Darker than Black

Chapter 1

Sakura Haruno was never one of those people who had luck on their side. No, it was the direct opposite. She was always the one who made right choices for others, but for her... not exactly. She was always the one who made the wrong choice, be it the college, her boyfriends... not matter what, not once in her life she was able to say "It wasn't my fault!"

Working for one of the greasy news paper who reported all the drug scandals of celebrities, UFO sightings and other strange things wasn't really the big deal. It was definitely not her job and it wasn't that her payment was that good, but to be honest. It was the memory.

She had to worry about different problems like the warning from her "Haruno! If you don't find a good story in less than two weeks, you are fired! If I were you, I would get my ass into my car and start looking for it!". Yep, that was now four days ago, meaning, she had only 10 days left.

But maybe it was better if she got fired. She had no one left in Boston, she had no friends and no family. Her parents died in a car crash when she was fifteen and then she lived together in the outskirts of Boston with her grandparents. The memories of her parents and her grandparents kept her from going. She knew it was idiotic. She knew hat she would keep the memories wherever she would go but right now, she hadn't had the money to move into another city. But at first she would find the damn story...

3 hours later, New York...

She stepped out of the small shower and onto the small towel on the floor. The apartment wasn't large, but it wasn't small either. She could move around freely without running against furniture or doors, which was the problem with all the other apartments she already visited in New York when she stayed one or two days. She could live with it, she decided.

Sakura wrapped the towel around her thin frame and walked into the bedroom, her phone and her laptop already on her bed.

She grabbed it and dialed the number of her office, seconds later she could hear the voice of her boss "Haruno! Took you ages to call me! Already something?"

If she could she would punch his face through the telephone "Sir, I just arrived" she said annoyed and he snarled "You know what, Haruno? Couldn't care less if you are in New York or Peking, I want my fucking story and remember, your ass is mine as long as you are working for me!"

Sakura groaned "I'll get the Story, Sir. But I just arrived, you can't expect me to wave my hands after being in New York for one hour and scream that I found something. That doesn't work. I'll start searching tomorrow."

She heard him sigh on the other end "Fine, but remember your dead line... ten days. Or you're fired and it better be the super story, understood?"

Sakura nodded "I'll get your story."

He simply ended the call and she put the mobile down "You too, you asshole" she whispered and pushed her mobile back into her bag. She leaned her elbows on her knees "Fuck." It was half past twelve in the evening and if she went to bed now, she would be well rested tomorrow. Tucking the towel from her head, her long hair fell in wet curls over her back and arms.

The question was, where should she start searching? It was maybe a good idea to start in one of those many café's or maybe a nightclub. One of her greatest story found its original in a nightclub in Boston. And that story brought her a giant salary increase from her boss. Maybe this was her ticket away from Boston, one last good story and she was done with the "Daily breaking News"

Good plan...

The next day...

Sakura was sitting in the small café and was waiting for a waiter to come. A waitress came over with a smile on her face "Hey, what can I do for you?" she asked in a cheerful voice.

Sakura smiled back "Um, do you have strawberries?"

The waitress nodded "Yup, we do."

"Lovely, I take a bowl of Strawberry's and could you bring sugar with it?"

The waitress wrote her order down and nodded "One second, I'll come back with your order."

Sakura smiled and when the waitress turned around, she remembered something "Hey!"

The blond girl turned around and walked back to her table "Yes?"

Sakura leaned back in her chair "Do you have any idea where I can get a good tip for a story?"

The girls eyes brightened "You are an author?"

Sakura laughed "Almost, I'm working for one of those daily newspapers."

The girl walked to her table and Sakura gestured her to sit down "Exciting! Okay, how can I help you?"

Sakura shrugged her shoulders "I have a deadline of ten days ad I have to find a really good story, I mean a really good story or I'll lose my job."

The girls eyes widened "Seems like you have a nice boss."

Sakura nodded and the girl looked at her with pity in her blue eyes "You would be surprised, but I do have a tip for you."

Sakura was curious "You do?"

The waitress nodded "Yes. Here's a nightclub, just around the next block. The 'Matrix', in the last few week really strange thing happened there. The police checked it more than one time now. Young men and women disappeared there. They had nothing in common but they were all in the Matrix before they disappeared. The police found a few bodies but by far not all who disappeared."

Sakura arched her brow "The Matrix, you say?"

The girl nodded "Yes. It's one of the biggest nightclubs here in New York. The really strange thing is that no one has a clue who owns the Matrix and the fellow clubs."

Sakura pulled out her Ipad and wrote everything down very quickly "Did the victims had contact with someone in common before they died?"

She shook her head "No. But a very goof friend of mine knew someone who disappeared. The strange thing about the body was... it was completely drained."

Sakura arched her brows in disbelief "Drained? You mean... blood drained?"

The other woman nodded "Yes. Not one single drop of blood left in her veins."

Sakura laughed "Sounds like a vampire makes his round."

The waitress looked at her with suspicious eyes "The police calls him 'The vampire'."

Sakura shook her head in disbelief "You know there isn't something like 'Vampires' out there. The man or the woman who did this is sick. Twisted, but not a vampire".

"Of course, but it's cool isn't it? A vampire in New York."

Sakura shook her head "Absolutely not."

And there she had her story.

In the evening, Sakuras apartment...

Sakura checked her make up one last time when her mobile rang again. She rolled her eyes and picked up the call "Sir, I have a story."

"Shoot" he simply said and she sat down on the bed "One word, vampire. In the last few weeks young adults disappeared. Nothing in common, only one thing. They visited all a nightclub called "Matrix". And here is the point, no one knows who owns the Matrix."

She heard him sigh "And?" he said annoyed and Sakura bit back the word lying on her tongue "They found a few bodies but they were all drained. Completely empty."

She heard him drop something "Drained of what?"

Sakura looked into the mirror "Drained of their blood. I'm about to go to the Matrix and listen around there."

"Okay, Haruno. Stick to that" and she ended the call.

Nightclub Matrix...

The Matrix was amazing. It was one f the largest clubs she had ever seen. It was huge, cages of glass hanging from the ceiling, women and men dancing in them. Large bars were set up along the sides of the club and there were two stages at the end of the dancefloors. The blond-haired woman, Adele, didn't lie. She said that the Matrix was one of the hottest clubs in whole New York.

"When you want to find something, try it with Justin. But I'll warn you, he wants payment for information."

Sakura slowly walked down the stairs and stopped in front of the bar "Gin Tonic!" she screamed over the booming music and the barman nodded "One sec!" Sakura watched the club and noticed that in the walls were big windows, behind that, she assumed the VIP Lounge.

"Here you go, love!" he smiled at her and gave her the drink.

She wanted to pay but he shook his head "No, that one's on me!"

Sakura flashed him one of her famous smiles "Thanks!" He nodded and turned around.

"And how do I know that it is the Justin I am searching for?" Sakura asked and Adele shrugged "There's no way someone would mistake Justin. He is tall, I mean really tall, almost 6'5 with broad shoulders, great muscles. He mostly wears leather and he has a bold head. He has a spiderweb tattooed on his temple-"

Sakura wrinkled her nose "Sounds sexy."

Adele laughed "Yes, he is. And don't underestimate him, he may seem almost nice to women, but he is a bouncer. If he isn't in the "Blues" you'll find him every evening in the Matrix."

Sakura could picture him in her head "Thank you so much, Adele. I owe you."

The blond woman shook her head and wrote down something on her wordpad "Here's my number, you've got a friend now."

Sakura smiled "At least one."

Sakura walked through the crowd of dancing people but were fixed on the man in the corner to her right. It was without question the Juston she was looking for.

"Found you" she whispered and walked straight towards him. When he noticed her she swayed her hips a bit more and tossed her hair over her shoulder.

He sat up straight in his chair and eyed her from head to toe. The tight black dress, the curly hair falling down to her waist. His eyes wandered over her thin legs to the plateau high heels she wore.

"Hello there" he said and smirked "What can I do for you?" He patted his thigh, gesturing her to sit down on it. She sat down on his muscled leg.

He buried his hand in her long hair and tugged slightly on it. She gave him her most sinful smile "A gpood friend told me you have information about the killings going on in the city."

He grinned and tilted his head to the side and looked at her, curiosity in his eyes ""Maybe..." he wiggled his brows, a smirk plastered on his face.

Sakura let her hand slide into her clutch "Well, let's scratch the 'maybe', shall we?"

He laughed "Damn, girl. You're a tough one, aren't you?"

Sakura smirked "What do you know?"

He stood up and took her arm, his all flirty behaviour replaced by a stern look on his face "This is not something to discuss with audience."

The cool night air was refreshing for her and she stopped next to Justin "I have something, but it's not light stuff."

She nodded "Do I look like a girl who wants the light stuff?"

He gave her a small nod and leaned against a wall "The first girl who disappeared was Melanie Gibson, one of those new rich girls who had too much freedom from her parents. The night she disappeared she went to the Matrix."

Sakura who held her sound device listened carefully.

He continued with the story "I remember her face, she was a pretty girl. Tall, blond hair you know that typical appearance. However, she had a few friends with her, but she went out alone with a guy. He wore black and had tattoos all over his body. Four days later the police found her body in one of the sidearms of the river. She had not one single drop of blood in her veins left."

Sakura eyed the dark space behind him. Somehow she had the feeling that she was watched out of the dark "Anything else?"

Justin nodded "Yes, they found remains of an unidentified drug. Till now the number is 10 of dead bodies. All the same, blood drained and with the remains in nose and mouth. No external influences."

"More?"

Justin was silent for a second "I remember something. The last time a body disappeared two men walked into the club, never seen 'em before. Huge, looked like contract killers."

Sakura arched her brows "And now?"

He shrugged his shoulders "The police is searching but never found something."

Sakura sighed "Ant suggestions what's going on?"

Justin crossed his arms over his chest "My first thought: drug dealer. A cartel dealing with a new drug."

Sakura couldn't really believe that story "Why were the drained then? That doesn't make any sense."

He shrugged his shoulder "Maybe they don't want the police to find out yet."

Sakura gave him her card "This is my number and if you remember something, call me."

He nodded and pushed the card into his pocket "Forgot I want something in reward?"

She sighed and turned around again "Here" she stretched out her hand and he grabbed the 100 dollar.

"Was a pleasure to make business with you."

Guys as I mentioned in Red as Blood already, I was reported by a certain member of FFN because of abuse I don't understand why? We had 222 reviews and this story was complete :''''( I could cry a river now, but I take this opportunity and re-read and correct the story due to many reviews telling me I had errors :( Those who start reading this story or do it again, you are very welcome to leave me a review and tell me what you think or think of the better parts now when you already read it ;) Note that this story is actual COMPLETE and will be posted new only because of the report :(

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto! Only the storyline of this Fanfiction is mine ;)