Hey guuuyys! I know it has been donkey's years since I last updated, and I want to say I am terribly sorry about that! I have an excuse xD I was in hospital for some time due to my illness, and I had GCSE examinations which were going on for weeks, so I was pretty busy and never found time to write this!

Thank you still for all the reviews, alerts and favourites you sent me during this time! I'm so glad this story is somewhat liked ^^ I am terribly sorry for not having updated xD I know some of you are impatient for the next chapter, so here it is! It isn't very long, but I promise to update faster, as now I have holidays!

By the way if you have any questions, please ask me =) And now enjoy this chapter!

Case Closed

Chapter 6: The Connection

She groaned as the house rang in silent vibrancy, awakening her. Sakura turned, thinking of imaginations and just a stupid phone call maybe from Ino. Yet the ringing was more intense, louder, and did very obviously not come from a cell phone.

Another moan. She turned in her bed, opened her eyes sluggishly. They darted to her clock as the bell rang another time.

"Which insane person rings at my house at freaking four O'clock in the morning!" She complained with a huff and threw herself reluctantly out of bed.

Wearing nothing more than a silky nightdress and a pair of slippers she jumped into as she stood up, Sakura unlocked the door and opened it, prepared to smack whoever it was in the face.

If it were Ino, she better prepare her grave.

"Who the hell- Sasuke!" Sakura's eyes fell wide open in shock as she saw the raven haired man leaning against the wall, in front of her door, a stern gaze on his face, "What are you doing here at this time?"

"I would like to come up with an excuse such as 'I couldn't stop thinking about you' to please your romantic mind, but I have to disappoint you." He smirked, and she rolled her eyes, "I need you to come with me somewhere."

"Where is somewhere?"

"Medical Jurisprudence."

"Why…?"

"To identify a corpse." His voice was plain and direct.

"Ahá…?" Her left hand ruffled through her hair and she couldn't bite back a yawn, "Seen the time?"

"Yes, this is urgent Sakura."

"Why…?"

"Because people are dying…and I can't sleep if this isn't done…and if you reject I'll be a complete fool standing outside your house at ten past four in the morning." He shrugged, grinning.

"You are a fool, Sonny…" Sakura smiled dreamily, leaning against the door.

"And if you stand there any second longer, you might just end up without that sweet dress." He smirked, and she couldn't help but laugh at his remark.

"Alright, gimme a second to get dressed." She offered him to step inside, yet he shook his head, "Be right back then."

"Oh, err, Sakura?"

She turned, „Huh?"

"Could you please bring a towel along with you?" He pointed at his drenched black companion next to him at the door, panting and wagging his tail, "I fear Jingles is getting a cold."

So they sat in his car, at half past four in the morning (yes, Sakura took long to get dressed!) with a huffing dog in the back of the car, yelping from time to time.

Sasuke drove silently to their destination, not losing another word about why exactly he wanted Sakura to identify a corpse. And Sakura didn't really want to ask.

Partly this was because she was drowsy with sleep, not fully concentrating on the matter at hand as she fought off slumber. Another part was that she knew Sasuke wouldn't give her a proper answer. So instead of risking to end up confused, which she really didn't want at this point of time (half past four in the morning people!) she kept her mouth shut and just watched as lights passed by.

Suddenly, the car halted at a petrol station, the bright lights blinding the pink haired woman to no end.

"Running out of petrol?" she mumbled as she covered her eyes with her hand.

Without a word, Sasuke left the car and marched towards the shop. A few seconds later, he returned with two unidentifiable objects in his hands. At least to Sakura they seemed unidentifiable.

He handed her a covered cup as he sat down in the car, "For you." He said, for she just stared with a frown at the cup offered to her.

She smelt a mingle of aromas right then. Through the sudden wind caused as he slammed the door shut, Sakura breathed in his own personal scent, and smiled immediately at the remembrance of how close they had been just mere hours ago. And then the steaming hot scent of coffee tickled her nose.

"I think you need some." Sasuke said finally, and the woman took it with a small 'thanks', sipping the contents.

He himself was downing the bitter drink within a few moments, then started the engine anew and drove off.

"It's going to be cold in there." Sasuke warned as he watched the pinkette with the thin black jacket and tight jeans.

"Oh well…" She spoke with later regret, as the Uchiha's statement was more of a warning better took seriously.

Her hands flopped to her arms, yet she staggered after Sasuke, who led her past numerous corpses.

She shivered uncontrollably, yet if it was due to the coldness or due to the fact she was surrounded by hundreds of dead people; she did not know.

The charcoal eyed man stopped, pulling out a specific corpse covered through a turquoise sheet.

"Ready?" He asked, yet never awaited an answer but instead pulled the sheet off the body.

For a good handful of seconds, all Sakura managed to do was glare. Not out of anger, but confusion. Afterwards, her eyes widened to a dangerously large size, emerald sparkling in horror, surprising even Sasuke. Sakura stepped back, swallowed, shut her eyes and shook her head.

"Is that Seth?" Sasuke asked coolly, trying not (!) to sound as cold as usual.

She nodded weakly, the sickness bubbling up in her stomach, the sides of her cheeks twitching and a vile taste already filling her mouth.

Sasuke sighed, covering the bruised body of the only victim they had found fully wounded.

He led her out of the room, seating her at a table and placing his heavy jacket over her shoulders in order to take her shivering.

She had turned a very pale white, her eyes stayed shut as she leaned against the seat, not moving, just jiggering cold. It would be very stupid asking her if she wanted something to eat, Sasuke reckoned, and she had just drunken a coffee. He didn't know what could make her feel a little better, so he hoped it would go by in a few minutes. Yet as he saw her fingers poke around the corners of her eyes, and he discovered the tears chasing down her cheeks, he knew it wouldn't be over in just minutes.

What to do? His dog chimed underneath him and looked up with beady eyes.

Alright… Sasuke thought, not knowing if it was appropriate. He took Sakura's hand into his – an attempt to warm her up as most nerves are at the fingertips – and then motioned her to stand up. She obliged, sobbing, and he took her into his arms as quickly as possible.

Sasuke tried to warm her up as best as possible, rubbing her back soothingly, leaning his head on her shoulder to whisper into her ear and shush her every time the sobs grew in volume. Her tears wiped against his chest. They stood still in that position for a moment.

The opening door interrupted their private moment and revealed the lazy, yet genius Shikamaru, who arched an inquiring eyebrow at the two of them.

Sasuke tried to indicate with mere looks that he was there to comfort the girl, yet Nara ignored the message and turned instead.

He shook his head in disbelief, Jesus, Uchiha, using every kind of means to flirt with that woman all of a sudden?

She sat, being consulted behind a spotless glass from Shikamaru personally. Sasuke watched her, his drowsiness catching up with him. His heart was wrenched at the sight of the saddened, blanched girl who tried to focus harshly. He sighed.

Why did he feel such bitterness? He didn't know, but he couldn't look at her in such a state. Sasuke couldn't take it, inexplicably enough. But he guessed it would be so with any person, especially a woman, as they could express emotions in the most detailed way, turning anyone's heart. Even though the Uchiha was different, and known for his cold attitude, carelessness and especially his unsympathetic side, he felt changed all of a sudden. As if he were a normal person in between all the others.

Sasuke shook his head with a grunt. Why was he brooding over such irrelevant crap?

The door opened, Sakura exited, followed by the pineapple head who held a clipboard in his hand, similarly to a scientist.

Sasuke pushed himself off of the wall he rested against, awaiting a word from his companion.

"Okay, we have quite a bit of information here, thank you Haruno." Shikamaru nodded as she smiled weakly in acknowledgement.

"Sasuke." Both men were in an eye-stare at that moment. The Uchiha nodded, understanding that he was needed to find out any intimate secrets available, as Sakura seemed to trust him.

Usually, Sasuke would just accept and do as you would have to in this position, after all, it's about saving lives and bringing rightness to the world, correct?

Yet he couldn't convince himself that this was right. It was more of a using of someone's trust. So he decided to be more open with her.

"How're you?" He whispered as he stood in front of her. She still wore his jacket.

"Am okay…" She tried for a smile.

"Will you…manage to get over it?" A blunt question, but Sasuke didn't exactly know what to ask.

She answered nonetheless, "He wasn't very close to me. I guess the shock overwhelmed me, after all, it's different when someone dies whom you know personally."

The man nodded in understanding, the silence filling the air in between them.

"I think you'd do good with something to bite." Sasuke suggested, flinging his head in direction of the cafeteria.

"I'm not hungry at all."

"You still need something in that stomach of yours, or you'll really throw up." He sounded concerned, and somehow that raised Sakura's attention.

"Alright…" She gave in after a few seconds, and they both headed towards the cafeteria.

She mainly poked at the salad with her fork, looking out of the window into the early morning.

Six O'clock had been striking, the first tiring rays of reddish sunlight beamed across the town, gleaming magnificently over the viewable ocean.

"How often do you go to the sea?" She asked all of a sudden, her head held upright through a hand, still facing the window.

Sasuke looked up in surprise, "Well…I live at the sea…so…"

"No. I mean properly go there so you stand right in front of the endless waters. So that you can hear the waves clearly. Like going to the beach, just that the beach doesn't really count, as long as it's right in front of the ocean." She said those words as if mumbling in slumber, and for a second he believed she could sleep with open eyes. She didn't stir one bit, surprising him yet again.

"Very often." The raven haired man answered, onyx eyes directed at the deep brown pool of coffee in his hands, "Helps me think."

Finally she moved, and averted her eyes to him. Now he could see her awareness, the almond green eyes shimmering inaudibly before him.

"It's another reason I came here to Spain."

"Not solemnly because of the weather?" Sasuke smirked. Could he allow himself some usual sarcasm?

She giggled, "No, my other reason wasn't that." Her smile disappeared in an instant, "I heard him talk once, on the phone. I don't usually tune in into what is being said by him. It's none of my business, I didn't care much either and well, we weren't close enough to awaken my curiosity. Seth lived his life and I lived mine. Anyway, he was talking to some strange person, I don't know, and he was talking about a trip to Spain. He said their plans would bloom here. I didn't listen to the end of the conversation."

She dared another glance at him, and saw his untouched face, cold and emotionless as always. She could not determine his thoughts this time.

"Did you tell Shikamaru this?"

She licked her lips, shaking her head after a few seconds, "I felt like mentioning it, though. I don't know why I decided against this."

The Uchiha nodded, sighing, "Did you…ever talk about Spain with Seth?"

She was silent at first, thoughtful, then answered: "I think so, yes. I told him it was the country I wanted to visit the most. For our honeymoon maybe."

"How long was it until you two intended on marrying just before you split up?"

"About three months."

The puzzle pieces intertwined with each other and started to form a sensible logical plan. Seth, working for the Yakuza agency, was to be marrying Sakura in three months time. Their honeymoon would be in Spain. There he could meet up with other people of the gang, continuing his dirty job, just in another country. Or whatever they planned on doing in Spain, which of course had to be solved, but fact was fact: Sakura's ex-fiancé was entangled into this whole murder business. After all, they both had lived in LA. It all made sense. But why was he murdered? Was he a co-worker too much?

Sasuke couldn't see through these events totally. Yet he knew a way of finding out more.

A warm hand engulfed his own one, and Sasuke looked up into Sakura's large eyes, "Sasuke, can you please explain to me what on earth is going on here?" The edges of her eyes twinkled and he knew she has had enough already.

"Maybe you should find some rest before we go through this."

"I won't be able to rest."

"You still won't be able even after I've explained this to you."

"I don't care. I hate being held in the shadows of situations that involve people I once knew." She declared, seemingly desperate for an explanation.

Sasuke grunted, but did as desired.

"There is a Japanese mafia organisation in LA, where you and Seth lived. We don't know too much details, but we assume they kill different people for some reason. Probably con artists as well, it's mainly about the money. We believe they're trying to open up a business; shark loans, most likely, and in order to gain the big profit they use illegal tricks. Your ex-fiancé was involved in this business, even though I cannot promise what exactly he was doing. We're trying to find the culprits. It's hard to identify the corpses, as all their identities have been deleted, but you recognising Seth has been a great help, this way we can track it back down."

Sakura nodded as he came to a halt, "Even though I don't know very much."

"Quantity doesn't matter. Sometimes the smallest details are the only one's that really matter." She smiled.

"It sounds nearly poetic."

Sasuke couldn't help a smirk, and gazed back at his coffee as he heard a giggle from Sakura.

"Nothing more." Sasuke said with a sigh and threw himself against the large armchair in the office, "That's all she knows about the victim."

Shikamaru nodded, buried in thoughts, "How come Jingles went to her house? How did he know she had something to do with the corpse?"

Sasuke halted in his movements, frowning himself, "True…I didn't consider that. I guess he's just abnormally smart" the man smirked at that thought, "comes from hanging around me too much."

Shikamaru chuckled, "Yeah, but he never even saw the corpse."

"He can read my thoughts somehow, and he can make connections better than myself. That's how he came to the conclusion. Jesus, Nara, he's a dog, he's got instincts and that stuff." The pet owner slurped down some more coffee from his (I don't even want to count) mug, gazing down at the obsidian creature next to his feet.

"He's loyal, and I think he's pretty much interested." The detective stated, standing up, "How do you plan on proceeding next?"

Sasuke didn't answer, but continued to stare at the silky fur of his companion. After a while, he took a deep breath, "I don't like doing this…but…" With a frown, the man looked up at Shikamaru, "I think I'll go give my brother a ring."

A piece of paper was scrunched together ferociously. Specs glittered under the glistening, solemn night lamp. With quickened movements, the man tore at a new piece of paper, grasped for a pen in his pocket and began scribbling something with a faked handwriting. The scrap piece of paper was chucked into a dodgy envelope, which was cast into a specific post box in front of an apartment.

He finally turned with a wrinkled grin and left the area in an instant.

There were no lights in that apartment.

Preview:

"It's…the memory, the knowledge that someone, who I was supposed to marry, is now dead. And not just dead but murdered…and…and…I saw him…like that…dead…it's…." she couldn't figure out the correct words, and she felt speechless.

He had a weird feeling she would cry again, but Sakura surprised him when she turned around and smiled, simply, yet sweetly.

And it felt so weird. Strange in Sasuke's mind. How his heart twisted comfortably and his stomach felt light. His lips took a new direction upwards and he just felt…relieved at her sight. He didn't like this feeling. So confusing, so new, irritating, he didn't know how to react. So he stayed positioned there, trying to figure out what to do.

Well, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter as much as I liked writing it! :D Well well, who was the mysterious person at the end of the chapter? Anyone wanting to guess? xD I wont tell you the answer though, that would just ruin it! Await more tension in the next chapter, and yeah, Itachi is to be involved! What will happen? I can tell you the next chapter has a small twist at the end, so if you review lots, then you'll get that chapter ASAP!

So please review, and I hand out cookies and a glass of milk who wants one :3