For Mylinh :)
If I could fly up to the heaven, I'd carry you.
If you asked me to disappear, I'd die for you.
In return, I ask for you to remember.
Remember our promise of the first snow.
-The frozen flower.
No Goodbyes
"Sakura chill! It's me!"
Sakura instantly shut her mouth up and peered at the person who almost scared her to death. Long blond tresses flowing down at the back with a body of a model, she sighed in relief as the person was none other than her best friend.
"Ino..."
"Yeah, it's me. Took you a while scaredy-cat. Listen, do you happen to...actually, let's get out of this disgusting place first and get on my car where we can hide from the rain. We need to talk." The blond said in a hurry and led her back to the clinic.
"Huh?" Sakura breathed cluelessly as she did what she was told.
"Hey Tsunade-sama," Ino greeted her old volleyball teacher, "Are you done with Sakura-chan yet? We need to go somewhere you see."
"Oh hey Ino, it's been a while since I last saw you, we're just about to close now." Tsunade nodded, "So you're free to take my little apprentice."
"Senseii..." Sakura said sheepishly. "I'm not li—"
"Ok thanks Tsuande-sama! We'll be going now!" Ino interrupted quickly pulling Sakura outside and pushing her into her car.
"Ow! Ino-pig, that hurt," She yelped, rubbing her knees that just got slammed against the tough leather seat. "What the hell is going on? What's the rush?"
"I'll explain on the way." Ino growled, firing up her red Lamborghini.
"Hey wait, I just remembered...I can't go with you wherever you want to go!" Sakura jumped up, attempting to get out of the deluxe vehicle. "Sasuke-kun is coming to pick me up!"
"That's the thing...Sasuke-kun won't be picking you up tonight. He's gone."
"Are you sure he's not at his meeting?" Naruto asked for the fifth time.
"For the fifth time Mr. Uzumaki," Jin said in annoyance, "Young Master left the meeting exactly five hours ago. The headquarters already confirmed it."
"BUT THAT BASTARD CAN'T JUST DISAPPEAR IN THIN AIR!" Naruto shouted, stomping his foot.
"Well he did Uzumaki." Neji said somberly, sitting on a seven meter couch in the Uchiha household.
"That's kind of impossible don't you think? How can a guy like him PLUS a million dollar customized black viper SRT 10 just be gone like that? UNNOTICED TOO!" The blond cried, trying to pull his hair out but was restrained by Hinata.
"W-We'll find him Naruto-kun." She cooed.
"We already searched for like six hours and got at least an army of Uchiha AND Hyuuga private police force searching for him! Something should come up right now. Are you sure they're professionals?" Naruto demanded.
"YES BLONDIE!" Neji fired up. Can't the dumb blonde see he was just as worried as him? "Those police forces were trained specifically to aid our households and have gone through at least ten years of training. They're the best of the best!"
"I don't get it...it's like he never existed in this world. Not one single clue!" Naruto collapsed on the couch.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE'S GONE?! He's gone gone?"
"And that would be Sakura-chan." Hinata said quietly.
"Yes! Uchiha Sasuke is GONE gone! Hinata-chan and Naruto were bored and called him to come and hang out, but nobody picked up and you know that Sasuke-kun NEVER misses a call no matter what when one of us calls him. So they phoned Jin and asked him his whereabouts and found out that he 'supposedly' left his meeting to come and pick you up, so they called again but this time the phone was turned off. That's like hypocrisy, because again, Uchiha Sasuke NEVER turns off his cell phone. You being his girlfriend should know that pretty well."
Ino paused and took a deep breath.
"And WE as his best friends know that too. So naturally, Naruto and Hinata-chan got worried as well as Jin, so they searched around for him but couldn't find him. Oh, and did I say they literally called everyone? Well except for Mikoto-chan and Fugaku-sama of course, because we wouldn't want them freaking out that their son has been kidnapped or disappeared off the face of the earth!"
"So...not even those specially trained police forces can find him?" Sakura asked quietly, slowly believing that this wasn't just a joke.
"No...well...they're still searching Sakura-chan..." Ino said, trying to calm down and be optimistic.
"We'll find him, Sakura-chan." Hinata assured, hugging her.
"But it's pouring outside..."
"H-He'll be ok. He's Uchiha S-Sasuke remember?"
"You know...I still don't and won't believe he's gone."
"We know."
The night passed, then the day, and pretty soon the week passed.
"Any news?" Tenten asked although she already knew the answer. Sakura shook her head in dismay and glared at the rain that refused to stop for the last week. Her eyes were swollen and puffy from tears and lack of sleep. Beside her, sat Mikoto who flew back with Fugaku as soon as they heard the news. She also had swelled eyes. By now, the whole country of Japan was searching for Uchiha Sasuke.
News spreads fast remember? The whole population of Japan are now starting to turn on the news in hopes of getting some information about the lost heir.
There was a discovery however to the whole kidnapping. The police force had finally been able to track down a shack that Sasuke's car had supposedly been parked in, but by the time the police force had arrived to the shack, nothing was left and no clues can be found. Police are still investingating the area for furthur clues.
For a week, Sakura suffered from a torturous confinement in the Uchiha Mansion. Neither Fugaku nor Mikoto allowed her to go out and search for Sasuke in fear that she might get kidnapped too. Body guards were placed right outside her bedroom doors for safety and her education/work had to be temporary stopped until the police force sorts everything out.
As the future bride of an heir to the Uchiha fortune, it is everyone's number one priority to keep her safe.
"Miss Haruno, you're dinner is waiting." A servant informed, curtseying.
"I'm not hungry."
"Please Saku-chan, eat something." Mikoto pleaded.
Inner Sakura: If you let me go out then maybe I will.
"No it's alright, my stomach feels sick."
"Bring her some chowder and bread, keep the rest warm." The mother ordered with a sigh, stroking a family picture of hers before putting it back on a marble mantelpiece.
"Let me go out there Mikoto-chan."
"You know we can't do that Saku-chan. What if those kidnappers kidnapped Sasuke are only trying to lure you out?"
"……"
Inner Sakura: Uhh...I don't care?
"I know Sasuke...he's a strong boy." Mikoto comforted, but with fresh tears in her eyes. Sakura knew Mikoto was just saying all those things to comfort her and encourage her...but deep down, she was worried sick like any mother would and was willing to do anything to get her beloved son back.
Sakura forced a smile on her lips and look down at her stomach. "Yeah I guess...I guess I have to believe in Sasuke-kun more, he'll come back for sure."
"That's my girl." The mother smiled and gave her a hug.
"And...I guess I'm a little hungry."
If reverse psychology is what it takes. Then so be it.
Sakura paced around her room for the nth time inspecting any openings and vents. Heck, Sasuke was still human. And if he was such a 'strong boy' he wouldn't have been kidnapped.
There were two guards outside her room and four guards at the bottom of her window. (She lived on the second floor) Their job was to prevent anything from getting in and getting out.
Inner Sakura: Like hell they can beat me in combat chehh...bring it on!!
Her plan wasn't solid yet, but she knew it now or never. She got fed up with waiting. Slipping on a comfortable t-shirt and shorts, she set her plan to work; starting with the vent that Sasuke showed her a few years back. Opening her closet door, she pushed aside heaps of clothes revealing a little trap door in the back.
Entering the tiny entrance, she arrived at a dark passageway that leads to the downstairs kitchen and a little basement depending on the way she takes. At first, she found the passageway to be spooky and she still did. However, no one was with her this time, so she had no choice but to gulp down her fears and use the hidden channels.
Remembering the way correctly, she successfully got into the basement and out a latched door in the courtyard. As expected, guards were patrolling everywhere with guns strapped onto their belts. Luckily, Mikoto planted rows and rows of lilac bushes in the courtyard giving her a place to hide in.
She had to thank Mikoto for that. Crawling through the bushes with care, she nearly jumped for joy when she came upon the big walls that bordered around the Uchiha estate. For this obstacle, she had to thank Tsunade for preparing her. During volleyball seasons back in Fiery Leaf High, the team had to do something called 'conditioning' during training.
Conditioning consists of sprinting for ten minutes, shuffle for ten minutes, and long distance running for another ten minutes. It was tiring, and sometimes they would have to do exercises like climbing walls or bench presses to improve their agility, power, and momentum.
All those horrible hours of training had finally come to a use. After careful planning in her bedroom, she had figured out the darkest wall in the whole Uchiha estate, and the one that most likely had the least security. A faint smile played on her lips as she remembered about the time she and Sasuke would sneak out of the estate and go roam around in the outside world without getting caught by the security camera.
Alright, I can still do this... Rubbing her arms together to gather friction, she starting climbing on the wall with the help of vines Mikoto grew last summer. They grow fricken fast and long. The wall was basically covered with vines. Everything was at the right place except for the rain. Damn the rain.
By the time she had successfully climbed over the wall, her hands had bruises and her whole body was covered with dirt. Dusting herself for a minute or two, she continued her journey and set out to her old house that her parents had bought for her. They didn't want to sell it incase one member of the family needs a place to live.
-
"Dude what took you so long?"
"Hey, you didn't come from where I just came from. If you came from where I just come from, you wouldn't be talking." Sakura snapped tiredly.
"How would I know where you came from?"
"Not funny," She said sternly, opening up the door to her house. "Not funny at all Shikamaru."
Yes, of all the people out their, Shikamaru is the only one who can help her right now. Hinata, Tenten, and Ino would only worry about her and object her plan to search for Sasuke. Naruto wasn't emotionally stable enough. Neji was a one-man team which leaves Shikamaru.
Calm
Flexible
Lazy
Smart
"I hacked into the electrical company's database and copied the films from their security camera as well as all the surveillance cameras on the street."
Not to mention, he was an excellent hacker besides Sasuke.
Strange yet true.
Ino was a pretty good hacker too, and learning off from his girlfriend with his smart mind, he soon became a great candidate for a criminal mastermind.
"Great job Shikamaru! Did you get anything? Any clue?" Sakura asked eagerly, looking at the laptop that Shikamaru had brought.
"Yeah, I did and I found out something really unbelievable."
"Unbelievable?"
"Yes, troublesomely unbelievably crafty." Shikamaru nodded. "I didn't notice this before, until I replayed the whole film for the ninth time. Very troublesome."
"Well?"
"I think Sasuke was kidnapped before he went to the meeting."
"What?!" Sakura couldn't help but exclaim. "But that's impossible! The people at the meeting said they saw him before their very eyes! How can he appear at both places at the same time?"
"That's the thing, he can."
"Explain."
"Well, look at this first." Shikamaru pointed at a particular window on his laptop.
A black viper, clearly Sasuke's, was driving on a road like it was any other day. Seeing a red light ahead, it slowly pulled into a stop. A second window appeared showing the car at a different angle as it turned right at the same stop light which had just turned green. A third and a forth window appeared showing the rest of the trip Sasuke took at different angles.
"Ok, now that you have an idea of the routes that Sasuke took, I want you to pay close attention to the car as I replay it especially at the red light stop." Shikamaru ordered, pressing replay.
Sakura observed the films at hard as she can without blinking. But no matter how hard she looked, she saw no difference. "I don't get it! I don't see anything! The films look fine to me, and from the angles I can see everything clearly. It doesn't look like Sasuke is attacked at all."
"Alright, let me zoom in on the car this time and replay it." He said, clicking a few buttons here and there to get the results he wanted.
This time, Sakura gasped.
"Oh my god..."
"Yeah, it's really easy to miss and plus the police force was so preoccupied with the films that were taken after the meeting that they probably just glanced at the films before the meeting without any care."
"...Whoever we're dealing with," Sakura shivered, her heart pounding hard. "It's someone dangerous."
Shikamaru nodded in agreement." This bad guy clearly knows his technology. Creating a completely new film of his own and hacking into the security cameras replacing the original one, it's truely someone to be feared."
In front of their eyes were two windows of the zoomed in car (taken from the side) when it stopped at the stop light. Same position, but one second time difference. All the films recorded on the camera were black and white so the clue was easy to miss. Plus it was raining at the time making it all semi-blurry.
On the first window, a single outline of Sasuke could be seen in the driver's seat. However, on the second window, a faint gray silhouette of a second person could be seen aside from the driver; barely visible since the camera was low quality and colourless.
Lol so what did you think? Wow this was the most suspenseful story I had ever written...dude...I really scared myself at the last scene when I wrote this...its like 12:38 am right now and my house is like...absolutely silent. Haha, I'm paranoid...and I always scare myself for some reason.
Anyway, thanks for reading! I love you guys haha! It's been fun reading your reviews and guesses, they are so interesting :) Too bad it wasn't Sasuke who tapped Sakura huh?
Ciao for now :)
September 21, 2007