Scooby Doo! The Last Piece of the Puzzle
Okay, for all of you who watched Scooby Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster, I'm sure you were disappointed by the ending. Sure, it started out great: Shaggy fell in love with Velma, and Fred and Daphne both got insanely jealous (which was adorable). The actual stand-off between the gang and the monster - who was Velma - was also cool: Velma and Shaggy had a real deep moment, and Fred and Daphne were totally cute as they hugged as the frog monsters ganged up on them. And the actual mystery itself was pretty interesting: it's always kind of cool when someone you trust with your life ends up trying to kill you (even if they are possessed). The one bad thing: the ending. After the entire mystery has been solved and Velma has been de-possessed, bam! Shaggy and Velma suddenly decide they have not an iota of chemistry, and Fred and Daphne - this part is shocking - agree to be 'just friends'. Gag.
At first, I was incredibly disappointed. But then - I was on Wikipedia (yes, Wikipedia can be right sometimes) and found that the cast of the movie apparently revealed they had signed on for three movies. There's only two so far. Go nuts.
So, I got this idea about what the next movie should be about. I've never written a mystery before, so I hope you like it! I tried to keep it kind of light, since it's Scooby Doo: you're supposed to just want to smile. But it gets pretty intense! Also, it is told from Daphne aka Sakura's point of view.
Ok I don't own Naruto I wish did but I don't and I don't own Scooby doo and I don't own this story ether it a copy and replace story if you don't like it then don't read Ok Hinata is Velma, Naruto is Fred, Sakura is Daphne, Kiba is Shaggy, Scooby Doo is Akamaru. Ino is daisy
Chapter One:
The Regular Routine
Three days after school had started up again in September, Naruto called me with really important news. I had been fiddling around on my dad's grand piano when he had called. My dad used to be a great composer, and he'd been bugging me to write something. I had no music sense, really, but I was trying to make him happy. He worries about me, since apparently mystery solving isn't something proper to do. There was no way I was ever going to stop, so I figured if Daddy was happy, he'd get off my case.
Anyway, I was concentrating so hard that the phone ringing made me jump. Well, actually I kind of fell. Off the piano bench. Which is probably why Hinata and Naruto and Kiba make fun of me during gym, although let's face it: Kiba isn't exactly an Olympic medalist either. Although he's pretty good at cross country. With proper motivation, of course. Like food, or monsters trying to kill you, or something along those lines.
After I got up, I grabbed the phone off the wall before my dad could get to it. I knew it was either Naruto, Velma, or Kiba, and my dad hates them all. My three best friends in the world happen to be the three people who my dad could hate. Go figure.
Actually, Daddy wasn't even home, but you can never be too careful. And it would be good practice for when he was home.
"Hello?" I sounded kind of breathless, which caused by a mix of me falling off the the bench and my lunge for the phone. Whoever I was talking to probably thought I was desperate, and, with my luck, it was probably Naruto.
"Hey, Sakura - are you okay?" It was Naruto. Darn. Why do I have to be so smart? Not as smart as Velma, but still.
"I'm fine. What's up?" I grimaced inwardly as I spoke. Last year, Naruto would have just called me to talk, and that was awesome. He had pretty much been the best boyfriend I'd ever had. Except for the keeping it a secret part, but that wasn't his fault. What would have happened if we had just went up to Kiba and Hinata and went, "We're dating"? Total chaos. And it would have been totally awkward, and it would have made me feel like someone who's telling their parents they are getting married to the one guy they don't like - which I actually used to worry about, before me and Naruto broke up. Well, not broke up, exactly. Just... stopped. After the whole lake monster ordeal, we had all pretty much thrown romantic relationships out the window, since because of our complicated romances, we all nearly got killed. So, we said bye-bye to NarSak and bye-bye to SakNar. Which totally stinks, because I'm a sixteen year old girl. Who is very romantic. And possibly still the tiniest bit in love with her cute, brave, sensitive, brunette, sort-of-ex-boyfriend. You do the math.
"I got this weird letter in the mail," Naruto said, who was obviously creeped out but didn't want me to know. Classic guy.
I frowned. "Who sends letters these days?"
"Exactly! That's what I told my mom, but she still thinks people actually write with paper and pencils," I could picture him rolling his eyes.
"That's nice, but why was it weird?" Whoa, that sounded really awkward. Saku.
"Well..." Naruto hesitated. "Look, how about you and Kiba and Hinata meet me after school?"
"Kay. Where?"
"Um... that tree behind the school."
"Naruto, there's like a hundred trees. Wait, do you mean Mr. Walsh's Oak?" It was like Konohagakure's biggest landmark. Not knowing Mr. Walsh's Oak was like living in New York City and not knowing Broadway. "How do you not know what it's called?"
"I know what it's called! I'm not an idiot. It's just that Frank is hiding under my bed right now listening to my side of the conversation. I already deal with him at home; I don't want him popping up where he's not wanted."
"Nosy much?" I said sarcastically. I sounded like I was criticizing Naruto.
"Nosy doesn't even cover it," Naruto said tiredly. "Look, I gotta go and do homework. Call Hinata and Kiba and tell them, will you?"
Well, that was interesting. Naruto called me first. Even though it was stupid, I felt kind of proud. "Okay. Bye."
"Bye." Then he hung up.
I groaned and flopped down on the couch. Sometimes, I think that a boy who was previously your boyfriend but is now just your friend is the worst thing in the world.
Ino, my older sister, poked her head in from the kitchen. She works in Boston as a doctor, but she was visiting home for the weekend. She and her twin Dorothy were eight years older than me, and I'd always been closest to Ino growing up. It kind of sucked that they'd all moved out. I felt like an only child, and I hated it.
"Ooh, that's the boy trouble groan," Ino said sympathetically. Leaving the kitchen door open - she was making soup or something - she sat down on the couch next to my head. "What's up, Sakura?"
"The sky," I muttered grumpily. Like I said, I was close to Ino, but I'd gotten into this habit of making sure whoever I was talking to really wanted to know my problems. Probably because Mom is always so busy, and only asked when it was incredibly dire or when she felt like she needed to be a good parent. Hah.
"I know your tricks," Ino sighed. She stood up. "I could leave you to your moping, or you could tell me now."
"No, stay!" I pulled her back down. Hesitating, I rolled onto my back. "It's just... Naruto."
"Naruto Jones Jr, the starring quarterback on the Konohagakure Cougars and the most sought-after boy at Konohagakure High? That Naruto?" Ino raised her eyebrows like it was no big deal, but I know she always looked up everyone in Konohagakure before visiting so she could talk to people about other people without feeling clueless. She's such a nerd.
"Yes, that Naruto." I rolled my eyes. "I don't think there are any other Narutos who I would associate with in this town, anyway."
"There's the mayor." Ino pointed out. "He's a Naruto. And we associate with him."
"The mayor is Naruto's dad."
"Oh, right. So, what was your problem?"
"My problem is that Naruto, who was previously a totally awesome boyfriend, is now just a friend." I stared at Ino, saying with my eyes Red Alert! Red Alert!
Ino bit her lip. "Ooh, that's bad. When did you break up with him?"
I laughed. "Right. Like I would break up with him. No, we kind of made a group decision and -"
"Whoa. Group decision? What, did you hire a relationship consoler?"
"No! Me and Naruto and Hinata and Kiba. After the lake monster problem at Uncle Thorny's, we decided that we all should be just friends, because we discovered that dating during a mystery ends in almost-certain-death."
"I really don't want to know how or why you were nearly killed," Ino said kindly - that's me being sarcastic. "But your problem is that you still like him, right?"
"I have always liked him, but yes, I still like him. And now it's making everything all awkward." I groaned. "Why do I have such an interesting social life? Why can't I be anti-social, like former-Kiba?"
"Then you'd be a loser, and Blake girls aren't losers," Ino said cheerfully.
"So, what happened to you?" I wondered. Ino smacked me with a pillow. Now, that was an invitation I could not resist. Grabbing a pillow from the floor, I tried to hit her head, but she ducked and pushed me off the couch. I rolled onto my back and held up my pillow to defend my face as Ino whacked me mercilessly. I was a bit disappointed that no feathers were flying all over the place, like they do in the cartoons. That has been my secret wish for ages. But I was laughing like crazy, which was the best way to laugh, in my personal opinion.
We were interrupted by a bang. I pushed my pillow into Ino's face as I sat up. Smoke was wafting out of the kitchen and the air smelled like burned, well, everything.
"Ino!" I shrieked, still half-laughing. "The soup!"
"Oh, crap!" Ino stumbled up and ran to the kitchen, me following. When we walked through the door, I put my hand over my mouth to hide my smile.
It reminded me of the time that Naruto had taken me to his Aunt Natalie's house. Natalie was a painter, and her idea of a good time was exploding paint-filled balloons. She put them on the stove, ran out, and just watched it. And when it exploded, it covered the entire kitchen. It actually was a pretty quick way of painting your walls. It was really entertaining. I had exploded four.
Whatever kind of soup Ino had been cooking might as well have been inside one of Aunt Natalie's paint balloons, because it was everywhere. I felt like I was on a TV show, because this is the kind of thing they do on those stupid sitcoms I used to watch. There were pieces of chicken and lettuce and carrots and noodles all over the kitchen. A tomato fell onto my head as we stood in there, dumb-struck.
A few moments later, one of our maids, Tammie, burst through the door. I giggled. What made it funny was that the door hit Ino's butt, and she fell forward.
"Goodness, Ino, your mother told you to make some soup, not play Extreme Makeover!" Tammie exclaimed. She was fifty and the kind of person who'd be behind a bar at a restaurant. You know - a woman who wears no makeup what-so-ever and calls you hon. That was Tammie. "What were you doing?"
"Pillowing me to death," I mumbled, before Ino glared at me. A few moments later, Mom ran in. She gaped at the mess.
"Ino!" she cried. If she was someone who yelled, she would be yelling, but my mother does not yell or shout or scream or anything.
"I'm sorry!" Ino moaned. "I got distracted..."
"I can see that," Mom commented dryly. She quickly glanced over her kitchen, not going too far into it because of the gunk. "Tammie, call Traci and clean this up. Ino and Sakura can help you."
Okay, this wasn't amusing anymore. "But Mom, I didn't do anything!"
"I know, sweetie, but I have to get ready. Me and Daddy are going out to dinner with the Dinkley's."
"Mom! Hinata Hyuga my best friend! Can't I come?"
Mom smiled sympathetically at me. "Oh, sweetie, sorry, but we didn't make reservations for you. It's at Maxwell's Home of Seafood; you know how strict they are about reservations. Well, have fun!" She gave me a kiss on the forehead and flitted away. I glared at Ino.
"Nice job. Now I have to take care of your mess." I hissed when I thought Tammie wasn't paying attention.
"There wouldn't be a mess if you hadn't made me come listen to your sob story," Ino shot back.
"Um, if I remember correctly, you asked me what was wrong," I said, sounding like a classic American teenager.
She would have come up with a lame comeback, except that Tammie turned around and we had to stop arguing. If Tammie catches us arguing, she tells Mom and makes it sound bigger than it is, and that's an ordeal I don't want to deal with.
So, thanks to my considerate idiot of a sister, I spent the next hour cleaning burnt chicken off the walls. It wasn't until later that I remember Naruto's letter problem, and then, for the first time, I got a little scared about it. It hadn't caught my attention before, but something about that letter was suddenly freaking me out, which was messed up, since I didn't even know what it said. I wouldn't be calm until I saw the letter for myself.
Then again, that might just freak me out even more. Which was the problem with being one of the best paranormal detectives in the tri-state area. Well, that and the problem about me being in love with Naruto but unable to date him because if I did, we might all get blown up or whatever.
Sigh. That's life for you.