The sound of the customary 10am alarm echoed through the hallway of his apartment, but Kakashi had long been awake. He'd already eaten, made coffee, dressed and walked Pakkun round the block in the form of a long forgotten ritual that had ceased the moment Obito had left this world physically. It had all come back to him with a rush of nostalgia and something else he might describe as peace.
After a year of wallowing in the self doubt and turmoil that had clung to him, Kakashi's mind was finally clear. Still assured in his conviction that he would not rest until Obito's murderer was caught, but now he knew that he could also rely on others to help him, and to do it he needed to be on top of his game. It had started so gradually this week Kakashi couldn't place when it had happened, but at some point the voice of Obito in his mind had quietened, and it had been replaced by his own thoughts, and the words of his new partner.
Just a few days ago the very idea of that would have sent him into a panic but something had changed in the last 24 hours specifically. And it had come from Obito himself, not the vague memory of him that Kakashi had tried to keep alive, but in Obito's own words, in a case file from years earlier.
It was a case about a serial rapist in Konoha that had been narrowed down single-handedly by the work of an amazing doctor, Sakura Haruno. Obito had quoted her statement word for word in his own arrest report and added a single handwritten sentence at the end of it.
Couldn't have said it better myself.
It was all that needed to be said for Kakashi to finally allow himself reprieve from the guilt at forgetting his former partner and what he meant to Kakashi. Part of Obito lived on in him, in all the detectives of the precinct and the work they were doing together. With that thought in mind, Kakashi began work on the next step in the case, transporting the entirety of his work to the task force headquarters at the precinct. This task force too would keep the memory of Obito alive, they would bring people to justice in his name, in his honor.
A day earlier, with a lump in his throat, Kakashi had stood over Obito's grave and apologized one last time. It hadn't been his regular apology, the mantra he recited to the granite slate every single day, but something new. An apology and a promise, that though he could never be replaced as a friend and as a partner, Kakashi needed to move on. For the good of those around him and for the city of Konoha itself. He would use everything that he and Obito had been through together as the foundation for his new partnership with Sakura, and who knew what heights they could achieve.
Kakashi knew that it's what Obito would have wanted, and for the first time he didn't need to hear that voice in his head to confirm it.
When all their respective paperwork had been done, Kakashi and Sakura had been briefed on the formation of the task force. Or rather, task forces. A decision had been made in light of the new evidence on the relation between the Kyuubi killer and the Akatsuki, that the two were likely connected. So Tsunade had managed to connive (in her infinite wisdom) not only a task force for the capture of the Akatsuki, but a smaller dedicated team focussed on catching the infamous Kyuubi Killer.
Detectives Kakashi Hatake and Sakura Haruno to lead the charge against the serial killer, and to aid in the work of the larger task force. The lightness of his chest meant one thing, excitement. He really couldn't wait to get to work, and although it was tinged with sadness and the loss of Obito, Kakashi finally felt like he was on the right track to solving his murder.
And if it's not the right track, Sakura will set me straight.
As if she were actually an omnipotent force, there was a knock at the door and a call of 'I'm coming in'. Sakura had warned that she would turn up on his doorstep if he were late, and here she was like clockwork. They were both a lot more rested from the weeks exhaustion, late nights and broken wrists, but the show must go on.
"You really should lock your door y'know…" Sakura said as she crouched down to pet an excited Pakkun, Kakashi regarded her over his shoulder as he took down the second to last clipping from the wall.
"It was unlocked for a reason, I knew you'd turn up eventually."
"I half expected you to still be in bed to be honest, looks like you've been busy though…" When she straightened she looked at him, filled with concern, but it was misplaced.
"It's time." He said plainly and with an added suredness.
"Who knew there were walls and windows behind all that paper, the place looks... almost nice."
"What do you mean? I've got the overworked bachelor aesthetic down perfectly." As if agreeing with his master, Pakkun made a bork of approval from his spot on the floor.
Sakura shook her head and reached for the last clipping on the wall, the newspaper page with the picture of Obito in full uniform. Kakashi wasn't sure he imagined the tentative way that her fingers removed the pins from the wallpaper. She was treating that paper with a reverence that he couldn't help but appreciate. When it was down she held it out for him to take, it didn't belong in the box of other papers that related to the case, however it did belong with Kakashi.
Placing it on the table, Kakashi stood back to admire his handy work, the wallpaper now had patches where the light had bleached what it had been able to touch.
"Looks pretty bare now. Got something you can hang up in that gap?"
"The last thing this place needs is a woman's touch, Haruno, don't you go renovating anything... You are unfortunately right though, wow that looks boring as hell, I don't want to stare at a blank wall. Hold on, I might be able to find something."
Kakashi left Sakura in the living room doting on Pakkun and entered the dark confines of his bedroom. Just because he was allowing natural light in his living space didn't mean it needed to be throughout the whole apartment. There wasn't much to this room either, just a musty old bed that he'd had since making Detective, the rest was bookcases. They were filled with anything and everything, the remnants of the database he'd been trying to create long ago in order to better the precinct. The fruits of his labor were carefully memorized and kept in handwritten notebooks on one of the shelves. Next to these, under a pile of dust, were two frames that had been relegated there exactly a year ago, ripped from the living room wall to make way for his 'work'.
It was time to return them to their spot.
"That's better." Kakashi mumbled while brushing the dust from the glass. A sudden and unexpected flash of light caused him to wince, he turned petulantly to find Sakura opening the curtains. "Did anyone ever tell you not to walk uninvited into a man's bedroom, Haruno? People could get the wrong idea..."
"By people you mean Pakkun obviously, it's pretty clear no one else comes to your apartment. Are you part vampire? Is that why you're so pale and the curtains are all shut?"
"Ha ha very funny."
"So what have you got there?"
He tilted the frames slightly so that she could see them, one was a picture of the original squad. Kakashi looking less than impressed at the side of the frame, Obito grinning wildly with one arm around him and the other around Rin. Captain Minato smiling and looking exceptionally tired of all the bullshit that his best uniformed officers liked to bring to the precinct every day.
"That's a sweet photo, what's this one?"
"It's a clipping, before you roll your eyes, at least this one is framed."
"Wait, is this you and Obito with Mayor Hiruzen?"
"Yeah, might have been before your time, do you remember the bomb that was found at Konoha University?"
"Yeah, I was in one of my final lectures and we were evacuated to the quad."
"It was such a stupid thing really, we had all but given up searching, checked every vent and duct with the bomb squad but there was too much ground to cover. Just about to declare it a hoax, and Obito gets hungry, bastard was always snacking on something. Thing was, the vending machine wasn't paying out the goods, Obito gets mad and starts babbling, I get irritated enough to take a look at the thing. Low and behold, there's a bomb wedged between the shelves stopping the snacks from dropping. Completely ridiculous that we were saved by Obito's sweet tooth."
"You say that it was ridiculous but you're still smiling like an idiot, so it can't have been too bad."
His expression had indeed betrayed him. That night he and Obito had both received commendations from the Mayor was in the smaller stockpile of his happier memories. It had been the pinnacle of their early career, the case that had propelled them into earning their detective's shields. The nostalgia came with a bitter taste but it was only for a moment, there was no time to dwell on misery with Sakura at his side, pestering him.
"Hurry up, let's get these up on the wall and get back to the precinct. You've got a presentation to make for the task force."
"Don't you mean, we've got a presentation to make?"
"You're the one who did all the recon work on the Kyuubi Killer, Hatake, this is your case."
"It used to be my case, now it belongs to the both of us. 50/50 Haruno, remember?"
Sakura had taken one of the frames and began to march back to the living room, Kakashi following behind, it looked an awful lot like a tantrum. It also bore an uncanny resemblance to what he referred to as the 'Tsunade war dance', it meant trouble for someone down the line. She continued to ignore him while aggressively holding up the frame to certain parts of the wall, muttering under her breath. Kakashi wasn't exactly sure how best to proceed, he didn't know her well enough just yet to assume anything, Pakkun exchanged a sympathetic and perplexed look with him.
"Fine." She finally announced to the wall. "I'll help you run it, but only because you're my partner, and only because I know this case hits close to home for you. No other reason."
"This would be a great starting step to becoming a captain, y'know..."
"But I want to become Captain, and Commissioner, on my own merits, Kakashi. I want to get the job because of all the work I've accomplished, not from riding on the coattails of my partner when he's done 80% of the work-"
"Sakura, I... I need your help." The words stumbled from his mouth without much thought behind them, Kakashi wasn't even sure himself of how or why they had decided to appear. For some reason it just seemed like the right thing to say to his partner. "I don't think I can do this without you, I'm not the detective I once was, my reputation isn't what it used to be after this year... They might not listen to me at all... But you, well I can't imagine anyone ever saying no to you."
She studied him for a long minute, her eyes narrowing in concentration before a small smile played on the corners of her mouth.
"Fine, I'll help. You're a real sweet talker, Hatake, it's going to get you into trouble one of these days."
"I trust that the trouble will be coming from you?"
"Yes, you can ask Detective Shiranui exactly what kind of trouble to expect..."
Kakashi was only certain of one thing when it came to Sakura Haruno, that she would never react in a way that he could predict. She was of the same ilk as the Captain, ballsy, she knew what she wanted and she wasn't going to compromise her views to get it. He couldn't place exactly what he'd expected her to say in this situation, women like Tsunade were a rare and powerful force, and just like a typhoon it was difficult to tell just how much damage there would be in the aftermath.
With the frames safely in their new positions on the wall there wasn't a lot of time for him to sit back and appreciate how new his apartment felt. Despite the brace on her wrist Sakura tried to lift one of the boxes containing the papers from the wall. With some protest she finally acquiesced, letting Kakashi take them while she locked the door. They had fallen into an odd arrangement, he was meant to be the senior detective looking after the new rookie, but outside of the precinct it certainly felt like the other way around. If it were anyone else he might've felt some shame about that fact but he knew that Sakura wouldn't let him,
The ride to the precinct was the usual debate with Sakura as to his skills behind the wheel and their existence. His heart wasn't really in the game however, mentally he was preparing for exactly what he would say to the hastily formed task force. He'd been able to provide some names to the Captain for selection, but after a year out of the game himself, Kakashi wasn't so sure any longer that they would be up to the job. That nervousness must have showed on his face or in his body language, Sakura had picked up on it by the time they had parked the car at the precinct.
"You're going to do fine, Kakashi."
"If you say it then it must be true."
Kakashi Hatake wasn't exactly a man to believe in omens or fate, despite the occupation that he held and the things that he had seen in that time. Logic and reasoning had always been the higher forces in his mind and it had served him well enough so far.
There were, however, a couple things that found a way to defy logic. And as soon as he entered the bullpen, one of those things came bounding up to him and enveloped him in tn a tight hug. He could tell by the hair cut just who the man was, and that was the only thing that saved his arm from being broken.
"Kakashi, it's so good to finally see you again old friend!"
Sakura appeared to be reaching for the holster at her hip so Kakashi had to motion that he was alright.
"Gai, it's not like I've been anywhere. What are you doing here? You've only been undercover for two months..."
"I put in that transfer a year ago, and when it finally comes through you've got a new partner that isn't me?! What kind of madness is th- oh, is that her?"
Sakura had already walked past them and to her desk, Kakashi might have imagined that she was rolling her eyes.
"Yes, that's her. Now answer my question, aren't you meant to be undercover?"
"Operation was abandoned, intell was false, and then I was pulled to this precinct- She's pretty..." The last part was said quietly as if he hadn't meant to say it out loud but it had come out of its own accord.
For a second Kakashi's instincts were telling him to pull Gai's focus back to the conversation he had been trying to have. But something passed in his mind, a glint of mischief, clearly Obito was acting through him today. It was probably a bad idea considering what he knew of Sakura, but some ideas were worth the risk.
"Super pretty, you should tell her that, I'm sure she'd like it."
"Really? Thanks, I'll-"
"Hatake! Where the hell have you been? There's only five minutes until the first meeting, everyone is waiting for you in the conference room." Tsunade boomed from the door to her office.
It was show time, Kakashi would have to wait until later to see if his bad idea bore any fruit. At a first glance the conference room was filled with the usual suspects, plus a few uniformed officers that he didn't recognize. They had presumably already been updated on the Akatsuki task force, and these were the dregs that were willing to aid with the capture of the Kyuubi Killer. Kakashi was expecting this, expecting his peers not to think so highly of him, and for now he just didn't care. He would let his work speak for him
With five minutes to prepare he went about emptying the box of the contents that had once lined the walls of his living room. Sakura came in to help, a few stragglers trickled in soon after. It became very clear to Kakashi that five minutes would not be enough to have the exact layout of the case and the precise order he'd constructed back at his apartment. The sneers of officers behind him were only heard for a short while, he figured that they'd all just left the room until he was finished setting up, but when he turned around Kakashi was in for another surprise.
When he turned to face the room of officers and detectives that would be his task force he found two dozen faces staring at the wall of clippings and printouts. They were silent and eyeing the evidence before them with the same reverence that Sakura had given it when she had seen it for the first time. Kakashi had never been one to believe in omens or fate, it was true, but he couldn't help but believe that Obito meant more to these people than just another officer. Kakashi wasn't the only one who keenly felt his loss.
"This", Kakashi spoke while everyone was still silent, "This is everything I've been able to research on the Kyuubi killer's victims in the last twelve months. Read it, familiarize yourselves with it, Detective Haruno has been able to digitize some of it.. Up until this week it was everything that we had on the killer, but as I'm sure you're all aware, we arrested one Mizuki Tsubaki for murder and corpse desecration-"
"What's that got to do with the Kyuubi Killer?" Came an impatient voice from the back of the room.
"Save your questions until the end of Detective Hatake's address, please." Sakura sounded so much like Tsuande that you could see a few officers actively shudder. It had the desired effect and the room fell silent again.
"As I was saying, in the process of that investigation we came across this." He reached into his jacket and withdrew Mizuki's notebook, something he'd taken habit of carrying with him at all times. "The information collected and given by the suspect allowed us to make a raid on an Akatsuki storage unit, but it appears as if he also witnessed the abduction of Officer Uchiha and perhaps even followed the killer for some time..." There was a tittle amongst the officers of quiet awe, but Kakashi continued undeterred. "Which leads us to the next thing, we have reason to believe that the Kyuubi killer is operating as hit man for the Akatsuki. This task force has been formed to aid in the investigation and capture of the Kyuubi Killer while also providing assistance to the main task force. I will now field questions."
A hand began to rise slowly from the middle table.
"How is the Kyuubi killer linked to the Akatsuki?"
"Officer Uchiha was last seen alive at the storage facility of the Akatsuki that was raided yesterday, he had been acting on information he gained indirectly from Mizuki. All other victims have ties to organized crime in some way, originally we thought the killer to be some kind of vigilante ritualistic psychopath, but the evidence suggests that Mizuki may have even come into contact with the killer at some point." Kakashi was trying to sound as professional as he could make himself, but he was out of practice.
"What is Mizuki's ties to the Akatsuki? Can we trust him to give an accurate description?"
Sakura then took over.
"Mizuki Tsubaki was acting as personal valet for the Akatsuki he had dealings with one individual under the code name, Hebi, who may or may not have been a fence for illegal activity. Cleaning up cars that had been used in crimes and selling them on, Mizuki claims that all the cars were different." Some officers were taking notes as she spoke. "Ask around with your CI's and see if they are familiar with the code name, a general description has been included in the case file. Mizuki took dates and times of some of these exchanges, we're doubtful that we'll recover any footage from the storage units to substantiate his claims."
"Has the profile for the killer been updated?"
"We're working on that now with consultants," Kakashi found his voice again. "Thanks to our own doctor, Detective Haruno, we have reason to believe that the Kyuubi killer may have professional knowledge of the human body with a checkered history, perhaps with animal cruelty or abuse." The questions ran quiet, there wasn't a lot more to cover in this initial meeting without the plans for individual tasks written up yet, that was another job he'd have to do today. But Kakashi steadied his breath for the most important piece of knowledge. "The Kyuubi killer is dangerous, has taken one of our own, so I implore you all to take your personal safety seriously. Anyone caught acting on their own without backup or partner will be removed from the task force. Am I clear?"
There was a small murmur. Sakura cleared her throat.
"Yes, sir." The response was loud and uniform, Kakashi glanced at his partner briefly and caught the terrifying expression on her face, he didn't think he'd be so fond of such a look.
"You've been selected for your investigation skills and availability, each of you will be paired and then assigned tasks. Anymore questions?"
"No, sir."
"Good, dismissed."
The crowd dispersed slowly, a few choosing to come closer to take a look at the wall of evidence behind him. Immediately he'd wanted to confer with Sakura to see how she thought the first meeting had gone, but she was being crowded by officers, shaking her hand and introducing themselves. She was already every bit the commanding presence of Tsunade.
She's going to go places that one.
Before he had any time to think, Kakashi was being approached as well, from a most unlikely person. Genma Shiranui, with his hands in his pockets and eyes looking to the floor, stood directly in front of him. Then it seemed as if Genma was willing to look everywhere but at Kakashi himself. If it had been a year ago he might've asked the detective what was wrong, but their working relationship had taken a sharp downturn after Obito's death, he had been the apparent buffer between them.
Kakashi couldn't remember asking for Genma to be on the task force, maybe he'd just been watching out of curiosity, he couldn't say.
"Listen, Hatake..." It was as if the words were physically hurting him, a hand came out of his pocket to tousle through his long hair. "I didn't realize... I mean, I didn't know that you'd been working so hard at this on your own... And I'm..." Genma appeared to be looking in Sakura's direction now and visibly shuddered. "I'm sorry for how I've been acting..."
"Genma, we didn't apologize to each other before Obito died, we don't have to start doing it now."
With a smirk and a clap on the shoulder Genma nodded before walking away and leaving Kakashi just a little perplexed. It must have been a common misconception that he had just been wallowing in his own misery for the past year instead of doing any real detective work. It might have felt good to prove them wrong, but there were no good feelings to be had about this case or the loss of his former partner. For now he would just have to be satisfied that at least his peers no longer believed him to be a useless waste of space. It would have to sustain him until they arrested the person responsible for Obito's death.
Kakashi slunk his way out of the conference room and to his desk. There was a lot of work to be done, first of all, assigning tasks to the team he had in place, then there would be a meeting with the Akatsuki task force...
Still standing, when he looked up from his desk for his now customary scan for a head of pink hair, his whole being paused. Gai was talking to Sakura, looking every bit the nervous fool that he was, scratching his head and avoiding eye contact. He couldn't hear what was being said but what concerned him the most, and for reasons he did not understand in the slightest, Sakura was laughing.
It was an out loud, purposefully, too cute to be real, honest to god giggle. Perhaps it was because it was entirely unexpected, but it shocked Kakashi more than he would ever dare to admit. His intention had been for Gai's advances to be rebuffed spectacularly in the style he expected from his partner. Maybe he wasn't so good at predicting her reactions after all, and that bothered him a lot. Without much more thought into the matter Kakashi made his way over to the pair, ignoring others and straining his ears along the way.
"So, uh, what's so funny over here?" He hoped it didn't sound as nervously uncertain as he felt.
It happened in an instant, Sakura turned her head and caught his eye, there was a glint of something dark that crossed her features but Kakashi was a fool and too late to catch it properly before it was too late. The next thing Kakashi was able to register was the wind being knocked out of him, Sakura's fist dead center with his stomach, hitting him with such a force that he doubled over. His ear level with her mouth as he prostrated in agony.
"I don't know about 'super pretty'" she whispered menacingly in his ear, "but I do have pretty good hearing, Hatake, so don't try to pull that shit with me."
Sakura straightened herself a little, bid farewell to a stunned Gai with a smile, and then returned to her desk. Kakashi felt a surge of relief that at least the whole bullpen hadn't seen the incident but it was short lived. A boisterous laugh from behind him, and one so rare he didn't think her capable of it anymore, Tsunade was in near tears by the time he had the fortitude to turn around.
"Well, it's nice to know your new partner doesn't tolerate your shit, Hatake." She caught her breath and Kakashi couldn't help rolling his eyes. "Now, don't look so forlorn, Kakashi, don't get mad, get even."
Tsunade turned, still cackling like a witch, and went back to her office. As Kakashi stood there rubbing his stomach while Gai held back peels of laughter, there was something else unsettling him that had nothing to do with the rapidly forming bruise or internal bleeding.
Tsunade had said something, and for some reason those words were echoing in his mind repetitively... calling to him...
And then it clicked. Sakura had said the same thing...Eyes wide he managed to catch Sakura's gaze as she watched the aftermath of her little stunt. Her face went impassive as he spoke though.
"Aunty Tsunade, huh?"
The expression that passed on Detective Haruno's face was first one of mild shock, and then disgust, before just a hint of a smile.