Okay! Well, this is my first fan fiction I've ever written, and I must say, this is a lot of fun! I apologise for any OOCness or things that don't make sense. But anyway, lets proceed with the story!

-DISCLAIMER-

I do not own Naruto or its characters (if I did, let's say that there would be a lot more romance)

All was fine in Konoha Manor, the atmosphere was happy and all seemed peaceful.

Naruto was enjoying a bowl of ramen, Sasuke was busy appreciating the view from the west wing of the manor, Shikamaru was relaxing in one of the many gardens watching the clouds drift by, Choji was ransacking the fridge, Team 8 were out on a peaceful walk and Ino was busy styling her hair in her luxurious room.

But where was Sakura?

An ear-piercing scream sounded throughout the hallways and corridors and startled everyone in the manor. Tsunade, the owner of the gargantuan house, rushed out and gathered everyone in the main lobby.

"Everybody's here? Good. OK let's get down to- Wait. Where's Sakura?"

A look of terror washed over everyone's faces.

"EVERYBODY SPLIT UP AND LOOK FOR SAKURA NOW"

Splitting up, the residents of Konoha Manor frantically searched everywhere for their missing pink-haired friend.

"KYAAAAAAAAAA! SAKURAAAAAAA!" shrieked Ino. Everyone responded immediately and rushed over to the east wing of the manor. They found her sobbing and weeping in front of the lifeless body of Sakura in the Library. The foul and rusty stench of blood wafted through the room and sickened everyone present.

"Who? W-who? Could have done-" Ino burst into tears again while Shikamaru kneeled down to comfort the weeping girl who was greatly upset over the death of her best friend. Naruto looked down, clenching his teeth, trying to hold in flaming anger, but it was no help.

"GRAAAAAHHHH GOD DAMNIT! IF ONE OF US WAS WITH SAKURA THIS WOULD HAVE NEVER HAPPENED!" screamed Naruto, his eyes welling up with tears. Most people were shocked by the blonde's sudden outburst, but Tsunade stayed calm.

"Every one, get a hold of yourselves, we won't progress if we keep the death of Sakura prominent in our minds. We need to investigate to find out just who the killer is," stated Tsunade.

"Tsunade baa-chan is right. If we keep dwelling on this current situation, we'll never find out who the murderer is," declared Shikamaru.

Choji agreed but it was hard to hear, as he was gorging himself on chips that he stole from the pantry.

"Right let's get to work!" exclaimed Tsunade in an oddly cheerful tone.

But little did they know, a figure stood outside the Library, smirking, as s/he was very happy with themselves.

A few hours later, everyone was busy searching for clues that lead to who the killer was. Shikamaru, Naruto and Sasuke were assigned the investigation of the body, while Ino, Choji and Tsunade were examining the Library.

All of a sudden, the doors to the Library swung open and revealed three very concerned looking people. They were none other than Shino, Kiba and Hinata. They all took a moment to take in the sight of what lay before them.

"W-w-what h-happened to S-Sakura-chan?" stammered Hinata, her face pale as snow, and her light lavender eyes were full of shock and astonishment.

"This can't be happening! This is Sakura Haruno we're talking about here! She wouldn't possibly let herself get killed without putting up a fight!" shouted Kiba, while Akamaru whined in sadness. Shino as usual said nothing, but everyone could tell he was surprised, even though his unemotional face showed no expression what-so-ever.

Tsunade stood up and cleared her throat.

"As you can see, it is quite obvious that Sakura has... Passed on," said Tsunade sternly. "We are currently investigating the crime scene and it would be of great use of you to help us."

Team 8 gulped simultaneously and reluctantly agreed to help the other residents of Konoha Manor.

"Hang on guys, I think we've got something." Shikamaru proceeded to show a fragment of dark blue clothing caught on one of the nails that were sticking out on the floorboards.

Sasuke smirked. "Thank goodness we've never bothered to repair the floorboards."

"That is a very useful find, thank you, you three," smiled Tsunade. "But, let's keep going. Sasuke, store that piece of clothing in one of the sandwich bags in the kitchen." Sasuke nodded and headed off to the kitchen to store the evidence.

Wandering around the many bookshelves, something glinting caught Ino's eye. She rushed over to the mysterious object, to find a knife covered in dried blood. The murder weapon. Apparently, the murderer was careless enough to leave the knife lying around. Ino's face beamed with happiness, she finally found something that contributed to bringing the killer to justice! She held the kitchen knife in her hand examining it with great fascination. Ino always loved murder mysteries, she always found them so interesting.

"Hey guys! I found the murder weapon!" exclaimed Ino.

"Ino, are you wearing gloves?" asked Tsunade.

"Eeerrr... No?"

"DROP IT NOW."

"Eep!" Ino dropped the knife in shock. She forgot one of the most crucial parts in finding evidence in a crime scene: Always. Wear. Gloves.

Ino gaped at her stupidity. After all those crime novels she read, after all those episodes of NCIS and CSI she forgot. To. Wear. Gloves.

"I-I'm sorry!" Ino was beginning to sound more like Hinata now because of sheer embarrassment.

"It's ok. But Ino? Remember to wear gloves next time," reminded Tsunade. Gloves. Ino hated that word now. Those, those THINGS that were so easy to forget, yet crucial to any part of an investigation. She sighed and dragged herself over towards the others to see what the others had found.

"I found traces of a strange white powder scattered around Sakura-chan's head earlier on and I'm wondering if the killer drugged her somehow. I don't know how, but it has to be some kind of drug, right? I mean, Sakura wouldn't have been caught off guard any other way," said Naruto.

"That's true, a girl of Sakura's skill would never be caught off guard. I should know," confirmed Tsunade. "Anything else?"

"Well, we know about the scrap of clothing we found on the floor," said Sasuke, holding up the sandwich bag containing the piece of fabric.

"And the knife," said Ino holding up the weapon wearing gloves.

Shikamaru was deep in thought. "Hrmmm… So from what I gather, the killer drugged Sakura-chan somehow, and while Sakura was unconscious or in whatever state she was in, the killer took that chance and struck. But how did the murderer drug her? I just don't get it! If he gave the drug to her in a drink, there wouldn't be any traces of it left! But there isn't any other logical way though... He couldn't have thrown it at her, that's just plain stupid!"

Tsunade took this into account. She knew that Shikamaru was right but how else would the killer drug her? It was very confusing. She shook the thought of it out of her head, as it was getting late and everybody needed some sleep.

The next morning, Naruto got up early and went to the kitchen to make some ramen for breakfast. The pantries were always stocked up with everyone's favourite foods as well as some other necessary ingredients. He scratched his head as he grabbed a packet of instant miso ramen and lazily made his way across to the microwave. He yawned as he waited for his ramen to cook, but when he opened his eyes, he saw Sakura standing across from him in front of the kitchen counter with her head down. Naruto thought that he was just tired but when Sakura didn't go away he started to get really worried. He was horrified when he saw Sakura lift her head revealing a bloodied face and a maniacal grin. Her eyes seemed to sink into their eye sockets; her face splattered with fresh blood and her mouth was twisted into a smile of a madwoman. Worst of all, underneath her red shirt a pool of dark red blood began to form, growing and growing until half of her shirt was soaked in blood.

"GYAAAAAHHHHH!" Naruto jumped back and Sasuke entered the kitchen.

"I swear if this has something to do with ramen I am going to- HOLY CRAP!" 'Sakura' turned her head around to face Sasuke and the colour drained from his skin. He started trembling and shaking as 'Sakura' faced him with her crazy grin and her blood soaked shirt. It's a rare sight to see Sasuke this scared and he seldom showed fear anyway, but this was different. "AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Sasuke screamed and tried to run but his feet just didn't want to listen. The other residents came rushing into the kitchen to see what all the screaming was about, but when they saw 'Sakura', they stopped in their tracks. Hinata turned a new shade of green, while Ino stammered and stuttered trying to get her words past her lips.

"Well now that you're all here, let me tell you something,"

END CHAPTER 1