A/N: Hmm…It's been a while since I updated. It took me awhile to write this one. Well, I've come up with a pattern! I've decided that I'm going to try to update once a month regularly. That way I won't feel rushed to publish a new chapter and I also will feel more motivated to get on task. –poses proudly- I think this system will work! Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! Any praises or constructive criticism is greatly appreciated. Also, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Years to everyone! :D

Disclaimer: Yeah, I don't own Naruto.

Ashes Ashes, We All Fall Down

Chapter 9: A Beautiful Day in Dreary London

7:00 AM

"Why aren't we doing this at the headquarters?" Sasuke asked, watching as his brother set a large bulletin board against the wall of his temporary bedroom.

"Because," Itachi replied impatiently, "the headquarters is crowded and noisy. We need to concentrate." He turned to Sasuke and thrust his hand out. "Give me your notebook and pen."

Sasuke, knowing better than to ask why when his brother was in this distraught state, acquiesced silently. Itachi flipped through the pages carelessly and Sasuke flinched at each tiny accidental ripping sound. When Itachi reached a blank page he smoothed it out and started scribbling. "What are we doing now?" Sasuke asked.

"Motives," was Itachi's one-word reply. "The first possible motive of the Ripper is revenge.1 When one has resentment in their hearts, they can perform irreparable acts." After writing this Itachi ripped the page out and tacked it to the board. "Now we need more."

"Madness? Insanity?" Sasuke suggested, playing along.

"Yes, the horrible mutilations performed on the victims does suggest that the Ripper might not be in his right mind," Itachi mumbled, tacking up another paper. "There is also the notion of theft. Perhaps the killer wanted to rob his dead victims."

As Itachi hung up another page Sasuke racked his brain for ideas. Somehow his train of thought eventually drifted toward Sakura, and it led him to another motive. "What about love?" Sasuke proposed. "And jealousy?"

Itachi muttered something that Sasuke couldn't hear but he assumed it was just an accepting of his hypothesis because Itachi then pinned up the paper. "Good. Any other ones?"

"Hmm." Sasuke tiled his head to the side thoughtfully. He blurted out the first thing he thought of. "Black magic?"

He fully expected Itachi to snort mockingly at the proposed notion, so he was quite surprised when Itachi instead nodded and started writing. "I'm not very learned in the fields of magic, but it's possible that the Ripper is savagely killing and stealing organs for some sort of dark ritual. Alright, we have all the likely motives I can think of. We'll now use the process of elimination to pinpoint the correct one. But we have to be sure that we're right, because if we're wrong, then an important life will be lost."

Now Sasuke saw why Itachi was so distraught and irritable. He knew something. "Itachi, what's wrong?" he demanded.

Itachi looked sharply at him. "I've noticed a distinct pattern in the Ripper killings. You should realize it too….but no, you won't."

"What-"

"Sasuke, we must hurry!" Itachi silenced him. "We'll start with theft first. There was nothing noted that indicates that anything was stolen from the women, other than organs. However, I find it highly unlikely that the Ripper stole organs to pawn them off in the organ trafficking market. It would not explain the letters and messages he left. So this motive will be eliminated." Itachi ripped off the paper and quickly crumpled it, tossing it over his shoulder carelessly.

"What about insanity?" Sasuke asked, eyeing the discarded paper nervously. Itachi was never this messy.

"The Ripper is definitely insane," Itachi said. "He most likely suffers from psychosis2, if not more than one disorder. However, I take back my earlier comment. He is definitely in his right mind. This man seems to know the different between right and wrong. No, I think the motive is deeper than this. So while the reason of insanity is credible, it's not credible enough." Another paper was swiftly chucked.

Sasuke swallowed the lump in his throat. "How about black magic?"

"As I said, I have no expertise in this subject, but I don't think it's the killer's motive. All of the evidence seems to hint that the situation is personal. It's true that the killer could be slaying his personal relations and then using them for dark rituals, but then that wouldn't match up with the graffito and his letters. We'll dismiss this motive."

The bulletin board now only held two slips of paper. "Love and jealousy?" Sasuke offered.

"Love is a very deep, powerful, manipulative emotion," Itachi started. "And it nearly always gives birth to jealously. When you combine the two together, almost anything can result, even murder. It's very possible that the Ripper had an affair with one or more of the victims, and noting the victims' occupations, this opened the gateway for jealousy and possessiveness. However, it's not likely that the Ripper was this close to all four women. Maybe one situation led to a general hatred of prostitutes?" Itachi mumbled something to himself. "However, the graffito completely throws off this motive. So while credible, we can't take chances."

Finally only one paper remained on the board. Itachi and Sasuke both rested their eyes on it. "Revenge," Sasuke said quietly. "So this is the killer's motive?"

"…Yes," Itachi announced. "Jack the Ripper is vengeful against these women. However, we need to determine if he's taking revenge against each woman individually or against prostitutes in general." He began to pace back and forth. "And there's also the matter of that graffito…what is 'Juwes'?"

Sasuke decided it was better to leave Itachi to himself when he was in this state. Besides, he wasn't like his brother when it came to spending hours processing multiple loads of information at once. Itachi preferred it over oxygen. However, Sasuke was suffocating. He quietly excused himself, but he knew Itachi wouldn't notice his presence or lack thereof right now.

Anyways, it'd been to long since he'd seen Sakura's face. Her beautiful face…contorted in sorrow. His heart twisted painfully. Had she already found out about Kurenai and Temari? It didn't matter. She would find out eventually if she didn't already know, and Sasuke needed to be there for her. God, I've been so selfish! He scolded himself as he unconsciously tugged his jacket tighter around his body. Sakura has lost four of her closest friends and I've done nothing to comfort her.

With newfound urgency Sasuke powered through the filthy streets, not paying much attention to the landscape, following the map to Sakura's small room in his head. However, he was stopped short by a wondrous scent hitting him like a wall. He looked to his right and noticed that he was a few feet from the Smith Bakery. One of the windows was flung open despite the chilly weather and a tray of seasoned breads and mini pies was resting on the sill, laid out to cool no doubt. Intoxicated by both scent and curiosity, Sasuke tried the door and finding it unlocked, entered. No one was behind the counter but he heard faint whistling coming from the kitchen. He poked his head through the open doorway and saw Naruto rolling dough leisurely, pausing only to add more flour and spices.

No wonder he wasn't home when we got back, Sasuke thought. He was here. "Hey, dobe!"

Naruto whipped around, cheeks tinged red with embarrassment. "Teme! You scared me!"

Sasuke smirked. "Maybe you shouldn't allow yourself to be frightened so easily then." Naruto just scowled and grumbled before turning back to the dough. "So how long have you been here and why are here so early in the first place? I didn't think the bakery opened yet. Iruka's not even here yet."

"I've only been here since 6:30," Naruto said. "I tried to go back to sleep after you and Itachi left but I couldn't. I was too worried. So I decided to open the bakery early. Baking helps me get my mind off things."

Sasuke's heart twisted again. He stepped over and grabbed some dough, helping Naruto knead it. "This case is affecting so many people I never expected it to. I guess that just proves my lack of experience though."

Naruto didn't say anything and for awhile the two kneaded and shaped the dough in silence. Then, after loading the dough onto a tray and into the oven, Naruto turned to Sasuke. "So tell me about what happened. There are already people gossiping and boys on the corners shouting out about this "double event", but I want to hear it from you."

Sasuke took a deep breath and pulled out a stool to sit on, and Naruto did the same. "Wow, where do I start? Well, both Kurenai and Temari are dead."

Naruto's breath hitched. "Kurenai? But…"

Sasuke nodded sympathetically. Naruto had always been fond of Kurenai. However, he knew that the best thing to do was to just keep talking. Naruto preferred to handle loss and depression in his own way. "That's not all. We think that Jack the Ripper may have been interrupted while he was working on Kurenai, by a steward named Asuma."

"Asuma? Why does that name sound so familiar?" Naruto rubbed his forehead and glared at the floor, as if he thought he would find the answer ingrained into the worn wood. Suddenly he snapped his fingers. "That guy comes by the shop every Monday and Friday to buy a loaf of cinnamon bread, without fail!"

Sasuke's mood lifted at this bit of information. "Well that's helpful. Wait 'till I tell Itachi! He'll be thrilled."

Naruto grinned. "It's what I do, no applause is required. So did you guys find out anything else?"

"Yeah, I almost forgot. We found a note with Temari's body that said 'Here lies one of two little whores, who could've helped but chose to ignore, and now her corpse lies on the floor haha'. I know, it's disgusting," Sasuke agreed at seeing Naruto's open repulsion. "But there's more, believe it or not. We found some graffito that said 'The Juwes are the men that will not be blamed for nothing'. Next to it was a piece of Temari's bloodstained apron."

Naruto's expression revealed evident confusion. "I don't get it. How do Jews play a part in this?"

Sasuke shrugged. "I don't know. In the graffito the word was spelled J-U-W-E-S, which is what has Itachi stumped."

Naruto wore a look of pure disbelief. "Woah, Itachi's stumped? That never happens."

"I know. That's the scary part."

"Hmm. Well maybe he's focusing on the wrong thing. Maybe the spelling of the word isn't the important thing going on." Naruto rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Oh, I know!" He bounced in his seat excitedly. "Maybe there's a message hidden within the message. Maybe you're supposed to scramble the letters!"

"Naruto," Sasuke breathed, eyes widening, "that's genius." Now that Sasuke thought about it, the message didn't sound like the Ripper at all. The whole idea of it really just seemed to stray from the path, to distract from the purpose…to distract!

"Really?" Naruto asked, pleasantly surprised. "Because – "

"The purpose of the Ripper's message is just to throw us off!" Sasuke shamelessly interrupted. "Like you said, the real meaning is hidden inside the message itself."

"Now all we have to do is decipher it!" Naruto exclaimed, nearly throwing himself off the stool with the force of his own energy.

There was a short period of silence in which the colossal weight of this proposal hung heavily in the air. "…shit," they said simultaneously.

"This could take all day, if not weeks," Sasuke said.

"Well good thing I have all day," Naruto replied, rolling up his sleeves higher than they already were.

"Yeah, but I don't," Sasuke remembered, checking the time. "I was on my way to Sakura's before I stopped by."

"Oh." There was disappointment and envy in Naruto's voice and Sasuke's conscious suddenly felt two pounds heavier. But the blonde's smile was still happy and large as he bundled up two loaves of warm poppy seed bread and pressed them into Sasuke's arms. "Since I can't be there with my presence, I'll just send my kickass cooking instead." They both laughed and Naruto walked his friend to the door. As he waved to Sasuke's back, he shouted, "Take good care of our cherry blossom, teme!"

Sasuke lifted his hand in a motionless wave to show that he heard.

xXxJackTheRipperxXx

Sasuke knocked on Sakura's shabby door, clutching the bread in his right arm close to his body to preserve the warmth. In his left he held a bouquet of ten roses (a darker color than her hair but definitely not as beautiful), which he would present to her after she opened the door. However, two minutes passed without a reply. He patiently knocked again and heard her muffled and tired voice commanding him to go away.

"Sakura, it's me," he said loudly, assuming she didn't know that it was him at her door so early. He heard the rustle of sheets and then the clicking of a lock. When the door opened his smile fell right off his face.

"Hey Sasuke," she mumbled and stepped aside to let him in. His legs seemed to be controlling themselves as he moved inside. She went and sat back on the bed, staring at him, no, through him with dead, unfocused eyes. Her normally peachy colored skin, which she tried so hard to take care of, was lined with a thin layer of oil and dirt. Her short locks were stained a light magenta color and at first Sasuke thought perhaps she had colored her hair, but he discovered it was just soaked in grease. And the barely noticeable lines that engraved her face were no longer barely noticeable. They looked as though they had been traced over multiple times until they stood out obviously, like a writer sketches over his words until they're bold and perfect. She was only twenty five, but she looked thirty eight. Just like everyone else in her profession.

Anger and helplessness flooded his mind, bringing no small amount of stress with it. He opened his mouth, bit his lip, opened it again, but could only let out a low growl. "Sakura," he finally said, "What has he done to you?"

She observed him patiently, as an adult would if a child asked a silly question. "Little compared to what the world has done to me," she replied. "Why blame one rotten apple when it's a rotten tree it came from? I'm not saying I forgive him," she added when she saw Sasuke's horrified face. "But I would be a hypocrite if I accused him for being hardened by the world. After all, I'm very much like him, in a way."

A loud thud reverberated throughout the tiny room after Sasuke slammed his fist down on her tiny bedside table, allowing the roses in his hand to fall to the floor and scatter. "Never," he growled, "say that!"

Sakura appeared unaffected by his violent action. "But it's true," she continued unflinchingly. "Jack the Ripper didn't shed a tear when he murdered my closest friends, and I couldn't either when I heard of their deaths. I'm just so used to it by now. People are dying left and right every day – my friends and I aren't immune to death. There's no chance I'll get out of this hell hole before I die, whether by the Ripper's or someone else's hand, or famine or disease. It's impossible. But it doesn't matter. I'm so ready to die."

"No," Sasuke snarled, "you aren't. You've never been ready to die. You've always cherished life over everything else, and you still do." He watched her expressionless face with growing determination. Finally he plucked a red rose from the pile on the floor and slipped it behind her ear gently, letting his thumb trail down her dirty yet soft cheek. "Sakura, if you come with me I promise to put some life in you again," he whispered, dropping his hand from her cheek and offering it to her.

She glanced at his hand and back at his face tiredly, and he expected her to tell him of how hopeless that would be. But instead she placed her strong hand in his and hauled herself to her feet, facing him and saying, "I accept your challenge".

Sasuke grinned. She wasn't any more alive, she wasn't any more Sakura. But he knew he could fix that. He allowed her to loop her arm through his and led her out of the room and onto the streets, which were already bustling with the usual activity. They crossed the street and turned the corner only to come face to face with a dirty-faced newspaper boy. He blinked and thrust a newspaper in their faces.

"You want one, guv'nor? It's a double event!" he exclaimed persuasively.

Sasuke felt Sakura's grip tighten on his arm. He scowled and hurried past the newspaper boy. However, every street they stepped on introduced them to redundant shouts of 'two ghastly murders' and 'the double event'. There was no way to escape it. Wait. Yes there was.

"Coach!" Sasuke called, waving his free arm. Sakura stumbled back a few steps in surprise when the black coach and horses swerved to a clumsy stop in front of them. Sasuke opened the door and offered Sakura his hand, helping her into the coach. Then he turned to the driver and plopped a pretty penny in his hand. "Take us to the best dress shop in London, please," Sasuke said quietly, glancing back to make sure that Sakura wasn't paying attention.

"Aye, sir!"

Sasuke climbed in and shut the door. The coach began to rumble away, bouncing them up and down in their seats gently. He glanced over at Sakura, who was looking around the coach and out the window with wide eyes.

"Are you ok?" he asked, concerned.

She glanced at him before looking out the window again. "I haven't been in one of these in years. I could never afford it." She paused. "I've never seen the world go by this fast. It's wonderful."

Sasuke smiled at the thought that he would soon have Sakura smiling too. Their journey took them out of Whitechapel and into the nicer areas of London. Sakura stared out the window as if in a trance and it occurred to Sasuke that this might be the first time that Sakura had been outside of the East End since she was a young child. The fact that it was himself who was giving her these new opportunities filled him with a warm, fluttering sensation in his stomach.

The coach rolled to a stop outside a fancy dress shop which was part of a chain of respectable businesses. Sasuke blocked the window before Sakura could look out of it. She gave him a questioning look.

"It's a surprise," Sasuke responded. "Promise me you'll keep your eyes closed?"

She observed him suspiciously before sighing and closing her eyes. "I promise."

Sasuke took her hand and opened the door. He stepped out first and then carefully helped her down the steps, snorting when she missed one and slipped. This earned him a hard slap on the arm. When they were successfully inside the doors, he told her she could open her eyes.

She gasped. The large shop was filled with numerous glamorous dresses of all shapes and styles, some elegant and others more casual. "They're all so beautiful," she breathed. Glancing down at her old, dirty, ripped dress, she laughed. "I probably look so shabby next to all these pretty dresses.

"No, not you," Sasuke said and then added, "just your dress."

Sakura rolled her eyes and laughed. "Thanks a lot."

His heart fluttered joyfully at her peals of laugher. "Which is why I'm getting you a new one."

Sakura shook her head. "No Sasuke, it's fine. Thank you, but these dresses must cost a fortune."

Sasuke walked over to one of the racks and examined the price tag of one of them. "No, they're actually quite affordable." He plucked a long, sequined black dress from the rack and tossed it to her.

She caught it reluctantly. "Sasuke…"

"No objections. I'll buy it even if you don't want it, and if you don't take it I'll give it to Naruto. I imagine it'll look just as attractive on him."

Sakura giggled and gave in. "Alright, alright. I'll try on the dress."

"Not the dress," Sasuke corrected. "Dresses. Look around a bit."

Sakura rolled her eyes again but obeyed with a small smile. Over the next half hour they made their way around the store, making light but humorous chitchat as the piles of dresses in their arms grew larger. When they decided that the loads were too heavy to carry, they hauled themselves back to the dressing rooms and piled the dresses on the floor.

"Alright, go in with a few and come out and show me after you try each one," Sasuke said, handing her three of the dresses from the top of the pile. She disappeared behind the faded green curtain. There was the shuffling of clothes being removed and the occasional swear word uttered when Sasuke assumed she was having difficulties. She came out after a few minutes wearing a floor length dark magenta dress with the sleeves poofy at the shoulders and slim from the elbows to the hands. There were multiple layers of frills from the hips downward. Sakura's facial expression was priceless.

Sasuke did his best to hold in a snicker. "Well, the color compliments your hair," he offered.

Sakura glared at him. "Save it. I look like a bloody marshmallow."

That did it. Sasuke snorted and then burst out into chuckles. Sakura tried to maintain her glare but gave up and joined in his laughter.

Sakura re-entered the stall and continued to try on dresses and show them to Sasuke. They would either laugh at them together, or Sasuke would comment on how beautiful she looked and Sakura would blush and take another look at herself in the mirror. This pattern lasted for a good half hour until Sakura let out a squeal of delight while trying on one of the dresses.

Sasuke chuckled. "I take it you like this one?"

The curtain flew open and Sakura's red, smiling face was revealed to him. But his attention was far from her face. The emerald green dress she sported complimented her figure perfectly. The front was low-cut but stopped above her breasts modestly; much more humble than her other attire. The sleeves were fitted and ended just a little past her elbows, revealing her slim arms. A large black sash was wrapped around her waist just below her chest, showing off her skinny waist and not-too-large, not-too-small breasts. The dress was fitted to her hips and framed her curves beautifully. The rest of the dress flowed down her legs and stopped just below her ankles. Black frilly lace lined all of the ends.

And the most beautiful part? It matched her eyes perfectly. Her bright, lively eyes.

Sasuke stepped closer and ran his hands down her sides, letting them rest at her hips. "Sakura, this is gorgeous," he said, fingering the green cloth. "But you," he said, caressing her cheek gently, "are breath-taking."

She smiled and placed her hand on his head, fingering his hair soothingly. Her movements paused before she wrapped both arms around his neck and brought her face close to his. Her warm lips brushed his lightly. "Sasuke," she breathed, "kiss me."

It only took him a second to react. He pressed his lips against hers gently at first but then more passionately. He pulled her body against his and locked his arms around her form protectively. Her fingers were laced in his hair, trying to bring him as close as she could. Her grip on his shoulders tightened and she found it impossible to keep her eyes open.

Their lips eventually slip apart but it was the only part of them that did. Sakura rested her forehead against his and smiled. "Thank you, Sasuke, not just for the dress."

He cocked his head to the side questioningly. "For what else then?"

She pressed her lips firmly against his but pulled away soon after, leaving him burning for more. "For reminding me what a real kiss is like," she murmured before pulling away completely.

Sasuke took her hand and caressed the skin of her palm in soothing circles. "No problem," he said with a slight smile. A feminine grunt sounded from outside of the dressing rooms, ruining the mood but also reminding them that the shopkeeper was becoming impatient.

"Well, I guess we better buy this then," Sasuke said, rubbing his neck awkwardly.

Sakura giggled and followed him to the counter where the woman was tapping her long fingernails impatiently. Sasuke took out his wallet and fished for the correct amount. He handed it to the middle-aged woman who snatched it away and counted it, grumbling something Sasuke couldn't hear. Deeming it to be the correct amount, she glared a 'get-the-hell-out-of-my-shop' glare in their direction. Sakura and Sasuke obliged willingly.

Sakura skipped outside with Sasuke following close behind. She twirled and laughed as her dress spun around her in a cloud.

Chuckling, Sasuke offered his arm to her. "With such a beautiful dress, we have to take you somewhere to show it off, don't we?"

Sakura grinned and looped her arm through his. "What place did you have in mind?"

"There's a park not too far from here with a pond that ducks like to flock at, if I remember correctly."

Sakura tugged his arm gently. "Lead the way."

It occurred to Sasuke, as they frolicked around the park, that their time there meant much more to Sakura than it did to him. Sitting and conversing on clean unstained benches, playing childish games of hide and seek and tag amongst vibrant trees and grass, tossing bread crumbs to ducklings swimming on crystal clear water – they were all things that Sasuke took for granted and that Sakura hadn't been able to do or see in years. It was certainly a wake up call, and Sasuke knew that he wanted Sakura to be able to do it every single day.

"Sakura," he started, turning on his side in the grass to face her. She rolled over until she was partially lying on top of him, resting her chin on his chest.

"Yeah, Sasuke?" she asked dreamily.

He pulled them into a sitting position and held her close on his lap. "Sakura, you like it here, don't you?"

Sakura grinned widely. "I love it here."

"Would you like to live here?"

"If I could," she said, sighing, "I'd love to."

Sasuke swallowed the lump in his throat. "…It's possible," he said hesitantly. "If I borrowed the money from Itachi, I could buy a small lodging here, and – "

An awkward cough cut Sasuke off. They both looked up to see Kankuro and Jiraiya standing a few feet away, eyeing them and shifting uncomfortably. Surprised, Sasuke and Sakura pulled apart and stood up.

"Sakura, Sasuke," Jiraiya acknowledged stiffly, looking from Sasuke to Sakura in a surprised way. "What brings you two so far from home?"

Sasuke opened his mouth to answer but was beat to it by Sakura. "Jiraiya!" she exclaimed happily, embracing the older man. "I haven't seen you in ages!"

Jiraiya seemed uncomfortable by their close proximity but eventually cracked a smile and wrapped his arms around her. "Yes, much too long indeed," he agreed. "You look so much older."

"Part of it might be the dress. Sasuke just got it for me today!"

Jiraiya cocked his head at Sasuke and stared at him in the unnerving, condemning way he usually did. "Did he now?"

Sasuke observed this exchange edgily before remembering that Kankuro was also there. He turned to give him a hard stare. "Lusk," he sneered.

The Chairman's peculiar face paint crinkled as he flashed his familiar disarming smile. "Please, Sasuke, call me Kankuro."

Sasuke pretended as though he hadn't heard him. "What do you want, Lusk?"

The smile dropped instantly and Kankuro sighed. Without the warm grin his face looked incredibly wrinkled and weary. "So sorry for interrupting you two lovebirds, by the way," he said.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "I'm sorry for interrupting you two sweethearts. What were you discussing? Exchanging sweet nothings?"

Kankuro rolled his eyes and frowned. "How very humorous. I was merely questioning Mr. Lemmens on his late ex-wife to see if I could gather up any additional information that could help us discover the identity of the killer."

Sasuke's curiosity was piqued. "So it seems that you've hit a dead end, eh?"

Kankuro's weak glare betrayed his exhaustion. "I do not have the energy to put up with your childish taunting, Sasuke. This is not a victory for you. Remember what I said before? We're both working toward the same goal. If I am stumped and so are you, then who is to catch Jack the Ripper?"

Sasuke's smirk fell and his sense of triumph weakened. The bastard was right. If both Itachi and Kankuro were at a loss, what would happen?

"Sasuke, who's this?" Sakura asked curiously, returning to his side.

"Yes, Sasuke, you never did introduce me to your lovely companion," Kankuro said, his warm grin returning.

Sasuke bit his lip in irritation but knew how much Sakura valued common courtesy. "Sakura, this is Kankuro Lusk, the Chairman of the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee," he mumbled, gesturing toward the tall man. "And Mr. Lusk," he ground out, "this is Sakura Kelly."

Kankuro bowed low and took Sakura's hand, placing his lips to it multiple times. Sasuke couldn't stop a low growl from escaping his lips at the sight. Kankuro ignored him and smiled charmingly at Sakura. "It's my honor to meet such a beautiful woman as you, Ms. Kelly."

Sakura blushed and returned the smile, curtseying elegantly. "The honor is all mine, Mr. Lusk," she replied.

When she stepped back Sasuke grabbed her hand protectively. "I'm afraid we have to be leaving now," he said, turning away from the two men.

Sakura quickly curtsied to Kankuro again and said "Nice to meet you" before allowing Sasuke to pull her away. "Oh wait!" She pulled her hand out of his and rushed over to Jiraiya, embracing him one last time. "I've missed you."

Jiraiya slowly returned the hug. "Take care of yourself," he said.

She smiled. "I will. I have Sasuke." She tried to pull away but felt his arms tighten around her. "O-ow," she mumbled, squinting up at the tall man. "Jiraiya, that hurts!"

He seemed to snap to his senses and he released her. "Sorry," he said, eyeing her in the same way he did Sasuke, yet differently at the same time. He looked at Sasuke in the way that made it seem as if he wished Sasuke were never born. The look he directed at Sakura meant something else, though Sasuke didn't know what. "I guess I don't know my own strength."

Sakura laughed and rubbed her sides. "Yeah I guess so."

They exchanged goodbyes and left, intending to return to Sakura's room. However, on the way out, Sasuke felt two pairs of eyes following them, but it felt like only one stare was directed at him.

xXxJackTheRipperxXx

"Oh please Sasuke," Sakura said with a laugh. "Why would Jiraiya hate you? You're Naruto's best friend."

They sat across from each other on Sakura's small bed, sharing the poppy seed bread Naruto baked for them. The pleasant scent of vanilla flooded the room from the small scented candle sitting on the bedside table, which Sakura said she had been saving for a special occasion.

"I think that's why he hates me," Sasuke insisted. "He doesn't think I'm a good friend for Naruto."

Sakura rolled her eyes and broke off another piece of poppy seed bread. She ate it and sighed in contentment. "Naruto bakes the best bread. He always has."

Sasuke decided to drop the Jiraiya subject for the moment, seeing as Sakura had no obvious interest to discuss it. He took another piece of the bread and chewed it slowly. "He's really passionate about his baking. I think he loves it more than anything else, except for Iruka and all of us of course."

Sakura nodded. "Definitely."

"But then why is he studying to be a lawyer if he loves baking and he's good at it?"

Sakura swallowed her bread and looked thoughtful. "I think that Naruto wants to be well-off and wants to make enough money so that he can support Iruka if he ever needs it. From Naruto's point of view, he's in debt to Iruka for taking care of him and putting a roof over his head. He wants to be able to take Iruka in when he grows older or reaches a financial crisis. At least that's what I think the reason has to be, because Naruto wouldn't want all that money for himself. He wouldn't know what to do with it except use it for firewood."

Sasuke laughed just because it was true. "That sounds right. But you know Iruka would be furious if he found out."

"And that's an understatement! He might pop a blood vessel or something."

The conversation ceased after that as they dug in to the last of the mouth-watering poppy seed bread. After they'd licked up the last crumbs, Sasuke folded the cloth the bread had come in and slipped it into his vest to return to Naruto. As he put it away, his fingers brushed against the cover of his notebook and he was overcome with the desire to get it out. He gave in and pulled it out, attracting Sakura's attention.

"What's that?" she asked curiously.

"My notes on the investigation," he replied, showing her the title on the cover.

"May I see it?" she asked politely, holding her hand out.

Sasuke hesitated. No one outside the investigation was supposed to know about these…but Sakura was part of it. It was her friends who were murdered. "If you'd like. But are you sure you want to?"

Sakura smiled. "I know I want to. I just don't know if I can handle it. But I'll try my best." She gingerly accepted the notebook and opened it to the first page, skimming through the information and moving on, only stopping to read what was particularly interesting. Sasuke carefully watched her facial expressions the entire time. When she reached the pages containing the information about Temari and Kurenai, she bit her lip and closed her eyes.

"Sakura, don't read this part," Sasuke said gently, taking hold of the notebook. He tried to pull it out of her hands but she tightened her grip.

"No, I want to." She shook her head violently and took a few gasping breaths as Sasuke watched helplessly. When she finally opened her eyes they were pained, but she seemed to have a better grip on herself. Her finger traced down the pages shakily and her horrified yet curious eyes soaked up every detail. Sasuke watched her and wanted to reach out and hold her to help her through it, but he knew that Sakura didn't want that right now. Which is why it was a great relief when she turned the last page that contained information on her friends' deaths. "What's this?"

Sasuke didn't have to look to know what she was talking about. The graffito was the last thing he'd written down. "It's a copy of the message that Jack the Ripper wrote on the wall at Goulsten Street," he explained. "Naruto and I thought that there might be a message within the message if we scrambled it. It would take weeks to do it though, and it might not even be right."

Sakura read the message to herself intently. He could tell that she was happy for something to get her mind off her newly discovered information about her friends' deaths. "Hmm." She rested her cheek on her hand and stared at the page quizzically. "It talks about Jews and mostly Jews live in that area, but he spells it wrong."

"Yeah, I'm not sure about the spelling, but I do think that blaming Jews doesn't really sound like the Ripper. I think he might've set it up that way to distract us from his true intentions."

Sakura nodded slowly. "You're right. His grudge is against prostitutes, not Jews." She sat up straight and pulled the notebook into her lap. "Can I use this blank page? And do you have a pen I can borrow?"

"Sure, but why?" he asked, handing her his pen.

"I'm going to help you solve your riddle." She wrote out the graffito in a neat scrawl at the top of the page. Then she furrowed her eyebrows and stared at it, analyzing it in her mind. "Well, I just thought of an obvious word. Let's see if it works…" She moved the pen across the message, crossing out letters as she went. When she finished she wrote out the word 'whores' beneath the message.

"Oh, you're right, that was a given," he said, chuckling darkly. "Let me try this." He pulled the notebook toward him and scanned the message, picking out certain letters and mashing them together in his mind. He did this for at least five minutes until he formed a reasonable word. He crossed out six letters and wrote the word 'beware' in front of 'whores'.

"Oh, nicely done," Sakura commented, scooting closer to him to have equal access to the page. "It sounds like a warning he would give."

"Yeah, but we still have thirty four letters left," Sasuke reminded her. "There are a thousand different words we could spell." The difficulty of his task suddenly settled over him like a heavy wool blanket and he felt fatigued just thinking about it. "I change my mind. It will probably take more than weeks, months probably, to find the right answer. We don't have that kind of time."

"Hmm. You're right," Sakura agreed. "We don't. Which is why we need help. What if you ask Itachi to help us?"

Sasuke flinched. Itachi again. Even Sakura thought his brother was more able. He didn't blame her though. He did too. "No," Sasuke said firmly. "I can't rely on him for everything. I want to do this for myself."

"Sasuke…" Sakura said warningly. "This situation is too important to let brotherly competition halt its progress."

"It's not like that," Sasuke growled defensively. "Besides, even if I did ask for Itachi's help, he wouldn't give it. He's too wrapped up in his own puzzles to even give my idea a first glance."

Sakura was doubtful but knew that Sasuke was too stubborn right now to be persuaded. "Well then who else can help us?" she asked.

"Naruto," he answered. "We only need the three of us to figure this out. Just like it used to be."

Sakura smiled weakly. She didn't bother to point out her and Naruto's inexperience with this kind of thing nor did she mention Sasuke's freshman status. It was obvious that he would stick with his decision no matter what she said. Oh well, she would humor him. For now at least.

1 This idea to put up the motivations on a board was something I borrowed from the game Sherlock Holmes vs. Jack the Ripper. It's almost exactly the same actually heh.

2 I actually don't know if psychosis was a known mental disorder at this time in history. However, for the sake of this story I'm going to pretend like it was.