The Fairytale Murders

Note: A character in this fanfic will be like Sorato from X TV.

Act 4: The Mark of Amity

Death filled the air of the small town. Sakura could smell it. The metallic scent of blood flooded her senses.

"What had happened here?" she wondered.

Overhead, the crescent moon shone, bleeding red into the night sky. Sakura looked at the moon captivated.

"It's as if the sky's seeping with blood." She thought out loud.

Naruto and Sasuke looked at her strangely. She seemed as if she was enchanted with the sky, lost in her own little world. Then they heard the scream. The sound of a women wailing pierced through the night. Without a second glance at each other, they all ran into the direction of where the scream came from.

When they got there, they kicked the door open. There was nobody in sight, although they could smell the heavy scent of water lilies that was overflowing in the room. It was dark, no light shone from the little house.

"What the hell? A few seconds ago, I sensed the charka from this house. It was so strong, where did it go?" asked Naruto quizzically.

Kakashi turned his head and observed his surroundings. Something was wrong here, the chakra was gone. He sniffed the air gingerly. His eyes bugged out in shock.

"Don't go in there! The air is drugged!!" he shouted to his other teammates. Unfortunately, Sakura had already gone inside.

"SAKURA!!" they shouted.

Sakura spotted her. A lump in a corner, holding something tightly to her chest. The person wailed again, this time even louder.

"No... No...!! Why?? Why did it have to be him?" she sobbed heartbreakingly into the burden on her lap.

Sakura motioned to the other three that she had found somebody in the house. She approached the woman slowly and sat down beside her. What she saw frightened her.

Sakura gasped and held her hand to her mouth to prevent her from throwing up at the gruesome view. The woman was clutching a man tightly to her, but it wasn't a normal man. The skin of the man had turned black, and it was slowly decomposing. The black blood soaked through the lady's clothes, and oh, how it smelled.

"Oh god." She whispered.

The lady seemed to have sensed Sakura's presence next to her. She slowly turned her head to Sakura. Sakura gasped at the sight of the woman's face. Her face was estranged, as if she was in immense pain. The rotten blood was spotted all over her face but it was her eyes that haunted Sakura the most. They were black, glittering of hatred and grief. They took in the image of Sakura and the woman gritted her teeth with hatred. With a petrifying scream, she lunged herself at Sakura, ripping at her with her long, sharp nails. Sakura held her hands up in defense, but it seemed to do nothing for the woman seemed to be crazy.

"You... You... Killed him!! You demon!! I will kill you!! I will kill you!!!" she sobbed.

Sakura was frightened. What did the woman mean when she said that Sakura had killed him? She didn't even know him.

"Wh-What? What do you mean?" she stammered.

To her surprise, the lady stopping reaching for Sakura. She stood there, just staring at her with a deathly calm stare.

"You're marked. Tainted by the kiss of the devil..."

She then sank to the ground, as if she had just lost consciousness. Sakura approached her carefully, the woman made no movement. She just lay there, in a pool of her own blood and of her lover's blood. Sakura shivered. She suddenly felt cold, as if a sudden gust of wind had swept through the room. Then, everything started spinning. Whirling and twisting, all she saw was a blur of colours. The last thing she remembered was the scent of water lilies before she fell unconscious.

"Sakura-chan, Sakura-chan?" called a gentle voice.

Sakura opened her eye. Brightness filled her vision. She groaned and closed her eyes once again. She felt a gentle nudge.

"Sakura-chan! Sakura-chan!!" hollered the voice again.

She shut her eyes, she didn't want to wake up. It was too early.

"Sakura Haruno. Open your eyes right now before I spill water on you."

Sakura finally opened her eyes, unwillingly. The first thing she saw was the azure orbs of Naruto's eyes.

"AHHH! What are you doing so close to my face??!!" she shrieked.

"Hey, hey. Take it easy, I was only seeing if you were awake or not." Answered Naruto, as he placed his hands on his ears.

"Man, Sakura-chan can sure scream loud!" he thought to himself. Shaking his head, he sat down on a chair close to her bed.

"What happened last night?" he asked her, gently.

Sakura suddenly remembered the events of last night. Horrified, she gasped.

"Oh my god. That lady! Is she alright??"

Naruto just gave her a weird look.

"What lady? There was no lady in that house! We walked into that house and you just suddenly started gasping and panicking. Then, you fainted." Explained Naruto.

"What are you talking about? There was a lady there and she was holding- oh my god...That man. She was holding a man's corpse in her lap. And that smell...God, how could you not have smelled it?" said Sakura hysterically.

Naruto pressed his hand on her forehead. It was probably the aftereffects of the drug that she was exposed to last night.

"Listen, you're not thinking straight. Last night, when we entered the room, you smelled water lilies right?"

"Um...yea" answered Sakura, "But what does the scent of water lilies have to do with anything?"

"Well... it turns out that the smell of water lilies was a drug. Sasuke, Kakashi and I already noticed it but before we could tell you, you already went into the house. There was no lady, there was no corpse, that house was empty." Replied Naruto with a gentle voice.

Sakura looked dumbfounded. How was that possible? It seemed so real- the lady scratching at her and lunging at her. Was that all an illusion? She shook her head to clear it. Man, she was really out of it today.

"Sakura-chan...are you alright?" asked a concerned Naruto.

Sakura nodded.

"Yea... I'm just a little out of it today, don't mind me. Where's Sasuke and Kakashi?"

"They went out a while ago to get our breakfast! RAMEN! Don't worry, Sakura-chan! I'll pay for your ramen, after all, I did eat it during our journey here."

A sweatdrop rolled down Sakura's face.

"Th-Thanks, Naruto."

Somewhere out there, a small voice laughed of glee. It was all going as planned.

"Sakura-chan... you'll be mine! Mine forever and ever and ever..." she giggled blissfully.

It was afternoon when Sakura was finally allowed out of the village hospital. The town really wasn't what it had seemed to be in the night, it was a rich, thriving town. Little children ran everywhere and the sounds of happiness filled the village. It was completely different from the night before, when the red moon had shone upon it.

"Wow... what a difference!" smiled Sakura.

Naruto and Sasuke gave her a queer look.

"What do you mean? It was like this when we got here yesterday." Asked Naruto.

Sakura froze. What was he saying? When they had arrived at the village last night, it was dark and gloomy. It seemed as if death had visited. It wasn't the picture of good commerce and fun- it seemed... dead.

Sasuke looked at her worriedly. She had been like this since last night. Naruto had told him how she had been hallucinating; how she had thought that she had seen things that she hadn't seen in the house last night. It was too strange... He looked at her carefully. She had changed in some aspects. She looked perfectly normal, physically. But he had noticed how she had forced some smiles. It was as if she was worried about something but she couldn't say what it was. He watched her through his dark brooding eyes and worried about her.

Although he'd never admit it, he too saw that she has grown to be a beautiful strong young lady. Over the years, she has grown to be a part of him. Deep inside, he knew that it felt right to be beside her, like they were together yesterday, peacefully watching the clouds float by. He knew that he felt safe with her, that she could help him forget his revenge, if only for a little while.

He put his hand on her shoulder. She looked over her shoulder in surprise and stared right into Sasuke's obsidian eyes.

"Are you ok?" he asked in a cold tone, but Sakura knew that he was concerned.

"Yea. I'm fine, don't worry about it." She answered cheerfully, for real this time.

Unbeknownst to Sakura, she had attracted the attention of a handsome young man.

"Wow… she's really pretty." He thought to himself. "Who is she? I've never seen a pink-haired beauty in town before."

He suddenly sensed somebody behind her with a murderous rage. He saw as the hidden figure launched herself at the pink-haired angel. He saw the glint of the knife as it plunged down at the unsuspecting girl.

"AH! WATCH OUT!" he hollered as he ran.

He managed to pull Sakura out of the way, while Naruto, Sasuke and Kakashi all pinned down the woman's arms.

"SHE'S TAINTED! SHE'S TAINTED! SHE BEARS THE MARK! SHE BEARS THE MARK!" shrieked the lady, eyes rolling uncontrollably in their sockets.

"Ah! Miwa-san! There you are!" shouted a man wearing a white labcoat. He motioned for his comrades to go over. "I found her!"

With a wave of his hand, several men in black ran over and took the woman from Kakashi's hands. The man in the labcoat turned to speak to Kakashi.

"I'm so incredibly sorry for the inconvience," he apologized. "You see, Miwa-san has just escaped again this morning. She's been like that since her husband contracted that horrible disease and died."

"So… was he the one who drowned in his own blood?" asked Kakashi curiously.

The doctor grimaced.

"Maybe we should discuss this in private. Meet me at the hospital at noon."

Kakashi nodded.

"So the villagers don't know that there's a murder among them. Typical politics." He muttered under his breath.

Sakura felt herself being tackled. Unfortunately, they ended up in a rather uncomfortable position, with her on top of her mysterious saviour. She opened her eyes and found her lips were pressed up against the ones of the handsome young man. She gasped and stared in shock into two chocolate brown eyes.

He smiled cheekily at her.

"Well that was some thank-you gift, Pinky-chan! But you're pretty heavy for a girl of your age- I can't breathe!"

Sakura jumped off of his chest. She had never been so humiliated in her life. She could feel the stares boring into her back as she vigorously rubbed at her mouth. She gave the bystanders an evil eye.

"What are you looking at? Haven't you even seen a girl fall before? Quit your staring, idiots!" snapped Sakura, angry that she had just gotten her first kiss stolen from her.

She felt an arm creep around her shoulders. She looked up and stared into the same despicable brown eyes as before. She glared at him, but was surprised that his eyes weren't concentrating on her face. They were focused on her chest.

"Wow.. I must say, you've got a great rack, Pinky-" he began.

But before he could say anymore, Sakura's fist had already made contact with his face and he found himself flying through the air.

"Oh crap." He thought as he saw the big tree in front of him.

Sakura just watched as he crashed into the tree, fuming.

"Stupid bastard. I cant believe I had my first kiss with such a pervert." Thought Sakura furiously, still rubbing vigorously at her lips.

"AHH!! Scrub it off! The germs! Get them off of my lips! GET RID OF THEM!!" screeched Inner Sakura, in obvious pain.

Sakura stalked off to where her teammates were.

"Ne, Sasuke. I feel a dangerous aura." Whispered Naruto.

"Shut up. Don't say anything. Don't ask her anything and we'll survive." Replied Sasuke, in a tight tone.

"But she's scary!"

"I know."

Little did they know, Sakura was standing right beside them.

"Who's scary?" she asked in a booming voice, towering over the two jounins.

They gulped.

Kakashi smirked as he spotted the rest of his teammates approaching him. Two sported a couple of big bumps on their heads, while the third was wearing her infamous I'm-pissed-don't-mess-with-me look.

"Welcome back!" he began in a cheery tone.

But before he could finish what he was saying, he caught the death glares of all three ninjas. A sweatdrop rolled down Kakashi's face.

"Uh… we are to meet at the village hospital at noon to discuss the deaths." He said in a more serious tone.

"Geez… why do my teammates have to be so scary?" he whined to himself.

The three ahead of him turned around and glared.

"We heard that!!!"

Sakura was still fuming as she stalked towards the hospital.

"That damn brat! Ugh.. I swear, the next time I see I'm going to do –beep- to his –beep- and tear out his –beep- and use the –beep- on him." She thought, furiously.

"Man that guy must've gotten Sakura-chan really pissed off!" whispered Naruto. "You think she's going to kill us?"

"Not us, but that guy. Still… she'll be in a pissy mood for the rest of the day." Replied Kakashi, with a worried look to see if Sakura was listening. Thankfully, she wasn't. She was too absorbed in her anger to notice anything that her teammates said.

"That piece of perverted crap…" growled Sakura, as she walked into the office.

She was snapped out of her reverie when Kakashi introduced all of them. She lifted her head and saw him, the guy who had kissed her and commented on her cleavage. The guy who had groped her, the perverted lecher that she was sworn to kill. She peered at her, as if she didn't believe that it was him.

"Same blonde hair, same brown eyes, same black shirt and pants…" she thought.

But the clue that cinched it was when he started talking.

"AH! It's Pinky-chan! Fancy meeting you here, my lady! Oh, you are even more gorgeous up close." He cried as he rushed towards Sakura and hugged her tightly.

Sakura's face turned purple.

"Uh-oh… she's going to explode. Better get back a bit…" thought her teammates.

"You- you- YOU BASTARD!! GET YOUR DISGUSTING HANDS OFF OF ME!!" shouted Sakura as she pounded her fists on his chest.

"Aw… you're so cute when you're mad!" replied the young man with a mischievous look, as he hugged her even tighter.

Sakura really didn't know what to say to his guy. She was puzzled and so angry that she couldn't think straight. She just stood there dazed, as if she was amazed by this guy's courage or rather, stupidity to HUG her after she sent him crashing into a gigantic tree. Suddenly a voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Oi, Kazuma. Get your hands off our guest." Said a firm voice.

"Oh, alright… You were always the party-pooper, O-chan!" pouted Kazuma as his hands slid off of Sakura.

Sakura looked at her saviour, it was an older man with light brown hair and intelligent green eyes, wearing a white labcoat.

"Please, have a seat." He said in a kind voice. "So, allow me to introduce myself and the idiot standing beside me. I am Kyou Otohata, the leader of this village and this is the genius ninja of our village, Kazuma Soumah."

Kazuma bowed respectfully.

"Ah… so this guy actually has the sense to bow too? Can't see it from the way he's been acting." Thought Sakura as a sweatdrop rolled down her face.

"Pleased to meet you. I am Kakashi Hatake of the Leaf village and my comrades are Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno." Introduced Kakashi formally.

"Hehe… Sensei sounds so formal and serious! Total change from who he really is, and that book too." Smiled Sakura to herself.

"Ah! So Pinky-chan's real name is Sakura! What a beautiful name…" said Kazuma cheerfully.

A vein popped out of Sakura's head.

"Shut-" she began.

"Please excuse our Kazuma." Said Kyou, "He has a tendency towards beautiful young ladies, such as yourself. "

Sakura blushed.

"Ah-" she began, once again.

"Hey- O-chan, no fair! No flirting with my girl- you're married!"

A vein popped out of Kyou's head, as he swung at Kazuma's head.

"Say. That. Again." He thundered, all traces of the gentle and kind doctor disappeared.

A sweatdrop rolled down Sakura's head. So the doctor was as fake as Kakashi was. The doctor cleared his throat.

"Okay. Down to business. The reason that you've been summoned here is because lately we've been having some… issues. It seems as if someone has been murdering the men in our village." Started the doctor, seriously.

"What do you mean by murdering the men?" asked Sakura curiously.

The doctor had a grave look upon his face.

"Somebody has been killing men, and only men. But the strange thing is, that the deaths are not related in any fashion except for this fact and the fact that the men were cherished by a woman. Some were married; others had girlfriends or were in a relationship."

Sakura gasped as fragments of her memory of last night floated back to her. She knew that there was a connection between the two.

"Cherished by a woman…" she thought, as she remembered the lady who had been crying so heartbreakingly and holding the corpse of her lover in her arms.

"But that's not all. Their lovers were either so estranged by their deaths that they went insane or they've gone missing. One of which is our ex-ANBU leader, Kana Sugimoto. We're not yet certain to the cause of her disappearance. It could be that she just left the village and became a missing-nin. However, the day before she went missing, her husband died. We think that that was enough reason to rule out abandoning the village. But like I said, we're not certain and we must, by all means, find out whether she had deserted the village or she was killed." Explained the doctor quietly.

"Why? Was she that important?" asked Naruto dumbly.

Kazuma's eyes flashed with anger.

"Of course, she's important. She's a human being, how could she not be important, you idiot!! She was the kindest human being in the world, how could her disappearance not matter? Don't say things that you know nothing of so rashly." Spat Kazuma.

The doctor looked at Kazuma sadly as he put a hand down on his shoulder to calm him down.

"Kana-san was Kazuma's adoptive mother. She was also our village's most prized ninja, she knew of things that could destroy the village."

"What do you mean?" asked Sakura carefully.

"Oka-san had a special power, because she was borne into a prized family in this village, she had also inherited the advanced bloodline. She was an astrologist. She observed the stars and noticed their every movement. They told her the future.

Yes, my mother could foretell the future. However, this was kept secret for fear that somebody outside of the village would find out. It was too dangerous. So, Oka-san became a leader of an ANBU-squad. This way, she had power and nobody would be suspicious if O-chan listened to her. " said Kazuma while he looked down at his hands.

"But I know that she would never abandon her village! She wasn't a person like that- the village was the most important thing to her in the world. She would never leave her village! Oka-san… Oka-san… was the kindest person in the world. She took me in after my parents died and loved me as if I was her own son. That's why.. That's why… I know that something happened to her."

Sakura watched him with pity in her eyes. So…. He was an orphan and now he's lost the only person that he ever saw as his mother. Unwillingly, she felt tears sprang to her eyes. Unwillingly, she felt them start to drop. She couldn't help it- his loyalty truly touched her. She raised her hand to wipe the tears away but more kept on coming.

"Why… Why am I crying?" she thought, "I haven't cried in years. Why am I crying?"

Sakura felt a gentle hand as it raised her chin up. She stared into the kind, warm brown eyes of Kazuma.

"Why are you crying?" he asked her, softly.

She blushed, as she slapped his hand away from her.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not crying for you. I'm just crying… because I feel like it! I mean, honestly- can't a girl cry when she wants?" she sobbed.

She felt the same gentle touch as it slowly wiped away her tears.

"Please stop crying, Pinky-chan. I don't like it when the girl that I love cries for me. It makes me depressed."

"I ALREADY TOLD YOU THAT I WASN'T CRYING FOR YOU!" she yelled, while slapping his hand away even harder.

"Ohohoho! What spunk! What spirit! This is exactly what I expect from the woman that I love." He replied with a cheeky grin.

Sakura fumed. Man, this guy had a way with her emotions. He twisted them around when she least expected it.

Kazuma smiled happily. He looked down at the pink-hair shinobi, who was getting angrier and angrier by the minute.

"She's so fun to tease!" he thought gleefully.

He caught a glance at her face, with her emerald green eyes flashing of anger, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment and her petal-pink locks sticking to her face because of her tears. Never had he seen such a beautiful sight.

"Wow… Pinky-chan's a babe! Okay! I've decided!" he announced.

Sakura looked at him strangely.

"Decided what?" she asked suspiciously, not sure if she wanted to know or not.

Kazuma just gave her a cheeky grin.

"Se-cre-t!" he pronounced.

"Hey! Pinky-chan! Have some of my takoyaki of love that I made especially for you." Smiled a happy Kazuma.

Sakura sighed. How did it end up being like this? How did that pervert, Kazuma, end up being with her team in the investigation? Had God no mercy? And why on earth was SHE the one who was put on duty with him, in the middle of the night? Who knows what he could plan to do to her? She gritted her teeth as a vein popped out of her head.

"Don't. Call. Me. That. The name is Sakura, get it right, idiot!" she hollered.

"Ah… sorry, sorry. Can't get out of my habit of calling you Pinky-chan." Apologized Kazuma.

Sakura humphed and turned her head away from Kazuma.

"That stupid idiot…" she thought. Suddenly, she was reminded of something he had said in Kyou-san's office.

"I've decided."

"He's decided on what? That I will be the one to bear his child?" she thought worriedly, she didn't want him to get the wrong idea. There was no way that she would bear his child. NEVER. But knowing Kazuma, it probably was something stupid like that.

She sneaked a couple of peeks at the guy beside her. His dirty blond hair shone in the sun and his chocolate brown eyes were always warm, they always had a mischievous glint in them that both captivated and annoyed her to no end. He was built, tall and handsome, although she would never admit it to herself. He was chowing down on the "takoyaki of love" that he had made especially for her. Suddenly, he caught her eye and grinned.

"Why, Pinky-chan, are you checking me out?" he asked.

"Of course not! Are you crazy? Me, check you out?" huffed Sakura, embarrassed to have gotten caught.

Kazuma smiled to himself. She really was adorable.

"Ne.. Kazuma… can I ask you a question?" said Sakura in a serious tone.

"Hmm…?"

"….What did you mean when you said that you've decided?"

Kazuma dropped his takoyaki. He rushed over to Sakura and gathered her small hands in his large ones. With a seductive smile, he asked her.

"Are you sure you can handle the truth?"

"Uh.. s-sure.." stammered Sakura, afraid of what he was going to say.

"Well…" he started, while he put his arm around Sakura and hugged her tightly.

"I've decided that you're that one who will bear my child!" he whispered huskily in her ear.

Sakura's eyes popped out of her head.

"GAH!" she screamed, pushing Kazuma as far away as she could.

Kazuma chuckled at the sight.

"Calm down.. I was just kidding."

Sakura shot him an evil look.

"That wasn't very funny. I though you were serious!"

"Hehe… not my fault you're so fun to tease."

A vein popped out of Sakura's head.

"What you say?!"

"Nothing….nothing…." mumbled Kazuma as a sweatdrop rolled down his face.

A silence passed between them, as they both leaned back on a tree. Sakura glanced up at the sky and gasped.

"Wow… it's so pretty!" she exclaimed.

Kazuma watched as she began counting them.

"You know… when I was little, my mother and I would always go out at night and count all of the stars. She taught me all of the constellations! See… that one's the big Dipper and that one's Leo…"

"Ne…" began Kazuma.

"Hmm?"

"Do you really want to know the meaning of my words when I said that I've decided?"

Sakura gave him a suspicious look.

"Is it something perverted?" she asked bluntly.

A sweatdrop rolled down Kazuma's face.

"Hey! I already said that that was a joke!"

Sakura paused and looked at Kazuma, who looked so different under the light of the stars. His brown eyes, which held warmth, also held secrets that Sakura wanted to know. He looked so beautiful… so melancholic. She didn't know what had come over her. She put one hand over his and spoke gently.

"What is it?"

Kazuma looked at her directly, staring into her emerald green eyes. Sakura felt she was being enchanted for her eyes could not leave the sight of his warm brown ones. With a steady and firm tone, he spoke.

"I've chosen you."

"Chosen me to be what?"

"I've chosen you to be the person for whom I give my life."

Sakura stared in shock.

"Wh-What?"

Kazuma laughed.

"Do I need to repeat myself? You're the person who I'm going to die for!" he exclaimed.

A vein popped out of Sakura's head. Was this guy serious?

"Don't decide on things like that by yourself! I don't need you to die for me. Besides, I can die for myself perfectly find, thanks!" she retorted, as she turned her head to hide the blush that was covering her face.

Kazuma reached for her face and tenderly turned her face to his.

"I'm serious."