Chapter 2: Unwanted Assistance

"Damn, look at the press. They are everywhere."

Sasuke blinked as another flash blinded him temporarily. Muttering a curse, he made his way through the crowd until he reached the yellow tape that marked the area as a crime scene. Without even looking at the police officer, Sasuke flashed him his badge and made his way inside the hotel.

"Hey. Wait up!"

Not even bothering to slow down, Sasuke reached the crime scene. Pulling out a pair of gloves, Sasuke brushed pass the yellow caution tape and walked over to Shikimaru.

"Well?"

Shikimaru glanced up from his report to see who was speaking to him. After making contact with ebony eyes, Shikimaru muttered a word that sounded like troublesome before reaching over to lift up the stark white sheet.

"Male, late twenties. Suffocated to death. Your murder weapon."

Sasuke tore his eyes away from the lifeless corpse to see Shikimaru dangling a pillow in his face.

"Time of death?"

"I would say around 12 am this morning, will confirm after we bring him to Shizune to examine him. There are signs of sexual activity."

Mentally Sasuke cursed as he listened to Shikimaru's report. Everything matched up with the case they had supposedly solved two weeks ago. Running a hand through his spiked up hair Sasuke eyed Shikimaru warily before asking his next question.

"Is it the same?"

Brown eyes meet ebony before a brief nod confirmed Sasuke's suspicion. Letting out a curse Sasuke turned away to find his partner staring at the dead corpse.

"Hey, I know that guy. He's Deidara, the director of that company who makes explosives. Man, he's filthy rich."

Sasuke arched an eyebrow and was suddenly craving another cigarette. This was going to be a high profile case if the press found out the identity of the victim. Hell, if they knew the connection between this one and the next, the reporters will be hounding the police department and Tsunade will definitely end up blaming Sasuke for it.

"Don't let anyone find out the identity of the victim. We might have a possible serial killer on our hands and I will be damned if I allow the press to interfere with our investigation."

The few people who were in room nodded in agreement before returning to their task at hand.

"Naruto, let's head over to the other crime scene. I don't want to risk going back to the department empty handed."

From Naruto's expression, Sasuke could tell that he agreed with him. Just as Sasuke was about to leave, he felt a hand grab him on the shoulder.

"This might help."

Sasuke turned around and his eyes immediately zeroed in on the origami cherry blossom. It was intricate to say the least and looked very fragile. Gently Sasuke picked it up and caught a faint scent of perfume from the frail flower. Eyes narrowed, Sasuke couldn't help but recognize that scent from somewhere.

"Shikimaru, bring this to the lab and have them analyze the flower. There is a trace of perfume on it. It might belong to the killer."

The man nodded in reply before reaching out to place the delicate flower in a plastic bag labeled as evidence.

"It's blue..."

Sasuke was halfway out the door when he heard Shikimaru mutter those two words.

"Yeah?"

Shikimaru looked up from the flower and focused his piercing gaze on Sasuke.

"The other one was yellow."

Sakura quietly hummed to herself as she started working on her little cherry blossom. Without even thinking, she immediately folded the little origami flower in a matter of minutes. A small smiled played on her lips as she stood back to admire her artwork. The delicate flower was a nice shade of green that reflected the pink haired woman's bright eyes. Muffling a chuckle she placed the flower over the man's heart before stepping back to examine her handy work. The orange flower complimented the man's bright red hair and tanned skin. Wistfully Sakura looked at the man and recalled their passionate lovemaking they had hours earlier. She would miss him, even though he was a cocky bastard...well a cocky bastard who knew exactly what he was doing. The sound of phone ringing broke Sakura out of her naughty thoughts as she strolled over to her purse. Not even bothering to search through it, Sakura lifted the black leather bag and tossed all of the contents out onto the floor. Four identical cell phones landed beside each other alongside a tube of lipstick and a pack of condoms. Sakura cursed as she realized it was her personal cell phone that was ringing. Grabbing the bag, she swiftly pulled out a cherry red cell phone that had a cherry blossom charm attached to it.

"Hello?"

"Sakura?"

A genuine smile found its way onto Sakura's face as she recognized the man's voice.

"Kakashi!"

A chuckle was her response.

"Yup. Come on we are needed at the police department. Do you want me to pick you up?"

"Nope, I'm actually close by. I'll meet you there."

"Alright. See you in a few minutes."

With that the phone was disconnected. Tossing the cell phone back into her purse, Sakura collected all of her personal items before walking back over to the dead body. Gently she brushed a kiss against the cold skin before walking away.

"4 more to go."

"I thought we were going to head back to the other crime scene?"

"No need. We are going back to the department to report to Tsunade."

Naruto eyed Sasuke before turning his attention back to the road. Traffic was heavy and it would at least take another 20 minutes to reach the police department.

"It's because of what Shikimaru said...right?"

After Shikimaru had pointed out the difference in colors, Sasuke had booked it out of the hotel room and quickly made his way to the car. Naruto barely had enough time to say thanks to Shikimaru before chasing after Sasuke. When he reached their car, Sasuke was already in the passenger seat with the car running.

"Well?"

"Hn...it's a thought I had. Maybe the flowers mean something."

Naruto arched a golden eyebrow in response, his expression contorting into one of deep thought.

"Well...that is the main link we have between the two murders so far. All we have is the flower, and the fact that all the victims engaged in intercourse before they died."

"Plus they were suffocated. Whoever this perp is...she knows what she is doing."

Naruto froze for a minute as processed what Sasuke was saying. Taking his eyes of the road Naruto glanced at Sasuke who was deep in thought.

"She?"

Sasuke broke out of his thoughts to glance at Naruto. A grimace formed on his face before he pointed to the stoplight which had turned green. A car started honking and Naruto simply ignored it. His attention was still focused on Sasuke.

"Congrats, we finally got a female serial killer."

"Sasuke!"

A shiver went down Sasuke's spin as he recognized Karin's voice. Deciding it was best to just ignore her, Sasuke briskly made his way over to his desk which was still cluttered with papers.

"S.a.s.u.k.e..."

He could feel Karin pressing her body behind him as he continued to search for the file that had all the details for the murder that had occurred 2 weeks ago. A look of irritation flashed across Sasuke's face as he quickly moved away from her over to Naruto's desk. With a quick scan, Sasuke found the case file under a pile of paperwork that Naruto was supposed to have taken care of. Shaking his head Sasuke skimmed the details of the case. Male, mid twenties, death by suffocation. A yellow cherry blossom was found next to the nightstand.

"SASUKE!"

By then Karin was annoyed that Sasuke was ignoring her. She reached out and snatched the case file from Sasuke's hand and proceeded to wrap her hands around his neck.

"What the fuck?"

Karin froze as she heard the anger in Sasuke's voice. Usually she would back down when Sasuke got this upset but she was fed up with his attitude towards her. With a huff she crossed her arms under her breasts, purposely pushing them together so Sasuke could get a view of her cleavage.

"I was calling your name."

Sasuke's attention was solely on Karin's face. He knew that she was trying to tempt him with her body, but frankly he was disgusted. The damn woman didn't accept no for an answer.

"Get the fuck off the desk. I have work to do and don't you ever do that again."

Sasuke's growl shocked Karin as she slowly slid off the desk and started to make her way back to her office. Her shoulders slumped in a sign of defeat, but Sasuke knew that was for show. She would probably try something later. Sasuke let out a sigh as he began to massage his temples. Whenever Karin was around, he would always end up with a headache.

"Here."

Sasuke looked up to see Naruto handing him a bottle of water and some pills. Not even bothering to drink the water, Sasuke just swallowed the pills and waited for the medicine to kick in and combat his pounding headache.

Naruto watched and he couldn't help but snicker at Sasuke. He knew that Sasuke was good looking and had half of the females in the police department chasing after him. There was a time where Naruto was actually jealous of Sasuke...until Karin came along. The moment she had laid her eyes on Sasuke she swore that she would have him in her bed. That was 2 years ago and she still hasn't given up.

"Well...why do you think the old hag hasn't called us into her office to yell at us?"

"I don't know."

"Heh, she's probably still recovering from her hangover. Damn, even though she is old she can still put away a lot of alcohol."

"Oh-ho-ho...thank you for the compliment Naruto. After all this old hag can still take away your badge and have you spend the rest of your career doing paperwork."

Naruto jumped as he heard Tsunade's voice. He turned around and found a pair of amber eyes glaring at him. With a sheepish smile Naruto attempted to apologize.

"Uh I meant bold, beautiful, youthful and amazing boss..."

Now it was Sasuke's turn to snicker at Naruto. Unfortunately for him, Tsunade turned her glare at him.

"You think it's funny Sasuke? Well you want to know something that is really fucking hilarious? WHY THE HELL DID THE DAMN NEWSPAPER KNOW ABOUT OUR NEWEST CASE BEFORE WE EVEN GOT THERE?!"

Sasuke grimaced as Tsunade yelled at him. He was expecting it, but damn, her yelling only made his headache worse.

"I don't know Tsunade, but we were able to find out some things."

"What?"

Sasuke sighed before responding.

"This murder is connected to the one we had 2 weeks ago. It is safe to say the two crimes were committed by the same person and the killer is most likely female."

"Hmm...what else?"

"The second victim is Deidara, the director of that explosives company."

Tsunade groaned. She hated high profile cases more than anything.

"So we have a serial killer..."

"Yup."

"Great. That explains everything."

Both Naruto and Sasuke looked at Tsunade, trying to make sense of her words.

"The higher ups have assigned two forensic psychologists to assist us in the case."

"Why?"

Tsunade eyed Naruto warily before replying.

"It has been ten years since we had a serial killer. The higher ups don't want a repeat of what happened last time."

Silence filled the room as Naruto and Sasuke remembered the event that Tsunade was talking about. The two of them had been fresh out of the police academy and it was the first case that had shocked Konoha. Apparently there was an underground organization that was trafficking young girls and when the police had found out, the organization decided to kill all of the girls that were part of the ring. There was a total of 20 girls all brutally killed. They were never able to catch the perps. Naruto and Sasuke glanced at each other, both of their expressions mirrored one another as they recalled that day when they had found all of the bodies. That image still haunts them to this day.

Tsunade could feel the tension in the air and decided it was best to change the subject. She didn't have found memories about that day either.

"Well, the two of them should be here shortly, so behave."

Tsunade looked at Naruto when she said that word. His only response was a mischievous grin.

"Sure sure. I mean they are probably going to be some old farts that have a stick up their ass."

"Sorry, I prefer an actual guy instead of a stick and I didn't know I was old."

Naruto froze as he along with Sasuke and Tsunade turned their attention towards the person who spoke. Tsunade was silently laughing as she processed what the woman had said while Naruto's and Sasuke's eyes widened in surprise.

"Well Kakashi? I believe you are older than me. Plus you have the gray hair to prove it."

"Hn."

A tall silver haired man walked up beside the woman. His single black eye took in the sight of the two guys gaping at the woman beside him. Rolling his eye in response he turned his attention back to his worn out book.

"Sorry to say he isn't much of a conversationalist. My name is Dr. Sakura Haruno. He is Dr. Kakashi Hatake and we are here to assist you with the case."

Naruto and Sasuke took in the sight of the petite female that had her hand stretched towards them. She had long cherry blossom pink hair tied up in a loose bun with tendrils framing her heart shaped face. Her bright grass green eyes were framed by a pair of red glasses that were currently sliding down the tip of her nose. She quickly withdrew her hand to push the glasses back into face, showing off her perfectly manicured hand that was sporting a bright red color.

Sakura watched in amusement as the two guys continued to ogle her. Slowly she smiled her seductress smile, causing the guys' eyes to widened even further. She knew she was beautiful, and she took advantage of it. It was her best weapon when dealing with guys. Speaking of which, it was her turn to check them out. She briefly glanced at blonde hair man who had bright blue eyes that reminded her of the sky. He had a decent build and would've been her type if it weren't for those lines on his cheeks that reminded her of cats. Mentally she crossed him off of her list as she turned her attention to the other man. She immediately recognized him as the guy she had helped light a cigarette for. She was glad to see he was as gorgeous as she had remembered. His midnight black hair was slightly gelled so it spiked up in the back. He was pale but that only enhanced his black blue eyes. Coupled with his body that was nicely tone, Sakura had found her ideal type. After she takes care of her business, she will be definitely going after this guy.

"I see everyone is incapable of speaking. It's not surprising that the higher ups have brought us in to help out with this case."

Sasuke broke out of his stupor when he heard her say that. He recognized her as that woman that had offered to light his cigarette. He had thought she was gorgeous then but now...dressed in a short black pencil skirt with a silk red tank top, she was stunning.

"Sorry. I'm detective Uchiha Sasuke and this is my partner detective Uzumaki Naruto."

"Nice to meet you both. You must be Captain Tsunade correct? I've heard many things about you."

Tsunade arched a brow at the woman.

"Oh? Such as?"

Sakura smiled as she reached into her bag and pulled out a bottle of sake. Tsunade immediately zeroed on the bottle and pulled the woman over for a hug.

"I think we will get along just fine. Why don't you and your partner go over the case details with those two, while I take care of this."

Naruto and Sasuke watched as the woman walked back to her office. Both of them knew she wouldn't be coming out anytime soon.

"What are the details?"

Sasuke turned his attention back to the woman and silently handed over the reports. Their hands briefly touched and Sasuke felt a shock of pleasure at the contact.

"Hmm..."

Sasuke immediately looked up to see if Sakura had noticed but she was too busy reading the file. He was relieved but also couldn't help but feel a little irritated. Didn't she feel it too?

"You killer is female, and the different colors are probably a warning of some sort."

"What do you mean?"

"Yellow is usually related to intellect while blue represents calm. Maybe it's a warning that something is coming. Sort of like the clam before a storm. Plus the yellow itself means that this is all planned out and calculated."

"How do you know?"

Because I'm the killer was Sakura's first thought but she smiled instead. It wouldn't do for them to catch her this early in the game. Besides, she wanted to stick around and see if she could drive these two on a wild goose chase.

"I'm a forensic psychologist, we are trained to look at these things."

"Oh."

"Kakashi, why don't you and Naruto go figure out what other evidence they have so we can work on a profile for the killer?"

Kakashi nodded in response and waited for Naruto to show him where they could go to examine the evidence. Sakura watched the two head towards a meeting room and turned her attention back to Sasuke.

"Well, we meet again."

"Hn."

Sakura arched a pink eyebrow as she heard Sasuke's reply.

"Hn indeed. What else can you tell me about..."

"Sasuke! Here are the reports you requested."

Sakura turned her attention to a red haired women who was plastering herself on Sasuke and openly glaring at her. A girlfriend?

"Reports?"

"Yeah..."

Karin had seen the woman walk into the department and immediately all the guys' were staring at her. Even Sasuke couldn't take his eyes off of her and that annoyed Karin. After all she had a better body than the woman.

"Hmm...I think you should actually bring the reports with you."

Sakura chuckled as she pointed at the woman who was claiming she had a report when she wasn't even carrying any paper with her. It was fascinating to see her face turn the same shade as her hair.

"Oh..yeah..."

"Well I don't want to interrupt you and your girlfriend. I'll head over to..."

Sakura paused as she felt a hand wrap around her arm. Curious she looked up to find Sasuke's intense gaze looking at her.

"She's not my girlfriend. I'll take you there."

With that, Sasuke proceeded to guide Sakura to the meeting room, trying to ignore the sensations she was bringing forth in him. Her scent was surrounding him and it was oddly familiar.

"You can let go of my arm now."

"Oh.."

Sasuke quickly released her arm and made his way over to the meeting room. He stepped aside and waited for Sakura to enter but was surprised when she grabbed him by the shirt and pressed her lips against his. It was a gentle kiss at first, but slowly the passion was building. Sakura gently used her tongue to tease Sasuke's lower lip, causing him to groan in surprise. Taking full advantage of the groan, Sakura deepened the kiss, reveling in the taste of him. She could feel his arms slowly wrapping around her waist and gently pulled away from him. She looked up into his half-lidded eyes and she could she a flare of lust in them as they focused on her lips. Chuckling to herself she pulled away from Sasuke and proceeded to enter the meeting room. She could feel his gaze on her the entire time. Another smile flashed across Sakura's lips.

This is going to be fun.