Chapter 3: Shadows (I)

That's the way everyday goes, every time we have no control — "Pink and White " (Frank Ocean)

A week and a half after Asuma brought up the possibility of Shizuka working on a case, and three days after Shizuka's dinner with her neighbor, her friend arrived at their shared lunch table with good news.

Tray of food in one hand and a cigarette in another, Asuma smiled at Shizuka as he took a seat next to Kurenai. "The old man finally got back to me," he said, voice low, "and he said you'll be allowed to work on a case." A grin lit up Shizuka's face and Kurenai let out an excited gasp. The older woman nudged Asuma and asked, "Is she going to be working with me?"

Asuma shook his head, and Kurenai deflated a little. It would have been nice to be work partners with Kurenai again, but Shizuka was just grateful that the Superintendent let her anywhere near the Criminal Investigations Unit. "He assigned you to a case under Nara Shikaku."

Shizuka vaguely remembered the older man, well-known for his intelligence and rationality. She had never personally worked with him, but from what she'd heard, he was a rather laid back — if not downright apathetic — character.

"Also, a few things." Asuma's voice was hushed, and he looked around to make sure no one was eavesdropping. "Pops told me to keep this lowkey. Shimura has no idea about this, he probably wouldn't have allowed it if my dad mentioned it to him." At the mention of her former superior, Shizuka scowled. "And," Asuma continued, "there's this new recruit that'll be shadowing you."

Shizuka's scowl turned into an expression of confusion, her eyebrows knitting together. "A recruit?"

Her friend nodded. "His name's Umino Iruka, fresh out of training. I'll introduce you guys after lunch."

Shizuka sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. Was the old man really going to make her babysit the whole time? Surely he knew she wasn't exactly mentor material. "Is this just your dad's way of keeping tabs on me?"

Asuma shrugged, cigarette hanging loosely from his mouth. "That's what I figured. I think as long as you're not digging where you aren't supposed to," he sent her a pointed look, "you should be fine."

Shizuka understood. The Umino boy would be a nuisance, but it didn't dampen her mood. She was just excited to do work that wasn't chasing cats that climbed trees or brats that went by the name Uzumaki Naruto.

For the first time in over two months, the three of them walked together to the east wing of the station after lunch. Kurenai waved goodbye to them before heading to her office, but not before insisting they all grab dinner and drinks after work, which Asuma and Shizuka both agreed to. With a motion of his hand Asuma beckoned her to follow him to her new post. A young man, brown hair neatly tied up and a scar across his nose, was patiently waiting at a desk. When he spotted Shizuka and Asuma, he promptly got up from his seat and gave a small bow to the shorter woman.

"Shizuka-senpai!" Shizuka took a step back at the suddenness and Asuma bit his lip to hold in his laughter. The kid was certainly earnest, to say the least. "My name is Umino Iruka, and I'm under your guidance from today."

Shizuka's cheeks flared red in discomfort and embarrassment. Being called "senpai" was a foreign experience, and one she didn't particularly enjoy. "Oh, uh, yes. It's nice to meet you Iruka. You don't have to call me 'senpai' though, just Shizuka is fine."

Iruka blinked at her. "Oh, okay, Shizuka." He said her name uncertainly as if testing out how it would feel without tagging on the title.

Asuma cleared his throat, a mirthful expression on his face. "Well, Shizuka, I'll get going. Take care of her, Umino-san." He walked off, lighting another cigarette as he left. Iruka scratched the back of his neck and smiled awkwardly at Shizuka, whose face remained stoic.

"Come on," she said as she turned on her heel and walked towards Nara Shikaku's office. Like a lost puppy, Iruka followed, but didn't say anything else.

If Iruka found Shizuka to be intimidating, he wasn't ready to meet Shikaku. The section chief was probably the smartest man in Konoha, although he didn't tout his intelligence. Shizuka had only seen the man around the office and had never talked to him, but she clearly remembered the scars that ran down his face. Paired with his generally serious and calculating demeanor, the older man was downright scary at first glance.

Shizuka knocked on the section chief's door, to which a lazy "come in" called out in response.

Behind the wooden door was an older man, spiky hair tied up in a ponytail, leaning back in his chair. "Date-san, Umino-san." Iruka gave a small bow and Shizuka a curt nod. Shikaku gestured to the two chairs in front of his desk. "Have a seat."

Shikaku looked at Shizuka. Under his gaze, Shizuka felt like a document being read and analysed all at once. "Welcome back to the Unit, Date-san."

"Thank you."

He turned to Iruka. "I see the Superintendent gave you a recruit to follow you around." The younger man smiled unsurely and shifted in his seat, clearly nervous.

"Troublesome," Shikaku muttered, seemingly to himself, "but I suppose we have no choice in the matter, do we?" He slid a file across the table to Shizuka and Iruka.

"The case you guys will be working on is within the precinct. To give you a bit of background, some of our record keepers have noticed that documents have been disappearing from case records over the past few weeks, maybe longer. The first reported incident was about six weeks ago. The department hasn't really classified this as a case of much importance though, since most of the files that have gone missing are from closed cases. Or at least cases that aren't under current investigation."

Shizuka remembered reading a log of similar reports before. She had wondered why there wasn't much being done. Weren't missing documents clearly indicative of a security weakness? Well, she mused, the department doesn't care too much for cases they deem solved or unsolvable.

"Since this is an internal matter," Shikaku continued, "we don't know if the documents are being taken from outside the police or within. That being said, be as discreet as possible. For now, assume that only us three and Superintendent Sarutobi are the only ones with knowledge of the matter, and refrain from talking about this with others. It's not that this is a top-secret mission, just something to make our lives easier when we're looking for leads." Shizuka and Iruka nodded.

"Also, this isn't the only case I'm working on, so for the most part I will be trusting you to take the lead," Shikaku said to Shizuka. "Report back to me anytime something comes up. And you," he looked over to Iruka, "take this as a learning opportunity. Your mentor is a talented investigator, although her position may not reflect that."

Iruka glanced up at Shizuka whose face reflected an ounce of surprise. She didn't expect praise from any higher-up from her old division, much less Nara Shikaku.

"Before you get started though," the older man looked back at Shizuka, "I'll need to talk to you one-on-one. Umino-san, you may go."

With yet another bow, Iruka left. The door closed with a dull thud behind him.

Shikaku sighed and took a sip from his water bottle. "What an anxious boy. Anyways," he put down his drink and put both arms on the desk in front of him with his hands clasped. "We're both aware of why you're not being fully reinstated into the Criminal Investigative Unit. And although I, like many of my colleagues, felt that your demotion was," he paused to find the right word, "unnecessary, there was a conflict of interest involved during your time as a sergeant here.

"For the purposes of this case, I have to grant you access to the documents room. But," he emphasised the word strongly, "you cannot go off investigating another matter, even if those resources are available to you." Shikaku looked her dead in the eye. Like Asuma had done earlier, Shizuka knew he was referring to her brother's closed case. "Do you understand?"

Shizuka gave another silent nod.

"Well," Shikaku trailed off, his eyes moving to the door, "I suppose that Sarutobi will know the moment you do anyways, with that kid shadowing you. Anyhow." He unclasped his hands and waved at her to leave. "You may go."

"What did Chief Nara want to talk to you about?"

Shizuka and Iruka sat at a desk in the corner of the large workspace. Other officers and investigators were scattered across the room, some hunched over paperwork and case files, and others pacing in front chalkboards and bulletin boards as they tried to jog their brains. She had missed the bustle of this part of the precinct, missed the strange tension that built up in the air as detectives tried to piece together murders and kidnappings.

The naivety of the kid broke the atmosphere, though, and Shizuka let out a sigh. "None of your concern, Umino. Now read your copy of the file."

"Ah." Iruka looked down at his hands. Perhaps she was a bit harsh. "Okay."

In the thick stack of papers that Shikaku had provided them, there was a list of documents that had gone missing along with their respective cases. Despite the fact that they were all "closed" cases, none of them had ended in a prosecution or any tangible conclusions. It seemed that most of the investigations had led to dead ends or had no trail to begin with.

Shizuka's eyes scanned down the list: "Kidnappings from Konohagakure Orphanage", "Disappearance of Researcher Orochimaru", "Murder of Uchiha Obito", "Akatsuki Gang Appearance", "Kidnapping of Nohara Rin", "Uchiha Massacre". There were only six. She remembered the last event clearly, it had been all over the news five years ago. Out of all of them, it seemed that the Uchiha Massacre was the only one that could actually be a "closed case", although Uchiha Itachi himself was still at large.

She looked over at Iruka, who seemed to be shaken by some of the graphic reports. His eyes were on seven-year-old Uchiha Sasuke's testimony of his brother's rampage. Detailed descriptions of murders and kidnappings were never an easy nor pleasant read, but given time, Iruka would have to get used to it like the rest of them.

The oldest file on the list was "Kidnappings from Konohagakure Orphanage", which was dated nearly twenty-five years ago, and the most recent was "Akatsuki Gang Appearance", which was about four years old. Each case had its own bundle of debriefing documents to read through, and judging by the size of the stack, it would take a couple of hours minimum to get through all of them.

Not one to waste time, Shizuka flipped to the first case and began reading. Iruka would look up at her every now and then to rest his eyes and his head from the morbid content, but all he would see was the smaller woman completely absorbed in the papers, meticulously taking notes, not once breaking her concentration. He had never seen anyone so focused and so… unmoved by pages and pages of disturbing material.

Iruka wasn't sure whether his mentor was strongly driven by duty or desensitized to the abhorrent content from experience. Maybe it was all part of the job.

Or perhaps she just didn't care anymore. That was a scary thought.

… The events appear to be connected to an inter-district smuggling plot, with involvement from criminal organizations in Kirigakure, although this is solely on the basis of circumstantial evidence. Bodies left at the scene were burned beyond recognition, with no trace of who set the fire or whether it was intentional. Nohara Rin's body was not recovered. None of the corpses were of suitable size for a thirteen-year-old female, nor—

"Shizuka?" —were there any traces of— "Earth to Shizuka!"

Shizuka's eyes snapped up from the page to the woman leaning across her desk. Kurenai waved her hand across her face while Asuma stood by Iruka, who was rubbing his tired eyes. With the exception of the four of them, the office was empty. "Hon, it's eight already. Let's go to dinner."

"But I haven't finished reading—"

"Come on now," Kurenai closed the file in front of her and Shizuka pouted. "It's a special day, right? You'll have all the time in the world after tonight to dig into this. Plus, your drinks are on me." At that, Shizuka perked up. "And Umino-san!" Her friend turned to Iruka, who straightened up at the sound of his name. "You can come with us too!"

"Oh, okay," agreed the younger man.

It had been a few months since Shizuka and her two friends went out for dinner and drinks, but everytime they did, it was always at the same place: Yakiniku Q. The barbeque place was always packed during the post-work rush, but Asuma had been there so many times that the owner always snuck them to the front of the line.

"Asuma! So good to see you! How's your father? Oh, your friends are here too!" The old woman waved them inside and dragged Asuma past the long line in front of them. "Come, a booth just opened up! It'll be perfect for the four of you." At the smell of grilled meat, Shizuka's stomach growled. She didn't realize how hungry she'd been, and the place smelled so good.

The three ordered their usual dishes, and Iruka just went off the owner's recommendation ("Salted beef tongue with green onion is our most popular!"). Plenty of drinks were brought to the table as well, and Shizuka wasted no time pouring herself a cup of sake.

"Don't be fooled Iruka. Even if she's small, our Shizuka here drinks quite a bit," Asuma drawled as he watched his friend tip back a cup of sake. It had been over a week since her last cup, and Shizuka relished the slight burn as the alcohol warmed her body.

"Do you drink, Umino-san?" inquired Kurenai. The younger man shook his head. "No," he said bashfully. "I don't handle alcohol well."

"Don't worry about it," assured the red-eyed woman as she reached for her own cup. "Asuma wasn't able to hold his liquor when he was younger either. I remember this one time—"

"Let's not finish that sentence," Asuma interjected as his hand flew to Kurenai's mouth. A second later though, he hastily removed it, face contorted in disgust. "Kurenai, did you just lick me?" Kurenai gave him a petulant look, as if to say "You deserve it."

"Anyways," Kurenai turned to Shizuka and Iruka. "How was Chief Nara? Is he as scary as everyone says he is?"

Iruka gave a quick nod, whereas Shizuka shrugged. "He's alright," she said. "Very straightforward. I could see why people are afraid of him."

Their food arrived shortly after. The four dug in, Asuma humming in delight at the taste of short ribs and Shizuka savoring every bite of pork belly. She didn't have grilled food often — her small kitchen wasn't really suited for cooking yakiniku — so this was considered a treat.

"Oh! Before I forget," Kurenai exclaimed between bites, "Shizuka, let's go on a blind date next week!"

Shizuka let out an exasperated sigh. "Kurenai, you already know my answer."

"Didn't you say you were taking a break from blind dates?" uttered an irritated Asuma.

"Yes, but I think that one of the guys would be a good match for her," insisted Kurenai. "And regardless, Shizuka should meet some new people, right?"

Shizuka poured herself another cup of sake. "I have enough to handle with you guys already."

"You should at least give it a shot," pleaded her friend. "It wouldn't hurt to test the waters a bit. You're young and pretty." She nudged a silent Iruka, who was simply watching the conversation unfold in front of him. "Isn't Shizuka rather good looking, Umino-san?"

A faint blush took over her mentee's face. "Uh, yeah, she is," he muttered quietly.

Shizuka paid no mind to the younger man's comment. "Kurenai, I said it before and I'll say it again, I'm not going to go on a—"

"Yo, Shizuka," a voice interrupted her from the side of their table. "Fancy seeing you here."

Four heads turned in the direction of the voice. A tall, gray-haired man peered at them, smiled behind his mask, and waved his right hand in greeting.

Shizuka's eyes widened in shock. "Hatake!"

"I told you to call me Kakashi."

She rolled her eyes and corrected herself. "Kakashi." Kurenai and Asuma looked between Shizuka and "Kakashi", and then looked at each other. They shared the same thought: Shizuka, talking to another man? Casually?

Shizuka set down her chopsticks. "What are you doing here?"

Kakashi pointed with his thumb back to another table, where a lanky, green-clad man waved back at them enthusiastically. "Catching up with an old friend."

"I see." An awkward silence settled over the table.

The standing man cleared his throat. "Well," Kakashi gave them another smile, "I'll get back." He eyed the sake cup by Shizuka's plate. "Don't drink too much, Shizuka. Unless you want to invite me over for dinner again." Much to Shizuka's dismay and her friends' glee, he sent a wink in her direction and sauntered back to his table, his hands in his pockets.

The moment he was out of hearing range, Kurenai and Asuma were all over her. "Who was that?" Kurenai questioned her. Asuma followed up with, "And what's this about you inviting him over for dinner?" Iruka just looked between the three friends, confused.

"It's nothing," mumbled Shizuka.

"Didn't seem like 'nothing' to me," Kurenai commented, wiggling her eyebrows. "Could he be the reason you're refusing to go on blind dates, Shizuka-chan?"

Shizuka pinched the bridge of her nose in annoyance. "The way he worded it was just weird." She supposed she had no choice but to explain the situation to her friends, who were listening rapturously. If she didn't clarify things now, Shizuka doubted she'd ever hear the end of it. "He's my neighbor. I accidentally broke something of his, so in exchange I gave him dinner. That's about all there is to it." Shizuka was careful not to mention the fact that she entered Kakashi's apartment and passed out in his bathroom drunk.

"Wow," exclaimed Kurenai. "That fit, attractive, most-likely-a-bachelor said that you should repay him with dinner and you're doing nothing? And he's your neighbor?"

"I'm telling you, it's not like that!"

"Okay… " Kurenai trailed, her voice dripping with sarcasm. Asuma gave Shizuka a doubtful look, to which she rolled her eyes in response.

"You know," Asuma started, "he looks kind of familiar to me. Kakashi, was it?"

"Yes," huffed Shizuka, "but can we talk about something else? Please?"

Kurenai and Asuma shared another look, but for once spared their younger friend by changing the topic.

By the time they called it a night, it was nearing twelve.

Shizuka was only slightly buzzed — Kurenai had made sure to keep the sake bottle just out of reach for the majority of their dinner — but her two older friends still fussed over whether or not she could get home safe.

"Are you sure you don't need either of us to walk you back?"

"Yes, Kurenai, I'll be fine. You forget I carry a taser."

"Maybe Umino-san can, if he lives close—"

"Asuma, don't drag the poor boy into this—"

"I wouldn't mind, Shizuka-senpai. Where do you live?"

"I'm fine, Umino. And as I said, you don't need to call me—"

For the second time that night, Shizuka was cut off by her meddlesome neighbor. "I can take her back," chirped Kakashi, who was walking over to their group outside the restaurant, one hand out in greeting and the other in his pocket. "We're neighbors, so I'm heading in the same direction anyways."

A conniving smile spread across Kurenai's face. "Oh, that'd be great! Thank you, ah… "

"Hatake Kakashi," her neighbor said as he extended a hand for her to shake. "Just call me Kakashi."

Kurenai shook his hand. "Nice to meet you Kakashi. I'm Yuhi Kurenai. This is Sarutobi Asuma," she gestured over to the dark-haired man who nodded, "and Umino Iruka." Iruka gave a small wave.

"Nice to meet you all," Kakashi replied cheerily. "You ready to head back, Shizuka—"

The group turned to look at where Shizuka had been standing, but she was nowhere to be found. Asuma took a puff of his cigarette and laughed when he saw Shizuka already halfway down the block, clearly uninterested at the prospect of Kakashi walking her home.

"Classic Shizuka. We'll let you catch up to her, then," Asuma said to Kakashi. Kurenai and Iruka said their goodbyes and they went on their separate paths home, although Asuma insisted on walking Kurenai back to her place first.

It took a few minutes for Kakashi to catch up to Shizuka. For someone of relatively short stature, the girl walked quite fast.

"Hope you don't mind company on your walk back," Kakashi said as he caught up to her. Shizuka turned her head to look at him but remained silent.

Despite her lack of response, he continued making conversation. "I thought you said you didn't go out to eat."

"I don't," was her curt reply. "But I'll sometimes go to that place with my friends."

Kakashi nodded. "Your friends seem interesting."

To that, Shizuka hummed in agreement, and Kakashi took the sound as encouragement to continue. She seemed much more open to talking about her friends than herself. "Tell me more about them."

Shizuka paused to think. "Mm…Well I met Asuma and Kurenai a few years back when I started my job. They're childhood friends. I met Kurenai first though. She has a bit of a big sister complex around me, if you can tell." Kakashi nodded. The older women did seem to dote on Shizuka quite a bit.

"How much older is she?"

"Three years. She's twenty-five, I'm twenty-two."

"I see." By appearances, Kakashi wasn't surprised by Shizuka's age, although her tendency towards silence made her seem older. "Tell me about Asuma."

A small smile graced Shizuka's lips as if she were remembering an old memory. "Asuma didn't like me much when I first met him. Our personalities used to clash a lot. Eventually we became friends, Kurenai made sure of it. Somehow she made us get along. She's the type to be very in tune with people's emotions."

"How long have they been working for?"

"I think Kurenai's been there for about four years now. Asuma…well, he's been with the police his whole life, so I'm not really sure."

At this, Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"

It had been so long since Shizuka made conversation with someone outside of work that she forgot Asuma's parentage wasn't common knowledge. "Oh, yeah. His dad's the Superintendent General, and has been for a long time, so he pretty much grew up there. Did take some time off a few years ago to take up some whack jobs like bodyguarding and bounty hunting though."

"Bounty hunting, huh…" Kakashi trailed off and it was silent for a few moments. "What about the other guy that was with you guys?"

Iruka had slipped Shizuka's mind completely. "Ah, Umino. He's our kohai, I suppose. He's shadowing me for the time being. Don't know him too well."

The younger man's awkwardness now made sense to Kakashi. "Yeah, I felt like he wasn't too familiar with the rest of you guys."

The two of them walked up the same stairwell they had gone up the last time they met. "Say," Kakashi started, "do you like dogs?"

Shizuka shrugged. "I've never met a dog I dislike, so I guess. Why?"

They walked towards their respective rooms, but Kakashi stopped a few feet before his and turned to Shizuka. "Wanna meet Pakkun?" She looked at him in confusion. "My dog," Kakashi clarified.

"Oh."

Her neighbor rubbed the back of his head. "I'm not trying to lure you into my place or anything," he said, sensing her hesitation. "It doesn't have to be tonight. And Pakkun's really friendly, if that's what you're worried about. That and," he glanced at her, "I figured we could be friends. We've been running into each other quite a bit, haven't we?"

Shizuka looked up at him in surprise. Friends? Her neighbor seemed completely genuine, and Shizuka felt her guard drop just a bit. "Yes," she spoke quietly. "I suppose we have."

The gray-haired man smiled down at her. "You seem tired though, so maybe another night."

She nodded. The buzz of the sake was wearing off, and in its place fatigue set in.

Kakashi fished his keys from his pocket and unlocked his door. "Well then, good night Shizuka," he said as he disappeared into his apartment.

"Night, Kakashi."

A/N: Uni finals are wrecking me :') I write this in my free time from studying, but sometimes I get carried away (oops).

As always, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Leave a comment if you have any thoughts! I'd really appreciate it :)