Sakura didn't have time to be tired, it had been the same while she had practised medicine, but that was the only similarity she could draw from her short time as a detective so far. Ignoring the dull throb of her wrist she marched back into that interrogation room, making sure that she remained unreadable. Mizuki was exactly the kind of manipulative narcissist that she had been forced to deal with in her medical career. Although they were usually disguised as her peers, not patients. And she knew that he would likely use any kind of emotion against her to try and worm his way out of the situation.

She still couldn't get over the visible change in him from the day before, that confident facade had been broken into something that looked remarkably like acceptance. But she knew that he was capable of turning into a different kind of monster at the drop of the hat. Appearances were deceiving when it came to Mizuki Tsubaki, and Sakura was not about to be fooled again. He looked every bit harmless and dejected as he sat cuffed to that table with his shoulders sagging ever so slightly.

"Her blood is all over your tools, it's in your bathroom, we've got forensics testing your clothes. Now is probably the time you should get a lawyer, Mizuki."

"I'll get one, but you need to hear me out first, I've got information y'know and if you don't act fast it'll be too late."

"Oh, really?" Sakura tried and failed to disguise the sarcastic tone. "You think you can fool us, trying to get a quick deal written up and we draw the short straw? What if your information is full of shit?"

"I was right about the body parts, wasn't I? You gotta believe me-"

"I'm not in the habit of trusting murderers."

Sakura didn't care at this point if she was pissing him off, she was at the very end of her patience, a fact that was amplified by a bubbling anger. Mizuki regarded her with narrowing eyes which gave away his thoughts, she was glad that he was still cuffed.

"I have proof."

"Mah, that wouldn't be this, would it?" Kakashi withdrew the surveillance notebook they had confiscated from his pocket. Sakura was starting to wonder if he went anywhere without it. "You kept a very detailed record, it must be said…"

"Thanks, but that's not the proof I had in mind-."

"Who said I was complimenting you?" Kakashi basically spat the question as he dropped the book to the table with a thwack. "Listen good, there is only one way that the Konoha P.D will ever consider cutting a deal with the likes of you, and that's if you explain this book in every detail. Every page, you got it? Along with whatever information it is that you think is important, if it holds any stock we'll consider a lighter sentence for Samantha's murder, a nice prison perhaps, though it's more than you deserve…"

"Fine." Mizuki was now suitably pissed off.

"And for the record, do you, Mizuki Tsubaki know what this book is and who owns it?"

"Yes" he sighed, "that would be me. The book is mine. I wrote it."

"Who were you following?"

Sakura allowed Kakashi to take over from here with the questions while she took her own notebook out to jot down her notes and quiet observations.

"Like I said before, the jealousy with Sam, well it started just over a year ago when she tried to leave me. That mother of hers was telling her bullshit and she believed it. When we got back together I still… I couldn't trust her. Not properly anyway. I would sit outside her work in the car just to make sure she was there, kept an eye on anyone she would talk to. Call her to make sure she knew I could see her, that she couldn't get anything past me-"

There was a sick feeling like heartburn that intensified with every word he spoke, Sakura's disgust was so visceral that she felt it physically. That controlling nature of Mizuki had ultimately lead to Samantha's death, he'd been able to control her absolutely in the end, but now it was their turn to watch and control his movements. Kakashi opened the book to a specific page, almost without looking, and Sakura waited with bated breath for what was to come.

"Explain to me why you have the license plate details of a murdered detective's car written here, Mizuki."

He had asked it politely enough, but behind that tone was a foreboding and sharp edge that was waiting to come out. Mizuki sighed, lowering his head to rub his face with his shackled hands, the greasy matte of blonde hair falling in his eyes before he managed to brush it away.

"It's not what it looks like, I was only following him, I didn't kill him."

"Why were you following Detective Uchiha?"

"I told you, I was following Sam, and anyone she talked to. Staunched out the guys that hung around her too much. I didn't even know he was a cop at first, he just kept showing up while Sam was working, and he drove a fucking long way just to buy a can of soda. I didn't like it, so I followed him a couple times."

"It's more than just a couple of times.." Kakashi stated while flicking through the pages of the notebook. "Did you think to ask Sam why she was talking to a detective?"

"See, that's just it…" Mizuki's voice dropped, it was difficult to tell if this was out of anger or maliciousness, but it was chilling to Sakura all the same. "Sam was always doing stupid stuff to get me angry, and she liked doing it, she said that she was just talking to him, that he was related to some hot shot doctor who could help her mom."

Sakura felt as if she had been thrown into a bucket of ice water, because she knew which family he was referring to, she knew the doctors personally.

"So Detective Uchiha was helping her get in touch with a doctor?"

"Yeah, that's what she said, and I told her nothing is for free. She had to be giving him something for the favor…" Mizuki's eyes had gone dark and his lips were turned into a malevolent smile. "I followed them, I knew she wasn't cheating at least, but what she did was worse… She was giving him information."

"What kind of information?"

"Information about me, about the work I've been doing on the side. Which I would have told you about first but you guys had to get all shitty and insist on going about it all wrong, if you'd just listened to me-" He was getting more worked up by the second, banging his closed fists on the table and rattling the cuffs. "If everyone just listened to me in the first place, then I wouldn't have to fix all the shit that they cause-"

"Mizuki!" Sakura spat loudly with as much ferocity as she could manage, it was enough to make both Mizuki and Kakashi turn to look at her. It also had the desired effect of stopping Mizuki mid-tangent. "Get to the point fast or I'm going to have my turn rearranging your face." When he didn't reply Sakura reminded him of the incentive. "If you want that deal you better start making sense."

He sniffed loudly and took pause before answering.

"Started a couple years back, I was working at the gas station, some weirdo with a leather jacket comes up to me and asks if I'm any good at valeting cars. I tell him that I'll do it for a price. Next day he turns up with this car, a nice one, so I clean it out for him and he pays me a nice wad of cash. It keeps happening on and off, always different cars, always paying too much for just a cleaning job. But then he starts turning up more and more… guess I impressed him or something."

"Spare me your sycophantic rambling and get to the point…"

"Alright, just hear me out. Guy starts bringing these real messed up cars in late at night, always around the back and away from the cameras. Like we're talking blood and all kinds of weird shit on the inside. I look at the guy sideways but didn't ask any questions, didn't ask his name coz I didn't want to be linked, he was the one paying and I'm not stupid. The less I knew the better."

"How much blood?" Kakashi asked quickly.

"Too much."

"How often did this happen?"

"It's all in here." Mizuki nodded to the notebook. "Dates and times too, it went on for a year before the guy trusted me enough to get chatty."

"Did you get a name?"

"Called himself a codename, I always called him the Hebi, the snake. One day I got curious, I say to him, 'how'd you get all this cash and all these cars?'. Guy has to be younger than me by a few years at least." Mizuki leaned forward and grinned as if he were about to open a Christmas present. "He tells me he works for an outfit called the Akatsuki."

Mizuki stopped speaking, his eyes darting between the detectives and waiting for a reaction.

"That's it? That's all the information you have for us? A code name and the dates you cleaned some cars…"

"You obviously don't know how big a deal these Akatsuki guys are, Detective. But I can give you more than just a name, so long as I don't fry for killing Sam."

"What can you give us?"

"I can tell you where one of their labs is."

"That's a nice start." Kakashi spoke quietly. "But I want every detail of this entry here, Mizuki. I want to know exactly what you saw that day."

Mizuki sat silently he made no movements, no expressions, in a cold staring match with Kakashi. Sakura wasn't sure what prompted her next action, for she knew that Mizuki was a monster, but she had a prickling sensation running up her spine and a tingling that would not go away. So she appealed to his sensibilities.

"Did you tell Sam about any of this Mizuki?"

He softened.

"She knew, but she never told the cop anything. She wanted to get that doctor to see her mom first. I… I hate that old bat more than anyone but I didn't want Sam to have to go through more shit. If he could fix her mom then we could be free. So I told her to tell the cop, give him everything, get the help. The day that she did I followed him, but he didn't go the usual way, he went to a storage locker first, he talked to some guy. Then they both left and went to the docks, I followed behind a ways, thought I had lost them when I see that shitty sedan parked up. Wait an hour, but he never came back out."

"Did you get a good look at the guy he was talking to?" Kakashi sounded hurried but calm.

"No."

"Where was the storage locker?"

"That's just it dummies, if you had let me tell you from the first place then you might've had a chance. It's where my locker is at. That's where the lab is. The Akakstuki would have seen you bozo's staking the place out and abandoned it by now."

Sakura felt her eyes widen, she looked to Kakashi, his features were narrowed in concentration. She didn't know what to say next or even what to think. The puzzle pieces were being thrown at her and she needed time to put them together.

"Are there any other details you can remember about the man you saw with Detective Uchiha? Anything at all?" Kakashi now sounded urgent.

"Everything I know is in that book." Mizuki nodded down. "I probably wrote down the other guy's plate number if you look properly."

Kakashi now turned to look at Sakura and there was something in his eyes that she did not recognize. If it was hope or sadness, she couldn't be sure, there wasn't time to dwell on it. Sakura stood abruptly, Kakashi did the same and they both turned to the door, ignoring Mizuki's protests of when he would get his deal. Kakashi forged the path and she followed behind, he went straight to the empty observation room next door.

It was like watching a caged animal the way he paced around the room and glared out the window to Mizuki.

"What do we do now?"

She asked without thinking not noticing Kakashi's breaths coming out like short bursts of frustration. It was here that she recognized the shaking of his hands, the pale look on his face and the spark of madness in his eyes. She knew the signs of PTSD more than most people, and right now she was watching a man descend into that void. She could no longer stand and watch. Sakura stepped into the direct path of his pacing, he only managed to stop himself an inch in front of her, she placed her unbroken hand on his forearm and met his eye.

"Stop, Kakashi, breathe."

His eyes were wide and darting between hers, they were unrecognizable at the moment, a staunch contrast to the usual lazy gaze she now expected from him.

"He was there, Sakura, he saw him…"

"I know, I know what he said. But you need to calm down and think for a minute. We still don't know if we can trust anything this guy has to say, he's pure evil Kakashi, the way he was talking about Samantha Winters. We need to stay objective, stay on track."

She watched Kakashi close his eyes for a moment, felt the way his body stopped exhibiting that tense energy, and when they opened again they weren't the frenzied pupils she'd seen a few seconds ago. He took some deep, steadying breaths and Sakura slowly released her grip on his forearm, but kept close to be sure.

"We need to search that whole storage facility, we need to brief the Captain and send SWAT…"

"That's a good plan." Sakura was glad that his tone was more familiar, and also glad because she really didn't know the best way to proceed from here at all. Suddenly Mizuki was barely a blip on their radar.

"Let's find Tsunade, fast." They both headed for the door, Kakashi paused as his hand came down on the handle, looking back at her slightly. "Sorry that you had to see that…"

"See what?"

Sakura tried a sympathetic smile, an unwritten agreement between the two of them that she wouldn't mention his minor breakdown. Partners were meant to share the burden, and he had been by her side all night while her hand had been tended to.

"Thanks, Sakura."

From the sliver of his face that she could see from her position, she caught a glimpse of a smile in the shadows of the dark observation room. And it spread to her own face in an instant of understanding. They were beginning to understand each other. She just wondered how the Captain would take the news.

Kakashi took the reins this time in explaining it to Tsunade, barging unapologetically into her office and speaking before she could explode in anger. Before he'd even stopped talking Tsunade had the phone in her hand.

"So what you're telling me is that Mizuki was cleaning cars for the Akatsuki. That he let Samantha Winters know this detail so that she could secure a deal as an informant for Obito, that she told him about the Akatsuki lab, and he met someone there before his death."

"That's it, for some reason Obito went straight there instead of phoning for back up, or maybe he wasn't able to… I'm not sure. Mizuki seems to think that the lab will be cleaned out by now, we'll need to sweep the whole facility, and we still have no idea what they are actually cooking in that lab."

"I think I have the answer to that at least." Tsunade sighed, holding up a finger to silence them before dialling. "Ebisu, yeah it's Tsunade, I need the Commissioner now. I don't care if he's busy- what is he doing, watching those damned soap operas again? Well, if I'm right then patch me through before I come down there and kick your ass."

Sakura folded her arms and shifted her weight, while Kakashi didn't seem as agitated as before he was biting his bottom lip with his eyes on Tsunade. The Captain was able to explain what had transpired in a few short sentences, it appeared the Commissioner was already aware of some of the details of Samantha Winters case as it was.

"We've got a possible location on one of the Bijuu labs-"

"Bijuu? What's that?" Sakura muttered quietly to Kakashi.

"Class A narcotic, street name Bijuu, we've managed to confiscate samples but have had no luck in finding the dealers. Seems like the Akatsuki have been behind the drug all along."

"Strange name for a drug. What's it like?"

"High potency liquid speed, they call it Bijuu because it turns you into a beast, and it only takes one hit to be hooked." Tsunade answered Sakura as she hung up the phone. "Commissioner Jiraiya has agreed to a raid, I need you both in tactical gear in two minutes, you're to go in after the raid and find what you can. Haruno, you're on limited duty with that wrist of yours, will it be an issue?"

"No, Ma'am, not an issue."

"Good. Now, listen up, the both of you. Depending on the outcome of this raid it could mean big things for the precinct. The Commissioner and I have been waiting for any leads on Bijuu suppliers for some time, the drug has become a big problem for all of Konoha and we need to nip it in the bud before it expands to Suna. We've had 10 confirmed deaths in the past 2 months from Bijuu overdosage."

"What if Mizuki's information is false?" Kakashi interrupted. "He's a murderer, and we've no reason to trust him."

"That may be true." Tsunade sighed. "But it's a lead, and it's more than we've had before. We also have possible confirmation that the Kyuubi killer is a hitman for the Akatsuki, which we hadn't even considered before. Commissioner Jiraiya wants a task force formed against Bijuu and the Akatsuki, and depending on this raid, he wants you two front and center to lead the task force."

Kakashi and Sakura exchanged a quick glance at each other.

"Why would he want-"

"He wants you to lead it, because I want you to lead it. Kakashi, you've got the most knowledge of the Kyuubi killer, you're one of my best detectives. And Sakura, you've got the chemistry knowledge as well as a solid head on your shoulders, you're up to date with modern technology. It's one of the reasons I teamed you two up together in the first place. So, get moving, you're to meet the team on the street outside the facility."

"Before we go, Captain, Mizuki claimed there's a licence plate in his notes which is tied to the man that Detective Uchiha was last seen with."

"It can wait, give the book to Detective Shiranui if you must, but get moving, both of you."

Her tone was not to be argued with, they hightailed it to the equipment room where Kakashi geared himself in bullet proof vest and helped Sakura into hers, the wrist brace making it more awkward. They didn't speak much as they got ready, there wasn't time, it wasn't until they were both in the sedan that they were able to speak.

"I'm not sure if I'm ready to co-run a task force…" Sakura spoke honestly, it was just one of the thoughts spinning in her mind that she needed to expel.

"You want to be Captain one day, right?" Kakashi stated it matter-of-factly as he concentrated on the road.

"Well, yeah, I do."

"You do well at this then the sky's the limit, you could even make Commissioner. Just follow those instincts of yours, they've served you well so far."

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Sakura, there's something about Mizuki's information that we need to discuss, and I know now isn't exactly the right time…"

"What about it?"

Kakashi's eyes were narrowed as he weaved through the traffic, Sakura gripping the door of the car with her good hand, she guessed that he was probably working out which words to say rather than concentrating on the road.

"The hot shot doctor that Sam was trying to get her mom in to see, the one that Obito was supposedly related to, do you think that it's connected to the Uchiha brothers you mentioned?"

Sakura swallowed thickly, wishing with all her might that her instincts were wrong on this occasion, but the thought festered quickly.

"I don't know what I think anymore, there aren't any coincidences in a murder investigation though, right?"

"What is your detective's gut telling you, Sakura?"

Her eyes drifted from the road ahead and to some fixed point on the dashboard, as if looking in this one place for long enough would anchor her own thoughts. She had agreed to tell Kakashi the truth, they had agreed on 50/50, and they had already caught one murderer.

"My guy tells me that one or both of them are involved, they got away with killing before, it wouldn't surprise me if they had tried again."

"What… are you talking about?"

"The Uchiha brothers were acquited after the murder of their parents. Motive was strong but there wasn't any physical evidence to connect them and too much reasonable doubt in the jury. Pricey lawyers and a rushed trial. they walked away and there's been no movement on the case ever since. It's one of the reasons I wanted to become a detective…"

Sakura could tell that Kakashi was less than impressed with her confession, that she had kept that information from him, but it hadn't exactly been pertinent to the case at hand.

"Do you have reason to believe they are guilty of their parents murders?"

"I do. I was dating one of them at the time."