The Case-Book of Kakashi Hatake

The Beginning {Part 5}

Shikamaru looked skeptical at best as we approached a dingy, narrow alley. I was filled with rage that Asuma's last moments had been in a place like this. The buildings to either side were fashioned of once dull, tan colored bricks now blackened by grime. One was a warehouse, and if the white fluff floating around inside, visible through the tiny windows, and the sounds of clicking machinery were anything to go by, it was a textile sweatshop, turning cotton into clothes. The other building was a filthy housing complex, filled far past its fire-capacity with large families crammed into single rooms. The alley dead ended sixty feet down at the dirt-brown wall of a storage building. The smell of urine, boiled cabbages, and grime was atrocious, almost overpowering to my sensitive nose.

I picked my way through the alley, recognizing that since the crime had occurred over a week ago, any traces of it had probably long since vanished.

I closed my eyes to bring up a mental picture of the multitude of twisting streets composing Konoha. This location was directly off a possible walk Asuma could have taken from the Daimyo's palace to his home if he were to desire a more direct but less safe route. I knew for a fact that Kurenai didn't like it when he walked through this area so there must have been some sort of reason for Asuma's dangerous journey home.

"Do you know what time Asuma left work?"

Shikamaru pulled out a small notebook, flipping through the pages before answering, "According to one of the guards that he worked with, Asuma left work at four thirty while he was between guard shifts. He was supposed to be there until seven that night, but he was very distracted and asked his friend Chiriku Senjusatsu to cover for him before leaving. He wasn't seen alive after that."

"And the coroner put the time of death at about five," I mumbled to myself, remembering the report. "Where in the alley did they find the body?"

Shikamaru walked to the center of the grimy length of cobbled road and filth around twenty feet down the narrow lane. "About here. He was face up, head pointing in the direction of the main road."

So his attackers had most likely been farther down the alleyway, I rubbed my chin pensively, deep in thought. There were no wounds to his back or sides so he hadn't been boxed in by opponents from multiple directions. If the attackers had been further into the alley, why hadn't Asuma simply run away? He wasn't a coward, but he certainly wasn't a fool either. He dearly loved Kurenai and would have done anything to get back home to her which means that fighting must have been his only way out. For some reason, there was no escape for him.

I glanced up at the large number of cloudy, dirt smudged windows looking down over the lane. "Someone must have seen what happened."

"I'm sure many of them did," Shikamaru sighed. "However, they're all too afraid to talk. The fact that we got a couple bare descriptions of passersby from them is a miracle."

"It's because you look like a cop. Of course they won't tell you anything."

I turned on my heel and began walking towards the front door of the large tenement building.

"Where are you going?"

"Do I look like a police officer?"

"No."

"Exactly," I stuffed my hands into my pockets. "They may not talk to you, but I'm certain they'll talk to me. Please stay out here; they'll clam up in a moment if they see you standing behind me."

"There's no way that I'm going to let you investigate on your own," he stated, eyebrows pinched.

"Either you trust me with going inside and asking a few questions, or we lose any chance we might have had at finding Asuma's murderer. Your choice, Inspector."