Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or its characters.

'Naruto's thought process'

When I screamed for you

When I cried for you

When I laughed for you

When I died for you

In the mist of all of your chaos

All of my Chaos

Which did you love more

Naruto was surrounded by papers, by files. Feelings long forgotten, emotions no longer known to one's self. To say it simply, Naruto was frustrated, no he was beyond frustrated. This killer was so very different, he was complicated, he was orderly, but also chaotic. It was almost like he was the wind blowing around everyone. It didn't help that they had found another body, male this time. And like Haruno and her husband the person's identification card was taken. Naruto sighed to himself as he ran his hands through his hair, silently scanning photos of the bodies once more. Two bodies last month, and if his calculations were correct there would be another one. The current murder hadn't been so personal, yes this person was another Haruno Sakura. Yes the young male was used as a canvas himself. And Naruto was starting to find that trying to understand this killer was becoming a little overwhelming.

Still at this moment the killer was disconnected from them. He left nothing personal, well what he left behind was a mark that he deemed satisfactory. His work. But still there was no note, no video, no ident cation that the killer wanted to know Naruto as a sense of connection to the outside world. This struck the blond as odd, well odd in a sense that the killer has asked for nothing. Not even within his work as he could see. No, each victim served as a canvas for emotion, the strokes even, the colors vibrant. Yet the killer viewed himself as a man of order, and the people he killed disrupted that order. Unfortunately, this was the enigma that Naruto could not figure out. If the killer needed order, then why choose to paint something that doesn't have order at all. Death in itself is chaotic. It is strange and therefore can be beautiful and scary. This is not something the killer would like; he was used to structure that's why the marks were even. Why he killed people he knew…

Naruto jumped slightly at hearing his buzzer, getting up slowly and stretched, the buzzer once more ringing throughout the house. With little speed he went to his door.

" Who is it?

" Me Dobe."

" Alright, give me a moment." Stretching again he walked out his front door, making sure to leave it unlocked. Sasuke stood at the gate smirking, Neji at his side standing quietly. Naruto looked at the taller man silently before walking fully to the gate and opening it. Turning his gaze towards Sasuke he smiled before leaning forward and giving him a peck on the cheek.

Sasuke blushed, "stop doing that….I'm working." Naruto laughed and looked at Neji, holding his hand out to shake the man's.

The two men followed him back into his house and into the living room. Sasuke and Neji found empty spaces on the sofa as Naruto sat in the mist of chaos. Sasuke looked around and sighed at all the papers.

" Dobe have you even slept."

" Yeah I have teme…"

" You've kept up with all your work?"

Naruto nodded, " all papers have been graded. Plus the classes have ended for the rest of the summer, but anyway I want to tell you something."

Sasuke brow rose, " what is it."

Naruto leaned against the chair, " my mom called me yesterday. Do you remember that doctor Tsunade?"

" Yeah, the one that's worked there since we were kids. What about her?"

" Well mom said that she remembered a strange person lurking around during that time."

Sasuke sighed, " well that person could just be weird."

" That's what I said too, but Mom said that Tsunade thought the man was odd. He would stand there for hours just looking at the paintings."

" Okay so did she see him."

It was then that Naruto looked even more defeated, " no. But she did confirm it was a male, a tall build. She said around my height, he was wearing a hoodie so she never saw his face."

Sasuke grunted, " so we are nowhere then. Why didn't she report it?"

" They get a lot of "wierdos", so she probably thought he was homeless or on drugs or something." Sasuke just nodded.

" Well we did find out that there were some files saved from the fire Rock Lee told Neji about." Naruto just nodded. " You find anything in this mess?"

Naruto just shook his head, " I don't really understand myself. The murderer… his way of thinking is a little more complex than my brothers, or any other murderer for that matter. Look here.." Naruto grabbed the current victims' picture, showing the binding marks.

" Look at these, do they look too perfect to you…I don't think this is for restraint."

" You think he's doing these marks on purpose Uzumaki-san?" Naruto looked at Neji and nodded.

" I think these are too perfect. Why isn't there other signs of a struggle?"

Neji nodded, " well that's because he restrained them all the same way. Not to mention he drugged them all."

" Yeah he drugged them to kill them." Sasuke mimicked.

Naruto nodded, " right he drugged them to kill them. What if he restrained them as a part of the art, he left a piece of himself with them... I've been looking at these all day. Even when I saw the bodies initially the binding marks have bothered me…not to mention an artist leaves him/herself with their work so.."

" I get it now Uzumaki-san…even if he is as orderly as he thinks he is every artists makes their mark."

Sasuke sighed, " so lets say that he did it on purpose, what would this mark mean exactly…would it be so significant?"

Naruto looked at Sasuke, " it means I don't think he's just picking people…I think they knew our killer. He bound them to him, their deaths in his art. No matter the means… by bounding them it was like a signature. "

"That would explain why their identification cards were missing." Sasuke finished.

" So we need to find out the connection between all three."

Neji nodded, "that is to say that the victim hasn't already been taken to make number four."

Naruto grimaced and nodded, " Exactly. This killer is a very critical thinker, everything he does has a purpose, I understand that now."

Sasuke nodded, "well let's just think for a moment. What about Lee, at first you thought he was evolving, are you saying he was already this way?"

" That's kind of hard to explain now, lets say that he never evolved at all. Or better yet he's done this before, what if we were to say that Haruno woman wasn't his first kill."

Sasuke didn't look pleased, " that means we have a body out there that hasn't been found."

Neji nodded, " that's if he wants it found."

Naruto agreed, " exactly. He's left these bodies in plain sight, he's showed us what he perceives to be chaotic and beautiful."

Sasuke sighed as he leaned against the sofa, " okay. So if there is another body, what would be its relevance?"

" A breaking point."

Neji rose a brow, " a breaking point?"

Naruto nodded, " yeah. Sometimes there are things that trigger a killer to murder. It can be an experience, their childhood, adulthood, stress…sometimes it can be the person that held them down."

Neji nodded in understanding, " so the first body. If there is one, would be someone the killer found to be above all others."

"Exactly Hyuuga-san. This person wasn't a part of the order that the killer was used to. He/She might of kept him grounded in a way that he thought relieved him of his thoughts. This also doesn't mean that he was the one that killed them. Their death could've just triggered his motives. "

Sasuke was nodding to himself as he gazed at Naruto," So what you are saying is that whoever the first victim was created a borderline for the killer?"

Neji nodded in understanding," that would make sense. If we are thinking about how he kills, and what he reflects…"

Sasuke grunted and crossed his arms as he leaned back against the sofa, " well this isn't going to sit well with the higher ups. Even if there is a first victim, that is assuming that there is one, we don't have any proof."

Naruto let his right hand run over his face in frustration, looking up towards the ceiling he then sighed. This went on for about ten minutes before he looked at Sasuke and Neji.

" Well what if we found the first victim."

Neji looked confused, " Uzumaki-san how do think we should do that?"

" Exactly Dobe, we don't even know for sure if there is one."

Naruto nodded in understanding, " yeah. I'm pretty sure there is one, it's just first we have to find out what all three victims had in common."

Sasuke nodded, " So far none of them had any extended family…and we still have to look more into that orphanage. I have a feeling now that Rock Lee wasn't telling us everything. "

Neji nodded in agreement before speaking, " they all then were killed in personal way. As Uzumaki-san has stated this killer seemed to be enthralled by them. So these current victims were familiar to him."

Naruto chuckled dryly," we are looking for someone who has experienced something dramatic in his life. And in return he changed the one thing that was irregular in his life…he changed it so much that he had to repeat it."

Sasuke nodded, shifting on the sofa before he looked at the photos laying on the floor. " All of these murders were too personal. We have established that he knew all the victims, we know that for him Rock Lee was important."

" Not just important, he cared for Rock Lee….there was a deeper connection he felt they shared. Sakura disrupted that fantasy when she married him." Neji just shook his head in slight frustration. " But he sees himself as an artist, but he also believes he should give order, that he's perfected his own technique."

Sasuke nodded," he's evolved into something new."

Neji nodded to the statement, " which is also dangerous. Because now he is his own kind of monster."

Naruto smirked, " exactly. So there is most definitely a first victim."

A silence broke out after this statement that is until Neji's phone rang. He looked at the caller id for a moment, before excusing himself from the room to step outside. Naruto and Sasuke just nodded as a response before watching the older man walk out the house to continue his phone call.

Sasuke looked at Naruto as he leaned back against the sofa and pulled out a cigarette. The raven haired male frowned.

"You started smoking again."

Naruto chuckled, " yeah….I'm not proud though." Sasuke clucked his tongue.

" Why do you really think the killer is inspired by your paintings?"

Naruto looked at him and shrugged, ignoring the question all together. This made Sasuke frown more, anytime Naruto pushed off the question was often because he had figured something out and didn't want to tell the man yet. Which in all just frustrated Sasuke more.

" You know something?"

Naruto chuckled, " I know a lot of things 'Suke…what do you think I know"

Sasuke frowned, " I believe you know more than you're willing to tell…I want to know why."

Naruto sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair, " it's nothing really Sasuke. I've just been thinking about this case."

" What are you thinking about?"

Naruto didn't answer the question, instead he sighed again as he inhaled the toxin between his fingers.

"The question is what is he thinking about, the killer I mean."

Sasuke nodded," yes well he's not making it easy for us."

" No, no he isn't. Maybe we should start thinking like him."

Sasuke grunted, " that would make us crazier than we are now Naru…"

Naruto chuckled, " I suppose."

Naruto looked towards the front door before he spoke once more, "He's a good partner for you."

Sasuke rose a brow, " you think so?"

Naruto nodded, " yeah. He can deal with your stubborn side."

Sasuke pouted a little, " I'm not stubborn." Naruto just laughed at the face that was being made before his gaze found Sasuke's.

" So you want to go on a date this Saturday?"

Sasuke laughed, " what?"

" A date. Me and You."

Sasuke stared at him, " you are serious. Naruto I don't know about this…"

"Why not, its just a date, nothing serious. We can even talk about work if that's what you want…to make it more serious."

Naruto huffed out a puff of air, " Sasuke I'm going to be frank with you. I've been in love with you since middle school, probably longer. Now last time you were here I told you I was in love with you….I was serious."

Sasuke was silent as he nodded. " I want you to understand that I want you, more than a friend. You have to realize that."

Sasuke was about to say something when Neji walked back into the room, he looked a little pensive as he looked at the two. Sasuke rose a brow, " what is it?"

"They've found another body, female…told us to get down there as quick as possible." Sasuke just looked at Naruto, who nodded.

" I'll go get my jacket and a shirt." Sasuke nodded as he rose from the sofa and walked to meet Neji at the door.

Sasuke watched as Neji followed Naruto out the room, then the older man turned to him with a frown.

"What is it?"

"That was Uchiha-san on the phone, he told me to walk outside when I picked up the phone. The person the found…well."

Sasuke's face drained a little, " what is it Hyuuga?"

Neji cleared his throat a little as he spoke to the younger, " it would seem as if Naruto might have been a little to precise on his hypothesis of a first murder…"

Sasuke frowned, " what do you mean?"

"Uchiha-san stated that there was a note attached to the victim…it's just better we get down there as soon as possible." Sasuke nodded looking towards the hallway in extreme frustration.

Before him lay a clean canvas, she was a blond. Natural as she had always been, he eyes still filled with the thought of fear. He smiled slightly at her, mixing the paint slowly. Her chest had been revealed so he could paint on her heart directly. She had always wore her heart on her sleeve. That's what he used to tell her when they were children. He always told her that she should never be so open to the world. That people would often take her heart and trample on it. Smiling to himself he hummed to the music in the background. Now no one would trample on it, he would make her beautiful. Make her worthy of the angels that she prayed to every night. He stared at the binds on her hands and legs smirking at little as he leaned forward and started to apply the paint.

"You know I have the perfect spot for you, in the park you loved so much when we were children." He found her to be so pleasantly compliant as she lay still for him. A body full of horror now used as a canvas for beauty. He dabbed at the paint again before returning to her porcelain skin.

" The moon has been out lately, so the hill will be perfect don't you think. I'll leave a note this time, I want him to see my work. He'll understand it, just like he understood his brothers. But first I have to make you perfect."

He continued to lay the paint down carefully, humming to the song that filled the room. He never liked the silence, it was always unnerving. Always seemed to invite the unwanted.

" I hope you like the music, it should make you happy. It should…"

Konoha park was a little distant from Naruto's house, so it took about thirty minutes to actually get to the crime scene. When they got there Itachi was being swarmed by cameras and reporters, his face never changing but he seemed to be agitated. It was only when he saw the three men walking that he bowed slightly dismissing the camera's and walked over to them quickly before they all made their way to the body.

Naruto looked around the area slowly, it wasn't odd for the body to be displayed here. An open park on top of a hill, under a tree. It was by far the most cliché of scenes he had ever seen. Yet he could see why the killer would mount his canvas in such a place.

" A jogger found her." Naruto nodded as he stood before this woman. Ribcage cut open, and body fully displayed. The vibrant paint reflecting one of Naruto's earlier works from his collections. He stepped closer once more noticing the even strokes, the smooth even paint. The paint even covered the insides of the victim. Naruto just simply stared at the woman, her eyes open, distant. He sighed lightly as he stepped a little closer.

Sasuke shook his head in disgust and remorse, " what do you think Naru?"

Naruto didn't say anything at first, " give me a moment." The blond stood up and continued to look at her.

" So why did he do this to you?" Naruto asked as he looked at the blond haired girl who stared at him. She smiled lightly.

" Isn't the paint beautiful."

" He opened up your heart, painted over it…what was he trying to say?"

She shrugged, " I was already dead?"

" yes, you are."

" What do you think it means…?"

" I think it might mean something more, he found you beautiful…he displayed you in moonlight."

" He did, do you think I'm beautiful now?"

"Now? Were you not beautiful before?"

"I can't answer that."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm a part of your imagination Naruto, I'm only here to help you think?"

"He displayed his canvas in the moonlight, you are a beautiful canvas because you were someone who didn't think you were beautiful."

"How do you know?" Naruto looked at the woman's body, taking notice to the small slashes around her arms and legs.

" Because you cut yourself, the most recent being on your legs." The blond haired woman looked at her legs nodding at the small cuts.

"It doesn't sound like I was very happy."

" Well why wouldn't you be happy?"

" Well I don't know maybe I was always depressed."

"Ahh so that would mean you've always been like this…can you give me your hand?" She handed her hand to him. He glanced at her nails, the roughness and there were scars all over, and not just from the cutting.

" You have scars on your body, and your hands are rough…"

She looked puzzled, " so what does that mean. You did say I seemed to have cutting myself."

Naruto nodded to her, " yes but the roughness of your hands means you worked often…never a time to pamper yourself."

" Maybe I wasn't that type of person."

Naruto nodded, " that can be true. But it seems as if your knees are worn too…"

She looked at her knees and nodded, " ahh okay." Naruto looked at her fully again, looking carefully at the delicate strokes of her breast the outline of her curve, although she seemed too thin.

" He painted over the areas were you hid the most…your arms, you ribs, and your legs."

She nodded, " what does that mean Naruto?"

"It would be easier if you can tell me."

"hahaha…I already told you I can't."

"Mmmm."

Sasuke stared at Naruto as he thought carefully, raising a brow when the blond haired male rose from his kneeling position.

" Sasu?"

" Yeah Naru?"

" Have you ever wondered what it would mean to be beautiful…or to be specific what parts of people that you find fascinating?"

Sasuke cocked a brow, " what do you mean?"

He pointed at the body, " she was meant to be perfected. She wasn't someone who valued herself, you can tell by the cuts on her body. He opened her heart up so she could see her own beauty….her worth. He used her as a canvas but he could of easily covered he back. Instead…"

Sasuke nodded, "…instead he painted her front side."

"Exactly teme, we should hurry and get her to the lab in order to see her body fully.

Neji frowned, " so what was this…mercy?"

Naruto looked back at the body as they began to gather some of the evidence. "That's hard to say, I don't really think he believes in mercy. But I can tell you that you will probably find some kind of message."

Itachi looked at Naruto puzzled, " How did you know there was a note if he hasn't tried to have contact with anyone why now?"

"Because her body was was in the most of revealing spots as of now. Other places were in public spots but still secluded. This was the first one that he shone a light on, as if displaying her in a museum. That means he's ready to finally talk…"

Itachi looked annoyed for a moment, then concerned, " talk to you?"

" I don't think so no, but I'm not too sure….now the note." Itachi looked hesitant for a moment before another officer handed him the note. Naruto took it from Itachi and glared at it for a moment. Sighing to himself as the thoughts slowly became confirmed.

Thank you for your art, thank you for your time,

Thank you for your music.

Sasuke looked at the note as it was handed to him next, " is he thanking the Dobe for the paintings." Everyone was quiet for a moment before looking at the other three men.

Naruto looked at the older Uchiha, " I think he's talking to Kousuke and Kyu…and I think they've been talking to him."