The Fairytale Murders

Act 2: A Ghost Village: The Beginning

Sakura gasped. She was right- it was something eccentric. She shuddered as she thought of all who died by that horrible method.

"You're shitting me- they died by drowning in their own blood?" demanded an amazed Naruto, his blue eyes round with shock. He could not believe this piece of information, how could somebody drown in his or hers own blood?

Tsunade's eyes narrowed. "That damn brat, always questioning my authority- why can't he ever shut the hell up?" she thought.

"Well, Naruto, since you are so smart- please care to explain why it couldn't?" growled Tsunade.

Naruto scratched his head. "Well…" he started, with a very intelligent look in his eyes, as if he had suddenly thought of a brilliant idea, "blood… is INSIDE the body. Therefore, if something is inside of the body, how can you drown in it?"

All three of them fell over. After all this thinking, that was the best explanation that he could come up with? He really was an idiot.

"Dobe." Muttered Sasuke.

"What you say?!" yelled Naruto, obviously provoked by the young Uchiha's tauntings.

Sakura bopped them both on the head.

"Shut up, why doncha? Tsunade-sama's trying to tell us something else."

The both of them shut up. After all, they knew just how scary Sakura could be when provoked. She wasn't the same gentle shinobi that she had been five years ago. Unfortunately, she now knew all the best methods of torturing somebody to get information out of them, after all, she was the freaky-ass general Ibiki's apprentice. Both Sasuke and Naruto knew that she wouldn't hesitate to try out one of her new torturing techniques on her teammates. Oh, they knew all too well…

"You are to go to the hidden village of seed to investigate what had been happened. Leave no leaf unturned- you must get to the end of this. After all, they're paying us big bucks!"

"What a speech to send us on our journey." Thought Sakura. "Maybe money is what pleases Tsunade-sama the most after all."

She snickered as she thought of her Hokage rolling around in coins and bills.

"Ah.. what a wonderful day!" she thought, as she turned her head towards the sky. Her emerald green eyes gazed at the clear blue sky, captivated by its beauty and majesty. She pulled her arms over her head and stretched. It's been a while since she's been able to be so relaxed- usually she had to be on her guard all the time. She glanced at her teammates.

"Ah. Kakashi is still reading that same old book- what a horny old bastard." She thought as a sweatdrop rolled down her face.

She looked over at Naruto, who was by the roadside peering at all the wild flowers and herbs. As he caught her eye, he gave her a wide smile and motioned for her to go over.

"Ne, Sakura-chan! What's up? I haven't talked to you alone since… yesterday!" said Naruto.

Sakura laughed.

"Ah… so true, so true. Ya missed me, old buddy? Can't live a moment with your Sakura-chan?" she teased.

"Aw… you caught me! But make sure that Hinata doesn't know of this, otherwise she'd skin me alive!" whispered Naruto.

Sakura chuckled. She knew that Hinata could never hurt a single hair on Naruto's body. After all, they have been together for almost two years. Sakura sighed. A match made in heaven, she thought. If only she could find a person like that for her, to be by her side for always, to love her when nobody else would. With that thought, she glanced sideways at her other comarade- the lone Uchiha heir, Sasuke.

He was walking silently, his face set in its usual emotionless expression. He hadn't changed at all. His raven black hair was still in its usual fashion, framing his pale, chiseled face and enhancing the elegance of his obsidian orbs. He was truly the epitome of the metaphor, tall, dark and handsome- although Sakura knew that his heart was as cold as a block of ice. There was absolutely no difference between the Sasuke, five years ago and the Sasuke, five years later. Except for the fact that he had grown taller, stronger and no longer craved for power given by others. His sole goal in life was still to avenge the deaths of his clan, by killing his older brother, the dangerous S-level assassin, Itachi Uchiha.

Sakura then turned her head to look at Naruto, who was still by the roadside taking in the beauty of wild flowers and the grass billowing in the light zephyrs that spring had to offer. Naruto was truly a child, so innocent and pure, even though he has been through so much. With golden blonde hair, shining azure eyes and a wide, warm smile, they were truly opposites. They reminded her of light and dark, making themselves enemies of each other, yet binding them together in a never-breaking bond of friendship.

She thought of Kakashi, or more affectionately known to her as "Sensei". He really was a puzzle. There were so many sides to her sensei that she didn't know where to begin. To his many acquaintances, he was the mysterious Copy-Ninja, Kakashi Hatake, the man with many secrets or an arrogant bastard, who always had his nose in that dirty book. But to the few who he let into his guarded heart, he was a source of safety, a mentor and a man who was always there when you needed him. Yes, Kakashi Hatake was truly a complexity that would perhaps, never be solved.

Sakura brushed a strand of her petal pink hair behind her ear, a soft smile gracing her face as she thought of her team- the three most important people to her in the world. Then, as if on cue, all three of them glanced back at her, who was always a few steps behind them. They caught the sight of her soft smile, and the way that her petal pink hair flew behind her. They stopped and waited for her as she slowly came out of her daydream. She might not know it but she was the bond that tied them all together, whether she liked it or not.

Darkness hung over the village, camouflaging the once happy and thriving town. Ominous clouds hung in the sanguine sky and all around the village, people whispered.

"The sky is drenched in blood."

And the sound of a woman wailing broke the silence of the night.