A/N: Hello, my dear readers! I hope everyone is enjoying the story so far! I just wanted to clarify something before you start reading this chapter so that no one gets confused. The flashbacks in this chapter will be from Naruto's POV as he tells his story. This will occur several times throughout this fic, so keep an eye out for chapters named after a character. Those are the backstories. Hopefully, this makes everything easier for you. Happy reading!

Room 215

Chapter 4

"Naruto"

-X-X-

"Dude, this isn't a good idea. I mean…this is Akatsuki! You've heard the stories about what Pain does to people who cross him."

Akatsuki…the mysterious gang who rose up from the shadows to take control of Manhattan. They viewed the city as their property and ruled through fear. Pain, the leader, made an example out of anyone who challenged them.

"It's not going to get that far," Kiba assured him as he stuffed a flashlight into his backpack. "Akatsuki won't ever find out about the theft because we're going to replace the art we steal with duplicates. And I've seen them, man. They look legit!"

Kiba scrolled through his phone a moment until he pulled up a picture on the screen. Naruto narrowed his eyes as he leaned closer, an impressive painting of a landscape glowing back at him. "Is…that the real one?"

"Nope!" the other teen declared triumphantly, snapping his phone closed. He grinned widely. "You see? Tobi's thought of everything. I swear, that guy's a genius. There's nothing to worry about."

Naruto frowned, crossing his arms as he leaned away. "What about Tobi? I don't like the vibe of that guy. He's hiding something. Why did he come to you with this if he's such a genius?"

Kiba rolled his eyes. "Because, Naruto," he began, joining the zippers on his bag and slinging it over his back. "He's smart enough to admit that he needs help. He told me himself that he couldn't pull this heist off without me. He needed an extra set of hands and someone to watch his back."

"Then who's going to be watching your back?" Naruto retorted. "I don't understand why I can't go, too."

"I already explained that to you," Kiba huffed. He shook his head in annoyance. "Look, this is stupid. We're just going in circles. I'm going to do this whether you like it or not. I'm going to change our lives. Tobi will look after me. I've worked with him enough to trust him, so why don't you stop being so damn suspicious and trust me for a change? You're not the only one who can make a difference."

…

Naruto stared silently at the ground, his hands hanging limply in his lap. Kakashi sidled closer and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. When the despondent blond finally met his gaze, he supported his weight as he slowly lifted him to his feet and guided him to the bed. When was the last time that boy washed his sheets?

"Naruto," Kakashi started gently. He wanted to respect his privacy in such a vulnerable state, but he needed to know the specifics. "Who's Tobi?"

"He's someone who worked with my friend. He was in Akatsuki."

"Did you ever meet him?"

Naruto shook his head, "No, I didn't, but Kiba said he was some kind of insurance-fraud pro."

"Insurance fraud?" Kakashi asked aloud. "Was that his role with Akatsuki's art thefts?"

"Yeah," the blond responded with a minute nod before releasing a deep sigh and falling back onto his mattress. "He'd get an art collector to insure something for a ton of money, right? Then, Akatsuki would steal the painting and the insurance money would roll in. When it was over, Akatsuki sold the painting back to the collector for big money. Kiba was in charge of the money from one of those sales when…," he closed his eyes wearily, "When he died."

Kakashi positioned himself on the foot of the bed and tapped Naruto's foot lightly, aiming to pull him even slightly from the depths of his memories. Naruto only curled in on himself and rolled onto his side.

"…He was tricked, dattebayo. He was gonna the steal some angel painting from one of Akatsuki's hideouts…but all he did was get himself killed. Well…that's not exactly right. It wasn't his idea to steal the painting. It was Tobi's."

Kakashi furrowed his brow, his instincts sparking from that particular detail. "What angel painting?"

"I have no idea, man," Naruto replied, exhaling in frustration as he pushed himself up and linked his arms over his knees. "That's just what Kiba called it. It was something he found in Akatsuki's warehouse. He was crazy about the stupid thing. Said it was worth a fortune. Said if we could score it, we'd be set for life," he shook his head. "…He always was an idiot."

Unfortunately, I know all about having idiots for friends.

Kakashi pushed that thought aside and returned himself to the questioning. "Did Akatsuki find out what your friend was up to?"

"I don't think so, dattebayo…Only Tobi knew about the plan, and he was the one who killed Kiba…He betrayed him."

…

Kiba was late.

Naruto tapped his foot on the floor, hands clasped tightly and set on the table in front of him as he glanced constantly at the door. He had arrived at the restaurant as they had planned, but a half hour had already passed. He had been checking his phone every few seconds, hoping for a message from his friend.

Was Kiba held up? He would have sent a message if he was running late…right? Kiba may have been an idiot, but when the situation was serious, he sent dozens of texts, updating Naruto on his progress. This was different.

Naruto had a horrible feeling.

Glancing once more at the door, the blond made up his mind—he wasn't going to wait around anymore. The last place Kiba was supposed to be was at that damn warehouse, so he would look for him there. If something had happened to him…

He shook away the thought as he tore out of the restaurant. Kiba was going to be alright. Naruto would find him and get his friend out of this mess. He had to believe everything would be okay. It was the only way he could continue putting one foot in front of the other.

The night air was freezing with the beginning hints of snowfall. As Naruto slipped through the dim alleys of Manhattan, he was thankful that he had remembered his coat and scarf. He could be so forgetful sometimes.

Several more minutes passed before the familiar sounds of the harbor reached his ears. He was close. The warehouse was stationed near a boat called Ame, which held anchor close to the main street. Their warehouse was hiding in plain sight, but discretion was Akatsuki's strong suit. They utilized it when it served their purposes and ignored it for the same reason. They were untouchable and everyone knew it.

Everyone except Kiba.

Naruto clenched his fists at the thought. He knew this was a bad idea. He should have tried harder to talk his friend out of it. After he found him, he was going to give the guy a well-deserved punch for being so stupid.

A light ahead indicated the entrance to the warehouse and the blond fastened his pace. It was idiotic to charge into Akatsuki territory, but he didn't care. His priority was finding his friend. The rest he would figure out later. However, just as he reached out to push open the worn doors, a sudden gunshot echoed from inside. Naruto instinctively crouched down and covered his head, expecting a succession of bullets in his direction, but the night air stilled after that single shot was fired.

Naruto lifted his head and furrowed his brows. If there was a fight, he would have expected more of a commotion and some red clouds, but somehow one gunshot was more terrifying. Dread pooled in his chest as he turned to the thin stream of light leaking from the warehouse. Hesitantly and with shaking hands, he peered through the crack in the door, but his cerulean eyes immediately widened at the scene taking place on the other side.

Standing with his back to him was a man in a long black coat with a gun in his hand, hanging by his side. He was staring down at something in the corner of the warehouse. Naruto followed his gaze to a pool of blood and a body lying on the ground, distinctive markings on his face serving as a nametag. A clenching in his stomach confirmed his worst fears—Kiba was dying.

Naruto hung his head, tears clouding his vision as grief and guilt overwhelmed him. He raised a fist to strike the ground when he remembered the murderer was still inside, hovering over his friend's dying body like some sick maniac. As he lifted his gaze, he found the man again, unmoving and unrelenting in his stance.

Rage instantly overshadowed his sorrow as he pushed aside the door and ran blindly toward the motionless figure. The man tilted his head in his direction and started to raise his gun when sirens sounded around them. Naruto also paused to listen to the chaotic sound as the blaring warning of cops mixed with gunshots. Death was all around.

However, in that moment of distraction, his friend's killer slipped from the warehouse and out of sight. Naruto was prepared to chase after him, but a choked gasp below reminded him that Kiba was still alive. With frantic movements, he lowered himself to the ground and raised his friend's head, supporting it in his hand as he tried to lift him without disturbing the wounds, but Kiba immediately cried out with the shift. Naruto cringed as he felt his pain and regretfully returned him to his previous position.

"Damnit, Kiba…What happened? Who was that guy?"

The other teen shook his head, his voice distorted and rough as he struggled to speak past the blood in his throat. "It was all a lie…Tobi…He…He was a cop the whole time…"

Naruto's eyes widened and the anger returned as he stared down at his friend. "Tobi did this to you?! If I ever see that bastard again, I'm gonna—"

"Naruto," Kiba pleaded hoarsely, his eyes staring distantly at the warehouse ceiling. "…I'm sorry. I'm sorry I couldn't…get the money…"

"Don't you dare apologize! I don't care about the money, you dumbass!" Naruto reprimanded, his own voice thick from his unshed tears as he tried to laugh through them. "Now, come on. This is just a silly prank, right? Your injury doesn't look that bad. I'm going to get you out of here and a nice doctor is going to make you better in no time!"

Even as Naruto spoke, he watched the flow of blood circling his knees increase and Kiba's hand covering the gaping hole on his stomach slowly slip onto the cold stone.

...

The Uzumaki's eyes were planted on the floor, unseeing as he relived the horrific moment from his past. His body trembled and he wrapped his arms around himself, attempting to contain his three-year grief.

"…Naruto." Kakashi's gaze held the concern and sympathy he could never put into words.

Naruto simply shook his head, determined to continue. His cerulean irises wandered up to hold his stare with their intensity. "Kakashi Officer, what you told me earlier, in the lobby...You know, about working the Akatsuki case? I figured it out, dattebayo. The guy undercover was the one who did it."

"What?" Kakashi's eyes widened slightly. Why would Obito shoot a defenseless child?

…Why did Obito do a lot of things?

Naruto pushed himself off his bed and pulled open a dresser drawer. He shuffled haphazardly through the items until he seemed to find what he was searching for and turned, holding out a worn photograph with a grim expression. "Look at this picture."

Kakashi's brow creased as he extended his arm. Three men stood together in the photo, a large window and office desks lining the background. The one in the middle was shorter than the other two, with brown hair and strange red tattoos adorning his cheeks. Another unfamiliar figure stood on the left, though his long black hair and smile wrinkles under his eyes were rather peculiar. And on the right…That was a face he knew all too well.

"Yeah. That's right," Naruto nodded. He indicated the young man in the photo, "The guy in the middle's my buddy, Kiba. The guy on the right?"

Kakashi hesitated, dreading the teen's next words, "…It's Obito."

"It's Tobi," Naruto corrected.

Kakashi's face fell, relinquishing the picture into the blond's grasp. Obito was Tobi, the man who fenced artwork for Akatsuki and shot a boy in cold blood. Even when he knew Obito was the one who betrayed him, he could still picture the man who fought at his side and flared dramatically at the slightest provocation. He had been able to separate the two in his mind because they didn't seem like the same person, but now there was a physical image blinding him with its implications of Obito's reprehensible actions.

Why did you do this, Obito? Why does the answer now seem further from my grasp?

"Do you get it now?" Naruto's voice returned him to the delicate situation, the bellhop's eyes brimming with his barely controlled anger. "It was your friend, your partner. That's who killed Kiba! The cops used him, dattebayo! They used him as a tool in their stupid investigation. They used him and then they killed him when they didn't need him anymore! And nobody even cared," his voice cracked as he tore his eyes away. "He was just another street rat…Just another nobody. What's that worth to the cops? Less than nothing."

Kakashi withheld any reaction to those accusations. Naruto was upset and he needed to get that pent-up aggression out of his system before he could listen to reason. He didn't want to argue with him about the truth. Minato was the one in charge of the Akatsuki investigation, the one Obito answered to, and he would never sanction the murder of an innocent. He wouldn't use someone as a tool in an investigation either. If Obito manipulated and shot Kiba, then it wasn't under Minato's orders. Most likely, that was done under his own volition.

"And then your partner was shot on the docks 'cause he messed up," Naruto continued, his hands moving around him frantically. "The Akatsuki took him out. That's the reason you quit, right? Your partner screwed up, and the investigation went out the window."

"…No," Kakashi finally muttered, rising steadily from the bed. He paused to take in Naruto's confused expression before revealing the truth to the hysterical blond. "That's not what happened. Akatsuki didn't shoot him…I did."

Naruto blinked. "What? What do you mean?"

Kakashi released a heavy exhale as he crossed his arms and lowered his gaze. "Obito double-crossed a lot of people, including the police. He sold out our intel to Akatsuki. All the evidence we had on them vanished, placed right into their hands, but that wasn't enough. They wanted to weaken us, so they went after detectives working undercover around the city and killed them. Most were home with their families for the holidays…Akatsuki didn't spare them either. It was chaos. When I found out, I should have helped, but I went after Obito instead."

He had often wondered if Obito knew what would come from his actions. When he betrayed them, was he aware of the slaughter that would take place? Did he intend for the violence he loathed to break out in the city, or was he fooled into believing he was only selling evidence and locations? But Obito wasn't an idiot, despite how frequently he chose to act like one. He must have known how Akatsuki would use the information, and he just didn't care.

"I shot him...and he fell into the Hudson. His body never turned up."

Naruto's wide eyes stared back at him, sympathy flooding the cerulean depths. "…I'm so sorry. I had no idea, dattebayo. So many people were hurt because of him…That asshole! He even screwed you over! You must really hate him."

Kakashi sighed but refrained from commenting. It would be easier if he could hate Obito for what he did and be done with it, but he just couldn't. Even with this new information, it wasn't hatred that he felt. He just wanted to understand.

"Wait…you don't think he's dead, do you?" Naruto's change in pitch expressed his sudden epiphany. "I get it, Kakashi Officer! Yeah, I get it now! That's why you're here. You want to hear the truth from the man who betrayed you. You're looking for Tobi! I mean…Obito."

Kakashi nodded.

"Wow, I wasn't expecting that, dattebayo," Naruto shook his head before his expression turned contemplative. "Hey…why don't we team up?"

Cocking his head to the side, Kakashi arched a single brow. "Team up?"

"Yeah!" Naruto nodded vigorously. "I think we can help each other! If what you're saying is true, Akatsuki is watching me, and they want me dead. I have no idea how to deal with that, but you have experience! You can help me. In exchange, I'll help you track down Obito. I don't know what you wanna do with him when you find him," he crossed his arms and frowned, "but I say we hand him over to Akatsuki. They'll get the guy who stole their money, and he'll get what's coming to him for screwing over so many people."

"Are you serious?" Kakashi was surprised by the venom that seeped into Naruto's voice at his suggestion. Since when did the little pickpocket have a vengeful streak? He knew the death of his friend still hung over him. He was forced to abandon his life only to recently discover that a single man was behind all that misfortune. Perhaps that level of hatred made sense, but he couldn't condone that behavior in the young Uzumaki. The path of revenge wouldn't heal anyone.

"Absolutely!" Naruto replied excitedly, a wide grin stretching across his lips. "I'll follow your lead, Officer. Just say the word!"

Kakashi shook his head, running a hand through his silver hair. "…Let me think about that, Naruto." His gaze fell on the digital clock by the bellhop's bedside that indicated they were only a few minutes away from six. "It's almost dinnertime. How about we put a pause on this heavy topic and head down, hm?"

Naruto chuckled and lifted a hand to pat the older man's arm. "Nice deflection, Officer. You're lucky I have to head down anyway or that wouldn't have worked on me. Don't think I'll forget this conversation."

Kakashi rolled his eyes but slipped his hands into his pockets as he moved toward the door. "I didn't think you would."

The blond stepped quickly around him to reach the hallway first, a self-satisfied grin plastered on his face at the small victory. Kakashi felt a slight uplifting of his mouth at the sight. Meeting Naruto helped him learn some things he didn't know before. That information brought him a step closer to Obito's trail. His ex-partner murdered his Akatsuki connection and took the money. Why the hell did he do it? Could it be that angel painting?

Obito…please, tell me you didn't betray everyone for a damn piece of art.