Tsubame: I'm sorry for updating so late but at least it is over… hehehe… read this chapter and see if your deductions were accurate. I'm so sorry for the late update. I got into a bad mood because one page of what I wrote disappeared because of a brownout. I'm really sorry. I was in a hurry to post, so no beta-editing. I still hope that it isn't too bad though. Enjoy!

Cagalli-Yula-Athha and CrAzY-SiLLy-Me: You both really surprised me. I applaud you!! You will know why later…

ANI-CHAN: I really should thank you for the review. I admit that I was guilty of procrastinating. Thanks to your interesting review, I finally found the gusto to finish this Arc. I hope that you still continue to read and I'm sorry for taking too long. I have to say that writing this chapter was harder than it looked. sigh

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. It is the property of Masashi Kishimoto and company…

"Summer School"

By Tsubame Ongaku

Chapter 10: Sai

Last time…

"We believe that we know who killed Uta Torii and what had really happened." Sasuke was waving the picture in the air. His face as usual was serious and didn't give out any clues at all of how he felt.

Tsubasa sat restlessly beside Neji. Neji was keeping a hawk's eye on Hinata, since Hinata was sitting so close to Naruto. Sai who also understood the case now after discussing it with his fellow detectives, leaned against the wall beside his stoic cousin. He still had the smile on his face even after knowing the full details.

It almost made Sasuke's teeth grind, seeing that smile on his face. But he couldn't show emotion just yet. He'll beat the guy up later.

"Tell us who it is already!" Naruto shouted. "Why are you keeping us in suspense?"

"Because…this is… a sad case indeed…" Sai answered for both of them.

Everything about Sai was a mystery to the student body. Other than the fact that he was Sasuke's cousin, they knew nothing much about him. He breezed through his classes like nothing. He obviously inherited the Uchiha brains, since he was a straight A student. It was also a well known fact that Sai and Sasuke could never get along.

They had always competed in everything. Academics, good-looks and girls… especially girls.

While Sasuke attracted the female species to him with his taciturnity and brooding good looks, Sai was the perfect Prince Charming. He smiled a smile that could melt the hardest of hearts and could send women swooning by just kissing the back of their hands.

Perfect manners…calculated gestures… hidden feelings… Sai was Sai. Nobody could understand him.

Sai watched Haruno Sakura with an amused glint in his eye. He had been watching her for a while, he couldn't help but wonder why this pink-haired beauty caught the attention of two Uchihas. He was curious. It wasn't unusual anyway for Uchihas to steal each other's targets.

It wasn't a matter of who saw her first but who gets her in the end. Sai planned to be that person because…Haruno Sakura was beginning to be more than he'd hoped possible. She would never bore him and that made him more interested.

He noticed his cousin, Sasuke, looking at him. He was obviously suspicious of him. He always was. They had already cracked the case and in all honesty, the truth amused him. It was utterly unbelievable if thought about it. Such a person could commit such a heinous crime?

He took out his pen drawing pad and with a grin, waited for the reactions the people in the room will have after hearing the truth. It was going to be an interesting scene to put into paper. He opened first to the page where he had drawn a beautiful portrait of Haruno Sakura. She was staring up to the sky with a look that seemed to be looking for answers in a background of cherry blossoms to befit her name.

"Truly interesting, this Haruno Sakura," he thought.

"All right, Haruno. Everyone is here," Tsunade-sensei said. "Tell us who did it now."

But Sakura was not in a hurry. She held the proof in her hands. And it frustrated her more than Sasuke did. She wished that she didn't have to do this but there was no turning back now… because all had to know the truth. "I thank you for coming here." She threw her partner a frantic look.

Sasuke replied with a look that said, "Do you want me to do it?"

Sakura understood the look, she hesitated before shaking her head. She mouthed him a, "I can handle it." She took a deep breath, but then turned back to the waiting people in front of her.

Ongaku Tsubasa of Sora High. She had a very strong motive to kill Torii. There was a possibility of vengeance and betrayal. They were bestfriends in their childhood but Torii had broken her trust when she stole her song and proclaimed it her own at the competition. There was also a possibility that she just wanted to get rid of a rival.

Suzuki Aya of Cloud High. Torii's manager and current bestfriend. Torii had been threatening to fire her as her manager. Also, Torii had been controlling her life since they met. From hair to clothes to looks, Torii had her hide the beauty she had under the drab clothes.

Hanabishi Makoto of Cloud High, Torii's ex-boyfriend. He had a history of violent behaviors and jealousy. It was a known fact that he couldn't handle his ex-girlfriend's infidelities. He was also in love with Suzuki Aya, Torii's manager, whom she had abused since they met. He was also a master in Chemistry… a perfect background for poisoning.

These were the prime suspects of the murder but they were not the only ones in the room. Tsunade-sensei, Jiraiya-sensei, Kakashi-sensei, Naruto, Hinata, Yukino and Neji were there. One thing they were certain about was that… the murderer was in the room.

Sakura was nervous and Sai could practically smell it. It only made him more intrigued.

"Before I reveal who the true crook is, let me explain how the person did it." Sakura was trying her best to sound calm. She knew though that it wasn't working. This was her first time to work on a murder case. It wasn't something that she would just jump into either. "There were five hints."

She took out the evidence bag with the microphone. "The first hint was this. There were no traces of poison on the contestants before Torii's turn. It means that the poison was on her. Further evidence is when I checked Tsubasa-chan for it. It was positive."

"But it could also mean that she planted the poison!" Naruto pointed out. Hinata nudged him hard on the hip. Naruto blushed, realizing what he had said. "I'm sorry…"

Tsubasa smiled, sadly. "Don't worry, Naruto-kun. You have a very good point." She squeezed Hinata's hand, who sat across from her in the small room. "I don't have an alibi to prove my innocence."

Sasuke had been quiet in the whole exchange finally spoke. "Actually, you are quite innocent, Ongaku." She nodded towards Sakura. "Sakura will explain everything."

"Thank you, Uchiha-san." Sakura took out an evidence bag with the poison-covered brush in it. "This brush doesn't belong to the victim. We are sure of that. Torii-san's brush was found in her purse in her dressing room and it was an expensive one. It was a known fact that Torii didn't buy anything not labeled."

"What does that prove?" Tsubasa asked.

"It proved that whoever killed Torii is the owner of this brush." Sakura placed the bag on the table and faced her audience. "I guess it was natural for me to suspect the three of you. You all had the motives, you all had the ability, but there was one thing that you all didn't have. It was the time."

She turned towards the ex-boyfriend. "Makoto, has anyone ever told you that you look exactly like Naruto?" She frowned. "Torii had a certain witness for blonde and blue-eyed guys. If you noticed, ninety percent of her boyfriends have these characteristics."

Makoto was shocked. He looked at the equally shocked Naruto a few feet away. "What--- does that have to do with anything?"

"Surprisingly, a lot," Sasuke answered for his partner. He leaned his head back and bumped his head lightly on the wall. "We took into account everything about the victim, from the people she hung out with to the brand of underwear she wore." He suddenly felt something hit his head hard, making him cry out in pain. It was Sakura and it was her way of saying, "Shut up, pervert."

Sakura coughed, bringing the attention of the audience back to herself. "Uta Torii's character has to be clear to all of you now, right? She is a very vain girl and can't stand anyone being better than her in either the looks or talent department." She looked over to Tsubasa. "Obviously, Tsubasa-chan was better than her in both singing and dancing. To get rid of the competition, she befriends them and somehow convinces them that they can only be number 2."

Tsubasa looked away from Sakura's knowing eyes. Clenching her fists, she was almost going to yell out but then a gentle hand patted her on the shoulder. She already knew it was Hinata.

"It will be fine. They will find the truth." It was Hinata's voice. It somehow calmed her.

"It was the same for Suzuki-chan too," The female detective continued. She took out a picture of Aya before she was in Elementary school and another picture of her before Torii's death. "Who would think that the elementary school girl here and the girl that worked for Torii Uta was the same person?"

Aya blushed and held Makoto's hand tighter. Makoto smiled brought his arms around her shoulders, reassuringly. He whispered words of comfort to her, calming her down. Aya was obviously still a bit shaken from losing someone so close to her. But why? Torii had abused her. Was her shaking really from shock? Or was it just guilt?

"As you can see, the real Aya is a real beauty. Torii had seen her beauty as a competition," Sakura stared at Aya's face. "She got rid of that competition in the only way she knew how. So, she used the same tactic on Aya-chan too."

Aya never said anything but just held on to Makoto's hand tighter. Makoto smiled and whispered that everything was going to be fine. She nodded but showed know signs of calming down. Sakura observed the girl's every move and expression. It was not easy to determine the how the girl was feeling.

It looked like she was either suffering from extreme shock from the death of her friend or was suffering from severe guilt. She was shaking so much, her eyes bore deep sadness and her lovely face was so pale. Makoto held her and pulled her into his arms, resting his chin on her head.

Sasuke smirked at the scene and despite Sakura's frown continued to speak exactly what he wanted to say. "Well, well… for someone who just lost his ex-girlfriend, you sure recover fast, Hanabishi." Makoto frowned, not liking what Sasuke was implying.

"What are you trying to say, Uchiha?" He growled. "I didn't kill her."

"I didn't say you did," he folded his arms in front of him and shrugged. "I won't beat around the bush. You have the biggest reason to kill her. It is nothing really. Jealous ex-boyfriends are nothing new. According to sources, you're also an excellent chemist. Mixing poison should be easy for you."

It was Makoto's turn to shake but said nothing, instead he buried his face in Aya's hair.

"But I'm no idiot." Sasuke took out a large brown envelope and tossed it to the table in front of him. It was a bit bulky and it was labeled in Torii's name. "I think you'll be interested in what is in there. We found it in her locker."

Makoto hesitated before taking it. "What is in here?"

Sasuke was silent at first but then finally said, "It is Torii's diary."

Makoto froze, not knowing what to do. He had always believed that he knew exactly what Torii had though of him. He had only been a decoration to her. Someone she could put on a mantle. When they were together, she was always fooling around with other guys.

"She really liked you," Sai spoke up, not taking his eyes off his drawing pad. "Sakura-chan, would you mind turning your head a little? Yes, like that. Thank you."

"She… what?" Makoto finally made up his mind to read it.

"This was the only way to get his eyes off her.."

Those were the first words of the diary. Makoto couldn't peel his eyes away from his reading after that. It seemed like Torii wrote on her diary on a daily basis. She had written a lot about Aya and Makoto. She said that she really fell love at first sight with Makoto but he was always looking behind her. He was always looking at Aya.

"What does she have that I don't? I don't have a choice! The only time he ever looks at me is when I'm fooling around."

Makoto blushed. Was this the reason she fooled around so much?

It turned out that it didn't seem fair for her that he looked at Aya so much when she was so in love with him. She knew even then that the reason he even asked her to be his girlfriend was to get closer to Aya. It frustrated her that despite Aya's very "uncool" appearance, he could still be attracted to her. She was very scared if he saw how she really looked like, he'd leave her.

"I can't let that happen! I hate her! I can't let her take him away from me!"

Aya cried when she read that. She never knew that Torii had felt that way about her. She had never said anything. She had asked Torii before why she fooled around but she only shrugged and said that she was too popular to stick with one guy. Aya glanced towards Makoto but he was still busy reading the diary.

"I love him. I really do…It is so cute the way he gets so jealous."

The blonde ex-boyfriend blushed but continued to read on. In the later entries, Torii began to mention Tsubasa.

"I saw Tsu-chan today. It was so nostalgic. I never thought I'd see her again."

By this time, Tsubasa also joined them in reading the diary. Tsubasa cried giant tears after just reading that one line. "She called me, Tsu-chan. She hadn't called me that since elementary school."

"We went to our favorite karaoke place when we were children. Tsu-chan is even better than before…at singing I mean."

"She hadn't called me Tsu-chan when we met that day," Tsubasa said without looking up. "She called me Tsubasa, so I thought she forgot already." She burst into tears. "I'm… I'm so glad that she didn't."

The entry continued to describe Tsubasa and what had happened that day. She also mentioned her insecurities. She kept saying that Tsubasa was getting better than her and it amazed her that she could even write her own lyrics. She also said that it made her nervous when Tsubasa mentioned that she was joining.

"I am going to lose! I can't lose! I finally got a recording contract but I can't get it unless I win."

"She never told me about that recording contract," Aya whispered, turning to Makoto. "She never told me anything."

"That idiot!" Tsubasa cried out, pounding both hands on the table. She wanted nothing more than to pound something. She had always thought of Torii as her bestfriend. Despite knowing that she was just using her, Torii had always protected her in a way. "If she had only just told me, I would have helped her! She should know that I'm willing to help."

"I want Tsubasa to hate me…"

The whole room went into a pregnant pause after that line. Torii wanted her bestfriend to hate her? But… why? It doesn't make any sense.

"Tsubasa is too good for me. I'm already tainted… I'm a poisoned lady. I've always known that since we were little. She was so nice to me today because she doesn't know how dirty I really am. I want her to hate me… because I don't deserve her."

"Torii, you idiot! You complete and utter idiot!" Tsubasa screamed. "I could never hate you! I could never do that!" Aya cried, burying her face in Makoto's chest. Makoto was just speechless. All three of them were obviously torn. So, there had been more to Uta Torii than what she had been showing them.

Tsubasa, who was never known to be a violent person, began to punch the walls. "You want me to hate you? Fine! I hate you, Torii! I hate you so much!" After that, it was like Tsubasa was possessed. She went on a rampage. Hinata and Naruto fought to calm her down.

"Tsubasa-chan, get a hold of yourself!" Hinata said, shaking her friend. Tsubasa had continued to wail in Hinata's arms. Hinata stroked her hair to calm her down. "It will all be alright."

Makoto who had been silent finally looked up, with a dazed look in his eyes. "Who? Who killed her then? Who?"

"Is it one of us?" Aya's muffled voice asked. Her head was still buried in Makoto's arms.

Sai, Sasuke and Sakura looked at each other. They knew it was time to reveal the truth.

Sai finally put down his drawing pad and showed them a picture. It was a picture taken at the concert. "What is missing here?"

You could almost see the question marks in their listeners' eyes. Everyone seemed to be accounted for.

"Look beside Hinata-chan," Sakura told them. "You will see Naruto and Neji. What is wrong with that picture?"

Naruto looked up suddenly. "Sakura-chan you're not saying that… I mean… you're not saying what I think you are saying."

"Right," she replied sadly. "I'm sorry, Hinata-chan… but Yukino-chan killed her."

Everyone in the rooms gasped and turned towards the shaking girl behind Hinata-chan. All eyes were on her, some were accusing, some were shock and others were of utter disbelief. It didn't seem possible that Hyuuga Yukino could hurt anyone. She was silent and such a good girl too.

"Yukino-chan, you?" Hinata choked. "There must be some mistake."

Yukino looked at her desperately. "There is, Hina-chan! I didn't kill anyone. I wouldn't kill anyone…" She took Hinata's hands in hers and stared into her eyes. "You do believe me, don't you, Hina-chan?"

Hinata didn't know what to believe anymore. "Yuki-chan?"

Yukino suddenly flew into rage and began to point an accusing finger at the three detectives. "This is all your fault!"

"You thought it was Hinata-chan coming through that door, didn't you?" Sasuke said.

"Have you been missing a brush lately, Yukino-chan?" Sai was grinning. He had his drawing pad on his lap again. He was busy trying to make his masterpiece again. He was not at all bothered by the fire in the young lady's eyes. "I think we found it."

Yukino became aware at the stares around her. It was unnerving. "You have no proof! Don't accuse me of something you can't even prove." She was smiling like someone who'd lost her mind. "That's right," she thought. "They can't touch me… because they can't prove it!"

"Oh? But we can prove it." Sasuke drawled. "But we'll tell you the hints first. The first hint was the picture of Torii in Sai's notebook." Sai showed them the picture he made of Uta Torii. It was still in black and white.

"It looks like Hinata-chan!" Neji exclaimed. He couldn't believe that it was his cousin either. For him, there had to be some mistake. Why would sweet little Yukino want to kill Uta Torii?

Sakura nodded. "Without the hair color and eyes to differentiate them, they look like exact replicas, don't they?" From head to toe, it was like looking at a picture of Hinata-chan than the picture of the victim.

"Hmmm… come to think of it, I did mistake that girl for Hinata-chan the first time I met her," Naruto mumbled, remembering the scene in his head. "She really did look like Hinata-chan."

"But I doubt that you were trying to kill Uta Torii. Am I right, Yukino-chan?" Sasuke sneered, ignoring the absolute fear in the trembling girl's eyes. "No, you've been trying to kill Hinata-chan from the very beginning!"

The whole room filled with their gasps. All eyes were now on Yukino. She felt trapped and insecure. "You can't prove it! You can't prove that I killed her! You can't!" She backed away towards the door. "Why would I want to kill Hinata-chan anyway? Why would I kill my beautiful cousin?"

"After Torii's performance, you were probably expecting Hinata to follow you to the bathroom," Sakura began. "You didn't expect that Hinata would stay behind to comfort Tsubasa after seeing her song stolen and being performed by someone else."

Yukino ran for the door but Sai had already been anticipating that she'd make that move. He grabbed her arm before she could even turn the knob. "But someone did go to that bathroom, right, Yuki-chan?" Sai continued. He had on that smile again. "It was Torii wasn't it? You didn't mean to give her that brush did you?"

"No! It was… I didn't do it! I'm innocent!" She was shouting frantically.

"But it was too late." Sakura stared at her sadly. "You gave it to her thinking it was Hinata-chan. When you finally realized the mistake, you couldn't back away."

"I wouldn't! I couldn't!"

"How did it feel to kill, Yuki-chan?" Sai's smile had suddenly changed into something accusing. "It must have felt good."

"It was an accident! You can't prove it! You can't!"

"Now that we knew it was you, all we had to do was find the container where you contained the poison." Sakura raised another evidence bag. Inside was a small vial. "This was found in a garbage can near the rest room where Torii was last seen going to." She swung it in front of the girl. "It had small traces of Potassium Chloride. The poison that killed Torii. It has your prints all over it, Yukino-chan."

"Neji-kun, you can't possibly believe these lies, do you?" She asked, screaming. "These people are lying!"

But Neji didn't move. Guilt was plastered all over his cousin's face. He looked away from the sight, feeling nothing but shame at what his cousin had tried to do. "You have shamed the Hyuuga name, Yukino. How could you do this to Hinata?"

"Neji-kun!" But she was met with deaf ears. She realized then and there that Neji didn't consider her a Hyuuga anymore. Her head bent down, like she had just lost all her spirit. But then she raised her head up again. This time her eyes were murderous. "Hinata! Hinata! That is all I ever hear in this family! She always gets everything! When is it ever going to be my turn?"

Hinata burs into tears at her cousin's outburst.

"Why is it that that girl gets everything?" Yukino was on a roll. "She has the looks, the money, the popularity and the love of the whole family though she really does nothing but look pretty!" She turned towards Naruto. He was busy trying to soothe the crying girl. "Not only that! But the guy that I really like likes her! He never looked my way because she was around. I never stood a chance!"

Naruto didn't even look up from comforting Hinata. He didn't seem to notice that the whole room was now staring at him after following Yukino's gaze.

"He looks at no one else!"

Sakura actually felt sorry for her. Jealousy had played a powerful part in this case. "Yuki-chan, it still doesn't justify murder. Even if you killed Hinata-chan, what did you expect? Did you expect everything to change in your favor?"

Yukino tore her eyes away from Hinata and Naruto. It hurt her. You could clearly see it in her eyes.

"Take her away," Sasuke told the policemen waiting for his signal in the background. They nodded and proceeded to put handcuffs on her wrists.

Before they took her away though, Yukino asked to speak to Hinata one more time. Once she was in front of the girl that would have been her victim, she hugged her. "I'm sorry, Hinata-chan." It hurt so much to be ignored because I couldn't be pretty and popular like you. I'm sorry."

"Yuki-chan…" The Hyuuga heiress hugged her back. "I'll get the best lawyers… I'll help you…"

"No, Hinata-chan." The other girl replied. "I want to serve my time. I killed another person and that is unforgivable. But Hina-chan, when I'm out can we try again?"

Hinata nodded and smiled sadly.

Then Yukino turned to Naruto. "It was great to have known you, Uzumaki Naruto." She kissed him on the cheek to everyone's surprise. The boy looked confused for a moment but the smiled. "You're a good person, Yuki-chan. Take care of yourself."

She nodded. "I will… take care of Hinata-chan."

"Let's go." The policemen lead her to the door.

Sai finished his picture and smiled. It was the picture of the trembling and frightened Yukino surrounded by their gazes. Guilt, fear and denial marred her face. To him it was beautiful… to him it was a masterpiece. Then he turned the page, by far it was still his favorite though.

It was Sakura-chan. A tear was rolling down her cheek with sadness and disbelief on her face that made Sai think that she was absolutely adorable. He sighed. Haruno Sakura really brought out the sadistic side of him so easily. She was just too cute.

If they hadn't found that vial on time, they would have been in a pinch. All they could rely on was that Yukinochan would break down from the guilt. It was a matter of psychology. They had studied Yukino's disposition very carefully. They just had to pray that they were right and couldn't take it. As planned, she broke down.

Sakura didn't want to do it at first but finally relented in the end, knowing that they needed the truth to come out.

He ran his finger down the page. It was interesting what this girl would do next….

Author: Again, sorry for being late but I'm happy that this Arc is finished. Watch out for the next one! It is a brain-boggler. I hope you enjoy it as much as you did this one. Any questions? Just ask and I'll answer it on the next chapter.