Hi everyone!

Just a few things:

I'm sorry for taking so long to update! I've been working on a Harry Potter story, and also trying to update Why the Caged Bird sings. There should be another chapter out for that soon, if you're following that story and care to know.

Also, this is the single greatest point-of-departure in Modus Operandi. There may still be some similar scenes, such as the first non-con chapter - incidentally, the next chapter after this one - but overall, this is the end of the Modus Operandi of the past. And you'll see why in a couple thousand words. ;)

And, finally, I apologize for this chapter being so short. The next ones are longer - substantially, I think. But there was really no way to make this chapter longer without putting in unnecessary filler, which just wastes my time and yours.

So, that being said, I hope you enjoy the story!

8.

Yamanaka Ino sighed angrily as she held the phone up to her ear. Of all the times her best friend could choose to bail on her, did it have to be this time?

"I'm really sorry, Ino! My boss is being a total bastard and making me bring him some file he left at work. He has a car, but no," she dragged the word out emphatically, "it has to be me who brings it to him—at eight o'clock at night! What a jerk! I can't believe him!"

Ino growled. "Forehead, if you needed an excuse to get out of showing me this 'contract', you could at least do it in person. I don't see why you're skipping out on the dance, too. Trust me, the joke isn't funny anymore."

"Pig, no! You don't-why-I just-god! I know it's hard to believe, but please, you have to trust me! Would I really miss a dance when I finally got Kiba to agree to go with me?"

Whether or not Sakura knew it, Ino was contemplating this. It hadn't been long since they had both moved on from Sasuke by mutual agreement that he was a dick and didn't deserve their attention—oh, and it was rumored that he had been making out with Uzumaki Naruto in the storage closet, but Ino was the Gossip Queen and didn't give that any credence—so perhaps Sakura had lingering feelings for him? But Sakura hadn't acted as though she was still mooning over Sasuke, and Ino would have known if that were the case. She had grown up with Sakura, through all her ups and downs, and it was Sakura who had nearly ended their friendship when they both professed their 'love' for Sasuke to each other at literally the same time. Ino had been able to convince her that while he was amazing, godlike, beautiful, intelligent, and overall perfect, Uchiha Sasuke wasn't worth their friendship. It had taken some time, but they had remained friends through it all.

So basically, no, Sakura was not trying to get out of this because she was still possibly pining for Sasuke and didn't actually want to date Kiba. While the feelings on both ends of that budding relationship were lukewarm at best, they were still there and Ino was certain there was room for growth, even if Kiba wasn't quite smart enough to keep up with Sakura. And really, Sakura wasn't the type of person to bail on her best friend because she was embarrassed that she didn't have some supposed to contract to back up her ridiculous love story. If anything, Ino was inclined to believe that Sakura had found another Uchiha to be crazy over, but even so, she was taking it too far.

Which brought her to thinking about how out of character this was for her, and really, Sakura had never been much of a prankster anyways, nor had she been such a good actress. If she had been, she would have used those acting skills to pretend her skin was thicker than it was during middle school. She couldn't quite accept that Sakura was actually going through every outrageous detail she had outlined, but perhaps there was a grain of truth in all the fiction.

Ino sighed again, this time in resignation. "Well, I guess you wouldn't. But seriously, Sakura, even if you're telling the truth about this whole job thing, you need to tone down the drama. You know me, I can appreciate a good soap opera any day, but your soap opera rendition is just creepy."

Sakura obviously had pulled the phone away from her ear, because the screech of anger that she emitted would have hurt Ino's eardrum had she not. Ino had to admit that she was starting to get a little freaked out. This wasn't her Forehead Girl. Her Sakura would never act like this, not ever.

Something niggled at the back of her mind and a slow, tarry pit of anxiety started to form in her stomach.

When Sakura spoke next, she sounded like she was close to tears, but she was also plenty angry. "Fine, Ino, don't believe me. I'm going to go drop these off at my jerk of a boss's house, spend a total of two hours getting around town late at night, go home, and have so much fun sitting by myself in my room while you go to the dance. Good night!"

And then she hung up the phone before Ino could get another word in.

The blonde put down her phone, honestly bewildered by her best friend's outburst, and also more than a little worried. What the hell was going on with Sakura?

Her eyes strayed over to her bed, where three outfits that Sakura had been supposed to help her choose between were laid out. Truthfully, Ino already knew which one would look best on her and what she would wear, and Sakura knew she already knew, but it was fun to giggle and playfully argue over the clothes. Next to those three outfits were four for Sakura, and Ino also already knew which one would look best on her, but it was the principle of the matter. Before dances and get-togethers, it was tradition to have at least some haggling over which outfit they each would wear.

That wouldn't be happening tonight, and it almost felt blasphemous. Dejected, she walked over to the stunning royal purple dress she had chosen—plunging yet still school appropriate neckline, halter top with ruffles lining the straps, and a respectable length just past her knees. It was almost too formal for a school dance, but Ino firmly believed in being the best-dressed person in attendance, and she wasn't going to ever have it any other way.

She put on her strapless bra, as with her bust size, bras were not optional, slipped on the dress, and seated herself in front of her vanity. As she perused her eyeshadows, it was second nature to turn and ask Sakura what color would be best, but before she had even halfway turned her head, she remembered that Sakura wasn't coming. It wasn't like it had slipped her mind, either; she was definitely sulking about her friend's absence, and come Tuesday, Sakura would get an earful.

And then that pit of anxiety reasserted itself. Ino wasn't sure what, exactly, she was anxious about, only that she was and she didn't like it.

She applied her makeup, put on her jewelry, and slipped into her heels before trudging out of her room. It just wasn't the same, and she was-she was hurt that Sakura was really going to leave her to do this by herself. It wasn't like she'd have a shortage of friends to hang out with, but this was a dance! It was their thing! Not once had Sakura ever missed a chance to get dressed up with her, even when she complained that she didn't want to or didn't have enough money to keep up with Ino's spending.

Her father noticed her bad mood as she passed through the dining room. She wanted water, but she couldn't smudge her lipstick until it dried a little. "Everything okay, Ino-chan?"

"Yeah," she replied.

"Why isn't Sakura over?" he asked.

"She's busy with some work thing she has to do. I don't know."

"Cheer up, dear. It's just one night."

In that moment, Ino was annoyed that her father was a psychiatrist. She often had been growing up, as he could easily read her moods and was always too perceptive for his own good. It was almost like he was inside her head at times, and if that wasn't annoying to a teenage girl, she wasn't sure what could be.

He was the top of the line psychiatrist, too. He had recently been involved with some hush-hush case involving human sacrifices; it was such a big deal that even the media was kept away from it for fear of inciting a mass panic. That was all she had been able to figure out, and all of it had come from curious eavesdropping. Her father would never divulge anything to her about a case, especially one of this caliber, but she had seen the stress lines on his face pronounced over the last month and had been worried enough to risk her father's confidentiality to find out what was going on.

She ended up leaving early for the dance, which was usually unacceptable because it was important to arrive fashionably late, but Shikamaru had refused to pick up a platonic date, claiming that it was just 'too much trouble'—to go to when he wasn't going to get laid at the end of the night, Ino had tacked on in her head. Shikamaru was a teenage boy through and through, but he was single and probably still a virgin just because it would be too much effort to woo a girl.

Then again, he had gotten really close with some girl at a party a couple of years back. It had to have been a one-night-stand, because if Ino remembered correctly, the girl—Tenami? Tamari? Something like that—had been from Kyoto and was visiting because of some business deal. So perhaps he wasn't a virgin after all…

Ino was content to distract herself with these frivolous thoughts as she walked down the street to the subway. It was a little creepy, though, how empty the streets were right now. It was a Friday night, and Tokyo never slept, so it was very odd to be the only one out.

And then she saw a woman who looked very similar to her, her blonde hair in partially in a ponytail and partially let down, wearing a very unattractive trench coat but who had shining blue eyes just like her, walking down the sideway in the opposite direction. So she supposed she wasn't the only one out here. That was comforting.

Then the woman was approaching her. "Hey, do you know where the subway is?" she asked, and it turned out it was definitely a man. An effeminate man, but a man nonetheless. And a man with an accent. She couldn't place it, but she was thinking somewhere north, like Sapporo.

And now that she looked at him, he was actually pretty cute. She smiled, her flirting charm already in action before she even called upon it. "Yeah, that's actually where I'm going right now. I'll show you?"

The stranger smirked, and wow, he really was cute. "That'd be great, yeah." Then he bowed, and motioned for her to lead the way.

They walked in silence for a little while, and then the man said, "So, are you from Tokyo?"

Ino nodded, grinning. "Born and raised. In fact, I've been living on this exact street all my life."

The man looked thoughtful. "And this street is…?"

"Hachi Street. You're not from around here, are you?" she asked, and couldn't help but giggle a little.

He laughed and shrugged. "Nah, I'm from a little prefecture north of Sapporo, yeah." Score! "Came down here, looking for work and all that."

"Yeah, Tokyo's a pretty nice place. Very urban, though. I'm guessing that far north, it's not so much?"

"Well, it was urban, yeah. But not like Tokyo. I mean, here, the grocery stores never close, yeah."

Ino felt a little disappointed when the subway was coming into view, as well as the noise of a crowd of people. She had only barely started talking to this cute foreigner, and now they would have to part ways. She sighed. Too bad.

"Dammit, Sasori!" the man muttered under his breath as she checked his watch. "Hurry the fuck up!"

"Who's Sasori?" she asked, a bit concerned at the vehemence in his tone.

"Patience is a virtue," came a flat, toneless voice from behind them. Ino whirled around and shrieked in surprise at the voice, but her voice was instantly muffled by a large, warm hand, and she was dragged into a hard chest.

She immediately knew it was the chest of the stranger she'd been walking with, and panic seized her mind.

Ino had been trained in self-defense from an early age. Her father worked for the state and if a criminal with a grudge ever decided to get back at him, his daughter was the first person they'd choose since his wife had died in childbirth. She was quickly aware of the fact that this potential abduction had to do with the human sacrifices case, and therefore elbowed her captor in the stomach and slammed her foot on his instep with all the strength in her body.

He only grunted and then gripped her tighter, punishingly.

"Sasori no danna, get a move on, yeah," the man growled. Ino screamed against and tried to position herself to jab her heel into his groin, but he was holding her too tight and his grip was too strong.

She hadn't paid attention to the man she was now facing, too busy trying to get free. Why wasn't anybody helping? What the hell was going on? But later, she would wish she had, because one minute she was trying to figure out why no one was paying any attention to someone clearly in trouble, and the next, she was unconscious.

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