"How are things on your end, Ash? You get there yet?" Angel asked into her cell phone, ignoring the odd look she received from the ANBU guard escorting her, Kreeno, Shindo, Miko, and Tyler to the crime scene. She had already noticed the lack of technology in this village and prayed that it wouldn't limit the capabilities of her unit.

"I just got here," Ashkari replied, walking up to the building, "and I must say, it's a beaut'. Completely new – there's still a crane here from when they were building it, I'm guessing. And the precinct is just down the street, too, so Shindo and them'll be happy."

She opened her mouth to continue speaking, when she noticed a young woman standing nervously by the main doors, fidgeting and biting at her nails. "Make sure Tyler calls when she gets the TOD, ok? I've got a visitor."

"Ah… Sure thing, Ash." The other woman hung up, and Ashkari attached her cell to her belt loop.

"Excuse me," Ash called, jogging up to the woman, hardly noticing the ANBU escort stiffening slightly when he too approached. "Can I help you?"

Her white eyes, shimmering worriedly, locked onto Ash's and the woman absently brushed away a few strands of long black bangs from her face with a trembling hand. "Ahh… I-I heard rumors t-that my cousin was… attacked."

"This is Hyuuga Hinata," supplied the ANBU at Ash's side and the woman nodded once.

"I'm sorry, Hyuuga-san, but I'm not the one with that information – not that I can give it out. However, if there is anything else I can help you with…"

Hinata blushed deeply and cast her glassy eyes to the ground. "I-I'm not actually supposed to be here, s-so I'd better be on my way…"

Ash's eyes glossed slightly with pity, and she smiled. "If you don't tell anyone, I won't tell anyone. C'mon. I'll show you a bit of the lab."

A smile crossed Hinata's lips and she looked up shyly, hoping for something to take her mind off tings. "I-if you don't mind…"

"Of course not. Besides, I have to make sure everything set up and you can help me be sure that none of the movers are slacking off," Ash told her with a wink.

Hinata's smile and blush deepened and she fell into step as the trio entered the lab.

---

Murray memorized the way to the precinct, absently toying with her badge and wondering when she would have to get it replaced with Konoha's logo instead of her old one. She when on to wonder if it would be all right to keep her old badge on her person. Not that she didn't think she wouldn't enjoy this new city (town…? village? Whatever) as much as her old one, but sentimental value and respect for her superior who had trained her, made the hunk of golden metal into something particularly special.

Slowly the sight of the precinct took over her vision and she nodded to her ANBU guard. That was his only warning before she suddenly took off running, not being able to wait to see an impossibly clean office before Miko and Shindo moved their stuff into half the building.

---

They were hiking up their third flight of stairs and, before Angel could start complaining, Miko's cell suddenly went off, shrieking out a few lines of J-Rock instead of the usual ringing. "Mivi here."

"…! …? …!"

"Really? That's cool."

"…"

Miko hung up and looked to the others. "Murray says that the precinct is in good condition. She also wants to know about the scene when we get back."

Shindo nodded as the group finally made their way down the hall to room 4271 where a small, loudly chattering crown had gathered and two ANBU guards were holding them back. Without a word, Tyler, Kreeno, and Angel ducked past the hawk and bear, flashing their ID cards to get into the room.

"All right people," Shindo called over the voices of the crowd, hushing them. "I'm Detective Stabler and this is my partner Detective Mivi. Does everyone here live here?" There were a few who nodded and a few who shook their heads. "All right, then. I'm going to need all of you to line up against the wall so that we can get your statements after Detective Mivi tapes off the scene." The ANBU began to walk away, and Shindo turned to them sharply. "That includes you, too."

Angel sniffed at the air or the small apartment, taking in the faint scent of blood, as Mivi began putting police tape over the front door, just high enough for them to duck under. She knew Kreeno could smell it as well by the way she shifted uncomfortably.

"Kreeno, go ahead and start assessing the room. You might want to note that there are –"

"Signs of struggle, yeah," Kreeno said, cutting Angel off. "I think I know how to take care of a scene." Under the sarcastic note in her voice, Angel could still see the relief in her eyes at not having to see the source of all that blood.

"All right, just making sure you remember" Angel said with a wink and a smile. "Tsunade said that the body's in the bedroom, last door on the right."

"I remember."

Angel nodded and, adjusting her latex gloves, pushed open the door, starting at the sight that greeted her.

"Woah, what the hell are you doing to my scene?"

The three ANBU looked up from what appeared to be preparing the body sprawled on the bed for on-sight cremation.

"We cannot allow and risk of the body of a ninja to be stolen," informed the wolf ANBU. "Therefore we must destroy it."

Angel nearly threw down her kit in anger. "Like hell! That body and everything else in the apartment is now mine until the scene is released. You have no right to contaminate it further!"

"We are merely doing our job," said the frog.

"And so am I!" Angel growled deep in her throat as she attempted to calm herself and Tyler took a step away from her, not really wanting to deal with a pissy CSI. "Look, just tell me what you did to the body and then go see Kreeno for printing and a DNA swab. It's too late to fix anything."

The weasel looked between his glowering partners and said, "We merely put the robe on him. He was too stiff to move."

Angel sighed and looked over the bloody DB, taking in the sight of the young man with long, dark hair fanned out over the pillow. She could see that rigor mortis had set in, freezing his body in place. His hands were duct taped over his head at the wrist and a robe was placed over his body, hiding the nakedness under it.

"Hey, Tyler, look at that." Angel pointed to a gash on the man's neck where most of the blood had come from. The blonde approached and bent over the body, inspecting the wound. "What do you think?"

"Looks shallow. Could be used for covering up another wound."

The wolf cleared his throat and the CSI looked up. "Are we done here, now?"

"Do you have an ID for the body?"

"Hyuuga Neji of the Branch family. Aged twenty-one."

"All right. Go see Kreeno, then, and Shindo-chan may want to talk with y'all."

The ANBU left and Angel reached into her kit, pulling out a camera. Light flashed in the room as Tyler withdrew a thermometer from her own gear.

"Robe's coming off," Angel informed after documenting the neck wound and mentally listing the pictures as "contaminated". She tugged off the cloth. "Jesus!" Dried white mixed with crimson was on the bed. On his stomach. Between his legs. "Perp didn't even bother to try and hide the rape. Lucky us."

"Might not be rape," Tyler reminded as Angel finished taking her pictures. "Could've liked it rough."

"Yeah," Angel muttered sarcastically, reaching into her kit for a few cotton swabs. "I always know I like to murder my partners after a bought of rough sex. Makes the whole experience more thrilling."

"So glad I'm not fucking you," Tyler grumbled, inserting the thermometer into Neji's liver. There was a pause before she announced, "Ninety-one point one. If he had sex just before he was killed and thus his body temperature rose, I would assume that he had died about… ten? Eleven last night."

"Excellent." Angel put the cotton swabs away, ready to get them back to Ashkari and pull the DNA. "We have a TOD, now we just need to get him back to the lab to figure out a COD."

Tyler giggled and clapped the tops of her palms together, grinning broadly. "Autopsy, autopsy," she sang-songed, happily. "Wonder what his liver feels like."

"And you call me creepy," Angel muttered, smirking. "Make sure Kreeno goes over the body for any trace evidence after she's given the other rooms a once over. I'm calling Ash and then I'm going to see Tsunade-sama about telling to her guards to stay the hell out of my crime scenes."

"Sure thing," Tyler said, still happily grinning.

Angel rolled her eyes playfully and grabbed her kit, passing by Kreeno on the way to the door. "Anything useful?"

"Aside from your little exclamation I heard from the room? Not much. I got a few prints, but they're most likely from the ANBU that were in here. Where are you going?"

"I'm going to drop some swabs off at the lab and get someone to transport the body. Then I'm going to talk to Tsunade about the guests we found and I'm coming back to go over the bed. You have the job of checking the body for evidence."

"So you're just leaving me here?"

"I'll make sure Miko stays here. If anyone tries to enter, I'll tell her to break their fingers."

"Nice."

---

"… As you can see, the morgue is pretty empty, but Tyler will be sure to remedy that," Ash was telling Hinata as they left the icy steel morgue, the younger woman shivering at the thought of all those dead bodies trapped in cold metal boxes. "And that pretty much completes the tour." Her cell went off, shrill ringing making Hinata jump. "Ah, hold on a minute, please… Skaiwalkre."

"Yo, Ketchum," Angel's voice came over. "Where are you?"

"One, stop calling me that. Two, I'm at the morgue, heading to my lab. Why? You get a TOD?"

"Even better – DNA."

"Awesome. Where are you?"

"Turn the corner."

"What?" And there indeed, just around the corner, Ash could see Angel standing in her lab, grinning and waving cheerily.

"Where have you been?" the CSI asked as Ash and Hinata approached. "I got here and you were gone."

"I was showing Hyuuga-san around the lab."

"'Hyuuga-san'?" Angel parroted, blinking. "That'll save us time then."

"You've already ID'd the body?"

Angel set her kit on the counter and pulled out the swabs she'd collected. "These jackass ANBU guys were about to terminate my scene because of their stupid little ninja jobs. ("No offense," Ash quickly told Hinata who blushed and looked away.) That was – that is – my scene! Ooh, I am going to bitch at Tsunade so much if that scene becomes obsolete…"

"Where's the body?" Ash asked quickly, snatching the swabs away, as Angel paused to take another breath.

"Still there. Shindo's gone to find someway to transport it here so that Tyler can start her fun 'cause there are no buses or nothing here. It should probably get here in five to, I dunno, thirty minutes?" Angel turned to Hinata, the young woman looking about ready to flee, and smiled softly. "I'm sorry about that. I'm Angel Grissom, who are you again?"

"I-I'm Hyuuga Hinata… I heard a rumor an wanted to… to check on it."

"So you've been stuck with this nerd all day." Ash playfully stuck out her tongue and Angel grinned. "That's awesome. Did you make sure none of the movers stole anything?"

Hinata blushed lightly, but before she could say anything, Tyler's voice echoed down the halls, calling, "Angel – get back to your post, Kreeno and the DB are here!"

Angel stuck her head out the door and yelled, "I'm going!" She glaned at Hinata over her shoulder long enough to tell her, "If you're of the Hyuuga clan, you might want to check in with Tyler at the morgue." And then she was gone.

---

Tyler thanked the ANBU that had teleported them to the morgue and sent him off, turning to the body covered by a plain white sheet. After yelling at Angel to get her ass back to the crime scene, she began to prepare the table when the door hesitantly creaked open.

"Izzat you, Kreeno?" she asked, searching for a pair of gloves.

"N… No," came a soft, hesitant voice. A soft, hesitant, unfamiliar voice. Tyler turned to see a pretty young woman with black hair trimmed short and shimmering white eyes standing in the doorway.

"Well then who the hell are you?"

"I'm Hyuuga Hinata… I was told to c-come down here…"

"Is Hyuuga Neji related to you?" Hinata paled and nodded. "Then come here – I need a positive ID."

Very slowly, Hinata approached the white tarp, a green tint coloring her otherwise paled cheeks.

"I haven't washed him yet, so if you feel the need to vomit, please, for the love of God, don't do it on the body. It's been contaminated enough."

Nodding and feeling shaky on her feet, Hinata watched in morbid fascination as Tyler drew the sheet away just enough to reveal pale, bloody, naked arms duct taped together. His hair – the one thing he had been allowed to keep himself because he looked so much like his father, was dirty with blood and sweat, caught in horrible tangles that would never come out now. His eyes, white and cold as snow, she knew, were closed – never to open again. And his throat, oh gods his throat! – had been sliced open, baring his insides, hid blood, his life.

Hinata pressed a hand over her mouth, tears washing down her cheeks, suppressed sobs choking her, making it impossible to breathe.

"Neji… niisan…" she bit her lip to stifle a wailing sob. "It's… It's him…" She looked at Tyler with wavering eyes. "W… What happened to him?"

"I'm not sure yet. Give me a few hours with him and I'll be sure that you're the first to know."

"I… I have to go. I've been here too long…"

Tyler watched Hinata back away before turning and bolting, running past a stunned Kreeno.

"What was that?" the skunk-haired woman asked, blinking.

"Positive ID-er," Tyler replied, already waving off the teary woman and grinning broadly. She couldn't wait to feel his flesh under a scalpel.

---

God my brain hurts. Damn you Dark Cloud! You and your addictiveness!

Naruto: -points and laughs-

Angel: Screw you. See previous chapter for disclaimer, cause I don't wanna to think about what I don't own. So, till next time!