Yes, I know, YOU HATE ME! D: And you have all rights to! GOSH! How long ago was it I last updated this story? BLOODY AGES! I tell you now, that was NEVER my intentions! So much happened since the last update, adding onto that my final examinations coming, laptop breaking down, new laptop breaking down too, and then I lost the plot and had to read all over the story again, doing some thorough research and planning!
Well, I want to thank EVERYONE you supported me still, those lovely adorable people of you who kept reviewing (you know it makes me so happy!) and favourited and followed, it's wonderful to know this story isn't dying out! And I will definitely complete it, that you can be assured about! it'll just take time...
This chapter is kind of old-ish, I edited it a bit, but I noticed my writing style has changed a lot. I even have 9 as good as completed, so don't be surprised if my style of writing might slightly change in 10! XD
Anyway, enough blabbering, ENJOY!
Chapter 8: Mind-breaking
Her gaze lingered on him for a while, taking in the words.
"At yours?"
"Well, if whoever's done this decides to tune in again, I'll be right there. May sound harsh but that makes it easier to catch the culprits."
"So I'm a kind of decoy?"
"It serves your own safety too. Rather be under the strict regulations of the police?"
She gulped, sighing an instant later, "Alright, alright I get it."
Sasuke fumbled in his jacket for a phone, pressing a few buttons as he pulled it out, "Nara, you there?"
The pineapple head grimaced, "Yeah, what's up with the late phone call?"
"Can you come to Sakura's house? It's easier to explain that way."
"Right, and the address is?"
"We best analyse the letter for any handprints or helpful markings." Shikamaru claimed in front of the destructed apartment, from which policemen appeared from time to time.
"The plan is that Sakura stays somewhere where we can quickly investigate if anything happens." Sasuke explained, hands dug into his pockets.
"Which would be…?"
"At mine."
Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, yet Sasuke stayed emotionless as always, "Wow, I guess you're excited about that then."
He sighed, "Shut up, Nara. Just contact me as soon as you've found out anything."
"You're the first to know." He nodded, walking off and talking to another man clad in police uniform.
Sakura came stumbling towards the Uchiha, "This is kind of crazy." She muttered angrily.
"Stop complaining, better grab whatever's still complete in your house and then go to my car. I'll be waiting."
She turned around, acting like an annoyed teenager would when they got orders which didn't please them.
Sasuke meanwhile eyed the building – one of the few from which light poured out, as it was well after midnight and the civilians were fast asleep. He tried to place himself into the role of the criminal, going through different reasons for stalking Sakura other than her looks.
Yet he sighed as he came up with too many possible motives, of which he found practically all absurd.
'She must have something, or know something that the organisation doesn't want her to have or know…'
"Uchiha?" Said man was bought out of his daydreams by the rough voice of Sakura, who had been tired out and pissed off.
"Car." She muttered, and the raven head opened the boot, allowing the girl to pack her bag into it.
He nodded one last time at Shikamaru before he entered into the driver's seat and drove off in direction of his little house.
"I have a guest room" Sasuke announced as soon as they had entered the warm inside of the house, "it's clean, so don't worry." But Sakura didn't seem to be listening. She was busy investigating the house in a dazed manner, suggesting to the Uchiha she was too tired and too full with events to think clearly.
So as gentlemen-like as he could be, he took her hand softly, grabbing the bag off her, which proved to be heavier than he initially thought – and led her to the guest room. Slumping the bag on the floor and outstretching a hand towards the neatly made bed, he motioned for her to go to bed, shutting the door behind him.
As the next morning approached, and he dared to take a peak into the room, he found her sprawled out on the bed, clothing unchanged.
'Seems she fell straight onto the bed and was done for yesterday' Sasuke thought to himself, snickering.
Pulling on a tight black jumper and a pair of jeans, he grasped a bowl and chucked some cereals into it before adding milk and taking a spoon, sitting in front of the TV which he turned on.
Jingles lay snoring beside him.
"Mate, you're one lazy rat." Sasuke shook his head with a smirk plastered on his face before downing his breakfast.
It only took some minutes before he saw how the door silently open, and next to him soon stood Sakura, hair messy and her clothing creased and crinkled.
"I always asked myself what you'd look like the next morning. Of course without the clothing on." Sasuke mocked, earning a death-glare from the pinkette, who dragged herself to the kitchen.
"Where's the cereal?" She called, and he motioned with a finger behind her on the bar-table, where the package proudly stood.
Seating herself next to him, she yawned, then blinked a couple of times.
"Still tired?" The Uchiha asked, not glancing at her but giving the TV his full eye-contact.
"Mhm…"
"You can't go to work like that. You'll fall asleep or paint the models like clowns."
"Shut up Uchiha…"
"I mean it."
"Well you'll notice before taking the photos wont you."
"No." He stood up, marching towards the kitchen to wash out his finished bowl.
"What do you mean, 'no'?" Sakura seemed awake now, gulping a spoon full.
"I'm excused for today, I'm not attending work, I have other things to take care of."
"Tsunade will be as happy as ever." Was the sarcastic answer.
"Isn't that the reason why she employed that Miguel person?"
"Yeah but he's a newbie."
"Oh come on, he said he had experience so don't make photographing models look like rocket science."
"Just because you are a can-do-it-all star." Sakura rolled her eyes.
"Why so pestering, gonna miss me at work?" He smirked.
"You mean your annoying personality? Yeah right."
He shrugged, "Well then, get ready, we're heading off in half an hour."
"Alright sir."
He stopped in front of the model agency building, waiting for Sakura to exit the car. Scrolling down the window, he gave her a glance.
"Any pedestrian would believe this is some boyfriend bringing his girl to work." Sasuke commented.
"Never knew you were the romantic type." Sakura placed her handbag over her shoulder.
"See how bad you know me."
"And what do you want now, a goodbye-kiss?" She jokingly asked.
"Would be a start." He couldn't bite back the chuckle.
"Can it Uchiha." She turned around, leaving to enter the building.
Sasuke shrugged, wanting to hit the accelerator when Sakura's sugar-sweet voice stopped him.
"Sasuke!" He looked outside the window, seeing how she had turned around, a frown adorning her features.
"Hn?"
"Take care, okay?"
He snickered, "I think I'm the one supposed to say that." And he sped off.
Sasuke's thoughtful face was focused on the window in front of him, watching in silence as the people wandered by, oblivious to their presence.
"No can do Sasuke. There's no finger prints, no handwriting, and not even the post can help us." Shikamaru sighed, chucking the letter on the desk in front of Sasuke.
"Even though we're getting one helpful indication after the other, we're not really getting anywhere."
"No time to be pessimistic, Nara, that won't help us at all. We need to see this more positively." The raven haired man stood up, drowning in thoughts.
"Positive? What's bitten you? We're talking about a Mafia organisation an mass deaths and you tell me to be positive?" Shikamaru frowned, mouth agape.
"Seth must've played a more important role than we believed."
"I didn't know we were believing anything really…" The pineapple head scratched the back of his head.
"He must've kept some secret, or had something, or done something – he most likely argued, then died as a cause of it, but left something important yet to be found."
"Can we stop talking in riddles?" Sasuke froze in pondering walk, giving Shikamaru a look. Said man believed to have formulated himself wrongly, until he noticed that Sasuke's cold and void-like eyes weren't even focusing on him.
"Say Nara, if you'd imagine that you were gonna divorce from Temari, what would you fear the most?"
"Her wrath?"
"No you idiot, concerning the whole procedure and your future after having separated from her."
"That I cannot live on?" Shikamaru scrunched his face together in irritation, not sure what Sasuke's point was.
Sasuke shook his head, "No, be realistic. What causes most problems in such divorces?"
"Money. The cost, and how the money splits." The man shrugged.
"Exactly!" Sasuke pointed a finger up.
"So…you mean when Seth and Sakura-"
"No, not them! It was meant symbolically. I'm talking about Seth and whatever people which belong to the organisation."
"So….?" Shikamaru couldn't still quite get the hang of it.
"That's the reason why this person is blackmailing Sakura, because of money. Whatever happened, either Seth has great debts, or has hidden something."
"So you mean they're after Sakura due to the money?"
He nodded, jumping over the desk and sitting down on top of it, "And we need to find out where this money is hidden."
"Problem."
"Problem?" Sasuke arched an eyebrow. He didn't want to know anything about a problem, as these were the factors hindering him from work.
"As far as I know, as I had consulted Sakura about such possibilities, Seth wouldn't have been able to keep a large amount."
"Why not!?"
"They shared an account at the bank, any income would've been noticed by Sakura. And Seth's father controlled Seth's private account's income and outcome. He would've said something if it had been strangely large. He knows his son's businesses. And anyway – the Mafia is damn rich as our agents could find out. Even it it's about five million – it's nothing compared to what they have."
The detective cursed incoherently, banging the desk, "So no money?"
"No money. Sorry mate." Shikamaru shrugged. He didn't know himself what theory to come up with.
Sasuke leaned himself against a table, hand under his chin in a thoughtful manner, "This is more complicated than I believe it could get." He was scratching the back of his head in frustration.
"Perfect" Sakura smiled at the girl in front of her, "you can go". The girl moved away to let the next model take a seat in front of her. She heard a murmur of words and realized there were only mere minutes left before she had to be finished with her work so that the shooting could start.
She was just getting lost in some weird thoughts as she was perfecting the make-up of the girl in front of her, when she felt a shadow over her.
Confused, Sakura stood up, turning around, recognising Miguel's figure standing there curiously.
"Oh, hi." She spoke, frowning.
Noticing her irritation, Miguel said, "Oh, don't get bothered by me with your job. I was just nosy and wanted to see how you work." He smiled charmingly, watching her with his dark eyes.
She smiled back lightly, and, although there was nothing suspicious about his attitude, she felt uncomfortable with him at her back.
It was strange, as she never really minded anyone watching her. She didn't mind when Ino was standing behind her, or when even the boss herself, Tsunade, was supervising her work. But with this newbie at her back, she felt truly uneasy. As if watched.
"You seem very professional, Haruno-san."
Sakura froze. 'He can speak Japanese?!' She took some time to find her words again, "You…understand Japanese?" Sakura wasn't too sure if this would help her. Considering her looks, she was quite Japanese-like, yet the language itself wasn't her best one, even though she had been practising a lot lately, with the help of a specific Uchiha.
He nodded proudly, like a child that was just praised for its overly surprising talent, "Yes, I studied Japanese, but I lost it after some time. A friend taught me some more and with him I could practice and perfect it."
"Wow…where did you live?"
"Oh I always lived in Spain. I just came around the world often – my friend invited me to Japan once, when he was there."
"So…I guess your friend was Japanese?"
"No!" He smiled childishly again, not considering to explain any further, and Sakura felt too confused to ask. So she left it at that, shrugged and turned around to complete her work.
The shooting soon begun and Sakura stood satisfied at the back of the room, watching as everything continued. The flashing lights that flickered through the room with the constant "clicking" noise that echoed around lulled her into a rhythm in her mind, allowing her to concentrate on her thoughts.
She contemplated the last few situations and incidents. Everything came like a rush. It hadn't been too long since she split up with Seth – and now he was dead. Dead. What the hell was it he did back then? What kind of trouble did he ride himself into, and why was it just all so frustrating!?
And then she remembered the warm embrace from Sasuke, who tried to comfort her after she realized his death. He could be a jerk, and a cold-hearted ass, yet he was clever and charming, she felt warm around him.
A smile crept across her lips, yet she was torn out of her thoughts.
"Sakura!" Ino roared, giving her a look (DEFINITION of the Ino-look (mainly used for friends): when confused, irritated, annoyed or worried – a look of confusion and strangeness as if one is from another world). The girl spun her head around, alert and wide-eyed, "Huh?"
"Are you okay?" Ino placed a hand on her hip.
"I-I'm fine."
Ino rolled her eyes and continued with her work. More alert, Sakura watched the model-shooting continue. She saw as Miguel photographed the girls, imagining the Uchiha standing there.
A sudden break was called for, and she walked over to the others to discuss the next stage before her work continued anew.
She was back inside the make-up room, debating with Ino about some new colours, suggesting these and other styles until they finally had an agreement. A swift flash got her to jump slightly, as she turned around, finding a sheepishly grinning Miguel, who excused his action with a simple shrug.
She frowned, yet ignored this, turning back to Ino. Yet as she watched the mirror diagonally from her, which Miguel seemed not to notice, she saw him smirk in some strange way that made chills creep down her spine.
Sakura couldn't exactly tell why, but she knew for sure she would never like this man even a bit.
He really hadn't expected it to come to this outcome, but it simply did. Out of some weird custom he owned, thanks to his mother, and through his attraction towards the woman, he asked her if they wanted to take a night out to eat instead of dwelling inside his small home. Of course, it wasn't something strange – he had taken her out before, now, hadn't he? But that had been different. He didn't know why, but it simply was different.
Sakura smiled at the invitation and they both made their way into a more casual restaurant, as they were dressed more casually and felt that way too.
You would imagine that any other man in place of Sasuke would have given anything to go out with such a charismatic, gorgeous woman as Sakura was, would glue their eyes to her to watch her every movements; her smiles, her curves, her eyes – simply everything. Yet every person knowing Sasuke would also understand his kind of behaviour. It's not like he didn't fell attracted, yet his brain was focused on other things.
His eyes were diverted towards the roads and streets, watching the nightly activity.
He didn't really manage to concentrate on Sakura for long, or take in her words to develop a conversation.
He was even too oblivious to the coldness that spread around them through the upcoming winter which was knocking on the season's door.
"You seem drenched in thoughts." Sakura's soft voice once again interrupted his pondering, yet this time targeting whatever was concerning the young man.
His charcoal eyes drifted towards the pinkette, staring at her for a while. She threw a seducing smile at him, causing a smirk.
"I guess you're right." Sasuke seemed embarrassed, as he realised how ignorant he had been throughout the evening.
"It's the case isn't it?"
"What else could it be?"
Sakura intertwined her fingers with each other, leaning her head on them as she moved towards Sasuke, "Tell me Sonny, what's new?"
"Haven't I said to stop calling me sonny? You're not some old geezer."
"Ah, but you are a young lad." She gave him a wink, which was both irritating and amusing in his opinion.
"Nothing's new really." He spoke after some hesitation, "I'm still at the beginning, and I can't seem to move forwards."
Sakura brushed some strands out of her face, "About Seth, right? His importance in all this?" She seemed a little queasy talking about the subject.
Sasuke nodded, now watching her reaction towards the subject, "You still seem to quite like him."
Sakura could have sworn it sounded like jealously, but knowing the cold demeanour of Sasuke, she was never too sure about that, "No, it's just different when you hear someone died such as your grandmother whom you may have never really met before or an actress you know to be famous compared to someone whom you lived with, supposed to have loved and were about to marry. We were never close but…the sheer fact that he is dead now is just…" She couldn't bring herself to finish, and Sasuke didn't force her to anyway.
He nodded in understanding, "You never really had an idea what kind of role he played in his work, right?"
Sakura seemed to be gazing into space with her sparkling emerald eyes, shrugging, "As I've told you before, we never really talked about such stuff, that is if we ever talked." She sighed, "But I kind of know what a person he is, and he is very responsible and creative in some strange way. Not like an artist, but more in the business kind of style. He was often gone to discuss plans with a friend of his."
"And his friends, any friends he had who could've known more?"
"I doubt it, he was quite distant all the time. But I know he always played a kind of leading role like his father, he had the potential to do so."
Sasuke leaned back, "Didn't his father ever demanded to interfere with his work?"
"Never, he said Seth was an adult man and had to take things into his own hands, and that it was none of his business how it went or what he did, as long as he did it right."
"I guess the last bit didn't work out then." It was a rather sarcastic note, and even though it seemed inadequate, Sakura had to giggle.
"I should've guessed it would take such an end with him. He was always too clingy and too obsessed with things. And he was too persistent."
"Sometimes your attributes can bring you down, that's true."
Sakura averted her eyes back to him, "Let's talk about something more positive, shall we not?"
Sasuke smirked at her comment.
He watched as Sakura disappeared into the guest room, smiling at the young Uchiha before closing the door.
Sasuke would have gladly followed her inside there and would have been more than willing to press his lips against her soft ones, as her simple presence got him going anyway, yet he was too deeply buried in thoughts as to be clear about "love" actions.
If he loved her? He couldn't say. He knew her to some extent, yet not for very long, and he guessed not enough to love her. He liked her, he definitely did, but Sasuke had never been too sure about the subject concerning love and its meanings. Thinking about it, he never really had "been in love before". It was a feeling he never experienced and most likely wouldn't recognised either.
As he continued his wonders, the phone suddenly rang, causing the Uchiha to nearly jump hadn't he been so collected before. Grabbing the phone hastily, he answered: "Yes?"
"Woke you up?"
Sasuke sighed. It was only his brother, Itachi.
"No, I was awake up until now." Sasuke leaned against the back of his sofa, yawning.
"Well, you might be interested in what I have for you."
"You've found out something?" Immediately the man was alert and prepared.
"Not directly. I was going to say that I'm coming to Spain in three days."
Another sigh left Sasuke's lips that day, but this time one out of frustration, "Thanks, that's not what I wanted to hear."
"Oh thank you very much Otouto, I missed you too!" Was the sarcastic answer.
"Come on, have you really found something out?"
"Hmmm…"
"Don't play that game on me, you know how important this is right now."
"Yeah right bro. Well, they definitely have their roots here in LA, but it's been too pointless sending out cops to investigate."
"Why that? Are they all idiots over there or what?"
"Nah, but just never even one of them has returned. They send their first two-three reports, nothing special in those anyway, and after that they disappear."
"Fuck, how well organised is this organisation?" Sasuke drove his fingers through his locks, slumping down onto the couch, "What about the information concerning some of the murdered ex-members?"
"Nada."
"Nothing found?"
"Not even a chance. You really have to rely on the last still living acquaintances in this. If they haven't been targeted."
"You mean…Sakura might be in danger of being targeted?" He was considering this possibility for the first time, that maybe, they're after her life.
"I doubt she knows enough to be worth it."
"They have destroyed her house."
"Well then she might just be in big trouble."
Sasuke was frowning at the wall next to him in silence.
"Seems like you're quite fond of the girl, what?" He heard his brother comment mockingly.
"Shut your gob Itachi."
"Might as well admit it to your Nii-san."
"There's nothing to admit." Sasuke could shockingly feel the tingle of heat on his cheeks.
All he heard was a chuckle from the other side and another thoughtful silence followed.
"Anyway, prepare for a trip to LA sometime soon, when I come anyway. You can investigate yourself then. But in the name of God, please don't do some shit and get yourself into trouble. Don't wanna hear of you being the next victim."
"What, don't have enough faith in me?"
No answer followed to the retort, and soon the conversation was over.
Sasuke eavesdropped in case some noise was coming from Sakura's room, yet only total silence filled the house, and no lights, except for the one in the corridor leading to Sasuke's dorm, was on.
He trudged into his room, switching off the lights and finding himself in sweet slumber, resting his mind.
Or not.
Different thoughts were raking his brain, causing him to twist and turn in his sleep, mumbling sentences underneath his breath. Different dreams and images plagued him, yet he seemed to find it hard to awake.
"But I kind of know what a person he is, and he is very responsible and creative in some strange way. Not like an artist, but more in the business kind of style. He was often gone to discuss plans with a friend of his."
Sasuke tried to open his eyes, yet he couldn't. All he saw was the beautiful pink haired woman in his mind, sitting sorrowfully in front of him. Oh how he craved to embrace her.
"… he always played a kind of leading role like his father, he had the potential to do so."
He felt as if his lips were brushing past hers. All the different situations from the past few weeks were circulating inside his head. And small jingle of noises followed from outside his room, yet Sasuke didn't seem to be hearing them.
"I should've guessed it would take such an end with him. He was always too clingy and too obsessed with things. And he was too persistent."
Further noises tumbled inside his ears, something crashed to the floor, something else broke…
Sasuke jumped up feverishly, his breath rapid and his mind exhausted. He felt sweat pearling on his forehead, and he tried to calm his brain.
The raven haired man stumbled out of his bed and towards the bathroom, washing his face and trying to clear his thoughts in order to find some rest.
But as he heard another loud crash, taking him by surprise, he silently stepped towards the door. Opening the door ever so lightly, he moved into the living room as delicately as a cat would, without the slightest whisper of a sound. Not even his breathing, which had been fast and loud just mere seconds ago, betrayed his presence.
He heard the balcony door being slid open, and he took quick steps to said place. The Uchiha watched as a silhouette stood at the balcony, leaning against the wall sideways.
At first he frowned, but then he realised that the figure was Sakura.
"Sakura…" he whispered, hoping not to scare her, yet she didn't nudge at his words, even though he was barely 2 metres at a distance.
"Sakura?" His voice was a little more loud, yet the woman didn't turn, as if she didn't hear him.
Then, unexpectedly Sakura leaned over the balcony, as if to grasp something floating in front of her, nearly losing her balance whilst doing so.
"Sakura!" Sasuke called, running towards her and grabbing her waist, pulling the pinkette back, "What the hell are you doing!?"
But Sakura tore in a large breath, as shocked as Sasuke had been just some minutes ago, looking around her surrounding in irritation as she panted.
"What happened?" Her voice, shaking, whispered.
"I think you…sleepwalked…"
Sakura took some minutes to realize what had happened, "I haven't done that since I was 13."
Sasuke let go of her waist, "You nearly fell off the balcony, idiot!"
She swallowed, rubbing her forehead, "I-I don't know why I'm…"
"Okay, that's it. There's one strange thing happening after the other, but we don't need a "suicidal" act. So if you don't want to end up on the first page of the Costa Blanca* news tomorrow, you better stop sleepwalking."
"It's not something I can control Sasuke."
"I'll lock you in then."
"What if I need the toilet?"
Sasuke shrugged, although Sakura could barely see as the only thing lighting him were the city lights below them.
"Sasuke!"
"Okay! Another idea." His warm hand entangled hers, taking her by surprise.
He pulled her inside the house, closing the balcony door and leading her towards his bedroom.
Sakura, who knew where this path was taking her, was taken aback by Sasuke's decision, "S-Sasuke, you aren't-"
She was cut off when the spiky haired man pushed her inside his room and shut the door, leaning against it with crossed arms.
His dark orbs watched her with a smirk, bangs shadowing part of his face. She started to see more of him through his night lamp – his very tight shirt and the boxer shorts he was wearing.
He, on the other side, was allowed to look at her stunning features and her hypnotizing eyes.
"What now?" she whispered with a smile.
He turned his head in direction of his bed, earning a look of confusion from the pinkette.
"I'm not having you wander around my house, opening doors that could lead to your death. Next I'll have you walking along the roads! And seeing as I can't really lock you in as sleepwalkers can do as good as anything as if they were conscious, you'll just have to sleep right next to me. If you stand up, I'll know."
Sakura tried to retort something, but felt speechless, "What if you don't wake up?" Was what crossed her mind.
"Don't worry, I'm a light sleeper, now get in there."
Cheeks burning red, the woman, rolling her eyes, walked towards the bed and got inside, followed by Sasuke, who soon switched off the lights. She knew this discussion hadn't ended yet.
Through the moonlight she could half recognize his face. Again she was taken aback when his arm went over her waist, tightening ever so slightly.
"Wha-"
"Just in case, you might fall out of bed and bang your head open or something. This way I might just be able to stop you."
She couldn't help but giggle at his sudden paranoia.
"Now start sleeping, you have to work tomorrow."
"Alright daddy." Sakura mocked him teasingly.
"I thought I was the sonny."
"Things can change sweetie."
Sasuke twitched, this was seriously irritating him.
Preview
"It's alright Shikamaru" Sasuke retorted, standing up and taking a step closer to his friend, "Naruto look, I know she's into the case too now, but that's not the reason I like her. It's just…she's…like…"
"Her. You know what happened back then."
"Yes, I know for crying out loud, I'm not a baby, I can cope."
Shikamaru grunted, "Yeah, you say that, you didn't last time. Just make sure you don't lose someone again."
"I won't, not this time."
*Costa Blanca: literally the coast here where the scene is set, the eastern coast of Spain.
Sooo, I hope there was enough fluff and change of scenario to please you guys! I enjoyed rereading everything, to be honest, I hope you enjoy reading this too!
Let's stay tuned in for when Itachi visits! Gonna be some nice scenes! And of course when Sasuke goes to LA! Soo, PLEASE review my dearest friends, tell me what you think, you know I love you for it! :D