Chapter 4:
Kakashi squinted and cursed as sunshine was beating down on his face from a crack in his curtains. So much for sleeping in. Sighing and stretching, he climbed out of bed. He quickly slapped on some leisure clothing and headed out the door. It was still pretty early so he assumed Naruto would still be at his apartment, possibly even still sleeping but he wanted to catch him before he got a start to his day. With his nose buried in his 'Icha Icha' novel to avoid unwanted conversation, he promptly arrived at Naruto's front door. He took a deep breath to steady his nerves and knocked on the door. After a few moments with no signs or sounds of a reply, he knocked again, a little louder this time. Still no answer, frowning he checked the knob. The door was unlocked. Feeling slightly guilty, he let himself into the apartment, hastily closing the door behind him. "Naruto?" he called out, yielding no response. He hesitated in the doorway, unsure how to proceed. He really shouldn't have just let himself in. He was finding it hard to believe Naruto was already out for the day but it would appear so. Resigned to leave he turned to exit but something stopped him. What was that smell? Was that blood? A sense of dread washed over him. Jolted into action by the smell assaulting his senses, he briskly walked through the apartment. It wasn't a very big space, the kitchen and living space entirely visible from the front door. Down a narrow hallway were two doors, one must lead to the bedroom and the other to the bathroom. "Naruto? Are you here? Hello?" he called out as he made his way down the hall. He opened the door to the right and peaked inside. Through the doorway was a small bedroom, filled with one single sized bed and very little else. The bed was made, the room clean, no signs of Naruto or the blood he was smelling. Closing the door behind himself he turned to enter the bathroom. The smell was much stronger here, he stepped into the room. The space, again, very minimally furnished; a sink, toilet, small linen cupboard and a shower stall. Something red in the bottom of the shower stall caught his eye. Moving closer it became evident what he was seeing, a bloody face cloth and a knife. What the hell? He picked up the knife and examined it, it was a simple kitchen knife with a sharply honed edge. Where the hell was Naruto? What is going on? He decided to summon one of his ninken. Pakkun appeared in front of him instantly, "Good Morning Kakashi, what do you need from me, boss?". "Pakkun, I need you to see if you can find someone for me, he should be in the village here somewhere." The dog looked over at the bloody washcloth in the shower "That his scent?" he asked. "I am assuming so, but it would probably be wiser for you to smell his bed or something in case it isn't." The pair made their way to the bedroom, Pakkun quickly sniffed the bed then vaulted up to the ledge of the open window. "If he's in the village I will find him, no doubt about that. I will report back as soon as I find something."
Kakashi quickly gave the apartment another quick once over. There was nothing personal in any of the rooms. The bedroom had very few articles of clothing. The living room was nothing more than a couch and coffee table. There were no knick knacks, no pictures, no books. The kitchen cupboards were almost void of food, same with the fridge. What a sad empty place Naruto lived in. The guilt he was already feeling reared its ugly head tenfold. He had to find him, had to help him, had to make it right. The poor young man should not be living like this, so sad and alone. He made his way back out of the apartment, closing the door behind him. There was nothing he could do at the moment aside from wait for Pakkun to report back to him. He made his way down the street to Ichiraku Ramen Shop to get himself an early lunch.