Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Summary: When an unexpected series of murders befalls a small town, life changes for a certain pink-haired girl. Mysteries take over the city – and most of all, her life. In times like these, it is not smart to make unexpected moves.

C2

''Ugh…'' the pink-haired girl moaned. She opened her eyes and was greeted by a dark room. For once, she was the first to wake. The numbers had just changed to 6:31 when Sakura turned her head towards the alarm clock.

It was a Wednesday morning, so her first class started at half past eight. Breakfast was served at half past seven, so she didn't have to get up for at least half an hour. Still, Sakura decided to change into her uniform and get ready.

She quickly sat up and swung her legs over the edge of her bed. Apparently, Ino was still fully asleep. Although no one was supposed to know, she sometimes snored in her sleep. Sakura had pointed it out to her once and Ino didn't appreciate it. Sakura stood up and walked over to her closet to get her uniform.

It was a boring thing, really. The uniform for girls consisted of a plain, red skirt. The top was a simple, white blouse with short sleeves. Optional was a light yellow vest. For instance, if the weather was bad. Instead of a vest, you could also wear a cardigan, as both were allowed. Shoes weren't part of the uniform, so you could choose your own. Sakura usually chose some white sneakers.

The weather report of yesterday said it wouldn't be too cold, so Sakura decided to leave the vest. Besides, one of her cardigans was always in her gym locker for emergencies. Changing in the dark was no problem, doing her hair was. Silently, Sakura opened the door and went to the bathroom at the end of the hall. No one was in there yet, so she decided to take her time.

The girl never really did much to her hair, unlike Ino. Although nobody had ever seen it, Ino's hair could curl in odd ways. She always straightened it so no one would see. Sakura's hair was kind of wavy, but she didn't feel like she should straighten it like Ino. After she combed through it with her fingers, she parted her hair in the middle and took two locks of hair to the side. That was so it wouldn't bother her for the rest of the day.

Sakura let the water run and cleaned her face. For makeup, she didn't do so much either. Just a bit of mascara and some liquid eyeliner above her eyes. In the beginning, it'd always turn out bad. But after a few years, she finally got the hang of it.

Looking at the clock above the door, she saw that it was around a quarter past seven. It was unusual for Sakura to take so long in the bathroom. But then again, she had decided to take her time. While dwelling on her thoughts, the door opened and Hinata walked in. ''Good morning, Hinata!'' Sakura said with a smile.

''Good morning, Sakura'' Hinata replied with a soft voice. ''Did you sleep well?'' she asked, standing beside Sakura. Just like her classmate did earlier, Hinata washed her face with some cold water. It was one of the only things she did in the morning, besides combing her hair. Sometimes she curled her lashes, but not more than that.

''I slept alright.'' Sakura responded. Ino was probably busy with her own morning routine. That usually involved straightening and combing her hair, washing her face. Normally, she did her makeup in the bathroom, just like Sakura. She was usually busy with her routine for an hour or so, most of the time less than that. ''Tenten is still asleep, I suppose?'' she asked Hinata.

Tenten was Hinata's roommate, though she was in another year. Typical for Tenten were the two buns on top of her head. Other than that, she didn't have any weird habits like Ino. She was also a bit more talkative than Hinata. Sakura supposed the two of them were a good combination as Tenten usually got Hinata to be more confident.

''I don't know. She said she'd get up within five minutes, though I doubt she did.'' she admitted.

''Oh.'' Sakura said in response, ''Well, I'll check up on Ino. Normally she would be here already.'' she continued. Taking one last look in the mirror, the pink-haired student took her leave. ''I'll see you at breakfast, Hinata.''

Sakura walked through the hall. There was a bit more life, now. Other students were waking up and getting ready. She opened the door to her room to see Ino sitting straight up in bed. Although that was the way she found her, Ino didn't really look awake. Her eyes were still closed. It was almost like she was sleeping, but sitting up. ''Ino?'' Sakura asked.

''What?'' she murmured sleepily.

''It's about a quarter past seven. Why aren't you getting ready?'' Sakura asked her. Once she had said that, Ino widened her eyes in shock. Usually, she woke up at half past six sharp.

Ino then furrowed her brows in confusion. ''A quarter past seven? Who are you kidding, it's not even–'' she stopped talking when she saw the alarm clock next to her bed. ''Oh, my God. I must have slept through my alarm. Oh, God.'' The blonde-haired girl quickly swept her legs over the edge of the bed and rushed to her closet in order to get her uniform.

''You have exactly…'' Sakura looked at the alarm clock and counted, ''68 minutes left to get clothed, do your makeup and hair before class. Don't forget about breakfast. If you're late, there's not much left. Especially with Chōji being there at eight sharp.'' she carried on. Sakura could easily get ready in that time. Ino, however, couldn't.

While Ino was hurrying, Sakura was collecting the books she needed that day at a steady pace. She didn't think she'd ever seen Ino rushing this much. ''I'll be right back.'' Ino yelled when she hurried out of the room.

''Any questions?'' Kakashi's voice resounded through the classroom. There were about twenty students present, of which at least ten were yawning. They couldn't help it; English was so boring. ''Well… I guess not.'' he continued. ''Homework's on the blackboard.''

Some of the students groaned. Kakashi was their English teacher and he wasn't too shabby about keeping the amount of homework to a minimum. Sakura, who sat in the back of the class, laid her head on the table and sighed. ''How long?'' she asked Ino, who sat beside her.

''Five minutes? I don't know, don't ask me.'' she answered and went back to examining her nails. Just at that moment, the bell rang as to indicate the ending of this lesson. Luckily, it was Sakura's last class. Everyone started to pack their bags and stood up to leave.

Instead of walking towards the door, the pick-haired girl walked over to Sasuke's table. Said boy was doing a good job of ignoring Naruto and turned towards Sakura. ''Let's go.'' he simply said. Sakura gave him a small smile.

A few years ago, Sakura had a small crush on Sasuke. (''Small? Who are you even kidding, girl?'' – Ino) Truth was, she used to have a major crush on him. But when time went by, it lessened. Now, it was just a healthy, friendly relationship.

Walking into the music store, they were greeted by the store's owner. Koyuki Kazahana was her name. ''Ah, you guys again? What do you need?'' she asked.

''Well, seeing as Naruto broke some strings on his guitar again…'' Sasuke started to explain what happened. By the time they walked out of the store, they had enough to last for a while. As it was only four o'clock, Sakura had suggested eating something while they were there anyway. Unsurprisingly, they had ended up in a simple bar. The noise of the TV sounded through the area.

''…A male body was discovered in an alley in the north of town. The murderer's identity is still unknown, as the police are still looking for evidence.''

Sakura choked on her drink. ''A murder? Here? Nothing ever happens in this area.'' she exclaimed. The girl looked at Sasuke, whose brows were furrowed. He didn't seem to understand it either. ''Sasuke, we should head back.''

''Yeah…'' he murmured. ''come on, Sakura.'' he continued, grabbing said girl's hand. Sakura blushed and grabbed her coat before they rushed out of there.

''Have you heard? Someone's been murdered.'' one of the many voices sounded. It was the subject of the day, of course. It would be for a while.

''Really? Oh, God. What happened?'' the responding voice asked. It was on the thoughts of many, what had happened? Nobody knew, as the police force refused to give any more information. The only thing that was known, was that the victim was male and dead, of course.

Sakura and her little group of friends sat at the table in the dining area. While the rest was talking about it, the pink-haired girl silently poked her food. ''What's wrong, Sakura? Are you that upset about what happened?'' Ino asked her.

''No.'' she answered curtly. ''I'm just thinking. Who do you think was murdered?'' she asked the group. A few sat quietly, thinking about her question.

''I think it was an important business man.'' Kiba said, ''You know. Some guy who was in business by day, junky by night.''

''Could be. Maybe he had an affair with some guy's wife and it was for revenge?'' Ino said in response. ''Did you guys hear about the new rules, though? I heard Tsunade's taking precautions. She has been hanging up the new rules all around the dorm.''

''Really?'' Tenten asked, ''What are they?''

''Don't know. Haven't looked at it yet.'' Ino said.

''Guys!'' Naruto came up to the table where his friends sat. ''Have you heard about the new rules? We can't go outside after four o'clock anymore!'' he said down next to Sasuke, opposite to Sakura.

''Go away, moron.'' Sasuke murmured and pushed Naruto off the bench.

''Basterd!''

Although the room was filled with darkness, both Sakura and Ino were wide awake. ''I can't sleep.'' one muttered irritated. It was around two o'clock in the morning already.

''Me neither…'' the other said. Earlier, Mrs Tsunade had made the announcements about the new rules. Now, they weren't allowed to go out after their last class. No exceptions. They were also only allowed on the supervised parts of the school grounds. ''What's going to happen, now?'' Sakura asked.

''Well, we're gonna sleep.'' Ino said.

''That's not what I meant.'' the other bit back. Nobody knew who the victim was, except for the police force, but they didn't tell the journalists. Tomorrow there would be a press conference. Everyone at school was wondering and talking about who it might have been and who killed him.

''I know that's not what you meant. But we're going to have to sleep eventually. School tomorrow hasn't been cancelled.''

''That sucks.''

Eventually, both of the girls fell asleep. After all, it was just a school day. Tomorrow they would probably know who it was.

The town they lived in wasn't big, but it was part of a community. A lot of people knew each other; some loved that, others despised it. To know so much about each other's lives; privacy. Or rather, lack thereof. If the murderer lived there, he wouldn't go unnoticed for a long time.

A/N: Well, that was another chapter! So, who is murdered, you're asking? You'll know next time. As always, please leave a review. If you have any questions, you can ask me anything! You can also follow me or my story to keep up-to-date.

I've also said this in my other story, but I'll also say it here. I've got a test period coming in the third week of January, so I probably won't update for a while on both stories.