Tenzou blinked back into reluctant wakefulness and rubbed his eyes. A quick glance at his watch showed that he'd been napping in the ANBU offices for two hours. Tenzou sat up and yawned. It said something about ANBU that their offices included a dedicated room for napping, complete with several futons and a permanently drawn blind.

There was no one else currently using the room, so Tenzou didn't bother to be quiet as he put away the futon and pulled his armour back on. It was already past six o'clock, but Tenzou had one more thing he needed to do before he'd let himself go home and sleep properly.

There was a note on his desk, and Tenzou recognised Kawaguchi's lazy handwriting. Clearly he'd decided he was fit to work the evening shift, and the note informed Tenzou that the warrant for Kaede's office had been approved and so Kawaguchi was going through her hundreds of books, scrolls and files. Tenzou didn't envy him the task.

The shifts rota showed that Hawk had been watching the Hyuuga compound until 4am last night, and he'd started another surveillance shift there just over an hour ago. Slipping his mask on, Tenzou headed out of the offices and started towards the Hyuuga compound at a rapid pace.

When he arrived, he leaned against a nearby tree, not close enough to the compound that he'd be spotted by a casual observer, but close enough that an ANBU would take note. In less than a minute, Hawk appeared noiselessly beside him.

"It wasn't him," he said before Tenzou could speak. "Haruki didn't leave the compound at all last night while I was on shift. He was here when Nara was killed."

That wasn't what Tenzou had wanted to hear. "He must have slipped past you. There could be ways in and out that we're not aware of."

Hawk didn't react, but Tenzou knew he was annoyed. He would be too if someone dismissed his intel out of hand, but he didn't have time to be polite. He knew that Haruki had left the compound last night and murdered Kaede – he simply needed to figure out how.

"Talk to Hiashi if you want," Hawk said coolly, "but you're looking in the wrong place."

Tenzou waved him off irritably and started towards the compound entrance. Hawk didn't understand – he only knew whatever Kawaguchi had told him in the surveillance brief. He didn't know how all the pieces fit together around Haruki. Every piece except Nara Kaede, and if Tenzou could link Haruki to her murder, the big picture would be complete.

He was told at the gate that Hiashi had been expecting him today, and was promptly shown through to a small, traditionally furnished room to wait. Tenzou sat uneasily, not sure what it meant that Hiashi was expecting ANBU to call. They hadn't spoken since Hiashi had chased him away from Eri's funeral, although Kakashi had met with him since then. Tenzou dearly hoped that Kakashi hadn't got overzealous with sharing information.

Hiashi appeared a few minutes later and seated himself opposite Tenzou, with the low table a buffer between them.

"How may I help you, ANBU-san?"

"Don't you know?" Tenzou asked. "I was told you've been expecting me."

Hiashi laced his hands together on his lap. "Did you think I was unaware that you'd placed surveillance on my home? After I heard about another murder last night, I thought you might pay me a call."

There were whole paragraphs going unsaid, and Tenzou listened carefully to try and catch them. "Nara-sensei's death doesn't look like a 3am killing in any way. We haven't made any statement connecting them. Yet you thought I'd have a reason to come and talk to you, even though you know exactly which case I'm investigating. Did someone tell you Nara-sensei was involved?"

Hiashi's eyes narrowed. "A lot of people tell me things." That was as good as a yes.

"A member of your clan is a person of interest in my investigation. Do you know who I'm talking about?"

A beat of silence passed as Hiashi weighed up his options. "I hear you had a confrontation with Haruki yesterday."

"Then we're on the same page," Tenzou said. "Are you aware of whether Haruki-san left the compound last night?"

Hiashi shifted slightly, and Tenzou's hopes fell as his expression curled into what could only be described as smug. "As a matter of fact, I can tell you for certain that he spent the entire night at home. After his suspected involvement in the murders came to my attention, I placed Haruki under a curfew. His chakra signature was removed from the wards between ten o'clock last night and seven this morning, preventing him from leaving."

A deep cold coiled around Tenzou's gut. Clan compounds were notorious for having wards almost as complex as those at the Hokage Tower – lock picking them would take hours, and that was assuming you could find someone skilled enough to do the job successfully. Even if Haruki had the skills, there was no way he could break out of the compound undetected by either Hawk or a member of the clan. It was a solid alibi.

"If you'd like to speak to him yourself, you're more than welcome to," Hiashi offered. Tenzou wanted to punch him.

"No," Tenzou gritted out. "I wouldn't doubt your word. Thank you for putting security measures in place."

"I trust that brings an end to your unfounded interest in Haruki?"

"Actually, no, it doesn't," Tenzou said. "I have no further interest in charging Haruki-san with the murder of Nara Kaede, but there are three more murders and an attempted murder in my case file that need solving, and until I can clear Haruki-san of every single one, I'll remain interested in him."

Haruki looked as though he were about to argue, but then he brought himself back under control. "In that case, please hurry up and find some real evidence. And when you do, you can come back here and apologise for wasting everyone's time."

Tenzou stood up. "Keep the curfew in place. We wouldn't want any more murders I could link to Haruki-san."

When he left the compound, he found Hawk waiting for him.

"He didn't kill Nara-sensei," Tenzou said.

"Are we stopping surveillance?"

"No. We're not done here."

Hawk folded his arms. "Do we have any real evidence linking Haruki to the murders?"

"This would be much easier if people didn't question my judgement," Tenzou snapped. "Do your job and I'll do mine."

He left without a backwards glance. It was time to finally get some sleep.

Kakashi had arranged to meet Sasuke outside Iruka's apartment building at eight o'clock, and he was now standing near the front entrance and trying not to make any sudden movements. The ANBU had been unimpressed to see him again, and even though Kakashi had sworn not to take a single step inside, he knew she was still watching him, even though he couldn't see her.

He'd got here a little early, not wanting to leave Sasuke waiting around when it was getting dark, and he was already bored of standing still and watching people walk past. So when he saw a familiar face turn the corner, he was more than ready to take the distraction. Himura's tattooed eyes came to rest on him almost instantly, and Kakashi waved.

"Hatake, I didn't expect to see you out here," Himura commented as he walked over. "Don't you live on the other side of town?"

"I'm waiting for someone," Kakashi explained. "What about you, going somewhere?"

"Heading home. I had a physical this afternoon, and it's looking like I'll be cleared for active duty. Just need to pass my psych tomorrow."

"Good luck," Kakashi said. Himura smiled, but it was quick, distracted.

"I was actually hoping to run into you again," he said. "Are you still looking into The 3am Killer?"

It shouldn't have been a surprise that Himura wanted to pump him for information on Akane's killer, but Kakashi wasn't sure he should talk about that with an ANBU breathing down his neck from the shadows. "I've had a bit of a setback, so I haven't heard anything new."

"Because Nara-sensei died?" Kakashi loved it when other people made excuses for him.

"Yeah, exactly, so I never got the chance to speak with her."

Himura lowered his voice. "But you think she had something to do with the killings, don't you?"

Kakashi willed Sasuke to hurry up so he could escape this conversation. "It's really too soon to say for sure..."

"Don't bullshit me, Hatake. Yes or no, did she do it?"

Somehow those tattoos made it more intimidating as he stared Kakashi down. Kakashi wasn't in the mood for this; he gave up.

"No, she didn't do it," he said. "But she was probably an accomplice."

Himura relaxed a little. "Who do you think killed her?"

What kind of a question was that? "3am, obviously. And no, I don't know who he is or he'd already be dead or behind bars."

The door to the apartment building opened and Sasuke stepped outside, Pakkun in his arms. He stared at Himura's face for a moment before realising he was being rude, and then he quickly turned to Kakashi.

"Ready to head home?" Kakashi asked. Sasuke nodded, and Kakashi turned back to Himura. "I'll be off then, but I'm glad you're doing well."

Himura smiled. The tension from a moment ago had disappeared like it had never been there. "I'll see you around."

Tenzou woke at 7am after a solid ten hours of sleep, and felt much better. He also felt ashamed at the way he'd treated Hawk yesterday evening and made a mental note to seek him out and apologise at some point. He'd been exhausted and stressed, but that wasn't an excuse to take it out on others.

Kawaguchi was in the offices when Tenzou arrived, head slumped on his desk in a pillow of his arms, a half empty mug of coffee in front of him.

"You look like shit," Tenzou commented, perching on a chair beside him. Kawaguchi didn't move. "Did you pull another all nighter?"

"No," came the muffled reply. "This is just what I look like in the mornings."

"I don't think I usually see you in the mornings."

"I'm an expert at avoiding morning shifts." Kawaguchi's head moved up an inch and then sank back down. "Shit. I want to drink the rest of my coffee but I also don't want to move."

Tenzou raised an eyebrow. "Your life is such a struggle."

"You have no idea." Kawaguchi groaned and then pushed himself upright, groping for his mug and almost spilling the contents in the process.

"Did you find anything in Nara-sensei's office last night?"

"Yeah, she had a sealing scroll belonging to Umino and everything that went missing with Matsuoka. I left someone else to look through the rest but they left a message saying there was nothing obvious belonging to Eri or Akane-chan."

"Akane-chan?" Tenzou repeated.

Kawaguchi winced at the slip. "Yeah, we go way back," he admitted. "She was at the Academy when I was there. Himura too, though he graduated before us. They were childhood friends before they got together."

Tenzou stared at him, aghast. "You never mentioned that! You shouldn't be working the case if you were friends with one of the victims."

Kawaguchi shrugged and swirled the dregs in his mug. "We weren't close, not really. I probably would have stopped speaking to her years ago if not for Himura. And I'm OK, you know. I can do this. I want to do this. Seeing Himura all cut up about it, that made this real for me. I didn't think I'd end up working this with you when I picked up the Forest body, but I'm glad it led me here. I really want to catch this guy before he hurts anyone else."

This was a bombshell that Tenzou hadn't seen coming. Kawaguchi was watching him closely, waiting for a reaction. Protocol dictated that Kawaguchi be dropped from the case, but Tenzou was hesitant to do that for a number of reasons. He liked working with Kawaguchi and found him competent and hard-working, despite all of Kawaguchi's complaining, and he believed Kawaguchi when he said this wasn't affecting him. Before today, Tenzou hadn't noticed anything that would have led him to believe that Kawaguchi was emotionally invested. However, the main reason why switching Kawaguchi with someone else would be problematic was that today was the first day of the chuunin exams, and trying to find someone who wasn't needed elsewhere would be close to impossible.

"It would be too much hassle to trade you for someone else right now," Tenzou said. "But you really should have told me about this the moment you realised our cases were connected."

"I know. I'm sorry."

Tenzou sighed and rubbed some sleep from his eyes. He couldn't really take the moral high ground, not when he'd allowed Kakashi to become involved with an ANBU investigation despite the fact that he fit the killer's profile to a T.

"So, Nara-sensei had stolen work from Matsuoka-sensei and Iruka-sensei, but not from the other two. Have you checked her house?"

"Nothing there either. I sent someone to go over it last night. But when I say there's nothing obviously from Eri or Akane-chan, I mean nothing with their names on. My plans for the morning involve finding out if they have anything outstanding checked out from the archives and then checking it against the evidence logs." He sent Tenzou a long-suffering look. "Do you know how long it took to log everything in Nara's office? There were two of us working it until nine, and then two others took over and didn't finish until three in the morning. Who needs that much shit? We couldn't even bring it back here – we warded everything in her office."

"What about the scrolls from Iruka-sensei and Matsuoka-sensei?"

"They're in evidence. Umino's stuff is in a sealing scroll, though, and it's S restricted so we're gonna need to get on the access list before we can check it out, and then we'll have to get Umino to open it."

"I'll take it down to him later," Tenzou offered. "I'm already on the list. Those seals on his wounds were part of his research so Sandaime-sama cleared me."

Kawaguchi drained the last of his coffee. He looked a little more alive now. "Cool, you do that. By the way, I have a bone to pick with you." He folded his arms and gave Tenzou a look. "You went behind my back and let Kakashi out of T&I."

Tenzou had hoped to avoid this conversation for as long as possible. "He didn't do it."

"Sure you're not just playing favourites because he's your friend?"

"You have nothing on him," Tenzou said. "And you're right, he's my friend. I know him. If you heard the way he talks about Iruka-sensei you'd know he couldn't have done it."

Kawaguchi looked interested at that. "Oh yeah? So the rumours about Kakashi are true then?"

"Which rumours? I've lost track of them all."

"You know, that he doesn't exactly go for women."

Tenzou rolled his eyes. "We're investigating serial homicides and you want to gossip?"

Kawaguchi was unabashed. "Hey, if Kakashi and Umino are a thing it's totally relevant to the case. And I've seen Umino's pictures. He's a bit of a pretty boy, don't you think? Is that Kakashi's type?"

"Why, were you hoping to ask him out yourself?"

"Do you reckon I'm in with a chance?"

Kawaguchi was grinning now, and Tenzou didn't even want to know if he was serious. He decided to bring the topic back to something useful.

"I spoke to Hiashi-san last night. Haruki-san didn't kill Nara-sensei. He was locked up in the compound all night, and Hawk confirmed he didn't leave."

"So, do we think we were wrong about Haruki, or was it someone other than 3am who offed Nara?"

"I don't want to rule out Haruki-san just yet," Tenzou said firmly. "He fits too well with the 3am killings. Did you ever find out if he had a connection to Matsuoka-sensei?"

"I never got chance to ask around," Kawaguchi said. "That's on my to-do list for today. But I'm pretty sure Nara chose Matsuoka as a victim, so I might not find anything. He's different from the others. What I really want is to find his kill site. I don't think it was the Forest – it's been too busy over there recently with the chuunin exams prep, so I think he was killed somewhere else and then dumped there. Nara's death gave me an idea about that, though. The ghost town is a pretty good place to murder someone, don't you think? Quiet, abandoned, plenty of empty buildings. I'm going to go and check it out, see if I can find anything."

That was a good idea, although it was a lot of ground to cover. "Could he have been killed at the shrine?"

Kawaguchi shook his head. "No evidence of a second death there. Besides, it would be stupid to keep meeting at a kill site you wanted to keep secret. What if someone trailed one of them there and discovered a nice pile of evidence? No, 3am is smarter than that."

Tenzou agreed. In fact, he was secretly worried that 3am might be smarter than they were.

"OK, so you're checking for evidence linking Nara-sensei to Fujimoto-san and Eri-san and then trying to find a connection between Haruki-san and Matsuoka-sensei. I'm going to check that sealing scroll out of evidence and ask Iruka-sensei about it. As for Nara-sensei's death, we have the notes from door-to-door interviews, so I'll read those and find out if anyone saw anything suspicious last night. And we're still waiting on the autopsy report, but I'm not expecting much from it."

"You should help Tadaomi with the shifts rota," Kawaguchi said admiringly. "You're good at scheduling. I thought the chuunin in this village had laid claim to all the organisational skills."

"Just do it."

"Yes, sir!"

The streets seemed busier than usual as Tenzou made his way to Iruka's house. There were lots of foreign shinobi in town preparing to take the first of the chuunin exams later that day, and those that had come to watch and support them. Tenzou wondered how the 3am killings were affecting the exams. Sandaime must have had a hard time explaining everything to the visiting dignitaries. Tenzou wondered if they'd even bothered to turn up or if they'd decided it was too much of a risk and stayed at home.

Naruto answered when he knocked at the door, and he squinted at Tenzou's mask for a moment before recognition dawned.

"Iruka-sensei's in the shower," he said as he let Tenzou in. "He might be a while. He does everything slowly at the moment."

"That's fine," Tenzou said. "I can wait."

He sat on the sofa in the lounge and listened to Naruto banging on the bathroom door down the hall. "Iruka-sensei, that ANBU from the hospital is here. You know, Kakashi-sensei's friend."

Faintly, Tenzou heard Iruka's reply. "Cat-san? Please tell him I'll be out in a few minutes."

Naruto bounced back into the lounge and sat at the other end of the couch, tucking his legs under him and staring critically at Tenzou's mask.

"You don't really look like a cat," he decided.

"Oh? What do you think I look like?"

Naruto leaned forwards, scrunching up his face in thought. "Like someone who's had a really bad day. The mouth is all grumpy."

Tenzou bit back a surprised laugh. "Well, sometimes that's quite fitting."

Naruto sat back again. "Did you paint it yourself?"

"No. We have an artist who paints the masks for us. I chose to be a cat though."

"Why did you choose a cat?"

How did Iruka-sensei put up with this onslaught of curiosity? Never mind Naruto, how did he put up with a whole class of children? Were they all so full of questions?

"I like cats," Tenzou said simply. "Which animal would you choose if you were ANBU?"

"I'm not gonna be ANBU," Naruto said. "I'm gonna be the hokage." His face brightened. "Could I be both? Do they let the hokage join ANBU?"

Tenzou was saved from replying by the sound of the bathroom door opening, and Iruka turned the corner, hair damp and dressed in a pair of sweatpants and a loose t-shirt. His face was very pale, and Naruto sprang to his feet and dashed over to let Iruka lean on him as he came slowly over to the couch.

"Are you all right?" Tenzou asked. "I can come back later."

"No, it's fine," Iruka said, wincing as he sat down where Naruto had been sitting. "Simple things are a bit of a struggle at the moment, but I need to do them so I can recover as quickly as possible."

"You'll get better if you rest more," Naruto grumbled. Tenzou sensed this was an argument they'd had several times. "I'm going to make you breakfast."

"That can wait until Cat-san's gone," Iruka protested.

"No, you need to eat. Cat-san won't mind."

"Naruto-kun's right," Tenzou agreed.

Naruto gave Iruka a smug look before walking around the counter to the kitchen half of the room. "Do you want any breakfast, Cat-san?"

Iruka looked appalled. It was considered bad manners to offer an ANBU food or drink as they couldn't take off their mask to accept, but Tenzou wasn't offended.

"I can't eat while I'm in uniform," he said, pointing to his mask. Naruto's mouth made a small o of realisation.

"What can I help you with, Cat-san?" Iruka asked before Naruto could ask another myriad of questions.

"I wanted to ask you a few questions about Nara Kaede," Tenzou said. Iruka looked surprised.

"I thought her death had nothing to do with the other attacks."

"We're not sure it's the same killer," Tenzou admitted, "but there's definitely a connection between Nara-sensei and the 3am case. Have you seen Nara-sensei since you were attacked?"

"Yes, she came to visit me the first day I was in hospital."

"How did she seem to you?"

"Shocked. Upset. The usual reactions when someone you know has been hurt." Or the reactions of someone who'd expected Iruka to die.

"And what did she talk to you about?"

"She asked if I was OK, offered to help me if I needed anything...oh, and she wanted to know if my research was somewhere safe." Iruka scratched the bridge of his nose sheepishly. "It was actually pretty badly hidden, so I asked her to keep it safe for me."

"Did you ask or did she offer?"

Iruka opened his mouth and then closed it, frowning. "I don't remember. She brought up the subject, but I might have told her to take the scroll. I'm not sure."

Tenzou rummaged in the pouch at his hip, seeking Iruka's sealing scroll. As he did, Naruto brought a plate of toast and jam and handed it to Iruka, who smiled and thanked him.

"Iruka-sensei, is this the scroll containing your research?" Tenzou asked.

Iruka balanced the plate on his lap. "Yes, that's right."

"I need you to open it for me. I have permission from the hokage to view the contents." Tenzou handed Iruka the permission slip. Iruka scanned the short note and then nodded, handing it back.

"That's fine, but Naruto, can you go to your room for a while? You don't have the clearance to see this."

Naruto pouted but left the room without putting up a fight. Once he'd gone, Iruka touched the scroll, infusing it with a small amount of chakra and then opening it as the seal unlocked.

Inside the scroll were mostly research notes, crammed messily into a notebook, some chakra paper with seals that Tenzou recognised as versions of the tourniquet seal Iruka had used to save his life, and a scroll that bore the mark of restricted information.

"Just one reference scroll?" Tenzou asked, surprised.

"I have some more books, but they're not restricted so I don't have to seal them. I can get them if you want." He stood up, and Tenzou could see the effort in his face.

"I can fetch them if you tell me where they are," he said hurriedly, also rising. Iruka shook his head.

"They have some pretty complicated titles. It'll be easier if I find them."

Tenzou hovered beside him as Iruka crossed the room to the bookcase, not wanting to be patronising but also nervous that Iruka might hurt himself. However Iruka seemed perfectly capable of covering the short distance, albeit at a careful pace. When they reached the bookcase, Iruka took a couple of books from one of the shelves, then reached for another and paused.

"This isn't right," he muttered.

"What's wrong?"

Iruka's eyes were scanning the rest of the books. "I had these books in a specific order, but these two are the wrong way round. And there." He pointed to another book on the top shelf. "That one's in completely the wrong place." He turned to Tenzou. "Did ANBU go through my books?"

"No, we were only interested in your room. There was no need to search the rest of the house. Are you sure you didn't put them back wrong?"

"I wouldn't do that," Iruka said firmly. "That one's in the wrong section. It makes no sense at all." He frowned at the books. "Someone's taken the books off and put them back wrong."

Tenzou remembered Kakashi's theory, that the victims were being targeted because of their research. "Is anything missing?"

Iruka took a moment to look at the books. "I don't think so. I can't be entirely sure, but it looks like everything's still here. Why would somebody go through my books and not take anything?"

Tenzou turned and looked at the restricted scroll lying on the couch next to Iruka's toast. "Maybe he didn't find what he was looking for."

Iruka followed his gaze. "You think the killer is interested in my research?" Tenzou had expected more doubt in his tone and was interested that it wasn't there.

"Let's sit back down," Tenzou suggested. "I'll carry these." He took the stack of books and carried them over to the coffee table where he set them down in a pile. There were four volumes, but Tenzou suddenly wasn't interested in any of them. He was sure that the killer had been searching for the scroll.

"What exactly is this scroll about?" Tenzou asked, picking it up and opening it.

"It's full of highly unethical medical seals," Iruka said. "Mostly it's concerned with prosthetics made from human flesh. Replacing missing limbs with body parts harvested from corpses, or even living people. It's really horrific."

"How on Earth could you find that helpful?" Tenzou asked. "Aren't you creating first aid seals?"

"That's right. I'm not interested in the seals in this book, but there are also some keys for the base symbols used, and those have been incredibly helpful. I'm still at the stage where I'm designing the base symbols for the seals I want to create – the tourniquet seal I made was purely the result of some doodles I was playing around with."

Tenzou stared at him. Iruka didn't seem to realise the enormity of what he'd just said. He'd saved himself from dying through doodles that he'd never tested. Was that what it meant to be a seals expert or was Iruka some kind of genius in his own right?

"Have you finished the base symbols?" Tenzou asked.

"Almost." Iruka opened the notebook and showed him a page of labelled symbols. Three of them had marks next to them, and Iruka pointed to these. "These three need improvements, but the rest are ready for seal development testing."

"If Nara-sensei had these symbols and this scroll, could she complete the work?"

"Probably," Iruka said. He looked at Tenzou warily, not liking the implications. "You think she sent someone to kill me so she could steal my research?"

"Is it worth much money?"

"A fortune," Iruka said. "Nothing like this exists. It could save countless lives. I was going to donate it to the village, but if you sold it to another village, you could make a lot of money. And the fame and reputation you'd gain would be astronomical."

That was as helpful as it was troubling. While Tenzou was glad for the evidence piling up around Kaede, it was making him question the motive that had led him to suspect Haruki.

"Do you mind if I keep hold of your research for a while?" he asked.

"That's fine. Let me add your chakra signature to the sealing scroll, it'll make it easier for you to store it all."

"Would you mind if I also added my partner's signature when he's been put on the approval list?"

"Not at all, please feel free."

Iruka used a jutsu to switch the sealing ward on the scroll from closed to open. Instead of attacking the next foreign chakra signature to touch it, it would now accept it as a secondary key alongside Iruka's own signature. Iruka held the scroll out and Tenzou touched it, infusing it with his chakra.

"All done," Iruka said. "There's no rush to get it back to me. Please keep it for as long as you like."

"I wish everyone was as helpful as you," Tenzou said longingly, and Iruka laughed.

"I wouldn't want to make life difficult when you're trying so hard to protect me," he said. "Besides, the more I help, the faster you can find the killer, right?"

Iruka seemed better than when Tenzou had spoken to him in the hospital. Less haunted, less tense. But there was still something dark hidden behind that light-hearted tone, and Tenzou wanted to melt the fear away. People like Iruka didn't deserve to suffer like this.

"I hope so," was all he could say.

Seeing Iruka last night had put Kakashi in a good mood. Kissing Iruka last night had put him in a very good mood. He'd known for a while that something was developing between himself and Iruka, but he hadn't wanted to rush things. Kakashi hated the awkwardness of dating. Dates were like weird scheduled meetings where the agenda was getting to know each other so both parties felt like they'd made an effort before they had sex. Kakashi had always found it forced and artificial, and he'd given up on the whole concept.

Iruka hadn't seemed to want that either. Kakashi had never before clicked with someone so perfectly that he felt like he knew what they were thinking, but that was the unspoken understanding he felt between himself and Iruka. He'd never thought he was misinterpreting Iruka's feelings when Iruka brushed his hand against Kakashi's as they walked together, or when he gave Kakashi fond private smiles, and Kakashi knew without a doubt that Iruka understood his affection too. They were simply giving it time and letting their friendship – still new and blossoming – become something stable before they moved it forwards. And Kakashi was more than all right with that.

However, he was also perfectly all right with taking things to the next level now, and the anticipation of kissing Iruka properly the next time they saw each other only increased his resolve to clear his name once and for all by catching the real 3am Killer.

Unfortunately, there were other parts of his life that also needed dealing with, including but not limited to the state of his kitchen, which was, in a word, empty. If Kakashi had still been living alone, he'd have simply eaten out for a few days until he could be bothered to restock the cupboards, but starving Sasuke probably counted as child abuse, so the two of them had spent the past hour shopping for food.

When they arrived back at Kakashi's apartment, they found Tenzou standing outside the door. Kakashi's nerves gave a little thrum of excitement. No doubt Tenzou had come by to grill him about his seals theory as he'd said he would, but this was Kakashi's chance to try and wheedle some information out of him.

"I thought you might come by last night," Kakashi commented, dumping his shopping into Tenzou's arms so he could rummage for his keys.

"Yesterday was a long day," Tenzou replied. "I saw Iruka-sensei this morning," he added as they went inside.

"How is he?" Kakashi asked. Tenzou clearly hadn't found out he'd seen Iruka last night, and he intended to keep things that way. He threw a warning glance at Sasuke behind Tenzou's back. Sasuke raised a haughty eyebrow in reply.

"Better than he was when I last saw him," Tenzou said, putting the bags of shopping down on the kitchen counter. "Though it looks like full recovery might take a while."

"The doctor said six to ten weeks," Sasuke volunteered. "Unless it gets complicated."

Kakashi stared at him. He hadn't heard this. "Define complicated."

Sasuke started putting food in the fridge. "It could get infected, or the scar tissue could cause internal problems, or if Iruka-sensei keeps trying to do too much it could interfere with the healing process and –"

"Maybe that's enough worst case scenarios," Tenzou interrupted hastily.

Sasuke glanced up and saw Kakashi's face. "He's not going to die," he said, voice heavy with scorn. It made Kakashi feel a little better, having his fears dismissed as though they were ridiculous. "Are you going to help me put this stuff away or not?"

"Maa, you're doing a good job by yourself," Kakashi said, ignoring the answering glare. "I need to talk to Cat for a while."

He ignored Sasuke's annoyed muttering and led Tenzou through to the living room. He thought they'd sit on the couch, but Tenzou remained standing, so Kakashi stood too.

"I want to keep this brief," Tenzou said. "Tell me what you were talking about yesterday. About how the victims are connected."

Well, OK, Kakashi could play it his way for a while.

"I was trying to approach it from the other side," he said. "I don't think 3am was choosing the victims, I think it was Nara. Because of Matsuoka – I heard about him from Hiashi, before you ask – and because I noticed all the victims had a link to seals and that's what connected them all to Nara. I thought maybe she was having them killed so she could take the credit for their work."

"I was actually thinking something similar, about Iruka-sensei's work anyway," Tenzou said slowly. "But Fujimoto-san wasn't a researcher. What makes you think she knew anything about seals?"

"You remember I told you that Fujimoto was checking restricted scrolls and books out of the archives illegally? She was researching a way to cure Himura's blindness. I think his seal tattoo might be based more on her work than Nara wants to admit. I have a record of everything she checked out if you want to see."

"Kawaguchi's getting the records for her and Eri-san. I'll have them by this afternoon anyway. Is that everything, Kakashi?"

He was getting ready to leave and Kakashi couldn't let him.

"There's something else I want to talk to you about," Kakashi said.

"I'm sure there is," Tenzou said. "But I'm trying a new thing where I don't always give you what you want."

"I don't think Haruki is 3am."

There was a moment of weighted silence. "Two days ago you were convinced enough to attack him and now you think he's innocent."

"I think he's an asshole and I think he's the one who attacked Iruka-sensei four years ago, but I don't think he's a serial killer."

There was another stretched out moment, and then Tenzou sighed. He sat down on the couch, which Kakashi took as the sign of defeat that it was. Tenzou was at least going to hear him out. Kakashi sat beside him and leaned forwards earnestly.

"If Nara was choosing the victims, the motive you used to profile Haruki is meaningless. It could well be coincidence that Fujimoto, Eri and Iruka-sensei were all the type to stand up for themselves. Does Matsuoka fit that pattern?"

"I don't know," Tenzou admitted reluctantly. "Kawaguchi is looking into that today."

"If we accept that Nara was hiring an assassin to kill off those she considered a threat to her prestige as a researcher, then we have to re-profile the killer."

"It doesn't mean Haruki-san didn't do it. He hated three of the victims and didn't make it a secret. If Nara was looking for an elite assassin, he'd be a good choice. It's possible there are two motives at work here that happen to coincide."

"It's too perfect," Kakashi insisted. "Two people who both want to kill the same set of victims, and they manage to find each other and plan a series of murders? Have you found any tangible evidence of a connection between them?"

"Not yet. But there's no such thing as 'too perfect' in investigations like this. The most obvious answer is usually the right one. That's how reality works."

"Maybe, and you can keep looking into Haruki as much as you like. But you also need to go back to your list of ANBU and find out if any of them had a connection to Nara. Look again at the victims, look at the other people involved like the ANBU who stole the mask. Check out Nara's finances, find out if she was paying the killer, because if she wasn't then he needs to have a motive of his own. Was he in love with her? In debt to her? Was she blackmailing him? Did she promise to split the money from her research with him? If you dig deep enough there'll be traces. You can already cross a couple of those off the list, actually."

Tenzou's shoulders were tight with suppressed irritation. "And which would those be?"

"Well, considering he killed her the moment she became a liability, he probably wasn't her lover. And if he was greedy enough to kill people for money, he wouldn't off his meal ticket, so that probably wasn't the case either."

"Assuming it was 3am who killed her."

Now it was Kakashi's turn to stare at Tenzou. "Wait, you don't think he did?"

"The MO was completely different. Her throat was slit from behind and he didn't stick around to watch her die."

"Genjutsu?"

"Doubtful. Why bother to sneak up on a victim from behind if you can make them bare their throat to you?"

Kakashi's brain ticked into overdrive. "If 3am didn't kill her, the only other likely motive is that someone else found out she was involved with the murders."

"A revenge killing," Tenzou said, and Kakashi could almost hear the gears grinding in his head too. "Someone with a personal connection to one of the victims." He gave Kakashi a look. "It's a really good thing you have an alibi."

Kakashi barely heard him. He'd made the final leap. Someone who wanted revenge for the killings and knew that Kaede had been involved. He could only think of one contender.

"Shit," he said. "I told Himura about Nara."

"Himura Daiki?" Tenzou tapped a finger against his mask.

"It fits. He was really interested at the time. Pestered me to tell him if I dug up solid evidence on her, but I blew him off. Maybe he was watching her and noticed all the ANBU attention and figured that was good enough for him to be sure." He thought of the brief conversation they'd had last night outside Iruka's block of flats. "I saw him yesterday and he asked me again if Nara killed Fujimoto. He was really – intense. And he asked me something weird. He asked who I thought killed her, as though I might think it wasn't 3am. He was fishing to see if he had to worry about being caught."

"Hold on, slow down." Tenzou was staring at the wall, thinking. "You're getting overexcited. We can't say for sure it wasn't 3am just because the MO was different. It's something I'm considering, but at the moment it's a theory with no supporting evidence. The circumstances between Nara-sensei's death and the serial killings are completely different. If it was a decision he made on the spur of the moment, then of course it would look different to the 3am killings. Maybe he even wanted it to look different, to try and throw us off the scent. He doesn't know how much we have on Nara-sensei, so he might still think he can distance himself from her."

He was wrong. Now that Kakashi had seen it, he was sure. Tenzou hadn't seen the look in Himura's eyes when he'd asked about Kaede, he didn't know what it was like to lose someone and know who was guilty and not be able to prove it. Kakashi understood. He'd almost lost Iruka, and even that near miss was enough to make him lose his normally tightly wound control. He'd attacked Haruki and broken into Kaede's office, and he was still prepared to put his freedom and his reputation at risk. If Iruka had died, he couldn't honestly say that he wouldn't have murdered Haruki that day on the training field.

"Aren't you even going to look into it?" he asked.

"I don't have the time or the resources to chase after every wild theory you come up with. Bring me some evidence and I'll put it on my to-do list."

"Does that mean you want me to keep helping you after all?"

Tenzou actually snorted, as though he were making a joke. "Not if you paid me. But since you're going to keep doing your own thing no matter what I say, I want you to keep me in the loop. If I find out you've got information you haven't shared with me, I'll throw you straight back in a cell. Understand?"

"When did you become such a tyrant?" Kakashi whined.

"Since you became such a brat, senpai."

Kakashi didn't have a rebuttal for that.

A/N - I just wanted to add a brief note to say thanks to all the people who review this story who don't have an account, since I can't message you to reply to your reviews. I always want to, because you always leave such lovely, thoughtful comments and feedback and I want you to know how much I appreciate it. And thanks as well to everyone who's favourited and followed this story - you all make me feel so happy and I'm really glad you're enjoying this weird little fic. Much love!