Wooo I updated! Thank you to:

Coscat: Thankyou for the lovely reviews and you may have guessed a little right lol... Am I really that see through

Crystalized Rain, shadowinthesky: thanks for the comment about my writing- sometimes I think Im really boring but if you like it..., AnimeQueen100: Your like a mind reader... Ive had to change my stuff to make it more suprising now you said that lol!, corky22, you.broke.a.promise!

Thankyou to everyone that alerted as well it makes me really happy. I have a few things to announce Porcelain is back up! Yes it's alive!!! My oneshot She and her Cat is worth checking out as well by the way (I will keep reminding you because it is my fave fic ever) and If you want explanations please go to my profile and click the link there for the site- it has loads of little previews and expanations and stuff

Sasuke had, had two options. He could either go and talk to Nara Ino or he could hack into Konoha News Today's highly protected database to find out where Shikamaru had been working last. Five minutes of talk or 3 hours of hacking.

Sasuke had chosen the long route. Anything to avoid talking to Ino he thought smugly. Anyway, it wouldn't take that long to hack in since he already had the passwords. Sasuke was lucky; good looks were such an advantage in this business. Flirting with secretaries was his specialty. Within minutes they would be dieing to tell him whatever he wanted to know. Sasuke had paid many visits to KNT, as they seemed to be mixed up with any high profile scandal.

He smirked when he found what he was looking for. Sasuke's dark eyes scanned the information. Nara and his partner had promised the story of a life time. They promised drama- a lot of drama- and some news that would change the fire country and could spark off a brilliant new era for KNT. The database didn't know what the story was about but they had received a log of areas where Nara Shikamaru and his partner had visited.

14th January: European Garden

26th January: Imperial Courthouse

3rd February: Dusk Chapel

27th February: Hyuga Palace

18th March: Western District Library

19th March: Eastern District Library

5th April: Long-turn Toll Bridge

30th April: Southern Konoha Bank

15th May: Royal Research House for the relief of disease and illness.

"Nara's been busy I see" muttered Sasuke. But what's the connection? Sasuke racked his brains. Most were hot tourist spots. Three were not: European Garden, Dusk Chapel and Royal Research House. The European Garden had long been overgrown since the fall of the Hyugas and the Dusk Chapel- that was the Hyuga's private chapel. As for the Royal Research House… that had never been open to the public- The Hyugas had built it to help but only a select few had been employed.

What connects them all? I can tell it's just too obvious. He stared at the list again- undoubtedly the Toll Bridge and Courthouse were the oldest- none were built in the same time era. So why were they built? Sasuke questioned himself Well, the Bridge was built for an early version of road tax- since the Hyugas didn't want to push- Of Course! They're all Hyuga owned. The realisation hit him and he slapped his forehead cursing his own stupidity.

Why the hell would Nara want to go there?! Sasuke had always seen Nara as the lazy type, one who took the safe route purely because it was easier. Snooping around abandoned Hyuga properties was not safe. Especially, with the number of disappearances increasing by the day. He must be being pushed by a 'troublesome' woman- as he so correctly put it. Sasuke knew well enough that Shikamaru could ignore men for hours and hours upon end; but there was something about the pitch of a woman's voice that got into Nara's head. He couldn't ignore their insistent whining- it wormed its way into his peaceful world and he couldn't sit there and listen to them. He usually just did what they said- no fuss made.

Sasuke scrolled down to see if his partner was listed. Bingo he scribbled down her name and address and headed for the door- not before pulling a coat from the cupboard. I'll be paying her a visit later he just sure as hell hoped she wasn't as noisy as Ino.

Sasuke decided to head for the first location on the list: European Garden. It must be utterly over grown by now; that wasn't a bad thing. It probably meant that the briars and brambles had snagged on people's clothing, people's belongings. It made his job so much easier.

The garden was just south of the palace. It would be an hour's walk or five minutes drive from where he was now. This time he chose the quick option. Sasuke didn't have a flash car, he liked understated class. He had an antique Jaguar, one that purred and had the power of a big cat. He was fond of the Jag it was reliable and a smooth ride and he never got pestered with "Dude! Nice ride" or "Sasuke-kun!! Flash cars make me want to do the same" unfortunately he had received both comments with previous cars.

He slid into the car; the interior was clean and smelled of leather. He turned the keys and the engine started with a growl. He set off with a roar and settled into a steady speed, dodging the dreaded 'granny' traffic. By the look of it he would be doing so much more driving.

It took him six minutes to his distaste. He finally pulled up behind the garden (he didn't want his precious car to be stolen). It hissed into immobility and he pulled up the hand break. After locking the car he strode purposely round the edge of the garden.

He was looking for an opening. Anyway in, eventually he found a dog sized hole. Sighing he crouched down and shimmied through the gap- all the while looking for snagged clothing.

He crawled through the hedge and emerged in a surprisingly neat looking garden. The plants were overgrown but the roses had dominated the area. A mass of brightly coloured flowers monopolised the space and pushed away the other fauna. In the middle of the garden was a pond- the water was green and scummy and the was no sign of fish life.

In the centre of the pond was a majestic statue. A woman stood the left arm raised to the sky, the other arm was held just beneath the left's elbow. Her face was turned upwards, in the same direction as the arms. She was wearing a tunic like dress that had slipped over her right shoulder, exposing the curve of her back and the swell of her breast. Sasuke imagined that she would have been beautiful but somebody had disfigured the face. Long slashes distorted her features- Sasuke wondered why someone would ruin something as glorious as this statue.

Around the pond grew hundreds of roses. The were unusual; probably a highbred. In the centre they were lemon yellow but at the tips the colour bled to pink. It was like the roses had once been red but had faded with time- the only remnants of the original colour were at the edges. Sasuke pulled out a plastic bag from his pocket and carefully picked a rose, admiring the intricate folds, he slid it into the bag.

He scanned the area for any more clues but could not see anything. I can always come back anyway he reasoned. He stepped towards the exit but tripped on a loose flag stone. Sasuke helplessly toppled and landed with a thud. He groaned and opened his eyes; in front of him was a scrap of beige material- pale like the flags beneath it. If he had not tripped he wouldn't have seen it.

Sasuke sat up and again removed a bag from his pocket and collected the sample. Now he was satisfied that he could leave. Getting out without damaging the rose was harder than he had thought; eventually he tugged out the bag and threw it a little distance in front of him. Each time he caught up to it he would throw it again. Soon enough the bag was free of the hedge and as was he.

Doggedly he made his way back to the Jag and unlocked the door. He threw the bags on the passenger seat and prepared to leave again. I think its about time I paid a visit to Nara's partner He retrieved the scrap of paper and read out the address.

"23 Queen's Boulevard, the woman has class at least" he murmured, impressed by the address. Queen's Boulevard was one of the upper class areas in the city. He himself lived on Prince's a little lower profile than King's or Queen's. He started the engine and listened to its purring as he drove to the house.

He drew up outside, there was already a car in her drive. Somehow he didn't think that the woman would be driving a beaten up, red mini. Someone else must be here. Cautiously he approached the white washed house. The walls were plain and well painted, everything was meticulously finished with a high standard. Not a speck of white paint was on the windows and not a flower was out of place.

Sasuke, himself, was a perfectionist. But he did not like the house; it seemed cold, so un-personalised. He preferred a touch of character. Each to their own, I suppose. He knocked on the perfect, dark green door and waited for it to be opened. He heard voices from inside then footsteps. The door was opened- Sasuke noticed the hinges didn't even squeak. A heavily pregnant, tall, blonde woman stood before him.

"Yes?"

"Subaka no Temari?" he inquired. She looked at him weirdly and nodded. Then she sighed dramatically.

"Not another one, come in, come on hurry up, your letting the cold in" she ushered him in and he obliged. Inside was surprisingly dull and plain just like the outside of the house. The woman pushed him into what he supposed was the living room. Immediately he scanned the room, searching for the other voice.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" came the voice from behind him. He whipped around and saw the oh-so-familiar, furious pink head of Haruno Sakura. He smirked cockily- this had just gotten so much more interesting.

"Doing my job" she glowered at him then said sarcastically "How very dedicated of you Uchiha-san"

Sasuke bowed slightly, knowing this would infuriate her. Sakura crossed her arms and tapped her foot- waiting for his response. Her brain was already ticking, thinking of possible comebacks to his insults.

"I take it you're on the Nara case?" he asked sweetly.

"Damn straight, since I'm the better detective I don't think we need your help"

"You wound me with you words koishii"

"Get over yourself. And get off my case" She snarled viciously at him. He could only smirk at her. He really loved to infuriate the woman, he loved to steal her cases and make them his own.

"How about we share the case koishii?"

The room went silent.

Yay, Please check out She and Her Cat (I told you I would keeep reminding you) and again Porcelain is up and running and explanations leave a review and check out my site. Please do review and I shall give you jellybeans