Summary:Allow me to tell you a story about love and murder, a life of a young lady, two gentleman, one of which is a murderer. Let me show you how murder is justifiable and how fragile life appears to be. Let me welcome you suckers, to the Wailing Creek.
A/N:I do not own Naruto or the characters.
.
.
.
Mr. Murderer
-Chapter One: And She Screamed Into The Night-
.
.
.
"Clean these floors twice a day, once in dawn another in night, I want these glasses sparkling clean. And if I were to find a single spot of dust on them, I am docking your pay, do you understand me?"
"Yes, Ma'am. I will get to work immediately."
"To add on, a word of advice, the young master dislikes interruptions, it would be in your best interest to stay out of his sight. With that, lastly, good luck on your first day of work, Sakura. Try not to create too much trouble. ", with those last words, the head maid sauntered out of the dusty old cellar, leaving Sakura to join up with the rest of the servants in the mansion.
"Ah, do your best Sakura, too late to give up now!", the pink head bob up and down in conjunction with words of encouragement towards herself. This is after all, the least bit of self comfort the poor girl could muster up for herself, considering the fact that she was currently an employee in the mansion known by most outsiders as the Wailing Creek.
The built up area was big, no, it was huge, Sakura concluded after around half an hour of thorough assessment of the area. The outside of the mansion and the surrounding landforms matched its nickname to a T. The rundown, shadowy surroundings would definitely give travellers the creeps anytime of the day. This will also be the exact same reason for Sakura's presence here. At the age of nineteen, she has already graduated from one of tokyo's top notch universities and shockingly has chosen a rather reclusive job. An investigator. There were rumours about the old place being spooked and stuff and she was hired by a company which was intending to buy off the entire stretch of land to build a club. And unfortunately, just like in all situations, the owner of the mansion has not bothered to hide his blatant refusal to sell the land. Sakura has therefore been hired as some investigator to look for any loopholes like for example if the area was used for drug dealing and stuff.
"Damn, the halls all look the same, and now I am lost, who's going to show pity on such a poor old soul like me?", She wailed dramatically, and of course, to no avail.
She has been wandering the halls for the past one hour and has gotten hopelessly lost. To add on to her misfortune, the other servants in the house seem to have made a habit out of ignoring all her pleas. What Sakura found the oddest out of all was that whenever she tried to snoop for information on the master of the house, most seem completely ignorant about his existence and some who appear to have an encounter or more with the master of the house seemed entirely spooked out of their wits to provide her with further information while the other younger maids in the house just appear to be more love-sick than anything. Currently, the bits of information she gathered was that the master was a guy and he was young which she concluded from the head maid when she addressed him as the young master, obvious not? Either way, moving on, next, he seemed like a total recluse from what she got out of one of the younger maids who appeared to be totally obsessed with the young master whom she has only seen once, from the back of a curtain might I add. Another oddity was that the older maids who seemed to have been more experienced in the field kept absolutely quiet about the entire situation. Though sakura felt that she would definitely gain more if she approached them directly, she also understood that she will be fired almost immediately if she did that. Those who 'belonged' to the household obviously do not like outsiders poking their noses into what does not concerned them. Lastly, Sakura realised that, though the exterior could be likened to Cairo, the city of the dead, the interior lured a gasp out of her when she first entered the house. It was beyond breathtaking, it was extravagant. The walls appear to look like ancient granite from deep sea floors and the hallways and rooms all had candles to light the path. The pink haired investigator randomly wondered about the need and practicality for use of candles in such modern day life. Besides, there are also the possibility of multiple fire hazards all around the house, she might be exaggerating but if the area were to catch fire, she was pretty sure even water from the pacific will not be enough.
It was also the determining factor which led her to her final conclusion that there must be some illegal ongoings in the house.
.
.
.
A simple merchant just wouldn't be able to afford such expensive furniture and decor.
"Hey you! What do you think you are doing, sneaking into our young master's room like that? Who are you by the way? I have never seen you before!"
"I am so sorry, I am Sakura, the new maid, I was instructed by Risa-san to scrub the floors and I was just about t-"
"Oh, the new maid, were you not informed? You insolent little wrench! This room must not be entered by anyone except Master Deidara's personal maid, you are lucky the young master is currently gone, otherwise you will definitely be heavily punished.", the large woman had a heavy accent which Sakura could not identify with and her words made her wonder, what sort of punishment she was referring to, "Leave now girl, go prepare for tonight's dinner, I am sure you can be of some help, incapable as you are. See to it that everything is in proper conduct, the young master will be expecting guests tonight."
With a quick tilt of her heel, Sakura was out of sight.
"Leila, fry the vegetables a little more, and no Risa, I have already told you, use to satin table cloths, the muslin ones are still damp. Harumi add more salt and check if the broth is boilin-", the head chef paused for a moment to take in the sight of Sakura and her blonde tresses(a wig people, it's a wig, lol:))
"You there, are you new here?"
"Yes Ma'am", though she was rather tired at the day's chores, Sakura continued her impersonation of a shy and timid girl. She gave a short and meek reply, "I was told to be down here as some form of help"
"Tonight's main dish is grailed eel dip in black salt, go prepare the eel for grailing, we are running on a tight schedule, no time to be loss, off you go!", Sakura was sent off by the cook to the back of the kitchen where all the seafood was kept, alive to add on to the freshness she supposed.
"What are you waiting for? New girl, hurry up!Oh, skin it as well."
The Pink haired girl stared at the snake like aquatic life in the tank and realisation dawned upon her. It couldn't be, could it?
"By preparing the eel, she meant to-"
"Chop it up first of course!", her sentenced was completed by another maid beside her who was already skinning one of the eels. They look like sad little creatures without the protective layer of green slimy looking skin. She almost felt sorry for them. Upon hearing the completion of her sentence, she look up at the other maid in horror.
"What? You can't be serious? It's horrible, I can't-"
"Come on, just do it, hurry or dinner will be served late and god knows what kind of punishment we will received from the young master if that happens!", the younger maid looked rather annoyed and she seemed to be struggling with her third eel which she was currently trying to chop the head off.
Punishment. The mention of the word twice in the same day, within the past one hour. Sakura mentally form an image of herself being tied to a tree and tortured to her death by the evil young master of the house.
Back to the situation at hand,the girl mouthed to herself, "alright girl, you came this far to get into here as a maid. A little killing won't hurt." She took one eel out from the tank and laid it on the chopping board. She raised her hand with the chopper. "It's just a little blood, don't think about it, come on come on, think of it as red ink. Yes good sakura, think it as red ink, the kind of cheap red ink where the professors and tutors use to grade your papers and you will always get them back with a good grade. A grade good enough to pass and own the entire level, come on, Sakura, you will be fine, just a little more, come on now girl, com-"
"WOULD YOU JUST CUT IT OUT!", the other maid beside her was beyond irritated and grabbed her hand down in a swift motion.
Sakura felt the knife sink and it sank, in.
The rest of the next two hours, she seemed unknowing of what was happening around her, the cook made her skin a couple more eels.
After the guests bid their thanks and were ushered up to their rooms to retire for the night, all that was to be done was to clean up the dining area.
It was nearly the wee hours of the next day and everyone else had already retired. As for her, Sakura had only finished scrubbing the floors at the dining area a few moments ago. Time is of essence. She has to make the best out of it.
As she put away the cleaning equipment back in the cellar, she heard footsteps approaching. Not wanting to attract attention, she hid behind one of the shelves and blended into the shadows of the night.
"Oh, Deidara-sama, what a wonderful night you have made for us. The dinner was simply delicious.", the only lighting available was from the moon which shone through the tiny window at the top of the cellar. Sakura couldn't really see but she could make out two silhouetes by the moonlight, in each other's hold. She figured the female's voice belonged to one of the guest tonight and judging by her body gesture, she is not a mere aquaintance of the young master.
"Oh, won't you just let me stay by your side? I will leave Utsuya, my love, we can be together, if only you allow it. Please, please, why won't you reciprocate this heart of mine which has long became yours?Why? tell m-"
The shaking figure in his arms suddenly became limp. The sound of velvety red fluid drip silently onto the ground. Wide eyed, Sakura bit her finger to prevent herself from crying out loud. She watched in terror as the figure allowed the body to fall to the ground, as though it wasn't enough, he retrieved the dagger and sank in back into the still body on marble tiles. She was vaguely reminded of dinner preparation and a wave of nausea washed over her.
Sakura was biting so hard that her finger was bleeding. The rubies dripped down her finger onto the stone pavement to join the pool of red. Together they formed a pretty hue, mesmerizing under the bright moonlight. It was at this exact moment that the fog decides to clear the night air. The moon now drawn to its full height, shone right through the window. It shone onto the unmoving figure, illuminating his face in dark cellar. For the first time since she stepped into the cellar, she was allowed to take in his features. They were chiselled but not feminine, masculine but not rough. It took her a full moment to realise that the figure was staring straight at her.
She shivered as the cool night air swept pass her neck. The young man in the corner moved in a fluid motion towards the wine shelves and reached out for a bottle of Perignon. He acted like he was blind to the world, smiled widely like a maniac and dismissed her presence as though mocking her.
.
.
.
Without a thought she turned and ran.
Without taking a second breathe, she ran with all her might to her allocated room. Everyone else was already asleep and their faces look so in peace despite what she just witness. She scrambled for her notebook bolted towards the main door only to find that, to her greatest dismay, it was locked. The gates were all enhanced with sharp edges, climbing out was not a choice. And she knows, if she were to stay any longer, she would surely freeze to her death. Sakura preferred not to die young, she rather enjoyed life, yet with little choice she crept back to her room and curled up in her bed under the blankets. The warmth from the fireplace provided little comfort, she still felt the icy feeling from outside the house.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
"Oh lord all mighty, if I should die before I wake, I pray the lord my soul to take"
The sky was still dark when the head maid came in to wake everyone up.
"It is always good to start the day off bright and early", as she says, only thing being it was bright but definitely not early.
"Sakura-san, are you unwell? It has only been a day since you have arrived.", Risa eyed her up and down.
"Yes. She does not look so good." The other maid with the strange accent joined in on the assessment.
"I am fine, just a little headache, would it be possible for me to stay in bed for the day"And you will be able to plan your escape.
"Yes, yes, it would be wise to stay in for the day."
She felt sick to her core, studied by them as though she was an interesting species ready to be exhibited in a couple of days, as though they were discussing which part to cut first, as though they were in a heated conversation about the different ways to embalm her alive. Beads of cold sweat dripped down her chin, she was trembling non-stop.
"But, I am afraid that would not sit well with the young master, he has specifically notified me in the middle of last night that he would like to choose his new personal maid today. Though there is no chance of her being chosen since she is new and still unfamiliar with the workings of this place but he wants everyone to be down for selection and if he were to find out about it, he would not be pleased.", Risa furrowed her brows in thought.
Reluctantly, Sakura got dressed and joined the assembly line where all the servants were already in position. She slipped in at the back.
"Hey, are you new here?"
"Yes, I just got here yesterday", Sakura replied to the maid standing in front of her.
"Then you must have yet to meet the young master of the house, he is absolutely the heartbreaker. I heard that he graduated in a prestigious university when he was only nine, isn't he just what every other girl will wish for, rich, smart and totally hot. I am Ino by the way, oh and you don't look so well, are you running a temperature? There's this chinese herb in the basement, I can get it for you after this, would you like that?", Sakura gave her a grateful little nod. Better more friends than enemies.
"Hi Ino-san, I'm Sakura, pleased to meet you. Please take care of me. So any idea why do we have to be here? I thought the young master already have a personal maid?"
"Oh apparently she left a couple of weeks ago, silly girl, if I were her, I would never quit. Though there are rumors going around."
"What kind of rumors?"
"Rumors that the young master changes personal maids every few months because he killed them for their virgin blood. Though this is ludicrous, I am pretty sure the last one was not even a virgin. Everything bout her screams the word WHORE. The reasons for quitting must be because they could not handle the pressure and high expectations placed upon them. It is an extreme form of high honor to us servants to be selected for the role. As you can see, that's Karin, standing right at the front of the row, they are the ones who have a high chance of being selected, he usually does not go by the second row to choose. But I hate her, she is such a show off just because Deidara-sama requested her personally to serve dinner once, the annoying brat has been going on and on about it, tch-"
"Ino-san, What's taking them so long?"
"Oh, haven't you heard about it?"
Sakura shook her head gently, Ino gave a smirk of triumph, knowingly she lowered her voice and put on a serious look to give a more dramatic effect. Sakura mentally rolls her eyes.
"The house mistress of the guest young master invited over yesterday. I heard she left in the middle of the night with a short note that she does not love her husband anymore and needs to leave him. The poor Utsuya-sama must be broken hearted. I heard that he even forgave her when he found out about her having an affair. Though he was kept in the dark all the time, even up till now, he does not know the identity of her mysterious lover, he still loves her deeply. What a poor soul!"
Ino brawled with watery eyes and look at Sakura who provided a sympathetic look. Sakura gave a gentle pat on her shoulder trying to look as sympathetic as humanly possible and suddenly, the loud whispers dispersed into the early air. The light atmosphere suddenly became extremely heavy, it was almost suffocating. Sakura raised her head only to re-live the horror from the night before, watching as the figure from the night before stalking arrogantly towards her. The reason of Ino's topic of gossip.
Their damn master had just committed murder and yet no one notices a single thing amiss, the thought made the pink haired blob knit her brows together into a frown. Whatever, she ought to spend more time worrying about herself right now.
A few strides with his long legs and that lanky figure, he stood at 6'' 3' in front of her.
Bending down to eye level, he whispered into her ear, so gentle only she could hear, "We meet again, love.". Straightening up, he look towards Risa, the houskeeper, soft as a whisper, "Take her to my room and teach her the ways of a personal servant. Teach her well.", with that last note, he turned in a elegant manner and left for the gates, marking the start of a new day for the servants of Wailing Creek.
Ino watched as Karin slowly got over the shock and disbanded to their personal jobs while Sakura continued in her daze. "Until later then, do your best Sakura! Can't believed I am friends with the young master's personal assistant, gosh, work hard!" Sakura watched as the blonde airhead bopped her way enthusiastically down the hallway. she winced when the hyperactive blonde bumped into one of the poles.
Ouch.
"Haruno Sakura, come. I will teach you and you shall learn, girl. Learn well."
To be continued.
Hello readers, please remember to read and review. I will try to upload the next chapter asap if you guys like it, but pls do respond and feedback:)
Thanks, until next time then:)