Apologies for the long wait! Life got very busy with a couple of moves and a birthday, but I'm back and ready to start updating more frequently. Please review and let me know what you think and as always, thank you for the support!
Chapter 3
"I had no idea Kurenai-sensei started teaching here," Kisame murmured, staring up at the white building with his hands on his hips. Sakura hummed around her cigarette, typing out a text to a friend in Tokyo with her other hand and scanning her emails. She could feel Itachi's disapproving eyes on her and she flicked her gaze to him, raising one eyebrow. She took the cigarette from her mouth and held it between her fingers, jutting a hip out as she met his dark eyes.
"Glaring at me won't make me quit," she informed him. She took another drag and watched his nose wrinkle the slightest bit.
The Uchiha men were so predictable in some ways. It had come as no surprise that the dark-haired detective hated cigarettes. In fact, he absolutely abhorred them. Sakura had been about ready to defend her pack against him before Kisame told him to lighten up and get in the car.
"Not in my car," he had said and she had sighed but stubbed out the basically brand new cigarette compliantly enough.
Now, he turned his head away without saying anything. It was almost a pout. Sakura smirked at the thought.
"Kurenai-sensei was offered the job at the college I think a couple years after I graduated. It's pretty recent," she informed Kisame. She breathed out the last of her cigarette before stubbing it out. She made her way up the stone steps toward the wide double doors. "She helped me out with a couple of my articles and investigations. She wrote her dissertation on psychopaths versus sociopaths, and she has a pretty keen interest in serial cases. Like the old one."
She opened the glass doors to the building, turning left and scanning the plaques outside the doors until she found the right one. Kisame and Itachi trailed behind her quietly.
Sakura rapped on the door quickly and waited for a response before pushing in, flashing the black-haired woman behind the desk a bright smile.
"Sensei," she greeted warmly.
Kurenai stood, coming around her desk to wrap Sakura in a hug.
"Asuma told me you were back in town but I didn't have a chance to reach out before it happened," Kurenia exclaimed. Her voice was the same, still smooth as honey and deep. Kurenai had a mellow voice that had managed to soothe and interest Sakura all at once in high school. Her classes had been relaxing, but fun. Always fascinating.
"I'm guessing you remember Itachi and his partner, Kisame-san," Sakura stepped back to introduce the two men, who waved hesitantly at their old teacher. Kurenai raised an eyebrow, folding her arms over her chest.
"I know this one gave me too much trouble," she accused, pointing a finger at a bashful Kisame. Sakura snickered.
"And I know this one always had heartbroken girls trailing after him. They were a nuisance to keep out of my classroom," Kurenia continued, moving her finger to Itachi, who had gone a curious shade of red.
Sakura laughed.
"But I was an angel, right?" she quipped as she took a seat. The men remained standing, their postures just a tad too stiff.
"Absolutely. My best student," Kurenai praised. She sat back down. Sakura ran an eye over the papers scattered across her old teacher's desk. She recognized the reports about the newest murder that she had emailed the day before. They were covered in sticky notes and writing made in a red pen.
"I'm sorry to bother you with this," Sakura began but Kurenai interrupted her with an impatient wave of her hand.
"Nonsense, I would have bugged Uchiha-san into letting me see the reports either way," Kurenai said. She plucked one of the papers from the pile, the autopsy report.
"It's interesting that none of these victims are sexually assaulted, in the old case and new one," Kurenai began, frowning a little.
"There's been speculation that the act of strangulation takes the place of a sexual act," Sakura answered immediately, leaning forward. "I agree with that, of course, and I think it's a compelling point when considering whether or not there's a copycat."
Kurenai nodded, shuffling the other papers and pointing to one of her sticky notes.
"The victims have all been around the same age and same physical type. The only exception to this is the young boy who was killed fifteen years ago."
Kisame cleared his throat and Sakura blinked. She had almost completely forgotten the two detectives were even in the room.
"If I may, Sensei, I have a theory to that," he began, a little nervously, like he was a boy in her schoolroom again.
Itachi looked surprised, an eyebrow raised as he waited for his partner to continue his thought.
"I think the male victim was an experiment," Kisame said. "He was the second victim and after him, only girls have been killed. I feel like the killer was young and inexperienced and was experimenting with…well, his preferences."
Sakura grinned.
"Looks like you've got some brains after all," she teased and Kisame rolled his eyes, smirking.
"Itachi is gonna have to play catch up," Kisame snickered proudly.
Sakura tried hard not to burst out laughing at the sour look on Itachi's face at that. Kurenai was scribbling something down on yet another sticky note when Sakura turned back to face her.
"I think you should talk to my colleague," Kurenai informed them. "In my opinion, it's the same killer. Everything is just too similar but, unfortunately, this is one of those cases that will take another murder to really solidify my opinion on that. My colleague may be able to give you better insight."
Sakura sighed.
"That's what I think too," she admitted quietly. She took the note from her old teacher's outstretched hand, glancing over the room number on it.
"That's his office. He should be free right now, if you want to stop by on your way out."
Sakura thanked her, standing and slinging her purse back over her shoulder. She folded the stack of papers Kurenai handed her neatly, the pages littered with her notes, and placed them in her bag. After promising a coffee date soon to catch up, they left, following Kurenai's directions to her colleague's office.
After a sharp rap and a quiet response, Sakura poked her head in, smiling broadly at the young man sitting behind the wide wood desk. She strode forward, holding her hand out in greeting.
"Doctor Yakushi? I'm –"
"Haruno-san, I'm very pleased to meet you."
He stood, gripping her hand in a firm handshake, dark eyes gleaming in a way that nearly unsettled her. Sakura's smile wavered and she blinked warily.
"Kurenai-san informed me you would probably be paying me a visit today," he explained, gesturing toward the three chairs in front of his desk before taking a seat again. Sakura settled into the middle, the men taking seats on either side of her.
"Ah, I see. Kurenai-sensei should've been a politician in another life," Sakura said lightly, crossing one leg over the other.
Doctor Yakushi laughed. His gray hair was pulled back into a low ponytail and his wide, circular glasses gave him the appearance of a rather clever owl.
"And please, call me Kabuto. Doctor Yakushi makes me sound so boorish."
Sakura stretched her mouth into a thin smile.
"Of course, Kabuto-san."
After the introductions and some pleasantries were exchanged, Kabuto cleared his throat and placed his palms facing down on his desk. He gave Sakura an easy smile that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand.
"You probably want to know what qualifies me for Kurenai's recommendation."
It wasn't a question. Sakura inclined her head. She leaned back, settling in for an explanation while Kabuto gathered his thoughts. To her right, Itachi readjusted, tightly interlaced fingers completely still except for the occasional twitch of his thumb. A nervous tic she recognized from Sasuke.
Taking off his glasses, he polished them briefly with a tissue on his desk.
"I got my degree in psychology, as you've probably guessed already. But my dissertation, and specialty, was and is serial killers. More specifically, it's spree killers who have long dormant periods before they suddenly resume their killing in a flurry of activity. You're wondering if the new killer is a copy-cat, yes? I had a pretty clear instinct when I first heard the news, while I was getting my morning coffee. I can tell you, just from the few offhand facts I've gleaned since then from the news, it's not."
Sakura eyed Kabuto as he continued, describing his reasons for his belief and explaining why serial and spree killers often go dormant, something that contradicted common belief. Itachi and Kisame leaned forward, absorbing his words carefully.
Her gaze flickered over his clothes to his smooth, impassive face. His eyes were gleaming again as he talked, hands moving through the air with slow, smooth motions. If she had to put him at an age, she would guess late thirties, maybe. Something about his unblemished face and clearly fit body belied any guesses toward his actual age.
"How long since you earned your degree?" Sakura asked abruptly, nearly interrupting Kabuto's answer to some question Kisame had posed.
"Fourteen years, why?"
If Kabuto was confused by the question, he didn't show it. Sakura blinked rapidly.
"I'm sorry but that would make you at least…"
"Forty-five," Kisame finished, eyes wide.
Kabuto nearly smirked.
"Yes, that is the most common reaction I receive when people learn I'm not the age they imagined. I have my mother's genes and perpetual status as a bachelor to blame for my young looks, I'm afraid."
Sakura forced a nervous laugh.
"Where did you grow up, if you don't mind me asking?"
"Konoha, actually," Kabuto replied, leaning his chin on the tops of his hands. His dark eyes took on a faraway look.
"I attended this college for my bachelor's. I was pursuing my PhD when the original murders occurred."
"Where did you complete your education, if I may ask?" Itachi spoke up for the first time since his introduction. Sakura tried not to show the way her spine stiffened. So Itachi was on the same page as her. She wasn't sure about Kisame, but he was also a better actor than either of them…
"Tokyo University," Kabuto answered easily.
There was a brief beat of silence before Sakura allowed a languid smile to stretch across her face.
"Thank you for everything, Kabuto-san. I hope you'll allow me to email you if I have any further questions concerning the case. The local police department is a little out of its depth, as I'm sure you can imagine."
As she spoke, she stood, the men quickly following suit. She dug her heel into Itachi's foot as he opened his mouth to protest her comments about his father's police department.
Kisame, wisely, kept his peace.
The gleam was back in Kabuto's eyes as he stood as well, extending his hand to say goodbye.
"On the contrary, I would be delighted if you would contact me with any questions or information regarding the case. I'm sure you can understand the fascination."
Her only response was a tight smile.
The car ride home was silent but for the scribbling of Sakura's pen and the occasional snore from Kisame. She hurriedly wrote down and calculated the numbers Kabuto had given them concerning his career.
If he's forty-five and grew up in Konoha…but the years don't match up.
She frowned, nibbling on the cap of her pen. A simple solution rose in her mind, a situation she didn't want to consider, but should.
Unless he's lying.
When her eyes met Itachi's in the rearview window, she could tell immediately he was thinking the same as her.
"Ino, why are you forcing me to dress up to see people I've known since we were all peeing our pants as five-year olds?"
Ino sniffed distastefully at a red leather skirt, tossing it into her "reject" pile. She was sitting cross legged on Sakura's bed, digging through a pile of clothes she had taken from both her own closet and Sakura's.
"Sakura, it won't hurt to put in some effort. You haven't seen them in years, namely the ever-charming Kiba."
Sakura scowled, crossing her arms across her chest.
"What does Kiba have to do with this?"
Ino didn't even deign to respond to that with more than a pointed look and an eyeroll.
"You know, he didn't shut up about you for the five years you were gone. You could've given him a call. Or tried to see him on one of your visits."
Sakura toyed with the lace on one of her dresses idly. Ino may be right. Kiba had always been a decent guy, if a bit crass and loud. Like Naruto. But they hadn't used each other, that last summer together. She still remembered their last day together, laying side by side in his narrow bed, sweat tickling her neck.
"So."
She tried not to giggle.
"So?"
"What're we going to do, when you leave?" he blurted out. His cheeks reddened, and he averted his gaze. The smile faded from her face and she flopped back onto his pillows. Only a thin sheet covered her modesty but that didn't matter. Kiba had seen her naked too many times to care anymore.
"Kiba," she sighed. Her forearm rested across her eyes, a pitiful attempt to avoid looking him in the eyes.
"I'm…I'm not saying I want to date you," he sputtered out. She felt hope rise in her chest. "But we'll still be friends, right? You won't disappear and let things get weird between us?"
Sakura grinned, letting her arm flop to her side as she rolled over and shot the dark-haired boy a teasing smile.
"You're gonna miss me," she sang and he laughed, shoving her back.
"We're all gonna miss you, dumbass," he snorted.
Sakura hummed.
"Kiba, you're always gonna be one of my best friends," she said finally. "Of course I won't disappear or be weird."
There was a moment of silence. Only the buzzing of the fan could be heard.
"You don't regret this, do you?" His voice was so soft, so careful. Like she might bite him. Or run. Or both.
Sakura felt her eyes widen and she sat up, turning to face him.
"How could you ever think that? It's been amazing, stupid. You're just as dense as Naruto sometimes."
Kiba winced and she laughed at the expression. She pressed her palm to his cheek gently, her smile softening.
"I could never regret this," she assured him.
His usual wolfish grin was back and she smacked his arm when he replied with, "I mean how could you, I'm amazing in bed."
Sakura jolted back to the present as Ino threw a dress at her face. It was a deep crimson, tight of course, and Sakura rubbed a finger over the soft material.
"Kiba didn't need a phone call," she said suddenly. Ino raised one perfectly plucked eyebrow, waiting.
Sakura felt another soft smile on her lips.
"He didn't need a phone call," she repeated. "My promise was enough."
Sakura was one beer and two shots in when the boys arrived. Tenten had challenged her to a contest Sakura couldn't refuse: winner got free drinks.
"Sakura!"
Kiba's voice flowed over the din of the bar and Sakura was already standing, trying not to wobble in the mile-high heels Ino had practically forced her into.
"Kiba," she laughed as he enveloped her in a hug. He smelled the same, like pine and dirt, and his heater-like warmth seeped through his clothes and warmed her bare skin.
"Missed you, kid," he murmured into her ear before releasing her. "Let's see the bigshot Tokyo journalist."
Giggling, she did a twirl, blushing. The alcohol settled in her stomach pleasantly and made the room feel pleasantly hot and crowded, somehow. Kiba's grin was just as intoxicating as it had been when she was eighteen and she leaned into him gratefully, glad nothing had changed. Kiba had always been just that, Kiba: steady, predictable, easy.
"Are we chopped liver?" Shikamaru snarked and she reached an arm out to him.
"A ray of sunshine as always, Shika," Sakura remarked cheekily, pinching his chin between her fingers and laughing at the sour look on his face. Chouji snorted, a thick arm already wrapped around Ino's waist.
Sakura eyed Ino and Shikamaru with concern, noticing the tension in Ino's shoulders and the way Shikamaru pointedly avoided looking at her. Their friendship had never quite recovered from his harsh rejection of her and Ino had been crushed until Chouji's admittedly unexpected confession.
Neji's voice tore her from her thoughts and she smiled up at him, wiggling her fingers as a greeting.
"It's good to see you, Haruno."
Sakura clucked her tongue at his pointed refusal to use her name. It was an old joke between the two of them that he seemed to delight in, for whatever reason.
"How's heir training going?" she asked.
"Slowly. Hinata has been so busy with the wedding, it's hard for her to find time," Neji admitted. Sakura hummed in agreement, leaning back automatically as Naruto threw his arm around her shoulders.
"Shot?" he asked, blue eyes twinkling. Behind him, Tenten pumped a fist in the air encouragingly. Neji looked vaguely terrified.
Sakura's answering grin was wicked.
"Shots," she corrected him. Sasuke was already buying water bottles from the bartender.
The night was a blur. She remembered dancing. Kiba was there, his palms sweaty. Sasuke somehow consented to swaying awkwardly with her during a slow song. She remembered shouting the lyrics to at least five other songs.
Ino and Chouji disappeared not long after her fifth shot of tequila.
Neji looked ready to call the cops when Tenten started crying about Rock Lee for the fifth time. He kept trying to convince them all to drink water while Sasuke looked mildly exasperated.
Sasuke held her hair back when she threw up. She could hear Naruto singing outside.
When she got home, she stumbled to her room and passed out before she even hit the bed.
Sakura was the kind of hungover she was pretty sure killed people. The throbbing in her head felt like canons going off right next to her ear every two seconds. Not that she knew what canons sounded like. She wore last night's eyeliner in a smudge around her eyes, a detail hidden by the white sunglasses she refused to move off her nose. If Orochimaru noticed, he wisely kept quiet. She sipped at a water bottle and winced at the sound of a page rustling.
"There's a new librarian," she observed in a hoarse voice.
Orochimaru nodded.
"An apt observation," he remarked coolly. She scowled. Her old teacher somehow managed to always sound somewhat condescending.
After a moment of silence, Orochimaru closed his book and lifted his glasses from his eyes, rubbing the bridge of his nose tiredly. Sakura noted the dark circles under his eyes, wondering what was troubling his sleep.
"His name is Danzo. Rather cantankerous but his book return rate is incredible."
Sakura snickered at the dry joke.
"Wasn't he the grocer?" she asked, remembering the name from her childhood. Orochimaru nodded. His long hair was tied up and he tapped something out on his computer.
"Yes, he wanted something a little less labor intensive, and seeing as our old librarian deemed it necessary to move to Okinawa, here we are."
"You don't like him." It wasn't a question.
Orochimaru snorted in a rather uncharacteristic manner.
"Understatement," he muttered and Sakura grinned, leaning forward, physically perking up at the thought of receiving an actual opinion of someone from the famously impassive Orochimaru.
"Why?"
The old, guarded look was back in his eyes and she was already pouting before he answered.
"History," he replied vaguely. He gave her a pointed look over his glasses, eyes narrowed. "Don't you have more important things to be doing than annoying your old teacher?"
"Nope," she declared triumphantly, even as she stood. She always knew when she had outstayed her welcome with Orochimaru. "Catch you later, sensei!"
She nearly ran headlong into someone as she began to walk down the hallway, stammering apologies before she got a glimpse of who it was.
"Ah, the infamous Sakura-san," Danzo croaked. He was a hunched, wrinkled man currently sporting an unpleasant smirk. "Not a rare sight in these halls, I've heard."
Sakura smiled uneasily, bowing her head quickly.
"Sorry for running into you, Sensei," she apologized.
"No matter," he answered, waving his clawed hand dismissively. "The case you're working on is rather interesting, no?"
Sakura blinked at the abrupt subject change, shifting her body uncomfortably.
"It's, ah, tiring," she replied unsurely.
"Of course, who can blame someone for choosing such young beautiful girls," he continued and Sakura bristled, mouth settling into a straight harsh line.
"Everyone," she said flatly. "If you'll excuse me."
She strode away without waiting to hear his response, head high as her heels tapped against the empty hallways.
