The Case of September 14

Seven months ago, on a Saturday night, everything was peaceful except the sound of rain and thunders. The clashes of waves become louder as it hits the boulders of Konoha beach shore. They were staying at the rented cabin near the beach when the incident happened.

The murder of Kiba Inuzuka

Two people were the prime suspects, his lover, and the other man they were with during their stay at the Konoha beach cabin. Kiba was found dead with a clean slash in his throat and a stab to his chest and stomach. His eyes and mouth were open like he was screaming for help when he was found lying on the carpet. The two suspects were captured and prisoned for the murder they had done with him.

After three days, his lover was found hanging in the middle of his cell, using a blanket. Suicide. And the other suspect, the unknown man escaped from his prison cell. He was now freely walking outside which made the Konoha police department sleepless at night. They feared a possible attack from the escaped prisoner.

Shikamaru and Neji handled this case which gained them the title of Detective of the Year. They're responsible for capturing the two prime suspects in Kiba's case, the Case of September 14. It was a very complicated case since Kiba hides every detail about his life, about his love life, and he has no receipts whatsoever. He's an expert in hiding.

You see, Kiba is a detective too. He knows how the pieces of evidence work and how to hide every detail if he wanted to. He worked along with Neji and Shikamaru in the same company. Kiba's partner, Shino becomes a solo detective after his death. Shino also helped them with the case and captured the unknown man which cost him a scar on his face. A sharp cut to his mouth from cheek to cheek. He stayed at the hospital for three months to recover and was now staying in his house for a vacation. He will return to work next month.

They didn't know Kiba has a lover before his death. After the murder, the two prime suspects hides from the authority, but Shikamaru and Neji cracked the code, and they found some small evidence that linked to the two suspects. A single thread of hair from his lover and a speck of dirt from the other man, specific only to where they came from. Kiba's family was forever grateful to the two detectives after solving his case.

It was already 12 noon when everyone was having their lunch at the Konoha Police cafeteria. Shikamaru stared at the TV that was streaming and hanging on the wall.

….Another night performer from the Love and Cabaret Club was found dead in her apartment. Her neck was slashed, a clean cut from the unknown devil…..

"Another victim this week? This is getting out of hand" Neji lowly said while unwrapping his sandwich

"Is someone already handling this case?" Shikamaru followed, watching the TV intently.

"No, Kakashi has a hunch that this is going to be a serial killer case. There's a district pattern in how the suspect works" Neji responded

"We can consider it now as a serial killer case, we already have three victims. All were night performers, all girls, with clean cuts on their throats. They need to give the reports to their staff now, this is urgent" Shikamaru said while thinking about the girl he meets last night. There's something inside of him that he wanted to protect her since she also works as a night performer.

"I agree, these girls should be protected. I need to warn Tenten about this" Neji sighs

"Wait? Tenten? The girl from last night? Are you dating her now?" He turns his head to him with a curious gaze

"You could say that we grab breakfast together this morning. Why? You didn't ask the blonde girl?"

He clears his throat. Shikamaru wished he had Neji's courage in asking a girl out for breakfast or something "Uhm, no"

When they returned to their desk, Kakashi announced an immediate meeting.

"Sakura, Sasuke, Neji, and Shikamaru meet us at the conference room" he commands

Sakura and Sasuke sit next to each other, they're partners in solving crimes. Everyone knows they're dating but they still keep everything low about them. Neji and Shikamaru sit next to Asuma and Jiraiya.

A bundle of paper enclosed in a folder was dropped to the big table where all of the detectives were sitting.

"Here are the latest victims" Kakashi said.

All of the detectives were all ears to him after another killing has happened on the street of Konoha.

"Remember Akari? Akari from the Faux Love Tavern. October 31, Halloween. Everybody thought it was just a random gruesome display but it was her…with a large slice in her neck. Dried blood was scattered everywhere. Not until the garbage collectors found her and confirmed that it was a human body"

"I gave that case to Sakura and Sasuke, I remembered vividly. Are there any significant findings from your report?" Jiraya turns his head to the two detectives.

"2 am in the morning was the time of her death. Everyone is peaceful in their sleep and most of the establishments close at that time, that was also the time when the Faux Love Tavern closed" Sasuke said then he glared at his partner, Sakura.

"The slice in her neck was huge but not huge enough to decapitate from her body. I heard that the second victim had a much larger slice in her neck. Is that right?" Sakura added

"That's correct" Kakashi continued "Sara from the Nine'O Clock Avenue, another night entertainer. January 31 when her body was found on the grass, near the park. She's new to the club, a neophyte. The slice on her neck almost touched her spine but still wasn't deep enough to decapitate her head from her body"

"You said the first victim was killed on Oct 31? Then the second was Jan 31 and recently another victim was killed. That's every after three months? But this time it didn't happen on the 31st of the month" Asuma said

"Indeed, and this case was different from the first two. The killing happened at night, around 11 pm and the slice in her neck decapitated her. She was found near the lake, two miles away from the Love and Cabaret Club where she worked"

Neji glanced at Shikamaru, he could see his eyes were full of worry. It was his first time seeing him with that kind of expression since Shikamaru was the type of guy who didn't care about anything. Was it the blonde girl that she worries about?

"Kakashi….How many nightclubs were there again? In Konoha?" Neji raised a question

"I'm glad you asked Neji" He walked to his left where the other files were sitting and he grabbed one of the folders "Konoha has a total of 10. These are the Faux Love Tavern, Nine'O Clock Avenue, Love and Cabaret Club, Va Va Boom, Peaches and Orange Show, Monsieur l'amour, Spicy Lounge, The Coquettes, Love boulevard, and …Konoha's Burlesque"

Jiraiya released a faint laugh and Shikamaru turned his head to him. He could see the worry in his eyes and Asuma has too after mentioning the Konoha's burlesque since the two women that were close to their hearts are currently working in the said establishment.

Wasn't mine too?

"Have we already informed the clubs about this? Should we have some kind of protection program for them?" Shikamaru asked while tapping his pen on the table, his co-detectives could sense his uneasiness.

"We actually did. All of the nightclubs have already been informed and six of them complied but the others did not want to participate. We could not force them since we still need to have their consent. It will become mandatory if the government will send a national policy"

"And who were the four other clubs that didn't want to participate?" Asuma asked while pinching his lips, hiding his true emotions from the young detectives in front of him.

"Well…uhm..the Spicy Lounge, The Coquettes, Love boulevard….and the Konoha's Burlesque" Kakashi responded

Jiraiya released a heavy sigh "Tsunadeee" he groaned

Neji bit his lower lip and pulled out his phone. Shikamaru peeked at his screen and saw that his partner was texting the brown-haired girl they met last night.

Be careful

It was a long message but that's just what he was able to read.

"So..from the information that we gathered, we can clearly tell that this is now a case of a serial killer. Asuma and Jiraiya will lead this one since we need people with vast experience when it comes to solving these kinds of cases and expects that they will become busier in the upcoming days. But of course, they still need you guys to assist them" Kakashi announced

"Thank you, Kakashi. We will have a meeting later to plot all the things that are needed" Jiraya spoke

"We still need an extra hand for this case so I'll just go to these four to hand them some tasks if that's okay with you all?" Asuma said

The four young detectives nodded in agreement.

"Alright. I think that'll be all"

Kakashi concluded the meeting and everybody went back to their seats. They were all busy that day as per usual, Shikamaru could feel the pain all over his body. Perhaps he needs something that can entertain him.

When he arrived at his apartment, he glanced at the clock that was hanging on his wall, it was already 7 pm. Shikamaru immediately runs towards his balcony and grabbed the cigarette case from his pocket. The cold night air of Konoha greeted him when he opened his balcony door. His hands grabbed the fence firmly then start lighting his cigarette.

The reddish-orange light opened on the window across his balcony and the silhouette of a girl popped up. It's her again. He moistens his lips and smirks, Temari's face appeared in his mind. Apparently, the mysterious girl that he was looking at slowly merged with her pretty face, it was just a hunch but Shikamaru can't help but think it was Temari.

He wanted to run straight to her apartment so badly just to confirm it was Temari.

A few scenarios started running through his mind while puffing his cigarette. On how he could ask her to go out with him and to know where she was staying, just to confirm his hunch. He grabbed his phone and attempted to text his bosses, Jiraiya and Asuma, inviting them if they want another night at Konoha's burlesque just to see her. Since Neji is now dating Tenten, Shikamaru keeps on thinking about the different possibilities of how to be close to her.

He exhaled the smoke in his cigarette and stared at her window, the girl across his balcony left, it was the same time that the Konoha's burlesque was about to open.