Chapter 3

Kakashi was reading the file when Gai came out of the office and approached him, running his fingers through his hair. "You okay?" Kakashi asked as Gai stopped a couple of feet in front of him, Gai nodded and Kakashi slapped the folder into his chest as he stepped toward him. "Good. We've got a homicide, don't make me look bad out there, rookie." he said as he turned away picking his cup of coffee up as he walked away.

Gai frowned as he clutched the folder to his chest tightly. That look the other man had given him, the unwarranted hostility... did he recognize him? Gai huffed as he trailed after Kakashi, agitated. He was scared he realized as he followed Kakashi, (fast walking, and yet casual, Kakashi) down the stairs.

Scared Kakashi would recognize him. Scared he did. Scared Kakashi still hated him.

But how, Gai wondered was he awkwardly slid into the passengers seat, and fastened in, had Kakashi ended up here? As a cop of all the things in the world! It didn't fit with his past at all (it doesn't fit with yours either, he reminded himself).

"I'm not a rookie." Gai said as he scanned the file, Kakashi spared him a withering look, and Gai wondered if he was the only one who could see the small cloud in Kakashi's left eye. "I've been a detective for about six years. I've just been on the bench since I dropped vice." Gai explained, though Kakashi didn't seem to care.

"You dropped vice?" Kakashi sounded disgusted, "Why?"

'There was too much of my past there,' Gai thought shrugging as he stumbled over his answer, "Well, it just... Uh." Kakashi was staring at him, "It wasn't my thing, ya know?" Kakashi rolled his eyes, and turned his attention to the road.

Gai felt awkward, and fell silent as they drove downtown. They arrived downtown Kakashi was out of the car, and approaching a uniform police officer before he'd even unfastened his seat belt. Kakashi's walk, it was so... familiar. Climbing out of the car Gai followed Kakashi up the walk way, observing the way he held himself. As if he were someone powerful, someone that needed to be respected. Someone so high up they were beyond any touch. (Just like the Kakashi he'd known.).

Crime scene was on the way, the uniform told them as he led them into a house, Kakashi was still ahead of him, and Gai wondered if it would always be that way. They both pulled their gloves on, and the uniform led them to a dead woman, laying on the kitchen floor, strategically placed so that her arm was across her chest, keeping her breasts concealed. And he legs were crossed. (But she wasn't even nude).

Gai wondered why the man, or woman, who'd done this had placed her so. Maybe it was a statement? It didn't matter. They would find out soon enough. And maybe he'd realize why Kakashi seemed to think so highly of himself.

Kakashi was careful, Gai noticed. Once the uniforms had walked out of the room Kakashi began to look around, as if searching for something, and Gai so used to getting out of detectives ways, and letting them do as they pleased stood awkwardly in the doorway, as he watched Kakashi kneel in the corner.

He could watch this all day, and likely he would. He could compare the Kakashi he remembered to the Kakashi he was looking at now. And the two men would be as different as day and night, but still Gai knew that he couldn't deny that this was the same awkward boy he'd fallen in love with sixteen years earlier.

Kakashi turned toward him, obviously about to speak, and Gai felt a shudder go through him. They'd been like this before, Kakashi kneeling several feet away, and him poised in a doorway ready to run. Gai tensed as Kakashi raised a hand, moving it to his side. (Gai almost wondered if Kakashi was going to shoot him), but he was pulling out a small notebook, and scribbling in it, as he looked away, his voice drew Gai from his reverie. "I found a cigarette butt over here. It's been stepped on, but with any luck they'll be able to draw some saliva from it. And even better luck, it'll match some we've got on file."

Gai nodded dumbly, and Kakashi hesitated, looking up at Gai scowling, "Are you sure," he asked as he rose to his feet tucking the small note book into his pocket, "That you're a detective?" Gai's face flushed out of anger, and he was about to respond when Kakashi motioned him forward, reluctantly he followed the pull of the hand, the same way he used to, "Why are you standing over there? Are you nervous?" Kakashi motioned toward the body that Gai didn't want to look at, but his eyes followed the invisible line Kakashi's hand was drawing. He nodded.

"It's okay," Kakashi said touching his arm, "When I just got on Homicide I was the same way," he lied, and Gai nodded pretending to believe it, but he could see beyond that calm smile, beyond those tired eyes. Beyond the lies Kakashi told, and lived in. He knew the real Kakashi. "You get used to it." Kakashi said, and Gai wondered if it was the first honest thing he'd said all day.

Gai cleared his throat, adverted his eyes, and pretended to believe the lies Kakashi pretended to tell him. He knew Kakashi recognized him. It was impossible for the other man not to (but he knew that the word he needed here was 'implausible'. Nothing was impossible.).

And then Gai's eyes focused on something, that seemed so little, so insignificant, that he had no idea how important it would turn out to be. "Look." Gai said as he moved past Kakashi, toward the sink, "There's water here. It looks like someone got water in a hurry." Kakashi was surprised by the observation, and smiled.

"Maybe he," the fact that Kakashi automatically went to male for murder amused Gai, "washed up. Got a drink. Could be anything." he mused as he approached the sink, following after Gai. There was no blood in the water around the sink, or in the sink, they both noticed.

There was no blood on the floor.

"I'm not sure this is murder." Gai said softly as he looked up at the small flowering orchid on the window sill. It looks as if it had been watered earlier that day. "Maybe she just died."

Kakashi looked back at the body, it was definitely placed. It had to be murder. But Gai was right. There was a complete and total lack of crime scene here. And when he looked closely; there was no blood. "What happened here?" Gai and Kakashi both looked up at the voice, it wasn't shocked, wasn't full of curiosity. It was flat. Dull. Almost bored.

A younger man, who had tired eyes, stood in the doorway looking at them. In a suit almost identical to Kakashi's. "I'm sorry," Kakashi said as he slipped one hand into his pocket, motioning at the man in the doorway with the other, "Who are you?"

"Oh. Forgive me, I forgot my manners," he didn't sound sarcastic, which Gai appreciated. He was genuine, he held out a hand and walked carefully to Kakashi, "Yamato Tenzou. I'm a new detective at thirty-two. Tsunade sent me out here, said you guys might need help." Kakashi nodded, a blank expression on his face,

"Hatake Kakashi." he said as he motioned toward Gai, "Maito Gai. My partner." Gai and Tenzou both looked at Kakashi, as if the word 'partner' was unfathomable. "We haven't determined that yet, Tenzou. Right now Gai's thinking heart attack. I'm thinking homicide made to look like a heart attack." Gai rolled his eyes at Kakashi. Tenzou smiled at him.

Tenzou freaked Gai out. His eyes, Gai noticed, were strangely frightening. He couldn't quite figure out why though. He just didn't like to look at them too long, so he looked at the room instead. Just then crime scene showed up, and the detectives stood at the back of the room, waiting for the go ahead to collect evidence.

It gave them a chance to talk, and Gai didn't like the way Tenzou fawned over Kakashi. It encouraged the other man to continue thinking he was better then them, which he certainly wasn't. "How old are you, Tenzou?" Gai asked, and Tenzou smiled boredly at him,

"I'm thirty-one, Gai." Gai couldn't believe that. The other man was a detective at thirty-one? He must know, Gai thought, some people in high places.

"No shit." Gai said, nodding a look of disbelief on his features, "How long have you been a detective?" Gai questioned, and Kakashi snickered, finding Gai's jealousy amusing.

"I was twenty six when I got a spot in robbery-homicide, over in Twenty-eight." Tenzou said, and even Kakashi seemed surprised by that. Gai wanted to throw up, or throw down. He wasn't sure.

"You must be really great." Gai said tensely.

"Just good timing, sir." Tenzou said smiling softly. Kakashi laughed at that.

Kakashi, Gai, and Tenzou were all standing in the break room, drinking coffee, and talking over what they thought they knew about the case they were working on. They were joking, and laughing, and they almost seemed like friends to the people outside of the room.

But to the men inside the room they couldn't have been further apart if they were in different countries. Each mans mind was racing, trying to figure out if the other man saw through his facade. With each movement of their mouths, they each told another lie.

No man said what he thought. No man looked the other in the eyes. No man would let the other see who he was.

Tsunade walked in and their laughter died off, Gai cleared his throat awkwardly, Tenzou looked at the floor, Kakashi sipped his coffee. "Where are we on the case, boys?" she asked sharply, there were some unintelligible responses. She rolled her eyes, "I got you a forth. He'll be here Monday. I'm having some people come in to take care of some plumbing problems, and that sort of crap." she seemed irritated, "You guys go run down some leads." she caught Kakashi's arm as they started out the door, handing him a folder she glared at them, "As far as I can tell the new guy, Matsuda or whatever, has the most experience as a Detective. But Kakashi you went to Law School, studied some good things, and honestly, I've known you the longest. Out of the four of you, you have the highest closure rating." she spoke softly, and Kakashi had a strange look on his face, almost remorse, "You're in charge of your group." she concluded and Kakashi nodded,

"Thank you, Captain." he said grinning. She patted his back, and they left together, stopping on the steps they worked through a game plan, and all went their separate ways, to rejoin at the end of the day after exhausting every possible lead (or solving the case, whatever came first).