Chapter 2
"What does this mean, Kakashi?" Sakura shouted once they were in his office. Kakashi looked down at the picture they had taken of the message carved into the girl's body. His face turned pale and he took the picture away from them, looking at it more closely. The two partners gave each other a look when their boss muttered, "Shit…"
"What Kakashi?" Sasuke asked. The man paced around his desk to a filing cabinet that stood next to the door, overfilled with long past cases, whether they be solved or not.
"Go get Naruto and Kiba," Kakashi said urgently.
"They went to check out Kimiko's job." Sakura heard the distress in Sasuke's voice and looked up at him. He looked back down at her and shook his head as if to say don't say anything. She nodded and clasped her hands behind her back innocently, missing the look Sasuke had meant to give her; it had been one of worry, like he knew something was wrong.
"Well call them in. This is very important that all the rookies need to know about."
"Why can't you just tell us?" Sakura suggested. "I mean, we can give them the story when they get back and-"
"No! Everyone must be here!" Sakura flinched at her boss's tone. She looked up at him in fear and her eyes were wide; Kakashi never used this tone with her or any of the detectives unless something was really up. Sasuke sighed and put a hand on her shoulder to calm her down because she had started shaking to suppress the sobs and tears she never wished to shed. Kakashi turned his back on them and stare out the window, his face shadowed. "Everyone must be here to know about this…"
"Why are we here, Kakashi?" growled Kiba. Kiba Inuzuka was a dog-lover, plain and simple, but he had joined the force just months after his graduation from college, claiming the job was calling out to him instead the job of a vet. He had been in SVU for two years, one more than Sakura and her teammates and had seen more than them, but unlike Sasuke, he wasn't as affected by intimidation.
"Yeah! We think we have a lead on the bastard!" Naruto exclaimed. Sakura sat in a chair across from Kakashi's desk, Sasuke standing behind her with his hands by her shoulders as if he was going to jump up and tackle her if she jumped their boss. She had been grateful he had stayed there to try and comfort her, but now she was getting a little uncomfortable with how close he was. Crossing her legs, she smoothed out her dress and ran a hand through her hair in exasperation. Suddenly, she felt the pressure on the chair increase as Sasuke bent down to whisper in her ear.
"Do you ever relax?" asked Sasuke hotly in her ear. Sakura blushed and turned away from him, one hand on the arm of her chair while the other was barely touching her partners. She wrinkled her nose and turned her head away with a huff.
"Of course I do. I should be asking you that question," Sakura whispered back. Before Sasuke could retort, Kakashi turned to the small group to speak to them.
"We'll talk about this later," Sasuke whispered and straightened up just as Kakashi began speaking.
"This isn't the first case like this to cross SVU's jurisdiction," he began. "Several years ago, a serial killer that went by the name Jack the Ripper came to Japan-"
"But I thought Jack the Ripper was in London," Naruto stated.
"He was, but a copy-cat decided to finish his work here, in Japan. All women in the west side were targeted, not just prostitutes like the original Jack did, but most of his victims had been so badly mutilated that we couldn't find any evidence. The last one before he disappeared was found dumped on the very stairs of this building, her torso stabbed and cut clean open, her throat cut two times to ensure a quick death and her heart and uterus taken out. They were later returned to us in a cardboard box soaked in blood. Some of our workers never came back after that case that went on for more than a year." Kakashi stared down at the picture of the victim on his desk, her body not as badly mutilated as they had been years ago. "But now that he's back, I don't want ANY of you to go out alone."
"But, we can take care of ourselves!" Sakura exclaimed shooting up from her spot. Her partners stared at her as she stood shaking from what they thought was anger, but it was the opposite of that. The story had shaken her, making her relive that horrible night, but she couldn't let it bother her.
"Sakura, you are to have an escort with you at night at all times," Kakashi stated. "Naruto, Sasuke, you two will do it." The two men nodded and looked at their female partner. She was staring at them in fear, biting her lip so she wouldn't make any unnecessary comments towards them or her boss that could leave her doing desk work. It was a miracle that Kakashi was even letting her come to work in the first place and she was glad for that. "Now, get back to investigating. Sakura, like I said, you are NOT to go anywhere alone, and that means ANYWHERE!"
"Even the bathroom, Captain?" Sakura snapped. She was beyond furious now; she had to have an escort now everywhere she went and she wouldn't have ANY privacy to herself. Could that get any worse?
"Sakura, I'm doing this for your safety," Kakashi said wearily. "I don't want to lose a valuable member of this force."
"Then let me fend for myself. All they're going to be is a distraction to me!" She knew they looked offended by her outburst, but she didn't care; five hours of sleep did that to her.
"So," Sasuke started behind her, "we're a distraction to you now?" Sakura heard the unmistakable hurt in his voice and she regretted saying that, but now the damage was done. The men watched as Sakura turned on her heel and marched from the room, slamming the door behind her hard enough to make the frame rattle. The tension let up a little in the room, but just a little.
"Naruto, follow her. You're on first watch. The rest of you get out and go do your job." They all saluted and filed out, leaving Sasuke with his boss again for the second time that day.
"Is it that serious?" Kakashi could hear the worry in his voice and he nodded slowly, putting a hand to his forehead.
"Yes, it is. Don't let her out of your sight, got it?" Sasuke nodded once and followed his fellow teammates to finish investigating. He saw Naruto sitting in front of Sakura at her desk, pleading with her about something, but Sakura shook her head from side to side and that was when Sasuke saw it: Sakura Haruno was crying. She was a tough girl in any normal situation, but when it was her life at stake, she needed time to process it until she made a decision. Getting closer, he could almost make out their conversation, hearing words like "-No, I can't-" and "-Everything is going to be fine-", when Kiba tapped his shoulder.
"Sasuke, we need to get going. Naruto and I think we have a lead on this guy, if it really is a new Jack the Ripper." Sasuke looked back at Sakura and saw her staring at them, her eyes trained on him to see if her partner was really going to abandon her. He gave her a reassuring smirk before turning to Kiba.
"Okay, let's go." Sakura watched her partner leave with a small smile, her heart inside breaking in two, as if the killer already had it in his hands.
Sasuke's phone rang from his bedside table and he groaned, opening his eyes to see the vibrating cell phone skittering across the table top. It had been a week since the first victim appeared, but nothing was happening, leaving the SVU detective on their toes, but in doing so kept them deprived from sleep. It was affecting all of them, including their boss, who was found sleeping at his desk, leaning back with a book over his face. Sakura had woken him up, shouting at him that if they could have any sleep, than neither could he.
Naruto's face showed on the screen, one he had taken himself and set at his picture ID without Sasuke knowing it. Sasuke was kind of glad he had been woken because he had been having a horrible nightmare, one filled with blood and screams of the dying, and Sakura…
Sasuke shot up and picked up his phone, remembering Naruto was suppose to be watching her until morning, where it would be his turn to watch her. "Detective Uchiha," he croaked.
"Sasuke, get down here to the precinct! Now!" Naruto's terrified voice reached him and he began to panic.
"Why? What happened?"
"The missing body parts from the victim were delivered!" Sasuke was out of his bed the moment Naruto had said body parts and was putting his clothes on. Thoughts were running through his head as Naruto told what had happened, how Sakura had discovered the package next to the door, and how she had freaked out when she opened it to find the missing fingers, the organs, and all the blood that had spilled from the body parts.
"All right, I'll be there soon," and Sasuke hung up and dashed out the door, grabbing his car keys on the way out.
The office was noisy when Sasuke got there, having to avoid people as they ran around with evidence. He made his way through the clutter to Kakashi's office to find Naruto and Sakura already there, Kiba nowhere to be found, and Kakashi with his head in his hands. Naruto looked over his shoulder to see Sasuke there and they exchanged hand shakes before Sasuke walked around him to kneel in front of Sakura. Her eyes were wide and she was gripping the chair she was in until her knuckles were white. She was shaking slightly from the shock of seeing organs she hoped she would never have to see in her lifetime still bleeding, still fresh.
"Sakura," Sasuke said softly. "Sakura, look at me." Sakura jerked her head in his direction, her eyes shining from unshed tears. Her face was pale, extremely too pale for his taste and he reached up to brush her cheek with the back of his hand. "Are you okay?" Sakura nodded her head shakily, but Sasuke wasn't convinced. "No, you're not. Do you want to go home?" She shook her head this time and Sasuke sighed. "Okay. Suit yourself."
"Sasuke, thank you for joining us," Kakashi sighed. Sasuke raised an eyebrow. He didn't see him come in?
"Uh, I've been here, Kakashi," he stated. Kakashi looked up to stare at him, the dark circles under his eyes visible.
"Oh, sorry." He stood up and walked over to lean in front of his desk. "So, I assume Naruto told you what happened?"
"Yes, but this was to be expected," Sasuke said. "In the old cases, body parts were normally sent to the police in both cases with the original Jack and the copy-cat from years back."
"Yeah, but letters were sent, too. Don't forget that," Naruto said.
"Speaking of which: Did a letter come in?" Kakashi shook his head and looked down at the container the organs and appendages had come in. Blood soaked the entire bottom half of the box and the smell was too strong, so strong that everyone in the room could smell it. Naruto cleared his throat and everyone visibly jumped, having been too absorbed in their thoughts.
"We need to catch this bastard before he strikes again," the blond stated.
"But if it's the same as before, then we're definitely not going to catch this guy," Sasuke argued. Naruto's chest swelled in anger and the two teammates stood in front of each other, glaring at one another, waiting for one to back down or say something. Kakashi sighed and shook his head. 'This case is getting to them faster than the last time this kind of thing came up with the old squad. If this gets out of hand, I don't know what I'm gonna do if they get kicked off the case.'
"What if…" Everyone turned to look at Sakura, confused looks on their faces because Sakura had a smile on her face, one they all knew too well; she had a plan. "What if we do this…"
Hundred and fifth street
Tokyo 9:45 PM
Sasuke snarled as some disgusting, perverted older man looked at Sakura in a shameful way. He watched as his partner extended her leg outward, the short dress she was wearing sliding up her thigh even more than it already was. He didn't like this plan at all: Sakura was to dress like prostitute and hang around a street where they thought the killer would strike again. At first, he immediately disagreed to this, but the moment her face fell, he had retraced his thoughts and looked away from her pleading eyes, the ones he could never ignore. Kakashi and Naruto were also of course against it, but Kakashi had said he didn't want a repeat of what had happened more than ten years ago when the killings had first started.
"Sasuke, shut up or they'll hear us!" Naruto whispered. They sat behind a dumpster across the street from where Sakura stood, not wanting to be too far away if something happened. He had seen the way that perverted man had looked at his partner, but if he couldn't stop Sasuke from charging the man, their cover could be blown. And if their killer was around, then they would lose him, too.
"I know, but I can't stand the way she just blurted that out of nowhere!" Sasuke sighed. He leaned his head on the brick wall behind him and looked up at the dark sky. "Have you noticed the sun hasn't shone since we found that girl a week ago?"
"I know, right? I'm getting tired of this dismal weather!" Sasuke sighed again and looked around the corner to look for Sakura. Suddenly, his eyes shot wide and he jumped up quickly. "What?"
"S-She's not there!"
"What?" Naruto looked over and his heart started thumping really fast. He looked around the corner to where Sakura was suppose to be standing but she really wasn't there and he started to freak out. "Where the hell is she?" Sasuke was up before Naruto and he rushed around the corner hurriedly-and bumped into Sakura as she was about to turn into their alley. They both fell back on the ground, Sakura groaning in pain since her skin felt like it was on fire from skidding across the sidewalk.
"Sakura!" Suddenly, she was swooped up into someone's strong arms that were squeezing her too tightly. "Are you okay? We were so worried!"
"Let me go, Naruto! You're suffocating me!" Sakura exclaimed. Sasuke shook his head to clear his mind and looked at the pair. Sakura's cheek was pressed into Naruto's chest, her face looking like it was being squished and Sasuke couldn't help but smirk. She saw his smirk and smiled at him sweetly, silently thanking him for worrying about her.
"Sakura, you should wear that kind of clothes more often. It suits you," Sasuke teased and watched as Sakura's face turned red from anger and embarrassment.
"S-Shut up, you man whore!" Twitch.
"What did you just call me?" Evil smirk.
"Ma~n whore!"
"Take that back, Sakura."
"Never!" Naruto sighed and watched as they bickered over a stupid subject. Then, things changed when Sasuke finally got mad and pointed to the spot she had been in not more than fifteen minutes before.
"Why did you leave your post? Do you have any idea how worried we were? We thought you got kidnapped or actually accepted an offer!" he shouted.
"I would never do such a thing!" Sakura yelled back. "Are you calling me a whore?"
"You called me a man whore!" All of a sudden, something clanged in the alley they had just been in and they all froze, eyes wide as they listened. Nothing else happened after that, but it had made Sasuke curious and he intended on finding out what it was. He started walking back into the alley, Sakura and Naruto right behind him, stepping cautiously.
Then, the noise came again, this time louder and closer and Sakura couldn't help but squeak in surprise, causing Sasuke to slap a hand to her mouth sharply. She winced and tears came to her eyes in pain as she watched Sasuke look around sharply, but then something above caught her eye. Looking up, her eyes widened when she saw someone looking down at them, a bloody knife in their hand. She tugged at Sasuke's hand as it was still clamped on her mouth, her eyes very wide as the person sneered down at them, raising their arm to throw the knife at them.
Sakura threw Sasuke's hand from her mouth just as the person hurled the knife at them. "Look out! Sasuke!" Naruto saw Sakura push their partner harshly, but just as he was about to cry out to them, he saw a sharp object bury itself to the hilt in Sakura's side. Sakura cried out in pain, blood running freely from the wound as she fell to the ground clutching at her waist where the knife was. Sasuke crawled over to her quickly and, in a blind rush, pulled the knife from the girl's side, brandishing it to face their attacker. However, he was nowhere to be found. His partner's anguished cries reached his ears and Naruto yelled into his cell phone, "Get a bus to hundred and fifth street on the west side of Tokyo!"
Tokyo Memorial Hospital 12:00 AM
Sasuke ran a hand through his messy hair for the hundredth time that night, hunched over in a chair in the waiting room of Tokyo Memorial Hospital. After Sakura had been stabbed, Naruto had immediately called for an ambulance just as Sasuke had rounded on their suspect who was nowhere around. It had been stupid to take out the knife from Sakura's leg because as soon as he did it, blood gushed from her wound. Not the smartest thing he has done in his life time, and he regretted it fully; especially when Kakashi found out.
"You are so stupid, Uchiha! You know better than to pull a knife out of someone's body! Just look at the Crocodile Hunter, for God's sake!"
Kakashi's words were still fresh in Sasuke's mind and they wouldn't leave. Would it be his fault if Sakura died from too much blood loss? Sasuke groaned and gripped his hair harshly before running a hand through it; the stress was giving him a killer migraine. And who was that guy that was standing on the roof? He had been the one to throw the knife at them, but did that mean he was targeting them? Something clicked in Sasuke's mind and he straightened up, his eyes wide. 'Had he been the killer who was representing himself as Jack the Ripper?'
Suddenly, the swinging door to the operating room opened and Sasuke looked over, standing up quickly. A doctor wearing bloody gloves came out and walked towards him with a smile on her lips.
"Don't worry, Detective. Miss Haruno will be fine, but I urge you to keep her from working for at least a couple weeks. She's going to have a nasty scar and bruise to go with that stab wound in the morning." Sasuke nodded as the doctor gave the report to him in detail, about how Sakura would need medical attention to clean her wound every day until she could do it herself, and Sasuke couldn't help but think he would be the one doing it.
"Can I see her?" asked Sasuke just as the doctor was about to leave. She smiled and nodded, letting him pass to get to Sakura's room. Sasuke opened the door quietly and peeked his head around the door, expecting to see Sakura asleep, but instead saw her watching a boxing match on the television.
"Go for the kidneys!" Sakura shouted. Sasuke sweat dropped at her childish behavior and how fast she had recovered from a fatal stab wound. "Now go for the right hook! YEAH!"
"Sakura?" The girl turned to the sound of her name, smiling brightly at Sasuke as he stepped forward.
"Hey, Sasuke! When did you get here?" the girl exclaimed. Sasuke chuckled lightly and walked over to the chair beside her bed.
"I've been here since they brought you in, stupid," he said. Sakura pouted and crossed her arms over her chest, looking in his eyes.
"You know, you should be grateful that I saved your life, Sasuke. If I hadn't pushed you out of the way, YOU would be the one sitting here, or even possibly dead! Then who would take care of my fish and cat when I go on vacation?"
"Naruto could, you know."
"No! Remember the last time he took care of my pets? Half my fish were dead and my cat had been living off ramen for four days!"
"Well, why didn't you ask me to do it?"
"Because you flatly refused when I asked you, remember?" Sasuke rubbed the back of his head guiltily and smirked at her. It was true; Sakura had gone to Florida for her break Kakashi had given her and she had asked Sasuke to take care of her pets, but he had refused to and then she asked Naruto. When she had come back four days later, she had found three dead fish and a fat cat. She had beat Naruto within an inch of his life and made him go out and buy three new fish and diet cat food.
"Okay, that was a mistake on my part. Sorry," Sasuke apologized. Sakura sighed and closed her eyes, and then looked back at him with a smile on her lips.
"It's okay. I now have fifteen baby fish looking for new homes. Do you want one or two?" Sasuke smirked and shrugged.
"Sure. I was thinking of getting some fish anyway." Sakura grinned widely, reminding him of Naruto in a way that made him smile. Sakura blushed a little at his smile and looked back at the TV to watch the boxing match that was still going on.
"So, when am I getting out of here? We have to get back out there to find that bastard before he strikes again!" A look crossed Sasuke's face as he looked at her and it worried her when he didn't answer her. "What?"
"Sakura, you can't come back to work," Sasuke said slowly. "Kakashi says that you need to stay away from the case after what happened tonight."
"But I don't want to stay off! I want to get this guy before he kills another prostitute!"
"Sakura, with that wound you aren't going to be able to move around very well."
"So? I can still do desk work and look through the evidence! Please, Sasuke? Try to convince Kakashi to say otherwise."
"Even I'M against the fact that you should help with this case. It would be hypocritical if I just suddenly changed my mind on the matter!" They had a stare down for at least five minutes before Sasuke looked away and sighed, leaving Sakura to smirk in triumph. "Fine, I'll talk to him."
"YES!" Sakura exclaimed.
Sasuke: I still think we should have rough, hot sex sometime in this story -Smirk-.
Sakura: -Turns to me with pleading look- Not again, KD! I need a break!
KD: Lol Don't worry, chicky! -Turns to gaping Sasuke- NO MORE SEX FOR YOU!
Anywho! Please review! I noticed my other long chaptered story, Why I'm Here, didn't get a whole lot of reviews -Sad face-
