Sorry for the long update! I'm just pacing myself cuz I'm a SLOOOOOOOOOW writer! CHRISTMAS IS IN A FEW DAYS! OMFJESUS! *Coughs* Ahem, sorry, ladies and gentlemen.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto, but if I did, I would go in there and kick Sasuke's ass myself! He has NO RIGHT TO TURN PHYSCHO EVILNESS AND TRY TO KILL EVERYONE! *Roars*


Chapter 7

"Ten bodies were found yesterday evening in downtown Tokyo last night that may be part of the Jack the Copy Cat rapist case. SVU detectives refuse to give full details, and Japan Police Department have yet to capture the suspect. Sources say the bodies are all women in their late teens and early twenties, all presumably prostitutes from the area. With a killer on the loose, can our city become safe once aga-"

The television shut off abruptly and the action was followed by a deathly silence as the SVU precinct let the horror sink in. Sasuke felt his face go white in shock at what he had just seen. 'How the hell had the reporters gotten there so quick?' he thought. Then, the dreaded shout of pure anger sounded through the whole office.

"How the hell did this happen?" Kakashi shouted. He stormed out of his office until he was standing in the middle of them. "I want to know how the hell this got leaked to the press when we made sure they couldn't get it?"

"How the hell are we suppose to know?" Sasuke countered. Kakashi turned to him with fury in his eyes. "We just got back from the fucking hospital where Sakura is being treated for nearly being killed! AGAIN!"

"Maybe if she had not been so vulnerable, then she wouldn't have been threatened like that," growled the captain.

"You sent your own daughter onto the battle field, when you promised her nothing would happen to her. What would have happened if she had been the one with a knife at her throat? With a killer who's raped and murdered DOZENS of women right behind her, endangering her life with the sole intentions of raping and mutilating her body! What then?"

"Sasuke." The man froze and turned to look at the door. Sakura stood there with a blanket draped around her shoulders and Tashino and Naruto at her side. Her eyes were moist with tears as she stepped away from her friends and walked to him.

"Sakura, you're suppose to be at the-" But Sasuke was silenced as a stinging pain resonated from his cheek. Sakura replaced the hand she had used to slap Sasuke to her side and glared at him.

"You have no right to lecture Kakashi like that," she told him. Sasuke turned to look at her slowly with wide eyes, his mouth set in a hard line as she continued. "We all knew the consequences of that assignment. At least we gained some kind of info from it, even though it was a failure."

No one spoke out against the two detectives as they watched. What Sakura had said was true; no matter how stressing and painstakingly hard this assignment was, they knew the results would be life-changing to everyone. Tashino stepped forward to where Sakura stood and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Let's go get you something to drink," the woman whispered. Sakura nodded and gave Sasuke one last look before letting herself be led up the stairs and into the staff room. The people on the main level just stared at Sasuke and Kakashi, waiting to see if another dispute would start now that Sakura had left. When one didn't, they walked away to continue with what they were doing before. Sasuke huffed under his breath in irritation and stomped his way over the exit. He brushed past Kiba, who narrowed and closed his eyes in anger.

"Sasuke?" asked Naruto quietly.

"Leave me alone," Sasuke whispered. Naruto's nose wrinkled in anger and he swung around to put an hand on Sasuke's shoulder, but the hurt man grabbed his wrist and squeezed sharply. The blond detective winced when something cracked and Sasuke snarled, "I said leave me alone."

"Don't you dare use that tone with me, Uchiha," Naruto growled back. Sasuke stiffened at his last name and eyed Naruto with a glare so malicious his partner had to take a step back.

"Leave me the fuck alone, Naruto, and I won't hurt you again." Sasuke then turned his back on a steaming Naruto. But as he was walking out the door, Naruto grabbed his shoulder again and twisted him around again. Before anyone knew what was happening, the detectives were decking it out and their fists were flying everywhere. One of Naruto's punches connected with Sasuke's cheek, sending him colliding into a desk. Sakura and Tashino hurried out of the staff room just in time to see Sasuke grabbing Naruto by his shirt collar and slamming his head into Naruto's.

"STOP!" Sakura screamed, but it was still not enough to stop the two detectives. She sprinted down the steps with Tashino calling after her and rushed over to the two men. Just as Naruto and Sasuke hurled themselves at each other with the intent to kill, Sakura stood in the middle of them with tears running down her face and her arms out to stop them. 'Shit!' the fighting men thought when the momentum continued to carry them forward.

"Sakura!" Tashino cried out. Suddenly, a blur appeared between the three young detectives and Naruto and Sasuke were halted in their tracks as Kakashi stood there holding their fists. He flung them away and they slammed onto the floor hard. Sakura stood there, her whole frame shaking in shock. She had actually FELT their killing intent when they had leapt at each other. Their boss sighed in frustration and stood up straight to look at his favorite pupils.

"I recommend that you two suck up your anger towards each other or I will have your badges. Get those sticks out of your asses or you will surely regret it." Kakashi turned to Sasuke and glowered at him. "I expected better out of you, Sasuke." Said detective looked away in shame and wiped the blood trickling from his forehead. Naruto gathered some of the blood in his mouth and spat it to the floor. Then, he looked up at Sakura and his eyes widened in fear and sadness. Sasuke followed his gaze up and his mouth opened in shocked and his eyes went wider than Naruto's.

Sakura was still shaking and staring from Sasuke and Naruto in utter horror, tears constantly falling from her eyes. Her eyes were just as wide as Sasuke's, but they closed shut tightly and she shook her head from side to side. Turning away from them, she sprinted out of the silent room, her footsteps the only sounds in the precinct. Sasuke found him unintentionally reaching out to her, fear set as his expression.

Tashino shook herself out of her shocked phase and ran after Sakura. The door to the precinct closed on them all; Naruto's saddened figure, Kakashi's disappointed look, and the betrayed Sasuke. 'I have been left alone…' His hands clenched as his eyes closed against the onslaught of tears. '…Again.'


The rain pelted harshly on the crouching figure that was sitting on the front steps of the precinct. A cigarette hung lazily in Sasuke's mouth; a habit he had tried to break after Itachi was diagnosed with lung cancer. He couldn't believe he had almost hit Sakura. Hit her for God's sake. And the look on her face showed it all…Sasuke leaned his head between his knees with his hands grasping at his soaked hair. 'She obviously hates us now,' he thought sadly. A flash of her scared face made him flinch and he leaned back to rest against the water-drenched concrete wall.

Sasuke fiddled with the slightly burning cancer-stick in his mouth until he took it out and flicked it in a nearby trashcan. He stood up slowly and lumbered his way back into the station with a forlorn expression. Kakashi had made him and Naruto stay behind to clean up the mess they had made and forced them to stay together until they apologized to one another. His cheek was still swollen from Naruto's hit and his best friend had a hairline fracture in his wrist. He stopped and placed his palm against the glass of the door. What had possessed him to do that?

Upon entering the empty office space, he saw Naruto leaned back in his chair, snoring through a broken nose. Sasuke looked at his watch and sighed at the time. Naruto had a right to have fallen asleep since it was after two in the morning. Looking around, he noticed the light was on in Kakashi's office and stepped quietly over in case his boss had fallen asleep. Suddenly, voices inside made him freeze in his steps.

"Are you absolutely sure this is what you want to do?" Kakashi asked. Sakura, who stood in front of his desk with her hands folded in front of her, nodded sadly.

"Yes," whispered the woman. Sasuke peered through the crack in the door to watch his partner and boss. He saw Sakura reach into her jacket pocket and pull out her SVU badge as well as her gun.

"You'll need that gun in JPD," murmured Kakashi. Sakura jumped lightly at his statement, but smiled and pocketed her gun carefully. "Do Tashino and Ryan know of this?"

"Yes, they do. Ryan was the one who recommended it." There was something in her voice that had Sasuke trying to get air back in his lungs. Her tone was so sorrowful that tears pushed to Sasuke's eyes once again that night, but this time they spilled over and plopped to the ground.

"Well, I hope you have a good time there. Asuma would be…" Kakashi cleared his throat thickly and Sasuke looked up in surprise. "…He would be glad to have you on his force." Sakura bowed low to him and turned to leave, but stopped in her tracks when she found Sasuke standing there with tears running down his face. A lump grew in her throat that prevented her from speaking.

"W-What-" Sasuke started, but he found he had trouble speaking. He swallowed heavily before speaking again. "What are you doing, Sakura?"

Sakura looked away with her fists clenched and eyes screwed shut. "I…I am transferring over to JPD," she said quietly. "I can't stand being here anymore, especially if you are all fighting for my benefit."

"Sakura, just think about what you are doing for a second-"

"I've been doing that for the past few hours now!" Sakura exclaimed. Sasuke recoiled at her sudden outburst and more tears started forming but he willed them away. "I just hate the fact that you guys do nothing but fight because of me." Her voice cracked and the same tears Sasuke was trying so hard not to shed leaked from her own eyes. She started walking towards him but side stepped him to get through the door. Sasuke felt his breath hitch when her shoulder accidentally brushed his, and he turned to go after her. Kakashi stared at them as they left before putting his hands over his face and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

In the process of running after Sakura, Sasuke inadvertently hit Naruto's chair, causing the sleeping blond to snort awake. When he saw the scene behind him, Naruto sprang up and clumsily followed after them.

"Sakura, wait!" Sasuke called as he opened the door that had just swung shut. Sakura had just hailed a cab to go to her apartment. She stopped from getting in when Sasuke grabbed her hand and pulled her from the car.

"Let go of me!" Sakura cried. She wrenched her hand from his grasp and stood rigid in the freezing rain. Her whole frame was shaking from the cold and the sobs that were racking her small body. Sasuke stopped short from yelling at her and just stood there, not knowing what to do for his friend. Naruto burst through the door and halted at the sight of his two friends and partners. 'Sasuke must have found out about Sakura's transfer,' he thought regrettably. He had unfortunately heard her and Tashino talking about it, and how Ryan had suggested it to her.

"Please, Sakura," pleaded Sasuke. "Just…Just stay here. We-We were planning on seeing Itachi tomorrow afternoon."

Sakura shook her head quickly with bared teeth. Naruto tightened his fists and looked away sadly. "I have already made the arrangements to be transferred. It's too late now." Sasuke had nothing else to say now. He was going to lose his partner; no, his friend. He was going to be lonely. Again.

Just as she turned to get in the waiting cab, Sasuke grabbed her hand again and pulled her back -and into his arms. Sakura resisted at first, pushing against his chest with her small hands, but Sasuke held fast. Then, all her movements stopped and much more violent sobs ripped from her chest and through her lips. She grasped at the back of his white -now see-through- shirt.

"I don't want you to go," Sasuke murmured. "You are a valuable detective; so please don't leave us." Sakura shook her head again and forcefully pulled away from his warm body.

"I have to," sniffed Sakura. She wiped her nose with the back of her sleeve and gave him a sad smile. Naruto walked down the steps to them and pulled Sakura to him just as Sasuke had, but squeezed her hard like he was her brother seeing his sister off to college.

"We'll miss you, Sakura," he said softly. Sakura nodded and Naruto let go of her so she could get in the cab. Sasuke's breathing got faster as he watched Sakura close the door behind her and he rushed forward, tapping on the glass of the window quickly. Sakura rolled down the window and looked up at him -only to have him press his lips to her forehead. A blush lit up her cheeks as the car starting driving away and she rolled the window up. She looked behind her through the back window and saw the two men still standing on the sidewalk.

Naruto looked at Sasuke, half expecting for the man to run after the cab, but smiled when he saw his expression instead. Sasuke had a little bit of color in his cheeks and a content smile on his lips. Clapping a hand to his friend's shoulder, the blond walked back inside the precinct with his hands behind his head. Watching the red tail lights of the cab disappear around the corner that led to Sakura's apartment, Sasuke finally sighed and shook his soaked bangs from face to look up at the crying sky.

Then, a problem arose: Would they still be sleeping in the same apartment?


Hinata pulled the white sheet over the final body of the many women that had been found in the warehouse. She had spent twelve hours cutting up the innocent women that maniac had killed. Sighing loudly, she wiped her sweaty bangs from her eyes and planted her hands on her hips in satisfaction at her work. Pulling her long hair into a bun, she began pushing the body to one of the freezers stationed along the wall.

"I should get paid double for this," she said as she cracked her knuckles. The morgue door opened and Kiba walked in. A file sat in his hands which Hinata held out a hand for. "Good morning, Detective Inuzuka. How may I help you?"

"I need you to look over the old autopsy reports from the first few victims," Kiba said in a solemn tone. Hinata raised an eyebrow as she took the folder from him.

"What's wrong, Kiba?" the coroner asked.

"Sakura transferred to JPD early this morning." Hinata placed a hand over her mouth in surprise and had to steady herself on the metal table near the woman's corpse.

"Are you certain? Why would she do that?" she exclaimed.

"All I know is she got fed up with Naruto and Sasuke fighting over her safety and quit her spot her for Asuma's force." Kiba sighed and rubbed a hand over his tired eyes. "It's no wonder those two snapped under the pressure."

"This case is throwing all balance off wack," Hinata muttered. Kiba nodded and looked up to stare at her, a small smile on his face.

"Would you like to go out with me this Saturday?" the senior detective invited, a faint blush on his face. Hinata's own face blew up in her famous blush, one that lit up her whole face and made her feel faint. As if reading her expression, Kiba chuckled and said, "Don't even think of fainting on me now, Hyuuga."

"I-I k-k-know," stuttered Hinata. Kiba smiled happily and reached out to take her hand. "P-P-Pick me up a-at s-s-seven, then?"

"Sure thing, as long as you stop stuttering." Hinata gave a weak laugh as she brushed away some hair that had escaped from her bun. She nodded and smiled shyly up at him before she began to push him out the door.

"Okay, now that you are done here," she giggled. "I need to get back to work." Kiba started to stutter out his reply, but Hinata finally shoved him out the door and closed it behind her. Kiba appeared in the thin strip of glass on the door and pressed his face against it.

"Your welcome for the files by the way," his voice floated through. Hinata rolled her eyes and waved him away, a strong blush on her face. He walked away as Hinata turned around to look through the files he had brought for her, a small smile on her lips. She sat down at her desk that was littered with information about the "Ten Josei" or "Ten Ladies" which she had named herself. So far, she had been able to identify only three because they had been reported missing months before they had been found. The woman found it impossible how a single man could do so much damage to a human being.

Suddenly, Hinata picked her head up in sudden realization and she stood up, knocking her chair over wildly in her attempt to the evidence she had taken off the victims.

"How," she murmured to herself, "is it possible for ONE MAN to get ten dead women into a storage unit without causing attention?" Putting on a pair of latex gloves, she took a skimpy blouse from a plastic bag and rushed over to the microscope on one of the examination tables. She sprayed a mixture for the second time on the shirt that would show the prints she had already seen before. But this time, she took careful analysis of each print and took samples of them. She pulled the microscope closer to her and all but shoved the samples under the high powered glass. When she zeroed in to look at the very small but noticeable strands of DNA, she smiled and took the slabs out. She then slid them into the computer, where it officially showed there were two different strands of the substance that did not belong to the victim.

But, when she looked at one particular set, her face paled. Hinata blindly reached for the cell phone next to her and scrambled to search for the number she wanted to dial. As soon as the person picked up, she exclaimed in one breath:

"I found two different sets of DNA on the clothes!" Then, taking a big breath, she said, "Kakashi, we just made a breakthrough in this case! There are TWO suspects, and you will never believe who one of the prints belongs to."


Sasuke stood outside Sakura's apartment, his hand clenched around the spare key Sakura had given him in case he needed to get inside before her. He needed to know whether or not he was still living with her, because Kakashi had not told him otherwise; it wasn't every day that Sasuke Uchiha lived with a girl. Footsteps were heard behind him and a voice called out, "Sasuke?"

The man twisted around quickly and saw the very woman he had been thinking about. Sakura was looking at him expectantly in her new uniform; a gray button up shirt with matching gray slacks. A name plate with her last name was pinned to her shirt and her gun was strapped low on her hip, which was cocked in her no-nonsense-no-business stance. Either that or it was her I'm-annoyed-at-you stance. Whichever one it was, Sasuke didn't care; he was just glad she was there. In her arms were bags of groceries for the week

"Uh, hey, Sakura," Sasuke muttered. He turned back to the door and inserted the key into the lock, giving it a twist and pushed the door open upon hearing it click. Sakura eyed him curiously as she followed him inside and she walked into the kitchen to set the bags on the counter. She looked up to see Sasuke just standing in the middle of her living room, staring at her as if he was waiting for an answer.

"What's wrong, Sasuke?" she asked in concern. "Did something happen today?"

"Am I still living here?" Sasuke suddenly asked. Sakura started slightly and her eyes widened a little before returning to normal.

"Why would ask that? We are still in danger, you know!"

"I know…" Sakura sighed quietly as she walked over to where he stood. "You know, Sasuke," she started, "it's not smart to worry so much. You will get premature wrinkles."

Sasuke grunted softly and shrugged. "Oh well. I have to worry about something or someone more than myself every once in a while." A strange reaction bubbled in Sasuke's chest as Sakura giggled and lowered her head as she laughed lightly.

"Yeah, but that's a lot of stuff, you know." Sasuke raised an eyebrow in slight surprise and put a hand on his hip and cocking it.

"In which you should already know by now." When Sakura stared at him in confusion, Sasuke gave a soft smile and reached out to take her hand in his. "Well, for starters, Itachi is a concern because I don't know whether or not he is going to be all right." He pulled her closer until they were not even two inches away from one another. Sakura blushed a light pink at their sudden closeness and had to place her small hand on his chest, where she could feel years of working out make their appearance.

"Another thing I am so worried about is everyone in the precinct," he whispered and he took one step in until the space between them was barely even a centimeter. The blush on Sakura's cheeks got darker and her other hand reached up to her own chest. Then, Sasuke gave her the most gorgeous smile she had ever seen him give to anyone. "And the final thing I am always so worried about just so happens to be standing in front of me."

Sakura blushed so hard she could feel her whole body glow with the heat of her blush. Sasuke laughed as Sakura started fidgeting like Hinata did. "W-Why would you be worried about me?" the woman muttered. But when Sasuke opened his mouth to answer, both of their cell phones went off. Sakura jumped at the sudden vibration in her chest pocket, having forgotten she had put it there. Sasuke couldn't help the small chuckle that came from his mouth. He placed the phone to his ear and grunted.

"Uchiha."

"Haruno."

The two stared at each other. The blush from earlier was still on Sakura's face, Sasuke noticed. But, his smugness went away like a blow to a candle flame when Kakashi said, "Get your ass down here. Hinata found something rather interesting. And bring Sakura with you; Asuma should be telling her now." Sure enough, Sakura's jaw dropped at what her new boss was telling her.

"Haruno, I know I pulled you from the Ripper case, but I'm putting you back in," Asuma Sarutobi's baritone voice said.

"B-But, sir!" Sakura exclaimed, but Asuma interrupted her sharply. "You will do it because the second suspect is of great importance to SVU and JPD." He ended the call so suddenly all Sakura could do was stand there with her mouth opening and closing like a fish. Sasuke rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to his own boss.

"We will be there soon. But who is the suspect we're talking about?" Suddenly, the phone was ripped from his hand. Sakura was bristling with anger as she said, "Who is the mother fucker who has been helping that bastard?" Kakashi could be heard taking a deep breath, muttering something like, "Good to hear from you too," and finally said the name that made Sakura drop Sasuke's phone.

"Ryan Dayton. He's been spying on SVU and JPD for the last two months."


Okey Dokiley, so this was a SUPER long chapter(to me it was DON'T JUDGE ME!). It was, like, 10 PAGES LONG! OMGNESS I SOUND LIKE ONE OF THOSE PREPPY BITCHES WHO THINKS THEY'RE BETTER THAN EVERYONE! SOMEONE SHOOT ME!

Sasuke: *Picks up random gun*

Sakura: *Lowers slowly* Don't do it. It was a rhetorical statement.

Sasuke: Dammit.

KD:...I feel so loved XD! TOODLES!