaku signed, "If he was capable of this, it'd have to be."
XXX
A slight breeze rolled through the hospital window. Naruto gently opened his eyes. He was in bed, surrounded by white wash walls. He slowly sat up, allowing his eyes to adjust to the bright light. His head was spinning.
'What the hell happened? Where am I?' Naruto thought as he rubbed his head. He remembered the hall, the blurred sensation, and the alley. Naruto shuddered, thinking of the night before. He rubbed his eyes, trying to shake off his angst. 'What about the scroll?'
Naruto lay back down and stared up at the ceiling. 'Maybe it's good if it's gone… I can't' Naruto stopped, trying not to think about everything that had happened.
There was another breeze, and Naruto turned his head. There was a small plastic tub next to his bed, containing all his stuff: pants, jacket, lighter…
Naruto's breath was caught in his throat. On the table was his scroll, slightly unraveled and bloody. Pinning it to the table was the most beautiful knife Naruto had ever seen. The blade was solid black and was lacking a hilt; instead it had a mere handle wrapped in a simple cloth. The handle was topped with a small ring.
Naruto jumped up out of bed, looking at his things. He stood up too quickly and his room started to spin. His knees went weak, and he leaned on the bedside table for support. He ignored the scroll, reaching for the knife. It was cool to the touch, as Naruto prided it out of the table. He held it in his hands, weighing it in his palms. Images of the monster homeless man flashed through his mind.
'It's the only way,' Naruto thought. He looked around his room, then at the knife, 'but why?'
Naruto heard the click of the lock. The door opened and a young woman walked in, "Good morning, Mr. Uzumaki," the young woman saw the patient in his bed, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. She smiled, "My name is Rin, and I'm your nurse today."
Naruto watched as Rin attached another tube to the I.V drip next to the bed. "How'd you know my name?" he asked.
She smiled at him, "It was written on your jacket tag silly." Rin had finished fiddling with the drip, "Could you lift your arm up please," Rin asked, holding the needle.
"Umm…" Naruto's expression blanched. The scroll and the blade were clutched in his hand, hidden under the blanket. Rin smiled again at her patient, "Afraid of needles?"
Naruto shook his head, "No, I just-"
"You just… look malnourished, now give me that arm." Rin said firmly. Naruto was a little taken aback by the nurse's sudden harshness. "Um… okay."As Rin reached for his arm, he stiffened, shoving the knife and scroll further under the covers.
Rin cocked her head, "What'd ya got there?"
"Nothing," Naruto replied. "Right," Rin wasn't buying it, "hand it over."
"Seriously, nothing, I swear." Naruto pulled out his arm, presenting it to the nurse. Rin furrowed her brow, "Hmm, okay minster," she said suspiciously. She took his arm, "there all done." Naruto looked at the needle in his arm and frowned, 'I'm not afraid of needles, but I don't have to like them.'
Naruto looked at his nurse. Rin brought her attention to the IV for the moment, leaving Naruto alone with his thoughts for a moment. There was only one question on his mind. "Um, hey lady, how did I get here, to this room?"
"A kindly odd man called you in this morning," Rin squeezed Naruto's shoulder, "you'll be okay sweetie. They'll find the mugger, I have friends that fight bad guys for a living, so I've seen it first hand," she winked at him. Naruto smiled sadly, 'If she only knew.'
Rin stood up, "actually that reminds me, one sec," she walked out the door, and a minute later she came back towing a man behind her. "Naruto, this is one of my friends I was telling you about," Rin said smiling at him.
Naruto observed the man in the room. He wasn't very tall, at least not much taller than his nurse. He had jet black hair, dark onyx eyes, and a friendly demeanor. The man sat down on the side the bed and smiled at Rin, who was watching from the door. "Hey kid," the man extended his hand, "my name is Obito."
Naruto weakly gestured to the needle in his arm. Obito blushed slightly, "Right, sorry."
"No worries," Naruto waved him off. "Anyway," Obito pulled a small pad of paper out of his pocket, "I'm here to help?"
"Are you a cop or something, dude?" Naruto asked, the man hadn't explained much. Obito's blushed deepened, "Oh right sorry, again, I – uh, I'm a junior detective for the Uchiha Police Department. I'm Obito Uchiha," he was starting to get flustered, Rin calmly cleared her throat, "and I'm here to take your statement."
"My statement," Naurto looked perplexed to the cop and then to his nurse. Rin gave him another sweet smile.
Obito smiled confidently, "Yup. I work in petty theft," he shot another look toward Rin, "and not to brag, but since I joined the team, muggings have declined by almost twenty percent."
Naruto nodded slowly, 'Yeah okay, where were these assholes all those times I've gotten the crap kicked out me,' he thought as Obito dragged on.
"Basically, I ask you what you remember and use that to help me find the bad guy and bring him to justice."
Naruto readjusted himself on the bed, causing Obito to shift closer to the edge, "Right well… I don't remember." Obito chuckled nervously, "Look um…"
"Naruto," Rin interjected.
Obito smiled at her, "Right, look Naruto, I understand what you went through was traumatic, but," Obito met Naruto's gaze, "I'm here to help, I promise." Naruto smiled sadly, 'There's no helping me,' he thought, "Sure, Obito."
Obito smiled, "Okay, let's get started…"
XXX
Obito stepped out the door after a while. Rin peeked up from her chart, "How'd it go?" Obito stretched his shoulders, "Oh ya know, asked the usual questions: 'where were you', 'did you get a good look at the assailant', 'is there anything else you can tell me'… that sort of thing."
Rin smiled softly, "And?"
"Well…" Obito looked over his notes, "I can honestly say I think he's lying."
Rin frowned toward her friend, "What do you mean?"
Obito started walking to the hospital break room, towards the coffee maker, causing Rin to follow close behind. "What I mean is that he isn't telling the truth," he said plainly. Rin's frown deepened, "No shit Sherlock, why do you think he's lying to you?"
Obito shrugged, "It's not unusual, I didn't swear him in or anything," Rin expression darkened. Obito threw his hands up, "Okay, okay, it's probably trauma, an after effect of muggings."
Obito reached for the cream and sugar, mixing it in to create his perfect blend. "What evidence do you have that suggests he's committing perjury?"
Obito gave her a look, "Really Rin, the kid's thirteen, I doubt he even knows what perjury is," Obito rubbed his neck sheepishly, "anyway, his story doesn't add up. He said he didn't see his attacker yet the gash on his hand would suggest face to face contact."
Now Rin shrugged, "So?" Obito jumped up onto the counter, sipping his coffee, "Mmm, man that's good," he murmured under his breath. After sipping at his coffee, Obito turned his attention back to Rin, "So, you take a kid like that," he gestured to Naruto's room with his cup in his hand, "a street wise, temperamental punk and put him in close corners with the assailant, ten-to-one odds he fights back."
Rin processed the new information, "Still, that's only speculation." Obito shook his head, "Ugh, always got a counter uh Rin," Rin blushed, and Obito continued, "Trust me; I've seen enough of these kids to know the difference between the runaways and the scrappers."
Rin nodded quietly, "What are you going to do about him?"
Obito sighed, "Don't know, I guess I'll just have to ask the right questions."
"Good luck," Rin comforted Obito as he braced himself outside Naruto's door. He smiled at his friend, "I've never needed luck," he winked at her and threw the door open.
The room was empty, the kids stuff was gone and the IV was hanging sloppily from the unplugged monitor. Obito did a three hundred and sixty degree sweep of the room to no avail. He had to chuckle, the kid was long gone.
"Hey Rin… could you come here please," Obito pinched the bridge of his nose, something he had seen his uncle Fugaku do a million times, as Rin came jogging into the room. "Wait is it," she said slightly winded.
Obito simple gestured to the empty room, "I'd just wanted to show you how I was right and wrong at the same time," he felt the breeze from the open window, 'a punk who picks his battles, that's a first'
Rin's faced paled, "he's gone," she whispered, Obito nodded. She frantically searched the room, "WHERE THE HELL IS HE!" she demanded. Obito could only give her his best sympathetic smile. "I'll find him Rin, don't worry," he rushed out the door, turning to give her one last wink, "it's my job."
XXX
Naruto limped down the back alleys of the city, trying to put more and more distance between him and the hospital. His arm had a red mark where he yanked the needle out; in his hand was the blade. Naruto reached a corner and stopped to catch his breath.
'What else could go wrong,' Naruto coughed while letting the new fresh air fill his lungs, 'murderous winos, muggings, and now cops butting their noses in where they don't belong. I can't take much more,' Naruto looked at the knife he was clutching.
He stared at it before he started to chuckle darkly, "It's a fucking sign," he said in between his hampered breaths, "He knows everything. He's watching me. All of this, he's saying he can kill me whenever he feels like it…" The realization made Naruto laugh harder and harder, each sound dripping with insanity.
Naruto reared up to the sky, his anger finally returning after nearly forty six hours of pure horror.
"LISTEN UP FUCKERS, You want to kill me fine! Just know I'M NOT DIEING WITHOUT A FIGHT!" Naruto screamed up to the roof tops, rage fueling every word.
Catching his breath, he limped further into the city. 'If I'm going to die anyway, at least I'll have a head start,' he thought darkly.
XXX
Iruka sat watching his class finish the test, with Mizuki sighing audibly. Iruka rolled his eyes; his teaching assistant always had an opinion about the way he ran his class.
When the bell rang, Mizuki stood, "Alright, those who didn't finish must stay, the rest of you have a good weekend." Iruka went around picking up all the tests on the empty desks. Every desk had a test, all except one. The desk in the left hand corner sat empty and unused. Frowning Iruka went to his desk to check attendance. The box marked Uzumaki, Naruto was unchecked, again.
Iruka's frown deepened, "Hey Mizuki," his assistant turned his attention to him, "when was the last time you even saw an Uzumaki, Naruto?"
"Pfft," Mizuki scoffed, "that kid hasn't shown up for awhile, I was almost starting to forget him, why?"
"No reason," said Iruka, putting the matter to rest.
XXX
The next day Iruka came to school, walking past the front office and into his empty classroom. 'Okay, time to get to the bottom of this,' he thought as he reached for a phone. Looking through a list of numbers… he dialed… "Hello?"
"Hi yes, I'm looking for the St. Tobirama Orphanage," He asked into the phone. "This is it," a feeble voice answered. "Yes, I'm a teacher at Konoha Guken Middle School, and there's been one Uzumaki Naruto absent for almost two whole months, would you know anything about that, ma'am?"
"Umm," Iruka could hear the disapproval in the phone, "That kind of behavior is intolerable, however, there's no one here by that name young man," Iruka frowned, tightening his grip on the phone, "Do you have any possible information on his current whereabouts, my records state that he's is… was in your care." The voice paused for a moment, "I'm sorry, but… there's really no one here by that name. Our facilities moved and were separated, maybe he stayed with the other …" Iruka, thought about it, "Umm maybe, I'll check, thank you for your time."
"God bless," the voice over the phone said, before a dial tone rung through Iruka's ear. He hung up. 'Naruto Uzumaki,' he looked at the empty seat, 'where are you?'
That Monday, the students poured in for their homeroom period. "Alright class, settle down and let me take attendance. Aburame Shino, here, Fu Ami, here. Nara Shikamaru, here. "Iruka continued down the list and stopped, looking up and seeing yet again another empty seat, he sighed, frustrated.
"Has anyone, seen Naruto Uzumaki, anyone at all?" He looked around the room. Most students shook their heads no, while others were either asleep or not paying attention.
Iruka felt a headache coming on, 'Dammit,' he swore in his head. 'Enough of this bull, Uzumaki Naruto, you're coming to school, even if I have to drag you here, myself!'
"Alright then class, let's get started," Iruka addressed his class. Getting an affirmative nod from his students, he wrote on the board.
XXX
Naruto's stride had healed considerably from his daring escape. Having slept in a booth at Ichiraku's for the night, under the noses of Ayame and her father, Naruto was left pondering his living situation. He had experience as a street urchin, however, that didn't mean he enjoyed it. Ichiraku's was slowly becoming less and less of an option with old man Ichiraku tightening up security after the "incident" and his apartment…
Naruto shuttered, trying to keep the bile down at the foul memory. 'Plus,' Obito's presence hadn't sat well with Naruto, 'there's probably cops swarming the dam place, all wanting to pin murder on me.'
Despite the grim situation: no money, no friends, and no shelter, Naruto wasn't worried.
'Naruto Uzumaki is in his element…' he thought to himself, as he hobbled down street corner after street corner. 'Still, I need a place to stay.'
As he exited an alley Naruto came upon an intersection. Cars whizzed past him in every direction, taking only two seconds to stop at the sign. 'One of the benefits of living in the city I guess,' Naruto pressed the button to change the light, not wanting to risk jay walking, 'everyone's in a dam hurry, no one notices little ol' me.' Naruto remembered all the times he was reprimanded by Ayame or her father for picking some business man's pocket and then trying to use it to buy ramen.
The light chanced. Naruto stepped out into the crosswalk, as giant white SUV came barreling at him. Honking, the car slammed on its breaks, just as Naruto lunged out of the way. The car sped off, with the driver giving him the bird. Naruto stood up shakily, brushing the dust off his tattered clothes watching the car slowly disappear. It had a sticker on the back windshield, Naruto read, "Proud Parent of an Honor Student."
Naruto rolled his eyes, "Dam soccer moms," he mumbled, as he got up onto the curb. He cracked his neck and started walking again, as he did an idea hit him like a ton of breaks.
"Where's the one place you'd never find an asshole like me," he said as he turned to where the car was a few seconds ago, "sitting in class." He chuckled again, the idea was so stupid, and it had to work. 'Scrappers like me, the three punks who kicked my ass or hell, every other punk ass I pass by, we never go to school,' he smiled as his plan was coming together, 'no stereotypical cop or murderous wino is going to get me in a crowded class room.'
Naruto sighed, he was wrong, the day had gotten worse, but it was for his survival. "School it is then," he sighed again, turning around to press the pedestrian button again. His middle school was in the other direction.
XXX
Obito sat down at his desk in the bull pen, utter exhausted. On his desk, the mountain of paper work laughed at him. "Stupid papers, laugh now because the moment no one's watching the lighter fluid's coming out," he sneered. At that time Fugaku was walking by, "Oh yeah Uncle Fugaku," Obito waved from his swivel chair. The superior officer raised an eyebrow, "Oh shit, I'm mean- uh- Hello Captain Fugaku Sir." Obito directed his gaze to the floor. Fugaku smiled softly, "Hello detective, I heard you had a case?"
Obito scratched his head nervously, "Uh yeah, but I didn't find much." Fugaku shrugged, "That's how it works, just keep at it; something will always turns up." Fugaku walked back towards his office, leaving his nephew to his work.
"Oh yeah," Obito snapped his fingers, "how'd your crime scene investigation go?" Obito called out after him. Fugaku looked back, "We didn't find much," he said as he closed the door.
